You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Christmas Trivia Answers

Thank you to those who turned in answers, some of them were quite funny and inventive. The winner is....Grandma Joan! This means that $100 donation will be going to Saint Jude's in her name.

1.) In the Chipmunks song what does Alvin want for Christmas?
- Alvin wants a Hula Hoop
2.) Who got run over by a reindeer? (Bonus what happened to their gifts)
- Grandma; Took them back
3.) Name the 12 gifts from the "true love" in the "Twelve Days of Christmas". (Bonus if you can tell me who the "true love" was and what the gifts represented)
- 1. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus.2. The two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.3. Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.4. The four calling birds are the four Gospels.5. The five gold rings recall the Hebrew Torah (Law), or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament.6. The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.7. The seven swans a-swimming represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.8. The eight maids a-milking are the eight Beatitudes.9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit.10. The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful Apostles.12. Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles Creed. The true love is God.
4.) Name Santa's reindeer.
- Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph
5.) Why does the audience stand whenever the "Hallelujah Chorus" is sung?
- It is said that King George II was so moved by Handel's work that he felt compelled to stand during the chorus. Since formailty states that when royality stands, everyone else does, the tradition was created.
6.) What plant is used to ward off evil spirits?
- Mistletoe
7.) Name one of the three other names Charles Dickens thought of before he decided on Tiny Tim. (Bonus if you can name all three)
- Small Sam, Little Larry, Puny Pete
8.) In Ukrainian tradition, a spider web found on Christmas morning symbolizes what?
- Good Luck
9.) Which was the first state to recognize Christmas as an official holiday? (Bonus if you know the year)
- Alabama, 1836
10.) The fun of eating Christmas pudding is finding a trinket that will predict your fortune for the upcoming year. What to the following items represent
- The Ring - Marry in the next year
- The Coin - Wealth
- The Button - Remain single for the next year (male)
- The Thimble - Remain single for the next year (female)

How did you do?

Watch for a new year trivia coming soon.

Serenity

I was searching Amazon today and look what I can across...

[as Serenity descends toward planetside, a large piece breaks off of the nose with a loud bang and goes sailing past the front windscreen] [jumping, startled]
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: What was that?
[incredulous] Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: Did you see that?
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Was that the primary buffer panel?
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: It did seem to resemble ...
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Did the primary buffer panel just fall off my gorramn ship for no apparent reason?
[Another loud bang] Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: Looks like! [hitting switches] Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: I thought Kaylee just checked the entry couplings! I have a very specific memory of ...
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: Well, if she doesn't give me more power from the engine room to offset the burnthrough, this landing could get pretty interesting.
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Define "interesting".
[shrugging] Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: "Oh God, oh God, we're all gonna die"?

Fun Facts from IMDb.com:

Universal Studios took the unusual step of allowing early previews of the unfinished film. The 5 May 2005 previews were held in 10 cities, the 26 May 2005 previews were held in 20 cities, and the 23 June 2005 previews were held in 35 cities. An early preview was also held on the Gold Coast, Qld, Australia on Friday 22 July 2005
Two wrecked ships are shown with the registration numbers C57D, a reference to Forbidden Planet. Jayne points out the first one as they explore. The second is the rescue ship, the source of the beacon.
A coffee maker seen in Serenity's dining room/kitchen is an F.A. Porsche Design coffee maker made by Siemens.
The futuristic-looking handcuffs used on River are in fact Clejuso Number 13s, the second heaviest handcuffs currently in production.
When the Operative reviews Mal's file, it shows his Date of Birth as 9/20/2468. 9/20/2002 is the day Firefly premiered.
The keyboard Mal uses to transmit the signal from Mr. Universe's basement is a Micro Innovations Web Office Pro Keyboard.
One of the video clips playing on the monitors in Mr Universe's base is the Blue Sun commercial from the Firefly: The Series episode "The Message".
This is the first film for which a digital cinema distribution master was made using the new DCI standards using JPEG2000 compression and a 12 bit 4:4:4 XYZ color space.
During the intro scene, the teacher says in Mandarin, "Please, quiet down a bit."

Goofs
When the Operative is reviewing Mal's file, Mal's first name is first shown spelled "Malcom", then "Malcolm".
During the vault scene on some shots you can see there is no left wall to the set and the sound stage wall can be seen beyond the set.
After Jayne passes to Simon the Blue Sun jug of booze, and Simon picks up to drink, the label has rotated away from the viewer.
A security camera feed shows Mal and Jayne sitting down at a table with Fanty and Mingo before they enter the bar (before the dialog between Mal and Kaylee).
SPOILER: When the dying Shepherd Book removes his blood covered hand from Mal's face, there is no blood left on Mal's cheek, but there is smudged blood in the next shots.Crazy Credits
As the last of the credits roll, a solitary guitar plays the theme song ofthe original TV show, "Firefly".
The film content begins seamlessly from the Universal logo. After the'Universal' title appears over the earth icon, the earth image becomes morerealistic, and then the word 'Universal' is moved away to leave earth, withspacecraft departing, as the first 'regular' shot of the film.
There is a message in the closing credits: "The filmmakers wish to thankthe crew and staff of 'Firefly'"

Movie Connections
Follows: Firefly: The Series
Spin off from: Firefly: The Series
References: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man Forbidden Planet Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Features: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Superman

Kind of cool, huh?

Now all of you need to go out and buy Serenity the DVD and the series boxset of Firefly. You'll love it, I promise. :)

It's Raining

"The rain, the rain,
Made us fall in love that day.
The rain, the rain,
Made us fall in love."

Amanda, Travis and Jessica

Happy National Hangover Day!

Hope you all had a safe and happy New Year. I want to hear all about what you all did, but in the meantime here are a few suggestions to pass the read of the long weekend.

~ Catch up on your reading. I made a serious dent in my pile today by reading Jennifer Crusie's Anyone But You and the new Berkley anthology The Naked Truth.

~ Watch some really brainless movies. Something like Clueless, Young Frankenstein or really anything played on Comedy Central.

~ Eat insane amounts of junk food. Greasy, junky food are always the best solution for the massive hangover that is the direct result of your New Years Bing. Unless of course your resolution is to get healthy and/or go on a diet, then you can just starve that hangover out of your system. (but if you do succumb to the intense craving for hamburgers and Dr. Pepper at least you made it the 10 - 12 hours you were sleeping.)

~ Sleep. This one needs to be done in moderation. National Hangover Day is meant for brainless activity not total unconsciousness.

truly, the best way to pass the weekend is to indulge in all four so go for it, have fun, and try not to leave the couch!