Building on last Thursday's post:

E.T. Seriously, is there a worse movie out there? Is there? I saw E.T. when I was very little and I immediately hated it. I've tried watching it since, and it appears it doesn't get better with age.

The Wizard of Oz. Before you ask, no, my distaste for this movie does not stem from the fact that I'm from Kansas. I've just never, ever liked it. Plus, when I was growing up, our next-door-neighbor had an aunt who looked exactly like the Wicked Witch of the West. That didn't help. Neither did wondering if she had a pack of flying monkeys stashed away somewhere.

Punch Drunk Love. Oh, wow. At the time, everyone just went on and on about what a great movie this was, how daring it was, and how it showed that Adam Sandler could really act. I wanted to run screaming from the theater, right after I'd asked for my money back.

Titanic. Another movie that made me want to demand my money back. Why did so many people like this movie? Didn't it win an Oscar, too? Or several? I'm probably alone on this one, but I really, really didn't like it.

When I first started blogging, three years ago today, I had the idea that a blog would be a great way to stay in touch with far-flung family and friends. (And, apparently, a chance to show off my mad alliteration skillz. Let me show you them.) What quickly dawned on me back then is that so few of those people actually read it. But I stuck with it anyway, and I'm so glad I did. Blogging, for me, has become such a great creative outlet. It's markedly different from the day-to-day writing that I do, and even though I don't really talk about my research here, I find that just having this blog and having the opportunity to write in a different way makes my other writing better, less daunting, more familiar. For those reasons, and a number of others, I find blogging incredibly rewarding. Thanks for being along for the ride, it's been a great three years! Oh, and make sure you get a piece of cake before you go!

We're in full spring here in Gainesville, but since it's rather overcast today I thought I'd brighten things up with some photos I snapped yesterday in the garden.

Editor's Note: In honor of Earth Day this month, I've written several letters to Al Gore that address problems we've encountered as we try to go green. You can find the first one here, the second one here, and the third one here. Enjoy!

Okay, Al, last letter. This is something I really need your help on. See, here in Gainesville, we have curbside recycling. And it's great, don't get me wrong. We can recycle paper, newspapers, catalogs, corrugated cardboard, glass and plastic bottles, and aluminum. Recently, the city also began to accept plastic yogurt containers for recycling. Now, plastic recyclables are imprinted with a number, a resin identification code indicating their polymer type. (Betcha didn't think I knew that, huh?) In the case of yogurt containers, they're imprinted with the code number 5, meaning that they're comprised of polypropylene. So far, so good. However, yogurt containers aren't the only plastic food containers imprinted with the #5; in fact, many others are as well. But while you can put as many #5 yogurt containers as you want in the recycling bin, the city won't accept any other #5 containers. So what gives? Why one and not the others? What's the point of having the handy dandy numbering system if the city comes up with their own (illogical) rules for what they will and won't accept? And how do I, just one person, go about changing this? If you have any ideas, Al, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

Sincerely, Emily

Do you have a list like this? A list of movies that you just can't get enough of that everyone else seems to despise? Well, maybe I'm alone, but I totally do. Just last night, after I referenced a movie quote and then wondered what movie it came from, John said, "it's that depressing movie that you love so much." Ah, yes. That one. So here goes, in no particular order:

Beautiful Girls. I'm pretty sure I'm completely alone on this one. The only reason anyone else noticed this movie at the time was because it was one of the first movies that Natalie Portman was in. Otherwise, it got awful reviews. One critic even said that it should be renamed "Boring Guys." Anyway, it's got an all-star cast: Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Mira Sorvino... But apparently nobody else liked it. Whatever.

The Avengers. How can you go wrong with this one? Honestly, how? Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Sean Connery, Jim Broadbent, and Eddie Izzard. Sean Connery, as the would-be evil world leader threatening to control the world's weather, menacingly utters the fantastic line "You will buy your weather from me! And by God you'll pay for it." It really doesn't get any better than that. No?

Without a Clue. In fairness, this is one you've probably never seen. That said, if you saw it you'd probably think it was totally cheesy. Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, respectively. It came out more than ten years ago and I loved it then as now.

Wild Wild West. I'm not saying that it needed to win an Oscar, understand. And in my defense, I never paid to go see it nor did I pay to buy the DVD. But I swear I watch it whenever I catch it on tv. What's the attraction? Is it Kevin Kline's gadgets? Kenneth Branagh pulling off a southern accent? I'm not sure, but I clearly can't get enough.

Bewitched. Okay, here's one where not only did I pay to see it in the theatre, but I also bought it on DVD. And when John went on his last business trip, I watched it back-to-back... a few times. But really, another all-star cast here, and you can't go wrong! Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carrell. Good times.

