Loquacious

No wonder this country is only getting fatter and fatter by the day. We are training our youth to be lazy. I meet up with a school bus route on my way to work every morning. I follow it for about half a mile through town before we part ways. During that time the bus stops seven times! Seven times in half a mile, all to pick up a single child at each stop! Would anyone like to explain to me why these kids can’t walk down the block and stand with the kids from the other house? It’s called a bus stop. You know, you meet up and all get on the bus at the same time. It saves everyone time (and would help keep me off blood pressure medicine). This part of the route could be reduced to two stops easily. I’m not asking for these kids to walk an uphill mile in a blinding blizzard on a busy country road. I’m talking one hundred feet on a well maintained, in town sidewalk. I guess it’s too much to ask the parents to have to watch their kids walk down the street a few feet and stand. They are more interested in getting the brats off to free day care so they can go back to their meth.

I guess you could argue I just have too much road rage or I should just leave for work earlier to avoid said bus. I suppose that's all true but then what would I have to complain about? The weather?

Word of the Week

Well Spleenwort was an utter mess. I didn’t manage to work that into anything other than some cop out tweets. Fail. Better luck to me this week I guess. What do you have for me wife?

Word of the Week: Loquacious

Loquacious: talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous: a loquacious dinner guest.
Characterized by excessive talk; wordy

Challenge: Use the word while ordering snacks at the movie theater Friday night.

Review: The Descendants

The Wife: I was under the impression that NOT TALKING was the main rule of viewing a film at the movie theatre. This concept was apparently lost to the handful of older adults (and by "old" I mean people probably in their 50s), who did not keep quiet during the entire showing of The Descendants last Friday evening. I mean seriously folks, teenagers know how to be quiet at the theatre! I am sure the husband will elaborate further on this incident in his typical dry-humor style below. Well, aside from the overbearing chatter and annoying, unnecessary, over-dramatic gasps we endured at the theatre, I must say that The Descendants is an amazing movie. It is certainly deserving of every Oscar nomination it's received.

The Descendants is set in beautiful Hawaii, which creates some gorgeous backdrops. The film shows a "softer" side of George Clooney as his character Matt must cope with several deep family issues. First off, in the beginning of the movie it is shown that Matt's wife, Elizabeth, is currently in the hospital on life support after suffering from a horrific boating accident. We later are introduced to Matt's two daughters, the youngest, Scottie, and the oldest, Alexandra. Early on, we learn that his relationship with the two girls is quite strained, and that he doesn't consider himself to be a great father or husband. His relationship with Alexandra, who is portrayed by Shailene Woodley (most known for her work in The Secret Life of the American Teenager) is the most distant. From the moment Woodley's character comes on screen, viewers can see that she hasn't exactly been a "model daughter" herself. She shows little respect for her father at first, but it is evident that she loves him. Early on we learn from Alexandra that Matt's hospitalized wife was having an affair with a local real estate man. After finding this out, Matt does some further digging and is told that his wife was planning to ask for a divorce prior to her accident. This revelation further complicates the emotions that Matt is going through. All of this is also going on during the time period where Matt, who was named the trustee of his family's land, must decide whether to sell or keep the property, which is his family's only direct tie to Hawaii.

As the movie progresses, we see Matt cope with the issues above, and eventually come to a point of forgiveness, all the while learning more about himself as a person and establishing a better relationship with his daughters. Matt also transforms into a better father, and as he changes, his views on the importance of his family's land changes. While The Descendants is an emotional journey, the film's end left me with a calming sense of peace.

Of course, The Descendants has many "sad moments," but there are bits of humor scattered throughout it. The acting is superb as well. Like I mentioned previously, Clooney was great. Credit must be given to Woodley though. I admit that I was VERY SKEPTICAL about how she would perform in this movie. The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which stars Woodley as the lead character and is one of my guilty pleasure shows, was my only view of her as an actress prior to The Descendants. In The Secret Life, I would give her acting skills maybe a 4.5 on a scale of 10. She blew me a way in The Descendants, however. Her character encounters a range of emotions, and she nailed each and every one of them. I can't believe the Oscars snubbed her by not giving her a Best Supporting Actress nomination, and meanwhile Melissa McCarthy of freaking Bridesmaids gets a nomination!?!? Really Academy?!?! As if I wasn't mad enough about the massive Harry Potter snub! Ok...talking about Harry Potter will get me totally off topic...so back to the movie of discussion! The Descendants was an amazing movie and I would highly recommend it! I'd love to see Clooney win Best Actor and I wouldn't have a single problem if The Descendants takes home the coveted Best Picture award either!

