The Man Who Cried

A movie that is every bit as mournful and forlorn as the music that haunts it.

I loved it. Not that anyone should be surprised. Melancholy and introspective. Words often used to describe...me.

I love historical movies. I love historical romances, but even more than that I love historical romances with a bitter sense of humanity. Sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes things don't work out for us. That doesn't make stories less interesting or heartfelt than those with the happy endings.

The music is flawless and beautiful. Salvatore Licitra , the tremendous tenor, has a stunning voice. (the character Dante Dominio, played by John Turturro) Also, Taraf de Haidouks, the group that provided the gypsy music, was exceptional.

As for the acting, Christina Ricci did a wonderful job, and I think I was the most impressed with Cate Blanchett. Johnny Depp is always good, I mean really, that man doesn't sneeze without quality work being produced. I (along with a zillion other women my age) have been watching him since puberty. John Turturro is excellent as well.

Great movie.

Classic Tales Podcast

Not having cable (by choice), we have become better people. More peaceful. More patient. Willing to find entertainment in other ways, by reading and listening to other things.

I love the Classic Tales Podcast. B.J. Harrison is an incredibly talented story teller. He has brought many tales to life, most recently I've listened to Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. I must say, his rendition was better than any movie production I've watched. A good story teller is a treasure, often missed by our t.v. gluttoned society.

Available for free download on the Classic Tales website is Charles Dickens' The Life of Our Lord. Find it here.

Mr.Magorium's Wonder Emporium

As usual, I'm opposed to critics. The reviews for this movie are terrible. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but it seems to me that the point of this movie was missed entirely by many people that viewed it. Our modern world is riddled with negativity and an unfortunate boredom caused by the over-indulgence. We, as a people, are like a spoiled child who no longer finds interest in anything unless it slaps us upside the head. We have become Harry Potter's cousin Dudley. Sad. Now, I've said that. Moving on.

I found this to be one of the best films for children (and most adults) that I have ever seen. Sure, it wasn't as action packed as 'Night at the Museum' (another wonderful movie), nor as comical as 'Over the Hedge', but it was filled with a genuine message, a message that most children should hear. It isn't a movie for entertainment. It's a concept, given in movie form.

In case you haven't seen this, and hate teasers, you may have to turn away. It's impossible to talk about this movie without spoiling it just a bit....
*SPOILERS* *LAST WARNING!*

Mr. Magorium (Dustin Hoffman) is an ancient man. Over 240 years old! How he came to be so is not mentioned, but he once found a phenomenal pair of leather shoes in Tuscany, and bought as many as he thought would last his lifetime. His last pair is just about to wear out, and he is leaving.
He has a wonderful toy store, that seems to have a magic about it. It is living, as are the things in it. It's a fantastical place, one that could have been built by Willy Wonka. His store manager, Mahoney (Natalie Portman), is feeling quite inadequate. She is in her early twenties, and having been a piano prodigy, she doesn't feel like she's lived up to anyone's expectations. Except Mr. Magorium. He adores her, and it appears there is no one else in his life so dear. He has decided that she will have the Emporium when he has gone. After battling with the idea of his death, she finally accepts it, but does not believe herself capable of keeping a magical store that seems to be as sad as she is over the expected loss of Mr. Magorium. All of this is intensified by the unimaginative tight suited accountant, or 'mutant', Henry Weston (Jason Bateman...who I was trying to place all along, thinking he was someone else...guess I'm not incredibly familiar with him.)

The lesson here is believing in yourself. Thinking positively about yourself. Self manifestation. Mahoney is wrapped up in her failure. She feels as if she has dawdled away the years, as if she has nothing to show for her life. Mr. Magorium on the other hand, seems to walk about in a stupor of sorts. He is a simple man. All he knows is positive thought. He knows no failure, because to him, each moment of his life is manifested as joy. He lives to love life. He lives to look on all things as a good experience, something positive just waiting to shape his life. Joy is found in simple things. Laughter in a moment.

Mahoney thinks that things can't be that way for her, after all, he is Mr. Magorium! He brings things to life, the magic seems to come from his own self. She is just a person, no magician, and so, she can not be what he thinks that she is.

Mahoney doesn't want him to go. She takes him on a whirlwhind adventure full of the simple pleasures that he enjoys, trying to convince him that he should live. At the end of the day, he tells her that all along he thought that she was giving him the 'best last day.' She becomes distressed and upset. He can't leave her there. The store will cease to be. This store is simply too wonderful to imagine, and it will not exist without him! Following this, he gives a tremendous speech, which most kids won't really understand. It's deeper than them. It's a message for adults about really living, and letting go. I can't recant it all to you, and I wouldn't want to. It's worth a listen. There is a reference there to Shakespeare's Henry V that is undeniably wonderful.

Overall, when the movie was over, I found it to be perfect. My children had a blast and there was a learning moment afterwards in our conversations about it on the ride home. Believe in yourself. It was only when Mahoney found it in her to see more than what was there, to believe in herself, beyond her own idea of herself....it was only then that she was able to find the magic within herself.

I think the problem was that people got caught up in the 'seeing' they didn't look beyond it, beyond what you see on the screen is one of the greatest messages there is.
The message was familiar to me, because I believe in such things, and have had the blessing of having such ideas blossom in my head. I immediately thought of Deepak Chopra's 'The Way of the Wizard' as I was watching. This movie is such an eloquent example, almost a children's version of 'The Way of the Wizard'.

To conclude, this movie is wonderful, but perhaps not for everyone. Some people see things on the surface, and others can see the wondrous things that lurk beneath simple things. In today's society, laurels are placed on the heads of fools, and true treasures are thrown into the mire and dismissed.

