The Avengers

I have seen The Avengers twice now. Yes, it did just come out on Friday. Why would I see it twice already, you ask? Here are some legitimate reasons:

a) It is hilarious. Tony Stark is my favorite, because he gets most of the zingers, but everyone gets a chance to be funny.

b) The special effects are kind of really awesome. I mean, the Hulk finally looks believable.

c) All the actors worked incredibly well together. They had great on-screen chemistry, and their bickering and fighting were fantastic. (Yes, I did like the infighting. It was believable, okay? And it made the point when they finally come together that much sweeter.) Basically, all the casting combined worked super, super well.

d) And, most importantly, it meant I got to look at some incredibly attractive men for two and a half hours. Look at these guys. Seriously, just look for a second.

 What this picture doesn't show is how incredibly taut this man's booty is.

 Arms. Good arms.

I seriously just love this man to bits and pieces. He has a good face, too.

The arms, people! Look at the arms!!

All together, in one movie. And Mark Ruffalo is no slouch either.

And there you have it, friends. The four main reasons to go see this movie. If you're a guy, disregard the last reason, obviously, and replace it with Scarlet Johansson. I don't much like her (as an actor), but she's kind of smoking hot. If you're a girl, look at these pictures, drool a little, and then go see the menfolk in action. Totally worth it.

Pretty straightforward, I think.

Day Forty: 10 ways to win your heart.

I'm really not a very difficult person to figure out. This list will probably emphasize that point really well.

1. Musical talents will always take the number-one spot here. Singing to me while playing the guitar/piano/other awesome musical instrument is the absolute fastest way to my heart.
2. Humor generally takes number two. If a guy makes me laugh, I am much more likely to fall for him.
3. A man who is a worthy priesthood holder who does what he is asked to do by serving and magnifying his calling is very attractive.
4. Seeing a guy play with kids melts my heart, no doubt about it.
5. A guy who forces himself through my walls is a winner. My walls aren't particularly difficult to tear down, but if a guy makes the effort, it says a whole lot about him.
6. If a guy notices that something is wrong (whether I'm just having a bad day or I really need someone's help) without being nudged, I will take notice. Someone who goes out of his way to make sure I'm okay is someone I want to spend time with.
7. My family has a very particular sense of humor, and if he can hold his own with them, it means he's a good one.
8. I love good, deep conversation. When I have a conversation with a guy that is about more than sports or movies, and that flows well without awkwardness, I'm in seventh heaven.
9. I am a little bit of a sucker for guys who are kind of nerdy. Not scary nerdy—just a little nerdy. I like seeing guys with quirks, who like things that aren't completely mainstream or that are a little dorky. It's fun.
10. I need a man who is completely trustworthy. Any man who wins my trust (or has it inherently) is a good man.

The Brunette Kind (usually)

Day Twenty-Five: What kind of person attracts you?

This could be asking what kind of people in general attract me, even just in friendships, but I'm going to talk about guys in particular. Because that's usually more fun to talk about. I guess I'll start with physical attributes. The guys that usually catch my attention first are brunettes. There's something about the tall, dark, and handsome type that is really attractive. That's not to say that I don't find blonds or redheads attractive at all—those are just usually not the guys who make me look twice.

I like broad shoulders, strong arms, and thick hands. I find myself very drawn to a guy's arms and hands, as weird as that might be. Well, it's not really weird for me, I guess. I have this thing for masculinity (as is evidenced by my giant crushes on David Boreanaz and Jack Bauer [the character, not Kiefer Sutherland—there's a big difference]), so I really like it when a guy has very masculine features. Skinny arms and slender hands really don't do it for me. 

In the vein of masculinity, I think it's really attractive when a guy is protective of the women in his life. Not crazy controlling protective—just a healthy dose of protectiveness. My brothers are very protective of me on occasion, and I think it's a nice show of their love for me. I like the idea of that in my significant other as well. 

A not-so-physical attribute that is really attractive is a sense of humor. If a guy doesn't understand the humor in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, that's a pretty good indication that we won't understand each other very well. I have a certain kind of snarky, sarcastic, dry humor that can be hard to catch sometimes. If a guy doesn't understand when I make a sarcastic remark, that's going to be a problem. And I'm a sucker for guys who make me laugh. 

I am also incredibly attracted to guys with musical talent. If a guy can serenade me while playing the guitar or the piano, I will melt at his feet. It's kind of ridiculous just how attractive it is.

