tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38817742012-01-16T15:04:56.729-05:00...in which a character reveals his or her thoughts to the audience...Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.comBlogger5631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-13136995668980372082012-01-15T19:30:00.000-05:002012-01-15T19:30:19.518-05:00

I don't think I have a real answer for this.  I know at least one person who likes every movie I like.  So I will pick a movie that my friend ED and I watched alllllllll the time in college, but that was considered a total disaster by most critics, and was a stupendous commercial failure as well.  I am, of course, talking about Ishtar (1987). Ishtar is the far-fetched tale of a singing/

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-13504639584130125752012-01-14T17:48:00.002-05:002012-01-14T17:56:03.372-05:00

I thought this was going to be tough.  I was pretty sure I didn't have a favorite villain -- I tend to side with the Good Guys, you see.  I started a list of villains, figuring I'd just eliminate them one by one, and whoever was left would be It.  I got six or eight names listed.  I scanned my movie collection to see who I could add.  And that was when I realized the list was pointless.  Because

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-20711232292759765012012-01-06T17:43:00.000-05:002012-01-06T17:43:08.991-05:00

This is highly unfair.  I want a day to talk about my favorite book adaptation, another for my favorite comic adaptation, another for my favorite big-screen incarnation of a TV show... but no, I have to choose one that stands above the others.  Pfui. Well, I've already discussed the X-Men franchise here during this meme.  I discussed Firefly and its movie Serenity here during the last meme.  And

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-63718429876689806482012-01-02T19:41:00.000-05:002012-01-02T19:41:30.142-05:00

I love lots of animated movies:  Toy Story (1995), 101 Dalmatians (1961), Anastasia (1997), Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), and Aladdin (1992).  But there is one animated film that is dearer to my heart than any other:  Robin Hood (1973). I can't remember when I first saw this movie -- it's part of my consciousness from as far back as

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-32282313929136098202011-11-21T22:23:00.000-05:002011-11-21T22:23:19.366-05:00

Oh boy, another tough one.  I definitely have a favorite documentarian:  Ken Burns.  But how to choose a favorite documentary from his body of work? I'm gonna go with Jazz (2000).  I really love The Civil War and Baseball too, and all three of those gave me a much deeper appreciation of different aspects of my country's history.  The War was also quite cool, especially since I love learning

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-62290947407713490922011-11-14T22:49:00.001-05:002011-11-14T22:50:38.548-05:00

Finally, a very easy one to answer! As I said here, my favorite actor is John Wayne and my favorite actress is Maureen O'Hara. While they made five films together, none of those are my favorites from them.  So today I get to talk about two movies in my favorite genre:  Westerns :-D My favorite John Wayne movie is also my third-favorite movie of all time:  The Sons of Katie Elder (1965).  It

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-5309075994231994362011-11-05T20:37:00.000-04:002011-11-05T20:37:00.107-04:00

I wish Hollywood would make more original movies and fewer remakes and sequels and spin-offs.  There's no Casablanca II or The Searchers Return or It's a Wonderful Life 2:  Zuzu Goes to Camp.  If classic Hollywood's filmmakers knew better than to cash in on hits by running them into the ground, why can't modern Hollywood?

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-87585788844426158072011-11-04T13:44:00.000-04:002011-11-04T13:44:13.384-04:00

If by "most hilarious" you mean "movie that made me laugh until I cried, and still makes me laugh every time I watch it," then I'm going with The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming (1966). This is the story of a Russian submarine that gets stuck on a sandbar outside a tiny New England village because the captain (Theodore Bikel) wanted to see what America looks like.  It makes me

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-16570232846962981882011-11-03T08:36:00.020-04:002011-11-03T08:36:00.526-04:00

Um, but not everyone likes every movie.  In fact, I was just discussing this on Facebook with a friend from college -- he and I are both total movie buffs, and yet of the ten movies I quoted yesterday, he'd seen two. Instead of promoting one film, I'll just suggest that you watch a movie someone has recommended that you thought was totally not something you'd enjoy.  You never know -- you might

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-77065133584325004072011-11-02T09:29:00.000-04:002011-11-02T09:29:01.706-04:00

One?  Hah.  Here are ten, though definitely not in any particular order, as they're all quotes I use a lot and dearly love: o  "I think you've got the situation pegged, Jake." -- Jason McCullough, Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) o  "What's the first thing you do when a horse bucks you off?" -- Clancy (Jack Thompson) "You don't let him beat you, you get straight back on." -- Jim Craig (Tom

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-7771718438070415712011-11-01T12:13:00.000-04:002011-11-01T12:13:16.515-04:00

Wow, really?  Again with having to pick just one -- this is really tough, y'all. Hmm.  One character I relate to more than any other.  Sabrina Fairchild?  Anne Shirley?  Lucy Eleanor Moderatz?  Margy Frake?  Esther Smith?  Fiona Campbell?  John Geyser?  Wolverine?  Joan Wilder?  Evy Carnahan?  Jack Aubrey?  Rachel Lapp?  Mary Horton?  Adrian Balboa?  Justin McLeod?  Eowyn?  Laertes?  Emmett?  

