Avidmom's 2014 Journal of Books, Chocolate, Music and Movie Magic! Part II

*Reserved for this year's "reading quilt"



1. Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath by Steven Goldman
2. I Am A Pole (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
3. Billy Joel: The Life and Times of An Angry Young Man by Hank Bordowitz
4. The True History of Chocolate by Sophie Coe
5. Emotional Vampires: Dealing With People Who Drain You Dry by Albert Bernstein
6. Love Is The Cure: On Life, Loss and The End of Aids by Elton John
7. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith
8. An Easy Burden by Andrew Young
9. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
10. Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer
11. Serpent in the Thorns by Jeri Westerson
12. The Power of Right Believing by Joseph Prince
13. Travels with Charley and Later Novels, 1947-1962 by John Steinbeck (Travels with Charley)
14. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
15. Burning Bright by John Steinbeck
16. Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women by Andrew M. Greeley
17. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
18. Knee Deep in Paradise by Brett Butler
19. A Natural Woman by Carole King
20. The Minicolony Concept: A Different Approach to Feral Cat Control by Dan Winters
21. Dave Barry's Greatest Hits by Dave Barry
22. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
23. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
24. The Demon's Parchment by Jeri Westerson
*************************************************************************
Currently Reading:

Housekeeping Stuff:
Last Year's Reading List and Reviews
This Year's Reading Goals
Ever Growing Wish List
Books Acquired 2014 (so far)

2014 REVIEWS:
Two Parties, One Tux and A Very Short Film About the Grapes of Wrath
The Robe (movie review)
I Am A Pole (And So Can You!)
Cover Girl (movie review)
Arsenic and Old Lace (movie review)
The Angel Levine (movie review)
Billy Joel: The Life and Times of An Angry Young Man
The True History of Chocolate
Emotional Vampires
Love Is The Cure: On Life, Loss, and the End of AIDS
The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon
Charlie Barlett (movie review)
Capote (movie review)
The Butler (movie review)
Anatomy of a Murder & Anchors Aweigh (movie reviews)
The Brave Little Toaster (movie)
The Slender Thread (movie)
Elizabethtown (movie)
Adam's Rib & Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (movies)
An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America
The Maltese Falcon & Breakfast At Tiffany's (movies)
Dallas Buyers Club (movie)
The Pearl
The Book Thief (book vs. movie)
Despicable Me 2 & Batman and Mr. Freeze: Subzero
Beyond Narnia (movie)
American Hustle and Frozen (movies)

23 movies/9 books.
Uh-oh!

NEW TESTAMENT READING


Currently reading the Gospel of Luke

Goal #2: Bible Reading (New Testament)
Matthew ✔
Mark ✔
Luke
John ✔
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation

Battlefield of the Mind: Winning the Battle in Your Mind by Joyce Meyer

This book has been on my bookshelf for a long, long time. Last week so many stressful things happened around here all at once that it left me feeling so anxious, depressed, and stressed out I thought I would just pass out! Seriously. It was so stressful it was almost comical (almost!). So, I wanted to find something that would calm me down and make me feel better. This did. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a "feel good" book; it's a very practical and Biblical guide on adjusting one's attitude and Meyer's puts the responsibility on the reader.

One of the things that affects us (and everybody around us) is our attitude and the words we say. I don't think it's any kind of heavy revelation that our thoughts affect our mood and attitude. If you want to know if you, or anybody else, is a positive or negative person, just listen to the stuff that comes out of your - or their - mouth! Quite honestly, a lot of this book is common sense. The only thing different between this book and other self-help books is that Meyer's common sense approach is Biblically based. She uses verses from both the Old and New Testaments to make her point. She deals with every kind of negative attitude you can think of: anxious, depressed, whiny, prideful, etc. She points out why these negative attitudes keep us in a negative place in our lives and gives us the Biblical antidote on how to get over them. For me, the most interesting part of the book was the second half when she writes on the "10 Wilderness Mentalities", the attitudes that caused the Israelites to wander in the desert for 40 years.

Maybe if this had been my first time reading this book I would be more enthusiastic about it. So, I don't find myself jumping up and down over it - probably because there's nothing I read here that was "new." The first time through, years ago, was a different story. I can tell because I underlined quite a few passages. This time around, I was just looking for an attitude adjustment and an easy, peaceful read. This did the trick.

I think reading verses like these certainly helped:

Casting the whole of your care {all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all} on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 (Amplified Bible)

Nice review of Battlefield of the Mind, avidmom!

Ditto what Darryl said, and glad it was helpful for you.

>6 kidzdoc: & >7 rebeccanyc: Thanks for stopping by. I had absolutely no plans to re-read that particular book, but I kept pulling it off the shelf and "skimming" it while I had my morning coffee. Finally, I just gave up and read it again! Glad I did.

Grand Budapest Hotel trailer

It took a while, but this movie finally showed up at our local theatre! We (meaning me and my two boys) went to see it after lunch. The crowd was very small; there were six of us in the audience total! Sometimes a small crowd at the theatre is a plus, sometimes a minus. I think in this case, it was a bit of a minus as I couldn't really read the audience's reaction, since, mainly, there wasn't one! HA!

The movie is a good one. Either you like Wes Anderson movies or you don't, I suppose. He is famous for his "quirky" style and in this one he brings the quirk on in spades. I found myself laughing at certain spots in the movie and really not knowing why .... it just struck me as absurd and hysterically funny. There are a few and very brief "gross" moments in the movie, which turn out to be not gross at all, because even the gross stuff is tastefully done.

The plot is, actually, rather simple. The very dedicated and classy concierge at the Grand Budapest Hotel has been framed for the murder of one of his wealthy, um, "friends" ("I sleep with all my friends.") by her unscrupulous and greedy family. And then the plot goes from there. Silliness and intrigue and absurdness follow with some romance and a little history thrown in for good measure. Everyone turns in wonderful performances and the scenery (also a bit quirky) is gorgeous. I got the impression that this was a labor of love for everyone involved.

It was a lot of fun. I'm glad we spent the $$ to see it on the big screen too.

I almost never spend the $$$ on the big screen anymore, but this one sounds like it might be worth it.

>9 avidmom: That is one I want to see. :)

Jeri Westerson is a local author. She lives close enough that I could probably get in my car and we could be having a nice drink of her husband's homemade mead together within the hour. It might be a bit awkward since she doesn't know me at all. But we have met. When her first book, Veil of Lies was published a few years ago, my RL library-based book club naturally picked it as our read for that month but we also were honored that she came and gave us one of her medieval presentations. I had wanted to bring my son with me to see her since he had always talked about writing his own book one day. He was in junior high at the time. Unfortunately, by the time the big day came, the poor kid had gotten sick, missed a little over a week of school and neither of us thought it would be a good idea for him to miss any more. So I went solo. When I told Ms. Westerson my kid's tale of woe, she autographed a copy for absent kidlet and threw in some extra goodies for him. Nice lady. Her medieval presentation was pretty cool too (she waves a lot of weapons around - quite a few of them big and sharp).

That was quite a few years ago. It's taken some time to get around to Book #2 of the "Crispin Guest" series. I was a little worried that I'd pick up this book and not like it; that I'd have to come here and say something innocuous like "Oh, well, I liked the font and the margins were pretty." Because I did like the first book, Veil of Lies, enough; but I didn't love it. (I think the six years it took me to pick up the second in the series says enough.)

That was then; this is now, because I sincerely loved this book. It was so much fun!

***************************************************************************************

Crispin looked up, taken aback. "It would not be the honorable thing to do."
Gilbert snorted. "Your honor. It hasn't gotten you very far."
"If I have not that, then what is left to me?"

Serpent in the Thorns: a Crispin Guest medieval noir by Jeri Westerson

Seven years ago (1377) Sir Crispin Guest was duped into being a part of a treasonous Plot against a very young King Richard. The other knights involved in the Plot were executed. Fortunately, for Crispin, his foster father, the duke of Lancaster, John of Gaunt, pleaded for his life. Instead of death, Sir Crispin was tortured then stripped of his knighthood, his lands, his title and banished from Court. These days he is not feeling so fortunate. Eeking out a living as "the Tracker" (a private detective) in his tiny room which he shares with his young assistant Jack has taken its toll. He's longing for the luxuries and comforts he once had.

In this installment, Crispin is confronted with a dim-witted girl who claims to have killed the French courier in her room, although it's evidently impossible that she could have. For one thing, the man has been dispatched with an arrow and the girl doesn't own nor have access to such a weapon. When Crispin goes to investigate matters further, he finds a much venerated religious relic, the Crown of Thorns, with the courier, that the King of France is sending to the King of England temporarily, a peace offering between the two kingdoms. Crispin also uncovers an assassination plot against the King. Having kept the Crown of Thorns for safekeeping - and leverage - and knowing of the plot, Crispin gambles that if he can foil the plot and return the Crown, he may just garner the favor of the King and regain his reputation and his fortune.

Oh, yes, it sounds so easy doesn't it? Just save the King, return the Crown of Thorns and all will be well. Right? No. Things are a lot more complicated than that and Crispin finds himself in some pretty tight fixes, fixes that make him look less like the hero and more like the villain.

There are enough twists and turns here to make this a page turner; it helps that the end of every chapter is a cliff hanger. This is one of those "what's going to happen next?" stories. It's full of adventure, some of it comical, a very interesting cast of characters, and a subtle hint of the supernatural. There's history to be learned here too as we follow Crispin from the gritty streets of poor London to Court to Westminster Abbey to Newgate Prison and back again. Westerson's writing may be simplistic compared to other writers, but she does a wonderful job of creating a vivid atmosphere and picture of medieval London.

This one is great entertainment, escape and pure fun. Crispin is such a likeable character that not only did I find myself wanting answers to all the mysterious questions, but I was rooting for Crispin (and Jack) the whole way through.

>12 avidmom: I loved the story of your personal experience with the author, and enjoyed your review. :)

>12 avidmom:, >13 NanaCC: I agree with Colleen!

Thanks Colleen and Rebecca! I checked out book #3 from the library yesterday. :)

from "Doctor Who and the T.A.R.D.I.S." FB page ....

I keep hearing great things about Budapest Hotel, and also that it is one to see on the big screen because of the beautiful scenery. Enjoyed catching up.

Sure - the doctor can say that, he doesn't have to worry about time.

I've only heard good things about The Grand Budapest Hotel - maybe it's time I see a non-kids movie.

I hope Waterson's book does well, even if I don't think it's a book for me. It sounds entertaining and I enjoyed your review.

>18 dchaikin: Thanks Dan!

There are definite advantages to being the Good Doctor! I definitely recommend The Grand Budapest Hotel; the Westerson books I recommend as well but I don't think they'd be everybody's cuppa. Books in her Crispin Guest series have been nominated for quite a few awards, the Macavity Award and the Agatha among them, which I gather are pretty prestigious awards for mystery writers.

"The child is in me still .... and sometimes not so still."


The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember by Fred Rogers

The other day I was hanging out at the religious/philosophy section of the library looking for nothing in particular when I found this. It's a tiny compilation of Mr. Roger's quotes. Neat little book to flip through when you have a few minutes. For those of us who grew up watching "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood," this book is a little treasure. It took me maybe 15 minutes or so to read it.

Grandparents are both our past and our future. In some ways they are what has gone before, and in others they are what we will become."

This quote made me pause a bit because after all these years I realize the things I love to do: baking, gardening, reading, embroidering, were all things either my grandparents taught me how to do or I watched them doing. Every time I bake something, I'm always hoping and praying that it'll come out "as good as Grandma's would have!"

Some more samples:

One of my wise teachers, Dr. William F. Orr, told me "There is only one thing evil cannot stand and that is forgiveness."

There's something unique about being a member of a family that really needs you in order to function well. One of the deepest longings a person can have is to feel needed and essential.

