Life after Sundance

Ah, yes, it's all over. And we did pretty good this year, no screaming or melting slugs, no strange ladies from the sea. They were all pretty coherent. A few weren't my favorite, but they were all interesting. I guess my 1-7 list would be:

1. Year of the Fish
2. Four Sheets to the Wind
3. The Nines
4. Fido
5. Animation Spotlight
6. War/Dance
7. Chicago 10

How funny that one of the opening films that was receiving so much praise was my least favorite. Chicago 10 had an interesting style and it was funny, but it was pretty irrelevant. The director wanted to mobilize resistance to the war in Iraq and just succeeded in telling a story about the Yippies. You could say there's a lot of parallels there, but I think he forgot to put them in the film... Anyway, all the movies I did like were just dramas, the top 2 were love stories. I guess I'm just in a sappy mood or something because both had me tearing up a little. Check out my previous post if you are interested in their Sundance synopsis.

While in Park City, we met a few celebrities and had one sighting. Now don't get too excited, but Screech from Saved by the Bell walked right past me! I wouldn't have even noticed him except for all the photographers saying it was him. Ok not very exciting, but we did meet Hoot, the owl who played Errol in Harry Potter.

He was really sweet and very tame. His trainer stuck his finger in Hoot's mouth and he didn't do anything, just stood there and took it. We also met the star of Year of the Fish, An Nguyen, who was really sweet and gave us fortune cookies that said "Year of the Fish." So it was a fun year and I'll probably keep on going, despite my previous frustrations with it :)

Now... to find some time for knitting...

Sundance and Swappin' and School, Oh My!

Sundance has been at it's craziest this year. They have decided to "fix" a lot of the problems they've had in the past, but it seems to make things more complicated. First I signed up for the free locals ticket buying. But "due to the overwhemling popularity, blah, blah, blah..." I wasn't assigned a time. So then I paid to buy tickets with the rest of the world and when I go to buy during my assigned time, the site crashes. I wanted to cry... if it was just me, I wouldn't care. But this is the first year I have family traveling to go to movies with me, so I had to get those tickets!! Anyway, they finally figured out what was wrong and I got some of what I needed, I'll have to wait until Friday for Todd's time, to see if I can get the rest. We did get the Animation Spotlight, Four Sheets to the Wind, War/Dance, Year of the Fish, and Chicago 10. And hopefully we will also be able to get tickets for The 10 or Fido. We really want to see A Very British Gangster, but we'll have to wait list that one because it's sold out. For those who don't know what wait listing is: spending 2 hours usually in a cold tent hoping you are one of the 10% that gets let in after all the actual ticket holders are seated. It really doesn't feel like Sundance until you've wait-listed.

I also need to advertise my very first SWAP on swap-bot. I was thinking about all the spectacular music that came out last year and so I dreamed up the Best of 2006 CD. Here are the details for those who don't want to click on my link:

In this swap we will create a mix CD of our favorite music released in 2006. Include at least 10 songs on your CD. You will have 2 partners, so plan on making 2 copies of your disc. It would also be nice to include some cover art for the CD case, but it is not required.

Please try to only include music that was released in 2006 but if there is a great song that was released at the end of 2005, nobody will hold it against you if you include it :)

This is an International Swap, which will make this much more fun as we will hopefully hear new music from all over the world.

Voila!

In other news:

School started this week. Although I have really been dreading the first day of school, I am actually really happy with my classes. My French class was very encouraging because I retained most of what I learned in 1010 and soon I will be able to talk in past tense without sounding weird, Hurray!! I am also taking an Imaginative Writing class and Intermediate Writing (required). So I will be an accomplished author who speaks a fair amount of French by the end of April... something to look forward to :)

Happy New Year!

So for the new year, I have started a new sock. Not only is it much easier to knit than the shawl I was knitting up until Dec 23rd for Christmas, but it is also more therapeutic. My sock comes in Puck's Mischief from Blue Moon Fiber Arts which Tan, my mother-in-law, gave me for Christmas.

Tan also gave me some beautiful fiber to spin up. I am imagining it as sock yarn, but then again I can't imagine fiber as anything but sock yarn.

And here's the shawl that dominated my life in December. Actually I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and I'm completely in awe of myself for not being incredibly bored with it by the time I was halfway through, it was actually kind of exciting - I guess that's because it's my first.

Other Christmas knitting that has not been bragged about yet is my sisters "Ice Cream Geisha Socks." The foot was way too long for her, but I think she liked the sandal toe. I think I want a pair - they make wearing socks with sandals look cool.

Also check out the Picot Edged Ribbed Socks on Tan's blog that were her Christmas present. They are my favorite socks that I made in 2006.