Best in Film

This past Tuesday, ABC News and People Magazine teamed up to find what we, the American public, thought was the best movie. They first had various Hollywood insiders submit their lists and then the American public voted. Hosted by Tom Bergeron and Cynthia MacFaddyn, the two-hour special revealed the public’s top five choices in various categories. And here they are, along with some of my commentary.

Soldier of Ice and Water…

The second Sailor Soldier/Senshi to be revealed is Sailor Mercury—Ami Mizuno.

I feel the need to preface this with the statement that Sailor Mercury is my favorite Sailor Scout, so bias is expected.

APPEARANCE

Anime: Ami has short dark blue hair and big blue eyes. As she attends the same school as Serena, she often wears the same uniform. It is what she is most often seen in. When she is seen in regular clothes, her tastes remain modest. Her mode of transformation is a pen given to her—a blue stick with the Mercury symbol on top. This symbol will spiral out of the pen and start the transformation sequence. Her Sailor Mercury outfit is similar to Sailor Moon’s, except she has a lighter blue skirt and sky blue bow. Her boots are also blue and a blue jewel rests in the tiara she wears. If needed, her earring can activate a visor for Mercury to use to figure out battle tactics.

Live action: In civilian form, Ami has long black hair that she usually pins back in some way. She also wears glasses, but an early episode shows that she actually doesn’t need to wear them. She implies that she wears them more as a safety blanket than to project an image of being smart. When she isn’t wearing her school uniform (similar to the anime’s), she is often seen wearing dresses or skirts. She also tends to favor sweaters. She generally wears pastel colors, favoring either blue or pink. Her mode of transformation is a bracelet with a blue stone in the center. When she transforms, her hair turns into the blue bob from the anime. Her uniform is the same from the show, though she does have a blue belt in the live action version.

POWERS

Anime: In the first season of Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury’s powers were more defensive than offensive. Her main help in battle was analyzing the monster and coming up with strategies. When she did use her powers, it was “Mercury Bubbles Blast!” And all that does is…create smog. Which is good in distracting the monster or concealing the Scouts, but little else. She eventually gains more powers, but not until later seasons.

Live action: In the series, Sailor Mercury is more powerful than her animated counterpart. They use one of the anime’s later powers, Shine Aqua Illusion, as Mercury’s primary power. This is manifested as a jet of water. That’s honestly how most of her powers are usually manifested. When she is full awakened as a Soldier, she gains some new powers but none that stick around on a regular basis. She also gains a “weapon.” I loathe to call it that because it’s a tambourine. She shakes it and a blue light appears…At least it’s better than smog.

PERSONALITY

Anime: Ami is a shy bookworm who is established as a genius. In her first episode, she is attending special computer classes. After she becomes a Sailor Scout, she comes out of her shell a bit more but is still shy. And god help you if you attack either someone she cares about or the helpless, because she will kick your ass. As Sailor Mercury, she usually hangs back in order to analyze the situation. But when she is needed, she is right there in the middle of the battle.

Live action: Ami is a shy bookworm who is established as a genius. In her first episode, she attends a special “cram school” where she excels at math. This is later emphasized in a contest where she solves a math problem in her head, even astonishing the host. She does have a love for Minako, which saves her from a youma. She also likes to knit, but her cooking skills are less than desirable. As Sailor Mercury, she takes less of an analyzing role and more of a fighting role. For the first part of the series, she focuses on finding the Princess as her task. But like her anime counterpart, if you hurt any of her friends—she will kick your ass.

RELATIONSHIPS

Anime: Ami is an only child being raised by her mother, a successful doctor. It is said in an episode that her father went off somewhere to be a painter, leaving Ami with her mother. They correspond and we see that Ami does have artistic tendencies. But she wants to be a doctor like her mother and seems to be close with her. At school, her intelligence and bookworm nature tends to alienate the other students. Serena is one of the first to befriend her and we do not see Ami have any friends outside the Sailor Scouts. Within the group, she is clearly the voice of reason.

