Nuances of Politics

Vulnerability is a dangerous thing.

I’m watching “Young Victoria” and I’ve just had an epiphany I’m embarrassed to admit was so late in coming. Perhaps I needed it spelled out to me in just this way. An excellent Emily Blunt plays Victoria with sweet subtlety, as we see the young queen overcoming the pressure of literally everyone in her life Continue reading →

The Year Can Begin… Now

I wasn’t ready til now. I’m just starting to take down my holiday decorations; the tree is still up and so are the lights outside. I’ll get to them. Today I picked up everything else and organized it into three boxes, two of which were crammed with wrapping paper and ribbon. My brother gave it Continue reading →

The Experience of Avatar

I will probably cry during the writing of this post. Possibly more than once. I’m just saying. Sunday when I came out of the theater as everyone else visited the restrooms, I started crying (again), hyperventilating a little and fighting to regain control of myself as people passed me entering and leaving the theater. This Continue reading →

Movie Review: Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen

For those who missed it, I put up a post (backdated and sticky) depicting the codes in use for the smileys on this blog. Check it out. Have fun making faces at me! It’s been hotter than blue blazes here (as we say in Texas), but we’ve been gearing up for a yard sale all Continue reading →

Spoiler-Free Mini Movie Reviews

The Dark Knight I saw this on opening weekend. It’s taken up until now to recover from the hot villainy goodness that is Heath Ledger’s Joker. I predicted immediately that Ledger will replace Brandon Lee as tragic goth hero who died before his darkest role was unveiled (if not necessarily Ledger’s last – it remains Continue reading →

Los Angeles: City of the Soulsuckers

Here there be random bitching about celebrity.

Annie Leibovitz is a world-renowned photographer who was créme de la créme when I first started reading Rolling Stone magazine in the mid-70s. Who the hell are the Moral Majority to criticize a goddess such as she? Why in the hell should she apologize? Okay, wait, let me back up for those who haven’t heard.

Leibovitz evidently photographed 15-year-old Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Hannah Montana) for Vanity Fair, including a shot of Miley’s bare back, with her front covered by a draped silk sheet in a sultry pose – if “sultry” to you means something on par with “double beds in the showroom window are pornographic.” Yet it is alluring – not sexy, but alluring – and it’s also a time-proven pose that was surpassed

Since I Needed More Iron in My Diet…

On impulse, my daughter and I bought tickets to Iron Man, a movie I intended to see but not right that minute. It was friggin’ amazing. Phenomenal. I loved it. Okay, so I’m an easy sell when it comes to comic book superhero movies and many flawed blockbusters. I’ll even admit to having a soft spot in my heart for cheesy B-movies. Cases in point: I loved Lake Placid (cheesy), TMNT (blockbuster), Transformers (blockbuster), The Girl Next Door (somewhat cheesy), Blades of Glory (guilty pleasure cheesy to the max blockbuster) (and I usually despise Will Farrell, so don’t give up on me just yet), and one of my favorite movies is Sahara (I’m not real sure what it is). But Iron Man brought Sheta-sock-rocking to a whole new level