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-54843009532446762302011-10-31T22:32:00.002-04:002011-10-31T22:40:39.843-04:00

We interrupt this blog absence to post about a movie I wanted to see when it came out months ago.  It wasn't playing anywhere near me, so I had to wait for it to show up in the Redbox machine.  In fact, this is the first movie I've ever rented from Redbox.  Hmm.  Also, it seems the last post I did was about a movie that also starred Michael Fassbender.  Hmm again. Anyway, a bit of background

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-90478893717580528812011-07-21T17:25:00.000-04:002011-10-31T17:27:08.160-04:00

I went to see this two weeks ago, but haven't been able to motivate myself to blog about it until now.  I think I needed to let my thoughts about it sort themselves out, because at the end of it, I wasn't sure if I liked it or if it was just okay. So, here's what I think:  the movie as a whole works quite well in and of itself, but as a prequel to the previous X-Men movies, not so much.  The

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-22342739287448941122011-07-02T22:19:00.001-04:002011-10-31T17:28:38.738-04:00

At last!  An easy one to answer.  My favorite film sequel is hands down X2:  X-Men United (2003).  The original X-Men (2000) is splendid, but by necessity, it has to spend a lot of time introducing characters, giving you a taste of their back stories, and explaining what their powers are.  They also have to explain about mutants, the human- mutant conflict, and so on.  I have been known to watch

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-29059788809345843632011-07-01T12:23:00.000-04:002011-07-01T12:23:25.473-04:00

I don't know if I can answer this one.  I don't tend to love a movie and then later hate it.  Just like I don't tend to hate a movie and then later love it.  I may grow less fond of a movie over the years, or like other things better, but I pretty much never go from love to hate.  The same goes with books, actors, TV shows... once I like you, I like you. I guess the closest I can come is Robin

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-26936046792740164712011-06-20T10:42:00.000-04:002011-06-20T10:42:53.168-04:00

Love Actually (2003).  Far too many naughty bits for me to ever own it, but I tend to get it from the library every December.  It's kind of a romantic comedy version of Crash (2004), though I guess since that came out a year later, maybe Crash is the dramatic version of Love Actually.  Anyway, it's a series of interconnected vignettes about all kinds of disparate Londoners who each have some kind

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-77780726543978698452011-06-19T16:09:00.003-04:002011-06-19T16:11:27.003-04:00

Hmm.  There are certain movies that I term "important" movies because they really tried to send a message to the viewers of their times.  The three that come to mind at the moment are Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967).  But I can't say those changed my mind about anything, as I was already anti-anti-Semitism, convinced parents need

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-74619134462932272802011-06-18T20:32:00.000-04:002011-06-18T20:32:59.246-04:00

According to this list I did six years ago, my most-hated movie of all time is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  The original.  It's horrible.  I don't even want to think about it.  I can't believe I got talked into watching it, and I wish there was a way to wash images from it out of my mind.  Disgusting.  Avoid at all costs.

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-4533414273644436212011-06-03T16:57:00.000-04:002011-06-03T16:57:27.409-04:00

Er, classic?  Meaning, what, exactly?  Made before 1970?  Made before 1960?  Something everyone's heard of?  Ugh -- this prompt is ticking me off.  What defines a classic, anyway?  Something people want to watch over and over?  Something that gets reshown on TV a lot?  Something art houses dredge up? I guess this is supposed to be the prompt that gets modern moviegoers to admit they like some

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-39148845341916184222011-05-27T17:58:00.000-04:002011-05-27T17:58:56.663-04:00

I have more than 50 movie soundtracks on CD.  And I'm supposed to choose a "best" one?  Riiiiiiiight. Okay, I'm going to go with the soundtrack for my favorite movie, The Man from Snowy River.  It's composed by Bruce Rowland, and I absolutely love it.  In fact, it was playing in the background with both Dano and Mercy were born.  I find it soothing, exciting, restful, and stimulating.  I know

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-12121130281661913882011-05-25T22:00:00.000-04:002011-05-25T22:00:28.173-04:00

This is such a tough one for me, I've spent all day ruminating on it.  And I've decided the niftiest opening credits I can think of are for 2006's Casino Royale.  I love the somewhat retro feel to them, which is appropriate for a reboot of a franchise that began in the 1960s.  And I love how the cartoon characters shatter into card markings -- it's just nifty.  Instead of describing it, here,

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-82402591498887162322011-05-24T08:41:00.001-04:002011-05-24T08:43:35.177-04:00

Without a doubt, my gold standard for plot twists and surprise endings is The Sting (1973).  If you haven't seen it, well, I'll try not to spoil the ending for you so you can go watch it and get the full effect of the twists. The Sting sparked my affection for con men, which began when I first saw this as a teen and led directly to my love of Sawyer on Lost.  It's also the best example of a

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-77363447716808381842011-05-23T09:39:00.000-04:002011-05-23T09:39:19.392-04:00

My favorite actor is pretty obvious:  John Wayne.  If you've read this blog at all, or even just scanned through my list of labels, you'll figure out I'm a fan. But why?  Partly, it's because I grew up with his movies.  Partly, it's because he made a lot of westerns, my favorite film genre.  And partly, it's because I do admire a lot of the things he stood for personally, like being proud of

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-23866107192888042572011-05-17T08:59:00.023-04:002011-05-17T08:59:00.511-04:00

I'm a sucker for a good love story, so this is a tough one.  I guess I'll go with an obvious one, Jane Eyre (1983).  Okay, this is actually a mini-series, but it's my favorite filmed version of my favorite book, so I'm saying it counts. It stars Zelah Clarke as Jane Eyre and Timothy Dalton as Edward Rochester, and while Clarke fits the book's descriptions of Jane being short, unassuming, and

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-69675236468320170432011-05-16T08:59:00.000-04:002011-05-16T08:59:40.727-04:00

