The Best You

"You will make a lousy anybody else, but you are the best "you" in existence." - Zig Ziglar

Action

"An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory." - Friedrich Engels

Tough Times

"Tough times never last, tough people do." - Robert Schuller

History Of Illinois License Plates

I came across this website of the history of Illinois License plates:

http://www.sos.state.il.us/special/plate_history/start_history.html

The Good Life

"The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge." — Bertrand Russell

Atonement

We watched the movie "Atonement" at Steve and LeAnn's.

Synopsis

In England in 1935, precocious 13-year-old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) lives on her family's country estate with her mother and sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Cecilia is home for the summer from Cambrige where she had been studying with the housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy). She and Robbie have an uncertain relationship; neither is willing to act on it but a certain romantic chemistry exists between them. One day, Briony sees from her bedroom window an argument between Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain. Robbie accidentally broke an antique vase and a piece of it fell into the fountain. Angrily, Cecilia stripped to her underwear and dove into the fountain to retrieve it. Briony is confused about the sexual tension between the two of them. The Tallises are being visited by young relatives from the north the twins Pierrot and Jackson (Felix and Charlie von Simsin) and their 15-year-old sister, Lola (Juno Temple), whose parents are in the process of divorcing. Leon Tallis (Patrick Kennedy) brings his friend Paul (Benedict Cumberbatch) for dinner. Paul keenly follows Hitler's political advance and predicts war. He plans to sell chocolate bars to the British military to give to their soldiers. While he tries to amuse Pierrot and Jackson, Paul and Lola flirt. Embarrassed by his behavior earlier in the day, Robbie tries to write an apology note to Cecilia. One of the drafts includes a sexually charged declaration of his love for her. He then writes a more formal apology he intends to deliver to her. However, he accidentally gives the sexual note to Briony while walking to dinner at the Tallises that night; he gives her the note because he believes it will be less embarrassing if it comes from Briony instead of him. When he realizes what he has done, he calls out to Briony but she is too far away to hear him. Back in the house, she reads the note and is scandalized. She gives the note to Cecilia but later confides to Lola that she believes Robbie is a dangerous sex maniac. Lola has come to her with arm bruises that she accuses her twin brothers of giving to her but Briony ignores them. Robbie arrives for dinner. He and Cecilia discuss the note and admit their love for one another. They make passionate love in the library but are discovered by Briony. At dinner, it is discovered that Pierrot and Jackson have run away. Everyone looks for them. While looking for them by a creek, Briony stumbles on Lola being raped by someone. He runs away into the darkness. Briony insists to first Lola and then the police that Robbie was the culprit and brandishes the sexual letter to Cecilia as evidence. Only Cecilia protests his innocence. When Robbie returns with the twins, he is arrested for rape. Tried and convicted, he is sent to prison. Four years later he is released into the British army and makes up part of the British Expeditionary Force that is sent to northern France in an attempt to halt the Nazi advance. In northern France, Robbie and two fellow soldiers attempt to make their way to Dunkirk, where the remnants of the BEF are to be evacuated after the Nazis rout their forces and the French. He has a shrapnel wound in his chest. Several weeks earlier, before he left London, he saw Cecilia again. She remained true to him for four years and begs him to come back to her. She reveals that she has broken contact with her family over her love for Robbie and belief in his innocence. She gives him a photograph of a seaside cottage near Dover that they can retire to. It will give him strength as he struggles towards Dunkirk. Cecilia is a nurse in London. She learns that Briony, now 18 (Romola Garai) has decided not to study at Cambridge and is training to be a nurse herself. Briony knows that Robbie did not rape Lola, that it was Paul to whom Lola is now engaged and who has become a millionaire selling his candy to the British army. Briony goes to see Cecilia to admit her guilt and state her willingness to do whatever it takes to atone for her sins and clear Robbie's name. Robbie is in Cecilia's apartment when she gets there. Although they are angry with her, they tell her what she needs to do to make things right. She agrees, then leaves as Cecilia and Robbie are intimate for one last time before he is shipped to France with the BEF. In 1999, Briony (Vanessa Redgrave), now in her late seventies and dying of vascular dementia, is a famous novelist. Her new book, Atonement, will be published on her birthday. The foregoing narrative had been one she created for her book, as an act of atonement for what she did to Robbie and Cecilia. In real life, she never saw Cecilia after she left the family, and Cecilia and Robbie never had a last tender moment in her apartment before he left with the BEF. Instead, he died at Dunkirk of septicemia, waiting to be evacuated. Cecilia died a few months later when a German bomb burst a water main and flooded the subway tunnel in which she and other Londoners had taken refuge during the Blitz. Briony hopes that, by reuniting them, she gives them the happy conclusion to their lives that they deserved and her readers the hope that everyone needs to survive. Robbie and Cecilia walk down the beach on a bright, beautiful day. On the steps of the seaside cottage, they look at the beautiful white cliffs, then disappear inside.

