2012 Oscars...

Winning the Knudsen family Oscar competition is becoming Webb’s monopoly. The rest of us have a hard time competing. I believe it’s at least Webb’s 3rd or 4th consecutive year as the victor.

I probably saw a few more of the movie nominees this year than I usually do. And the movies I saw, I really enjoyed.

The Artist and The Help were two personal favorites, so I was delighted to see The Artist get Best Picture.

It sounds like Webb won (or tied) a few other Oscar contests he entered with friends and co-workers. Out of 24 Oscars, Webb correctly guessed 19. This score wouldn’t ace one of my statistics tests but it garnered him 1st place in our household....which goes to show you what a difference the competition makes (or doesn’t in this instance!).

Silence is golden...

When Webb recommended the movie The Artist and described it as a French movie filmed in black and white with virtually no sound, I was not on the edge of my seat.

But, I’ve learned from experience that Webb knows the film industry so we decided to see The Artist and it was incredible! A charming movie!

It turns out you don’t need much dialogue to make a great movie. But, the characters have to be captivating and luckily these were.

Even though I’m old(ish); I wasn’t ever a big fan of silent movies. When I was a kiddo they were kind of considered passé. Now, after watching The Artist I’m inclined to rent a few classics from the silent cinema genre. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this silent.

The solitude of the theatre generally was pretty cool. As we walked outside right after the film, Andie immediately commented on the noise of Santana Row. It was uncanny how quickly you noticed the difference and how disruptive the noise felt.

With special effects getting so much hype in the movie world these days, it was refreshing to see a show that relied on a darling story and great characters to make it a hit.

And, speaking of awesome characters, there was a dog in the movie that was fabulous. I think the dog, named Uggie, was a jack russell terrier and he should be nominated for Best Supporting Actor!

This was the best movie that I’ve seen in the theatre in 2012! Okay, it’s also the first show I’ve seen, but at least I’m off to a good start!

J.P. or Ben? Who are these Men?

“Critics said reality television’s latest evolution was supposed to be like disco - - a hyper-popular fad with a relatively fast burnout. But three years after CBS’s reality cash cow Survivor became the surprise hit of a bland summer schedule, and 12 years after The Real World changed reality TV forever, the voyeuristic genre is still going strong.” -Robert Morast, Argus Leader, 2003.

Before Monday night I had never watched The Bachelorette. But Paige had about a dozen girls over watching the season finale and since Brent had a red-eye flight, I tuned in with the show enthusiasts.

The majority of the girls in our living room were rooting for Ashley to choose J.P. (Kelli was even sporting her homemade "Team J.P.” shirt - funny girl! :).

I was probably a bit of a buzz kill for the die-hard Bachelorette fans on our couch questioning the “reality” of the show. But, I did come away from my first episode understanding how Paige and company becomes sucked into the drama. For instance, I really liked Ben too and obviously both guys can’t win so it’s heart wrenching TV viewing.

I’m still completely perplexed how these Bachelors or Bachelorettes charm, date, and ostensibly “fall in love” with more than one guy at a time. It seems like the show only works if there is drama which I’m still skeptical whether that is real or played up.

According to the TV ratings, viewing was way down for Ashley’s final show. But, since I was one of the 9.5 million viewers, my personal average for viewing The Bachelorette skyrocketed! And I might even be willing to give the show a chance next season. Stay tuned!

“I think people watch this for the elements of bizarre. There’s a sick sensation by watching humans in risk or fail. We criticize people who stop at the side of a road to watch traffic accidents ... in a sense, it’s the same thing as that.” -Dr. Jeff McCall, Communications professor at DePauw University

Best! Picture!

I loved The King's Speech! An excellent movie and well deserving of the Oscar for Best Picture! Thank goodness the motion picture industry changed the rating from "R" to "PG-13" because I really didn't want to miss this movie. And I'm glad I didn't!

