As we sit in our warm homes eating cake and watching "Dancing with the Stars," most of us aren't aware of the struggles other people in the world are going through.
Both the book and the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" are reminders that not everyone is going to sleep in a warm bed tonight and some people will fall asleep hungry.
"Pursuit of Happyness" is based on the true story of Chris Gardner. Chris is a failing salesman trying to sell a medical device that practically no one wants to buy. Chris loses his wife, his apartment, and almost his son, and becomes homeless. Chris never gives up. He juggles taking care of his son and an internship at a brokerage house. The story does have a happy ending.
The movie, starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith, is great. And the movie was so emotional that people were crying in the audience, which is rare. I expect Will Smith will be nominated for an academy award.
The book offers more detail and explains a lot about Chris Gardner's childhood but is not a good read. The book doesn't get good until almost the end. And the idea that Chris had a maniac for a stepfather is stated way too many times. I'm not saying Chris didn't have a hard childhood. I'm just saying that telling us that 20 times 20 different ways does very little to bring the point home. And by the way, Chris grew up in Milwaukee. The book also tells how Chris, after becoming a successful stockbroker, has helped the homeless and other causes.
One thing I liked about the movie was the audience. The audience was 98 percent white. Why do I bring this up? Only a few years ago, a white audience would not pay to see a movie about the struggles of a black man. I think this audience saw a man struggling and didn't care about the color of his skin and cheered for him just the same.
So, if you're looking for a good Christmas movie, this is it.
Rated PG-13 for language.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Christmas in Las Vegas
Wendy and I flew to Las Vegas last weekend as a spur of the moment kind of thing.
We've been to Las Vegas many times before, but never in December. It was kind of nice because there were fewer people there. That meant shorter lines or no lines to get into different casinos, restaurants, and events. However, we've been warned by friends that it's a madhouse for New Year's eve because of all the California visitors.
Some of the casinos did a great job of decorating for Christmas but most casinos didn't decorate at all.
We went to a show featuring the Scintas. This is a family show full of singing, comedy, and impressions. It was fun.
We went toTodai, my favorite restaurant in Vegas, which has a huge selection of Sushi.
It's always interesting to look at the expensive stores in these casinos. It's strange to look at a shelf in one of these stores and see just one purse or pair of shoes on that shelf. You see that one purse or pair of shoes can cost as much as $600, or more.
Singers Celine Dion and Elton John have stores of their own in the Caeser's Palace casino. Maybe some people would like to be famous and have their name printed on shirts, key chains, and everything else. But I thought it was kind of silly. I'm sure fans of those two singers feel differently about it.
Our package deal arranged for us to stay at Harrah's. The room was very nice and fairly large. Only disadvantage was the view was terrible, but we could live with that.
The Las Vegas monorail had advantages and disadvantages. The monorail is fast and efficient. For a day pass, it's $15 per person/ticket. The disadvantage was that the monorail was built behind the casinos on the east side of Las Vegas boulevard. So, the casinos on the west side are quite a distance from the monorail. And to get to the monorail, one has to walk all the way through the casino to get to the back where the monorail station is. If the casino is crowded, getting to the back can be time consuming and annoying.
One thing Wendy and I noticed in the airports this time was the number of people who were traveling with their dogs and cats. The animals were in small carriers, which had to fit underneath the airplane seats.
Most of the time, our plane was too high to see Christmas decorations on the ground. But when we were landing and taking off, we could see Christmas decorations on some houses and they were very pretty. This must be the view Santa has when he is flying around the world.
We've been to Las Vegas many times before, but never in December. It was kind of nice because there were fewer people there. That meant shorter lines or no lines to get into different casinos, restaurants, and events. However, we've been warned by friends that it's a madhouse for New Year's eve because of all the California visitors.
Some of the casinos did a great job of decorating for Christmas but most casinos didn't decorate at all.
We went to a show featuring the Scintas. This is a family show full of singing, comedy, and impressions. It was fun.
We went toTodai, my favorite restaurant in Vegas, which has a huge selection of Sushi.
It's always interesting to look at the expensive stores in these casinos. It's strange to look at a shelf in one of these stores and see just one purse or pair of shoes on that shelf. You see that one purse or pair of shoes can cost as much as $600, or more.
Singers Celine Dion and Elton John have stores of their own in the Caeser's Palace casino. Maybe some people would like to be famous and have their name printed on shirts, key chains, and everything else. But I thought it was kind of silly. I'm sure fans of those two singers feel differently about it.
Our package deal arranged for us to stay at Harrah's. The room was very nice and fairly large. Only disadvantage was the view was terrible, but we could live with that.
The Las Vegas monorail had advantages and disadvantages. The monorail is fast and efficient. For a day pass, it's $15 per person/ticket. The disadvantage was that the monorail was built behind the casinos on the east side of Las Vegas boulevard. So, the casinos on the west side are quite a distance from the monorail. And to get to the monorail, one has to walk all the way through the casino to get to the back where the monorail station is. If the casino is crowded, getting to the back can be time consuming and annoying.
One thing Wendy and I noticed in the airports this time was the number of people who were traveling with their dogs and cats. The animals were in small carriers, which had to fit underneath the airplane seats.
Most of the time, our plane was too high to see Christmas decorations on the ground. But when we were landing and taking off, we could see Christmas decorations on some houses and they were very pretty. This must be the view Santa has when he is flying around the world.
If you would like to see more Las Vegas photos, click on the link below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jack390/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jack390/
Sunday, December 03, 2006
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