My month in movies

Running out of movie quotes, so I'll just jump right in -

Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009) - I never thought I'd say this about something from the BSG universe, but I found this very disappointing. It seemed disjointed and sloppy, like they didn't really figure out beforehand what story they wanted to tell. It did answer a few questions, like Leoban's weird obsession with Kara, but overall I felt it wasn't a great way to end the franchise.

Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, notte) (2003) - selection from Italy for the OT Film challenge, this was an interesting movie about a terrorist action in 1970s Italy seen from the perspective of one of the terrorists.

Milk (2008) - excellent biopic of assassinated city supervisor Harvey Milk. Sean Penn is not my favorite actor, but I thought he did a very good job in this movie.

Spring Breakdown (2009) - what a great movie! I'd seen a bunch of bad reviews, but decided to give it a try because I really like Amy Poehler - I'm so glad I gave it a chance. Great cast, great message about learning to accept yourself at every age - I loved it, and laughed out loud! "Why would anyone want to wrestle in salsa? We're human beings - we're not tacos."

The Education of Charlie Banks (2007) - Well, I wasn't as in love with this one as the rest of the indie-movie world, but it was an interesting film, made more interesting by the fact that is was directed by Fred Durst - that's right, the Limp Bizkit guy! Jason Ritter as the bully was magnetic, but I think I might be suffering from college-angst-movie overkill, because while it was alright, it wasn't much more than that.

The Namesake (2006) - book-to-movie adaptation that actually mostly works, this is the story of one family's immigration from India to the US, and their struggle to adapt to the differences between the two cultures. I thought the lead actress was wonderful, and many of the relationships portrayed were excellent, but of course, the book is better.

Up (2009) - Hmmm. Well, perhaps because I SO loved Wall-E, this movie didn't quite live up to its hype for me. It was a good story, and I like it as a kid's movie, but it didn't have the emotional depth of Wall-E that connected with me.

Star Trek (2009) - Ever since I was VERY young and my parents took me to see the original Star Trek movie (I was very concerned about the "bald-headed lady"), I've been a fan. I was looking forward to this movie, and it lived up to my expectations. Chris Pine captured a young Kirk well - all that brash, arrogant confidence. Zachary Quinto was excellent as Spock, and I LOVED the actor who played Chekov - he might have been my favorite character! I was intrigued by the story, and of course the special effects were fun. I really enjoyed this installment, and hope to see more in the future.

Cautiva (2003) - Argentinian film about a young girl who finds out a terrible secret about her parents. This movie is intense and emotional, and very well done. Recommended if you can tolerate some violence and nudity.

Summer Palace (2006) - Chinese film that was interesting in idea, but failed in execution. I can't say I enjoyed this one very much, but it was the last film for the OT film challenge, so I plodded my way through it.

Progressive Dinner Party - Day 1 - Appetizers and Drinks

Welcome to the Book Blogger Progressive Dinner Party!! Are you ready to have some fun??

It's day one, and we are all about the appetizers and drinks. Because you can't have a party without some yummy starters, right? I have a couple of great, fast recipes for you, but first, make sure you head over to visit Trisha at eclectic/eccentric - she has a yummy recipe for Green Bean Bundles to share!





I don't know about you, but I tend to have problems with recipes that have too many steps - my brain starts wandering, and then it's trouble! That's why I love this recipe for Parmesan Star Puffs - it's so easy, even I can't mess it up!

Cut a sheet of puff pastry with a star-shaped cookie cutter. Arrange the stars on a parchment-lined baking sheet; brush with olive oil and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees until puffed and crisp, about 15 minutes.


See - super easy. And look how cute!


This second recipe is a little more labor intensive, but definitely a party pleaser. It's from funny lady Amy Sedaris, and is called The Heavyset Cheese Ball.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups whole natural almonds
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
3 crispy cooked bacon slices, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1 tablespoon chopped green onion
salt and pepper to taste
pine or rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Place and spread all the almonds on a cookie sheet or in a shallow pan, pushing the almonds around until they turn color, about 20 minutes.

Mix together the cream cheese and the mayonnaise. Add the bacon, salt and pepper, dill, and onion. Chill overnight.

