We REALLY Love Lucy

While in Orlando, the Schnoogs and I got into a long conversation about Lucille Ball - I think it was while we were eating dinner in the Brown Derby, recalling the whole episode where Lucy stalks Bill Holden - we agreed that not only was she brilliant at taking the mundane or ordinary and making it funny, but also how her humor endures...minus the overly demure housewife stereotypes that were typical of the early and mid 50's.

In classic Schnoogs form, she came home and found a complete set online, sweet-talked David into getting it for her and BAM! Upon my arrival home Tuesday night, there was the set and the first DVD was already loaded in the player.

The pilot was (in Ebe-speak) fascinating. The set was very temporary and small, there was a lot of focus on Ricky's performances and singing, it was an odd 33 minutes long, but when all is said and done, it launched a whole new generation of entertainment to the world.

Vitameatavegimin is among some of the first episodes, I can't wait for that!

Knott (too) Scary

Sunday was, as I indicated in the last post, a busy day. After completing the Pumpkin Run (that included clean-up and a tasty taco lunch because boy, I was hungry!), it was back home to shower and pack up to head out for an evening at Knott's Berry Farm for their Knott's Scary Farm Haunt.

Not typically a big fan of Halloween, late nights at theme parks when I have to be at work early in the morning, being scared or creeped out or repetitive trips on crazy roller coasters, I have to admit that this was not originally how I planned to spend a Sunday night. Some convincing to "give it a try" and "just come along to be with everyone" somehow caught me at a moment where I decided that it would be a good idea to go.

We took advantage of a VIP dinner prior to the re-opening of the park, which turned out to be great both in terms of having dinner covered and avoiding some of the crowds. We also were able to ride one of the roller coasters "Ghost Rider" before anyone else, so the lines were nonexistent...a fabulous thing if you wanted to ride the thing multiple times, as Schnoogs and Briana did.

I opted to sit it out for round two. Something about the headache, slightly nauseous stomach and fact that I just about wet my pants on the first go-round kept me from wanting to duplicate that experience. That is one crazy wooden coaster, let me tell you!

We went on some other crazy, looping coaster that had us dangling and twirling high above Orange County. It was thankfully smoother and was more of a glider, so I didn't have the same sensation of all of my bones and teeth bouncing apart, but it was still one heck of a stomach turner!

Things got better when we got to the Log Jammer. That is more my speed. It was kind of dark and there were creatures jumping out from every turn and corner...how much can one girl be expected to take? The anticipation of someone jumping out alone was enough to keep me looking over my shoulder for the rest of the night.

We all agreed that going on a Sunday and having dinner in the park was the way to go...we were finished up by 10:45 or so, our fill of mazes, coasters, monsters and screaming filled for the year, whew!

Midnight Madness

There has been so much blogging about the Walk, that a very important event was almost missed in the blog fodder...Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince opened on July 15th!

Honoring a Newton (women) tradition of seeing the movie on opening day AND celebrating the fact that Holly can certainly stay up late without me having to worry about how she will do in school the next day, we bought our tickets online for the first midnight showing! Rachel and Karina got in on the action too, we were one fine quartet, ready to take in the sixth installment of Holly's wizard heartthrob.

In theory, the midnight show sounds cool. For the 17-20 year old set (the average age of the midnight showing attendees), it probably is cool. For the 40+ parent who worked a long day and didn't get home until 9:30pm...cool is not the word that I was thinking as we were standing in line on the backside of the theater at 10:30 at night, with an hour and a half to go before the movie even started, let alone stay awake for the 2 1/2 hour movie after the commercials and trailers. What was I thinking?

Fortunately for me, there was a McDonald's right across the street so I loaded up on a large iced coffee before we went into the theater. I had to be strategic...drink it early enough to deal with the multiple bathroom stops that will be needed but not so early that the caffeine leaves my system and I succumb to sleep in the midst of a very important plot point.

The timing was just about right and when combined with the excitement of the kids around me (I tried to blend in by wearing a mismatched collection of sweatpants, tshirt and sweatshirt, much to Holly's chagrin), I powered all the way through to the end of the most-enjoyable (albeit somewhat sad in parts) movie at 3:20 am.

I hope that the next two movies come out pretty soon, I am not sure how much longer I will be able to keep up with the midnight crowd!

The Unknown Eater

Every now and again I come across a random photo that cracks me up. This is such a photo.

January 2004. Holly and her friends are 13. Old enough to be responsible and serious, young enough to not have to. It was no doubt a typical sleepover where they ran around the house like banshees the night before until I could take the screaming no more and would close myself off in the room. It wasn't their fault that my patience wore thin...but it did when the screaming and jumping out from behind dark corners began (and let me be clear, it was David who was doing the jumping and loud roaring). I would retreat to my room for some solitude and to keep from getting snappy every time someone screamed (roughly every 30 seconds or so).

The morning would be pancakes, followed it might seem by some ice cream. Holly is in charge of the remote, Karina is pleased with her snack and playing the part of the Unknown Eater is...Radical Rachel.

I particularly enjoy the eyebrows that have been drawn and the fact that you can see one eyeball peeking out from the hole cut in the front. Rachel really did eat her ice cream through that bag. She admitted this weekend when I brought up this photo that it was really pretty gross.

That's no reason to stop, however!

9 to 5

I made some $5 bargain DVD purchases at Target the other week, including "9 to 5". I think that it was made in 1980 and stars Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Dabney Coleman. I was curious to see how well it held up over the almost-30 years since it came out, so I bought it.

While certainly dated in the styles and overt sexism, I am sorry to say that there are still some fairly relevant situations in terms of corporate America that go on today. Of course, it is masked a bit in today's society as we are far more aware of what does and does not count as sexual harassment, but some undertones do remain. It holds up well enough, in fact, that it is a Broadway show with Allison Janney in one of the lead roles (Violet, played in the film by Lilly Tomlin)

It is not going to be one of those movies that endures the decades to find itself on the "50 most influential movies of our generation", but it is kind of amusing in a "I am in the mood to lounge about and just be entertained" kid of way.

That is probably how it found it's way into the $5 discount bin at Target AND a Broadway musical!

What a Hitter

Movie night at the Newton household was this past Friday. We opted to crack out an oldie but a goodie...A League of Their Own. Timeless entertainment, in my book. We all know some of the famous lines including, of course, Tom Hanks and his rant of, "Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball!!!"

The whole family got involved with this movie, no dozing or relaxing with their eyes closed (a famous Holly quote). In some cases it was anticipation of what was coming and in others it was forgetting about some of the little jewel moments that are in the movie.

My personal favorite? "...and how about that Marla Hooch? What a hitter." I laugh EVERY time I see it. In fact, as soon as the newsreel starts up about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League I start chuckling in anticipation of it. That and the far-away shot of Marla waving. Good stuff.

It is interesting to read the many, many opinions on this movie out there on the web. Most of them are pretty favorable, but some are rather critical about the "syrupy" nature of the movie. I disagree. Penny Marshall has constructed a great film that entertains, brings together an awesome ensemble cast, lets them do their thing (the facial expressions alone are brilliant), and the whole project endures. We watched the credits all the way through to the end to learn that it was made in 1992...17 years ago.

What a hitter!