It came to me ever so slowly that the best way to know the truth was to begin trusting what my inner truth was ... and trying to share it - not right away - only after I had worked hard at trying to understand it.

... Just as it takes time for children to understand what real love is, it takes time for parents to understand that being always patient, quiet, even-tempered, and respectful isn't necessarily what "good" parents are. In fact, parents help children by expressing a wide range of feelings - including appropriate anger. All children need to see that the adults in their lives can feel anger and not hurt themselves or anyone else when they feel that way."

1999 acceptance speech into the Television Hall of Fame

I stumbled upon this one quite by accident. I can't figure out if it was good in a bad way, or bad in a good way. Simply put, I couldn't quit watching it. I had to know how it ended.

What's a mother to do when her most sweet and precious little girl turns out to be a murderer? Rhoda has everything a little girl could want: the adoration of her mother and father and their acquaintances. Materially the family lacks for nothing. So what's the problem? The title gives that away. The first part of the movie was spent wishing Rhoda's mother would just wake up and get the hint that her little girl is a murderer, the second half is spent wondering what a devastated and conflicted mother is going to do.

I watched most of the movie yesterday, and DVR'd it so I could watch the rest today. My son just happened to be in the living room with me as I watched the rest. He had no intention of watching it and my only reason for watching the rest was so I could delete it. It captured my son's interest. The ending is superb. Instead of deleting it, we both agreed it needed to be saved on our DVR.

I would classify this as melodramatic/psychological thriller/horror. It felt almost, but not quite, like a Hitchcock movie.

Patty McCormack, who plays the little pig-tailed, sweet-faced murderess, is quite something! It was no surprise to learn her performance (at 8-years-old!) garnered her both an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination.

Oscar and Golden Globe Nominations 1957

Trailer

Avid well THAT's an oldie! I saw that when I was about 10 or 11 and still remember it! Patty McCormack was amazing and horrifying. Your review makes me want to see it again. I found it so creepy. Funny that it is one I have never forgotten - you could just FEEL the creepiness in your body!

>22 mkboylan: Yes! LOL! C-R-E-E-P-Y. I see you can actually buy a blu-ray copy.

I wonder if I would like Serpent in Thorns but I did like your review.

>24 baswood: Thanks! The books in the "Crispin Guest" series are notoriously short. Serpent in the Thorns weighs in at a mere 269 pages. They are not books I would pick to read normally (mysteries are not my cuppa, and I have little interest in medieval history); but that's what I loved about my RL book club - it forced me to read stuff I wouldn't have bothered with otherwise. Sometimes, like in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. :)

This movie was mentioned in the Gene Kelly biography I read a few years ago. Betsy Blair, Kelly's first wife, plays Clara, Marty's love interest in the film. I DVR'd it a while ago and finally got around to watching it yesterday.

"Marty" is a sweet little romantic movie. Good-hearted Marty is a 34-year-old butcher living at home with his mother. He would like to get married but, at 34, he's pretty much given up on the idea. One night he meets a shy, sweet school teacher. Instead of the people around him being happy about the new girl, they - especially Mama! - don't seem to like her for some reason. Will conflicted Marty go after what he wants? Or will he let his mother and friends make his decision for him?

The strength of this movie is Ernest Borgnine's incredible portrayal of Marty and the slow and intimate way we get to see Marty and Clara meet and fall in love one night. They are both socially awkward and a little desperate - which of course makes them more awkward and desperate. They're both such good-hearted, sweet, likeable characters that you just want to see things work out for them. You're just crossing your fingers hoping neither one of them blows it! The movie is funny too. Marty's stereotypical Italian mother and aunt provide most of the comedy, but Marty's little band of friends also have their moments. (My only problem with this movie was the immaturity level of Marty's friends. I kept thinking they acted more like teenage boys than men in their 30s.)

I would describe Marty as a "romantic dramedy." If I could review it in one word, it would be "Awwwww......"

Marty won Best Picture in 1956, and earned Ernest Borgnine five different "Best Actor" awards, including the Oscar:

Marty Awards
Marty Movie Trailer with Bert Lancaster

I wonder whether I saw that in a theater when it came out. Was there a scene wherein some idle men are gathered on a street corner, and one of them asks something like, "Whataya wanna do, Marty?"

Robert

>27 Mr.Durick: Don't remember a street corner scene, but that whole "Whaddaya wanna do?" "I don't know, what do you wanna do?" bit is a running gag through the whole movie.

Okay. I wonder why I saw such a movie when I was that young, and I wonder why that is pretty much all I remember about it.

Thanks,

Robert

"God is not mad at you, He is mad about you."


The Power of Right Believing: 7 Keys to Freedom from Fear, Guilt and Addiction

I've read all three of Prince's books, and this one is my favorite by far. Prince is the antithesis to all the right-wing, legalistic Christian messages heard from the pulpit (and elsewhere). When he penned Destined to Reign he very tactfully and briefly in a few paragraphs at one point in the book, took to task all the right-wing Christian voices who basically told us Americans than Sept. 11, 2001 was God's wrath coming upon us. Prince wholeheartedly disagreed. I like this guy! He thumbs his nose (nicely and sincerely) at all the legalists out there. Religious legalism is, in Prince's opinion, "cruel." (I get the feeling he's not very popular in certain circles.) Does that mean we Christians don't live by rules, or just do whatever we want. Of course not. But how do we live "right?" By believing right. Well, what does that mean?

Simply put, if we Christians would actually sincerely believe in this Gospel message, and see ourselves the way God sees us, we wouldn't struggle with most of the things we struggle with (and be a lot more pleasant to be around, thank you). Those inward beliefs would naturally lead to different thoughts and different and better outward actions. Prince takes some of the most familiar stories from the New Testament ( the woman caught in adultery, the Prodigal son, and the woman at the well) and even some stories from the Old Testament, and gives us his fresh perspective on them. He never takes away or adds to the stories; he simply points out some things maybe we just never stopped to think about. Some of it is rather simple. Take for instance the woman caught in adultery who they drug in front of Jesus in order to trap him (John 8:1-11). After all her accusers had left, Jesus said: “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (NIV) Which came first? It was the "no condemnation" that came first. "He made sure that she walked away not feeling the condemnation and shame. ... When God says something comes first, it must come first.... God says 'no condemnation' comes first, and then you can "go and sin no more." Christian religion has it in reverse. We say, 'Go and sin no more first, then we won't condemn you.'" What we need to understand is that when there is no condemnation, people are empowered to live victorious lives ..... " Sometimes his take on these stories are a little mind-blowing - not in a "oh that's ridiculous" way, but in a, "Wow. Really?!?!? I'll have to look deeper into that one" kind of way.

What I like about Prince's teaching, as compared to other popular Christian teachers out there, is that he is interested in the same stuff I am when it comes to reading the Bible. What does the original Greek or Hebrew say? And how does this relate to our Jewish roots in the Old Testament? His teachings are always a pretty good mix of simple with the profound. And always, always, always, all roads go back to Jesus and grace:

"God is a God of forgiveness. He knows you perfectly and still loves you perfectly. We are slaves to the idea that if someone sees our flaws, they won't love us anymore. Well, while that may be true in human relationships, God is not like that. God sees all our imperfections, failings, and flaws on Jesus at the cross. Our sins and ugliness do not turn Him off. In fact, to Him they are occasions to demonstrate His grace and forgiveness through the blood of His son who has removed all our sins efficaciously at Calvary. So don't be embarrassed by your flaws, mistakes, and imperfections. God knows your weaknesses better than you do, and He loves you just the same."

The Bad Seed is a fantastic movie. It certainly bears rewatching.

And Fred Rogers is amazing. He is an example to us all. And I approve of anyone who wears cardigans everyday (I also like Fred MacMurray).

>32 RidgewayGirl: Agreed!

And I approve of anyone who wears cardigans everyday (I also like Fred MacMurray).
How can you not?

>33 avidmom: Fred Rogers was the commencement speaker at Boston University when my youngest daughter graduated. Not surprisingly, he was very good.

I also like Fred MacMurray. :)

>34 NanaCC: How wonderful that you got to hear him in person! I went through my divorce my kids were very young (4 & 9 mos!). We would always watch Mr. Rogers in the afternoon; it always made me feel better. XD

I also remember when I was little Mr. Rogers got me in trouble. He made his own peanut butter - it involved a paper plate, some peanuts and some butter (if I remember right) so I thought "Hey, I've got all that stuff here." I must have been about 5 or 6 and made the biggest mess. My mother was not happy with me. Or Mr. Rogers.

I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel. It was quite a a confused evening as I hadn't read anything about it, didn't know the production credits, and was expecting something like The Grand Hotel, and of course The Grand Budapest Hotel was nothing like it. This film definitely needs to be seen on the big screen because of the details of the set design and animations. I think a lot would be lost on the small screen. I agree about the audience. There was a reasonably sized audience when I saw it, but I felt it would have been more enjoyable with a different audience. Seeing the same film with different audiences is interesting as one audience might laugh and the other remain silent throughout, one comes away from the first viewing thinking the film is hilarious, but from the other thinking something different. Like you, I laughed at various points, but no-one else did. We could have done with more collective laughter. Great acting as well as great sets.

>36 Oandthegang: The Grand Budapest Hotel certainly would be a little disconcerting if you weren't aware of what you were getting yourself into! I had seen two of Wes Anderson's films (oh, make that three!) so I was prepared for, um, "oddness." Some movies are meant to be seen with an audience. When my boys and I went and saw "The Avengers," there was a big crowd and it added to the fun of the movie. We own the movie now & while it's still fun, it's certainly not as fun as it was that day at the theatre. Not sure if I think this one needs to be experienced in a group; but it does definitely deserve a big screen. I loved all the acting cameos too!

Like you, I laughed at various points, but no-one else did.
Exactly! Well, in my case, with such a tiny, tiny audience, how would I know if they did? LOL! But, I did keep asking myself why certain lines struck me funny and others didn't.

I would love to see it again!

I really want to see that movie before it leaves the theater.

>38 NanaCC: It is definitely well worth the effort to see it in its big screen glory. The story and characters are larger than life; they fit on the big screen.

Still reading Travels with Charley and was wondering what Charley looked like. Gotta love the internet!


John Steinbeck & Charley at home at Sag Harbor, New York

"Rocinante"

Taking a little break from Steinbeck ....


Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

Each poem here is about a cat with a most definite personality trait. This was the basis for the very famous musical "Cats." Fun.

>41 avidmom: love the pics of Ronante! Thanks for posting them. I haven't read Charley so had to do a little internet exploration. Fun!

>40 avidmom: what a great picture of Steinbeck and Charlie.

>42 avidmom: so that's where the Cats came from...

>42 avidmom: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats was a favorite of my parents and my childhood, despite the fact that we had no cats.

Thanks Merrikay, Dan and Rebecca. I wish I had had those pics. when I started reading TWC.

Yep. That's where the "Cats" come from! It's a very small book too. I've been owned by two or three cats; T.S. knew what he was talking about! HA!

It's 80 degrees here and not even 10:00 yet! We have the Santa Anas to thank.

Not sure where this guy is at, but he's definitely not too far away. Today's winds are a little stronger. (!)
Santa Anas

This is the one thing I absolutely don't like about living here in So. Cal. These nerve jangling/migraine inducing winds have been going on since early Tuesday A.M. and are supposed to continue throughout tomorrow. I don't even want to watch the news; I know something's on fire somewhere. :(

My son tried to go to his college class yesterday; hit a dust storm where he couldn't even see the stop sign in front of him. He turned around and came home. Smart kid.

It's hard to concentrate here with all this racket going on, so instead of reading (or doing other constructive things), I watched two movies:



"Young at Heart" is a documentary about a choir made up of senior citizens. The average age is 80. This documentary covers the group's six week rehearsal for their new show they're scheduled to perform in their hometown. This isn't your Granny's church choir; these folks, under the direction of their intrepid director, sing everything from classic rock to contemporary pop. The group sets about rehearsing everything from James Brown's "I Feel Good" to Coldplay's ballad "Fix You."

