Hey ya'll! Long time no blog! I've missed you my lovable peeps! I've had so much to write about that I've had nothing to write about. Does that make sense? No? Hang with me for a little while and it will! I apparently get overwhelmed when I have more than one thing on my mind to write about. Who knew? Anyhow, since I wasn't sure which thing I had going on in my life to start from, I decided to try something different. A movie review. A movie review over...drum roll please... Amber Benson's movie THE KILLING JAR. Yeah, I know...she tends to appear in my blogs quite often. Deal with it! It's part of my charm! :o) It's not typical of me to do a movie review. I haven't really reviewed one since high school when I used to review films for both my Drama class and my AP Pop Culture class. I may be a little rusty at it, but I'll give it a go and you guys can let me know what you think! WARNING: I do NOT advise eating while watching this film. I mean really...fast first. And away we go!
You know how sometimes there are films that move really slowly? Typically thriller and action type movies that are set in one specific place, for instance, a diner in the middle of nowhere, tend to be a little on the boring side and have a hard time catching your attention. Sure they promise you blood, gore, and scary dreams, but in the end, it just leaves ya kind of hollow. I was all on board with watching the movie THE KILLING JAR, namely for three reasons: Amber Benson(LOVE HER!), Kevin Gage(HE'S BEAUTIFUL!), and Michael Madsen(WONDERFUL ACTOR!). Even though I was kinda skittish about seeing the film because given Amber Benson's talent for nailing roles that she's killed in, I didn't think my heart could handle seeing her die...again. I made peace with the fact that it was a very distinct possibility that she could, what with the growing body count in the Copral Grill being one of the main aspects of the film, but I decided I'd watch it anyway. For a film that I had only sat down to watch for the primary purpose of looking at Kevin Gage's eyes and hear him speak, and yes also to support Amber Benson's acting venue, I was impressed! Let me back up right here and say that while I am a fan of certain actors, I am at least not blinded by my like of their acting style to know when the project they've worked on wasn't the greatest. For example, the movie TABOO. Even though Miss Benson did well with her role, the scripting just wasn't there, and the whole film was kinda lame in general. Which is in no way the cast members' fault. They can only give as much as the scripting allows them. That being said, I was pleased that THE KILLING JAR wasn't such a film. The script was well done, the casting brilliant, and plenty of surprises that you never once saw coming.
While it is your standard movie of a psycho looney tune goes into a restaurant and starts shooting people up, it goes way beyond standard with the intricate character details. Each character has their own secrets, a depth to them, which is kind of hard to find in a lot of thrillers that tend to circle around one primary antagonist. You always seem to find out little tidbits of info about the bad guy, but never the people that the bad guys kill. I was very pleased to see that the characters were real people. They had families with names, they had quirks, things they were good at, and a specific voice. You had Noreen(Benson), who was a self declared dumb waitress that was trapped in a marriage she should have left years ago, but she could count! Miss Benson seemed to be channeling her Alabama roots in the film because her slight Southern drawl stayed intact throughout most of the movie. She seemed to be the voice of reason in the film, and I was very pleased to see that the role kind of differentiated from some of the other roles she's done. Then you had Doe(Madsen), a random guy that just stepped into a diner wanting something to eat that wound up taking his frustrations for the day out on everybody in the diner. His character was simply rage. All out rage, but he was a smart guy! Michael Madsen played the part well. The role seemed to have been written just for him. Whether it was or not, I don't know. But I do know that he played it to a "T". Then you had Dixon(Harold Perrineau), a fast talking salesman that just wanted to get home after he'd been working. I call him reaction guy. He'd assess the situation, and most of the time act accordingly. The part was brilliantly played. Hank(Gage), was a soft spoken ex-military man that would stop in for some conversation twice a month with Noreen and Lonnie(Lew Temple). He seemed to be more of a quiet strength type character. Didn't say much, but when he did it really meant something. I felt that Gage portrayed that character in a way few other actors could have. He wasn't overly dramatic and you could sense every emotion his character seemed to be going through. You have all these subtexts going on under this main storyline and it's just kind of...typically I wouldn't use the word refreshing for a film like this, but we'll go with it... it was kind of refreshing to see director and writer Mark Young be able to interweave these little tidbits of the different characters lives into the primary plot to give it more substance. It takes a real talent to do that well, and he was spot on.
So the plot... big man that's highly ticked off, big gun, you do the math. I can tell you from experience, this is absolutely NOT a film to watch whilst eating anything with the slightest tinge of a red hue to it...as a matter of fact, I'd fast before watching the film if you happen to be a tad on the weak stomached side. I was eating a bowl of spaghetti...I can't even BEGIN to tell you what a mistake THAT was! The goal of the characters trapped inside the diner in the movie? To get out alive. The reality? The odds of that happening are pretty much impossible. If ya like blood, this is your movie, because there is definitely blood and lots of it! It is kinda nice to see a film that doesn't shy away from events as they actually happen.
