A cinematic stroll down memory lane

The Cassitys have got me feeling shamelessly nostalgic. A few nights ago Mike and I were over at his parents’ house and Mike’s older brother Ben announced that one of their favorite childhood movies is now available on DVD. This made the siblings fondly reminisce about all the random movies they loved when they were kids, which in turn led to me recalling my own childhood favorites.

It seems like, to a certain extent, people of the same generation share a similar cinematic background (I think everyone close to my age has seen every animated Disney movie ever made), but then there are those movies that are specific to one’s own childhood and wouldn’t be easily recognized if you mentioned them in a crowd of people. You know, the old black-and-white movies you watched at your Grandma’s house or the campy ‘80s flick your five-year-old self selected at the video store. Things like Labyrinth or Scamper the Penguin.

Because these kind of movies stayed firmly rooted in the realm of my childhood (unlike the more mainstream stuff, which remained a constant via babysitting or other experiences with children), they are usually the ones that evoke that warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia when I encounter them later in life or-even better-happen to talk to someone else that has seen them. Here are a few movies that have that effect on me:

The Last Unicorn





I must have checked this movie out from the library at least 1,000 times as a child. I freaking loved it. And then I forgot all about it until years later when my little sister and I found a copy at some cabin we were staying at and popped it in the VCR for old times sake. You know that feeling you get when you visit a place you went as a child and it looks totally different than how you remembered it? Well, that was pretty much the feeling Smash and I got while watching this. We kept looking at each other like “did we really watch this as kids? Cause it is seriously messed up.” Apparently in our younger years we were too hyper to pay attention to anything except the pretty unicorn and somehow blocked out all the crazy going on in this ‘70s cartoon. I would be willing to bet that it was made under the influence of some serious hallucinogenic drugs.

The awesome thing is that the Cassity kids also loved this show, so for Easter one year my mother-in-law gave us the special edition DVD in our Easter baskets. Now Mike and I can witness the awkwardness of the “bosom tree” scene together:


Newsies
I swear you have to be either Mormon or from Utah to know about this movie. I only say this because when I’ve mentioned it to anyone that does not fall into either of these categories I am met with a blank stare. And that stare turns into a look of pure confusion when I start describing it: “ya know, that musical about newsboys going on strike in New York way back in the day? And Christian Bale is in it and he sings and dances but you’re supposed to think he’s hard core cause everyone calls him Cowboy? And the red-haired lady from Grumpy Old Men is in it too and for some reason Teddy Roosevelt is involved in their shenanigans? ” If they’re still clueless at that point I start belting out “Santa Fe” and things get really awkward for everyone.

Newsies may not be Disney’s crowning achievement, but it was a downright phenomenon around these parts when I was growing up. Word on the street was that a kid from Olympus High was in it and that might have accounted for all the enthusiasm. I still don’t know if there was any truth to that rumor, but what I do know is that my older sister Elena was a teenager at that time and had the soundtrack recorded on a cassette tape that I listened to over and over. My friend Ashley and I even spent a good chunk of time trying to choreograph dances to the different songs. I’m sure they were awesome. But not as awesome as this bit of internet genius:


Faerie Tale Theater
Ah, another gem that I discovered at the Salt Lake County Library. Faerie Tale Theater is a series from the ‘80s in which the movie stars of that era recreated classic fairy tales on what I’m guessing was a budget of about 50 dollars. This show probably originally aired on PBS or something, but by the time I was a kid each episode was available on vhs. I’m pretty sure I watched all of them, some multiple times. I still remember being traumatized when I saw The Little Mermaid and was first introduced to the non-Disney ending of that story. Sad times.

A few years ago I was at Costco and saw a boxed DVD set of this series for sale. Of course I bought it and have since re-watched most of the episodes. Frankly, I don’t know how I watched this when I was younger cause it can be pretty dang boring. Except I still love The Princess and the Pea. And James Earl Jones as the genie in Aladdin still scares the crap out of me and I still think that whoever thought up the concept for Faerie Tale Theater's take on Sleeping Beauty was out of their freaking mind.



In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m going to admit that my favorite movie when I was a child is one that has probably been seen by very few people in the U.S. See, back when my family lived in Boston we spent some time on a Hare Krishna commune of sorts in Pennsylvania (and you thought your family vacations were weird), where the only source of indoor entertainment was a TV showing one movie. The movie was called Sita’s Wedding, a Bollywood production loosely based on The Ramayana. The whole thing is in Hindi so of course I didn’t understand a word of it, nor could I read the English subtitles, but for some reason both Smash and I loved it. In fact, the good people at the commune sent us home with our very own copy when they saw just how much we liked it. That tape definitely got a lot of use over the next few years. I think I can trace my lifelong fascination with India back to all the hours Smash and I spent watching this movie, then dressing up in makeshift saris with red lipstick dots on our foreheads trying to recreate our favorite scenes.

