Oh, how I really, really, REALLY liked Brokeback Mountain, to my great relief. I didn’t out-and-out sob at any point during the movie, but I did tear up many times.
I tried, last night, to convince Fred to drive across the country this summer, stopping in Mooreland, Indiana (Zippy country) and ending up at Brokeback Mountain.
Which is when he told me there IS no Brokeback Mountain. Damn it!
I’ve never uttered this sentence before in my entire life, but last night I said it for the first time: “I’d love to visit Wyoming someday.” So pretty!
Such a good movie. I might even have to buy it.
Also, now that I’ve seen the movie, I can read the book of short stories – if I have a book and I know the movie’s coming out, I try not to read the book, because I tend to sit through the movie waiting for whatever I know is going to happen, to happen – and I’m looking forward to it.
So, two thumbs up to Brokeback Mountain. Tell me what you thought about it (it’s okay if you didn’t like it – you’re ALLOWED your opinion. It just means you hate me. (kidding!)) in the comments, eh?
PS: I was occasionally distracted by the fact that Heath Ledger’s accent sometimes crossed the line into Slingblade territory.
PPS: Fred laughed out loud when, near the beginning of the movie, Jake Gyllenhaal was drinking some kind of hard liquor and I primly said “Hard liquor is the first stop on the train to Gaysville.”
PPPS: NO, I don’t really believe that.
* * *
Stolen from
Janet.
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? “I really need to remember to apply sunblock before I go outside in the morning.” (My forehead is getting pretty freckly)
2. When is the next time you will have sex? I don’t believe that’s any of your bidness.
3. What’s a word that rhymes with “DOOR”? Floor.
4. Favorite planet? I’ve always been partial to Mars.
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your mobile? My brother, who called… I don’t know, three weeks ago? Unfortunately at the time my phone was in the bottom of my purse and I didn’t hear it.
6. What is your favorite ring on your phone? I love the “O Holy Night” as sung by South Park’s Cartman I downloaded at Christmas. Currently my default ring is just the sound of a telephone ringing.
7. What shirt are you wearing? An ugly lime-green shirt.
9. Name the brand of shoes you’re currently wearing? They’re Easy Spirit slippers.
10. Bright or Dark Room? Bright, unless I’m trying to watch a movie or go to sleep.
11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? She’s so cute I want to stick her in my pocket and carry her around with me. (I won’t, though, Janet. Really I won’t!)
12. Hey Janet? Where’d #12 go?
13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping, or fending off the advances of a little orange kitty who was desperate to lick my neck.
14. What did your last text message you received on your mobile say? I don’t have a clue – I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten a text message on this cell phone. I’m not much of a text-er.
15. Where is your letter box? By the street.
16. What’s a word that you say a lot? “Huh?”
17.Who told you he/she loved you last? Fred, I’m sure.
18. Last furry thing you touched? Sugarbutt’s stomach.
19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days? Uh… zero? Unless you’re counting multi-vitamins, iron, B12, calcium, Synthroid, and Metoprolol in the “drugs” category.
20. How many rolls of film do you need to get developed? None. I can’t remember the last time I used a film camera.
21. Favorite age you have been so far? I kind of liked 28, but I suspect the best is yet to come.
22. Your worst enemy? Myself.
23. What is your current desktop picture? A picture I took when I was in Hawaii.
24. What was the last thing you said to someone? “I got
Rent for you; it’s on the desk by the door.” (to the spud)
25. If you had to choose between a million dollars, able to fly, which would you choose? The ability to fly. I’m sure – unless I was kidnapped by the government so they could do extensive and painful tests on me – I could earn a million bucks with my ability to fly. Even if I couldn’t, I’d still choose it.
26. Do you like someone? What, are we in middle school? I like lots of people, but I only LIKE LIKE
one.
27. The last song you listened to? Settle for a Slowdown, by Dierks Bentley.
28. If the last person you spoke to was getting shot at, would you jump in front of the bullet? I hope so – I’m not too great in a crisis, though, so by the time the thought occurred to me to jump in front of the bullet, the CSI team might be showing up.
29. If you could punch 1 person in the face who’s in your life right now, who would it be? Chloe Sevigny. Granted, she’s not so much “in my life”, but she’s the one person on earth I’d lunch to punch in the face, because her face DRIVES ME CRAZY.
