Blogs: What I Killed Today

We inadvertently stumbled upon the blog "What I Killed Today," which seems especially gruesome for us to read, but we are continually drawn into reading it. A veterinarian writes the blog, and whenever she has to put an animal to sleep, she writes about it in her blog. So sad, and yet we keep reading....

"a 13-year-old basset hound in kidney failure. she was so kind and licked my face as i carried her in from the car for the owner. he was a sweet old man with tears in his eyes. i fed her an entire bag of treats and she kept eating ferociously even after the injection. her chewing slowed down and then she was gone."

This is the saddest entry to us, because we can see that behavior in ourselves, chowing down treats until the very end...


Quick vote: This blog is sad. So very sad.

Movies: Stardust

We recently watched the cute fantasy film, Stardust, and we loved it! The movie tells the story of imagination and hope overcoming all odds; a transformation of a young boy from a big loser to an adventuring conquerer. We barked the whole time in pleasure.

Tristan is a young man, the result of his father's sowing his wild oats in the magical kingdom hidden in the heart of England. He is in love with the most attractive girl in the town, and swears that he will find a fallen star for her. An evil queen also wants the star for her own evil purposes, and a group of princes seeking the throne of the magical kingdom are searching for the star.

There are quite a few interesting actors in this film, such as: Peter O'Toole (We heart him!), Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfieffer, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Ricky Gervais (from the British Office), etc...


Quick vote: This is one of the best fantasy films we've seen. If you enjoyed the Princess Bride, you'll enjoy this fun film!

TV: Brothers and Sisters

Though we haven't seen this television shows for a few weeks because of the writer's strike, we watched it in a religious way beforehand. Brothers and Sisters follows a large, upper-class Californian family through their family business, and more often, family drama.

The family is together in a organic food business that their father started before he passed away at the beginning of season 1. A lawyer, a political pundit, two big businessmen, and a soldier make up the children in the family. They have nothing in common with each other, but they love each other and somehow they make it all work.


Quick vote: This is one of the cheesiest shows currently on the air, and yet we can't stop watching. So, we're not sure if we should recommend it or not.... Use your best judgment, y'all know we always do!

Music: The Best Party Every by The Boy Least Likely To

We stumbled upon the band, The Boy Least Likely To a few months ago, and haven't stopped listening to it since. Their music is bouncy and funky, sweet and simple. And engrossing.

"I'm happy because I'm stupid.
Scared of spiders, scared of flying.
If I wasn't so happy,
I wouldn't be so scared of dying."
-- Be Gentle With Me

"Pushing through the topsoil,
I'm blinking in the light,
Shading my eyes from the morning sun.
I just wish that I could still
See the world sometimes
The way I saw the world when I was young."
-- Sleeping With a Gun Under my Pillow


Quick vote: This music is funky and eclectic. And we love it!

Books: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

We recently finished reading (or rather listening to since this was an audiobook) the classic Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. This book was of epic length lasting over sixty hours of audio.

Jean val Jean is a convict who seems forced to a life of theft and trickery until a bishop buys his soul with a bagful of silver. He then moves on to do a life-full of good works but is continually plagued by his past. Duty, good-works, justice; a story full of unanswerable questions.


Quick vote: This classic is incredible. We definitely recommend it.

Blogs: Bobby Faws

For once, we gather here today as bitches not to taut the grand and mock the desperate, but to plead, nay beg. (We are dogs after all...) We wish beyond wishes that our amazing father, Bob Fawson, would start a blog. We could write about it in these electronic pages, and its contents would surely enlighten the minds of all those that read it.

So everyone we know, please exhort our dearest father to employ his writing skills in an altruistic manner and blog!!!


Quick vote: BOB BLOG!

Movie: Amelie

We just finished watching Amelie, a French film that we have seen before, but that we fall more in love with each time we view it. Amelie is an introverted girl who lives a small, solitary life in Paris, afraid to reach out to those around her. Then one day she stumbles upon a small boy's buried treasure and makes an effort to return the prize to the boy, now a grown man. This experience teaches her how rewarding it is to reach out and change people's lives for the better, which leads her down a slippery-slope of good deeds.

But our favorite aspect of the film, is the love story. In the course of her adventures, Amelie runs across Nino; an eccentric introvert like herself who collects discarded photo booth pictures. Amelie must overcome her shyness to intersect her path with the perfect man.


Quick vote: We love this film. You MUST watch it (or we will bite you...).

