What Do Librarians Really Do? The Reality Show

Over the course of my 40 years as a librarian, mostly in public libraries, I can't tell you how many times people would ask me, "What do librarians DO exactly?"

My daughter is a newly minted librarian and just recently, someone asked her that same question. 

I also got "I bet you read a lot of books," "You don't look like a librarian," and "Shhhhhh."

Each to which I would reply, "I wish," "What are librarians supposed to look like?" and "Sigh."

The reality of what librarians do is what others do who manage people, projects and buildings, who work with the public and solve problems.

Librarians no longer sport buns with pencils stuck in them, double tread floor gripper shoes and sweater clips, nor do they shush people, because public libraries, these days, are lively places. 

Well some do, but in general, librarians look like anyone else in a professional job - they are young, old and in between.  They are fashionable, usually well-read, hip and knowledgeable about everything from pop culture to the classics.  And they are not reading on the job, especially those dirty books supposedly kept behind the counter.

I have been retired for almost a year, but I still dream I am at work.

It's like watching a reality show.
Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo....

 

 

8:30am

I arrive at work looking smashing in my little suit, jaunty hat, snappy red purse, hoop earrings, makeup and designer shoes (that's what a librarian looks like).


I know what you are thinking here.  I look young.  I told you this was a dream.

 

I am immediately apprised by another staff member that the toilet in the ladies' room is stopped up. I grab the plunger and head for the restroom hoping my Manolo Blahnicks won't get wet (just dreaming again about the Manolos - the reality is librarians don't make enough to afford designer shoes, but, hey, we aren't in this for the money).

8:40am 
Toilet fixed - just needed to be flushed. C'mon, people.   

Head to my office to check email. Check today's schedule to make sure we are covered. Looks good. 
Uh oh.
A staff member calls in sick. Call subs - no one available. 

Redo schedule.

9:30am 
Finish email. 

Start working on some new computer classes I am going to teach - "Job Hunting on the Internet" and "Internet Resources for Changing Careers."  It's the times. Also sending out press releases for next week's programs.

Receive a call from the local newspaper about our basic computer classes.

"You mean there are people who don't know how to use a computer?" she asks. I tell her about the hundreds of students we have helped so far, many of them seniors and people whose native language is not English. So the answer is, yes, there are many people who don't know how to use a computer or, believe it or not, don't own one. 

I meet with a staff member to do some brainstorming on how to deal with the kids who have pizza delivered to the library to eat while they are doing their homework. (We allow food, but having pizza delivered is a bit much and people complain about the smell).

10:00am. 
Open the library. 

First question of the day. 

The customer wants a photograph of Mary Magdalene.  He is doing a painting and wants to be sure to get the colors of her clothes right.  I have to gently explain there weren't any cameras back in her day, but I could probably find him an artist's rendering.  He isn't convinced.

10:10am 
Help a customer set up a free email account so he can apply for a job.

10:20am 
Help that same customer send his resume to an employer.

10:25am
Help that same customer get back onto the computer because he turned it off by mistake.

10:27am 
Help that same customer get back on the computer because he turned it off by mistake again.

10:30am
 Answer the phone and find phone numbers for local low income housing.

10:40am 
Young girl wants to know how to take care of her pet snail.  She has it with her.

 

I don't want to ask. I find some information on what snails eat. (decaying plants work).

Any books about fairies or princesses? She jumps up and down when I produce several.
(Fairies and princesses are hot topics, so I keep a list of titles in the drawer at the Information Desk because libraries don't usually have special sections devoted to Princesses and Fairies - probably should).

10:50am 
Children's librarian reminds me she has an appointment at the school. 

Redo the schedule.

11:00am 
A woman wants Prince Harry's phone number and then remarks that she just can't understand why Queen Elizabeth would build Windsor Castle so close to Heathrow Airport. (Huh?)

 

11:20am 
Had been approached by a teacher from the local community college who wanted me to come to her ESL class to do a presentation about library resources in languages other than English and our ESL and citizenship classes.  So I leave the library to make this lunchtime presentation.

