Overheard in Podunk

I won't give the name of the town. That would be tacky.

Todd and I went to see Made of Honor tonight. I, personally, thought it was really cute and pretty dang funny. I laughed out loud a number of times, and that doesn't always happen. I didn't laugh nearly as much watching Baby Mama a few weeks ago, and the reviews for it were better. But, whatever. (And thanks, Gail, for the recommendation. Todd and I were going to save it for DVD, but I'm glad we went.) The on-location in Scotland scenes helped a wee bit, too.

Anyway ... this couple filed in after we were seated, leaving the requisite open seat between us. We always try to sit in the row with the railing in stadium seating theatres so we can prop our feet up. I know, I know, we are very uncouth. But, perhaps not as uncouth as ...

Right after Made of Honor scene where Tom (Patrick McDreamy Dempsey) has just been introduced to Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), and he says, "Hannah. That's a palindrome."

Podunk guy: What's a palindrome?
Podunk chick: I dunno.

I don't know why I thought this was so funny. But I did. Maybe it was because five minutes before the movie started, this couple sat down with the biggest bucket of popcorn I have ever seen in my life, a ginormous movie size soda, a couple packs of movie candy, and what looked like a 1.5 liter bottle of water. For some reason, I thought that was funny, too. I mean, how on earth do you eat and drink that much during a movie without having to ... excuse yourself?

My favorite line in the movie was "He has mad cow disease." You had to be there. And this isn't even my kind of movie humor usually, but I couldn't help it.

That is all.

Jake joins The Cult of Sincerity

Speaking of Jake Armerding, check out my blog post on An audience of me about The Cult of Sincerity, a full-length independent feature film that premiered on youtube April 8, which features two songs by Jake himself.

Yep, youtube. I watched the whole thing. I liked it. And, like American Idol, if you support it, it even "gives back!"

Hey, Ryan

You said it had been a while since I blogged. I blogged today.

This one's for you. :-)

Academy Awards highlights

Of course, our family's most exciting moment--Falling Slowly for Best Song from the movie Once. Amazing! What a boost for independent musicians and film makers. My family screamed when they announced this award. Congratulations, Glen and Marketa! (You do read my blog, right?)

Diablo Cody's award for best original screenplay for Juno was also a pleasant surprise.

And then, Kristen says . . .

After various awards for a certain film, which you must figure out for yourself:

"What is a born-old tomato?"

and

When Nicole Kidman came out with her 1,400 carats:

"That is some necklace."

Movie-induced daze

Just so you won't wonder if I'm still alive, and to thank you for regularly checking for new posts (all 2 or 3 of you, that is), I'll give you a small taste of what my last five or six days have consisted of, in chronological order. I fear it would be difficult to order them any other way, for they are so very different from each other.

1) Enchanted (So stupid it worked. I laughed my head off.)
2) Paris, Je T'aime (Pretty good ... not as good as I hoped.)
3) Juno (Even my husband said, "Hilarious," which is big coming from him. Tears, too ... well, at least from me.)
4) Ratatouille (The parts I was awake for, I enjoyed.)
5) P. S. I Love You (More laughter, more tears. Deserves more credit than the chick-flick -hating critics gave it.)
6) The Great Debaters (Can I just say, "Wow"? And dadgummit, more tears.)

Six down, six to go. (And that doesn't count the additional DVDs on tap.)

I'm working on another post of a more serious nature, so keep your eyes peeled. (That started out as "pealed," but I checked and it's peeled, indeed, as painful as that sounds.)

Fun things

Just a couple of quick things.

First, Blogger announced Dec. 13 you can now use Open ID here, which is nice for those who don't use Blogger accounts. You can make comments using your ID from certain other services. Check it out!

Second, a couple of quick, fun plugs for my faves.

Here's a short promo video made when David Wilcox played at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberley, Texas. (Which sadly, I missed.)



And ... drumroll, please!

Once is available on DVD today. Woo hoo!

These are a few of my favorite things

Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens,
Movies and music and Ryan with mittens ... (I mean mocassins ... lalala )
Cheeseburger tacos with onnnion strings...

1) Todd and I saw Martian Child Saturday night. I really loved it. Me and only 22% of the movie reviewer population on rottentomatoes.com. Those people. What is so wrong with a movie full of schmaltz (read: people learning to love each other)? Who freakin' cares? If it makes you happy, it must be bad, they say.

