The Thirty-Fifth One

or, Everything's Coming Up Hawaii!

Everything in my life is pointing to Hawaii.

1.  My cousin and his beautiful family moved there a couple years ago.
2. My mother and grandmother went to visit them.
3. The parents of a good friend moved there.
4. The new Hawaii 5-0 came out this year.
5. There was a faculty luau.
6. The baccalaureate was luau-themed
7. Multiple facebook friends have visited Hawaii in the last few months.

Because of all this, I have decided that my mother and I should visit Hawaii ourselves. So now I'm planning one for next year. And by planning I mean I am now saving my money. In honor of this decision I give you the following list:

Things that make me think of Hawaii (other than the people I know that live there)

1. This episode from Adventures in Odyssey. I listened to this radio program almost every night growing up. I would watch the time waiting for. The whole family (sometimes) would sit around the radio listening to it. It was wonderful, and the episodes when the Barclays and the Rathbones went on vacation to Hawaii together are some of my favorites of all time.

2. The Tick is another remnant of my childhood. You can trace this show (as with almost any cartoon I watched as a kid) to my father. He was a HUGE Tick fan ("SPOOOON!"). And this is a family-favorite episode featuring guest-stars: The American Maid, Yank the Space-Monkey, and Pineapple Pokopo.

3. The new Hawaii 5-0 series. Gratuitous violence, lots of explosions, and a complete ignorance and disdain for the US legal system and criminal rights. It surprised me how much I liked this show considering the similarities with another CBS show that I despise with the depths of my soul: CSI: Miami. I figure it's probably because of the cast. Scott Caan and company are delightful and know when to take themselves not-so-seriously. David Caruso and his people, however, are more than a little ridiculous. Freaking Horatio Caine.

4. Lilo and Stitch



5. When I was a kid, my family had certain tapes that we would listen to every Christmas. One of these tapes had this song on it. Isn't it just so charming?





the end

The Thirty-Fourth One

Netflix has deepened my addiction to movies. And so I offer up a few reviews of movies I have recently seen. As I look over this list, I realize that there is nothing particularly deep or enlightening about any of them. Really, these movies could be labeled "just-for-the-heck-of-it."

I am a self-proclaimed M. Night Shyamalan (if only I could learn to spell his name without looking it up) fan. But until recently I had never seen Lady in the Water or The Happening. Netflix was able to provide with both.

Before I had ever seen Lady in the Water, starring Bryce Dallas Howard from M. Night's The Village and Paul Giamatti, I had been told that it just wasn't very good. I was used to this when it came to movies by Shyamalan. In fact, just a few days ago I was openly ridiculed for liking any of his movies other than The Sixth Sense. But with Lady even other fans were shaking their heads in disappointment. This is probably why it took me five years to get around to watching it. And frankly, I don't understand what everyone's problem is.

Alright, it's not as good as his other stuff, not by a long shot, but I thought the plot, if not completely compelling, had a lot going for it. It was a sweet story centered around finding your place in the world and discovering who are. If anything, the worst part was that the movie had way too much exposition (show, don't tell!) which is a little ironic considering the main character used literary analysis to figure things out.

So, not his best, but certainly not terrible. Will I watch it again? Probably. Will I buy it? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Only to certain people.

The Happening had a lot going for it, not the least of which were its stars Zooey Deschanel, Mark (say "hi" to your mother for me) Wahlberg, and John Leguizamo. The story was at times genuinely disturbing and other times absolutely terrifying. [possible SPOILERS ahead] It turned out to be a natural disaster film that went an alternate route. Instead of following the scientists and professionals that would save the world from whatever was happening, it followed ordinary people just trying to survive what was happening. Perhaps the most terrifying part of the movie was the fact that no one really had any idea what was going on for most of it, they just knew they had to get away.

Alright, the acting wasn't the greatest (despite the big names) and the dialogue was a little sketchy at times, but I think overall M. Night has a pretty good grasp on human nature and human reactions.

The worst part was probably that it turned out to be a pretty heavy-handed message about the evils humanity is inflicting on the world.

Creepy fact: according to a friend of mine, there are actually trees that can emit some sort of scent or pollon or something that makes giraffes not want to eat them. Or something like that.

Conclusion: Will I watch it again? If the opportunity presents itself without me having to pay for it? definitely. Will I buy it? Doubtful. Will I graciously accept it as a gift from someone? Absolutely. Again, not a great movie, but I don't know why everyone was so down on it. Lighten up.

I am a ridiculously huge fan of gratuitous action flicks, and The Transporter did not disappoint. I would own this and watch it to death. One of my new action favorites. Thank you Jason Statham.

Despite its producer's assurance that the supporting characters were much better developed in this film, they apparently sacrificed plot for character development. Not nearly as good or as fun as the first one. But that kid: adorable. And Jason Statham, it is always a pleasure.

Except in this movie. I can't believe there are sequels to this. What a terrible movie.

The Thirty-Third One

... or "things that make me wish I did more cooking/baking." Seriously, these are the things that make me think "if I had that, I WOULD cook more." I know myself well enough to know THAT'S not true, but it doesn't make these little gems any less delightful or fun.

Seriously. If I owned these things I would cook more.