I feel like what I've written so far makes me sound shallow, but I promise I'm not. Honestly, personality and a man's good nature will win me over even if I don't necessarily think he's attractive at first glance. I can't tell you how many times I've started crushing on a guy only after knowing him for a while because I discovered things that weren't apparent at first glance. If I can hold a really good, meaningful, one-on-one conversation with a guy, that will often be the start of a little crush. I definitely like discovering that I am compatible with someone and that we get along on a personal level. No amount of good looks or musical talent can gloss over a guy I'm not compatible with.

Hottie Pottie Part Deux

Another hottie pottie. Because I can. And because I really like looking at attractive men.

Nobody kills zombies better than Andrew Lincoln.  

Colin Firth is totally my favorite British man. 

No, this is not Johnny Depp. This is John Paul White of the Civil Wars. This man is so attractive when he sings. Oh my gosh.

Jon Hamm. He may be an adulterer in Mad Men, but he's a dang attractive adulterer.

I am basically in love with Kyle Chandler because he's amazing. 

Ryan Gosling. Hey look, he's a blonde! A very, very attractive blonde.

Tom Hardy. There's just something about him.

Hottie Pottie

Cora did this first in homage to a girls' bathroom she cleaned during the school year. So I'm stealing the idea and doing my own hottie pottie. These are the few I could think of right now. I'm sure another post will be forthcoming once I think of all the people I forgot about this time around.

I still get sad when I think about Heath Ledger. He was such an amazing actor.

tWitch! Love him.

Jake Gyllenhaal

Johnny Depp is a given

Joseph Gordon-Leavitt

Matthew Fox

Robert Downey, Jr.

Every single one of these men is a brunette. That is apparently just the way I roll.

Give up the world, give up your life, cuz you cannot fight the television!

I have to stop getting addicted to TV shows! Especially when they're old shows that are already completed so I can spend as much time as I want watching episode after episode. After episode.

The current culprit is Alias. I never watched it when it aired, and when I started working at KLAS, I started hearing about it. Two years later, Karly, Angie, and Jenifer have successfully convinced me to start watching it, which was made easier when Karly handed me all five seasons. (Yes, five. Yes, that is definitely a bad thing.)

I started watching mostly out of curiosity, and I wasn't super sucked in. I watched a couple of episodes here and there, and it was entertaining enough that I kept watching, but I wasn't dying to know what happened next. Until Will Tippin got more involved, and then I was hooked, because Will was pretty much my favorite character. Because he's a stud, and Bradley Cooper is hot. (Nerdy hot, no less. How they managed that is beyond me.)

And then I finished season one and moved on to season two, and I was a goner. Irina Derevko working with the CIA? Double Francie? Will knows all about Sydney? Sark everywhere? Sloane being more manipulative than ever? Vaughn and Sydney (finally)? And then, of course, there was the whole Hong Kong ending and that damn ring on Vaughn's finger. (Don't even get me started on Lauren. Ugh. And no, that paragraph isn't supposed to make sense. Unless you've seen Alias. Then you'll completely understand.) Season two basically did it for me, and now I'm stuck.

Here's yet one other reason I keep watching:

*drool*

To quote Karly, Michael Vartan could be my handler any day.

And is it weird that I kind of really like Sark? I know he's a terrible awful person (especially with that whole Lauren fling, yuck), but he's kind of endearing. As much as I like him, I'm waiting to see when he'll finally get shot in the face. I don't know how he's avoided it so far.

And then there's always the comedic relief. Weiss is freaking awesome. "This is why people at the CIA and NSC don't get married. You don't poop where you sleep." I love him.

Remember that time I wondered how long I could last without an obsession? Well, now I know. It's about a month.

Opportunities like this make life amazing.

I love it when I get the chance to do something amazing. Saturday was one of those chances. Thanks to Trina and Jenifer, I got a ticket to see Markus Zusak speak at the Provo Library. In case you don't know who Markus Zusak is, he wrote this little book:

And if you still don't know who Markus Zusak is, read this book ASAP and find out.

Listening to Markus speak was amazing. I absolutely loved it. He was funny and personable and a great speaker, and his fabulous Australian accent only made it better. I didn't realize just how attractive he is. I mean, I thought he was pretty cute in his author photo, but it doesn't do the man justice. Real life is just so much better. Though I am sad I forgot my camera, so I couldn't take any of my own pictures. This one will have to do:

That face + Aussie accent = swooning Lindy.

