Help Me, Honda! Save the Drive-In Movie!

I think it had something to do with my head cold, but when I stumbled upon Honda's Save the Drive In project I got all weepy.

I love drive-in movies. There's one in Mount Pleasant (the Basin Drive In), which Super and I are quite taken with. It's only an hour drive alongside sweeping landscapes to movie perfection. The family friendly, communal gathering is unlike any other. And it's cheaper than seeing a movie in the normal theater (in most cases), which moves the drive in high on our list. Even in our little car, it's a lovely set up.

In a few days, drive in theaters who have not switched to digital projectors will be shut down. It costs about $80,000 to convert, and that's far more than most of these theaters have. By voting in the Save the Drive In project, you can help at least one theatre stay open. Check out the video below, and then go to projectdrivein.com today to vote and find out more about what you can do.

Do-da-do-do.

All photos by Jacob

I want to say that morning and I have a complicated relationship, but that's not quite it. I think morning is more fickle than I am, because it seems to keep moving.

Somedays I wake up early and greet it outside before 7:30. At those times, it rushes around me once with its fresh cool touch and then settles right next to me. Together we stride out. We meet strangers walking by and board trains going somewhere. But mostly we just breathe.

Unless, I'm late. Then there's more huffing and puffing towards the next thing. Morning feels neglected. My sleep schedule gets disrupted once again. And we stop seeing each other in the same beautiful way.

Then morning surprises me at a later time. Around 9, it's still there for me, waiting outside, but it's colors have changed. Instead of sitting by me, it waves from the mountains and causes them to shine. I say hello quickly as I walk to the car, and it seems just fine with that, like a friendly neighbor with nothing to hide.

Today we met twice at 8:30 and 10:43. Each time it reached in through my bedroom window and made the piles of laundry and the stacks of boxes gold. The tree outside was glad to see us both.

I sometimes try to remind myself that getting up early means enjoying more beautiful mornings, which is more satisfying than sleep. But morning and I like the variety. Turns out, it's lovely always.

In the spirit of this post, I share this video: "Here Comes the Sun" from The Concert for George, which is still to me one of the most lovely musical endeavors ever. One year after his death, George Harrison's friends gathered to give what Eric Clapton described as (if my memory is correct) "a beautiful tribute for our lovely friend." Never forget that "Here Comes the Sun" was written by George, not Lennon and McCartney. 

Unfortunate Cake Delay

In great news, this Cake Week will not end yet! (Why yes, I have all kinds of power when it comes to extending weeks. Seven days is highly relative.)

The sad news is that the delay on making the cake is happening because our car broke down (that makes three times since our engagement, if you don't count the flat tire). So, alas, I have not yet made it to the store for ingredients.

I think this waiting is making me more pumped though to get started. I've got cake pans anxiously anticipating their next huggable friend.

Anyone want to guess what kind of a cake it will be?

I'll give you a hint: it involves Super's favorite kind of berry. Feel free to guess away in the comments.

In other news: in addition to the car dying, there was another demise in our household—Devin, the stormtrooper spatula, who melted to my mom's pan (so three demises if we count the pan; we must like the number three).

Don't worry though. We've replaced him with a clone spatula from Williams Sonoma. It's like Devin was never even gone. Honestly, he is a great spatula. He's even a better spatula than he is a stormtrooper.

Next to Devin, these people are my favorite stormtroopers.

It's Cold, Because I Know That

Salt Lake and Provo have been experiencing cold temperatures the likes of which we haven't seen in years. I'm qualified to say that, unlike most everyone in Provo, because I've lived here for 24 years. Usually I get really annoyed with all comments on how each year's winter seems to be stacking up to the previous winters, but this time, when I hear people complain that it's unusually cold, I agree.

As unscientific as this sounds, it hit me just how cold it's been when I walked out of work into seventeen degree weather and felt warm by comparison. So weird.

In good news, it means 'tis the season to share what I believe is the greatest video available on all of YouTube. All of it. Really. Please share this post and video with your friends who don't know about the Canadian Border Patrol.

You know you're an editor if

You know you're an editor if

1. you're already aware there shouldn't be a colon after if in the sentence above
2. you've already found an error or two in this post that Chicago wouldn't sanction
3. you didn't find all the errors and went straight to Chicago 6.121 to double-check
4. you see more possibilities in these cake pans than the average baker

This woman is an editor. She has schwa earrings.