Gorilla Execution

Stories like these, these are the kinds of stories that break my heart and make me want to join the Peace Corp. In my opinion, one of the worst things we can do as humans, is to (directly or indirectly) inflict harm on the other innocent species we share this planet with.
God put us in charge here on earth, he put the creatures of earth in our hands, everything that swims, flies, moves, breathes. They are in our hands, and what foolish hands they are.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19974474/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6918012.stm
There are around 700 mountain gorillas in the world. 700. How small of a number is that?? SEVEN HUNDRED.
Lets put it this way. There are 9,431,748 TIMES that many people on earth. Yep. That'd be millions.
We are pressing the scales on this earth at over 6 and a half BILLION people.
And yet, there is war? There is hunger? There are gorillas being executed for no reason at all? What kind of a race are we? What kind of a species are we?
This makes me sad. Dissapointed. Tearful.

Caffeine HATES me.

So I had caffeine today, for the first time in a long while, and I am feeling terribly sick. I feel like I've been doped up with some sort of methamphetamine or something. My body feels achey and trembling, my stomach is queezy, my head is aching and I am shaky all over. I will never do caffeine again. It is a poison in my body. It wrecks me from top to bottom. Tomorrow I will have terrible hip pain for it. That's just the order of it. It is one of the major culprits to the inflamation that undermines my wellness.

It wasn't always that way, or maybe I just never noticed the connection. I have been drinking caffeine for most of my life. I have also had migraines, inflamation and other less than pleasant symptoms most my life. Most of my years, I have enjoyed a cup or coffee or two for breakfast, tea throughout the day, and atleast one Coke or Dr. Pepper per day. Not only do those drinks have caffeine, I also drank them with plenty of sugar, which also causes inflamation. It is no wonder I have been so miserable for so long!!!

I have been off of it, for the most part, for the past two years, but sometimes I forget how much it hates me, or rather, my body hates IT, and I have to have that cup of coffee or caffeinated soda. NEVER AGAIN will I have another cup of caffeinated coffee. Never again. (And by the way, decaf coffee does me no favors either...it still contains caffeine!! Enough that my body can tell. )

I challenge you to release yourself from the bonds of caffeine for one month. Sure, you'll get a raging headache for a day (or possibly two), that's a sign that you shouldn't have it!!! But I guarantee that after awhile, you'll find that when given the chance your body can produce its own energy, without any harsh side effects.

http://www.wholisticresearch.com/info/artshow.php3?artid=61
http://chetday.com/caffeineeffects.htm

Soup Joy!

One more recipe for the day!
The girls and I made a wonderful chicken soup together, one that Zanna calls 'Soup Joy!'. I call it Chicken Vegetable Soup. We made ours with all organic ingredients.

1 whole young chicken
1 large can of chicken broth
3-4 carrots
2-3 potatoes
1-2 stalks celery
1 cup frozen corn, or mixed veggies
1 cup chopped cabbage
Any other veggies you have around that need to be used up!
1 cup of any kind of rice (Of course, brown will need more cooking!)
2 tbsp. Seasoned Salt
Pepper to taste
Plenty of water

Boil the chicken up in one large pot of water. Allow to cook for 20 min. or so, or until juices run clear. It will cook quicker if you take out the chicken pieces that are inside, but some people like the flavor it adds. Let it stand in the water for about ten minutes, then remove from the pot (reserve the broth!) and let cool for a good 30 minutes, you don't want to burn yourself in the de-boning process. All of this will give you time to chop up the veggies. When the chicken is de-boned, it should make 3-5 cups of meat. Throw all that back into the pot of broth, and add the chicken broth, carrots, celery, potatoes, rice and seasonings. Bring it to a boil (you will probably have to add water along the way) and cook it until the rice and veggies are almost done, then add the cabbage and corn. Cook for a few more minutes, then let it cool for a bit.

This would work for a crockpot if you de-boned the chicken ahead of time. Make sure you reserve the broth, of course. The homemade broth is what makes the soup!

Fish Tacos

We made these today, after deciding that wheat tortillas were best.
I used my generic tortilla recipe, using organic whole wheat flour. The recipe works with all whole wheat flour, half and half whole and all-purpose, and just plain old all-purpose. I have not tried it with anything else but wheat flour and brown rice flour, and rice does not work!

Whole Wheat Tortillas

4 cups whole wheat
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. Baking Soda (this is optional, just makes them fluffier, I usually do without)
2/3 cup margarine (we use butter)
2/3 + cup of water, you'll really have to use your judgement there, because all-purpose flour needs less water, whole needs more, and a combination needs somewhere in between

Mix dry ingredients, then add margarine and crumble into mixture with your fingers.
Add water and mix with a spoon until blended.
Knead gently and let it stand for a few minutes before tearing off a handful and rolling out onto a floured board. I roll one side, then flip and turn then roll the other, until I have a tortilla shape that is quite thin. If you used b. soda, you'll find that they puff quite a bit, so you may want them thinner. Cook them in an oiled or non-stick skillet for just a minute or so on each side. Place them to cool in a covered container, because the moisture helps with their flexibility when you are ready to eat them.

Fish Taco Recipe:

1 4-5 oz. Tuna Steak (or other firm fish)
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup frozen corn, or frozen veggie mixture
1 tbsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
2-3 tbsp. olive oil (or more, to taste/texture)

Put a bit of olive oil in a pan and fry it all together. I served ours up with Vegenaise , sliced avocados, shredded cabbage (as a high nutrient alternative to lettuce), diced tomatoes and slivers of red peppers. Best recipe I've created in a while!