Really?

You know it's a weird day when the highlight is not having to stand in line at the DMV. I went to get my plates renewed as well as my driver's license. I decided to go early and thanks to the time and the chill in the air, I went right up to the counter when I got there. A couple of checks and one crappy picture later, I have my new license. It's very mod and tricked out to make it harder to copy. I decided to be fairly honest and update my weight this time around. Only fairly honest though...I'm not crazy.

My poor Illini failed to defeat #1 Ohio State this morning. With about 7 min. left, we were up by 8 and then those damn people at CBS had to show a graphic. The graphic pointed out that Illinois had only turned it over 2 or 3 times in the half. Kiss of freakin' death...well, that and some questionable calls by the refs, some killer defense, and the strange decision to send a bounce pass to a guy who is 7 feet tall. Sad, sad, sad.

Then, I decided to go see The Fighter. As a movie, it was okay. As an avenue to see some excellent performances, it scores a bit higher. Christian Bale steals this puppy away from everyone. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams hold their own, but Mark Wahlberg seems to get sort of lost in the shuffle. I'm not sure if that is because his character is dominated not only by his brother's life and personality, but also set aside by his mother. Or, it could just be the way the script was written. Not a bad movie, but not a super one.

For some reason, I have started watching Criminal Minds. A & E and ION both show it about a million times during the week and I've been catching it here and there. I can't decide if I watch because of the strangely hot Matthew Gray Gubler or because I'm waiting for the script to slip into melodrama. Maybe I need to watch it from the beginning, but every time I hear the voice over featuring a quote that ties into the story, I start to giggle a bit. Plus, Thomas Gibson's expression never changes...ever. I like the guy, don't get me wrong. But, dang. I think there are 3 hours of it tonight. It'll be good to bounce back and forth between that and the Purdue/Michigan State game. At least watching someone catch a serial killer will get my mind of off the Illinois loss.

GO BEARS!

Hello again

I realize it seems like I have disappeared since I haven't updated since right after Thanksgiving. I did not purposely take a vacation or anything. I just didn't feel really inspired to write. I haven't felt particularly inspired by much of anything lately. But, I'm going to try and get back into the groove. It will start slow; I'll probably update during the weekend. So, let's get started.

After a few weeks of begging the movie gods, The King's Speech finally came to town this weekend. I have been a fan of Colin Firth's for quite some time and was rooting for him to win the Best Actor Oscar last year for A Single Man. He definitely has a shot this year for his portrayal of King George VI (or Bertie as his family and friends called him). I'm sure a decent amount of people know that after George V died, his eldest son, Edward, became king. Edward abdicated the throne about a year later so he could marry an American who was twice divorced. As the Head of the Church of England, you couldn't really do that so Edward chucked the whole king thing to get hitched. George VI then helped lead the country through WW II. But, thanks to much larger personalities like Churchill, Hitler, etc., George sort of gets lost in the shuffle. I don't believe his story is very well known in America and probably only sort of known in England.

Bertie was a stammerer. He apparently had been since he was 4 or 5. Being the second son, it was unlikely he would ever become king, so he could be comfortable enough with his speech issues since he wouldn't really have to do much public speaking. Things began to change when he had to give a speech in his father's place and it went really, really, badly. Bertie's wife, who most of us know as the Queen Mother, kept trying to find someone to help her husband. Eventually, they came across a speech therapist named Lionel. The movie takes us through Lionel's treatments and their growing friendship.

You totally believe Colin's performance. Nothing seems forced or fake. You can see the frustration and feeling of inadequacy move over his face as he tries to express himself, to find his voice as it were. You feel for him every step of the way. Geoffrey Rush is a great foil for Firth. It is funny and heart breaking to see their relationship grow and change. Helena Bonham Carter plays Elizabeth (Bertie's wife) and, as my friend Jackie pointed out, it was good to see her "not playing crazy."

If you are a fan of these actors and a fan of period/historical pieces, this movie is right up your alley. It is funny, moving, and has just the right amount of triumph without becoming too sentimental. The script is whip smart and I like that the director seemed to let the story unfold on its own.

I would put this up there with my 2 other favorite movies of the year, The Social Network and Inception.

Hopefully, Colin will pick up a Best Actor Golden Globe this evening. He already snagged the Critic's Choice award for the same category on Friday. Fingers crossed.

Oh, on a side note...for those of you who are fans of the BBC's production of Pride & Prejudice that made Colin a major star, the actress who played Elizabeth Bennett, Jennifer Ehle, plays Lionel's wife. I don't know if this is the first time Colin and Jennifer had acted together since P & P, but it was fun to see them together again.

Almost done

As I'm sure most of you are aware, the first of two movies covering the final book in the Harry Potter series came out last week. I have now seen it twice (and will probably check it out at least one more time). It always takes me at least two viewings to get a handle on my opinion of the film. The first time through has me trying to remember what the movie has left out that was in the book. The second time through, I can just watch it as a movie on its own. David Yates, who has directed the last couple of HP's, is behind the wheel for both part one and two of the finale. When book 7 came out, I discussed with several people how difficult it would be to try and present that book as one movie. I was very excited when it was decided to be done as two movies. I'm still glad they did it that way, but I wish the pacing on this movie had been a bit more intense.

Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed the movie. All three of the leads have become, at the very least, solid actors as they have matured. The tone of the final book/films is definitely the darkest of all of them so it's good that their acting abilities are up to meeting the challenge of the story. I loved seeing Ron get all mushy around Hermione. I loved seeing Ron and Harry argue. I loved seeing Ron get to have his big hero moment. I loved that the CGI used for Kreacher and Dobby (house elves if you are not in the know) improved. The combination of having Dobby seem not so Jar Jar Binks-ish (along with some excellent voice acting for the character) and Daniel Radcliffe's spot on acting made Dobby's death scene a genuinely touching and subtle moment in the film. I loved seeing Draco conflicted. I loved seeing the very, very, subtle hints at Snape's true nature (thank you Alan Rickman!). I love the twins!

The only complaint I have about the movie is the pacing. We start off with a bang. Voldy almost gets Harry. There's the quick escape from the wedding. There is the whole thing at the Ministry. But then we get...walking. In the book, Rowling lets us know that the threesome traveled from place to place for several weeks. They didn't stay in one place for more than a night or two. They had to sneak around and "steal" food (Hermione usually left money in the till or, in the case of snagging some eggs at a farm, under a chicken). I guess I would have liked a more intensely edited montage of some sort that showed more of their struggle. We saw them walking over some really cool bits of land and it's all very expansive and gorgeous and that's great. But, it slowed the movie down for me. It took out some of the tension that should have been built by the fact that they were on the run. Maybe I'm just too picky.

I went to see this the first time with my friend and her 4 boys. When it was over, her youngest turned to me and asked when they were going to start showing the second movie. He was rather disappointed when I told him he would not be waiting just a few minutes, but actually several months. The wait should be worth it as we have only 12 chapters left in the book to go through and it should be almost non stop action, adventure, and snogging (finally the smooch between Hermione and Ron...wonder if it will be as touchy feel-y as the "evil" snog that anti-Harry and anti-Hermione had before Ron crushed the Voldy locket...I sort of wish that intensity was present between Harry and Ginny...maybe they are trying to keep that one more chaste for now...perhaps I'm thinking too much on it...hmmm...). See you in July.

Ring My Bell

I've always wanted to ring the bells for the Salvation Army at this time of the year. Can't really explain why, just did. I got the chance to "live the dream" as it were this weekend. The group I volunteer with, Generation United, took shifts helping ring out in front of a Hy Vee grocery store.

Saturday didn't provide us with the best weather. It was cloudy, a little drippy, and a lot windy. Still, I smiled, rang the bell, said hello to folks as they walked by and thanked them when they donated.

I could tell when people weren't going to donate. Even more particularly, I could tell when people weren't going to donate and they felt bad about it. Usually, they would avert their gaze as they got closer to me. A couple of people told me they didn't have any change.

One little girl wanted to know why Santa wasn't ringing the bell here. I explained he was very busy making toys so he needed some help right now. I think she bought my answer, but she still had a slightly disappointed look on her face. Toward the end of my shift, an older gentlemen came over to talk to me. He asked that I talk to my supervisor and let them know that the guy working the bell at Kroger that morning BROUGHT A CHAIR AND WAS SITTING IN IT!

Apparently sitting down on the job is a big no-no...or at least that is what this guy was telling me. He was in the know because he had a friend who worked for the Salvation Army and sitting down was against the rules. I almost asked the guy if he knew if the person sitting down appeared to be elderly or perhaps injured in some way, there by explaining the evil chair. But, I couldn't get a word in edge wise.

The other highlight of the experience was sharing the space with a dude I referred to as "The Cranberry Guy." Cranberry Guy, or CG as I will call him, was someone hired by Ocean Spray to stand out in front of the store promoting their cranberry juice. He had on waders and an outfit similar to the guys in the commercial. He had a decent sized rectangular wooden box that was about half full of water. On top of the water were cranberries. He had a rake and would move them around and explain to folks how cranberries are harvested, etc.

You would have thought this guy was Elvis or something. Cars stopped so drivers could take photos of him. He posed for pictures with people. CG even had his own camera and had people take pictures on it. I asked him what the pictures were for and he said that they would show his boss that his was mingling and they get sent to Ocean Spray who might put them on their website. CG had got there around 8 and had to work till 5. He came over twice to ask me to watch his display to make sure no one messed with it while he went inside to warm up. The big concern seemed to be people putting something disgusting in the water or some kid drowning in it.

I got to watch a mini soap opera unfold as a trio of teen age girls hovered around where CG was standing. It took them a good 10 minutes (and much pushing) before they went over to talk to him. There was a lot of giggling, hair flipping, and photo taking. After they left, CG came over and told me that they were quite flirty. He said they asked if he was cold. He responded, "I was, but then you came over and my heart started beating so fast I warmed up."

Yeah, I know.

Anyway, it was a worthwhile couple of hours of my day. I'll definitely sign up again. If you have the chance to volunteer in your area, I really recommend it.

'Tis the season after all...