Self-inflicted torture

There is a movie that I feel compelled to watch every time it's on TV (as it was Sunday night). That movie is The Great Escape, and those of you who have seen it will know why repeated viewings of this movie can be linked to horrible depression. And yet I love it! It's the story of a special inescapable Nazi Prisoner of War camp for various Allied soldiers who were really good at escaping, the attempt of those prisoners to escape this camp en masse, and best/worst of all it is loosely based on real events which start out awesome but end tragically. And I can't help but stop stare at the TV in fascination every time it's on, like one of those really horrible car wrecks that you have to rubberneck just in case there might be dismembered body parts.



Don't get me wrong, it's got some great stuff in the first half. For one thing, you have to love the ingenious plans of these men to escape the inescapable camp. And who doesn't want to root for anyone who's fighting against Nazis?


Then there are the compelling personal stories. You have the cheeky American soldier ("the Cooler king") who defiantly escapes practically every other day even though he's always brought back, there's the "tunnel king" who is secretly claustrophobic, "the forger" who sadly goes blind just before the escape... all brilliantly depicted in a way modern movies and actors just couldn't hold a candle to. These are men one could truly admire, and the Americans are really awesome, so what's not to love?

Kiss America's butt, ya dumb Nazis! YEEEHAW!


And finally (and probably most importantly), there are these faces to gaze in wonder at:



But despite the pretty pretty faces, the excitement of pulling one over on the bad guys, and the engrossing characters the ending of this movie is so tragic and gut-wrenching (for those who haven't seen it I won't ruin it for you because you should totally watch it) that I simply can't understand why my brain forces me to watch it over and over. Is this a sickness? Should I seek help? Because if not, I'm totally putting this movie on my Christmas list so I don't have to wait for it to be on AMC to cry like a baby.

CORRECTIONS

Unfortunately my Top Ten Happy Things List was not entirely correct - oh the shame! So I'd like to fix that now.

Item #1: The list was missing bacon sandwiches which are my favorite of all sandwiches. I'm not sure what needs to be bumped off in favor of bacon sandwiches, but we'll call it 3.5 for now.

Item #2: The dog pictured was not, in fact, our annoying half-jawed scotty; rather that was her mother who had a whole jaw but a lot of cancer. Here is a real picture of the half-jawed wonder:Look at that little tongue hangin' out because there's no jaw to hold it in... aw!

I sincerely apologize for these grave errors!

A few of my favorite things

In the spirit of the season, and to balance out the several posts about the things that terrify or worry me, I want to turn away from the Dark Side for a bit. You know, walk into the light. Put a little smile on my face. So this post is about 10 of the things that just tickle me pink, from shades of the palest blush (10) to downright pepto (1). Here's my grateful list:



10. Days off from school/work/responsibility. Heaven knows these are rare. Even on the days off you still usually have shopping, cleaning, whatever that needs to be done. So I'm talking the sleep in until 2pm, eat nothing but ice cream, and be generally lazy whilst swinging in the hammock days. Ahhhh....

Also pictured, my 11th favorite thing: cash money in the hand



9. Words like "swell" and "shucks" and "so's your old man" that harken back to an older era. I'm not sure why these please me so much, except for maybe that no one really uses them. I just love saying those, especially "swell."



8. Musicals. Okay, so I'm a closet Zac Efron fan. Not because of his girlie hair, but because I just love musicals! If I could have one wish, it would be to somehow be awesome enough to star on Broadway. Feel free to begin the mockery now.



7. 80s toys. This one's kinda obvious right, they bring me back to my childhood. One of my favorite places (I guess there would have to be another post for favorite places) is the loft of my grandmother's cabin, which is a veritable cornucopia of childhood memories. It's full of bins of Star Wars guys, He-Man guys, Strawberry Shortcake dolls, etc. Just the sight of those bins makes the 8 year old in me start jumping up and down.
So many potential battles and adventures for these toys are flooding through my head right now....



6. Ridiculous action movies. I know so many people with deep thoughts who enjoy deep and meaningful movies. Those people try to convince me to watch these movies with them to enlighten/enlarge my mind, but secretly I just really love me some Indiana Jones or original Star Wars. I don't care that the plots are crazy, the lines are actually quite lame, or that cars and boats and Nazis don't really explode that easily, I just love getting my blood pumped up and not having to think too hard about it.



5. Korean food. I have my sister Anna to thank for this, and the restaurant Sam Hawk to thank for keeping the love alive. Try the bibimpop sometime - you won't regret it!



4. Halloween. Not for the candy because that is always of questionable quality (I swear, some of those weird orange and black candies have just been circling from bag to bag for decades since no one ever eats them). I love the chance to dress up! And with Halloween, the crazier the costume the better! If LARP and Star Wars/Star Trek nerds play their cards right, this is even their chance to blend in like normal people.



3. The beauty of the earth. Seriously, this is the main reason I miss my camera so much; this place is just so dang pretty! My parents' back yard, which literally has wildlife (like moles apparently) roaming through it constantly, is always a little breathtaking. And every rainbow makes me stop and stare.

One of these I took from our deck and the rest were in Spain. Bet you can't guess which one was from the deck!



2. My ridiculous half-jawed dog. Okay, actually I hated this dog when she first came to live with us. She was spastic, crazy, stole food from our other dog, and because she's missing part of her jaw she was always sliming me. But now she generates hours of conversation for our family with the dumb things she does. Some of our best stories our about her and how she follows us around the house, is always finding neat stacks of paper and carefully lying right on top of them, and while she acts all fierce she always carefully avoids any real confrontation. Also, any time she gets too annoying we just throw an empty milk carton to the ground and laugh as she runs into walls trying to catch it!

Apparently this was her nefarious plan to keep my brother from serving a mission. FAIL! Or maybe she was just trying desperately to escape?



1. My awesome family. AW! Hugs guys!

(pictures stolen from Rachel's blog.)

To Rachel on her birthday

NOTE: I find rhyming to be much harder than smarty pants like Robert Frost or Rudyard Kipling would have you believe, so the last line of each stanza might not be quite in sync. Please feel free to direct all complaints to my agent, Mr. Zipit.

Rachel's a really great gal.

One could say, "More than a pal!"

She's tidy and neat,

And has really small feet,

But that's not the point of this poem.

Rachel is really quite smart,

And has a generous heart.

She's quick to lend cash

Or scratch your gross rash

Because, well she's just that nice.

Rachel is gorgeous as well.

Her face is très très belle!

She's got beautiful eyes,

And enviable thighs,

And the most impeccable style.

Rachel's my best oldest sister.

I love her more than a blister.

I hope this day rocks

And you get more than socks

Because you, my dear, are priceless.