"You're never too old to rock!"

Most definitely worth checking out.

Young At Heart Trailer

***************************************************

And then later on, my "Lord of the Rings" fan sat down to watch this:


The Hobbitt: The Desolation of Smaug

I had no intention of watching this; I'm not a big Lord of the Rings fan. My son, however, has grown up on a steady diet of these movies and most definitely IS! Before I knew it, the movie was playing in the living room and I was hooked into the story. It's typical Lord of the Rings stuff: absolutely EPIC vistas and stories. And I just had to hang in there until the end to see Benedict Cumberbatch as "Smaug," the Dragon. He, of course, was BRILLIANT! Even though I'm not a LofR fan, I have watched all of the movies and always enjoy them.

I did read The Hobbitt; I liked it. I vaguely remember a dragon.

ETA: Stephen Colbert is in this movie. Can you find him? We did. ;)

If you don't want to play "find the Stephen" in the latest Hobbitt flick, you can always join us in playing "find the mailbox!" :)


The mailman is not going to like us too much today.
I feel badly for the tree.

The mailman is not going to like us too much today.

Better the mailbox than the roof of your house.

>48 avidmom: My friend showed Young at Heart in her Human Development course for the aging section. I'll have to check it out.

>50 NanaCC: It's a rather relative minor annoyance compared to what some other folks around here are going through! Wildfires, evacuations, all that jazz. I was just happy that the college cancelled classes today so I didn't have to worry about Big Kid driving around in it.

>51 mkboylan: It would be a perfect movie for that. It's very touching in spots and pretty funny in others. I liked the fact that their director wasn't coddling anybody. He puts those people through their paces! And they love him for it. Great stuff. I liked the 92-year-old gal (who you can see at the beginning of the trailer) who had the key to the residents' home where she lived bkz the "Young at Heart" gigs kept her out past curfew & the staff at the home would already be in bed. HA! So want to be her when I'm that age!

I can just see it now:

"Where's Grandma?"
"She's off practicing her Pat Benatar & Nirvana solos!"

(I can't sing, though, that may be a problem.)

>48 avidmom: Peter Jackson will let Stephen Colbert appear in The Hobbit, but he wouldn't give Eddie Izzard a bit part in LotR? This is unjust!

>53 LibraryPerilous: Hmmph!!! I'll have to tell my LotR fan kid; he loves Eddie Izzard too.... Uh-oh. He is not going to be happy about this!

>52 avidmom: No worries if you can't sing. By then you won't be able to hear anyway.

>56 avidmom: But how can I reply?! ;)

>55 mkboylan: LOL! I see, so there's been a plan in place the whole time. I KNEW it! :)
Hey, maybe I should get the kids to get those old Guitar Hero games so I can practice.

>57 LibraryPerilous: I think you just did! HA!

We caught this on HBO a few days ago. "700 Sundays" is Billy Crystal's one-man autobiographical show (I assume it's based on his New York Bestseller book of the same name, which I just now found out about!). I only know Crystal as an actor (starting with "Soap" - yeah, I know, I'm getting up there!) - not a stand-up comedian - but he is one funny guy. Here, he tells us his entire life story. Unusual characters from his family and many jazz greats (I mean greats!) show up here. Be prepared to laugh a lot and cry a little; usually simutaneously. Make sure to watch it all the way through to Billy's (improvised?) grand exit. :) Highly recommended if you're a fan of Crystals and/or jazz music. Great stuff!

>59 avidmom: I saw him do the show on Broadway. He was terrific.

>60 NanaCC: Wow! :)

Hi Avid! Just saying "hi" as I've been away for a bit. Love the picture of John and Charley!

>62 Polaris-: Glad to see you hanging around on LT. :) I was so glad to find pictures to go along with TWC. I wish they would have been included in the book. Maybe there's an illustrated version out there.

Good idea. I will do the same.

>64 bolder: Thanks for stopping by!

I watched this today with my friend and my two kids. We all loved it and thought it was very funny. I wouldn't classify at as a comedy, though, or even a "dramedy," but as a drama with some incredibly funny moments. The beauty of this movie is its simplicity. It's a good story told without any Hollywood special effects or gimmicks. I read reviews where people thought this film was boring. Well, I don't think those people were paying attention because while not a lot may be happening on the "outside," so to speak, a whole hell of a lot is going on in the inside of the two main characters - especially Forte's character but you have to be paying attention.

Awards
Trailer

ETA: Not R rated; but PG-13.

“When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from….”

Travels with Charley and later novels, 1947-1962

In 1960, John Steinbeck took off on a journey around the United States in his tailor-made camper, Rocinante. “…. because my planned trip had aroused some satiric remarks among my friends, I named it Rocinante, which you will remember was the name of Don Quixote’s horse.” Why such a trip? There were, according to Steinbeck, two reasons: his self-proclaimed bumdom, and his profession as a writer. “I, an American writer, writing about America, was working from memory, and the memory is at best a faulty, warpy reservoir. I had not heard the speech of America, smelled the grass and trees and sewage, seen its hills and water, its color and quality of light. I knew the changes only from books and newspapers. But more than this, I had not felt the country for twenty-five years. In short, I was writing of something I did not know about, and it seems to me that in a so-called writer this is criminal. …”

Now, when I say Steinbeck went around the country, I mean he went a-ROUND the country. In a very neat circle, like this:


His trip started after Labor Day and he was accompanied by his loyal and faithful companion, a large French poodle named Charley. Charley was to provide companionship and protection, but more than that, “… an exotic like Charley, is a bond between strangers.” And indeed he was. Steinbeck also lured interesting characters into Rocinante with some down-to-earth hospitality helped along with strong coffee and even stronger booze. Some of the people he meets along the way are French Canadians who come down to harvest potatoes; an old-fashioned thespian; a boy in Colorado who dreams of being a hairdresser much to his father’s chagrin. There is the occasional rendezvous with his wife and a Thanksgiving spent with some wealthy friends in Texas. His trip back to his native California was especially interesting to me as I have visited Steinbeck’s native Salinas, California and the Sequoia National Forest. His writing about the giant Redwoods was particularly moving.

Steinbeck’s stories on the road are interesting, entertaining and educational. He reflects on the changes he sees in the country along the way: new-fangled roads (freeways), where you can pass through a city without ever really seeing the city; the (what I call) plasticizing of American road-side eateries (plastic silverware, butter and jelly served in little plastic packets, etc.); the homogenizing of the American dialect through TV. It’s not that Steinbeck stands back and calls these things bad necessarily, but stands back and wonders if they’ll prove to be beneficial or detrimental changes over the long haul. In 1960, when these changes are really starting to take hold, it’s too soon to tell.

One of the changes happening around this time was the desegregation of schools in the South. “… the incident most reported in the newspapers was the matriculation of a couple of tiny Negro children in a New Orleans school. …. I had seen photographs in the papers every day and motion pictures on the television screen. What made the newsmen love the story was a group of stout middle-aged women, who, by some curious definition of the word ‘mother,’ gathered every day to scream invectives at children. Further, a small group of them had become so expert that they were known as the Cheerleaders, and a crowd gathered every day to enjoy and to applaud their performance. This strange drama seemed so improbable that I felt I had to see it. …” So he drives to New Orleans to witness the “Cheerleaders” scream their filth at the “… littlest Negro girl you ever saw…” The whole thing “…. Made me sick with weary nausea.” This part of the book made me sit up and pay attention since I had never heard of such a thing happening. As a mother, I can’t even imagine such a thing as grown women spewing filth at a first-grader! Steinbeck seems to head home in a hurry after witnessing this spectacle. Or, maybe he was just travel weary:

“This journey had been like a full dinner of many courses, set before a starving man. At first he tries to eat all of everything, but as the meal progresses he finds he must forgo some things to keep his appetite and his taste buds functioning.”

As much as I thoroughly enjoyed Travels with Charley there were times I felt that the speech of certain characters he meets along the way were just a little too intellectual and artsy to be believed. (I believe another reviewer here had said something along similar lines.) I don’t think Steinbeck made things up; I think he may have simply embellished certain situations. Poetic license, I suppose. That tiny complaint aside, Travels with Charley is an interesting time-capsule of the United States at the beginning of a decade that would prove one of the most interesting, exciting, and tumultuous in our culture. It’s a definite must for Steinbeck fans and probably something that armchair travelers, wannabe time travelers, and dog lovers would definitely appreciate.

Highly recommended.
********************************************************

Interesting article on the "Cheerleaders": http://democraticvistas.com/2010/09/23/the-cheerleaders-in-new-orleans/

"The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. ... " - John Steinbeck

>67 avidmom: I love Steinbeck, and I love Travels with Charley, but I think he took a whole boatload of poetic license. Narrative nonfiction feels like the most correct label to me. I suspect most of the conversations he recorded were hybrids of his own thoughts and snippets of other peoples' ideas, too. He had an agenda with the book, and many of his concerns are--rue the day--still valid.

My 50th-anniversary edition has an introduction by Jay Parini, and I agree with his thoughts: "It should be kept in mind, when reading this travelogue, that Steinbeck took liberties with the facts, inventing freely when it served his purposes, using everything in the arsenal of the novelist to make this book a readable, vivid narrative. The book remains 'true' in the way all good novels or narratives are true."

The chapter on the Cheerleaders really resonated with me, too, particularly at the time and in the context I was reading it. "These blowzy women ... hungered for attention. ... They were crazy actors playing to a crazy audience." All that hatred to feed their own egos.

Children are often better and braver than the adults who govern them:



Some of Steinbeck's own comments on race in Travels with Charley trouble me, but on the whole he remains one of our finest liberal authors. I always feel a sense of loss when I'm reading his books, because the likes of him will not (maybe even cannot) come again.

>69 LibraryPerilous: Thanks. ... a whole boatload of poetic license. Yep. Have you read his America and Americans. That's another one that is still relevant today, some decades later. I think the "Cheerleaders" section had an impact because I had just recently finished An Easy Burden.

I always feel a sense of loss when I'm reading his books, because the likes of him will not (maybe even cannot) come again.
That's something to think about.

Travels with Charley and later novels, 1947-1962

Burning Bright

Burning Bright is Steinbeck's "... third attempt I have made to work in this new form - the play-novelette." Written so that it can be read as a play OR a novel is the idea here. The writing style is similar to (but not exact replicas) of Of Mice and Men and The Moon is Down which Steinbeck said ".... essayed it." It is resonant of Of Mice and Men where one of the main characters does something objectively immoral, but for altruistic reasons and it is also perhaps similar to the allegorical The Moon is Down.

My love of Steinbeck is no secret but this one didn't really work for me. Just like some of the dialogue in Travels with Charley, one of my main problems with this work is that the words coming out of the down-to-earth characters' mouths are too poetic to be realistic. There is a transition from chapter to chapter to different locations: circus to farm to sea. The changes in scenery perhaps may have some deep allegorical meaning (and here I suppose it's similar to The Moon is Down,) _ but trying to figure out what that meaning is did not fascinate but simply annoyed me.

It seems that that's usually the problem I have with Steinbeck - sometimes I think he tries too hard to be "deep" and "poetic." The writing feels forced and a bit, I don't know, "preachy." It's not that I disliked this particular piece; I simply like so much of his other stuff more.

>69 LibraryPerilous: I'm doing quite a bit of reading this year on the Civil Rights Movement. I've added An Easy Burden to the list. Thanks!

I've been meaning to get around to America and Americans, but I'm currently rereading his fiction. Soon, though.

>72 LibraryPerilous: "I'm doing quite a bit of reading this year on the Civil Rights Movement."

You might be interested in No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Susie (Avidmom) and I read that one last year. It was interesting to read about Eleanor Roosevelt's efforts towards getting a civil rights movement started. She played a big part in enabling African American soldiers to perform duties other than kitchen and maintenance work during WWII.