30. What is the closest object to your left foot? The space heater. Shaddup, it might be in the 70s outside, but it’s still cold inside sometimes.
* * *
Pet store kitty pics from Monday are
here.
* * *
An up side to having a teen who drives is that you can send her to do errands for you. In fact, I think she’s gone and gotten the majority of the CSI DVDs we’re working our way through. Also, I can make a lab appointment for her – and she can drive HERSELF. I don’t even have to leave the couch.
Two thumbs up for the driving teen.
Speaking of the spud, she’s decided to go to prom this year with friends, and this weekend she and her best friend are going to meet up at the mall to shop for a prom dress. Which means I don’t have to do any of that pesky “shopping” I dislike so much.
I do need to call and schedule an appointment for the day of prom so she can get herself an updo, though.
* * *
There was something else I was going to write about, but I’ll be damned if I can remember what it was. If anyone sees my brain wandering by, please send it in my direction, would you? Thanks.
* * *
“That wild onion is REALLY getting on my freakin’ nerves, man.”
“Dad? Whatcha got there? Is that the flashy thing that Mom’s always pointing at me?”
I apologize for showing you a picture of my cat’s asshole*, but this picture cracks me UP. According to Fred, Tommy was coming to a sudden stop.
*I think “the cat’s asshole” should become a popular new insult. It pairs nicely with the phrase “the cat’s pajamas.” For instance: “Bob, what do you think of the new guy and his wife?” “Oh, the wife is the cat’s pajamas. The new guy, though, he’s more like the cat’s asshole. I can’t stand that guy.”
All of today’s cat pictures were taken by Fred. You can see all of today’s uploaded pictures
hither.
* * *
Previously
2005: I had no idea that leaving the top of the washstand bare meant that you didn’t appreciate the washstand.
2004: (Yeah, yeah, cry you a river. I know. Bite me.)
2003: No entry.
2002: Apparently Fancypants’ evil twin (except that I’m sure Fancypants is actually the evil one) now lives in our neighborhood.
2001: No entry.
2000: I guess there’ll be no physical fisticuffs for me to go break up. ]]>
LOL at the shot of Tommy’s asshole. Thanks for sharing!
I really liked Brokeback, too. I didn’t get all weepy, which is surprising b/c I cry at everything (though the day I saw it I found out I was pregnant so maybe I was too distracted). I thought it was really touching and very beautiful. Much better than Crash. & I totally agree with you about Slingblade slipping in – sometimes it was almost creepy.
Memo to Robyn’s other male reader: From a guy standpoint, Brokeback Mountain was very boring.
Nothing exploded (except Jake and Heath, in that buttsex scene near the beginning), there were no car chases, and the only boob shown was in profile.
Whose boob was shown? The wife’s? I can’t remember.
But there was fishing and guns and sheep. Aren’t those guy things??
Fred: Perhaps if you’d been WATCHING the movie instead of looking at your Su Doku book all through the movie, you’d’ve seen that Anne Hathaway (Jack’s wife) showed her boobs straight-on for several seconds in the sex-in-the-car scene. And you missed it – HA!
If you got to Wyoming you won’t find any of the Brokeback Mountain scenery because most of the outdoor bits of the movie were shot around Canmore, Alberta, Canada.
Oh yes, we Canadians are a tricky lot and from time to time even impersonate states. We can’t be trusted.
I often tell my Hubby he is making a face like a cat’s ass. Great picure! lol
I bought the BBM DVD yesterday. Nevermind I had seen it several times on the the big screen. I have to admit that my love for it is based more on the fact that I like Jake Gyllenhaal than anything else. But it was a good movie. Yeah, My Hubby thought it was boring, too.
Marn: Oh, THAT figures. I’ll NEVER get him up to Canada!
Brokeback Mountain is my new favorite movie. I admit I sobbed at the end, and got quite teary otherwise. Loved it so much. I ordered it from my DVD club so it should be along soon.
Heh, my sister got married in Vegas last week (Hub and I tagged along) and when she was booking her updo at the hotel’s salon, her fiance asked her “What’s an up-doe?” That’s how he pronounced it. So now that’s what we will forevermore call it, and how I read it in this post. Tell Spud I hope her up-doe is awesome!
