Saturday Updates.

Today is Update Day because tomorrow I am going to honor Fathers. Here is my week: Movie, The Karate Kid, one Lunch with Mom, one dinner with the family, one get together to say good-bye to my niece and her family, one accounting seminar, and forgettable tasks like paying bills.

Next week. A lot of time at Mom's. She hasn't been walking real well lately and I'm uncomfortable leaving her alone. The caregiver is doing nights and I am doing days. Sister and her husband took off for Utah yesterday. Sis and her husband wanted to spend Fathers' Day with her daughter. He really has been more of a father to her than her real dad and my niece wants to honor that. I support that. They will be back Tuesday.

I do have a selfish task on Monday. Hide from everyone. I just don't want to spend a day answering phone calls where people tell me how old I am or ask me how old are you? I mean I will accept all gifts left on my doorstep but for heaven's sake don't remind me of an age I don't want to be. I have come up with a stock answer: "Some days I feel eighty, other days I think I can do things a thirty year-old can do, my mind is stuck on twenty-one and I can't divulge my real age because it is a matter of national security."

Entertainment update. Top Chef started and sadly it looks liked they stacked the deck against a woman winning this season with their choice of candidates.

Now three quick movie capsule reviews:

SURPRISINGLY DIFFERENT:.

ROBIN HOOD. Loved the movie. Directed by Ridley Scott. Great performances by Russell Crowe, William Hurt, and Cate Blanchett. Blanchett's performance was so brilliant that I didn't know it was her. I had to look it up on the Internet when I got home. This wasn't your normal story about Robin Hood. Instead it was the story of how he became a legend. What led him to be Robin Hood. Brilliant take on an old story. Good battle scenes. Good history. I liked it better than the critics. Five Footballs.

SUPRISINGLY GOOD:

THE KARATE KID. Remake. Directed by Harald Zwart. Jackie Chan gives a career changing performance as maintenance man and Kung Fu instructor, Mr. Han. Will Smith's son, Jaden, gives a charming breakout performance as the shy kid being taught Kung Fu. Wen Wen Han gives a great first performance as Jaden's love interest. Beautiful cinematography. I liked it as well as the critics. Well paced, well acted. Four Footballs.

SUPRISINGLY BAD:

KILLERS. Hated the movie. Dumb. OK, it would have to improve to be dumb. I'm with the critics on this but the fan reviews seem to like it much better than I did. Stars Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, and Catherine O'hara. Directed by Robert Luketic. The basic plot from Yahoo: Spencer Aimes is just your average, undercover, government-hired super-assassin accustomed to a life of exotic European locales, flashy sports cars and even flashier women until he meets Jen Kornfeldt, a beautiful, fun-loving computer tech recovering from a bad break-up, he finds true love and happily trades international intrigue for domestic bliss. Three years later, Spencer and Jen are still enjoying a picture-perfect marriage until the morning after Spencer's 30th birthday. That's when Spencer and Jen learn he's the target of a multi-million dollar hit. Promising plot but stupidly written. One football for being willing to put this stupid of a movie out in public.

The Blog is now yours. Tell me everything that is going in your lives. Introduce yourself. Vent if you need to. Shout joys if you want to. Post anything you damn well please.

WHO AM I?

Yesterday's answer was Fannie Lou Hamer

Born in Kentucky in 1818 and died in Illinois in 1882. I was the fourth of seven children. My Mom died after the seventh child was born. My dad was a state senator. A year and a half after Mom died, dad married again and they had nine children. My stepmother was not kind to us stepchildren and this lead to me having many insecurities later in life. Despite growing up with slaves in my house, I hated slavery. Because dad went against society trends I began my formal education when I was eight. At fourteen I went to a select academy for young ladies. After school I went to live with my sister and became a popular belle. That is where I met my future husband who was ten years my senior and an aspiring lawyer. We became engaged but because of his poor background, the young lawyer asked for the release from our engagement. After much depression, a friend arranged for us to get together again. After a year of clandestine meetings and secret preparations, I informed the family that we were getting married that day. We had four sons. Because of his income we first lived in an $8-a-week room at a tavern. Three years later we moved to the only home we would ever own. My husband's work kept him away but we stayed in touch through letters. I successfully predicted my husband would one day become president. We moved to D.C. when he was elected to The House. My husband decided not to run for re-election. My dad died of cholera and soon after my son died of diphtheria. I could not speak my son's name without crying. My husband's dream of the presidency continued which is way I convinced him to decline the governorship of The Oregon Territory. I wanted a proud entry in to D.C. but because of an assassination attempt we had to sneak into the city. Nobody loved me with Southerners thinking I was a traitor and Northerners thinking I was a spy. I lost a second son who died of a fever. My three half-brothers and a half-sister's husband were killed in a war. This impaired me both physically and emotionally. Despite my own failings I frequently visited hospitals, bringing food and flowers, reading to the soldiers, writing them letters, and once raised $1,000 for a Christmas dinner. My closest friend, was a former slave who made me aware of the thousands of Virginia slaves who had moved to Washington but lived in harsh conditions. I raised money for them through the Contraband Relief Association. After the war another son died from a respiratory infection. I had now lost my mother, father, husband, three half-brothers, and three sons. “One by one,” I said, “I have consigned to their resting place my idolized ones, and now, in this world there is nothing left for me but the deepest anguish and desolation.” My remaining son had me declared insane and I was confined to a
nursing home. My supporters believed the son had ulterior motives and worked to get me released. They were successful and I was released to live with my sister in the same house where I had married my husband. I died at age 63 and was buried next to my husband and three sons. My wedding ring, thin from wear, still bore the words “Love Is Eternal.” Who Am I?