Enjoyed reading your excellent review of Travels with Charley and later novels. The map helped me with my geography of the U S A.

Thanks baswood! I wish I had had those visuals while reading; I looked most of this stuff up when I had finished the book.

"... the God of Jesus is a God so deeply in love with his creatures that if humans should behave the same way, they would be deemed crazy.

Any theology that questions this insight has no claim to be Christian."


Jesus: A Meditation on His Stories and His Relationships with Women by Andrew Greeley

I picked this book up while browsing through our library's religion/philosophy shelves. Andrew Greeley is a Catholic priest. He's also a journalist, sociologist, and New York Times Bestselling Author. His name was familiar to me, but this is the first book of his I have read. It came as a nice revelation that I, a non-Catholic, and a Catholic priest, had so much in common with our views of Jesus and Christianity than differences. What was even more surprising was what I learned from this little book.

Greeley's book is about exactly what the title says it is. Greeley's point about Jesus' relationship with women is that we fail to grasp how absolutely revolutionary it was that Jesus treated women with such respect and honor. Not only did he respect and honor them, but elevated them. Who was the first to have contact with the resurrected Jesus? A woman.

The radical equality of everyone in the kingdom of God was an idea that was beyond their comprehension. It was absurd to think that Jesus would appear first of all to a woman and an unstable one at that - absurd and scandalous. We find it acceptable today only because the scene in the garden outside the tomb has become commonplace We have heard it told so often on Easter morning that we take it for granted. Same story as last year. We don't notice that it is the kind of story that a radical feminist might have composed."

The "stories" Greeley is referring to are mostly Jesus' parables. I always appreciate it when someone can point out something in the Bible from a different angle. His perspective on these old familiar "stories" (at least familiar to those of us who have ever spent any amount of time in a church pew, Catholic or otherwise) is quite interesting. Some of these stories have become so familiar that they have lost their intended point and impact and are simply used for mere "homilies." The best example is the story of the Prodigal Son. You all know the story, junior gets his inheritance and goes off and squanders it on women and drinking and then when the money and fun runs out, repents and goes back home. It's fairly common for those in the pulpit to say, "see, junior had a change of heart, felt sorry, and went home." The truth of the matter is junior wasn't sorry at all; he was hungry! And he had a speech all ready to impress his "push-over" daddy with. A careful reading of the story shows that junior's manipulative speech never even made it out of his mouth; his daddy ran out to meet him while he was still on the road. A joyful father now reunited with his lost son, kills the fatted calf and has a large feast. This annoys the oldest son who, according to himself, has done everything right and nobody ever threw a party for him. (whine, whine). The emphasis on this story is often put on the returning son, this poor Jewish kid having to take care of the pigs, but "As John Shea remarks, if anyone in this story is a prodigal, it's the father. ... a generous and loving man with two sons who are losers, the one a wastrel, the other a rigid accountant of grievances. He spoils the two boys rotten and continues his excessive love even though they are miserably ungrateful in return...." The one thing I learned here is that there is a definitive pattern to Jesus' parables: "... the God person (the father), the helpless person - in this case a passive-aggressive and scheming wretch (the first son), and the third man (the second son)." By looking at the Parables from a different angle, they take on a new and more powerful meaning. These stories become elevated from nice little Sunday school lessons on how to behave and treat other people into insights into the personality of the God that Jesus was trying to show us.

While the book itself is exactly what it says it is, Greeley does find ways to talk about the Church as a whole, the Catholic Church, forgiveness, politics, and even the death penalty. Some of the stances he takes (especially when criticizing his own organization) are pretty brave. Even though I don't agree with him 100 percent on everything, I certainly admire his chutzpah and I surely learned quite a bit in this little book.

Enjoyed your review of Charley very much. I only read Steinbeck for the first time this year and loved him. Charley didn't appeal to me at all tho, until I read your review. Now I think it may be my next Steinbeck. You might want to check out Traveler's Guide to the Civil Rights Movement by Jim Carrier if you plan any sightseeing, or maybe even if you don't!

I like Andrew Greeley. Interesting that you found some commonalities with him. I seem to always find that when reading about any religion, as I did with Christianity and Buddhism. I always find it amusing that even Catholics themselves will say they aren't taught the Bible like Protestants are. I'm all "Really? Cause every mass has a reading from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, a Psalm, and theoretically a homily on the Gospel." I hear their point, but still.....

Thanks for the great reviews!

edited to fix touchstones

Thanks Merrikay! Charley was a lot of fun.

Interesting about Catholics/Protestants. Having been going to "non-denominational" churches for so long, I'm not really sure where "we" would fit in there 'cause I know us non-demoninationals are, um, different. (Some more different than others. My home base church now is rather conservative.) No matter, there are more things to unite us overall than divide us. When I was a kid my staunchly Lutheran aunt got a job teaching music at a private Catholic school so she started reading the "Catholic Bible" and filled us in on some stories we didn't know - especially the Macabees. I remember feeling a little let down that my Bible didn't have some of the cool stories the Catholic one did. !

I admired Greeley; he has some nerve I think to say some of the stuff he did.

I received a message from our very friendly Richardderus congratulating me on my Thingaversary! (A fact that would have slipped by me again if he hadn't said something.) 2014 marks year 5 for me. All I was doing was looking to see what kind of reviews the book I was going to recommend for my RL bookclub had and, well, click, click, click. Five years later and I'm still here. :)

Sometimes I question whether my addiction to this site is healthy.
Then I quickly get over it.

Here's a neat video on how books can be used for interior design!
Bespoke Libraries

Congrats on five years, avidmom.

>73 NanaCC: Thanks for the recommendation. I've added No Ordinary Time to the pile.

diana, No Ordinary Time is simply awesome.

Thanks for the congrats. Tradition dictates that I go out and add 5 books (plus one to grown on) to my book collection .....

Happy Thingaversary! I believe that the "a book for every year and one to grow on" is mandatory. Have fun, and don't forget to tell us what you picked.

Thanks Ridgeway. :)

Great review of Travels with Charley, avidmom. That definitely goes onto my wish list.

A somewhat similar book that I absolutely loved is America Day by Day by Simone de Beauvoir, which describes her journey across the United States over a four month period in early 1947. I plan to re-read it soon.

Travels with Charley sounds like a good one, Susie.

>84 kidzdoc: Thanks. America Day by Day sounds great. I love the idea of it. I remember really enjoying A Walk Across America and The Road Unseen. Both ended up being "beach reads" ..... as I was camping at the beach at the time and bought them at the little campground bookstore. I should re-read those...

>85 NanaCC: Yes it is a good one! But like diana.n says, there's "a boatload" of poetic license taken .... Steinbeck makes it work, though.

While we're kind of on the subject of Steinbeck, I wanted to comment on the book itself that I found Travels in Charley in. It's a volume out of the "Library of America" series. The book itself is pretty classy. Notes on the text are included in the back (yeah, I never really went there; I probably should have) and there's a brief staccato-ish written "Chronology" which serves to be a biography of sorts which I enjoyed reading. Some interesting details are in here:

1936: "In Dubious Battle published by Covici-Friede in January. Begins work on children;s book (project eventually leads him to write Of Mice and Men); much of manuscript is destroyed by his dog in May. ..."

1938: "Dramatic adaptation of Tortilla Flat by Jack Kirkland opens on Broadway in January (closes after four performances). ... Learns that Of Mice and Men has won the New York Drama Critics Circle AWard as best play of 1937."

1939: "Suffers for most of the year from sometimes crippling leg pain. Elizabeth Otis, his agent urges him to make changes i the language of The Grapes of Wrath, during two days of intensive work agrees to some revisions. Later writes to Covici, "This book wasn't written for delicate ladies. If they read it at all they're messing in something not their business. I've never changed a word to fit the prejudices of a group and I never will." Argues further with Covici over proposal to change the novel's ending: "You know that I have never been touchy about changes, but I have too many thousands of hours on this book, every incident has been too carefully chosen and its weight judged and fitted. The blanace is there. One other thing - I am not writing a satisfying story. I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags, I don't want him satisfied."

1953 ".... Collaborates with Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin, who are to produce musical Bear Flag, a continuation of Cannery Row; works on novel derived from idea for the musical, later titled Sweet Thursday...."

Musical?!?!?!

1964: Asked by Jacqueline Kennedy to write book about John F. Kennedy; has long correspondence wtih her, but declines project. ... "Works on President Johnson's inaugural address. Spends Christmas in County Galway, Ireland, with film director John Huston."

Oh, so that's why John Huston narrated the movie Cannery Row later. The two were pals, apparently. :)

kidzdoc and avidmom, you might be interested in Henry Miller's The Air-Conditioned Nightmare. Miller wrote it after returning to the US and taking a road trip in the early 40s. It's quite the cynical contrast to de Beauvoir's gentler images from a few years later.

I love the Library of America's books. They look elegant on the shelf and are very well-made.

>88 LibraryPerilous: Is it cynical in a happy way? Or a depressing way?

Has LT deleted the number 88????? I have two 87s and no 88. How funny ..... Hey, no 86 either ....

This is weird.

LT has deleted the number 88 and 86'd the number 86.

All hail the power of the LT Overlords!!!! :)

ETA: OK. Left my thread and came back. All #s consecutive now .... move along, people. Nothing to see here ....

Checking in on my own reading progress at the 1/2 year mark ...
















ETA: I'm also trying to figure out how to use TickerFactory.com
Can you tell? ;)

>89 avidmom: I'd call it cynical in a curmudgeonly way, but Miller finds some things to love, too.

>91 LibraryPerilous: I like curmudgeons. :)

>67 avidmom:: Travels with Charley just made it on my wishlist. Enjoyed your thoughts about it.

>93 OscarWilde87: I like Steinbeck's NF just as much, or maybe more, than his fiction. Hope you enjoy it!

>90 avidmom: Ticker madness

>95 baswood: LOL! It certainly was/is!

And nothing has changed ......

ETA: Maybe that books acquired ticker needs adjusting!

Well, I finally committed myself to read the books that have been hanging around here forever. I went so far as to join the "ROOT 2014" group (hence the ticker madness in #90). So what do I do? Go to the library $2 a bag of books sale, of course! I wasn't really expecting to come back with too much because we didn't get to the sale until it was half-way over, but I still managed to find some good stuff.

I made a beeline to the "History" table, a big disappointment. But then I found a great personal find on the auto/bio. table and things picked up from there!



From top to bottom:
Knee Deep in Paradise by Brett Butler As a newly divorced mom with two little kids, I discovered the sitcom "Grace Under Fire" in syndication. It quickly became one of my favorite shows back then. (I can never find it on TV anymore though.) Looking forward to reading this one.

Dave Barry's Greatest Hits by Dave Barry

Oh, The Things I Know by Al Franken (I read his Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them a few years ago and really liked it. Funny stuff.)

Mandela's Way by Richard Stengel

The Greatest Generation Speaks by Tom Brokaw I have read his The Greatest Generation; great book.

Choosing Happiness by Alexandra Stoddard I saw this at my now deceased favorite bookstore and never picked it up. Regretted it. So happy to find it. Not sure if I threw it in the bag because I want to know how to be happy(...ier) or if I just like the pretty flower cover.

Years ago I read Thoene's Shiloh Autumn and thoroughly enjoyed it so was glad to find 99% of their Zion Chronicles series at the sale. It took some doing - some books were in the history section, some in the fiction & various other inappropriate places. (?) I managed to snag all but one in the series.

A Light in Zion; The Key to Zion; A Daughter of Zion; and The Gates of Zion. I was glad to get all of these for next to nada; but am a little annoyed that I have all but one book!

The book sale was divided into various tables dedicated to various genres (History, Fiction, Non-fiction, Science Fiction, Autobiography/Biography). Interestingly enough, there was quite a stack of Sarah Palin books which were scattered throughout. Those Palin books were on the auto/bio table; the history table; the fiction table; and the sci-fi table. I thought it was funny. :)

Maybe that's just me ....