When I went to the reading/signing, I didn't have a copy of The Book Thief. It is one of my favorite books of all time, so naturally I own a copy, but I lent it to Faith so she could enjoy the greatness of it. I had a copy of I Am the Messenger (also a fantastic book), and I figured that would be good enough. But then Markus started talking about The Book Thief  and how much writing it meant to him. He read a few pages from it and teared up. That was when I knew I had to get it signed—I just had to. So I bought another copy. And let me tell you, it was completely worth that $20.

Markus spoke for about an hour, and then they called us by groups to go into another room and get our books signed. Jenifer and I were in signing group I. It took four and a half hours for signing group I to make it into the same room with Markus Zusak. Yes, you read that right. Four and a half hours. Markus spent time with everyone. By the time we made it to his table, he was massaging his hand between each book. I can't imagine how much his hand must have hurt after four straight hours of signing books, but he never complained. There was an untouched piece of pizza next to him that he wouldn't eat because he didn't want to get people's books greasy.

Markus was incredibly nice, personable, and humble, and he spoke to everyone who came through. I might have sounded a bit like a goobery fan, but I had the chance, so I had to tell him just how much I loved The Book Thief. And I don't care if I gushed too much. He lives in Sydney, for Pete's sake. I'm never going to see him again, so I had to take the chance when I had it.

A four-and-a-half-hour wait was more than worth it for what I got:

To sum up, Saturday night was fabulous. I almost couldn't make it for wholly unimportant reasons, but I am so incredibly grateful that everything worked out and that I was able to go. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I can't get over how lucky I was that I could be there. Markus Zusak came all the way from Sydney, Australia, to Provo, Utah, and I got to experience it.

You Got Jimmered

Day 16: Your celebrity crush.

Wow, this day of the challenge couldn't have had better timing. On the day after Jimmer Fredette's ridiculous 43-point game that propelled BYU to a 71–58 win over then undefeated SDSU and launched The Jimmer to celebrity status, my current celebrity crush is a no-brainer.

I am obsessed with Jimmer Fredette. I just am. Though I have to say that I have had my eyes on him all season long, not just since he's been catapulted into the national spotlight. 

Jimmer is unreal. I am one of the lucky ones who can say that I was there to witness the ridiculousness that was the BYU vs. SDSU game last night. The crowd was insane. Words can't adequately describe the electricity of the atmosphere in the Marriott Center. I screamed myself hoarse, jumped up and down, and chanted "You got Jimmered" with 22,700 fellow fans. I have never experienced anything like it.

I can't say how jealous I am of Jimmer's girlfriend. That is one lucky girl. Not only is Jimmer a phenomenal basketball player, he is also a seemingly humble, likable guy. And he's super cute to boot. Then, if he didn't already have enough going for him, he talked about how he has a testimony of the Gospel and how much he loves the Church on national TV today. Now all I need is to find out that he can sing or play the guitar and I'd be a goner.

I'm gonna need a hacksaw.

Day 14: A TV show you're currently addicted to.

I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I completely missed out on the 24 craze back when it was still on TV. Though, in a way, I'm glad I didn't discover it until I randomly decided to add the series to my Netflix instant queue. I can now watch it whenever I want to watch it, and I don't have to wait a week between episodes (though this can also be considered a bad thing, such as when I watch six episodes in a row, and when I consider that I'm only on season two and I have six more seasons to go).

24 pretty much hijacked my life last week. I watched seventeen episodes in about six days. If I hadn't been so busy yesterday, I probably would have watched a few more. I mean, I have to finish season two this week, right?

Basically, Jack Bauer is ridiculously badass, which makes him ridiculously sexy. It's interesting—I don't think Kiefer Sutherland is a particularly attractive man (I generally prefer brunettes), but as Jack Bauer, the man is HOT. I think it has something to do with the way he just takes over a situation and does what he has to to fix things—it's so manly. (I have a thing for super masculine men. I couldn't go for a femmy guy—it's so not attractive.)

I just like watching Jack Bauer kick some major ass, that's all.

Concert Number Six

On Wednesday, Faith, Cora, and I drove up to Salt Lake to see Sherwood. Yes, again. I will see them every time they're in northern Utah because they're just that awesome.

The first thing we noticed when the band got up to set up was that they were one member short: Dave was missing! I was so sad. It was still a pretty awesome show, but it just wasn't the same without the three-part harmonies and the extra guitar. I really missed Dave. Luckily, both Nate and Mikey informed us after the show that Dave just couldn't make this tour—he hasn't left the band or anything. Hopefully he'll be bouncing around the stage next time I see them.

