Tomalhe

I don’t know that I have ever been genuinely excited about a movie preceeded by the words “From Pixar Animation (now Disney/Pixar) Studios.” To put this in context, the last Disney hand-drawn animation I had to see its opening weekend was “Beauty and the Beast”; and I think the only people eagerly awaiting “Monsters, Inc.” were the accountants of Billy Crystal and John Goodman. That “WALL-E” managed to have me counting the days until its release in a theater packed to the gills with 6-year-olds (intending not to shut up until they hit AARP status and race up and down the aisles for an hour-and-a-half) is a great credit to creator Andrew Stanton.

Centering on the only trash compacting robot left on Earth after mankind leaves on a permanent interstellar cruise, It stars the cinematic love child of Charlie Chaplin and “Johnny 5″ from “Short Circuit” (which is itself being remade.) It’s a multi-message movie (which seems to oppose Disney’s modern prime directives): eat less, consume less, and recycle. The film recycles bits and pieces from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Star Trek” and “Love Boat,” and has its humble yellow collar worker relaxing each night after work to a VHS copy of “Hello Dolly.” Yet, it’s got romance, adventure, comedy, a talking lint roller, a G-rating, and is the best film I’ve seen thus far in 2008.

the greeting card was refused: return to sender. Perhaps it’s for the best.

The land survey du jour is within spitting distance of the house of a mentor turned hermit. When we began the survey last week, I had a greeting card endorsed and ready to take over to him in person. Instead, I congratulated him with an ice scribbled icepick. Having been burned by too many people, and always carrying a blowtorch at the ready, he had announced his intentions to make his way out into the world again and not necessarily rebuild relationships, but at least start new ones. I stumbled upon this missive of his at an unexpected intercafe and noted that location and/or screenname in my optimistic quip under Hallmark’s witty banter. Jab. Jab. The proile was deleted the next time I looked for it, as was a blog of his, possibly as a direct result of a hectoring comment made a day before asking when he’d ever update it. I had actually good intentions (road to hell, I know) in looking once again for his (possibly peering out the door) profile as I know an irresistable force who might be what the unmovable object says he’s interested in. But either the giant immediately found what he was seeking or two many Jacks tossed their magic beans in the ground. In any case, I having the chance again today to go knock on the castle door (normally miles away) and I decided he’d the right to just be left the (expletive) alone.

Not long back while scouring the shelves and bins at Dollar Giant for intentionally bad gifts, I spotted a DVD that sent shivers up my spine: Don Ameche, Susan Gordon and Zsa Zsa Gabor in “Picture Mommy Dead.” It wasn’t just that Gabor’s work had been relegated to a dollar store bin that raised my eyebrows. She had to share space on the disc with the Spanish/Italian schlockfest “Murder Mansion (La Mansión de la niebla).” I opted not to purchase, figuring that not only would Gabor not make a dime in royalties, but she was likely overpaid for her titular work in 1966.

I’m thankful 4 the lost loves, who taught me that i could love again.  

I am thankful for Aaron Barnhart’s confidence in my work. I joined his ”weekly electronic sheet” on November 18, 1996. I’ve always been amazed that this talented, funny and sharp do-it-youselfer found my passion for trivia (and off-kilter sense of humor) worth showcasing, along with the help of the immensely talented and patient Jon Delfin, my fomer editor. Without the encouragement these two men, I would not have my own entertainment column in a local print weekly (granted, it is TV market #175).

It’s been amazing to be trusted by Roger Ebert and the crew at Worldwide Pants, and to have both amused Tom Snyder and vexed Dick Clark. I owe these men a career.

I’ve been inspired by King Edmond, the Gruff, whom I met (or at least read online for the first time on February 15, 2008. He is a brilliant writer whose use of wordpress, and gratitude pages I am shamelessly appropriating.