We’ve moved to BackseatWriter.com!

It’s time to change your feeds, gang! We’re all moved in at BackseatWriter.com (even though we still have a few pictures to hang and such). So, with a bit of sadness, I’m bidding adieu to Atypical Musings officially. All the articles, thoughts, pictures, and most of the comments from this site are on the new site, so fear not. However, if you commented on the last couple of posts, you may want to re-post that comment at Backseat Writer.

As they say, it’s a wrap. See ya over at Backseat Writer for many more atypical musings!

I Can’t Review The Changeling

After a dinner of homemade chili, cornbread, and tortilla chips, my gal pals and I decided to kick back and spend our Saturday evening watching a movie.  What movie did we choose?  The Changeling starring Angelina Jolie, of course.  Here’s what we knew about the plot going in–Angelina Jolie was the main character; she was nominated for a ton of awards for her performance; she plays the part of a mother, whose son goes missing and is returned.  We also knew that the foundling was not actually her son; he was a replacement.

What I wish I knew was that the movie had long drawn-out scenes of nightmarish violence against children, a public execution, and the inner halls of a mental hospital.  Instead of enjoying the movie, being enthralled by the plot, or the acting, I am stunned stupid.  For me, watching this movie was a horrible experience.  I’m not even sure how to write a proper review.

And, yes, even though I’m almost 30, I thought, “My friends are going to think I’m so bizarre if I want to turn this movie off.  They’ll be so disappointed because they wantto see it so bad.”  In retrospect, I realize how foolish I was (how foolish I am).  I mean, my friends already know I’m bizarre, right?  That’s why they’re my friends.  Next time, I’m going to walk away from a movie like The Changeling (even if Angelina Jolie is in it).

When a movie (or album or book) gets a lot of buzz, I want to check it out.  I want to be part of the cool kids culture club and say, “Why, yes, I have seen that movie.  Didn’t Angelina do a marvelous job in her role?”  At the end of the day, buzz is just a lot of annoying noise.

If you like this movie, I think that’s OK, too.  Lots of people can watch flicks like this and block out the disturbing parts; I’m just not one of those people.  I think The Passion of the Christ is graphic and disturbing, too.  It all comes down to taste, and that’s really what any more review is–the reviewer’s opinion based on his or her preferences.  The Changeling taught me a lot about the importance of being honest about my feelings with my friends, why I should take the time to read the blurbs on the back of DVD cases, and finally, sometimes hype and buzz are just four letter words.

The $3.6 Trillion Question

I admit that I’m a bit of a news junkie…OK, a lot of a news junkie. And this whole trillion dollar budget deal of President Obama’s has me a bit freaked out. Then I checked out Fox News’ “You Decide” blog, which just made things worse.

It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around $3.6 trillion dollars, so Fox News put it in terms that are easier to translate::– If you spent $1 million an hour, non-stop for 24 hours a day, you wouldn’t run out of money for 411 years.

– If you took 3.6 trillion one-dollar bills, and placed them end-to-end, that line of bills would reach from Capitol Hill to the sun and then back to Capitol Hill and then back to the sun — and then almost all the way back to Capitol Hill again.– Or try this: 3.6 trillion seconds ago, our ancestors were using stone tools and Neanderthal men still roamed Europe.

Then article also adds, “University of Maryland economics Professor Peter Morici has a different way of looking at a $3.6 trillion federal budget: ‘That’s one out of every four dollars produced in the U.S. It’s 25 percent of the GDP,’ he said.”

One our of every four dollars?  Are you kidding me?  How on earth are we going to pay for this massive budget?  How will half of the national debt be paid off by the end of President Obama’s first term with this kind of spending?

And is it just me or is anyone else freaked out about it?

Book Review:: Water For Elephants (2007)

Since it’s still selling like hot cakes, I decided to write a review about Water For Elephants, which I enjoyed immensely.  Enjoy!

If you ever wondered about life in the early days of the traveling circus, then Water for Elephants is for you.  Of course, you don’t have to be a circus enthusiast to enjoy Sara Gruen’s best-selling novel, which weaves together an old man’s recollections of his days with Benzini Brothers Greatest Show on Earth. The biggest show happening around Benzini Brothers, which is actually run by a bloke known as Uncle Al, isn’t the one under the Big Top.

The story’s narrator, Jacob Jankowski, accidentally jumps onto a circus train and finds himself amidst a color cast of characters when he is employed as the circus’ veterinarian.  There’s Walter the “clown midget” and his terrier with whom Jacob shares a room and Camel, an old man who takes Jacob under his wing.  And, of course, Jacob meets a beautiful young performer named Marlena who shares his love of animals.  Marlena is married to Jacob’s boss, the bizarre and mentally unbalanced animal trainer, August.

