I Love people–especially Harry Potter people.

Gonna keep this short—While at Terminus last August, I went to a discussion with the cast and crew of Harvy Putter and the Ridiculous Premise and absolutely loved them and the work they showed so far. Here is the first released trailer:

I cannot get enough of the Lotionsmaster.

Go to their website to see more vids—the spoof of Equus is a must-see.

ngtamber

Miss Iowa!

So I was trying to find a video of this year’s Miss America Pageant talent portion on youtube, and I can’t find ANYTHING!!  Well, at least not anything with this year’s Miss Iowa.  But I did find a video of last year’s Miss Iowa (Diana Reed) doing her baton routine at the preliminaries.  I’m not sure how I didn’t see this until a year after the fact, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less amazing.  

Seriously, Diana just amazes me.  All that work she put in at the field house really paid off.  Here’s the video.  I highly suggest you watch it as it is absolutely amazing.  I’m with Amber on the whole Miss Michigan winning last year (talent = singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow…w/e she wasn’t even that good) – Miss Wisconsin was way better than Michigan.  However, if Diana had been allowed to be judged on this performance, I think if she hadn’t won the whole country (except for Michiganites) would be crying out in the horrid injustice.

<3, lindsayF

Not even Britney would have worn that dress

It has almost been a week, and I think I’m just now getting to the point where the pain has lessened enough that I can talk about it. Did you watch the 2009 Miss America Pageant? If you didn’t, no worries–I twittered the whole thing. Also, no worries because IT SUCKED. well, actually it was amazingly awesome until they announced the winner. It was Miss Indiana:

Miss Indiana being crowned Miss America 2009.

that dress. THAT DRESS. I almost cried I was so upset that that dress is the current symbol of America.

So I feel really catty—who cares what she was wearing, right?—because I do like Miss Indiana. In fact, she almost made my list of I’m-rooting-for-you-despite-you-not-being-Miss-Iowa that I developed after watching TLC’s Countdown to the Crown. My favorites going in on Saturday were Miss Oklahoma and Miss South Dakota—Miss Oklahoma because she was such a real girl—a Princess Mia type—but I didn’t think she would win. And I was right, she didn’t even make top 15.

Miss Oklahoma!

Now I thought Miss South Dakota would make runner-up at least (I was pretty positive Miss Georgia would win)—but she was out after swimsuit. Which was an outrage btw considering she totally rocked her tallness. And I was always rooting for Miss Iowa, of course, but then she completely won me over as the competition went on!—She had the second best dress, the best talent (TAP DANCING!), and a pretty solid interview question.

Miss Iowa giving some Tap lessons.

The only thing that was questionable about Miss Iowa was that she seemed to have her bikini a bit toooo high-cut to be flattering (I tried forever to find a pic of this, but I couldn’t! weird, I figured Miss America pics would be all over the interweb by now), but all the girls did. The designated swimsuits were ick! Couldn’t we get some glam pinup girl style in the ring? —but early 90’s style seemed to be what the judges wanted because how else could have Miss Indiana had won with that dress on? Seriously, I am all for lace. but that was white, off the shoulder, long-sleeves, asymmetrical mini, see-through full-length, long slit, crazy lace. Not even Britney would wear that outfit. She knows how to break them up:

See-through Lace. Asymmetrical mini. and white. This is how you make them look hot.

Sigh, I’m just mad because Miss Iowa was so close! And this is the second year I feel the Miss America judges have not been watching the same show as me (and I suppose they weren’t–I didn’t see preliminaries…) Remember last year??!! That was just not right. I’m still holding a candle for you, Miss Wisconsin!

Miss Indiana seems very smart, independent and fabulous–She’ll make an awesome Miss America. And if she likes the dress, then “wear it like its hot, girl.”

Best part of pageant? Clinton Kelly telling a bunch of Little Misses “I hope puberty is kind to you.”

ngtamber

Savvy Got A Newbery Honor!!!

This morning the American Library Association Youth Media Award winners were announced.  There was a live webcast of the event, but apparently it was not MAC compatible (or I am an idiot, which could also be the case).  They were Twittering the events, but that kind of broken down right before the big awards.  So I had to get pieces of info from Abby’s Twitter and John Green’s Twitter……..I am still not sure of everything that happened, but the most important thing is that Savvy by my BFF Ingrid Law won a Newbery Honor!!!!!!  This is a huge deal for any author, but especially a first time author.  I am so happy for her!

