The Help

I read The Help in July.  It is set in the south during the civil rights movement.  Skeeter Phelan has graduated from college and is ready to write and to take the world by storm.  Her mother has other ideas.  She wants Skeeter to settle down, get married and start a family - what every good southern girl of that era was raised to do.  While she does take part in the Junior League and other socially acceptable activities, Skeeter also takes a job working as a housekeeping advice columnist in the local paper. It is a far cry from the New York publication to which she aspires, as well as from the advice she received from its editor - to write about something that is really important to her.  She starts consulting the African American maids who work for her family and friends for advice about how to answer some of the dilemmas that people send. She soon finds that there is a real story in how these women feel about working for their bosses - many of whom are Skeeter's friends.  She pitches her idea to the New York editor and then sets out to earn the trust of the women in order for them to tell her their tales.

I really enjoyed the book, and while the movie was a very good adaptation, it was still better than the film.  Maybe, there's something to be said about one's own imagination...However, I highly recommend both.

I will leave you with a little something:

To N. Cruz ~ a haiku

Nelly can catch good,
And he can throw really good,
But hitting is best.

Go Rangers!!!

MK out.

Movie Monday - 10/10/2011

I only watched one movie this last week...

Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Ben Stiller and Jonah Hill lend their voices to the animated characters in Megamind.  It is a cute movie about a villian whose plans seem to backfire until he figures out what is really important in life.  It was good...I think it appeals to all ages.

MK out.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest...

...is the final book in the Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson.  I read this book in May.  We first met Lisbeth Salander in the first book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  She was quite the enigma...a youngish girl who had an old soul.  Reading through the Trilogy, we discover more about the injustices done to her through her life thus far and come to understand why she doesn't trust people easily. I marvelled at the fact that she possessed more than just survival skills...She conquered her challenges.

In the first book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Salander teams up with Michael Blomkvist, a magazine publisher, to solve the case of the disappearance of a prominent family's niece.  We also learn that Salander is a talented computer hacker and can be quite resourceful in getting what she wants.  In the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, Blomkvist is working on a story to expose high level officials who are involved in a sex trafficking ring.  When the reporter who had unearthed the evidence for the story and his partner are found dead, Salander becomes the murder suspect.  The next day, her guardian is also found dead by the same gun.  Salander goes into hiding, while she tries to find a way to clear her name.  Her journey brings her face to face with her father and lands her in the hospital.  In Hornet's Nest, the story continues, with Salander having to trust in Blomkvist to help save her life and her name.

All three books were really good.  I devoured each one of them as quickly as social acceptance allowed.

MK out.

WIP Wednesday -10/5/2011

The other day, I read on Ravelry that there are 88 days until Christmas.  The post was from a week ago...meaning, now there are only 81 days.  I counted to be sure.

I have a little Christmas project up my sleeve...it was a commission:



Today, I am working on the Citron.  It is moving right along, without having to spend an inordinate amount of time on it.  I know it will be small, and I don't think I will have enough yarn to add a repeat, but we will see:



I started the Flourish shawl yesterday.  I am using leftover Brooks Farm Mas Acero that I used to make the Gathered Pullover.  I am loving it so far.  I like the way the yarn feels while I am working it and it is one of my favorite colors; so, it makes me happy:



The Aragorn socks are still in time out.

MK out.

Ten on Tuesday - 10/4/2011 I do! I do!

This week, Carole wants us to tell Ten Things You Like About Weddings.

1.  I like weddings for many reasons, but the top number one reason for me is the wedding cake.  I like it plain the best, but I will eat all the foofy fillings and icing flavors...I don't care - just let me eat cake!
2.  I get to dress up! (usually)
3.  I look forward to seeing the wedding dress.
4.  I love the people, whether it is seeing old friends or making new ones.
5.  It's fun to see what special touches a bride incorporates into her big day - from the invitation to the place cards to how the venue is decorated.
6.  I must have been a member of royalty in a previous life, because I love the pomp and circumstance of a wedding.
7.  Flowers make me smile.
8.  Music is uplifting during the ceremony, and if the band or DJ offers up Play That Funky Music at the reception, it's always a plus.
9.  It is always interesting to see the food offered at the reception...and I like it all!
10.  I love that the day is all about love.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 10/3/2011

This week's installment:

Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis star in Due Date, about a guy (Downey), who has to get back to California for his wife’s scheduled C-section.  Peter meets Ethan, a quirky dude (Galifianakis), at the airport.  Ethan gets them kicked off the plane and the two end up sharing a rental car in order to get home.  There are some funny parts, but the plot has been done before in a better fashion – Planes, Trains and Automobiles.  Juliette Lewis has a really funny role as a pot dealer.  Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx also star in this film.  It was alright.

In Meek’s Cutoff, Bruce Greenwood plays Stephen Meek, a guide who is helping three families cross to the other side of Oregon’s Cascade Mountains to start a new life.  Soon, the group finds itself in very rough terrain and with no water in sight.  They realize that they must be lost; despite how much Meek tells them how wonderful he is at his job.  When they come upon an Indian and Meek wants to kill him, one of the wives (Michelle Williams) stands up to him and forces Meek to spare his life.  She figures the Indian is better able to get them across the mountains, and may even help them find water.  This movie is slow, the plot is less than intriguing, and the ending is not really an ending.  I did, however, like how it seems to be a truer portrayal of what life must have been like for early settlers heading to new territories, unlike most westerns that Hollywood has made. 

Bill Cunningham New York is a delightful documentary examining the life of a man doing his life’s work and enjoying every minute of it.  Cunningham is a photographer who chronicles fashion.  He does photograph the collections, but he is more about how real people interpret and wear the styles.  He is not impressed by celebrity or wealth.  He is all about the artful self-expression of dressing. He is in his eighties, and still rides his bicycle or walks the streets of Manhattan while taking pictures. I really enjoyed watching this movie.

Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is Morgan Spurlock’s recent documentary that examines how advertising is such an intrusive aspect of our lives.  It is everywhere!  Spurlock exposed how deals are made behind the scenes, while simultaneously financing his entire film with the advertising income.  It was interesting and entertaining.

MK out.