List. Post. Haste.

The first day of summer has officially come and gone, which means that summer "vacation" has reached the halfway mark. If this makes you feel blue, here's a list of things to look forward to. (Rhyme!)

1. Away We Go (June 5th)


This was released to theaters awhile ago, but as all good indie flicks go, it takes some time to reach Kansas. The movie has been getting mixed reviews, but it has all the elements of a good time. Screenplay by Dave Eggers + Sam Mendes directing + The Office's John Krasinski and SNL's Maya Rudolph = good enough for this blog. Look for it if you find yourself in a big city with an arts theater.


2. Public Enemies (July 1)


Johnny Depp is back, and he's not in a disney movie based on a theme park ride. Throw in Billy Crudup, a 1930's setting and a wardrobe full of three piece suits and I might as well just add this to my desert island top 5.

3. The Fourth of July (July 4th)

I don't particularly like the holiday (it's my least favorite of all time) but lots of people do. Look forward to it, if you're that kind of person.


4. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (July 15th)


Wizards, and Dumbledore and Ron and Hermione love, oh my!

5. Funny People (July 31st)


Apatow and company are back. And this time, they've brought Adam Sandler with them! (Can you hear my Dad groaning?) Apatow gets ambitious with his first attempt to combine comedy and drama, and I'm hoping that the effect pays off. Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Sarah Silverman and Jason Schwartzman all lend a helping hand.

6. Julie and Julia (August 7th)


In the sweltering month of August, there's nothing better than sitting in a dark, air-conditioned room with a giant box of buttery popcorn, watching someone else turn on an oven and cook delicious food. And in this movie, the people cooking are adorable "Junebug" Amy Adams and diva incarnate, Merryl Streep. Plus, it's a movie based on a book based on a blog. Live the dream.

7. The Time Traveler's Wife (August 14th)


It's been a long time coming. The original rights to the screenplay were purchased by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, way back when they were the perfect happy couple. Since then the script has been tossed around and back and forth and through years of edits and re-casting. Now it is here, and the first trailer doesn't exactly meet the massive expectations. If nothing else, use this as a reminder to pick up a copy of the book from a library or bookstore. Oh, and fair warning if you're searching at the library - Dewey classifies it as a Science Fiction book, so it'll take some digging. That's a little tip from me to you, free of charge.

8. Inglorious Basterds (August 21st)



Tarantino wraps up the summer season with his latest movie about WWII and Hitler's finest. I can't really tell what or why or how, but Brad Pitt and The Office's BJ Novak both star, so... good? I'm too curious not to add it to the list.

9. Paydays (June 26, July 10, July 24, August 7th and August 21st)

It's good to be employed.

10. Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson (August)


Not even a year after her tiny little album that could, Be Ok, was released, Ingrid is sending another full length record out into the world to be loved and adored. This also means a brand spankin' new US tour. Who's with me?

11. A Gate at the Stairs - Lorrie Moore (September 8th)


Her first new novel in ten years. Color me over the moon. There is absolutely no way it could live up the mountain of expectation that I have for it, but I had to share my joy with the internet, so that Steven doesn't get completely fed up and leave me forever. Ten! Years! (and only 77 more days to wait)

12. Far - Regina Spektor (June 23rd)

Last minute addition to the list. You can now test drive the album here.
Current favorites: Human of the Year, Eet and Folding Chair.

Happy summering!

Dunzo!

This weekend marked my last trip to Omaha for two. whole. months. It also marked the end of my first year in Graduate School. Almost 12 months later and here is what I've done:

- created a website
- learned how to read HTML code
- developed a web tutorial
- learned about Bloom's Taxonomy
- wrote a rubric
- created a new record in OCLC
- wrote confidently about the origins of XML
- chatted about copyright law
- used the word metadata. a lot.
- learned to love and loathe google searching
- discovered ICDL, the coolest digital library on the planet
- wrote several papers about organization

And, today, in the last assignment for my summer class - I have discovered my dream job.

When I grow up, I wanna be an....

Instructional Humanities Reference Librarian.

Ka-pow! Now all I have to do is survive 27 more hours of course work, 2 hours of a practicum, and one semester of comprehensive exams. Grad school is so much prettier at the end then the beginning.

I plan to spend my two months of freedom spending some quality time with the Wii, watching the rest of the ER seasons, reading one shelf of my little bookshelf, and finally decorating/unpacking the apartment. If you are looking for inspiration for your freedom, may I suggest guiltily sneaking to the air conditioned movie theater for this adorable pleasure of a chick flick:

It passes even the most severe checklists for chick flick gold.

1. Funny dancing? Check!

2. Funny singing? Check!

3. Cute outfits? Check!

4. Random Office character? Check!

5. Palpable chemistry? Double check!

6. "Finish the story" improv game? Bonus check!

It was wonderful. Hailey and I laughed and laughed and laughed, Sandra Bullock looks amazing, Ryan Reynolds has seriously funny timing, and it made me remember how great it is to watch two people fall in love. Nothing better.

In case you need a reason to like today

On sale at Target for under 10 dollars. Buy it and be happy and joyous and silly. She sings like a dolphin, people. What's not to love?

***UPDATE*** If you want to test drive the album, check it out here.

I'm down, clown

This is *my* Country Stampede. Well, without the binge drinking and the camping and the debauchery. But you get what I mean.

Noteworthy

Yesterday, June 16th, was an important day.

It was my initial start date for my job one year ago.

It was the first stimulus Tuesday of the summer that we did not attend. Instead, we played 5 games of miserable tennis in the hot muggy sun, followed by gigantic slushies and jalapeno flavored almonds. I sent Steven into the store with my debit card. Always an adventure.

Instead of dollar popcorn and watery soda, we ordered two big kid entrees (not sweet and sour chicken) from the Chinese place.

And, for the first time since the ER finale on April 2nd, I am out of ER. We watched the last four episodes of season 10 last night, which ended with a bizarre and unsatisfying cliffhanger. Pratt in a random car chase with a gun? Sam packing up all of her things to get away from her ex? Neela in Ann Arbor? I know it all turns out okay, but I don't know why or how it all turns out. Season 11 doesn't come out on DVD until July 14, and then... the wait is undetermined. Seasons 12 through 15 are not scheduled for release. Season 15 is sort of available on Hulu and I can only find snippets of promos for the other seasons on youtube. Tragedy is upon us. Do I dare pay $1.99 per episode? Can I leave my friends at County General in the lurch, unfinished and non-responsive? Now is the time for illegal downloads.

Last but not least, Steven dropped a glass full of milk (it's so exciting to make chocolate milk!), we got two ominous fortunes - "watch for something yellow" & "three months from today something will change your life!" and Hailey sent me beautiful bright flowers at work. The yellow lilies bloomed this morning, and I knew that June 16th would live in infamy.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” - Einstein

Today I watched a bug climb up my recycling bin, and then fall backwards with a hiss.

Is it more insane to...

A: be the bug, climbing and climbing, all day long when he could have just used his wings to fly away

Or

B: jump a mile every time I heard the hiss and then scoot the bin a little bit farther from me.

Finally, at 4:03p.m. Audra got tired of me knocking things over in fright, scooped up the bug and set him free outside the open window.

All in a day's work.