Ok so I've realized that I haven't even shown off my kitties! LOOK AT THEM!






heehee the white one is Tula. She's getting really fat and can't jump up on my lap as easily anymore. The darker one is Al Capone. We named her that because she can be a real trouble maker at times. Mostly we just call her Al though. Isn't it cool how they're both looking into the camera?! They're very picturesque, don't you think? Or... ok it could be the treat I was dangling behind the webcam that caught their attention... but you know I just wanted you all to be able to see their adorable faces!



Here's another picture. This is what they do when I shake their treat bag:







hahah they run up to the desk and wait for me to toss their treats down to them. So cute. But look at Tula, hah, too fat to jump up like Al there.



Okee dokee enough of the kitties. Time for GOSSIP! So about the "dumpage". Turns out uh... yea he really only meant break, when he said "take a break". Because he called me back just a few days later. woohoo and all, but i was really suprised. But anyway, without going into too much detail over the INTERNET, I'll just say that we talked, got some things straightened out, and we're good now. We're cool.



Been working a lot more lately. I still have tutoring on mon, wed and fridays though. That all ends June 9th, then I'll have some more free time. Lately work hasn't been all that bad. I've been getting along with the people I work with, and they give me pretty good hours. The customers though... yea they're still giving me headaches. Ok so get this, there was this one saturday morning, (EARLY, like 8am and I was the only cashier at the time) I was in the middle of a transaction when the power goes out. Can you believe that! Oh my gosh all the registers shut off, and there were about six customers in my line waiting to be checked out. Of course the supervisors ran away. They were nowhere to be seen. Probably calling the electric company or something I don't know. But guess who was left with the customers. ME. And guess who all the customers blamed for the power outage. ME! I'm not joking, one man even said, "What'd you do?" Are... you serious? "Yes, sorry sir. I um... accidently bumped this here wire which subsequently made all the power in the entire freaking grocery store go out." grrrrrrr... whatever. Turns out the WalMart next door was experiencing it to, so it was like a neighborhood thing I guess I don't know, they got it fixed a half an hour later.



The weather here is NUTS. One minute it's bright and sunny, then dark and stormy the next. And on top of that it's hot as HECK! What's a girl supposed to wear with such a crazy forecast?! Well, at least it's not snowy. I don't like to go outside when it's snowy. I like to curl in bed with a bad of hershey kisses and watch eight hour flicks instead. Is it just me?



One thing I love about summer is there's plenty of time for you to catch up on all your reading. I've got three books I can't wait to dig in to. What kind of books do you all like? Mystery? Romance? I prefer the sad and depressing ones. Ok that sounds bad. What I mean is, the kind of books with you know, a sad story, but is intended to be inspiring in the end. And you know, uplifting. If you like those kind of stories too, I definitley recommend these books here:





By Ronlyn Domingue














By Alice Sebold












Ok well... I've typed enough I think. Was fun! Now I'm gonna go practice on my keyboard. Trying to learn chopsticks. Wow ok it's HARD! I can only got half of it down. Ok, talk to you all later! Am planning to see X-Men on friday. Let you all know how it goes! :-) :-)



Love,
Steph

Ok, is it just me, or are you guys TOTALLY stoked about Miami Vice coming out?!



Trailor: Miami Vice!




...don't judge me.

Bonjour mes jolies!

That's French for, "hello my pretties". Ha, I tell you, those five years of french have been SO worthwhile! ... not. Seriously, what was I thinking? Obviously Spanish would have been the more useful language to learn. Sheesh... OH, you know what it was?? Ok, this sounds kinda silly, but I've always been a HUGE fan of the movie Braveheart. Really, this movie will always go down as Favorite Movie of All Time for me. Anyway, Mel, or William Wallace speaks french in it! And I was SO in love with him. Let's see... what was it that he said... oh! ok, "Chaque jour je pense a toi" ... i think that's how it goes, but anyway it's "everyday I thought of you". ALSO, hmmm there was another line I think... when he says he's not a liar, but he is a savage. It sounds so cool. Hang on I have to look up what "savage" is in french because I don't remember us learning THAT word.