On a serving platter, make 2 pine cone shapes with the cheese.

Begin to press the almonds at a slight angle into the cheese, starting at the narrow end of the pine cone shape. Do this in rows, continuing to overlap rows until all the cheese is covered.

Garnish with fake sprigs, or real ones, or with rosemary. Serve at room temperature and spread on crackers.

Yum. My only issue with this recipe is making the pine cone shape - sometimes mine look a little lumpy. =) If you're not into the look, just crush the almonds and roll the cheese ball in them - the taste is still wonderful!


Now that you are drooling, head on over to Joyfully Retired - Margot has a tasty recipe for shrimp dip ready to share.


Also, make sure to visit the Book Blog Social Club this week - it's Progressive Dinner Central, with links to all the blogs who will be participating each day this week. I know I'll be there - I can't wait to see all the recipes!

New Challenge - Take Another Chance

Basic Information

• The challenge will run from January 1, 2010 until December 31, 2010.

• Here are the participation levels. Feel free to do whatever level you want. You can also switch up or down midway through the challenge.
  

A Small Gamble: Complete any 3 of the 12 challenges described below.
A Moderate Gamble: Complete any 6 of the 12 challenges described below.
Gambling It All: Complete all 12 of the challenges described below.

• Each challenge you complete and link up in the correct Mr. Linky spots (which will be posted on January 1, 2010) will earn you entries into a prize drawing at the end of the challenge. Some of the challenges are harder and will earn you more entries. If you complete all 12 challenges, you will earn 5 extra entries into the drawing.

• The prize is a book of the winner's choice from Amazon (worth $25 or less).
  

• Crossover books from other challenges is fine.

So here are the 12 challenges for you to pick from. The "easier" challenges are listed first, followed by the harder challenges that are worth more entries into the prize drawing.

The 12 Challenges

Challenge 1: Read Your Doppelganger (worth 1 entry)
Find an author who has either the same initials, the same first name, the same last name, or the exact same name as you. Read a book by this author and write a post about it. (If you try to keep your identity anonymous on your blog, you don't have to reveal what part of the author's name is the same as your name.)

Example: If your name is Susan Kasischke, you might read a book by Stephen King (same initials), Susan Donovan (same first name), Laura Kasischke (same last name) or Susan Kasischke (same exact name).

Challenge 2: Blogroll Roulette (worth 1 entry)
Find a blogroll at either your book blog or a book blog you like that has at least 15 book blogs on it. Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the number 1 for the min. and 15 for the max. and then hit generate. Then find the blog that is that number on the blogroll you selected. (For example, if you get 10 at Random.org, then count down the list of blogs until you get to the tenth one). Go to that blog and pick a book to read from the books that they have reviewed on their blog. Read it and write a post about it. Be sure to link to the blog post you picked the book from!

Challenge 3: 100 Best Book (worth 1 entry)
Choose one of the lists below and go to the link provided. Choose a book to read from the list that you haven't read before. Read the book and write about it.

• Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels List
• Top 100 Sci-Fi Books
• 100 Best Romance Novels of the 20th Century
• 100 Best Mystery Novels
  
• 100 Best Non-Fiction Books (pick from either Board List or Reader List)
• 2009 Best Books for Young Adults

Challenge 4: Prize Winner Book (worth 1 entry)
Pick one of the major literary awards from the list below. Click on the link for the award you picked. You will find a brief description of the award and links to past winners. Pick one of the past winners, read the book and write about it.

• Booker Prize
  
• Caldecott Medal
  
• National Book Award
  
• National Book Critics Circle Award
  
• Newbery Medal
  
• Nobel Prize for Literature
  
• PEN/Faulkner Award
  
• Pulitzer Prize
  
• Commonwealth Writers' Prize
  
• EMMA Awards

Challenge 5: Title Word Count (worth 1 entry)
Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the numbers 1 for the min. and 5 for the max. and then hit generate. Find a book to read that has that number of words in the title. Read the book and write about it.

Example: If you get 1 for your number, read a book that has a one word title. If you get 2, read a book that has a two word title and so on and so forth.

