Last year at this time, I took photos of our annual Balloonfest participants, moving gracefully across the morning sky above my house. They were completely silent, save for the flame jets they needed to release every once in awhile to maintain lift. (The sound drove Rousseau nuts. ACK.) Anyway, it was a lovely sight. Maybe I’ll see some more this morning.

This year, I caught the balloons on film as they passed in the early evening last night. They came so close, it looked like they might tangle in power lines or land on someone’s rooftop. It was fun to watch. (Rousseau still hated it.)

Some pretty pictures:

I hope your weekend starts off lovely as well. Time for the coffee. That’s the ticket.

FO

…I’ll tell you what I think about some TV shows.

Last week I caught the premiere of “Hot in Cleveland.”

I’m not sure what I was expecting…maybe something along the lines of “Golden Girls,” but with a modern twist. I think that’s what I got, although after watching it, something wasn’t quite right.

I suppose I’m not a huge fan of the one-liner sitcom. You know, the “Three-and-a-Half Men” style, where every other line is a rimshot drum kick. I mean, it was funny, don’t get me wrong. But it just lacked — I dunno — sincerity. Does a TV sitcom require sincerity? No. A situation comedy requires situations that are comedic. And there were plenty of those in “HiC,” if not just a bit contrived.

It’s all OK, though. Above all, I think it’s fantastic that middle-aged women are back in style on TV.

~~~~

Last night, the Thriller and I watched the premiere of “The Gates.” Now I might like this one, I think.

Think “Knots Landing” mixed with “Dark Shadows” mixed with “Desperate Housewives.” In other words, nothing really mindbending — just some spiky, mindless fun. They did a good job of shadowing/foreboding on character issues to establish viewer curiosity. Already, several developing plotlines are evident. I think I’ll tune in again next Sunday.

But for now, I must fly. I hope your weekend was relaxing. Mine was filled with dogs and family and fun. Off we go…

Photo credits: ABC-TV, TVLand

I will be curious to find some answers, or at least read the blog rants about the lack thereof. The Thriller and I never watched a single episode of Lost until the final season. And we pretty much got caught up on lots of details, thanks mostly to the “pop-up video” help on the bottom of the screen at various times during the year. I enjoyed the show.

Still, I’m with the other millions who are left with more questions than answers (not that everything in life must have a definitive explanation). I’m amazed at the hype leading up to it, and the cult-like following the show had/has. The Lost phenomenon only comes around every blue moon. I can think of several shows that had a similar following: M*A*S*H*, Newhart, Dallas (though the last two seasons kind of fizzled), ER, Seinfeld, and others.

Of course, all of MY favorite series get the ax at some point (Dark Shadows, The 4400), but I suppose all things come to an end. I’m still processing this. But it’s all good. I’ll get over it. It’s just television. Or is it? We could have quite the protracted discussion on what entertainments say about a culture, or the importance of identifying with a specific character in a made-up story. I’d wager it goes further than just a pastime on a Sunday night.

No time to wax philosophical/sociological, however. I have a concert tonight. Y’all come.

FO

1. I think I am the only high school choral director on earth who has never seen a single episode of Glee.

2. I’ve also never seen the Star Wars prequels. I dunno…it brought in a whole new cast of characters, and I guess I wasn’t ready to accept intruders. That, and I’m not sure I really embrace the whole “before they became who they were to become” thing. Prequels seemed to be the flavor of the week there for awhile in the 90s and early 2000s. There was a long time when I thought “prequel” was just a ridiculous word made up by the film industry so they could do more movies, beat more horses, push more brands, and generate more millions in revenue by inventing backstories after running out of forward stories. Silly Fink.

[I do know that the SW stories were complete before Lucas started production on the fourth book as the first movie, though.]

But I did see all the original three movies in the theater — a great experience. This one in particular had me riveted to my chair (while pregnant with Seamus and probably wolfing down popcorn) back in 1980. Do you believe The Empire Strikes Back is 30 years old? *sigh* Tempus fugit.

I think I’ll see this when it comes out later this year. It’s not that I’m all “there’s nothing like the original,” but sometimes, well, there’s nothing like the original.

In fact, there are several movies that should never be remade. Lessee here, in no particular order…

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (bad astronomy and all)
2. Gone With the Wind (because they’d muck it all up with secks and gory war scenes with limbs dangling and stuff)
3. The Sound of Music (because it’s so delightfully breezy, easy and cheesy, and the singing is really, really good — like most movie musicals, it should just be left alone)
4. The Wizard of Oz (I think there’d be civil war)
5. The Godfather films (why try to improve upon perfection?)

What are your choices? What films should they never remake, or what films SHOULD be remade? I covet your thoughts this day.

Image credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.