As much as I love Sherwood, this wasn't their best show. Though that was partially because the Avalon kind of sucks. They were having sound issues all night, which was annoying. Plus, there really wasn't any dance area, so there were a bunch of people jammed up in the three feet of open space between the stage and the first bench. It was annoying.

Mikey was hilarious, though. He usually runs all over the stage, jumps around, and throws the tambourine, but he was having some trouble. He knocked over some amps, dropped the tambourine multiple times (once it ended up in the audience), and he stood on his keyboard and almost knocked the whole stand over. It was great fun.

The best part of the night, though, was when Nate announced that they were going to sing "Make It Through." He then asked, "Who knows this song well enough to come up and sing it with us?" Obviously, my hand shot in the air ASAP. Nate saw me and pointed right at me, so I got to go on stage and sing backup for one of my favorite bands. It was pretty awesome just to be on stage with them. I highly enjoyed myself. It made me wish I could sing with a band all the time. Being in front of an audience is so much fun, I love it.

All in all, it was a great night. We got to sit and chat with Mikey and Nate afterward, which is always fun. I think I've been to enough concerts now that they're starting to recognize me, which is pretty cool. And they announced that they're making a new album, which is great. That means they'll probably take a break from touring for a while to write and record it, but once they're touring to promote the new album, you better believe I'll be buying tickets.

This is why I can't find new TV shows

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up for a free month trial of Netflix so I could try out the instant streaming on my blu-ray player, which probably wasn't the wisest decision. Now that I have experienced the wonders of instant streaming, I'm not going to be able to say goodbye to it. I'm stuck paying that monthly fee now. Crap.

The other problem with instant streaming is that I have become completely addicted to another TV show. I guess it's not a terrible thing, since my last major obsession ended last year. There is no more "Lost" to fill my TV needs. But much to my joy, the first four seasons of "Bones" were on instant play on Netflix! I had watched a few episodes and I liked the show, but I hadn't allowed myself to get addicted. Until now.

Cora and I routinely watch at least two episodes a night. Our current record is seven episodes in a day. (Which, by the way, included going to church, taking naps, going to ward prayer, and playing games with a group of friends. That, my friends, is pretty impressive.) The show is ridiculously addicting. It's got a great mix of drama and comedy. They manage to crack jokes while looking at a mangled skeleton. I'm not sure how the writers pull it off, but they definitely succeed.

And besides the fact that the show is really funny (and also kind of creepy at times...pathological killers freak me out), Seeley Booth is friggin' hot. I don't care if this makes me sound like a teenager. I mean, look at him:

That's all the evidence needed. Plus, his character is fantastically attractive. And wears good jeans. Booth has fast become my favorite male TV character.

Basically, I'm completely addicted. I'm super excited for the new season to start next week. All I have to say is that if Booth and Bones don't get together in the first freaking episode, I'm going to be angry. They've dragged it out long enough. In the meantime, though, I'll satisfy my cravings by continuing to make my way through the first five seasons. Netflix instant streaming is pretty much the best/worst thing ever.

Concerts

I have a lot to catch up on. My blogging skills have definitely been lacking lately. This is my attempt to catch up on at least a couple of the cool things I have done in the past month.

At the end of March, I went to see Sherwood at the Velour. Cora and I started the night by meeting Matt, Mandy, and Ethan at J Dawgs in Provo. Matt had heard that the guys in Sherwood really like J Dawgs and go there every time they play in Provo, so we thought we'd see if we could run into them. We did. The whole band was there with everybody else that they travel with. My nephew Ethan was running around like a crazy person, and everyone thought he was pretty cute. Which he is.

We headed to the venue for the show, and there were three bands before Sherwood. Three! It was crazy. Sherwood didn't come on until after 10:00. But it was so worth it! It was hands down the best Sherwood concert (heck, the best concert period) I've ever been to. It was a. maze. ing. Really and truly amazing. The crowd was so into the show, but they weren't being crazy and stupid. Everyone was just having fun, and it was great.

I didn't take a ton of pictures since it was concert number five for me.

There were so many good things about this show! I'll try not to gush since I still have another concert to talk about in this post, but there was one point where they broke into amazing a capella three-part harmony. They didn't even play a starting note. It was crazy cool. They also played a couple of songs that I have never heard live, which is always awesome after going to so many shows. Their last song of the night (well, before the encore) was "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus. Dave (the one in the first picture) sang lead and crowd surfed. It was probably the funniest thing ever, though I still hate that song.

