Small Talk: a.k.a. 'The Meet Market'

[Shanna Marie]

Has anybody else read the book that The Princess Bride is based on? It's hysterical, too!

Yeah, but it is a bit darker and more cynical than the movie.

 

"A Life Less Ordinary" is utterly bonkers and not very good but I kind of love it, if that makes any sense.

Makes total sense to me. It has this amazing cast, and there are some wonderful moments, but it kind of comes across like the writer started drafting a straightforward movie, then got hold of a really bad batch of drugs.

 

I love old movies for comforting viewing, like Bringing up Baby, the Awful Truth, and The Philadelphia Story. I can just about recite The Philadelphia Story from memory (and am still madly in love with Jimmy Stewart). Oh, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

 

For comfort reading, I tend to end up turning to the British "chick lit" kind of books, where it's a romance, but structured more like a romantic comedy movie than like a romance novel. Authors like Katie Fforde, Jill Mansell and Jenny Colgan. And, of course, Terry Pratchett. When I'm down, I re-read Terry Pratchett.

 

I'm currently in a weird mode where I find it hard to handle tension. I guess that's why I'm devouring spoilers for TV shows because I can't bear the anxiety. I've been flipping to the backs of books to reassure myself of how they turn out before I can go through with reading the rest when they get tense. Except, oddly enough, for mystery novels. In that case, I know the crime will be solved and the detective will prevail, so I can read straight through, but I'm reading a fantasy novel right now and had to check on the ending before I could let myself go on.  I went to see Spectre yesterday, and I had to keep reminding myself that James Bond was obviously going to survive, so it was okay.

 

And my friend who's into me does come in handy sometimes. We'd talked vaguely about seeing Star Wars, brought it up again last night, and I guess he was tired of dithering, so he just e-mailed to say he got tickets for an afternoon matinee on opening day, in 3D, at the theater in the town near me, which is also the big "Christmas" town (it looks like something out of one of those Hallmark movies) that we visit for Christmas every year, so I guess we'll combine the annual outings. I will resist spoiling myself on Star Wars. Maybe I'll be over my tension aversion by then.

[HoodlumSheep]

My guy friend wanted to see The Good Dinosaur on tuesday together. I had to break it to him that he was a day/ 2 days off from when it actually comes out. Lol. I haven't heard from him since he helped pass out candy on halloween. I figured I would be hearing from him soon. He's always loved dinosaurs.

It's Thanksgiving week though, so I'm busy with the fam.

[Jul 68]

My movie favorites tend toward the classic. Here are my comedy suggestions:

How to Marry a Millionaire (Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe)

Desk Set (Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy)

on the more modern side, you can never go wrong with Stripes, but it has a drop of violence.

[KAOS Agent]

 

I went to see Spectre yesterday, and I had to keep reminding myself that James Bond was obviously going to survive, so it was okay.

 

Ha. I started watching Jessica Jones last night and it's really, really, really dark. I'm only three episodes in and all I can think through a lot of it is that the show is called Jessica Jones, she's not going to die. That said, I think pretty much every other character is up for death.

[Souris]

I have not (shame on me), but Cary Elwes book "As You Wish" about the making of the movie is hysterical.

I have that book but haven't gotten around to reading it yet!

[HoodlumSheep]

Has anyone read the "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" novel? Does anyone know if it's as good/better than the movie?

[Selina K]

I am really not a movie watcher, much to the chagrin of my children and husband, but the one move I have to watch every time I flip past it on some random channel is Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby.  It is the stupidest movie and consists of about 100 scenes that could largely be watched in any order without contributing to nor detracting from the plot, but I find it so stupid I laugh like an idiot every time I see it.  Oh, and it also features Amy Adams.

 

I do also like Thomas Crown Affair, Pierce Brosnan / Rene Russo version.  That's kind of all I have for movies.  I have been trying to watch Tangled for three weeks and somehow cannot find a time to sit down and try to get into it.  

 

I honestly blame Titanic for my disdain for movies.  My husband and I were dating when that came out and I remember standing on line to see it and telling him, "I'm already annoyed.  I know going in the boat is going to sink.  I also know I will get emotionally invested in the romance and clearly one of them is going to die, and I know that, and I am still going to cry and be upset and I totally resent that."  And of course that is exactly that happened.  I can't handle all of that in two hours, nor do I like to invest two hours in sitting and doing nothing but watching something.  I can last an hour for tv shows and that seems to be it.

