The Soloist

starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx

The Arizona Foundation for Women had a fundraiser on Thursday night. They raise money to fund lots of different projects that benefit women who have left domestic violence relationships.

Sure, it's a good cause, and sure, it's a great way to network with women in different careers, but the real reason I went is because the reception part of the event was held at Tiffany's, and there were door prizes. Sadly, I won none. I did, however, purchase a bracelet (well, my mom purchased a bracelet for me).

At any rate, following the reception, there was a private showing of The Soloist. I'll admit that I was tempted to leave before the movie (this was a Thursday night, after all, and work has been really hectic lately, and I was exhausted). But I decided to stick around, and I'm glad I did.

This is one of those based-on-a-true-story movies that is meant to be inspirational and uplifting -- and it is. Jamie Foxx's character, Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, Jr., was enrolled in Juilliard before his schizophrenia got the better of him, causing him to drop out, become homeless, and wander the streets of LA pushing a buggy full of various and sundry belongings. And a violin. And eventually a cello.

Robert Downey, Jr.'s character is a disillusioned journalist, looking for his next big story. He finds both a story and a friend in Nathaniel and quickly has to wrestle his own personal issues once he begins to feel responsible for helping him.

Yeah, sure, it's predictable, but I left feeling a little happier than when I'd gone in. And because I'm a softy, I'll admit that I cried a little bit. I laughed a lot, too, though...turns out that crazy people are hysterical.

What the Dead Know

by Laura Lippman

I just finished reading this book for a book club I just joined (please don't make fun of me). Excellent read, except that it ends a little too quickly and cleanly for me.

Plot: a cop contacts the driver of a car that caused a wreck, and she claims to be one of two sisters who went missing more than 30 years before, and who had been presumed dead. A huge investigation ensues, and of course, there is much consternation because no one can decide whether to believe her or not. We learn the whole story via first- and third-person flashbacks, but everything remains hazy and confusing enough to be interesting up until the big reveal. Like I said, it wraps up just a little too neatly and happily to sound realistic, but hey, that's why it's called fiction, right?

I'll be sure to fill you in on what my book club thinks of it; we meet in June.

12

--a Russian film I recently went to see.

Yes, it's in Russian, and yes, there are subtitles...and yes, it's an excellent movie. Premise: basically, a updated (and Russian) version of 12 Angry Men, a classic play that was turned into an Academy Award-nominated movie starring Henry Fonda and a bunch of other guys who I'd recognize if I saw their pictures but whose names I can never remember. Suffice it to say that it's pret-ty much impossible to graduate from law school without seeing this film at least once.

So, I found myself a little bored on a random Thursday and took myself to the movies. Of course, as my readership may imagine, no one else on the planet (well, not in Scottsdale, anyway) wanted to spend their Thursday night viewing a foreign movie about a Chechen kid accused of murdering his adopted father, so I was alone in the theatre, save for a *really* strange fellow, dressed in plaid wool pants, who sat in front of me and talked at the screen for about 45 minutes, before muttering something about Russian accents and storming out.

Great film; I highly recommend that all of you see it. Don't worry: the subtitles stop being annoying after about 15 minutes.

A Day at the Zoo... with BLAKE!

Clinique Blushwear Cream Stick

Thanks, Amanda!

This product, as you may have deduced from the name, is a tube of cream blush...looks sorta' like lipstick, but with a fatter tube. Amanda showed me hers over Christmas, and once I tried it, I was hooked. Super easy: just dab a few dots on your cheeks, and then use your fingers to blend it.

It wears longer and prettier than powder blush, and it's not as messy. Love it.

A-Quiver with Significance: Marianne Moore, 1932-1936

edited by Heather Cass White (!)

I was lucky enough to be gifted a copy of this book by its author/editor while I was home for Christmas. Perusing it has reminded me of how much I love Marianne Moore, and of how much I miss my English classes.

Hystories

by Elaine Showalter

Non-fiction, which I almost never read, but this one's good. She discusses recent hysterical phenomena (such as chronic fatigue syndrome, recovered memories of childhood abuse, and alien abduction) and gives reasons for their rising popularity. She seems to conclude that repressed or unconscious feelings/fixations/psychoses/whatever tend to manifest themselves differently depending on what's happening socially, and that an increase in the diagnosis of these medical and psychological disorders is due, at least partially, to media coverage of new and interesting syndromes. A very good read, mostly because it's informative but not judgmental or flippant.

The Lace Reader

by Brunonia Barry

I heard a raving review of this book on NPR a while back, and every time I log onto Amazon, it's right at the top of my recommendations list. I bought it yesterday, and I'm about 15 pages in. We'll see if it's as great as everyone says.

Home for the Holidays

I've been in Alabama since last Thursday, visiting for the first time since last Christmas. It has been too long! Everyone's kept me busy...so busy, in fact, that the time has flown by, and sadly, I'm flying back to Phoenix tomorrow afternoon.

Between a hair appointment (blond highlights!), visits with some of my favorite little ones, a wedding, and two or three separate Christmas celebrations (not to mention church services...I had Communion 3 times in about as many days), I'm exhausted!

Note: I spent my last weekend in Alabama with my cousins in Birmingham. Look to your left, and you will see a link to Amanda's new blog -- The Benson Family -- created tonight. I encourage all to take a peak, mostly because there will be photos of Blake. Cuteness. Speaking of, I finally got to meet Abby (more cuteness can be found if you click on her name, also to your left).

Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Mascara

My newest mascara purchase. Don't worry: I'm not discarding the Dior Iconic. I still love it, but I was so intrigued by this mascara when I saw it, I just had to buy it.

LOOK AT THIS BRUSH!

Of course, the second I got back from Sephora, I took off the mascara I was wearing so I could try it out. So far, I love it.