All in all, I give this film a big round of applause. It may be a low budget independent film, but it's definitely one that shows what can be accomplished on a small budget as long as you have good casting, good scripting, and well developed characters. Another heads up for you! Listen to the song the credits are rolling to. It's none other than the song stylings of Miss Amber Benson! The song is called THE ONE I NEED, and the musician in me says it's a cool tune. Not to mention the vocals are awesome! If you're curious about the song, check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQyv6ztdV7A My advice...watch THE KILLING JAR and enjoy. And remember... NO EATING!
Till next time guys! :o)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I Need Your Opinion!
Hey guys! I'm still kinda ticked over the whole thing with Amber Benson's DRONES and the SyFy Channel's series "Human Relations". I just finished an article that didn't make me feel better about the situation. I posted a comment, trying to be as objective as possible, but I don't think I was all that objective. I tend to side with Amber. But I tried! Anyway, here's the comment I posted. You guys let me know what you think! I anxiously await your feedback!
"My opinion. I love Amber Benson. Although there are coincidences made in the creative world, I don't believe this was one of them. I was priviledged enough to see DRONES at the Slamdance Film Festival and remember thinking what a neat concept it was. I also remember the trailer being covered on SyFy, which leads me to believe they knew exactly what they were doing when the idea for "Human Relations" was pitched. In a previous entry, there was the comment from Prendergast saying he'd been working on it since 2008, which still places it being brought to the table AFTER the wheel for DRONES was set into motion. Also, the comment wondering where their synopsis came from, at film festival I attended, the verbal introductions were the same as the synopsis given by Benson in her blog. Also, it wasn't her idea that was claimed to be lifted... it would have been Acker and Blacker's idea. I'm not saying it was lifted, but I fully believe that SyFy knew exactly what they were doing when they set the field in motion for "Human Relations". To be fair, most people don't even know the name Amber Benson, unless they followed "Buffy", and still most only know her as Tara. Adam Busch's name definitely isn't "Big Hollywood", and while Prendergast's name is an mostly unknown except for maybe as the director of KABLUEY, he's still working for a major television network, so I'd consider that more "Big Hollywood" than Amber Benson or Adam Busch of late. Who's to say this isn't possibly a publicity stunt for SyFy? It certainly isn't harming them that their new program is getting buzz, negative or otherwise. Say the idea wasn't ripped off of Acker and Blacker's work. It still begs the question why SyFy would choose now to come out with this concept for a series. I think it's a possibility they could have known what would happen. Either that or they thought Amber and Adam were too stupid to figure out what was going on before the show aired. It doesn't explain why they would wait until 7 months before DRONES is set to release to make a series from it if they've had the concept all along. All this being said, I don't believe Benson owes anyone a retraction OR an apology. She never came right out and said the idea was lifted; she merely said that it was coincidental. And that point of fact CANNOT be argued. If she has no tangible proof, so what? He doesn't have any either. It's your basic argument of "he said/she said". If anyone is at fault, I believe the blame lays with SyFy. They fully know what is being promoed on their site, and I can guarantee you at least one person from the network made a film festival to see DRONES, so I believe they were fully cognitive of the situation. There is room in the market for similar products, but even in regards to knock off items, have the decency to let the one that was developed first get on its feet before adding to the mix. Indie films have a hard enough time making it as it is, no matter who's directing."
So there ya have it! What do ya'll think?
"My opinion. I love Amber Benson. Although there are coincidences made in the creative world, I don't believe this was one of them. I was priviledged enough to see DRONES at the Slamdance Film Festival and remember thinking what a neat concept it was. I also remember the trailer being covered on SyFy, which leads me to believe they knew exactly what they were doing when the idea for "Human Relations" was pitched. In a previous entry, there was the comment from Prendergast saying he'd been working on it since 2008, which still places it being brought to the table AFTER the wheel for DRONES was set into motion. Also, the comment wondering where their synopsis came from, at film festival I attended, the verbal introductions were the same as the synopsis given by Benson in her blog. Also, it wasn't her idea that was claimed to be lifted... it would have been Acker and Blacker's idea. I'm not saying it was lifted, but I fully believe that SyFy knew exactly what they were doing when they set the field in motion for "Human Relations". To be fair, most people don't even know the name Amber Benson, unless they followed "Buffy", and still most only know her as Tara. Adam Busch's name definitely isn't "Big Hollywood", and while Prendergast's name is an mostly unknown except for maybe as the director of KABLUEY, he's still working for a major television network, so I'd consider that more "Big Hollywood" than Amber Benson or Adam Busch of late. Who's to say this isn't possibly a publicity stunt for SyFy? It certainly isn't harming them that their new program is getting buzz, negative or otherwise. Say the idea wasn't ripped off of Acker and Blacker's work. It still begs the question why SyFy would choose now to come out with this concept for a series. I think it's a possibility they could have known what would happen. Either that or they thought Amber and Adam were too stupid to figure out what was going on before the show aired. It doesn't explain why they would wait until 7 months before DRONES is set to release to make a series from it if they've had the concept all along. All this being said, I don't believe Benson owes anyone a retraction OR an apology. She never came right out and said the idea was lifted; she merely said that it was coincidental. And that point of fact CANNOT be argued. If she has no tangible proof, so what? He doesn't have any either. It's your basic argument of "he said/she said". If anyone is at fault, I believe the blame lays with SyFy. They fully know what is being promoed on their site, and I can guarantee you at least one person from the network made a film festival to see DRONES, so I believe they were fully cognitive of the situation. There is room in the market for similar products, but even in regards to knock off items, have the decency to let the one that was developed first get on its feet before adding to the mix. Indie films have a hard enough time making it as it is, no matter who's directing."
