From Fantastic to Huh?

Trip and I saw such an amazing movie on Saturday - Lars and the Real Girl. If you've ever wondered what heartwarming means, see this movie and you will understand. I smiled and cried through the entire thing (happy tears!), and felt so refreshed after the credits rolled. Of course it is completely off the wall, and no synopsis could ever do it justice (Man suffers from delusions that a Real Doll is, well, his real girlfriend). Don't think "this would never happen," but watch it and have hope that somewhere there does exist such a charming community of good natured people. I wonder why it didn't get more press when it was in theaters. I personally think it was a better screenplay than Juno, and deserved the Academy Award more.

So of course when we went to Blockbuster to exchange it for another, I knew we would have to switch gears quite a bit, especially since the movies we were looking at were No Country For Old Men and Charlie Wilson's War (we went for the latter. I wasn't quite ready for all that violence). But perusing the aisles, neither of us could get over how many disgusting horror movies there were. Like, every other movie was some guy's face being eaten off. Sick. Ass. Can somebody please explain to me what the appeal is?

Nothing, however, could prepare either of us for the obvious Oscar snub that is Teeth.

What is Teeth, you may ask?

Well, Teeth is a horror movie about a teenager that finds out her vagina has teeth.

And on that note... I'm going to go wash my hands, because I feel dirty just from typing that.

Launch of joypjohnson.com

Thanks to my production staff (aka my brother), the kinks have been worked out and my personal portfolio site is up and running. Check it out when you have a sec, and let me know what ya'll think.

Did "Steve" Tell You that Per Chance?

Trip and I were riding the VTA - my first (and last) time on the bus! - taking one of his past students to the Tech Museum. In the bus they had a lovely sign announcing the Employees of the Year for 2007. There was something particularly amusing about one of the winners and I wanted to take a picture, but Trip wouldn't let me. So I will describe:

[picture of employee]
And underneath it said:
Steven "Steve" Maloon

Really?

Not "Boom Boom" or "Big Paulie" or "Lucky" or "Skip" or "A-Rod".

Nope."Steve".

Priceless.

My weekend, by Joy Johnson.

Hola amigos y amigas! Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

I will be celebrating at my brother's casa tonight. Well, not so much celebrating Cinco de Mayo as frantically trying to get my last Flash project done. I'm doing a site on the illustrious music of Adam12, and not only need help getting his music up there, but pretty much creating the entire site. As my beloved husband joked last night, "Who Joy, wait until the last minute to do her homework? Nooooo." I then hit him in the face and continued to lie on the couch for my marathon tv watching sesh.

Which, by the way, was buckets of awesomeness. I can't remember the last time I wasted an entire weekend on the couch. The body needed some big time rejuvenation, ya'll. We watched pretty much everything on our DVR, and two movies. One of which I can't recommend enough - Gone Baby Gone. Not only is Casey Affleck my new stalker crush (dark hair and light eyes... <sigh>), he may very well be in my top five of actors. I was really really impressed. Kudos to both him, for his acting skills, and his big brother Ben, for his directing skills. Definitely rent this movie if you have yet to see it.

The other movie we saw was Sweeney Todd, starring another of my top fives, Johnny Depp. I have to say, the movie was a lot more gory than I anticipated. I mean, I knew the story, but dang that was some blood. But of course Johnny (yes, we're on a first name basis) is absolute genius in everything he is in, so I also enjoyed this film. I was pleasantly surprised at how good his voice was. (Side note - yes, this is a musical. But it is also Tim Burton, so give it a chance if you are not a fan of musicals. Or just sing Nightmare Before Christmas songs throughout, as Trip did).

I had a double dose of Johnny this weekend, as couldn't sleep on Saturday night (a possible side effect of too much lying on the couch all day) and channel surfed upon Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I think it was the first time I saw the film sober. Still just as freaky, but not nearly as affecting as it was the first time I saw it. Fascinating nonetheless (although I do admit, probably not the best movie to watch at 2AM. I had some craaaaazy dreams that night).

