'cause in Brooklyn, you're family

My weekend was sad...

It's always hard, but this one really did me in. That's the thing about Brooklyn, no one is here to stay, not even me. These guys were like family, like most of our close friends. Friendships are tight here. Hopefully tight enough when the time comes, like it did for them, to not let distance get in the way.

I will miss this family. I will miss my Wednesday's with the kids. I will miss my friend.

I suppose part of what makes this particular "goodbye" so hard is the impending one of my own. I don't think I'm ready, not yet. But I don't know if I will ever be...

*That creepy guy in the background is my brother. He, is not leaving.

They're Here...

25 years later.....and my take?
still very creepy.

A bunch of us went to see this flick for its 25th anniversary, and I still found myself jumping and/or hiding behind my sweater.

Still creepy

Opening sequence. Carol Anne kneeling in front of the tv quoting "they're here".
Kitchen chairs. Both when they were pushed from the table and stacked on the table.
Unfinished swimming pool, including dead bodies.
The house. I haven't been able to look at a house like that since without getting goose bumps.
The *** lady. her voice, her height, her monologue.
The clown. need I say more?
& Carol Anne's faint voice from the t.v.

Not as creepy.

The tree. Actually scarier before it came to life.
The guy that peels off his face. If it wasn't obvious it was a mask, it might have worked.
The bedroom & the flying toys.
The documentary that followed the movie on real poltergeist scientists.

Food routines (obsessions)

I tend to be a creature of habit when it comes to food. Tom can attest that when I find something I like, I go way overboard. And I don't just mean, I have it once a week, or even once a day. I literally eat it for breakfast, lunch, and if I can get away with it, for dinner too. This can go on for months. And I really don't tire out on it.

I haven't always been like this. I would say within the last 5 years, right around the time I realized if I didn't eat pasta, donuts, pizza, etc, I might be able to slim down a bit, I started adopting these strange obsessions. The thing is, I have tricked my mind into thinking that these semi "healthier" foods I get into, will actually be the answer to my body issues. I  don't think I really love these foods, I just tell myself I do. And somehow it works.

For the last 3-4 months, I almost eat these foods at least once or twice a day.

Rice crackers and hummos. And I will ONLY eat these brands. I go through a pack of these crackers umm....I hate to admit it but one every 2 days. And this hummos is the best. I need a Utah substitute.

Veggie Burgers. Again, I will only eat these. I usually put one in the toaster, and then of course, spread hummos on top. And sometimes I even make little veggie burger hors devours. Tasty!

And of course, without fail, at least 2 of these a day. If I can make an excuse to drive my car, I usually pull up to McDonald's, the only place in Brooklyn (within a reasonable driving distance) that I can buy a way overpriced fountain DC. And when Tom isn't with me, I ask them to put a lime in it, he gets embarrassed by my outlandish requests, but usually I just run down stairs to the deli and grab a bottle. And, no, I'm not addicted, I just love the taste.

I also lately (as in the last year) love corn on the cob, almonds & almond butter, vanilla pudding snack packs, oatmeal, & egg white veggie omelets.  These all go on rotations depending on my moods.

I'm undecided

Not on that this is my least favorite of the Star Wars Trilogy, but on the 2004 enhancements made to Return of the Jedi. My brother and I threw this one one yesterday, I usually watch A New Hope or Empire, but we decided we needed to brush up on our VI trivia.

Some of the edits, enhancements, whatever you want to call them, I am ok with, especially when the picture is clearer and easier to make out some of the details, although some of those details are new. I would like original copies of all of them just to have, but for viewing pleasure, the new ones are just fine. But there are some that I cringe at. They just don't work, they don't flow, its like Lucas forgot about continuity or why the simplicity of a scene or character is what made the original trilogy so enjoyable.

This is my least favorite change in all three movies. I hate it. It is over the top and almost ridiculous. I will set the stage. Jabba's palace, the Max Rebo band, and the newly created CGI character named Joh Yowza. Together they sing " Jedi Rocks", I usually  mute this 30 seconds of torture.