As for her love life, she only has one romantic possibility. During the Queen Beryl arc, she befriends another genius named Greg, who has premonitions. These are caused by the piece of the Silver Crystal he has in his body and that Zoicite wants. This also allows Greg to know that Ami is Sailor Mercury. Once the crystal is out, Greg moves away but thanks Amy. Later, it’s the image of Greg that leads Ami to her doom. After that, no other possible love interest emerges.

Live action: Ami is an only child being raised by her mother, a successful doctor. Her father is never mentioned and it can be assumed that Ami has no relationship with him. Her mother is often working long hours, but leaves messages on the board in their kitchen. Ami responds in kind. In an episode, Ami and Rei are caught out late at night after fighting a youma. Since they can’t tell the cop the truth, they lie that they were working on a school project and lost track of time. The cop escorts them home and calls their parents. Ami’s mother calls her to the hospital and decides to transfer Ami to the Special School for Ridiculously Smart Children. But Ami doesn’t want to leave her friends! But she doesn’t want to be disobedient! In the end, she decides to be honest with her mother, who just wants what’s best for her daughter.

Usagi is Ami’s first real friend and Ami isn’t entirely sure how friendship works. When Usagi makes a comment about Ami constantly referring to her in a formal manner, Ami goes into panic mode and decides to be a better friend by following a book. That goes horribly and Ami learns that to be a real friend, all she needs to do is be herself and honest. After that, Ami is a constant support to her friends, even when they all end up growing apart. She believes they will come together again and they do. While Usagi and Ami remain close, Ami has her moments with the others as well. She and Rei have a sleepover in their secret hiding spot while escaping their parents after the cop incident and Makoto takes care of a sick Ami. She even takes her to an amusement park for some fun.

Ami also slowly becomes friends with Naru, as the two are thrown together by hanging out with Usagi. By the last episode, it seems the two are genuinely friends.

As for romantic interests, not much happening on that front. There seems to be something with Nephrite toward the end, but this is never fully addressed and quickly dropped.

PLOT CHANGES

The live-action series ignores a large arc from the anime. In the anime, it is said that Queen Serenity split the Silver Imperial Crystal into the seven rainbow crystals. She sealed Queen Beryl’s shadow warriors inside the crystals and sent them to Earth with her last ounce of strength. These crystals were buried inside several different people, which caused the shadow monsters to be unleashed. After healing the person, it was often a fight over who got the rainbow crystal—one step closer to forming the crystal.

While it doesn’t have this plot, the live-action gives Sailor Mercury/Ami her own special plot. At a point where everyone is busy with their individual plots, Ami is often left alone. During this, Kunzite kidnaps her and brainwashes her to become Sailor Dark Mercury. It adds a new dimension to the fighting as they now are forced to fight a friend. Ami, in her dark form, is particularly scary. She uses her dark magic to make everyone be her friend and has no problem trying to kill her friends. However, some instances of her humanity still emerge: she fixes Nephrite’s cape.

Ami is healed by the Mystic Silver Crystal, when Mamoru is hit protecting Usagi. This reveals that Usagi is the Moon Princess and starts Ami’s healing process. When Sailor Dark Mercury has one last battle against Sailor Moon, she shatters Sailor Moon’s scepter and knocks Usagi unconscious. Ami takes Usagi into some part of the Negaverse and they try to get out. But Ami feels she should remain to be punished, that she can’t go back after what she did. Usagi convinces her otherwise and Ami is happy to be back.

While the rainbow crystal arc was a nail-biting one, I quite liked Ami’s brief walk on the evil side. It added a new dimension to her character that the anime never had.

Ami / Sailor Mercury

Ami/Sailor Mercury (Live Action):

Never Running From a Real Fight…

For our first comparison, we have Sailor Moon herself!

In the Japanese versions, her name is Tsukino Usagi, which translates to “Rabbit of the Moon.” This is an homage to the Japanese folk tale of a rabbit you can see on the moon, much like the Man in the Moon to Americans. Her hair style—two buns atop her head with pigtails streaming down—even resembles a rabbit (though not as much as her future daughter Chibi Usa). In the American anime, her name is given is Serena Tsukino. This correlates well with her former name of Serenity (sometimes translated as Selenity, closer to Selene—the goddess of the moon). For the English translations of the Sailor Moon manga, our heroine is known as “Bunny,” closer to her Japanese name. For ease, I’ll use “Serena” when referencing the anime and “Usagi” when referencing the live-action show.

