Ten Nice Things You Can Do For Someone Else

• Make a crossword puzzle with all of your inside jokes with this Crossword Puzzle Maker! Super easy and there are tons online to search from. You could also do a Word Search. 

• Send a homemade card or letter to his or her address, even if you live together - because everyone loves to get mail! I made this one for a friend's valentine. He loves Chopped on Food Network!

• Plan a surprise day trip to somewhere they like to go and tell them what they should wear and bring that morning -- Ideas that are nice are apple picking, going to a special hike or forest, antiquing, walk the ocean!

• Make a favorite snack or drink as a surprise treat on a random week night.

• If you live with the person, draw a hot bath and a cup of tea for when they get home. Candles are not optional.

• Make a collage like you used to in middle school with clippings of his or her favorite celebrities OR a magazine article in Publisher. I made this one for my BFF's bridal shower.

• Write a funny note and hide it somewhere for them to find at a later date. I've hidden some in the microwave!

• Massages, foot rubs, and head rubs are always nice :-)

• Have an early movie date when it's cheaper and sneak in donuts and coffees. You just need a big bag and good balance. You have the whole day ahead of you after!

Fold his or her laundry... everyone hates folding laundry.

Fall is in the Air

Things to Look Forward to Now That Fall is on the Horizon...

I am a bit of a Summer girl, living on the coast of New England... actually I am a huge SEASON girl. I love looking forward to each season and the special feelings it conjures, the way it grounds you and helps you look forward to the things that come. Seasons give us an opportunity to revisit old feelings that we have about the past and to remind us of the relationship between seasons, ourselves, and the world around us.

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me,

Fluttering from the Autumn tree."

Emily Brontë

• Sleeping through the night comfortably with the windows open and a light blanket across you.

• Warm, luxurious baths.

• Apples, pumpkins, squash, and stew.

• Football.

• Hot toddies, cider, pumpkin beer, stouts, and scotch.

• Fireplaces.

• Halloween & Thanksgiving.

• Foliage.

• Sweatshirts, jackets, sweaters, scarfs, boots, and hats. 

• Reminding ourselves that all that dies is reborn again, like the leaves on trees or the grain we harvest.

Shemp's Top Ten Super Nintendo Games of All Time

10. Aladdin

This whimsical video game, filled with shiny gems to collect, passwords, and scary bosses was one of my absolute favorites. After the success of Aladdin, this video game allowed kids to really live out their Agrabah fantasies. 

9. Donkey Kong Country: Diddy Kong's Quest

This was the follow up to Donkey Kong Country, sans Donkey Kong. The introduction of Dixie Kong and her amazing helicopter ponytail made for a fun game with two cooperative characters with their own skills. Being able to switch between Dixie and Diddy made the game fun and added an extra strategic element. The graphics are absolutely fantastic, with bright lights and quirky lands. 

8. Street Fighter II

This is probably my favorite two person fighting game, although it was hard not to put Mortal Kombat on this list. Each fighter has his or her own special characteristcs and we know that we all had our favorites. I was either Zangief, Chun Li, or E. Honda. 

7. Yoshi's Island

Touch fuzzy, get dizzy! Man was this Mario game even more trippy than some of its predecessors. As a kid I loved it because it is just so adorable. Yoshi carrying around a baby Mario, shooting eggs and collecting flowers? What could be cuter?

6. Earthworm Jim

This game was nasty and I loved it. I miss whipping Jim's head at enemies or shooting them with the blaster. 

5. Super Mario World

What a world... so much to explore; hidden lands, bosses, secret passageways, colored blocks, two brothers eating mushrooms and going up and down pipes! This game took what had already been introduced in previous Mario's and added color and pizzazz. 

Each boss is a challenge and fun to beat, leading up to Bowser and his strange world with AMAZING thematic music. And the ghost houses that pop up always get to me! 

4. Super Castlevania IV

Dracula, here we come! Despite the simplicity of the controller, i.e. walk, jump, whip, this game was very difficult! The slightest mistake would result in plummeting down and having to start ALL OVER AGAIN.

But I found myself addicted to the simplicity, the macabre visuals, and the music. This is a great game. 

3. Donkey Kong Country

This game, like the one above, took a previous game and just set it on fire. This one has so many amazing bonus levels and creative bosses. The music, like all of these games really, is so fun to listen to as you go through.