5. you don't believe any of that crap about split infinitives or beginning a sentence with but
6. you wanted to cry joyfully when you first learned about old-style numbers
7. you could actually find a need for ten of these magnets
8. you support the return of the interrobang (well, not all editors do; but they should)
9. this video by College Humor speaks right to your soul

Also, you're an editor if you want there to be a number ten on this list. But alas, I have left you hanging like a dangling modifier.

On a related note, I hate it when there are typos and other errors on my blog. Should you find one, feel free to point it out to me. I'll be sad at my original failure. But I will correct it, and the world will stand greatly improved.

If you'd like a grammar question answered, ask away! I will write a post just for you.

There are so many other things that could go on this list. What would you add?

Snape + Science = The Ladies

This video has definitely affected my levels of happiness and my speech patterns in a positive way. It's raw, it's uncut, it's Snape doing science.

I give it to you as a post-black Friday gift. You're welcome.

For the summer, for the summer

Yesterday, I spent the lunch hour on my favorite bench in all of BYU (it has taken me five years to choose one) listening to a live performance by the Lovecapades, which was happening across campus.

It was a moment that felt like summer. My mac and cheese tasted gross, but my feet were warm on the pavement, the breeze moved the branches of my shade tree about, and my skirt fluttered. The moment only got better when the Lovecapades began playing a cover of this old, old song from my childhood. It's a silly one (actually, it's downright ridiculous), but it's one that brings back summers long since gone and pays tribute to the 80s and 90s.

Enjoy.




The Lovecapades also favored us with a cover of "Read My Mind" by the Killers, a song which is truly great in all seasons of weather and life. Take a listen to this to cleanse your palette.



To hear some real Lovecapades and download their album, check out this link.

Getting old tomorrow?

Have you seen Howl's Moving Castle? If not you should, or at least read my post on the BYU Women's Services blog about it.

Here's the link: http://byuwsr.blogspot.com/2012/05/getting-old-tomorrow.html

War Horse—Savor it

I’m not really a fan of animal movies. When the wellbeing of an animal becomes greater than the wellbeing of a person, it rubs me the wrong way. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that War Horse is really about people. People who drink. People who mock. People who hate. People who love. People who care. People who overcome. And people who die. The film intersects stories of men and women who do whatever it is they do with grace and kindness, and when they tried with the worst, they continue with simple goodness.

In the same sense that this is much more than an animal movie, it’s also its own breed of war movie. Death here is appropriately horrific and appropriately reverenced. The nightmare of the trenches flashes into you in a way no history book catches, yet with a gentle enough hand for you to grab hold of the respect you need and nothing more.

No one character is particularly glorified or outstanding. They each exhibit greatness as they cross paths momentarily. I was distracted throughout the movie because each new character seemed to look just like someone I know: my dad’s boss, my piano teacher, my neighbor. As I watched soldiers descending into the depths of WWII, it occurred to me that these are people I know.

These average looking and ordinary people represent the men who come before me—at least one of my direct descendants—but more so they stand in for the souls that were just down the street from my relatives, who gave and shared bread with them before they died. Where many family lines ended, mine did not, and it survived with the traces of good neighbors who gave their lives in full in the end and who had likely given bits of their time and spirit to their friends before.

War Horse sweeps across these stories lightly against a color palette of hope in bleakness. See it, and savor it.

Skip It: The definitive word that "Alvin & the Chipmunks" is a wreck of a movie

I'll confess that I get a kick out of pop songs I hate being sung in Chipmunk voices. Some of you may share this guilty pleasure. If you are one of those people, please don't let yourself be deceived like I was into thinking that this pleasure can last for more than three minutes.

I was warned that "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" would not be a fun movie. But the fact that it has had the most show times at the dollar theater out of all the other holiday movies made me think it would be great.

The first five minutes are enjoyable, but even while I was enjoying it, I wondered what else six chipmunks and poor Dave could be doing for the next hour and a half. It's really all about the same, with one funny moment (a man dressed in a pelican mascot suit puts his head on backward and says, "I'm always watching you."), lots of references to other movies that are rarely clever and usually creepy (the cutest of the chipettes climbs atop a mango and snarls, "Precious!"), and a few cute moments in which Theodore truly is lovely.

