My Current Interest

               Before the start of World War II, a man helped save hundreds of Jewish children from what was then Czechoslovakia.   For fifty years this story remained untold until the man’s wife found a scrapbook in their attic.   It was because of this scrapbook that the world came to discover the great thing this man did.   People were inspired and became determined to do great things themselves all because of the action of one man.   This man was Nicholas Winton, and Nicky’s Family is his story.                     Nicholas Winton was supposed to go on a ski trip.   It was his friend who changed the plans.   His friend wanted to go to Czechoslovakia to help the children, and Mr. Winton agreed to go with him.   While there, the parents of Jewish children recognized Mr. Winton’s interest in helping.   They appealed to him to save their children by taking them out of Czechoslovakia.   Everyone knew tough times were ahead, and they were determined to do whatever they could to ma

               The other week I saw the movie Bye Bye Birdie in full for the very first time.   It was on TCM and afterwards host Ben Mankiewicz mentioned how different the music in the film was from the original stage production.   Some songs were completely omitted while others were shortened.   Since I have never seen the Bye Bye Birdie stage musical, I was intrigued to see how different the two scores truly were.   I borrowed both discs from the library and played them back to back.   Doing it this way, it is clear there are distinct differences between the two.   I will not say one is better than the other, but they certainly are different.                                 Before I get into a comparison of the two scores, it would probably be best to explain what Bye Bye Birdie is about.   The very short explanation is it’s about a ‘50s rock and roll star going off to the Army.   In truth, there’s a lot more to it than that.   Actually, the rock star, Conrad Birdie, is

               This is a cute movie.   A light-hearted, enjoyable, cute movie.   Some may scoff at a movie such as this, but sometimes a person needs something that doesn’t make you think too hard.   Instead of thinking about the complex motivations behind the characters’ actions, with a movie like Just Write , all you have to do is sit back and enjoy.                         Harold (Jeremy Piven) is a Hollywood tour guide.   He drives one of the trolleys that show tourists stars’ homes.   It is his dream job and something he has wanted to do his entire life.   While Harold is happy with his life, his family and friends around him believe he should be something more.   It isn’t until Harold meets an actress he admires that he starts to think the same.                 Amanda Clark (Sherilyn Fenn) is charmed by Harold when he comes up to talk to her.   She mistakes him for a screenwriter which Harold does not correct because he does not expect to ever see Amanda again.   Then Am

               Every year my library sets up a display of books they think will make great holiday gifts.   One of the books on display this year was The Marvels .   The cover is what attracted my attention first, but it was the premise of the book that made me want to check it out.   I found a story about a multi-generational theatre family absolutely fascinating.   There were so many things about that family I wanted to know.   Then to have the story told in the interesting set-up of both pictures and text, I knew I had to give the book a try.                             The story starts in the 1700s.   A young Billy is living on a ship with his older brother Marcus when they are caught in a storm while putting on a play for the other shipmen.   Billy and Marcus, along with their dog Tar, manage to escape the storm and find land, but Marcus does not survive.   With only Tar as his companion, Billy must figure out how to navigate the world on his own.                 After c