Challenge 6: Genre Switch-Up (worth 1 entry)
Go to this list of book genres and pick a genre that you have NEVER read before. Find a book from that genre, read it, and write about it. Note: If you seriously cannot find a genre that you have never read, then pick the genre that is as far away from what you normally read.

Challenge 7: Break A Prejudice (worth 1 entry)
We all have reading prejudices--authors we don't like, genres we don't like, or even publishers we don't like. For this challenge, think of a reading prejudice you have and then find a book that is an example of this type of book. Read the book and then write about the reading prejudice you had BEFORE you read the book and how reading the book either changed your prejudice or reinforced it.

Examples: I always say I can't stand James Patterson; therefore, I might read a James Patterson book for this challenge. Or, if you sneer at "chick lit" books, you might read a "chick lit" book. Or, if you think books published by Harlequin are pure drivel, you might read a book published by Harlequin. If you turn up your nose at the Twilight books, then you might read one of the Twilight books.

Challenge 8: Real and Inspired (worth 2 entries)
Many authors or books inspire others to pay homage to them by writing another book inspired by the original work. For this challenge, read both an original work and a book inspired by that original work. Write about both books in one post. Note: This might require some research on your part and requires reading two books so it worth 2 entries.

Examples: Christopher Moore's Fool is based on Shakespeare's play King Lear so I plan on reading both King Lear and Fool. Another example is Jane Austen, who inspired the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. For this challenge, you might read both Pride and Prejudice and the zombie version. (There are tons of other Austen-inspired books out there too.) Another idea would be a graphic novel version of a "standard" novel. The only real requirement is that the "inspired by" book must clearly state what original work inspired it.

Challenge 9: Same Word, Different Book (worth 2 entries)
Find two books that have the same word in the title. Read both books and write about them. (Worth 2 entries because you have to read two books).

Example: If you pick the word "Love," you could read any two books that both have Love in the title. To help you find books that have the same word, you could go to Amazon.com, type a word into the Search box and see what books come up with that word.

Challenge 10: Become A Character (worth 2 entries)
For this challenge, you can read any book you want. However, you have to write about the book as one of the characters from the book. The character can comment on his/her treatment by the author, other characters, the "untold story," what happened next, and so forth. You could even have two characters interviewing each other! Your imagination is the only limit. Because of the difficulty level of this challenge, it is worth two entries.

Challenge 11: All in the Family (worth 2 entries)
The writing gene often runs in the family. For this challenge, you need to find two authors from the same family (either by blood or by marriage) and read a book by each of the authors and then write about both books. Because of the research involved and having to read two books, this challenge is worth two entries.

Examples: The Bronte sisters; Stephen King and his wife Tabitha OR his son Joe Hill; Jonathan Kellerman (husband) and Faye Kellerman (wife); Michael Chabon (husband) and Ayelet Waldman (wife); Joan Didion (wife) and John Gregory Dunne (husband); Mary Higgins Clark (mother) and Carol Higgins Clark (daughter)

Challenge 12: Author Anthology Pick (worth 2 entries)
Find an anthology of your choice. Read at least 5 entries in the anthology. Of the 5 entries you've read, pick your favorite one and then find a book by that writer and read it. (If your first choice doesn't have a book, then pick your next favorite until you find a writer that has a book.) Write about the anthology, your favorite pick from the anthology, and the book you read by your favorite pick. Because of having to obtain and read two books, this challenge is worth two entries. Thanks to J.T. Oldfield at Bibliofreak who partially inspired this challenge.

Example: If you choose a poetry anthology, you would at least 5 different poems, pick your favorite, and then seek out a book of poetry by that poet. If you read a short story anthology, you would read at least 5 different short stories, pick your favorite, and then seek out either a novel or another book of short stories by that writer.



I know it's crazy, but I'm going to try to complete all the challenges - I might have to scale back my hopes at some point, but who knows? I might get lucky!

I'm nowhere near having a list, but I'll post my books here as I read them -

1-

2 -

3 -

4 -

5 - The Giver by Lois Lowry

6 -

7 -

8 -

9 -

10 -

11 -

12 -