John and Joan Cusack are full 'o fun, and this was quite a serious movie, but still fun. It had some (not-so-sly) political messages that kind of cracked me up. We've come a long way since the Dixie Chicks scandal of not so many years ago. I wonder if Hollywood could have gotten away then with panning into sharp focus--not once, but twice--a picture of George W behind a school principal explaining to David (John Cusack) "We're just not equipped to handle a child as different as Dennis here in our school." Whatever your politics, it was quite an overt message, I thought. Todd gives me a hard time and says I read too much into movies or music sometimes, but I dunno ... I kind of enjoy looking for the subtle and not-so-subtle messages sent through media.

2) Annual trek to see my fav-o-rite musician, singer/songwriter David Wilcox tonight. This year, I might add, I am proud to say I recommended to Dave's manager that he try to book him at the Bend Studio, and he did. I'm positively famous now, obviously. He was supposed to play their Ft. Worth venue, but ended up doing two Dallas shows instead at a place called Rock House Films. It was a smaller setting than we've seen him in the last few years, which was cool. He sang a hysterical new song I'm absolutely sure will lead to a new nickname spoken under the breath around the house (not in front of the children, of course) at certain times when people are acting like ... well, like Captain Wanker. :-O

3) Ryan joined us for a pre-birthday celebration at the concert. We were devastated to find that Tin Star, which was only a few short blocks from Rock House, and where we were going to enjoy the best ever cheesburger tacos, was gone. It's been replaced by a restaurant called Mooyah, which sounds suspiciously like Hooyah!, one of our favorite Denton restaurants, only it serves burgers instead of burritos. What is the world coming to when Tin Star goes away from Uptown Dallas? I almost cried. Instead, we had some pretty good pizza from I Fratelli, and luckily, there are four other Tin Star locations in the Metroplex.

Ryan is making his way toward the last stretch of his first semester in college. He mentioned it's interesting that he's the only one of his friends with a job, and also the only one who always owes his friends money. What's up with that?

Anyway, we enjoyed his hole-y mocassined company to celebrate another year of Ryan, and another year of David Wilcox. He sat in awe and got real excited when Dave sang "Leave it like it is," one of his favorites. I told him I'd start calling him Kitchen Blue if he'd like, because he is definitely "a unique." (Ten bucks for the reader who can identify the movie that line comes from.)

Now when the paint jar tipped
Off of the table
You watched as it started to fall
Glass popped, shattered and splattered
And paint spray hit the wall

Bright, blue glossy enamel
Across the kitchen floor
You said, "Good God, look at that pattern
I've never seen that before"

Leave it like it is
Never mind the turpentine
Leave it like it is
Its fine

Now when the paint dried
You gave it a title
You called it "Kitchen Blue"
A white frame painted around it
And gallery lighting, too

Rich folks come over to dinner
They all want one of their own
They say "How much? Who's the artist"
And, "My what a beautiful home"

Now most folks suffer in sorrow
Thinking they're just no good
They don't match the magazine model
As close as they think they should

They live just like the "paint by numbers"
The teacher would be impressed
A life-time of follow the lines
So it's just like all of the rest

Leave it like it is
Never mind the turpentine
Leave it like it is
Its fine

Wow, this is getting way too long, and I think it's because even though the clock says it's 12:41, a few days ago, it would have been 1:41. I think I'd best be going now.

Just fodder

Wow, no soapboxes, no salad tales, nothing exciting here for over a week. If you consider that other stuff exciting, that is.

(OH WAIT! THE CHICKEN IS BACK IN THE EXTRA BOX AND I FORGOT IT'S IN ITS OWN BAG TOO THAT'S 13 PIECES OF TRASH!)

Sorry, just had to throw that at you.

Nope, just been dealing with normal stuff. Life. Home improvement. Parenting woes. Certainly nothing huge, just the usual guilt over whether I'm "doing it right." Yeah. That alone can take all the energy right outta ya. You wouldn't think a stray dog could cause so much guilt, not would you?

Enough about me. What do YOU think about my parenting skills? Hehehe.

Saw a fun movie this weekend. Dan in Real Life. I've been waiting and waiting for this one. The previews just got me because yes, I am a sucker for a good, sappy, emotional family drama. The scene in the preview where Dan hugs his little girl and sighs? Yep, I got teary in the movie, too. It also had some good laugh lines. Todd and I have been telling each other "Put it on my tab" for weeks now.