So there ya have it! What do ya'll think?
Monday, August 2, 2010
Miffed
Hey guys! Long time no talk! I wanted to share something with you all that has really irritated me. A few months ago, a film called DRONES, co-directed by Amber Benson and Adam Busch and written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The trailer for the film looked promising, and it didn't disappoint. I don't want to give much of it away for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to see the film yet, but trust me when I say it takes a lot to impress me with a film, and this one did.
This little indie film is set in an office environment and takes place over the course of a week, following the life of Brian Dilks, an office drone who discovers that he may... or may not... be working with aliens who may... or may not... be planning to take over the earth. Yeah, I'm not telling which it is because I want you guys to be sure to see the film when it comes out. The lack of special effects in the movie make it that much better than almost anything mainstream Hollywood would ever be able to put together. The screenplay and dialogue is witty, catty, and just plain hillarious all at the same time thanks to the incredible writing team of Acker and Blacker, who also do the Thrilling Adventure Supernatural and Suspense Hour in Los Angeles; if you're out that way, make a stop in and check it out. The directors, what can I say? It's clear on the film that they knew what they were doing one hundred percent. Everything sounds peachy keen, right? So, you may be wondering what the downside is. I'm about to tell ya.
I have this pal o' mine that was nice enough to keep me posted on all things Twitter while my internet was down from moving over the weekend. I get a text message. "The whole DRONES thing sucks for Amber Benson." I was like, "Wait, what?" I was very confused. You never realize how much you miss until there's no cyber space... Anyhow, back to the story. After waiting patiently, and kinda worriedly, for the next text, I find out that the SyFy Channel is releasing a television series that is remarkably similar to the DRONES movie. I could have hit something. Namely... the SyFy Channel people. You know what? It doesn't even deserve capital letters. syfy channel. There. I like that better. I don't lose my temper all that often, but seeing someone's hard work just ripped off like that... infuriates me. Amber Benson was more diplomatic in her blog about this subject, but I don't have to be. I said RIPPED OFF.
When someone takes the mind spawn of two brilliant men like Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, changes the names of the character and the name of the show, but has the same plot line. IT'S THE SAME THING WITH A DIFFERENT NAME! I mean, COME ON! Acker and Blacker wrote the script in six days. Angela Bettis was brought on one day before filming. The crew pulled up dolly track so the camera could make a full circle, for Pete's sake! Hence the reasoning of the irritation, considering it's pretty much unheard of for a script to be done in that amount of time, or for an actress to do that well in a film in only one day's time. Chances are, the Syfy Channel, a mainstream cable network, probably took all of two seconds to rip the idea off.
Like Amber Benson said in her blog(found here: http://amberbensonwrotethis.blogspot.com/2010/07/drones-tv-show.html) people have similar ideas for programs and products all the time. I mean, look at Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Similar and yet different. However, truth be told, the recipe for Coca-Cola was stolen from an INDEPENDENT Pharmacy and taken to a pharmaceutical CHAIN to be used as cough syrup before the carbonation was added to make it a tasty beverage. So, yeah, not so much a fresh idea as a rip off... much like syfy has done to the creators and proud parents of DRONES. I, for one am miffed, and don't plan on sitting idly by. I'm thinking boycotting the network's programs. I've started a petition which can be signed here: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveourdrones
If you guys want to band together to possibly help getting the network to not release the series, sign the petition(for anyone) and add a DRONES twibbon to your Twitter profile pic, for those of you who have Twitter. Be sure to see DRONES when it is released in March 2011. Let's bring 'em down!
BRING IT ON SYFY!!!!!
This little indie film is set in an office environment and takes place over the course of a week, following the life of Brian Dilks, an office drone who discovers that he may... or may not... be working with aliens who may... or may not... be planning to take over the earth. Yeah, I'm not telling which it is because I want you guys to be sure to see the film when it comes out. The lack of special effects in the movie make it that much better than almost anything mainstream Hollywood would ever be able to put together. The screenplay and dialogue is witty, catty, and just plain hillarious all at the same time thanks to the incredible writing team of Acker and Blacker, who also do the Thrilling Adventure Supernatural and Suspense Hour in Los Angeles; if you're out that way, make a stop in and check it out. The directors, what can I say? It's clear on the film that they knew what they were doing one hundred percent. Everything sounds peachy keen, right? So, you may be wondering what the downside is. I'm about to tell ya.
