Blogs: 4 Reale

Our Aunt Didi has a friend/roommate/shopaholic who has a blog. Her name is Sarah Reale; her blog's name is "Keeping it Reale," which is a pretty tough name if you ask us. Her blog is about... Well, her blog is about life. She blogs about life, love, the pursuit of happiness, texting conversations, interesting articles she has read. We do have two suggestions to improve her blog: 1. Write more often (We generally say this about every blog we enjoy though.) and 2. BLOG ABOUT THE BITCHES! We spent several hours with her last weekend, enduring the sounds of Rock Band until post-two am!!!! If this is not blog-worthy, then we don't know what is.


"Although I live my life with the highest degree of academic honesty, I am currently taking offers to write my last paper.

I will pay cash."
--Word of the Semester: Oy

"Angela: I'm giving blood right now.

Sarah: Interesting. Don't they know you have a disease?

Angela: Being a bad ass isn't a disease.

...

Angela: Why gross? You ever done it before?

Sarah: Nope.

Angela: Sar, it saves lives."
--Another Sar/Ang Text Convo for the Record Books


Quick vote: Sarah's blog is great, and a real fun read.

Aunt Izzie's Wiz-ord: Sarah is effing whack. ROTFL. LOL. LOTR. OMFG. CULTR.

Movie: The Jane Austen Book Club

We just watched the movie, The Jane Austen Book Club, for various reasons. One, it arrived via Netflix. Two, we heard from a mildly reputable source that the movie was good. Three, it is based on a book, and since we love books, this is a vote in its favor. Four, it claims to, even remotely, include Jane Austen, which always intrigues us, but doesn't necessarily indicate a good flick. All of these are tenuous reasons at best, but Bob was out of town, and we had a girls night with our mother and we all watched it together.

This movie is about a group of friends, and a couple random strangers, that meet together once a month to discuss each of Jane Austen's books in turn. As they are discussing the books, they realize that one of their lives mirrors the events in one of the books, and by the end, everyone has fallen in love. This movie had a cute plot, started out fun, but by the end it was cheesy beyond cheesy, and even Maggie (who's quite dense) had to cringe at the Mr. Darcy jokes and the Fanny Price puns. (If you don't know what I'm talking about here, then you're probably a man.)


Quick vote: You're going to have to be pretty desperate for a chick flick before this movie is a must-see, even if you're a die-hard Jane Austen fan.

Aunt Annie's Two Cents: Love is a delusion. Pass me my Natty Light and Pork Rinds!!!

TV: Jon & Kate Plus 8

We started to watch this show on a recommendation from our friend Jamey, and we were quite glad we did. It is an interesting study into mankind and motherhood. It makes us wonder about what kind of mothers we could have been had our parents not removed our girl parts when before the tender age of one.

Basically, a couple couldn't have kids, so they used fertility drugs to have twins, and then tried again and had sextuplets. The eight children are under ten and the show follows their crazy lives. The mother is an uptight control freak, which turns out to be a bad combination when you have eight children. There is a lot of yelling and general freaking out.


Quick vote: This show is crazy. Watch it once, that's all you need.

Music: Awake is the New Sleep by Ben Lee

We have been listening to Ben Lee for some time, but we just realized that we've never blogged about him, so we hope to rectify that situation right now! Ben Lee is awesome. His album, Awake is the New Sleep is a fun and funky album that leaves you tapping your toes, humming along, and smiling. Everybody needs an album or two that guaranteed to cheer you up, and this is it for us.


"Make a list of things you need,
Leave it empty.
Except for number one - write love,
Gamble everything.
Keep it under lock and key.
If you wanna you can gamble everything for love."
--Gamble Everything for Love

"My head is a box filled with nothing,
And that's the way I like it.
My garden's a secret compartment,
And that's the way I like it.
And that's the way I like it.
Your body's a dream that turns violent,
And that's the way I like it.
And that's the way I like it.
The winter is long in the city,
And that's the way I like it.

So please,
Baby please,
Open your heart,
Catch my disease."
--Catch My Disease


Quick vote: This is an excellent album. Get listening and start smiling pronto!

Books: Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

We have been reading several books on the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list lately, and Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson is one of such books. We are quite well read doggies, but we thought it a noble task to check some classics off of our list that we have a harder time getting around to.

