Grandma Kathleen On Skates and Other Distractions

Party time tonight. Once again I'll be biting off way more than I can chew, but it's a habit that keeps me young, not to mention fat and sassy. So tonight I'm going roller skating with 20 eight-year-olds. Oh, yes, I can still rock while I'm rollin'. But here's the amazing part: She's 8 years old! My oldest grandchild was just a baby...wasn't that last week? Heck, the week before that her daddy was just a baby. Wait, the week before that I was just a kid. Or maybe that last one hasn't changed. Anyway, tonight the Eagle boots are made for rolling. Wish me luck...

But I digress. Did anyone see the "Project Runway" finale last night? Did you think they picked the right winner? Just curious.

So I thought I'd suggest a couple of goodies for your weekend viewing pleasure in case you have some downtime in store.


We rented "Crazy Heart" as soon as it came out. Meant to see it in the theater but never quite got there. It's based on a novel, definitely character-driven. My kind of story. Excellent performances. Has anyone seen it? What did you think?



But this one is a must-see. It's one of those terrific indies that good actors clamor for and will do almost for scale. "Pirate Radio" is the funniest movie we've seen in a long time. My cowboy and I laughed aloud throughout, and our senses of humor are like night and day. Terrific cast--Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branaugh, even Emma Thompson. It's set in 1966--lovely year it was--back when the BBC had a stranglehold on music played on the radio. "Pirate" stations broadcast rock'n roll from ships off the coast of Great Britain. The movie is a celebration of rock music. It's delightful. Has anyone seen it? Your thoughts?

Don't miss the outtakes. They're wonderful in and of themselves, but terrific for the writer in us. You know those scenes you love but end up having to take out because they don't really move the story along? The director narrates, explaining where the idea came from, why it was left out and how hard it was to edit. You'll identify!

Finally, has anyone been watching "The Pacific"? This is a labor of love for Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, and it's every bit as good as "Band of Brothers." I've mentioned a time or ten that Daddy was a WWII vet and a career AF pilot. We were stationed on Guam for 2 years in the 50's, and I've been to Iwo Jima, so the war in the Pacific is really interesting to me. But I grew up with John Wayne war movies. This is different. This is real. It's character-driven, but the characters are 3 real WWII vets, who appear in interviews. The viewpoints are compelling. Yes, it's sometimes hard to watch, but I think it's important to for us to try. There's little doubt that we had to engage in WWII, but what soldiers endure in war is unimaginable, which might be why we still don't do them justice when they come home. This series is another Hanks/Spielberg masterwork.

So now I'll go strap on some extra padding.

Any comments on these shows? Recommendations for more? Or is the weather where you are just so gorgeous you can't spend a minute indoors?