Anyone who has been around me for very long has probably heard me yell, “Sausages!” at inappropriate moments. This stemmed from a Kids in the Hall skit I saw many, many years ago. I only saw it once, but it obviously stuck with me through the years. But I was the only person I knew who had ever seen the skit. Thank God for YouTube! I found it and now everyone I know can enjoy it in all of it’s insane weirdness! Enjoy!
Crafty Momma and I hired a babysitter early Saturday afternoon so we could go out to the movies to see Definitely, Maybe. I saw the trailer on IMDB a month or so ago and immediately felt that it was going to be a very good romantic comedy along the lines of Love Actually and When Harry Met Sally. In case you haven’t seen the commercials for it, Definitely, Maybe stars Ryan Reynolds as Will Hayes, a political consultant and father of Maya (played by cute little Abigail Breslin). Maya begins asking lots of questions after her school decides that it’s a good idea for 10-year-olds to be taught Sex Ed and begins to worry that her birth was “an accident”. This prompts her to ask Will about his past girlfriends and to tell her the story of how he and her mother (who are in the middle of divorcing) met. Will reluctantly agrees but changes all the names of the three women he has loved in his life so that Maya will have to guess which one of them is her mother. The story is mostly told in flashbacks beginning when Will heads off to New York to work for Bill Clinton’s campaign in the early 90s, with breaks every now and then for Maya to comment or ask questions.
Crafty Momma and I tried to guess which one was Maya’s mother and kept having to revise our theories as each unexpected event popped up, turning Will’s romantic life upside down. I was a bit concerned about Ryan Reynolds playing a father after some of his past roles in some raunchy comedies, but I found him to be very convincing in the role and think the he could be on his way to bigger things as an actor. Abigail Breslin is what Dakota Fanning should have been by this age and is only going to get better as she gets older. The rest of the cast were excellent as well. I have read some comments that are critical of the length of the movie, but I for one didn’t have a problem with it and enjoyed it so much that it wouldn’t have bothered me if it went on for an additional hour or so.
I was disappointed to see Definitely, Maybe only placed at number five in the top ten grossing movies of the weekend and even more so to see that Fool’s Gold finished a spot above it. The other three above it were movies that a lot of the younger folks would be more interested in. I just thought I would try to get the word out about this wonderful movie to anyone who happened to stumble upon this post. If you are a fan of well-written, funny, touching, feel-good romantic comedies, then this is definitely one you need to see.
I finished A Farewell to Arms a couple of days ago on my birthday. To say that the ending is depressing is a massive understatement. Without giving anything away, here is a brief summary of the plot:
Beautiful Love Story……Horrible War Story…….More Beautiful Love Story…….More Horrible War Story…….Back to the Beautiful Love Story………Last 15 Pages – BOOM! Everything Broken, Destroyed, Ruined……the End.
It’s definitely not something you’d want to read or give as a gift on Valentine’s Day. Now that’s not to say that I don’t recommend it. I usually like movies and books because a lot of times they are an escape from reality. But from time to time, it’s not a bad thing to read a more realistic story……one which, like a lot of things in life, does not necessarily have a happy ending.
To help be sure to shrug off the blues, I am going with a sure-fire pick-me-up……my old fave Neil Gaiman, this time writing with Terry Pratchett on Good Omens. I hear it’s a really good one. I’ll be sure to let you know.
Anyone still thinking about voting for Hillary Clinton (if she can even win the primary), please, please, please read this story. It is from the Wall Street Journal, not from some crazy right-wing rag or site. Yes, it is long, but it is very important that you understand the kind of person you are voting for. I don’t see how anyone can still even consider voting for her after reading this. Is it any wonder Osama Bin Laden called the United States a “paper tiger” under the Clinton administration?
I finally finished reading “The Words We Live By” and must say that I learned a lot….not only about the Constitution, but about history in general due to the information referenced by the author to help explain each part of the Constitution. She referred to a ton of Supreme Court cases….most of which I had never heard of. Next up, I needed to make a classic literature pick. I wasn’t sure what I was going to read until I had a conversation with Leblanc this weekend. He was perusing my book shelves when he noticed “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway and mentioned that he had read it and loved it. So, I am about 50 pages into it now and am enjoying it so far but I am prepared to be depressed based on what I’ve heard about Hemingway’s penchant for unhappy endings.
Any Jack Johnson fans out there? I know I’m a little late for New Music Tuesday, but if you haven’t checked out his new album “Sleep Through the Static”, it is very good. I have enjoyed all of his albums thus far. This one has a bit of a different sound, but is still an excellent choice if you are looking for music to just chill out to. I am amazed at the way Jack can make such mellow protest songs. Also, I love the fourth song on the album called “Angel”. It reminds me of my Crafty Momma. Check it out if you get a chance.
As I had hoped, the good guys prevailed tonight sending the Evil Empire of the NFL (aka the New England Patriots) home in defeat. Darth Vader (aka Bill Belichick) and his team ran off the field to cry in the locker room without so much as a “good game” to the victors. The only Pats player I feel remotely sorry for is Junior Seau but, unfortunately, he just picked the wrong team to un-retire for. I also wanted to say too bad to Leblanc, but he does already have his Red Sox World Championship from earlier in the year and three other Super Bowl Championships for the Pats not too long ago.
I must say, though, that I thoroughly enjoyed watching “Pretty Boy” Brady get smeared throughout the game. That was great. My theory that Mr. Brady would not be all that great if he was not given 20 years to pass the ball by his O-line was proven absolutely true. Do you think he could have escaped the clutches of the D-lineman the way Eli did late in the 4th quarter to make a huge downfield throw? I seriously doubt it.
So, in closing, congrats to the New York Giants and Patriots, please enjoy the revenge beat-downs you will be receiving in the next few years from all the other teams in the NFL.
Update: OK, so upon watching Sportscenter, I saw that Vader did shake hands with Coughlin after the game and I admit when I’m wrong. My bad.
On the eve of the Super Bowl, I read this.
The Boston Herald quoted a source who said that on the eve of their first Super Bowl win, the Patriots videotaped a St. Louis Rams walkthrough. Former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh has hinted to a few media organizations that he has some seriously damaging info on the Pats’ videotaping practices.
The Pats are denying this, but it is being reported by a newspaper from their own city…..what reason would they have to lie?
With all apologies to Leblanc, this puts the Patriots in the “Barry Bonds” category. It casts doubts upon the validity of all of their Super Bowl wins. In fact, the only people who will not be in favor of putting asterisks next to those achievements will be Patriots fans themselves. Leblanc has told me all along that he thinks Belichick will retire if the Pats go 19-0 and Michael Rosenberg, the author of the article linked above, goes even further to suggest that even if the Patriots lose today, it could happen as well as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will most likely deal out a lengthy suspension for Belichick if these allegations do turn out to be true.
I also agree with Rosenberg that this is not only a huge black eye for the New England Patriots, but for the entire NFL as well. Here’s hoping that the good guys defy the odds and pull out the victory today.