I wouldn't give this movie five out of five stars, because it did have its flaws (and also one of those weird things where a scene in the preview is NOT in the actual movie. How does that happen? Don't those people in Hollywood realize we'll NOTICE?), but I certainly came away with that feel-good sense of peace a movie like this ought to bring you. There's not enough of that in the world. A little "ripped from the pages of Pottery Barn" (thanks, Chris Kelly) is ok now and then, don't you think?

It's going to be another crazy month coming up, but in a good way. (See my blog over at An audience of me if you're curious) Between writing, great concerts, and the start of what's sure to be a hectic (what other kind is there any more?), yet joyous holiday season , I am looking forward to November.

What's your November starting to look like?

Jump with your eyes open

Feast of Love? I liked it. (Chris Kelly, eat my socks ... as usual.)

And, of course, it didn't hurt that they used a Glenn Hansard/Marketa Irglova song in the soundtrack.

And, did I mention that we are going to see those lovely folks in Austin in November? Well, we are. Only 10 days after we get to see the one and only David Wilcox in Ft. Worth. November is Marvelous Music Month for Julie.

And, also, if you are the least bit sensitive to nudity, this is not the movie for you. We, obviously, will not be taking Kristen to see this one for, say, 10 years.

Taking it all for granted

Happy Fourth of July. We just got back from spending the day with friends grilling and swimming (YAY! NO RAIN! For the first time in ... um ... forever!), and then the grownups watched a movie while the kids watched another and played.

We watched Blood Diamond, and can I just say, Wow. Wow. Wow. I am still somewhat speechless. (But as you know, I always recover fairly quickly from speechlessness.) This movie is set in 1999 in the midst of the Sierra Leone civil war. Through the viewpoints of a family torn apart, a soldier of fortune, and an American journalist, it explores some of the situations behind the war, most specifically the conflict diamond trade (smuggling diamonds out of the country to sell for arms and ammunition), with a subplot about the children forced to fight in the revolutionary army.

Movies like this are always quite sobering and leave me feeling a little ... blue? ... sad? ... helpless? All of the above.

Todd and I had an interesting discussion when we got home. I asked him what he thought about the movie, and he said it was good, but frustrating, kind of like Hotel Rwanda or Sometimes in April (both excellent movies, but like this one, not for the faint of heart). He said learning about situations like Sierra Leone almost makes him want to shrug and say, “Yeah, that was interesting and sad, but so overwhelming, what the heck can *I* do about it?”

Then we considered that the point Blood Diamond and Hotel Rwanda make is that while we certainly cannot as a single person or family have a huge influence on the horrific conditions in many parts of the world (including some in very our own backyards), we can start with small actions or helping one or two people. It is still baffling and frustrating to know which one or two to help, or which small actions to take, of course. In the Sierra Leone situation, the actions of a few led many governments to join together to create public policy, which, while it may not keep people from continuing to perform illegal actions (smuggling, etc.), at least sends the message that these things are unacceptable and attempts to foster an environment of change.

I recommend you check out this movie, then do your own research to find out what horrors are taking place around the world or under your own nose, and carefully consider what small actions you can take to make a difference. At the very least, consider how much most of us (if you are reading this, probably you) take for granted our comfortable Independence Day celebrations—complete with endless supplies of grilled steak, hamburgers, and ice cream, beautiful yards and swimming pools, comfy living rooms and DVD players, and most of all, the ability to walk down our streets without fearing for our lives or those of our family members. Be thankful. (Then do something.)

I’m pointing one finger at you, and three back at myself, while I look at the wedding ring on my finger and wonder if the diamond there caused anyone to lose their life.

I get knocked down, but I get up again...

In other movie news...because I know how sick you are of hearing about Once.

Todd and I went to see Knocked Up last night. It was shhhhtupid!!!!! It was like two movies trying to be in the same movie. (Think Dumb and Dumber vs. The Last Kiss. Not so pretty.) And to think, the reviewers that gave it 5 out of 5 stars are the same ones who gave that other movie 5/5.

Go see Once. Twice.

Once bitten

I seriously haven't been this smitten with a movie since Grease in junior high school. I saw that two nights in a row.

This video shows the first part of the story--in reverse! Fun.

Three Movies, Three Days

I mentioned that we watched The Painted Veil on Friday night, but I actually saw three movies, very different, over the last several days. Thursday, Gail and I saw Waitress, which I've been drooling over since the previews started showing a few months ago. It finally came to the standard theaters in our area last weekend, and we snuck out after a work meeting to watch it. I have to say my expectations weren't met with this one. I know most people watch movies simply to be entertained, but a movie usually has to stick with me for a few days or longer for me to really feel like I spent my time and money well. (As an example, Blades of Glory was not one of those, but it was still fun, Gail.)