That's all you need to know. If you're still hankering for some chipmunks, just youtube the chipmunk version of your favorite song.

Now, here's something you may not know. Does Sonic sell hamburgers for a dollar on Tuesdays? Yes, they do. Can those hamburgers fit into my coat pockets? Yes, they can. Do they taste great in an empty movie theater? Yes, they do. Do they make me look funny when walking in? Why yes. They do that too. 

Enjoy my favorite bad pop song taken to new heights of awesomeness.

Dinosaurs strike again . . . this time, it's straightforward talk about plot

Check it out.


http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2157

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

"Think nothing," he says on the subway. I'm not sure I'm capable of this, but I did it once on a subway too. That's where this movie gets me.

Few movies are everything I want. Even fewer are everything I need. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close sunk into me in a pleasing and soothing way. It was instructive to my mind: here's crazy. Here's uncrazy. As everything goes in and out of focus for Oscar, I get closer to the holes in my mind, the gaps in my way of thinking, and they close up in the example of how we deal with fear.

Please see it. Savor all of it.

A nice little piece of film and music

I'm kind of digging this video and this song. Warning: there are whales. Get excited.

Also, according to YouTube, "This video was created with over 12,000 pieces of construction paper, shown as it was shot, with no effects added in post."

See/Skip/Savor: To Tintin

As I begin this review, I'll remind you of the assumptions behind See/Skip/Savor: I assume that like me you don't have the money to see a film before it hits the dollar theatre, making my review still timely.

So here's the scoop on the adventures of Tintin. In short, I have never liked this animation style, until today. It wasn't the scenery that got me, although the 3D was well used. Where it really made its mark is in the face of Tintin.

I've heard it said that Tintin is a boy's movie. There is more than enough crashing and "car" chases to earn that label. But as a woman, the expressiveness of Tintin's face never ceased to pull me in and engage me. He was the kind of boy I loved at ten and fourteen: curious and slightly dramatic. He also does lots of great monologuing, which I actually, in all seriousness, adore. He's definitely got the lines of a book character, but his face convinces us that he's in all earnestness enjoying the moment.

Will you occasionally groan? Yes. Will there be the odd incredible escape that is physically impossible? Oh yes. Will there actually be numerous escapes that are absolutely impossible? There will in fact be more than you might be able to handle. Will it be enjoyable though? Yes. Savor it for being fun, enjoyable, and still somewhat surprising.  

Skip it/See it/Savor it: Midnight in Paris

The story: Owen Wilson wanders Paris while his fiance engages in all kinds of nonsense. I'm on Owen's side, but then when am I not? I'm always impressed at his charm and acting abilities no matter who he plays. This Owen had me feeling sorry for the ridiculous selfishness of his fiance. May of you have probably never seen a Woody Allen film before. I never had, but I read part of the script for When Harry Met Sally once in a book of scenes for actors. After about seven years, it sticks with me still. This film didn't carry the wit and sharpness I expected, but the sincerity of it was nice, even if that was only something I extrapolated onto the film from the Allen name.   

What's it got to do with loving and being loved? At one point, Ernest Hemingway says, "Cowardice is not loving or not loving well, which is the same thing." I didn't see that moment coming at me, but it hit me like the sea. I can't say that the rest of the film really supports the sentiment in a way I subscribe to, but I'm going to take this phrase and use it for all it's worth to me.

The verdict: See it. It's worth some contemplation, if only to say you have seen a Woody Allen movie. 

Concerned about cleanliness? I'll direct you to Parent Previews here.

Skip it/See it/Savor it: We begin with boots

I'm pleased to announce the beginning of something lovely that will be happening on this blog, generally on that splendid day of Tuesday, which is also discount night at the dollar theater. I call it Skip it/See it/Savor it.

Here's how it works: 1) I make the general assumption that like me you are too poor to see movies very often before they hit the dollar theater and that you often use the dollar theater and RedBox to compensate for that. 2) I go see a movie from one of those locations. And 3) I give you my reccomendation based on the most important factors. Keep in mind that these recommendations are based on the idea that you're only going to spend a dollar. Let's give it a go.