"Si je suis indomitus!" hahah "but I am a savage". (Not sure if that's right... sorry french majors!) Perhaps I'm having too much fun with this? I don't know, but yea, THAT'S why I got into French. It just sounded so cool when he said it! And come on people, language of loooove? <3> You know, there are just NO good movies out right now. I was thinking about what I would probably review next but, nothing! MAYBE Friends With Money, but I tell you, and I don't want to sound all bitter and judgemental or whatever but... Jennifer Aniston and her hair has been bugging me lately. You know what I think it was? Seeing her in... um what was it called, it was with Kevin Costner... shoot what was it OH, Rumor Has It. Please, I beg you not to watch this movie. It's one of those, "I just wasted an hour and a half of my LIFE" movies. I wrote a review about it when it came out, look it up, it's all there.

Hey, I may have been busy with school and stuff for the past few weeks but I DID see some movies that I can still review! Wow... that's a lot of reviewing though... Perhaps I'll make them really short. VERY short actually. You know what, I think I'll just give them ratings and little comments instead of what I usually do. YEA, cool I'll do that here we go, I've got to think of what I've seen....

ok, ready??!
Thank You For Smoking: 4/5

* I found this movie to be very clever and witty. It was the first "grown ups" movie I've seen in awhile that actually seemed FOR adults. Loved the main character. LOT of talking in this movie, not much action or anything like that, but totally ok, because that was the style of the film. It really took you into the ART of argueing. All around just COOL flick. Makes you think.

Ice Age 2: 4/5

*WOW! This movie was HILARIOUS! Honestly, it kept me laughing through the entire thing. This film proved that not ALL sequels are bad. In fact, I think it's even better than the first one! Just really enjoyed watching it, and the crew did such a nice job with everything. The graphics, the score, and the dialogue, ah! FUNNY stuff. The ONLY critique I had about this film was that it had a few vulgar jokes in it. Now, I don't have kids, but that doesn't mean I don't cherish them and want to protect them! A couple times Ice Age 2 referred to things that didn't seem very child approprite. Like, there were a couple of innuendos in there and stuff... please. But no, still, GREAT movie. Give yourself the oppurtunity to watch this film. You'll be smiling all the way until the end. :-)

Lucky Number Slevin: 3/5

*You know, I liked this movie. Despite the bad reviews it's recieved, I thought it had a very nice style. It never became boring, and for such a complex plot, it was easy to follow. Cast was great, and they included a couple of twists here and there. Ultimately though... and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about... it almost seemed like this movie was, I don't know, TRYING too hard. Like, we get it, you want it to be COOL and all, but does EVERY line need to be a pun? Know what i mean? Anyway... not a waste of time though.

Akeelah and the Bee: 1/5

* OK, for some VERY odd reason this movie got really good reviews from critics.... WHAT?! Not only was this movie boring, unrealistic and cheesy, it was... I don't know AMATEURISH. Was this supposed to be a movie for kids? It didn't seem that way when they were advertising it, but that's what it came out as. Ridiculous acting. It has what I call "slacker dialogue", meaning, someone had a pretty cool idea for a movie, but didn't spend enough time on the screenplay. sigh... I don't really want to talk about this one. It makes me mad.

Mission Impossible III: 3/5

*There were only two good aspects about this movie that got it up to a rating of 3 for me: the action and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. NO, not Tom Cruise. See, I liked the character Ethan Hunt in the first MI, and again in MI:2. But we didn't get to see Hunt, we watched Cruise. See what I mean? The guy doesn't know how to ACT here guys. Maybe he did in his vampire days, waving his hair around with Brad Pitt, but now he just plays HIMSELF. Cocky, show-offy self. Phbtt. Cool action, was neat to take youself out of reality for a moment and kind of wish that we were all pro spies. You know blowing up vans and stuff... well I don't know maybe for some anyway. Also, like I said Mr. Hoffman... good bad guy. I want to see him in WAY more films...but this was a dumb movie you guys.

Already, there ya go. Not TOO much typing afterall. Pretty fun!


Well, I've just bought a new book, Lucky, author of The Lovely Bones if you've heard of it. Most likely you have, it was on the best sellers list for awhile but anyway, it's REALLY good and I'm going to get to reading a bit of it before I tuck myself in bed. I love you all! Hope everything is wonderful where you are.

