For this morning’s airing of “It’s A Favre World After All”, I researched a little Disney.  It lead to me to Disney’s 2010 promotion that is pretty darn cool.  Basically, you volunteer a day in 2010 and you get a free ticket to DisneyWorld.   There’s also a way to get your child a free ticket by having them volunteer with you as well.  Sure, there are a couple of hoops you need to jump through, like pre-registering, but nothing outrageous.  All in all, an opportunity for two great days with family!

Popularity: 5% [?]

What happens on November 25th?  It’s the 329th day of the year.  Just 39 left.

For me, it will be the first day I turn the heat on in my house.  Much like other cold weather lovers, I look forward to the time of year when you can bundle up . I always say, its much easier to warm up, than it is to cool off.

On today’s show, Fletch threw down the gauntlet and cornered me into declaring a date for turning on the heat in my home .  Strange.  Many of the conversations between he and I turn into some sort of challenge and this was no different.   We’re always trying to one-up each other, so I said November 25th would be the date for me this year.

It’s not an unattainable goal.  I think I kept the heat off through December one recent year.

By the way, November 25th was just a random date I picked.  After looking at the Almanac, maybe I should have picked a better day.  It’s marked by bunch of earthquakes, other natural disaster and some man made disasters too.  It’s the day JFK was buried in 1963 and also the day that dynamite was patented.

Yeesh.  Mental note: no dynamite in the house.

Popularity: 7% [?]

     About three weeks ago, we were all agog over the Beatles Rock Band video game and I blogged a few Beatles memories.  One of which being the story of my son at circle time in preschool…

But I knew my boy was a true Beatles fan when his preschool teacher told me a story about Sam and circle time.  Seems the kids sat in a circle and each child picked a song for the group to sing.  The first girl chose “Wheels On The Bus”.  When it was Sam’s turn, he said “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.”

     The song, much to druggies’ dismay, is not a veiled reference to LSD.  No, the title came from John Lennon’s son…who came home from preschool one day with a drawing of his friend, Lucy, in the sky with diamonds. 

     Well, the news came out today that that friend, Lucy Vodden (46), died after a long fight with Lupus .  So sad.  My heart goes out to her family and friends.

Popularity: 6% [?]

With last night’s season premiere of The Amazing Race, I just want host Phil Keoghan and the rest of the show know I have no hard feelings.

Sure, that was the season that I ventured down to the Chicago area earlier this year to try out for.  Its OK.  Nevermind that the background story for my girlfriend and I were just as interesting as the most of this season’s cast members. Nevermind that I stay up countless night’s hoping that the good casting people would please consider me.

I’m not gonna hold a grudge.  In part because, ours was a longshot to get on the show.  Also, because I’m just glad my fav show is back on TV.

Who does stick out?  I was immediately and favorably drawn to the two guy team of Zev and Justin.  Zev has Asperger’s Syndrome, but is shown to have a very likable personality.  The Harlem Globetrotters are also entertaining.  Who doesn’t like the Globetrotters?  The two girl poker player team is being cast as the “bad guys” this time around.  They’re not demons, but they don’t seem to want to play fair.

Here’s the first Elimination Station episode.  That’s where the losers go to sulk after being eliminated.  Looks like the first couple are making the most of it.

Popularity: 6% [?]

     What to do when your DVR is requesting to change channels to start recording other shows but the one you’re watching hasn’t ended because of NFL football running late on CBS?  Okay, let me explain.

     The Moore family watches the Amazing Race on CBS together.  The season premiere started about ten minutes late because of football.  Our DVR was set and ready to record my husband and my’s favorite show, “Mad Men”, at 9pm on AMC.  Also, I had the DVR set up to record my guilty pleasure show, “Desperate Housewives”, at 9pm as well. 

     At 8:58, the request from the DVR came in to change channels.  We (David, Sam and myself) quickly regrouped in the master bedroom for the last ten minutes of the Amazing Race.  The DVR was able to record the other two shows.  And all was well with the world!

Popularity: 6% [?]

Rated PG
1h37

What does it look like when you have two guitar greats watching a guitar god lay down one of the greatest guitar riffs in the history of Rock and Roll? U2’s The Edge and Jack White of The White Stripes look like kids in a candy story while witnessing Led Zeppelin axe man Jimmy Page wail out ‘Whole Lotta Love.”

That’s just one of the treats in the new electric guitar documentary It Might Get Loud. The filmmaker gathered the multi-generational mix in 2008 and sat the three down to talk about strumming the six string. Page, The Edge and White all notably have their own take on the art of playing and that’s where music lovers are graced with a pretty sweet ninety-minute ride.

Granted, I am a giant White Stripes fan, seasoned in the Led and don’t mind listening to U2. So, as far as documentary subjects go, I was already enthralled.

A good documentary captures the human emotion of the subject, and you learn something new along the way. In this case, we find delve into reasons why these guys ever picked up the guitar. We also find out why The Edge always plays on Bono’s right side. Jimmy Page does the math adding up what four members of a well oil band equals. Jack White also tells you why his piano is four steps away from his guitar, instead of three.