The film: Puss n' Boots

The story: I've never made it through any of the Shrek movies. They don't appeal to me.  So, I was hesitant to give this movie a shot. But surprisingly Byron, Puss n' Boots satisfied my need for entertainment, a bit of laughter, and just enough real meat to think on. 

What's it got to do with loving and being loved: Friends are worth having, even when they don't always come through. In the end, real love and friendship do bring good things.

The verdict: Savor it, despite its rough edges. This film is worth seeing and worth enjoying.

Concerned about cleanliness: I'll direct you to Parent Previews here for their content advisory, but mostly I'd say it's manageable.

For the people

Many of you will have noticed a sharp drop in my blogging productivity. Well, rest assured. I have a good reason, and I have something to help make it up to you.

Right now, I'm in the full swing of final projects and final exams at school. In good news, they are not eating me alive like they normally do. I will survive the next two weeks in good measure. And I've already got some ideas for posts for next week.

Enough of meta-blogging. Here's something exciting. For my American Humanities class, we were supposed to paraody or make a tribute to one of the artists we studied. Some friends and I decided to make a film parody/tribute to Jackson Pollock. My boyfriend, Super, came in and turned my idea into something beautiful and entertaining. This genius boy of mine filmed and edited the entire thing in one day.

And you can see it here first. Be sure to hit the full screen button.



Pile of Pollock from Jacob Olson on Vimeo.

There's a party in Agrabah!

Disclaimer: I drew this heart in the sand, since I'm sentimental.

Just last week, my best friend, MaBeth posted these simple lines on her blog: "Want some happy news? Well, here you go. . . . We're engaged! And he's the best." (Some standardization of punctuation has occurred. I'm an editor, you know.)

I am still in awe about how much life stands behind those fourteen words. And I mean "life" rather literally. Why? Well, in one form or another, they have been dating for eight years! A really long time by almost anyone's standard. I've been around for at least seven of those years, and it even feels like a long time to me! (You know how time in your own life passes so quickly? Well, this did, but it still feels long.) I offer these pictures as proof of how we've aged.

I'm tempted to want a hard rule about how long people should or shouldn't date, but I realize that there is no easy rule. Everyone is so different, and everyone needs something slightly different.

More generally though, there is one rule: Love needs time. I've heard this idea expressed in many ways, but I've never encountered an explanation as beautiful, bright, and straight-forward as this one by Marvin J. Ashton. Some of my favorite parts follow, but you can also read the entire thing here.

"Love demands action if it is to be continuing. Love is a process. Love is not a declaration. Love is not an announcement. Love is not a passing fancy. Love is not an expediency. Love is not a convenience. 'If ye love me, keep my commandments' and 'If ye love me feed my sheep' are God-given proclamations that should remind us we can often best show our love through the processes of feeding and keeping. . . ."

Can you handle the meta?

"Feeding is more than providing food. No man can effectively live by bread alone. Feeding is the providing by love adequate nourishment for the entire man, physically, mentally, morally, and spiritually. Keeping is a process of care, consideration, and kindness appropriately blended with discipline, example, and concern. . . ."

"When were you last fed by a family member or friend? When were you last given nourishment for growth and ideas, plans, sorting of the day, sharing of fun, recreation, sorrow, anxiety, concern, and meditation? These ingredients can only be shared by someone who loves and cares. Have you ever gone to extend sympathy and comfort in moments of death and trial, only to come away fed by the faith and trust of the loving bereaved? Certainly the best way for us to show our love in keeping and feeding is by taking the time to prove it hour by hour and day by day. Our expressions of love and comfort are empty if our actions don’t match. God loves us to continue. Our neighbors and families love us if we will but follow through with sustaining support and self-sharing. True love is as eternal as life itself. Who is to say the joys of eternity are not wrapped up in continuous feeding, keeping, and caring? We need not weary in well-doing when we understand God’s purposes and his children.

"Undoubtedly our Heavenly Father tires of expressions of love in words only. He has made it clear through his prophets and his word that his ways are ways of commitment, and not conversation. He prefers performance over lip service. We show our true love for him in proportion to our keeping his words and the processes of feeding."

Continuing, keeping, and feeding. These words are more beautiful than any "I love you."

Didn't catch the cultural reference in my title? Oh, fine. You can start your repentance at 1:13, but the whole thing is still worth your time.