Catching Up On Reviews

So, I have been going to movies and reading (um, listening to) books this summer but I keep forgetting to do cookie reviews.

Here are a couple reviews from recent movies:

Transformers Three: Something, Something Moon.

Bad transformers try to destroy the Earth and good transformers try to stop them.  Lots of stuff blows up and some pretty people say some dumb lines.

Page One: Inside The New York Times

Fascinating documentary about the New York Times.  It included many valid points for why the printed (not just blogged) word should have a place in the media spectrum.  Once upon a time I wanted to be a journalist, so I found the entire documentary engrossing. 

OK - now books.

I've recently listened to three books - a series: The Hunger Games Trilogy - The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and The Mockingjay.

It's classified as young-adult fiction, but I found it to be great listening material during long-ish runs.  I actually wanted my non-turtle friends to run ahead of me so that I wouldn't have to talk (somehow, I always end up talking the most when I run with people).  

The Hunger Games Trilogy is an adventure/science-fiction story set in a post World War VI-ish kind of place where the United States no longer exists (and is actually never referenced) and they have some pretty messed up forms of entertainment.   It has many of the formulaic plot devices of other young-adult series (love triangle, broken home, teen angst), but the heroine is a strong female lead, not a wet-noodle wallflower (a la Bella Swan). 

I give the entire series three cookies, but the first one (The Hunger Games) is definitely the best (and probably deserves 3.5 cookies). Not surprisingly, a movie based on the first book is schedule for release on March 12 2012. 

Now, here's a picture of Cash-cub.  He's rolling rocks down a toy fire truck ladder (aren't you glad I clarified that it was a toy truck?) and I think the pose is hilarious.

I'm Going To Be Famous

This afternoon Buttin and I were interviewed by Cathy O'Neill for a book she is writing (with her two friends) on marriage & pregnancy. I feel quite certain that this exposure will catapult me to the level of fame and fortune that I so richly deserve.

Cathy is the co-author of Babyproofing Your Marriage and she knows my Doula. The book she is currently working on is called (I think) Bumped! Nine Months That'll Rock Your Marriage and when our Doula asked if we wanted to help - I thought "sure", so long as it doesn't interrupt the two most important things in my life - eating Cadbury Eggs and napping. Cathy came by the office this afternoon and distracted us from work, which is always nice - she also told me I "looked small" which earned her my never-ending admiration and a hug.

The interview was relatively short (only about an hour or so), but it was kind of fun to talk about how our marriage has changed during pregnancy. I don't think couples spend a lot of time talking about their marriage or how they feel about impending parenthood (especially not with strangers). It was very interesting hearing Buttin's perspective on things and even though I think I'm Psycho-Stephanie, he was expecting MUCH worse. It's weird, but it was kind of sweet.

She asked questions about our preparations for after Lumpy arrived and about how we found out we were having Lumpy. It's kind of funny, but Buttin and I have two completely different recollections on how we found out about Lumpy, but luckily I wrote the story down and published it on my little blog. I think my recollection is more right, but I'm not keeping score (apparently, that's a chapter in the Babyproofing your marriage book - but I'm not supposed to read the book for another few months).

Sadly, I don't think that we were very helpful to Cathy. I think that she needs couples with a little more drama. An advice book with examples of boring people like us probably doesn't make for very interesting reading. Her book is scheduled to come out next Spring. Buttin thinks that he is highly quotable and will have at least an entire chapter devoted to his wisdom - we'll see.

As a thank you gift, she gave us a signed copy of her first book. It's my picture of the day!

Quidditch Beats Fast Baseball

. . . And other reasons why Harry Potter is so much cooler/better/awesomer than Twilight.

A while back I wrote about how I was going to listen to Twilight (while running and now jog waddling) and refrain from sharing any gripes about Twilight until after reading (err. . . listening) to the book. Well, I have FINALLY finished.

Instead of doing just a quick thirty-second cookie review, I thought I'd provide some reasons why Harry Potter (the novel, the character, the everything) is far superior (not even in the same freaking league) to Twilight.

Extra-curricular activities:

• Harry Potter: Awesome Quidditch
  
• Twilight: Very fast baseball - I guess vampires (who have been alive for almost century) can only manage to play a slightly faster game of a relatively boring human sport.

Female role model:

• Harry Potter: Hermione is strong, driven, independent and super-smart.
• Twilight: Bella is not.
• Harry Potter: Hermione is intelligent, but she also work hard at school.
• Twilight: Bella seems to know the answers to questions because she already took the class at her old school, but she doesn't seem to take her school work very seriously nor does she seem particularly smart.
• Harry Potter: Hermione can take care of herself.
• Twilight: Bella always needs a man (or vampire man) to save her.
• Harry Potter: No shortage of female role models - including Hermione, Professor McGonogal, Lily Potter, Mrs. Weasley, etc.
  
