God help me, but how I survived

I just lived through my first weekend as a single "parent." Some insidiously annoying animal people would call me a "meowmy" or some other ridiculous moniker, but I will continue to refer to myself in the third person as "mommy."

Not that it makes any difference what I call myself. The end result is still the same: I am pooped. The parenthood thing is a lot more work than just hanging out and being my cool self all the time. Now that Anthony is in Charlotte (for way too long, might I add), I get the full brunt of all the household responsibilities.

Which means that I'm walking the dog at midnight when I get home from hanging out with friends for the first time in what seems like decades on a Saturday night.

It also means that I'm spending afternoons in the park, pretending that I don't have other things to do but unable to resist the "but don't you love me?" look in Grace's beautiful little brown eyes.

I try so hard to fit everything in and be the well-rounded Ryan that you've all come to know and love, but having furry children certainly makes that impossible. It is now official - none of you will ever see me again.

But thanks for the night out, Morgan & John. Thanks for the hike, Jeff & Eric. I will now be returning to hermit-dom.

For the musically inclined

First off: I hate daylight savings time right now. This is what I get for going out late for the first time in decades - exhaustion.

But it was worth it. Last night I went to the DC Arts Center - the smallest venue on the planet (or so it felt) - and saw a pretty amazing local band, The Nethers.

Go to their site, download "O The Deed," and do your part to keep real talent in business: buy the CD. (By the way, the show last night was a lot less acoustic, and a lot more rock - amazing! So, if you ever get the chance to see them live, it is totally worth it.)

Just for fun

I don't really have the time this morning to write more about my own life, but I do love the movies, so I'm including this little tidbit to tide you over.

AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time

1
Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
GONE WITH THE WIND
1939

2
I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
THE GODFATHER
1972

3
You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.
ON THE WATERFRONT
1954

4
Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
1939

5
Here's looking at you, kid.
CASABLANCA
1942

6
Go ahead, make my day.
SUDDEN IMPACT
1983

7
All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.
SUNSET BLVD.
1950

8
May the Force be with you.
STAR WARS
1977

9
Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night.
ALL ABOUT EVE
1950

10
You talking to me?
TAXI DRIVER
1976

11
What we've got here is failure to communicate.
COOL HAND LUKE
1967

12
I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
APOCALYPSE NOW
1979

13
Love means never having to say you're sorry.
LOVE STORY
1970

14
The stuff that dreams are made of.
THE MALTESE FALCON
1941

15
E.T. phone home.
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
1982

16
They call me Mister Tibbs!
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
1967

17
Rosebud.
CITIZEN KANE
1941

18
Made it, Ma! Top of the world!
WHITE HEAT
1949

19
I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!
NETWORK
1976

20
Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
CASABLANCA
1942

21
A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
1991

22
Bond. James Bond.
DR. NO
1962

23
There's no place like home.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
1939

24
I am big! It's the pictures that got small.
SUNSET BLVD.
1950

25
Show me the money!
JERRY MAGUIRE
1996

26
Why don't you come up sometime and see me?
SHE DONE HIM WRONG
1933

27
I'm walking here! I'm walking here!
MIDNIGHT COWBOY
1969

28
Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'
CASABLANCA
1942

29
You can't handle the truth!
A FEW GOOD MEN
1992

30
I want to be alone.
GRAND HOTEL
1932

31
After all, tomorrow is another day!
GONE WITH THE WIND
1939

32
Round up the usual suspects.
CASABLANCA
1942

33
I'll have what she's having.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
1989

34
You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.
TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT
1944

35
You're gonna need a bigger boat.
JAWS
1975

36
Badges? We ain't got no badges! We don't need no badges! I don't have to show you any stinking badges!
THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
1948

37
I'll be back.
THE TERMINATOR
1984

38
Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.
THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES
1942

39
If you build it, he will come.
FIELD OF DREAMS
1989

40
Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.
FORREST GUMP
1994

41
We rob banks.
BONNIE AND CLYDE
1967

42
Plastics.
THE GRADUATE
1967

43
We'll always have Paris.
CASABLANCA
1942

44
I see dead people.
THE SIXTH SENSE
1999

45
Stella! Hey, Stella!
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
1951

46
Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
NOW, VOYAGER
1942

47
Shane. Shane. Come back!
SHANE
1953

48
Well, nobody's perfect.
SOME LIKE IT HOT
1959

49
It's alive! It's alive!
FRANKENSTEIN
1931

50
Houston, we have a problem.
APOLLO 13
1995

51
You've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?
DIRTY HARRY
1971

52
You had me at "hello."
JERRY MAGUIRE
1996

53
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.
ANIMAL CRACKERS
1930

54
There's no crying in baseball!
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
1992

55
La-dee-da, la-dee-da.
ANNIE HALL
1977

56
A boy's best friend is his mother.
PSYCHO
1960

57
Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
WALL STREET
1987

58
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
THE GODFATHER II
1974

59
As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again.
GONE WITH THE WIND
1939

60
Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!
SONS OF THE DESERT
1933