Hobo Dan: So I had a great paragraph about the loud idiot patrol that tried to ruin the movie and a joke about slushy gernades and the little kid who wanted to pee with his grandpa in the stall at Olive Garden. It all got erased. So here is what I have to say about people who talking during movies. Stop it, you inconsiderate ninnies. If you utter one more word I will walk up there and slap you across the face so hard your descendants will feel it (see what I did there). Inner monologue, get one. And lady who is crying uncontrollably, are you okay? Seriously the movie is emotional, but you are obviously carrying some baggage into the theater. Therapy?

So, The Descendants, a very enjoyable emotional tale, with George Clooney in it. I've got to admit, I'm not a huge Clooney fan. He sometimes seems like the same character in all his movies. Anyways, the acting in this movie was tops. Even that chick from that terrible ABC Family show wasn't half bad. Okay, she was actually pretty good. If it does end up winning the Best Picture Oscar, it deserves it.

Word of the Week

I am always looking for new ideas to add to the variety of features on this blog. Last month one of you, dear readers, gave me the idea to do a project series. I gave the suggestion a few moments of my time before realizing I had no intentions of learning how to knit and blogging about it. I really didn’t think about it again until last week when Wikipedia went black for the day of the SOPA protest. The next day, when it came back to us, I spent some time looking up all sorts of things on the site. For what ever reason I ran across a list claiming to be the 100 Best English-language Novels of the Twentieth Century listing Ulysses by James Joyce as number one. I have heard of the book but needed to know more so I read down the Wiki page. I found this next piece of information amazing. The novel is around 265,000 words long and uses a lexicon of 30,030 words (including proper names, plurals and various verb tenses)! Think about that vocabulary for a moment. I don’t think I even know 30,030 different words; let alone how to work them all into a work of fiction. This information, along with the suggestion by a friend and my desire to improve my own writing has led me to:

The Word of the Week!

The rules here are pretty simple. The Wife will officiate, verifying that I follow the rules. She will choose a word every Wednesday that, starting Thursday, I must attempt to work into my every day vocabulary. She is allowed to get the words from anywhere (suggestions, Internet) but they must be verified using Merriam-Webster's online dictionary. The only other restriction on what word she may choose is that it must be reasonably work appropriate. Once the word is selected I will blog about it on Thursdays and then attempt to put it to use in my every day speech. I’ll also tweet about uses on a daily basis and compile a list of uses in the next weeks post. If on a given Thursday I have a normal blog post prepared, I’ll just attach the Word of the Week to the end of that post. If I’ve been lazy, the Word of the Week post will be the primary post for that Thursday.

There is one more wrinkle before we get started. Challenges! Because simply using the word around people I live and work with will get easier the longer this goes on (they’ll get used to me spouting out seemingly random words) The Wife will also choose a challenge for me to try and fulfill with the word. An Example would be to use the word when ordering from a fast food establishment. You can also participate in the Word of the Week and the Weekly Challenge and post your findings in the comments section below each post. I have zero say in what word is chosen, but The Wife may be open to suggestions, so hit her up to torture me. So without further delay:

The Word of the Week is: Spleenwort


Spleenwort : any of a large genus (Asplenium) of chiefly evergreen ferns having linear or oblong sori.
Origin of Spleenwort : from the belief in its power to cure disorders of the spleen. First known use: 1578

And the Challenge of the Week : Use the word while ordering at dinner on Friday night.

Great, thanks dear...

Review: Underworld Awakening

Hobo Dan: Well... it was better than Abduction. I don't know if I've ever seen a film that seemed more phoned in than Underworld: Awakening. It was pretty obvious to me that Kate Beckinsale was in this film simply to fulfill contract obligations. The third (I don't recognize the most recent prequel) film in the Underworld franchise, this is set twelve years after the second film, Underworld Evolution. It's been five years since that movie and wow have vampire movies changed. So on some level I am happy to see a vampire movie that returns to the traditional vampires that don't glow in the sun light and have teenage romances. Unfortunately, no amount of blood, guts, tight fitting leather and 3D effects could have saved this movie.