[HoodlumSheep]

I honestly blame Titanic for my disdain for movies. My husband and I were dating when that came out and I remember standing on line to see it and telling him, "I'm already annoyed. I know going in the boat is going to sink. I also know I will get emotionally invested in the romance and clearly one of them is going to die, and I know that, and I am still going to cry and be upset and I totally resent that." And of course that is exactly that happened. I can't handle all of that in two hours, nor do I like to invest two hours in sitting and doing nothing but watching something. I can last an hour for tv shows and that seems to be it.

Fun story: when my aunt went to go see it in theaters she made a comment about why she should bother watching it, when she knows how it ends: the boat sinks and almost everybody dies.

Needless to say, some movie-theater goer got upset that she spoiled the movie.

Lol.

**

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=bY73vFGhSVk

Trailer for Pixar's Zootopia

Edited November 23, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[OnceUponAJen]

^ You mean that wasn't the upbeat version of Titanic? LOL! I must be one of the very few living people who have never seen it, although I was always fascinated by the subject.

Edited November 23, 2015 by OnceUponAJen

[Mari]

Hahaha! I have been making the very same speech about Titanic ever since it came out. I still haven't seen it, and actively avoid watching it.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Mari

[yeswedo]

Finally, a safe place for me to admit that the first time I saw Titanic I actually thought they might miss the iceberg. In my defense, it looked really close!

 

If you need suggestions for movies to watch or want to recommend to others, there are some fun threads in the Movies forum, particularly the Poppy Field and Stupid Movies threads.

[Shanna Marie]

I will confess to loving Titanic, but not for quite the same reasons that the stereotypical fan likes it. I like the costume porn. I like the re-creation of the ship (it was really eerie when a few years ago they were able to get a remote rover camera into a stateroom that was a model for the one used in the movie, based on photos that were taken before the maiden voyage, and the real thing, under the ocean for a century, looked remarkably like the way it was in the movie -- James Cameron got really excited about that). I didn't give a flip for the romance and don't believe it would ever have worked, but I have a weird fascination for worst thing/best thing stories, where the worst thing you can imagine happening in your life is actually the best thing that could have happened to you because your life wouldn't have been what it should have been if you'd continued on the easy path. Being on the Titanic when it sank would have been horrible, but if the ship hadn't sunk, Rose's life would have likely been terrible. The sinking gave her the chance to take control of her life, and I always start sobbing at the end when they show the photos of her life and see everything she did with the opportunity she got. So I find it to be a fairly inspiring story that motivates me to do the things I say I want to do instead of letting life go by. Also, I've been in a writing seminar that used that to get into the structure of the Rose's character arc, and now it's fun to watch it with that in mind and watch the various beats happen.

[Souris]

I have a friend who is a huge Titanic nut and was for years and years before the movie. She once had a swanky 13-course dinner party that re-created one of the first-class meals on the Titanic, prepared by a friend who was a sous chef. It took like three hours and was totally insane but amazing. We all got to play a specific passenger -- I was Molly Brown, whoo!

[HoodlumSheep]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[OnceUponAJen]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Mari]

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I am grateful I have nothing t to prepare, and warm places to be and warm people to spend it with.)

[daxx]

Happy Thanksgiving, I was blessed with friends (my son's best friend's parents) that invited me to Thanksgiving today so my movie marathon is cancelled at least for today.

[Rumsy4]

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

[Shanna Marie]

Happy Thanksgiving! I have celebrated with the family and am now home. We're about to be hit by the remnants of Hurricane Sandra, for several days of really heavy rain, so my mom had a bit of a panic worry attack about me driving in that weather and sent me home right after dinner. To be honest, it's kind of a relief because I'd been there since Monday. My brother came without his wife (I'm not sure what's up with them -- she called him constantly, but I'm not sure if it's because they're working things out and she missed him or if it's because she's paranoid and sure he was off cheating on her rather than with his family), so it was a little more relaxed that we expected, but he came a day earlier. And it turned out that the real reason my mom wanted me to come over early wasn't to help with the cooking. She's developed a back/spine problem (a form of arthritis in the spine) and there are days when she can't move enough to drive, so she was worried she wouldn't be able to drive my dad to his cataract surgery. She wanted me to be there to drive in case she couldn't. I just ended up baking a pie and doing some of the prep work like peeling things, and then cooking tired her out so I took over getting everything on the table. So I squeaked by another year without having to roast a turkey or make dressing.

 

We're about to have three days of heavy cold rain. I'm planning to binge on sappy Hallmark TV movies.

