End of Year Stuff

Just a few random thoughts I want to put out as we head into the New Year.

Has anyone seen the movie Juno? I loved Saved and this sounds interesting. Should I see it?

As expected, Ledcat came through and gifted me with Season One of Maude. We watched the first three episodes last night. It was amazing how relevant the entire episodes are to contemporary life in the United States. The political discussions, the battles over family values, the intergenerational relations, the "white liberal guilt" dynamics ... it is all there. I can't wait for more stay-at-home evenings to view the remainder of the discs.

Today is my blog's two year anniversary. And it received a really cool present as one of my favorite bloggers, Pam from Pam's House Blend, posted a comment. Very cool.

I love historical mystery novels. It seems to be a genre that lifts up strong, smart women. I just found a new series by Kathy Lynn Emerson set circa 1580 in Elizabethian England. The first novel I read which I believe is the most recent focuses on the race to lay claim to the New World. I got a little lost in the details, but it was a slightly different account of how Spain and England were locked in a death match over this conquest.

The downside to the genre is that most of the protagonists seem a little too modern-thinking. There's often very little growth to show how the progressive female character evolved from a culture hostile to uppity women. She's just suddenly there. Maisie Dobbs is one exception. The Gaslight Mysteries are a little less so.

Our niece turns 2 tomorrow. We bought her a retro Slinky and the book "Walter the Farting Dog" complete with a stuffed dog that farts. It is very popular with the toddler and preschool set. Our friend's daughter takes it to show and tell on a regular basis. The teacher lets all the other children "farted" the stuffed dog. I'm curious how my sister-in-law will feel.

We saw Charlie Wilson's War about five days before the Bhutto assassination. I *think* Julia Robert's character absolves the Pakistani leader of her father's death. I can't recall the exact line. Anyone?