Birthday Play By Play

Chronicling the birthday as it unfolds:

1. Birthday wishes from Aunt Debby

2. Birthday wishes from Aunt Judy

3. eCard from Shannon

4. Voice mail from Mom

5. Chocolate from boss

6. Brick of cheese from Shannon

7. Birthday wishes from Stephanie

8. Birthday text from Heather

9. Raisinets, Goobers and Sno-Caps from Mary

10. Comment from Sicily

11. Birthday wishes from Eric

12. More birthday wishes from Mom

13. Birthday wishes from Lucas (and an offer of a scotch. Yes!)

14. Birthday wishes from Rachel

15. Birthday wishes from Wookie and the rest of Timbers Army

16. Birthday wishes from Diane

17. Birthday wishes from Laurie, the Lady Cobra

18. eCard from Candy - and lunch too

19. More birthday wishes from various Timbers Army personalities

20. Voice Mail from David - with a song and some French slang

21. Comment from the CilleyGirl

22. Birthday wishes from Katharine

23. Birthday wishes from Stuart

Awesome day so far.

There Will Be Blood

Platelets.

People need ‘em and I’ve got ‘em. In spades.

I donated two units of platelets yesterday. I’m going back for seconds in two weeks. I almost have enough to do three units. How cool is that?

Overall it’s not that different from giving a whole blood donation. Except you're wrapped up in blankets and fleece and you have to pump up your calcium before and during the procedure. Plus, it takes twice as long.

A few tips if you want to give:

Wear a vest. It helps keep you warm but gives them good access to your arm. I prefer fleece vests because, well, they’re fleece. Fleecy goodness is the best.

Bring your Netflix list. You’ll be seated for 1-2 hours in a comfy vinyl chaise. You have a personal TV with headphones and can watch from their fairly extensive collection of films or bring your own. I watched a Reader’s Digest version of “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” as I’m a pretty good bleeder. But I wasn’t prepared enough to find a movie I hadn’t seen before with any sort of efficiency. I felt like I was at the video store with three people – the worst number of people to decide on a movie rental BTW.

Anyway, 7:15am Sunday May 4 I do it all over again. Want to join me?

B!

Butter Flavoring On That?

A friend and I were having a quick chat on gmail last week about movies. Movies that we love. Movies that we quote. Movies that we never really tire of seeing but that we don’t watch with much frequency anymore.

It got me thinking. It’s time for a marathon movie day. An all day affair of movies, food, drink, naps and more movies.

Of course such a day must involve the holy trinity of movie-going treats: Sno-Caps, Goobers and Raisinets, as well as some of the newer kids on the block: Hot Tamales and Red Vines.

So, I need your help. We’ve got to make a list. I’ll start:

• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension
• The Princess Bride
• The Big Lebowski
• Kingpin
• Fletch! (but not Fletch! Lives)

Chime in, dear readers. We may even put you on the invite list.

B!

Mouth Sounds and Movie Quotes

I have several friends who can make amazing noises come out of their mouths. I’ve also got a bunch of friends who occasionally live life through the lens of movie quotes or TV quotes.

Why do men do these things?

Many of my friends quote liberally from the Simpsons. Now, I think the Simpsons are funny. But I’ve never found it to be the cultural barometer that my friends have. Just different tastes, I suppose. But I’m guilty of this too. I love to bring out a quote from Fletch or Blues Brothers or Animal House when appropriate. I have stolen words from a variety of people from Robin Williams to Steve Martin to Steven Wright to The Famous Mysterious Actor and adjusted them to make them my own.

One of my friends can make extremely accurate animal sounds; monkeys and even a bear. To see him do this is frightening as the bear sound is very physical. Another friend makes super realistic bird sounds and phone sounds. So much so that when you’re out at a crowded restaurant he’ll send out a ring and people all around check their cell phones. It’s super harmless fun. I, of course, will roar like a Wookiee from time to time. Go figure.

But why do we do these things?

There’s a theory that men and women seek out different things from media: books and movies. The theory goes that women read to discover the dynamics of relationships. How people communicate and relate. The theory also states that men seek out role models and heroes. They’re looking for a guide to life and how to live it.

As I’ve thought about this I don’t disagree with it. Just about every guy I know watches a movie or reads and tries to identify with the character. If they find something appealing in the character they like the book or movie. If they don’t find some redeeming quality then they’ll likely have a poorer opinion, even if the other elements we’re fine.

I think that’s why I struggled with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. I did not find anything to absorb from the main character.

But I’m pretty sure it’s why we quote from movies. We want to be that funny guy. That heroic guy. Using their words allows us to live their life, just a little bit.

I’m not sure why we make the sounds, though. Or even why I associate the two.

B!