Through the course of the book, college-educated Jacob loses his innocence and “becomes a man” through weird rites of passage.  Having never lived the life of a “poor man,” Jacob adapts well to hard labor and the dirtiness that exists behind-the-scenes of the circus.  Though Jacob constantly finds himself battling his inner desire for Marlena, his anger against August for his poor treatment of both people and animals, and with the harsh realities of a Depression-era circus.  As the plot develops, Jacob and the reader learn of deplorable practices like red lighting (throwing the grunt workers off the moving train at night) and encounter the seedy happenings among circus folks including massive consumption of  illegal alcohol and acts of sexual deviancy.

One of my favorite protagonist’s is Rosie, an elephant acquired by Uncle Al from a circus gone under.  Rosie’s human-like manner is not only amusing, it’s endearing.  She is cruelly trained by August to perform with Marlena.  However, Rosie is especially fond of Jacob who cares for the animals in the menagerie, including Marlena’s horses.  Jacob and Marlena build a special bond causing August to become suspicious, and for good reason.

When writing this book, Sara Green did her homework researching early circus life.  Therefore, Water for Elephants teaches as well as entertains.  Wildly amusing, thoroughly intelligent, and strangely touching, Water for Elephants is a must-read, even if you never wanted to run away to join the circus.

“Little Miss Perfect” and Pageant Moms

Have any of you checked out WEtv’s new show “Little Miss Perfect“?  It’s a look at the (often frigtening) world of children’s beauty pageants.   I caught the show last night and found myself horrified and amazed all at the same time.  I’m going to say it up front–pageant moms scare me.  It seems like these women will do anything and everything to make sure their child is crowned the winner.

I flipped on the show just as young Ashley’s mom talked about reactions she gets from non-pageant parents.  “I guess you would think we’re doing something wrong if you have an ugly child,” she said with a straight face.  Of course, I snorted with laughter.  Yeah, everyone who thinks it’s silly to spend $1200-$1500 on outfits for a pageant where little girls prance around wearing too much make-up has an ugly child.

See, I have no problem with little girls, teenagers, or adults competing in beauty contests.  I don’t think they are horrible events that objectify women and ruin the women’s rights movement.   There are scholarships and other rewards for winners of beauty pageants.  I don’t particularly like them either because they do seem to value beauty above everything else (even with the talent and question portions, an ugly girl wouldn’t have a shot).   What troubles me is that the beauty all seems so fake.

Fake tans and hair pieces and glizty make-up and glittery costumes all give these little girls a look that is truly out of this world.  I mean, seriously, why on earth does a 9 year-old need to wear a wig?  And more make-up than Joan Rivers?  These girls are beautiful without all that other junk, so why hide the natural adorableness behind a mass of curls, frills, and false lashes?

The mothers of pageant participants argue that the little girls like it.  I guess they do, but then again, most 6 year-olds like wearing make-up and dressing up like princesses.  Some of these little girls started competing in pageants at the age of three!  What happened to the good ol’ days when a kid could be a kid?

And there were times when the girls on last night’s episode–Ashely and Brandi–clearly were not having fun.  One of the girl’s kept messing up her dance steps for her talent routine.  Her mother “encouraged” her little girl by yelling, “You’re gonna do it until you get it right.”

The girls didn’t really seem to care if they won (of course, their houses were already overflowing with trophies and ribbons.  One mom was even making a quilt of award ribbons for her daughter).  The mothers, however, were frantic as they primped and coached their daughters through the various elements of competition.  If these wasn’t a reality show, I would have thought the whole thing was a spoof on the stereotypical pageant mother.  I was scared to know they really do exist.  Ack!  Should you or anyone you know get attacked by a pageant mom, just throw a can of aerosol hairspray in the opposite direction and RUN!

(Then again, pageant directors seem pretty scary, too.  Check out the video below.)

Cancel Student Debt to Stimulate the Economy

Finally!  Someone’s got it right.  And that someone is New York attorney Robert Applebaum who started a Facebook group called, “Cancel Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy.”  Say what you will about Huffington Post, but even they gave Applebaum’s cause a little momentum with this article.  According to the article and the Facebook group, Applebaum wants the government to consider lending a hand to those of us drowning in college debt, which he says would stimulate the economy.

I wholeheartedly agree!  All through our childhoods, we were told we had to go to college if we wanted to make it in this big, bad world.  So we work hard, get scholarships, and dream of getting that smooth job that will enable us to pay off our school loans in no time.  Except that little fantasty is shattered as we hit the real world.  To pay our car insurance, we borrow from our bank account’s overdraft and to pay that we borrow on a credit card and so on and so on–until literally, we are in so much debt, we find there is no way out.  Even filing for bankruptcy costs a hefty $2000!  We are caught in the stranglehold of bills, shut-off notices, and face more hardship, and is the government offering us a bailout?  Not really.  I did hear President Obama offering tax credits of $2500 to college students…hey, what about those of us who already did the college thing?