Who knew a film focused on a deceased king who stuttered could make for such compelling drama? Here is this reluctant King who needs to rise to the challenge of leading his country against the forces of Hitler and the Nazi regime. This was a gargantuan task for anyone let alone someone who hated public speaking and had a speech impediment!

Making a historical movie is challenging since the audience knows what happened. But the film kept me engaged and interested despite the predictable outcome. I thought the movie did a fantastic job of giving a glimpse of the Royal family during the 1940's.

Colin Firth's acting abilities were phenomenal! What a class act! I loved the relationship between King George (aka Bertie) and the Queen Mum (Helena Bonham Carter). What an impressive and supportive wife Elizabeth was. And, of course, the relationship between Bertie and his speech therapist Lionel Logue was wonderful too.

There is a famous historical quote (it's not in the movie) when Queen Elizabeth was asked if she would send her daughters away for the duration of the war and she responded: "The children will not leave without me. I will not leave without the King. And the King will never leave." What a great woman (wife, mom, etc)!

The impact of the actual speech given by King George in 1939 was immense. It gave the British people hope. To see a movie like The King's Speech win Best Picture gives me hope in the film industry to bring us quality entertainment! Great show!

"The moral of this story is listen to your mother." - spoken by The Kings Speech director, Tom Hooper, as he accepted his Oscar and noted it was his mother who found the script for him.

Play To Win!

The nominees for Oscar Best Guess for the 2011 Academy Awards were Paige, Andie, Anna, Webb, K2, and Brent.

Brent sponsored our annual contest and I had the lovely job to tally the results. This year winners are:

In 1st place, guessing 18 of 24 categories correct, and a repeat of last year's winner, the Best Guess Oscar goes to ... Webb Knudsen! $75 and 2 movies passes are on their way to our Grand Prize recipient.

In 2nd place, guessing 17 of 24 categories correct, the 2nd Best Guess Oscar goes to ... Paige Knudsen. $50 is headed to London for our 2nd place winner and one movie pass awaits her arrival back in the states.

Finally, in 3rd place, guessing 16 0f 24 categories correct, the 3rd Best Guess Oscar goes to ... Brent Knudsen. As the official Best Guess Oscar sponsor, and to avoid any speculation of tampering, Brent has elected to donate his $25 3rd prize to the Perpetual Education Fund.

Brent is quite surprised to garner the 3rd place award considering how few of the nominated movies he has seen. I'm even more shocked by his award since as Brent's usual date for movies I know firsthand about his tendency to nod-off during most shows!

Thank you to all our contenders! Every nominee did a fine job and assistance was even offered during minor glitches in getting the ballots disseminated (thanks Anna!). The Red Carpet fashion on site at the Knudsen Academy was not quite on par with the gowns displayed at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. No surprise there.

My favorite moment at the 83rd Academy Awards were the 5th graders from Staten Island Public School 22 performing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." I'll nominate their school choir for the best presentation of the evening!

Since our nominees did not need to be present to win, our 1st place winner emailed his acceptance speech: "I'd like to thank the Academy, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Scott Rudin, my agent Kevin Huvane at CAA, Bernie Brillstein, Barry Diller, the gaffers, the best boy grip, and everyone who believed in this project and helped make it what it is. God bless. Good night." -Webb Knudsen, Best Guess Oscar acceptance speech.

...Lead Us Not Into Temptation...

"The central theme of the book and the movie is temptation, how you meet temptation and beat it. You have to fight it and defeat it. You can never find how strong temptation is, unless you beat it. You only find out the level of your own weakness." -Douglas Gresham

Walden Media (Webb's employer) released the 3rd Chronicles of Narnia movie last weekend, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. It's a great show but didn't get the opening box office success that it deserved.

The movie is in 3D and most reviews agree that it's better than the 2nd movie, Prince Caspian. Still, for some reason it didn't generate high tickets sales (yet, anyway).

The executive producer of the movie, Douglas Gresham, is the stepson of C.S. Lewis. I read his quote above in a movie review where Gresham comments on his mission to keep the movie true to the legacy of C.S. Lewis.