The obvious answer here would seem to be Hamlet, any one of the seven versions I own, right?  I mean, it's a tragedy after all.  And I do generally cry at the end.  But it leaves me feeling satisfied and cleansed, not sad -- it's really a cathartic play for me. No, the absolutely saddest movie I have ever seen is The Fox and the Hound (1981).  I have only seen it once all the way through, when I

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-41051859924032769412011-05-15T21:43:00.001-04:002011-05-16T08:56:59.253-04:00

Man, I've neglected this blog for a long time again, huh?  Between moving to a new state, then spending weekend after weekend house-hunting so we can get out of the apartment we're currently in (and dislike), and running about after Dano and Mercy... blogging has fallen by the way side. Anyway, this is a tough one to answer cuz there are a lot of movies that make me happy.  Loads of them.  So

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-28772214373583820652011-01-12T10:14:00.001-05:002011-01-12T11:09:12.375-05:00

I went to see a movie on Sunday with a friend!  Revolutionary concept, I know.  I'm so used to going by myself that seeing something with another person has become a rare treat. John Wayne and Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn We saw the new True Grit.  Now, when I found out the Coen brothers were doing a new version, my initial reaction was outrage.  You don't remake John Wayne movies!  That

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-41361598619741888522010-12-31T22:37:00.000-05:002010-12-31T22:37:00.188-05:00

I'm going to go with Assassins (1995).  It's probably not the most underrated film ever, but it's one I like that a lot of people dismiss as lame.  Unlike many of Sly's mid-90s movies, it's not particularly cheesy or clunky -- instead, it's a slick, character-driven action movie.  It's no Bourne Identity, true, but it's fun in a non-deep way. Robert Rath (Sylvester Stallone) Assassins stars

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-19817634511403697422010-12-20T20:05:00.000-05:002010-12-20T20:05:38.717-05:00

  Well, if we're not counting British movies, but only movies in a foreign language, then it's Life is Beautiful (1997). In case you've never heard of this film, it's about a Jewish Italian who uses his wit and quirky humor to woo the love of his life ("Buon giorno, Principessa!"), then uses those same resources to help his son survive life in a Nazi concentration camp.  It's an amazing story,

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-28539375569860337342010-12-15T19:57:00.001-05:002010-12-15T20:00:42.776-05:00

As usual, when I finish NaNoWriMo (yes, I won; no, my novel's not finished), I have taken a small break from the computer.  Okay, a two-week break.  But I'm getting back into my usual routines, and I think I'm ready to begin on my next blog meme.  Which is all about movies.  Yippee!  Here's the lineup of topics: Day 01 - Favorite foreign film Day 02 - Most underrated film Day 03 - A film that

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-48481208555774020722010-12-02T14:39:00.001-05:002010-12-02T14:40:32.013-05:00

As in, the one that makes me saddest?  Hmm.  Probably Grady Long. This is the part where most of you say, "Who?"  And justifiably so, because he's not a regular on any show.  I don't even know who played him, because his only appearance is so brief, it's uncredited. Grady Long is the soldier who dies at the beginning of "Far From the Brave," one of my favorite episodes of (you guessed it)

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-34368465779595011702010-11-30T13:34:00.000-05:002010-11-30T13:34:00.236-05:00

I'm actually kind of between obsessions right now.  True obsessions, I mean.  I was obsessed with Lost for over a year, but now that I've seen all six seasons, my obsession is kind of waning.  I'm still watching my current TV shows, Bones and NCIS, but neither of them is an obsession.  And I've been dedicated to Combat! long enough that it's not really an obsession anymore either, at least, not

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-22119807937852860152010-11-28T18:19:00.001-05:002010-11-28T19:50:51.787-05:00

Without a doubt, classic Star Trek.  My brother and I discovered the show when I was about 13 and he was 8 or 9, and I'm not sure "obsession" is a strong enough word to describe our relationship with the show.  We had plastic figures of the major characters, and we went through phases where we played with nothing else for weeks on end.  We would have plot lines that lasted for days, we created a

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-71661709776922306322010-11-27T13:31:00.000-05:002010-11-27T13:31:55.080-05:00

I have been stuck on this prompt for weeks.  The pilots of so many of the my favorite shows rock, but at the same time, most of them aren't nearly as good as later episodes, so they're not particularly dear to my heart.  I guess I'm gonna have to go with "Pilot," the Lost pilot.  It's mesmerizing and memorable, a plane wreck you can't look away from.  And it includes that show-defining quote

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-26037586969618461192010-11-13T12:44:00.000-05:002010-11-13T12:44:20.991-05:00

I'm gonna go with the finale of season 3 of Lost, "Through the Looking Glass."  When I realized that the scenes in LA were flash-forwards, not flash-backs, and that some people had actually gotten off the island, I nearly flipped my lid. Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Jack (Matthew Fox)

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-66662896413651025612010-11-07T21:18:00.000-05:002010-11-07T21:18:51.487-05:00

Nathan Fillion's current show, Castle.  The library has the first season, so right now my plan for a post-NaNoWriMo party is me getting the first couple discs and vegging during naptime on multiple, successive afternoons. He plays a writer who solves crimes -- what's not to love?

