more snow. a lot more.

winter blessed new york city and her extremities with another 20 inches of snow this week, allowing for 2 more days off and some good ol' healthy mother nature fun. because my home borders the South Mountain Reservation alls I have to do to maximize this winter bliss is walk across the street. literally. with vats full of bloody marys and hot toddys, we went exploring.

but not before David attempted sledding on a boogie board. fyi: it doesn't work.

say no to yellow.

for you, GSM.

the sun set on the life of my dear G-Sonny-Money just a week ago, today.

this sunset is for you. i love you, i miss you, and not a moment passes when i am not kissing you in my heart.

her favorite thing was kisses. we used to sort of complain when she would get red lipstick on our cheeks.

i would gladly take a red lipsticked kiss from her right now.

shutter island.

i haven't given you a film review lately, so here goes.

i liked it. i kind of really liked it, but i didn't absolutely love it. i would certainly see it again. when it hits hbo and if there's not something else on that i'm dying for. there was a critic who said this was DiCaprio's finest performance yet - even surpassing his phenomenal showing in Gilbert Grape. let's not go that far, people. do i think he could blow that particular performance out of the water? sure i do. he's leo. but this wasn't the one.

leo is great. mark ruffalo is also great. and michelle williams is very good in her flashback sequences as leo's troubled dead wife who revisits him in dreams and other mediums. the film was shot brilliantly and marty scorsese was, as always, on his A game. there was an overly excessive amount of marketing surrounding this picture. i mean, i think i saw a minimum of 14 trailers per day, even on days when i watched 45 total minutes of television. so my expectations were through the roof.

it delivered. maybe not every single one of my expectations, but it delivered. i certainly didn't know how it was going to end. and when it did end, i was happy that i hadn't already figured it out. i'm sure someone will receive a nomination for something at some point.

uncorked.

it's been a rough week, to put it mildly. in typical marcy fashion, i weep, i dry my eyes, and then i keep on movin' . . . what else, exactly, am i supposed to do?

with another foot of snow coming in over the next 36 hours, it seems like the perfect opportunity to hole up indoors, unwind, and reflect.

to do so, i have put on my knee highs and opened a bottle of wine. pinot noir tastes much better while sitting in your underwear and knee highs. in case you were wondering.

retraction.

i lied.

my new new favorite thing is the gold ring i found last night while going through G-Sonny-Money's jewelry. i don't know anything about it other than it's a plain thin band that fits my finger perfectly. which means there's a considerably good chance she never wore it because she had impossibly small hands . . . the woman wore a size 4.5 shoe, for crying out loud.

but i don't care, it was hers and i love it.

birdcage, you will have to play second fiddle for now.

new favorite thing.

birdcages.

sans bird.



i killed a plant, so this fits nicely in its place. and does not require water or attention. genius.

homeowning is overrated.

at the end of what could not have possibly been a more trying and difficult day that seemed to go on forevvvveeerrrr, i finally made it home last night to find:

(a) no heat (and a welcoming 53 degrees throughout the house)
(b) no electricity on the 3rd floor (which is where the bedrooms and bathroom are)
(c) a toilet which refused to do anything but overflow

so what does one do in this predicament?

dump it on someone else. because it just a'int my problem. i mean yes, freezing my butt off and not being able to pee in my own toilet is most definitely my problem, but that's what the emergency beeper is for.

i have never been so glad to have tipped the superintendent a c-note over the holidays. he was here with the trusty toilet snake and an electrician in a matter of minutes.

God bless the ability to RENT.

G-Sonny.

one of the greatest people i will ever ever know has passed on. my beloved Grandma Sonny died on friday at the age of 93. her life was one of much joy, considerable sorrow, and endless amounts of love. she loved me dearly as her own and made my life so much richer and more meaningful just by being in it.

i appropriately named her G-Sonny because she was, in fact, a rockstar. and rockstars sometimes need thug names. to try and eulogize her here would be impossible and somewhat inappropriate because words are not the things i need or even have. what i will say that this woman changed me, she changed who i am, how i love, and how i will forever live my life. to become half the woman she was would be a true blessing.

i love you, G-Sonny. thank you for all that you gave me. i hope you are smoking your brains out in heaven. and thank you for last sunday . . .

rich people's problems.

by now you might be noticing a pattern. i have a weird and completely unnecessary tendency to invest certain down-time hours in WASTE.OF.MY.TIME. stupid idiotic senseless garbage television. i am not proud. often times i even hang my head in shame.

tonight was no exception.

i watched the "real" housewives of orange county. i don't even know where to begin because all i want to do is scream four-letter words in disgust at what i actually sat through. i'll try not to bore you with more than is necessary.

recap: housewife finds out last week that her husband has been lying about failed shady business attempts and they are being evicted from their wildly overpriced orange county condo. which they moved into about a day ago. sob. cut to this week, the family is in shambles. and i mean FULL ON CRISIS MODE. housewife, who i am already fully convinced has a serious pill popping problem, has moved their two daughters to her mother's while the husband has taken refuge some overpriced orange county resort. yep, a resort.

here's where i want to have a meltdown...

housewife says: i mean, this is like seriously the closest to a near death experience for me. i mean, omigah!