61
Say "hello" to my little friend!
SCARFACE
1983

62
What a dump.
BEYOND THE FOREST
1949

63
Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?
THE GRADUATE
1967

64
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!
DR. STRANGELOVE
1964

65
Elementary, my dear Watson.
THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
1939

66
Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape.
PLANET OF THE APES
1968

67
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.
CASABLANCA
1942

68
Here's Johnny!
THE SHINING
1980

69
They're here!
POLTERGEIST
1982

70
Is it safe?
MARATHON MAN
1976

71
Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!
THE JAZZ SINGER
1927

72
No wire hangers, ever!
MOMMIE DEAREST
1981

73
Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?
LITTLE CAESAR
1930

74
Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown.
CHINATOWN
1974

75
I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
1951

76
Hasta la vista, baby.
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY
1991

77
Soylent Green is people!
SOYLENT GREEN
1973

78
Open the pod bay doors, HAL.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
1968

79
Striker: Surely you can't be serious.

Rumack: I am serious…and don't call me Shirley.
AIRPLANE!
1980

80
Yo, Adrian!
ROCKY
1976

81
Hello, gorgeous.
FUNNY GIRL
1968

82
Toga! Toga!
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE
1978

83
Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.
DRACULA
1931

84
Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was Beauty killed the Beast.
KING KONG
1933

85
My precious.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: TWO TOWERS
2002

86
Attica! Attica!
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
1975

87
Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star!
42ND STREET
1933

88
Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!
ON GOLDEN POND
1981

89
Tell 'em to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Gipper.
KNUTE ROCKNE ALL AMERICAN
1940

90
A martini. Shaken, not stirred.
GOLDFINGER
1964

91
Who's on first.
THE NAUGHTY NINETIES
1945

92
Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac...It's in the hole! It's in the hole! It's in the hole!
CADDYSHACK
1980

93
Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!
AUNTIE MAME
1958

94
I feel the need - the need for speed!
TOP GUN
1986

95
Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.
DEAD POETS SOCIETY
1989

96
Snap out of it!
MOONSTRUCK
1987

97
My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you.
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
1942

98
Nobody puts Baby in a corner.
DIRTY DANCING
1987

99
I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!
WIZARD OF OZ, THE
1939

100
I'm king of the world!
TITANIC
1997





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Each year, AFI's 100 Years . . . series has garnered considerable attention from movie lovers around the world. Previous programs within this series have included AFI 100 Years . . . 100 Movies (1998), . . . 100 Stars (1999), . . . 100 Laughs (2000), . . . 100 Thrills (2001), . . . 100 Passions (2002), . . . 100 Heroes & Villains (2003) and . . . 100 Songs (2004).


About the Jury Process

AFI distributed a ballot with 400 nominated movie quotes to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians.

Jury members were asked to choose up to 100 movie quotes from a comprehensive list, including entries such as "Here's lookin' at you, kid" (CASABLANCA), "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" (GONE WITH THE WIND), "Why don't you come up sometime and see me?" (SHE DONE HIM WRONG), "May the Force be with you" (STAR WARS), "Houston, we have a problem" (APOLLO 13), "Snap out of it!" (MOONSTRUCK), "You can't handle the truth!" (A FEW GOOD MEN), "I'll be back" (THE TERMINATOR) and "Show me the money!" (JERRY MAGUIRE).

Due to the extensive number of memorable movie lines in American film, jurors could also write in votes for up to five quotes that may not already appear on the ballot.

Jurors were asked to consider the following criteria in making their selections:

MOVIE QUOTE
A statement, phrase or brief exchange of dialogue spoken in an American film.* (Lyrics from songs are not eligible.)

CULTURAL IMPACT
Movie Quotes that viewers use in their own lives and situations; circulating through popular culture, they become part of the national lexicon.