Here are some things that stood out to me from the awards.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman won the Newbery.  This is a book I’ve actually read and even put on our Mock Newbery list for work, which makes me feel really smart.  I liked this book when I first read it, but after thinking about it there were some nitpicky things that emerged that I wasn’t fond of.  But I think it is a good safe choice for the winner because kids (especially boys) will love this book.  It is scary and spooky and has some great characters in it.

Are You Ready To Play Outside by Mo Willems won the Geisel Award (given to the most distinguished beginning reader book).  This is my second favorite Elephant and Piggie book (after last year’s winner There is a Bird on Your Head).  I think that as long as Mo keeps writing Elephant and Piggie books, he has this award (or at least an honor) in the bag.

I was also really excited that What To Do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke The Rules, Charmed The World, And Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy by Barbara Kerley received a Sibert Honor (for nonfiction books).  This is a fantastic picture book about Alice Roosevelt that everyone needs to read because it is funny, sweet and totally awesome!!!

Another book people need to read is The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart which received a Printz Honor.  I just read this book a week ago and thought it was great…….definitely deserving of an honor.

Some notable absences were John Green’s Paper Towns and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games……..I mean, come on people, what were you thinking????  Paper Towns was my favorite of John Green’s three books and it has been getting rave reviews….maybe the committee thought he already had enough awards.  Also, please…….The Hunger Games not getting anything???  I was kind of expecting it because it falls in that gray area where people think, is it YA or Childrens????  Oh well, I know that it was one of the best books I read this year (well ever really) and I can’t wait for the next one in September.

Hopefully they will post a list of all the winners soon and I will link to it here.

Jen

UPDATE:  Here is a list of al the winners.  It is not easy to read at all, but it seems to be the only place that has a complete list all in one place right now.

I Have Officially Crossed Over…

I am very much looking forward to the breakfast next month when all of us get to meet Meg Cabot and squeal about how great she is.  My original plan was to be the voice of reason helping to control Amber, Lindsay, Jill, and Steph and not allow them to put themselves in a position where they might get arrested.  Well, I think that someone else (Abby, are you up for it?) is going to have to take that job, because I am going to be pushing everyone else out of the way trying to get her attention first.

I had read three Meg Cabot books in my life prior to starting the Princess Diaries series.  I loved All-American Girl and Ready or Not, so I was excited to meet her.  But I knew that I should probably try to make my way through her most famous series of books before getting spoiled on what happens while everyone is freaking out during the breakfast.  I thought I would read the first couple and see how they were and then I would decide if I should read them all………

Well………

I started reading the first one last Thursday.  I proceeded to read through the end of the fourth one by Sunday.  Tuesday I read the fifth book…….and then I finished off the rest of the series in the last 48 hours……..I am still glowing with happiness after finishing the last book.  I want to dance around outside in the snow, except it is late and dark and I live in a scary neighborhood.

I really loved these books.  Granted, Mia could be whiny and totally clueless, but looking at how she dealt with some of her situations, I have behaved very similarly so I can totally relate (although sadly, I was still whiny and immature and acting like Mia well into my 20s, which is just depressing).  The books were really hilarious and I loved how so many things kept popping up in book after book.  Here are some of my thoughts on my reading experiences in the last eleven days:

Favorite Book:  Obviously Forever Princess, no competition.  It was hilariously wonderful and totally wrapped up the series brilliantly.  I almost pulled a Lindsay and jumped up and down for the last 100 pages, but I am kind of lazy, so I settled for letting out intermitant shrieks of “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPP” every now and again.  I don’t think my upstairs neighbors liked it, but I have to listen to their stupid dog all the time so I don’t care.  Plus it includes possibly the best line from any book ever: “Lana says J.P. makes Matt Damon from the Bourne movies look like Oliver from Hannah Montana.”

Second Favorite Book:  Princess in Love was when I really fell in love with the books.  I liked the first and the second one, but the end of the third one made me all giddy and happy the way only Twilight and Harry Potter can do.  That’s when I knew I was hooked and had to make it to the end so I could feel the unabashed happiness that Jill, Amber, and Lindsay had talked about.

Least Favorite Book:  I would have to say Princess Mia was my least favorite book.  It was sad that Michael wasn’t in it at all hardly, Lilly was so mean and Mia was so depressed.  It was like New Moon but without the distraction of Jacob (because I totally knew *Spoiler Alert* that there was something fishy about J.P. from the beginning).

Favorite Character:  Duh, Michael…..obviously.  At first I liked the Michael from the movie better, because when I started the first book I was like, what??  who is this guy who walks around with his shirt off all the time, that’s not Michael???  But then there was the moment (and I can’t remember exactly when it was) but I think it had something to do with Josh Richtor when Michael and Lars exchanged a significant look or something and I was totally won over by book Michael.  He was all protective about Mia’s feelings (but not in a creepy Edward Cullen way).

So anyway, it is getting kind of late and I should probably go to bed so I can get up early and see who wins the Printz, Caldecott, Newbery, etc. like the good librarian that I am.  Or maybe instead of going to bed, I can search eBay to see if anyone is selling the complete Princess Diaries Collection…..hmmmm….. must go check.

Jen

P.S.  Lindsay, I know I said I would call you when I finished the last book, but it is really late and you probably have to work tomorrow, but I will call you soon.

Coraline! (and other movies I’m excited for)

So how excited am I about the upcoming Coraline movie!!  Way excited!

Here’s the trailer:

I read Coraline way back in the day…  I don’t even remember when I read it actually!  But I just remember that it was waaaaaaaaaay creepy and made me appreciate my parents a little bit more (for a few days at least).  Anyways, this movie looks like it’s going to be gorgeous and creepy all at the same time.  Dakota Fanning is the voice of Coraline and I just love her – I think she’s just too adorable.

Another movie with Dakota Fanning in it that I’m looking forward to: Push.  I don’t know when it’s coming out, but I’m looking forward to it.  It also has Camilla Belle (think Rip Girls or the girl from the Jonas Bros. Love Bug music video).

Another movie coming out this year – Where the Wild Things Are!

And of course, how could I talk about upcoming movies without posting a newer trailer for Half Blood Prince!!

<3, lindsayF

Finally Another Video Blog

I posted another video blog on YouTube.  In this blog I talk about the amazing, wonderful, fantastic accomplishment that is Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston.  I also briefly talk about Fun With Roman Numerals by David Adler and The Library by Sarah Stewart.

I was going to mention that I finished the fourth book in the Princess Diaries series but I forgot.  I probably would have read more, but I need to go get the fifth book from the library.  So far I am loving it and am totally smitten with Michael.  Coincidentally the movie was on TV this afternoon and I watched it and realized that even though the books and the movie are COMPLETELY different, I love them both.  Hopefully I can rip right through the rest of the series in time to meet Miss Meg herself so you guys won’t spoil me on what happens.

Anyway, here’s the video.  I am off to watch some Firefly!

P.S.  Sorry the quality is pretty low…..it kind of makes it look like I don’t have any lips…..but just try to ignore that.

My Night Would Have Been A Total Disaster…

If not for this.

Let me just start by explaining what has happened to me tonight since I got home from work.

1. Have been dying for a pizza hut pizza, so tried to send my order in online three times (I have an online only coupon that I want to use).  It never worked.  Finally gave in and called the place for a delivery.  Wait time was an hour and a half….so no pizza for me.

2.  Needed to do laundry.  Laundry card (like an ATM card) only comes up with an error message.  Tried it on another machine and it says I need to “see the manager.”  So no laundry either.

3.  Decide to make banana bread.  Proceed to drop half of first banana on the floor.

4.  Smoke alarm goes off while cooking dinner.

5.  Carbon Monoxide detector is now going off.  And we all know that is not something to take lightly in my apartment of doom.  Maintanence is on the way.

I was in a pretty foul mood…..until I saw my friend Abby’s twitter update that linked to this article about Bella the dog and Tarra the elephant.  It is so fantastic that the video had me crying before it was even half over (crying in a good way).  So everyone go and read the article and hopefully it will give your day a boost as well.

Why Haven’t I Seen Any (Or Possibly More) Celebrities Yet?

Living in Nashville instead of Iowa has its perks.  First off – the winter weather is no where near as harsh in Nashville as it is back up in Iowa…I don’t think it’s snowed yet (and it probably won’t – it was 56 degrees today).  Second – the public library is gorgeous, but there’s not just one public library – there’s like 20 of them!  So many books!  Third – I live super close to 2 super fun coffee shops that I like to go to.  Fourth – I live about 10 minutes away from a mall that contains all the stores I used to have to drive 3 hours (either west to Des Moines or east to Chicago) to get to. 

Those are some pretty awesome perks, however I feel that they are empty.  This is because I have not yet (or possibly I have, but I just didn’t know it) seen any celebrities.  Nashville is the country music capital (capitol?) of the world!  Taylor Swift, how come I haven’t seen you yet???  You claim that you go to the grocery store in your sweat pants, but I can’t verify this.  When Amber and Jill came down for the librarian conference, we went to the Panera in the Green Hills mall, and Amber thinks that we saw Keith Urban (apparently he is also short…Carol (from another lab at Vandy, and whom I have never met before) say so)…so that is where the whole maybe I have seen a celebrity thingn comes in.  I learned that we really may have seen him, because apparently his wife, Nicole Kidman, “hangs out” at the Green Hills mall.  Again, I cannot verify this because I have never seen her there.  I would definitely know if I had seen Nicole Kidman because she’s so tall and there is no way I could miss that! 