For a long time I deluded myself into thinking that my family were the only people to have ever seen or heard of Sita's Wedding, but lo and behold the whole thing is posted on YouTube. It is unfortunately missing the English subtitles found on my parents’ copy, but let me save you the suspense by telling you that the lyrics to most of the songs are things like “Lord Vishnu’s countenance radiates with the glory of a thousand suns” or something to that effect. The scene below is probably one of the most boring in the whole movie but Mash and I loved the part where they start chucking the flowers around. For the record, I still think that this movie is quite gorgeous. That’s probably the Indophile in me talking but watching it seriously makes me wish I could wear a sari and pile on the jewels without looking like a complete loon.



Man, this turned into quite the lengthy post. I think my tendency towards wordiness has gotten a bit out of hand the past couple of days, since even a simple post on my recipe blog turned into a novel. Bear with me, friends. Maybe one day I’ll learn how to keep it short and sweet.

A conversation we will have in ten years

“Hey Butch, remember that time we went camping for Labor Day weekend and Lola peed all over everything in our tent at 5 in the morning about twenty minutes after you let her out to ‘do her business’?”

“Why yes I do. Remember how right after it happened you started bawling hysterically and hurling a few choice 4-letter words in her direction?”

“I wasn’t bawling hysterically, I just got a little upset because instead of waking up to the sun streaming in our faces all peaceful-like we had to drag all the wet stuff out of our tent in the bitter cold and wander around like bums waiting for the sun to rise so we wouldn’t wake everyone up. All because our dog is a life ruiner. And as for the four-letter words, Lola really was a little sh*t.”

“She sure was. She was also kind of dumb. I’m so glad we dropped her off at the pound on the way home.”

OK, just kidding on that last part. Butch would never say anything like that about his precious Lola and our spazoid of a dog is still very much a part of the family. Although I did entertain some bad thoughts about her in the bleak morning hours after we left our urine-soaked tent. Luckily they were obliterated by a delicious camp breakfast of pancakes, sweet potato hashbrowns, and bacon. Why is it that food always tastes better in the mountains?

Aside from that little setback, the rest of our campout was fabulous. Beautiful scenery, good company, and gorgeous weather. Thank you, Hanson family, for inviting us. If only we could have stayed longer…

All our stuff laid out to dry. We try to keep it as ghetto as possible while in the great outdoors.
The two Mikes: Butch and Hansol.
Mike sporting his only shoes and socks that didn't get wet. He looks like a German tourist.
Freezing my butt off by the fire.
Beautiful view out the car window.
View from our campsite.


Lola and Jake fighting over a stick. We keep her around for entertaining moments like these.

Guilt and Bare Feet

Introducing my latest guilty pleasures:

This is probably one of the worst cereals you could possibly eat. It’s filled with corn syrup, sugar, and all kinds of random crap. Too bad Mike and I both love it so when we found it on sale last week we went crazy and bought four boxes. Yikes. Luckily it’s too sweet to eat for breakfast, but every day when I get home from work the box calls to me from the cupboard like so much chocolate and peanut butter-flavored crack cocaine. I usually end up eating a bowl while curled up on the couch watching this:

I have no idea when this TV show came into being or what channel it was originally on but for some reason when I found it streaming on Netflix I was intrigued and watched the first episode. Then the second. And the third, fourth, and so on. It’s safe to assume that I’m hooked. Pushing Daisies is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on TV–it’s quirky, charming, and has the visual appeal of a Tim Burton movie. Plus Kristen Chenoweth is in it and the whole shebang is narrated by the actor that also narrates the Harry Potter audiobooks. If you're looking to fill the void that LOST left in your TV life then this show probably won't be your cup of tea, but if you're in the mood to think of the world as a simple, colorful place I would recommend giving Pushing Daisies a try.

OK, so now that I’ve fessed up to eating junky cereal and watching mindless TV, I’m going to try and redeem myself by sending a health-related question out into the blogosphere: what have you heard about these shoes? After getting my first running-related injury this spring (a stress fracture in my foot), I’ve been really intrigued by the concept of barefoot running (listening to this interview also made me curious). Supposedly all these high-tech running shoes are making our feet weak sauce and actually causing some of the injuries that many runners get, so running barefoot is the way to go. I can understand this concept in theory but what I’m interested in is the practical side of things. Have any of you run in vibrams for 5+ miles or know anyone who has? Are these shoes really as awesome as people claim or have you heard of some drawbacks? Any and all information on this subject would be welcome. In the meantime, I’m going to go pour myself another bowl of Reese’s puffs.