Winesburg, Ohio is based on a fictitious town of the same name. (Although there is an actual Winesburg, Ohio it has nothing to do with this one.) The book is comprised of many short stories that all tie back into one central character, George Willard. It was an interesting way to read a book, finding a common thread in very different stories. It felt a lot like reading a history of a small town in that everything is connected and everyone seems to know everyone else.


Quick vote: We liked this book, it was an interesting read. We'll give it a C+.

Board Games: Twister

Many games are difficult for us to play without opposable thumbs and non-webbed fingers; but Twister isn't one of them! Twister is a classic board game with simple rules, but a crazy outcome!

Playing is quite simple, someone spins and determines which body part (right/left hand/foot) goes on which circle (green, yellow, blue, red). Sounds easy, but it ends up with twisted up bodies, people falling on each other, and inevitable laughter.


Quick vote: This game is awesome. And we don't want to brag about it or anything, but we're pretty awesome at it!

Video Games: Rock Band

We have been wanting this for a long time, and it has finally happened: we are the proud owners of Rock Band for Playstation 3. This game has infiltrated our lives the past few days and we are getting sick of hearing people sing off tune.

The game comes with a drum-set, a guitar (not unlike the Guitar Hero guitar, only a Fender Stratocaster), and a microphone. You can play any of these instruments, and together, everyone can be part of an incredible band (Our band was called Bad Disaster. Tough, eh?).


Quick vote: This incredible game takes the common man/beast and turns him into a rock star. We love and hate the game for this. (Love because we have become rock stars ourselves, hate because our parents haven't stopped playing it yet, and it's getting quite old...) Come over to our house sometime and experience the rush of being on stage in our living room.

Blogs: Sartorialist

Lately we have been reading the very fascinating fashion-esque blog, The Sartorialist. Basically, a man (We have deduced it was a man after long research and paying attention.) goes around different cities and takes pictures of people whose fashion sense he likes.

We find it an interesting study into human fashion and clothing. We never really have understood the human obsession with dressing; why don't they just grow fur like the rest of us? Also, sometimes they have boring bios of the people they interview; we could really care less about the people in the pictures, it's all about the clothes baby!



Quick vote: This is quite a cool and funky blog. We really like it.

Movie: Harold and Maude

One of our all-time favorite movies is Harold and Maude. This cult-flick is a difficult one to explain, and most descriptions leave the impression of a disgusting love story. But it is full of excellent music, surprising humor, and a new-found appreciation for life and love. This movie will change your life, we promise!

Basically, Harold is a sadistic 17 year-old man who obsesses over funerals, hearses, and fake suicides intended to shock his over-bearing mother. Maude is a 79 year-old woman who steals cars, poses nude, and likes to smoke hookah. They meet at a funeral that neither of them know, and she takes him off on a grand adventure. She heals his depression and gives him a new outlook on life, and they fall in love during the process. But don't judge it on this point alone!!!


Quick vote: We really like this movie, it is one of our all-time favorites. If you haven't seen it, go check it out right now!!!

TV: Law & Order: Criminal Intent

We love crime shows! If we had the time, we would volunteer our noses to the local police department, but we have too much blogging and such to keep up with. In another life, perhaps. For now, we'll just have to satisfy our desire for justice and mystery solving by watching such shows as Law & Order: Criminal Intent!

This L&O is different from the classic in that there is little to no courtroom side of things. Instead, there is a neurotic detective that uses psychology and his own amazing smarts to coerce evil criminals into confessing. Basically, it's like a modern Sherlock Holmes, only on tv; and with a pretty sidekick rather then that dumpy Watson fellow.


Quick vote: This is a pretty fun detective show that we can sink our teeth into! It's a tad cheesy, but we like cheese!

Music: The Bird and the Bee by The Bird and the Bee

We first heard The Bird and The Bee on a Christmas album (they sang Carol of the Bells) and later picked up their album. They are a funky duo from California, and their music is very interesting. Their lyrics tend to be cyclical and repetitive, and their sound is clear and electronica. Basically, our mother would love them and our father would hate them.


"Say my name, say my name, say my stupid name!
Its stupid how we always seem to do it again, oh.