APPEARANCE

Anime: Serena’s distinctive hairstyle is all blonde and she has blue eyes. She usually wears her school uniform—white shirt, red bow and blue skirt. When she’s in regular clothes, she can usually be spotted in pink (listed as her favorite color). Her mode of transformation is a broach Luna gives her that she wears on her school uniform or clothes. When she becomes Sailor Moon, her outfit resembles her school uniform—only with a much smaller skirt. She wears red boots that come up to her knees and a gold tiara on her head. Red jewels decorate the buns atop her head. Over time, her uniform grew more elaborate as more pink was incorporated into the uniform.

Live-action: Usagi in civilian form retains her Japanese looks. She has long dark hair that she often wears in a style that mimics her anime counterpart’s, but not quite. She wears pigtails with hair wrapped around the top. Her school uniform is a replica of the anime and she too prefers pink when in regular clothes. She also prefers skirts as well as shirts with English sayings on them. These will generally always have a rabbit on them. Her mode of transformation in this incarnation is a locket she always wears around her neck. In the anime, Serena doesn’t need to access her broach to transform. In the live-action, it would seem the opposite is true. In one episode, Ami and Usagi sneak into a costume party. She wears a bear costume and when a youma comes, cannot transform as she cannot get to her locket. As Sailor Moon, her costume is almost a replica of the anime. Rather than red, her bow and boots are pink.

POWERS

Anime: Serena’s first attack is to turn her tiara into a boomerang, called Moon Tiara Magic. Over time, she gains a scepter to fight the bad guys. Her main attack is “Moon Scepter Elimination” and eventually gains “Mooning Healing Escalation” when warranted. She gains more attacks (and more elaborate scepters) as the series progresses and her powers grow.

Live-action: Like the anime, Usagi can use her tiara as a boomerang, using the same attack name. She also has a scepter but her attacks change—she still has Moon Healing Escalation, though. Her main attack is “Moon Twilight Flash” and she gains a few others that she uses throughout the series.

PERSONALITY

Anime: I’ll be honest—Serena makes me want to slap her. Repeatedly. When we first meet Serena, she has overslept—again. That means she arrives late at school—again. And she learns she has failed a test—again. She then whines about it. Loudly. Within the first minutes of meeting our heroine, she is portrayed as lazy and a cry-baby. She is also shown constantly stuffing her face with various foods. Even Luna is surprised she is Sailor Moon. But, we also quickly learn Serena’s good traits. She’s a kind, caring person who wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s bubbly and carefree. She’s extremely loyal to her friends and it is the fact that her friend Molly is in danger that convinces Serena to become Sailor Moon.

As Sailor Moon, Serena isn’t much of a fighter. She spends most the fights either whining or hiding. But when it comes down to the wire, she takes a stand and fights back. As the fighting progresses and Serena learns her true past as the Moon Princess, she starts to mature a bit. She starts as lazy, eats a lot and still whines and would rather stare at guys than fight. As Sailor Moon, she is also the leader of the Sailor Scouts. And…she’s a rather poor leader. She’s often late to meetings and is easily distracted. But as the fights increase, she manages to pull it together and steps as a leader. But she is still distracted easily.

Live-action: Usagi…doesn’t make me want to slap her. Repeatedly. In fact, I actually like her. Reports say that the creator of Sailor Moon was more involved in this series rather than the anime, so Usagi is probably truer to her vision than Serena. Like the anime, we first meet Usagi after she overslept—again. She rushes to school and is late—again. We also quickly learn she also likes karaoke and the pop singer Aino Minako. She is overly friendly and welcoming—such as her declarations of friendship immediately to Ami, Rei and Makoto. In Japan, it is common to address one’s classmates formally but she usually refers to them in an informal, friendly manner. She likes to impose her likes on others—such as insisting that Rei sing karaoke no matter how many times the other girl protests. She usually uses food as a means to bridge gaps and build friendships, but she isn’t seen constantly eating like her animated counterpart.

As the series progresses, Usagi matures as the situation grows more serious. She tries to remain upbeat, but the fate of the world rests on her shoulders. She worries about her friends, her love, her family and the fate of the world while trying to remain cheerful.