Love,
Steph

REVIEW: The Da Vinci Code

Director: Ron Howard


Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen and Paul Bettany


Plot: Trailor: The Da Vinci Code Ok so I can't really tell you the plot because I refuse to reveal anything if there's somebody out there that doesn't know the "secret". So here's what I'll say; Robert Langdon, a professional in symbolism is asked to aid in an investigation involving a mysterious and freaky death occuring at the Louvre. With the help of Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist, they follow the clues and codes the victim left behind. But what are they trying to find? A killer? Or something much, much more...?




Critique: Obviously, this is a very controversial topic. So let me just say that I would like to leave all opinions and personal inferences out of this, and just talk about the movie, and it's entertainment value.
Let me be frank. If you've read the book, seeing the movie is unnecessary. I believe that the movie was created so that people who don't WANT to read the book, can watch the film, and have it shown and laid out for them. Like all adapted screenplays, certain subject matter is left out. The book was very detailed and thorough, while the movie was forced to fit eveything into two hours. Since I read the book, to me the film was pretty choppy, and I couldn't help but notice missing details, which made the movie-going experience not so fun.
HOWEVER, it was very neat to see shots of the Louvre and all sorts of other historical pieces. So the movie was enjoyable in that it gave you a better visual of what Dan Brown was trying to convey. Yet there's nothing like reading a book, and letting your imagination run wild, you know? What am I trying to say here... read the book if you want to get the real experience of The Da Vinci Code.



Let's talk about characters and actors.
First of all, Tom Hanks is not looking bad with that shag look! NICE, Tom. What is he, in his late 40's? Could have fooled me. He delivers a good solid performance. You really can't go wrong with Mr. Hanks, especially after Forest Gump. (Let's not mention the Bachelor Party... he was trying to make it in the biz, ok?) When I read Angels and Demons, the first book Dan Brown wrote with Langdon, I gotta say I pictures someone more like Hugh Jackman. I think my mom said she was thinking Harrison Ford... but no, Tom did a very nice job. He gave off the right vibe, you know, intelligent and calm, yet vulnerable. (In the movie he's claustrophobic, not so in the book, but hey they both give off the same kind of portrayal. It's not easy SHOWING insecurities in a person, think about it. Props to Ron.)
Audrey Tautou, playing Sophie Neveu, was also pretty good. I've never seen her before I don't think, but then again I don't watch THAT many french films. This was a pretty darn big role, and she didn't over-do it or anything. LOVE her hair. I want to know how she got the bob, so cute.
Ok, honestly, I'd hate to disappoint but there's really not that much to say about this film. Of course the movie had Ron's quality. The art direction was gorgeous and it had all the most modern camera movements and angles. The movie, the plot itself, yes it's has a curious, controversial topic. Yes, it was a cool mystery and yes, it was interesting enough to keep your attention... but so is the BOOK. Movie did the best it could, though.



Rating: 3/5

REVIEW: Titanic II... uhh, I mean Poseidon

Director: Wolfgang Peterson

Starring: Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, Emmy Rossum and some more losers for agreeing to star in this film


Plot: All you need to do is watch the trailor: Poseidon But if you would like the "Stephy" version, read on. *gasp* ... a big crapping wave hits a cruise ship and we watch as a whole bunch of people die except for a small group of people who are trying to find a way out to wait for the rescue team to come and save them. Yea... I bet you're wondering what'll happen, huh? Oh.. I'm sure you already know.


