Baby Jane Hudson

As part of my continuing efforts to initiate Anne to Michael's Weird and Obscure Movie Club, I recently rented Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

(The initiation process has been going on since we started dating, and will continue until she decides to get onto our Blockbuster Online account and add some movies of her choice to the queue.)

I first saw Baby Jane when I was in high school. It was one of those serendipitous meetings. I was flipping the channels late at night and stopped on AMC long enough to get a glimpse of Baby Jane (played by Bette Davis) doing something crazy.

The crazy factor kept me watching intently until the movie ended and led me to eventually renting and falling in like with the crazy characters, the crazy" plot, and the crazy surprise ending.

So next time you find yourself in the mood for two and a half hours of crazy (or, as in Anne's case, you find yourself with someone who's always up for crazy), go out and rent Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

If you're only in the mood for two minutes of crazy, watch this.





Welcome to Michael's Weird and Obscure Movie Club.

The Killers at the E Center

After a semi-hiatus from the blog (semi because for 6 months I put up two posts, and they were both the result of a self-imposed family birthday related obligation), I am back.

What brought me back, you ask? Anne would like me to tell you I'm back to blog about the wedding, honeymoon, and subsequent marital bliss that is now my life.

Though entertaining, those subjects will all have to wait. I mean, I like blogging about weddings, but there is something else out there that I love even more (and as that girl from 10 Things I Hate About You let us know, there's a difference between like and love).

Okay, so I'll get to the point.

Tonight, Anne and I attended our first post-wedding concert. Actually, besides the BYU Phil and the Utah Symphony, it was the first concert ever in the history of Anne and Michael.

And yes, there were two outrageously drunk, middle-aged men to the right of us that had the craziest dance moves you can imagine.

And yes, there were two daddy-chaperones (out with their daughters) on our left who had their hands over their ears for most of the show.

And no, sadly, I didn't get any pictures.

But I did live to blog about it, so please, imagine the most outrageous characters you can think of, and know that they were ALL in attendance at tonight's show.

Oh, and if you didn't pick it up from the title, we went to see The Killers at the E Center.

Imagine the glitz, the glamor, and the lights of the old strip in Vegas (their hometown), then imagine taking all that on tour, with a modern man in black at the helm. There were lights, there were fireworks, and there was music. And good music, at that.

Now, I know what you're all wondering. Your asking yourselves, "Why do they call themselves The Killers?" Check out out this Jimmy Kimmel skit below for the answer.





Common sense could've told me that.

--

So now that I'm back, maybe I'll blog about the wedding.

And maybe I'll blog about the honeymoon.

And maybe I'll blog about my summer.

And...

And...

And...

Stay tuned.

An Embarrassing Story About Robyn on Her Birthday

Robyn's turning 29, so here's a great picture and a great story to help her (and us) celebrate.





We are a family of fair-skinned sun-lovers. However, it isn't a healthy relationship--when everyone else gets tanner, we get pinker. Robyn isn't an exception to this rule, though I think she wishes more than the rest of us that she were.

Growing up, she spent the most time tanning (or pinking). That means she also got the most warnings about skin cancer from our parents. Despite the warnings, she hated sun screen, and probably can count on one hand how many times she wore it while in high school.

One of the few times she applied sunscreen, she decided to use it only to strategically cover her moles. After the sun had set and the burns had appeared, she was a spotted mess.

And that's why we love Robyn!

She's in Vegas right now for the weekend with her friends, and you can bet she's spending some time by the pool. Let's just hope that she doesn't come home spotted this time. (But if she does, hopefully there will be pictures and blogs to follow.)

Happy birthday, Robyn.

Mom's 28 Years and 12 Days Old

Happy Birthday, Mom (12 Days Ago...)!





28 years ago (don't do the math, it's disturbing), my mom was born. At the beginning of April, we were lucky enough to have her out here so we could celebrate it all together. It was pretty great.