When C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia books in the early 1950's he worried that our western societies were abandoning important values like personal responsibility, commitment, courage, chivalry, and courtesy. Lewis felt that ignoring these values could lead to our demise. And, history has shown that societies struggle when standards fall.

I've always loved the Narnia books and Walden Media has done a nice job with all 3 of the movies. Any movie that taxes me to think about the themes explored gets high marks in my book (the K2 adnauseam book, that is!).

"To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself." -the Magician in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Weekend at the Theatre...

One of the perks of Brent's calling as Bishop is invitations to all sorts of youth activities. We've been to swim meets, football games, piano recitals, the ballet, Eagle scout projects, and lots of school plays.

This weekend we spent Friday night at Mirror Image and Saturday night at Bye Bye Birdie. Both middle school productions were great. I've learned to attend with a marginally low expectation and then I'm almost always surprised by how good the shows actually are.

Allen Graves was Albert, a lead role in Bye Bye Birdie which is always a fun musical. Allen seems to have the Graves musical gene and an extrovert personality to boot. Allen's stage career may just be getting started.

I wasn't familiar with the 'enchanted' musical production of Mirror Image and it was darling. Kaden Bohn was The Woodsman and Christina Noskowki was Little Red Riding Hood. Like Allen, Christina and Kaden are 2 talented thespians. And, Fisher Middle School knows how to put on a great play.

It's a shame we don't put on church roadshows anymore. The Los Gatos Ward could be serious competitors in stage productions with our abundant pool of youth in drama.

On a side (but related) note, this week in Seminary I learned that the word hypocrite in Greek means actor (since it refers to someone playing a part). Still, it just doesn't sound right to call these talented youth hypocrites! Even if they are good actors!

Extraordinary & Terrifical!

"Quite often somebody will say, "What year do your books take place? and the only answer I can give is, in childhood." -Beverly Cleary

Perhaps Beverly Cleary was the J.K. Rowling of my generation. Which would make Ramona Quimby the 1960's Harry Potter and Cleary's most popular character.

Beverly Cleary is an extraordinary children's book author and the new movie, Ramona and Beezus, produced by Walden Media (Webb's employers! Go Webb!) is terrifical! Terrifical = a custom word coined by Ramona herself! Aside from language (bad words - er, Ramona says "guts" twice) the show is pretty clean! It's rated "G" (maybe G for guts)!

During childhood I read every Beverly Cleary book, starting with Henry Higgins and Henry's skinny dog, Ribsy. But with the "Ramona" books I found a protagonist I completely identified with. As far as my older sister's were concerned, I probably was Ramona! Ramona the Pest, that is! I was the troublemaker tomboy kid sister with a vivid imagination, quirky behavior, and a predilection for mischief making! Ramona the Pest had nothing on me!

I think Beverly Cleary, 94 years old and living in Carmel, California, will approve of the movie. Walden Media did a great job! The movie does a nice job of capturing Ramona's complexity; she's a nuisance but endearing! Ramona's not just a tagalong little sister or a stubborn meddlesome student, she's also sensitive and tries hard to solve problems.

Beverly Cleary once said that while she was a rather quiet child, she had "Ramona-like thoughts!" I'm afraid I have to concede to Ramona-like thoughts as well as Ramona-like behavior (as a child, that is)!

Side note: The photo of Beverly Cleary reminds me of President Hinckley's wife, Marjorie Pay Hinckley. See the resemblance?

"Problem solving, and I don't mean algebra, seems to be my life's work. Maybe it's everyone's life work." -Beverly Cleary

Second star to the right & straight on 'til morning!

Second star to the right & straight on 'til morning are Peter Pan's directions to Neverland. Last night, Neverland, was at the Threesixty Theatre @ Ferry Park on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

The premiere here is the show's 1st stop in the states after a successful run in London. The production was good, not stellar, but the most impressive part were some of the special effects. The roof of the tent becomes a full screen and visually the show is clever and imaginative.

