Tuesday, July 10, 2012
State of Discovery
Last year I linked a State Farm commercial staring Aaron Rodgers. Here it is again with two sequels included. State Farm's latest commercial stars Wrigley Field and a couple of former Cubs. I am a big fan of their non-sports related commercials also. If I was not so lazy or if changing insurance agencies was less difficult, I would sign up with State Farm based on nothing other than the brilliance of their advertising campaigns.
The words she knows, the tune she hums
The last book I read I chose based on nothing other than the title. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer is the greatest book title ever. If you don't recognize the comic genius of this title, it is a play on the Elton John classic Hold Me Closer Tony Danza, that tells the story of a housekeeper striving to establish himself as the boss despite the fact that Alyssa Milano is clearly in charge. In addition to the great title, each chapter shares its name with a famous song or song lyric.
Next on my reading list is the biography about our sixteenth president and his mission to end slavery and slay the undead. There is a new documentary out about his life, so I have decided to read the book before seeing the movie.
The Last Airbender
Lately I have been getting my money's worth from my Netflix account. I started out watching half hour tv shows on my phone during my lunch break at work. That was probably the best decision I have made all year. I discovered some great television shows doing this. The best of them being Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is one of the five best shows of all time, not just cartoons, but of all television. If you have access to Netflix and have not watched this show, you are wasting your life. For those of you unfamiliar with the story here's an introduction.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
You're So Wicked
Editor's Note: You should have read the title in Pointer's "You're so naughty" voice.
Once upon a time, there was this great Broadway musical called Wicked. Maybe you've heard of it. It told the story of a young girl and the difficulties she faced because of her unusual skin tone. Unfortunately, I have only seen it once, but I have listened to the soundtrack many, many times. You can imagine my delight when I learned Gregory Maguire had written a book based on the play called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I finished reading it yesterday and am not sure how I feel about it. The book has a much darker tone than the original version. There were many scenes and details add to the story to make it into book length, which for the most part I enjoyed. However I thought some of the changes made to the story were unnecessary. This was one of those rare occasions where the performance surpasses the written word.
Wicked was such a success both on stage and in print that L Frank Baum wrote a sequel to Wicked which tells the story from the point of view of one of the minor characters from the book. He called his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz even though the story is told, not from the wizard's perspective, but from that of a young girl who does not even appear in Wicked until nearly the end of the book. I have not read this book, so I can't personally recommend it, though I hear it is good.
Since Hollywood is incapable of coming up with story ideas on their own, Baum's book was made into a movie. I was disappointed that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were not recast in the roles they made famous. It must be because their parts were so much smaller in the movie version, and they refused to play supporting characters. Instead Mabel King and Lena Horne took up their parts and joined the star studded cast that included Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Richard Pryor. The Wiz was later remade as The Wizard of Oz with an all cracker cast led by Judy Garland.
While researching this post, to make sure I had all of my facts straight, I learned that Maguire wrote three more books set in Oz. I just might have to read them also.
Once upon a time, there was this great Broadway musical called Wicked. Maybe you've heard of it. It told the story of a young girl and the difficulties she faced because of her unusual skin tone. Unfortunately, I have only seen it once, but I have listened to the soundtrack many, many times. You can imagine my delight when I learned Gregory Maguire had written a book based on the play called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I finished reading it yesterday and am not sure how I feel about it. The book has a much darker tone than the original version. There were many scenes and details add to the story to make it into book length, which for the most part I enjoyed. However I thought some of the changes made to the story were unnecessary. This was one of those rare occasions where the performance surpasses the written word.
Wicked was such a success both on stage and in print that L Frank Baum wrote a sequel to Wicked which tells the story from the point of view of one of the minor characters from the book. He called his book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz even though the story is told, not from the wizard's perspective, but from that of a young girl who does not even appear in Wicked until nearly the end of the book. I have not read this book, so I can't personally recommend it, though I hear it is good.
Since Hollywood is incapable of coming up with story ideas on their own, Baum's book was made into a movie. I was disappointed that Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were not recast in the roles they made famous. It must be because their parts were so much smaller in the movie version, and they refused to play supporting characters. Instead Mabel King and Lena Horne took up their parts and joined the star studded cast that included Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Richard Pryor. The Wiz was later remade as The Wizard of Oz with an all cracker cast led by Judy Garland.
While researching this post, to make sure I had all of my facts straight, I learned that Maguire wrote three more books set in Oz. I just might have to read them also.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Great Week or Greatest Week
The week began on Saturday with a birthday party for my cousin who turns fourteen in four days. I had a wonderful time and good food with the Arkansas half of my family.
On Sunday I got to hear three lessons at church from guest speaker Patrick Mead. Also a long lost friend made a surprise return to Little Rock.
Monday I had a front row seat at Dickey Stephens Park for the 11 am game. The Travs won 6-3 despite only getting six hits. That night I was back at PV for another dose of Patrick Mead.
I can't remember anything that happened on Tuesday. It must have been a lovely lazy day. That may have been the day that I completed the last of the major story lines of Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Time spent playing Oblivion has been a major contributor to the demise of this blog.
I returned to PV on Wednesday for Patrick Mead's finale.
Thursday I successfully talked myself out of mowing the yard and traveled to Clinton.
