Thanks, TCM!

Woo-hoo! The Natural is on! Does it matter that I have it on DVD? Oh, hecks no, cause I'm gonna sit here and watch every glorious moment and listen to every second of its phenomenal score. One of my favorite parts is on right now. Roy is about to strike out the Whammer, and then he'll do a lil hop-step. Classic Redford! I still fluctuate between this and Hoosiers being my favorite sports movie of all time. Speaking of those two...

Just how in blazing heckfire did Barbara Hershey land a role in both of these magnificent films?!? Maybe the reason I dislike her so much is because of what she does to Roy Hobbs in The Natural. Anyway...

I love this movie, and it makes me want it to be baseball season (spring training has started, ya know), even if this will be the first year in six I haven't been to the Friendly Confines. Oh, well. I think baby's more important. ;)

Really!?!

It's official, folks: Smallville has been renewed for a 9th season. I have to admit I don't know how I feel about this. Season 7 was a MAJOR bummer, and Season 8 has kicked it up a notch. The Legion has been around, Doomsday's roamin' the earth, and Lex is out there...somewhere. But, really? You all know I loves me some Smallville, but we need to make some advances toward Superman...FAST. It just seems like the show has no direction. It needs an end in sight to mold its episodes to perfection instead of countless filler*.

Clark needs to fly, yo! I just read Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Superman for All Seasons, the graphic novel which inspired Smallville. (In fact, Loeb and Sale have done some producing and writing on the show.) Clark was out and flying about by the second part in the book. On the show, Clark is in Metropolis, working at the Daily Planet, and sparks are beginning to kindle between him and Lois. Now, we need some specs, some tights, and some flights. C'mon! I can't suspend my disbelief that he's not a superhero yet. They better get that party started by the end of this season and spend Season 9 reveling in his superheroness (yes, I just made up that word).

*Yes, I know: I need to be a TV executive.

Synchronize Swatches!

It's about time! (Did you love that pun?) Parker Lewis Can't Lose is finally coming to DVD! The early FOX favorite will be available for purchase on June 30. See folks, this is why you always browse tvshowsondvd.com--you never know what you'll find. I was just checkin' things out on Tuesday when this awesome news popped up. Huzzah! I'm going to go place my order on amazon right now!

• Click HERE for the amazon link to buy. (I have to admit, I'm not too happy with the $44.99 price tag, and that's with the discount.)
• Click HERE for the DVD specifics from tvshowsondvd.

New MJF Book

If you didn't already know, one of my heroes, Michael J. Fox, will release his second autobiography, Always Looking Up, on April 7. His first autobiography, Lucky Man, was released six years ago, and it's one of the best celebrity autobios I've ever read. While MJF isn't the best poet on the block, his words are honest and true. Even though his prose may be sparse, his real voice rings through the pages, and it's as if he's telling you his story from the chair beside you.

Apparently Lucky Man is out of print :(, but click HERE to pre-order his newest tome from Amazon. (Cause that's what I'll have to do, since I can't go to Pages anymore.)

Oscar Sunday

It's here! Another Oscar Sunday! Yippee! Here at BBB!, Oscar Sunday is right up there with Christmas and Thanksgiving. To celebrate, I'm going to view a couple of past Oscar favorites and have a small gathering tonight. On the viewing menu today? "Walk the Line" and "Coal Miner's Daughter." What is it about country superstars that make such amazing films???

As you all know by now, "Coal Miner's Daughter" is one of my all time favorites. Sissy Spacek's 1981 Oscar for Best Actress was well deserved. The more recent bio-pick, "Walk the Line," has also become a personal favorite in recent years. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are intoxicating onscreen, and it's hard to look away from the screen when this is on. Perhaps the best part about both of these films is that the lead actors all lend their own vocals to the original songs, and their covers are some of the best ever recorded. On some tracks I even prefer their covers to the originals. (Shhhh! Don't tell Joseph I said that about Johnny Cash!)

I do have to admit I haven't done my studying for this year's big show: all I've seen are "The Wrestler," "Tropic Thunder," and "Dark Knight." I'll still give my all for the ballot contest, because there is a trophy this year! (Thanks, Lisa and and Andrew!) I have to say, I'll be disappointed if Mickey O'Rourke doesn't win. That film was awesome! Hope you have fun watching, and hope my kiddies forgive me for not grading their papers this weekend. (Like I said, this is almost like a holiday for me. We shouldn't be having school tomorrow.)

Cole Trickle Does Daytona

Although the Daytoner 500 took place a week ago, I'm just catching up with my posts, and I just had to put up some awesome pictures from the Yahoo of BBB!'s favorite, Tom Cruise*. (Our ever vigilant Internet source, Dad, made them known to us.) Good ole Tom was making the rounds, and he was the honorary pace car driver. He took son, Connor, with him, and he's flashin' that patented Cruisazy smile everywhere. To placate all fans, he did shake hands of both Junior and Gordon (see below). Click HERE to check him out...you know you want to.