After the show, we talked to all of the band members and I got a t-shirt signed. I also got a drumstick from Joe, which was awesome. I've wanted one since the first show I went to. It still makes me happy to see it sitting on my bookshelf.

This past Tuesday, Faith and I went to see OK Go in Salt Lake. We were both a little nervous because it was at a 21 and over venue, and neither of us had been to one before, but everything was fine. Though there was a guy right behind us who was completely smashed. It was kind of funny.

We managed to get so close to the stage. We could have reached out and touched the lead guitarist. It was awesome. I have to get that close at the next Sherwood show. I just have to. 

It took forever for OK Go to come onstage, and the opening two bands   . . . well . . . sucked. Kind of a lot. And they were really loud, so that wasn't fun. Plus, there was this middle-aged man with this really impressive beer belly who was staking out a close place with his wife, and all through the opening acts, he kept looking at me and Faith. Creepy. I get the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Then OK Go came on, and it was pretty dang awesome. (Warning: picture overload ahead.)

The show was complete with a confetti cannon, light-up jackets, lasers, and light-up instruments. It was pretty ridiculous. If they hadn't actually been really good musicians (they sound just as good live as they do recorded), the gimmicks would have really bugged me, but instead, they were just fun. Damian, the lead singer, actually jumped down into the audience a couple of times. It was awesome.

At the end of the absolutely ridiculous four-song encore, the drummer came to the front of the stage and chucked his drum sticks out at the audience. I thought we would be too close to catch one, but one soared right over my head, and I caught it. But as I was bringing it in, this super awesome (feel the sarcasm) girl behind me grabbed the handle with both hands and wrenched it away from me. I was so mad, but I think I got something even better than a drumstick.

After the show, Faith and I bought posters and stuck around to see if the band would come out. They never did, so after a few minutes, we decided to go out to my car, which was parked behind the venue. Little did we know that the tour van was there too. Damian was outside talking to a couple of people, so we went over there and chatted for a second. Tim, the bassist, came out too, so we got their autographs. The other members of the band had disappeared somewhere, apparently, but at least I got a couple of autographs. It was pretty sweet. I wanted to take pictures, but a little bit after we got out there, a bunch of people came and completely monopolized the guys' attention, and it was really late, so Faith and I decided to take off.

All in all, it was a really good show. I had tons of fun, though there were a couple of things that bugged me. The lead singer loved the F-bomb. It was only in maybe two songs, but he said it over and over in chatting with the audience. And then he decided to crack religion/polygamy jokes. Because we've never heard those before. It just got a little old. I was really glad their actual music was awesome, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have had any fun at all.

So to sum up, even though OK Go had more money to do more gimmicky things, I still liked Sherwood better. They're not foul mouthed (at least not on stage, and not in person as far as I can tell), they don't make fun of Utah's religion, and their music has no swearing in it at all. Plus, the atmosphere at the two venues was completely different. I much prefer the all-ages venues to the 21-and-over venues.

Someone To Perform With

"So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin,
you're waiting for someone to perform with.
And don't you know that it's just you, hey Jude, you'll do,
the movement you need is on your shoulder."
     - Hey Jude, the Beatles

Today at work, we were having a music break, which is when everyone in the data team office picks a song and IMs it to Karly so she can play it on her nice speakers. (And no, I didn't choose "Hey Jude" . . . I chose "This Too Shall Pass"—see post below.) Karly chose a cool song, and when we asked her who it was by, she said it was her fiancé, which is so cool.

All that I could think of at that point was how much I want to marry someone who is musically inclined. I'm not saying that if a guy isn't musically talented, I'm going to write him off. But there's really nothing more attractive than a guy who can play an instrument and sing. Chances are that even if I don't think a guy is really attractive to begin with, as soon as he picks up a guitar or sits down at a piano and busts out some good vocals, I'm going to be much more interested. That's just the way it is.

Besides the attraction factor, performing is something that I love to do. I love singing in sacrament meeting or in talent shows or just singing at the top of my lungs in my car. Music is incredibly important to me, and I want to be able to really share that with my future husband. I look at my parents, who perform together all the time, and I want that.

Sure, this may sound picky. But I'm as single as I can get right now, so I'm allowed to fantasize about what I want when I'm finally no longer single, right?

Heck to the Yes

So, I recently found out that a band that I quite enjoy just might be heading back Utah way next month.

 

This time, I'm totally getting my QU shirt signed. Concert #5 here I come!