Although it does not have some of the options that Diddy Kong's Quest does, like putting the other character on your shoulders and throwing him or her, you can still switch off and get the benefits of both Diddy and Donkey as they try to search for his lost banana hoard. The bonus rounds collecting golden miniatures of the different animals you can play is a huge plus!

2. Super Metroid

This game is an addiction of mine. I have played this game many, many times. Each time I try to shave a few minutes off and collect every possible energy tank. This is a solo-player game, where the main character basically kills all of the aliens while acquiring different tools and gadgets in a very deliberate order.

Why is this game so good?

The music and graphics are great for this time. It is difficult at times... but not so difficult that you wonder if there are glitches in the game or throw your controller at the television. Samus is cool too and maybe every once in a while I die just on purpose to get a view at what is under that suit.

1. Chrono Trigger

I think that this video game would make an incredible film interpretation. Crono is set off on a journey to save the world by going through time. As the story unfolds you discover that perhaps there is an entity making these events happen and perhaps it is not so random. As you go through time you are still in the same world, seeing how the decisions of the future and the past affect Guardia and the surrounding lands. Hell, you get to see the advent of magic in my favorite level --> Zeal.

There is strategy, compelling stories, great bosses, and the opportunity to play it over and over again, continuing with what you had gathered the previous game (New Game Plus). 

Each character in your team has their own magical set of skills or physical skills and three team members go off each time. 

           Ayla        Frog       Lucca      Crono        Marle      Robo      Magus

Five Movies I Watched for the Sex... but ended up feeling depressed or disturbed.

5) Titanic
This is one that I anticipated as an adolescent, excited at the prospect of a PG-13 flick with the hottie who was in Growing Pains. The hype for this film was huge and it was a monumental success, despite the fact that we all know how it ends and it is incredibly depressing. We all held out hope that Jack would make it in the end, but instead we end up feeling just as miserable as we did at the end of another classic movie without a happy ending, An Affair to Remember.

This movie was released on two VHS tapes and I would often only watch the first one, just to avoid the terrible drowning sequences and the inevitable freezing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite the depressing nature of this film, you can't forget the flirting that Jack and Rose started with on that ship, ultimately drawing naughty pictures and having steamy sex in the back of a car. Cue hand print!

4) Brokeback Mountain

Despite the fact that I am not a homosexual male, I have always been very intrigued by these scenarios... especially when Jake Gylenhaal and Heath Ledger (RIP) are involved. This is another one I suppose I should have known could not end well, i.e. where they live, the time period, the fact that they are both married and live double lives, etc.

The passion between the two actors is palpable, passionate, and worth sitting through the painful ending. Another movie where one should perhaps just enjoy watching Enis and Jack on Brokeback Mountain, a place away from the rest of civilization where they can be themselves... and turn off the DVD player once they both get married.

3) Secretary

I remember being in the video store and seeing the cover for Secretary and being very intrigued. If you haven't noticed through the subtly of my posts, I am a bit of a naughty soul. I thought this might be kind of a fun play on a BDSM relationship, starring another talented Gylenhaal. Who doesn't love a little power play or boss/secretary relationships in film? Sexy, right? No, totally wrong. This movie is minimally sexy and is more of an insight into the lives of two characters with mental illness that makes you feel like a creepy voyeur.

When Gylenhaal's character is in need of a masochistic fix and takes a boiling hot water kettle to her inner thigh, I nearly barf every time. But I guess in a way it is comforting in the end to know that this sadist and masochist find love and are oddly perfect for each other.

2) Nymphomaniac

Okay, so I knew a bit what I was getting into with a Lars Von Trier movie. But, when I heard that there was graphic sex in an art film, I was on board. Not going to lie, Part I is pretty disturbing, but there are several parts that are very fun to watch and titillating. My favorite might be when the main character, Joe, and her friend try to sleep with as many men as they can while on a train. Not something that I would say is a good idea, but makes for interesting cinema.

Part II is a completely different story. There is nothing sexy about Part II. I was too disturbed to be depressed for this character.

1) Shame

I chose this film for a relaxing afternoon alone at home. I had heard that there was full-frontal Fassbender in the opening scene... say no more. He is my dream. I was so excited.

The movie starts off somewhat normal, just a guy with a sex addiction. Then it gets more and more disturbing, with the introduction of his sister and the strange relationship they share to the climactic scenes in which we see just how far this character will go to get a fix. All cats look the same in the dark? Right?

Agree or disagree? Leave a comment below!

