The Sting, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Here are some of the funny things to come out of this week.

1) Thory is four years old. We think. We don't know his actual birthday because he didn't come with a birth certificate, but I've always liked to assign birthdays to my cats so that we could celebrate a little (it started because we knew Sparky's actual birthdate and felt bad because Jackson never got a party with a donut... so we gave him a pretend birthday and he got party treats too.) Thor's "birthday" is May 25th. We forgot to celebrate this year, and so I told Tim that we'd make a big deal out of yesterday. I told Thory several times "today might be your birthday! Happy birthday!" and I gave him some kitten treats and we petted him a bunch. When Tim came home, he said "happy might be your birthday!" and then picked up Thor and stared him straight in the face and goes "I am going to cut you open and count your rings!"

2) This week was also apparently movie week. On Wednesday night we went and saw the Sting at the Orpheum theater in downtown LA. The screening was sponsored by the LA Conservancy, which works to save historic building and landmarks in LA. They are a cool organization, and it was a really fun event. We got there early, had a booze drink at the bar next door, stood in line for awhile and chatted with docents and then grabbed our seats. The theater is amazingly beautiful and it was fun just to walk around and check things out. Before the show, they had historian/entertainer Charles Phoenix do a little bit, and then they brought out the Oscar winning writer and producer of the movie, and chatted with them for awhile. We learned stories about Paul and Robert. I was waiting for Robert Redford to emerge from the wings, but no dice.

I'd never seen the movie before and really enjoyed it. Plus it was just such a fun experience. We have two more movies that we're seeing through the Last Remaining Seats program, and then also found out about a screening of the King and I put on by the Alex Film Society. So we have tickets for that now as well. I was thinking to myself in the car the other day "I wonder where they keep the dress that Deborah Kerr wore in the big dance number? I would like to see that in person." If anyone has a lead, let me know. I also (after browsing through the LA Conservancy site) want to go out and tour historic homes and buildings. In another life, I'd love to live in one of the historic/converted loft buildings in downtown.

Then last night we watched Sylvia, which we'd gotten from Netflix. Verdict: Sylvia is a movie for girls who majored in English. I enjoyed it... I recognized the poetry quoted... and meanwhile my little engineer friend asked me if Ted Hughes was also famous. Umm... yes.

Funny - I read Sylvia Plath in an American poetry course I took my second year of college. On the first day of class, our professor walks in. He's this 60-something year old guy in a turquoise blue suit, cowboy boots and white hair in a ponytail, and his first words to the class are, "today I thought I was spraying my hair with hairspray, but instead I sprayed myself with bathroom deodorizer, so if I smell weird, that's why." Okay sir. Now let's start talking about all of those quirky, suicidal confessional poets! Oh, college.

3) We have exactly zero plans for the weekend. I have never been happier in my young life. Seriously. Other than my usual trips to the gym, I look forward to lazing around and taking naps. Also, cooking some delicious food and possibly watching movies. Maybe reading a book or two. Or some poetry by a kooky old poet. The sad thing is that I am out of new magazines. My greatest pleasure is, after reading fashion and lifestyle magazines, to cut out all of things that I thought were pretty or striking. Dresses, coats, shoes, accessories... and then I tape them into a big blank book for reference in the future. And also, because sometimes it's nice to look at pictures of pretty things. My mom is clever enough to make some of the things she likes, especially knitting and jewelry wise, but I mostly end up scouring ebay and etsy. This weekend though, I am fresh out of magazines, having just finished cutting up a Lucky the other day (verdict: Lucky magazine is lame.) I also finished off my first big blank book, so it's on to a new friend. The first picture I taped in (of course) is a girl in a sequin dress.

Here's a couple of pictures from the fabulous Orpheum Theater:


The guy playing the organ was 13 when the theater opened... in 1926! He still plays really well for someone his age.

When the movie started, these lights dimmed blue - it was really pretty.

Want to know how fun I am? This is what Tim found when he came home tonight... at 6:45pm. I am elderly.

When I woke up, I promptly annoyed the cat. For reference, her made up birthday is in November, and she'll be six this year.