Tag: movies

I’ve been visiting schools this week and have lots of fun details to share. But it’s Friday and it is seventy degrees here in central Massachusetts and I am going outside to play instead!

For now I’ll share a very cool tip:

If you’re stuck inside and hankering for a shortish distraction, check out this link to AMAZING JOURNEYS, an IMAX documentary about animal migrations. I have no idea why the entire documentary is available for free online, but it is … and it is so totally worth forty minutes of your time. The opening segment is about the migration of monarch butterflies, and it had me reliving my own recent journey to Mexico.

If you enjoy this video as much as I did, consider buying a copy for yourself or your local library. If you buy it through MonarchWatch, you can support monarch conservation at the same time.

Have a great weekend!

 

Did you catch The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies on NOVA last night?

Oh, my.

I’m a big fan of monarch butterflies. I’ve tagged them. I’m writing about them. And in less than a month I will be cavorting with them in the mountains of south central Mexico. Watching this documentary was a no-brainer for me.

But seriously? Even if you are only mildly acquainted with the monarch, this up-close look at their epic migration is worth watching. The photography is spectacular, from the eclosion of a butterfly in the opening scenes to the dramatic adventures of individual migrants along the way. It’s a spectacle. You’ll love it. Check the PBS website for local listings.

© Loree Griffin Burns

Meanwhile, I am trying to sift four years of high school Spanish out of the recesses of my brain as I prepare for my own epic migration south. I’m also pulling my various monarch books off the shelf and immersing myself. Here’s a look at my orange-and-black reading:

FOUR WINGS AND A PRAYER, by Sue Halpern (Vintage, 2001)
THE LAST MONARCH BUTTERFLY, by Phil Schappert (Firefly, 2004)
AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE, by Laurence Pringle and Bob Marstall (Orchard, 1997)

¡Feliz lectura!

 

A friend of mine—a friend who reads my blog and paints churches with me in the wee weekend hours—suggested I blog occasionally about family movies, since my family and I watch quite a few. Good idea, Cris! As it turns out, I feel the need to shout from the rooftops about ANNIE today …

… because my daughter had some minor surgery yesterday and had a rough afternoon recovering from the anesthesia. Her brothers and I comforted her as best we could, but eventually gave up and turned to ANNIE for help.

I am sure that some of my devotion to this movie is nostalgic in origin. I was thirteen when the movie was released in 1982, and I fell in love with every aspect of the film. Aileen Quinn (Annie) was a kid, like me. (Okay, not so like me. I could not sing or dance and did not have the nerve to speak up in class never mind star on stage. But she was an orphan, and I was, too. I had always suspected orphans were special, and Annie convinced me I was right.) Ann Reinking (Grace) was beautiful and maternal and lovely. Albert Finney (Daddy Warbucks) was strong and successful and a big softie. And he kind of looked like my grandfather. Carol Burnett (Miss Hannigan) was, to me, the perfect villainess (which is to say, a good gal in the end).

ANNIE is rated PG, mostly because of Miss Hannigan’s excessive drinking, cruelty to her orphans, and irascible attempts at marrying her way out of the orphanage. This is a great family film, especially if you have song-and-dance fans in the house. I highly recommend the soundtrack, which has brightened many a dreary day around here. My little patient fell asleep humming “The sun’ll come out … tomorrow …