Anticipation

Song Lyric of the Day:

When a problem comes along / You must whip it / Before the cream sits out too long / You must whip it / When something’s going wrong / You must whip it

Devo / “Whip It”

It’s amazing how a really great, fun song can turn my mood around. Take tonight’s hellacious one-hour drive home. Traffic was averaging about, oh, 40 miles an hour–when it was moving. Just when I was ready to snap, BOB 93.7 played “In These Shoes” by Kirsty MacColl. It’s such a fun song with a great salsa music background to it that I was instantly happy. (Incidentally, in searching for BOB’s URL, I came across this handy Hampton Roads media website).

In anticipation of our trip home next week, I’ve been working on a movie poster wish list to give to my mom. She works at a movie theater, so sometimes she’s able to get us posters. At the top of my wish list is “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Big surprise, I know. Right behind it is “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.” I can’t even begin to convey how much I want to see this movie.

Rich and I have been reading the books on which the movie is based out loud to each other; we’re currently on Book the Fifth, The Austere Academy. Lemony Snicket is quite the creative writer. According to his agent/representative, Daniel Handler, the inspiration for these wonderfully morose, over-the-top, morbid children’s books are morose, over-the-top, morbid Victorian novels. The plots and settings are original, as are the ertswhile Baudelaire orphans, the series’ unlucky young heroes. Violet, the oldest at 14, loves to invent things. Klaus, 12, is a bookworm whose book smarts help Violet in her inventions. Sunny, the baby, has four very sharp teeth which have come in quite handy in chewing through ropes and during a dramatic swordfight (see Book the Fourth, The Miserable Mill). The books are even educational in that they can be used to expand one’s vocabulary, if so desired. And they are all dedicated to the dearly missed, dearly departed Beatrice. Oh, and did I mention they are also very, very funny?

Along with the aforementioned movie, other movies I’d like to catch on the big screen are “House of Flying Daggers” and “Sideways.” I’ve heard great things about both movies, the former being an epic about a blind warrior and the latter being a comedy about two friends touring California’s wine country. I know Rich would enjoy “Sideways,” as would our friend, Richard. I have to mention Richard in my blog, since he’s enjoying reading it and is very supportive of my writing (Hi, Donna!). He’s also given me some great tips on how to start getting my TV and movie reviews published. I’ll be sure to mention him again in my first paid article.