Waitress just left me kind of empty. Other than the visions of pies that ran through my head for the next few hours, I totally forgot about it. The end was probably like it might have happened in real life, except for a few minor details, like how did the abusive husband just let her go without a fuss? Gail and I talked about how the main character (Keri Russell) was well developed and likeable, but the male character who played her doctor and secret lover...cute, but um, no apparent motivation for his actions. Weird. Anyway, it just felt "half-done," unlike the pies, which looked delicious. Sad true story, though, about how the director, who played a part in the movie, too, was murdered after the filming. Her character was really cute and unique.

The Painted Veil...I already commented on this movie in my last post, but it lingered. Scenes from the movie have drifted through my mind on more than one occasion since Friday night. It was disturbing, haunting, with gorgeous cinematography and fascinating characters. Not a feel good movie--just a good movie.

Then...there was Once. We saw this at the Angelika Saturday night with Todd's dad and stepmom, and I would quite honestly be willing to go all the way back there two or three more times to see it on the big screen while I can. Wow.

The lead, Glenn Hansard, is the lead singer for The Frames, and I really like their music so figured I would enjoy it no matter what, but this one truly lived up to the rave reviews it has gotten from local critics and Sundance festival attendees. It was breathtaking. It was rated R, but only because the Irish throw the F word around like it's money. It was simply the story of an incredible friendship and "once in a lifetime" love. There were several points during the film where I literally felt I would start crying because the music and scene were so beautiful. I also got a lump in my throat when the credits started rolling. Not the cathartic tears-streaming down-my-face-at-the-end-of-The-Notebook kind of lump—just a lump that rested there for quite a while.

There's a song from the movie in my music player, by the way. Falling Slowly. Check it out at the bottom or side of my page. You can watch a video of the two leads performing the same song here. Picture them in the film in a small music shop, sitting in front of a piano playing and singing while they're falling in love. The story is told almost completely through music, both casual, and while they're recording a CD together. You can, in fact, listen to the whole soundtrack at the movie website.

I laughed at Todd's dad at dinner later. He said, "In my opinion, that movie was damn good." I had to agree. We'll be buying the soundtrack as soon as we can, then the DVD. Run, don't walk, to the nearest theatre showing Once. I regret that my internet has been down two nights in a row and I can't post this sooner!!! I feel that strongly about it.

Movies. Love 'em. And when I love them, I really love them.

Food heaven

The chocolate fondue chips from Williams-Sonoma are scrumptious. You should rush right out and buy some. Then you should cut up strawberries, bananas, oranges, pineapple, and Granny Smith apples to dip in the chips you've melted with heavy cream. Baking a eggnog-flavored poundcake and chewy brownies to cube and dip helps, too. And marshmallows. Even mini marshallows if you forget to get the big ones. (In fact, I think they're better!)

We did this last night with good friends and it was yummy. I bought Todd some new fondue equipment for Christmas along with the WS chocolate and the WS eggnog cake mix and we finally used it. (He does do fondue--this wasn't a random gift, he made fondue for me the night he proposed. What a guy.)

We made cheese fondue for an appetizer, but had to add milk--a whole package of onion soup mix added to the cheese and beer is a litte on the strong side. Trust me on this one.

We cheated on the main course and grilled chickena and steak and veggie kebabs. Figured it was overkill to fondue five million pieces of these items individually when we could throw them on eight skewers and fire them up in about 15 minutes. :-)

We watched the Painted Veil in shifts...before and after the chocolate fondue. Good movie, a little sad, however, and a little uncomfortable as the behavior of the characters is pretty honest and true to life in spots.

Okay, we've had our high-tone cultural evening and can go back to our regularly programmed suburban life. Wait, we'll do that AFTER we go to see Once at the arthouse tonight. Ain't life grand when you can color outside the lines on occasion?

Momo (in which case Momo means "More Movies")

Saw Premonition tonight. It wasn't THAT bad. 'Twas a little confusing in spots, but honestly, I am surprised it got the horrendous reviews it garnered. Granted, the end was a little maudlin, but overall, I didn't mind spending the eight bucks. Or was that eight-fifty?

This was the third movie I saw in the theater this week (yes, it was spring break for sure), and it wasn't the worst. Bridge to Terabithia was cute and Annasophia Robb is beautiful and charming. The Ultimate Gift wasn't horrible, but was definitely a "made for tv" movie, although Abigail Breslin is just too cute. I'd have to rank it behind Premonition, though, and it got something like a C- from our local reviewer, while Premonition got an F across the board, with one grudging "fresh" from rottentomatoes.com.