On Friday I hitched a ride to Lexington, that included a stop at the Dairy Queen. In addition to the usual family fun, I watched the first of two little league baseball games.
Saturday started with donuts and then another trip to the baseball park. Later there was a double birthday party, but alas no presents for me.
After church on Sunday the chocolate fountain at Golden Corral filled me to bursting with some help from the rest of the buffet. Then I went to the pool and swam off a small portion of that feast.
I spent nine hours in the car on Monday, a small price to pay for all that came before it. The DQ was again one of our stops.
The week wasn't perfect. I did work three days last week, but a three day work week is an improvement from the norm. I am slightly sunburned, but considering how much more time I spent in the sun than I usually do, it could have been much worse.
You may have noticed that this week lasted ten days. There was just too much to cram into the usual seven days, so the week had to be extended.
On Sunday I got to hear three lessons at church from guest speaker Patrick Mead. Also a long lost friend made a surprise return to Little Rock.
Monday I had a front row seat at Dickey Stephens Park for the 11 am game. The Travs won 6-3 despite only getting six hits. That night I was back at PV for another dose of Patrick Mead.
I can't remember anything that happened on Tuesday. It must have been a lovely lazy day. That may have been the day that I completed the last of the major story lines of Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. Time spent playing Oblivion has been a major contributor to the demise of this blog.
I returned to PV on Wednesday for Patrick Mead's finale.
Thursday I successfully talked myself out of mowing the yard and traveled to Clinton.
On Friday I hitched a ride to Lexington, that included a stop at the Dairy Queen. In addition to the usual family fun, I watched the first of two little league baseball games.
Saturday started with donuts and then another trip to the baseball park. Later there was a double birthday party, but alas no presents for me.
After church on Sunday the chocolate fountain at Golden Corral filled me to bursting with some help from the rest of the buffet. Then I went to the pool and swam off a small portion of that feast.
I spent nine hours in the car on Monday, a small price to pay for all that came before it. The DQ was again one of our stops.
The week wasn't perfect. I did work three days last week, but a three day work week is an improvement from the norm. I am slightly sunburned, but considering how much more time I spent in the sun than I usually do, it could have been much worse.
You may have noticed that this week lasted ten days. There was just too much to cram into the usual seven days, so the week had to be extended.
Monday, May 7, 2012
A Tale of Two Movies
It was the best of times. It was the hard to evaluate following the spectacular best of times that proceeded it. I guess Dickens won't be able to help me write this.
On any other day I may have loved Blue Like Jazz. I helped make it after all. I was an associate producer on the movie. By that I mean, I donated money to help get this publicly financed movie made. As compensation for my donation, I received a t-shirt, a coffee mug, and a phone call from the director. I also got my name in the credits. A smarter man would have moved closer to the scene before taking this blurry photo. The photo of Ellen's name is even blurrier.
I am having difficulty deciding how much I liked BLJ after watching Avengers just a couple of hours before it. If BLJ had been the second best movie ever made, I would still be unsure of my feelings about it. The gap is that wide between The Avengers and every other movie ever made.
Last year I rewatched all the Marvel made movies and rated them on a scale from one to ten (it has since been updated to include the original Fantastic Four and Punisher movies). My favorite was X-Men with a 9.8 rating. On that 1-10 scale Avengers gets a 42. There are not enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe this Joss Whedon masterpiece.
I realize that I have a reputation for exaggeration, but saying Avengers is the best thing ever put on film is an understatement. At one point during the movie I thought, "This is the greatest moment of my life." I cried twice during Avengers, once because it was sad and once because it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It will take every ounce of willpower that I possess to not go see this movie again tomorrow, and the next day, and every other day for the rest of my life.
On any other day I may have loved Blue Like Jazz. I helped make it after all. I was an associate producer on the movie. By that I mean, I donated money to help get this publicly financed movie made. As compensation for my donation, I received a t-shirt, a coffee mug, and a phone call from the director. I also got my name in the credits. A smarter man would have moved closer to the scene before taking this blurry photo. The photo of Ellen's name is even blurrier.
I am having difficulty deciding how much I liked BLJ after watching Avengers just a couple of hours before it. If BLJ had been the second best movie ever made, I would still be unsure of my feelings about it. The gap is that wide between The Avengers and every other movie ever made.
Last year I rewatched all the Marvel made movies and rated them on a scale from one to ten (it has since been updated to include the original Fantastic Four and Punisher movies). My favorite was X-Men with a 9.8 rating. On that 1-10 scale Avengers gets a 42. There are not enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe this Joss Whedon masterpiece.
I realize that I have a reputation for exaggeration, but saying Avengers is the best thing ever put on film is an understatement. At one point during the movie I thought, "This is the greatest moment of my life." I cried twice during Avengers, once because it was sad and once because it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It will take every ounce of willpower that I possess to not go see this movie again tomorrow, and the next day, and every other day for the rest of my life.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
World Traveler
This morning at work I bumped into an old friend. Flat Stanley was travelling from Centerton AR to Johnstown PA with a layover in Little Rock. We had a nice visit and caught up on old times. It was a mostly one sided conversation since the package he was in, while not sound proof, muffled his voice too much for someone with my hearing deficiencies to understand. He wanted me to tell all of you hello and that he misses us and all the good times that we had together.
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