2:00pm. 
Return from presentation.  Back in my office. Receive call from staff member. Family emergency. Can't make her evening shift. Look for some substitutes.

Redo the schedule.

2:35pm 
Alerted by staff that the toilet in the ladies' room is stopped up again. This time it's full of toilet seat covers and someone also has stolen all of the toilet paper. The toilet paper gets stolen repeatedly.  Is there a shortage of toilet paper out there? Leave office to investigate. Grab plunger. (Didn't learn this in library school).

2:40pm 
Back in my office. 

Staff reports that a woman is lying on her back in the restroom.  Go to investigate wondering if I am going to have to do CPR. Turns out she is doing back exercises. Told her she was alarming customers so should work on her back outside. She will probably alarm customers outside the library as well.  Her eyes were spinning.

2:45pm 
A library customer alerts me to the fact that an elderly gentleman is outside asking how to get home. We bring him in. He tells me he had walked all the way from his home (several miles) and couldn't remember how to get back. I ask him if it's OK for me to call a policeman to take him home. He agrees. An officer arrives and is very kind to the gentleman. 

Wonder if that could be me one day.

2:50pm 
Back in office. Shut door.

3:00pm 
A customer knocks on my door.  She wants to complain about the drinking fountain.  The water is not shooting up high enough.  She has complained about this before and I have reported it to maintenance.  The answer is that perhaps she is not pushing on the bar hard enough.  We go out to look at it together and I show her that it appears to be working well.  Then she says the water tastes funny.  Sigh.

3:30pm 
Make some headway on administrative tasks. 

Back out in the library. Working with the collection - pulling outdated and shabby materials so shelves will look inviting.

A customer asks me what I am doing.  When I explain that we keep track of how many times a book has gone out and remove well-read and well-worn materials, she picks up a book that is literally falling apart and smells of cat pee and says, "You are not going to get rid of this, are you?" 

Thank goodness, I am approached by several young customers looking for homework help so I excuse myself. Find needed materials and tell them about the live Homework Help on our website.

4:00pm 
Back on the Information Desk.

A woman approaches looking for a book, can't remember the title or the author, but she knows it has a green cover.  I ask her what it's about.  She can't remember.  She just knows it was really good and had a woman in it. (Reference librarians are good but these kinds of questions are tough - and common!)

4:10pm 
A woman comes to the desk and says she needs the name of a song she can't get out of her head.  Can she hum it for me?  I don't have a good feeling about this one.

A regular (he comes in every day) corners me to complain about what another customer is looking at on the computer.  He does this every day and since we have privacy screens on the computers, it takes effort to see what others are looking at.  I want to say "It's a free country so if you are worried about what other people are looking at, don't look," but I don't.  I just nod, acknowledge him and explain that we don't monitor what adults are looking at unless we discover they are doing something illegal.  He leaves.  See you tomorrow.

4:15pm
Another regular customer comes up to me.  She always asks who was kicked off of "Dancing with the Stars" last night and then wants to talk about it (fortunately, being the Reality TV Queen that I am, I know this one off the top of my head).  Lonely people come to the library.  Social work is part of the job.

4:30pm 
A group of teens enter the library, laughing and talking and head for the Teen Room.  I want to say "Shhhhh," but I can't promote that stereotype.  Instead,  I smile at the cat ears and pink net tutu one of the teens is wearing with her Doc Martens.  Hope they don't order pizza.

Work on some questions that require some research and get ready to pass the torch to the evening staff.
 
5:00pm

Is it 5:00 already? 

Forgot to have lunch... Evening shift staff arrives. Everything seems to be running smoothly. Getting ready to head home...

Staff member reports that the toilet... Sigh...

And then I wake up and remember I am retired. 

There are some things I miss about my old reality and some things I don't.

My new reality includes an appointment with the TV for some real reality shows.

Have any library "dreams" to share?

 

See you Friday for

 

"A Day in the Life of a TV Addict: 

The Reality Show Continues..."

 

Thanks for reading!
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.

 

Why We Need Librarians

 

 

Ever since the advent of the Internet, there has been the sentiment that books and librarians would no longer be needed. 

