Memorial Day 2011
Posted By Kathleen David on May 30, 2011
There is a very interesting article about the origins of Memorial Day in the OpEd section of the New York Times today entitled “Forgetting Why We Remember” by Dr. David Blight. You can find it here. I recommend a read of it.
I hope y’all are having a good Memorial Day Weekend. We are having to plan for the parade that goes through town rain or shine and use the back roads to get anywhere for a good chunk of the day. The parade ends at the veterans’ memorial with some speeches and politicking as well.
Friday we went to see Kung-Fu Panda 2 in 3-D. Honestly it is the first animated film in a long time that I would recommend seeing in 3-D. This film was not retrofitted to the technology but uses it to its advantage. The film over all is a very good follow-up to the original.
Long time ago I wondered out loud what they could do for a sequel that wouldn’t involve Po losing his Kung Fu abilities and Peter said that if he were going to write it, it would be about where Po came from since his father was a goose and he was a panda. Apparently they heard him out in Hollywood because that is what they did but not in the usual straight forward journey to one’s origins. Po’s origin was interwoven into the main story rather cleverly and enhanced what was happening on screen.
The voice casting was top notch. The new villain’s voice was bothering me because I knew the voice but couldn’t put a face to it. It was Gary Oldman who can be a bit of a vocal chameleon so I don’t feel too bad.
We covered most of the movie going demographic and all enjoyed it. It was fun and moved at a good pace. The 3-D didn’t distract but enhanced the story. Also they had a couple of puppet sequences that I just loved and will probably go see the film again just to analyze them.
For parents of younger children the only things I saw in the film is young animals (children basically) being in danger until they are saved and young Po being in danger a couple of times but we know he is OK because he is in the film. There is violence and things go boom rather loudly. And everything turns out OK even with the implication that things went horribly wrong. The wolves are rather scary as is the villain but no more than the hyenas in the Lion King.
I am encouraging the film to be discussed freely in the comments section.
Anyone else watching “Game of Thrones”? I think that HBO is doing a really good job of it. The casting is spot on. And, considering all the threads that George wove into his text, they are doing a good job of distilling it down to its essence. And it looks sumptuous. I expect to see a lot of Throne costumes at DragonCon this year.
Today started with a Thunderstorm but the sky seems to be clearing up so the parade. It is just very humid outdoors right now. I don’t think I am going to be gardening outside today so I will look at my indoor projects.
I am grateful to all who have sacrificed to keep our country as our country especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice and their families and friends on this Memorial Day.
Comments