I've always enjoyed the Peter Pan story, a big win for the odd J.M. Barrie. Barrie and Oscar Wilde are both cited for the quote:

"I'm not young enough to know everything" and it's easy to imagine either one of them using the line. Regardless of who said it first, the older I get the more I concur. It reminds me of the Socrate's "the more I learn, the less I know" philosophy.

Before the show we had dinner at The Slanted Door. I've wanted to try this Vietnamese restaurant since it opened over 10 years ago. Great food, great company (a double date with John and Vicki Hodgman) and a good (sorry, didn't quite make the "great" grade) show! Ah, but for lovely evenings out and date nights, one must "grow up" to experience such pleasures! So, Peter Pan just might want to reconsider his situation!

"If you have it (love), you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have." -J.M. Barrie

To Infinity.....and BEYOND!

The 3rd Times the Charm! Toy Story 3 is a classic!

By far one of the best movies. Ever. Pixar is in a league of it's own!

I enjoyed Toy Story 1 & Toy Story 2. But I was completely dazzled by Toy Story 3! When it comes to entertainment, it just doesn't get much better.

The movie was filled with clever lines but my favorite had to be Andy's description when he introduced Woody to Bonnie: Andy: "Woody? Well, the very best thing about Woody is that Woody will NEVER GIVE UP on you!" Everyone needs at least one Woody in their life!

The camaraderie between Andy's toys were a perfect metaphor for families; helping each other, staying together through thick and thin! Some movies rated "E" for "Everyone" means you are safe taking the toddlers. With Toy Story 3, I'd emphatically say that everyone should see this film!

When John Lasseter (Pixar CEO) spoke at Webb's Pepperdine Graduation last year I wish I had taken notes! I do remember his commencement comments were focused on following our dreams. Lasseter seemed grounded and genuine and did not fit the Hollywood prima donna image at all.

I did find a John Lassester quote that bespeaks the success of Pixar. In an interview Lasseter said: "I joke that I never had to grow up, but part of me thinks I hope I never have to because I've learned to trust my childish instincts that way." I'm glad Lasseter stayed true to his self, lo, even (and especially) the childish self. Had he and others not, we might not have enjoyed such a wonderful home run hit movie with Toy Story 3!

Buzz Lightyear: "Hold on, this is no time to be hysterical!

Hamm the Piggy Bank: "This is the perfect time to be hysterical!"

Ogres are like Onions!

Analogies are a great technique to 'get at' something in a fresh way! Aristotle taught that when there is a disconnect between what you want to express and what the audience knows, an analogy is the best way to get the point across.

To liken something people are familiar with to something new you create understanding. But one danger of analogies is that others might draw the wrong conclusions.

We played a Gospel Analogies game in Seminary on Friday. To show the youth ideas of how analogies work (& also how they can be misconstrued) I read them a scene from the first Shrek movie. Shrek has one thing in mind but Donkey draws all sorts of interesting and irrelevant connections to Shrek's analogy of ogres. It's pretty fun!

Shrek: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think.

Donkey: Example?

Shrek: Example? Okay, um, ogres are like onions.

Donkey: They stink?

Shrek: Yes. No!

Donkey: They make you cry?

Shrek: No!

Donkey: You leave them out in the sun, they get all brown, start sprouting' little white hairs.

Shrek: No! Layers! Onions have layers! Ogres have layers! You get it? We both have layers.

Donkey: Oh, you both have layers. Oh. You know, not everybody likes onions. Cake! Everybody loves cakes! Cakes have layers.

Shrek: I don't care...what everyone likes. Ogres are not like cakes;

Donkey: You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits. Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait?" Parfaits are delicious.

Shrek: No! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story.

The Fine Art of Coathanger Sculptures!

Kaden Bohn and Christina Noskowski performed in Fisher Middle School's production of "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown" yesterday.

Some of the show monologues by the Peanuts characters are classic! Charlie Brown's little sister, Sally, goes on a diatribe after getting a lousy grade. It's awesome! Sally's rant is below:

"A 'C'? A 'C'? I got a 'C' on my coathanger sculpture? How could anyone get a 'C' in coathanger sculpture?