I have this pal o' mine that was nice enough to keep me posted on all things Twitter while my internet was down from moving over the weekend. I get a text message. "The whole DRONES thing sucks for Amber Benson." I was like, "Wait, what?" I was very confused. You never realize how much you miss until there's no cyber space... Anyhow, back to the story. After waiting patiently, and kinda worriedly, for the next text, I find out that the SyFy Channel is releasing a television series that is remarkably similar to the DRONES movie. I could have hit something. Namely... the SyFy Channel people. You know what? It doesn't even deserve capital letters. syfy channel. There. I like that better. I don't lose my temper all that often, but seeing someone's hard work just ripped off like that... infuriates me. Amber Benson was more diplomatic in her blog about this subject, but I don't have to be. I said RIPPED OFF.
When someone takes the mind spawn of two brilliant men like Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, changes the names of the character and the name of the show, but has the same plot line. IT'S THE SAME THING WITH A DIFFERENT NAME! I mean, COME ON! Acker and Blacker wrote the script in six days. Angela Bettis was brought on one day before filming. The crew pulled up dolly track so the camera could make a full circle, for Pete's sake! Hence the reasoning of the irritation, considering it's pretty much unheard of for a script to be done in that amount of time, or for an actress to do that well in a film in only one day's time. Chances are, the Syfy Channel, a mainstream cable network, probably took all of two seconds to rip the idea off.
Like Amber Benson said in her blog(found here: http://amberbensonwrotethis.blogspot.com/2010/07/drones-tv-show.html) people have similar ideas for programs and products all the time. I mean, look at Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Similar and yet different. However, truth be told, the recipe for Coca-Cola was stolen from an INDEPENDENT Pharmacy and taken to a pharmaceutical CHAIN to be used as cough syrup before the carbonation was added to make it a tasty beverage. So, yeah, not so much a fresh idea as a rip off... much like syfy has done to the creators and proud parents of DRONES. I, for one am miffed, and don't plan on sitting idly by. I'm thinking boycotting the network's programs. I've started a petition which can be signed here: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/saveourdrones
If you guys want to band together to possibly help getting the network to not release the series, sign the petition(for anyone) and add a DRONES twibbon to your Twitter profile pic, for those of you who have Twitter. Be sure to see DRONES when it is released in March 2011. Let's bring 'em down!
BRING IT ON SYFY!!!!!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Alabama Denny's
Hi guys! I've missed you! Was telling a friend of mine a pretty amusing story about another friend of mine, who has absolutely no sense, last night. She reccommended that I write about it in the good ol' blog and so... here am I!
I should really start this off with a disclaimer. You know how different states have friendly state rivalries going on? Well in Georgia, we have this thing with Alabamans... there are tons of jokes claiming that most of the people in Alabama are... what's the word I'm searching for... unitelligent? Yeah... we'll go with that word. Anyway, we ALL know that isn't true, as one of the smartest people I know and someone I dearly love(Amber Benson) came out of Alabama. Also, my acting troupe did a lot of play productions with the Birmingham Community Theater, and I have to say, they had some extremely talented actors there. So, I seriously mean no harm or offense to anyone reading this. It was just a funny thing that happened. So, let's get this party started!
It was circa the year 2000 and my boyfriend, along with two other couples, and I were going to the state of Alabama to see a play that our troupe would soon be performing. I'm a tad fuzzy on which play it was. I had been coming out of a pot induced stupor when we arrived, but I have a good recollection of the events that transpired. Anyway! In tow, I had brought along a friend of mine that had just been dumped by her boyfriend and wanted to get away for a few days, so I had sorrowfully agreed to letting her come along with us as long as she paid for herself a hotel room, which she was fine with, so no hate comments! So this girl, we'll call her Megan to protect her identity, isn't the brightest crayon in the Crayola box. I love her dearly, but she isn't. She'll even tell you that, so don't think I'm all big, bad, and mean! Some of the drugs we used to do, messed with her brain a bit. I don't say that lightly in the least because it could have just as well had happened to me. Back to the story! We're driving down the road when Brandon, my boyfriend, announces that he's hungry. The rest of us were all, "Yeah, we could stand to eat." So he's pulls into the first restaurant serving breakfast we could find, which happened to be a Denny's, next to a big F350 truck that had a bumper sticker on it saying, "Duct Tape. Alabama chrome." . We were in a little town in Alabama called Prescott... you blink and you miss it, but by gosh they had their Denny's and it was PACKED OUT!
We settled down into a six person booth in the far right hand corner of the restaurant, with one of the guys pulling a chair over to the head of the table and taking a seat. We were sitting calmly, just talking about the upcoming play we were going to see, wondering if our upcoming production of the same one would be as good as theirs, as we ate breakfast. I don't know if it was the brutal blow of everyone being coupled up with their honeys except for her, or if the urge had just struck her suddenly, but Megan shoots up from the table and announces that she has to go to the bathroom. We all said that was cool, and she took off for the unisex restroom. The restroom that was located in the far LEFT HAND corner of the restaurant. She takes off, and we just happened to glance over at her... you're in a different state, with people around you don't know... you have to keep a check on your peeps. We had a clear view of the bathroom door from where we were sitting. My friends, Layla, Jenny, and I, us being the only other girls there besides Megan, and you can NEVER count on guy to notice anything, notice that she's standing in front of the bathroom door, looking rather confused. We were discussing whether or not to go see what was going on when Megan's voice rings out, loud and clear, reaching our ears on the other side of the restaurant saying, "You know you're in Alabama when the lock is on the outside of the bathroom door!" The door, for some reason, ONLY had lock on the OUTSIDE of the door. Denny's, which had been filled with a low rumble of pleasant conversation from the Alabama inhabitants, fell completely silent. It was in that silence that Layla's boyfriend, Cole, stands up at the table, cups his hands around his mouth and calls back, "It's 'cause they have to go in pairs in Alabama! One to use the bathroom and the other one to spend their time figuring out how to lock the door!" Oh, had I only been able to crawl under the table. We got some LOOKS! I mean, if shotguns had been allowed in that restaurant, we wouldn't have stood a chance!
