Old 45's

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Thanksgiving

Cracking up
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Sorry it has taken me so long to post. Nicholas and I are having two holiday parties this weekend and we have been in full party-planning mode since coming home.

We had a really wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, friends, and food. We got home late Tuesday night and stayed up till 1am with my parents looking at old home movies and listening (and dancing) to my mom's old 45's...don't worry video is to follow. On Wednesday, I went to lunch with some friends from high school and got caught up on all the gossip. That night we went for sushi IN PADUCAH and it was actually pretty good. Although the best roll was deep fried, which was not surprising. ;) We also went to see Casino Royale, which was excellent. I just want to say for the record I always supported Daniel Craig and his hotness as James Bond. Anyone who has seen Layer Cake would never doubt his ability.

On Thursday, we did a whirwind tour of family gatherings. We went to Allen Family Thanksgiving for lunch in Evansville. My Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jimmy hosted the clan and we had some fantastic food. I made a chocolate roulade which my counson Andrea called a big chocolate burrito, but a good chocolate burrito so I guess I shouldn't complain. It was really wonderful to be with all my family, especically since they are crazy fun (see above picture).

After lunch, we drove to Hopkinsville to eat dinner with Ron's family. The only problem was none of us ate because we were so stuffed from lunch. However, we got to visit with everyone which is sort of the point. :)

On Friday, my dad's family and my Aunt Lana and her family came over for pancakes. I know most would find it absurd that my father's family is coming over to my mother's house since they've been divorced for over 20 years. But hey later that day my grandmother came over with all the family to my grandfather and his new wife's house for dinner. So at the very least it runs in the family. ;)

The next day we drove to Louisville for the day to visit with our friend's Tim and Emily and see their new house. Tim and Emily (or Timily if you prefer) are pretty ridiculous. On the surface, they have very little in common but somehow that translates - they seem to be the only two people on the planet that understand the other. We also saw Annie and Kyle and their new house. From our guided tour, I would guess those two have done nothing else but home improvement projects since they moved. Kyle in particular has crazy energy so this fits him perfectly. They've been in the house only a couple of months and they've already ripped out walls in the basement, vines on the front tree, and painted their back room. I don't know how they do it - ya'll saw what happened when I asked Nicholas to help me paint our tiny kitchen.

On our way home, we stopped at Beaver Dam - a rest stop on the endlessly boring West Kentucky Parkway. On my way in the door, I hear "Hey Sarah!" I recognize the face and the voice so I put on a big ole smile and gave the guy a hug with an accompanying "HEY!" We exchanged pleasantries and he introduced himself to Nicholas as Brandon but as we walked away I had NOTHING - I mean absolutely nothing on who that kid was. So lucky Nicholas had to hear for the hour and half back home. "Brandon! Brandon! Brandon Who!?!" I called my mother, my grandmother, TWO friends from high school and no one could figure it out.

I racked my brain through all my groups of friends - high school friends, Paducah family friends, La Center familiy friends, church friends (or "churchies"). They were the only group left and conveniently enough were coming over that night to visit. After eliminating Brandon Mosley, Jessica Carfield (my savior!) remembered Brandon Driver who was a few years older then us. A quick search through the church directory and myspace and TADA! Brandon Driver! Thank god we figured it out or I would have been tossing and turning all night "Brandon WHO!?!"

Sunday was our last day in town and we didn't do anything exciting except gorge on Red's Donuts and go shopping. We flew out of Nashville late that night - arriving home at around 1am. An exhausting trip but worth it! :)

UCLA Student Gets Tazered

This is the most disturbing thing I have seen in a long time.

Ok, so maybe wikipedia isn't that great

I will proclaim my love of wikipedia to anyone that asks. I check it all the time and used to argue its neutrality and reliability...that is until I checked the entry on the shooting at my high school in 1997.

Most of the content was copied word for word from the shooter's website and it merely listed the victims at the very bottom of the page. However, the most disturbing part was that the majority of the entry had been written by a teenager from Australia who admits to mental illness but says he is "attempting to resolve these issues [his] self, but with great difficulty" AND who only edits or contributes to entries about school shootings or other violent events.

I guess the best part about wikipedia is you can edit when you see something wrong. Well, I saw a lot of things wrong so I spent several hours editing the entry. Not exactly memories I love to revisit but I felt it was important. Actually during my research, I found a lot of interesting follow-up stories and learned more about the people with whom I share those memories and their lives now, which was actually very nice.

I thought I might post about that day but even ten years later I'm not really ready to talk about my experience in-depth...at least not tonight anyway.

Dear O.J.,

We don't need your ridiculous hypothetical confession! And do you know why?

You stunning piece of crap and wasted flesh...

because WE ALL KNOW YOU DID IT!