The Pink Panther. My brother took me to task for suggesting that he watch this 2006 movie, with Steve Martin in Peter Sellers' classic role. I wasn't trying to suggest that it was as good as the classic Pink Panther movies, merely that it was a funny movie. And I stand by that critique. Who's with me?

It's not a comprehensive list, for sure. But I'd wager I'm in the minority on these babies. And, hey, it's not like I said I loved Snakes on a Plane or anything...

Ever since I started graduate school, I couldn't wait to get out. That's not to say that I haven't enjoyed myself; on the contrary, I've felt more comfortable professionally in graduate school than anywhere else. But I was always eager to reach the final destination, to clear all those hurdles and finally get my PhD. And since last May, I've pretty much been thinking that Spring 2009 would be when I would attain that goal. But then I met with my committee this weekend, and again with my dissertation advisor today. And their consensus has been, yeah, you'll be able to graduate Spring 2009. And all of a sudden I'm all, wait... what? And I start metaphorically wringing my hands and wondering why it got so hot in the room so suddenly. Can't someone turn on the air, please, and get me a cold glass of water? It feels so strange-- wonderful, of course, and scary at the same time-- that this is finally going to happen. Part of me, I confess, still feels like a small child entering elementary school and wondering who will sit with me at lunch.

Happy Earth Day, everyone! In honor of Earth Day today, I thought I'd pull together a quick list of things everyone can do to help our planet. What makes these things even cooler is that they all do something to make our own lives a little better.

Recycling. I know that might seem like an obvious one because, hello, doesn't everyone recycle? Apparently not. Gainesville does curbside recycling, which is great, but fully half of the people in our neighborhood don't recycle. I routinely see people throwing away milk jugs, glass bottles, and cardboard boxes-- ALL things that the city will recycle if people take a little effort to drag them to the curb. When you recycle, not only do you ensure that landfills aren't being filled with perfectly recyclable items, but also you free up your trash can for legitimate trash. You know, like all those severed limbs you've got stashed in your deep freeze. (Kidding!)

Tired of junk mail? Sign up for Green Dimes! Green Dimes is a great service that allows you to cut back on your junk mail and save trees all at the same time. Since we signed up for Green Dimes last year, I've noticed a HUGE decrease in the amount of junk mail we get. Green Dimes also lets you pick and choose which catalogs you get. So if you're sick of getting horse supply catalogs (why do we get these? we don't have a horse!!!), you can tell Green Dimes you don't want to get them anymore. It couldn't be easier.

Take reusable cloth bags with you when you go shopping. It's all fine and dandy for places like Target to encourage customers to reuse those plastic bags as trash can liners. But they eventually end up in a landfill, right? So why not cut out the middle man? We bought ours here, but these days you can find them almost anywhere.

Plant a vegetable and herb garden. Why buy tomatoes from Chile and lettuce from Argentina when you can grow them yourself in your own backyard? Planting a vegetable garden will not only cut back on your grocery bill, but will also enable you to eat fresher foods.

If you don't have the time or the space to devote to a garden, patronize your local farmers! Go to Local Harvest, enter your zip code, and you'll get a list of all the farmer's markets, farms, and more in your area. Oftentimes you can sign up for a CSA, which is essentially a subscription that gives you fresh farm products on a regular basis. We signed up for two CSAs and now we get fresh chickens and eggs through Heirloom Country Farms, and fresh vegetables through Rosie's Organic Farm. It's a great way to get fresh produce, eat more healthily, and support local businesses all at the same time.

This is just a tiny sample of the things you can do to help the earth and make life a bit brighter, for everyone. If we all do things like this, we'll step a little lighter on the earth and hopefully leave something wonderful for future generations.

The other day, I got a call from my friend Ben (hi, Ben!) in Tallahassee. He called to make sure that John and I were doing okay, since several couples he knew had recently called it quits. As it happened, John and I were in the middle of a completely stupid argument when he called. I assured Ben that we were fine, but I was *this close* to saying something along the lines of, "Benjie, sometimes Mommy and Daddy fight, but that doesn't mean they don't still love each other."

Editor's Note: In honor of Earth Day this month, I'm writing a series of letters to Al Gore that address problems we've encountered as we try to go green. You can find the first one here and the second one here. Enjoy!