After all, everything was free and available on the Internet, right? Wrong. 

Contrary to popular belief, not everything is on the Internet and not everything is free. It would be impossible to digitize all of human knowledge. And even if we could, how would you make sense of it all? 

Books and librarians will always be around.

The Internet provides access to a wealth of information, that is true. But the Internet is a disorganized, unregulated place. You can type some words in Google and get results, but can you tell the reliable information from the unreliable? Do you know the difference between an Internet address that ends in .com and .edu? 

Anyone can put anything on the Internet. 

There are people out there who will do just about anything to get your attention (Does "Rosy the Reviewer" ring a bell?).

But seriously, type .com by mistake, instead of .org or .edu at the end of an Internet address, and be afraid, be very afraid. 

Some commercial enterprises buy addresses hoping you will make that mistake and end up on their web page, rather than the one you meant to go to.

This kind of thing may seem small to you just as I am sure you would never fall for the Nigerian email scam. You know the one, it begins "Dear Admirable Beneficent One..." or some such thing and then it goes on to tell you he is a Nigerian Prince and needs a bit of cash to make his and your dreams come true.  Oh, no, YOU would never fall for that, but enough people have that the scam continues.  Likewise with these bogus websites.  They only need a few of you to land on their websites to be successful.

Porno, anyone?  If you type www.whitehouse.com instead of www.whitehouse.gov, see what you get.

Librarians are trained to help you avoid those kinds of mistakes, lead you to the reliable sites and help you make sense of what you find, whether you use the Internet all the time or are a beginner. 

Yes, Google is amazing, and I give it its due. But a librarian is a trained professional on duty in a library to help anyone and everyone with his or her information needs no matter what their skill level. A librarian will welcome you with a smile, patiently work with you to formulate your question, if needed, and help you evaluate your search results, so you are getting the best information possible. And they do their best to make sure you are satisfied before you leave the library. 

Can Google do that?


In these trying times, libraries have been busier than ever. Librarians help the newly unemployed fill out job applications and set up free email accounts. I know it is difficult for many people to believe, but there really are people out there who are not only not computer savvy, but don't own computers. They come to the library for help.

Think of a construction worker who did that job for 30 years and suddenly found himself unemployed.  He didn't need computer skills to build a house.  Now if he wants a job at Home Depot, he has to fill out his job application online.  Librarians help him do that.

Librarians also teach classes to help senior citizens practice needed mouse skills so they can email their grandchildren.  They get them set up on Facebook so they can stay in touch with friends and family.

Can Google do that?

Librarians also protect your right to information by providing all sides of an issue and your privacy to seek whatever information you wish.

Can Google do that?

Don't get me wrong. The Internet, and Google in particular, have certainly made our lives easier, especially the librarian's. In my days as a reference librarian and researcher, I can remember endless hours of searching in old newspapers and volumes of reference books for a fact I can now pull up on the Internet in seconds. And I am sure you find it easy to find information too.

But are you sure you are finding the right information?  The best information?

There really is a skill involved in doing Internet searches.  I won't get into Boolean logic, because Google has pretty much solved that issue, but formulating a specific, accurate, "down to the nitty gritty" search?  Do you have that skill?

And you know what?  If Google went away tomorrow, Librarians would still be able to find information for you...the old fashioned way!

And that leads me to another reason you need librarians.

I can't tell you how often a library customer came to me looking for help telling me he or she had already looked on the Internet and found some things but it didn't really answer the question.  I would quickly do a search and find the information and the customer would say, "How did you do that?" I would just smile.

I wanted to say , "This is what I do. I am a Librarian."

 

See you Friday for

 

"15 Must See Documentaries"

 

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.

Why Oprah Still Matters and The Week in Reviews

[I give you a sneak peek at Kevin Costner's upcoming new movie "Draft Day" - it opens April 11 - and review the movies "Kill Your Darlings," "Telstar: The Joe Meek Story" and "Spinning Plates."  I also recommend a great rock & roll memoir].

But first...