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-84815132246775713812010-11-02T19:31:00.000-04:002010-11-02T19:31:01.348-04:00

This isn't the best quote ever, or even my favorite quote.  But it's probably the one that gets used the most in our household right now.  It's from The Hound of the Baskervilles (1988) which is technically a TV movie, but hey, it's part of the Grenada Television series, so I say it counts.  Watson has at last discovered Holmes living on the moor, and Holmes invites him into his little hidey

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-82385292906304742422010-11-02T10:02:00.000-04:002010-11-02T10:02:00.694-04:00

...NaNoWriMo! Yes, it's that time of year again.  And I'm participating again.  You can see my profile here, read excerpts of my novel when I post them, see how far I've gotten (and how far I have to go yet), etc.  I'm writing a novel tentatively titled Swapped, though I'll probably change that.  It's about a young lit prof whose apartment burns down, so she moves in with a colleague, but then

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-68807498885230889012010-11-01T21:32:00.000-04:002010-11-01T21:32:51.620-04:00

This would be Glory (Clare Kramer), the main villian from season 5 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Pretty much everything about her annoys me, from her eyes to her attitude to her voice to her clothes, and everything else.  Despite there being some pretty good stories in season 5, some great subplots that don't directly involve Glory, I kinda avoid most of the season because I just can't stand her.

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-12267544503860411452010-10-28T10:01:00.000-04:002010-10-28T10:01:04.554-04:00

This is a toughie.  A lot of my favorite shows are older and don't have finales.  They just end with an ordinary episode.  That really leaves me about five shows to choose from:  Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Five Mile Creek, Lost, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.  Hmm. I do love the finales for Angel and Buffy.  They sum up the shows, provide closure for a lot of characters, pull together a

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-55008527317385887102010-10-27T22:06:00.000-04:002010-10-27T22:06:36.820-04:00

I didn't realize there were enough shows that involve ships for this to be a category, but hey.  My favorite ship on a TV show is definitely the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701.  The original ship from the original series.  She's sleek, elegant, roomy, and iconic.  I've spent more hours imagining myself aboard her than any other vessel.  I even put together a model of her back in high school, which I

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-55117301333819310732010-10-24T17:59:00.016-04:002010-10-26T20:05:39.772-04:00

Well, I'm not sure this is my favorite kiss ever, but it's eclipsed pretty much all other kisses when it comes to sheer hotness factor.  I'm not a Skate fan anymore -- in the last couple seasons of Lost I became a definite Sawliet girl.  But this kiss?  Holy cow.  I'm amazed they actually showed it on network television.  In fact, you might not want to watch it -- it might cause your monitor to

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-22511019803517262612010-10-23T17:46:00.000-04:002010-10-23T17:46:16.362-04:00

Oh dear.  I'm not sure I can answer this.  I'm so very fond of the casts of so many shows.  Because I'm so character-oriented, I tend to like or dislike a show based on its characters and casting.  If I find the characters miscast, I don't like the show much.  And how do I decide which cast is best?  Best actors?  Best-looking?  Best mix of different types?  I don't know. Hmm. Maybe I'll just

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-16859560214364324452010-10-22T17:58:00.044-04:002010-10-22T20:33:54.792-04:00

I love the opening credits for A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001-02).  They're different every episode, with snazzy animation and music to fit that ep's theme.  Here are a couple examples: They set the tone so nicely for the feel of the whole series, as well as cluing you in to what the particular ep will involve.  While the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout span several decades, the series is set

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-38898924639338226292010-10-21T08:58:00.000-04:002010-10-21T08:58:00.197-04:00

The Blue and the Gray (1982).  This is another one I grew up with -- my parents rented it several times when I was a kid, and for years, whenever I thought or read about the American Civil War, images from this series were the first to come to my mind.  Although it's pretty long and would take my family a couple days to get through, I always wanted to watch just a little more. The Blue and the

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-7984687195875579312010-10-20T09:45:00.000-04:002010-10-20T09:45:51.667-04:00

  Definitely Friends.  It makes me laugh, I enjoy it, but whenever I watch it, I feel like I'm sneaking candy on the sly.  Maybe it's because it does get into some naughty subject matter at times, or because there's no "nutritional value" to it -- it's pretty much fluff.  But Joey and Phoebe tickle me to no end, and I enjoy the reruns whenever I stumble across them.

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-48629833017167026732010-10-19T09:17:00.000-04:002010-10-19T09:17:12.058-04:00

This is even tougher than yesterday's subject.  Because while I'm fond of many female characters, I don't get as attached to them as I do to male characters.  Plus, a lot of the shows I love don't even have regular female characters.  So I could blog about Kaylee Frye, or Willow Rosenberg, or Kate Austin, or Abby Sciuto, or Angela Montenegro, or Kate Wallace, or Yeoman Janice Rand... but I think

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-80282378908551325032010-10-18T10:49:00.012-04:002010-10-18T12:31:54.444-04:00

How am I supposed to choose one favorite male character?  I love so many!  Saunders, Angel, Sawyer, Captain Kirk, Mal Reynolds, Heath Barkley, Josh Randall, Archie Goodwin, Matthew Cooper, Cheyenne Bodie, Con Madigan, Leroy Jethro Gibbs... I have to choose one? All right, fine.  If I had to choose one male character to spend the rest of my life watching, thinking about, and writing about, I

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-37242004518261621142010-10-14T20:33:00.000-04:002010-10-14T20:33:44.310-04:00

As a kid, there was only one show we watched on a routine basis, and it was already done airing and out on VHS.  In fact, it's the first show I saw every episode of.  That show is Five Mile Creek.  It's a little-known show that ran for three seasons on the Disney Channel from 1983 to 1985.  When I was a kid growing up in MI, we would watch two episodes every week, rented from the local video