Dear Al Gore,

Two weeks ago I was all geared up to write to you about cleaning products, armed with a litany of complaints: how so many of them are dangerous to use (can even cause asthma and birth defects!), how they burn my lungs and make my skin peel, and how I generally feel wary using them. Even Method products, which I unabashedly embraced at first, contain harmful things like potassium hydrate and soda ash! So I was all ready to go, Hey Al, what cleaning products can I use that won't- you know- eventually kill me? But just then, the clouds parted, angels began singing, and I had an idea. Why not try baking soda and water? I'd always heard that it worked as a cleaner, but was of the opinion that if it was so good, why did people continue to buy things like Comet? Why indeed. Because when I started cleaning the shower with baking soda and water, I was shocked. First, it took far less time than cleaning with traditional toxic cleaners. I hardly had to scrub at all. Second, it truly is nontoxic. I didn't have to continually take breaks to spare my burning lungs (something that happened A LOT with 409, Comet, you name it). Baking soda won't burn your lungs or make your skin peel; in fact, it's safe enough to use as a toothpaste! After such an incredible result, I had to wonder: why don't more people clean with baking soda and water? Why don't more people know about this? And, most importantly, what other cleaning methods did our grandmothers and great-grandmothers use (John calls this "Grandma Tech") that we no longer know about? Are there other honest-to-god nontoxic Grandma Tech methods that I should try? Thanks, Al!

Sincerely, Emily

Certainly this isn't limited to Gainesville, and I hope I'm not out of line in saying this, but we seem to have an awful lot of hookers in this town. And, if they aren't in fact hookers, then it seems that we have an awful lot of scantily-clad, presumptuous women who walk all over town. In areas where there are no sidewalks. Often, but not only, at night. Coming back from lunch yesterday afternoon, we noticed a woman who looked remarkably like Tina Turner (circa 1980) dancing and shaking her... assets while she signaled at oncoming vehicles. Now, in fairness, she may not have been a hooker. She may just have needed a ride somewhere. Or not. So what gives? What's with all the prostitution in this town?

Psst! Do you Twitter? No? You should! Twitter is a sweet tool that lets you keep in touch with people by way of quick, short updates (called "tweets"). Each update is limited to a mere 140 characters, so it's sort of like a mini blog. See mine? Over there on your right, below the flickr badge? Yeah, right there. I use Twitter to post updates without having to write an entire blog entry. Plus, on Twitter, you can follow what folks around the world are doing. And no, it's not as voyeuristic as it sounds. If you're interested, Aimee at Greeblemonkey posted a great tutorial on Twitter a while back.

Now go forth and twitter!

Years ago, when John and I were first engaged, I was working for his mother at her accounting office. The dress code there is basically that you wear jeans so as to not scare off the small-town clientele. Because I somehow never have more than two or (at most) three pairs of jeans, that meant that I was washing jeans a couple times a week. One night, the washer wasn't done by the time I went to bed, but John promised that he'd put the laundry in the dryer before he came to bed. The next morning, I opened the dryer to pull out my jeans and found... nothing. But there they were, still wet in the washer. John had gotten distracted and forgot to put the laundry in the dryer. So I went to work in my spare jeans-- you know the pair, we've all got at least one. They're the jeans that you only wear at home on the weekends, the ones you never want to be seen wearing in public. That afternoon, he sent flowers to the office. I rediscovered the accompanying card this weekend:

He later assured me that he meant to type "your" instead of "you." To this day, when John's head is in the clouds, I shake my head and say "you flaky fiancee."

I don't want to come off sounding like an old grandpa here, but when I first got my car (eight years ago this Halloween), gas cost 84 cents a gallon. Let me repeat that. In 2000, gas cost 84 cents a gallon. I could fill up my Saturn for under $10. Wai. And I know that in the broad scheme of things, when there are starving people in the world and people much MUCH worse off than we are, how much we have to pay for gas is a pretty pathetic complaint. Especially since I fundamentally believe that we shouldn't be so dependent on oil and it might be good for us to have to pay $4, $5, or $6 a gallon if it meant that we were then forced to find a different way, a better way, a cleaner way. But what's the point of having a blog if you can't complain once in a while? So here goes: DAMN the price of gas is high!

Editor's Note: In honor of Earth Day this month, I'm writing a series of letters to Al Gore that address problems we've encountered as we try to go green. You can find the first one here. Enjoy!

Dear Al Gore,

What do I do with my toothbrush? Seriously, I go through about a toothbrush every month or two and it vexes me to no end when I have to pitch it in the trash afterwards. Now, I know I could find other uses for it once it has fulfilled the Cleaning My Mouth phase of its life. In fact, just last night I scrubbed the shower with (among other things) an old toothbrush and baking soda. (Remind me to talk to you about baking soda soon, too!) But realistically, regardless of how many other jobs I can think of for that heroic toothbrush, it's still going to find its way into a landfill once I'm all out of ideas. Isn't there a better way? Can you imagine how many landfills are dotted with these tiny plastic soldiers, watching vigilantly as other trash decomposes (or, more likely, not)? If you have any suggestions for a more eco-friendly toothbrush, I'd love to hear them. Thanks, Al!

