Friday night movie wrap-up

Leisure Girl spent Friday night in a fairly typical manner. Curled up on the couch with the lovely husband, some (bad) Chinese food, and a few movies from Netflix.

Last nights picks were August Rush and Over Her Dead Body.

August Rush: I had been waiting for this movie for ages. It had literally been on the top of my Netflix queue for months. And yet, when questioned by my husband as to why I had been so hot to see it I could only come up with "I like Keri Russell?" (And of course I do, Felicity was awesome). Still, Keri Russell's coolness was not enough to carry this fairly slow movie for me. Not much romance (which is a crime when the two leads are so cute) and a LOT of music. It was a disappointment.

Over Her Dead Body: This movie, on the other hand? Such an enjoyable surprise. My expectations were, to be honest pretty low. I don't think of Eva Longoria as particularly funny and I hadn't heard anything about this movie from when it was in the theaters. But it was funny! And it has the always adorable Paul Rudd who I would run off with in a second were my husband not sure to object. I recommend this one for some lighthearted, entertaining fun.

Why live your life when you can live theirs?

There are so many ways to escape your life. Although not particularly a video game girl, I love living an alternate life as a Sim.

I played the original Sims when it came out and now am quite a fan of Sims 2 as well as its various expansion packs.

I like the god-like quality of playing the Sims 2. You can create beautiful people, make them fall in love and have children, and then eventually kill them off when they bore you. I admit, I especially love the dressing them and doing their hair aspect, which reminds me of playing with Barbies.

Plus the Sims lets you be you, but a better version. Sim Leisure Girl is always fun and outgoing. It's much easier to get her to the gym than me, and she and her husband get to relax in hot tubs and take romantic vacations. So discover your alternate, or improved, personalities by playing Sims 2.

Gossip Girl - Guilty pleasure in any form

Gossip Girl is really everything you could ever want in terms of escapist teen themed entertainment. I was introduced first through the TV show and I must admit that it is my true love. I have since branched off into the books, however, and have found them to be also enjoyable.

Gossip Girl on TV is amazing. Fabulous characters wearing amazing clothes. It fills me with a longing to wear hair bows and plaid. Plus it is narrated by darling Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame. I have a special warm spot for Blair because she is so fabulous at being a bitch. So entertaining and angsty. I am planning on buying the first season when it comes out. Have you not seen this yet? Seriously? What's wrong with you?

After being obsessed with this show like I was still in high school, I of course, turned to the books. The characters are different from the show, but if you can get past that (and I can, barely) they are fun and gossipy and just generally enjoyable. Plus there's a bunch of them, so you don't have that "This was great but now there's no more!" feeling.

Both TV show and books are perfect for summer frivolity. What are you waiting for?

The internet makes TV better

Leisure Girl loves her television, so why not use the Internet to make watching television even more enjoyable? It's all about leisure multi-tasking, after all.

A few websites that make this easier:

1. My Soju: I have already blogged about the wonders of Asian television. But enjoying these wonders is all thanks to this website. Only a scant few series are available on Netflix (something that is sure to change as soon as Korean Drama fever sweeps the nation) and if you want to purchase them you can plan on spending around $150 each. Yikes. But My Soju lets you watch them for free! Magical.

2. Television Without Pity: This is perhaps my favorite internet site ever. Recaps of all your favorite shows in case you miss them and each one is filled with the snarky mocking that makes for real television enjoyment.


3. Network sites: I recently had a Tivo meltdown (shocking, I know) that painfully coincided with all of the season finales. Thank goodness you can now watch shows you missed on the network's websites.



4. Amazon: Even I can only watch so many shows. And sometimes I am just too impatient to get the series disc by disc on Netflix. Then my obsession forces my to buy whole television series on DVD. When I do this, it's usually from Amazon.

Fairytales for Grown-ups

I love discovering a new author who already has a number of books under her belt. What a nice surprise. You read something you like and then you can go back for more. Such has been my new love affair with Patricia Wrede.

I first met her when I stumbled across Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country (Such a good title!) It was fabulous and entertaining. Her books are a mix of young adult and big people books, although for the life of me I can't tell the difference between the two. Her books are all fantasy-ish and have a fairy tale quality that I love. I have also read her Enchanted Forest Chronicles and yesterday finished my current favorite, The Raven Ring. They're all so fun and escapist. I will be returning for more this summer. You should all do the same.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Disneyland? No. Guess again.

Sephora? Well, possibly, if you have a really big gift certificate.

Bed? I can't argue with that.

But I digress. I am referring to one of my very very favorite places.

The library.

What a marvelous place the library is. Want to read this book? Sure! Take it! No charge at all, we know you'll bring it back. Such an amazing concept.

Sure there are still many (many) books that I buy. Because the library doesn't have them or I want to own them or I must read them now, now, now. But thanks to the library my Amazon bills are only equal to the GNP of a very small country and not, let's say, all of Europe.

I just feel so peaceful in a library. It's nice to be reminded that there are lots and lots of interesting books out there. And despite my irrational fear that causes me to stockpile books like the end of the world is coming, it is very unlikely that I will ever run out and have

Nothing To Read

(my personal phobia).

So let's lift our glasses and say

"To the library!"

Does reading People make me dumber?

Leisure Girl admits, she is more than a People magazine reader. She is a subscriber. And People does not come cheap. I am currently spending almost $120 a year to be caught up on celebrity gossip. But I just can't help myself.

I have tried not to subscribe, I really have. But I just end up buying it every week anyway because there is something on it that catches my eye (Britney's insane! Someone's addicted to drugs! Exclusive wedding photos). So really, by subscribing I'm saving money, right?

Every Friday I am so happy to get the mail and see People. I curl up on the couch and find out what's happening in the world. Or at least in Hollywood. Okay, I might have been totally clueless about the whole tomato/salmonella thing until I saw a sign at a restaurant, but I know who's breaking up.

Although some part of me suspects it might be wrong, I have an insatiable curiosity about famous people. You know how some people look at tabloids and say "Who cares? Who even wants to know that stuff?" The answer is - I do. People magazine is yummy and escapist and nothing but fun. I heartily recommend it.