Besides, some of my loans are federal loans and my grad school loans are through a lender that’s a kissing cousin of Fannie and Freddie Mac–if the banks and other financial institutions get a bailout because they can’t pay their bills, what about the rest of us?  Why should we have to pay off our debt if the richest of the rich don’t seem to have to do the same?  I want change I can believe in, too…and most people just want to scrounge together enough change to pay bills and maybe do their laundry.

I applaud Robert Applebaum for his fine Facebook group, of which I am a proud member (over 40,000 and going strong).  Maybe we won’t get our debt canceled, but at least Applebaum’s got people thinking…and a ton of support from all those former college kids making monthly payments with ridiculous interest compiled upon ridiculous interest.

Book Review:: Veil of Roses-Laura Fitzgerald (2007)

Even though it was published in Jan. 2007, which is waaaaaaaaaaay past the “appropriate” time in which one should do a book review (within 6 months of release at least), I would be doing you all an injustice if I didn’t tell you about Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald.  A debut author, Fitzgerald took a new twist on the chick lit genre (if you can even classify this book as chick lit) by introducing us to Tamila “Tami” Soroush, a young woman from Iran visiting the United States on a 90-day visa with the purpose of finding a Persian husband so she won’t be forced to live a life of oppression in Iran.

Tami’s life is very small in Iran where she is forced to hide her beauty behind a hejab (head cover)  and perhaps marry an older Iranian man that she does not love while living in a country where she is not valued, simply because she is a woman.  Having resided in the United States themselves, Tami’s parents send their daughter to live with her married sister, Maryam, in Tusc0n.  Maryam sets to work immediately trying to “hook” Tami up potential suitors (think My Big, Fat Greek Wedding), but alas, Tami falls in love with the iconic American man–Ike who works at Starbucks.  Ike is equally smitten with Tami; however, Tami’s culture forbids this romance.

Perhaps the most intriguing parts of the book come when Tami is exploring her new environment, how she marvels at the freedom of American women to wear shorts and couples to mingle in open-air cafes sipping lattes.  She carries a camera with her to take pictures of everyday freedoms to which she is denied in Iran.  Looking at my world through a Tami’s eyes offers such a fresh perspective on liberty.  She experiences, savors, and views her new world with wide-eyed wonder.  Even the air in America is cleaner as pollution runs rampant in her home country.

What I loved about this book was that it wasn’t typical at all and Tami isn’t guaranteed a happy ending.  Until the last few pages, I was left wondering–Will she go back to Iran?  Will she marry the creepy guy?  What about Ike, who she loves?  I was so enraptured during the last few chapters, I stayed up until 3:30 AM to find out what would become of Tami.  The heroine of the tale is a well-created character who reminds readers about first love and true love, and while romance is part of the story, it is not at all sexual.  Yet there are steamy scenes of passion, which are not at all raunchy (think a 27 year-old Persian girl getting her first kiss–whoa!  It really is intense).  Not only that, the character dialogue and interaction is witty and very human, which adds to the interest of a tale.

I immensely enjoyed Veil of Roses and am glad my mother thrust it into my hands saying, “You have to read this!”  If I could read out to all of you through my computer screen, I would say the same thing, “You have to read this!” That is, if you like interesting cross-cultural fiction that offers depth and insight into other cultures, dynamic and amusing characters and good story-telling.  If you don’t like that, then you should probably avoid this book altogether.

How to Stimulate the Economy…or Just Your Brain

Yesterday as I was eating lunch, I flipped on Fox News to see what was going on in the world.  Apparently, the economy’s in the crapper.  If I didn’t know it from the news ticker on the bottom of my TV screen, surely each and every story would have clued me in.  I got to hear a Democratic senator’s reaction to the economy (and stimulus package), then a Republican senator reacting to the same thing.  I saw clips of the President talking about the economy and the news anchor talked about the economy with some economist.  After 20 minutes, I thought my brain would combust.

I thought, man, that’s depressing.  People are getting laid off, the government wants to spend close to a trillion dollars, and the Democrats are took a retreat on the taxpayer’s dime.  To be fair, the Republicans also went on a retreat a few weeks ago paid for by the lobbyists.  Yeah, so between their seaweed wraps and massages, our elected leaders can work out situations to help the plight of the common man.   Personally, I think they should give everyone stimulus checks, then we can all have a chance to waste our own money instead of letting the government do it for us.  Who’s with me?

While we’re waiting for the government to cut our stimulus checks (don’t hold your breath), we need to buckle down.  Instead of wasting our money buying books, CDs, and DVDs, we now need to spend it on sensible things like food, heat, water, and underwear.  Fortunately, I’ve discovered a magical little place where you can borrow all the books, music, and movies that you want, and it’s not called Amazon.com–it’s your local neighborhood library.

