I had the opportunity to view the film “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” and boy, am I glad I did. I declare Frances McDormand the Queen of Accents. If you didn’t know any better, you would swear she was in fact British or in the case of her role in the movie “Fargo”, a North Dakotan. She played the role of Guinevere Pettigrew perfectly. I must also acknowledge the surprising and rising talent of Amy Adams, who played the role of the starlet Miss Pettigrew teams up with.

The story line is set pre-World War 2 era in London. Miss Pettigrew is a disastrous governess to the point which her employment agency refuses to continue placing her. Out of spite, she steals a job lead from a desk at the agency and sets out to become a “social secretary” to an American starlet. And so the craziness begins. The script is clever, well-written, and absolutely engaging. The cast members were flawless in delivering said script. I would be surprised if this film is not mentioned at some point during awards season. Amy Adams brings an incredible energy to the role of Delysia. I had not seen any of her prior films, but found myself so enamored by her performance that I cannot wait to see where she ends up next.

The movie does have some serious moments throughout although it is comedic overall. The comedy and the dramatic are played equally well though. Overall, I would say this is a delightful show to the point where I will likely own it upon its release to DVD. If it’s playing where you live, you should definitely make a point to see this film. I haven’t been this excited about something I have seen on the big screen in a long time.

book review time!

I just finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat Pray Love a couple of weeks ago and I must say that I was impressed at the readability of this book. Gilbert has written it in such a conversational style that I started it one day and next thing I knew it was 3 days later that I was reading the last page. The book is also vivid in its descriptions to the point where the reader can visualize the setting and feel a part of Gilbert’s cultural experiences.

The author wrote this upon returning from her travels abroad post divorce. She chose to divide the book into three sections based on the three countries she lived in over the course of the year. The “eat” section is reference to her stay in Italy. While in Italy, she shares her experiences learning the art of simply enjoying life. She foregoes the traditional Italian architectural and art tourism and spends her time there learning the language, immersing herself in the lifestyle, and eating delicious foods. As she shares this experience, I found myself yearning to eat gelato in the afternoon while writing in a journal at a small bistro. The “pray” section is in reference to Gilbert’s experience at an Ashram in India where she was able to eventually master the art of meditation and the ability to still the mind. This section was probably the least entertaining, but the most informative section. It made me want to learn how to still my own mind through meditation and as most people who know me are aware I have a complete inability to relax so that was a fairly inspirational section of the memoir for me. Finally, the “love” section of the book tells of her time in Indonesia and her rediscovery of allowing herself to love others after her heartbreak. Reading this made me want to place Indonesia, specifically Bali, on my list of places to visit before I die.

Overall, I would recommend this book as one that is both meaningful and entertaining to read. While reading, I was right there with Elizabeth on her journey through self discovery and while I certainly did not experience the journey first hand, I definitely felt as though I was there learning about myself just the same.

and the girl scouts with their wee beedy eyes. . .

Alas! Girl Scout cookie season is over. My stomach and I are both relieved.

Damn those scouts anyway. Lurking in the doorways of the grocery stores, turning cartwheels, and begging the general public to purchase their over-priced, chemically-enhanced-so-they-are-addictive-and-you-can’t-stop-eating-them-until-next-thing-you-know-all-the-thin-mints-are-gone boxes of cookies. I don’t know about you, but I feel bad when I turn the cookie dealing spawn down because I know the money goes toward a good cause. However, what single person really needs 3 boxes of cookies for $11? Really? I avoid the guilt by simply feigning deafness or refusing to make eye contact. Luckily I am blessed with an uncanny knack of being able to tune out the whiny voices of youth. And if I don’t make eye contact, then I don’t have to see the hope of being the top troop shatter in some little girl’s eyes. This technique has successfully kept me from buying the deliciously evil treats for at least 4 years now.

Those around me have unfortunately succumbed to the wiles of these young scouts though. I am forced to try “just one” Samoa and then spend weeks craving the little coconut and chocolate covered bastards. Thanks to Keebler, you can find cookies that are very similar to those of the Girl Scouts at a more reasonable price point. This helps those on a budget still enjoy a peanut butter covered wafer dipped in chocolate. That being said, I have yet to find a generic equivalent for the aforementioned Samoa cookies they sell. I am thinking about writing a letter to Keebler in regard to this travesty. It would go something like this:

To Whom It May Concern:

Greetings, Keebler! I am writing in regard to your cookie line up. It seems as though your company has sampled and stolen the recipes for a substantial amount of Girl Scout cookies in your day which leads me to ask one question. Why have you not reproduced the Samoa brand in all your cookie making glory? You have a knock off cookie for all the other types of Girl Scout cookies, why not the Samoa!? I beg you to please consider recreating this delectable treat under the Keebler brand so that it can be available more than once a year to the masses and at an affordable cost. And if you could make it with Splenda so that it doesn’t make me vomit, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Perhaps if we band together and start a petition. . .

Then again, it could be a conspiracy between the Girl Scouts and Keebler.

At any rate, I won’t feel guilted into eating their fares for at least another 11 months and for that I am most thankful.

who to choose? NO ONE!

Hot topic of 2008: the election. Of course, was there ever a doubt? Being the “flaming liberal” Dem fem that I am, I happen to be just as torn as the rest of the nation about who to vote for. Neither Democratic candidate can achieve a full majority vote as of yet. What entails a “majority”? According to Wikipedia it is defined as such:
A majority, also known as a simple majority in the U.S., is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts. A plurality is not necessarily a majority, as the largest subset may be less than half of the entire group.
Alrighty, so even though happy-go-lucky Barack is technically ahead he does not possess a high enough percentage to obtain the majority of the votes required to deem him the final presidential candidate. This should make me satisfied as a formerly devout supporter of the Clinton family (go, Hillary!); however, looking at this year’s election just annoys and confuses me. Who is the best candidate? Who should I rally my support for? Who has the most similar stance on important issues that I do?
I consulted Google for some answers. I took a side by side look at the candidates. Nope. That didn’t help as I found myself disagreeing with some major points of my beloved Hillary and shaking my head at Obama’s non-committal idealism.
I resorted to a couple of “Which Candidate Should I Vote For?” quizzes. The first one informed me that my belief system fell in 0% with any of the candidates, both past and present, running for the 2008 ticket. Okay, so that wasn’t very helpful at all or reassuring for that matter. I am now thinking that I may not be part of the norm in my convictions. The second quiz had me falling in line 77% with Obama and 76% with Hillary on the issues. A 1% discrepancy! No wonder why America is confused and neither candidate can gain an actual majority in the primaries.
I guess the best thing to do at this point is to vote for whom you feel would do the best and pray that it all works out in the end. Perhaps I will try the old fashioned flip a coin technique. Ah, you hard core Republicans have it easy this season since your candidate has already been narrowed down to geriatric war vet, McCain. For the rest of us, this will be one of the most interesting Democratic National Conventions ever. I look forward to seeing how this all shapes up come Election Day in November.