Top 10 Movies and Any Love Is Good Love.

Today is the day of Alex's Top 10 movie list.  Gah. I have had a running list ever since he posted this Challenge over a month ago.  No one would believe me if I told you how long this list ran.  I worked up this list repeatedly trying to whip it into shape by genre.  That was a No Go.  Finally, I decided to pare it down by letter, using the formula that a first word of "The" didn't count.  What letter finally made it as "the letter" that I could fit into 10 slots?

The winner is....B.  Yep.

So, here are my Top Ten Movies that start with the letter "B":

1. The Big Easy
2. The Breakfast Club
3. The Bucket List
4. The Blind Side
5. Bridesmaids
6. Bull Durham
7. Big
8. Boys on the Side
9. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
10. Back To The Future

Movies are not listed in any particular order.  And I probably will forgot a movie that I absolutely adore, even after the massive list effort.  I know someone will post one in the comments and I will smack my head into the wall.  Not literally.  That would hurt.  But figuratively, I will smack my head into the wall.

In other news, we have been in Augusta the last few days and it has been all Drama since we have been here.  My uncle, who I have adored since I was a kid, has broken my heart.  My aunt died last year of cancer, as many of you might remember.  He is now 80 years old and lonely.  My aunt willed him all of her assets to be divided among all of the children when he passes.  He has gotten involved with a woman younger than I and is totally besotted.

This woman is controlling, bossy, and has a need to be right about everything.  In turn, this makes YOU wrong about everything. She also has an alcohol problem.  The very first night she met me, I could not say even ONE thing without her correcting me very rudely about how wrong I was. Honestly, I was flabbergasted.  I had never met anyone with these kind of stones.  Even my ex-husband, who I thought was the master of verbal abuse has nothing on this woman.  She also let loose on my mother repeatedly.  I watched her lay into her own son.  I even watched her criticize my uncle over trivial crap, but his hearing aids were likely clogged and he couldn't hear her.  He misses a lot.  He didn't seem to get that he was being hammered verbally.

I would like to think that she was just having a bad night, but she was like a bad penny and kept turning up.  The second day we were at my uncle's she launched her next assault.

As an example of the verbal warfare she employs, I offer up this exchange.  Everyone was leaving except for me.  She puts the dog in the laundry room.

Me:  Why are you putting the dog in the laundry room?

Her: Because no one will be here to watch him.  Bye.  ::Pointed Look on the no one::  (Saucy Wave as she leaves.)

After they leave, I just sit at the table stunned.  Brain is spinning.  I think that b*tch just called me no one.  No, I know that b*tch just called me no one.  She is doing her best to bully me and make me feel invisible.  Like a non-person.  I can sit her and let her win or I can let the dog out.  I got up and let the dog out.

It was all worse from there.  She lit into my mother before the night was over.

The next day my mother had a talk with my uncle.  Turns out She and Her Son were coming back over to spend the day.  My mom said that she wasn't up for more abuse and my uncle said that he didn't know what he could do about it.  My mom said it was about priorities.  Clearly she meant more to him than his family.  He didn't deny it.  So, we had to pack up our stuff and find another place to stay.  And that was that.  Since then I have had this song running through my head.  For some people, I guess any love is good loving.  And you'll take what you can get.  But I know that he ain't seen nothing yet.




image found at www.weheartit.com

Movie Quote Wednesday

I wasn't paying attention last week and completely missed it.  What did I miss?

Movie Quote Wednesday.  Alex J. Cavanaugh posts the theme each week, so you have a whole week to decide on a quote.  Two weeks ago, I totally bailed on the theme and just did my own thing.  Yeah, I know... it was a totally "Me" thing to do.  Additionally, I planted it in front of another post.  I had a LOT to say that day.  Moving on...

The following Wednesday, I totally forgot it was Wednesday.  Missed the entire Event.  This is my life.

So, this week the theme is Crime Thriller.  Next week it is Romantic Comedy.  I do keep up... contrary to popular opinion.

