Entertainment

On the other side of the link below is a fun little drag and place game. As time’s running out (pretty darned quickly, at that), you have to drag the names of the states and place them in their place. 

A little tip, be very careful where you let go of the state - make sure the tip of the red arrow is right over the right place.  Connecticut and I had a devil of a time wiggling in.

It’s pretty fun - be sure to share it with all the young people you know.

And to those who are tempted to think “Not a problem,” be warned the time runs out faster than you think it will!

http://www.pibmug.com/files/map_test.swf 

Joi

“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.”

“Children’s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.“

“I find it interresting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God’s will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.” 

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!“

Maya Angelou is most definitely one of my own She-roes.

Joi

—–SPOILER FREE REVIEW —- -

My 3 daughters, one of their boyfriends, and I went to see Superman Returns last night.  We’d been looking forward to it for MONTHS, so I was a little nervous - when you’re all hyped up about a movie, it can go either way.  On the one hand, you can get sheer gold - like Memoirs of a Geisha, but on the other hand you can get something of an all together different color and odor - like King Kong.

Thanks be to the movie gods, Superman Returns was a brilliantly amazing movie and worth every moment spent in anticipation.  The effects were mind-blowing and the direction was flawless.  Movies like this can tend to have kernels of corn here and there, but Superman Returns never came close to even having one.

The casting was also flawless.  Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane was a perfect choice.  She’s even prettier as a brunette - draws more attention to her gorgeous face.  She’s the real life love of Orlando Bloom, btw. Now there’s another movie - Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man’s Chest - I’m all hyped up about seeing.  I know it’ll be gold - it has two of my faves, Keira and The Depp.  Can’t miss.

Kevin Spacey as Lex Luther was as good as Jack Nicholson as the Joker.  That, for me, is the ultimate measure of a villain.  IN FACT, the original Michael Keaton Batman movie is my measure of a “Comic Book” movie, and Superman Returns is every bit as good.  It blows Spider-Man’s drawers completely off.    

Parker Posey and James Marsden were also flawless as Kitty and Richard.  I’m not at all familiar with Parker Posey’s work, but now I’m going to hunt out other movies she’s made.  She was adorable.

If there’s any justice left in Hollywood, there’ll be all kinds of awards handed out to this movie - especially to its young director, Bryan Singer.  You really ought to see this movie - it’s one of the best.

Oh, on a sidenote - you know I’d posted before about Brandon Routh, Superman.  How he had been on One Life to Live before, but was fired?  Yes, One Life to Live, the soap opera.  And, no, I don’t watch it - I just happen to not miss an episode.

Anyhoo, on the drive home we were talking about how, after he was fired, Brandon put a message up on his website.  He’s a down to earth midwestern boy, a very devout Christian, and full of faith.  Very, very inspiring for anyone, but especially for such a young anyone.  After he was fired, he was extremely disappointed.  He wrote on his website how he felt that he’d been treated unfairly, and how sorry he was for his fans.  He went on to say that he was leaving it in God’s hands because he just KNEW He had something big planned for him.  He said he was trusting the Lord to help him, and pretty much said that with God’s help, he’d one day show those who’d wronged him what he could do.  Super, Man!

Um, that brings us to the Quote of the Day:

“If God’s on your side, make your plans as big as you want them to be.”

***The amazing Stand Ups at the top of the post, as well as the poster at the bottom are available at All Posters.com. 

Joi

Do you watch The View regularly? I’ve only watched a handful of times, and each time the only one of the bunch I really liked was Star Jones.  The rest?  Sandpaper.

That’s why I was so surprised to read that creator Barbara Walters and the rest of the big wigs have chased off their brightest Star.  They said that viewers were “turned off” by her dramatic weight loss and by her costly wedding.  Yeah, nothing turns me off like romance, weight loss and money.

A few things struck me as kind of interesting - the announcement was set to be made on Thursday, but Star (who feels old enough to make her own decisions) made a surprise announcement Tuesday….making Queen Sandpaper freakin’ mad.

A couple of quotes from this whole thing intrigue me.  First of all, Barbara Walters said, ““I would have loved for Star to have left and not said ‘I was fired,’ and not make it look like the program was somehow being cruel to her.” 

Why should she have gone out of her way to make a show that ditched her look good?! Star was an original member of the group and they turned their back on her.  The program is being cruel, Babs!

