Yuck: A Fourth Grader's Documentary About School Lunch

Trailer: Yuck - A 4th Grader's Short Documentary About School Lunch from Maxwell Project on Vimeo.

I heard this story on NPR on the way to work earlier in the week and I was laughing out loud! Wow! His school has a fab menu online, but offers up your typical school lunch fair. Who doesn't cringe when they think of grade school cafeteria food anyway? My school didn't bother to hide behind a fancy menu - it was what it was. I still make jokes about the porcupine meatballs. eeeewwwww....

It does, however, bring up the important issue of the school lunch program. With budgets stretched so thinly, cafeteria staff are strapped to produce nutritional meals with little to work with.

The Forger's Masterclass Series

I've watched all 10 episodes in the The Forger's Masterclass featuring John Myatt. If you have any interest in art, I highly recommend watching them. John, as you may recall, was quite infamous for forging works of art and selling them through his dealer John Drewe, who forged documents of authenticity. These works were sold at Sotheby's and Christie's in both London and New York.  Myatt estimates he sold about 200 of the works, of which only 60 have been recovered. Who wants to admit they bought a fake?

After watching the series it becomes quite clear why Myatt's fakes were so believable. He didn't just copy works; he got right into the artist's head head and painted just as they would have. John offers tips from own studio as well. The show is really quite good as you get to the see the thought process of each guest artist as they attempt to imitate the master featured. Myatt offers tips to help them work it out. 

The Real Fleetwood Mac - Who Knew

I came across video snippets from Oprah's Master's Class series on YouTube and watched the Stevie Nicks mini set. Growing up, who didn't want to look like her? All that talent and looks to boot (sorry, I had to throw that one out there). I must confess, I never bought a Fleetwood Mac album. In the Master's Class series Stevie describes a day after New Years 1974 meeting with the surviving members of Fleetwood Mac to see if her and Lindsay were up to snuff (me so funny).  This got me thinking... Who *was* the original Fleetwood Mac band? I knew there was a prior version of Fleetwood Mac before Stevie and Lindsay, but I had no idea that the original line up was a blues band. Familiar with the song Black Magic Woman by Santana? That was them - Peter Green wrote it and it was quite a hit song for them back in the day. Apparently the band would remind the audience of this fact before singing it live on stage.  

Ahh.....the price of frame.

Safety Not Guarenteed

I loved this movie! Put it in your NetFlix queue now! Safety Not Guaranteed is an adorable these-folks-are-made-for-each-other-but-don't-know-it-yet movie filmed around Ocean Shores, Washington. You truly do not get to pick the folks you are attracted to. No matter how crazy it all seems. Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass have a natural chemistry a lot of on screen romances lack. This film is a prime example of why I prefer a low budget indie film over a mega budget Hollywood blockbuster - Qwerky story, off beat location, and some dang fine acting.

Things to Come, Julien Donkey-Boy, and Trash Humpers

I saw this movie via NetFlix streaming. Things to Come is a film written by H. G. Wells in 1936 and I highly recommend watching this tour de future.

Bravo to the folks who designed the sets. Well done! No paper plates on strings here. It's fascinating to the quality of work done on the special effects. The one above shows what eerily resembles a flat screen telly.

I also need to document the movie I saw at Alex and Natalie's last month - Julien Donkey-Boy. I saw this one several years ago, but I could set through it again. It was a movie made under the Dogme 95 movement - no special effects or over the top technology could be used to create the film. I like the look and feel of this movie. The use of hand held 16 mm cameras gives the film this grainy home-made texture. Hmm...it's mixed media cinema.  

After a lovely meal - Alex and Natalie are practising foodies who can Cook (I use upper case C because these 2 are amazing in the kitchen) - I wanted to skip the second film Trash Humpers. It turns out several of us were willing to skip this gem. Alex talked those of us who were heading to the door to at least stay and watch a few minutes. Oh dear....all I can say is, if you are ever offered the chance to see Trash Humpers, run quickly in the other direction. I'm not even going to post a link. 

Les Miserables

The night before the Oscars, I ran out to see Les Miserables. I'd read so much about how hard the non-singing stars had trained to sing. I must confess, I've never seen the musical; given the opportunity I would fly out the door to buy a ticket. I guess I had some goofy idea this would not translate to the big screen. It's a movie that has elements I like - tragedy, comic relief, and singing.

Honestly, wouldn't it be fun to have a National Sing Everything You Say Day?

I went to Joe and Brian's for Oscar night again this year. They have a huge screen and open their house up for a pitch-in - fancy dine night. Several folks walked out early leaving a handful to watch the entire show.

Yes, I know - the Oscars occurred months ago. I've got to properly track my movies.