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-54989509427693582072010-10-13T16:18:00.000-04:002010-10-13T16:18:50.653-04:00

It's a good thing I'm not supposed to list every episode I've watched more than 5 times, or we'd be here all winter.  But instead of writing about just one ep, I'm going to write about three:  the first three episodes of The Lone Ranger.  When we were kids, The Lone Ranger movie was one of our favorites to get from the library when we had a cold or some other reason to rent videos.  We watched

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-31567049509487563532010-10-12T20:17:00.000-04:002010-10-12T20:17:03.361-04:00

 When I was a kid, my dad would tell us about two shows from his childhood that had been absolutely hilarious:  Hogan's Heroes and F-Troop.  He'd describe what bits and pieces he could remember, long-standing jokes, funny character foibles, whatever.  Johnnycake and I wanted so badly to see those two shows, because they sounded amazing. When I was in high school, some cable channel at my

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-49711892679661785252010-10-11T16:24:00.002-04:002010-10-18T18:06:37.988-04:00

Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  And, by extension, Angel, although I didn't know Angel existed until it debuted. I'd heard of Buffy in a general way before I went to college in 1998.  Clearly, based on the title, it involved vampires, which were something I wanted nothing to do with.  Anything involving the horror genre whatsoever was just not my cup of tea. I assumed the show was scary, probably

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-5279019354253602102010-10-10T21:14:00.001-04:002010-10-10T21:27:16.316-04:00

I was planning a completely different post for this day.  I even had it mostly typed up ahead of time, on Friday morning.  But then, I finished watching Lost's series finale, "The End," on Friday afternoon. I was going to say that I was having trouble finding one single scene that rocks my world, that this is a silly theme, and so forth.  I'd named off several scenes in several shows and

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-17004943052686978662010-10-08T13:48:00.001-04:002010-10-08T13:48:35.747-04:00

What kind of topic is this?  Everyone likes different things.  I like Seinfeld (not my fave show, but I like it better than most modern sitcoms), but two of my best friends hate it.  Dad, Johnnycake, and I loved The Beverly Hillbillies, but my mom found it inane and annoying.  Likes and dislikes are so subjective. So instead, I will say that everyone should turn off their silly TVs and read a

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-61889050230640108772010-10-07T07:46:00.000-04:002010-10-07T07:55:13.217-04:00

 True confessions time:  I haven't seen all the eps of my favorite TV show.  There are fifty eps I haven't seen yet.  So it's entirely possible I'll someday like a different ep less.  But right now, my least-fave ep of Combat! is "Conflict." Pierre Jalbert as Caje in "Conflict" "Conflict" is in the fifth season, and involves two of our squad, Caje and Littlejohn, angry with each other. 

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-40969659321450792452010-10-06T10:31:00.001-04:002010-10-06T10:47:41.916-04:00

My favorite episode of Combat! is also the first one I ever saw:  "The Walking Wounded."  Oh, how I love this ep!  Of course, it's Saunders-centric, with a weighty moral dilemma that could topple lesser men.  Should he risk the lives of four people -- himself included -- to save one critically wounded stranger?  It's that old "good of the many vs. good of the few" problem that can make for such

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-68710066280519023692010-10-05T13:24:00.000-04:002010-10-05T13:25:26.550-04:00

This was a toughie, as I don't generally slander any moment's leisure watching things I won't like.  If I think I'll hate it, I won't watch it. But I came up with one show that I have seen bits of and definitely hate:  South Park.  It's vulgar, obscene, profane, and I regret seeing what little I have seen of it.

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-9635987481270392262010-10-04T15:31:00.182-04:002012-01-02T18:59:40.474-05:00

If you've read this blog at all, you know what I'll be writing about today:  Combat! Mmmm.  Combat!  What a show.  From the first time I watched an ep, at the tender age of 14, I have loved and adored Combat!  I even co-maintain a fansite for it, Fruit Salad, where Deborah Koren and I share our fanfiction, screencaps, my humorous ep reviews, and various other (often "hidden") goodies.  I

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-46081429911976114132010-10-03T15:31:00.072-04:002010-10-03T17:10:11.898-04:00

I'm only watching one new show this season:  the reboot of Hawaii Five-O.  So far, it's been quite fun :-)  I dig Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kelly and Scott Caan as Danny Williams.  Alex Laughlin and Grace Parks are nice scenery.  The eps have been solid enough, and James Marsters played their first Bad Guy, so can't complain about their guest casting.  I doubt this will ever be one of my Favorite

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-54298305090493611642010-10-02T15:30:00.029-04:002010-10-02T15:30:00.824-04:00

I'm interpreting today's topic to mean a current TV show that I wish had a bigger audience.  I wish  NCIS:  Los Angeles had more viewers.  Including me.  I wish I'd watched the first season, and I'm glad it got a second season because I'm hoping I'll be able to watch some of it.  Because I love love love Chris O'Donnell.  I love Linda Hunt.  And I dig some of the music in this show a whole

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-43551647189830879832010-10-01T15:13:00.002-04:002010-11-01T20:22:33.422-04:00

Easy. Firefly.  They canceled it before it really got started.  Sure, I'd love to have had another season of Angel -- it had just refound its stride when it was canceled.  And sure, I'd love more Nero Wolfe adventures.  But Firefly didn't even get to finish its first season, and that is a crying shame.  This is such a shiny show, what there is of it.  I didn't watch it in its initial run, so I

