As I expected. "Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way."

As a child I was a nut for books and movies. Some might say I was just a nut, and they are mostly right...who else but a nut would devote an entire blog to their perverse love of all things cinematic. But I digress....

As I was saying, I loved books and movies, and my favorite thing as a child was Disney movies. The first movie I ever saw was "The Fox and the Hound". My mother often tells the story that the whole theater knew I was there. She said when Chief was hit by the train you would have thought my heart was broken. I cried so loud and long it was really sad, I'm sure people were wondering what my parents had done to me......I think I am digressing again.....what was I talking about...oh right, costumes....

My favorite Disney movie ever is "Mary Poppins". I love Julie Andrews with all my heart and can quote that movie from front to back.....however that isn't unusual because I can do that with a lot of movies....there I go again...

Costumes right...this year for our office Halloween party I decided (notice I decided) that Nick and I would be Mary Poppins and Bert

Pretty cool, huh. Well, we won an award at our office costume party. I'm just glad that Nick didn't want to wear his Jekyll/Hyde costume.....

I'm sure he wouldn't. Not during a tech rehearsal.

I LOVE THEATER!!!

I married an actor and his friends are actors and they are all in the Anderson County (KY) Community Theater production of "Jekyll and Hyde". Every time I think about it I get the giggles! I'm just so proud of the guys I could just bust!

First let me explain....no is too much. Let me sum up! Four couples hang out together a lot and when one does something they want the others to get in on it too. Because no one should be left out. So when Kenneth tried out for the musical back in September and got the lead he thought that the other musketeers should get involved too.

First up: Nick, who did theater when we lived in Nashville, was asked to try out and he got two small parts and the stage manager job (Nick isn't a real strong singer).

Next up, Bryan, who did some musical theater in high school, was asked to try out and got the part of Simon Stride, one of Dr. Jekyll's rivals in love.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, Hank did not want to get involved with this particular stunt. Theater is not a big interest to Hank. But, he was willing to go see the show and get his giggles. But, three out of four ain't bad.

This show is so much fun!! I know the guys had a blast doing it and the wives have had a lot of fun watching it It is a serious show and Kenneth does a GREAT job of the dual personalities of Jekyll/Hyde but I just get such a case of the giggles because he is so good! Kenneth is charming and wonderful as Jekyll and REALLY delightfully creepy when he is Hyde which I guess is the point it is just so great to see someone working so hard!!! The two female leads are incredible...there are no words to describe Tegan Hanks as Lucy. You really just have to be there and let your eyes tear up and your heart break when she sings "Someone Like You".

As wives watching the show together, Dana and I comfort each other as Lindsay's husband murders our husbands. And helped Lindsay cheer as her loving adorable husband rips his shirt open in agony. During one show, Kenneth is so into the part that he accidentally rips the shirt too far and Dana and I couldn't help ourselves we had to cheer big for that one!!

It is always nice to get your money's worth.

Look, I... I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker, or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am.

I am.....a Librarian!!!

It is my turn to vent frustration about the job! Don't get me wrong I love my job, but sometimes I get to witness the arrogance of my fellow man too closely.

You see, I work in a library. I'm proud of working in a library and I love my job. However, it must be a common misconception that any idiot can be a librarian. I guess, on second thought, that is correct. No matter if you graduated from Harvard or Rocko Clubo's School of Typewriter Maintenance, you are still a graduate endowed with the piece of paper that apparently makes you able to take over the world. However, perhaps you will see my point after you read this encounter.

My boss and I had a conversation the other day with a couple of people, interested in becoming librarians. We told them the necessary education (Masters in Library Science) needed and the state certification process. Conversation went as follows:

Them: Oh well, I have a masters degree in Education.

Us: Great! you can be a teacher but not a librarian.

Them: Why not....I have a masters in EDUCATION.

Us: Cool....how well do you know the Dewey Decimal system?

Them: What? You don't need THAT. There are computers that tell you that.

Us: Who do you think porgrams the computer?

Them: But I have a masters in READING?

Us: Good....can you catalog?

Them: What?

Us: Do you know which Library Management software works best in your area?

Them: But I have a MASTERS DEGREE.....

Us: Us too, Should we go teach your classes?

Them: No, you would need a degree in education....

Us: then you need a degree in Library Science.

You know, it may not seem like much to some people, but it really does take a lot to be a librarian and it isn't just the ability to READ!!!!

You like me...You REALLY Like me

OK...so it is my sister, Casy, and not the Academy of Motion Pictures but it is still something pretty special!

