Well, I haven't had internet service at my house since Thursday night. The technician was supposed to come on Friday and I came home from work early, but he never showed up. Now it's the holiday weekend and I'm away, so who knows exactly when I'll have it back. It's making posting a little tricky, but I've been getting some other things done that I've been putting off. I've also pulled a couple movies off my shelf that I hadn't watched in years: Apollo 13 and That Thing You Do! Very different films, though they both star Tom Hanks. The 1995 film Apollo 13 of course tells the story of the ill-fated moon mission of 1970. Due to a faulty wire causing an explosion, the moon excursion was aborted and the astronauts were in grave danger of not being able to make it back to earth. The film depicts the stress and danger on board the space ship, and also the drama on the ground at NASA as the scientists struggle to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it, determined not to strand the men in space. It also depicts the agony the families of the astronauts suffered, especially Marilyn Lovell, the wife of Jim Lovell whom Tom Hanks was portraying. Apollo 13 was nominated for numerous Academy Awards and won a couple, but lost out to Braveheart for Best Picture. That Thing You Do! is from the following year- 1996- and is about a small town band which breaks into well, if not the big time, then the semi-big, when they- against all odds- record a hit song. The film follows the adventures/ misadventures of playing in restaurants and country fairs, and then bigger and better venues. Then, just as the band's prospects are looking up, conflicting personalities, viewpoints and ambitions threaten to tear them apart. The movie is funny and frothy, and the tunes- especially the titular one- are catchy. Not an award winner, but definitely a feel-good film which is a lot of fun to watch. Tom Hanks isn't the only actor who appeared in both pictures; so did Clint Howard, in character roles. He is, of course, Ron Howard's brother, and Star Trek fans may recognize him from the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver" in the original series, in which he plays an alien by the name of Balok. In Apollo 13, he plays a NASA employee, and in That Thing You Do! he's the owner of a small radio station. I always enjoy him in whatever role, however small, that he's in.
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"Useful and ornamental needlework, knitting, and netting are capable of being made, not only sources of personal gratification, but of high moral benefit, and the means of developing in surpassing loveliness and grace, some of the highest and noblest feelings of the soul." - The Ladies' Work Table Book, 1845 Having slacked off for most- well, all- of the summer, I'm now trying to get some sewing done. I've just completed two table toppers (below), but have a lot more I want to get accomplished before winter. Time to buckle down, I guess. Related Posts: This illustration is from Laura Ingalls Wilder's 1932 book, Little House In The Big Woods. In it, Laura is fussing about not being allowed to play on Sunday, so Pa tells her a story about her grandfather when he was a boy. Grandpa and his brothers had built a new sled, but finished it too late on Saturday to try it out. On Sunday, they weren't allowed to play but were expected to sit quietly and read the Bible. Throughout the long afternoon, all the boys can think of is their new sled and, when they notice that their father has nodded off, sneak out of the house. Quietly they get the sled out and take it to the top of the hill. They silently start down the hill, not daring to make a sound. Suddenly though, one of the pigs wanders into the path of the sled. Unable to avoid the porker, the sled hits him and he ends up on top of the sled with the boys, headed down the hill. Terrified, the pig squeals loudly all the way down and the boys see their father, now wide awake, emerge from the house. The boys put the sled away and slink back to the house, knowing that as soon as Sunday is over punishment will be swift. Related Posts: |
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