Some Stuff To Watch

Today's Blondie film is Life with Blondie. Overall, I enjoyed it. 

Daisy is having some spring friskiness, causing problems in the neighborhood. Some complications (in part involving a new annoying neighborhood boy for the episode) led Daisy to be a pin-up dog. This is WWII with pin-up girls. 

This causes complications, both because she now is making more money than Dagwood, and because it changes the normal habits of the family. An amusing bit involved Blondie running into the mailman. There is a scene involving some confusion making Blondie jealous but it was not a whole big affair like last week. It ends with a bit of slapstick. 

Fun overall, including a few more WWII references. A bit where Cookie goes on the ledge at Dagwood's work was unnecessary. Too dangerous for a frivolous scene. Good addition to the series.

There are a ton of Christmas movies on Up Channel and Hallmark these days. I am not someone who will just watch any one of them. Some are good. Dashing Through The Snow (generic title not really fitting) has a bit of a different feel. It's based on a popular author's book.

The guy is a familiar face while the woman is not. Still, a new face can help. And, she does a good job here. We actually see the guy falling in love with her more than vice versa. The twist is that he's a government agent, there to follow her because of some mistaken identity.  

Time for Me to Come Home For Christmas was on last night. This is an enjoyable film that is right for multiple viewings. A bit heavy-handed on the family stuff but there is room for that in this sort of thing. 

She's a small business owner going back home to see her dad (her mom died recently). He's a country music star (who she is not familiar with; she likes show tunes) going back home to see his mom (dad died when he was away on tour and he feels guilty) and family. So a bit of a connection. 

Plane trouble so it's road trip time. They are a good couple and it's well performed. He has a sweet country star vibe while she is somewhat more restrained and concerned about company problems. The road trip theme allows for vignettes, which helps the pacing. Overall, enjoyed it.

I reread the book when the film came out. Judy Blume was a new author, having only two children's books, when she wrote this classic. It nicely covers a bunch of plot matters (religion, growing up, moving, etc.) in a small package. 

The film is well-acted and looks great. I was not interested in watching a young girl's story for ninety or so minutes. At least not this time. I shut it off about a third through. It has some extras but no director commentary.

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A 400 Year History of Religion In America (One Day University) is one of the many educational materials you can find in the library. The big library downtown has many audio lectures. There are also DVDs like this. 

(The weekend is also a good time to get some education on C-SPAN. You can also just do a search on the website to view the material at any time.)

The DVD started well. I lost interest mid-way through. It did not keep my interest around 1800. A good concept, however, was the argument that the key to success in America was religion was promoted (sold) in a free market. They had no government support. Had to find an audience. 

The lecturer was down to earth. I can see him being a good teacher. How they stay in front of a class day after day -- they are like a lone pitcher out there -- and perform is amazing.