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Fess Parker, who played Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and the father in "Old Yeller" has passed away. We knew him best as Davy Crockett in the vintage Disney series, which is reputed to be the first miniseries in the history of television.

In honor of Mr. Parker, here's "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"

When the preview for "The Lightning Thief" appeared, I thought it might be a pleasant family movie. Thus, when I happened upon a copy of the book recently at the used bookstore, I snatched it up for a little pre-movie reading.

The book is not "Pride and Prejudice" and no large words were harmed during Rick Riordan's wordsmithing, but "The Lightning Thief" is an exciting tale for those who like Greek Mythology. I read the whole book in one afternoon...and one evening...because I refused to put it down without knowing the ending.

The movie, however, shares little in common with its book. The title and character names, that's about it. The movie should really be called "A Movie Very, Very Loosely Based on 'The Lightning Thief'".

Now, this is not to say that the movie is bad. One family member has not read the book and he enjoyed the movie. The movie even takes a trip to The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee - a location special to our family. Brownie points for that. I do wish, though, that the suggestive material had been left out. One main character seemed to be continuously on the prowl.

In essence, the book is a Grade B and the movie is a Grade B, but the two aren't really connected at all. 

While the rest of us are waiting for Hollywood to churn out a Lord of the Rings prequel (The Hobbit), Kate Madison of England has put together an amazing one-hour movie telling the story of Aragorn's parents using her life savings, donations, and over 400 unpaid actors.

Here is the trailer:

Can you believe Madison pulled this movie together for 25,000 pounds? Imagine what she could do with a Hollywood budget. Eat your heart out, Peter Jackson.

I watched the whole movie this morning and was very impressed. If you enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then I think you'll like Born of Hope.

Also, Closed Captioning is available for those us who are hard of hearing. Click on the up arrow on the bottom right of the movie screen and choose the "CC" option.

Here's Born of Hope: 

Since today is the 170th anniversary of Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert, I thought I would mention that The Young Victoria is a great movie and up for three Oscars this year. Although not completely accurate, the movie does show the turmoil Victoria lived under right before and right after becoming queen. It also shows how much Victoria and Albert loved each other, despite their's really being a political match. Last Sunday, my local PBS aired a one-hour documentary on Queen Victoria's early life. I wish I could link to it; it was very helpful in understanding the movie. If you can't view the documentary, then I recommend you read up on Victoria's childhood and early marriage. Knowing some background information will make watching The Young Victoria even more enjoyable.

For a well-done review of the movie, check out Laura's Miscellaneous Musings.

By the way, you can currently view an exhibition at Buckingham Palace related to Victoria and Albert's love of art. Some of the items are shown online, including Victoria's wedding brooch and the portrait she gave her new groom.

Ok, either President Obama has a serious bowing fetish or he's getting a lice check. Really, I can't think of any other reason why the man would bow to Mayor Pam Iorio of Tampa, Florida. She's an Italian who was born in Maine and grew up in Temple Terrace, Florida, so we can't say it's an Asian or Middle Eastern custom.

All this bowing has me thinking of a cute little movie by my favorite pint-size actress:

While many were watching the Grammy Award Show, the children and I had our own TV viewing.

First, we watched "A Special Duggar Delivery". It was so sad to see the suffering of the Dugger parents and their tiniest baby. We're glad to hear that Josie is now doing well. The show will resume this Tuesday at 9pm Eastern Time. If you visit the TLC website, you can view photos of Baby Josie. You can also visit a forum and read silly and inane comments about the Duggars. I especially enjoyed the accusation that the Duggar children are uneducated about World Cultures. Most Americans do not send their children off to foreign countries to aid the indigenous population. That is more of an education than reading a textbook. What a logic fail!

Next, we viewed the rest of the "Emma" miniseries on PBS's Masterpiece Theater. Hooray! We loved it. Though it did not include all of our favorite lines or scenes and did have an anachronistic PDA (public display of affection), one member of the family has petitioned for this "Emma" to now be declared our Emma. Is this so long and farewell to faux British accents? No, I think we can love more than one Emma. However, for those of us who long to see a bit of post-wedding bliss (my daughter), this newest incarnation illustrated just how romantic Mr. Knightley was.

Just an aside: people always rave over Mr. Darcy, but I've always been a Mr. Knightley fan. I'm not talking about looks, just character. To me, Mr. Darcy is just too high maintenance and is really a "fixer-upper". Mr. Knightley, though, is nearly perfect and aptly named. Just wanted to get that off my chest. Thanks.

So, who is this Lady Gaga? (No, I don't really want to know.) Doesn't Gaga sounds like baby babble.

Did you view Masterpiece Theater's "Emma" on PBS last Sunday night? When it was shown last year in England, it garnered less than stellar ratings - leading many to announce that the Age of Jane Austen Movie Adaptations was now over. However, after watching Part 1, I completely disagree with the naysayers. I thought the miniseries was wonderful. Though some may dislike an adaptation which strays a bit from its literary birth, I have yet to discover any part of this newest Emma which would make her creator fume. Any writer who begins a story with "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."  is one who keeps her tongue firmly in her cheek. A reason why Jane Austen has never gone out of style is that she was an acerbic wit and much of her novels must be read with a twinkle in one's eye.

Speaking of style, did you experience quite a bit of deja vu viewing while watching "Emma"? I did and the trivia page at IMDB reveals why: I've seen many of the costumes in other favorite movies. One most particular is the lovely gown worn by Emma at the Weston wedding. Formally, it was donned by Edmond's love, Mercedes, near the beginning of "The Count of Monte Cristo". Reusing costumes is, of course, a common practice for period films, but it is still great fun to play the "Where have I seen that dress/coat/bonnet before?" game.

Part 2 of "Emma" (60 minutes) will air this Sunday night and Part 3 (60 minutes) will air on Sunday, February 7. Any missed part can be viewed online until March 9, 2010. Also, a second Twitter Party is on for this Sunday night. Details at PBS.

The PBS website also offers many sweet treats, such as behind-the-scenes videos, an article from the Chawton House Library, a screenwriter Q & A, and much more.

A little thrifting fest this weekend brought this glass bluebird to live on my desktop. It's not actually thrifted; I found it at Big Lots. It's turquoise, though I don't think you can tell in this photo. I'm a bit color blind and most "turquoise" items just look light blue to me. Does anyone else have this problem?

Did you know that Turquoise is the hot color for 2010? I picked up several turquoise pretties at Big Lots, in addition to the bluebird. I decorate with a lot of sunflower yellow, dark blue, and apple green, but I think turquoise will liven things up around here. I don't want to get bored and adding splashes of a new color is cheaper than redecorating.

By the way, in many myths and fairy tales, the bluebird symbolizes happiness. It must be true because I'm very happy with my little bluebird.

Movie buffs might recall that the Bluebird of Happiness was the focus of Shirley Temple's first childhood box office flop. Ironically, the movie also received two Academy Award nominations.

Emma's poor performance has led some to question the BBC's decision to adapt an Austen classic that has been on screen so many times before.

One leading drama producer said: 'I don't think audiences are as excited about Emma - perhaps they are not excited by Austen anymore.'

As if. I think it's more likely that this version just isn't very good. Will I watch anyway? Of course. At least the first episode.