With great hatred and anger,
Sarah

*******************************

Seriously, I cannot control my vitriol when talking about O.J. Simpson. I was just in high school when the whole thing went down and I remember thinking it was quite the circus. I think I always thought he probably did it but it seemed semi-inconclusive.

Then I remember on rainy weekend in college I was being lazy and stumbled across the E! True Hollywood Story about the O.J. Simpson trial. It was like four hours long. At the end I recall being completely shocked and thinking "Holy crap! That man killed those people in cold blood and got away with it!"

Ever since then, I get really really angry when I talk or even think about O.J. I don't usually feel that way about criminals. I never had an ounce of anger for Michael Carneal. Maybe that's because he went to jail for his crimes and I never had to see footage of him happily playing golf or dating Playboy bunnies. Or maybe it's because Michael Carneal was and is mentally ill and O.J. Simpson is just a jerk who got away with murder. I don't know. All I know is O.J. Simpson is a walking, talking mockery of our criminal justice system and the fact that he is going to make money or gain one more second of publicity from brutally murdering those people makes me want to scream. I hope bad bad things happen to him, on earth and beyond.

Holy Crap! Someone painted my kitchen orange!

New Kitchen
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Naw - I'm just kidding. Nicholas and I painted it today. Wow, was he unhappy about that. He got over it eventually though...of course that was about the time we figured out it would need three coats. ;)

Consider this the second installment of my "Introduction to Our New Apartment" series. I've already showed you our bedroom and now that we've decided not to mount our television, pictures of the living room should be coming soon!

******

Of course today wasn't completely without mishaps... ;)





























This is actually the face he had all day.

Borat: Very nice...NOT!

Last weekend, Nicholas and I attempted to see Borat. Sasha Baron Cohen's new mockumentary about a reporter from Kazakhstan who travels to America. It was completely sold out. Disappointed, we had to listen to a week of great reviews from critics and our friends who had seen the film. "The funniest movie in years!" "Revolutionary!" "Genius!"

Needless to say, we were pretty syked. Only one problem - not that funny.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those totally unhip hipsters who are easily offended or think comedy can't cross certain lines. Here, let me present my hipster comedy credentials:
I watch South Park.
I laughed my ass off during The Aristocrats
And I was at Jackass 2 opening night.

And all of that was funny. Borat was not funny.

There were parts were I giggled and even laughed out loud. But overall I was terribly disappointed.

First, the movie jumps back and forth between scripted and unscripted moments so I was never truly convinced either way. Plus, with the recent accusations put forth by several of the "drunken, frat boys" in a recent lawsuit, it seems Cohen doesn't just script pieces of the film, he manipulates to the point of fraud.

Second, I felt patronized. Several critics have praised Cohen for showing America in all its racist, sexist glory and making us laugh at ourselves. Only one problem - I wasn't laughing. As a Southerner, I couldn't help but notice that Cohen spent a majority of the film in the South - stopping in Virginia, Atlanta, Alabama, and Texas. Even when he was on his way to California in the middle of Arizona he manages to find three frat boys...from South Carolina. He spends a small amount of time in New York and L.A. There are a few gags about how New Yorkers will punch you out for trying to kiss them but no time spent making people in New York or L.A. seem like racist, ignorant jerks. I've been to New York and L.A. - believe me when I say there are racist, ignorant jerks there, too.

One part of the film in particular struck me as manipulative. In Atlanta, Cohen stops in the "ghetto" to speak with a group of African-American males. They are very nice to him - explaining how to wear his pants, laughing at his music choices, and teaching him slang. At first I thought, "how funny that the people that seemed most dangerous were the nicest to him." But looking back on it, why didn't he spout off his usual sexist, anti-Semitic, or homophobic rants to them to see how they would react? In the real documentary "The Protocols of Zion," the filmmakers spend a lot of time addressing the historical mistrust of Jews in the African-American community. How come he didn't try that route? Something tells me because it wouldn't have fit in as nicely with spearing of white America. Too complicated to really look at racist America, instead of just laughing at the ignorant, white people...which maybe would have worked if I had been laughing at that either.

Third, several parts of the film were just mean. Calling a woman ugly at her own dinner table is mean, not funny. Scaring the shit out of young children with a live bear is mean. (Ok maybe a little funny but also a little mean). Plus, I was never sure how people were supposed to react. At one point, an etiquette coach is shown pictures of Cohen's "family" which include pictures of his "son's" penis. She doesn't bat an eye and calmly explains that though he is proud of his family, perhaps he should keep the pictures to himself. I didn't think that was ridiculous or funny. I thought it was dang admirable.

My friend says we are supposed to laugh at ourselves as Americans because we will tolerate such absurd situations in the name of politeness or political correctness or whatever. But I just don't understand what would have been a preferable reaction. To scream and yell? Why are we supposed to laugh at the racist, Southerners who live on Secessionist Drive because they go out of their way to try to understand the cultural differences between themselves and their guest from Kazakhstan.