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-39983811245335158152010-09-30T09:25:00.005-04:002010-12-15T19:43:36.181-05:00

Like I said yesterday, I'm rebooting my blog by doing a few long memes that my friend DK did on Sidewalk Crossings.  I figured I'd start with this one cuz the TV season has just begun and I'm all psyched about my fave current shows :-) The line up: Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-29513085530412537902010-09-29T14:51:00.000-04:002010-09-29T15:14:46.428-04:00

As Sam Gamgee said, "Well, I'm back." I thought for a while that a post about my first experience seeing Hamlet live seemed like a sort of capstone for a blog titled Hamlette's Soliloquy.  Plus, I loved seeing the Playbill whenever I visited this blog.  I didn't want that post to get pushed down, much less end up in my archives, as if my memory of that magical evening would also be displaced. 

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-25478471244377856582009-10-14T20:17:00.009-04:002009-10-14T21:23:06.838-04:00

I have now seen Hamlet performed live. On Broadway, starring Jude Law, no less! It's been a dream of mine to see the play live ever since I fell in love with it, lo these twelve years ago. Cowboy had to go to NYC for work this past weekend, and Dano and I went along for the ride. One of Cowboy's coworkers is also a Shakespeare fan, so she and I decided we could not miss out on the chance to

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-48190678485885111172009-09-29T16:57:00.003-04:002009-09-29T18:58:06.684-04:00

Sigh. How have I neglected this blog for so long?Okay, time to catch up a bit on what's going on around here.First off, I'm preggers again! Which is pretty much why I haven't blogged here much. Between running around after almost-two Dano and the whole pregnancy thing, I've fallen behind on lots of stuff, this blog included. Oops. I'm 18 weeks along right now, and going to have an ultrasound

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-53982156658172998872009-08-01T20:44:00.007-04:002009-08-01T21:16:16.416-04:00

This is my 500th post. Shazaam.I went to see Public Enemies today. It was pretty good. Johnny Depp handed in a surprisingly restrained performance -- he was subtle and charming and vicious. Christian Bale had a pretty boring character. Not a lot to do but look determined, though in the scene between him and Dillinger's girlfriend, he was sweet. But still determined.It was nice to see David

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-66658241568542952352009-07-01T21:30:00.004-04:002009-07-01T21:35:31.563-04:00

Farewell, Karl Malden :-( From Where the Sidewalk Ends to On the Waterfront, from Pollyanna to The Birdman of Alcatraz, you have never failed to delight and entertain me. From General Omar Bradley in Patton to Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire, you played unlikeable characters likeably, and made merely likeable characters endearing. I miss you.

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-58400549808994552762009-07-01T11:38:00.002-04:002009-07-01T11:42:31.163-04:00

Six policemen wearing kilts walked into a Dunkin' Donuts.Nope, not a joke in need of a punch line (though it could be one). That actually happened while Dano and I were at DD yesterday. Six policemen, all wearing kilts. I didn't muster up the courage to ask them if that's how policemen around here normally dress (and since I usually see them sitting in their police cars, it's possible, I

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-63189089150389880462009-06-18T19:12:00.003-04:002009-06-18T19:33:08.839-04:00

I have outsmarted a pair of mourning doves. Yay me.Last summer, we had hanging pots of flowers on the porch that opens off our bedroom. I overestimated how much sun would hit them, and they didn't do very well. After they all died, I just left the pots there because I wanted to use them again this year, but had nowhere else to store them. This spring, a couple of mourning dove decided one of

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-2660815713396597502009-06-09T16:45:00.006-04:002009-06-09T16:57:17.492-04:00

I watched The Crimson Pirate (1952) last week, and all I have to say is, I haven't had that much fun watching a pirate movie since the first Pirates of the Caribbean film! I'm not saying I loved this the way I love Curse of the Black Pearl or anything, but it was a resoundingly enjoyable film.Okay, okay, a lot of that is due to the fact that Burt Lancaster spent most of his time looking like

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-84311198733442233992009-05-31T19:24:00.006-04:002011-10-31T17:28:53.437-04:00

So much to blog about, so little time! But Cowboy and Dano are "reading" a National Geographic together (Cowboy explains the pictures to Dano, who points to things and asks, "What's that?"), so I'll take these few minutes to get caught up. A guy we knew in college, Steve Corona, has a small part in an episode of In Plain Sight on USA tonight at 10 EST. We don't get any TV channels, but I'm

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-72513818889930677762009-05-20T20:28:00.004-04:002009-05-20T21:11:05.731-04:00

I'm starting to like Burt Lancaster. A lot.That makes sense, you say. He's got massive shoulders. He's an Old Hollywood movie star, and Hamlette loves old movies. He made westerns and war movies, and Hamlette loves those kinds of movies. He's got a boyish charm, a quick grin, and a smooooth voice. Of course Hamlette likes him.But for most of my 29 years, I haven't liked him. I haven't

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-92211508855301926202009-05-13T20:34:00.004-04:002009-05-14T20:07:22.321-04:00

So to celebrate Bobby Darin's birthday today, I was going to link to a whole bunch of videos on YouTube like usual, but I found one that just blows the others out of the water for me, so I'm only posting it. Here's Bobby Darin singing "Sweet Caroline," my favorite Neil Diamond song.I have never heard this before, and I am now longing to find it on cd somewhere. He sings it so slow, sweet,