Oh, I should mention that my fabu weekend started out on Friday with girls night out (two weekends in a row! this time, much much much less alcohol involved) to see Duran Duran. Holy crap they were good. Simon's voice was amazing, and they played pretty much every song I wanted to hear. I can't believe it took until 2008 to see them, but well worth the wait. My sister and I danced the entire concert! Do do do do do do! Do do do do do do! Ah. Fun times.

So to recap: Gone Baby Gone is a must see; Casey Affleck is my new boyfriend; Johnny Depp can sing, and remains my other boyfriend; Duran Duran still rule the world, twenty years later; and there really is no need to leave the house if you have a television (with DVR of course - duh), Dagoba 87% organic dark chocolate, Diet V8 Splash, and a husband who rubs your neck because it hurts from laying on the couch watching tv for seven hours straight.

Random Thoughts From The Once Infectious Joy.

Hi, remember me? Yes, I'm still around. Yes, I've been missing you all dearly, oh friends of the interweb. (Even though my brother - who read this - says that nobody read this. Poo head.)

I can't believe it's May. Where did the last month go?? I've been go go go going full speed for the past month that the days just flew by. So trust me, I am ready to slooooooow the heck down. My house is almost done, school is winding down and the sun is coming out. All of which means I am ready for some R&R.

Of course school is not over yet. And my house is not done yet. But I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I think the sun does it for me. Being outside and feeling that vitamin D beaming into me just puts me in a much more optimistic and sunshiny kinda mood.

Which is a very good thing, being how messed up the world is today. The fact that Miley Cyrus is the main topic of conversation is just, well, stupid. I personally don't have a problem with the Vanity Fair cover photo (If you've been living under a rock and have no idea what I am talking about, you can read about it here). I actually think it's quite beautiful. The subtle hues and silvery lighting remind me of a painting. She looks vulnerable, but in a "I'm an everyday average teenager, not a bagillionaire with make-up and hair people fixing me up for 5 hours" kindaway. In fact, I think it's her "plainess" that makes the portrait so compelling. But nooooooooooo. All the uptight conservatives says it looks like she's "topless," whoring around on a bed. Really? Do people honestly think that 15-year-old Miley and her parents (who were in the room), thought, "Hey -- Annie thinks Miley should look like a topless whore. That sounds fantastic!" What they probably thought was that they would be making another historic Annie Leibovitz portrait. Well, they pretty much got that.

Any who.... I digress. The much more important topic of conversation is American Idol, people. Is that really our Top 5? Ugh. When did that happen? I guess now that Michael Johns and Carly Smithson are gone, I'm forced to root for David Archuleta. Because I CANNOT STAND David Cook (can he look anymore smug and smarmy?), Brook White is just "eh", Syesha Mercado is nothing new, and Jason Castro's goofy stoner image and baby blues no longer make up for the fact that he just can't sing very well. I think I would be happy if anyone BUT David Cook wins, but I'm afraid I'm in the minority. Sad.

So yeah, my life has been busy with work, school, house and yes...TV.

Well, that's it for now. I am thinking of all ya'll and promise not to leave for so long again :)

P.S. Have you donated to Global Giving yet???? Do it.

Blog. Act. Donate. BlogHers Act.

If you haven't yet noticed, I'm running a widget in my sidebar (with a beautifully designed logo if I may say so myself). As part of our BlogHers Act commitment to make a difference on the issue of maternal health, BlogHer has joined forces with Global Giving to help save women's lives and we need your help. We're campaigning until Mother's Day, May 11, 2008, so please donate if you are in a position to do so. Some of you may feel a bit bombarded by people asking for money (with the whole Idol Gives Back extravaganza last night), but every little bit does make a difference.

It's Been Awhile.

Hi folks. I know it's been awhile. Between BlogHer Business, Academy of Art, revamping my website, following the primaries, bridal showers, birthdays, American Idol, Top Chef and spring cleaning, I've been a bit overwhelmed. Unfortunately since my salary, grades, water cooler gossip or marriage don't depend on it., my blog is the first thing to neglect. So my apologies to those few dedicated readers!

Wishing you all beautiful spring time weather!