I don't know if you guys have seen this one. The acting gets a little corny at times. But, the message is really great. It really gets to the heart of what is most important. It's a feel good type along the lines of Facing the Giants.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Leatherheads: A Surprisingly Fun Movie
I do believe that Matthew and I are posting the first movie review on this blog. Yippee!! A couple of weeks ago we watched Leatherheads starring George Clooney, "Jim" from The Office, and Renee Zelweger (sp?). FUNNY! FUNNY! FUNNY! It's set in the 1920's and tells the story of how pro football kind of got started. The football isn't a huge focal point though (Jessaca). The dialogue is quick and witty, and quite clean for a PG-13 movie. Matthew's favorite scene is the "fight" scene between George Clooney's character and the character played by The Office guy. Hilarious!! We recommend this movie with 3 1/2 stars.
Oh, you won't be able to find it at Redbox, probably. We rented it from the MovieCube at Fred Meyer's. We have found that it has a bigger selection, and almost never a line.
Love it!!
What a fantastic idea!! I'm so excited about being a part of this! We just started up an RS book group in my ward, we've only read one so far. It was Cathrine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman. It's a YA book, so a quick read. Set in the middle ages complete with village maidens, rushes on the floor and fleas galore. It was cute, not my favorite, but cute. Heather, you may want to give this one a try b/c it is a quick read, and does have some factual basis in the Middle Ages. No swearing, by today's standards, but Catherine does spend part of the book trying to find the perfect swear word. She settles on "God's Thumbs!" Now I'm on to The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I'm going to try the 2 week challenge with this one that Mom mentioned in her last post. I guess this one was on Oprah's booklist, which I usually try to avoid b/c I think that woman wields way too much power over the female population in this country. Oh well.
Sarah Elizabeth
P.S. If anyone comes across any good books for boys that are NOT fantasy literature, would you post it here. I'm trying to help Zeke get a good range of reading and there's just not a whole lot out there for young boys. Thanks!!
Sarah Elizabeth
P.S. If anyone comes across any good books for boys that are NOT fantasy literature, would you post it here. I'm trying to help Zeke get a good range of reading and there's just not a whole lot out there for young boys. Thanks!!
How to Break a Terrorist by Matthew Alexander
For a really great beddy time book check out How to Break a Terrorist! It actually was a fascinating read. The author, Matthew Alexander is not his real name, worked as an intelligence agent in Iraq. The methods that he used were more along the lines of building relationships of trust rather than control and force. His methods were remarkably successful. It is interesting to read how some of the lives of our soldiers were saved.
Warning, there is quite a bit of swearing especially in the beginning. There are quite a few times where there are sentences blacked out, and he never gives a reason. But, I've thought about taking a marker and just blacking out some of the swearing since the method is already used in the book.
Anyway, I thought it was a good read, despite some of the language. I'm glad to know they are using more effective methods to protect our soldiers and us.
Warning, there is quite a bit of swearing especially in the beginning. There are quite a few times where there are sentences blacked out, and he never gives a reason. But, I've thought about taking a marker and just blacking out some of the swearing since the method is already used in the book.
Anyway, I thought it was a good read, despite some of the language. I'm glad to know they are using more effective methods to protect our soldiers and us.
Last Saturday Steve challenged all of us living at Camden Pl to read a book in two weeks. He committed to reading Don Quiote(?) in Spanish. I have committed to reading the actual words on a page my first Jane Austin book. A while ago dad got me the complete works in a really big book. I decided to start with Sense and Sensibility. I have read 9 chapters so far. Any one that would like to join us in the challenge would add to the fun of it.
On not reading Picture Books
Well, in 2008 I tried to read 2 books a month and was able to read 42. This year I'm going to try and improve my literacy and my book count by breaking the 50 mark. That means I'll have to read somewhere around book a week. I also really try not to have them all be picture books, even though those munchkins love them.
Lizzie, Rem and I just finished reading the Wizard of OZ which is really an allegory of the economic situation in 1890 in the US. (For instance the yellow brick road represents the Gold Standard, OZ is and ounce of Gold, the Scarecrow represents farmers, the Tin man factory workers, etc. etc.) The kids loved it, but I did stop before they melted the witch. Sarah, you know how I love to read socialist books.
