The Guide is a Bumpy Ride

Okay, I've seen Hitchhiker's Guide, and the best word I can use to describe it is...

Uneven.

There were parts of it I liked very much. The opening scene with the dolphins had a very nice Monty Python-esque water ballet and song entitled "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" (a nice nod to another book in the "trilogy") - which got my hopes up. H2G2 is very British and Python-esque in humor, so I thought we were off to a good start. And I know not everyone is crazy about how they did Zaphod B., but I loved him. He does Zaphod as a kind of SNL-spoofed Dubya, which made me laugh out loud at times.

Yet... there were disappointments, and they were severe. One was Ford Prefect. I just had him pictured SO differently. Much... cooler. This Ford seemed too bumbling for me. And Trillian looked, I'm sorry, like a teenager. Not one single line on her face to give her character or experience. So when they have the big scene about how someone in the movie is just one more guy in a long string of guys who doesn't "get" her, it just falls flat - this girl isn't OLD ENOUGH to be jaded.

And the movie gets a little, well, boring, in the middle. Especially on Vogon. But it really comes back around when they get to the end, about the origin of Earth and all. (I'm trying to be vague here and not spoil anything, so leave me a comment if you want more specifics than I'm giving.) The special effects, especially in this section, are really good. Really beautiful visual images.

So my final estimation - this movie is not the really fun romp through the Universe that the book is, but it's not a bad introduction to Douglas Adams. If it does nothing else but draw more folks to the original, then it will have accomplished something worthwhile.

Meh-Hee-Co

Why has it been so long since I've written? In a word (or two) - "Puerto Vallarta." Yes, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta... (yada yada yada). Our little growing company held our first class outside of the U.S. last week. We chose Mexico because we wanted to go somewhere exotic yet not too long a flight, and because my dh speaks great Spanish and is always looking for an opportunity to practice it. Boy, we were not disappointed. Neither of us had ever been to PV before, and it was really breathtaking. Amazing beauty, warm hospitality, and incredible views - I was really overwhelmed both by the place and the people.

There are very few places I visit that make me really want to return. PV was one of the few. Here's a few reasons why...


The pool at our hotel...



The cathedral downtown...


The view from our hotel room...


The view from the tapas restaurant (one of MANY great food experiences)...

Everyone had warned me about the poverty I was likely to encounter, and I did. It struck me especially hard when I went in search of reading materials. I wanted a paperback or a magazine to read by the pool - nothing too heady, just a little mind candy to enjoy along with the breeze and the view. There were three, count-em', three choices in the little sundries shop (and I had already read them all). So a little later I visited the only bookstore in town. Borders it was not. One little boutique-style shop sandwiched between a bar and a clothing store, the bookstore carried maybe 50 magazine titles and a few small tables of books, including one rack of the top ten paperbacks. That was it. Now there were some classics there - Shakespeare and Melville, in Spanish - but I was saddened to realize that the everyday life of most of PV's citizens (and visitors) probably does not hold much room for reading. Poverty takes many forms, I guess.

More Movie Ramblin (apostrophe)

My friend Tom K. has alerted me to a review of Hitchhiker’s Guide that has me very, very worried. I will link it here so you too can check it out...

Hitchhiker's Guide review w/o spoilers

After I read this I decided I still have to see the movie, but I DEFINITELY have to lower my expectations. There's a page at this site that lists all the good stuff that was left out. Like the Guide entry on towels. How could they? I mean, really.

But the whole thing has started me thinking about other good books I read as a teenager that probably shoulda, woulda been made into movies but are probably languishing in scripts-rights purgatory. Haven’t you wondered why no one has ever filmed...

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (Stephen R. Donaldson) ?

or...

The Cat Who Walked Through Walls (or anything else by Robert Heinlein) ?

or, more recently...

Shopgirl (Steve Martin) ?

((Steve Martin wrote a book, you ask? The banjo-pickin’, funny-suit wearin’, SNL swearin’ R-A-M-B-L-I-N-Apostrophe singin’ King Tuttin’ TV and movie comedian? Yeah, he did, and it is GREAT. VERY lyrical, VERY insightful little mood piece that’s pretty sweet and a treat to read. And since he’s a MOVIE STAR and all, why has his book never been made into a movie?))

Okay, Shopgirl's probably not really a great candidate for a movie. But the Donaldson and Heinlein books just cry out for big-screen treatment. Or at least an HBO miniseries. Yeah, the whole Thomas Covenant thing is so dark and layered I could see it going on and on for a few seasons. So HEY! HOLLYWOOD! You readin' this?

Sigh. Didn't think so.

Saturday Night Braves Fever

This weekend dh and I took the boys to a Braves game. This is what we had to endure to get there...



And here we are in our seats, a mere 5 innings into the game.



We missed a grand slam by Brian Jordan. But all’s well that ends well... the game was a lot of fun, Turner Field is simply AMAZING, and we’ll get a chance to go again before the end of the season.

Fighting the traffic to get to the game made me feel very, very sorry for the poor souls who visit Atlanta. I’ve heard before that it is very confusing to a newcomer and I can see why. Streets were inexplicably closed or became one-way a block from your destination, the sheriff’s deputies were rude and hateful, and there were no signs anywhere directing you to official parking areas. It’s enough to make a Cobb County gal break down and try MARTA! (Gasp!)

