Stardust - a review

It's not very often that a movie captivates me and makes me want to run out and buy it. I've got a very small collection at home; most are my husband's or my kids'. Sometimes an amazing movie comes along, with the right touch of whimsy, music, joy and hope, and I have to have it. It's been a while since I've wanted to own a movie. The last one was Chicago.

A quick synopsis of the movie off of Amazon reads: Escape into the enchanted world of chivalry and romance in Stardust, an epic tale starring Claire Danes with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro. In hopes of wooing a beautiful girl (Sienna Miller), Tristan (Charlie Cox) promises to bring her a falling star. But he’s in for the adventure of his life when he discovers the star is actually a celestial beauty named Yvaine (Danes) When an old witch Lamia (Pfeiffer) attempts to steal Yvaine’s youth, Tristan must protect her at all costs, in this magical family adventure that will make you fall in love over and over again.

While the characters' names may make you think of Tristan and Isolde and it is a story about lovers, it's not that story. It's got a lot of The Princess Bride's magic that crosses gender divides and has a message for kids and adults. It doesn't have the one-liners the way PB does, but I haven't watched it 20 times, yet. Still, I found myself more introspective after this movie. Perhaps it's just where I am today. But it made me think about what I am doing with my life, how I think about what others say or think or feel. And it reminded me of the great love of my life and how sometimes I take that love for granted.

I was surprised to see that the original story was written by Neil Gaiman, but I guess I shouldn't be. I have several of his books on my wishlist and I know people go nuts for his stuff, but I have yet to get my hands on one of his books. I do remember reading a few of his Sandman comics a long, long time ago, maybe early 90's. By the way, if you haven't seen a picture of Mr. Gaiman, check out the wikilink above, he's hot.

About halfway through the movie, I turned to my dad and said, this reminds me of The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, a fun, whimsical, lighthearted Terry Gilliam fest.

Michelle Pfeiffer is glorious as the evil witch, the dead brothers are hysterical as a motley, greek chorus to the inevitable tragedies of each prince, and De Niro is having fun (you can tell) with his character.

Rent it and let me know what you thought.
Amazon.com: Stardust (Widescreen Edition): DVD: Michelle Pfeiffer,Robert De Niro,Claire Danes

And to think I used to hate Will F.

Too cute for words. Makes a momma proud.

OMG not again!

Go ahead, review it carefully, just like I did. Take your time. This is what science says, so it's incontrivertible. I look like the Gipper. Yes, and Joey Fatone-who?, and Heather Locklear on what was obviously one of her really bad days. I don't even know who the first chick is. I kinda agree with Marianne Faithful, and Susan Sarandon--why thank you very much! It also had a young Jon Voight (with the cowboy hat and slightly longish blonde hair and cleft chin) as number 9 at 52%, but I couldn't choose one of the first 8 to throw out, because it's so interesting. I look like Jon Voight's half sister.

Amazing personalized recipe book!

I hate giving Hallmark gifts. You know the kind. The one you pick up at the Hallmark store, CVS, even your local grocery store when you forget to get a gift for someone. My husband is to blame. He is the king of thoughtful gifts. Honestly, his mother is really to blame. My deceased-before-we-married mother-in-law (I know many of you will say is the best kind of mother-in-law) was a saint. Sure it's easy to saint someone when the are dead, but she was one of these super PTA moms. She was a stay at home mommy and baked holiday cookies like crazy, huge trays of them for every neighbor, friend and business acquaintance. So maybe that's why I'm thinking of her these days. She taught him and he taught me the beauty of a well thought out gift. To do this, you have to think about the person, what he or she likes, dislikes and loves and try to find a gift that will be useful to them or bring them joy. Sometimes it's something simple they mentioned in passing that they needed but hadn't made time or wanted to spend the money to get themselves (gloves, a wallet, a new purse). But sometimes you have to be a little more creative to figure out what they might like based on their hobbies and interests. A wine book for a winelover, a netflix subscription for the movie buff.