 

Why Oprah Still Matters

Since I have retired, I have started meditating.  I am om'ing and counting my breaths all over the place, and I really am the better for it.  There is something to being "still" with yourself, living in that quiet space between thoughts, communing with your consciousness, your real self, and being aware of your breath.

I have Oprah to thank for that. 

She and Deepak Chopra have teamed up to present free "Meditation Challenges," and that's what got me started (there is another one - "Finding Your Flow" - starting April 14.  Check it out.)

I miss Oprah.

She is not on TV every day anymore. 

I know we still see her on her OWN channel.  She has several shows she hosts such as her "Oprah Prime" series and "Oprah's Life Class." But since she left her daily afternoon show, it hasn't been the same.

I started watching Oprah's show from the very first episode.  In fact, I can remember seeing her ads for her first show, this overweight black woman who exuded something...what was it?  Realness?  All I knew was that I wanted to be her best friend.  And she was a kind of best friend for over 25 years.
 
For 25 years, Oprah came into our living rooms and kitchens, interviewing guests on the topics of the day, and sharing her views, but most importantly, sharing herself.

When Oprah first went into national syndication, her show wasn’t much different from Donahue’s or Geraldo’s. And Jerry Springer had not yet gone to the dark side. 

She had the usual shows like “Librarians Gone Wild” and “I’m in love with a librarian. Does that mean I have to read books?" or something like that. 

But it was during a program on skinheads that she had an epiphany. She didn’t want her show to be a vehicle for spreading hate, so she made a conscious decision to move away from the sensational and to use her show as a platform for good. And she has never looked back.

But now Oprah has retired from her daily presence on the small screen and in our homes to pursue her dreams.

Why does Oprah still matter?

• She practically single-handedly revived the publishing industry with her Oprah’s Book Club where people reported not having read a book in years until she told them to and she is still promoting reading. Here is her list of books for 2013.

• Her seal of approval was given to countless “favorite things,” thus assuring their success: from Spanx to Miraclebody jeans to Barack Obama’s bid for the Presidency to her current interest in meditation.

• She launched the careers of Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Suze Orman, Rachael Ray and Nate Burkus and she is single-handedly trying to save Lindsay Lohan.

• She made dreams come true with her Wildest Dreams tour, from helping  audience members figure out their true bra size to bestowing Pontiac G6s to all 276 of her audience members (I wish I had been there). 

• She has teamed up with Deepak Chopra for Meditation Challenges (I have been doing these and just signed up for the next one.  They are free and wonderful. I highly recommend them.  Can't you tell how much more calm I am?) and one of her new shows on the OWN channel is Super Soul Sundays where she sits with top thinkers, writers and spiritual leaders like Eckhart Tolle or Toni Morrison to try to raise our consciousness.

• Oprah was and still is a champion of reading and libraries, even if she never did fill her audience with librarians for one of her Favorite Things shows, despite my many emails to her producers. ( Didn't she realize that librarians needed new cars and washers and dryers too)? Oprah said that it is not enough to simply tell children to read, but there should be books in the house. She said, “You make a field trip of a day to the library and make a big deal out of getting your own library card."  Hallelujah!

Her shows made a difference.

Oprah tells the story of a woman who came up to her in a store and told her that she used to beat her kids. And then she watched an Oprah show about how you weren’t supposed to beat your kids. At first that didn’t make sense to her, because her mother had beaten her and her mother had been beaten. But she kept watching the show and she said that Oprah had been consistent about this issue. So she said she was going to try to not beat her kids for one week. She tried it for a week and then a second week. And then she said, “Now I can’t remember how long it’s been. I don’t beat my kids anymore---and I got different kids.”

As Oprah says, quoting her friend Maya Angelou, "When you know better, you do better."

For me personally, it was Oprah herself that I tuned in to see every day. 

Oprah was like a close girlfriend for 25 years, sharing her own story which included child abuse, issues with weight and her “aha moments.” Her sincerity urged me to make a difference and to be my best self. Her programs always seemed relevant to what was going on in my life at the time. When I would share some new idea with my family about family time or how we might want to change something, my son would yell, “Mom’s been watching Oprah again.” When the change was something he didn’t like, he would cry, “I hate Oprah!”

