independent film woes

We had two indie films from our netflix queue come to the mail that we watched this weekend.

They were both strike-outs. So much so that we are no longer trusting the netflix star guide. This is the last time it leads us astray.

I'm not against all independent films.

I wasn't a huge fan of Pulp Fiction, but it had some great scenes and dialogue. Same goes for Reservoir Dogs. I really liked Before Sunset. And most of my favorite scary movies would've never made it if it wasn't for independent film companies (like The Blair Witch Project - not one of my all-time-favorites, but definitely a fun movie).

The Believer (not as bad as the 2nd one, but still not great) and Mean Creek (terrible, but had a good soundtrack), however... not worth your time. Take them out of your queue.

feeling creative?

Anybody interested in a 365 photo project?

Holler if you are!

it's football time in Tennessee, we hope

We would like to address football in the state of Tennessee. It is, after all, that time of year again.

Dear Coach Dooley:

You've not really had the opportunity to meet us yet. We're your big orange fans in Uglyhoma. Since you're new we really don't have much critique to share, yet, but that will most likely change with time. No offense intended, that's just how the ball bounces.

We would like to wish you best of luck on your first season as the head coach of our Vols. We loved your press conferences; you always seem to say the right thing to the media. We hope that your sentiments carry over to the field.

We know the first couple of seasons will be rocky. (They don't call it Rocky Top for nothin'.) Know that no matter what happens the first few seasons, we will support you. We acknowledge that you have a big mess to clean up (Kiffin + Fulmer).

You're an SEC guy, and we love that. We also love the way you've handled players and discipline issues so far. We hope to love your offense and defense just as much.

We're hopeful. Word has it that east TN is hoping for 7 wins. We'd of course like to see that, but we're also a house divided. The Hater would be okay with that. I, on the other hand, would be happy with a clean 6-6, or a not shabby 5-7.

We're eager to see where you're going to take the program. Take care of our boys.

Go VOLS!
The Hater and genderist
and Baby and Zoloft the cat

And in other news... a letter we've always talked about doing but never have done is to the Titan franchise...

Dear Titans Owners, Coaches and Players:

The second half of our year last year was great. We're looking forward to this season.

We know the defense won't be as strong as years past. But the offense looks like it's going to be better than it has been in years. We have the best RB in the NFL, a good group of young receivers, a great offensive line, so the key is really Vince Young (no pressure).

This is the last year of Vince's contract, and we're hoping for a breakout season. When he was signed four years ago The Hater said that we were on the "five year plan" to the Superbowl. Vince, don't let us down. You looked good at the end of the last season and you're playing well in the preseason.

Note to our defense: Play smart. Someone will step up and fill that right DE. We hope the secondary will improve; that will be key to a successful season.

We look forward to seeing a few of Fisher's trademark trick plays!

Thanks for making our Sundays more exciting.

GO TITANS-

The Hater, genderist, Baby and Zoloft the cat

It's not football time if we don't acknowledge the greatest QB of all time...

Dear Peyton Manning:

You can do no wrong. I think you are awesome.

Please don't take it personally that you're not my FF QB. You were gone before I had a chance to take you for my team.

If we can't cheer for the Titans our #2 team to support is the Colts. When you play each other I cheer for you and The Hater cheers for the Titans.

Love,

genderist

One more note, because SERIOUSLY, someone should say it...

Dear Bret Farve:

I have never in my life seen such a whiny, needy, attention-craving crybaby of an old man.

It's poor sportsmanship to hold a franchise hostage, and that's exactly what you've done the last several years.

I'm going to retire.

No, wait, I'm not.

Oh, yeah, I think I'm going to retire.

Okay, I'll come back, but this will be my last season.

Maybe after I skip all the preseason workouts and practices.

How come there are no reporters calling me this summer? Where's the tv crews? I'll fix that!

No, never mind, I'm going to retire.

I'll come back if you send teammates to fly to Mississippi to beg me and offer me extra money.

But it's not about the money. I'm a country boy who wears Wranglers and throws the pigskin.

Aw, shucks, folks, I just want to play football.

No, wait, I'm going to retire.

Okay, you talked me out of it.

Well, Idunno, maybe? Let me shoot a commercial with my wife first.

This is going to be my last season. For real this time...

Give me a break. You're press grubbing like Paris Hilton and it's not becoming of you.

I'm not saying you're too old and shouldn't play anymore. You don't need me to tell you that you had a good season last year. I'm just saying you need to man up and make decisions. Don't be tacky and hold franchises hostage. You're just not cool enough for that to be an okay thing to do.

I'm still going to root against you because I think you're a douche bag for your flip-flopping.

Love,

genderist and The Hater

PS: It makes me laugh when you throw interceptions. Please keep doing that.

cantaloupe julius

At the farmer's market yesterday we scored some Peaches and Cream corn (my favorite! the first time we've found this kind since we've been in OK), the most perfect peaches, and a too-ripe cantaloupe. Baby liked the cantaloupe, but The Hater and I decided it needed to be in a smoothie. It ended up being really good.

And it's a great way for us to show off our excitement that football season is so close we can almost taste it...

This morning when we were out playing on the swingset Baby was most excited to see a hot air balloon. We watched it for a long time. It would've been great if we could have been closer for some better shots, but such is life.

flow it, show it

The Hater and I have been talking about Baby's hair for a while. After more than the little baby peach fuzz came in, her hair actually started growing at the back of her head first. It slowly filled in from the back to the front. We knew that eventually it would get long enough in the front to need a hair cut, but we've just been waiting for that point.

