Meet the Robinsons - a surprisingly good Disney animated film
Pink Panther Classic Cartoons: Disc 1 - just as it says - Classic - Saturday morning memories
Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring - one of the best - and it's two movies on one disc!
Nights in Rodanthe - it was where Odin was conceived so I wanted to see more of the area
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - interesting trivia: Slim Pickens played all his scenes straight. He was not given the rest of the script which would make him realize it was a black comedy. He essentially played himself, a red-blooded Texan. In this clip, instead of "weekend in Vegas" he really said "weekend in Dallas" since he was the token Texan. However, the movie was supposed to have it's first screening on November 22, 1963. Then Kennedy was shot. They dubbed over with "Vegas" and took out the pie-fight scene in the war room at the end. One of the lines in the pie-fight was "Gentlemen! Our gallant young president has been struck down in his prime!" after President Muffley takes a pie in the face. They then moved the premiere to the beginning of 1964.
Religulous - Bill Maher provokes and makes me laugh and makes me miss Politically Incorrect. I hang my head when one of the first places he visits is Raleigh. I recognize churches he passes on the highway. I'm glad he mentions the myths of Krishna, Mithra and Horus, beginning in writings as early as 1280 BC. And I'm glad he doesn't just focus on Christianity. The extra monologues and deleted scenes on the DVD are worth your time, as well. I'll have to say, he found some wise priests high up in the Catholic church (Fathers George Coyne and Reginald Foster) who have a realistic view of the Bible's lack of science and how fundamentalism has given Christianity (and all religions) a bad name. Directed by Larry Charles who brought us such greats as Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Tick, Entourage, Borat, Fridays, Mad about You, etc.
Lust For Life - Kirk Douglas and Anthony Quinn paint and drink absinthe in this biography of Vincent Van Gogh - fun and tragic. Quinn won best supporting actor as Paul Gauguin.
Darling - Julie Christie won best actress for this in 1965 - it's a sardonic look at the sexcapades of a model in the Swinging 60's of London
Fly Me To The Moon - Flies stow away on the Apollo 11 mission. Had to explain to my son that the Apollo landings are most likely accurate, since he knows most cartoons, especially about space, are not. Buzz Aldrin does come on during the end-credits to tell us that it would have been impossible for real flies to live on the spaceship. Aw...
GiGi - musical about a young woman being raised to be a courtesan in Gay 90's Paris - swept the Oscars that year.
W. - I just couldn't get over the casting. It was spot-on!
Kiki's Delivery Service - Another lovely movie by Hayao Miyazaki. A little witch quickly discovers that she can't take her abilities for granted.
Mansfield Park (2007) - Billie Piper, of Doctor Who fame, is Jane Austen's main character, Fanny, in this BBC TV adaptation.
A Nous La Liberte' - Assembly-line work in factories is shown to be no different from assembly-line work in prison. But really, it's a comedy and a musical and a silent film, sorta.
Carnal Knowledge - "You're a real prick, you know that?" Ann Margaret says to Jack Nicholson. She received her first Oscar nomination for this one.
Bob, Carol, Ted & Alice - Free Love, anyone? "I came here because I want a better orgasm. It's just not good enough." Besides that line, I'll watch any movie that opens with a drophead XKE being driven along the winding PCH - especially with Robert Culp and Natalie Wood inside.
30 Rock: Season 1: Disc 2
My Sister Eileen (1942) - my role model, Rosalind Russell, was nominated for an Oscar in this one
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Grand Hotel (1932)
Groundhog Day
Ninotchka - Greta Garbo. Enough said.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
February Movies
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Jetpacks Are Here!
I was incredibly disappointed after the turn of this Millenium.
Growing up, we were given visions of the future.
We'd have phones that would allow us to see the person - or just be telepathic, we'd manufacture products by special-order only to eliminate waste, our homes would be completely off the grid, we'd be traveling by air in our flying cars or self-propulsion...
Well, remember the jetpacks on Lost In Space and Bond films?