With a light blush tinting our cheeks, Layla and I climbed over the guys in the booth, Layla desperate to get away from Cole at that moment in time, and headed to the bathroom to stand guard over Megan's door... just to make sure she wasn't assasinated for insulting Alabama WHILE WE WERE IN ALABAMA! We waited for a bit outside of the door and heard the sound of the toilet flushing, followed quickly by a hysterical giggle. Layla looks at me and whispers, "That last drag she took off of that joint must have finally hit her." I bit back a giggle, and knocked softly on the door, calling out, "Are you okay in there?"
She opened the door, her face the color of a ripe Gala apple and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it for yourselves." Then she burst into even louder gales of laughter again. Well, me being... well, ME, I'm kinda skittish when someone comes out of the bathroom and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it." I shot Layla a look, mostly filled with wariness, then I stepped cautiously into the bathroom, Layla stepping in behind me. I looked around the room and didn't see anything funny. Megan, noticing we weren't laughing like she'd been doing, stepped into the room and pointed. "Look CLOSE," she said, her index finger pointing to the porcelain throne. I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. I turned my head and saw Brandon and the other guys paying for our bills, and put my right index finger up, barely away from my temple and swirled it around, to show him that Megan was nuts. Then, I heard Layla start to giggle, and I snapped my head back around. Before I knew it, she was in a full fledged laughing fit. In between gasps she tells me, "Look at the handle! Alabama chrome!"
My eyes searched until they fell on the handle, and then I started laughing too, harder than the other two girls were. It seems, someone had broken the handle in half, and another poor soul had taken their time to fashion the other half of the handle out of pure, 100% DUCT TAPE! Oh it was hillarious!
I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face as I'm retelling this incident! Maybe it was a moment where you had to be there; I'm not sure. However, I hope this at least got a smile out of you guys! I look forward to hearing some comments! Also, I want to send a sincere thank you to the good people of Prescott, Alabama, and the workers of the Denny's in that area. Without you, this blog entry wouldn't have been possible! Until next time guys! :o)
I should really start this off with a disclaimer. You know how different states have friendly state rivalries going on? Well in Georgia, we have this thing with Alabamans... there are tons of jokes claiming that most of the people in Alabama are... what's the word I'm searching for... unitelligent? Yeah... we'll go with that word. Anyway, we ALL know that isn't true, as one of the smartest people I know and someone I dearly love(Amber Benson) came out of Alabama. Also, my acting troupe did a lot of play productions with the Birmingham Community Theater, and I have to say, they had some extremely talented actors there. So, I seriously mean no harm or offense to anyone reading this. It was just a funny thing that happened. So, let's get this party started!
It was circa the year 2000 and my boyfriend, along with two other couples, and I were going to the state of Alabama to see a play that our troupe would soon be performing. I'm a tad fuzzy on which play it was. I had been coming out of a pot induced stupor when we arrived, but I have a good recollection of the events that transpired. Anyway! In tow, I had brought along a friend of mine that had just been dumped by her boyfriend and wanted to get away for a few days, so I had sorrowfully agreed to letting her come along with us as long as she paid for herself a hotel room, which she was fine with, so no hate comments! So this girl, we'll call her Megan to protect her identity, isn't the brightest crayon in the Crayola box. I love her dearly, but she isn't. She'll even tell you that, so don't think I'm all big, bad, and mean! Some of the drugs we used to do, messed with her brain a bit. I don't say that lightly in the least because it could have just as well had happened to me. Back to the story! We're driving down the road when Brandon, my boyfriend, announces that he's hungry. The rest of us were all, "Yeah, we could stand to eat." So he's pulls into the first restaurant serving breakfast we could find, which happened to be a Denny's, next to a big F350 truck that had a bumper sticker on it saying, "Duct Tape. Alabama chrome." . We were in a little town in Alabama called Prescott... you blink and you miss it, but by gosh they had their Denny's and it was PACKED OUT!