One reviewer said the audience laughed in several of the pivotal points. That happened in the sold-out theater where we watched it as well, but it kind of puzzled me. I didn't think it was funny as much as it was an "Oh, no she didn't" moment. Maybe it was more a statement about our times that people laughed as a man was about to be decapitated and blown up. Or, maybe it was that everyone was already laughing because a theater employee came in before the show started to announce that it was sold out and that anyone caught with their cell phone out during the movie would be asked to leave the theater. ?? She seriously did say caught.

Oh, well. I just don't agree with the reviewers on many occasions these days. We have just become too cynical as a society. Yep, that's it.

Books and movies, movies and books

This afternoon I took my daughter plus one to the movie store so they wouldn't drive me nuts later tonight. We have two extras at the house for yesterday and today. They, as usual, found two movies they've already seen to rent. What is it with kids and doing that? I think it's very strange. I will buy movies I especially liked at the theater (eg., The Notebook, Pride & Prejudice) and on occasion, even watch them (eg., Love, Actually), but I would never rent a movie I saw at the theater unless I was dying to have someone else watch it with me who had never seen it and it was less expensive to buy it than rent it.

I convinced them that was kind of silly (score! that rarely happens) and instead, we spent the big bucks on buying eight movies. I know, I am a sucker for the 4 for $20 deal Blockbuster always has, and especially when all the movies I've been wanting to buy are finally $9.99 or less and I can get them for the deal price. So, the girls got two movies they have NOT seen (well, at least some of the four have not seen each of the two...I could draw a Venn diagram if it would make it easier for you), and I got six. Overall, it is less expensive for us to buy cheap movies than to rent them...what with the "no late fees" service charges and all. (And that's a whole 'nuther subject.)

The point of this post is that it's strange how things work out. I just finished reading Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman. (I know, it's not on my sidebar, but I can't keep up with myself and all the books I read, so I just post what I'm reading if I happen to think of it, or if I read something particularly meaningful.) I've read one other Alice Hoffman, and took a look at her list inside the book jacket. That's nothing new...I always read nearly every word that appears in or on every book I read, including the reviews and acknowledgements. Weird, I realize. I also read shampoo bottle ingredients on occasion when I'm bored in the shower.

One of her books is called The River King. Well, lo and behold, what did appear at the movie store in front of my eyes, but movie of same name, which I've never seen or heard of in my life. And, sure enough, it was the same story. I did not buy that movie, but I was tempted. I think I'll try to find the book first. BUT...the next movie that caught my eye was The Door in the Floor. Well, I just finished reading A Widow for One Year, as you can see by the books in my sidebar, because I did post that one. When I was reading it, my friend Gail mentioned this movie was based on part of that book, so I thought I'd have to keep an eye open for it. How con-ven-i-ent. (Doing Church Lady dance now.) I did buy that movie. It will probably be strange, as the book was strange. John Irving has the slightly annoying habit of using odd italics to emphasize as he writes, and a kind of "foretelling" style. I haven't picked up any of those habits at all...I swear I used the italics before I ever read the book.

So, yeah, I said all that to say that coicidence is a strange animal. Someone I won't name to avoid being hit with rotten fruit, in fact, often calls it the "coinci-dance." I like it when those weird coincidances happen in my life. They make me think. What about you?

Power, and The Queen

Power...it's something we're talking about this week in the writing class I'm taking. It's also something I thought about a few days ago when my friend and I went to see the movie, The Queen. Helen Mirren was amazing as Queen Elizabeth and her Oscar was well deserved. This movie made a few statements about power. We might picture "power" as a man in a dark three-piece pin-striped suit on Wall Street, or the dictator of a faraway country, or even as a huge, grey metal electricity transformer sitting in a field behind our subdivision. And yes, we may even picture power in the form of someone like Queen Elizabeth, even though we know that realistically, the monarchy in the U.K. is now more a figurehead than anything else. Wikipedia says, "In legal theory she is the most powerful head of state in the world, although in practice she personally exercises very little political executive power."

