Friday, October 22, 2010

Killers & Date Night

Ok, so I don't usually watch romantic comedies. I like them, they just never make it to the top of my list. This weekend though, somehow I ended up watching Killers and Date Night, both of which I would classify as rom coms. They were both pretty funny, but overall nothing to write home about.

Killers felt a lot like Mr. & Mrs. Smith crossed with Grosse Point Blank, with a little Sandra Bullock thrown in for color. Ashton Kutcher plays it with the right amount of seriousness and silliness, and well, Katherine Heigl is in her element playing the lovely wife who discovers her hubby is a contract killer. Date Night felt a lot like Adventures in Babysitting, only with married people. Of course, both movies had decent acting, and well, Steve Carrell & Tina Fey are the awkward comedy masters. They do know how to make you laugh (seriously watch the takes in the credits- hilarious!).

They were both fun, and worth a rental, but I would never watch them again. I don't think either would hold up to a second viewing.

Rating: 3 1/2 purrs for some laughs and general goofiness

- Posted using BlogPress from Bruce

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

When I started The Omnivore's Dilemma, I was warned that it might turn me vegetarian. I figured that nothing could do that. If Fast Food Nation couldn't do it, nothing could. I seriously considered it though for a few chapters here and there after reading even more about factory farming, the copious amounts of corn and soybeans grown to support the food habits of Americans, and the slaughter of animals. Then Mr. Pollan sums up the book with The Perfect Meal, a meal harvested, hunted, and grown by him and shared with others. He sums it up with such a lovely thought. It's not just what you eat, but being conscientious about where it came from. Thinking about what it is you are eating, and celebrating it, enjoying it, be responsible for it.

The bulk of the book walks through three types of meals: the corn-fed beef meal, the organic and sustainable farm meal, and the hunter/gatherer meal. What I like about Mr. Pollan is that he thoroughly pokes about at all of the theories. Corn and corn syrup and corn-fed beef, the farming industry and how it has changed over the years. Organic farming and the fallacy of big organic. The spiritual aspect of being a responsible eater.

Michael Pollan has several more books that related to the topic of food and responsibility. I am adding them to my reading list because frankly, he has made me think about what I eat, and done so in such a way where I never felt preached to or talked down to. I too want to eat responsibly, and enjoy every bite.

Rating: 5 purrs...thanks Matt for recommending this one.


- Posted using BlogPress from Bruce