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-62241709195733431752009-05-10T18:26:00.009-04:002009-05-10T19:12:04.396-04:00

What a summer for fun movies! I went to see Star Trek today, and treated myself to a cherry slushie since it's Mother's Day. Now, I didn't love this like I loved Wolverine, but that's okay. I didn't expect to. In fact, I was quite prepared to hate it if necessary, to erase the whole thing from my memory. Fortunately, I don't have to.First and foremost, I have to say that the actors

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-37520448977288885932009-05-06T16:59:00.003-04:002009-05-06T17:08:46.911-04:00

Happy birthday, Rodolfo Guglielmi!I know I usually post a bunch of YouTube vignettes in honor of Rudy's birthday, but Dano is insisting we go play outside. Since this is the first day it hasn't rained since Friday, I'm inclined to acquiesce to his request. So I'll just link you to this one, which starts with footage from the 88 American Beauties contest, has random candid footage in the middle,

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-56637292409894716632009-05-06T16:23:00.003-04:002009-05-06T16:27:58.544-04:00

Dude, they're doing an NCIS spinoff! And it's going to star Chris O'Donnell!!!Thanks to Dano taking a lengthy afternoon nap, I just watched the two latest eps of NCIS on cbs.com, which provide backstory for the characters in the new show. Ultra cool. I can't wait to watch this new show! And how cool that NCIS, itself a spinoff from JAG, is jumpstarting shows now.

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-35296198242542144372009-05-03T19:09:00.008-04:002011-10-31T17:29:08.104-04:00

Halfway through Wolverine this afternoon, I hugged my popcorn bag to me, overwhelmed with sorrow and pity for the tragic hero before me. I actually wanted to hug Wolvie, of course, but the popcorn bag was the best I could do. I didn't relinquish my hold on it until the final credits started rolling. I was really worried about this movie. I've loved this character since I was in high school,

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-51400212400726177542009-05-01T11:08:00.005-04:002011-10-31T17:29:19.843-04:00

How do I love Wolvie? Let me count the ways. I love Wolvie to the depth and breadth his Claws can slash. My love for Wolverine is More than some swift-passing adolescent craze. I love Wolvie when his steely, sidelong gaze Says more than any quip. Yet, when he says, "Them's fightin' words, Bub," that too is pure bliss. I love Wolvie, who, with a cigar always Clamped between his teeth, will sneer

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-32727889453115361422009-04-24T14:29:00.002-04:002009-04-24T14:33:53.735-04:00

Want to win one of my groovy collaged journals absolutely free? Zip over to the Ozark Scents blog and read their feature of me. There's a fun little interview, plus pics of a bunch of my items, and the rules for how to enter the drawing for my "Off the Beaten Track" journal. They even have ways for you to get entered in the drawing multiple times by doing things like following my Huggermugger

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-61737953257866012102009-04-13T16:28:00.004-04:002009-04-13T16:44:35.994-04:00

I just finished watching East Side, West Side (1949) for the first time. It stars Barbara Stanwyck, James Mason, Van Heflin, Ava Gardner, and Cyd Charisse. Yeah, quite a lineup, huh? I picked it up at the library, where they'd stashed it in the Mystery section, which is about par for their decidedly odd genrefication system there. Because while a murder does occur, it's not until an hour and

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-4890205312632428432009-04-03T19:56:00.002-04:002009-04-03T20:06:27.206-04:00

Sad news -- Andy Hallett, who played Lorne on Angel, just died of congestive heart disease :-( Here's him singing "Lady Marmalade" from the season 4 ep "The House Always Wins."

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-66274004323802363112009-04-03T17:59:00.001-04:002009-04-03T18:00:20.835-04:00

Man, are there ever a lot of great Silly Songs with Larry that I've never seen! I think this is my favorite of the new ones:

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-91189898638628460832009-03-30T15:42:00.002-04:002009-03-30T17:18:16.720-04:00

"We don't make movies for critics, since they don't pay to see them anyhow." -Charles BronsonJust found that quote on imdb.com and am totally in love with it :-D

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-76834839454809307112009-03-27T12:01:00.001-04:002009-03-27T15:21:19.595-04:00

Snagged this from DKoren's other blog. I'm gonna do it with Windows Media Player because I have no ipod (nor do I particularly want one).Here're the rules for those interested in playing along.1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.4. Play tag,

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-8307579872939120802009-03-13T19:55:00.002-04:002009-03-13T19:58:04.633-04:00

It's true. He says it a lot. And then we watch bits of Combat! or songvids on YouTube. He's starting to say other character's names too, but Kirby is his first and his favorite to say. (This picture is currently the home page pic for a C! discussion group I belong to. And nope, I didn't make it.)

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-87397726595492946512009-03-13T10:17:00.002-04:002009-03-13T10:19:27.593-04:00

It's been a rough morning, so to distract Dano (and myself) from the crankiness du jour, I started finding John Wayne videos on YouTube. Dano quickly learned to say 'Duke' and even sometimes pointed at the right guy when he said it. Here's one of the vids I found, one that made me laugh and laugh. And maaaaaaaan, was John Wayne ever tall! Sometimes I forget, or get used to, him being 6'4",

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-73839943900218246052009-03-03T17:05:00.004-05:002009-03-03T17:09:34.893-05:00

I've got a new fanfic story up on Fruit Salad! It's called "Walk a Crooked Mile" and is one of the stories I wrote during NaNoWriMo last year. Go read it -- it's only about twelve pages! Hey, come on, that's short for me!

