Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

You know how you wait for so long for something that you know it could never measure up or be nearly as great as you built it up in your mind? This was not one of those times. Because last night, my long-time love affair with the band of my youth finally paid off.  And missing all those other tours and never managing to make one single Lollapalooza suddenly didn't matter.   First off: the songs. You can look at the setlist and see that it left nothing to chance.  A band with this many great songs and so many die-hard fans has a lot of people to please, and I could tell by the folks around me that they didn't fall short.  For me, I was super excited to hear the new "Sirens" but loved my all-time favorites "Alive" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" and "Not For You". Second: the sound.  Was awesoooooome.  I had some doubts about how a voice like Eddie's would hold up after all these years, but how could I ...

Bout to head outta here and go get ready for my date with Eddie Vedder.  Oh, and my husband.

Bus stop, wet day, she's there I say, please share my umbreeeeeela!

A parrot, a donkey, a dog, a bone Some of us never had a home and If we did we left it long ago And didn't know we were loved.....

After having caught part of this film on the TV Guide Channel, I decided I needed to just give in and watch the whole unedited thing.  Besides, what is my movie taste known for if not some 10 to 15 year-old modern classics?  And it was okay.  Not transcendent.  Not life-changing.  At least not for me.  But I can see why many middle-aged and older men might like it.  And just like the man of few words as the title character, that's about all I can say about it.

I have never been let down by any of Tom Perrotta's books.  Maybe left feeling a little uncertain....and a little uncomfortable.  He really makes you think.  This book is no different.  It tells the story of people in small New England town after a Rapture-like event that becomes known as the Sudden Departure.  And just like the Left Behind series of books, you're left scratching your head about who went and who didn't.  It's not a religious book by any means and contains Perrotta's witty and sometimes scathing sense of humor that repeat readers would expect.  But it does make you think.  Think about what your life would be about without the rush, rush of oh so many commitments.  How you would feel if everything you believed and considered important was suddenly turned on its ear.  And then the biggest question: what do you do now?

Little Boy is a Gold Medal winner in Bocce Ball at the Special Olympics.  I am starting to think I may need to change this "Little Boy" category sometime soon....

I used to treat you like a lady, now you're a substitute teacher......

This is a pretty funny movie, but there are a few warnings.  It is not for you if you are easily offended by: a) religious, end-of-times jokes b) guys who really like being guys I thought it was a pretty good movie, but I cannot stress enough how much this is a GUY movie complete with many, many dick jokes and an overuse of the word "rapey".  The best part of this movie is the concept that the guys are playing themselves (kinda) and have no problem making fun of themselves and pointing out their own douchey qualities.  My husband laughed a lot, so I think it gets a pretty big E-Roc thumbs up! Footnote: The final big outing of Michael Cera being a huge tool was also priceless.  I knew it!!!!

 Now anybody that reads this blog knows I do an s-ton of reading.  But I must say, in all honesty, that I can't remember the last time a book impacted me like The Handmaid's Tale .  It was just simply astonishing.  It's another novel I'm kicking myself for not reading years ago.  This book makes you think very long and hard about what gender and religious politics could and are doing to our society and our world.  I've read so many dystopian novels, especially as a student, but this one seemed so probable that it scared me.  And it should. Now the movie was okay, but not nearly as good as the book.  (When are they ever?)  However, I applaud a good bit of the effort toward authenticity, but I still had to keep pointing out to my hubby the things that weren't in step with the book.  The biggest difference was the ending which disappointed me quite a bit.  I definitely recommend the book highly and plan to read more Margaret At...

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

Now since I'm the one weirdo of my age group who didn't love this book , I didn't hold out much hope for the movie. And I was right. Did I miss the whole Dean/Mary Lou/Sal love triangle in the book?  Because apparently this was pretty much the only important plot point to the movie.  Oh, that and the misunderstood love between Sal and Dean.  Am I crazy, or did anyone else think On the Road was supposed to be about creativity, freedom and exploration?  My bad. My very, very bad.

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