I don’t think it’s very fair that I’ve never seen her at the mall, because I go to the Green Hills mall almost once a week (we need to go back soon, to visit the mac store…my stupid iPod shuffle docking station won’t work anymore and I am PISSED). 

What brought this whole, why haven’t I seen any celebrities yet thing on you ask?  The other day I was reading my “myVU” email (I don’t know why, I usually just automatically delete it because hey, I really don’t care about Vanderbilt b/c I personally think every college is inferior to Iowa…but I may be biased) and I learned that Miley Cyrus had presented a donation to the children’s hospital on December 23. 

This is so unfair.  I walk through the children’s hospital every weekday morning to get a Mocha Joe (mmmm, Mocha Joe!) from Suzy’s, and when Miley Cyrus comes to visit, I am back in sticking Iowa.  Seriously, Miley Cyrus was less than half a mile away from my apartment and I was 600 miles away at the time.  Not cool.  Seriously not cool.

And speaking of more celebrities I would like to see, where is Ben Folds?  He lives in Nashville, his production studio is on Music Row (I’ve seen music row once because I took a wrong turn, and I have never been able to find my way back to it again), and I’m pretty sure he’s not on tour right now (I didn’t check though…maybe he is still on tour).  So why haven’t I seen him? 

And don’t say that they don’t go out to eat where I go out to eat, because I totally know they do.  I got my oil changed not to long ago and the only paper they had in the waiting area contained a star sighting section and they totally eat at the same indian restaurant as I do.  So whatever.  Also, I’m ticked off b/c I just learned yesterday that the Jonas Bros. played a concert in Nashville, and yet I didn’t even realize they were in town.  No, I probably wouldn’t have tried to go to the concert, but yes I would have tried to go take a picture of their tour bus.  Whatever.

Oh well, at least I know I’m going to get to meet one celebrity for sure.  Meg Cabot!!  Well, I’m not quite sure if she is exactly a celebrity, but she is to me and I start to hyperventilate whenever I think about the fact that I’m going to get to meet her in February at the Children’s Literature Breakfast at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville!!!!!!!!  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

She is so cute!!!

Speaking of Meg Cabot, did you read Princess Diaries 10, Forever Princess???  If you haven’t, go read it now!!  If you haven’t read the series, start it now!!  These are big words, but they’re so true – Harry Potter is no longer my favorite all time series.  Princess Diaries is!  When I was reading the last book, I had to force myself not to flip to the end of the book just to make sure it turned out the way I thought it was going to turn out.  The entire book was just masterful.  Everything that happened, I was like, OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!  Did he just do that????  Did he just say that????  OMG what a jerk!!!  Aaaaah, how sweet!!!  I think the last hour I read I was bouncing up and down on the couch.  My husband probably thought I was a lunatic (actually probably not b/c he knew what he was getting into when he married me).

Anyways, that’s all for now.  I had to write a lot since I haven’t posted anything for a while (the holidays, not having internet in the evening, and being scared to post anything at work really puts a damper on your posting). 

luv,

lindsayF

A Literary Mystery

I recently finished reading the first book in the original Nancy Drew series – The Secret of the Old Clock.  (By the way, I did finish all of those books in the picture I took of that library trip…and then proceeded to check out about 8 more.)  We all know Nancy lives in River Heights, but this book never actually says where River Heights is.  SO, I am concluding that River Heights is a fictional town in…drum roll, please….IOWA.

Here’s the facts:

— A quote from page 26 of The Secret of the Old Clock:  “Like a true daughter of the Middle West, Nancy Drew took pride in the fertility of her State and saw beauty in a crop of waving green corn as well as in the rolling hills and the expanse of prairie land.”  I may only have lived here for a year and a half, but that sounds like Iowa to me.

— The book also mentions a town named Masonville.  There is totally a Masonville, Iowa!

— Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote 23 of the first 25 books in the series under the name Carolyn Keene, was born in Ladora, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Iowa.  Don’t believe me?  Go here.  (Seriously, go there, it’s awesome!)

According to Wikipedia, The Phantom of Pine Hill (book 42) indicates that River Heights is in or near Ohio, and Counterfeit Christmas (#102 of The Nancy Drew Files) implies that it is one hour east of Chicago, but obviously, the ghostwriters got it wrong.  River Heights is definitely in IOWA.  Mystery solved!

jill