Also, I've just finished reading Freakenomics, which is not as intellectual as your econ book Sarah, but talked about how we are all motivated by incentive whether you're a KKK member, a Sumo wrestle, or a Teacher. Now I've got Jeff turned on to it, and he's enjoying it. Warning: if you are planning to read it, the author has some very controversial views on why crime rate have gone down. As with everything I think that statistical number reflect some truth, but it doesn't mean it's easy to accept. Also his conclusion contradicts with some moral views I have so for the sake of mystery, I'll just say that one crime does not right another.
This last week I've finished the second book in the Fabenhaven series, which is a Young Adult book. Zeke would probably love this since he's braved Harry Potter already. I enjoyed the 2nd book in particular because it is kind of like Harry Potter meets Indiana Jones. I hope you enjoy reading them out loud all you Camden Place residents.
And now that I'm done with that, so I can completely round out my genres, I'm reading Mansfield Park, and practicing my English accent. Thanks for letting me borrow it Shanelle. I'll try and get it back to you soon.
Great blog idea Sarah! We can also link all our book list together at
I think that Mom, Shanelle, Rychelle and I are the only ones on right now, but sign up and be our friends.
I am currently reading The Screwtape Letters. I highly recommend this book. It is so insightful with the way Satan thinks about temptations. I know that some of the Prophets have quoted this book. At first I wondered if it would be "yucky", but it isn't. Not one bit. I always feel inspired after reading it.
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Conflict of Visions by Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I'm currently reading Applied Economics and will post about that one as well later on.
A Conflict of Visions is a brilliant and fascinating take on the roots of political struggles based on the visions which drive ideology. He does a fantastic job of discussing the differences without being biased.
The two visions he identifies are the Unconstrained Vision and the Constrained Vision. He goes into a great amount of detail on the origins of both and recent and relevant of examples of both.
I'm not sure that I can boil the two down very well without going into a great deal of detail. But, I'll give it a try. For starters the Unconstrained Vision (UV) focuses on the importance of equality of things and the Constrained Vision (CV) focuses on the importance of equality of opportunity. If your kids are in a 100 meter dash the UV believes that all the kids should get the same trophy for participation and the CV believes that trophies should be given in order of performance and that all of the kids will have better performances because they are in competition. The French Revolution is the UV, the American Revolution is the CV. The Garden of Eden is UV, life after the garden CV.
It's all way more in depth than that, but it's a start. Most of us will find elements of both in our own beliefs but leaning more one way. It certainly helped me understand and even appreciate the other side of the equation for me.
It's a great read. I highly recommend it.
Sarah Emily Jordan
A Conflict of Visions is a brilliant and fascinating take on the roots of political struggles based on the visions which drive ideology. He does a fantastic job of discussing the differences without being biased.
The two visions he identifies are the Unconstrained Vision and the Constrained Vision. He goes into a great amount of detail on the origins of both and recent and relevant of examples of both.
I'm not sure that I can boil the two down very well without going into a great deal of detail. But, I'll give it a try. For starters the Unconstrained Vision (UV) focuses on the importance of equality of things and the Constrained Vision (CV) focuses on the importance of equality of opportunity. If your kids are in a 100 meter dash the UV believes that all the kids should get the same trophy for participation and the CV believes that trophies should be given in order of performance and that all of the kids will have better performances because they are in competition. The French Revolution is the UV, the American Revolution is the CV. The Garden of Eden is UV, life after the garden CV.
It's all way more in depth than that, but it's a start. Most of us will find elements of both in our own beliefs but leaning more one way. It certainly helped me understand and even appreciate the other side of the equation for me.
It's a great read. I highly recommend it.
Sarah Emily Jordan
A Place for Jordans and Friends To Write About Reading
I have always enjoyed reading. This started growing up when my family would gather around and read books together. From the Chronicles of Narnia to Little House on the Prairie to Harry Potter. It was a fun tradition and I appreciate having a love of reading introduced from a young age. We also really enjoy movies. Quoting movies is one of the favorite pastimes around a Jordan household.
I thought it would be fun for my family to have a place to discuss the books we have recently read or are currently reading and to discuss movies past and present that we have enjoyed. Of course anyone is invited to also contribute via comments or let me know if you want to be a contributing author.
I thought it would be fun for my family to have a place to discuss the books we have recently read or are currently reading and to discuss movies past and present that we have enjoyed. Of course anyone is invited to also contribute via comments or let me know if you want to be a contributing author.
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