You're so stupid and perfect and stupid and perfect.
I hate you, I want you, I hate you, I hate you, oh.
Again, again, again, again."
--Again and Again

"Make yourself free, make yourself grow.
Come on up into the attic - come and see the glow.
A pretty idiot is kissing everyone she doesn't know,
And the pigs are eating popcorn, selling tickets to the show.

Give yourself away, feel the wind blow.
We're watching movies on the ceiling, all the artists we know.
If there's someone you don't like you don't have to say hello.
There's no reason you should leave,
There's no reason you should go."
--La, La, La


Quick vote: This music is funky and different, and we like it. We don't love it, but we like it.

Books: Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

We just finished reading the interminable Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. We have been hearing rave reviews all over the place, it won the Audible 2008 Tournament of Audiobooks, and it is an Oprah's Book Club book. (We have watched plenty of Oprah, whom we don't especially love, but she has decent taste in books, most of the time anyways....)

Ken Follett is a cheap fiction author, and hist writing illustrates that. He sets down to write a novel about cathedral building in the middle-ages and ends up writing an interesting manuscript on love (and that ridiculous human practice, monogamy), religion, malice, treachery, and triumph. The book was predictable in a substantial way, but we enjoyed the plot, and it seemed to pass by much quicker than its size would suggest.


Quick vote: Did we like this book? Yes. Would we recommend it to our loyal readers? We're not sure. If you're stuck in a rainstorm and this book is the only decent one available, go for it, it was a fun read. But it was by no means a lyrical masterpiece. We give it a C.

Blog: Things You Can't Do Coked Up

We've been reading the blog Things You Can't Do Coked Up for the past couple of weeks, and we've been loving it! Basically, every day or so the blog lists something that you can't do while you're on drugs. We personally are drug free doggies, we wouldn't have time for our busy busy lives of blogging and reading and chasing quail and bunnies if we were strung out all of the time. Additionally, the blog is very informative, it teaches young puppies about all of the things that drug-doing prevents you from doing.

Here are a few of our favorite posts:
Jenga (see picture)
Listen to NPR
Embroidery
Make a long story short
Raise a well-adjusted child
Win a staring contest
Watch the English Patient



Quick vote: This blog is pretty funny and fairly irreverent. We enjoy it.

Movie: Bee Movie

We had many people (of various reputes) recommend the Bee Movie to us as a funny, computer-animated film intended more for adults than for children. This is a lie. The movie does have its moments, and made us LOL (Laugh Out Loud for our older readers.) several times. However, it is definitely targeted at children, don't be fooled.

Barry is a bee. After graduating the Bee University, he is about to start a lifetime of grueling labor when he decides he wants to leave the hive and adventure. What he does find is a beautiful woman whom he hits it off with (This subject is awkwardly mentioned and then quickly dropped leaving us wondering about the logistics...) and starts a crusade against honey-stealing humans.


Quick vote: This movie was cute and quirky. These bees were funny!

Aunt Kenya's Philosophy: I have oft admired the graceful bee for his verve and panache. When spring comes around, I like to take a bee in my mouth and instruct it on the cruelties of the world. The bee generally responds by stinging me back; proving my point I might add. A movie on this incredible species was long overdue and I was pleased to see the advertising exploits of Jerry Seinfeld finally pay off. What a disaster his book tours were!

TV: Jeopardy

This week, we thought we'd spotlight our all time favorite game show, Jeopardy! This show has been around since the beginning of time (or 1964, whichever came first). It has run on several different networks.

The premise is that three contestants compete against Alex Trebec (Apparently a very rich man.) to have the most knowledge of ridiculous nonsense. This is the only place where such knowledge pays anything. Also, the questions are answers and the answers are questions....


Quick vote: This classic game show is a favorite of ours, and it plays frequently during the days, when we are sitting home blogging and channel surfing. Also, it gives us a venue to display our incredible smarts and lighting quick pawing skills with the buzzer.

Music: Calling the World by Rooney

Rooney is a catchy, indie-rock band that we've grown to love. We first heard of Rooney on The O.C. when some of the kids go to one of their concerts. Their second cd, Calling the World keeps up the momentum from their first album (Rooney) and we've fallen in love with it.