[Lieutenant]

 

We're about to have three days of heavy cold rain. I'm planning to binge on sappy Hallmark TV movies.

It's already plastered across my state.  Man, 32 out is tolerable, but when you add in constant soaking rain, it becomes arse cold pretty damn quick! *brrr!*

 

That said, I've completely stuffed myself twice over if not more, and am snuggled down with my favorite book.  Get to see all the fam all over again at my mom's bday party tomorrow.  Whee!  Happy Thanksgiving everybody!  I'm so thankful for everyone here and your thoughtful, lively, and always entertaining discussions about our beloved show.  It truly completes my day to catch up on all the chatter on the threads, and y'all make it possible :-)

[daxx]

It feels like the week is rocketing by. I am not in any hurry for Sunday to get here. I am very much enjoying the speculation and am far from ready for the hiatus to start... Everyone else keeps saying they can't wait for the episode to get here.

Am I weird?

[HoodlumSheep]

^ nope.

Gotham finished it's first half. I don't know if the Muppets have another episode or not (or if they're also splitting their season, or are just going to power through).

At least Galavant and Agent Carter will fill the time in January.

We're getting our Christmas tree this Friday. It's a week early, but we won't get to enjoy it for Christmas/New Years because we'll be in Florida.

[InsertWordHere]

It feels like the week is rocketing by. I am not in any hurry for Sunday to get here. I am very much enjoying the speculation and am far from ready for the hiatus to start... Everyone else keeps saying they can't wait for the episode to get here.

Am I weird?

Yes, but weird is good :) It's probably better than flipping back and forth with every speculation like I am! I'm so glad I get to watch Flarrow in a few minutes to distract myself.

[HoodlumSheep]

Anyone watching The Wiz tonight?

I plan to unless we end up watching a Christmas special instead for whatever reason.

My brother's girlfriend is sad because she's going to miss it because of work. She's watched the previous two with us, and sadly, because of our dumb cable box set up, we can't record it for her either. :(

The costumes look great.

* I thought The Wiz was great. Very solid. Great costumes, good production,and everyone was pretty darn good/amazing at singing.

The only thing I wasn't quite so fond of was Mary J. Blige as the Wicked Witch.

It took me a while to get used to Dorothy wearing red.

Edited December 4, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[Souris]

I meant to watch it, but got home late & forgot about it til it was over.

[KAOS Agent]

I don't know what it is about this particular week, but someone has clearly designated it as Screw with KAOS Agent week. Last year, my furnace died, resulting in a massive amount of money being spent. This year, my car died. It was only the battery needing replacing, but it still required getting someone to give me a jump, spending a lot on the battery and waiting around for the stupid thing to be installed. I think I want to skip this week next year.

[OnceUponAJen]

Ha! My car battery gave out on me a few weeks ago. I've come to expect one or two expensive mishaps around the holidays. Things just seem to happen that way. Sigh.

Ooo..Galaxy Quest coming on BBC America at 8 Central! Yessss....

Edited December 5, 2015 by OnceUponAJen

[Selina K]

I generally dislike movies, but I came down from reading stories to my son and my husband had GQ on and I was committed.  I love Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman in that and so many great lines!  I'm a casual Trek fan, watched TNG and Voyager, but know enough that GQ is just so hilarious.

 

"Quick, we need to get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!"

[OnceUponAJen]

LOL!

"It's true! It's all true!"

"I KNEW it!"

[ParadoxLost]

I don't know what it is about this particular week, but someone has clearly designated it as Screw with KAOS Agent week. Last year, my furnace died, resulting in a massive amount of money being spent. This year, my car died. It was only the battery needing replacing, but it still required getting someone to give me a jump, spending a lot on the battery and waiting around for the stupid thing to be installed. I think I want to skip this week next year.

 

It used to be that my car would break down every year for nearly the exact amount of the tax refund I was due.  It was like it knew.

 

It also had a check engine light that would go on all the time for reasons no mechanic could seem to figure out and I kid you not, it once went off when I impulsively went into a car dealership to find something to replace it.  It came back on as I left the dealership.

 

I named it Christine.

 

This week is jinxed though.  But at least it moved from my pocket book to work.  Work was so crazy yesterday that I was certain is was a full moon.

[Camera One]

It also had a check engine light that would go on all the time for reasons no mechanic could seem to figure out and I kid you not, it once went off when I impulsively went into a car dealership to find something to replace it.  It came back on as I left the dealership.