As Sailor Moon, she is much more willing than Serena. She accepts her powers readily and is even excited to be Sailor Moon. By becoming Sailor Moon, she automatically gains the skills to fight the monster—though she needs some prompting from Luna. She is more interested in guys, singing and Minako than in the mission to find the Moon Princess and the Mystical Silver Crystal. Sailor Venus is surprised to learn Usagi is Sailor Moon and doesn’t consider her serious enough. She is also surprised to find that Usagi cannot detect the presence of a Youma in the hospital even though both Minako and Makoto can. But once a youma is detected, she stands and fights no matter what.

When she is revealed to be the Moon Princess, she also reveals the location of the Mystical Silver Crystal. As the Crystal is inside her, it is controlled by her emotions. When Usagi feels a powerful emotion, usually sadness or concern, the crystal activates and displays incredible amounts of power. However, its power is tied to the enemy. Sailor Moon must try to suppress it and not use it to save the world.

RELATIONSHIPS

Anime: For the most part, Serena and Usagi have the same relationships—but these tend to play out differently. Serena has two parents, both who are slightly exasperated with their daughter but who love her. Her brother Sammy has the usual younger brother rivalry with Serena and often pulls jokes at her expense.

At the start of the show, Serena’s best friend is Molly—who is as bright and bubbly as her friend. For the most part, Molly remains separate from the Sailor Scouts and doesn’t question Serena’s activities too much. The only major plotline Molly gets involved with is her (probably illegal) affair with Maxwell Stanton AKA Negaverse general Nephrite. Her affection for him slowly becomes his redemption…only for him to die a noble death as Molly weeps over his body, comforted by the Sailor Scouts. Molly becomes withdrawn for a few episodes, but starts to recover when she and Melvin fall in love. Up to this point, Melvin had pursued Serena but she kept rejecting him for being too dorky.

While Melvin pursues Serena, she has her eyes on Andrew. He works at the arcade she and her friends like to frequent while studying to be a doctor. He reveals this to her when she goes on a crash diet and faints. He makes her an energy shake and treats her to a meal, lecturing her on the merits of a healthy diet. But Andrew has a fiancée named Rita. When Serena learns of this—and meets Rita—she loses her crush on Andrew and starts focusing on Tuxedo Mask, who keeps rescuing her during battles. In her civilian life, Serena keeps running into Darien Shields, who teases her for everything ranging from her grades to her eating habits. He calls her “meatball” head due to the buns on top of her head. Slowly, though, Serena forms a friendship with him and then learns his true identity as Tuxedo Mask. They also learn of their past as lovers Endymion and Princess Serenity and fall in love themselves.

Amongst the Sailor Scouts, Serena is warm and welcoming to all. She considers Raye her best friend but Serena’s personality does tend to grate her. I was quite surprised when I read that Raye is her best friend as for the most part, the two constantly fight. Raye is constantly lecturing her friend and the two have entered into epic tongue pointing sessions. In fact, early on as a Sailor Scout, Raye tries to overthrow Serena’s authority and become leader. But as time goes on, Raye calms down and accepts Serena as leader. But the lectures continue. Serena is also the first to embrace Lita, which forms a special bond with the two. Not much is seen between her and Mina, but the two seem to have a close relationship.

Live action: Like her anime counterpart, Usagi lives with her parents and her brother. Her father is never seen, though it is stated that he works as reporter. Her mother is as energetic as her daughter and appears to be a stay-at-home mother. Usagi and her mother have a good relationship, though they have the usual mother-daughter fights. It is important to note that Usagi appears to be the only one with such an active mother in her life. Even if that mother tends to act a bit more immaturely than her daughter. Usagi’s brother, Shingo, is clearly the most serious person in the house. He accepts the craziness of his mother and sister with an eye roll and doesn’t seem to blink an eye. The only time he is surprised is when he overhears Luna the cat talking, but decides to pretend it didn’t happen.