>97 avidmom: Maybe that's just me ....

Nope... that is funny. :)

>97 avidmom: The second sale of the year for one of my libraries is next week. It runs Thu-Sat. I can't ever get to it until Saturday and there's ALWAYS a ton left. Which makes me wonder what Thu's "Friends of the Library Preview" looks like!!

>97 avidmom: I can see Sarah Palin's home planet from my backyard.

>98 NanaCC: Do you think maybe one of the "Friends of the Library" was trying to say something? ;) I think the real message was was "Please, please buy one of these *@*! Sarah Palin books we've been stuck with!"

>99 lesmel: Hmmm ...... library sales are a dangerous thing. "...one of my libraries" - I thought I was the only one; I have three. :)

>100 LibraryPerilous: LOL!

>101 avidmom: Ooh, I've trumped you. I have access to three local library systems plus ILL!

Do you think maybe one of the "Friends of the Library" was trying to say something? ;) I think the real message was was "Please, please buy one of these *@*! Sarah Palin books we've been stuck with!"

They probably stuck a few in the sci-fi section to appeal to the Vox Day and Larry Correia crowd.

>101 avidmom: I have four. It's a sickness...and I don't want a cure! lol

>102 LibraryPerilous: I would probably use ILL, except if four different systems don't have it, I might as well buy it!

>104 lesmel: Heh; good call. The only books I've purchased in the last couple of years have been books I like well enough to reread or books I can't get even through ILL, such as a couple of OOP 1950s British children's books. In a couple of instances, I've emailed a holding library and convinced them to send a book through ILL that they previously had declined to lend.

Wonderful stuff on Steinbeck and Travels with Charlie.

Interesting about Greely. I have been finding the woman in the OT to be surprisingly strong and independent characters, but the presentation is usually very subtle. However, if a radical feminist were to write a something along the lines if the NT, I would expect female Jesus.
: )

>106 dchaikin: Thanks. Travels with Charlie was a fun read.

I would expect female Jesus.
Female Jesus! "Jesusa!" LOL!

Seriously, though, I read in Greely's book and watched some sort of documentary where it was asserted that Mary Magdalene had a major role in the newly formed church after the Resurrection but her reputation and influence were eroded over the centuries through jealousy/tradition/whatever..... .

>102 LibraryPerilous: Three library systems; I would have a field day! LOL! Thankfully my library addiction is confined to one (just the 1) city library & the County (well, now that I think of it, that's two counties) Library so I can borrow from any library in the county system (usually). That's enough!

>103 lesmel: Agreed!

>104 lesmel: & 105 Some books were just meant to be ours! :)

>97 avidmom: Nice book haul!

>100 LibraryPerilous: I can see Sarah Palin's home planet from my backyard.

LOL! Fortunately her home planet is much further away here in England than it is in Georgia.

>109 kidzdoc: Thanks kidzdoc. It'll cost me more than the initial $2 as now I find it a necessity to get another bookshelf! LOL!

What? I'm sure you can find yourself a nice copy of a Palin book over there in jolly old England, kidzdoc. Look under "American Humour." ;)

Hmmmm .... before I forget, here are some movies watched recently (in the last few weeks).



Robert Reich was the U.S. Labor Secretary under Clinton. He now teaches a "Wealth and Poverty" class at UC Berkeley. My economically/politically minded college kid insisted I watch this. Glad he did. It's just a common sense lesson on economics and how the economic gap was created and how it effects all of us. Reich includes people from both sides of the economic divide to provide their stories and commentary; gives us some history along with some Econ. 101 and gives us a little bit of his own autobiography. Reich has had an interesting life with quite a few brushes over his lifetime with some important people in history. Set forth in an entertaining yet no nonsense way, this documentary is fun and interesting to watch. I definitely learned a lot. Highly recommended.

**********************************************


Calvin and Hobbes is the best cartoon strip invented in the history of forever. It is not my opinion; it is scientific fact. So when this was discovered on Netflix, my youngest son and I could not wait to see it! He was busy with school finals and so on so we had to wait a while until we could get around to it. We had high expectations! But, we were disappointed. The content of the documentary may be good, but we just found it tediously boring. *yawn* It's not about the very private Mr. Watterson ("the Sasquatch of cartoonist" as the narrator put it); but the impact he had on the medium (that being newspaper cartoon strips). I see that it won lots of awards and so forth so maybe I'm missing something. Maybe it's one of those situations where it is more appreciated by those "in the business" than those of us on the outside. I think the flaw I saw with this one was not the content but simply the presentation - which was just too slow moving and dull to keep us interested. Too bad. On the other hand, it's good to know that there is a documentary out there about our beloved tiger and why you can't be the proud owner of a Hobbes' likeness.

The awesomeness of Calvin and Hobbes cannot be topped. What did you think of Watterson's recent panels for Pearls Before Swine?

It's irritating that Watterson has worked so hard to keep his creations off limits yet there still are imitations out there. We've all seen Calvin peeing on both Ford and Chevy logos. Recently, I saw a cling in which Calvin was peeing on the word Obama--as if Calvin is anything other than a budding liberal!

I follow Robert Reich on Facebook, and he always has articulate, thoughtful things to say. Of course, I agree with him just about 100% of the time, but he has a commitment to accuracy that I would admire even if I weren't on his side.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The new-fangled one ...

This was a fun movie to watch on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. I liked it well enough but wasn't blown away by it. We rented this from the video store; I would have been just as happy to wait for it to roll around on TV eventually. The story was fun; the acting was very well done; and there was something of a little message at the end of it all. Sean Penn was also quite something in his small but pivotal role. What really made this one stand out for me was the gorgeous scenery! So it was definitely worth watching, but not going out of our way for (I think).

The old-fashioned one ...


The new Ben Stiller variety is not really a remake of the old classic verbatim, so comparing the two is a bit of an apples to oranges situation. Having said that, though, I'd definitely pick this old classic over the new one. Danny Kaye is too perfect as the put-upon son, fiancee, and employee Walter Mitty. It's no wonder he's given to daydreams! Wonderfully funny stuff that includes fantasies, musical numbers, ladies' lingerie, and espionage. Very highly recommended! My son and I laughed through the whole thing!

So the new one has gorgeous scenery and is a little "deeper" perhaps, but the old classic has musical numbers. This was my son's favorite (Walter Mitty is now a RAF officer imitating his old music professor): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DP1J4pObRIE

Have nothing to say really, except that after waiting for what seemed to be forever, the day lily finally bloomed! Color more gorgeous in person, but you get the idea. :)



I finished Life After Life last night. Loved it!!!! Will work on review later. One of "our" feral cats ("Doc") made it into the cat trap this morning and is now getting "fixed" and just needs a watchful eye and a little TLC while recovering.

>114 avidmom: Glad to hear you finished Life After Life. Also that your lilies have bloomed. Nice job!

Doc will deserve some TLC after his trap adventure.

> Thanks! My son has a better camera; maybe his pics will show the color better. Gorgeous deep rusty red and yellow. I had no idea that's what they would look like.

We're off to get "the ever elusive Doc" now ..... Hopefully he'll recover nicely.

The "Ever Elusive Doc" made it through his little adventure with flying colors. We released him back into the "jungle" (our backyard, which is as close to jungle-like you can get here in the 'burbs) on Father's Day. He'll never be a daddy again. Irony. While he was recovering I read him some passages out of the book I'm reading; he hasn't, as of yet, given me his opinion. ;)

That's a gorgeous kitty!

>118 LibraryPerilous: He sure is. He looks so much like his sister kitty that when we took him to the clinic we thought he was her. LOL!

Hi Avid! Just trying to catch up... Loved your review of Travels With Charley.

I love that you have ferals and that you are having them fixed. There are not enough people like you in the world!

>121 fannyprice: Awww .... shucks. But, really, the truth is is that I started this simply to deal with what I saw as a problem that needed to be solved, but now find my heart is in it as well.

It certainly has been a learning experience!

Here's our little rescue kitty, "Shadow." :)

He's beautiful!

>124 fannyprice: He's a she. :)

Hopefully, I'll have more rescue pics of two more kitties in the very near future.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

There have been so many reviews of this book here on LT/Club Read that I almost feel like I don't have too much more to add to the conversation. This is also a hard one to review without inadvertently using spoilers - which would end the fun. For some reason, I had gotten the impression that this was a very "heavy"and somewhat dark book. Some pretty dark things do happen, but overall this is not a downer of a story. But then someone here (and I forget who, so sorry) had reviewed this and had said something to the effect - more or less - that this was a great escape read, and even funny in spots. So, I thought, that is exactly what I need right now in my reading life! When I saw it on the library shelf, though, I hesitated. My son was with me that day strolling around the library and I said "Oh, no." He said "What's wrong." "I had no idea it was such a tome!" I checked it out anyway, came home and read the very first page, which, IMO, is one of the best opening scenes in a book ever. I was absolutely hooked from that moment on.

Well, it is a bit of a thick book, but it was an easy read for me. Ursula Todd's infinite reincarnations - where she came back as herself time after time - totally captivated me. Ursula is born and dies; and then, she is born and lives and the cycle continues with Ursula's life ending - and then beginning - at different marks on the timeline. All along the way she makes choices that alter her personal history and, supposedly, world history. Her life, is a giant do over. Ursula keeps coming back and knowing things intuitively and acting out in ways that make absolute sense to us, the reader, but makes her look totally insane to those around her. What I really loved about Atkinson's execution of the story is that the "choices" Ursula makes are usually not big, major choices. And sometimes when she does make different choices, the outcome is still the same. We've all had that "what if" feeling .... what if I took that job, not this one, what if I said this and not that, turned left, not right. Atkinson takes that idea and runs with it in this story. She rounds out Ursula's life (lives') story by creating a family out of eccentric and somewhat dysfunctional characters which are funny, sad and likeable and/or unlikeable all at once. (Maybe the word here shouldn't be "dysfunctional" but "realistic"!)

I absolutely loved this book. Although Atkinson puts her own spin on it, the idea of reincarnation is not new; and the idea of getting a "do over" until we get it right is not that new either - we have Bill Murray in Groundhog Day learning and going back until he gets it right and gets the girl. It's Atkinson's effortless and brilliant execution of the story that reels you in and won't let you go. My only complaint is that I thought the ending was a bit rushed.... but then again it could be just that at that point Ursula had finally "got it right" or maybe I was feeling sad that a book that had totally got my attention (finally!) was ending.

Very Highly Recommended.

This one will get bought and added to the collection.

BOOKS ON PAUSE


Batman and Psychology has been on my "currently reading" list for a long, long time. I really like this book. It reads like a Psych. 101 textbook/glossary where the terms are explained and expounded upon using Batman, his cohorts, and his gang of villains. Definitely entertaining and educational. Well worth anyone's time who has an interest in Batman and/or psychology. It just doesn't really require a cover to cover read through, and because of that, I keep picking up other things along the way.

Choosing Happiness There's nothing wrong with this book either, but I'm just finding the author's New Age-y, "find joy in the small things" a little too cloying and platitudinal at the moment. Will try again later .... *sigh* Maybe I'm just hungry. That blue pause button is making me crave M&M's. .....

"I looked at Mike and realized that he was scared. I was surprised. It never occurred to me that being a visitor to fear could be worse than living there. I started to joke about it, about the fact that we'd be added to the statistics of open-mouthed rednecks who'd seen a UFO in a country night sky. (I think it's funny - now- that he honestly didn't know what I meant by that.) But then I experienced a brief and definite sense of melancholy when whatever it was flew out of sight. Years later, I figured out why. I actually hoped that they might take me with them. You know you're in a bad marriage when you think a flying saucer can save you."


"I'm so Southern I'm related to myself."