BTW, I did my own up-doe, and it came out pretty well if I do say so myself. I had a cut and highlight the week before and asked my stylist for tips on a do-it-myselfer. She said it would be easiest if my hair was freshly washed and curly (and still a little damp, I found). She twisted and clipped it all up for me and left it. I had Hub take pics, but I didn’t even need them. I had to use about 3 times as many bobby pins as the stylist did, but it still looked awesome!
OK, I’ll shut up now. 🙂
LOVED Brokeback! And so did my husband (so there, Fred). He apparently didn’t feel a need for crashes and explosions. He probably would’ve liked more boobage, but hey, no film is perfect.
I don’t hate you. I did hate that movie, for the same reason I hated Legends of the Fall and The Bridges of Madison County. I hate movies where the “love story” is at least partly about infidelity.
I’m the opposite when it comes to books and movies from books. I have to read the book first. If I don’t, how can I bitch about how badly they screwed it up?
Just can’t get past the idea of two guys exploding, to watch the movie….. Heard it had a great story though…
The outdoor scenes in Brokeback may have been filmed in Canada, but you should still visit Wyoming! My husband and I went to Jackson Hole last year and it was absolutely gorgeous. We went in March so that I could see the snow, but we heard it is equally as beautiful in the summertime.
Deeje: And so did my husband (so there, Fred). He apparently didn’t feel a need for crashes and explosions.
And you believed him when he told you this? 🙂
If I were doing the meme above, my answer to #23 would be one of yesterday’s photos of the baby cardinal. So cute!
I read the BBM story, and I just cannot imagine the Hollywood prettyboys in those roles. I’m not sure I’ll ever see the movie either, because I’m such a crybaby.
Loved Brokeback but my date did NOT.
The cat’s asshole is my new favorite saying. I always said the cat’s ass but asshole is so much more graphic. I LOVE it!
I’m in Calgary, Alberta Canada (less than an hour from Canmore), and OH all the Jake sightings I heard about! I haven’t seen it yet but it is on my list, I love it when movies are filmed around me and I recognize stuff… Legends of the Fall comes to mind… although I’d rather look at Brad Pitt in that one than the scenery. Now, meh, not so much. He needs that hair.
I’m getting a kitty, probably this weekend!! You have inspired me and now I can’t WAIT to fill my blog with kitten pictures!
Robyn,
Have you seen Big Love? Chloe Sevigny’s character on that show totally matches her face. You really need to see it if just for that reason!
Leigh
Leigh: I have, and I totally agree! UGH! 🙂
Dude, the Academy members were being total cats’ assholes when they denied Brokeback the Best Picture Oscar.
And I also lurve the Tommy butt-photo (butto?).
I cannot stand Chloe Sevigny either. Just so smarmy or something.
And because of you, everytime I see Bill Paxton, I think of his smackable face (that is him you talk about being smackable, right? I hope so, because if not, oops.)
Big Love is really pretty awesome, I’ve even gotten Steve hooked on it.
Hey Robyn, does Netflix have a referral reward program? Because I’m thinking about joining. I’d be happy to send you points or coupons or whatever if they do that kind of thing. I really want to see BBM, but I don’t want to buy it unless I love it. Because we already own too many DVD’s that we will probably never watch again.
We watched Brokeback last night, too! Funny thing is I commented on Heath’s accent devolving into Slingblade as the movie progressed!
For question #14 above, I have a vague recollection of you and the Spud text-ing when she was on her way to her dad’s or grandparents. Of course, it may not have been the same cell phone you have now.
If I was really ambitions, I’d try to search for the post, but I’m lazy.. 🙂
My husband won’t even watch Will & Grace so I’d never to get him to sit through BBM. Especially with a “buttsex” scene, as Fred put it.
-Nancy
My boyfriend & I both liked Brokeback Mountain, though my boyfriend pretty much likes all movies, so I can’t say he’s a accurate representation of most guys. ;)He likes movies where things go kablooey too.
I totally agree on Chloe Sevigny, that face just needs a good solid smack. The cat’s asshole is my new favorite saying.
I heard that Brokeback was actually filmed in Alberta, so you might have to try planning a trip a bit further north than Wyoming 🙂 Tell Fred that there’s lots of white-water rafting nearby.
I’m watching it tonight! Woo!