May I ask a question? Was I judged on the piece of sculpture itself? Is so, is it not true that time alone can judge a work of art?

Or was I judged on my talent? Is so, is it fair that I be judged on a part of my life over which I have no control? If I was judged on my effort, then I was judged unfairly, for I tried as hard as I could!

Was I judged on what I had learned about this project? Is so, then were not you, my teacher also being judged on your ability to transmit your knowledge to me? Are you willing to share my 'C'?

Perhaps I was being judged on the quality of the coathanger itself out of which my creation was made...now is this not also unfair! Am I to be judged by the quality of coathangers that are used by the drycleaning establishment that returns our garments? Is that not the responsibility of my parents? Should they not share my 'C'?"

"We're All Mad Here!"

I've been an undying fan of timeless children's books since the "Children's Classics" course I took in college! So, even though I haven't seen the movie Avatar we did get to the Opening Night for Alice in Wonderland!

I was excited to see Tim Burton-do-Lewis-Carroll! Two whimsical, inventive guys! And, the movie was great. Johnny Depp was a perfect Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as Alice was excellent.

So, in tribute to Carroll's classic work, I'm listing some of my favorite "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" Book Quotes (several were also in the movie) starting with the wonderful line when the Cheshire Cat tells Alice: "We're All Mad Here!"

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - the Queen to Alice

"What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversations?"

"Speak English!" said the Eaglet. "I don't know the meaning of half those long words, and I don't believe you do either!"

"Off with her head!" said the Queen.

"Perhaps it hasn't one," Alice ventured to remark. "Tut, tut, child!" said the Duchess. "Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it."

"Begin at the beginning," the King said very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

Alice: "I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I have changed several times since then."

And the Oscar for "Best Guess" goes to...

Yes, every year The Knudsen Academy votes on the Oscar Nominees! Complete with a prize for the family member whose estimates come closest to the winners selected by the Motion Picture Academy.

Ballots are due before the start of the Academy Awards Show and fortunately, you need not be present to win! Phew! No pressure about a gown for The Red Carpet! Nor do you need to have seen all the movies! Or any, for that matter! "Guessing" is the name of the game!

So, the 5 nominees for the 2010 "Best Guess" Oscar in the Knudsen family are (obviously): Brent, Kathryn, Andie, Webb, and Paige! And this year, the Oscar goes to: Webb Knudsen. Webb guessed 15 of the 24 correct winners!

In a total stroke of luck, I came in 2nd place guessing 13 of 24 movies! Which is a complete fluke since the only nominated movies I have seen are Up, The Blind Side, Julie & Julia, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Cove, and Invictus! I guess what I miss at the cinema I read in the paper! But I might be the only person on the planet who hasn't seen Avatar yet!

Since our winner was not present to make a speech, he was contacted by text messenger and wrote the following: "I'd like to thank my family, the academy, God, and all the little people who helped to make this possible!"

The prize for the Best Guess Oscar is always donated by our generous family philanthropist (aka Dad)! He has not disclosed the specifics for this year's winner but I'm sure we'll get an email announcement later today! Congratulations to all participants!

The Nutcracker!

I love The Nutcracker ballet! I've probably seen it nearly every holiday season! My parents started the tradition when I was just a toddler and happily, Brent likes it so we've taken our kids almost annually!

We've seen The Nutcracker in Washington, D.C., Boston, New York, San Diego, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.

The Seattle production was one of my favorites because the sets and costumes were designed by Maurice Sendak! And I always love the Ballet West version (the Salt Lake City ballet) since it's the one I grew up with.

Last night we went to see Sophie Ryvola in a San Jose Dance Theatre production. Sophie was a great little soldier but I think she could be cast as Clara one day. Sophie's definitely got the moxie for a lead role!

