UP and Meet Hank!!!

For those of you who haven't seen Up, it is a must-go see movie.  I will even go as far to say that Up is my favorite Pixar film (even over Toy Story).  I warn you the beginning is a bit sad; I actually shed a couple tears in the theatre.  It is about an old man who promised his wife that they would go to Paradise Falls in South America.  After her passing, he decides that it is now or never so he releases helium balloons through his fireplace and up, up, and away he goes along with an unexpected guest, Russell. Russell is a wilderness explorer (similar to boy scouts) that was looking to help the man and receive his "helping the elderly" badge.  Once in South America, Russell and the man work to walk the suspended home the rest of the way.  Along the way, they meet Dug, a dog with a translating collar that lets him speak.  Dug's owner is looking for a large bird to bring back to America and sure enough the three of them run into and Kevin, the large bird.  Anyway, I don't want to reveal too much about the movie because I think everyone should go see it.

I love this movie mostly because of the dogs and their translating collars.  I love animals and I think the writers do a great job of impersonating dogs.  I can't help but think of my goofy pug-beagle mix, Hank, while watching the movie.  If Hank could talk, I can just imagine Hank saying some of the things the dogs in the movie say.  Dug talks about how much he loves his master and the other dogs are easily distracted by tennis balls and squirrels.  I love it!!!  Hank is obsessed with tennis balls, squirrels, and mail trucks.  He is very similar to Dug and it makes me like the movie that much more!

The Last Song

The Last Song  by Nicholas Sparks was staring at me every time I walked in to Barnes & Noble and I finally broke down and bought the hardcover copy last week.  I am usually able to hold off until it comes out in paperback, but not this one and I'm glad I didn't wait.  What a great book.  I just love this author!!!! For anyone who saw The Notebook and liked it, this book is for you (along with any other book written by Nicholas Sparks)!!  His book just suck me in and I can't stop reading them.  I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but lets face it, I really shouldn't be reading for leisure while I'm taking 19 grad credits.  What am I thinking?!  To give you a run-down of the book, it is about a 17 year old girl, Ronnie, who is forced to spend the summer with her father whom she hasn't spoke with for three years.  Well she ends up meeting this wonderful guy, Will, who is the complete opposite of her.  This is a book about life, unconditional love, and learning to forgive yourself.  Even though I had a good understanding of how the book was going to end, I guess I didn't prepare myself enough and ending up on the verge of tears by the end.  I wouldn't let that stop you from reading this book though... it definitely has a lot to offer.  As I was looking for a picture to post on the blog, I found out that this book is going to become a movie and will be released in 2010.  I was a little disappointed to see that Miley Cyrus was going to be Ronnie in the film, but who knows, maybe she will surprise us (I hope at least).  After a little more investigation, I found out Nicholas Sparks wrote the screenplay before writing the book and I personally think this is lame.  Stick to the books Nicholas and if the movies come they come.  Anyway, read this book and if you enjoy this book, I think you would also enjoy Dear John. (which of course is also being made into a movie ).  Dear John is a great book that I actually read in 1 day (yes it's that good)!

Confessions of a Shopaholic

This past weekend I watched the movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic .  My expectations were low; I was not expecting a work of art or anything even close to it.  To my surprise, it was not as idiotic as I thought it would be; it was actually quite enjoyable.  It is about a young journalist is obsessed with fashion and shopping.  After getting laid off from her job, she decides to try her luck at one of the most prestigious fashion magazines.  When going for her interview, she notices a green scarf that she decides she must have.  The girl is already up to her eyeballs in debt and has maxed-out her credit card.  In a desperate attempt to purchase the scarf she goes to a hot dog stand to ask the vendor for change back claiming that she has to purchase the scarf for a sick relative.  While holding up the line, a handsome young man gives her the twenty dollars so that he can just get his hot dog and move on.  As it turns out she misses the interview, but the receptionist tells her that another financial magazine is holding interviews and that magazine may be her ticket to the fashion magazine.  She shows up to the interview with the green scarf on and low-and-behold the man interviewing her is the man from the hot dog stand.  She lands the job and ends up writing a great article about being a conscious buyer (which she is anything but).  I would recommend watching the movie to see what happens.  It is a movie filled with laugh out loud humor and still has that chick-flick feel.  The movie was based off of the book, which I heard was less than satisfactory so I don't think I will be reading that.
 Even though this was a feel-good silly movie, it does bring up a the topic of debt and shopping.  Many Americans are facing the problem of debt and the nagging calls of debt collectors.  It is widely talked about subject.  Even Oprah has had shows focused around debt and money issues.  Some say that some of the problem with shopping and debt lies in your brain. In the movie, the main character even tries to go to shopaholic anonymous , which really does exist.  Spending money when you don't have it really can be an addiction for people and it can end up ruining your life, just like any other addiction.