Growing up, there was a small library half a block away from my house.  I had the books for the Summer Reading Club read in a week.  But this library only had books and magazines.  I felt a deep sense of awe when we went to the library’s main branch in center city Allentown.  There were so many books they couldn’t be contained on one floor, so they had elevators!  And music and movies and a periodical room the size of that dinky library up the street.  Ah, my local public library was a place of joy and beauty.

When I got to college, I started buying more books because, you know, that’s what college is all about–buying books.  Then at the end of the semester, college is about selling your used books, blowing the money on something stupid, and scrounging up money to buy more books the next semester.  Occasionally, a college student goes to the college library to meet cute guys, I mean, borrow books.  Generally, though, class books are purchased.  Of course, I went to an all-women’s college, so there was no point for me to go to the library (hence, there were no cute boys in the library to meet).  Except for the one summer when I worked in the audio-visual department at my college library, I basically stayed away from the place.

So while I was out and about yesterday, I decided to stop at the Emmaus Public Library, which is pretty small, but still a treasure trove of literature.  The children’s reading group had just let out, so small kids were running about excitedly picking books to take home for the week.  You’d have thought we were in a candy shop, not a library.  Then again, after I filled out an application and officially received my own Emmaus Public Library card, I felt the same way.

Since the library is a “quiet” place, I couldn’t break out into song and dance, but I really wanted to.  I wanted to see every book and every DVD and every CD and every magazine–after picking up three books (”Water for Elephants”, “The Astonishing Elephant”, and another elephant book) , a National Geographic video about the African pygmy people, and five CDs (including the Village People’s Greatest Hits), I was done…for today.   But I’ll be back because there are a ton of National Geographic videos that need to be watched and whole sections of books I overlooked.

Honestly, I don’t know what would stimulate this economy and it’s depressing to think of the possible dire scenarios that could be looming on the horizon.  But I do know how to stimulate your curiosity–head to your local library and pick up a book (or an audio book).  And maybe, just maybe, you’ll meet a cute boy (or girl), too (here’s hoping!)

Josh Wilson for $1.99

For today and today only (that’s Feb. 4) you, yes you, can download Josh Wilson’s debut album, “Trying to Fit the Oceam in a Cup” for $1.99 on Amazon.com (click here).   A deal like that makes me want to download the album five times (because when something’s on sale, my mind immediately thinks, “I need five!”).

I know that most of you probably already have Josh’s amazing debut album, but if you don’t you are now without excuse!  Josh Wilson for $1.99 is a bargain.  Unfortunately, you can’t actually download or buy Josh Wilson himself, which would be even cooler.  For even more Josh Wilson fun, head over to Backseat Writer and read my interview with Josh, “Trying to Fit Josh Wilson in a Cup“.

Selling Out the eBay Way

With the economy in shambles, there’s still a surefire way to make your ends meet and that is by selling everything you own on eBay.  I once read about some guy who sold his soul on eBay (it was in a jar).  You can figure out weird ways to earn cash the eBay way by checking out Weird eBay Listings, one of my favorite sites.

While I am a frequent eBayer “window shopper” and a sometimes buyer, I have never sold an item on the site…until now.

A few weeks ago my best friend Sarah bought me a TinkerBell game for my (pink) Nintendo DS.  I was thrilled with the prospect of playing with little fairy folk on a tiny screen.  However, the game is rated “E” for everyone, so it’s a little, uh, boring for us older folks.  Plus, I can’t figure out where to get the lapis luzil to help bring in winter!  For hours now, I’ve had TinkerBell flying around talking to all the fairies and I can’t figure out where to find this stupid gemstone.  It’s terribly frustrating, and I just don’t need this kind of stress in my life.  How will the fairies in Pixie Hollow every bring winter to the main land (where we live) if I don’t gather all the materials asked of me, including the lapis luzil?!

So I decided to sell my game on eBay (check listing).  If I had taken it to GameStop, I would only get 20% off my next purchase, which means I have to make a purchase.  Meanwhile, the store will sell my used Tinkerbell game for $24.99 (which isn’t a deal since the game only costs $29.99 brand new)

I could have uploaded the stunning photograph I took of my TinkerBell game, but that costs 15 cents extra and the stock images were free.  Every cent counts, right?  I wanted to show potential buyers that the game was most certainly in “like new” condition.  I guess I’ll just have to post the picture here.

If you’re interested in getting a TinkerBell Nintendo DS game for a little girl in your life, I know where you can get one on eBay.  Just click here and drive up that bidding.  I’ve got my eyes on Super Mario Brothers game…and if it stinks, I can alway sell it on eBay.

UPDATE: The final bid was $20.50! Cha-ching!