Speaking of Cobb County, pretty soon I intend to write an insider’s view of our proud and lovely suburb. I know we are greatly misunderstood and maligned by our ITP neighbors (you know who you are), and I’ve been thinking that maybe a little peace, love, and understanding might be just the ticket. Or if we can’t have that, at least we could have a heated debate, and that’s fun too!

So if you, my ITP friends who might be reading this, have questions like, “Why would anybody live in Cobb County?” or “What’s with Kennesaw’s gun law?” then tune in soon. Better yet, leave me a comment with your own queries and I will do my best to satisfy your burning curiosity about life up 75 North.

Go Braves!

Never Let It Be Said That I Avoid Hot Political Issues

http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/HCR029.html

Click on the link above for the State of Idaho's House Resolution on Napoleon Dynamite.

Thanks to Sara R. at the WellTrainedMind boards for alerting me to this important legislation.

Freakin' IDIOT! GOSH!

42

This is a test:

1. What is inscribed in large friendly letters across the front of the must-read book for celestial travellers?
2. What is the most massively useful item an interstellar hitchhiker can carry?
3. What is the Answer to the Great Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything?

If you know the answer to one or more of these questions, you are invited to join me at the April 29 premiere of The Hitchhikers' Guide To The Galaxy. If you do NOT know even ONE of the answers, get thee to Borders and buy this book! You still have about three weeks and it is a short read. Movies are never as good as the books on which they are based (although PJ did come mighty darn close with LOTR, I admit). And you will only be cheating yourself if you walk into that theater without your massively useful towel that proves that you are cool and in-the-know and you read this book twenty years ago (like I did). Oops. Just gave away an answer AND a clue to my age. (As if THAT were any big secret. Ha.)

Seriously, if you're a Douglas Adams fan, the preview for this looks pretty fun. This is one book/series I don't mind seeing made into a movie. It's short, it's funny, and it's not so wonderful that you hate to see it ruined. (But please don't even get me started on the upcoming Narnia movie. I just don't have ANY faith that Disney can keep from Disney-fying Aslan. Sickening thought, no?)

http://hitchhikers.movies.go.com/

Ignoring My Editor

Like anyone who ever writes anything, I have a very strong and persistent little voice in my head that says, "Why are you even bothering with this? You have nothing original to say. This has been discussed many times by better writers and deeper thinkers than you. You have nothing to contribute here. Go do your laundry." This voice pipes up just about every time I sit down to write.

The voice was especially strong the night I first sat down to create this blog. I made the mistake of visiting about 50 other blogs that night. Oh! They were so funny! Creative! Interesting! My life seemed dull and stupid compared to theirs. And the NAMES of their blogs! So clever! Everything I could think of was idiotic, pedestrian, bor-ing.

Natalie Goldberg calls this voice the Editor. In her wonderful, classic book Writing Down The Bones she advises: The more clearly you know the editor, the better you can ignore it. After a while, like the jabbering of an old drunk fool, it becomes just prattle in the background. Don't reinforce its power by listening to its empty words. If the voice says, "You are boring," and you listen to it and stop your hand from writing, that reinforces and gives credence to your editor.... Hear "You are boring" as distant white laundry flapping in the breeze. Eventually it will dry up and someone miles away will fold it and take it in. Meanwhile you will continue to write.

I was thinking about my editor yesterday while sitting in church, and I realized that there are many artists whose work I love and enjoy and take pleasure in who were not stopped by their own editors. They did not allow their editors to prevent them from writing and playing music and painting and composing. And I benefit from their courage and perseverance.

So this is the truth: It is a LIE that I have nothing to contribute. And it is not my job to condemn myself for trying to say something, anything. I'm going to say it and put it out there, and maybe it will be bad at times. But how will I ever know unless I submit myself to the process? And it will ALWAYS be unoriginal, for "there is nothing new under the sun" and there never will be. I am free to repeat whatever I am moved to repeat. It might even be good for me.

The Pleasure of a Good Book

A message board I read almost daily is the General Discussion board at the Well Trained Mind homeschool website (www.welltrainedmind.com). One of the many benefits I glean from this site is book suggestions. There is such a variety of interests among homeschooling parents that I get a broad exposure to a variety of authors and topics - from homemaking how-tos to literary fiction to Christian philosophy to Shakespearean criticism. I love being introduced to new authors on this board because I am rarely disappointed when I read them for myself.

One book I bought recently was suggested by Janie, a homeschool mom whose posts are wise and deep - not surprisingly, as she has graduated at least one child from her homeschool and is deeply involved in her children's and her own lifelong academic growth. The book is James W. Sire's Habits of the Mind. I'm only into chapter 2, and already I'm hooked. There is something so stimulating and challenging about engaging with an author who is truly intellectual - not intellectual as in "smarter-than-thou," but intellectual as in "love-to-explore-great-thoughts." His writing is clear, concise, expressive, and interesting - and I always get a little shiver of delight or joy when I pick up a book and realize that I'm really going to be stretched, mentally, but not condemned. The best authors, to me, are the ones who have great things to say but are secure enough to say them in a clear and accessible manner. Nothing is more frustrating than an author with a need to prove to me, his reader, that he is waaaaaaaaayyy smarter than I could ever hope to be.

I'm also re-reading Pride and Prejudice right now, but skipping through parts of it just so I can get to the really fun stuff - i.e., the scenes between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Mmmmmm, good.

Off to read.