At school, Usagi’s best friend is Naru. Like the anime, she is similar to Usagi except with slightly better grades. Naru disappears for sometime in the show, though she does suspect something when Usagi spends more time with class loner Ami. But soon Naru accepts Ami and spends more time with Usagi. When newcomer Mio turns the entire class against Usagi, Naru and Ami stay by her side. Toward the end, Naru learns her friend’s secret and agrees to keep it. Even though her confidence wanes, Naru believes in Usagi. There is no equivalent to Melvin in the live-action series and Naru never interacts with Nephrite. Usagi believes Motoki, who runs the Crown Karaoke, may be Tuxedo Kamen and goes on a date with him.

Usagi soon learns that Tuxedo Kamen is really Chiba Mamoru. The two have a contemptuous relationship that went from trading insults to a friendship. Slowly, that friendship grows into love—which is revealed to be destiny. It is their relationship that defines the latter half of the show and the fate of the world.

Within the Sailor Senshi, Usagi embraces the main three—Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. She grows particularly close to Ami and Makoto as the three attend the same school and Rei initially rebuffs Usagi’s attempts to befriend her. Rei begrudgingly gives in. Even when the girls drift apart, Usagi considers them all friends and delights when they all reunite again. As she is a big fan of Minako’s, she tends to act like the ultimate fan girl around the singer. She squeals, babbles and generally acts giddy around Minako. When they spend a good amount of time together, Usagi and Minako end up chatting like good friends and eventually become so.

PLOT CHANGES

There is very little that changes between Serena and Usagi’s plot. The only main difference is their appetites—while Usagi is shown to enjoy food, she doesn’t do so to the extent her counterpart does. Serena spends an entire episode trying to lose weight; Usagi goes on a diet for approximately thirty seconds.

The main plot difference is the power of the Mystical Silver Crystal. In the anime, it is shown to be something that can be used for either good or evil. It is also shown that Sailor Moon can control its power and easily focus it for her purposes—whether to destroy an enemy or heal someone. In the live-action sequence, the Mystical Silver Crystal shows that it doesn’t matter who has it—it has the potential to destroy the world. Sailor Moon cannot control its power. The Mystical Silver Crystal is tied to the power of the enemy, hindering Sailor Moon’s use of it. Her struggles to control its power helps mature Usagi.

Serena:

Sailor Moon:

Usagi:Sailor Moon (Live):

In Search of America(na)

It’s summer and you know what that means! It’s time for me to return to Samantha Brown’s escapades crammed into one weekend.

We start with Samantha in a red convertible driving a road. She’s driving Route 66 to find the America immortalized in the memories of the post-war generation and “Cars.”

If you ever plan to motor West/Travel my way, that’s the highway that’s the best/Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Horns go off everywhere. One is even the wolf-whistle. It’s a classic car club. This one included an Edsel, the legendary lemon produced by Ford. She gets the red convertible we saw in the cold open. She hits the road, leading a parade of classic cars, heading west from Albuquerque. She first stops at the Route 66 Hostel where a band welcomes her. They jump into the car with their instruments—including an upright bass—and we meet Felix and the Cats. Felix is the one playing the guitar. The other two are the cats. She drops the Cats off in a random parking lot. I guess they have to walk back?

It winds from Chicago to LA/More than two thousand miles along the way/Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six

Route 66 was built in 1926 and spans from Chicago to LA. She leave Albuquerque and enjoys the wind in her hair. She says Route 66 is still mostly intact between New Mexico and Arizona, complete with gorgeous scenery. She stops in Gallup, “the Indian Cultural Center of the Southwest.” She wants to find a wacky hotel and El Rancho answers her call. Many Hollywood actors stayed there while filming the Westerns. And she first checks out the neon in Gallup. Remember the scene in “Cars” where Radiator Springs lights up? That’s this looks like.

Coming up: Birds!

Now you go through St. Louis/Joplin, Missouri/And Oklahoma City is might pretty

Saturday morning, Sam hits Route 66 and prepares to enter the state of Arizona. She’s like me—randomly shouting “train!” as one chugs along behind her. She enters Holbrook and says the roadside attactions look like a nuclear war zone, meaning it’s a good stop. She wonders if she can pet the ostrich as the camera pans to a giant sign reading “Caution: Ostrich Bite.” So she opts to feeding them before going to eat some eggs for breakfast. Ostrich eggs that is. She feeds some people before continuing along down Route 66. She promises us the strangest thing on Route 66. And a giant car designed to look like it belongs in Cars as a performance artist car. The owner, John, runs a diner in Seligman with his sister Christine. Their dad, the original owner, was a big practical joker, noted by the fact that the door handle marked “pull” doesn’t work. She asks for a shake and the two hold out their hands. After some other jokes, Sam jumps behind the counter to serve some customers.

