My (Affordable) Dream Vacation

I've got just about a week off from work at the end of August and I've been thinking about what I would like to do. Originally, I was going to do a road trip to Ottawa to visit my friends down there.

Now I'm thinking of spending the week at the cottage (with my cats), doing as little as possible.

I figure I bring some tv-on-dvd, my playstation and games, knitting, and lots of books, and I'll be as happy as ... well, a stressed-out-librarian-on-a-well-deserved-vacation :)

Ah, relaxation... sounds like a dream :)

Opinions wanted

I'm looking to buy a stainless steel water bottle, so I can use that instead of buying tons and tons of plastic water bottles ...

Anyone know a good make? I found a cute SIGG one that I like (it has a Geisha picture on it! Pretty!) but it's $23.99 + shipping
Is that too much for a water bottle? I want one that's easy to drink from, doesn't smell after you use it, and isn't too heavy. Pretty pictures are also nice.

So what do you guys think? Yes to the pretty-but-expensive bottle? Or do you know of any other good brands that I can get?

Opinions greatly appreciated, pleaseandthankyou!


June 22 Update! I ended up going to Planet Organic and buying a Klean Kanteen. It doesn't have a pretty geisha picture on it, though but I suppose that can be fixed with a sticker :)

"The Happening"

Sent to my by a friend, and therefore I am compelled to share:

A movie review of "The Happening", by Christopher Orr

"This film is so bad that I feel compelled to make a spoiler-laden list of its most laughably terrible parts rather than review it."

Well worth the read!

Twilight

So I finally got my hands on the must-read teen book of the year. I thought that I wouldn't like it. First of all, it's a romance. But not just any romance. A vampire romance. Seems a little too cheesy for me, but it's my job to know what all the cool kids are reading, so I bought a copy (the waiting list at the library would take me all year to read, and by then the hype would be over)

I'm about 280 pages into this 498 page book - and I'm hooked. Honestly, this book is very difficult to put down. It's very well written, in my humble opinion, and I can see with crystal clarity why all the teen girls want to read it. Very vivid descriptions, a good balance of mystery and action and (of course) romance.

I won't go into plot details. There's really no point. If you've heard of this book, you know what it's about. If you haven't heard of it, well, you should give it a try.

Dee, I think you'll like it. You can borrow it from me when you visit, if you like.

Wow. I'm gushing about a teen romance. I think I'm getting sappy in my old age.

Picture to share

If anyone out there is a fan of I Can Has Cheezburger, there's also a similar site called Fail Blog... whose name is pretty self explanatory.

Anyway....

This picture came to me through an LJ community I'm on, and it made me laugh so I thought I'd share:


Okay, technology clearly isn't on my side today. I swear that picture should be bigger... anyway, just click here instead.

Indiana Jones and the Disappointing Plot

I'm starting out by saying that I didn't dislike the new Indiana Jones movie - in fact, I found the whole thing quite enjoyable. And it's been quite a few years since I've seen the original trilogy, and I know that Indie tends to go after mythical "historical" objects, but the whole crystal skull thing went a few giant leaps too far, in my opinion.

(I don't want to say too much in case I spoil the ending for anyone who wants to see it. And I suggest you do go see it. If not for the plot, then at least for Cate Blanchett and cutie-pie Shia LaBoeuf)

The rest of this post will be written in white, so if you want to see it, you'll have to highlight the text. That way I won't be spoiling anything...

Okay, so I imagine a production meeting between Steven Spielberg (SS) and George Lucas (GL) went something like this:

GL: I don't get it. Why didn't anyone like the Star Wars prequels? They were *so much* better than the originals. I have money now, for one.
SS: I miss doing ET. Why aren't we remaking ET? That movie was awesome.
GL: The fans must have been missing something... something crucial...
SS: I mean, everyone loves aliens, right? Especially aliens that somehow benefit mankind. Who doesn't want to be bettered by aliens?
GL: I got it! Harrison Ford! That's why no one liked Star Wars. No Han Solo!
SS: Han Solo? Is that way? You don't think it had anything to do with Jar Jar, or the horrible writing, or...
GL: NO! They just missed Han. We should totally bring Harrison Ford back for a movie. Like another Indiana Jones movie or something.
SS: Isn't he old now?
GL: Not if we drive a dumptruck full of money to his house. He'd sign on for sure!
SS: But the people who watch the movie aren't dumb. They'll know Indie is *old*
GL: We'll set it in the 1950s... and just so people don't forget it, we'll stick every single 1950s cultural reference we can possibly think of in the movie every 5 seconds, so if the audience even starts to wonder why Indie is old now, something will jump out and scream IT'S THE 1950s! HE'S AGED LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!
SS: Okay...
GL: And since he was in Star Wars, we'll throw in some aliens.
SS: Like ET?
GL: ... sure. Beneficial aliens. I mean, why wouldn't Indie be finding aliens in THE 1950s?
SS: Not very historical... or archaeological. I mean, sure the Holy Grail and the Arc of the Covenant and whatever he was looking for in the second movie probably didn't actually exist, but are people going to believe that South American culture is based off of aliens with crystal heads?
GL: They'll believe anything we tell them, as long as we play the theme music A LOT and have long action scene.
SS: We might as well have Indie looking for Atlantis.
GL: All in good time Steve. All in good time.