I want my money back.

One of the requirements of being a hermit is that you must be content with staying in your home for long periods of time. You must find a way to entertain yourself, whether it be through knitting a variety of cat sweaters or writing angst-ridden poetry. Luckily for all of you, my hermit escape mechanism is movie-watching. I do like me a good movie. A bad movie, on the other hand, is a very sad thing indeed. What can be more depressing than watching proof that millions of dollars were wasted on creating a 2 hour long torturous experience for the millions of people who will inevitably go to see it? (Maybe it's more depressing to calculate how much time and money we as humans collectively waste when we go to see the piece of rubbish.)

You all care so much, don't you? I can tell from the glazed-over look in your eye.

Ok, FINE! I understand that none of you care about my love for movies, or my ridiculously forceful opinions about them. But, so help me, you're going to listen! *Jules locks the door. She has that feverish glare in her eye, which is not a good sign. Uh oh. Now her eyes are twitching. You should have left the room before we got to this point.*

I want to have a little talk with you about a lovely little movie called Transformers 2. *thunder and lightning* Have any of you seen Transformers 2? *thunder and lighting* DID YOU MISS VALUABLE HOURS OF SLEEP TO GO SEE TRANSFORMERS 2?!! *thunder and lightning*

Well, if you can't tell by my mounting levels of frustration, I did. Currently, the terrible movie is running through my head non-stop. My brain is about ready to start hemorrhaging, just so it can escape the torture of reliving that movie again. So, since I might not be around much longer, I feel that it is my duty as a decent citizen of the world to warn you.

I understand if you feel like you need to go see it. The first Transformers movie was pretty good, right? Perhaps you loved watching the cartoon as a child. Perhaps you love Shia LeBeouf and want to support him in any way you can. Maybe you feel like you must always see movie sequels, because you need closure. I understand these feelings, my friend, but don't give in! It's not worth it, believe me. I went to see it because of these reasons, and it was a mistake.

Are you still not convinced that you need to stay away from this film? Well, let me tell you about some of the highlights...or lowlights, I guess. (I'm not going to mention the story and dialogue in this list, but just know that they are terrible.) Without further ado, here is the list:

1. The two jive-talking, "comic relief" robots. Not since Jar Jar Binks have I wanted to kill a computer-generated character so violently. (That's saying something. I made it through Star Wars episodes 1-3 simply by daydreaming about all of the horrific ways to torture Jar Jar.... Does that make me a bad person?)

2. An over-abundance of skankeriffic girls. Now, I'm sure sleazy girls talking in seductive tones will be a big hit with most of the teenage boys and low-life slobs who will see this movie, but for those people who don't enjoy seeing women portrayed as nothing more than stereotypical sex objects, this can get annoying. (Or maybe that's just my jealousy talking. I guess I'll have to work out a little more so I can wear my Daisy Dukes while I fix motorcycles; then I'll be as awesome as Megan Fox.) *sarcasm*

3. The mentioning of President Obama. Maybe this is just me, but I have a hard time when movies "date" themselves like that. By saying Obama is the president, you make two huge mistakes: 1) You ruin the movie magic for me, because now you've just mixed fictional alien robots with a real president. 2) Now the movie can only be relevant for Obama's presidential term, because after 2012 (hopefully) or 2016 if he gets elected for another term (heaven forbid), Obama will no longer be the president. I'm just saying.


There's the small list for now. I'd write more down, but some of them are just too horrendous to mention. What? You're still not convinced? You're going to get on fandango.com and purchase tickets right now?! NO! Don't do it. I'm warning you....

Okay, I wasn't going to list this last horrific "lowlight" for Transformers 2, but you have given me no choice. I'm sorry that it's come to this.

Reason 4. THEY SHOW JOHN TURTURRO IN A THONG. *The entire nation vomits simultaneously.* Yes. That's right. And it's not from a distance, either. You will see a close up of John's thong-clad nether regions, front and back, and it will be much larger than life on that movie screen. You will have no defense! And, as your eyes are scalded and your mind tainted forever from such an image, you will remember the warning I gave you. There will be much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. You will cry out, "Why? WHY?! Why did I not listen to the words of Julianna?"

That's all I'm saying, really.

Come to My Garden...

Sometimes I am overly ambitious when it comes to domestic pursuits.

Shocking, right?

Example: I am not a good cook. I know this. I am painfully aware of the fact that cooking is not my forte. Yet, sometimes I'll see a picture of something in a cook book and think, "Why, I am going to make that completely complicated recipe, and it's going to magically turn out to look exactly like the picture!"

Then, three hours later when I'm covered up to my elbows in some strange ingredient like "kirsch" or "bat bladder extract", my brain finally wakes up and says, "Wuh? Julianna, were you trying to cook again while I was asleep? Remember how you are not a world-class chef?" Oh. Right. So, what am I going to do now with the extra bottle of bat bladder extract I picked up at Costco? Hmmmmm. I guess I can always donate it to a pagan group so they can use it to make some sort of ceremonial potion or curse...whatever pagan groups do. (I'm always trying to give back to the community. I'm just really charitable like that.)

Well, I found out this week that my misplaced ambition also reaches out into another area--gardening.

There's a small "bit of earth" outside my apartment, and my room-mate Taren and I decided it would be fun to plant some flowers in an attempt to make the place a little more cheery. Maybe some flowers would attract some butterflies or hummingbirds...or friends...to our humble abode. You never know.

Anyway, off we went to buy an assortment of flora with which to spruce up the place. Now, did we go for the hearty, sensible plants that have been known to withstand even the most inept wannabe gardeners? Nope. Get those petunias away from me! I want the more exotic stuff! I have faith! I've read the bible! I know that all you need is to plant the seed, water it, and have faith that it will grow! (However, just in case faith wasn't enough, I bought some Miracle Grow.) I decided (foolishly) to try to grow some Gerber daisies.



Aw, pretty!

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but apparently faith doesn't work on Gerber Daisies. In my opinion, Gerbers are the spoiled, whiney, 15-year old rich girls of the flower world. T-Minus 5 days later, they are drooping face down into the earth. It's sad, really, to see such happy-looking flowers just give up so quickly on life. Frankly, I'm offended. Is life in my little garden really THAT terrible? Suck it up, Gerber. I don't like you anymore. You are not invited to any of my social functions from here on out. *Jules folds her arms and pouts in the corner.*

Maybe I should just stick to growing dandelions. You don't ever hear of high-maintenance dandelions with attitude problems. I think we'll get along well.