Coming up: Donkeys and Sam shoots the sheriff (but not the deputy).

You see Amarillo/Gallup, New Mexico/Flagstaff, Arizona/Don’t forget Winona/Kingman/Barstow/San Bernandino

Sam hops back into her car and continues to drive Route 66. Sam wonders what she should name her car. She doesn’t know if the car should have a female name or a male name, pondering this while eating a Snowball. She decides to name it after the sugary sweet. She’s driven 500 miles and I noticed her rearview mirror decoration has changed. It’s gone from a dwarf to a dream catcher.

She stops in Cool Springs, population: Gas Station. The gas station no longer provides gas, probably because of all the changes made to gas formulas throughout the years, but it’s store still operates! Sam gets a soda, pulls up a seat and enjoys the view. She feels as if time has stopped because she could be in any era. She gets back in the car, where her rearview mirror decoration is again a dwarf. She takes the dwarf down and decides to put out a hula girl. She hits a treacherous part of Route 66. She says it has to do with the turns but I’m sure the fact it seems the road hasn’t seen a paver in decades has something to do with it as well. She even spots the remains of cars who didn’t survive the trek.

She arrives in Oatman, a living ghost town. Bwah? There are still burros in town, who come down to get carrots. And people give them because, hey, they’re adorable. She joins a bunch of people to witness a gunfight in the center of town. The troupe pulls out our own Annie Oakley. She shoots and the cowboys fall down. She leaves the town and Route 66 as well. She picks up Interstate 40 and says she has a big Hollywood finale planned for the ending of her Route 66 road trip.

Coming up: Cliff diving?

Won’t you get hip to this timely tip?/When you take that California trip/Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six

Deer! Sam arrives at a national park. At a quarter to 5 AM. Eww. I usually don’t like to acknowledge that time exists. She and a bunch of early morning birds watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. Sam then jumps into a helicopter. Her pilot says the park spans the entire area of Switzerland. He then asks her if she wants to jump off a cliff and takes her over the Canyon. They see the Colorado River from the air. The pilot says it’s one of the natural formations viewable from space. I don’t think you can see anything from space except the continents, but okay.

Sam and Snowball drive to their goodbye point, with fluffy white dice now dangling from her rearview mirror. She says goodbye and leaves the car…And then my DVR cut out. Sorry guys!

It’s great to be back with Samantha Brown and her trips. You might notice she didn’t have a single alcoholic beverage this trip, something I know I make a running gag of her alcoholism in the other episodes. I assume it is her being a conscientious driver and not drinking because she is behind the wheel. Either way, it was a fun ride and gives me ideas. Maybe not Route 66—that sounds like something my dad would do. I’m not one to stay in a car that long!

Moment of the Episode:

The expression on the French tourists faces when John and Christine pull some pranks in Seligman.

Get your kicks on Route Sixty-Six

You CAN Learn Something New

I have started volunteer work at The Conference House, a 17th Century stone manor located at the southern tip of Staten Island. It was home to the Billopp family but is more famous for the events of September 11, 1776. It hosted the only peace conference held during the American Revolution, attended by John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Edward Routledge of South Carolina as well as Lord Richard Howe. The conference wasn't a success and the Billopp house remained a British garrison as the war raged on. The Billopp family, prominent Loyalists, fled New York for Nova Scotia in 1779, though they weren't living in the house after the second abduction of Col. Billopp--from his own bed!

