There’s only one movie opening this weekend, but for Star Trek fans, even if a dozen movies were opening this weekend there would be only one movie opening this weekend.
Make sense?
What I’m saying is, Star Trek Into Darkness has opened with a midnight showing, and all indications are it’s going to be SRO at any movie theater that carries it.
The review on Wired calls it “a disposable summer movie,” but I’d see it if it ere just the phone book being read backward because I like Benedict Cumberbatch so much (yes, I basically like his name. And his Sherlock Holmes).
I do have to admit, I can’t tell the actors who play Spock and Kirk apart in real life (thank heavens for pointy ears).
One viewer is upset because this Star Trek leaves out the philosophy that made the TV series and some of the movies stand out.
Me, I’m in it just for the Tribbles.
There was a time when The Office was must-see TV for me. Never. Missed. An. Episode.
In fact, when it started airing on cable, I would spend a whole evening watching three hours of The Office in a row.
But I gave it up several years ago when I just didn’t enjoy it anymore. Story lines were repetitious, Michael was gone, characters like Gabe didn’t interest me.
To be honest, it was Pam and Jim’s relationship that I relished for so many years. I didn’t mind that they got married (it would have been ridiculous to keep them apart forever), but as they settled into married life and had a baby and Pam became a saleswoman, well, yawn, have a good rest of your life, but without me (plus, I worried The Office would break them up, at least temporarily, and if I want real life I’ll go look at my own divorce papers thank you very much).
So I’m not going to watch tonight’s finale. I think. There really would be no purpose to it since I’m so out of touch with what has happened. I’ve read a few things on social media (am I right that Dwight is finally office manager?), but it’s basically a muddle.
Still.
I’d kind of like to say an official goodbye.
Maybe watching this clip of The Office farewells will be enough.
There’s no point in me taking this AP quiz about Star Trek unless every quiestion is about Tribbles.
But you might enjoy it.
In just 50 minutes (or 5 p.m. CDT for those of us who don’t like math), the South Dakota Music Education Association will release a video of a virtual choir.
It is, the SDMEA page assures me, the “world premier.” (I’m just being snarky because I would assume that of all people to know the difference between premiere and premier, it would be artsy folks who HAVE premieres.)
Anyway, what is a virtual choir? “The SDMEA Virtual Choir is a state-wide project to create a user-generated online middle school choir. From October 29th, 2012, you have until 12:00am on January 15th, 2013 to record yourself singing your part of the track “Stand Together” by Jim Papoulis and upload it to YouTube.”
You can hear the bass* portion, for example, here.
Wait, the basses are boring. Try the alto version instead.
*Middle school choirs have basses? Who knew?
OK, have at me, parents, but I see absolutely no reason why you would need to change a baby’s diaper on a restaurant’s seating. You couldn’t go out to the car?
So you don’t have to. Thereby saving you time and angst. No need to thank me.
* Here’s a story on how Hollywood dresses women in movies. (It reminds me of a TV commercial I heard today where the designer kept talking about how he creates wedding dresses for girls.)
* Don’t just listen to Angelina Jolie’s words filtered through TV. Read what she wrote for herself. I’m not a big fan, but I wouldn’t wish that decision on anyone.
*Saluting teachers who make a difference: A story about Sioux Falls woman Julie Ashworth and a boy named Colton.
* And I’m seeing quotes from the book The Afterlife of Billy Fingers all over Facebook. Someone needs to read it and tell me if it’s any good.
A Twitter friend shared this link.
It’s about graduation day at Armour High School, a tradition and a salute to a former grad.
AND it involves dinosaurs.
I wrote today about Delores Vondrak, who is retiring next week after 55 years as an educator in the Elk Point-Jefferson School District.
When I tweeted a link to the story, I said Vondrak’s record was likely to last a long time.
A reply tweet advised me to check out Patty Stoner, who teaches sixth grade at Gettysburg.
“My 5th grade teacher, I’m retiring next year she’s still going,” the tweet said.
So I checked, but Stoner hasn’t topped Vondrak’s record.
Yet.
Gettysburg Superintendent Tim Hagedorn says at 77, Stoner has no plans to retire. She has logged 51 years as a teacher, beginning in a one-room country schoolhouse.
“She has more energy than a lot of my younger teachers,” Hagedorn said.
I’d promise Stoner to do a story on her if she tops Vondrak’s record, but I’m not sure I have the energy either.
I find this article on people who walk on all fours both bizarre and fascinating.
And, yes, when I go home for lunch I’m giving it a try.
I’d never heard of Mud until I watched the trailer and started looking for reviews, and now I’m excited to see it. Matthew McConaughey plays a wanted man hiding out on a Mississippi River island.His presence there is discovered by two young boys, who become drawn into his story. It also stars Reese Witherspoon and Sam Shepard. Not a movie I’d take Mom to for Mother’s Day, but she’ll be sick of me by Sunday evening anyway.
Also opening is The Great Gatsby. Call me deeply shallow, but I can’t get enthused about this. Never cared for the book (again, deeply shallow), hated the Robert Redford-Mia Farrow movie and don’t want to sit through a 2-hour-24-minute revision, no matter how pretty it looks.
Your third choice of a new film this weekend is, sorry, not much of a choice at all. Tyler Perry has cranked out another movie with Tyler Perry Presents We the Peeples. Even the title makes me clench my jaw. The difficult part is, I like the cast: Craig Robinson and David Alln Grier and I’d particularly like to see S. Epatha Merkerson (Lt. Anita Van Buren on Law & Order) do comedy.I But it will be on TBS in about nine months, so I’ll wait.