Critique: Hmmm where do I begin? Should I start with the unrealistic graphics? The inaccurate outcomes? Or should I point out the flaws in casting and ridiculous attempts to get the audience to actually CARE about the characters in the plot...? Let's start with my favorite... the actors.
Do you think actors KNOW when the movie they're playing in sucks? Do they realize it's all a big joke? Seriously, when Kurt Russell signed up for Poseidon, was he actually thinking, "This is gonna be good!" If someone asked me to be in a movie with a sinking ship I'd say, "umm... yea, I'm pretty sure the nation is done with the whole sinking boat fad, Wolfgang..." Come on, people. Has it actually happened? Have we really run out of ideas? sigh... well anyway, I think the actors did the best they could with what they were given. Kurt is an on and off thing for me. I love him in one movie, can't stand him the next. LOVED him in Overboard, SkyHigh and Miracle I guess... haven't seen that horse movie with Dakota Fanning yet, but what the heck was he thinking with Backdraft, and... THIS! Kurt... please don't tell me you've lowered yourself to these films from now on.
LOVE Emmy Rossum ever since Phantom of the Opera. Not the greatest actress though, but here's the thing, you can be a bad actor, just as long as you're not ANNOYING. And we got a couple of those in this movie. I didn't even mention their names in the "starring" section up there. They were the kind of actors where you didn't really MIND if they're character died in the movie. eek! I sound awful, but I know YOU know what I'm talking about!
Ok... um... can somebody please tell me who THIS is?

Would NOT mind being rescued by THIS guy. He was the hero of the movie, and pretty much the only reason I decided to continue watching this flick. ("Where's that hottie guy?" "Ooo, look at those eyes..." "Oh god PLEASE don't die!") See, I had to pay attention. I needed to make sure he didn't die, and they're swimming around in water, people. He MAY had to have taken off his shirt, huh?
Ok, I think I'm still reviving from my "dumpage". It's like all of a sudden other men DO exist...Let's hope there's a hottie-poseidon-hero over in the Northwest when I get there, huh? teehee
Alrighty... umm... moving on... so, yea what else is there to say? This movie sucked. It was unrealistic. A RANDOM 700 foot wave hits a cruise ship with absolutely no warning, and all we hear from the captain when he FINALLY notices it about 2 feet from the ship was, "...No." Umm... that's it? No? oooKAY...
There was a definite lack of character introducing. I mean I really honestly did not even CARE about these people. (Oh.. there goes the drunk poker guy... I bet the cook is next...) Extremely cheesy dialogue and the plot was scattered. Was the editor DRUNK? It was as if entire scenes were just chopped off and thrown away, and suddenly someone is getting married or something. And, can anyone say,PREDICTABLE? I knew who was going to die even before the wave hit! Sheesh... I will say though, this movie gave me some good laughs! Of course... I'm not sure it was MEANT to be funny... oh well. Personally, I think they should label the movie as a action-comedy film. Maybe it'll draw in more people or something. Because it was so much fun to make fun of Richard Dreyfuss playing a gay guy and everything, instead of giving this movie a 1, I'll give it a 2. Why not a zero? Well... they tried to make a good action film. They really tried.



Rating: 2/5

My new focus:

What do you think? Yea, I like them too. They'll help me through this "dumpage".

I'M BACK!! So sorry I've been gone forever. But the school semester is over and I've just been dumped by my boyfriend... so I've got a lot more time on my hands I think. Wait, what's that? Yea...


I'VE BEEN DUMPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


He said he wanted to "take a break", but come on, we all know what it really means. "It's OVER." Hmmm... not sure how to take it just yet. Should I be angry? Should I be remorseful? Should I be happy that I can scope out guys again? Sheesh. I tell you what I AM: confused, and pretty shocked. I SO did not think this was going to happen. Were there signs? Yea, kinda. For the past couple of weeks we've been getting into quarrels here and there. I tend to have high expectations for guys I date. (I mean come on, growing up with a dad that treats me nothing less than a princess... I'd say they have a lot to compare to.) sigh... I guess I need to move on. Except it would help if not EVERYTHING reminded me of him. The drive to school because his house is right there, Noodles and Company, Cubs games, forest preserves, drums, philosophy, all the movies I've watched with him... you know perhaps that's a mistake. Don't watch ANY movies when you're dating because they'll only remind you of them when it's over. sheesh... this may be a long process. I could use some words of wisdom here. Perhaps some Notebook and Sex and the City watching too. Hmm... and I'll have to bring all my old boyfriends out too, Ewan McGregor, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, who else... Daniel Day-Lewis.. no wait, Last of the Mohicans reminds me of John... shoot. Oh! John Cusack and Al Pacino (thirty years ago...) THEY won't want to "take a break" with me.

... ok so have I lost my mind do you think? Man, this sucks.