Why it is your womanly duty to go see The Women

I know we are all aflutter about this Friday's release of the Coen Brothers new sure-to-be-a-hit movie Burn After Reading. However, I'd like to give you another reason to go to the cinema this weekend–your feminist duty. Though the previews give you no hint of this, there is something very special about The Women. This movie boasts an all-female cast, literally. Not a single Y-chromosome appears on screen for the entire one hour and fifty-four minutes. As I'm sure you realize, this is quite a feat.

The Women is a remake of the 1939 film based on the 1936 play by Clare Booth Luce. An intimate examination of women's relationships, the original was penned with much disdain for the pampered lives of society women. I can only hope that this update truly is refreshed from a modern (or perhaps post-modern) perspective. I can definitely appreciate how an almost universal experience, like the two-timing husband, can serve as a pivotal moment to illuminate the many strengths and weaknesses of female friendships. If handled without sensitivity though, it could come across as an extended cat fight, a dramatized stereotype claiming that women's lives revolve around men.

Dianne English (writer/director/producer) has been trying to get this movie done for most of the nineties. The studio is probably thinking that now may be the perfect time for a release such as this. Coming off the great success of the Sex and the City full-length feature as well as Mamma Mia, movies for women don't seem as silly anymore, do they? However, The Women runs the risk of losing its impact, giving off the appearance that it is simply jumping on the bandwagon. And without a genuine, compelling campaign to support it, I'm worried The Women may get lost in the shuffle. The ads scream out to us, pleading "Get your friends together to celebrate...The Women." It almost comes across as desperate, which is why I am here now, pleading to you. Do get some friends together. Do go see The Women. You can even go with me if you're in the Chicago area. Then tell me what you think. After all, sexism is a hot topic right now. I believe it is our duty to remain a part of the conversation.

The Whirlwind Adventures of the Whimsical Trio

I'm a horrible blogger. It's been over 3 months. You could blame it on the weather. It's this deadening force that sucks you up into a cyclone of scarves and wool and throws you into hibernation. Friendships, grocery shopping, dating-- all become impossible. All that is possible is Netflix and delivery Thai food. The writers' strike certainly didn't help things. And all the shitty movies in February and March. Battlestar waits just until it is pleasant enough for me to want to go outside to start the final season. But, as far as I can tell, there is nothing more exhilarating than the hint of Spring on the horizon after 5 months of peeking out from under my toboggan. When the sun is out, the city feels like one big smile. The lonely crowd finds a common cause, a shared joy. Winter itself seems to be something you suffer alone, but Spring is a cause for celebration, an excuse for human contact.

I made it to Vegas in January again this year to spend a week with family and slot machines. I thought this would be enough of a winter escape. I was quite wrong and by March I found myself on Southwest and American Airlines everyday searching for someplace, anyplace that I could run off to. Just for a weekend. Get a quick dose of Vitamin D then back to the city. I was becoming obsessed. Finally the pressure cracked and I booked a flight to Fayetteville for Easter weekend, to see my ladies (and a few gentlemen I am fond of). I had a glorious time and celebrated the Sun (on the weekend of the Son) with games of frisbee and washers. Two days later my mother and brother came to Chicago for a visit, which was also great even if cold and windy.

Then circumstances grabbed hold and I found myself in need of an emergency visit to Savannah, Georgia. Lily and .beth. were both accepted to the Savannah College of Art and Design (for M.F.A.s in Painting and Illustration respectively). And the decision had to be made before May 1st, when the deposits are due. So I spent M,T,W of last week in Savannah with the girls and Jonathan. Savannah is so Old South, dreamy and beautiful. We had a great time. But Lily was also accepted to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and she traveled to the great cold North immediately after Georgia. I went back to Chicago for 24 hours then took a night bus to Minneapolis to meet her and visit our good friend Adam. While we were there, we visited 2 museums, saw two plays, and one jazz concert. The people at the school were so helpful and I feel like we really have all the information we need now. I have a feeling Lily will wake in the middle of the nite soon with a decision she reached unconsciously. I trust her subconscious though. It knows what she needs.

Saturday nite I took another bus back to Chicago, caught a three hour nap, then made it to Doug's play Visions of Kerouac, in which he played Jack himself. I was really proud of him. It was the best thing he has ever done.

Now, I'm over-cultured and over-traveled and ready to stay put in my city as the sun comes up. I might even buy groceries this week.

Archies 2007: Top o' the World

In an effort to perpetuate a new tradition cooked up by a respected former professor, I am compiling my list for the 2007 Archies, a list of the top things (however many) in your world for the year of 2007.
The Archies: The Top 45 Things In The World, 2007

45. Human Weapon
44. Boots
43. August: Osage County
42. Raspberry Lattes
41. The Quote Couch, and all those weekends I spent on it at Andi's while adjusting to being graduated
40. Friends who cook me Thanksgiving Dinner
39. Fluffy Snow
38. 500 Clown
37. Grey's Anatomy
36. Free admission at the MCA
35. Thai Food
34. Southwest Rapid Rewards
33. Olympic Sculpture Park
32. Tim Hawkinson
31. Dark Chocolate and Red Wine
30. Battlestar Gallactica
29. DVR
28. Visitors and Visiting
27. Lunch with my Ladies
26. Michael Cera
25. Arguing with Douglas
24. Online Shoe Shopping
23. Chicago Card
22. Las Vegas
21. Las Vegas (I went twice. Going again in a couple of weeks.)20. Denver Art Museum
19. Zipcar
18. Helvetica: The Movie17. Trade Gothic (The Font Family)
16. The Field Museum
15. Dance Parties
14. Packages
13. Google Maps
12. Sweeney Todd
11. Frozen Yogurt
10. Christmas Trees
9. Health Insurance
8. Gainful Employment
7. Fabulous New Albums (Tori Amos, Rilo Kiley, Kanye West)
6. The Sparrow
5. Ingrid Michaelson
4. Juno
3. Harry Potter
2. iPhone
1. The 10,000+ miles of Arkansas, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Canada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Oklahoma that Lily and I (and sometimes Jacob) traveled on the famed Road Trip of 07. Look for a new exotic destination to top this list next year, as the threesome's travels are never over.