If you are wondering why the name sounds familiar, Alex J. Cavanaugh is the same fellow hosting the 10 Top Movie Blogfest in March.  And he is also a person helping out with the A to Z Challenge.  He also runs the Insecure Writers Support Group.  That happened today for all of those people throwing out their work.  That isn't me.  Do I need to work on my novel?  Yes.  Have I worked on it at all?  Not even remotely for over a year.  It is like the inspiration juice drained out of me.  I find even thinking about it annoying.  Reading what I write on this blog annoys me.  When I can put words together in such a fashion that they sound like music, even if it sometimes sounds off-key, then there will be something worth reading.  Until then, not so much.  However, I love the things that Alex does on his blog.  If you are a writer, it is an excellent place to go.

For the record, I did sign up for the A to Z Challenge.  Please note the badge in my sidebar.  I will talk about this more in a later blog.  I also signed up for the Top 10 Movie Challenge.  I committed.  My list of movies just gets longer and longer.  I am beginning to think that maybe a decade is the way to go here.  80s maybe?  I don't know yet.  I have yet to figure out how I am going to pull out 10 of Anything out of this list.  However, here is one of my Favorites for Movie Quote Wednesday.  It could still end up on my Top 10 Movie List, depending on how they get weeded out.

"You went down thirty years ago, pal, you just don't know it yet."   ~Frequency



image found at www.weheartit.com

Challenged.

Are any of you planning to participate in the upcoming A to Z challenge?

 I have been dragging my heels about adding my name to the list.  I have been following the updates to the main page like a zealot.  And still... I have chosen my theme, have an ongoing list mapped out A-Z and am vigorously trying to fill in a subject for each letter.  It is something that is getting ongoing mental pushes on a daily basis.  I am down to the letters O and X.  They stare at me like two redheaded stepsisters that remain dateless for the Big Dance.  I glare back. "I have NOTHING for you," my brain screams.  And until I do I can't commit to The List.  Gah.  She bangs her head into the wall behind her desk.  Check that.  She only thinks about it.  The migraine already hurts enough.

If this is the first you have heard of the A to Z Challenge, it is a daily writing challenge for the month of April.  The sign up is now so that you have plenty of time to prepare.  The idea is that you write on a Themed Subject so that your readers get used to your topic.  (You don't have to write on a theme if you don't want... you can write on anything and everything if you so choose.)   It is every day but Sunday.  You can prepare all of your writing before April so that your time is spent reading and commenting, so that it isn't overwhelming in April.  The intent of the challenge is for you to meet new bloggers who are writing about things that you are interested in reading, and vice versa. 

So, let's flip to another page in the notebook.  Alex Cavanaugh is going to host a challenge on his blog in March, in the guise of Blog Hop, to list your Top Ten Movies of All-Time.

Are you freaking kidding me????  Can't we pick a genre, a decade, something?  Ergo, I have a running list that gets longer by the day.  Each movie that I think to add to the list triggers another movie.

Does anyone remember THE PLASTIC JOY AWARDS????

If you are scratching your head over that shout of frustration... that was an award intended to be fun (and OMG it was... so so fun) regarding fictional crushes.  However, I have this love of YouTube that is unmatched.  I maintain that they have laced it with visual crack cocaine.  Don't know how, but it's there.  And this award got slightly out of control.  I think you were supposed to choose five fictional crushes.  I think I chose 30.  Whatevs.  And it went for 3 days.  Again, it is the JOY of the award.  And no one says you HAVE to do it a certain way.  I mean the rules aren't set in STONE.  No one flogs you or anything if you go outside the boundaries.  A little.  Or a lot.  Moving on...

I think my quandary lies in the fact that I am not really known for following rules very well.  I am already looking for work-arounds with the Top 10 list.  Seriously... if there is a movie series... you should be able to count the entire series as ONE movie, right????  If not, I am thinking of panning them all.  I can't choose one movie out of a series and skip the rest.  Do you feel me?

So, what do YOU think?

So, am I the only person who would have trouble picking 10 All-Time Favorite Movies?  Does this Blog Hop sound like fun to You?  What about the A to Z Challenge... are you participating?  Does it sound like something you want to investigate further?   Do you prefer the idea of writing within the context of a theme or would you rather just fly by the seat of your pants?  Do you feel like you need to have all of your letters covered BEFORE you enter or are you ready to enter NOW?