I give tours and was working with another gentleman this past weekend. After our shift was over (a very busy shift, I might add), we were talking and he informed of the Battle of Staten Island. A Revolutionary War battle had taken place on our humble island...and even more surprising to me, it had occurred down the block from my house, on the shores of the Arthur Kill! In August of 1777, Howe was evacuating New York, starting what would be known as the Philadelphia Campaign (resulting in the successful capture of the colonial capital). Gen. John Sullivan led troops across from New Jersey to Blazing Star, now known as Rossville/Charleston. However, their guide across the Arthur Kill was a Tory and ruined their surprise. The enemy met them and a fight ensued. Prisoners were taken and men were killed. The Americans retreated, embarrassed.

Who knew a battle had occurred so close to where I live? I should campaign to have a New York Historic Site blue sign put up to commemorate it.

If you wish to visit the Conference House, go to this website for more information. Tours are given every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Come! It's an interesting house with a fascinating history located in a beautiful park next to the water. The weather is perfect.

One for the History Books...

By now, the news has spread across the globe:

Sen. Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States of America. Come January, he will be the 44th President but more importantly, he'll be the first African-American Commander-in-Chief. Listening to his acceptance speech, it was hard not to feel a swelling of pride and hope. Here's hoping the next four years are brighter than the previous ones have been. After all, it can only get better, right?

Time for a Little Catch Up

As I mention below, the Travel Channel had a marathon of Samantha Brown episodes. So, to highlight some of my favorite aspects from the shows I missed:

New Hampshire: It was nice to see Samantha's family! And that breakfast place which serves Green Eggs and Ham sounds delicious--and I'm not a breakfast person.

Miami: Despite the fact that the hotel room looked like a padded cell, it was huge and beautiful. If I stayed there, I wouldn't leave the room! Which would thus negate the purpose of vacationing in Miami, right?

San Francisco: Umm, who wants to go to a restaurant where they won't even tell you the menu? I mean, I guess it's adventurous, but I am not an adventurous eater. I like what I like and I'd like to make sure the restaurant has it. Besides, what if someone is allergic to what you serve? Like a peanut allergy where even it was in the same kitchen as the peanut oil it could be dangerous. Sounds good, but I'll go to a place with menus.

And seeing Sam's family in New Hampshire and her friends in Miami makes me wonder: what does hubby do while she's away? I know she's married as she's mentioned leaving him at home. Will he ever accompany her? I mean, they'll have to send her to a romantic spot some time!

Oh the Places You'll Go!

So, it's summertime. You know what that means--summer vacations! We're all talking about them. I'm filling in for someone on hers. My family is talking about ours (which I will hopefully be able to go on) to Boston. And if there are any regular readers of this blog (seriously, are you out there?), you know of my love affair with the Travel Channel. They are having a contest where you can win a weekend for two anywhere in the continental US. If I were to win, where would I go? Hmm...

You know what we need? A top ten list!

10) Chicago. I'm a city gal as my temporary employer pointed out when I confessed my favorite trip was to London. I'd love to go this city, to walk around and see what Chicago has to offer. And to have a slice of pizza to see if it is just as good as our New York pizzas.

9) San Francisco. The city by the bay. It would be great to see this city, once the center of the hippie movement. To go exploring, to see the Golden Gate and of course, that famous hill.

8) Vermont. While I'm a city girl at heart, there are days I like to get out to the wilderness. Enjoy the beauty of nature. Go on a hike. Or visit a river or a lake. I love going near water.

7) Denver. Right near the Rockies, also famous for it's beauty as well. And a major city! What more could you ask for?

6) Myrtle Beach. I've been here before, but it's been awhile. And it's such a lovely vacation spot, one of the most relaxing places I've ever gone. I think perfect for a quick weekend rejuvenation. Plus, I have family near by. It'd be great to see them again.

5) Any place in Texas. The Lone Star state would be a lovely place to go. Samantha Brown went to Austin in one of her episodes (she also went to Myrtle Beach as well). Houston would be nice as well. And I'd love to see the Rio Grande as well as the Alamo.

4) Minnesota. I was part of a youth group and I made lots of friends from this state. So many, my parents just assumed everyone I talked about was from there and were usually surprised when I would say some place else. It'd be great to see their home state. And while I'm not a mall rat, who could turn down a trip to the Mall of America?

3) Los Angeles. I was there briefly when I was five. Stayed in the Plaza Hotel and was a bit pampered--I waited for the doorman to open the door for me and ordered room service all by myself. I'd love to go back there, despite the traffic. And maybe extend our weekend, hop (or crawl) over to Anaheim and go back to Disneyland.