Before the enhancements, and crazy CGI.

After

The one bit of trivia I found out about this scene is they did add a few more shots of Oola dancing. In my opinion it was unneeded, but she was in such great shape after 20 years, she was able to still dance, and  attempt to fight off Rancor. Impressive.

I do like the enhancement to the Sarlaac. It seems more scary.

After the beak and tentacles were added.

The reason I post these next pictures isn't because of what you see, it is because of what you hear. Yub Nub was completely taken out of the Victory celebration with the Ewok's and replaced with an over the top Phantom Menace sort of song. John Williams has a special place in my heart, but why did he have to mess with this one?

After. I do like that you can sort of see some dancing Ewoks.

Being that Wedge Antilles is my second all time favorite character, to Luke of course. I was thrilled that this scene of Luke and Wedge reuniting was added. He was one of the only X Wing fighters to survive all three movies, and he is Hayden Christensen's uncle.

And this scene being the most controversial of all the editions. This is the one, I can't decide on. At first, I hated it, then I kinda liked it, now I am on the fence. Anakin did die when he became Darth Vader, so it does seem to make sense that he was restored to his Jedi self, but when he killed the Emporer, he redeemed himself.  Admittedly, I do smile when I see Hayden standing there, he is so cute.

After. Would I prefer Alec Guinness, or Ewan McGreggor?  tough call.

These last added final shoots of Tatooine,Naboo, and Cloud City are very grand and animated. They seemed unnecessary at first, but they do sort of set the stage for the prequels and show how wide spreading the empire was.

All in all, these movies are still my favorites of all time. I can live with the changes, and I do still watch them over and over. I will just have to accept them, or ignore and mute.

*Clearly I didn't take these freeze frame shots, I had help from some internet friends, to whom I say "thank you".

Happy 61st Dad!

Dear Dad,

It's hard to believe you have been alive for so long. Thinking about being 61 seems just to hard to imagine. But I do hope, when that day comes, I can look back, reflect, and have as much to be proud of as you do.

For starters, you are and always have been a great father. I have recently been able to see the immense love you have for your children. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you would do ANYTHING for  us.  We feel your love everyday, even when we don't show it.

And an amazing Grandpa. Luke loves you. I don't know what you did to win him over, but he prefers you out of all of us. It has been so fun watching you two together, like two peas in a pod.

Even though I hated getting up at 5am for daily scripture study, I am now grateful for the example and tone you set for our family. It was never a question what was most important in your life, us, and the gospel. I have made many of the choices in my life because of what you taught me.

I admire your talent, you are truly an amazing artist. In many ways. I don't know anyone else
that has a dad that can play the guitar, bass guitar, mandolin,
accordion, & harmonica. You also have an amazing voice. You are a
great artist and designer, I mean the cart in the A? It's ingenious! You
dress better than almost anyone I know, wonder where I got that from?
And you have such great taste in furniture, architecture, and art. I am
finally proud of the house I grew up in, sorry I didn't appreciate
it sooner Dad.
And I don't know if this counts as art, but I have always bragged that my dad is a magician. I can't wait for Luke to watch Randall the Great perform his amazing tricks.

Best of all, I love the things that make you you. Absolutes? never (he has no favorite food, color, artist, musician, etc.), you cannot tell even a white lie (even when it is someone on the phone we DON"T want to talk to), you laugh harder at our stories, jokes, & smart remarks, than anyone else, you eat only a small bowl of cereal in the morning that lasts you until mid afternoon, there is no way any of us could ever beat you at anything, you sneeze really loud,& you have very loud voice fluctuations (the last two, I have also developed through the years), you can be very laid back (when you want to be), you are cheap, you have great taste in music (can you sing and play ALL of the Shins songs?). You can carry on a conversation better than anyone, and you are a great listener.   

Thank you for being alive and being my dad all of these years! Here's to many more.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Love,
Alysha
ps. sorry I didn't get you a present, don't words mean more anyway?