We've been taking it easy over the holidays. The good times should roll right through the start of 2008 when we'll be back rested, ready and strong.
So stay safe, stay dry, and check back in a few days. I hear 2008 is our year.
Labels: 2007, filler
By: Alyssa | Sunday, December 30, 2007 at Sunday, December 30, 2007 | | 
I've been putting off dealing with a big pile of papers in our home office for about... six months.
Despite removing my name from mailing lists, going to paperless billing and the like I still get a lot of paper with identifiable information. So I shred.
I sorted through lots of paper to make piles for filing, paper for recycling and paper for shredding.
As I neared the end of organizing, I grabbed a few sheets of paper to shred in the magnificent five sheet shredder. It's not industrial-sized or anything but it works.
Or rather it worked.
After a few previous shredder mishaps I've opted to be careful and only shred one piece of paper at a time. That worked pretty well, until I got to a sheet folded onto itself so that the sheet was essentially a three-ply.
The shredder is built to shred up to five sheets at a time, so three should have been no problem.
It was a problem.
So now I have a big pile of stuff to shred and I'm staring at the big shredder. I'll just do one piece at a time and give it lots of breaks.
Deeps is accusing me of murdering more electronics. He might be right.
Labels: 2007, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, December 26, 2007 at Wednesday, December 26, 2007 | |
This week Deeps and I wonder about ice dams crashing through the window while we record the final podcast of 2007 - and it's a humdinger. First we say hello to new listeners both here and abroad. I call out our listeners in Brazil to email me.
We take a look at the
Extras Christmas Special Series Finale and the dark side of fame; Deeps says farewell to Journeyman; we discuss the spartan dialogue and expansive scenes from the latest entry in the Big Red Film Festival -
Bullitt; we take a look back at all the stuff we liked in 2007 and finally, we talk about the big Dexter finale and the second season.
If you haven't seen Dexter and want to watch it, we left that part of the podcast to the end. And if you want to listen to our heated Knocked Up
discussion check out episode 34.Oh and if you're interested in seeing that famous nine minute car chase from Bullitt, you can find
an excerpt from it on YouTube.
Thanks very much for listening to us in 2007 - we'll be back on Sunday, January 6, 2008!
Listen to this week's episode.Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher. Don't forget to leave us some iTunes feedback.
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Labels: 2007, podcast
By: Alyssa | Sunday, December 23, 2007 at Sunday, December 23, 2007 | |
Today I was walking to the T, waiting at the intersection I think of as a cluster*&^% and wondering if people will ever obey the signal and let me cross.
A pretty woman tapped by on the shoulder.
She and her partner smiled at me and she asked if I was local. She's from Australia.
"I guess I'm local enough," I confessed. When you're a tourist you'll take directions and advice from anyone who has been in the city longer than you - even a few hours.
Don't ask my neighbors if I'm a local. As far as they know, I'm an interloper not to be trusted.
"Is this bad weather for around here?" she asked.
I nodded as the snow continued to fall at a decent clip.
"It's not as bad as it could be, but it's a mess on top of what we already had." I noted it snowed more last week than it did last winter. "It's not that bad if you're just walking. Driving is a different story."
She seemed relieve by that information.
I opted not to share how it could be worse. It could be incredibly cold instead of hovering around 32 degrees.
Maybe I'm filled with the holiday spirit. I didn't feel like raining on that lady's parade. I can't say the same for the snow.
Labels: 2007, Boston, weather
By: Alyssa | Thursday, December 20, 2007 at Thursday, December 20, 2007 | |
Every year I'm a little surprised that so many car companies advertise their cars as holiday gifts. Look, I like a nice present as much as the next person - but a car?
How do you buy a car for your spouse without him/her knowing? Don't you have to discuss big purchases like this?
These commercials raise lots of troubling questions about personal finance and how relationships work.
Would you be thrilled or angry if your person brought home a new car as a surprise? I'm leaning towards annoyed with a tinge of anger. Why were you holding back so much money for so long? Was it in a high-yield savings account? Did you have a great run in the stock market?
Or worse...
How did you think we'd pay for this freaking thing?
Guess I'm not the target market for these ads.
Labels: 2007, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at Wednesday, December 19, 2007 | |
So we got a huge storm on Sunday that dropped another 8-10 inches of snow on us followed by rain. The temperatures dropped and everything turned into a frosty tundra.
Until now, we've been a two shovel family - but after this latest storm, I have declared we will own a snowblower. I don't care if I have to keep it in the living room and put a lamp on it when I'm not using it. We're getting one.
After a few hours of hard shoveling, the snow got weighed down by the rain, we were exhausted and a low-level throb rumbled through my body. I may have exceeded the suggested dosage of Advil.
