March 29

David and Carla Heymsfeld, Lucy and Florrie identified "I pray that I may never see the desert again. Hear me, God." coming from Lawrence of Arabia.

David sent in this quote for you to try:

“don’t be stupid,be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party”

As many of you know, I have been watching Amanda and Sarah while Wendy and Howard have been in Barcelona, so I haven't had the opportunity to watch any Netflix movies this week. We did go see a kid's movie Sunday.

At your local theaters:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - This movie is based on the very popular novels by Jeff Kinney that so many kids are reading. Sarah is a big fan and really wanted to see this movie. It is cute and the kids will like some of the gross things that happen to the main character, Greg. The characters are over the top. Sarah, who saw the author at the annual book festival in Washington, DC, said the books are based on his life and the movie left lots of things out. The girls liked it. As an adult it was tolerable so I asked the girls what they would rate it and they both said between two and three smiles so its:

"Dancing With the Stars" - As many of you know the show kicked off its season last week. I am not as engrossed with the show as in previous years, but will probably continue to watch. Some impressions from week one:
1. I thought they underrated the football player who is Cheryl's partner
2. I thought they overrated Pamela Anderson
3. Why do people subject themselves to this competition when they should just leave their reputations intact i.e. Buzz Aldrin??


Roberta

March 22

It is good to be home and getting back to normal although jet lag is still effecting my sleep patterns. On my way to Spain and going home, I was able to watch four movies and during the flight and on the trip I read three books so I am happy to review them all for you.

On my last posting, the last quote was correctly identified by Florrie and Lucy. "You have brought music back in to my life. I had forgotten." as coming from one of my all time favorite movies The Sound of Music.

Try this one:

"I pray that I may never see the desert again. Hear me, God."

On Netflix and Air France:

An Education - The star and film were up for academy awards,. It is an interesting story about a coming of age teen whose parents made sure she would be going to Oxford until she becomes involved with an older man and gets a different kind of education. It is a tender and poignant film that also reinforces the importance of an education.

A Serious Man - I have never been a fan of the Coen Brothers movies and this one is by far the oddest. It was nominated for an academy award which blows my mind!! It is about a Jewish family unraveling with divorce, freeloading relatives, children in religious school and Bar Mitzvah in the 1960's. The ending is unsettling to say the least. I would like comments if you've seen the movie and your thoughts regarding the ending.

Time Traveler's Wife - If you didn't read the book, you will be totally lost!! It does stay true to the book to a degree, but does jump around and doesn't fully develop the characters. Eric Bana and Rachael McAdams make an attractive pair. I didn't like the book and therefore didn't care for the movie. The movie is about a person who time travels and how it effects his relationships especially with his long suffering wife.

The Princess and the Frog - This Disney film was a breakthrough for Disney as it featured the first Disney Princess of color. Although they tried to make the characters realistic, the Prince, in particular, looked as the other Princes, but with a darker complexion., It takes place in New Orleans and the animation is Disney quality. Small children might be frightened by the Voo Doo characters. Music is good, but not one of Disney's best. A good movie to take children over 8.

Some Good Reads (some are more for a plane ride than literary value)

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant - This novel was written in 1992 and at that time everyone raved about it. I don't know where I was, but I didn't read it then, but thoroughly enjoyed reading it now. It was a New York Times Bestseller. It is the story of Dinah who is mentioned briefly in the Bible. Through her voice you understand what life was like in the ever growing family of Jacob. Her mothers Leah, Rachel, Zilpah and Bilhar are described and come to life as Dramant takes actual events and fleshes it out with her imagination. Even if the Bible and history is not your thing, you won't be disappointed.

The Camel Club by David Baldacci - I am a fan of Baldacci and enjoy his books as they are set in Northern Virginia. This one is a page turner with very interesting characters especially the members of the camel club. The plot is a bit unrealistic and at times confusing but engrossing nonetheless.

All Around The Town by Mary Higgins Clark - If you've ever read one of her books, you've read them all, but they are fun to read, keep your interest and a very easy read at that. This time the story is about a young woman who was kidnapped as a child and develops multiple personalities to cope with what happened to her. There are lots of twists and turns and all is resolved by book's end.

A note about books on trips:

I didn't realize that the library sells old paperbacks for $1.00 to as low as .25. We picked up these and an additional one for less than two dollars. While on the trip, as people finished a book we traded them to one another.

Tonight is the beginning of the tenth season of "Dancing With The Stars." I am getting a bit tired of it, but will probably watch it in spite of that.

Glad to be home, but won't have a lot of time to watch films as Wendy and Howard are on their way to Barcelona and I'll be staying at their house with the girls so I probably won't be posting again until after the first. For those of you celebrating Passover, have a Happy Passover and those celebrating Easter have a Happy Easter and those of you who are indifferent, Happy Spring!!

Roberta