I did a little internal happy dance of joy when I found this at the library sale a few weeks ago. In the mid to late 90s, when the show "Grace Under Fire" was in syndication, I was leaving an abusive marriage, filing for divorce and packing me and my two little kids off to Grandma's house. Good times! You never know what joy filing for a restraining order is until you've done it yourself. One day my aunt called me and in the midst of the conversation told me I had to watch "Grace Under Fire." It wasn't, "oh, I think you'd like that show, it's funny" - it was more like, "I think you should watch that so you have a chance at remaining sane." I became a faithful watcher of all the re-runs. I made a real connection to the fictional "Grace" and often wondered what the real Brett Butler was really like. There were things done and said on the show that made me think no actress could sell it that well unless they had actually been there and lived it. After my own experience, it was hard to fool me. It was often an unanswered question in my brain, what was Brett Butler really like? Was she close to her "Grace Kelly" character on the show, or not? Turns out she is much more like the character she played than not. Brett's fictional persona shares her Southern/redneck roots; her love of literature, an ended abusive marriage and experience as a woman doing blue collar work traditionally left for the men-folk.

Brett seems to be exploring her psyche on paper with the fervor of an archaeologist on a dig in this book. She examines her immediate family and extended family's dysfunction and how that affected her and her siblings and her life choices, what led her to do stand up and her successful sitcom; her Southern roots, her own addictions and her need to make some kind of connection to her elusive, brilliant but tormented father. (It was rather moving the way she makes her connection to him through his book collection.) She tells her story candidly and with her own trademark intelligent snark. She often writes with an eloquence you just don't expect from a Southern belle/redneck turned Hollywood star. I don't think she's intentionally going for laughs or trying hard to be profound. She's just naturally intelligent and sassy.

I certainly enjoyed this book and came away really liking Brett Butler, probably because I totally "get her." This book was written in the midst of when "Grace Under Fire" was, apparently, doing very well ratings wise, so there is next to nothing written about the show itself, except how she got there - which was through her stand-up. That was a bit of a disappointment for me, since I was such a fan of the show. Other than that, I really enjoyed this one.

A good read for any old "Grace Under Fire" fans or fans of Butler's stand up (which I haven't seen much of).

One of my favorite episodes of "Grace Under Fire" was called "Tears of Joy" where Grace and her son end up in therapy. Louie Anderson plays the therapist. One of my favorite TV moments is here at 9:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-jHF-aqOs

That was good. I watched that program. It was back before the government took away our broadcast teevee.

Robert

>126 avidmom: I liked your review of Life After Life. It really comes across how enjoyable the read was. I had wishlisted this one before, but would have done just now - as you've definitely piqued my curiosity.

I'm so intrigued by your review of Brett Butler's autobiography. I even watched the you tube peice, and I had never watched the show before.

Great review of Life After Life, another nudge that way, but you make it sound fun.

OK I give in. After so many good reviews of Life after Life I will buy the book.

Enjoyed reading about how you feel so connected to "Grace Under Fire"

>129 Mr.Durick: It was back before the government took away our broadcast teevee.
Yep. I tell my kids all the time "TV was free and it went away at midnight." They still don't believe me.

>130 Polaris-: It really comes across how enjoyable the read was.
Good! I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. It was one of those books where everything that takes you away from your reading time is just annoying.

>131 dchaikin: I even watched the you tube peice, and I had never watched the show before.
"Grace Under Fire" was always one of my favorites. One of those rare sitcoms that doesn't insult your intelligence. By the end of the series, Grace goes back to school to get her BA in English.

>132 baswood: OK I give in. After so many good reviews of Life after Life I will buy the book.
My copy has to go back to the library but I too will be buying it and adding it to the collection! *sigh*

Thanks for stopping by everybody. :)

So glad you enjoyed Life After Life. It was so good I wanted to read it again as soon as I'd finished it.

>134 NanaCC: Me too! It'll definitely be bought and added to my personal library.

Great review of Life After Life, avidmom! I was a huge fan of it as well, and I'd happily read it again.

>136 kidzdoc: Thanks! I will be buying copy for yours truly and sending another one as a gift soon.

"Midnight" looks angry here; he isn't. I could not get a good picture of him. He turned out to be a real sweetheart of a kitty after he had his trip to the clinic last Saturday. There was a way too-cute heart-warming little kitty reunion in our backyard Sunday morning that my son and I got to witness.

He let me pet him a little this afternoon and I heard his little motor going. All small but good steps to adopt-ability down the road. :)

Too cute! Love the ears especially.

>139 LibraryPerilous: I am a bit partial to black cats myself. He is a cutie.

Same. They're beautiful.

I had a black cat named Sarah. I found her rummaging in an alley trash bin for food. It was one of those burn barrels; she had ashes on her chin. Needless to say, she did not have to spend the rest of her life looking for food.

Prior to that I had another black kitty. She was a runt, so we named her Little One. We also called her Batty because her ears were large and pointy. Also, she was a bit ... unique.

>141 LibraryPerilous: What a sweet story about your rescue cat. I had a little feral kitty (before I knew that's what I was dealing with). She was dark black and grey. Beautiful cat. She was, um, "unique" also. One friend said "That cat ain't wired right!" And that was the most accurate and polite way to put it.

Time for a pop quiz:

What do these songs have in common?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5OoQadZTPk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohXsGvIpcH8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnPlJxet_ac

Ha! Something I actually know because of something I heard on NPR recently -- all written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin!

Rebecca, Here's your prize for winning the pop music quiz:
A vintage 60s/70s record player to play your LP copy of "Tapestry" on!


I grew up with one of these. And, yes, "Tapestry" was in my mother's record collection.

Seriously though, I never knew Carole King was responsible (alone or with a partner) for so much music!!!!

I still have a grade school crush on all "The Monkees." "Pleasant Valley Sunday" has been on my mp3 player for years now.

I confess I did have a copy of "Tapestry" but I have almost none of my records anymore, even though I did keep my old record player (not as old as that one, nor did we have one like that).

*Reserving this space for a "real" review*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjiMvmD6XH4

A few months ago I had never heard the term "feral cat" or "TNR" or "catch and kill" or "socializing" either. I had never visited our local Animal Shelter even once - and I've lived here a few decades. My trips back and forth to the shelter and/or clinic have now reached 12 (!). It all started when one well meaning two-footed critter who lives with me started feeding A (count it, ONE!) stray cat and then ..... well, fast forward to now and we have a real problem here. More than likely, the roots of our problem began a few doors down when our neighbors, before they moved away a few years ago, somehow or another ended up with 30 cats!!! The numbers here are not quite so high, but we have more than too many feline friends here. So I've spent a lot of time this summer reading about cats, feral cats and how to socialize kittens. (And I've managed to turn two little black kitties into little affectionate purr monsters!) I am becoming the Crazy Cat Lady here, not because I want to be, but because I have to be!

*ugh*


The Minicolony Concept: A Different Approach to Feral Cat Control by Dan Winters

Read this very small book this morning. It is simply what the title states, a "new approach" to feral cats. Winter's proposition is not a "new approach" but simply tweeking the TNR (trap, neuter, return) approach, which is exactly as it sounds. Trap the cat, neuter the cat, take it back to where it came from. Sure, but who's gonna take care of the cat(s)? What about the neighbors? And what about the $$ it takes to feed and take care of them properly? His solution is that instead of one big "feral cat colony" in one spot, have more smaller more manageable "colonies" throughout a community and have more financial assistance available for "caretakers".

Wonderful in theory, but probably not the easiest approach to implement.

I know how you feel Avidmom. We have to harden our hearts here as feral kittens turn up from time to time and we are frightened of being overrun.

>149 baswood: Yep. And for good reason!

That chart applies to my books as well!

>151 Poquette: LOL! If only cats were as easy to deal with as books!

I believe that as long as people have hearts and minds and the capacity to laugh, cry, dance, feel, and fall in and out of love, a good song will always find an audience because it connects us to our humanity.



I went to the now disappeared bookstore some time ago intending to pick up books about musicians. This book was there and I almost (gasp!) did not buy it. My thinking was something logical like "I have enough books already/where am I going to put all these books?/I am not that big of a fan of Carole King." The first two statements were and are true (still shopping for the next bookcase) - but that last statement ..... well, that was just silly. Because whether you know it or not, you're a fan of Carole King. If you had a radio and/or TV in the late 60s/early 70s or if you breathe air, odds are that there's a song you like that Carole King wrote or helped write. Now, how in the world I have spent almost so much of my life ignorant of Carole King's talent is beyond me. "Tapestry" was in both my mother and a favorite aunt's record collection. When I started learning how to play the piano, I had the sheet music to the whole album with its iconic cover:



And me, in my sixth grade mind took one look at that picture and thought that Carole King was the epitome of a cool hippy chick. Reading her memoir proved me wrong there too. While she may have looked the part of a flower child; Carole King was a Mom, first and foremost, and was actually very conservative. When personal success hit, instead of living the life of luxury, she moved as far away from the spotlight - and civilization - as possible, preferring to live out in the country sans electricity. Somehow, it seemed to me, that whatever the "norm" was at the time, Carole King, for her own very organic reasons, chose to do the opposite. She never wanted to be a "star" but to have a career - one that lasted.

... I agreed to strive for success as a solo recording artist. But then I developed a new boundary. I didn't want to be a star. ... My rationale was that I viewed success and stardom as two different things. Successful recording artists were played on the radio, were respected by the public, and had longevity. The songs they sang moved and inspired people. STars were hounded and mobbed, their privacy was nonexistent, and they were under constant pressure to reach #1 and stay there."

The introductory first pages of the book open with her describing her process for getting ready to do a concert performance. We find her ironing her own clothes, doing her own hair, and putting on her own makeup. There's not a diva bone in her body. Her memoir starts with her early childhood in New York and then moves on to the "preset day" (somewhere around 2007, I think.) She has led such an interesting life. One minute she's a teen knocking on the doors of record studios after school, the next she's an iconic successful singer/songwriter with a family. It was funny (to me) to read about how excited she was to meet with various big time artists - Bob Dylan or Bono - and then say something along the lines of "I came back home and folded the laundry. It was nice to find some normalcy." Of course, there's A LOT of stuff that happens in between all that .... her marriage and partnership with Gerry Goffin, the way "Natural Woman" came to be (quite a story!), and her funny first nerve racking solo concert performance in LA and, of course, her musical connection with James Taylor:

...Adjectives fall short. It was as if I were playing with an extension of myself. Every time I thought of a chord or note that I wanted James to play or sing at that moment, he was already there. Our musical vocabulary was the same, and we found that we had an impeccable vocal blend. Piano, guitar chords, notes, and vocal harmonies rolled around each other like puppies playing in a pile of newly cut grass."

I know we use the term "down to earth" to describe so many people, but I think Carole King is the epitome of that term. I tremendously enjoyed getting to know this incredible talent, who shared her life in this book with absolute honesty (sometimes painfully for her) and never once did it feel like it was an autobiography of a Celebrity, but more like that of a beloved aunt or friend.

I've never listened to Carole King much, but I enjoyed the review.

Great review. I listened to that Tapestry album many, many, many times.

Still have the Tapestry album on vinyl! Enjoyed your review.

Great review Avid. I'm a fan of Carole's music too, she has been such a prolific songwriter and a first rate artist. Tapestry is a genuine classic - every song on that album is a winner, ain't no duds. Really glad you enjoyed the book and wrote such an enjoyable review!

Enjoyed reading your review of a natural Woman. Very interesting to learn about Carol King.

>154 JDHomrighausen: That's what I thought too, Jonathan, then realized some of my favorite songs were written by her!

>155 NanaCC: -157 I downloaded her "Tapestry" album to my mp3 player and listened to it. Agreed, Polaris, "ain't no duds" there. She always wrote from her heart, I think that's the secret to her success.