M & M

Last week on a beautiful August day, my little sister Masha married Matt Mulcock. I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my little sister, who also happens to be one of my best friends and favorite people, is now someone's wife. Seems like just yesterday we were fighting over our one cabbage patch doll and speaking to each other in gibberish Japanese.

That said, it thrills me to no end to see Smash as happy as she is when she's with Matt. He treats her like gold and complements her personality perfectly. Matt also gets bonus points for picking up on the family dynamic so well. Case in point: at the wedding dinner Mash and I were talking about something random and apparently Matt needed to have a word with my sister so he stood right by us for probably five minutes waiting for a break in the conversation. Of course that break never came, so finally Mike had to come over and bring Matt's presence to our attention. I felt pretty rude but Matt's reaction was classic: He turned to Mike and said "I know there's no interrupting these two." Oh Matt. Apparently you too are aware of the phenomenon that Butch refers to as "the sister zone." Sorry dude.

Of course I forgot my camera that day, but here are a few photos I stole from facebook pages:

Smash and I at the wedding dinner:
And at the temple. Isn't she a gorgeous bride?

Butch and I.

The Preo sisters. I love these two more than words can say. Family at the reception. Mom's face is classic.

Dema and Alex

Baby Anna in her yellow dress. It doesn't get any cuter than this:

The Little King raiding the candy dishes.

Bridesmaids (and a little bit of baby Anna). I look pretty dang stubby and pale standing next to supermodels Hannah and Erin. Bad choice.

Smash with the G parents. Who are still kickin at 90.
Brothers and sisters. Apparently I am the only one in "picture mode" and Dema just said something interesting.

Well, it looks like Wedding Season is finally winding down. Our fridge is a little less cluttered with announcements and the calendar space once crowded with showers, receptions, etc. is looking blessedly free. I love weddings as much as the next person, but going to a ton of them in a row leaves me completely exhausted. And admitting that makes me feel like I am 24 going on 80. Or maybe just socially handicapped.

The Pages I've Been Turning

I love to read year-round, but when summer hits my appetite for books becomes absolutely insatiable. This is probably because I still associate summer with my younger years, when its blessed arrival meant freedom from responsibility and ample time to spend lounging by the pool absorbed in a good read. No such luck this year, but between Bear Lake weekends and the afternoon reading breaks a few of my co-workers and I have instituted, I’ve been able to finish a few books.

Here’s the breakdown of what I’ve read lately:

Sarah's Key is one of those books that had promise because of the interesting subject matter (French involvement in the holocaust), but it wasn’t my cup of tea. The writing style reminded me of instructions they give you in junior high English classes, I could guess most of the plot twists from about twenty pages away, and the whole thing felt a little forced and melodramatic. It was also very sad. But not in a beautiful way.

Oh. My. Land. Jonathan Safran Foer is incredible. That’s all there is to say. But I will say more anyway. Namely that I loved this book from start to finish and I wish I could have the experience of reading it again for the first time.

The plot centers around a nine-year-old boy whose father dies in 9-11 and this novel is narrated mainly from his point of view. His voice reminded me a lot of the boy in Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, so if you enjoyed that then Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is definitely worth picking up. Easily one of the best books I’ve read in years.

I think this is one of those books best read in one sitting when you have a few hours to do nothing but soak up some good old-fashioned storytelling and descriptions of the Norwegian countryside. It’s very slow and quite vague, but the writing does have a definite beauty to it. Maybe I just had a hard time with Out Stealing Horses because I was forced to read it in small chunks, and, after the postmodern busyness of Extremely Loud, it was difficult to focus on a book as nuanced as this one. I guess you could say I appreciated it but didn’t really enjoy it all that much. Maybe I’ll give it another try when I have ample spare time on my hands.

Chuck Klosterman’s essays are kind of like an inside joke; funny if you get what he’s talking about and completely lame if you don’t. Unless you are a bona fide expert on pop culture, chances are you’ll find yourself scratching your head more than a couple of times. But when you do understand Klosterman’s subject matter, like when I read his essay on Saved by the Bell, he is pretty clever. Albeit in an overthought, cynical way best enjoyed in small doses. Also, Chuck can be pretty crass at times. Just putting that out there as a warning of sorts.

Ah, the token summer bestseller. I read this book for the same reason that I read The Help, DaVinci Code , Twilight (ugh), and countless other titles: because everyone else was doing it. Like those other books, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is not going to win a Pulitzer Prize any time soon, but it was entertaining in a trashy, quasi disturbing way. I don’t recommend reading it when you are all by yourself at night, though. If you’re anything like me you will be convinced that every creak of the floorboards is a serial killer hell-bent on breaking into your house and smuggling you away to Sweden.

Everything is Illuminated is up next on my summer reading agenda, but after that my list of library holds is a barren wasteland. So tell me friends, what have you read and loved lately?

