Maren and Chase and I went to see "Wall-E" today - I think the first time I've ever seen a movie the day that it's opened. I'm not one to go to the movie theater in general (think "no captioning"), but the critics were raving about "Wall-E." And they are absolutely right. "Wall-E" is a FANTASTIC movie. Admittedly, its message was way over Chase's head, and Maren needed quite a bit of explanation to understand the story line, but... wow. Pixar really did itself proud.
The movie takes place in the future. Wall-E and his cockroach friend are the only inhabitants of a trash filled earth, where Wall-E patiently compacts the endless detritus and occasionally picks out an item to take home at the end of the day. When a droid is dropped off by a spaceship one day, he falls in love with her and offers her numerous items from his treasures. One of these treasures is a single, small plant he found, the only one apparently growing on the face of the earth. The droid immediately takes the plant back to the space station where humans are currently living, Wall-E tagging along. The rest of the story is about how Wall-E and his droid-friend bring about a revolution among the overwight, passive humans who can't function outside of their computerized, technology-filled environment.
Although "Wall-E" is essentially a love story, it's also much more than that. There are multiple themes: We are slowly destroying our planet by overloading it with waste. We are becoming fat, lazy beings who will eventually be unable to pull ourselves out of a reclining position due to our apathy and over-indulgence. We are becoming too dependent on technology to do our work for us. But the movie isn't preachy. It just tells a story and lets the audience draw its own conclusions.
When I leave a movie teary-eyed about a robot, well... maybe I'm sentimental. Or maybe it was just that a good of a movie.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Doug Grow called my house!
Yes, it's true. The esteemed columnist, most recently of the StarTribune, spontaneously called our house yesterday. Caleb took the call. Doug Grow wanted to talk to Jeff! As Jeff wasn't home at the time, Caleb took the name and number with no idea who he was talking to. A few minutes later, I happened to see the note. Doug Grow! Was this the newspaper columnist? What did he want to talk to Jeff about? Are we famous? How did he get our unlisted phone number? Is this another Doug Grow? A quick search of Dexonline showed that there is only one Doug Grow in Minneapolis, with the same number Caleb took down. It must be THE Doug Grow! Even though Doug Grow took the buyout at the Strib last year and no longer writes a column for the paper, he still has the name, prestige and voice that make him well-recognized in the Twin Cities. When Jeff finally came home, I insisted he call Doug Grow back right away, explaining that this was a famous person he was calling.
The conversation was brief.
Doug Grow wanted to talk to the OTHER Jeff Blodgett, campaign manager to the late Paul Wellstone.
PS: This isn't the first time Jeff has been mistakenly identified as the OTHER Jeff Blodgett. A year or so ago we received a Christmas card from a DFL candidate thanking Jeff for his support, inviting him to lunch sometime, and providing him with a receipt for his $10,000 campaign contribution.
The conversation was brief.
Doug Grow wanted to talk to the OTHER Jeff Blodgett, campaign manager to the late Paul Wellstone.
PS: This isn't the first time Jeff has been mistakenly identified as the OTHER Jeff Blodgett. A year or so ago we received a Christmas card from a DFL candidate thanking Jeff for his support, inviting him to lunch sometime, and providing him with a receipt for his $10,000 campaign contribution.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The.. Worst... Movie... Ever
Or, at least the worst movie I've ever seen.
"Facing the Giants" bills itself as an "inspirational tale of courage on the gridiron and the power of God's word." Being that this is a movie with a Christian message, I almost hesitate to be critical. But at the risk of being labeled a anti-religion reprobate, I have to spread the word that FTG was just plain crap, for the following reasons:
1. The acting is atrociously bad. It is so bad, in fact, that I actually thought maybe there was some hidden meaning in the lack of expression that I wasn't quite understanding. But nope, no obscure subtexts. Just lack of talent.
2. The plot is predictable and unrealistic. The movie is about a football coach at a Christian high school who has had six losing seasons to date. Everything is going wrong in his life - his star player transfers to a different school, his house is falling apart, his car doesn't work, and he just found out he can't give his wife the children she wants because his little swimmers aren't up to the job. When he learns that some of the parents of his players want a new coach (and he's surprised after six losing seasons?) he's ready to give up. But a night of soul-searching, prayer, and reading the Bible gives him a new purpose, and from that point on, nothing can go wrong. His team, the Eagles, starts to win their games! He's mysteriously given a new truck! His wife gets pregnant! His players all find salvation in a spontaneous all-school revival on the football field! They win the championship against all odds!
3. The cliches and stereotypes are nauseating. Example #1: the father of the new kid is confined to a wheelchair, but inspires his confidence-lacking son to not only join the team, but to kick the impossible game-winning field goal in the championship game. Dad painfully pulls himself from his wheelchair to a standing position so his son can see him in the end zone. Of course, the confidence-lacking, smaller-than-average son who manages the impossible 51-yard field goal is named David. Example #2: the big, bad, undefeated Giants not only wear black uniforms, but have athletic black players who are ultimately defeated by the all-white Eagles.