Those little factoids are why die-hard music fans will appreciate this one. By the way, you’ve been warned in the title.

Overall Ratings: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Popularity: 12% [?]

Rated PG
1h47

This movie is not going to live forever. In face, can we just pull it off life support right now?

Fame is the updated and thoroughly boring remake of the 1980’s movie about students at a Performing Arts school in New York. Why the remake? Look not further than the semi-recent success of dance-themed movies aimed at the younger generation.

This remake was entirely unnecessary, because it sanitizes the gritty and real feel of the original and turns it into an after school special. Modern teens, if they have any sense will see right through it.

The characters are shallow and the storyline is predictable. There was not a single person that I cared for, and the theme that success is not achieved through fame, but rather through hard work and self worth is lost in the mushy innards of what could have been a tasteful and artful work.

The performance segments for the most part are contrived. I don’t think a single person was actually playing for the dubbed over music track that we hear. There is an exception or two, which is why this movie doesn’t get a big zero in my book.

I also feel bad for the known names in this movie and I hope they were paid well. Kelsey Grammar, Debbie Allen, Megan Mullalley, Charles Dutton and Bebe Newirth. This is a dark smudge on your resume.

In conclusion, while my mind drifted in the theater I came up with this: The Kenmore and Dyson companies are fighting over the corporate secret as to how to suck this much. If Fame were a Black Hole in outer space, its gravitational suckage would be able to pull in whole galaxies. If there were a land called Sucktonia, this movie would be its king.

Overall Ratings: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Popularity: 14% [?]

Rated R- 1h48
Sometimes it’s the message, sometimes it’s the magic performance, and sometimes it’s about the trying to piece together what the hell is going on, which is fun about films. The Informant! was clearly the latter for me.

Matt Damon ate a couple extra Big Macs to fill the role of Mark Witacre, the highest paid executive to ever turn informant for the FBI. Or was he? Based on a true story, Witacre was the man who was going to bring down his own company for price fixing, claiming he was taking the high road. Or was he?

Damon does a good job of convincing us that he’s an anti-hero in this dark spy-like comedy that feels more like Get Smart than James Bond. The question that remains in my head, is did Witacre actually consider the consequences of his actions, was he a complete idiot without a clue, or was he a insane mastermind. I guess that fact that I still can’t figure it out after watching this one proves Damon has the goods.

I can’t even say for sure that evil doings were punished in the end. After all, this was a story from corporate America. We are reminded of the iceberg effect. In this case when one lie is revealed, it’s just hiding about a thousand other ones we didn’t see coming.

(Out of Four) Overall Rating:
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Popularity: 14% [?]

Rated PG-13 – 1h19
I felt like I just watched someone’s horrific acid flashback of what the post-apocalyptic world might be. I can’t say I feel any better now either.

9 begins after the human world has ended. Man made and enlightened machines have turned on their makers, rubbing out the species. The scientist who created the machines had enough foresight to bottle some of his own humanity and magically infuse it into several stitch dolls that look like Edward Scissorhand’s relatives.

The dolls, which have come to life, are numbered one through nine. Our main character 9 (voiced by Elijah Wood,) is the last of his kind. Terrorized by the machine and its nightmarish henchmen, the characters are for some reason considered threats.

That’s one of the looming questions I have about this movie. Why eliminate the numbered characters. They’re literally as big as your hand, so why would a giant machine fear them.

Also, if all humans are dead, wouldn’t that mean humanity is gone to? Even humanity lived on; there are no humans to experience it. Clearly the message was that humanity should get to find a way to live on, so whatever is left behind (cockroaches?) can live in a better-annihilated world. Seems a little egotistic don’t ya think?

In any case, if you don’t mind questioning the oddities, the extremely dark imagery and loathsome slumping in your theater chair for fear of the future, this was top-notch animation. The world that was created is stunning, but not for the kids.

(Out of Four) Overall Rating:
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

Popularity: 15% [?]

I still can’t tell for sure if this is a publicity stunt or if Randy Quaid just likes the dine and ditch.

This week he got arrested for skipping out on a nearly$10,000 hotel bill in California. There felony charges for defrauding the hotel, and theft charges for ordering room service hamburgers with the intention of not paying for them.

This really doesn’t sound like the work of a normal human being, but then again, we are talking about the guy who played Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon “Vacation” movies.

He sent a letter to TMZ.com stating that he has paid the bill and even offered up a copy of the cashiers check which says he did. Who pays for a hotel with a cashier’s check anyway?

It doesn’t seem like a stunt, because Quaid doesn’t have a big new movie coming out. Then again, Randy’s brother Dennis does have a new movie this weekend! Ha…scam alert.

I guess whether its true or not, we’ll always have good ol’ Eddie and my favorite line of his:

Part of his highlight reel is NSFW.

Popularity: 10% [?]