The Right Thing To Do

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." - Gen. Norman Schwarzkoff

Life-and-Death Matter

"If you treat every situation as a life-and-death matter, you’ll die a lot of times." - Dean Smith

Beautiful Girls

We watched the DVD "Beautiful Girls."

Synopsis

Pianist Willie Conway returns to his snowy home town to attend a high school reunion. Willie reunites with his old friends, Tommy "Birdman" Rowland, Michael "Mo" Morris and Paul Kirkwood. Willie finds that two of his old high school buddies have all got problems with their relationships, Tommy, is having a affair with former high school girlfriend Darian Smalls who is now married and Tommy has a girlfriend named Sharon Cassidy and Paul is angry that his former girlfriend Jan broke up with him because he won't commit and has tons of posters of supermodels on his bedroom wall. As Willie waits for his girlfriend Tracey to arrive, Willie finds himself having a crush on Marty, his 13-year old next-door neighbor and Willie, Tommy, Michael and Paul find themselves falling for Andrea, who is also visiting.

Blue Hearts

I finished reading the book "Blue Hearts" by Jim Lehrer

ABOUT THE BOOK

Charles Avenue Henderson and Bruce Conn Clark shared a CIA mission in late November of 1963 that helped change the course of world history. When Henderson, now living the quiet life of a bed and breakfast owner with his beloved wife in rural West Virginia, approaches former Secretary of State Clark at a posh D.C. restaurant and suggests they let some of yesterday's secrets out today Clark responds with a plan that puts Henderson's life at risk and tests both of their dormant "spook" skills. Henderson underestimated the depth of Clark's secrets and Clark underestimated Henderson's resolve. It's a mistake that neither will make again as the old allies match cloaks and daggers against each other.

Your Smile

"If you're not using your smile, you're like a man with a million dollars in the bank and no checkbook." - Les Giblin

Tenacious D - Pick Of Destiny

I watched the DVD "Tenacious D - Pick Of Destiny."

Synopsis

This is the story of a friendship that changes the course of rock history forever, of the fateful collision of minds between JB (Jack Black) and KG (Kyle Gass) that led to the creation of the precedent-shattering band Tenacious D, and of the two heroes' quest to find the fabled Guitar Pick Of Destiny.

The Groomsmen

I watched the DVD "The Groomsmen."

Synopsis

The story follows the misadventures and confusion of a groom (Ed Burns) and his four groomsmen the week before a wedding. Wrestling with issues of fatherhood, honesty and growing up, the five thirty-somethings discover their extended adolescence might be finally coming to a close.

Change Your Life

"Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life." — Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Thank God

"Those who thank God much are the truly wealthy." - Albert Schweitzer

Every Child

"Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man." -Rabindranath Tagore

The Straight Story

We watched the DVD "The Straight Story."

