...In which our heroine talks "Watchmen," weekend.

I didn't go see Watchmen in theaters this weekend. I am a bad fangirl.  It was up on Watch Movies by Friday afternoon and I am all kinds of broke right now, so I decided to just watch it there last night.

It was good - not bad, not great. I was pleased overall with the adaptation. It was faithful to the material, looked cool, and was acted pretty well, although I was disappointed in the performances by mother and daughter Jupiter most. The first ten minutes were probably my favorite part, or Dr. Manhattan's journey to Mars. Much has been said about the choice of music, and I loved/hated it - at some points it fit amazingly well, then at other times, it seemed to be hitting you over the head. I also liked how everything looked so 80s - even the lighting and film stock looked old.

I wasn't crazy about the changes made to the ending, but I can see why they were made for a mass audience. Thank god the cut wasn't Snyder's original three hours and twenty minutes because I was definitely ready for it to be over at the two and a half mark. Don't worry, he left in plenty of fanboy touches - Gunga Diner, the newsstand players, a certain code name for Veidt's project - in and they all made me smile.

Another reason I didn't go see Watchmen in theaters was that Cassie was here this weekend. Things got off to a rocky start - I ended up at an urgent care Friday for chest pain. After an EKG, chest x-ray, and blood work, it seems I have an inflamed chest, maybe pleurisy, from the mono. Fucking rad! I've really enjoyed being sick for the past three months. But I was fine, and Cassie and I were able to shop our hearts out Saturday.

We also tried to get tattoos, and after a ten block walk in the rain, found that Taylor Street Tattoo is quite terrible. They couldn't do either Cassie's cheshire cat or my wheat penny, because they were sub-par artists. I'm just going to hit up Dana when I'm back in town. 

Cassie and I also went to Chicago Comics in Belmont yesterday. I'm not a huge comics fan by any stretch, but I really enjoy meandering through the racks of work. My dad would always let me tag along as a child when he was still reading regularly, and there will always be something comforting in that pulp smell and the brightly colored, muscled heroes that provide it. Chicago Comics is an awesome shop and features lots of independent work in addition to all of the traditional stuff. 

Another busy week is in store - midterms, yay! I only have one real midterm in Production I and need to start editing my first film as well. My first screenplay is due this week as well. As Penny Lane would say, "It's all happening."

...In which our heroine makes a movie.

I shot my first film in Grant Park today. It was a lovely day and unseasonably warm, so that made things easier. The shoot went pretty well and I was happy with how efficiently things got accomplished. I pick the film up on Monday - then the true test of how it looks will happen.

Cassie and JR come to Chicago tomorrow. I've missed her terribly, and the weekend looks nice in terms of weather as well. I think that we're going to get tattoos on Saturday, which is awesome since I've been talking about #2 forever. But that'll be it for a while. I think.

I feel inferior since I'm not going to see that one movie at midnight. I definitely am getting a geek demerit, but I have 8:30 class and no one else is devoted as me to go with anyway. This is the first major geek movie I haven't seen at midnight in a while. There was a guy dressed in a fabulous Rorschach costume in the lobby today - he didn't even have eye holes, now that's commitment. 

This is the best Watchmen video yet, as it parodies 80's Saturday morning cartoons. This is it, I'll shut up after I finally see the damn movie.

I'm looking forward to a nice weekend, and hope you enjoy yours as well.

...In which our heroine smiles.

I absolutely love the photo spreads that Annie Leibovitz does for Vanity Fair every year on some aspect of Hollywood. This year, we get the "New Legends of Comedy," featuring the love of my life front and center:

Paul Rudd isn't too bad either. Vanity Fair has the whole spread over on their site. Cassie introduced me to a couple past layouts too...the noir-inspired "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die," and a lovely homage to Hitchcock. 

...In which our heroine changes tone.

After the hot chicks post, this one is going to be a little more subdued.

In my life at least, I've noticed that when it rains, it pours as far as the bad. Friday was an epically bad evening. Kris's dad passed away very suddenly and he had to fly back to Texas. It is so strange to me to have friends with dead parents - I know it's something that happens and will only get worse, but it is still a strange concept in my young mind. I don't even know how I could deal with a situation like that.

As for me, it turns out that there are no clean breaks in life. As far removed as you are from a person, they can still come back in your life, in the most surprising ways. No details yet on that situation though, only that my complete and utter panic has greatly subsided.

The semester is almost at its midpoint and I'm beginning to feel the crunch. I shoot my first film this week in Grant Park while beginning pre-production for the second. I need to start the first draft of my screenplay as well. 

It's all karma - until Christmas, things were as good as they've ever been for me. Then there's been the joys of mono (my spleen still hurts), dealing with Ben's racist homophobe of a roommate, roommate tension, and now this. Things even out, and they could always be worse. 

...In which our heroine has a crush.

I'm straight - a thought that has never been doubted in my mind. I am attracted to men, date a man, and want to marry a man. But I'll be damned if I don't have girl crushes.  Salma Hayek is on 30 Rock tonight and she has the best body ever - the boobs alone are epic. If I could have anyone's body, it would be hers.

Salma isn't the only one. I think the female body is just inherently more attractive than the male body, and thus I have several girl crushes:

Salma Hayek. She looks just as fabulous in Desperado, but the dance does it:

Monica Bellucci. She's started to show her age a bit, but everyone likes a Frenchwoman:

Scarlett Johansson. I don't even like blondes:

Angelina Jolie. Half of the prettiest couple on the planet, the tattoos just make it:

Adriana Lima. Usually Victoria's Secret models are "ehh" but she is beyond gorgeous:
Girls are hot. I'm sorry for all the boobs, but it's all Salma's fault.

...In which our heroine appreciates the little things.

I just got finished talking to my friend Leslie, who I became close with sophomore year, when she was a senior. I haven't seen her since the night she graduated but the past three years, she has made the effort to talk to me about our mutual love of the Oscars. It's amazing how little it takes to make my day - couple of minutes complaining about Hugh Jackman and comparing best dressed, and it's like I'm still sitting in the newspaper room, chatting with Leslie. 

More and more, I realize it truly is the little things that count. My dad has always told me a good way to live is simply "one good deed a day" and that really is all it takes.  The subtlest gestures are what matter the most. 

Some days, the distance that has grown between me and my friends and family feels enormous. Once someone is out of your day to day life, I at least find it difficult to keep tabs. I try to keep up with the people from high school that I still care for, but a lot of times, it's hard to talk once you get past the "How's college?" question. And I find that my true friends are the ones who I can skip the stock bullshit and get right back to it.

Watching the Oscars (an aside: boring, predictable show. Jackman was lame-o. Yay for Kate and Slumdog. Boo for no Rourke. Liked the format with bringing former winners out) Sunday night, it truly struck me how far away I am from high school life, and uncharacteristically, I was sad about it. I wanted to be on my shitty couch, eating my mom's salsa and critiquing dresses with the girls I spent high school leaning on and laughing with. I missed them, more than perhaps I ever have before. 

I don't know why I was so stricken by that moment, but I've come to find that whether they make you happy or sad, it really is the little things that count...

Getting a stuffed anteater for your birthday after only a passing comment is made.

Having a box of crayons mysteriously packed in your college stuff.

Care packages stuffed with comics you liked when you were five.

Having a playlist made specifically for you. 

It doesn't take much to make someone's day.

...In which our heroine enters the videodrome.

Randomness, all there ever really is anymore. Enjoy. 

Mickey Rourke's acceptance speech at the Independent Spirit Awards-

More viral Watchmen videos, this time from the Veidt Music Network-

Apatow's latest, the decidedly serious looking Funny People-

An interesting interpretation of Neutral Milk Hotel's "The King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 1"

Ben and I have been listening to stand-up before bed. This is one of my favorite Patton Oswalt bits-