TV: What Not to Wear

If you're channel surfing lat in the evening, you're destined to come upon TLC's What Not to Wear sooner or later. If so, you will find two young hosts, a flamboyantly gay man and a deceptively kind looking brunette. These young fashionistas will then guide a clueless person (usually woman) into a newer wardrobe and a better self!

However, these people aren't helping these people out of the goodness of their hearts, and it definitely shows. They are cruel and spiteful towards the participants of the show, making us hope they receive free counseling along with their make-overs.


Quick vote: Mean, and yet oh-so-fun to watch.

Music: Girls and Boys by Ingrid Michaelson

Lately, we've been listening to Ingrid Michaelson's new album Girls and Boys. Her sweet, sultry voice is just the type that we can connect with and we flock to. Some may recognize her song The Way I Am from some Old Navy sweater commercials that played this winter.

"I want to change the world...instead I sleep.
I want to believe in more than you and me.
But all that I know is I'm breathing."

-- Keep Breathing

"Have you ever thought about what protects our hearts?
Just a cage of rib bones and other various parts.
So it's fairly simple to cut right through the mess,
And to stop the muscle that makes us confess."

--Breakable

Quick vote: This is a great album. We love it!

Books: The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud

We've been reading The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud as of late. We had a hard time getting into the book at first, but after a while, we found we couldn't put the book down. The strange thing, is there is hardly anything exciting that happens in the book. Rather, the book is more of a journey of characters than of actions.

Marina, Danielle, and Julius were friends in college and were certain they were going to change the world. A decade later, the three young friends were floundering, lost in a city of chaos without careers, relationships, or motivation. What happens to them next? Nothing really.


Quick vote: This book is not interesting nor exciting. And yet, we found ourselves sucked in. We can't really recommend it with a good conscience... But if you're looking for a good character study, perhaps this is a good option to explore.

Blogs: You Know What I....

We have just started reading the up-and-coming blog from our friend Jamey Hulsberg known as, You Know What I... Each entry is titled with the answer to that question (or a half a question), and then she pontificates on how the question relates to her life.

"I would like to use this blog as a place to remember old memories, review books, movies, restaurants or whatever, and reflect on the wonders of life (aka Grant)."
--JTH

We couldn't have said it better ourselves!


Quick vote: Check out Jamey's blog! Anyone that lets us eat her baby's food is alright by us.

*Note --> Jamey is the redhead in the back of the picture, not the corn-eater in the front; though we would love to see a blog from Grant!

Movie: Clueless

We have been watching this show in segments over the past few days (our mother will turn it on for a half our or so while she runs on the treadmill), and we could hardly wait until we could watch the next installment! The show reminds Maggie of when she was a teenager and in high school (she's about 20 now) and gets Sammi excited for her future (she's about 13).

The show tells the story of Cher, a fifteen-year-old princess growing up in Bel-Air with her daddy's credit card. The story is the classic Jane Austen story of Emma, with a modern-day twist added on, adorable!


Quick vote: This is one of our all-time favorite chick flicks. Check it out.

TV: Flip That House

This past while, our father has become obsessed with the television show on TLC, Flip That House. Though we're not huge fans of home-improvement television (we're more interested in destroying homes than in renovations), every time this show is on, we find ourselves stuck watching it...

So basically, against our better judgment, we've fallen in love with a show that takes you through the ups and downs of buying and selling real estate.


Quick vote: We're a big fan of Flip That House, so check it out! And definitely check it out if you're interested in improving your own home, or if you're interested in real estate.

Music: Across the Universe Soundtrack

We wrote last week about the Across the Universe film and our lukewarm feelings for it. This time, however, we're barking our acclaims for the soundtrack from said movie. The film is based on Beatles' songs, and the soundtrack is two cd's jam-packed full of these re-worked songs.

Our favorites have got to be the re-works of "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Hey Jude," and "Revolution."


Quick vote: This is a great soundtrack, especially for those of you out there that enjoy the Beatles. Or not, we weren't particularly fond of the Beatles beforehand, and we adore this cd... So do what you will with it!

Books: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

We have just started the trio of Lord of the Rings books by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, and naturally begun with The Hobbit. This classic fantasy book chronicles the travels of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who spent all of his time eating and relaxing in front of his fireplace. Then one day, a wizard named Gandalf arrived in his hobbit hole, and changed his life forever.

The book was beautiful and memorable, one of our favorites.