We settled down into a six person booth in the far right hand corner of the restaurant, with one of the guys pulling a chair over to the head of the table and taking a seat. We were sitting calmly, just talking about the upcoming play we were going to see, wondering if our upcoming production of the same one would be as good as theirs, as we ate breakfast. I don't know if it was the brutal blow of everyone being coupled up with their honeys except for her, or if the urge had just struck her suddenly, but Megan shoots up from the table and announces that she has to go to the bathroom. We all said that was cool, and she took off for the unisex restroom. The restroom that was located in the far LEFT HAND corner of the restaurant. She takes off, and we just happened to glance over at her... you're in a different state, with people around you don't know... you have to keep a check on your peeps. We had a clear view of the bathroom door from where we were sitting. My friends, Layla, Jenny, and I, us being the only other girls there besides Megan, and you can NEVER count on guy to notice anything, notice that she's standing in front of the bathroom door, looking rather confused. We were discussing whether or not to go see what was going on when Megan's voice rings out, loud and clear, reaching our ears on the other side of the restaurant saying, "You know you're in Alabama when the lock is on the outside of the bathroom door!" The door, for some reason, ONLY had lock on the OUTSIDE of the door. Denny's, which had been filled with a low rumble of pleasant conversation from the Alabama inhabitants, fell completely silent. It was in that silence that Layla's boyfriend, Cole, stands up at the table, cups his hands around his mouth and calls back, "It's 'cause they have to go in pairs in Alabama! One to use the bathroom and the other one to spend their time figuring out how to lock the door!" Oh, had I only been able to crawl under the table. We got some LOOKS! I mean, if shotguns had been allowed in that restaurant, we wouldn't have stood a chance!
With a light blush tinting our cheeks, Layla and I climbed over the guys in the booth, Layla desperate to get away from Cole at that moment in time, and headed to the bathroom to stand guard over Megan's door... just to make sure she wasn't assasinated for insulting Alabama WHILE WE WERE IN ALABAMA! We waited for a bit outside of the door and heard the sound of the toilet flushing, followed quickly by a hysterical giggle. Layla looks at me and whispers, "That last drag she took off of that joint must have finally hit her." I bit back a giggle, and knocked softly on the door, calling out, "Are you okay in there?"
She opened the door, her face the color of a ripe Gala apple and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it for yourselves." Then she burst into even louder gales of laughter again. Well, me being... well, ME, I'm kinda skittish when someone comes out of the bathroom and says, "You won't believe me if you don't see it." I shot Layla a look, mostly filled with wariness, then I stepped cautiously into the bathroom, Layla stepping in behind me. I looked around the room and didn't see anything funny. Megan, noticing we weren't laughing like she'd been doing, stepped into the room and pointed. "Look CLOSE," she said, her index finger pointing to the porcelain throne. I got frustrated because I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. I turned my head and saw Brandon and the other guys paying for our bills, and put my right index finger up, barely away from my temple and swirled it around, to show him that Megan was nuts. Then, I heard Layla start to giggle, and I snapped my head back around. Before I knew it, she was in a full fledged laughing fit. In between gasps she tells me, "Look at the handle! Alabama chrome!"
My eyes searched until they fell on the handle, and then I started laughing too, harder than the other two girls were. It seems, someone had broken the handle in half, and another poor soul had taken their time to fashion the other half of the handle out of pure, 100% DUCT TAPE! Oh it was hillarious!
I'm laughing so hard tears are streaming down my face as I'm retelling this incident! Maybe it was a moment where you had to be there; I'm not sure. However, I hope this at least got a smile out of you guys! I look forward to hearing some comments! Also, I want to send a sincere thank you to the good people of Prescott, Alabama, and the workers of the Denny's in that area. Without you, this blog entry wouldn't have been possible! Until next time guys! :o)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
This is me
So, I have something to say...
If I yell at you, or get short with you, don't assume I hate you or don't care about whatever we're talking about. When I care enough to yell at you or get short with you, rest assured you're loved. I find it completely obtuse and crazed for some people to go around in their everyday lives with drama in them. If you can avoid it, why put yourself through it? I had this friend of mine today(for those of you that have watched Buffy, the girl acts very much like Snyder... in the BAND CANDY episode), anyway, this friend of mine attacks me, not physically, because she knows better than that, but verbally attacked my character, and I'm not gonna lie. It pissed me off GREATLY. I love the girl to death; she's absolutely one of my BEST friends, but sometimes she doesn't have the sense God gave a coconut... in fact, the coconut may have more sense. SHE asked for MY opinion about a certain situation she was in... some DAYS OF OUR LIVES saga thing. I gave her my opinion, and I was nice as I could be about it, seeing as she kept on finding reasons to ignore EVERYTHING I was saying and continue to ask me questions. So, yeah, I admit, I raised my voice. I didn't yell, but me raising my voice is extremely rare. Then I felt badly for raising my voice, so I got really quiet and started speaking in a slightly clipped tone. Then came the kicker.
She says, "You just absolutely DON'T care about me, do you?" The whole reason I DID give her my opinion was because I cared. Like I said, I love her, but sometimes she's an idiot. I try to tell her things to keep her from getting hurt, and she automatically jumps to, "You don't care." If I tell you something, if I care enough to ARGUE with you about something, I care about you. I only yell and fight with people I love. So please, guys, for furture reference, if I get miffed about a discussion, please know that I do care, and I would rather have you angry or upset with me than I would to see a friend hurting or regretting a decision they've made later on down the road. I've been there and I know how bad it sucks.
So, my advice to you crazy kids... leave the drama in high school. The less amount of it we have in the real world, the better off we'll be.
