Your Movie Sucks is a collection of movie reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert. All of the films covered in the book received two-star or lower reviews by Ebert, and this is the inspiration for the book’s title. And while many of the films mentioned in the book do indeed suck, Ebert’s reviews definitely do not. What makes Ebert really more of a writer than just a “critic” is his ability to interject humor, disappointment, frustration and sometimes even anger into his reviews. It all makes for an entertaining read, and at times, takes the tone of a disappointed parent chiding a youngster for bad behavior. It’s like Ebert just expects more from filmmakers. And maybe the real lesson here is that we all should expect more from Hollywood, instead of giving up our hard-earned dollars for products like Battlefield Earth and Pearl Harbor. But as long as the movie industry continues to churn out crap, we can be assured that Ebert will be there to warn us, and if nothing else, we can always look forward to Your Movie Sucks II: Seriously. It Really Sucks.

The Mean Kitty Song

Wave for catfish!!

If you are at all familiar with the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, you will enjoy the parts of this book that describe not only his buildings, but also what he was thinking about when he designed them. You can almost see the buildings taking shape. This is a work of fiction, based on actual events (mostly derived from newspapers of the time, and a few letters that survived). The book is about the affair that Wright had with Mamah (pronounced May-mah), Cherry, something that was a huge scandal at the time. The entire affair is told to the reader through Mamah’s eyes, leaving Frank to be somewhat of a mystery. Which he kind of was.

Mamah is married to Edwin, and, though they have two children, and the marriage isn’t a bad one, she is unhappy. In her eyes, she and Edwin just don’t really connect. Edwin, for the most part, is completely oblivious to Mamah’s growing restlessness.

Edwin and Mamah commission an up-and-coming architect to design and build one of his “Prairie Homes” for them. Mamah and Frank meet for the first time, and there is an instant attraction between the two. Frank is married as well, (with children), and his wife is part of the social circle that all of them are friends with. Both know they cannot be together, but, they also can’t seem to get enough of each other.

It starts small. Mamah invites Frank’s wife to social events, hoping to see Frank. Frank comes over to talk to Mamah about the house plans. They talk to each other more than either one talks to their own spouse, and find they have a lot in common, including a love of nature. Frank is also in an unhappy marriage, and has been feeling very distant from his wife for years before meeting Mamah. Both are so lonely, despite having large families.

Naturally, an affair starts.

Mamah finds herself making some incredibly difficult choices. Should she leave Edwin? Should they divorce? This was at a time when it wasn’t easy to get a divorce at all, but especially if the divorce was initiated by a woman. Mamah would risk everything if she tried to get divorced. She could lose her children forever. She would definately have a difficult time getting a job, because people at the time did not want to hire divorced women, and also because she would not have any job skills. Edwin could simply refuse to grant Mamah a divorce, and what would happen then? What about the children? Should Mamah take them with her if she leaves Edwin for Frank, or should she leave them behind, essentially abandoning them?

Frank doesn’t exactly have it easy either. His wife won’t sign the divorce papers. His money is running out, and he has a huge debt. His children won’t see him. Frank is losing a lot to be with Mamah, including his reputation. Once the newspapers find out about the affair, they do what newspapers do best : gossip about people in the public eye! Truth and lies become inseperable, and Frank loses some commissions because of this.

It becomes a question of desire. Is it better to stay in a life that is stable, but stale and lifeless, or, to risk losing everything for a chance at true passion?

This book is a work of historical fiction, that takes place in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. That’s about 100 years ago, but it feels very modern. I was very impressed at how detailed a story Horan was able to create, considering she had so little data to work with. Readers from the Midwestern United States will recognize Oak Park, (where it all started), as well as some of the other midwestern places this book is set in.

Inside My Head show number 44

It’s been a strange couple of days in retail hell!

Today’s Haiku of Frustration is called : “Sucks to be you”.

Check out the book Haiku of Frustration: Wage Slave, for more frustrated poems about being stuck working in retail hell.

Music by:

Blood Red Shoes, with a song called “You Bring Me Down”.

Peach Stealing Monkeys, with a song called “Elevator”.

PKP, with a song called “Hey, Idiot!”

Etherdust, with a song called “Take My Place”.

Here’s hoping tomorrow goes better than today did!
[display_podcast]

We talk about Ye Olde Internete, our new sponsor, “soggy” weather, TV shows, Vanya the Intern bunny, teen camphone porn, candy booze, an unknown celebrity and more.

Links:

• “Moo & Oink Dance – Classic Commercial”
• “Blackouts add to a blustery day here”
• “The Wire” (buy the DVD)
• “The Loop” (buy the DVD) (download the show)
• “Celebrity Apprentice”
• “School suspends girl over vodka-filled candy”
• “Cell phone porn scandal hits U.S. school”
• “Dallas police officers fired after complaint they held singer at gunpoint”
• Music heard in this episode:
  • The Shames (buy the CD) (download the CD)
  • Cowboy Junkies (buy the CD) (download the CD)

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Show length: 1:34:14
File size: 64.8 MB
File type: 96 kbps stereo mp3

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Little kid playing the Dance Dance Revolution game.