OMFG.

trainwreck daughter says: i just want to be a normal teenager. i mean we move like every 6 months. i just want to be normal. waaaaaahhh. i mean, i can't even trust you, dad. we have lived practically everywhere in orange county. WAAAHHHHHH.

OMFG.

husband says: you know what i see in our near future? a real.family.vacation. what do you think about that?

OMFG.

and then i say, as calmly as i possibly can: WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????


note to housewife: this is NOT a near death experience. WAKE UP. near death experiences happen when you are mauled by a bear in the middle of the woods. near death experiences happen when your airplane plummets to the ground in a ball of fire and you miraculously escape. near death experiences do NOT happen when you suddenly realize that you have been living a champagne life style on a pabst blue ribbon budget.

oh yeah, and taking a vacation is precisely what is in order here. clearly. yeah, hows about you pack up the insanity that has become your life and hop on over to some alternate paradise where you can spend some more money that you don't have. and when you come back, i promise things will all be better.

and the overpriced orange county facelift was a fantastic use of your depleted financial resources. you look amazing. totally natural.

yes, please.

how awesome does this sound:

A combination massage of deep tissue and Swedish techniques with steaming hot aromatic towels used to induce deep relaxation while releasing muscle tension.

which is exactly what i have planned for my thursday afternoon. before you call me a brat, let it be known that it was a gift. and a damn good one at that. when i called to make the appointment, the chick said "so you want an hour, right?"

ummmmm, no. i want 90 minutes, thank you. and not a second less...

and i'll take an orchid behind my ear, if you have one.

false advertising.

nothing annoys me like seeing size 2 women model spanx bathing suits.

if your butt looks this good, i can promise you it's not the spanx. get yourself a thong while you still can.

sunday bloody sunday.

the best bloody mary will always be the one you make from scratch. however, if you're feeling lazy and have no additional patience beyond throwing some vodka in a glass and adding the mix, then THIS needs to be added to your refrigerator door. immediately.

it's like homemade goodness in a bottle.

FINEST CALL EXTRA SPICEY BLOODY MARY MIX. getcha some.

and for the record, no, i am not drinking a bloody mary at 3:00pm on a tuesday afternoon. although it doesn't sounds like the worst idea either.

post script.

i need to make something clear before moving forward with my bliss of a monday evening.

in the post preceeding this one, i stated "let the drooling begin" and then, BAM, hit you with a photo of Bachelor Jake.

dear friends, i have better taste than this. you should know this. the "drooling" bit was in reference to my monday lineup, not jake. i drool in excitement over the quality in television programming awaiting me tonight. not because i have the hots for a cheshire grinning commercial pilot.

just wanted to clear that up.

mondays rock.

contrary to popular slumdog feelings about the start of a fresh new week, i happen to love me some monday. especially the part which exists between eight o'clock post meridiem and midnight. and here, my friends, is why. let the drooling begin.


8:00-10:00 PM
THE BACHELOR
catfights, crying, backstabbing, cheesy sappy professions of love, terrible art direction, and un-realistic reality tv make this a 2-hour time slot that i almost insist on DVR'ing and watching once it's over because watching it live is just torturous. commercial breaks are too much to handle.









9:00-10:00 PM
24
now, you see that there is an obvious sceduling conflict between Jack Bauer and Bachelor Jake. please don't feel sorry for me -- i have this down to a science. 24 takes priority over all things monday. despite some recent absurd storylines (like, ohhh, let's see . . . last week, Renee stabbed Jack in the gut. a wound that would have killed most people within minutes. but not Jack! he slapped a band-aid on it and kept on marching through the night. i cringed a wee bit at this part because honestly, that's really pushing the believability level even for 24, but whatever. i'll let that one slide), i have followed Bauer through every world-saving event since college and am not giving up on the writers now. plus, Jack is hot.