By Monday we were stiff but functional. We chipped away at some of the ice floes and I salted where I thought it might make a tiny difference. I hope nobody died in front of my house.
Our street looks like it was in some kind of freakish iceberg wreck and little flecks of blue and gray adorn the bergy tops. It's garbage day.
Labels: 2007, weather
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at Tuesday, December 18, 2007 | |
This week on a very special Big Red Podcast, Deeps and I wonder what will happen to Derek's car after
a few feet of snow.
Luckily, he's safe and warm at home so Deeps and I carry on without him to discuss Dexter's penultimate episode, melancholy Christmas on Pushing Daisies, Santa monsters on Supernatural and traveling through time on both Journeyman and
Life on Mars.
Plus we offer the first part of our 2007 Year in Review - Disappointments! We delayed the review of
Bullitt due to huge snow removal responsibilities. Frankly, it's a wonder we're still able to record a show this week after the incredible amount of shoveling we did.
Listen to this week's episode.Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher. Don't forget to leave us some iTunes feedback.
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Labels: 2007, podcast
By: Alyssa | Sunday, December 16, 2007 at Sunday, December 16, 2007 | |
I said there would be pictures. And there are a couple up on Flicker.
This shot is from the Boston Public Garden on Friday morning. I also posted one of the front of our house so you can see how big the snow piles from the driveway are.
And I've been forbidden from posting adorable photos of Deeps cleaning off the car.
By: Alyssa | at Sunday, December 16, 2007 | |
Thanks for asking!
So I'd say we got about a foot of snow in roughly eight hours. Not the end of the world, but that time period was from about 12:30 to 8:30 - and people were stuck in horrible traffic for hours and hours.
I was lucky because I anticipated all the points of failure on my commute home. I walked to the train as usual, skipping the dreaded Green Line. Then hoofed it home from the train station which was a long but quiet walk home.
Deeps left the office about the time the snow started, which in hindsight was a very good idea. He was shoveling when I got home.
My iPod and a delicious piece of Orbit gum (Wintermint) kept me going for the 45 minute walk. No wipe outs. No crashes. I lived.
Pictures later.
Labels: 2007, weather
By: Alyssa | Friday, December 14, 2007 at Friday, December 14, 2007 | |
Yesterday the weather guys were saying 1-3 inches of snow for today.
This morning it's up to 8-12 inches of snow. I could make a crass joke, but I'll skip it. What this means for me is that I'm going to have to shovel. Deeps usually let's me skip shovel duty if we get a very light snow.
But once we get into half a foot territory it is all hands on deck. We shovel as a team, I think he sneaked it into the marriage vows.
I'll take pictures. We'll make cocoa. I'll need to take about three hours to get home from work. Hooray! Winter.
Labels: 2007, marriage, weather
By: Alyssa | Thursday, December 13, 2007 at Thursday, December 13, 2007 | |
My father-in-law been hounding Deeps for several years about a GPS navigation system. Namely FIL would like to give us one.
We like gadgets - but we like stuff we're likely to use. We're just not likely to use the GPS. New England maps are notoriously unreliable, stuff is forever being re-routed. And our non-digital solution means that every time we get in the car we have an adventure.
I'm not trying to put rose-colored glasses on the situation - it's always an adventure. A nerve-wracking, hair-raising adventure that will one day result in our deaths.
Anyway.
A box arrived in the mail and inside was a GPS navigator for the car - Merry Christmas, love FIL. Despite the stupidity of the gift, we decided to take it for a test run out to suburbs we don't really know very well.
Out of the gate, the GPS told us to take a non-preferred route to interstate 93. Deeps ignored the weird, computery voice. I think the voice started to get mad at us.
It kept demanding that we turn right. Eventually we made our way to the highway and the GPS started to squawk again.
GPS: garbled
Me: What's it saying?
Deeps: Can you turn it up?
Me: It's at max volume.
Deeps: Is it saying Tarpulin?
Me: Is there an exit we should be taking.
Deeps: I don't really understand this thing.
About 10 minutes later we determined that the GPS was mispronouncing "Carpool Lane".
Just as we solved that mystery, we entered some tunnels and then things took a turn.
GPS: You have arrived at your destination.
Me: Uhm - you're wrong.
Deeps: We're in the middle of a tunnel.
Me: I don't see any amazing stores near by.
Deeps: I suppose you could do some holiday shopping here, but you'd probably be disappointed.
Me: Especially when you got run over by a giant truck.
Eventually we left the tunnel and I started pushing buttons to get the GPS to remember the destination we'd programmed.
Deeps: It doesn't seem that bad. It just got a little confused.
Me: You can't replace me with this - I'm the family navigator. I don't get us lost.