"Things were so good,
We had a little dream,
A little dream together.
Buy a house, settle down, do our thing.
But you disappeared on me.
And your heart, your heart went missing.
I don't know how to find it.
I don't know where it is.
I don't know where your heart went,
It was here just the other day.
Now it's gone.
I'm gonna call the police.
Call the investigator, the heart investigator."
--When Did Your Heart Go Missing?

"I can't feel my thighs or my hips.
I can't feel my gut or my coccyx.
I don't know yet, I'm not for sure,
I don't know why.

Oh oh oh oh, you got me paralyzed."
--Paralyzed


Quick vote: We really like this indie pop album, check it out!

Books: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

We have read Wicked by Gregory Maguire before, but our mother is in a book club, and we thought we would read books along with her book club, and this is the first book they are reading! Wicked is an interesting take on the classic story of Dorothy and the Land of Oz. The story starts at the birth of the Wicked Witch of the West, or Elphaba and continues through Dorothy's trip to her evil lair.

The characters are familiar, Glinda, Dorothy, the Wizard of Oz; but the story is very different. Oz is in political turmoil, and no one is quite as good or as evil they seem. The idea of the book is excellent, the execution leaves something lacking.


Quick vote: To be honest, we didn't love this book the first time around, but we enjoyed it much more this time. It gets a tad confusing at times, and fails to live up to some of it's promise, but it's a cool twist on a classic story, and it inspired an amazing musical (or so we hear).

Politics: Democratic Nominee

Maggie: I have long been a proponent of bitches around the world. For this reason, I support Hillary Clinton in her White House aspirations. She is a tough old broad, and determined not to let a young puppy get in her way; she has claws and teeth.

Hillary addresses valid doggy issues. Health care to all! Which would have saved my parents and I a lot of money when I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis several years ago. She wants to install tax breaks for more energy-efficient homes so doggies everywhere can enjoy snow-shoeing for many years longer (Global warming = no snow).

And she's hella tough, so vote for the woman, stand by your bitch!




Sammi: This country needs change, hope, happiness, and other nondescript pleasant and ethereal nouns; which is exactly why we're throwing our collar into the ring for Barack Obama! We need some fresh blood and meat and bones and balls and Greenies and.... I diverge.

Obama addresses many key doggy issues. He did not vote for the war in Iraq, which has taken so many dog owners away from their puppies. (The fact that he wasn't around to vote is irrelevant!) Obama does not support legislation to retain online data, which is great for us, we don't want the cops knowing about our secret Clu Cat Clan meetings...

The point is, Obama is my man, and Maggie is dumb. Oh, and so is Hillary.



Quick vote: This Primary is going on way too long.

Blogs: Hulu

Hulu is incredible. We first started using it about a year ago back when you had to sign up in beta and wait to be allowed access, now it is available to everyone. It's a website designed to maximize your happiness, or more specifically, to stream tv for free (about four 30-second commercials per 40 minute show) from several different networks and even old movies!

Some of our favorite shows to watch on hulu? Arrested Development, 30 Rock, The Office, Heroes, and Bones.


Quick vote: Hulu has changed our lives.

Movie: 27 Dresses

We just watched Katherine Heigl's new film, 27 Dresses. Though we haven't always loved her characters (and we especially despised Knocked Up) we thought we would give it a shot. 27 Dresses also boasts a couple other actors that we like, such as: James Marsden (Enchanted, Hairspray), Judy Greer (Arrested Development, Elizabethtown, The Village), and Edward Burns (The Holiday, Saving Private Ryan).

Jane is the ultimate big sister, and she's never gotten over it. She is a professional assistant by day, and the ultimate bridesmaid in her free time. In addition to this, she has her irresponsible little sister to watch after. But when does she have time for herself? Never. On top of this, she's in love with her boss and he falls for her sister. Oh, and a pesky reporter is chasing her around trying to get info on her for a story. The plot was fun and cute, but we weren't impressed by the execution. On top of all this, we had a hard time with the sister v. sister plotline. (We are sisters, and we get along very well, thank you! Of course, we don't have any girl-parts any more, so we don't really have to worry about arguments over boy dogs....)


Quick vote: Here goes Izzy (Grey's Anatomy) whining again about how hard her life is. It was fun and cute, but we were left wanting more.

