the darkness has not overcome it

those things i've done are in bold.



( knitting meme update )

Oscar best picture nominees with the ones I've seen bolded. Like wanderingbastet , from whom I stole the meme, I only bolded the ones I'm sure about.


1980. Ordinary People, Coal Miner's Daughter, The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, Tess
1981. Chariots of Fire, Reds, Atlantic City, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982. Gandhi, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Missing, Tootsie, The Verdict
1983. Terms of Endearment, The Big Chill, The Dresser, The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies
1984. Amadeus, The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart, A Soldier's Story
1985. Out of Africa, The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Prizzi's Honor, Witness
1986. Platoon, Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, A Room with a View
1987. The Last Emperor, Broadcast News, Fatal Attraction, Hope and Glory, Moonstruck
1988. Rain Man, The Accidental Tourist, Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning, Working Girl
1989. Driving Miss Daisy, Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot
1990. Dances with Wolves, Awakenings, Ghost, The Godfather Part III
1991. The Silence of the Lambs, Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides
1992. Unforgiven, The Crying Game, A Few Good Men, Howards End, Scent of a Woman
1993. Schindler's List, The Fugitive, In the Name of the Father, The Piano, The Remains of the Day
1994. Forrest Gump, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption
1995. Braveheart, Apollo 13, Babe, Il Postino (The Postman), Sense and Sensibility
1996. The English Patient, Fargo, Jerry Maguire, Secrets & Lies, Shine
1997. Titanic, As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential
1998. Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella), Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line
1999. American Beauty, The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense
2000. Gladiator, Chocolat, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, Traffic
2001. A Beautiful Mind, Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge
2002. Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Pianist
2003. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit
2004. Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways
2005. Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich
2006. The Departed, Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen
2007. No Country for Old Men, Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood
2008. Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader

The BBC allegedly believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here:

How do your reading habits stack up? [bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish].

i've completed 43 of these, started and not finished others....and there are a few on my to-read list.
( Read more... )

The "needs" game
The Rules:
Type in your name and the word "needs" in quotes ("[Your first name] needs”) into your favorite search engine and see what comes up. List the first 10 that actually answer the question.

"heather needs" a childhood.
"heather needs" two therapists
"heather needs" something more to be satisfied
"heather needs" to grow up
"heather needs" help
"heather needs" men now!
"heather needs" to start wearing a brassiere
"heather needs" somebody
"heather needs" a new shrink
"heather needs" a bigger cup to hide behind

mostly i'm amused with these.

1. What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now?
oatmeal apricot freesia. handmade by me. :)

2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
er......not in the refrigerator per se....but chunked up in the freezer? yes. good for making cocktails.

3. What would you change about your living room?
fireplace. REAL fireplace.
and an alpaca rug
and some of the furniture and media center downstairs.

4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?
dirty

5. What is in your fridge?
leftover soup, milk, eggs, oj, bread, some veggies, leftovers from dinner last night.

6. White or wheat bread?
wheat.

7. What is on top of your refrigerator?
seed germination container and seeds. at night my lunch bag lives up there too.

8. What color or design is on your shower curtain?
dreadful. it has wolves on it.

9. How many plants are in your home?
11

10. Is your bed made right now?
no. i make it. ross does not. i get up first on weekdays.

11. Comet or Soft Scrub?
best stuff

12. Is your closet organized?
somewhat, but it needs help.

13. Can you describe your flashlight?
we have many. the one i use the most is a small red maglight.

14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic when you're at home?
glass.

15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
no. i don't drink ice tea much in the winter.

16. If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
yes and yes.

17. Curtains or blinds?
both.


18. How many pillows do you sleep with?
two.

19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
no. ross can't stand it.

20. How often do you vacuum?
i try and usually fail to vacuum once a week.

21. Standard toothbrush or electric?
regular. i might go to electric....but we don't have room in the bathroom.

22. What color is your toothbrush?
blue-green.

23. Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch?
no, but we should.

24. What is in your oven right now?
empty shelves.

25. Is there anything under your bed?
the guest bed has wrapping paper under it.
our bed has some bags under it, but nothing else.

26. Chore you hate doing the most?
anything in the garage.

27. What retro items are in your home?
not a real fan of retro.

28. Do you have a separate room that you use as an office?
ross and i share an office. it would be better if we didn't though.

29. How many mirrors are in your home?
two. one small one in the guest room and one over the sink in the bathroom. we need to do better with that.

30. What color are your walls?
in what room? the kitchen and dining room are gold/yellow. the living room is cream room, the office is green, the guest room is white, the basement and stairway are unfinished and the bedroom is natural wood.

31. Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home?
yes. we have a functional sword, 2 bo staves and several guns in the house. i don't like to think about them in actual use.

32. What does your home smell like right now?
lots of things. i need to clean.

33. Favorite candle scent?
citrus.

34. What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now?
dilly beans and dill pickles, cherry peppers and pepperocini

35. What color is your favorite Bible?
green nrsv.

36. Ever been on your roof?
close when i was cleaning the gutters, but no, not really.

37. Do you own a stereo?
yes. we have BIG plans for it.

38. How many tvs do you have?
one. and that is all we need.

39. How many house phones?
ross and i each have a cell.

40. Do you have a housekeeper?
not yet.

41. What style do you decorate in?
warm and cozy with a touch of arts n' crafts reproduction

42. Do you like solid colors in furniture, or prints?
solids or tweeds.

43. Is there a smoke detector in your home?
yes. two.

44. In case of fire, what are the items in the house that you'd grab if you could make one quick trip?
the cats and my bag of holding and as many books as i could grab.

this is REALLY hard.
Rank these values as far as their importance to you.
Then explain in 3-5 sentences your top five choices.

Salvation
True Friendship
Wisdom
A Comfortable Life
An Exciting Life
Freedom
Self-Respect
Happiness
Mature Love
A Sense of Accomplishment
A World at Peace
A World of Beauty
Equality
Pleasure
Social Recognition
Inner Harmony
Family Security
National Security

this was really hard for me....and all of these things are good things, so it seems silly to talk about the things that are most important. it makes more sense to talk about how we chose what WASN'T important. this excercise made me face that i am pretty selfish. it may be simply human nature to want things for yourself before you want them for other people, but i still feel guilty about it. on the other hand.
equality: is low on my list because it can mean so many things. if we are talking about equal respect and equal rights? i'm interested. but if we are talking about SAMENESS, i really have no interest at all, and this is what a lot of people mean when they talk about equality. i don't think women should be treated like men, or vice versa. i don't think every religion can be treated the same, although all people should have the right to practice their religion as long as it doesn't impinge on other people(no human sacrifices, for example). i think we should all be accorded the same respect....but men don't have the RIGHT to bear children just because women do...for example. i celebrate the differences between us. they are wonderful. i want respect. but i don't want sameness.
national security: this is impossible. life is not secure and i don't really want a world that is, even though insecurity is scary. if people want to bomb us they are going to. if people want to find a way to hurt us, they are going to. and there is no way to out-guess everyone. because of this, it is a waste of time imho to spend all your life worrying about it. sure, be saavy. but don't waste your life. i am against the patriot act. i am against ridiculous airport security. i am against having a threat level color broadcast that no one is brave enough to reduce. to me, this is a way of keeping the masses afraid so the government can do whatever it wants.
family security: this is low on the list because i don't really understand what it means. it is not a pair of words i would ever put together. does it mean your family loves you? does it mean your family can bail you out of jail?
does it mean you haven't been kicked out? does it mean that your family is okay? i want my family to love me. i am concerned for their safety. but life is not about never taking risks and always being safe. and that goes for them as well as me. i want them to be well..but not at the expense of not living their lives.
inner harmony: i also don't know what this means. to me this is a hippy concept for the kind of peace that comes from getting stoned. not a priority for me. nice, but not a priority.
social recognition: again. nice, but not necessary if we are already assuming i have the true friendship and the mature love listed above.
pleasure: this is harder. i like pleasure. a lot. but it isn't primarily what motivates me...which may be a bad thing. not sure. anyway it isn't as important as those other things....but it's hard to separate them because those other things give me pleasure.

Post 10 things that are going right in your life right now. I don't care how small. You're happy with your cup of coffee. You saw a flock of geese flying over. ANYTHING. Things that make you happy. Things that make you smile. No pressure.


1. it is my favorite season of the year and all the leaves are bright colors. there is a crispness in the air that makes me feel alive all the time except when i first wake up.
2. i have 2 incredible kittens and a wonderful cat to keep me company.
3. i have made friendships that sustain me in the twin cities.
4. I am free to change. always.
5. I have an amazing supportive husband who loves me.
6. I'm going to see my dad and celebrate his birthday with him this year.
7. i have skills that make me a valued employee and an attitude that makes me a cherished co-worker, no matter that i have been laid off. my managers didn't want to do it.
8. Nobody is peeing in my cheerios at the moment, and people tend not to do so.
9. i have found ways to be passionate and productive with my free time.
10.  i understand what it means to have enough.