Alot about nothing

Only three days left on my vacation.
I have been a media fiend.

I saw the movie with Diane Lane called Untraceable. Very good.
I saw a movie that was given to us, Take the Lead with Antonio Banderas. Not bad but very predictable.
I saw P.S. I Love You (also given to us) a total chick flick. Not bad though.

I finished To Kill a Mockingbird.
Okay here is my opinion about this book (Patti, please do not reach through the computer and kill me).
I loved the book.
But you know this is mandatory reading for all ninth graders (this and Catcher in the Rye) so I tried to read this book through the eyes of a ninth grade young man. The book is about a lot of things but you can tell the book is going to be about this court case. Yeah, you read a lot about this kid Dill and all of Scouts neighbors and this spooky guy living next door.
But its about the court case... and the court case didn't start until page 177. The book is 280 pages long and the action started on 177. Now if you are a young man and you are trying to see if reading is going to be your thing, you want action. You want action from the first word. I can understand setting up a plot but 177 pages.
Now that I am almost 40 and I love to read (in spite of reading the mandatory reading in high school), I can pick and choose the type of book I want to read.
I can see how this book might have been misery to someone just starting out.
I understand that this book is awesome literature and has stood the test of time but we are trying to pull young people away from the video games and the television and from My Space and Facebook and you are not going to do it with 177 pages of setting up characters.

That being said...
The book brings up so many issues. The book was set in 1935 and copyrighted in 1960's. The book is about discrimination against black people, but the funny thing is the author weaves in the same type of discrimination of the poor, the illiterate, and people of different religions. The book was about people knowing it is wrong but not having the cool-yones to stand up against the popular way of thinking.

I know we have come a long way but don't we still do this now.
And as we get older we get worse. Jews, blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, poor, rich.
Being in the people industry you hear a lot and sometimes it is not loving. And sometimes you catch yourself not being loving.
These are all the feelings I was feeling from this book. Now this is what a book is suppose to do to you. I spent an hour running thinking about if I still judge people for all the wrong reasons.
I mean one of the most impactful lines in the book was as when Jem was describing the different types of folks to his little sister Scout and Scout said," why can't they all just be Folks."
Aren't we all just Folks?
Very powerful book.

I have started to read a book called Two Wars. It is another first hand account of the war in Iraq.
I will let you know.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have been meaning to tell you something for a long time.
I have a new favorite TV show. It is... How I Met Your Mother.
I love it.
I have DVR so I don't know exactly when it comes on. I think it is 8:30 Mondays.
You have to give it a try. You have to give it a couple of episodes. I laugh a lot when I watch the show... I mean belly laugh. Sometimes I have to pause it while I am laughing, rewind it and watch it again and then laugh again.

Did you watch the videos on Monday and Wednesday's blog. I think the second one on Wednesday did not link so cut and paste it and then it will run.
Very funny.

Last thing...it is so hot in Florida. I almost dread going outside. I instantly sweat going outside.
Now you know that I am a runner... it is either early morning or late in the evening when I run. Last night at 9:30pm it was 90 degrees. Are you kidding me?
I ended up running at 10 with short shorts and no shirt (I know bad imagery, but imagine seeing it live...not pretty). It was like breathing steam.
I felt like the cyclist in China. I run and look for sprinklers that are on and try to run through them.
"Honey, I just saw a naked guy running through our front yard."

I hate to leave you with that picture but...
Have a great weekend.
Talk to you Monday,
John