If I yell at you, or get short with you, don't assume I hate you or don't care about whatever we're talking about. When I care enough to yell at you or get short with you, rest assured you're loved. I find it completely obtuse and crazed for some people to go around in their everyday lives with drama in them. If you can avoid it, why put yourself through it? I had this friend of mine today(for those of you that have watched Buffy, the girl acts very much like Snyder... in the BAND CANDY episode), anyway, this friend of mine attacks me, not physically, because she knows better than that, but verbally attacked my character, and I'm not gonna lie. It pissed me off GREATLY. I love the girl to death; she's absolutely one of my BEST friends, but sometimes she doesn't have the sense God gave a coconut... in fact, the coconut may have more sense. SHE asked for MY opinion about a certain situation she was in... some DAYS OF OUR LIVES saga thing. I gave her my opinion, and I was nice as I could be about it, seeing as she kept on finding reasons to ignore EVERYTHING I was saying and continue to ask me questions. So, yeah, I admit, I raised my voice. I didn't yell, but me raising my voice is extremely rare. Then I felt badly for raising my voice, so I got really quiet and started speaking in a slightly clipped tone. Then came the kicker.
She says, "You just absolutely DON'T care about me, do you?" The whole reason I DID give her my opinion was because I cared. Like I said, I love her, but sometimes she's an idiot. I try to tell her things to keep her from getting hurt, and she automatically jumps to, "You don't care." If I tell you something, if I care enough to ARGUE with you about something, I care about you. I only yell and fight with people I love. So please, guys, for furture reference, if I get miffed about a discussion, please know that I do care, and I would rather have you angry or upset with me than I would to see a friend hurting or regretting a decision they've made later on down the road. I've been there and I know how bad it sucks.
So, my advice to you crazy kids... leave the drama in high school. The less amount of it we have in the real world, the better off we'll be.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Long Time, No Talk
Hi guys! Long time no see! Miss me yet? Yes, I will admit that I've been pretty slammed, and placed my blog on the back burner for the last couple of months. But, here now! I just wanted to babble at you for a bit.
I got to thinking today. Yeah yeah... dangerous, I know. Anyway! I was thinking how much things you say have an effect on the people around you, or is it just me that has a foot that likes to live in my mouth and come back to kick me in my own butt? I have a feeling you guys know what I'm talking about. So... the reason for my thought proccess today...
For those of you new, that don't know me, or just simply don't care to go back and read my earlier entries, I keep children. Long story. I hurt myself a couple of years ago, wasn't able to drive due to nerve damage in the right leg, so I kept them to be able to DO something! One of the kids I keep is my younger cousin, Christopher. For those of you that have read before, you have a pretty good idea of his character. He's pretty much a four year old version of me. Just like I was at that age actually, except for the fact that he's autistic. I stuttered and he's autistic(very high functioning. He'll talk to you; not a mimic). That's basically the difference. Anyhow, one of my biggest pet peeves is having to repeat myself. He was in the playroom today, and I called to him from the living room and said, "You need to come on; I'm ready to go over flash cards with you." Usually, he comes right in the room to go over his flashcards. It's a daily routine. Just a little something that's helped him become able to communicate with people. Well, he didn't come when I called, so thinking he may have just not heard me, I walked into the playroom and repeated myself. He was playing with a toy dump truck. He hears me repeat myself and turns around. Then, in a voice, that I KNOW he had to get from me, says, "I heared you the first time. I'm not stuspid." I kinda stood there for a second, pretty much stunned. I later tell my roommate and she says, "He's heard you say it." And thinking on it, yeah, he has. Not only do I hate repeating myself, I hate hearing people repeat themselves. I constantly tell my roomie, when she says something(and I don't acknowledge it) and repeats it, the only difference is that I say "heard" and pronouce "stupid" correctly. So yeah, I really need to watch my tongue around the kiddies. Sure it wasn't like it was a curse word or something, but when you're trying to teach a four year old to have manners... not something you want him saying.
So, anyhow, I've learned a lesson today. Watch whhat you say, or it'll bite ya in the tucus! Then, you can't exactly correct them, not that I didn't try. I just got, "Well, YOU said it." tossed back at me. Could thing I had the old faithful. "I'm bigger than you are," to fall back on! So yeah, definitely learning that people, even little four year olds, pay attention to everything you do and say, even when you think they aren't listening!
Thanks for letting me babble at you guys! More bloggage to come, and i'll try not to neglect you so long next time! Catch ya then! :o)
I got to thinking today. Yeah yeah... dangerous, I know. Anyway! I was thinking how much things you say have an effect on the people around you, or is it just me that has a foot that likes to live in my mouth and come back to kick me in my own butt? I have a feeling you guys know what I'm talking about. So... the reason for my thought proccess today...
