Hello Again

Wow, I know I am WAY behind on blogging. Life just happens and I can’t even tell you it was some big event or change in my life. Too much Zumba, reading, and making cake bites probably (although not all at the same time).

My “Things to Check Out This Summer" List

1. “Barton Hollow” by the Civil Wars. Great music if you like harmonizing and acoustic music.

2. “The Help” Movie (and the book if you haven’t read it). Very moving story of civil rights in 1960s Mississippi (see my earlier blog post on the book).

3. “The Closer” final season. I love, love, love Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Lee Johnson on this show. Very sad that it is the last season, but I’ve heard there is a spinoff in the works.

4. The Waiting Booth by Brinda Berry. A book about a teenage girl with a missing brother and something strange in the woods by her house--are they connected? I read this book in two days!

5. Me becoming a brunette. Very fun and dramatic look with blond streaks...I sound like a L’Oreal commercial.

Baby, You're a Rich Man

The Social Network is the story of the beginning of Facebook and the subsequent lawsuits against its creator, Mark Zuckerberg (reportedly the youngest billionaire). I was interested in seeing this movie to see what all the hype was about and because Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. (I also wanted to see the actress who will be playing Lisbeth Salander in the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but that’s another story).

Two main aspects of the movie stood out to me: the study of Zuckerberg’s character and the commentary on the Internet and social networking. It’s quite interesting to me that the movie gives such a negative portrayal of a prominent person and that I haven’t really heard much from Zuckerberg about this. He’s seen as socially awkward, pedantic, annoying, and self-conscious. And that’s not even getting to the reasons for the lawsuits against him. In fact, I can’t think of any character in the movie that is truly likable or good. Oh, maybe one of his lawyers seems sympathetic in a few scenes.

The reason I think The Social Network has generated so much buzz is because Facebook is a part of the life of almost everyone under the age of 45 or so. A memorable line in the movie is when Zuckerberg’s ex-girlfriend complains to him that he acts as if the Internet is written in pencil, but it is really written in pen. I wonder if generations who have grown up with iPhones, Twitter, and IMDb will comprehend the significance of that.

My dad recently got a Facebook page. He said it was interesting seeing everyone’s page but he wondered what he does with it. I think he found it to be a waste of time, to tell you the truth. And it is, at times, I will admit. Now, let me go post a new Facebook status...

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

The Fighter is based on a real boxer, Micky Ward and his brother Dicky Eklund and is set in a lower middle class town in Massachusetts in the 90s. I wanted to see this movie for a few reasons. Christian Bale plays Dicky and he seems to transform himself with every role he gets. I have started to like Mark Wahlberg since his Oscar-nominated performance in "The Departed" - one of my favorite movies.

The best thing about this movie is the actors. Melissa Leo, who I recognized from her days on "Homicide: Life on the Street," plays the mother of Micky and Dicky and I would bet money she will be nominated for an Oscar for the role. I imagine Bale will also. I liked the way each boxing match was filmed as if you were watching it on television (grainy screen and all). The way the intense conversations were shot very close to the actors’ faces was effective.

The boxing scenes were hard to watch at times; I was impressed to learn that Wahlberg never used a stuntman and took all of those punches himself. I hope he got paid a lot because it looked pretty rough! The Fighter is a movie I recommend, especially if you like sports and drama. I like both most of the time.

You're the Voice

For the primary election this year, my dad applied to work as an election official. He was assigned a precinct in North Little Rock and had some interesting stories to tell me. So for the general election, I decided to take time off at my regular job and see for myself what working at the polls was like.

On November 2, I got to the precinct at 6:45 a.m. and helped the lady in charge (called the “Chief Judge” ) set up things, organize ballots, etc. Our precinct had three different types of ballots. At 7:20, voters started lining up to vote at 7:30 when the precinct opened.

My main assignment was handing out ballots. Each voter would go to a table to be identified with their driver’s license or voter registration card and then come to my table to get their ballot. After they voted, their ballot would be put in a machine that counted the votes. As you can imagine, the process had to be very organized. I could see how an election could be corrupted by someone not being organized or paying attention. The ladies I worked with were very diligent about the counting of the votes and making sure everything matched up. They were all older than me by at least 30 years, but most were very sharp, funny, and just delightful. The “Chief Judge” was the person voters would go to with changes of address, problems, or complaints.