Five Random Cool Things I Want and You Should Get Me

5. This amazing bar of soap to wash away the blood after a good murder. Lady Macbeth Guest Soap

4. This chair to cuddle with my cats and watch all of my favorite movies and shows in. Cuddle Couch 
3. I am a butter addict and this seems like it would solve so many bread and butter problems.Butter Up

2. This dress to walk around town and sip coffee in, while subtly flirting with a handsome passerby. Retro Dress

1.This sweatshirt is the ultimate though... everything on this site is so good! Books & Cats

Shemp's Favorite Sci-Fi & Supernatural TV Shows w/ Best Episode

10) Black Mirror-- "The Entire History of You"

This show creeps me out so much. The episodes start out with these far-fetched ideas that don't really seem like they could happen. But just when you think it's gone too far to be relatable, they reveal aspects of the human condition that hit too close to home. I usually end up watching The Eric Andre show after to cheer myself up.

9) Merlin -- "The Tears of Uther Pendragon"

Merlin, I wish we could go back! Emrys is the cutest, young hipster Merlin to ever exist. This show is family friendly and is not for anyone who is an Arthurian purist. Lots of liberties are taken with this show, but it is just so entertaining, heartwarming, and diverting. Bingeworthy!

8) Stranger Things -- "The Upside Down"

Perhaps the coming of Season 2 will up my ranking of this show. What a pleasant surprise in the TV world, especially with GOT currently on hiatus. I totally dig what the creators and directors are doing to give the viewer a throwback to 80's styles and they have such a good balance of great characters with quirky personalities and truly scary alien encounters. The acting is incredible.

7) Buffy The Vampire Slayer -- "Passion", "Killed By Death"

This is a nostalgic show for me. I spent years of my life watching this show, laughing at Joss Whedon's quirky jokes, having the pants scared off of me, and being completely obsessed with the love lives of these characters. Mr. Pointy!

6) Star Trek: The Next Generation -- "Best of Both Worlds Parts I & II"

Another show that has been in my life forever. I love all of these characters and the worlds they go to. TNG for life! 

I wanted to pick an episode with Q... but there is nothing more terrifying than the Borg.

5) True Blood - "Let's Get Out of Here" or "Cold Ground"

Sexy, campy, and full of every kind of creature! We've got vamps, shifters, witches, fairies, brujos, you name it! Despite the supernatural cast of characters, it is usually the humans that are the most terrifying of all. The show is over-the-top, but a lot of times it ends up making fun of/calling attention to social issues in society. Best seasons are definitely 2 and 4.

4) The X Files -- "Home"

The original binge-worthy show. I caught some of these when they had originally aired, but our love was rekindled with Netflix. The tension between Scully and Mulder, the aliens... I want to believe! I could watch this show for days.

3) Game of Thrones -"Winter is Coming", "The Lion and The Rose", "Watchers on the Wall"

No words needed. This show is up there on almost everyone's list. There are so many plot points, families, foreign lands, and theories to explore and contemplate. I hate waiting for the next season and yet it gives me plenty of time to re-watch the entire series up until that point. My favorite character has been dead for a very long time now, but I still can't peel myself away from the couch on Sunday nights. #EddardForvever

2) The Twilight Zone, "Eye of the Beholder", "Hitchhiker", "Monsters Are Due on Maple Street"

I have always loved this show. Like many others on this list, it is eerie and intelligent. I look forward to the marathons on holiday weekends, it's like an extra treat on top of an already wonderful time. You can definitely see how Black Mirror was inspired by this show as it implores the same supernatural, far-fetched story lines that ultimately leave you questioning your existence and humanity.

1) Twin Peaks, "May The Giant Be With You", "Beyond Life and Death"

I am a huge David Lynch fan and cannot stop myself from making Twin Peaks number one... it is my favorite television show of all time. Much like my first post about the Top Ten Hottest Actors from the 50's to the 90's, I picked a number one that encompasses the best aspects of 2-10. This is the weirdest, scariest, funniest, and most stylish show I have ever seen. It opened up the flood gates to TV and cinema in a way I had not experienced before. The dry humor Cooper uses slays me. 

Side note: I bingewatched this entire show while living in the Midwest. I had gotten pink eye from some children I was nannying for and watched the entire first season with my right eye swollen shut with puss. Good times! Wouldn't have made it through without Audrey and Coop! <3 Audrey and Cooper forever, Annie sucks!

Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Leave a comment below!