They were real, but could only take you for a ride of less than a minute fueled by hydrogen-peroxide or less than 10 minutes with jet fuel. Well, now they've created a pack fueled by highly pressured water!
"Designer Ramke's invention can power the rider to a height of 50 feet, has a top speed of 30mph, and can travel almost 200 miles before it needs to be refuelled.
A floating pump powered by a 150 horsepower four-stroke engine sends water through a 140ft-long hose to a pair of nozzles mounted on the jet pack."
The new Jet-Lev Flyer company implores us to "Stop Dreaming! Start Flying!"NOW WHERE'S MY FLYIN' CAR??!!
Nonprofits Team Up to Battle Unhealthy Eating
I am volunteering for OperationFrontline which is essentially nutrition, cooking, budget planning and grocery shopping classes and then in the spring I hope to help set up their inner-city gardens and mini-Farmer's Markets.
I'm so excited to find a charity that is doing EXACTLY what I have had in mind - that poor people need to eat healthfully and save money (on groceries as well as good nutrition since preventative health care always saves $). Maybe I'm an oddball because I don't believe throwing $$ at a problem is always the answer. What better way to walk the talk than "teach a man how to fish" if you know what I mean.
This article is Durham-centric and was published in this past Sunday's Herald Sun
but the program with whom I'm volunteering in Raleigh is the same:
Ingredients: one chef, one dietitian, one class assistant and many hungry participants.
Through healthy cooking classes taught by volunteer professionals, the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, in partnership with Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline, is cooking up a simple recipe for a healthier Durham.
Operation Frontline's classes teach healthy eating, food shopping and budgeting, and basic cooking skills.
"We give participants education on eating healthy, and education on how to do that, and then we give them recipes to put that in to practice," said Katherine Andrew, the Food Shuttle's nutritionist.
Local residents could use the advice.
According to a survey of 310 Durham residents by the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, 64 percent of adults in Durham were overweight or obese in 2007. People at or near the poverty line are at a higher risk for developing nutritional deficiencies and obesity.
The economic cost of the unhealthy lifestyles of some Durham county adults is more than $347 million annually, according to a February 2008 study by Be Active North Carolina, Inc. The study predicts that this number will climb to $487 by 2011 if current trends continue. Costs from unhealthy lifestyles include medical expenses from obesity-related diseases, such as type-2 diabetes.
Offered once a week, the classes last four to six weeks. In a typical class, students will have a nutrition lesson and then prepare their own healthy recipes under the direction of a chef. After each class, students leave with a grocery bag of ingredients, such as canned goods and vegetables, to make some of the recipes they learned.
Classes follow the same basic model but come in several different varieties based on the population group served. Classes are offered for adults, teenagers, teen parents, children and families.
Kids Up Front classes teach children age 8-12 basic cooking skills, nutrition information and food-safety advice. In a national survey of 1,207 participants, 73 percent said they learned at least one new thing about nutrition, and 89 percent said they learned at least one new thing about cooking.
"I enjoyed seeing the kids pleasantly surprised at how good healthy food can taste," one Kids Up Front instructor said.
A recent Kids Up Front class was offered at the Campus Hill Recreation Center in Northern Durham. Volunteers taught the class to children who were enrolled in the after-school program at the center.
Chef Beverly Tucker taught the children about the "claw" grip. When cutting vegetables, grasp them with your fingers curled inward, so the tips of your fingers are not exposed, she said.
Eating Right classes teach low-income adults how to prepare healthy meals on a limited budget. In a national survey of 1,870 participants, 77 percent reported eating more vegetables at the end of the course and 72 percent reported eating more fruits. And 99 percent said they would recommend Eating Right to a friend.
Classes provide adults with a social setting where they can learn about eating healthy and budgeting for food.
"We do a lot of food-resource management," Andrew said. "Once they know how to budget for food, it frees up money for other things."
An upcoming Eating Right class will be offered at Urban Ministries, a faith-based community shelter and kitchen in downtown Durham.
Operation Frontline courses were first offered in Durham in April. The program is expanding its offerings locally to meet a growing demand.
"There is definitely a bigger demand once people know about the classes," Andrew said. "We have a pretty high interest among adults."
© 2009 by The Durham Herald Company. All rights reserved.
BY KAITLYN JONGKIND : The Herald-Sun
I'm posting the full article because HeraldSun online is a subscription-only newspaper.
Feb 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Grassroots Motorsports April 2009
I want to note that two awesome people are in the April issue of Grassroots Motorsports!
There is no online link for the articles, but I just want to brag for them, to those who know them!
Carlota is on page 68 in "Who's Who?" in the $2008 Challenge. She's in her red 1988 Mazda 323GTX - noted for attending the Gainsville, Florida event despite living in California at the time. That's hardcore dedication!
Sean is on page 80, pictured with Jason and Laurie who went with him to the $2004 Challenge.
He's in the article "25 Choice Challengers", noted for his innovation.
"The Suprang was like nothing before or since, as the vintage Mustang featured the front and rear suspension grafted from a 1982 Toyota Supra. Why? Why not?"
For more on the "Suprang", see suprang.com and www.suprang.com/suprang11 and www.spkorb.org/suprang2
See Original Post for video
Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Congressman Capuano of Massachusetts Chides Bankers
Mike Capuano, Massachusetts Congressman
took full advantage of his time to scorn bankers accepting bailout money during the questioning by the House Financial Services Committee.
"You come to us today to say 'We're sorry, we didn't mean it, we won't do it again, trust us.'
Well, I have some people in my constituency who actually robbed some of your banks.
And they say the SAME THING!"
"I can't wait to get the Credit-Rating agencies here someday again"
- I can't TELL YOU how I want to witness this guy taking on the credit-reporting businesses.
But if you knew me, you knew I stood up and cheered in the theater when they blew up the TRW building in Fight Club - JACK "I believe the plan is to blow up the headquarters of these credit card companies and the TRW building."
STERN "Why these buildings? why credit card companies?
JACK "If you erase the debt record, we all go back to zero. It'll create total chaos."
BUT I digress...
Video Link
See 'Original Post' for video
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Spinal Tap Returns!
Caught this exciting news from The Guardian today:
"Take out your gloves and smell them. For the first time in 16 years, Spinal Tap are recording new material.
The legendary fake band will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the This Is Spinal Tap mockumentary by releasing a new album, their first since 1992's Break Like The Wind. "It'll be for download as well as on conventional media later this year," Harry Shearer (aka bassist Derek Smalls) confirmed to BBC 5 Live.
The fictional English heavy metal group is the work of Shearer and two more American actors, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest. They last reunited in 2007, playing the Live Earth concert at London's Wembley Stadium.
"We've never recorded the song we did at Live Earth, Warmer Than Hell, and I think [Spinal Tap] are trying to revisit their old success," Shearer said. Rob Reiner caught up with the band at the time of that gig, shooting a short film showing what Spinal Tap's members had done with their lives. Guest's Nigel Tufnel was raising miniature racing horses, Shearer's Smalls was recovering from an internet addiction, and McKean's David St Hubbins had become a hip-hop producer.
The band will revisit the same rich lyrical vein they plundered with their early hit Gimme Some Money, Shearer promised. "We'll do a song called Gimme Some More Money, probably with ... dubious results."
The band have yet to announce their new drummer. (!)
Sunday, February 1, 2009
January Movies
List of movies watched in January, rentals or otherwise:
Freakazoid!: Season 1: Disc 1
My Neighbor Totoro
Castle in the Sky
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This Is Spinal Tap
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
30 Rock: Season 1: Disc 1
My Man Godfrey
The Muppet Show: Season 1: Disc 2
Dodgeball
The Tudors: Season 1: Disc 2
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Galaxy Quest
Time Bandits
Be Kind Rewind
The Earrings of Madame de...
The Duchess
A Mighty Wind
