Star Trek

Mark and I went to see the new Star Trek movie last night (Tuesday evenings are a great time to go to the movies--very few people there!). I was expecting to like the movie well enough, and was looking forward to spending time with Mark, but that was about it, given that I'm not a huge movie fan. Though I could have gone for less violence and more character development, I really enjoyed the film. I laughed, I cried, I cringed. The special effects were great. I think the best part, though, was watching how the new actors portrayed the characters from the original TV series. I think the fact that I remember so much about the characters from the original series--and while watching the movie I realized that I remember more than I thought--was the main reason I liked this movie. The actors did a really good job of recreating the mannerisms and chemistry of the original cast. I think my favorite was Zachary Quinto as Spock. I just like the character of Spock--logical, yet always struggling with the feelings of his human half--plus I'm familiar with Quinto from the TV show, Heroes, and it was fun to see him in this different role. Getting back to my comment about wishing for more character development--a comment that Mark made about the movie as well--it would be great fun to see a new Star Trek TV series starring the cast from this movie.

Ann Coulter

I love books by liberal women authors with a sense of humor. I just started a book called Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich. The author talks about how even a person with a full-time office job, living in an apartment can live the handmade, "homesteader" life. Her first step towards this way of life is to be a chicken owner. She happily and excitedly brings home her first three, full-grown chickens, only to wake up the next morning to one of them loudly squawking. Worried that the neighbors are going to call the police, she tries everything to calm and quiet the chicken down. When nothing works, she sets the chicken down in frustration, leaves it to explore on its own, and names her Ann Coulter.