2) Miami. I've gone to Florida many times. However, I've usually only stayed in the Orlando and Tampa areas. I would love to see this famous party town, go to the beach and visit Little Havana. (Note: If anyone is in the Tampa area, go to Tarpon Springs near Holiday, about a half-hour to 45 minutes away from Tampa. It's a largely Greek area, great shopping and great food).

1) I must admit that Samantha Brown has been a big influence on this list, but these are really the places I would like to see. And the number one place? New Orleans! I'm a Francophile, so it would be great to go down and see the French influence as well as the others. And jazz is always good, right? Besides, we need to support New Orleans as much as the rest of the country supported New York following 9/11.

Well, those are my top ten. What are yours? Do tell. And if anyone responds, I'll post your places as well!

Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve

Before we start on the real reason for this post, I'm sure you've all noticed the new design. I was lying in bed the other day, sleep escaping me and I got to thinking. I realized my original title really didn't fit with what I write in this blog and my summary must've been confusing as it was just a mess. So, I came up with a new title, new picture, better summary and I hope this one will stay. I do like comments and would like to know your opinion! So...Onwards!


I hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July celebrations. My family has already been to two barbecues. I watched the Macy's Fireworks and then on to what I think may be one of the most faithful adaptations of a musical (of course, I've never seen a staged version of it though): 1776.


The musical tells a familiar story: how the Declaration of Independence came to be. It was written by Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards, a history teacher, and won the Tony for Best New Musical in 1969. The music is pretty decent, but the book is much stronger. Though I dare anyone to listen to "The Lees of Old Virginia" and not get it stuck in your head for hours after. There are other good songs too:


"He Plays the Violin." Sung by Martha Jefferson as she explains to Adams and Franklin how Jefferson won her over and keeps the romance in their relationship.


"Cool Considerate Men." Sung by Dickenson after Adams and Franklin leave, praising those who want to keep the status quo. It is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek jab at the conservatives. Trivia: This song was cut from the original movie and legend says it was at the request of producer Jack L. Wagner's friend President Nixon (a Republican, by then the more conservative American party). However, the DVD and most TV airings restore the song. Also a good watch just for Stephen Nathan's expression as the Courier when he enters Congress' room to see all these men dancing.


"Momma Look Sharp." Sung by the Courier after Congress adjourns for the day. The audience has been enveloped by Congress, trapped in the room with them, seeing only them. The Courier breaks through this and brings the rest of the country in, as he sings about his friends who died at Lexington and Concord.


"Molasses to Rum." Sung by Edward Routledge as the Congress debates Jefferson's Declaration. Routledge, Adams and Jefferson argue about a passage regarding slavery. Routledge sings this to show that New England is just as guilty as the South in regards to the practice. It is a dark song, but brilliantly sung and acted.

Part of the movie's brilliance is it's suspense. The audience knows how the movie ends--the Declaration of Independence is ratified and signed. Yet there is a stretch of tense moments, especially following "Molasses to Rumm," where you wonder if it will happen at all. Most of the original cast reprised their roles in the movie, particularly William Daniels as John Adams and Ken Howard as Jefferson. (Howard da Silva was the original Franklin but had to bow out early in the run due to health problems. Rex Everhart took over the role and is heard on the original cast recording as Franklin. Da Silva was able to return for the movie). It was funny the first time I watched 1776. It was in my Global I class and there was a group epiphany. "Oh my God, John Adams is played by Mr. Feeny!" And then we all finally got a Boy Meets World in-joke. Both John Dickinson and Edward Routledge were played by Donald Madden and John Cullum, respectively, and supplemented the cast brilliantly. The arguments between Dickenson and Adams were well acted.

If you were unable to see this movie, I suggest renting it. It is a great watch and isn't just a dull history lesson. It is also quite quotable, so I leave you with my favorite quote. It is an explanation given by Mr. Lewis to John Hancock as to why New York was always abstaining--courteously! It shows times haven't changed.

"Mr. President, have you ever attended a meeting of the New York Legislature? Everybody talks fast and loud and nothing ever gets done."