Deeps: Except when you miss the turn.
Me: That's because you don't listen.
Deeps: *muttering*
Me: And you don't listen to your Robot Girlfriend either.
Deeps: Whatever.
Me: She won't make you soup when you're sick.
Deeps: This is a very generous but ridiculous gift.
Me: I know.
Deeps: It isn't really very practical for us.
Me: I know.
Deeps: I don't know why they insist on giving us stuff like this.
Me: It is the magic of the holidays.
Labels: 2007, marriage, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at Tuesday, December 11, 2007 | |
I posted another poll over at
Big Red Podcast - this week we're asking listeners if they would like to have a voicemail line to call in to the podcast.
Do you care? Feel free to vote. So far we have a resounding "meh" on the voicemail front. I'm willing to try new things for 2008.
And no - I can't explain why the formatting is so weird. My HTML skillz are sometimes limited by my complete lack of caring....
Labels: 2007, podcast
By: Alyssa | Monday, December 10, 2007 at Monday, December 10, 2007 | |
This week Derek, Deeps and I take a tough look at at the devious, deluded mind of Dexter Morgan and offer our predictions on what might happen to him in these final two episodes of the season.
We offer our final assessment of Heroes - possibly ever - for the podcast. Then Derek tells us what happens when you've overstayed your welcome in ER and Grey's Anatomy. Finally, we discuss the tweaking of characters and story on both Dirty Sexy Money and Reaper. Is it enough?
Plus we offer up our thoughts on the first entry of the Big Red Film Festival,
The Thin Man - and what it means to be married, drunk, and fabulous in the movies.
Listen to this week's episode.Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher. Don't forget to leave us some iTunes feedback.
Subscribe to Big Red Podcast by Email
Labels: 2007, podcast
By: Alyssa | Sunday, December 09, 2007 at Sunday, December 09, 2007 | |
Earlier in the week I took a quick break from the office to run over to the local bookstore to pick up a book I'd heard about.
My friend offered to tag along for the promise of a hot cocoa - plus she had a coupon for 25% off of my book. Score!
I found the book quickly, we savored the cocoa and headed to the checkout. A 20-something guy was running the register.
As he was ringing me up, he commented on the cover of the book. He noted it looked interesting.
"I hope it is," I replied. "The writer is my MySpace friend. It would be awkward if it sucked."
Register dude took this opening as an opportunity to tell me about his MySpace relationships and then he noticed my friend looking at a little book of hip stuff. He started quoting from it to her.
We both nodded, smiled and made reassuring sounds.
I quickly paid for the book and beat a hasty retreat out of the store, bumping into my friend as I steered her towards the door.
My friend was giggling at my reaction.
Friend: Your new friend is probably sorry to see you go.
Me: Yeah, that didn't go the way I'd hoped.
Friend: He thinks you are very hip.
Me: I was going for weird. I suppose I could have ended everything by just saying "Yes the cover is interesting" but no - I decided to go for the absurd.
Friend: It happens.
Me: Sometimes I can't help myself. I like to explore the theater of the awkward. I'm having that kind of day.
Friend: You can't always weird people out.
Me: I guess.
Friend: Things were going so well, then he just overstepped.
Me: That's the part that is intriguing. What takes it from pleasant to awkward so quickly?
Friend: I don't think he was interested in us. He was just kind of bored.
Me: And weird. I hate when theater of the awkward blows back at me.
Friend: I suppose it is part of the job.
Me: Sometimes I have to suffer for my art.
Labels: 2007, Boston, weird stuff
By: Alyssa | Saturday, December 08, 2007 at Saturday, December 08, 2007 | |
If you read
The Big Red Blog but don't listen to the
Big Red Podcast, this might be a good time to take a listen. It's been a big year for pop culture from season finales, summer films, what all this "Big Red" nonsense is about, Derek's secret identity, Deeps' nerd specialties, a big writers' strike and of course a new addition to our family - the Wii.
It was also the year we forced Derek to read a book. I know!
We're wrapping up 2007 in style with the Big Red Film festival, a year in review and possibly some kind of bare-knuckle brawl.
The Big Red Film fest kicks off on Sunday with
The Thin Man and each week in December we'll review another classic film from our awesome DVD collection. The
Steve McQueen masterpiece
Bullitt is up for week two and I'm happy to report that
Cemetary Man, an odd little film starring a young
Rupert Everett, is on deck for week three.
The Year in Review edition is scheduled for the week of December 16 - assuming Derek makes his notes. I did give the fellas more notice this year, but they aren't always prepared. Luckily, lack of preparation has never stopped Deeps for sharing his thoughts.
