Saw the new Charlie's Angels movie last night. Ian is calling it the "Triumph of style over substance." Lovable fluff. Refuses to take itself seriously. And obvious that cast and crew had a great time making it. I have to wonder though, how many sprained ankles there were, all those flips and kicks and other stunts, all done in insanely high heels.

It's good to see female action heroes, even if they're framed in a purely fantasy world. I'd like to see a movie that tries to stay as close to reality as possible but still has a female lead kicking butt. There was a preview for SWAT before Angels, a new cop action movie starring Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Rodriguez. The preview looked good, but I'm worried that the token woman on the team will meet an early and untimely end.

I don't appear to be doing too well on the daily part of this journal. Interesting how I can become so caught up in finding approval and validation from outside myself that I actually end up sacrificing myself.

Extremely strange dream. For the last year or so, I have had a thread pop up in my dreams: I'm in high school, and I know I have this English class, but I go so infrequently I can't remember when the class meets or if anything is due. Somehow, this has only been mildly concerning. Last night, I dreamt I ran into the teacher for that class, but instead of finding out what I might have missed, I told her about this on going dream thread from other dreams. (It's crazy, Mrs. C. I keep dreaming I'm supposed to be in your class , but I never get there and nobody seems to think that's a problem.) So, not only do I have a continuing thread in my nighttime subconscious ramblings, but I refer to it in other dreams.

Saw the Hulk last weekend. A perfectly respectable movie, but somewhat lacking in emotional connectivity. I enjoyed the experience of watching it, but I seem to have left the movie, its narrative, and any point it was trying to make, back in the theater. The most memorable thing for me? That big green man is still wearing purple shorts.

Recently finished reading A Child's Book Of True Crime by Chloe Hooper. Will likely put it on my list of books to read again; the presentation of the narrative is delightfully convoluted, and now that I know the story, I'm curious to go back and pick apart the structure. I have the distinct impression that the author has several things to say about growing up, the transition between college life and the working world, naivety, adultery, jealousy, parenting. It's just that on the first time through, I was too busy trying to figure out the murder.

Workload has been psychotic. Beginning to hope some sort of balance may be returning. Although, it just proves the saying, "When it rains, it pours." My plate is full, Ian's been hired to edit a documentary, just as soon as the DVD goodies for Hollywood Homicide are complete. My recreational reading has gotten much fluffier: Timeline by Michael Crichton. Not a lot of thought required, just a good adventure.

Enjoying a sleepy Sunday. . . Hosted a party last night, our first since our housewarming party a year ago. We've met some wonderful new people since then, and it was great fun to mix them in with the people we've known for years. Haven't yet decided whether it was the layout and organization of our kitchen/bar area that accounted for the high volume of cocktails (the beer was in the fridge, so maybe it wasn't obvious we had any) or if L.A. people drink more mixed drinks than San Francisco people.

Have learned that "Snickerdoodle" does not appear in the OED. This is a major oversight, and the first time my 0ED has let me down. It's always been able to give me word origins before. It comes as a shock to discover that something as complete and as authoritative as the OED would be missing a word as well known as "Snickerdoodle".

The point, of course, is to say something, hopefully on a regular basis. Ian has a sort of metaphor about dishes: you empty the dish-drainer to make room for the dishes you're about to wash, and you wash those dishes to make room for the ones you're about to get dirty. It's about preparing a space, making a vacuum so that I have something to fill.

It's not just a way of trying to get me to write more, more regularly, more richly, more everything. I'm too prone to get caught up in work to the point that nothing else happens. I'm hoping that this little space that needs to be filled with words on a regular basis will inspire non-work related thoughts. I need to remember there is a world out there full of inspiration. I just need to step outside.