TV: The Office

We have been watching The Office for several years, and we're incredulous that we have yet to review it here! The Office is based off of a British sit-com of the same name, which basically tells the story of a basic, boring office and the antics that go-on there. The first couple seasons were excellent, but we have to admit that either our attention is waning, the writing has lost some of its quality, or both. We're just not as enamored by The Office as we have been in previous years. That being said, we still quite enjoy it.

Micheal Scott is both the most ridiculous, and most amazing boss in the history of retail paper companies. He rules with an iron fist and a joke book. His trusty sidekick, Dwight, is always prepared with a survival technique, whilst Jim is playing a practical joke on him. Kelly is self-involved, Creed is bizarre, Meredith is a lush, Angela is severe, Oscar is gay. The fun never stops with these guys!


Quick vote: We're sure you've seen this show before. We recommend going back and watching the old shows on DVD, they're much funnier.

Music: Flutterby by Butterfly Boucher

We first hear the music of Butterfly Boucher on one of our favorite tv shows, Grey's Anatomy. Her tunes are catchy, her voice is grainy and memorable, and her lyrics are fun. We really like this music!


"When it doesn't rain it snows.
Yeah, the cookie crumbles, but in who's hand?
All things said, and all things done;
Life is short."
--Life is Short

"Which came first,
The love or the love song?
Which is more important
In the long run?"
--A Walk Outside


Quick vote: We really like this music; it's fun, funky, and perfect music for the beginning of the summer!

Books: Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence

We just finished reading Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence. We found it on the Modern Library's list of Editor's Picks 100 greatest Classics of all time (this was a convoluted title list). Sons and Lovers was an interesting case study into the relationship between a son and a mother, and how over-mothering your children can stunt them emotionally for life.

Sons and Lovers tells the story of the Morel family. Gertrude and Walter meet at a dance, and get married; they are an unhappy couple, he drinks too much and treats her poorly. As a result, she pours all of her efforts into raising and loving her eldest son William, and later her more gentle son Paul. This love, later in his life, prevents him from fully living his own life, and choosing his own happiness. The book is said to be fairly autobiographical of D.H. Lawrence himself.


Quick vote: We really didn't like the characters in this book, but we got the sense that it was the kind of book in which the author didn't want you to like the characters. We did enjoy the book though, not our favorite, but pretty interesting.

Blogs: Daily Puppy

There is no better idea for a blog than Daily Puppy. Everyday there is a picture of an adorable puppy, and a short bio written about it's life and personality. It's so nice to be able to keep a tab on all of the youngsters running about nowadays!

"Chloe enjoys doing everything a puppy loves to do: chewing, digging, running, playing with other puppies, and snacking on treats. She graduated kindergarten a few weeks ago and will be attending Junior High for Puppies next month. Hopefully she end up being a very well mannered and happy dog...we'll have to find out."
--Chloe the Labrador Retriever

If you want to go, "Awwwwwwwww! How cute!" Then go here.


Quick vote: As a study into our relatives, distant and close, this blog is very valuable!

Movie: Atonement

We love Kiera Knightley's films (Well, mostly Pride and Prejudice, what a masterpiece!), so we thought we would check out Atonement. Additionally, it was nominated (and may have won, we're not sure) several Oscars, and it's always interesting to watch what the critics think is interesting. It's quite an interesting show about a young girl's misunderstanding and condemnation that leads to a lifetime of regret and angst.

The previews left us thinking that the young lovers are caught in a tryst and then forced to spend their lives pining over each other because of their early sins. The story is more convoluted than that, and quite difficult to convey in a thirty second preview. Cecilia Tallis, a young wealthy British woman, and Briony Tallis, her younger sister, are living together in their parents' spectacular house. Briony spies Cecilia with Robbie Turner, the Cambridge-educated son of the housekeeper, and misinterprets several situations. Then when time comes to lay blame for another incident, Briony blames Robbie, condemning him.


Quick vote: It took us a while to get into this movie, it had quite a slow start. In the end, however, we really liked it.

Aunt Izzy's Wiz-ord: Yo bitches, listen up! This movie is WHACK! I ain't no fool, you ain't pulling the hair over my eyes! (Unless my hair grows over my eyes...) Check it iz-out!!!!!!!!!

Note: Aunt Izzie is our mother's sister, sort of. She's a Golden Doodle (1/2 Golden Retriever + 1/2 Poodle), and a bit "stoopey."