I went to see Brokeback in the theatre by myself (no one wanted to go with me!) and the effect was ruined by the old man sitting next to me (in a nearly empty theatre!) eating peanuts from a grocery bag. Like shell cracking grocery bag rustling peanut eating. Ugh. And also I could understand maybe half of what Heath Ledger said. But overall it was a good movie, bad environment.
Oh my GOD, I love that last picture. I scrolled down and immediately started giggling like an idiot.
Um, BBM was filmed here, in Alberta (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/locations) (Don’t bother coming to Lacombe though, not that great. Canmore is way more tourist friendly)
and yes, the kyaking in the mountains, especially in Kananaskis is AWESOME! You should totally do it!
I covet your slippers.
Saw Brokeback Mountain. Really, really liked it. I could almost feel the pain Enes went through when they first came down Brokeback and parted ways. And the last part with the intertwined shirts was so, so poignant.
Yes! Brokeback Mountain WAS filmed in southern Alberta. Also …the pick up truck that was used in the movie was bought from the movie set dec after the movie wrapped by an 18 year old fella for, I believe, around $1500.00 CDN. He just sold it on eBay for over $6000 US!
I saw the movie in the theater and while I thought it was a good movie …it is not on my favorites list. Wanna sob at a movie? Rent Spitfire Grill if you haven’t seen it yet. I literally SOBBED at the end … its one of my favorites!
Wow, unless there’s two Dierks Bentley’s in the world, I grew up with that one. Now I need to go look around for more info on him.
After watching BBM at the theater I left wondering what actually happened to Jack. Jack’s wife told about his accident in such a rehearsed and detailed way it sounded like she’d been told the story she had to repeat. I figured he’d been found out after talking (messing around) with the husband of the talkative wife. It just didn’t ring true. I think the Ennis’ “flashback” was actually a visualization of what he “knew” must have happened to Jack at the hands of his FIL and cronies.
I usually find Heath Ledger very attractive (HOT) but not in this movie…LOL it was Jake that I found more attractive. Wierd.
Robyn hon: You have to come and visit me in Alberta because that’s where Brokeback Mountain was filmed! Let me know and I’ll dust the spare room and we’ll plan a trip to Kananaskis Country!
I loved Brokeback too! Saw it twice in the theater, and will rent it soon.
First thing I did after I saw the movie was to buy the book of short stories (be careful – there is a rip-off edition with ONLY “Brokeback Mountain” in it for almost as much as the entire book of short stories). The stories are all amazing … and it surprised me to discover how closely the movie followed the dialogue in the short story.
I loved BBM as well. And my friends thought I was CRAZY when I mentioned that Heath did the ol’ Slingblade voice. I live in a small town in North Ontario (CANADA) and apparently a lot of folks here that went to see it, walked out after the ‘tumble in the tent’ scene. I guess they were there because of the Oscar buzz, and had no idea what the story was about. I was happy to see Ang Lee take the award for best director, and that someone actually brought this story to the big screen- it’s about time. I like it when I see a film and actually ‘feel’ for the actors, as if they were ACTUALLY the characters they play. (like Jack Twist who pined for a life with Ennis…) I especially loved the tagline for the film “Love is a force of nature…”
On your desktop, is that “scrubs” item the one you posted a while ago the singing bit with the “quiet down now…it is time to watch the show. Yes it started, just a minute ago.” I loved that. I wonder if I still have it saved. I played it obsessively for a while.
I DO still have it.
WOMAN! I am not a lollipop!
Cindy, you won’t have to look too far. Dierks is very popular in the country music world right now (and very adorable!)
Hi Robyn,
I have been a long-time reader, but I think I missed something. I see that you mentioned moving within a year twice now. I seemed to miss the reasoning behind the move (if it was indeed given, or if it is even public knowledge). At least Fred has it all painted up nice and purdy. It looks like a gorgeous house. I would love to be able to move back in that direction. Unfortunately, I am a transplanted Tennessean and I miss my hometown, although it is not the same when I go back to visit. It is true… you can never go back home. I feel so out of place there now after living in California for 5+ years and now the midwest. I do miss the pace of life though… if your hair is on fire, that’s okay, you can put it out tomorrow!