A Letter From the Offended

Dear Drunk Gay Men in Bars,

Yes. My breasts are fabulous. No. You may not come into contact with them in any way. I realize that you are homosexual and derive no pleasure from such activities. However, your sexuality does not win you a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, rather it merely absolves you from facing a harsher form of justice. So think twice before complimenting me dexterously again, or I may be forced to return the compliment to your face.

Sincerely,

Hottie in the Blue Top

Long as there are stars above you

While filling out one of those "Awards of 2007" surveys on Myspace, I surprised myself with a memory. The question asked for High Point of 2007. I scrolled through the past year in my mind. I automatically considered the moment I was offered my job, then discarded it as too easy. Though I was quite giddy. There had to be something else in there. I've had a pretty great year. There have been definite lows, but nothing compared to how fortunate I have been. I've been to Vegas twice, drove for 10,000 miles with Lily exploring the West, moved to a big city in a strange land, got a new roommate, got an internship, got a job, got an iPhone. First year as a college graduate, first year of complete financial independence. And then I found it. This moment that I experienced in March on The Road Trip. I hadn't thought about it in a while, but it was a real showstopper.

Lily and I spent the week of my birthday in Los Angeles. From there, we drove to San Francisco along Highway 1, a winding stretch that hugs the coastal cliffs like a sexy tattoo snaking up the side of a woman's torso. The drive took about 12 hours. It was simultaneously calming, invigorating, and frightening. We saw a herd of zebras, were nearly blown over by the winds of sea lions passing gas, and teased catastrophe when we thought we were going to be stuck in the mountains without any gas of our own. But there was one moment when we just had to pull over to the side of the road. It was so beautiful. We stood on the cliffs, overlooking the Pacific. The waves were crashing up hundreds of feet below and the sun was setting. The speakers from the car played The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows." With that repeating chorus, and those swelling waves, it was a perfect moment. We stood there silent, taking it all in. You see, not only was The Road Trip another adventure, it was a prolonged goodbye. A slow transition for Lily and I to cushion the blow. The reason I waited 5 months after graduation to move to Chicago. The only way it could have really been properly done.

God only knows what Id be without you
God only knows what Id be without you
God only knows
God only knows what Id be without you
God only knows what Id be without you
God only knows
God only knows what Id be without you
God only knows what Id be without you

One Laptop Per Child

Reverend Billy got you feeling down this holiday season for your consumerist ways? Put that guilt to work and make a real difference.

Please, check out One Laptop Per Child.

P.S. It's tax deductible.

Dreamweaver I believe you can get me through the nii-iight

Like Katie, I too enjoy making lists. Here's a simple one that ran through my head this morning as the coffee buzz set in and I fully defrosted from the commute.

Dream Careers (other than current pursuit, no particular order)

Rock Star.
I really love to sing, despite the fact that it slightly horrifies me to do so on stage. Senior year of high school, the Homecoming Queen asked me to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at the Homecoming assembly, in front of the entire population of McCrory. I obliged and did so with my eyes tightly shut the whole time, then hid backstage till it was safe to sneak back to where the band was sitting and vent my frustrations on a bass drum. There's a wholly different kind of soul bearing that goes along with singing compared to acting. I still dream though of somehow being discovered as the next Fiona or Blondie through no effort of my own. As a child I believed that the stereo speakers in the back window of the car were also microphones, which music industry execs installed. And I would sing towards the back of the car, believing they were listening and would someday swing by with a contract and a collaboration with Ace of Base.

Astronaut.
Though most girls haven't indulged in this fantasy, I imagine it is probably a common dream among youngsters. The unconquered, the undiscovered, the unimaginable. Astronauts are also the quintessential scientist rock stars. I missed out on Space Camp as a child and am still disappointed. For like fifteen seconds, I considered going to the Naval Academy to start my aeronautical career. When indulging in this fantasy, I leave out the fact that I have motion sickness.

Author.
Assigned to write a short story in 6th grade, I churned out a 35-page thriller handwritten on wide-ruled notebook paper. When we got our first computer, if I wasn't designing silly posters in Print Shop Deluxe, I was hammering out my story The Bellwitch, whose main character had black hair and purple eyes and wore a black miniskirt with a purple leotard. The climax of this story took place in a tornado.

Actress.
I've indulged in this one one too many times.

I know these seem like easy answers, but they're the absolute truth. Who really dreams of growing up to be an accountant anyway? Dreams shouldn't be practical. I'm sure you've got a few that you would like to share. I know we're all in creative fields, but one or two of my friends out there is bound to have dreamed of being a brain surgeon or something after mastering the game of Operation.