I just don't get it.

Give me Johnny Knoxville anyday. ;)

It's official

I can't stop smiling either Nancy...

Why I'm a Democrat

If I had to pinpoint a time when I began describing myself as a Democrat, it would be the winter of 2000. By this point, my transition from a good little Baptist conservative to what Cartman describes so aptly as a "college know-it-all hippie" was really in full swing. As you can imagine, 2000 was not the best year to switch parties because we started losing...a lot.

It wasn't always easy to stand strong. 2004 was particularly devastating with pundit after pundit proclaiming the death of the Democratic party. However, I became and remain a Democratic because I believe to my very core that this party is better at governing our country. I do not believe that Republicans are evil (at least not ALL of them) or that they hate America. I do believe that the basic ideas of the Republican party spell disaster for America.

Corporate welfare does not work. Leaving corporations free to pursue the almighty dollar and expecting them to do what's best for America in the process is absurd. And who can blame them? It is their job to make a profit at all costs and most of them are pretty good at it. However, it is not their job to watch out for working men and women. It is the government's. The middle and lower classes of this country do not ask for much but when they do we should deliver. Democrats deliver. They delivered Social Security. They delivered the Family and Medical Leave Act. And they will deliver a raise in the minimum wage.

Wedge issues might be an election strategy but they are not a governing strategy. Without a doubt, religious and social values are important. It was a strong faith in God that led Americans to demand an end to slavery, an end to segregation and the right to vote for women. However, reducing complex issues of morality and faith into divisive discussions on abortion and gay marriage is wrong. Morality in government really means less corruption. In the first 100 hours, Speaker Pelosi has already said the first item on her agenda will be to close the revolving door between legislators and lobbying.

Nation building does not work. It never has and it never will. Being strong on national security requires diplomacy and restraint, not brute force and moral judgment. Our experiment in Iraq has failed. By refusing to address our failure, we have also made North Korea and Iran more powerful and more dangerous. Without a doubt, we are less safe and less secure. Democrats will demand the accountability that has been sorely lacking in our government's foreign policy. Tough questions are ahead but that does not mean they should not be asked.

I believe in the Democratic party. Not because we are perfect or have all the answers - but because the foundation of our party is built on real solutions for this country.

Election Night 2006

Election Night 2006
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

YEAH!!!!! Kentucky coming through - woot woot

Wow!

I cannot believe she did this. I mean everyone hates to lose but HELLO there's a camera on you.

My niece and her proud parents

Elizabeth
Originally uploaded by robholland.

This picture is just too sweet not to post.

Exchange

Nicholas: The Breeder's Cup is today
Sarah: The dog show?
Nicholas: (Stares blankely)...The horse race.
Sarah: (Gives cutest smile so husband is distracted from her very stupid comment)

Questions for the Game of Life

I was trying to think about something to post about since it's been a couple of days. I don't want to post about the election because I'm afraid I'll curse it. I didn't do anything terribly exciting today or the day before that. I'm currently watching On Golden Pond. Needless to say, current events is not an option.

Then I remembered these "If..." books I have. They have conversational questions like "What famous person would you have dinner with?" Stuff like that. Nicholas always hates to do them with me so I'm going to make you guys play!!! ;)

Some of them are way too easy for me - basically every answer to any question involving a famous person, dead or alive, will be Oprah.
If you could have a famous person as your parent, who would it be?
Oprah
If you could have any person in history be your boss, who would it be?
Oprah
If you could change places with any celebrity in the world, but have to remain that person forever, who would you be?
Oprah

Others are harder.
If you could be any sign of the zodiac other than your own, what would you want to be?
I don't really know about any other zodiac sign but my own. Wait - I think that's a characteristic of a Leo.
If you had to pick the TV personality you were most in love with as a kid, who would it be?
Whew. Tough call. I remember Don Johnson being my first real celebrity crush. If we're counting adolescence, I had it bad for Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto) - along with about 3000 other 15-year-old Angela Chase wannabe's.
If you could have been present during the inauguration of any past president, whose would it be?
This one is really hard. My first instinct is Abraham Lincoln's second inaugeral. But then again JFK's? or FDR's? Or what about George Washington's? Oh or Thomas Jefferson's? Too tough - can't pick. Impossible.

Well, that's it for now. Feel free to leave your own answers in the comments if you're bored! :)

A place to rest your head...

So in all the Halloween excitement I didn't get a chance to post about the other development this weekend. We bought a new mattress!!!

I know I know - this sounds like some joke post about how boring people's blogs about their personal lives can get but seriously! We were sleeping on Nicholas's $175 mattress from law school and now we are sleeping on this. I mean you can only imagine the difference.

Needless to say, we sleep better, longer, and don't wake up with sore backs. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh........