Yoo Hoo?

Anybody out there? I have been remiss in my blogging efforts. I have a million excuses including an unexpected quick trip that had to be made last minute, illness, holiday chaos, and deadline hell. I am going to try to do better. I failed miserably at my 3 November goals (see excuses above).

In better news, I have seen a lot of movies in the past weeks. The Departed has a fantastic cast and incredible acting, most notably by Leonardo DiCaprio (did I spell that last name correctly?) and Jack Nicholson. Leo has grown up very nicely, I might add. Can't wait to see him in Blood Diamond, which also looks great, judging by the previews. The Departed is not for the faint of heart. Extremely gritty and violent. Vulger, too, but in a realistic way rather than gratuitously. The story deals with the Irish mafia so... Also saw Stranger Than Fiction and loved, loved, loved it! Smart humor, rather than Will Ferrel's (did I spell that last name correctly?) usual juvenile naughty humor -- i.e. jogging naked, etc. (Don't get me wrong, if I'm in the mood, I like his silly movies, too!) Stranger Than Fiction is the sort of movie that makes you think about its meaning long after its over. Let's see...what else? Borat. Oh my God. Very crude. Very politically incorrect and offensive. Very prone to induce uncontrollable fits of laughter. There's one scene...well, let's just say you can't look away, though you really wish you could. And you can't believe what you're seeing! If you go, you might want to wear a disguise so as not to be recognized coming out of the theatre by neighbors or your sweet Aunt Rose. :-) Also saw The Prestige. Not my favorite of the movies I've seen of late, but still very good. It's about an obsessive competition between magicians back in the top hat days. I loved the time period and the costumes. Also, it had a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Finally, I saw Bobby. I heard people grumbling that they didn't like the movie as we were leaving. But I thought it was fantastic and so did my 20 year old son, who went with me. I think the people who were disappointed probably thought it would deal more with Bobby Kennedy's assassination. The story is about what was happening in the lives of some of the people who were in the hotel that day in the hours leading up to the shooting. To me, it really sent a message about how violence affects people from all races, of all ages, from all walks of life. Bobby Kennedy's speech, voiced over during the final images at the end, is so powerful I had goosebumps. Oh, to have people in office again whose words can so effectively inspire and stir emotion!

After reading the above over, I think I need to make my new goal to learn how to spell last names! Anyway, back to the craziness of Christmas preparations, deadlines, etc.!

Stay warm!

Jenny