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Review: A Prairie Home Companion

“A penguin was floating on a small iceberg when he floated by another penguin.? The first penguin says to the second penguin, ‘You look like you’re wearing a tuxedo.’? The second penguin replies: ‘What makes you so sure I’m not?'”

Brooke and I went and saw “A Prairie Home Companion” today, based on the popular radio show frequently played on NPR that’s been on-air for the last 30 years.? The radio show hearkens back to variety shows of yesteryear, where musical acts, skits and subtle humor serve as entertainment to listeners (you know…like it was before there was television?).

The movie tries (effectively) to simulate the radio broadcast, taking place during the last show of a similar program.? The theater where the show is produced was bought and is being torn down to make room for a new parking lot, so the movie centers around the show’s untimely end.? The acting and music are all top-notch, which is expected when you have Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Kline, Lily Tomlin…and even Lindsay Lohan…in a movie together.? The music was catchy, complete with humorous lyrics, and the fact that these actors sang their stuff themselves was especially impressive.

Overall, the movie was well-done and fun to watch, giving the viewer a strong sense of nostalgia for days of old.? It should be noted, however, that Brooke and I were by far the youngest individuals in the theater…bringing the average age in the room down from 75 to 55…? So yeah, people much younger than us probably won’t enjoy the movie as much…but hopefully it’ll bring back fond memories for the adults, and introduce young people to entertainment that doesn’t involve sex, drugs and “Grand Theft Auto”…

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Carlin

A little wisdom from my man, George Carlin:

“So I worship the sun. But I don’t pray to the sun. You know why? Because I wouldn’t presume on our friendship. It’s not polite. I’ve often thought people treat God rather rudely. Trillions and trillions of prayers every day, asking and pleading and begging for favors. ‘Do this; give me that; I need this; I want that.’ And most of this praying takes place on Sunday, his day off! It’s not nice, and it’s no way to treat a friend.”

“I wanted to be a Boy Scout, but I had all the wrong traits. Apparently, they were looking for kids who were trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Unfortunately, at that time, I was devious, fickle, obstructive, hostile, rude, mean, defiant, glum, extravagant, cowardly, dirty, and sacrilegious. So I waited a few years and joined the army.”

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Hey!

I just set up a calendar with gmail, so if any of you want a minute-by-minute update of what I’m doing and you have a gmail address (and I care about you), let me know and I’ll let you in on it. Plus, you should all use it too so I can see what you’re up to! Oh, and I told Dana that my email address would be here and it’s not and putting it here is easier than making it fit somewhere else, so: jbrooke23@gmail.com. Other than that, heading to Hannibal for a couple of days to quench my boredom with some Rachel time!

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Review: CSA – The Confederate States of America

So, Brooke and I wanted to see a movie this past weekend, but there wasn’t much out that we wanted to see (or hadn’t already seen), so Brooke looked through the movies playing at the Tivoli, which is a theater in town that plays independent or limited-release films. Anyway, one such movie caught our collective eye: “CSA – The Confederate States of America.”

The movie is told through the vantage point of a British documentary, recounting the alternate “history” of America where the Confederates won at Gettysburg, causing France and Britain to enter the war on their side and defeat the Union Army. The South burns the North and reconstructs it in their image, solidifying slavery’s grasp on the country. The “history” is recounted from that time up to present day, discussing how slavery continued here and how they took over South America, sided with the Nazis in WWII (i.e. they didn’t fight with them, but they also didn’t intervene against plans for “world purity”), and became the sworn enemies of Canada.

The neat thing about the movie was the “commercials” interwoven with the movie, taking place about every 15 or 20 minutes, coinciding with what you’d see if you were watching TV. These commercials included a high-tech shackle that contained a GPS unit so you could track your slave if they escaped…

Anyway, it was a pretty good movie. Since it was released in 2004, it’s unlikely that you’ll find it many places, but you may run across it in some video rental places “off the beaten path”… Either way, it’s worth looking for if you get a chance.? Certainly an interesting take on roads not taken…

…thankfully…

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Hilarious…

Remember all that National Spelling Bee hullabaloo from last week? Well, Dr. Macarthur pointed me to a little blurb about some of the people who lost…

For example, one ten-year-old named Katie got words like “anastomosis” and “zedoary” correct, neither of which I’ve ever heard before… But what word does she get wrong? “Friend.” Now, the real kicker here is what Katie’s Mom said, in defense of her daughter’s stupidity:

We thought we had all of the words covered, but then they pull one out of the blue like that.? The real challenge for the kids is when they come across a word that they just don’t ever use in their daily life.