In thinking about this post, I've decided to share some of my favorite mom stories. She's an amazing woman with a huge heart and a lot of personality. If you're lucky to get to know her, you too will be amazed by the woman that she is.

Mom loves music, and has passed her passion on to me. When she was a teenager, she went to a Carlos Santana concert. Alice Cooper happened to be performing at that concert, too. She likes us to think that she went just for Carlos, but I know deep down that she was excited to see Mr. Cooper live.





You must realize that mom has quite a talent to see through facades and look at people for who they are beneath their make-up and theatrics.





I'm sure to her, Alice has always been a nice guy with an affinity for bats.

Now, when I was a teenager, Weezer came out with their single "Hash Pipe." At that point, MTV had taught me what a half pipe was and anyone who knows me now knows that I am very familiar with hash browns...





But the FCC hadn't allowed the media to teach me about hash pipes, yet. Innocently, as we were running some afternoon errands (with some of my friends along for the ride) and listening to "Hash Pipe" on KROQ or Star 98.7 (which was only allowed/tolerated with mom, not dad), I asked my mom what exactly a hash pipe was. In my mind, I think I had concocted some sort of McDonald's snack for skaters.

Mom, who had become all to familiar with hash pipes during her concert days in the 70s, told me the honest truth. I found out that it was a sort of skaters snack that made them crave McDonald's, but it wasn't even close to what I was picturing. I'm sure my friends thought I was an ignorant idiot, but to them, my mom was a superstar.

So, on that note, happy (belated) birthday to the coolest mom around.

Stay tuned next year for more stories.

Tonight, on Dateline.

For those of you who have been wondering what has been occupying my time and keeping me from blogging, this is it.





And this.





If you watch enough SNL sketches, you'll find at least one you actually like. If you're lucky, you'll find one that even makes you laugh.

The Birthday Festivities

I could try to make this funny, or witty, or whatever, but it's just gonna take too much effort.

So...

I had quite the birthday a few weeks ago, and I need to let those who made it great know that I actually appreciated what they did.

First off, I was treated to a trip home to Nashville by my parents. I think the original plan was to see me before I left the country for four months. Update: Peru is a no-go. I decided making money and getting married not-penniless was better than spending the summer abroad and coming home with a bank account that would get me the key to bum town. (Anne, what do you think? Rent's cheap, food's free...)

Nashville was fun. Unfortunately, the photo evidence of that trip is on my parents' computer.

Thanks, mom and dad.

When I got back to Salt Lake from Nashville, my grandma paid me a birthday visit at my sister's house.

Thanks, grandma.

Cody was glad when I got back to Provo. He wanted to show off his hard work at decorating my room.








Please notice that my bed has arms (Snuggie), and that my present is in a princess bag.





Cody wasn't actually the mastermind behind the decorations. He was just there to reach all the high places. When I saw the princess bag, I knew that this could only be the work of my friends Tammy and Melissa.

Thanks, Tammy and Melissa (and Chelsea and Callie...and Cody).

When I got to work the next day, I found a 20-pack of these in "my" drawer.





They can be purchased here.

Thanks, Chelsea (different Chelsea from the one mentioned above).

Later that night or week (I really don't remember now), Anne gave me her present, and then a week later, she constructed the birthday cake of all birthday cakes. I wish I had taken a picture of it. It was a real work of art. She took my favorite flavor (lime) and one of my favorite foods (cake) and turned it into a party in my mouth. Fantastic.

Thanks, Anne.

And thanks again to everyone that participated in the big two-four. I needed something like this to help me cope with the quarter-life crisis I've been having this last decade.

Happy birthday to me!

Save The Date!

To the surprised (and the not so surprised) readers of my blog, I hereby officially announce the engagement of Michael (me) to Anne (the girl).

We took some preliminary engagement pictures a while back. Let me know what you think.














Can't you see why I'm madly in love? Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oh, and plan on August 8.