Halfway through the Best

I love movies. I love movie award shows. So, I am in seventh heaven during this time of year. Each year, I try to see all of the Best Picture Oscar Nominees. Last year, I saw 9 of the 10 nominees (I skipped A Serious Man - it only got two stars on Netflix, so why bother?) This year, I am a little behind. I have only seen 5 of the nominees so far. Luckily, I have time left.



The interesting thing is that this year, I actually want to see all of the nominees. Three of the nominated films - Inception, Toy Story 3, and Black Swan -appeared in my post "Best of 2010" so you know how I feel about them. I have also seem The Kids are All Right, which was well, just all right. Since the "Best of 2010" post, I have seen The Social Network. I thought SN was well acted and really interesting. If I were to go back to edit my best of list, The Social Network would probably be on top.

That leaves The King's Speech, The Fighter, Winter's Bone, True Grit, and 127 Hours for my viewing pleasure. I am really, really dying to see The King's Speech and The Fighter. I am a bit nervous about 127 hours because I don't know what to expect from "the scene," but I am looking forward to seeing James Franco's performance. I plan to take a day off from work next week, so I think an afternoon at the movies is in order.

What was your Best Picture of 2010? Will you be watching the Oscars on February 27?

Best of 2010

So, I know I probably should have written this post during the last week of December, but I have been busy. Sue me.

Movies
Hubby and I are big movie fans. Our normal routine seems to be to watch the new discs that arrived from Netflix each week over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Of course, we may have other things to do those evenings, but we do seem to watch a ton of movies. Provided I have not seen every movie that came out in 2010, here are a few of my favorites:
Inception-Unique, thought provoking, and full of action
Toy Story 3-Made me long to play with my Barbies and remember the beauty of childhood
Easy A-Smart, funny, made me want Patricia Clarkson & Stanley Tucci for my parents
Black Swan-Beautiful, fragile, absolutely insane

TV
We do watch TV, and really like our DVR. I have to say though, there are not many new shows that debuted in 2010 that have made me a loyal viewer. We have watched No Ordinary Family and Raising Hope, but I have to say I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if they were gone. I am much more impressed by the shows that are still going strong in their second seasons:
Modern Family-this crazy family makes me laugh every week
The Good Wife-passion, drama, and law with the amazing Julianna Margulies
The Vampire Diaries-tense, sexy, always twisting plot of vampire goodness
Being Human-what's not to love about about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost living together as roommates?

One exception - FX's Archer. This cartoon about an inept spy agency is definitely for adults. It make us laugh out loud every episode with its outrageousness. Look for Season 2 to start January 27.

Concerts
Hubby is definitely a classic rock guy, and I guess I enjoy a strange mash up of music that is not necessarily current, but not really classic either. We did see some kick butt shows this year:
Steve Winwood-we had never seem a harpsichord in action
Eric Clapton with Roger Daltrey-Hubby says Slow Hand was the best concert he'd ever seen
Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon-Double trouble from the 80's under the stars at Koka Booth Amphitheater
Joe Bonamassa-The best young Blues guitarist around - it was our 3rd time seeing him
Mollybond-our neighbor and her 6 bandmates making amazing music. Each woman writes and performs lead vocals on their own songs
Daniel Tosh-the handsome comedian has great sense of humor. Check out Tosh.0 on Comedy Central starting January 11.

Vacations
The Netherlands and Belgium-the best vacation we have taken to date. The beer was intense!
Asheville-our first trip with the dogs. It didn't go as expected, but we will try again.
Wilmington, NC-our first real visit to this great seaside city that hosts NC's only Iron distance triathlon
Charleston/Kiawah Island-One can never be tired of Charleston. We have been over and over and I will always want to go back. This trip included a new destination - Kiawah Island.

Races
This year was full of races for us. We each completed our first international distance triathlon (1500m swim, 45K bike, 10k run) in White Lake, NC, with our group of tri friends. Hubby went on to complete his first Half Iron distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) race in Wilmington, while I finished an additional 6 triathlons at the sprint distance. We both completed the Kiawah Island half marathon as well.

What a great year 2010 was!! What was your best of 2010?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

I have probably blogged about this topic before, but I think it bears repeating.

September 1 to January 1 is my absolute favorite time of the year. I have always loved the fall. To me, it seems that all the good stuff happens this time of the year. College football starts (Go Dawgs - #1 this year!), hockey begins in October (the Canes have got to have a better season this year), Bill's birthday is in September, my birthday is in October, the leaves change and fall, the temperatures get cooler, and all the best holidays happen - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. What's not to love?

Of course, there is a downside. The Junior League also starts. Last night was our first general membership meeting of the year. I had to stand for about 1 1/2 hours to listen to the all the new information for the year. I really began to wonder why I was there and not with my friends at The Sauce. I really think I will like my placement this year - Extra Hands - and working on small volunteer projects that are typically done in one day. I like the idea of being part of the community and helping people in need. I just wish there was not so much bureaucracy and cash outlay involved. Oh well, I am stuck for at least one more year.

This fall is also special for the election of our new President. Must more on that another time...