yesterday was my old roommate and best friend's, amy, 24th bday. today is my un-favorite/current roommate's 23rd birthday. i bought amy a lava lamp.

for some reason, this page is screwed up in netscape (ie: doesn't even appear) and in internet explorer (some stuff is missing). i really hate that what you see isn't actually what you get. hail old-school print!

stayed up until 4am, after getting in bed at 1030, finishing bridget jones: the edge of reason by helen fielding. it wasn't as good as it's prequel, bridget jones's diary. i was most anxious to find out her fate with mark darcy -- the ex-boyfriend. her tales of being held in a thai prison were good; conversations with her mum were boring and i skipped over them.

going to read high fidelity by nick hornby next, which i've actually had for at least four years -- and tried to read on numerous occasions. never could get into it much. just realized it must be the basis for the new john cusack movie of the same title. i'm inspired to read/finish it before i see the movie -- assuming they're related indeed.

boy am i tired... not like i did anything today, but i'm pooped. so i saw american beauty this afternoon. what a movie -- very touching. each character is so intriguing, each adding another layer/dimension to the movie. kevin spacey was great; so was annette benning. i felt different when i left -- or refreshed. the moral motivated to slow down and notice all the little details around me that i take for granted. no wonder it received so much praise from the oscars.

i never mentioned how star-struck prone i am. i've seen some real big stars in my time, but had valid reason to stare at them: ie, audience member of a theatre production or talk show. but just recently i found out that some small time stars (or big time, depending) are within my reach at samford, my school. take for instance, one of my first crushes: met's catcher (a long time ago), gary carter -- his daughter goes to samford and he recently spoke there. then there is randy owen from the country group, alabama -- his son plays baseball for school. so, last week i'm at a game, and down in front of me is randy owen live and in person! i'm not a fan of his band, and i honestly couldn't tell you anything about them... but i could not stop staring at him. i payed more attention to the back of his head than the game.

today, or well yesterday, was absolutely perfect. weather wise. the sun was shining, wind blowing, just pefect. it inspired me to go in search of plants for my tiny, yet favorite part of my apartment, balcony. i now have 3 pots with various plants... i just hope i remember to water them.

i'm going to enjoy my spring break this week. tomorrow, er today, i'm going to see a movie. i think it will either be boys don't cry or american beauty... depending on what i'm in the mood for. i'll report back.

caught a little bit of the oscars last night. since i haven't seen any of the "best picture" movies, i didn't really get into the whole show. i enjoyed the "best song" portion, although southpark was a bit over-the-top. oh well. honestly, i really only like to watch those awards shows to see what the people are wearing. (which by the way, i am so tired of the "v-neck open to the navel with half my boobs hanging out" look.)

more evidence of my former life: pushing tin will come on tonight after sopranos (at least here). i rented and watched it last week. an interesting movie only in respect to seeing how air traffic control works... VERY interesting. john cusack was cool as usual, billy bob thorton (sp?) was blah. also watched october sky last week. really liked this one. but i think i like any movie regarding the space program in some way.

i got an email with this link to a card game/trick. try it, very mind boggling... well, until you figure the trick out. if you can't figure it out maybe i'll tell you.

i believe i worked as a cable program scheduler in a former life. i rent movies, watch them and then see them the next day on cable. for example: last night i just watched my last netflix rental, elizabeth, and it is on showtime tonight. a lovely movie. geoffrey rush is excellent. the ending, when elizabeth is pondering the virgin mary and becomes a "virgin" herself, is my favorite scene(s).

sorry to anyone on a pc. thanks to my brother who just brought serious problems to my attention. hope it works now. (and isn't one line/one word anymore)

"hi" to anyone taking a detour from jack's. i'm honored that he mentioned me today. (he's the guy i found randomly and talked about on march 12.)

i heard on a local radio station this morning a story: apparently last night on a fox television show, malcolm in the middle, birmingham was referenced to. i didn't see this particular episode, so it's all hearsay on my part. from what i understand, the older brother pretends to be gay, and somewhere a comment is made to the effect of "we're not in birmingham." (this probably referring to that whole ordeal with "ellen" a few years ago.)

the point of the whole thing is people outside of alabama just have a really bad impression of us, due to things like that and other events (like the civil rights movement). i'll be the first to blame it on the media (which i'm getting a degree in) who initiate impressions in viewers' minds. it's easy to make fun of those individuals that are portrayed from the south. but you'll find only a small majority of that stereotypical persona around here. i grew up in huntsville, and i currently live in birmingham -- which is just like any other large city, except we don't have a million plus residents. we have the same stuff or something close.

the fact that people don't get past stereotypes is sad. one assignment i had while i was in london, england was to go to a school and learn about their educational process. one class i was visiting had just finished reading beloved by toni morrison. the teacher was eager for us to explain how life really is in the south. the 20 or so teenagers in that class were shocked to hear what we had to say.

this is only my voice, and the likelihood of more than a handful of readers actually seeing this is slim -- and caring what i think is slimmer. but i'm hoping, like with those students, i can open a few eyes up to reality. don't let me tell you how to think; feel free to tell me your opinion.

sure we've got our problems, in the south, but they're no different than problems out west or up north. it's just emphasized in birmingham because of our past. we're learning to grow up, and i think it is finally starting with my generation. maybe one day, the rest of the country will realize alabama isn't so bad after all.

this song seems to fit snuggly into my pocket of thoughts.

i went to a play at school this afternoon. called "betrayal" and i didn't like it. despite the fact that it was set in london, the actors spoke with british accents, and they showed pix from london - i didn't like it. a story of an affair, three actors (the wife, husband and his best friend). it ended, after an hour and a half, and i walked into the chilly downpour outside... i ran for my car, wishing it was a tube station instead.

the best cd you're NOT listening to (shame on you!): cree summer - street faerie. i've been going on about this cd since last summer. but i still love it. i am in love with her voice and her writing.

no matter how many times i try... i still don't like to take baths. showers, yes. baths... i try, i did tonight. but i can't stand it for too long. any contained body of water large enough to hold a person or more just freaks me out. those shark tanks that you walk through the middle... i don't care how thick the glass is. large bodies of water, say an ocean, lake, river -- especially the type you can't see clearly through to the bottom -- scares me. pools -- the deep end, no thank you. and, yes, even sitting in a foot deep bathtub...well, you know. and it's all due to a little movie called "jaws."

thank god for cable. back to back: "life is beautiful" and "shakespeare in love." if you know me at all... well, these are two of my favorite movies in the world! i wish my fingers were ink-stained, much like will shakespeare's in this movie.

what a weekend so far. friday night was so good. i got to see my favorite "un-famous" band at my second favorite bar. covergirls. they do... covers of 80-90s music. amazing. i had so much energy to get out last night, i couldn't stop dancing or having fun. one of my friends, on the other hand, stopped having fun when she ran into not one, but two of her ex-boyfriends. i didn't let it ruin my buzz.

sorry for the lack of substance the past few days. sorry for my ramblings on clouds, samford, or london. sorry for the lack of links. not that they were any good to begin with. i'm trying to figure out what i want to use this thing for.

on my way to my web design 2 class tonight, a brilliant cloudy sky was moving across birmingham. as i drove down off the mountain, off in the distance it looked like more mountains were painted onto the sky; only deep blue clouds. i've never seen anything like it before. i wish i could have watched the front move across town. instead i drove on to class and learned how to format forms in HTML. fun stuff.

samford lost to sryacuse... don't remember the final score, but it wasn't a blowout.

i've been on the phone since 11.30 or so this morning. that's ok. i wanted to get up in time to watch samford play in the first round of the ncaa. will update the status of the final score when the game ends.

am i the only one who isn't in bed? i wonder if i should put the time that i finish writing this instead of the time i start. either way, you get the idea that it's incredibly early (or late) in the morning. and i'd rather be in bed. sleeping.

i just finished a movie called "tea with mussolini." i doubt that's the correct spelling, but honestly i never claimed to have won any spelling bees. nor admitted to being keen and informed on history.

this movie, was nice. i enjoyed it. i think i shall start a collection of "european-world war-movies-staring-brilliant-english(or italian)-actors." (life is beautiful, english patient)

thus watching this movie not only fueled my desire and longing to be back in london, but also made me decide that i want to be judi dench in my next life. ever since i saw her in the play, "amy's view," in london's east end, i've continued to follow her work. she is so eccentric and amazing to watch. her character in this movie, "tea..," is someone i wish i could be.

i'm not turning this into a religion site, promise. found across this article, which goes along with my "catholic/vegetarian" post from a couple days ago.

"paradise lost: parts one and two:" i don't know what to think about this trial, running its glory on hbo... the second installment points strong fingers at that freaky man, byers... and it makes sense that he could be guilty. his drama annoys me every time he's on camera. despite the saddness of the whole story, my favorite part of both the documentaries is when damien is combing his hair in the courtroom (in the first one) while that nut (byers) lectures the press.

the "top 10 list" of america's most wanted criminals from the fbi celebrates 50 years.

a friend brought up the question: if catholics believe that communion celebrates and is, in fact, the body and blood of christ, can a vegetarian participate in communion and/or catholicism? ...i think it's a valid question.

i wish i had my own art show on public tv... although, i wouldn't want to be like this crazy kid. see what happens when i don't sleep... i get sucked into educational tv shows on APT (alabama public tv). right now i'm watching the "art maker," a new one for me. the guy fake whistles at the beginning... but he doesn't beat out my all-time fav, mark kistler!

i spent all afternoon at selection sunday for the ncaa tournament. samford's going to cleveland, ohio.

it's a small world (of webloggers) afterall... how random is it to be looking through some photos taken at sxsw and see an old classmate of yours, who you haven't seen or heard of since high school?

last night, i lost count of the times the tornado sirens went off (which sound like those scary bomb sirens you hear in movies, from like WWII). well, apparently, i should have paid a little more attention, rather than sitting on the couch watching the weather men... a tornado touched down in vestavia/hoover (my city-neighborhood), at the bottom of the mountain i live on.

make her pay |via: /usr/bin/girl|

this scares me, if it is true...

you know, i used to not like woody allen b/c i think i started to hear about him when all that stuff was going on with his wife and daughter years ago. well, a few years ago i picked up a movie of his and actually liked it (although the name escapes me), and i have enjoyed a few more since. well, i just watched "mighty aphrodite" and i hated it. myra sorvino's nasal voice was just too much to tolerate; not to mention those monk-type-actors running throughout the film... bummer.

so i'm really still bothered by the whole "let's use the dictator/sitcom guesser backwards" thing i wrote about a day or so ago... i went back and answered the questions, regarding my life, and the thing guessed i was some italian man...

according to my powerpuff girls calendar, today is "international women's day." so, i thought i'd offer up this and this. (two of my very favorite poems -- written about, by, and/or for women).

i think everyone is confused... the current hype among bloggers this past week seemes to be over the dictator/sitcom character game. well, my problem is that the majority of people are confused by the whole concept... on more that one site the individual(s) think that you are supposed to be yourself and the computer will generate who you're most like. well, the whole idea is for the computer to GUESS who you are THINKING OF. am i wrong? note: jon cleared this up -- people purposely were playing backwards

where sarah and i should be or at least, be recovering from.

samford university's men's basketball team is heading back to the ncaa tournament after claiming the taac championship again (for the second year in a row).

too close to home... leave it to some wiz-kids from my hometown, huntsville, to throw away some stuff for the space station by accident... that dump is not too far from my house. |via: julia's journal|

put your bookmarks on the web ever go out of town and wish you could remember that insanely-long url to that great site that you look at all the time?? well, with blink.com you can put your bookmarks in one place on the web. it easily uploads them from your computer with a few clicks... easy stuff. happy url-ing. :)

my favorite so far ...at least, very close behind "life is beautiful." iron giant is a fantastic movie for everyone! and besides, how can you go wrong with a star like harry connick, jr?? :)

my netflix movie rental list is slowly coming to a close... last night i watched "mystery men." the best thing (and that's still a long shot) about this movie is janeane garofalo talking to her dead dad, who's skull is inside her bowling ball

"It wasn't exactly Victoria's Secret. Ohio state troopers say the key to a drug bust was found in a woman's bra. State Highway Patrol officers stopped a van for a traffic violation on I-70 near Enon. A police dog smelled drugs, but there's was no dope to be found. According to troopers, when a police woman patted-down Eunice Santana, she found a magnet hidden in the suspect's bra. Troopers say the magnet opened a secret compartment in the van's center console, which contained 22 pounds of cocaine." |via:Birmingham's ABC 33-40|