Oh, I fucking LOVED BBM. So amazing. I bought it today, in fact. Funny story – the sound in our local theater is so shoddy, it was impossible to hear. So bad in fact, that an elderly couple behind us had to keep repeating everything to each other…the best was when the old guy yelled out, “He said, ‘I AIN’T QUEER!!!'” I couldn’t help but laugh.
Anyway, Jackson Hole, WY is gorgeous, but I wouldn’t bother with the rest of the state…Alaska on the other hand… 🙂
Robyn–
Miz Poo has the CUTEST little profile!
Okay maybe I’m the only one, but I did not enjoy Brokeback Mountain that much! Probably because I was sleep deprived last night when I watched it, they pronounced all the Wyoming stuff wrong which offends me as a former Wyoming resident, and Ennis’ mumbling really pissed me off. I thought he was an ass and was unable to overcome that to find any poignancy in his character.
Ha!
That asshole shot cracked me up and brought back an old childhood memory.
When I was about 9 some girl knocked me down on purpose on my way home from school. Bloodied my eyebrow on the pavement.
Well, she lived in the same apartment complex I did and my brilliant plan of revenge was this……
I got home, got my siamese cat and went and rang her door bell and held my cats asshole up in front of the peephole on her door!
ahhh revenge is sweet! lol
Thanks for the funny pic!
Will be watching Brokeback mountain tonight.
My friend Charles from dustbury.com posted what I believe is the best item ever on “Brokeback Mountain” after he saw it in the theater. I’ll quote it in it’s entirety.
“The third of May, nineteen ninety-nine. Some of the strongest winds ever measured on planet Earth are passing literally within a few hundred yards of my door. Everything I’ve been taught tells me to stay inside, batten down the hatches, and wait. And yet I’m standing outside, watching what I can through clouds that go beyond grey, beyond black, to some non-color that surely exists only at the end of the world, because I can’t look away: this is one of two primal forces of nature, and, I realize, the only one I will ever experience.
Brokeback Mountain is about the other. No one, I suspect, can prepare for passion at this level: it simply is, and everything you’ve been taught is pushed to the background, biding its time for an inopportune moment to remind you of its presence. And yet this particular primal force doesn’t demand either Sturm or Drang, something director Ang Lee well knows. Sweeping and sumptuous visuals aside, this is a deliberately small film: it keeps its focus on the two leads and the different ways they come to grips with the same fact, and in more than one scene, the words that go unspoken cut closer to the heart than the words you hear out loud.
Which is why this isn’t one of those tedious “message” pictures that go out of their way to beat you over the head with whatever bit of philosophy is au courant for the moment: every scene, every line, every offhand gesture is bent to the service of the story of these two men. And in that specificity, paradoxically, lies its universality: denied easy access to the stereotypes we might desire, we are forced to look at these characters in comparison, not to a pattern, but to ourselves. Brokeback Mountain speaks to everyone who’s ever had to cover up the most important facts of his life.
Or her life; the audience when I attended was about sixty percent women. For this is, when you think about it, a “chick flick,” a classic Hollywood weeper, gender considerations notwithstanding. I can understand why some men might shy away from it; I found the sex scenes between the two guys a bit gruesome. But then, I found their sex scenes with the women they married to be just as gruesome: any points they scored for “normal,” they lost for “obviously going through the motions.” Ennis did love Alma; Jack might even have loved Lureen; but those relationships would inevitably have to take second place behind what happened up on that damnable mountain back in ’63.
Manipulation of the audience? Certainly. That’s why we go to the movies in the first place. Moralists will no doubt point out that there is a price for giving into one’s desires; I would remind them that there is also a price for suppressing them. Brokeback Mountain tallies them both, side by side.”
I’ll come hang around in your pocket for a day if you want me to- how fun!
Seriously, when I first started reading this entry, I didn’t remember doing that survey, so when I saw my name I was like, “oh, is there someone else named Janet???” I’m such a retard.
BBM is on my Netflix queue- I’m nervous about watching it, because I really want to love it but I’m afraid I won’t.
MS7168, thank Charles for that post for me. Awesome.
And that is my all-time favorite Scrubs moment, Turk singing to the tune of the Sanford & Sons theme. My hub and I sing it all the time! “Don’t be lickin’ me no more, matter of fact can you get me a Handi-Wipe?” Comedy gold, right there.