The story of The Queen begins with the world was reeling in the aftermath of the accident that killed Diana Spencer and Dodi Fayed. Diana's official status as a member of the royal family was questionable—she was already divorced from Prince Charles—yet she was being eulogized as the "People's Princess" and millions were dropping flowers and notes at the foot of Buckingham Palace. I remember the news well. I had a month-old baby who often kept me awake during the night. I would switch on the television to stay awake while feeding her and settling her back to sleep, and saw the story about the accident soon after it happened. I also clearly remember the 1981 fairy tale wedding of Diana and Charles, having spent that long ago summer as a teenager with my grandmother in Albuquerque while she was dying. I sat by my grandma's bed as we drank in all the details of the beautiful wedding and forgot about the cancer for one afternoon. In August 1997, I woke my husband as I was crept back into bed and told him the news because it really was shocking and sad, even though we were here in the United States. I think Diana truly was the "People's Princess," and most of us had come to admire her humanitarian efforts and felt sorry for her because of the media's persistent dogging and attacks on her character.

In The Queen, Queen Elizabeth begins to take flack from her subjects and the world as the media asks why the royal family isn't observing Diana's death as formally and publicly as expected. They're not flying a flag at half mast over the palace, they haven't made a public appearance at the gates to observe the tokens of sympathy left there, and the queen has made no public statement. She defends her actions, or apparent lack thereof. She tells those questioning her that a) the only reason the flag was ever flown was simply to let the world know when the monarch was in residence at the palace, and had never flown at half mast, even when her own father had died, that b) she and her family were dealing with their grief in their usual manner—in private and with decorum, which is what they had always done and what she believed her subjects expected, and c) that most of all, she was caring for her grandchildren, who had lost their mother.

In several telephone interchanges with the new prime minister, Tony Blair, the queen stands her ground, but finally, she realizes and acknowledges the world has changed, and that she must change along with it, at least in the public eye. She begins to make new plans.

In a subsequent scene, Queen Elizabeth is stuck in her vehicle in a riverbed, having driven her Land Rover to meet her husband and grandchildren somewhere on the Balmoral Castle estate. The boys were being "distracted" by stalking a huge elk. (My companion was amazed at a similar previous scene..."Who would have thought they'd cook for themselves on a grill?" she said.) Queen Elizabeth uses her satellite phone to call for help, and as she waits, she sees the prize-winning elk, standing silent and regal only yards away. Suddenly and briefly, tears spill from her eyes. She hears her family nearby and shoos the elk away so it can't be shot. In a later scene, however, she discovers the elk has been shot on a neighboring estate, and she asks her neighbor to let her see it. She stands in silence and views the dead elk. These sequences, although perhaps fictionalized, seem to represent her coming to grips with the lasting image of royalty to the world, Diana's death, and even perhaps a belated understanding of Diana, in spite of her sometimes scandalous actions in the limelight.

The queen and her family return to London and visit the overflowing gates, viewing flowers alongside notes that accuse her of being cold-hearted and threaten to topple the monarchy. Then, she notices a small girl holding a bouquet of flowers behind a fence. She asks the girl if she wants her to place them, and the little girl says, "No. The flowers are for you." The line of people at the fence begin to bow and curtsey in deference as she smiles and takes the flowers, thanks the little girl, and walks on. She goes on to make a public television appearance and gives a gracious speech.

The power demonstrated by Queen Elizabeth was exemplified in restraint. First, obvious restraint in the initial actions that came to her naturally. Second, restraint in understanding that because of the power and influence she held, she had to change her actions, even when it went against the grain of what she had always believed to be right. She recognized that the responsibility bestowed on her at such a young age was "for life," and that it required her to go outside herself and do what was "expected," even when it was the unexpected.

In the final scene, Tony Blair arrives for his second audience with the queen, and she asks him if he has sensible shoes on, because her best advising is done on her feet, and it's time to walk and talk and get on with modernizing the kingdom.

We all have power in some shape or form. How will we use it? Will we recognize that sometimes using power for good requires us to take actions outside our comfort zone? Using power for good may require us to stretch and change to meet those who look to us as leaders and role models. Nothing earth shattering, but something to think about.

The Holiday rocked the start of MY holiday season

Oh, bah humbug, Chris Kelly.

I saw it in sneak preview last weekend, and I loved it. (And so did the other five people with me, or so they say...well, the guys didn't exactly say "love" but they seemed to enjoy it quite well.) So there. I don't think it was meant to be any kind of overly intellectual endeavor, so pass the eggnog and enjoy a fun holiday love story, dude!

I've never even jumped on the Jude Law bandwagon until this movie, but now I have a bad celebrity crush. :) (Love ya, Todd, honey, darlin', sweetie pie...)