Flashback Friday-The Prince and Me (2004)

There is something about stories of princes and happily ever after that somehow seems to stick around.

In 2004, The Prince and Me was released.

At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Paige (Julia Stiles) is a smart and determined pre-med student. The last thing she wants or needs in her life is Eddie (Luke Mably), a student from Denmark whom she takes an instant dislike to. What Paige does not know is that Eddie is really Crown Prince Edvard of Denmark. Edvard is looking for a real world education before he takes on the mantle of king. As Paige begins to get to know Eddie, his true identity is revealed.

While this movie is not the best movie, it’s a nice fantasy. It’s one of those movies that are perfect for cable, with it’s endless sequels and quickly fading plot lines.

Do I recommend it? Yea, it’s decent.

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Flashback Friday-Down With Love (2003)

Every few years, Hollywood reaches into it’s vault and tries to reintroduce audiences to a story or genre that they may not be familiar with.

Down With Love (2003) is an homage to the early 1960’s sex comedies that starred Doris Day and Rock Hudson, the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks of their day.

Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger) is a feminist author whose book has hit the best seller list. Catcher Block (Ewan MacGregor) is playboy journalist who is convinced that underneath the feminist mask, Barbara wants what every woman wants: love and marriage.  But he knows that she would sniff him out in an instant if he was himself. Pretending to be a shy out of towner, Catcher attracts Barbara’s attention, but will he be able to find what he is looking for?

While this movie is not as funny or subversive as Pillow Talk, it’s a nice homage and a reminder of how far women have come.

Do I recommend it? Sure, it’s decent.

A Century Of Wisdom Book Review

Life is never perfect, as much as we would wish it to be. There will be bumps in the road and obstacles to overcome. But it is how we deal with them and our outlook that will ultimately help us or hurt us.

Despite everything she went through, Alice Herz-Sommer  maintained a positive outlook on life. Before her passing last year, she was known as the world’s oldest living Holocaust survivor. While Alice’s mother and husband did not survive the war, Alice and her son survived Theresienstadt because of her musical abilities. After the war, Alice moved to Israel and then after decades of living in Israel, she moved again. This time to London, to be near her son, who passed away in 2001.

In 2012, Caroline Stoessinger released A Century of Wisdom: Lessons from the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, the World’s Oldest Living Holocaust Survivor. The book is part biography, part memoir and a reminder that no matter what is going on in our lives, a positive outlook is always going to help us.

I truly enjoyed this book. What struck me is that what Alice went through would have put some people in therapy permanently or sent them spiraling into a chemical addiction.  But Alice was able to maintain a positive attitude and appreciate the good things she had.

I recommend this book.

Lesson NOT Learned

“The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything”- Albert Einstein

Earlier this week, the world was horrified when gunman, who according to witnesses were Islamic militants, killed a dozen people in the Paris office of the magazine Charlie Hebdo. Yesterday, gunman, also reported by witnesses to be Islamic militants, rushed into a kosher supermarket, holding hostages and killing 4 people.

In the days leading to World War II, the Allies gave the Sudetenland to Nazis to appease them and hopefully prevent another war.  That didn’t go as planned.

We need to take a stand NOW. We need to tell these people that they CANNOT do what they have been doing.  Just because they do not agree with someone does not give them the right to kill and destroy. I am tired of turning on the news and seeing that more people are dead or dying because of terrorism.

Lesson not learned.