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Monday, November 19, 2007
New Christmas movie gets folks dancing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the better holiday movies — “This Christmas” (opening Wednesday) from Atlanta-based producer Will Packer — doesn’t limit itself to one surprise “Soul Train” line dance. It has two. The film, about members of a large family returning home for the holidays, breaks out in a lively “Soul Train” line led by Loretta Devine and emblematic of the TV dance show’s iconic groove. So have you ever had a “Soul Train” line at your house during Christmas, or over the holidays?
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Ideal Thanksgiving: Enough for two teams
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When it comes to Thanksgiving, my husband doesn’t care if we serve the potatoes mashed or roasted, if the pie is pumpkin or pecan or if the gravy has lumps. His only concern is: Will we have enough guests to field two teams for some serious competition after the meal?
Growing up with a large extended family, holidays for Michael meant playing rough-and-tumble sports with the dozens of uncles and cousins while the ladies cooked a giant meal inside. Sadly, my family of four could never muster enough people, or quite honestly the interest, to even play catch on the holidays.
But this year for the first time since he was about 18, there will be enough Giarrussos converging in one spot to make his sports dreams come true.
It only took 13 years of marriage, a bigger house and a dry run to prove ourselves worthy of hosting Thanksgiving, but we’ve finally convinced my husband’s family to spend the holiday with us.
Michael’s father, his wife and their daughter will be driving up from Florida on Wednesday. Michael’s brother and his girlfriend will be driving down from North Carolina also to join us. (Rose had told her uncle to bring a different girl the next time he visited - just for variety. Sorry Rose, he likes this one and we do too.)
And while I’m planning the menus and buying the food, my husband has been taking care of the essentials. He’s bought balls and more back-up air pumps than even the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has. He’s set up a backyard soccer goal and ordered an adjustable basketball goal to be installed at the end of the driveway before Thanksgiving Day.
He’s had the children — Rose and Walsh; the baby hasn’t expressed a preference yet — choosing up teams all week long. Uncle Victor is high up on the draft list, along with their Auntie Christina. No matter what the sport is, I’m always chosen last — even after my 50-something mother-in-law. That doesn’t seem right.
While I’m not being chosen first for the teams, I’m thrilled to have been chosen as hostess. I’ve always wanted to host a big family holiday. My mom usually hosts our family meals. When my brother’s family is out of town, I do get to cook, but it’s not a very big celebration. It’s exciting to have out-of-town company.
It’s not an easy task to finally earn the privilege of hosting the Thanksgiving meal. We had an unofficial try-out over Labor Day. My father-in-law, his wife and Michael’s sister came to visit the new house and the baby. This was our chance to prove we could make them comfortable and be good hosts.
We successfully served food on time, didn’t give anyone food poisoning, managed to take them interesting places, provided them with a clean bathroom, and kept the kids out of their belongings. When his father left us after Labor Day, he said “Well that’s the best dog and best baby I’ve ever met.” Translation: Your dog didn’t smell or jump on me and the baby didn’t wake me up at night. So he’s agreed to return for a follow-up visit, and we’re thrilled! He did have a few demands though. We needed to fix Rose’s bed before they returned. It rattled whenever you moved on it. We’ve taken care of that with a new box spring. But there are still lots of things to do before the great sports spectacular (err I mean Thanksgiving) begins:
Install basketball goal.
Fill in the small sink-hole near the left-side soccer goal.
Make sure the dog doesn’t smell.
Buy some decent coffee for my father-in-law and some really fancy coffee for my brother-in-law.
Hope the bunk bed we ordered for our son’s room shows up so Michael’s sister has a bed.
Buy some good wine so my brother-in-law doesn’t mind sleeping on a basement sofa.
Remove the frog anti-slip pads from the children’s/guest tub.
Take our Emergen-C so we don’t get anyone sick.
Oh yeah, and buy a turkey!
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I’m dreaming of Christmas toys
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m giving toys this Christmas whether my family likes it or not.
All this may come as a surprise to my mom. My brother the physician may not know what to think for a change, but that’s the way it will be.
Why toys? Well, this is the time of the year for gifts that turn the oldest of us into children. There’s a just-right feeling in unwrapping something that isn’t remotely useful and can only be used for fun.
Maybe all this is an over-reaction by me since - despite my yearnings - I spend Christmas mornings unwrapping socks, sweaters, khaki pants and the occasional sports jacket.
What I really want is something that blinks, squawks or runs around mindlessly in circles - sort of like what my Uncle Rod used to do at holiday parties.
So bear with me today while I wrap up some of my toy yearnings.
We’ll start with a rocket ship. Not only does it fly - topping 1,000 feet - it takes video or digital still images while making the trip.
My choice is the Estes Astrovision Video Rocket available from this Web site. You’ll pay $80.25 - admittedly costlier than a fireworks rocket - but this missile uses reusable rocket engines (a pack of three is just under $10). Little assembly is required and, hey, the sky is the limit.
You’ll get the software needed to download your video or still pictures to a laptop computer. One thing to note: the camera stores its work on memory chips that can’t hold data for long periods, so you’ll need to take the laptop to the launching.
While we’re up in the air, let me recommend the Micro Mosquito. You won’t need bug repellent. Instead, you get a tiny radio controlled helicopter that can do extraordinary aerial dances.
This isn’t the sort of craft to take outside - just a breath of wind sends it tumbling - but think of the fun of watching it take off from the dining table and flying to the top of the Christmas tree. Now that’s a toy!
You’ll find it at Radio Shack for $69.95. It’s Model 61081.
The next toy on my list will stir up some controversy. When it comes to video game consoles, folks get down right ugly. But my choice is the Nintendo Wii. It’s not the most powerful of the competing consoles but I think it does the best job of appealing to all ages and sexes.
The controller is unlike any you’ve seen. Simply waving it around can cause action on the screen. Don’t stand next to someone during an action packed moment - you risk losing a tooth.
It may be a little hard to find. Amazon was out of stock the day I looked. Using an online search - and depending on how the system is bundled with controllers and games - you will pay a bit over $400 for it.
I’m now going to include a toy I would like to find under the tree. Some of you may quibble about whether it’s a toy - after all it is educational - but there’s no law that says toys can’t be.
It comes from Meade and is called mySKY. You point mySKY at an object in the night sky, like sighting through a rifle scope, then click the trigger. The gadget tells you about that object in the sky using sound and video on its LCD screen. It’s pricey at $399, but you can console yourself with the knowledge it is an educational gadget that is likely to be used for years.
You can find it on the Meade Web site here.
It wouldn’t be a holiday without a game and, when it comes to games that can be played on the PC, I have a clear favorite. I’ve played this series of games for more than two years now so you can tell I think it’s a winner.
The series is called Guild Wars. There are several games in the series and you buy them separately. The newest of the standalone games is called Guild Wars Nightfall. There’s also an expansion pack - you must own one of the standalone games to use it - called Eye of the North. You- l pay about $50 for Nightfall and $40 for Eye of the North. Most stores will have it, or you can buy it at the company’s Web site here.
These games are played online - so you need an Internet connection, preferably a high speed one. But unlike so many other online games, you don’t pay a monthly fee.
If you buy one of the Guild Wars games, look me up online. Since it’s a combat game I may kill you, but - with my skills - you’ll probably kill me. My game name is Just Axe Me.
OK. That’s today’s list of toys. For those grouches out there who insist on useful high tech gifts, I’ll soon oblige. But meantime, leave me with my dreams.