Quick vote: We love this book! Check it out, bitches...

Blogs: Google Reader

Though this doesn't necessarily count as a blog, we appreciate the presence of Google Reader and it's place in our lives as a blog-facilitator. Before we learned about Google Reader, we would cycle in between many blogs all day long, hoping (ofttimes in vain) for an update. Now, Google Reader keeps track of it all for us!

Basically, Google Reader takes all of the blogs we read and adds a new page to your 'blog book' whenever a blog is updated. It's an easy way to keep track of a lot of blogs, which is a great relief to us, as we spend lots of time keeping track with the blogging world.


Quick vote: This is a great way to keep track of your booming blog population. We'll bark for it!!!

Movies: Air Guitar Nation

We just finished watching one of the most hilarious and inventive movies of all time, Air Guitar Nation. The documentary follows the winner of the East Coast regional Air Guitar championships through to the American National Air Guitar championships, and finally to the world championships (held in Oulu, Finland).

We thought that the film would be silly, and a bit funny. We were terribly wrong. We spent the entire time simultaneously amazed by the actual air guitar talent of the contestants, and laughing our butts off at the hilarity of the event. You've got to see it to believe it!


Quick vote: This show was amazing. There is a bit of swearing and one nudity shot, but if you can get past that, it's hilarious.

TV: Exteme Makeover - Home Edition

This is one of the few television shows that is still pumping out new shows due to the writer's strike. Therefore, it has become on of our favorites (we're growing quite tired of ridiculous reality shows, and only the tried and true is even worth our time).

The premise of the show, is sad and destitute people send in tapes about how crappy their house is, and the producers choose the crappiest house with the saddest story and the cutest family. Then a bunch of people show up and build them a brand new beautiful house for free. In a week's time. It's pretty darn cheesy, but also pretty fun to watch them build the houses....


Quick vote: The host (Ty) is perhaps the least genuine person on television today. Other than that, the show's pretty cool.

Music: Juno Soundtrack

We have been trying to sneak out of the house and into the theaters to see the new movie Juno, but we haven't had the opportunity as of yet. We instead had to satisfy ourselves with listening to the soundtrack non-stop for the past week or so.

The songs found on the Juno soundtrack are cute and quirky, with an eclectic style bringing hem all together. We had heard of some of the artists previously (e.g. The Kinks, Belle & Sebastian) but others we hadn't heard at all (e.g. Kimya Dawson, The Moldy Peaches )

"Here is the church, and here is the steeple;
We sure are cute for two ugly people."
-- The Moldy Peaches


Quick vote: This soundtrack is bizzare and adorable. We recommend it to those that can stand the truly eclectic sounds of indie music.

Books: The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

We recently finished the classic book, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. We had read it awhile back, but decided to sink our teeth into it (hee hee) once more.

The book tells the story of an idealistic young architect and his view of the world. He believes in himself, in quality, in toughness. He doesn't believe in hand-outs, in others' ideas, and in giving up. He builds his buildings no matter what others say.



Quick vote: A great, idealistic read. If you haven't read this classic, I recommend it.

Politics: Decision 2008

This past year has been very fascinating to us. We sit at home watching tv and reading all day and we've become very interested in the Presidential run this year. So in honor of the upcoming Super Tuesday, we're going to each talk about who we're voting for and why.

Maggie: I am definitely a conservative canine. In watching the different Republican candidates, we've been disappointed in the lack of a truly fiscal conservative. So, we've followed the route of our father, and looked to the Libertarian in the midst. Though the gold standard idea seems a tad ridiculous, some other of the Texan's policies seem quite fascinating. He favors brown religious doggies and his dog park platform is an incredible piece of legislation. Viva la Revolution!

Sammi: I am a doggie interested in change. The war in Iraq implicated lots of canines that have been put in danger in the Middle East, and I personally am very against it! We need some fresh blood in the White House, someone who will bring equal rights to the doggies, especially the gray ones!!! This is why I'm voting for Barak Obama (if I can sneak into the voting booths...), and electing for CHANGE!!!!


Quick vote: Decide for yourself, but remember the doggies!

Blogs: Wonkette

We recently started reading the political Washington DC based blog, Wonkette. This blog posts often, and satires much of the politics of the day. Though it's biting humor is even a bit harsh for us at times (and we're true bitches!), it's usually good to bring a chuckle.


Quick vote: Check out this blog for political satire!!! But not for the faint of heart.