The Lovely Bones

While wondering through Target, I stumbled upon The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.  I noticed on the book the little sticker that said "Now a Major Motion Picture." I then knew I had to read it before the movie came out.  Don't let the cover of the book trick you.  The cover makes it look like a romance or a book that only women would enjoy.  This is not the case; I would recommend this book to anyone.  My boyfriend noticed the title of the book and said he saw the trailer for a movie called The Lovely Bones and wanted to know if it was based on the book I was reading.  After I replied "yes," he was shocked and even said that the movie looked interesting (coming from him this is a semi-big deal).  The book is about a 14 year old murder victim and how she is adjusting to heaven.  In heaven, she is able to watch her family cope with her death and she is able to see her killer.   I purchased the book last week and I have already finished it.  The only critique I have on the book is the ending; I think that after reading such a good book, it was such a disappointment to conclude the book with a so-so ending.  Even with the mediocre ending, I am anxious to see the movie that hits theaters January 2010.  I watched the trailer and I definitely see potential.

Here is the trailer if you're interested:

The Proposal

Today I watched The Proposal with a couple girlfriends.  It came out on DVD on Tuesday.  For those of you who have not heard of this movie, it is about a woman who forces her assistant to marry her to avoid being deported.  The Government suspects that the two are marrying to avoid the deportation and they are forced to take a trip to his parents home in....ALASKA (which I would really like to visit after watching this movie)!  To find out what happens, I highly recommend watching this movie.  It definitely had some laugh-out-loud moments and a really cute plot.  Warning to all of you chick-flick haters...this movie is NOT for you.  It had all of the elements of a chick flick (including the predictability), but the thing that made it stand out was some of the unsuspecting comedy thrown in there.  I did not think that I was going to enjoy this movie as much as I did, but now I could see myself watching it again in the near future.  It was a great movie to watch with the girls or a nice date movie!

"Broken Bones" Summer People

Broken bones / Summer people from jon walley on Vimeo.

Summer People is a great local band (Binghamton and surrounding areas).  If you haven't heard any of their stuff, here's a music video created by Jon Walley.

On Target: How the World's Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull's-Eye

When was the last time you actually sat down to read a non-fiction book?!  This was the questions my professor asked us the first week of classes.  My response: Not in a while.  For the class we had to choose a non-fiction book and write a book report on it (yes a book report...I guess you still do those things in MBA classes).  The book I chose was On Target: How the World's Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull's-Eye by Laura Rowley.  I was dreading (and I mean dreading) reading this non-fiction book.  No romance... I mean what kind of book is this?!   Despite my lack of enthusiasm, however, it needed to be done.  So I begin reading it and guess what?...it was not bad at all!  I actually enjoyed it to some extent.  This book reinforced my love for the one and only Tahrzay (sp?).  On Target discussed many aspects of the retailer: Target's appeal (why is it that you like browsing around Target and wasting time, while you can't get out of Wal-Mart fast enough?), their advertising and promotion tactics (including their bullseye logo), its service and technology, history of the store and the family that started it all, some of their guides for growth, Target's philanthropy, and challenges it faces.  As I walked into Target yesterday, I had a greater appreciation for what Target does and what it stands for and you can bet that yesterday won't be my only trip there this week!