Stars and Stripes Forever

This year we celebrated America's birthday by going up to the Bear Lake cabin with Mike's fam and our friends Megan and Travis (we missed you, Ben and Camille).

It was a little chilly, but that didn't stop us from sporting our classy patriotic swimwear (aren't my tan lines attractive?)

It was too cold to go out on the lake, but we entertained ourselves by playing volley in the shallow water:

And playing some golf:

I lost not one, not two, but at least five balls in the water that day. I struggle like you wouldn't believe.

Megan's birthday is on the 4th, so of course we celebrated.

I made her a festive red, white, and blue cake for the occasion:
Other highlights of our trip included:
-Lighting our own fireworks on the beach and watching the show created around the lake by everyone else doing the same thing.
-Raspberry shakes at LaBeau's. I swear they put crack in those things. So good.
-Owning everyone's trash in a game of Trivial Pursuit. That victory almost made me feel better about my sorry golf game. Almost.

-Sleeping in, eating delicious food, and engaging in all the other lazy activities that a weekend at the cabin entails. I love that place.

The only downside of the weekend was this:

"Heartbreaker" is the only term I can think of to describe this game. I spent most of Friday afternoon sulking over the fact that Ghana came this close to becoming the first African team to reach the semis and freaking choked. I should really stop watching sports. Or at least just stop getting so emotionally invested.

A quote

I may not understand a thing this man had to say about physics, but I'm diggin his perspective on other matters:

(Photo taken at last weekend's chalk art festival)

For my college graduation my uncle sent me his favorite biography of Einstein. In the inscription he wrote "hope you become the Einstein of your chosen field." At the time I thought it was a tender sentiment but now I just feel guilty for not doing anything to live up to it. Unless wasting time on the internet could be considered a "chosen field."

A Solstice Anniversary (Kinda)

Mike and I have never been big on commemorating the milestones of our relationship. Meaning there aren't really dates on the calendar that we point to and say "oh, on this day such-and-such happened." We pretty much celebrate our weddding anniversary and call it good. But on Sunday night I was looking through an old journal and noticed that the entry dated June 22, 2007 began with "Last night Mike and I went on our first real date..."

When I realized that the next day was June 21st I was all "hey Butch, tomorrow is the third anniversary of our first date!" and he was all "that is neat" so we decided to celebrate the occasion by trying to recreate that first date, which consisted of some night fishing and a campfire up Millcreek canyon.

Here we are on June 21, 2007:

(We unknowingly wore matching outfits, which we thought was funny so we took a picture.)

(My first time gutting a fish. Apparently I really enjoyed it.)

And here we are on June 21, 2010:

We couldn't go fishing this time around on account of this spastic animal:
So we settled for a hike instead:
Who would’ve thought that three years after our fishing expedition Mike and I would still be traipsing around Millcreek together? It’s only fitting that our first date occured on the first official day of summer, seeing as ours was a standard summer fling that just happened to turn into something so much better than either one of us expected. Life is amazing. Especially when you get to spend it in the beautiful mountains with your favorite person.

More

Since writing my previous post, I've come across some more World Cup advertising treasures. Most of you probably don't care, but we've already established that I happen to love this kind of crap so I'm posting it anyway.

The Wavin' Flag video makes me want an African squad to win the tournament so badly. I even get a little choked up when watching it (seriously, what is wrong with me?) The coca-cola one is pure happiness, and the Nike commercial would be ten times more awesome if Kobe Bryant weren't in it. Ew.

Enjoy:

Waka Waka

Like most Americans, I’m not a huge professional soccer enthusiast. Besides a few REAL games and the summer I was in Europe during the Euro Cup, I've never really watched it at all. I’d say I have the same beef with the sport as most redneck males: the lack of scoring, arbitrary time keeping, games ending in a tie, etc. Plus my soccer playing days ended about the time parents stopped handing out Squeezits at the end of a game so I really don’t know enough about soccer strategy to recognize the skill involved.

Given this information you would probably assume that I have no interest in this summer’s World Cup. And you would be right until you take into account that I’m a sports marketer’s dream. As established in previous posts (here and here), I’m not in it for the sport itself so much as the spectacle and backstory involved. If you can get me sentimental enough before the actual sporting event, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be glued to the TV for the whole thing. I think FIFA had people like me in mind when they produced this little gem:



Cheesy, quasi-inspiring lyrics? Check.
Close-ups of the athletes' various emotional faces? Check.
Footage of the sport's highlights? Check.
Clips of happy, cheering fans? Check.

This video ups the ante by including the happy dancing that makes the World Cup look like one big street carnival. Plus the song itself is so dang catchy. I dare you not to feel some degree of happiness while listening to it.

So all right World Cup, I’m in. You better be awesome.

P.S.- for a funny commentary on sometime soccer fans like myself, read this.