For those of you new, that don't know me, or just simply don't care to go back and read my earlier entries, I keep children. Long story. I hurt myself a couple of years ago, wasn't able to drive due to nerve damage in the right leg, so I kept them to be able to DO something! One of the kids I keep is my younger cousin, Christopher. For those of you that have read before, you have a pretty good idea of his character. He's pretty much a four year old version of me. Just like I was at that age actually, except for the fact that he's autistic. I stuttered and he's autistic(very high functioning. He'll talk to you; not a mimic). That's basically the difference. Anyhow, one of my biggest pet peeves is having to repeat myself. He was in the playroom today, and I called to him from the living room and said, "You need to come on; I'm ready to go over flash cards with you." Usually, he comes right in the room to go over his flashcards. It's a daily routine. Just a little something that's helped him become able to communicate with people. Well, he didn't come when I called, so thinking he may have just not heard me, I walked into the playroom and repeated myself. He was playing with a toy dump truck. He hears me repeat myself and turns around. Then, in a voice, that I KNOW he had to get from me, says, "I heared you the first time. I'm not stuspid." I kinda stood there for a second, pretty much stunned. I later tell my roommate and she says, "He's heard you say it." And thinking on it, yeah, he has. Not only do I hate repeating myself, I hate hearing people repeat themselves. I constantly tell my roomie, when she says something(and I don't acknowledge it) and repeats it, the only difference is that I say "heard" and pronouce "stupid" correctly. So yeah, I really need to watch my tongue around the kiddies. Sure it wasn't like it was a curse word or something, but when you're trying to teach a four year old to have manners... not something you want him saying.
So, anyhow, I've learned a lesson today. Watch whhat you say, or it'll bite ya in the tucus! Then, you can't exactly correct them, not that I didn't try. I just got, "Well, YOU said it." tossed back at me. Could thing I had the old faithful. "I'm bigger than you are," to fall back on! So yeah, definitely learning that people, even little four year olds, pay attention to everything you do and say, even when you think they aren't listening!
Thanks for letting me babble at you guys! More bloggage to come, and i'll try not to neglect you so long next time! Catch ya then! :o)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
What Could Have Been
Hiya, guys! I know it's been a while. Just haven't had any real inspiration hit my noggin until today with a fun and somewhat reminiscent conversation on Twitter with a bud. And once again, all I can say to you guys is to buckle up and ready yourselves for a good old fashioned Trista babble fest, complete with all the randomness your heart could POSSIBLY desire!
You guys know already that I have issues with modern day cartoons. I feel they dumb things down for children. So unlike the classic shows we had as kids. You could sit and watch 30 minutes of Nickelodeon and learn that you definitely never wanted a plumber that was missing a nose coming after you in your sleep! Death by plunger... not very appealing. Yep... I'm talking about that old Nick classic "Salute Your Shorts"! I LOVED that show! You know how some things just stick with you? The theme song to that show was one of them! Along with the everyday life lessons they taught... Exhibit A... NEVER ALLOW A GROUP OF FRIENDS TO NICKNAME YOU DONKEY! The reprecussions in life have to be bad... The poor guy doesn't even act anymore!
Then there was Doug, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, AHHHH Real Monsters, Are You Afraid of the Dark. I believe Are you Afraid of the Dark was actually in the little Saturday night program Nick had called Snick. Clever, huh? OH! And KABLAAM was AWESOME!!!! Anyone remember it? The show that took place inside of the comicbook? SOOO much fun! Then of course every girl HAD to watch Clariss Explains It All ANYTIME IT WAS ON! I remember how badly I wanted a brother to call "Ferg Face", just cause. LOL!
Shows back then just said everything they needed to say... PBS was the station back then for dumbed down television shows. Why do people conform? They think it makes things easier when in reality... it only makes you look stupid, like you have no individual ideas.
In short I WANT THE GOOD OL' SHOWS BACK ON THE TUBE!!!! I think we should picket! Till next time guys! :o)
You guys know already that I have issues with modern day cartoons. I feel they dumb things down for children. So unlike the classic shows we had as kids. You could sit and watch 30 minutes of Nickelodeon and learn that you definitely never wanted a plumber that was missing a nose coming after you in your sleep! Death by plunger... not very appealing. Yep... I'm talking about that old Nick classic "Salute Your Shorts"! I LOVED that show! You know how some things just stick with you? The theme song to that show was one of them! Along with the everyday life lessons they taught... Exhibit A... NEVER ALLOW A GROUP OF FRIENDS TO NICKNAME YOU DONKEY! The reprecussions in life have to be bad... The poor guy doesn't even act anymore!
Then there was Doug, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, AHHHH Real Monsters, Are You Afraid of the Dark. I believe Are you Afraid of the Dark was actually in the little Saturday night program Nick had called Snick. Clever, huh? OH! And KABLAAM was AWESOME!!!! Anyone remember it? The show that took place inside of the comicbook? SOOO much fun! Then of course every girl HAD to watch Clariss Explains It All ANYTIME IT WAS ON! I remember how badly I wanted a brother to call "Ferg Face", just cause. LOL!
Shows back then just said everything they needed to say... PBS was the station back then for dumbed down television shows. Why do people conform? They think it makes things easier when in reality... it only makes you look stupid, like you have no individual ideas.
In short I WANT THE GOOD OL' SHOWS BACK ON THE TUBE!!!! I think we should picket! Till next time guys! :o)
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