Muppets 2011

I'm not sure that there'd be any point to reviewing this movie, since it's less a movie and more an exercise in nostalgia. I grew up with Grover and Kermit on Sesame Street, and then we moved to Italy and I had to lose the Muppets for awhile, and then we came back and the Muppets were on syndication in something even funnier that didn't attempt to teach me about numbers and letters and important life lessons, and a couple of them were throwing fish or blowing things up. I could approve of that.

So I'm the target audience, and with a few missteps here and there (I could have done without Fozzie's shoes, and the major life lesson imparted by this movie is that Chris Cooper should never, ever, ever, and I do mean never, ever, ever, ever ever, rap again; that sequence stunned our multiracial audience into stark horror), it worked for me. Oh, sure, the mania and zaniness has been toned down some, and although the guy during Kermit did a great job with Kermit's voice, Miss Piggy and Fozzie were recognizably....different. Not bad, just...different, and as someone who loved loved loved Grover I must say I wish Frank Oz could come out of retirement for the Muppets. Gonzo, though, is the same puppeteer/voice. All together now...Awwwwwwwwwwwww!

But these are quibbles. Overall, this is a movie with a heart, and a few explosions, and one of the hands down best Nirvana covers ever (I admit it took me a second to recognize the song, but once I did I was rolling.)

The cost of checking out ebooks from the library:

As an insomniac, I am a huge fan of ebooks at the library. HUGE. It's particularly helpful, say, when you've just had an emotional meltdown and need a distraction, or when you haven't just had an emotional meltdown and are staring at the ceiling.

But the delivery system may need to have some kinks worked out.

Madeleine L'Engle reread and Magick4Terri

First, I'm pleased to announce that the Madeleine L'Engle reread has finally gotten rolling over at Tor.com. You can read the introduction here; the discussion of the first book, which has an Anne of Green Gables joke thrown in for some of you, is here.

I am not sure when later reviews will post -- my impression was that we would be on a Thursday schedule, but that may have just gotten switched to Monday. We shall see.

On another note, a group of talented authors and artists have gathered together for an online auction to benefit Terri Windling, who is going through some health and financial stress right now. Windling wrote one of my favorite books, The Wood Wife, but even if you've never heard of her, if you are reading this blog, you are probably interested in the stuff on offer -- manuscripts, limited signed editions, art, prints, jewelry, caramels, and so on. Kinda the very definition of unique gifts.

You can browse through the stuff on offer here: Magick4terri.