And I can only imagine that this year we'll have ourselves a very
Dexter Christmas
again this year by doing an in-depth analysis of the second season of the Showtime original series.
Tell your friends, load the player, lock your doors - we promise 2007 will go out with a bang and not a whimper.
Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher.
Subscribe to Big Red Podcast by EmailLabels: 2007, podcast
By: Alyssa | Wednesday, December 05, 2007 at Wednesday, December 05, 2007 | |
Massachusetts has offered up a
very generous tax credit to movie productions and so we've seen a lot of action around Boston lately.
I work in a very scenic and historic part of the city near
Copley Square. During a normal day I navigate around tourists, shoppers, office workers, pigeons, squirrels, the guy who feeds the ducks, the occasional cop on horseback and a herd of child-care givers with double-wide strollers.
Now I have to get around film crews, craft services and clumps of lookie-loos and extras. Hurray!
A few of my friends live in LA and remind me that they have to deal with film shoots all the time. I pointed out they have better weather, better tacos and my personal favorite, palm trees.
My foot commute is altered a little to avoid klieg lights - and that's fine with me. Change is good. I haven't spotted any celebrities yet. At this point, I'm not surprised. With the onset of winter, we're all bundled up. I could walk by
Whitey Bulger and not know it.
But I'll be on the look-out for Morgan Freeman or Christopher Walken over the next couple of weeks. I think Cameron Diaz is hanging around too. And I hear Bruce Willis is due in town sometime in February. I hope someone packs his mittens.
Labels: 2007, Boston, famous people
By: Alyssa | at Wednesday, December 05, 2007 | |
My
non-denominational holiday totem went up earlier this weekend in a flurry of purple, ugly, and baking. Friends came over, we ate cookies, we dance and danced and possibly revolved. A baby slept, the cat hid and all was merry and bright.
But like with all beautiful and misunderstood things, tragedy would eventually strike.
The coffee table was moved out of the living room, temporarily, to the hallway by the closet. The tree sat atop the table while we rocked out in the living room. Seriously - you need room for the over 30 set with the
Dance Dance Revolution.
After everyone left, Deeps decided to take out the trash which required shoes which were in the closet blocked by the table with the tree. He pushed the table aside and the tree toppled over onto the carpet.
He righted the tree, pushed again, and toppled the tree onto the hardwood floor - ornaments shattered along with my glittery, purple dreams.
I looked at the tree and glanced up to the beloved, but clumsy mathematician I married. How can one man be so smart but do something so stupid - twice?
Deeps looked stricken. He knew what I was thinking. We cleaned up the mess, I laughed a little, trying not to reveal my deep and weird affection for the ugly tree.
The ornaments are gone now. The tree has been packed away again. Deeps pleaded that we give the tree another shot - that he'd be careful. But I faced the facts - my wobbly tree was likely to be taken out again a cat, a guest or again by my husband. I couldn't face more ornamental destruction.
Maybe next year we'll get a real tree. For now, I'm content with some favorite ornaments in a big glass jar, the soft glow of the television and my husband dances, dances and revolves for my delight.
Plus - he does the laundry, and that makes most clumsy things he does very forgivable.
Labels: 2007, holidays, marriage
By: Alyssa | Monday, December 03, 2007 at Monday, December 03, 2007 | |
I baked cookies and erected a tree that invokes reactions like "Is that your Christmas tree?" and "Did you lose a bet?" and more importantly "How many cats do you have again?"
Call it hideous. Call it ugly. Call it a mistake, but I love it.
Then again, I love ugly stuff.
Labels: 2007, holidays
By: Alyssa | Sunday, December 02, 2007 at Sunday, December 02, 2007 | |
This week Deeps, Derek and I wonder what will happen to Doakes and Dexter - plus I overshare my reaction to Lundy's heiny; I force Derek to face the horror that is Heroes; we determine that Deeps is dead inside because he is still unmoved by this week's fantastic episode of Chuck; enjoy catsuits and girlventures on Pushing Daisies; and Derek tells us what it takes to get fired from Torchwood and hired by House.
Then we offer up our assessment of
Dance Dance Revolution The Hottest Party for the Wii.
Plus I announce the second selection for the
Big Red Film Festival -
Bullitt starring Steve McQueen for episode 61. The festival starts next week with episode 60's entry,
The Thin Man starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.
Feel free to watch the movie and send us your thoughts by Sunday, Dec. 9 at 10 AM (Eastern Time) and we'll include them in our discussion on the podcast!
Listen to this week's episode.Subscribe to the podcast with
iTunes or your favorite
podcatcher. Don't forget to leave us some iTunes feedback.
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Labels: 2007, podcast, television
By: Alyssa | at Sunday, December 02, 2007 | |
