Last weekend we had one of our first cousin weddings. Being that it was one of the first, and compounded by the fact that at present we are otherwise a brood of singles, it was somewhat strange. In the best of ways, of course. While we are still young grasshoppers on the road to life (Exhibit A: all of us at the post-reception party), seems we're becoming able to teach a few lessons ourselves. Watching [through tears] Nick and Julie exchange vows, I learned how necessary it really is to take a plunge. After all, the depth is often more shallow than thought, the bottom not so hard, and the fear only lasts a second.
It used to be in my house, around the age of five you would watch a Disney movie for three straight weeks and then move on to the next. For the same time frame. It was an ongoing cycle, only to be broken by gymnastic lessons and bicycle races. Of all the things to be sitting in front of the television for hours on end, it might as well have been a good Disney tale. Of course this also goes back to the day of pure animation. Something about the flat ink and paper illustrations make it easier to become completely enchanted with a fairy tale. Similar to how something in the three-dimensional megapixel creations invoke greater humor.
It had been a few years since I truly appreciated a Disney classic. It's possible that cinema produced from the land of idealistic morals has a difficult time finding a place amongst fraternity houses and tailgates. A sad fact considering two of my favorite films in the last year have been The Princess and the Frog and Up. A representation of both the old and new school Disney, these two movies truly shined in so many ways. Both had tremendous soundtracks, with Up having a more nostalgic and gentle score, while The Princes and the Frog made way for lots of fun. The two films also had dazzling color schemes. The bright colors against shades of blue in Up made for an enjoyable ride throughout. The soft color palette of The Princess and the Frog thoughinspired the elegance every little girl strives for. Of course both accomplished what's at the heart of every Disney movie. That little tear at the corner of your eye. It's what brings every big kid back to the mouse ears.
"Sometimes, it's the boring stuff I remember the most."--Russell from Up
Once upon a time we all learned something from watching television. Before the days of a straight ten channels of political talking heads, and when the "girls next door" were really your best friends who you raced your training wheel-equipped bicycle down the street, there was Sesame Street. A whimsical show filled with colorful muppets, songs, and cartoons. Yet all the while, through the laughter and and excitement of it all, something more important was happening: learning. After a half hour you could count to ten, know a healthy food to eat, and even spell a whole new word. Growing up, Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers were about the only shows deemed acceptable for us kids to watch. Which was just fine considering we would look forward to getting back to playing dress up and finishing "art projects" anyway. Things that required the use of our imagination, another value emphasized again and again by Big Bird and his friends.
Just last week Sesame Street turned 40 years old, an age most people consider to be "over the hill." Yet it's still teaching kids how to count and say their ABCs, often times using the same lesson clips my generation, and even the one before learned from. As I say time and again, good vintage is always in style, and in the case of Sesame Street, always reenforcing its lessons learned.
"Bad days happen to everyone, but when one happens to you, just keep doing your best and never let a bad day make you feel bad about yourself." --Big Bird
As the story goes (and it's not much of a tale), tonight I was swamped with work. Just basically drenched in it, really. So to take out some of my so-called stress I indulged, a few times over, in all of my Valentine's Day candy. The Valentine's Day candy from my parents. [Just thought I would clarify so as to eliminate any possible discrepancies.] While I probably need to hit the sack, so as to still avoid my textbook, the copious amounts of sugar I enhaled is still kicking and I am unable to move to lie down in a comfortable position. While all of this hissy-fitting was going on in my head, my mind responded with the verse "for eating all the candy you did" to every complaint. Yes, that really did happen. The line is part of a song from the cartoon "Little Audrey" that I used to watch when I was a kid. The cartoon is from 1948, but it hasn't lost it's charm. At least not to me, and right now, what I just found was entitiled "The Tummy Ache Blues," has never rang more true. So do yourself a favor, and watch this short cartoon.