Sincerely, Emily

When I was little, I would come home from school and my mom would make me bread with butter and jam. That's a story I always repeat when my family is around, so when my parents visited this past weekend, it was a story I trotted out a lot. But it's such a great memory that I can't help myself. I've said it so many times, in different forums, but I think it bears repeating: It's so strange to live so far away from what we knew and loved for so long. Compounded, of course, by the fact that we're not wild about where we live. When I think about how much I'd like to live closer to friends and family once I'm done with my PhD, I inevitably think about how tight the job market is right now. Exceedingly tight. Exceptionally tight. Heart-stoppingly tight. And I can't help but wonder what our lives will look like on the other side. What our lives will look like in a year, two years, five years. Where's that crystal ball when you need it, anyway?

Sorting through old magazines recently, I came across four covers that caught my eye (probably the very same thing that made me buy them in the first place). Each of them had story teasers about clutter. "Control Clutter Now!" "Seven Simple Solutions to Clutter!" "How to Banish Clutter For Good!" And, no doubt, I read those articles with particular interest because I'm all about the organization. But what struck me the other day-- and maybe I was just feeling particularly cynical-- is that there's a much simpler solution. Yes, you can roll your towels and stack them into a pyramid, yes you can put a trash can near your front door so that junk mail goes straight into the bin (and not onto your dining table), and lord knows that any number of places will happily sell you any number of containers in which to cleverly squirrel away your clutter. But there's an even simpler solution: Have Less Stuff. I know that sounds simultaneously impossible and naive. You're thinking there's no possible way you could part with anything in your house. It's all valuable/useful/loved/sentimental/etc. And it may well be all of those things. But do you really need it? This is a question I wrestle with constantly. We're only two people in a three-bedroom house. And it's full. Not scary, overcrowded full, but full nonetheless. Why do we have so much stuff? Can we live without it? I'm not suggesting that we sell all of our belongings and live in a cave for a few years. But having fewer things, living a simpler life, not consuming so much... isn't that a worthwhile goal, instead of overcrowding one's house and life?

When it rains it pours, I guess. This crazy dog... erm... got sick yesterday morning. Then again yesterday afternoon. Then again yesterday evening, in the only room of the house that still has carpeting. *sigh* So off to the vet we went, because things were quickly going from bad to worse. Between the big waiting room and the examination room, we waited for over an hour only to find out that the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him. She gave him iv fluids and meds, sent us home with special food and more meds, as well as instructions to keep a close eye on him. Nearly $400 later, we were back home, slightly dazed and wondering if we overreacted by taking him to the vet in the first place. Vets and a close attachment to your dog are both expensive, is what I'm saying.

Editor's Note: In honor of Earth Day this month, I'd like to start a series of blogs- in the form of letters to Al Gore- that address problems we've encountered as we try to go green. Enjoy!

Dear Al Gore,

What do we do with our shower curtain? This is something I've been puzzling about for years, actually. Most plastic shower curtains are made of 100% PVC and, as a result they release chemical gases. Needless to say, not something I'm wild about bringing into my home. Plus, once they've reached the end of their life, how do you dispose of them? If you throw them in the trash, they'll just end up in a landfill somewhere, where they won't decompose. Even most fabric shower curtains are coated in PVC. I've looked into natural shower curtains, like ones made from hemp, but those are really pricey and often get ruined by mold and mildew. Lovely. So, what options do I have, shower curtain-wise? Thanks, Al! I appreciate your attention to my shower curtain dilemma.

Sincerely, Emily

I took this photo yesterday morning on our deck. Does anyone else see "Jeff" spelled out in the lines of the shadow? No?

In my class yesterday, we finished up our discussion of the 1950s and how the Cold War and the threat of Communism affected Americans. I asked my students why, in their opinion, Americans at large and the US government in particular was so worried about Communism. What was so frightening about it? And during the discussion, one of my students raised his hand and said, "I hate to say this, because he's a really great guy, but it's just like my dad! If it's not his idea, he's against it. If it's not his plan, he doesn't like it!" I could barely hear what else he said because we were all laughing so hard.

One of my favorite bloggers, Emily of Not That You Asked, recently wrote about this little girl's struggle to beat cancer. She's all of 16 months old. If you can, please go to Emily's blog and donate some spare change. If we all do a little bit, maybe we can help make a difference.