 

I had that last year, and the dealership charged me $80 for looking at it and turning the light off.  Apparently, in my case, it turns on if you don't close your gas cap tight enough.  After that, I refused to do my car servicing at the dealership so I just use an independent mechanic now.  CAA membership is expensive, but I guess it's worth it when they changed my battery on the spot, and patched the hole in my tire, which also happened last year.

[ParadoxLost]

I had that last year, and the dealership charged me $80 for looking at it and turning the light off.  Apparently, in my case, it turns on if you don't close your gas cap tight enough.  After that, I refused to do my car servicing at the dealership so I just use an independent mechanic now.  CAA membership is expensive, but I guess it's worth it when they changed my battery on the spot, and patched the hole in my tire, which also happened last year.

 

Those lights will cycle off eventually if they get tripped by a problem that doesn't reoccur.

 

I was alluding to the fact that my car was possessed by Satan and would turn the warning lights on and off by itself when I went new car shopping (and only then) in some manipulative bid to stay near me by exploiting my inner cheapskate:)

[Camera One]

Oh really?  The dealership told me the light wouldn't have turned off by itself if I hadn't gone in.

[KAOS Agent]

My check engine light is always on because the gas cap doesn't seal correctly. You can turn it off by disconnecting the battery for a minute. If you need to check it out though, just stop into an auto parts store. They have the little machine that gives the error codes and it's free. If it turns out to be a bad sounding code, obviously you need to go to a mechanic, but since it's usually the gas cap, it's easier and cheaper to check it and then ignore it or reset it on your own.

[Camera One]

Thanks.  I'll definitely do that from now on.  After going to the dealership, I did a bunch of reading on it so I'm not going to be "tricked" again.

[Mari]

It's Repeal Day in the states, and I didn't find out until after I bought the first beer I've bought in 3 years.  (I still don't drink alcohol;  just trying a grown-up mac-n-cheese recipe.)  It sort of makes me giggle, because it had to be fate.

[daxx]

My boys and I bought an awesome Costco Christmas tree, I hauled it home on the roof of my car. All went well, first Christmas since the divorce so lots of stuff I have to do myself now.

8 ft tree, it looks amazing!

[HoodlumSheep]

We got our tree on friday. We're decorating it tomorrow. Today was our town's Christmas parade. I made sure to get candy. I don't care what people say. Adults are allowed to like candy, and I don't care if it's "for the children." Screw the kids, I want my share.

I mainly got tootsie rolls and suckers. Oddly enough, no one seemed to be passing out candy canes (of any size).

Edited December 5, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[ParadoxLost]

Oh really?  The dealership told me the light wouldn't have turned off by itself if I hadn't gone in.

 

When I called the dealership they told me to tighten the gas cap and run the car for a while before bringing the car in.  Now that  works if its a gas cap.  Once my car had a check engine light followed by a smoking engine.  So you take your chances.  My brother used to be a mechanic so I usually call him for an opinion.  So that helps.

 

On the other hand, he worked for a dealership in high school with no training which makes me leery of mechanics/dealerships in general.

 

Want to hear a funny dealership story.  My boss' boss showed me a video around this time last year.  The dealership dropped a VW bug upside down on his car.  I tried really hard to only laugh on the inside.

[Shanna Marie]

I was planning to put up my decorations today, but I need to clean the living room first, and I've had a busy couple of days. I was out all morning yesterday and until mid-afternoon going to see an exhibit of Nativity scenes and then out to lunch with some friends, then spent the afternoon baking cookies, then went to a tree-trimming party at a friend's house last night, then went out for some window shopping at the mall and then lunch with other friends today, and when I finally got home I just collapsed. So maybe that'll get done tomorrow afternoon.

[InsertWordHere]

It also had a check engine light that would go on all the time for reasons no mechanic could seem to figure out and I kid you not, it once went off when I impulsively went into a car dealership to find something to replace it.  It came back on as I left the dealership.

 

I named it Christine.

Hey, that's my name! People ask me all the time if I'm an evil car. I say yes to the evil part, no to the car part.

[sharky]

An the joys of having a Christmukkah house! Tree is up, menorah is out. We start presents for the kids today. Of course, they're from my Jewish mother-in-law, and half of them are just the crap my husband played with 30 years ago that they still held on to and want to get rid of. Oh well. I may actually attempt to make latkes this week too, which should be interesting!

[KAOS Agent]

I'm in Vegas this week and my mom is all obsessed with the idea that terrorists are going to try something while we're here. I told her to just stop worrying and have fun. So what room number do you suppose they assigned me? 911. Thanks so much, hotel.

