Story Lover

by David Sedaris

Funny stuff, more about his family and the weird things that make him uniquely him. Makes me think about all the beautiful ticks that make me me and the huge importance and significance of loving people’s flaws and imperfections and seeing them as the things that make them perfect.

Heartbreaking and beautiful. Makes me think of my sister and the love that can break and bind a family. Made me cry and miss having my family and friends around.

Why is it these days we all drift so far away from one another? Not only geographically. It kind of makes me think of Atlas Shrugged and the little town in the mountains where all these magnificent people disappeared to. That utopic idea has lingered with me for a long time, but rather than being composed of the best of the best, I dream of having all my dear, great friends living together. I have always dreamed that anyone I was close friends with would in turn be able to be close friends with each other. And in turn I’d be close friends with their close friends and that this town would be a community of great, close friends.

But perhaps it’s a complete utopic idea because I resort to believing that had space and time not ripped our friendships apart, we’d all still be friends. That it isn’t life that keeps us apart, but just distance and lack of time. And when I think about who I’d have around me at my very end or the very end of my loved ones, I can’t help but think that distance and time will keep us much farther apart than arms length.

I didn’t really think this movie was that funny, especially with such a promising cast. I never would have expected Paul Rudd to make a mini comeback with such a funny crowd. But overall I just thought the jokes were crude and uncreative.

by Ron Koertge

Funny how we limit ourselves and carry big enough chips on our shoulders to keep everyone away, even ourselves. Ben has CP and feels so self-conscious about it that he keeps a very high wall around himself. Colleen is addicted to drugs and for awhile they seem to be able to help one another overcome their loneliness and their insecurities. But some relationships aren’t meant to last forever and eventually the two drift away, one empowered and the other back to her demons.

Maybe life is just a string of relationships, people who help us reach beyond ourselves and become better people. Or the flip side, people who take us further from who we are or who we want to be.

TPL DVD: Really honest portrayal of the struggles that many minorities face with their identities. Who are we? The lives we lead or the lives our ancestors led? And how much does the past influence our present and future. Liam is caught between 2 separate identities and he feels like he is neither American nor Chinese completely.

I can relate, being neither Korean nor Irish and now being married to a Chinese-Canadian, who am I and where are my roots? Am I this elusive thing called American? Where’s my culture? In this day and age, where we’re all striving to retain our culture and the identities of our ancestors, how much influence does the today and now play in who I am and who I will become?

TPL DVD: Loved the way that this movie tried to look like a cartoon or comic book rather than animation trying to look like real film. The colors were so vivid and lively. Nice to see something different.

Kind of confused though as to why the brother Rex didn’t admit to still being alive.

It was everything you expect from a romantic comedy. Ryan Reynolds pulled a few Van Wilder moments and it was good to have Sandra Bullock back. It was everything a good little reality getaway should be. So I enjoyed it. But if I had other things to do and more going on, it would have been a rental or a wait for it from the library movie.