Sunday, March 01, 2009

Lions, Lambs, Hooks and Reality TV



"In like a lion, out like a lamb" goes the saying about March. We are living proof of that here, even just this week. It has rained nonstop for 2 days -- of course this happens on the weekend so we parents are forced to entertain kids indoors. Tonight it is supposed to turn over to snow, with 2" to 4" of accumulation predicted. The low Tuesday morning is 14 degrees.

But wait, whatever snow we get will be out of here in a hurry. By Saturday the temperature is predicted to warm up to a balmy 74 degrees. So we have a 60 degree swing in 4 days. Craziness.

This weekend I made my first trip to Blockbuster in over 5 years. Amy & I just never rent movies anymore. If we do make the time for a silver screen special, we normally just dial one up on pay-per-view. But even that is a rarity. So given the prospect of having two energetic 3 year-olds in the house for two days in the rain (and potential snow), I decided to get the boys some movies and get us adults some movies to guarantee ourselves a couple of date nights.

I had to call my pal Chris from the video store to tell me what movies had been released since Casablanca, which was out about the last one Amy & I rented a flick. We settled on "W" -- which is supposed to be a humorous and even sympathetic portrayal of our favorite Presidential punching bag -- "The Prestige," and "Changling." No clue if these will be any good, but it's worth a couple of bowls of popcorn to find out.

The boys have worn out "101 Dalmatians" and "Peter Pan" the past two days. Owen was a little unnerved by Cruella deVille and Captain Hook. You forget as an adult that these villains in some of these old Disney classics were drawn & animated pretty scarily for a kid. But both boys were very happy when the dogs triumphed over Horace and Jasper the dognappers and when Pan & kids fed Hook to the crocodile. The Disney classics will always have a place in my heart.

Other than the movie binge, Amy and I are presently stuck on "Millionaire Matchmaker," which comes on Bravo on Thursday nights. It's about a woman in Hollywood who fixes millionaires up with their true loves. The show is somewhat mindless like a good reality show should be. But it's 60 minutes of escape and actually does provide a cool glimpse into human nature, regardless of income. And the best part is Matchmaker doesn't make you feel like you need to take a shower afterward like "Rock of Love," which admittedly we still keep up with.

So it's been an ode to TV weekend here as we await the sleet and ice. Stay warm wherever you are.

Cheers!

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