Apparently being home-schooled means you don’t have very many “friends”…

Oh, and another good one… This kid, Kevin, is a fifth grader and got words like “consecrated” and “intracutaneous” correct, but then misspelled “sapphic,” which apparently means ‘of or pertaining to homosexuality among women.’ Well, when asked about it, his mother said the following:

I just couldn’t believe it when they announced his word.? The whole reason we pulled him out of the public schools in the first place is so he wouldn’t have to be exposed to a filthy word like that.

Mom, thanks for not home-schooling me…

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Yum!

So, we were actually in town all this weekend and it was great to just relax here for once! Saturday, Josh came over to play computer games with Andy and Sharon came in the afternoon and we went to the pool at our apartment complex for some sun time since it was such a nice day (don’t worry Mom, I wore spf 30 and didn’t burn). We came back inside and watched some Food Network and did some research on interesting restaurants. We ended up picking a Honduran restaurant in the city. We were the only people in the place the whole time we were there, but the food was really good and not too pricey, so if you’re looking for an adventure and up for pointing at things on the menu you want, I’d say give it a try. I found out about it in the Riverfront Times restaurant review section of their website and they had lots of helpful reviews that we’ll probably be checking out in the future! Oh, I’m sure Andy will write a review for you, but we also saw CSA: The Confederate States of America at the Tivoli and had Blue Moon at Blueberry Hill before since we were there a little early. All in all, another good weekend, and there’s the possibility of a bit a of a job that I’m waiting to hear about!

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Review: X-Men – The Last Stand

Josh and I went and saw “X3” today, and I must say, I was pleased.? I had read a few reviews before seeing it, saying such things like “lots of action, little ‘heart'”…or “not quite Bryan Singer, but still worth the popcorn”…? Personally, I thought it held its own very well with the other iterations.

The story mostly deals with a mutant that’s discovered that can “mute” the powers of other mutants, allowing for a cure for mutant-ism.? Some mutants are cool with this (mainly, Rogue…) while others (just about everyone else…) isn’t.? This theme allows for a large number of ethical issues to be brought up, and they were.? I thought there was a pretty good mix of “issues” and “action” thrown together in the movie; while the action in “X-Men” and “X2” were generally spread throughout, this one really concentrated the brunt of it at the end (I mean, there were action scenes in the movie, but they seemed relatively short except for the ending…).

My only real complaint was with the very beginning…? I read a few reviews mentioning the digital effects used to make Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart look 20 years younger…and while Picard’s were done relatively well, I thought McKellan’s was a bit too obvious.? For the rest of the movie, the effects were pretty damned cool…especially the Jean Grey – to – Dark Phoenix transformations…? The action was well-choreographed and many favorites (Colossus and Storm) got much more “face time” than in previous movies.

I’ll make one thing perfectly clear, though: you must stay through the credits to watch the scene played at the end.? It is absolutely imperative.? Honestly, I thought the movie was “pretty good” when the credits started…and by the very end, I had to upgrade that analysis…’cause what was left hanging from earlier (threads that weren’t quite tied together…didn’t quite make sense as to why that scene was even in there…) was dealt with…and in spades…

Go see it in the theaters.? Don’t wait for the DVD release.? Buy it when it comes out, though…it’s a keeper…

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And So It Goes…

…Well, my 23rd birthday has come and gone and I am now an old woman with wrinkles (according to my cousin, Griff). All in all, it was a good weekend, though. Andy made me a green Jello poke cake on Friday and we barbequed some pork chops and watched Sin City. Then, we drove to Columbia on Saturday morning to do some laundry and go shopping for the strand of pearls I wanted from Andy for my birthday, but alas, could not find. Went to church, ate some tasty enchiladas, had a nice chat with the in-laws, and headed to bed. Went for a walk on the MKT on Sunday morning, then headed to Millersberg for some chillin with the Poors. Got a bit of a sunburn and ate too much, drove back home and here I am, watching CSI and working on a quilt. Not too bad of a weekend, if you ask me…now if I could only find a job, I’d be the happiest girl in the world!

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Ahem…

As stolen from Tom Yonker’s Facebook profile:

“However dominant in terms of numbers, Christianity is only a thread in the American tapestry – it is not the whole tapestry. The God who is spoken of and called on and prayed to in the public sphere is an essential character in the American drama, but He is not specifically God the Father or the God of Abraham. The right’s contention that we are a ‘Christian nation’ that has fallen from pure origins and can achieve redemption by some kind of return to Christian values is based on wishful thinking, not convincing historical argument.”

–Jon Meacham, NEWSWEEK Managing Editor, author of “American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation”

Indeed…

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For the one with everything…

Looking for something special for Memorial Day presents this year? Why don’t you try the Concerto Table? It comes with an iPod dock and two 50 watt speakers…and is shaped like a piano…

The blurb about it is from Engadget…damn, that site helps waste some time at work…