She is also the mother of my favorite niece......I should probably add that she is my ONLY niece, but still my favorite none the less. If you would like see the most gifted and talented 14month old in the world please visit this blog. http://theschweickartfamily.blogspot.com/. (that's one. :))

The rules for this award are simple:
1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his/her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you have recently discovered and think are great. Remember to contact those bloggers you have awarded to let them know they have been chosen for the award.

http://jimmythegeek.livejournal.com

http://fumblingtowardseternity.wordpress.com

http://thetractorcab.wordpress.com

Patience is a virtue....Not right now it isn't

To my one follower (my sister)-

I must apologize to you for my silence these past few months. I really haven't had anything to say or seen any movies that are really easy to blog about. Don't get me wrong, dear reader, I have seen some really good movies but to get my review from my twisted mind and out into the virtual world is a little difficult.

I will get better at this and hope these will come a little more frequently because life is calming down a bit for me. Thanks for you patience.

I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars... and you. What else you need to know?

I know I have neglected my duties as a purveyor of movie knowledge. There have been so many summer movies this year that I haven't really been writing about them I have just been watching them. If I didn't have my one and only reader (you know who you are) hounding me to write something for her I might not have the motivation to sit down and actually do it.

I am lucky enough to be married to a proud movie nerd such as myself, so going to the movies is not necessarily a chore for him. we are able to see a lot of the movies that come out in the big seasons (summer, fall, Christmas). So this year we have seen quite a bit of the blockbusters that have raided our movie theaters and TV set. This should be the first of several movie reviews that will be coming.

As most of you have guessed from the above quote, I'm going to talk a little bit about Public Enemies. This was the much hyped Michael Mann summer blockbuster starring the two big summer smash stars Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. Unlike a lot of over hyped summer movies ( Transformers2), this movie actually lived up to the excitment.

For those of you who may not know, this is the story of the rise and fall of the Dillinger gang. John Dillinger, played by Depp, was declared Public Enemy #1 by the head of the FBI at the time, J Edgar Hoover, played by, one of my favorites, Billy Crudup . A lot of historical liberties have been taken to make it a more interesting story, but it is delightful all the same. Hoover sends his best man to bring in Dillinger. This is a young gunslinger by the name of Melvin Purvis (Bale). Unfortunately, Purvis is incapable of thinking like a criminal and needs to bring in help from Texas.

The story itself has always captured the American public's heart. we love our gangsters. Our own Robin Hoods as it were, with larger than life personalities and devil may care smiles, they have always been played by some of the best Hollywood has to offer. (Gable, Cagney, Flynn) Add Depp to that list and you have it rounded it out, but this picture offered us something more.

There seemed to be no good or bad guy. Everyone had on gray hats. Each had their own trouble and their own demons, and neither ened well.

Margaret, will you marry me? Because I'd like to date you.

I think the start of the "summer blockbuster" was back in the 1930's when the only place that was cool in the summer time was a movie theater. Movies made a lot of money in the summer because the heat was so unbearable (esp. in the south) that people would pay their nickle just to get relief. So movies that really wouldn't have otherwise made a lot of money did pretty well in the summer. Now, everyone has cool air piped into their homes, so we need more of a reason to go to the movies...let me back track...most people need a reason. I, however, just need a willing body to go with me. (I'm too much of a chicken to go by myself.)

My case in point is the movie that I dragged my baby sister, Etta, to this past week. We saw The Proposal. This is one of those sweet, funny romantic comedies that feed my need for escapism. No matter how unbelievable, predictable and formulaic it may be, it is still fun to watch.

For those of you who don't know, the premise for this movie is; Sandra Bullock is Margaret Tate, a poor excuse for a human being that uses fear and blackmail to get whatever it is that she wants. Ryan Reynolds is Andrew Paxton, her long suffering assistant who is hanging in there waiting for his big break, that he is convinced she will give him if he does everything right. Margaret is Canadian, and about to be deported because she willingly broke the law because she honestly didn't think anyone would care. Faced with losing her job, she blackmails Andrew into agreeing to marry her to keep her in this country. Since her family is all dead, they must convince the federal government and Andrew's family that they are in love, so they travel to Alaska for Andrew's grandmother's birthday. Let the fun begin.

This movie had a lot of potential, because once they get to Alaska, you find out why it is that Andrew is willing to endure all that Margaret dishes out. Andrew's father, Joe, (played by Craig T. Nelson) is just a big a bully as Margaret. So, I guess he is kinda used to it. This is not explored enough to make it a major part of the movie, however, I thought it an interesting twist. The Paxton Family is still very loving and fun, even with the jerk father, and it is always fun to watch Betty White still be funny even into her 80's.

Although I did enjoy this movie, it is very hard to believe. Sandra Bullock is so soft looking and has such a sweet, expressive face that it is hard for it not to show how much she doesn't like being who she is, and maybe that is the point. Another unbelievable aspect is, in the words of Etta, WHO doesn't want to marry Ryan Reynolds?!?!? Are we really sure this wasn't contrived so that she could wiggle her way into his life? I think maybe Etta would.