“Mr. Edelweiss”

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I would never be accused of being a frequent moviegoer, since I average about one per year. That would  make this year an anomaly since with over 3 months to go, I have seen three already. What in the name of Cecil B DeMille could be happening? Perhaps  Hollywood is making better movies or better yet it could be the old even a blind pig finds  an acorn concept.( If that needs explaining the reader must be somewhat younger than this writer.)

Anyway, the most recent of the three was “The Return of  Nanny McPhee” which featured  the talented Emma Thompson in the title role as well as writer)  with an excellent pair of supporting actresses in Dame Maggie Smith and Maggie Gyllenhaal. There were a number of young actors and actresses with prominent roles as well. Quite a feat to have two Oscar winners onboard.

However, as is often the case with yours truly and movies, I picked out  a quite different character as my favorite. He was important of course, but more as comic relief and  maybe, maybe a bit of a role model. His name was “Mr Edelweiss” from the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein song that we all remember from The Sound of Music. Almost forgot to mention that Mr Edelweiss is  a jackdaw.

At first, I was debating on him being either a crow or a raven, to which he is related, of course. The Independent has a wonderful article on the movie on March 24 accompanied by a video where Ms Thompson talks about the use of the bird(s) in the movie. It was intriguing to learn that 3 jackdaws were used in the making of  the film and that all 3 were rescue birds.

She also gives a bit of background on the naughty bird. It seems that Mr Edelweiss had done something  quite wrong in the past and was forever attempting to return to Nanny McPhee’s good graces. Ergo, the use of the phrase, “you know what you did”  and being banished from  Nanny McPhee’s shoulder, a  place of honor indeed. The interaction between the two was delightful and indeed according to the movie’s producer the bird was a very important character. Perhaps an illustration for the children with whom she was working.Even his penchant for burping after eating his favorite snack of window putty becomes crucial in the end. He is able to peck through the putty on the poential deadly bomb and thus assist in preventing its explosion. Thus he redeems himself and is perched securely on Nanny McPhee’s shoulder  as she  disappears in the distance at movie’s end.

Athough this is not a movie review per se, I must  share a quote from Ms Thompson in closing.”That’s the whole point of  a really good movie,isn’t it? Something to be shared.” Indeed, whether it be human or jackdaw!

Related Articles

• Nanny McPhee makes magic down on the farm (thestar.com)
• A Minute With: Emma Thompson as “Nanny McPhee” (omg.yahoo.com)

Too Much Money

Can one have too much money? I have no clue, since I don’t think I have ever been  in that position. I can remember being told by a prospective employer that they could not afford me , since I made too much. That was somewhat ironic since  I was working a lot of unpaid overtime at the time and we were struggling a bit to make ends meet. But thanks anyway, Tom’s Foods  for the ego boost.

But, now I learn that it may actually be  possible to be making too much money. My source for this knowledge is none other than President Obama himself. I will confess in the interest of full disclosure that I have thought on numerous occasions that this or that celebrity or media  personality ( Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer for starters) or pro athlete or actor made wayyyy  too much money.

But I shall  explore the President’s opinion first before sharing any more of my choices. Just this week the President was speaking in Quincy,Il promoting the  idea of  financial reform over which Congress is itself battling. He made this statement.” Now, what we’re doing, I want to be clear, we’re ( read Democrats here) not trying to push financial reform because we begrudge success that’s fairly earned. I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”

Of course, there have been posts galore , replete with crowing conservatives saying we’ ve got him. Not so fast, folks. I  believe that there are lots of people who believe that very thing and I suspect that they overwhelmingly vote Democrat. It was actually a rather safe thing for him to say, playing to the base, as it were.

But, just for kicks, wonder what Obama supporters like Eric Schmidt and the Google guys thought of his comment as well as all  his Hollywood  friends ? Believe I have that one covered as well. All he need to do in response  to such a  query would be to place those folks and others like them into the “fairly earned ” category, lumping Rush, Glenn Beck etc in another category indeed. The quote actually reminds me of a phrase I have read several times in regard to baseball teams swapping players’; a trade that benefits both teams.

In their own words

Today, we are privileged to hear the words of two of Hollywood’s leading actors. Both have been honored for their acting achievements, twice winning Best Actor Oscars. Both are somewhat to the left politically, which is  not at all uncommon in their industry. The estranged wife of one actor was actually the costar of the other in one of his Oscar-winning roles. And, both, albeit in a different manner, seem compelled to voice their views from time to time.

Shame, shame if you have not correctly identified Tom Hanks  and Sean Penn by now. Upfront, i will admit to enjoying  several of Hanks movies, although not lately. As for Mr Penn, not  so much.