4. The movie's message is that living a life that glorifies God has brought about all these good things. But what if the opposing teams also live lives that glorify God? How does God decide who wins? Is life a contest of faith, with the winners being the ones who demonstrate the most? If you're a "loser" in life (you can't get pregnant, you drive a crappy car that you can't afford to fix or replace, you lose your job, you don't win the championship game), does that mean your faith is lacking?
One will hardly be surprised to learn, as I did, that the movie was conceived, directed and produced by a couple of Southern Baptist pastors (0r, as I accidentally referred to them in a little slip of tongue during our dinnertime conversation, Southern Bastards). According to one of these pastors, "God is a better director than Steven Spielberg, a better producer than Jerry Bruckheimer, a better writer than George Lucas." Hmmm. Too bad they didn't let God take charge of this movie.
"Facing the Giants" bills itself as an "inspirational tale of courage on the gridiron and the power of God's word." Being that this is a movie with a Christian message, I almost hesitate to be critical. But at the risk of being labeled a anti-religion reprobate, I have to spread the word that FTG was just plain crap, for the following reasons:
1. The acting is atrociously bad. It is so bad, in fact, that I actually thought maybe there was some hidden meaning in the lack of expression that I wasn't quite understanding. But nope, no obscure subtexts. Just lack of talent.
2. The plot is predictable and unrealistic. The movie is about a football coach at a Christian high school who has had six losing seasons to date. Everything is going wrong in his life - his star player transfers to a different school, his house is falling apart, his car doesn't work, and he just found out he can't give his wife the children she wants because his little swimmers aren't up to the job. When he learns that some of the parents of his players want a new coach (and he's surprised after six losing seasons?) he's ready to give up. But a night of soul-searching, prayer, and reading the Bible gives him a new purpose, and from that point on, nothing can go wrong. His team, the Eagles, starts to win their games! He's mysteriously given a new truck! His wife gets pregnant! His players all find salvation in a spontaneous all-school revival on the football field! They win the championship against all odds!
3. The cliches and stereotypes are nauseating. Example #1: the father of the new kid is confined to a wheelchair, but inspires his confidence-lacking son to not only join the team, but to kick the impossible game-winning field goal in the championship game. Dad painfully pulls himself from his wheelchair to a standing position so his son can see him in the end zone. Of course, the confidence-lacking, smaller-than-average son who manages the impossible 51-yard field goal is named David. Example #2: the big, bad, undefeated Giants not only wear black uniforms, but have athletic black players who are ultimately defeated by the all-white Eagles.
4. The movie's message is that living a life that glorifies God has brought about all these good things. But what if the opposing teams also live lives that glorify God? How does God decide who wins? Is life a contest of faith, with the winners being the ones who demonstrate the most? If you're a "loser" in life (you can't get pregnant, you drive a crappy car that you can't afford to fix or replace, you lose your job, you don't win the championship game), does that mean your faith is lacking?
One will hardly be surprised to learn, as I did, that the movie was conceived, directed and produced by a couple of Southern Baptist pastors (0r, as I accidentally referred to them in a little slip of tongue during our dinnertime conversation, Southern Bastards). According to one of these pastors, "God is a better director than Steven Spielberg, a better producer than Jerry Bruckheimer, a better writer than George Lucas." Hmmm. Too bad they didn't let God take charge of this movie.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Ahhhh...
There's nothing like waking up at 5 a.m. in a mild panic that you forgot to set your alarm, and then you realize it's the first day of vacation and you don't need the alarm... for 12 more weeks.
Friday, June 6, 2008
A Tale of Two Mommies
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of good parenting, it was the age of... bad parenting. Consider the following true stories:
The good mommy's story: When her son fell off the couch, she took him to the doctor THE VERY NEXT DAY when he seemed to be favoring one arm. Fortunately, after a thorough examination, the doctor said her son was just fine.
The bad mommy's story: When my son fell off the neighbor's couch, he told me what happened and then said his arm hurt. "Oh, you're fine," I said. The next day he said his arm still hurt, so I wrapped it in an Ace bandage and said, "You'll be fine." TWO DAYS later when he said his arm STILL hurt, I reluctantly volunteered my husband to take my son to the doctor, where said son was diagnosed with a wrist fracture and told he needed a cast. Hopefully he'll be fine.
The good mommy's story: When her son fell off the couch, she took him to the doctor THE VERY NEXT DAY when he seemed to be favoring one arm. Fortunately, after a thorough examination, the doctor said her son was just fine.
The bad mommy's story: When my son fell off the neighbor's couch, he told me what happened and then said his arm hurt. "Oh, you're fine," I said. The next day he said his arm still hurt, so I wrapped it in an Ace bandage and said, "You'll be fine." TWO DAYS later when he said his arm STILL hurt, I reluctantly volunteered my husband to take my son to the doctor, where said son was diagnosed with a wrist fracture and told he needed a cast. Hopefully he'll be fine.
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