10:00-11:00 PM
KELL ON EARTH
dear God, i love this. even though Kelly Cutrone literally makes me DRIP in sweat every time i watch her. it's a great nervous energy not unlike the feeling you have when you know you're about to be fired. which is exactly how i feel through every.single.second of this show. anxiety would be an insult to my emotions. and i usually want to take a shower when it's over - or just sit in a puddle and cry. this chick is intense. and i love it when she screams at the interns who haven't a CLUE what they're supposed to be doing. it's just awesome.



so. happy monday to you.

oh georgia, how i weep.

with the opening ceremony marking the beginning of the winter olympics (which i follow not nearly as closely as the summer games because, quite frankly, i'm afraid of heights and anything that involves flying at warp speeds down sheets of ice), brings a certain sense of unity that is so often forgotten. it's one of very few times ever when the world is united as one - under one blanket of dreams, with one common solidarity of hope.

this opening cermeony is marked with tragedy. and it is not only because a life has been lost, but more so that a life was lost while hanging on to a precious dream.

21-year old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled at nearly 90miles an hour today during a practice run before the start of these olympic games.

he died because he wanted to be an olympian.

my heart bleeds.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-features/news/newsid=412058.html

(sorry i'm a lame blogger and i can't figure out how you can just click on the link right from my page. just copy and paste. it's almost as easy)

threads.

i just need to put it out there that J BRAND jeans have changed my life. and changed my ass. i used to curse the notion of spending $200 for a bunch of cotton, a zipper, and a metal button, but let me tell you that I.GET.IT.NOW.

i probably would've paid $300 for these. thankfully, i didn't have to. but i probably would have.

white stuff.

snow days are a good thing. actually, they're a great thing. i know i complain about ol' man winter most of the time, but days like this are not made for complaining. unless you have a plane to catch. see exhibits a-d taken right outside my front door and you won't ask any questions. it's just beautiful.

broken down with freezer goods.

in preparation for the incoming blizzard, i did what every normal person would do and made a bee line for my local Trader Joe's to stock up on the beloved Two Buck Chuck, among other snow storm worthy items such as cheese dip and bagel bites.

unfortunately, i didn't make it all the way home.

cliff's notes version of what went down: i drive a nissan pathfinder that i absolutely adore because it requires NOTHING more than the standard oil change and an occasional bulb change. however, at 112,000 miles, i guess little things are destined the give up on me. insert problem: the slave cylinder gave out (i drive a stick, this happens with every clutch after a while, it's a simple problem, if you want more info, then google it because this is not the point of the story).

essentially, the clutch becomes useless, preventing me from putting the car into gear, therefore preventing the car to operate.

just before a major intersection. at rush hour. in new jersey. on the eve of a major snow storm.

now here is what i would like to know. and i direct this question to the 86 drivers behind me who LAYED on their horns, screamed obscenities at me, probably gave me the finger, and never ONCE asked me if i needed any help (minus the one sweet lady who tried to PUSH my 2-ton SUV up.a.hill. while men of brute strenth wizzed past us, laying on their horns, screaming obscenities at me, and giving me the finger):

i ask them: WHAT EXACTLY WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

other side of the hump.

i love football as much as anyone. maybe more than most -- i do, afterall, hail from the university of georgia where football is as important as the ability to breathe oxygen in and out of your lungs. however, the official end of football season, which we all witnessed yesterday (unless you live under a rock ... or were doing something more productive such as curing lymes disease), brought a little glimmer of realization that we are actually on the downward slop, racing ever so fast towards ......................... wait for it........................... SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i miss days like this:

turn it up.

i usually keep my car stereo on volume level 8 or 9. if my absolute favorite song comes on, i may crank it to 12.

when i got in my car the day after this particular outing (which was saturday), it was on 31.

prayers for sara.

i don't know sara. i have never met her and chances are, i never will. however, i pray for her tonight and urge you to do the same. sara waits in a hospital and watches her baby dance with destiny. the least we can do is ask . . . ask for comfort, ask for answers, ask for hope, ask for a miracle.

a week ago today, her baby drowned.

a week later, he clings to life.

take 2 seconds and pray.

www.stakerzxposed.blogspot.com

bo tribe: extinct.

so here's a bit of sad news:

The last member of an ancient tribe that has inhabited an Indian island chain for around 65,000 years has died ... she was the last member of one of ten distinct Great Andamanese tribes, the Bo. The Bo are thought to have lived in the Andaman islands for as long as 65,000 years, making them the descendants of one of the oldest human cultures on earth. With her passing at a hospital, India also lost one of its most endangered languages, also called Bo.

it's like the modern day version of the day the last dinosaur died. it's really rather daunting, if you ask me.