Other times you find a product that screams a certain person's name to you. Tastebook is falls into this second category. I have a friend who is a wonderful cook and baker. She has tons of cookbooks, she swaps recipes and always make the best dish for our monthly potluck. I've stopped trying to outcook her. I just enjoy what she brings to the table and try not to burn my part. A cookbook from Tastebook is perfect for her. I wish I had found it sooner. Tastebook is a compilation of recipes that you can choose from epicurious.com or add your own bound in a hardback binder with gorgeous pictures. You can even add your own pictures of your kids (for grandma) or from a vacation or fun memory. I will be ordering one for her soon. I can't wait!

TasteBook.com: Create cookbooks, search recipes, share recipes

Foodpairing rehearing

Apparently, these flavor trees under the Foodpairing Trees are supposed to help give you ideas of new combinations to try with the main ingredient. So, that explains my love of say, coffee and chocolate(duh), chocolate and raspberries, coffee with my migas (eggs, tortillas and salsa). Some of their suggestions are out there. But who am I to argue with science? Nope, not me. Tomorrow morning its oysters and coffee for breakfast.

Foodpairing - attempting to explain what we taste

FOODPAIRING
This is a fantastically interesting site that attempts to break down the flavors we taste in common foods to explain why certain combinations work--"foodpairing", or how we can substitute one food for a combination of others--"interchangeable." I love this kind of food science.

One of my favorite books is called Cookwise by Shirley Corriher, which dissects the science behind how cooking affects food, and then goes on to describe how to cook and combine different foods to get the desired texture, flavor and smells. This site is a tangent of the work in that book (not that they are related) just in my own head.

Because I love artichokes with an intensity and consistency that boggles my mind, here you have THE AMAZING ARTICHOKE:

FreeRice

Test your vocabulary skills and donate rice to end world hunger. FreeRice

Because I'm vain

I'm in the middle of chewing in this picture (I said before that I didn't have a good picture of myself!) I do admit that my mother looks exactly like Zsa Zsa, so I probably do have some resemblance.



So, I tried another photo from the same exact day.
What do you say when both Julia Roberts, Chevy Chase, Barak Obama, Uday Hussein(!) with a nasty 5 o'clock shadow and VIN DIESEL supposedly look like you!@!$@#$%? I should be flattered with the Julia, Nancy and Eva comparisons, but I'm fixated on the men. I'm insulted! I don't look anything like Vin Diesel. Notice also that there is not one repeat between my first picture and second. And let's get real. I look nothing like Julia, Nancy or Eva. If I did I wouldn't be here blogging to no one.


Here are my husbands' look alikes. NO Vin! Notice there are no women in his look alikes! Argh!

And, I tried another one of cute hubby:

Again, none of them are the same. Of course, my pictures suck, so I don't blame them. I think they have done an incredible job and it's a lot of fun!

Celebrity Look Alike Software or How to Waste Time at Work

Condoleeza Rice? That Ciara chick looks nothing like Nat. She's just got her head tilted the same way. The only one I see remotely similar is Norah Jones. I think Nat is just too beautiful for comparison!


Now this is funny. My son has mostly women look alikes, but their percentage matching is much closer than my daughter. I don't think any of these folks look like him (he's much more beautiful!). Where do they get Serena Williams! And whoever Conner Oberst is, he looks nothing like my kid. Oh well. I would try myself, but I have so few pictures of me, I can't find one that is straight on.

Go check it out, it's a blast and I think the finished product is slick.

Mooch Me

Looking for a book? Come mooch one from me at BookMooch.com



Give away your books at BookMooch.com

National Registry

I met the company that created this website at a seminar this weekend and I thought it is a great idea. It's a website where you can check to see if a deceased friend or family member has left behind unclaimed retirement benefits. Often these benefits are not listed in the State Unclaimed property website. I'm going to send the link to a friend that is active with Estate attorneys. These are the attorneys that frequently handle wills, estates (probate), guardianships and trusts for people. You must have the person's social security number to search the National Registry.

WHERE DO THEY LEARN TO POSE?!!!

Etsy :: Colors

More fun than a left-brain person should be allowed to have!
Etsy :: Colors

GPS Alarm Shoes for Sex Workers on Gadget Lab

I want.

The Meaning of Life

Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University professor with only 3-6 months to live, gives his Last Lecture on campus as part of a speaker series. This lecture speaks to the heart of what life is, and what to do with it. Read up People!