She is one of the most powerful women in the world, and she has chosen to use that power to help others. No matter what you think of her, I don't think you can say her heart is not in the right place.  She wanted to use TV to make the world better.  She has her own network and what she shows there is of a higher nature than most television. 

On her website she shares her vision:

"My life's work is about fulfilling my potential and leading other people to fulfill their own. It is my calling to help other people find their calling and summon the courage to live it."

So even though Oprah is not on television every day she is still a presence as she uses her fame and power for good.

And we should support her.  If you complain about television, then you should support people who are trying to elevate it and use it for higher goals.  Check it out.

Oprah deserves all of the accolades, and I am glad she is realizing her own dreams.

But I miss seeing her every day. 

I think she should run for President. 

Or at least become my best friend.

What do you think of Oprah?

Oh, on second thought, I don't really care. 
I don't want you to say anything bad about Oprah.

Check out her new website.

The Week in Reviews



***In Theatres April 11***

Sneak Preview

 

 

 

 

Draft Day 

 

 

Kevin Costner plays the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns and his career is on the line if he doesn't put together a winning team on Draft Day.

 

This movie doesn't open in theatres until April 11, but my active theatre-going resulted in some free tickets to this sneak peek.

 

Hubby had to explain some of it to me (as in how the draft works) since I am not a big football fan, and I probably wouldn't have gone to this if my beloved Kevin wasn't in it.  But football fans will enjoy the real life football footage, the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing for draft picks and the appearances of famous football heroes.

I could have done without the romance side story, but didn't mind the big kiss at the end ('cuz I LOVE Kevin).

 

(Humorously, the Seattle Seahawks had the first pick here and were the "bad guys!" This must have been made before we won the Super Bowl).

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...football fans will enjoy this despite some implausibilities.  And it's a nice lead-in to the actual NFL draft in May.

 

 

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

And Some You Should Be Glad You Did

(I see the bad ones so you don't have to)

 

Kill Your Darlings (2013)

 

Recreation of a true life murder that brought Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs together.

It's 1944 and all three meet while at Columbia University. It's early days for what will become the "Beat Generation." Ginsberg is just finding his writing chops. They fall under the thrall of charismatic Lucien Carr, who is supposedly being stalked by an older man.

"Kill your darlings" comes from a quote arguably attributed to William Faulkner.  It's a caution to writers that to reach their writing potential they must get rid of their literary self-indulgences and pretentions.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Brace yourselves, Harry Potter Fans. Daniel Radcliffe like you have never seen him. An interesting addition to the history of the Beat Poets.

 

 

Spinning Plates (2012)

 

 

This documentary shares the stories of three restaurants: Alinea, a Chicago restaurant with three Michelin stars, Breitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa and La Cucina de Gaby in Tucson, Arizona.

There could not be three more different restaurants.  Alinea embraces molecular gastronomy and the concept of food as art; Breitbach's embraces home cooking and provides a place for locals to meet; and La Cucina de Gaby embraces Mexican comfort food. 

What links them together?  They all faced tragedy and heartbreak and triumphed.  And they all really cared about their customers' dining experience.
 

Rosy the Reviewer says...A foodie's delight.



Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)

 

 

 

A biopic about the rise and tragic fall of British record producer Joe Meek, who had a huge hit in 1962 with "Telstar," the first record by a British group to make it to #1 in the U.S. He recorded many artists who went on to have big careers (Tom Jones, Gene Vincent...) and his influence on the music industry is still felt today.


 

 

 Recognize it?

 

Despite his genius and innovations in music production, Meek had issues.  He was the British equivalent of Phil Spector.

I love biopics, but this one doesn't know if it wants to be a comedy or a tragedy. It starts out with over the top comical characters and then morphs into tragedy. It's all over the place. Despite a good performance by Con O'Neill as Meek, there is a lot of scenery chewing (do you hear me, Kevin Spacey?). What could have been a compelling story fails to engage.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...very atmospheric take on the British pop scene of the early 60's and a sad story, but it's a bit of a slog.  Depends on how dedicated you are to films, biopics and the music world of the 1960's.  I had trouble with this one.  But this guy is worth knowing about.
(For a better British biopic on a similar topic and of the same era, try "The Look of Love."  I reviewed it here). 