• Twilight: No female role model.
  

Themes:

• Harry Potter: A mother's love conquers all saves Harry from an evil touch in the first book.
  
• Twilight: Women need to be rescued.
• Harry Potter: Good friends make you better.
• Twilight: Friends are nuisances and should be lied to.
  
• Harry Potter: True romantic love takes time to develop.
• Twilight: Falling in love happens over the course of five minutes.
  
• Harry Potter: Dangerous people are bad.
• Twilight: Only dangerous men are good for you.
  
• Harry Potter: Education is very important.
• Twilight: Teenage drama is the most important.

Climax:

• Harry Potter: Show down with an icky-looking Voldemort face coming out of the head of another professor.
• Twilight: Bella is unconscious during most of the climax and since the book is written in first person, we don't really know what happens.
  

Conclusion:

• Harry Potter: Harry has a long conversation with Professor Dumbledore to explain recent events.
• Twilight: Bella is in the hospital (again, having been rescued by a vampire man) and exchanges many "I luv yous" with Edward. Oh, and then she goes to prom.
  

If I had to give Twilight a number of cookies - I'd say ONE COOKIE.

It's not particularly well-written and I have no idea why any female over the age of 13 would find enjoyment in the story. Needless to say, I will not be reading the next book. I gave it a fair shot, really I did. Lumpy has the full collection of Harry Potter books ready to go, but I will not be purchasing the Twilight Saga.

Thirty Second Book Review - Belly Laughs

Belly Laughs - Jenny McCarthy

Quick side note: According to my hypnobabies course - this would not be a good book for me to read (but I started it before I started class). Ms. McCarthy uses words like "labor", "contractions" and "pain" - all of which are no-nos for hypnobabies.

This book has delightfully funny and quick chapters. It was the perfect "bathroom book", but that's probably too much information. I enjoyed hearing that celebrities get bad skin, gain weight and are grumpy during pregnancy too.

Twilight Bashing

First of all (and totally off topic) we got a little snow yesterday. Houston got a ton more, but I'm thankful we didn't get that much - it would have made moving even worse. Speaking of moving, we are ALMOST done and I should have some pictures next week.

OK - now to Twilight.

I don't really understand the appeal of Twilight and have never had a desire to read the books or see the movies. They give the impression of silly, teenage angst and romance books that unfulfilled housewives might also enjoy.

My fabulous friend Liz got suckered into reading the first book (and maybe the second and third too) and she confirmed my every suspicion - juvenile writing with a teenage-friendly, "I'm in love with a vampire 5 minutes after meeting him." kind of a plot. I can totally understand the appeal for a 13 year old - but it's the appeal to the women my age (and older) that I just don't understand.

I've wanted to really bash Twilight. Being a HUGE Harry Potter fan (seriously huge, I think Lumpy's room might have a HP theme) - I've always found it very interesting that religious groups wanted to burn Harry Potter books (even though most of them have never read the books), but have now really embraced a vampire-teenage-romance book. Seems a little odd to me.

Well - not wanting to be hypocritical - I thought I should read Twilight before rendering a final opinion. I began reading it (or having it read to me via my ipod) this morning. I spent only 30 minutes listening because I was just freezing cold and couldn't warm up during my run. I plan to listen to Twilight for the next couple of weeks and then write my full opinion.

I expect to hate it and I know I'm going into it with a semi-closed mind, but I'm going to try - I really am.

Thirty Second Book Review - Born To Run

Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and The Greatest Race The World Has Never Seen
by Christopher McDougall

I LOVED listening to this book while running during the last couple of weeks. It's full of fascinating, hilarious characters and some pretty cool science. Even if you're not a runner (I'm really more of a slow jogger), you'll find this book motivating and interesting.

Thirty Second Book Review - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

I have been listening to this book for the last couple of weeks while running. The story is not at all what I expected, but I still really enjoyed it. If you're looking for a flight of fancy book about a boy and his dogs, this book is not for you. If you want a thoughtful look at the many relationships that make up a life (including human and animal) with a somewhat ambiguous ending - then you'll like it and recommend it.

Thirty Second Book Review - The Sign

The Sign - Raymond Khoury

Mildly thrilling novel (I listened to it during many runs), but extremely heavy-handed. I even agree with many of the issues (global warming) addressed in the book - but this was even too over the top for me. There are literally chapters where characters just discuss their motivation for every action - boring, not thrilling.