>158 baswood: She has lived one of the most interesting, exciting, and eclectic lives of anyone I've ever read about. I think having a Broadway play based on your life says something!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N0nkTJhfb8
Carole King/Beautiful/ at the 2014 Tony AWards

what Jonathan said (>154 JDHomrighausen:)...and noting your response (in >159 avidmom:)

>153 avidmom: That album cover brought back a lot of memories! Haven't listened to Carole King in years, but I loved her back in my teens.

>161 rebeccanyc: I don't think I've ever listened to much of Carole King's singing - except for the classics played on the radio - but I absolutely loved "Carole King and James Taylor: Live at the Troubadour" which came on PBS last summer. Not sure if you can buy the DVD, but it can be found here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IMntLIgIq8

She does talk about that iconic cover too. There really was a tapestry she was working on at the time. :)

>160 dchaikin: Thanks, Dan.

We caught the very first showing of this movie showing at the theatre around the corner from us. My sons and I have been "Fluffy" fans since we ran across his Comedy Central special years ago. So, going in, we were already expecting this film to be funny. Which it was, of course. Surprisingly, though, it was also incredibly touching. You don't think "touching, it had me misty eyed" would ever be terms to describe a stand-up act - which is what this movie is (except for a little brief introduction) - but, there you have it.

Gabriel Iglesias's "Fluffy Movie" is very, very funny and also very touching.

Being mostly a stand-up act, it does not require a big screen viewing. I wanted to go see it at the theatre though, as I figured it would be the closest to a "comedy club" vibe I would ever get. There weren't very many people in the audience since we went to the only A.M. showing, but the few of us who were there, judging by the amount of laughter heard, enjoyed it immensely.

As a mom, I've always liked this guy's comedy because, for the most part, he keeps it pretty clean. He's not squeaky clean - there is some language (a few four-letter words now and then) and some mild sexual references, so it definitely needs the PG-13 rating, but it's pretty mild, IMO, compared to so much of the other stuff out there.

We came to two conclusions after the movie: 1) Gabriel Iglesias is a master storyteller, and 2) that movie was over too quickly!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9UbKw4B0WQ

Actually it's a pretty common occurrence that a lot of comedians turn to comedy because of some sort of darkness in their lives. John Leguizamo's HBO specials had, mixed in with the jokes, plenty of painful childhood moments that made me want to cry and hug him. Using the comedy allows them to take a bit of control over it, own it in a way they couldn't when the things were happening.

>164 avidmom: a lot of comedians turn to comedy because of some sort of darkness in their lives.

Yep. I like the way this guy puts a positive spin on it, though. So, while a tough situation is dealt with, it never feels "dark". Although, dark can be pretty hysterically funny. I'm a big fan of Christopher Titus too and he deals with some pretty dark stuff from his past.

I've never seen any of John Leguizamo's stand-up.....

Must fix that.

Yeah, I mean he's joking about it the whole time, only a small moment here or there where he actually acts more serious, but you can just feel the rawness, you know? He had a pretty crap childhood, and it's great he can make it into hilarious things and joke about it, but man, I feel for the kid he was. You should *definitely* check it out, he did "Freak" and "Sexaholix... A Love Story" :)

The review in my local paper of The Fluffy Movie* was, overall, about the same as yours, so it got circled in the listings. But it is playing in town off the beaten path; it is not certain that I will get to it, but your take on it has made that more likely.

Thanks,

Robert

>167 .Monkey.: It's definitely on my list now ... I see a lot of his stuff has been uploaded to YouTube.

>168 Mr.Durick: I hope you do, Mr. Durick. :)

As probably one of the biggest fans of the TV show "Scrubs," and, by extension, Zach Braff, there was no way I could not see this movie. Movies like this never come out here, though. The closest showing was a 40 minute freeway trip away. This morning, my kids and I headed out of town braving the California freeway to see a matinee showing at a theatre we've never been to (gorgeous theatre!) It was worth the trip. As my son said, "fantastic theatre, fantastic movie."

This was one of those rare movies that sucked me in completely and I simply got caught up in the story. I thought it was a beautiful story - an extremely ordinary story, really - well told with lots of humour and, if you pay attention, wisdom. It may, at spots, be a bit cloying if you're not in the right frame of mind, but fans of "Scrubs" will know what to expect: an even mix of humour and poignancy.

Some "Scrubs" alumni show up here, including Rowdy (who I, unfortunately, missed), and all the BBT fans will be happy to see Jim Parsons show up a few times as well. It's R-rated for a pretty good amount of "F" bombs and two sex scenes - the funniest I've ever seen. The acting all around was spot-on but I think the stand out was the girl who played Braff's daughter, Joey King.

Both my sons liked it, the oldest said he's definitely going to buy the Blu-Ray when it comes out.

I'd watch it again in a heartbeat.

>164 avidmom: Ooh, that one is going on my Netflix queue for when it's available. I find him absolutely hilarious, and I always appreciate it when someone manages to be both funny and touching at the same time.

<171 Another Fluffy fan!!! XD

Dave Barry's Greatest Hits by Dave Barry

I found this collection of Barry's "greatest hits" of funny newspaper columns at the library $2 a bag book sale at the beginning of the summer. After doing some serious number crunching, I realized that the cost of this book was a whopping ten cents. Worth it. Funny stuff - and educational too.

Like do you know what the number one killer of supermodels is? Or the words and music to the Tupperware song? I do. There are also some great history lessons here - like the background of the Iran-Contra scandal.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen*

One of my perpetual reading goals is to read some of those "classic" books people "should" read. It also helps that my retired English teacher aunt is always praising this book or that book. Austen is high on the list. So, a few years ago, library card in hand, I checked this book out.

I absolutely HATED it. The whole scene that is played out in the first chapter sincerely and thoroughly annoyed me. like, seriously, she has a cold and can't go home? And Mr. B. is thrilled to have her there and supposedly falls (more?) in love with her ...... MMMM hmmm ..... Yeah, really? 'Cause nobody (male or female) is never more attractive and more pleasant to be around than when they have a cold. And this in the days before Nyquil!!! Also, my Dana Carvey SNL Church Lady kept whispering in my ear "How conveeeeeenyeeent!!! I didn't make it through the First Chapter!

But that was then. This time around, I had my AM coffee with this book; afternoon tea with this book ... and when I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it!!!

I'm not sure what changed (because the book certainly hasn't!), but now I would probably list this one as one of my all-time favorites. Looking back, I think the reason I couldn't abide Austen then was because I took her so seriously. This time when I read the first sentence of P&P instead of finding it off-putting I thought, "Oh, that's funny" and saw the humour in it. I also spotted Austen's snark throughout, through her author asides in the story (there aren't many, but they are there) and through her characters. (In the Notes section of my Dover Thrift Copy, she even takes a stab at her own book.) Quite a few minutes were like this for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhrZxSoLmgA

It still surprises me how much I loved this book. I don't like romance novels and P&P's is most definitely a romance novel. It's a bit soap-opera-ish too; I can't stand those either. Austen won me over, though, because this time around I saw it as a romantic/soap-opera-ish/satire.

So much fun.

Now I know why Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are such a big deal.
And why Pride and Prejudice is a classic.

5 Stars.

*I love the cover here.

ETA: The first 16 seconds of this clip from TBBT also helps ... and it's very true
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaDObcm5s9A

Enjoyed reading about your turn around with Pride and prejudice

Thanks baswood. As I learned from Elizabeth, sometimes the best thing to do on a matter is to change your mind! ;)

So glad you gave Pride and Prejudice another chance and loved it the second time around. I love all of Austen's novels, but P&P is my favorite. Like you, I'm not a fan of romances but Austen makes it all perfect.

Now you'll have to read all the others! Emma and Persuasion are my other favorites.

>177 japaul22: I could have sworn that I had a copy of Emma here, but it seems to have gone AWOL! The only other Austen I have here is Sense and Sensibility.

I will certainly read more by her.

Posted on UC, Riverside's FB page today:

UC Riverside Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies Derek A. Burrill commenting on the contributions that the late Robin Williams made to pop culture during his outstanding career.
"Probably the most important contribution he made to pop culture, across so many different media, was as Robin Williams the person. His manic intensity and his honesty about drug and alcohol addiction and depression - particularly the way he worked it into his characters and his stand up comedy - allowed all of us to be honest with ourselves about those same things, while it also helped us to understand the artistic mind at work. And when he began to take on more serious roles, it was as if he acknowledged our faith in him as something more than just a really funny guy. There was also a depth of humanity in his work, an understanding of what it means to be different, and how everyone has a creative and generous side - he thoroughly understood and explored the impulse to connect with others at a very basic level, something that the best entertainers know how to tap in to in order to speak about larger truths. Tom Hanks, Bill Cosby, Peter Sellars, Richard Pryor all have/had that special something."

Despite all the love around for Austen, I haven't read her since high school, and have had no desire to. Your review is the first one that makes me think I could stand her!

>180 rebeccanyc: I always had that opinion also, like, classic romance, what?? But then I read P&P&Zombies, which obviously isn't quite the same, but being a mashup it does have plenty of her own words/style in it, and it made me really want to read the real thing and see how it compared. Of course, I still haven't gotten to it yet, but I am looking forward to it and have high hopes!

>180 rebeccanyc: While I was reading P&P, I kept thinking, "why didn't anybody tell me this was funny." Don't get me wrong, it's not like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy funny; but there's plenty 'nuff zingers in there if you're paying attention. I do have to admit, though, that the language/writing style was a bit of a struggle for me at times. There were plenty of paragraphs comprised of very long sentences (most of Austens sentneces are long!) that I had to read & re-read.

>181 .Monkey.: You know, I think Austen would probably appreciate a Zombie-fied version of her book. LOL!

Hahaha, I don't doubt it! I haven't read it yet but she did do a Gothic parody, after all! ;)

Great review of P&P. Enjoyed reading about your two experiences with it.

>183 .Monkey.: Did they "have" Zombies in Austen's day? ?????

>184 Polaris-: Thanks. I'm glad I gave it another chance.

LOL well, the word itself (used in English) originates just after her death, but there were "ghouls" (in English) as early as 1786, in Vathek. :P

from FB this morning. I had to "borrow."

That explains it. I haven't met any one else who has read The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener let alone loved it.

Robert

>187 avidmom: LT really needs to add "thumbs" to comments.

>188 Mr.Durick: Somebody out there has, Mr. Durick!
>189 RidgewayGirl: Agreed!

"Modern Times"

The big kid here started his senior year in high school. He had a schedule change and ended up in "Film Studies" class. He was disappointed to give up "Music Appreciation" class for movies. I, on the other hand, am elated because he shares some of these movies with me! Some I may not have otherwise watched - or even heard of.

Like this one .....

I've seen clips of Charlie Chaplin, of course, and even watched that Robert Downey Jr. film about Chaplin. But not until I actually sat down and actually watched a Chaplin film did I see what the fuss was/is all about.

The man was a genius, pure and simple.
I think he may have invented "comic therapy" for the masses.

The biggest thumbs off I can give is this: My ex-husband had to have hernia repair surgery at the beginning of this week. He came here to recover for a few days before heading back to his own digs. He asked us to pause the movie a few times (which we found on YouTube & was able to play on our "real" TV) because it hurt to laugh so much.

I’ve been wanting to read this for a long time. I've seen Aslan (and liked what he had to say) on a few political talk shows (and who can forget the infamous Fox interview!). Also, Aslan is a professor at the University of California, Riverside. I have a little piece of paper from them and I am hoping that my big kid will get to go there next year. A few weeks ago, it showed up on our library shelves here, so I checked it out and brought it home.



I understood from the get-go that Aslan is not a Christian (although he informs us that he was at one point in his youth) and he was not writing a Christian book about Jesus but rather a historical account of Jesus. Being a Christian AND a history nut, it’s easy to understand why this was very high on my list. I think Aslan’s thinking that to understand the “real” Jesus of Nazareth we need to understand the historical/political/social times he was living in is valid and that this view of Jesus as a little peace and love hippy guru has no basis in fact, IMO, is also valid. So, I was more than willing to look at Jesus through Aslan’s eyes – to see Jesus just as a man. My problem with Aslan’s book is that, from the very introduction, I believe he took New Testament verses out of context to prove whatever point he happened to be making at the time. This happened so many times throughout the book that it made me weary of anything else Aslan said.