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-42563159044689072702009-02-26T17:22:00.003-05:002009-02-26T17:41:16.689-05:00

Did you know Julie Andrews did Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella for TV in 1957? Yeah, me either, until I found it on DVD at the library last Saturday.It's okay. They basically did it as a stage play and filmed it -- those were the early days of television, you know. So it felt like early Masterpiece Theater in a way. Julie Andrews was luminous, of course, but the rest of the production

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-85922174566765798082009-02-15T18:33:00.011-05:002009-02-15T22:30:53.987-05:00

We're back from our grand vacation! And it was grand indeed; we flew to NC on January 31st, and just returned to CT last night. I think our vacation was made even sweeter by the fact that for the four days before we left, we were sick with a vicious stomach bug. Thank the Lord we were all well enough to travel by the 31st and didn't have to rebook our flights!We hung out in NC with my family

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-30195229555615059322009-01-24T17:31:00.003-05:002009-01-24T17:49:11.375-05:00

I watched The Remains of the Day (1993) for the first time this week. And also the last time.My family and I adore the remake of Sabrina (1995) and have watched it a zillion times. At one point, Sabrina's chauffeur father says to another servant, "Have you been watching Remains of the Day again?" when she brings him some tea on a tray with a vase of flowers. So I've always wanted to see this

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-66202985989528922332009-01-20T21:41:00.002-05:002009-01-21T12:12:01.622-05:00

When Dano had his 15-month checkup last week, I told the doctor he had a vocabulary of around 40 words. The doctor was suitably shocked, as babies this age normally can say 4-8 words.But I was wrong. Today I wrote down all the words Dano says regularly, the words he not only can say, but knows what they mean. He understands many more words, and he can say a few that he's just mimicking us on

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-78001441848808268772009-01-19T09:03:00.003-05:002009-01-19T10:38:39.240-05:00

Johnnycake and Dimples have been here all weekend because everyone is off work/school today. How did we celebrate? By making them work, of course. Johnnycake fixed the lid of my toy box, and Erika did dishes yesterday while Cowboy, Dano, and I napped. Don't worry -- we have given them a bit of time off for good behavior now and then. On Saturday, we watched Melinda and Melinda (2004), a Woody

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-71499122176779674902009-01-10T21:40:00.005-05:002009-01-10T21:47:46.421-05:00

We gave Dano his very first box of crayons today! He's been playing with our pens for a while now, whenever we had any that were safe to let him use. He'd just been chewing on them or smacking things with them until this week, when he started pretending to write on bits of paper with them, so I realized he was probably ready for crayons.Is he ever! He calls them pens (which he pronounces "behn

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-77190423706578246002009-01-05T17:03:00.003-05:002009-01-05T17:18:27.145-05:00

I just realized the real reason why Danny Messer (Carmine Giovinazzo) is my second-favorite character on CSI: NY (after Mac Taylor, obviously). It's not the scruffy goatee, it's not the cute little wire-rimmed specs, it's not the buff bod, it's not the well-worn jeans, it's not the gets-into-trouble tuffness, and it's not the messy hair.It's the accent. Danny has that Noo Yawk accent, it's for

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-56512032745843345652008-12-31T20:23:00.003-05:002008-12-31T20:27:13.027-05:00

We got a couple inches of snow here today, so Cowboy and I are spending a quiet New Year's Eve at home, playing with Dano and drinking hot Dr. Pepper with lemons. So I raise my mug to you and wish you a wonderful new year full of health and happiness. L'chaim!

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-88463902450469678672008-12-24T09:14:00.002-05:002008-12-24T09:14:00.715-05:00

When I was three or four, I loved "The Night Before Christmas." I made my parents read it to me over and over and over -- I had it in this wonderful extra-big book with amazing pictures. They read it to me so often, I memorized it. The whole thing. Word for word. My parents used to get me to recite it for their friends -- it was my first party trick. I still remember the first couple

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-35473429204498000702008-12-20T16:42:00.003-05:002008-12-20T16:47:49.547-05:00

We have snow! Lots and lots of snow! More than nine inches, and more heading our way :-D Woo! I've done about 19 Dances of Joy, as you can imagine. And you should see Dano playing in the snow! He's practiced walking in his new boots since that first snowfall a couple weeks ago, so now he can run about like a tiny mutant snowman. He spent this morning picking up chunks of snow, helping

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-78157676660195529822008-12-17T20:10:00.003-05:002008-12-18T11:18:04.942-05:00

This is the awsomest display of "dancing Christmas lights" I have seen. I like it better than the vids of Disney's that I've found. They synchronize everything perfectly, and they have different things personify different parts of the song.Thanks to Cowboy for finding this! Dano loves it too -- he requests it about half as often as "Jingle Bells."(Note to DKoren: it involves flashing strings

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-54986915578530218822008-12-15T16:11:00.008-05:002008-12-15T17:18:52.986-05:00

I've been trying to figure out how to write about Australia. I went to see it last night, and I loved it. Adored it. Wanted to turn around and go watch it again.I was pretty sure I would at least like it, because it has cowboys, soldiers, horses, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson, and David Wenham in it. Plus, it's set in Australia, home to my most favoriteset movie of all time, The

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3881774.post-75874758426120482232008-12-11T18:10:00.001-05:002008-12-11T18:10:55.408-05:00

Take the Quiz here!Hmm. Elinor Dashwood. Can't say I'm surprised!

Hamlettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11961916847426233995noreply@blogger.com2