A few things that surprised me: a lady who looked intelligent had voted for everyone on the ballot and therefore had the ballot disqualified (doesn’t she know that elections about about choosing one person?); explaining to a person why there are not Democrat and Republican ballots (basically explaining the different between a primary and a general election); a man who got irate because he had been sent to three different precincts (why would a person not figure out what precinct to go to BEFORE Election Day?).

I was reminded once again how fortunate we are in this country to have the right and privilege to vote. I hope more people are encouraged to exercise their right and have a say in how the city, state, and country is run. I’m ready for the next election!

Only Happy When It Rains

I tentatively began Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, Freedom, after hearing him talk about it on NPR’s “Fresh Air” and watching Oprah Winfrey rave about it on her show. I know it’s probably not cool anymore to like Oprah’s book selections, but I usually like the ones she picks. I read Franzen’s The Corrections a while back and found it depressing. I had to see how Freedom would measure up on the scale of pessimism and darkness.

The novel is the story of the Berglund family--particularly, the story of Walter and Patty Berglund’s marriage. My main criticism of this novel is the author uses too many words. He needs a different editor. He is talented at describing things, but I believe there can be power in restraint and brevity. (Yes, I was a journalism major in college and believe most of the time, the shortest way is the best way to tell a story.)

Anyway, the novel switches narrators throughout (which I liked) and is best when it is told from the view of Patty. Every member of the family suffers from depression at some point in the novel and at times, I just wanted them to stop putting themselves in bad situations and stop whining about it.

Despite the wordiness of the the book, I thought Freedom was well-written. I just don’t know that I enjoyed reading it all that much.

You're My Best Friend

This is a painting by Sherry Williamson of my dog Katie. Sherry's website is www.meowbarkart.com. I love my painting and I think Katie does too.

My Favorite Things

I love lists. At one of my former jobs, we used to ask the new employees to name their top five favorite movies-- “don’t think, just name them.” This way they couldn’t filter out the “uncool” movies. (“The Godfather” is a cool choice. “The Sound of Music” is not.)

Here is the list of my 10 favorite TV series. These are MY favorite; not necessarily what I think are the best. You may notice there are no sitcoms on my list. I’m more of a drama girl; I don’t think the stuff on TV is that funny.

10. Christy. I liked Kellie Martin from “Life Goes On” and it was great to see a show with a Christian message on TV. And Tyne Daly, always awesome.

9. 24. The format of this show was so original. All shown as if in real time and combining politics and law enforcement. Keifer Sutherland was excellent.

8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I admit that I only watched a few episodes of seasons 1 and 2. The writing on this show was so good that you forgot it was about vampires and other creatures. “Once More, With Feeling” was a genius musical episode.

7. Veronica Mars. Smartly-written with Kristen Bell as a teen detective wise beyond her years. I wish I had been as cool as Veronica in high school.

6. My So-Called Life. I watched this show my senior year in college when my world was changing just like Angela Chase’s world was changing. I loved how she related to her parents and how the show depicted her crush on Jordan Catalano. Sadly, the show only lasted one season and that is why it didn’t make it higher on my list.

5. Survivor. This is probably an uncool choice, but I always enjoy this show. Not because of the challenges. The social politics are what draw me in. Is it edited strategically? Maybe. Is the outcome fixed? I don’t care. It’s good TV.

4. Gilmore Girls. Great characters and great dialogue. The main weakness of the show was Rory Gilmore, the daughter. She could never match the strength of the Lorelai character and the great actress, Lauren Graham. You gotta have serious acting chops to be cast with her.

3. Lost. Interesting concept combining time travel, survival, and plain old drama. Loved the diverse cast. Loved the mystery of it all and “getting it.” Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson were fascinating to watch. There won’t be another show like it for a long time.

2. The Wire. This is my kind of show. Cops, politicians, lawyers. You really have to pay attention to follow the story. And the writers pull no punches; some of the stuff is gritty. It really got me thinking differently about poverty. In truth, I am only now starting the final season, but it has been great so far.

1. Felicity. Love Keri Russell. Love Scott Foley. Love the dialogue of the characters and the voice overs. I wish my college experience had been like Felicity’s instead of my own OBU catastrophe.

There are a few shows I am just getting into which are promising: Rescue Me, Dexter, Rubicon, Fringe. So what are your favorites? Do any of my favorites appear on your list?