*Yeah, yeah, I know. All you people hate him. He's not that bad, and we'll still support him at BBB. In fact, we find his soire into Scientology quite entertaining. "Valkyrie" was really good, by the way.

When Words Aren't Enough

Some places on this earth become living, breathing beings. Some places come alive thanks to the people that inhabit them and work in them. Pages for All Ages bookstore was one of these places.

Pages wasn't just a place: it was a friend. One of the best friends I've ever had. Oh, I see. You think I'm overly sentimental. You think I'm too dramatic. That's fine; I'll let you think that. The fact is, however, I'll miss Pages just as much as I miss a dear friend that moves away or a loved one that passes on.

Within those walls, some of my dearest memories dwell. I remember the first time my mom took me to the store, when it was located at the Old Farm Shoppes. I'd never seen anyplace so WONDERFUL. Books towered over my head, and within them endless worlds to discover, characters to meet, and friends to make. My favorite corner was the beginning of fiction, right next door to horror (where I bought my first Anne Rice novel) and the bathroom (Yes! this store even had a bathroom!). I loved the card room, where I could pick out quirky, cute cards for my girlfriends, and I loved buying all of them gift cards for their birthdays. But, the best part of all??? The kids section.

Rows upon rows of fictional odysseys...not to mention New Kids on the Block biographies and Ghost Writer serials. Oh, my! To get a gift card and run to Pages on a Friday night with my mommy to spend it! These are seriously some of the fondest memories of my childhood. I decided on these Friday nights that my future career was in books, and my future job would be HERE.

My childhood dream came true in the summer of 2000 when I got a part-time position at my old friend of a bookstore. I was SO excited! I couldn't believe it! My prayers had been answered, and I started five of the happiest years of my life at the new store in Savoy. I also made some of the dearest friends I've ever known: Mr. Bill, Tonia, Robin, Brian, Dean, Neil Boy Cashier, Miss Molly, Norma, Teri (who has the best laugh in the world) & Stuart, and so many others that passed through the doors, even for a short time, and blessed my life with their presence. I finally moved on, to concentrate on teaching, but I knew I would return one day...hopefully as a retired teacher, working in the Kids' Section, where I first fell in love with the store.

My story ends here. I'll have no more memories of my dear friend. I'll miss the rows of books, browsing with my gift cards I still always received for my birthday, my beloved friends--both fictional and real--and yelling out the Iron Chef greeting to Mr. Bill. But, what will I miss most? The smell. The saddest part of my final trip there was the fact that the smell was gone. I didn't smell Pages; I smelled greedy people cashing in on the demise of my best, most dependable childhood friend. That's when I knew it was really over...when the smell of books, love, and coffee were gone.

Bye, Pages. I'll miss you.

So Long

Today marks the beginning of Pages for All Ages' going out of business sale. After 20 years of business, Brandon and Susan Griffing will be closing Pages' doors on Monday, after the weekend-long sale. Some employees of Pages have accused me of being harsh with my first posting on the store's business status, after hearing they may close. I want to apologize to those people who have deemed me such I reread the words, and it may have seemed a little out of line, but I was trying to deal with the fact that my favorite store, and a staple of our community, was faced with the reality of these horrible economic times.

It breaks my heart to see the store closing. It was my home away from home during my college years, and it's been such a huge part of my life since I was eight. I'll be going there today to use up my gift cards from Christmas, and I'm just upset that any extra money I spend will go to the bank who now has control over the stock, not the owners and employees. Yes, I'll probably cry, and yes, I'll definitely be mad/sad/upset when I leave for the last time.

If you're around the C-U area, I hope you get a chance to go say goodbye to the best bookstore that ever opened doors in this town or any other. Goodbye, Pages. We'll miss you.

SUCCESS!

That's right, folks! Success has come to yours truly, and I WILL be attending the New Kids on the Block concert here in Champaign on April 5! I know you've all been waiting by your 'puters to find out if I got my grubby hands on those coveted tickets, and now I can tell you that I'll be in A20, Row 8, at the hall.

I waited in line for a couple of hours, but it was worth it, because I met some fine characters:

• One "lady," pounded back three 20 oz. cans of Coors Light while waiting (yes, at 7:30 in the morning).


• There was a group who had camped out since 1 p.m. yesterday (cause these tickets were going to be in such high demand with the youth market).


• The woman in front of me almost cried when she couldn't get floor tickets (yeah, she was 32).

I'm so excited to be going, and this prego didn't want floor tickets anyway. I hear the mature NKOTB fans are completely nuts. As my friend, Catherine, put it: they're older, and now that Donnie's single, they think they actually have a chance...the only chance they have is making an ass out of themselves. Let's hope my pregnancy continues to go well, and that when April 5 rolls around, no premature contractions will occur...I'm sure I'll be fine. :)