Let's get right to it. About an hour into the film I was hooked. Yes, this is getting good. Here is the Underworld I remember! Twenty minutes later it ended. Seriously. This comes in at an hour twenty with credits and previews! Sad face... It seems like they film two movies at the same time, found a good place to spilt them up, and we can expect to see Underworld Awakening Part 2 around July; only that's not the case. Chances are we are looking at another five years for the next one (if ever). I guess I don't know what I expected. Did I even like these movies the first time around? It has been awhile but I don't remember some of the terrible direction from the first two. Lets talk about accents. I remember the other films in the franchise being British sounding. So why are half the actors in this British and half American? It's twelve years in the future, why does everything look the same? Why was the only nudity in this movie the ass of some dude about to turn into a werewolf? We will never know.

If you liked the first films, consider getting it on Blu-ray, otherwise avoid it. We need to teach the movie makers this kind of half baked money grab is not acceptable. I expected better.

The Wife: Yeah what he said...except for the whole nudity thing. I really thought "wow the plot is finally getting somewhere" and was totally hooked, but then the credits rolled. I better not have to wait another five years for the next movie! Another prequel (which I also don't recognize) doesn't count!

Review: Beauty and the Beast 3D

The Wife: Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast! Usually I wouldn't review a movie that's been out since 1991, but the 3D release of the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, is an exception.

Beauty and the Beast is regarded by many as perfection and the cream of the crop among the Disney princess films. I can't really disagree with those sentiments either. When I found out they were bringing back Beauty and the Beast to the theatre as well as adding 3D, I was beyond excited! Due to an overly busy fall, I missed out on the re-release of the Lion King. I promised myself that there was NO WAY I would miss the chance to see Beauty and the Beast, a favorite movie from my childhood, on the big screen again. Obviously many others around my age felt the same way as the theatre was packed with people in their twenties. Of course, several youngsters and their families also came to experience the magic of Beauty and the Beast for the first time.

The story of Beauty and the Beast is probably one of the greatest told in the Disney universe. As cheesy as it sounds, it is the perfect example of the saying "it's what's on the inside that counts." It wasn't instant love between Belle and the Beast, it was a love that grew. As the famous score from the movie says: "Barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly." Belle was able to look past the Beast's scary exterior and see his true soul from within, which caused her to fall in love with him. The Beast was able to transform from a selfish jerk and open himself up to true love. It really does sound cheesy, but the lesson taught in this movie is something we could all learn from. To use another cliche "never judge a book by it's cover." I could give you a plot run through, but unless you've been living under a rock for the past twenty years, I am sure you already know the fairytale of Beauty and the Beast. Instead I will just discuss my favorite parts of Beauty and the Beast 3D!

I know I've complained about the overuse of 3D before, but I think it really works in cartoons! The 3D made the movie look gorgeous and crisp. The 3D effects especially in the famous number, "Be Our Guest," looked amazing! I loved seeing the dishes "fly" at me. It's been awhile since I've seen Beauty and the Beast but I know without a doubt the 3D quality was certainly better than that of my old, ORIGINAL VHS copy that is lying around somewhere at my parent's house!

I enjoyed all of the classical musical numbers of the film, particularly the opening number "Belle." The "Gaston" song was great as well. I also loved "Something There." However, my favorite scene and musical number was the same as it was when I saw Beauty and the Beast for the first time at the theatre in 1991. Yes, I am referring to the "Tale As Old As Time" number. As a little girl, I remember seeing how beautiful Belle looked coming down the staircase in the sparkling golden gown. Seeing this scene again on the big screen brought tears to my eyes. It was breathtaking and just as gorgeous as I had remembered.

If you are a Disney fan and love Beauty and the Beast, I recommend you see this film in 3D at the theatre. I am so happy Disney is bringing back the classics. It is wonderful to see a new generation enjoy the films that I grew up with and loved so very much. I always rank Beauty and the Beast as a very close third, with The Little Mermaid as my second favorite and Aladdin as my number one Disney classic! I really hope that I will get another chance to see both The Little Mermaid and Aladdin on the big screen too! Like I always say, nothing beats Disney!