(source: cnn.com and The Daily Mail, UK)

rest in peace, Boa Sr.

new favorite sport.

what do you think it would take to increase ostrich racing popularity in the united states? i mean how much fun does this look??

done with you.

sometimes you have simply exhausted your welcome. these people really just need to go away.

carson daly.
for about a hundred reasons.


mariah carey.
please don't make me explain why.


antonio banderas.
(this is on Tim's list. Thank you, Tim, for your expertise in this area)
this disturbs me on infinite levels. the weapons, the pose, the vain attempt at being sexy with said weapons and stupid pose. i mean, come.on.


michael jackson.
ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!
please don't make me hear him say "this is it" one more time, i simply can not handle it. he is gone. let it go, people.


kimora lee simmons.
take your ego and your inflated child support check and your stupid inability to spell the word FAT correctly, and just go. be gone.
who even poses like that anyway? really, kimora lee?


yoko ono.
don't even get me started on this one.


tila tequila.
and absolutely every single thing she has to do with. and all the idiots, men AND women alike, who thought it would be fun and not one bit humiliating to go on a show and try to fall in love with her annoying bobblehead "i don't know if i like boys or girls so i'll just have both" lame self.
go away.


there are plenty more. trust me. this was all i could handle at the moment.

celebrity.

Osama bin Ladden was listed #23 "Most Annoying Celebrity" on a poll i just read.

yeah, i'll say . . .

charlotte.

this is heaven in a handbag . . . or in a lap.

asian invasion.

Time Magazine named the Asian Carp the #1 most invasive species on the publication's recent Top 10 list. how they got from asia to the states is irrelevant, the point is that these guys have overrun the Mississippi and are swimming towards the Great Lakes, the world's largest freshwater ecosystem. awesome. but what is better than that is the fact that they grow to be 4 feet long and are known for leaping out of the water, causing serious bodily harm to fisherman and joyriders alike. also awesome. but what is truly the highlight of all of this is what is written ALL over the faces of Jim Bob and Carl, Jr., pictured below.

please look at Jim Bob's face (he is on the left). and please notice that Carl, Jr. (he's the one on the right) is swinging at the carp with a stick. something tells me it wasn't as effective as he had hoped it would be.



Asian Carp: 1, Good-ol'-boy Fisherman: 0

snow.

i complain about winter a lot. a whole lot. i dislike being cold, having to wear 6 layers of clothes, pre-heating my car so i don't get hypothermia half way down the street, having to hold and carry huge coats once i'm finally indoors somewhere and being annoyed with that, hitting black ice on an exit ramp and almost flipping my car at 41mph, having snot run out of my nose just as soon as i walk outside (what is that all about anyway?), and really just about 7 out of every 10 things that have to do with winter.

this, however, i absolutely love. moments like this make me love winter. even for just a little while and maybe only as long as it stays on the ground, but if there is snow, i am happy. that is until i actually have to go anywhere...

hiding your friends.

my dear friend Callie gave me something good to think about today.

the option to HIDE your friends on facebook.

now here's an interesting concept. i must say that the ability to 'hide' your friends is simply genius. we've all done it. i mean, i've even gone so far as to de-friend a certain someone because quite frankly, hiding his ridiculous political rants that popped into my live feed 19 times per day was just not enough. i would still know he was there.

it's like the monkeys who work over at facebook just KNEW that there would be a day when you decided you don't like your friends as much as you thought you did.

so, hide away.

oh, and if you are behind the 8 ball and haven't done so already, hide the shiz out of some farmville. it will be the single best thing to happen to you all week. do you really want to know when "sally sue has found a loney sheep on farmville"? what does that even mean??

jack bauer.

this is for ashley:

i had a dream the other night and jack bauer was in it.

i'm totally serious.

just wanted to see if that made you jealous or not.

confession.

i watch The Bachelor. and have been known to break out in song when "On The Wings of Love" is played in the background. it's just too cliche to avoid. and i always dvr it on monday nights because sitting through commercials is just too painful (okay that's a lie....it's actually because i choose to watch '24' live and wait until it's over to pour myself into the sad life of 20 girls dating the same guy and thinking there is something normal with that).

and Vienna is a train wreck. and posing topless with a burberry scarf confirms that.

film maker. film critic.

in light of my recent movie watching overload, i thought i could shed some light on what's currently playing in a theater near you. if you're looking for a review a la Ben Lyons, i am not your girl. i probably won't elaborate much farther than "i liked it" or "it was fair" but nonetheless, here are my thoughts:

crazy heart.

