Movies and the Stars that make them

The end of the school day is quickly approaching and I know that if I don't blog now, I won't blog later.

Some monumental events have occurred over the past two weeks. I joined a health club and signed on with a personal trainer. I have yet to regret my decision even though my body is planning a mutiny some time soon:). I was given a meal plan with foods that I would not touch with a 100,000 foot pole. I looked at my calorie count and I am allowed 1400 a day. I figured that as long as I stay under that number, I could modify my eating habits to include foods that don't taste like cardboard or Styrofoam. I just pray to God that I see results eventually and that my $600 was not spent in vain.

Number two cool thing to happen: I attended a workshop on teaching about the Holocaust. It never occurred to me that all these facets were involved in that period of history. There are so many things to look at and people to study. My favorite was a session on "Myths and Misconceptions." We got to speak with two survivors and had a teleconference with the actual United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (www.ushmm.org) in Washington D.C. The neatest fact was the Jerry Springer-esque involvement that Hitler's paternal grandmother had with two different brothers (one being her husband), thus clouding the validity of Hitler's bloodline. I was able to reunite with an old high school chum, she was attending the conference for another high school in my district, and we had a great time.

Last Wednesday my husband and I attended a private screening of Firewall. This is Harrison Ford's new action movie. If the screening had not been free, I would have demanded my money back. There are already a slew of Harrison Ford movies where someone is in jeopardy and he has to fight his way to save him/her. I did not feel a single thing for any of his family members and wished they would have died to spice up the ending. The only character that drew any attention from me was the antagonist played by the marvelous Paul Bettany. The underlying message of the movie was to be aware of identity theft, but my message is to: SEE ANOTHER MOVIE. It wasn't a total waste of time, because the great Harrison Ford was there in person to answer questions after the film ended. He looks great for a guy in his mid 60s. In all honesty, I truly love him, I mean, could you picture anyone else playing Han Solo or ole Indiana? He also has no delusions about acting as an art. He understands that he is handed a script, does his job, and goes home at the end of the day. He enjoys what he does and respects all aspects of the film making industry. Mr. Ford is definitely on my "cool guy" list.

I had a "girl's night out" with one of my dearest friends and we rented a movie called St. Ralph. Everyone see this movie! In fact, rent this instead of paying to see Firewall. This movie captured the essence of a young man in a Catholic school being told to forget about believing in miracles. He wants to win the Boston Marathon, which would be a miracle, and use that miracle to save his mother who is in a coma. Being a devout Catholic, I loved the way everything was handled and the actor who played Ralph was simply adorable. My friend said it best when she told me that when the movie was over, it would be one of my favorites. It just plain makes you feel good inside. 4 out of 4 hearts for this warm and fuzzy masterpiece.

Now for the biggie: I MET THE GREAT GONZO! That's right, I met Dave Goelz the voice of Gonzo and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets and the voice of Boober Fraggle. Those close to me know about my devout adoration for Jim Henson, what he stood for, all he did, and the legacy that carries on after his death. The chance to meet one of the original "muppeteers" had me all a flutter and shaking like a 5 year old on her first day of school. I wasn't sure it was going to work out. My husband and I went to the theater, where they were showing three unaired episodes of Fraggle Rock, to purchase tickets and meet Mr. Goelz. Unfortunately they sold out of tickets ten people in front of us and I cried all the way back to the car.

When I got home, I decided that that was not going to be good enough. I mustered up the courage to go back up to the theater and ask if I could just meet Mr. Goelz after the movie. Not only did they say 'yes,' but they also let me in the theater and sat me right in front of him! Karen Prell, Red Fraggle and the worm from Labyrinth, was also in attendance so my adrenaline was flying all over my body. After the show, I was led to the very front of the autograph line and was the first to meet these two muppet icons! Some memories will be with me forever and this will definitely be one of them.

I hope this blog was a bit inspiring to show a little courage now and then and to always keep an open mind, even when it is being turned to mush by a bad movie:).

Before Romeo and Juliet . . .

there was Tristan and Isolde, and quite possibly original storylines. I'm not saying the movie was a total bust, but I have seen versions of "forbidden love" done much better. A movie goer definitely feels the entire 125 minutes of the movie. James Franco as delectable eye candy couldn't even convince me that my $7.50 ticket was worth it.

Aside for my lapse in movie picking judgment, my Saturday has been relative stress free. My husband is busy "earning" money in Vegas for a couple of days so I'm taking full advantage of the big screen television. To my surprise, it has yet to combust due to the football playoffs not being viewed on it.

I actually just finished watching Miracle. Of all the sporting events in history, that is one I wish I could have been alive to see when it happened. Now I'm deciding which of my movies to watch next. It could be an inspirational teaching movie, due to the fact 20/20 showed just how far behind the US is in education. It's times like these, I feel like I picked a failing profession. What kills me is that everyone is aware of how crappy teachers have it and that the system is what is failing the kids, but no one wants to do anything about it. My own mother was furious at the suggestion that I educate my children outside the states.

Well, I just baked a cake and it is ready to be iced and eaten. Sorry this is relatively short, my life has been relatively uneventful.