The quote I like the best, however, is from Star Jones:  “I’m not sure what the future holds.  But I’m absolutely sure who holds the future.”

If there’s any justice in the world, a year from now this lady will have her own show.  Her, I’d watch.  I like her style!

Joi

Between 4 and 6 years ago there was a young actor on the daytime drama, One Life to Live, who stood out in the crowd.  Not for the right reasons, mind you….for the wrong reasons.  HE STINK, STANK, STUNK.  The boy was dreadful.

An addiction since childhood (the show, not the boy), I saw the young man’s first episode, his last episode and all the ones in between.  I’m nothing if not a softie, and I HATE to see anyone lose their job, but even I was hoping the show would axe this kid because he was so bad.

Not only did he have trouble with his lines, he was wooden and emotionless. He was fodder for the online forums as well as the soap mags.  No one dared to fast forward through him though, because it was too funny.

I remember one of his most agonizing scenes.  He was in a cave with his character Seth’s girlfriend (Yes, yes a cave) and he was supposed to simply say, “I’ll start a fire.”  He stumbled all over the place - “I’ll start a fire, make a fire, start a fire, make a…”  The poor actress just looked at him, then the place where he should’ve been starting…making…starting that fire.  He stood there looking blankly at her.

It was one of his last scenes.

On daytime, anyway.

The young man didn’t let the stinking or the firing get the best of him.  He let them get the best from him instead.  He continued to work on his craft, kept dreaming, and believed that he could make it all happen.

Whatever became of this actor?  Something super, actually. His name is Brandon Routh, and on June 28 he has the lead role in a little movie that’ll be coming out.   He’s being called the “next big thing” and the “hottest new star.”

It’s the start of something big…the making of something big….the start of something big…

Joi

What in the world has Beyonce tapped into that the rest of the females in Hollywood are oblivious to?!  You don’t hear about her in hit-and-run incidents, she doesn’t starve herself to the point of looking like a stop sign, she doesn’t serial date, she forms complete, coherent sentences, and she always looks and acts every inch a lady.  Her clothes, her hair…everything is so completely flawless and stylish.  You’d think the other gals would look to her as a role model.  Yet, if I didn’t know better, I’d think they look at her and devise schemes to head in the opposite directions.  Idiots.

Anyway, I was adding some great Beyonce and Jay Z pics to our music blog when I noticed the beautiful little girl in the background of this picture.  Is that just precious or what?  You can see the admiration on her little face.  All of a sudden I started thinking about dreams - about dreaming large.  This little gal could very easily be the next Beyonce (God knows no one else is stepping up!).  With hard work, devotion, and dedication - she could one day be on the other end of that sort of admiring look.

Same’s true of all of us, our dreams are right before us - just waiting to be made into realities.  But they won’t transform themselves.  That’s up to us. IF we want it badly enough.  IF we’re willing to fight for what we want.  And IF we white-out the words can’t and quit in our mind’s dictionary.  Pretty inspiring stuff from an entertainment HQ.

Then I looked from the little girl to the bigger girl. To the bigger girl’s arms.  And the smile left my face. 

Where are those hand weights?….

Joi

…..who wouldn’t?!

Okay, so I’m cruising around the internet - doing, of all things, a little search engine optimization research.  (This particular blog shows up number 3 in Google when “Self Help Blog” is searched. I thought that was a little past cool, so I was trying to find out what this blog knew that a few of my other blogs are oblivious to.)

Anyway, in the midst of keywords, titles, and tags I accidentally came across some very colorful people and their very colorful blogs.  One, in particular, really put a smile on my day - Daily Dancer.   The young man behind the blog (and in front of the video) is a utopian reminder that life is what you make it.  The Daily Dancer has put in his order for a fun life - one full of laughs and butt slaps. 

Shake on!

Joi

One of my daughters, Emily, and I are 100 percent addicted to Lost - arguably the best drama on television. Ever. Getting lost in Lost is something we look forward to all week - and the rest of the family knows that for at least an hour and a half coming into the living room had better be done in sock feet, on tippy toes, and with every intention of being as silent as a monk. We watch for 1 hour, then dissect what we’ve watched for about 30 minutes - sometimes more, because we have to go back and pause on what we perceive to be clues. Like pictures of the island in doctor’s office, people in the background of flashbacks, etc.