RUN, do not walk, but run to your local cinema immediately. this film should not be missed. Jeff Bridges' performance as a 57-year old washed up country singer traveling with one too many benders under his belt and one too many broken hearts in his chest is worthy of every accolade he is receiving as of late. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays his love interest, which is harldy an expected match-up, but she is perfect - in every sense of the word. and hats off to the casting director for adding Colin Farell to the roster as a country megastar ... i wouldn't have anticipated that working at. all. but it is again a unique fit and he a'int bad to look at either. like i said: run.

edge of darkness.

definitely recommended. action packed. smart. Mel Gibson (despite his erratic mid-DUI rants and tirades) gives a great performance and a man on a mission. in essence, his daughter has been slaughtered before his eyes and he is hell-bent on hunting down her assasin...who wouldn't. it's a good thriller, i would see it twice.

the blind side.

i don't even no where to begin with this one. i could go on for days and i know that isn't how you want to fill your free cyber surfing time, so i will leave you with this. brilliant. go. see it. now. Sandra Bullock is a genius and her supporting cast is hardly anything less. you will laugh. you will cry. you will want to be a better person than you already are. it changed me. and would get 3 thumbs up if i had 3 thumbs.

the true heroes are the real people behind this story - which is why their photo is far more important than the hollywood movie poster could ever be.

the imaginarium of doctor parnassus.

it's hard to recap this one. it was weird. it was in the vain of Tim Burton, but not. it was good, but. but. but. i dunno. you really have to see it for yourself. Heath Ledger gives a great performace in his final curtain call. to say it is eerie to see him so alive only days/weeks before he was not so alive would be a grave understatement. pun, not intended. i love Heath. i wish he could have gone on to make more films.

the filmmakers do a hats-off jobs of picking up the pieces in Ledger's absense, filling his place with not one, but three incredibly brave and talented actors: Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Jude Law. and it works. well.

i recommend it if for nothing else than to see Ledger's last show, if he is someone who interests you as an actor. he did an amazing job.

leap year.

ohhh what to say about this fine piece of cinamatic work. let's put it this way: it will not win awards, most men will refuse to see it with their girlfriends or wives (unless they are in the dog house and in serious need of redemption), and both Amy Adams & Matthew Goode have finer works to place higher up on their resumes, but you actually won't be disappointed. it's lighthearted, it's fun, it's sweet, and it will make you want to go to ireland and belly-up at a pub. truth be told, it's my kind of movie. it's cheesy and you don't have to think too much. if there's nothing else playing that tickles your fancy, totally see it.

up in the air.

i liked it a lot. a whole lot. however, i don't really get all the award season buzz around it and it's abundance of nominations. but then again, it's Clooney, and he gets award nominations for walking across the street. so there you have that.

i would see it again. it's fun.

it's complicated.

loved it. it's fun and lighthearted and boys and men alike will enjoy it. Meryl Streep is great in everything she does, and this is no exception. Alec Baldwin is funny and oddly even a teeny bit sexy and plays off Meryl's character brilliantly. there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. it's a feel-good one.

the lovely bones.

like "Imaginarium," this one sort of falls under the 'weird' category. i liked it but it's a thinker. visually, it's incredibly pleasing (save for a few uber cheesy green screen moments). Peter Jackson likes it that way. it's a murder mystery of sorts but the idea that a father will do anything for his daughter is really the leading character. you kinda sorta know how it will almost end but there is a fantastic non-cliche ending that is far more realistic than most stories spun out of this genre. if you've read the book, i suppose you already know all you need to know, but i didn't read the book so it was uncharted waters for me.

i will say one additional thing. Ryan Gosling was originally set to play the role of the father, which was picked up by Marky Mark Whalberg when Ryan and Peter shared an overload of "creative differences" (allegedly). i worked very closely with Ryan during the filming of Half Nelson. he is a genuis and one of the single most gifted actors i will probably ever have the pleasure of knowing. however, i do not believe this role would have suited him and as much as i feel somewhat betraying in saying this: Marky Mark owned this role and whatever "differences" were had between actor and director, i think it is best that Ryan stepped down.

sherlock holmes.

i liked it. didn't love it. wouldn't marry it.

Robert Downey, Jr. is fantastic, Jude Law is very good, Rachel McAdams does a fine job. it's entertaining for sure and a nice way to spend 2 hours in a dark theater but i may not run to see it a second time. it might mean more to those who are big Sherlock fans, but i never was so it wasn't like a cult necessity like it has been for some. but i did enjoy it. i would see all above others first.

okay ........... that's all i have to say about films for now.