When I was young I wanted to audition to be one of the boy party guests. The boys were usually girls with pixie haircuts since ballet classes seem to have a shortage of male testosterone. The boys main part was planning a sneak attack, blasting their trumpets on the frilly girls in tight ringlets rocking their baby dolls. The boys part looked like a lot more fun!

Other hightlights in the Nutcracker for me are the awesome Russian dancers and Mother Buffoon and the children popping out from under her skirt! If I were musical I could probably conduct the orchestra; I love Tchaikovsky and I feel like I know the whole score from memory! It turns out that Andie has even created lyrics to go with all the music (who knew?)

Year after year, I never get tired of The Nutcracker!

"A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men." -Roald Dahl

Seeing the "Fantastic Mr. Fox" movie on Friday night brought back all sorts of Roald Dahl memories. As a child I read James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But my kids (especially Webb) loved reading Dahl...from The BFG to Mathilda to The Vicar of Nibbleswick; Roald Dahl entertained us all!

Roald Dahl brought magic to his stories and I loved his sense of humor. For example, Dahl said: "Do you know what breakfast cereal is made of? It's made of all those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners!" After I read that, I couldn't pour a bowl of Captain Crunch without imagining a big bite full of sawdust!

Without Roald Dahl, we wouldn't have Oompa Loompas! Can you even imagine a world where Oompa Loompas don't exist?

I can get a little carried away in my allegiance to great children's authors; you don't have to know me long to hear me sing praises to Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, Roald Dahl, etc.! The best writers for children never look down on their audience...especially an audience of clever young minds! Their goal is the story and not to impart a moral/message. Of course, like all good literature, we are usually more inspired when a creative story touches us; more than a didactic sermon! And Roald Dahl is a master when it comes to creative stories!

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." -Roald Dahl

Tale as Old as Time... Song as Old as Rhyme...

...Beauty and the Beast!

It wasn't quite "Broadway" but the Rolling Hills production of Beauty and the Beast was pretty darn good! We went last night to see Allen Graves as "Cogsworth" and Jared Lynch as "The Beast." Both boys were both great and the show was an impressive feat for a middle school!

I'm an easy sell when it comes to musicals! They're always a fun evening out and the school productions are a bargain....tickets were just $10 each! That's less than going to a movie and it's live theatre! Such a deal!

It wasn't too many years ago that we were going to watch our own kids in Almaden Country School productions! They were all in several shows! Paige's biggest role was playing Amaryllis (the piano student for Marian) in The Music Man. Webb was the young boy at the end of Dicken's A Christmas Carol who Scrooge sends off to buy the gigantic turkey. Webb's line: "The one as big as me, sir?" Andie was Daisy Duke in a Lil Abner show.

When Paige wanted to try out for Hello Dolly, Director (and family friend) Sherry Curtis decided that every student had to be accompanied by a parent (who would also be a cast member). Truthfully, Sherry needed some adults for parts so it was a clever ploy! Who can resist their own child begging them to join the cast? So, yours truly, this mother with ZERO acting talent performed in Hello Dolly! Boy, was I ever out of my element!

No, the place for me at any play is definitely as a patron! A distinguished member of the audience! Happily looking up AT the stage and not a bundle of nerves ON the stage! And, after my debut in Hello Dolly, I think Director Sherry Curtis would even agree with that assessment!

Let The Wild Rumpus Begin!

"Max said, 'Be Still!' and tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once, and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him KING of all wild things." -from the book, Where the Wild Things Are

As a child I found the classic book, Where the Wild Things Are, completely delightful! In college, I studied Sendak in a Children's Literature course and became enamored by the genius of author/illustrator Maurice Sendak! Then, sharing the book with my own children and having them discover Max and adore the Wild Things was another thrill.

Finally, this book, so sparse on words but amazing illustrations, becomes a full length feature film; another watershed event! Yes, I was a skeptic if it would work... but the movie, Where the Wild Things Are, exceeded my expectations! Truthfully, I was leery about the book-to-movie project until the opening credits. Once I saw it was produced by Tom Hanks and Maurice Sendak...instant relief! I knew Sendak would make sure the film didn't lose the magic and brilliance of the book!