LEGACY
Movie Quotes that viewers use to evoke the memory of a treasured film, thus ensuring and enlivening its historical legacy.

*AFI defines an American film as an English language motion picture with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. Additionally, only Movie Quotes from feature-length American films released before January 1, 2004, will be considered. AFI defines a feature-length film as a motion picture of narrative format that is typically over 60 minutes in length.


Interesting Facts about the Ballot

Chronologically, the ballot spans from 1927, with the first full-length sound film, THE JAZZ SINGER: "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet!" to 2002 and "My precious" from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS.

CASABLANCA has seven quotes in AFI's ballot, making it the most represented film.

THE WIZARD OF OZ is the second most represented film with six quotes.

Humphrey Bogart has 10 quotes on the ballot, the most represented male actor. Al Pacino and the Marx Brothers follow with six quotes each and Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro, James Stewart, Woody Allen and Jack Nicholson are all represented with five quotes each. Funnymen Peter Sellers and Mike Myers each have four quotes represented.

Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland and Vivien Leigh each have four memorable movie quotes on the ballot.

Billy Wilder is the top represented writer with 13 quotes, some co-written with I.A.L. Diamond, Charles Brackett and Raymond Chandler. Frances Ford Coppola has nine quotes represented, with seven coming from THE GODFATHER Trilogy. Mario Puzo, Coppola's collaborator on THE GODFATHER trilogy, has a total of eight quotes. Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch each have seven quotes (all from CASABLANCA), followed by Woody Allen with six and Cameron Crowe, William Goldman and Stanley Kubrick with five quotes each.

1939 is the most represented year with 19 movie quotes. 1942 has 17 quotes and 1980 has 12.

Last one - sometimes I actually work, people!

You Are a Seeker Soul

You are on a quest for knowledge and life challenges. You love to be curious and ask a ton of questions. Since you know so much, you make for an interesting conversationalist. Mentally alert, you can outwit almost anyone (and have fun doing it!). Very introspective, you can be silently critical of others. And your quiet nature makes it difficult for people to get to know you. You see yourself as a philosopher, and you take everything philosophically. Your main talent is expressing and communicating ideas. Souls you are most compatible with: Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Again, again!

Mostly I'm just trying to push that one post off my main page so that my sidebar appears normally again, but I also like to take quizzes. What can I say? I'm weird that way (like the rest of the working human population).

You Are 68% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded. Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints. But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line. You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

Because one good test deserves another

The Maid of Honor
Deliberate Gentle Love Master (DGLMf)

Appreciated for your kindness and envied for all your experience, you are The Maid of Honor.

Charismatic, affectionate, and terrific in relationships, you are what many guys would call a "perfect catch"--and you probably have many admirers, each wishing to capture your long-term love. You're careful, extra careful, because the last thing you want is to hurt anyone. Especially some poor boy whose only crime was liking you.

We've deduced you're fully capable of a dirty fling, but you do feel that post-coital attachment after hooking up. So, conscientious person that you are, you do your best to reserve physical affection for those you respect...so you can respect yourself.

Your biggest negative is the byproduct of your careful nature: indecision. You're just as slow rejecting someone as you are accepting them.


ALWAYS AVOID: The False Messiah, The 5-Night Stand, The Vapor Trail, The Bachelor

CONSIDER: The Gentleman, someone just like you.

Take this test.

Anthony will be so proud

Pabst Blue Ribbon (33% dark & bitter, 100% working class, 100% genuine)

Oh, Pabst, beer of barbeques, beer of youth, beer of liberty! In my care-free days, Pabst was my drink of choice. I made most of my best friends over cans of this stuff and made many of my first kisses with it on my lips (and breath...uhg). Yeah, Pabst doesn't exactly have the most refined taste going, and my guess is the same can be said for you. I'm not saying you or Pabst is anything short of awesome. Just that you both appreciate a good dirty joke. (Can a beer be said to appreciate a joke? You know what I mean.) You have an outgoing personality. You like a good time, and you often create one just by being around. But unlike many popular people, there's a lot of substance to you: you scored quite highly on the "genuine" part of the test. Pabst is for real fun, not for company-sponsored, after-work "socials"! See Budweiser Select for that. Anyhow, nostalgia dictates that I congratulate you on your score on this test. Cheers!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 5% on dark You scored higher than 76% on workingclass You scored higher than 71% on genuine

Link: The If You Were A Beer Test written by gwendolynbooks on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test