[ParadoxLost]

An the joys of having a Christmukkah house! Tree is up, menorah is out. We start presents for the kids today. Of course, they're from my Jewish mother-in-law, and half of them are just the crap my husband played with 30 years ago that they still held on to and want to get rid of. Oh well. I may actually attempt to make latkes this week too, which should be interesting!

 

My Grandmother passed away this year (she was 96).  There is a point where the stuff that gets held onto becomes interesting again.  We brought home several toys from the 50's.  As we went through the house (in the family more than 100 years) we also spent some time wrapping our heads around the fact that the giant candy canes we found (the more than two foot tall kind) were-60 years old and actual candy, not lawn decorations.

 

So tell them to store it for another 20 to 30 years.

 

I'm in Vegas this week and my mom is all obsessed with the idea that terrorists are going to try something while we're here. I told her to just stop worrying and have fun. So what room number do you suppose they assigned me? 911. Thanks so much, hotel

 

After 911, I had to fly overseas (like  less than a week after the airports opened back up) and my coworkers liked to advise me of the path up the coast the plane would take (over DC, New York, etc) .  Luckily, I'm not of a disposition to worry about it.  But your Mom sounds like mine.  Hope you have fun.  I'm sure everything will be ok.

Edited December 10, 2015 by ParadoxLost

[HoodlumSheep]

We're starting our Christmas cookie baking on Wednesday (hopefully). Can't wait! We're actually almost done with our Christmas movie watchlist too.

Also, in other news for those who like Galavant (I know there's a few) but may not keep up with the board or social media, all of season 1 is free to watch on (U.S) iTunes until January 2nd.

It's a great opportunity to either rewatch/catch-up or watch the series for the first time.

Okay, done with the plug-in!

We're starting our Christmas cookie baking on Wednesday (hopefully). Can't wait! We're actually almost done with our Christmas movie watchlist too.

Also, in other news for those who like Galavant (I know there's a few) but may not keep up with the board or social media, all of season 1 is free to watch on (U.S) iTunes until January 2nd.

It's a great opportunity to either rewatch/catch-up or watch the series for the first time.

Okay, done with the plug-in!

* I've also been charting/graphing Walt Disney World ride waiting times in preparation of our trip down there for Christmas. I've graphed the 10th, 11th, and 12th (and only the Magic Kingdom section).

It's not the best and I could have done better, but it's definitely interesting. So far, the tips about avoiding the weekend is true. Saturday had a definite spike in the overall numbers. Although on Sunday the numbers went down a bit again.

I'll probably track another day closer to when we leave.

Edited December 14, 2015 by HoodlumSheep

[Selina K]

When is everyone seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens?  We stunningly got tickets for this weekend and just bought them last night.  No spoilers, but I hear the buzz is positive.  I'm excited to take my almost six year old who has already been playing the Force Awakens on the playground at school.

[Shanna Marie]

When is everyone seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

I'm going Friday afternoon. My friend bought the tickets before Thanksgiving, which kind of forced me into committing to a day/time. It's going to be an odd Star Wars/Christmas combo because the theater is in the small (ish -- or maybe it counts as a formerly small town) town nearby that goes all-out for Christmas in the old downtown where all the historic buildings are. It looks like something out of one of those Hallmark movies where the town is obsessed with Christmas, and we go every year. All the old buildings on Main Street are covered in lights, the shops and restaurants are decorated, and there's a computerized display synchronized to music in one of the parks. So after Star Wars, we'll head downtown to have dinner and walk up and down Main Street. One of my favorite things is that they've opened a bunch of artisan shops next to the old train depot, so there are blacksmiths, glass blowers, and other artists doing demonstrations. Meanwhile, they're doing "North Pole Express" trains on the vintage railroad, so the place is swarming with cute kids in pajamas.

 

So, yeah, it's going to be a big culture-clash cognitive dissonance kind of day, from Star Wars to old-timey Christmas.

[InsertWordHere]

I'm going tomorrow at 8. I am ridiculously excited. We're finishing up our rewatch with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi tonight. 

[ABitOFluff]

I haven't made any set plans, but I'm seriously thinking of going at 10am on Friday. I kind of work on own schedule, so it would be a good chance to beat the crowds.

 

I've been ridiculously excited at least since Thanksgiving when my brother-in-law's brother asked me if I was excited, and I became a hyper 10-year-old again.

[daxx]

My dad was invited to some kind of screening Friday afternoon and was able to invite a couple guests so I will be going with him and his wife.