This week we hit that point. We noticed her pushing hair out of her eyes several times. Some strands went below her nose. It was simply time.

My cousin and her daughter had a good experience at one of the kid-themed hair cut places. However, Jane and her daughter had a terrible experience (I can't remember if this was told to me via emails and chat windows or her blog. Can't find it on her blog, but it could be there.). The Hater and I talked about this in depth and decided to throw the dice and try the place that was meant to be kid-friendly.

I should note that growing up my sister and I had terrible Dorothy Hamill bowl hair cuts. We had uneven bangs in the shape of a rainbow from where Mom cut them for us. (I can remember her taking us to the hair dresser, who would look at us with a sad face while Mom explained that she just gave us a little trim...) If that wasn't bad enough, strangers always thought we were boys. Boys.

Other hair memories include both Mom and Dad jerking out tangles from my hair with a fine tooth comb. Because apparently there was no such thing as conditioner in the 1980s. This was also one of the first scenarios when Mom would tell us, "Beauty must suffer pain," a reason as to why the tears should have been worth it. In hind sight, that was probably one of the beginnings of my indifference to making an effort. But that's another story for another day.

With all that said, Sister bought Baby some spray-in conditioner at a baby shower before Baby was even born. It's the dawn of a new day and there's no reason to jerk out tangles anymore.

The Hater and I have decided that we don't want anybody to think that Baby is a boy. Our plan for now is for her to have at least shoulder-length hair, at least until she's big enough to have an opinion about what she wants to do with it. All bets are off when she has sense enough to have her own opinion.

That's probably the understatement of all understatements.

So we went this morning to the kid-themed hair cut establishment with plans to just get her bangs cut. We like the length of it and the curls in the back - the purpose of today was just to get it out of her eyes in the front. We ordered the "bang cut" and a nice lady led us back to her station.

The decor was decked out. Baby was intrigued. I sat her down in the pink padded chair and the hair cut lady buckled her in with a buckle. She covered her with the hair drape apron and turned on the tv. Baby was sitting quietly, taking it all in.

And then the lady picked up her water-squirt bottle and sprayed the back of baby's hair. About that moment baby looked at The Hater and I, took in a slow deep breath, dropped her bottom lip, and proceeded to scream. I snapped one picture and then felt too bad about being the paparazzi during such an austere moment. Other parents gave us sympathetic looks. We tried to console baby, but she had nothing of it until she was out of the chair and in my arms.

They gave her a prize of bubbles and her bangs are no longer down to her nose. On the contrary, it's business in the front and party in the back. She's sporting a mullet for now, but we just had to spare the curls in the back! (Don't tell her heart, her achy-breaky heart... she has to have something to complain about on whatever social media exists in 30 years. "Oh, yeah? Well MY Mom gave me a mullet! A mullet!") Eventually the hair on the front and sides of her head will fill in and she'll outgrow it.

I would recommend the kid-themed salon. If you prepay haircuts ahead of time they end up being cheaper than the cheap places in the mall, plus they get a treat at the end. And, what's possibly my favorite part, you can avoid DIY rainbow bangs with an inexpensive bang-only cut option.

We hope the next time won't be so bad, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

et voila

We have pictures.

I have a truckload of work ahead of me to move them off the laptop and onto the external hard drive, but we have them. Whew!

I can go back to thinking straight now.

Baby was really into what we called "playing retail" this afternoon. A Mom at daycare gave us a large garbage bag full of 18-24 month clothes for her to wear. I've already separated out the summer stuff from the long-sleeved and pants stuff. Today I put the sleeves and pants into an empty diaper box and Baby was insistent on helping. She ended up with a jumper and long sleeved shirt on a hanger that she carried all over the house. It came off of the hanger and she started moving the pieces all around from place to place in the house. She'd just flip them over her shoulder and walk around the couch. The Hater said it was practice for when she grows up and wants to shop all the time.

Baby was rocking the fork tonight at supper and eating small pieces of raw carrot with it - all by herself. She was very pleased with herself. We were tickled, too.

She has totally broken through one molar. The other three are lurking, but not pushing at the moment. Her poor little gums are red and pregnant, but they're not ready to pop yet. I hope we can have some reprieve before they erupt.

We are ever amused that the cat has become light years more social since the baby was born. She still stays hidden all day long and doesn't come out until baby has gone to bed, but she's now more social with visitors and more demanding from us. She's our other sweet little girl.

working for the weekend

Picture update: The computer has an appointment with a genius Tuesday afternoon. We routinely back up the computer every few weeks. So we've gone through and backed up the pictures that we've stored since the last "official" back-up. We're very hopeful that by Tuesday evening we'll all be back to normal.

Meanwhile we've had a great weekend. Baby went to a birthday party on Saturday and had such a good time. She climbed and went down the big slides by herself. She bounced and ate cake and played in 4th gear for two hours... then slept extremely well last night. We had a great time watching and playing, too. (And it was great to find a new place where we can take her to play when it's too hot to go to the zoo.)

New words and phrases for the weekend are:

• walrus
• "oh no"
• pumpkin
• turtle
• (more exaggerated jabbers and babbling)

The Hater has just a few days off before he gets back to the grind, too. There are two good things about this: one, football season won't be far away, and, two, hopefully the oppressive heat of the summer will break soon. (This business of >9 days with the heat index over 100 is bad news.)

where, oh where are you tonight

We're having technical difficulties with the mac tonight.

We're hoping that we can plug in the external hard drive and pull back all of our old pictures -- otherwise they're all gone.

As I type this Baby begins to cry in her crib... and I'm just holding my breath hoping I won't be doing the same thing tomorrow night.