The book still captivates me as an adult! Who doesn't lose control and become a "wild thing" every now and then? Who hasn't made mischief and screamed "I'll eat you up!" (or worse) to someone they love! Who doesn't want to run away sometimes! And who wouldn't love to take on our greatest fears and stare them down until they fear us! But, when all is said and done, it can be lonely at the top (as Shakespeare said: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."); so who wouldn't want to be able to go home again and find their dinner still there (and still warm)!

Anyone who hasn't acted out like Max, wanted to escape like Max, or turned their surroundings into an enchanted forest like Max is missing out on some of the greatest parts of life, namely, letting your imagination run WILD! And, anyone who hasn't come home again, is missing out on discovering what LOVE is all about! (sidebar: check out Karen O singing "All is Love" for the movie soundtrack - awesome!)

"Inside each of us is a wild thing." -from the movie trailer

The "Mo Tab" has Some Serious Competition!

Young@Heart is a Documentary Film that ended up in our Netflix Queue and we couldn't remember who added it. So, when it arrived we watched it without any great expectations and found it delightful!

Young@Heart is the film name but also the group name for this Geriatric Choir! Their shtick is to teach the old folks some rock and roll and let 'em rip! And, even if it's a gimmick; it works! They are awesome!

Several of the songs they perform have a comic twist. Here is a sampling:

*the BeeGee's "Staying Alive"

*the Police "Every Breath You Take"

*David Bowie "Golden Years"

*The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"

The group, Young@Heart, are honestly really good and very inspiring! In the film you can see the rejuvenation and excitement of the elderly as they discover new meaning and purpose in later life! It's very cool! Forget about "growing old gracefully;" these crooners are "growing old & hip" while belting out Outcast's "Hey Ya!" Visualize your grandparents doing that!

One benefit of a choir filled with the aging; they are available! Practice can be scheduled anytime without many other commitments on their calendars! One problem of a choir filled with the aging is longevity! (Duh!) Twice during the film main singers died right before a big performance!

A touching moment in the show (there were lots actually) was a vignette where the big guy in the white suit sings "Fix You" a beautiful song by Coldplay. Two men were planning to sing together with background vocals from the choir but the week before Young@Heart's traveling show one of the lead guys died. So, the other still sang in tribute to his friend. Along with his voice you can hear the oxygen tank he is hooked up to in the background. And it actually adds to the song! Seriously! You've gotta love any movie that makes you laugh AND makes you cry!

My Life of Crime! (well, last week anyway)

They say delinquency starts with small things and escalates! I'm afraid I had my own slippery slope of questionable behavior last weekend!

The 1st incident!: We purchased dinner at the Oakridge mall food court with the intention of taking it into the movie theatre. But, heading into the show a large sign announced that no food could be brought inside. It had to be purchased at their concession stand!

At this point most people would probably toss out their meal or scarf it down quickly. But the principle made me mad! The theatre charges ridiculous prices and has a total monopoly. So, I disguised our dinner; cleverly concealed between 2 popcorn boxes and smuggled it into the movie!

Obviously, not getting caught in Incident 1 was the impetus for the 2nd Incident (see the downward spiral here). I snuck a big bag of kettle corn and bottled waters into the Stanford football game! Technically, I don't know whether they let food into the stadium or not. I saw them looking through everyones bags at the entry gates and I'm sure they don't allow beverages because people were leaving cans in heaps at the trash bins outside the stadium. But, I proceeded along, assuming I'd get caught/busted. Except as "friends and family" of a player (complimentary tickets), we entered at a different gate and and no one checked my bag!

I'm not planning to make a habit of breaking rules! But it was interesting that after I "got away with" sneaking dinner into the movie, it must have tarnished my inner compass because I hardly thought twice the next night about the illicit bag of popcorn & drinks! Which just goes to show me that I'd better refrain from future smuggling of any nature before my entire value system goes out the window! I've heard many a hardened criminal claim it all started with that ripped off pack of gum!