Even in the introduction to the book, I found myself shaking my head - because things were taking so blatantly, IMO, out of context. For instance, Aslan says Jesus was a man of “… profound contradictions, …. Calling for unconditional peace ….. sometimes promoting violence.” And he sends us to Luke 22:36 where Jesus says “If you do not have a sword, go sell your cloak and buy one.” OK. Taken at face value, it certainly does sound like Jesus is “promoting violence” but if you look at the whole story, Luke 22 takes place on the night of Jesus’s arrest and Jesus tells his group that “… which is written must be fulfilled in Me, “And he was classed among criminals …. And they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.” And He said to them, “It is enough.” Ironically, after reading Aslan’s historic account, I understand why Jesus was basically telling his disciples to defend themselves: they were no longer safe. In other words, “they’re coming after me, they’re going to be coming after you too!” I don’t read that verse and think Jesus was trying to get an army together; he was not “promoting violence” but rather simple self defense. Later on in the book, Aslan talks quite a bit about the conflict that arose between James, John, Peter & Paul over the Jewish law – the former felt that the law should still be obeyed and Paul felt that the law had been fulfilled in Jesus and no one – Jew or Gentile – needed to follow ritual. Any reader of the New Testament will be familiar with the law vs. grace argument, but the way Aslan would have us believe, Paul almost set out to create his own religion. Using 1 Corinthians 11:1, Aslan asserts that Paul thought the early Christians “…should obey Paul and only Paul.” When I read that, it made me think that Aslan saw Paul as some kind of cult leader. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Read in context though, remembering that the writers of the gospels did not write in chapter and verse, we get a little different spin:

“Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.... I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man....”

I have never read this as “obey and imitate Paul” - and only Paul. I've always read that as imitate Christ. I understand Aslan’s point that the early church leaders had conflicting opinions, but to set Paul up as a kind of renegade preacher trying to start his own cult-like movement did not set well with me. There were many other times that things like this came up – too many to count. While I'm certainly no expert, after 30 plus years of being a Christian, I know a little something about the New Testament. I’ve read every book once – or maybe even more than once – so I’m well aware of when things don’t “add up.” Certainly, my faith colors my perception, but there were just too many times when Aslan simply took New Testament verses out of context, or simply picked and chose which ones fit his thesis.

And Aslan, who makes such a point of pointing out the “contradictions” in Jesus and in the gospels, also contradicts himself. According to him, Jesus and the gospel writers were a bunch of “illiterate peasants.” (Definitely disagree with that assertion!) Since Jesus, like every other man before, during, and after him, claiming to be the messiah, was sentenced to death, he most obviously failed in his mission. So, the writers needed to bring forth a new idea of the messiah – what he would be and do – so people would believe. OK. So, a bunch of “illiterate peasants” managed to have the smarts to put words into Jesus’s mouth and make up stories that would “fit” their agenda. I can follow that argument, except that Aslan clearly states that these uneducated illiterate peasants probably didn’t have that much of a knowledge of the Scriptures. So, how would they know what words to put in Jesus’s mouth or stories to make up so it would “fit” Old Testament prophecies? There were many times when Aslan would say with no reservation whatsoever that something written in the New Testament was “pure fiction” – that Jesus did not say what he said/ or do what he did - that the writer(s) had Jesus doing something he didn’t or saying something he didn’t in order to prove their point. So, I had a hard time understanding why or how Aslan could then turn around and use stories/quotes about and by Jesus and run with it to prove his point.

At the end of the day, I was left with the decision whether or not to throw the “baby out with the bath water.” And I chose not to. Because while many of Aslan’s assertions/arguments, IMO, are incredibly flawed and his continuous reference to Judaism as “the Jewish cult” grated on my nerves, I learned a lot from this book. Aslan’s simple to understand narrative of the history of Jerusalem before, during and after Jesus of Nazareth walked the planet, was very informative. His explanation of the Roman political structure and how it affected the Jewish nation was also an eye-opener. There were many times when Aslan explained a gospel account and I had a clearer understanding of how certain things Jesus said or did would make him enemies on both sides (both sides being the Romans and Jews – especially those with authority). I found it most interesting when Aslan said that while people continuously argued who exactly this Jesus was, “… there was never any debate, either among his followers or his detractors, about his role as an exorcist and miracle worker.” And then there’s that pesky resurrection story. Of course, the idea of anybody rising from the dead is, well, ridiculous but even Aslan admits: “One could simply stop the argument there, dismiss the resurrection as a lie, and declare belief in the risen Jesus to be the product of a deludable mind. However, there is this nagging fact to consider: one after another of those who claimed to have witnessed the risen Jesus went to their own gruesome deaths refusing to recant their testimony. That is not, in itself, unusual. Many zealous Jews died horribly for refusing to deny their beliefs. But these first followers of Jesus were not being asked to reject matters of faith based on events that took place centuries, if not millennia, before. They were being asked to deny something they themselves personally, directly encountered. … It was precisely the fervor with which the followers of Jesus believed in his resurrection that transformed this tiny Jewish sect into the largest religion in the world.”

I think Aslan’s goal was was to show us that this Jesus of Nazareth, when seen in the times he was living in, was no wimp. In that respect, Aslan clearly succeeded. Jesus of Nazareth was willing to butt heads against both the Roman and Jewish authorities knowing full well that he was putting himself in danger. I’ve never liked the milquetoast version of Jesus. If the stories are to be believed, Jesus was a man of great compassion, bringing hope and healing to the masses. But he was no spineless jellyfish. The milquetoast-y version of Jesus may give us all a nice fuzzy feeling but it's not based in fact. The truth of the matter is that Jesus also spent a lot of time calling authorities out on their hypocrisy or, even worse, simply bypassing their authority altogether. He ticked a lot of people off! Simply put:

“And whatever else Jesus may have been, he was certainly trouble.”

I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it for the history/political lessons contained - but with the caveat that the reader have access to a New Testament so as to read Aslan's NT quotes in context.

The notorious Fox interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt1cOnNrY5s

Well . . . I watched the "infamous interview," and I would have to agree that it was pretty bad. But on the other hand, Aslan seems to have an outsized ego which is not very attractive either, and despite his protests that his book is a piece of scholarship, your remarks lead me to believe that it may be full of loaded expressions which indicate some sort of bias.

BTW, didn't you think he looks like a young Liberace? I kept looking for a piano in the background!

My favorite book on this subject is The Rise of Christianity by W.H.C. Frend, now a professor emeritus at the University of Glasgow, and it really is a work of history. But be forewarned, it is a 1000-page tome but gives a detailed history of the early church.

Excellent review of Zealot: The Life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. You really did grapple with this book and it sounds a worthwhile experience.

>193 Poquette: despite his protests that his book is a piece of scholarship, your remarks lead me to believe that it may be full of loaded expressions which indicate some sort of bias.

Yes. I couldn't understand why he kept referring to the Jewish religion as a "cult" .... or why some stuff was even mentioned at all considering it was supposed to be a "historical" account of Jesus. Your phrase "loaded expressions" is accurate. Thanks for the book recommendation.

I had to go look up young Liberace pics ... I see what you mean. :)

>194 baswood: The fact that I "grappled" with the book may have made it more fun for me, since it kept me alert and on my toes. I found myself arguing with the author. I interacted with this book - not simply read it - which made it a frustrating yet probably much more interesting read.

>196 avidmom: :D OMG, that's me.

And me too!

>197 NanaCC: & 198 Some times the only reason I clean my house is to find the book I'm currently reading! LOL!

I named one of our black kitties "Bagheera" after The Jungle Book panther. That got me to thinking about The Jungle Book. When my oldest was very little, his grandma bought him the VHS copy (because it was her favorite Disney movie) and we watched it over and over. I had never seen it as a kid and I fell in love with it. It had been so long ago that Big Kid had forgotten a lot, so had I, and my youngest didn't even remember seeing it at all. So I dug out our old videotape. Who would have thought that after a mere 18 or so years the tape no longer worked! Bummer. So, we replaced our copy with the "Diamond Edition" - a blu-ray + DVD copy on Labor Day. We watched it together and it just tickled me to no end that my grown & nearly grown kids laughed and had such a great time watching this old classic. I can't think of anything negative to say about this movie. The animation is stunning; the voices are great; and so is the music.

Oldsters like myself will immediately recognize Mr. French (Bagheera) & Winnie the Poo (Kaa).
Is it just my imagination or do Disney movies get better as you get older?

Always one of my favorite scenes: Trust In Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ILPl5FQaM

ETA: This also makes me wonder where my beautiful edition of Kipling's Just So Stories is!

The Demon's Parchment by Jeri Westerson

After reading the last installment of Jeri Westerson's series, The Serpent in the Thorns, which had a pretty healthy dose of comedy throughout, I didn't expect this. It was a lot darker than the first two Guest mysteries. Much, much darker. Here, Westerson takes a stab at mixing her unusual medieval noir/historical fiction with gothic horror. There are some very gruesome and disturbing things going on here.

In this installment, a reluctant Crispin is hired by a French Jewish physician who has been brought to the Court to service the Queen. The doctor claims parchments containing the secret on how to conjure up a golem have been stolen from his apartment. Simultaneously, young boys are being found murdered and mutilated along the Thames River. The doctor worries that the parchment has fallen in the wrong hands. Some nefarious soul has conjured up an evil golem set out to do unspeakable things. Crispin vows to catch the monster - whether supernatural or not - and bring him to justice. Throughout the story Crispin has to deal with his own demons: namely his English anti-semitism (the Jews had been exiled from England at the time the novel takes place); his loss of status and ensuing poverty; bitter rivalries from his past; and his own homophobia. I rather enjoyed seeing Crispin overcome some of his prejudices that were so thick they were hindering his ability to see the truth.

I found this book incredibly entertaining; never a dull moment here. It was creepy (I love creepy!), dark and disturbing with more of a nod to the supernatural than the previous books. Westerson's writing is simple yet she does a brilliant job of just putting you there in medieval England. It kept me up way past my bedtime - I found myself just as confused as Crispin was while he tried to connect the dots and swim through a mass of rather well-placed and entertaining red herrings. I just had to know who-done-it & couldn't rest until I did. I've had marathon reading sessions with mysteries before and found myself rather disappointed with an anti-climatic ending. (So disappointed that I almost gave up on the genre altogether.) I definitely was not disappointed this time. The ending here set my pulse racing and shivers up my spine.

Some reviewers had a hard time dealing with the gruesomeness of the murders, and just the idea of child murders in general. It is rather disturbing, of course, but Westerson doesn't dwell too much on the gruesome details (at least it didn't bother me - and I am very easily grossed out and disturbed!). I thought the nature of the crimes made for a very compassionate and incredibly passionate Crispin whose dedication to solving the case got him in some precarious fixes that nearly got him killed and had him, at times, at the verge of what seemed to be a nervous breakdown. Throughout the story, Crispin and Jack's (Jack being his "apprentice," a young "cutpurse" he saved from the street) relationship seems to deepen and we see Crispin tapping into some paternalistic protective feelings for his sidekick. We also get a little more of a background on the ginger-haired young Jack and get to see him play the hero (kind of).

At the end of the day, moving forward, I think we're left with a bit of a different Crispin and Jack than the ones in the first two books.

I'd almost consider these books simple guilty pleasure reads - because they're so much fun and simply written - but Westerson's mysteries don't insult your intelligence. As a matter of fact, she uses her Guest series to teach a bit of medieval English history. In the Afterword here, we read about the actual events and characters in history she based the story on.

*shiver*

Good stuff.

3.5 solid stars overall; 4 stars for entertainment factor.