reviews ;-)

despite it being a busy week, i've managed to fit in a bit of fun movies/books too.

when i went to investigate movie options at blockbuster earlier this week for the movie night friday for the REUers, i saw several films i'd been meaning to see when they were out in theaters but that i hadn't had a chance to watch.

wednesday night, i watched be cool (john travolta, etc., earlier this year). it wasn't exactly how i expected it to be, but it kept my attention. not brilliant, but funny in spurts. if the previews didn't impress you, don't bother... if they did, you might enjoy it a little too... definitely not "best of all time" material though.

the night after that i watched miss congeniality 2... i wanted to see this in the theater but the dismal reviews it got made everyone i asked say no... so i had to wait for the dvd... definitely not as innovative as the first, and in some ways just copied the first script and put it in a new setting, but whatever... if you enjoyed the first one, it's a cute continuation.

friday night, the movie for movie night was man on the moon... the czech REU students suggested it since the director is czech. i'd never seen it before (even though it's 6 years old), and didn't know much about andy kaufman (the comedian that it's about), but i thought on the whole it was fabulous.

tonight, finally, i watched p.s.. i was interested in this after seeing an ad for it online, but even watching for it, i never noticed it come out in theaters last year... seeing it on dvd i figured i'd check it out. this had a very different flavor than i expected, but it kept me interested the whole time too. all the characters are a bit quirky (aren't we all? :-P) and the plot isn't horribly fast moving, but it's still a respectably quality film.

as far as books, leigh's birthday present to me was to read me a dr. suess book over the phone (she's working in ohio this summer). she called me on wednesday to say "hey lara, happy birthday a day late... i didn't forget, i just went to the library and they told me i wasn't allowed to check out more books until i turn some back in, so i'll read to you on saturday if you can wait that long!"... so wait i did, and we spent an hour and a half on the phone last night so that she could read me the lorax and i can read with my eyes shut -- both were highly amusing.... and leigh did a *fantastic* job with dramatic inflection and with describing the pictures as she went... it was a fun and unique treat :-)

as far as other books go, i'm currently about 1/4 of the way done with Prague (by Arthur Phillips). it's intriguing to me as it's set in Budapest (Prague is the "grass is always greener on the other side" mystical place were all the characters are sure they'd have it better if they weren't in budapest... figuring that the expats in prague probably think the same of budapest). it's set in 1990 (just after communism fell and hungary opened up to the west), and is the story of 5 american expats figuring out their way around. as the story of foreigners exploring real live places i've seen and been, i can relate to a certain chord of it... on the other hand, they're in an era 12 years removed from when i was there and for different reasons than i was there too, so it's not quite the same. nonetheless, it's a fascinating read even if i'll probably have more and different criticisms of it at the end. you'll find a variety of reviews for a variety of reasons if you look through the link to amazon (click on the title at the start of the paragraph) and i'll probably be somewhere in the middle of all of them by the time i'm done :-P

other reviews? yesterday i got a box in the mail from circuit city... at first i was a little confused because i haven't ordered anything from them, and then on my way upstairs into the apartment from the mailbox, it dawned on me that it was my birthday present from jessica (who works at a circuit city in PA)... she sent me a deana carter CD (the story of my life). i wasn't familiar with any of the songs on it when i put it in, but i had it going non-stop all yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed it immensely... favorite tracks off the bat are "one day at a time", "ordinary", and "katie", but honestly there's not a single bad one on it. :-)

random miscellaneous commentary that doesn't involve reviewing various books/movies/songs ;-):

* i think my maple program for dr. z. finally works -- this is fantastic since he gave it to me to do 2 weeks ago and i started it on friday... it took me most of the weekend to finally get it figured out, but i think it's good to go now... i meet with him tomorrow.

* my fingernails and toenails are purple this week :-P... i commented to roommate last night "shoot, i'm turning into a girl... i don't know if i like this or not" her reply? "um, i know that you're a lara, and i like you just fine however you are"... i laughed :-P

* i've recently discovered sun-in -- not like i wasn't aware of it before, but i've never put anything in my hair before that changes the color... we'll see how badly i screw it up this summer :-P it is fun to play with though :-P

* yay for new email buddies. some random person came across my old website that i mostly made in HS and haven't updated since and wrote me based on the "God page" and the "pi" page, pointing out the corresponding pages on his own website. he was shocked when i wrote back with my name signed as "lara", sheepishly commenting that although he has lots of math people in his family who are women, he had assumed from my writing style and interests that i must be a guy (um, ok, whatever). this dude is 52 years old and lives in the greater LA area, but is the first person i've come across in a long time who is able to intelligently discuss both math and christianity in great detail. usually i have my non-religious math friends who i can discuss math/science with, and i have my christian friends who, when i try to talk math more than very surface level, it's beyond them. finding someone who's well-versed in both is a fantastic thing for me. we've been debating a little about lcms doctrine (the kind of lutheran i am currently; this guy grew up lcms in chicago, and isn't lcms anymore for various reasons), and we've talked a bit about computer stuff and about the permutation stuff i'm researching. mostly i'm just enjoying a new correspondence with someone who can talk about lots of things i'm interested in intelligently.

* mom IMed me while i was watching the movie before... my church in memphis had a meeting today and is calling a pastor from a NJ church (but not in the NJ district, in the SELC district, which spans lots of states instead of a geographical area... it's a little convoluted to explain)... from about an hour south of here.... hopefully my church here in jersey will send out a call by the end of july too... we shall see. (in the lutheran church, congregations "call" pastors... it's not just hiring someone who fits the bill... it's considered to be a divine calling and prayerfully considered both from the church and the pastor point of view, there's a whole gigantic process to go all through and stuff.) anyhow, that was interesting news at least.

and i *think* that's all the interesting news around here for a bit.

i would have gone on my nightly 4-5 mile walk 2.5 hours ago if i weren't waiting on ben (he's supposed to be around here by 9pm)... my new 5 mile route goes past a harley-davidson store :-)... that way i can admire all the pretty bikes every day too :-)

now, i really *am* done rambling... later dudes :-P