 

***Book of the Week***

 

Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life by Graham Nash (2013)

 

 

Musician Graham Nash candidly shares his life, his love affairs and his stints in The Hollies and with David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Neil Young.

I judge a memoir on how readable it is and how honest and this one meets both criteria.  It's a fast, fun read that you Baby Boomers will especially love.  All the shenanigans of the 1960's and 1970's are here.  Made me very nostalgic for the good old days of sex, drugs and rock and roll!

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...for rock & roll memoirs, they don't get any better than this.

 

 

 

That's it for this week.

 

See you Tuesday for

 "Why We Need Librarians."

 

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it and/or email it to your friends.

Check your local library for DVDs and book mentioned.

 

The Golden Globes, the Academy Award Nominations, and the Week in Reviews

[I review the movie "August, Osage County" and DVDs "Thanks for Sharing," "Renoir," "The Awakening" and "Adore."]

But first

It's Awards Season at the movies, and for movie lovers, that's our play-offs leading to our Super Bowl, the Academy Awards.

The Golden Globes were last Sunday and there were a few surprises.

The first surprise was how unfunny Tina Fey and Amy Poeller were compared to last year, other than the joke about George Clooney when describing "Gravity:"

"It's the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age."

Jennifer Lawrence stole "American Hustle," but I was surprised she beat Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave"). 

Love Jennifer Lawrence, hated her dress. 

But, Lupita Nyong'o had the best dress.

Another upset was Matthew McConaughey beating out Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Actor in a Drama. I thought Ejiofor was a shoo-in for that.  Now I am wondering what the Academy will do. If he doesn't win, I won't have to learn how to pronounce or spell Chiwetel Ejiofor.

So glad Elizabeth Moss won for the mini-series "Top of the Lake."  She is probably better known for "Mad Men," but here she stars as a complicated New Zealand cop trying to find a missing girl. Her accent is so good I thought she was from New Zealand, but she was born in Los Angeles. I am watching it now on Netflix (streaming).  When it aired on television it was a critical success, but I don't think anyone saw it.  If you liked "Twin Peaks" or "The Killing,"  you will like this.

Highly recommended.

And then there's Jacqueline Bisset. 

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie.  One, I don't feel she didn't deserve that Golden Globe.  Though I loved "Dancing on the Edge,"

her part just wasn't that difficult an acting job.  Hubby said she won because she still looks so good. 


And two, her acceptance speech. What the hell?  Methinks she had been a tippling.

She stood on stage for a full 23 seconds before she said a word and then this is some of what she said:

I mean, does this make sense to you?

"I want to thank the people who've given me joy and there have been many. I say it like my mother ... she used to say 'Go to Hell and don't come back.
I believe, if you want to look good, you have to forgive everybody. You have to forgive everybody. It's the best beauty treatment. Forgiveness for yourself and for the others. I love my friends. I love my family."

Couldn't believe Woody Allen had written and directed 74 films in 48 years.  That is incredible that he not only directed that many, but WROTE that many.  His getting the Cecil B. DeMille award was well-deserved.  Some of my all-time favorite movies are Woody Allen films.

And I have to say, I not only called "12 Years a Slave" as Best Picture and Alfonso Cuaron ("Gravity") for Best Director, I did it BEFORE the nominations. 

And can I just say, why in hell don't people who are nominated and could win, prepare a speech?  There was so much bumbling around with the speeches I thought I was at amateur night at Toastmasters.

As for the Academy Award nominations (which were announced yesterday), few surprises, and I called almost all of them, except I can't believe Tom Hanks did not get nominated for "Captain Phillips," nor did the director, Paul Greengrass. "Captain Phillips" got screwed.  It was a great film.  As I said in my earlier blog "Oscar Predictions," what Tom Hanks did in the last few minutes of that film was acting at its finest. 