Synopsis

Laurens, Iowa, 1994. Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) is a 73-year-old frail old man who walks using sticks, and lives with his slow-witted daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek). One night, during a raging thunderstorm, Alvin gets a phone call from a hospital informing him that his 75-year-old estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) has suffered a stroke. Determined to meet and patch things up with his brother before either one of the dies, Alvin decides to visit him. The trouble is that Lyle lives over 300 miles away in Mount Zion, Wisconsin, and Alvin is legally unable to drive a car due to his bad health and poor eyesight. To make matters worse, Rose cannot drive either and they have no money for a bus fair. Undaunted, Alvin hatches a plan: he will drive his Rhoda lawn mower all the way. Sadly the Rhoda is not up to the task and splutters to a halt 10 miles away outside the town of Grotto. Reunited with his daughter, Alvins stubbornness knows no bounds, so he approaches Tom the Dealer (Everett McGill) to fix him up with a new vehicle: a 1966 John Deere riding lawn mower with a top speed of five miles per hour from Tom's personal collection. On September 15, Alvin sets off once more to Wisconsin. By day he travels on the road and at nights he camps out in the fields off the road making a campfire for himself every night. Alvins epic journey sees him meeting a pregnant, runaway hitchhiker (Anastasia Webb) whom he inspires to return to her family after a nightly campfire cookout. A few days later, Alvin encounters and comes in last in a bicycle race a local town is having. Then, Alvin encounters a frantic woman (Barbara E. Robertson) who has hit a deer and she tells him that she appears to have an unwanted ability to make deer come out and act like lemmings in front of her moving car. On October 8, as the landscape begins to undulate, Alvin's trusty mower goes out of control and he speeds down a steep hill and it turns out to have fan-belt and transmission failure. So, five weeks after leaving home, Alvin is forced to wait again for it to be repaired and staying with a kindly couple called the Riordans (James Cada, Sally Wingert). Haggling with the Olsen twins Thorvald and Harold (John and Kevin P. Farley) so that he can afford the bill, Alvin sets off again. Staying in a church cemetery for one night Alvin confides his life and problems to a local priest (John Lordan) and his determination to complete the trip. Alvin then crosses the Mississippi River into Wisconsin, slowly approaching his brother's home. After stopping in a bar in Mount Zion and drinking his first beer in years, Alvin makes the final stage of his journey down a dirt road to his brother's shack where he is finally reunited with Lyle at last.

Live Each One

"Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed." — Corita Kent

Christ The Lord: The Road To Cana

I finished reading "Christ The Lord: The Road To Cana" by Anne Rice

ABOUT THE BOOK

This book about the life of Christ begins during his last winter before his baptism in the Jordan and concludes with the miracle at Cana. We see Jesus — he is called Yeshua bar Joseph — during a winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea. Legends of a Virgin birth have long surrounded Yeshua, yet for decades he has lived as one among many who come to the synagogue on the Sabbath. All who know and love him find themselves waiting for some sign of the path he will eventually take. And at last we see him emerge from his baptism to confront his destiny — and the Devil. We see what happens when he takes the water of six great limestone jars, transforms it into cool red wine, is recognized as the anointed one, and urged to call all Israel to take up arms against Rome and follow him as the prophets have foretold.

Taxes

"People who complain about taxes can be divided into two classes: men and women." — Anonymous

Marble

"Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble." - Arabic Proverb

More Life

"The less routine the more life." - Amos Bronson Alcott

Ghost World

I watched the DVD "Ghost World."

Synopsis

Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are best friends having difficulties with the social attitudes of other people. After graduating high school, they decide to get jobs and live together on their own. However, Enid needs to attend summer school for art to graduate. Enid's anti-social behavior makes her lose her jobs while Scarlett works. As part of their summer fun, Enid and Rebecca play a prank on Seymour (Steve Buscemi), a middle-aged collector of vinyl records that also has difficulties with relationships. Seymour and Enid eventually become friends. As time goes by, Enid reaches maturity and develops a different view of life.

Counts

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." - Albert Einstein

The Ex

We watched the DVD "The Ex."

Synopsis

Living in Manhattan, Sofia (Amanda Peet) is an attorney and Tom (Zach Braff) is a cook who has a hard time holding a job. When their first child is born, they agree that she'll be a full-time mom and he'll get a promotion. When he gets fired, he takes a job in Ohio working at the ad agency where her father is assistant director. Tom's assigned to report to Chip (Jason Bateman) a competitive, hard-driving guy who's in a wheelchair and who's Sofia's ex-boyfriend - from high school. Chip still carries a torch for her, so he connives to make Tom's work life miserable. As Tom's frustrations mount, it may be that Sofia will take Chip's side.

Fine Lines

I finished reading "Fine Lines" by Jim Lehrer.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Oklahoma's lieutenant governor, One-Eyed Mack, is called in by Governor Buffalo Joe Hayman to investigate when a killer begins targeting the state's legislators of both parties for murder.

Curiosity

"It is a miracle that curiosity survives the formal education." - Albert Einstein

No Man Is Rich Enough

"No man is rich enough to buy back his past." - Oscar Wilde

Optimist

"Many an optimist has become rich by buying out a pessimist." - Robert G. Allen

Three Best Doctors

"Your three best doctors are faith, time, and patience." - From a fortune cookie

Choose The Bolder

"When you cannot make up your mind between two evenly balanced courses of action, choose the bolder." - W.J. Slim

Look For A Way

"When faced with a challenge, look for a way, not a way out." - David L. Weatherford