Note to Self - Keep Your Chin Up

It's the end of March. 2013.

No news on the job front.

I've applied online. In-person. Been to job fairs. Done some networking. Followed up on leads. Taken some college courses. Performed some volunteer work. 

Note to self:  Keep your chin up. After all, what's the alternative?

As that cartoon fish once sang:  "....just keep swimming...just keep swimming...."

My Cinema - Oz, the Great and Powerful

I firmly believe that my first words as an infant were set to music, as follows: 

 

♫♪    Somewhere ... over the rainbow ... way up high...  ♫♪

♫♪     There's a land that I heard of  ... once in a lullaby   ♫♪ 

 

 

That's how long I've been a fan of that cinematic treasure, L. Frank Baum's "Wizard of Oz". I recall the annual airing of this beloved classic feeling like a holiday, like Christmas. All year long we waited - and waited - and waited. For that big announcement. The date and time the movie would air on television. And on that celebrated holy evening, my family would gather round our black and white television. Fresh popped popcorn. Plastic cups filled with cherry Kool-Aid. A hush would fall over our crowded little living room as the opening sequence of the film appeared on the big old console at the end of the room. 

 

Sweet, innocent memories. To me, the movie is sacred. It's a masterpiece. It represents that basic human curiosity through the eyes and dreams of a little Kansas farm girl:  Is the grass greener on the other side?  Is there "no place like home"? 

 

So now that you know how much this film is revered in my little mind, you'll understand why I will look at any other "Oz" production with caution and skepticism. It had better do justice to its predecessor.  

And that brings us to the newest release from Disney, "Oz, The Great and Powerful", the prequel to the Wizard of Oz. Set 20 years prior, it tells the tale of how the Wizard, Oscar Diggs, arrived in the land of Oz. I saw the previews and was very excited and anxious to see this film. Sadly, it didn't measure up to my expectations. 

 

I went to the theater with hubby, my sister-in-law and her son. Our review was unanimous: we weren't bowled over. It was ok but not a movie we we'd see a second time or rate very high (maybe 3 stars out of 5?). Tho there was much to like about the movie, we agreed the problem was the cast. We didn't buy either James Franco as Oz or Mila Kunis as Theodora. And the storyline was a little thin. 

 

Without giving too much away, in case you haven't seen it yet, here's my review:

Adventures on the West Coast

There's no place like home. No truer words were ever spoken.

I'm home after an awesome week in California. The best part? It didn't seem to fly by like most of my vacations. It felt like it hit just the right note.
(Don't you just love it when that happens?☺)
We were busy, yet relaxed. We did a lot of fun stuff but also found time to just chill.