Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Checking in on Wednesday -- Awards, Interesting Facts About Me, and Stuff

I hope everyone is having a peaceful and happy new year. Just a reminder -- I'd love for everyone who visits this blog, even if you aren't a regular reader, to respond to our reader questionnaire. We're exploring ways to improve the content of On Page and Screen.

Also, please check out our recent movie reviews: Caché by Michael Haneke, Some Mother's Son by Terry George and Jim Sheridan, Suburbia (1983) My Summer of Love by Pawel Pawlikowski and Ladybird, Ladybird by Ken Loach & Rona Munro.

Now for the fun stuff ...



Josh at The Cinematic Spectacle, who is a terrific blogger/reviewer and one of the most knowledgeable movie buffs around, kindly presented us with two blog awards:

The first one is the "Blog of the Year 2012" Award.
 
The rules for accepting are:
  • Select the blog(s) you think deserve the "Blog of the Year 2012" Award.
  • Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen - there's no minimum or maximum number of blogs required - and "present" them with their award.
  • Please include a link back to this page and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
  • Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the "rules" with them You can now also join our Facebook group – click "like" on this page "Blog of the Year 2012" Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience
  • As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars.
(Confession: I don't know what the "collecting stars" part is about.)

The second award is The Versatile Blogger Award:


The rules for accepting are:
  • Display the award certificate on your website.
  • Announce your win with a post and include a link to whoever presented your award.
  • Present 15 awards to deserving bloggers.
  • Create a post linking to them and drop them a comment to tip them off.
  • Post 7 interesting facts about yourself.



Interesting Facts:
  1. My idea of interior decorating is wall-to-wall bookshelves. Because you can never have too many books and movies. And if you get sufficiently carried away, you never have to repaint -- who can see the walls?


  2. I started dating my husband when I was 20 and married when I was 23. For the record, I don't recommend settling down with your intended and marrying at such a young age. But for some of us, it's worked out. :-)


  3. My first "real" job after college was working as a small-town journalist. I actually had the opportunity to cover a murder trial. My next job (just before starting grad. school) was working night shift in a service station. The biggest challenge, besides boredom, was having guys stop by around 3:00 a.m. and expose themselves to me. Seriously. That's kind of a strange hobby, don't you think?

  4. Worst pick-up line I ever heard from a guy? Assuming it was a "pick up" line -- it's hard to be sure. When I was a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, a dude walked into the bagel shop where I was having lunch and told me I had beautiful eyes. When I thanked him, he said, "And you look very ... fertile." I said, "Excuse me?" assuming I'd heard wrong. He responded, "You know ... you look fertile. Like you'd be a good woman to have a baby with." Huh.

  5. My mom came from Itta Bena, Mississippi, the smallest and most boring town in the deep South. We occasionally spent Christmases there visiting Mamaw and Aunt Mary Jo. No one ... I mean NO ONE I have ever run into has ever heard of Itta Bena. Imagine my surprise when it was featured prominently in O Brother, Where Art Thou, which happens to be one of my favorite movies.

    You may remember that George "Babyface" Nelson asks "Is this the road to Itta Bena?" and he later robs the Bank of Itta Bena. "Hold the applause and drop yer drawers -- I'm George Nelson and I'm here to sack the city a Itta Bena!" The first time I saw the movie -- when I heard "Is this the road to Itta Bena?" -- I actually screamed at my husband. "Itta Bena! Did hear that, John?? ITTA freaking BENA! Oh. My. God."

  6. I'm fairly confident not much has changed in Mom's hometown since the Great Depression. (*sarcasm alert*) I don't even think they heard about the Civil Rights Movement until the 21st century.

  7. I've always liked movies, but I didn't become a real movie buff relatively recently. My daughter/co-blogger became passionate about films when she was about 12 years old. I wanted to be knowledgeable enough to be able to support her in her interests, especially since my kids homeschool in a relaxed way, so I started watching more interesting movies and reading about cinematography and filmmaking. I kind of got hooked.

  8. I have always loved history, an interest none of my kids share. It started when I was about 13. Grandma had a collection of historical romances in the sunroom and I started perusing them. Why? To find the Dirty Parts, of course. Mock me if you will, but I grew up in an era without the internet, VCRs, or cable T.V. Curious teens had to be a bit more resourceful back then. :-) Eventually I got tired of poring over the naughty bits in those novels, but I became hooked on the history.

    The lesson? Never underestimate the value of prurient interest.

I'm bailing out on passing the award along. I'm not good at sorting out who digs this kind of stuff, who has an "award free blog," and who has already received this honor. Plus, I'm the kind of person who worries a bit too much about excluding someone. If you are one of my favorite bloggers, chances are, you know who you are. :-)

37 comments:

  1. "My idea of interior decorating is wall-to-wall bookshelves." Loved the bit about not having to repaint.
    You should get together with David at Taste of cinema, he wishes to pave the floor of his house with dvd/Blu-rays (:

    Look on the bright side, at least you have guys interested in you, even if they are exposing themselves at service stations. it's also a fun memory (:

    That's really cool you and your daughter have that shared interest in movies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Look on the bright side, at least you have guys interested in you, even if they are exposing themselves at service stations" ... well, I never looked at it that way. You are too funny, Chris. :-)

      A floor paved in DVDs ... now that WOULD be cool!

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    2. @Quirky BookandFilmBuff: By the way, in regards to your questionaire, I hope you consider doing more history-related movie posts. Especiallly since you are interested in that. Lots of potential there to combine history and film.

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    3. Thanks for the suggestion! That does sound right up my alley.