So, what pearls do they share with us today ? One is political, one not so much. Hanks is a big Obama  supporter and had this to say today about the President;s performance.He id doing a spectacular job in the face of this insanity he said on MSNBC  today. Another Obama opinion, but first something he said about health care. This comment was framed in light of those who he sees as obstructing the progress of health care reform. To paraphrase, he referenced an un-named   member of Congress whose resistance is that kind of thing that would prevent a parent from being able to take their feverish child to the hospital. He does know that hospital er’s must  see a patient regardless of insurance? He knows that, right? 

Ok, the other Obama reference. “We have elected a wise, calm, man.”  Your opinion of that is your own.

Now, the angry Sean Penn. He is in Haiti, presumably at his own expense doing relief work.  Good for him, But that does not square up with he told CBS reporter Lara Logan. He was asked if his  work in Haiti is a n attempt to distract people from his high-profile divorce from Robin Wright Penn. I read this response several times and will probably watch “Sunday Morning” this weekend to hear it. He said he was too busy to pay much attention to his critics, but he had time for this phrase. “Do I hope that those people die screaming of  rectal cancer?” Yeah, but I’m not going to spend a lot of energy on it.” Wonder what tortuous fate he would wished for had he given it some thought? Good freakin’ grief!!

So, folks, there you have it. Two of  Hollywood’s finest.

The End of the World as We Know It!

Contrary to what  Hollywood would have you believe, the world is not going to end in 2012. It is going to end sooner. Tomorrow, Oprah Winfrey will announce that the 25 year run of her daily soap opera, gabfest, book club, spanner of careers, etc. will end in 2011. The actual date will probably will be revealed at that time. So, get out those crying towels and begin the lament. Daytime tv, nay  broadcasting itself will never be the same.

Where, oh where, will the next Rachel Ray come from? Think Keith Olbermann could do daytime?

Pay Grades

Today’s Wall Street Journal speaks about the Obama Administration’s intentions regarding levels of pay for some bank employees. Public sentiment is probably on the side on the Obama folks to a degree, considering the bailout handouts. We give you money, we set your pay, right?

Well, try this one on for size. How about bank loan officers who may be paid by production. Instead of paying for quantity, pay them for quality. Good idea, maybe. But if and when government does it by mandate, that is an entirely different issue. They have or will have, close to control of the autombile industry( see Chrsyley advertising budget, elimination of 800 dealerships, etc) and no telling what may come of that. How about the Obamamobile brought to by Government(uh General) Motors?

So, I started thinking. What is another industry whose pay needs some control? How about the media? Keith Olbermann just got a $3.5 million dollar raise(can that be right?) and works for MSNBC which is owned by General Electric. I’m sure they got bailout money. That would be a good start. Perhaps, algore could take a paycut for the environment. Who pays him anyway? Mother Earth?

Now, how about Obama’s Holloywood buddies. I’m sure that if sat down with them, perhaps with some assistance from Rahm Emanuel, they could helpp the left coast folks see the light. Imagine the headlines. Hanks, Spielberg, Penn, Jolie-Pitt , Leno, Will Smith, Johnny Depp, et. al donate pay for next movie and take voluntary pay cuts for next year. Money will go to, oh I don’t know, Obama and the boys will figure it out.

That sounds better to me than Eminem and Jimmy Kimmel teaming up to fly 200 laid off auto workers  to Los Angeles to see Eminem’s appearance on the Kimmel show. Oh and they will also show them a good time. Sad to say, when they return home, they will still be laid off auto workers. Maybe they should  just buy some cars.

But at least Eminem  is being loyal to his home of Detroit. Wonder what kind of car he drives though?

Eminem ( Reuters Photo)

Enough Already !!!!!!!!!!

I wasnt gonna do this but I am just so fed up with this kind of stuff . Jon Stewart, the great comedic voice of this generation and so I am told the main source of news for this generation made a speech at Northeastern University on October 17. He was making comments about Sarah Palin and expressing his disdain for her and/or her policies . This man who is so erudite and well spoken resorted to the well worn favorite profanity of so many – “F*** you ” to express his feelings about Ms Palin . He joins such a growing list of Hollywood types ranging from the aged, Betty White and Brigitte Bardot to the young, Lindsay Lohan and the in the middle Ashley Judd . All have expressed their opinions of Ms Palin very colorfully if crudely. Guess Stewart was jealous or just wanted equal time , Oh yes. his audience cheered loudly . As Paul Harvey might say Ahhh ! I dont care if you like Palin, her policies or her party and this could go for the Democrats ( except I havent heard too many celebs talk about Democrats this way ) .as well I guess. Out with the crudity, please, could you ?