And why wasn't Emma Thompson nominated for "Saving Mr. Banks (which I reviewed in last Friday's blog)?"

However, I am glad to see Leonardo DiCaprio getting some props.  I think he is one of Hollywood's most underrated actors.

I had forgotten that up to 10 films can be nominated, so I only called five, but had I remembered, I would have called all of the films with the possible exception of "The Wolf of Wall Street."  But where was "Saving Mr. Banks," "Fruitvale Station," and "Inside Llewyn Davis?"

What did you think of the Golden Globes? 

Did they get it right?

Which Actors or Films were snubbed for Academy Awards?

***In Theatres Now***

August: Osage County 

A funeral brings a dysfunctional family back to Oklahoma.

The movie poster says it all.

Based on Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize winning play (2008), this film brings together an incredible cast:  Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper, Juliette Lewis (good to see her back again), and more for two hours of dark comedy.  Letts also wrote the screenplay, and he deftly brought the visual aspect to what is basically a family getting together around a table to air their dirty laundry. 

As Tolstoy wrote in "Anna Karenina,"
"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."  And boy is this family unhappy.

I saw the Broadway touring company of the play a few years ago.  It starred Estelle Parsons as the irascible, drug-addicted mother.  She was in her 80's and running up and down the stairs of the set and she was fabulous.   But Meryl Streep is just magnificent in this film.  Glad to see she is nominated for an Oscar.

Rosy the Reviewer says...See this for the acting, especially Streep's performance. 
As Hubby said, "She is a National Treasure."

 

***DVDS***

You Might Have Missed

And Some You Should Be Glad You Did

(I see the bad ones so you don't have to)

Thanks for Sharing (2012)

Three men struggling with sex addiction.

This could be the poster child for AA, it's so earnest.  Not a huge Mark Ruffalo fan.  His acting puts me to sleep.

Rosy the Reviewer says...A formulaic film, but nonetheless entertaining.




Renoir (2012)

 

Set on the French Riviera in the summer of 1915, Jean Renoir -- son of the Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste -- returns home to convalesce after being wounded in World War I. Both father and son are enchanted by the artist's muse, Andree.

 

This film depicts the elder Renoir at the end of his life and son Jean, before he became the famous filmmaker.

 

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...See it for the cinematography and the gorgeous French countryside.  As beautiful as Renoir's paintings. (subtitles)

 

  

 

The Awakening (2011)

 

 



It's 1921 and ghost-hunter Florence Cathcart travels to a boy's boarding school to debunk ghost sightings there.

Rebecca Hall is a wonderful British actress who is underrated.  She has been in a ton of things, but has yet to break out as a big star ("The Town," "Parade's End"...).  She is rumored to star in the next "Pirate's of the Caribbean."  Perhaps that will bring her stardom.  She deserves it.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...If you liked "The Sixth Sense," you will like this except this one is scarier.



Adore (2013)

 

Naomi Watts and Robin Wright star as best friends who fall in love with each other's young sons. 

 

Sounds kinky, but this is a really good film.  Filmed in Australia, Watts gets back to her Aussie roots while Wright does a good job with her Aussie accent.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...gorgeous New South Wales scenery, gorgeous young men, gorgeous acting.  Adored it!

 

 

***Book of the Week***

 

Stitches: A handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne LaMotte (2013)

 

 

 

Lamott strives to make sense of this crazy world of ours and how we put ourselves back together after devastation and loss.  Her solution?  You do it one stitch at a time.

 

To find meaning, Lamott says it is enough to search for it. 

"The search is the meaning, the search for beauty, love, kindness and restoration in this difficult, wired and often alien modern world."  That's helpful to hear as I search for that meaning in my retirement and the rest of my life.

 

Rosy the Reviewer says...When crap happens, you need books like this.  It is comforting.  Similar to Harold Kushner's "When Bad Things Happen to Good People."

 

 

 

That's it for this week.

 

See you Tuesday!

 

Thanks for reading!

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Check your local library for DVDs and book mentioned.