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  2. How neat that you worked as a journalist right out of college. My stint with a newspaper was as a receptionist. Not quite as exciting. :-)

    I love that you became a movie buff in part because of your daughter's interest in movies. I can see myself doing something like that at some point in the future.

    Have a Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! That's one of the cool things about parenting ... you never know where your kids' ideas and passions will lead you.

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  3. Oh I loved all the interesting facts about you -- a great way to get to know you better!

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  4. I got married at 23 as well. Seems to be working out so far! Lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool! Hey, if it's right ... it's right. :-)

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  5. Congrats on the award, that Josh is a nice guy isn't he? :D

    Wow, I started dating my husband when I was 20 as well! I met him when I was 19 and I was sort of dating another guy. But we're from the same country and had the same majors in college so we clicked right away. I didn't get married 'til I was 27 though, I didn't think I could marry before 25, ahah.

    Btw, I think your idea of a wall-to-wall bookshelves sound awesome, even romantic :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Ruth. It sounds like you and your hubby "fit" together beautifully.

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    2. Yeah, we've been married for 10 years now, it's been a blessing. Sounds like you and your hubby are the same way, too :D

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    3. That is wonderful, Ruth. :-) My husband and I have been married for 22 years. Wow!

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  6. Wow. This is really awkward.

    I thought the 'fertile' line was a winner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, crap. You just made me laugh so hard I almost snorted water out my nose.

      So ... the "fertile" line ... is that how you courted your wife? :-D

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    2. I wish it had been that cool.

      I think I opted for staring. Lots of staring. She probably just felt bad for me.

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    3. Hah! Well, that strategy obviously worked out well for both of you. :-)

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  7. Congratulations on the awards!

    You have definitely had some experiences, my friend. I love your thoughts on interior decorating! I started dating my husband when I was 17 and we were married one month after I turned 21. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but as you said, it works for some of us!

    I'm really not certain how being fertile is considered a compliment but go with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *Smile* I'm sure his intentions were good. Honestly I've always been a magnet for weirdos. If I were on a bus and one person came on board who was a little *off* he'd come sit next to me. I guess I just put out a funny vibe. :-)

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  8. Your worst pick up line is hilarious. It's almost as if the guy just froze and thought that was the best thing he could say to a woman! Excellent. I'm a bit of a magnet for weirdos. If anything, it gives you some great stories to tell.

    Wall-to-wall bookshelves is an awesome idea. With me, they'd definitely be a heavy lean towards blu-rays and dvds rather than books :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blu-rays, DVDs, books ... it's all good. :-)

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  9. Ha the pick up line was awful. A young Paul Newman doesn't need a pick up line, and that's unfair. All he has to do is walk in a club and he's pulled...Personally, I would borrow one from a Leonard Cohen song 'if you want a doctor I'll examine every precious inch of you' or 'if you want to take me for a ride, you known damn well you can'.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good point ... a young Paul Newman wouldn't need a pick-up line. All he'd have to do would be to look at you with those eyes. It does seem unfair. ;-)

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  10. When you say fertile I think big hips. So I'd probably snap at the guy, accusing him of calling me fat. But maybe he just meant you looked feminin and glowing... with an unfortunate lack of talent for compliments.

    Congratulations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's hard to tell ... but yes, "big hips" did cross my mind. :-) "Feminine and glowing" ... I like that.

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  11. You look fertile!! Ha ha ha, omg! I take it that is NOT the guy you married? ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *Laughing* No he's not the one I married. If I remember correctly, John didn't need a pick-up line. He got my interest by talking to me about books. Stephen King.

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  12. Bookshelves. The joy of bookshelves. Thinking of picking up more soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One can never have too many bookshelves.

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  13. huahahaha I can't stop laughing at that silly pick up line...fertile? that's genius...in a weird way. If I were you I am not sure if I can hold my laugh...I would burst with laugh. that is such a good comedy.

    A lot of people married young in my country...so reading you married that young is not a surprise for me.

    The shelf idea is same with mine, love to have my wall cover with shelves full of books, DVDs and oter collections.

    It's a fun read Steph :)

    Happy New Year

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks so much for the kind words! :)

    Love your idea of interior decorating! I've got piles of DVDs, CDs, and books, so I could use more bookshelves.

    I'm the same way about passing these things on. Hated to stop at 7 recipients, but I thought 15 was way too many.

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  15. hey, there is nothing wrong with Wall-to-wall Book Shelf OK? Around 7 years, when we moved into our new house in India, I asked for only 1 thing - I want Big Book Shelf.

    And I just saw This Is 40. After that, I can completely believe that was a pick-up line. By movie standards, Great one too. :D

    You know your facts are much better than mine right?

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  16. Great awards! Lol about that pickup line. I enjoyed reading a bit about you. I married young too, 19.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love that you started paying more attention to film in order to share an interest with your daughter! I'm lucky to have parents who are avid readers so it's always fun to share what we're reading and even read some of the same things.

    23 seems young but then I remember I was 24 (almost 25). Always fun to learn more about you Steph!

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  18. Love the post, lots of funny memories, well they're a hoot to read about anyway, you have a way with words. I like your interior decorating, you can never have too many books and it solves a multitude of other decorating issues ... works for me lol.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Congrats on the awards! Loved the facts about you. Murder trials are kind of... odd to cover, didn't you think? When I covered my first one, I was expecting something like out of the movies. No. It is such a slooooow process. But toward the end, it got a little tense, which was interesting.

    Either way, great post!

    ReplyDelete

Hello, and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts -- reader comments make this blogging gig worthwhile. :-) Due to excessive spam, we are now moderating all comments. Like that dude in the Monty Python skit, we just Don't ... Like ... Spam. I will try to post and respond to your comments as quickly as possibly.