Last night, another family favorite, American Idol, was on. In a cruel twist of tv fate, it comes on at the same time as Lost. So, last night Emily and I decided that we’d record our beloved drama on one tv and watch AI live in another room with everyone else - sending all of our good will Chris and Katharine’s way.

After we express a sufficient amount of outrage over Paris being the one sent home rather than Taylor, Em and I grab our snacks and head off for the island. 55 minutes into the show, we’ve drawn another family member (Brittany) into our world and we’re all on the edge of our seats, frozen, mouths hanging slightly open - hanging onto every word Michael and Ana Lucia are saying - watching every move of the gun. Then Michael, who is holding the gun, says, “I’m sorry.” - - - - - Then, then, then…. nothing! The dvr had stopped recording! We had a collective conniption, we had an emotional upheaval, we had an ARRRGH moment. We had everything but the last 5 minutes of the most emotionally-charged, dramatic Lost in months.

Brittany, who isn’t as invested as we are, laughed (I’ll remember that, by the way!) as Emily and I headed for the computer. The youngest, Stephany, was at the one we ran to - and looked puzzled to say the least. Somehow we conveyed the message to her that she needed to find a Lost forum RIGHT NOW - fortunately, the kid is a mad typer, so we were hooked up asap. (The husband just looked at us with that, “I am so surrounded” look he’s perfected.)

When we found out just what all we had missed, I we felt worse rather than better - it would have a totally kick arse show to have seen ALL of, especially the last 5 shocking minutes!

I wish I could say that the lesson learned - about never assuming anything, or taking anything for granted - was worth it.  But it wasn’t.  Not by a New York minute.  And especially not by Five Island Minutes!

Last night’s Oscars were about three steps from boring. But being a fan of Reese Witherspoon, Keira Knightley, Joaquin Phoenix, and George Clooney - I stayed glued. Two out of my four won, so I was reasonably happy. Bored, but happy. The cat gave up and left the room after 15 minutes. Fortunately,though, one of my daughters watched with me, so we had some laughs. (Admitedly, the two of us could laugh through CNN’s Financial News….)

Speaking of laughs, did you catch the Andy Griffith Marathon on TVLand? It played in the background throughout our house all weekend. We joined the channel in paying tribute to Don Knotts by laughing at arguably the funniest series ever made….episode after episode. The man was a comedic genius….and although he doesn’t get the attention he deserves, so was Howard McNear (Floyd). And how can Howard Morris (Ernest T. Bass) not be a houshold name?
Back to Oscar, talk about surprise endings - Crash winning over Brokeback Mountain. Never saw that one coming…apparently neither did any of the winners. Their excitement made us smile, and made us want to see their movie - I don’t know how we managed to miss that one. Too busy walking lines, watching Geishas, stepping into wardrobes, and getting lost in Pride and Prejudice?
My biggest shock was the lack of nominations for Memoirs of a Geisha. It was an amazing movie that the academy pretty much overlooked. I don’t know how it, Pride and Prejudice, and WTL couldn’t have landed in the best movie category. And I’m still bitter that Joaquin didn’t win - I can’t even remember the actor’s name he lost to, to be honest, but I hope he was amazing, because Joaquin was nothing short of brilliant as Johnny Cash.

I also loved Reese’s acceptance speech - very sweet and gracious, just what you’d expect from her. Clooney also copped a great acceptance, as did beautiful Rachel Weisz (though I so wanted Michelle Williams to win) - I can’t say whether the man who accepted Joaquin’s award gave a nice speech or not. Hard to listen when you’re tossing pillows at the screen and hissing through Diet Dr. Pepper.

No wonder the cat left the room.

Joi

I’m not sure if I’ve owned up to my Survivor obsession on this particular blog or not, so I’ll do so now.  I’m pretty much hooked in a phone off the hook, special snacks all around, no emergencies allowed type way.  As soon as one goes off, we’re planning the special snacks for the next one.

It’s just a lot of good, harmless fun that you can enjoy with your family around you.  Cat, too, if she’s so inclined.  Ours is.

Here’s a link to the new guys and gals.  Interesting group! Meet the New Survivors

It premieres February 2.  I’d better start planning those snacks……

Joi