Category Archives: op-ed

CHECK IT OUT: Lars and the Real Girl [Time for a movie review!]

Posted on March 4, 2008 by wendy| 6 Comments

images1.jpgYou may not have seen Lars and the Real Girl when it played for 2 days at your local theater, but I am here to tell you to find it, see it, and when it comes out next month on DVD, RENT IT! Heck, just buy the dang thing.

Sure, the idea of a guy with a blow-up doll may make you cringe (and/or hum a Police tune), but the execution of this odd story filled me up with warm fuzzies.

See, it’s not about a blow-up doll. It’s not a male teenager movie. He does fall in love and have a relationship with Bianca, the blow-up doll, after all. But more importantly, it’s about a family grieving loss, a community supporting, and people reaching out to each other, damaged, quirky people who show kindness, friendship and love.

My yoga teacher recently read a quote about “the liberation of self through love,” and I thought of Lars.

Ryan Gosling quietly worried me, Paul Schneider (his brother) amazed me and Emily Mortimer (his sister-in-law) charmed me (again). Cool Patricia Clarkson immediately won me over (as usual). The whole town (if you’ve ever lived in a small town, you’ll get it), was its own character, full of hilarious, generous understanding and action.

A really good film, an entertaining and touching experience. Oscar-nominated screenplay. Powerful cast. Check it out.

Have you seen this movie? What’d you think?

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Posted in life is good, movie reviews, op-ed, scratchings, weirdo

please let the pigeon drive the bus!

Posted on November 20, 2007 by wendy| 3 Comments

According to this article, the ONLY Bainbridge Island bus service running outside commuter times is going to end in four months. This saddens me. How is anyone supposed to wean off of cars if there is NO bus service whatsoever?

I don’t know about all my local readers, but I live on a hill and biking home with Kid in a trailer is not happening until I become the bionic woman. Unless Eric Heiden will move next door (please! please!) and help me uphill. (Seriously, I recently met someone who had this very experience!)

I have already bitched complained about this very bus. But I wanted the run better managed, not discontinued.

See, Kid and I rode the ferry one day and assumed we’d catch that midday bus. What we did not know was you had to run-like-your-ass-was-on-fire to catch the bus which idles for 10 seconds in the parking lot. While Kid is faster than a speeding bullet when chasing crows from her Goldfish baggie, we missed the bus.

Perhaps more people would use the bus if it were waiting for them at the ferry.

Now, the “midday” service (9:30am-2:30pm — how is this midday, btw?) will be gone, due to rising employee costs of pensions and health care.

As if those things are important.

pigeonbus.jpgBetter to have these people unemployed and Bainbridge Island with no bus service for most of the day.

Maybe that giant multi-million dollar parking garage will be necessary in Winslow after all….hmmmmm. Smells fishy to me.

Do you have good public transportation nearby? Do you use it?

Maybe we should let the pigeon drive the bus after all….

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Posted in Bainbridge Island, WA, op-ed

it takes a village….or just a lawyer?

Posted on August 21, 2007 by wendy| 5 Comments

Somehow a post about Bible camp turned into a conversation of lawsuits against school systems…. Which reminded me of this story.

A lawsuit arose in Idaho after school officials scrubbed face paint off of two kids in junior high. It seems that the school officials used rubbing alcohol, fingernail polish remover, and industrial cleaner. On the girl’s faces. This falls into the WWTT (What Were They Thinking) category. I’m mean, schools are always getting charged with being TOO p.c., but these people were apparently not afraid of anything. Not even of just how bad an idea this was.

I think 12 is a little young for a chemical face peel. Don’t you?

I am not pro-litigation (really! just be a lawyer and you’ll become that way too!), BUT if schools don’t want to get sued, they should not do REALLY STUPID THINGS.

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Posted in events, health, op-ed

Student may not sell Bonds’ record HR ball

Posted on August 10, 2007 by wendy| 3 Comments

This is exactly the story I would want spread all over the world if I wanted to sell that ball for a buttload.

Right? Duh.

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Posted in brilliant ideas, op-ed

housing shrinkage

Posted on February 19, 2007 by wendy| 1 Comment

cusato2.jpgI was just reading about a small house movement, people living full or part time in a “cabin” sized dwelling. I guess it is in reaction to the Mcmansions craze with houses getting so enormous. This photo is of a “Katrina” cottage, originally built for the homeless in Louisiana after hurricane Katrina. They became so popular Lowe’s is going to start carrying them.

I have to laugh, not because I am cynical (OK, maybe a little, but I come from a long line of cynics). But because I know of a couple featured prominently in Sunset Magazine last year for a major remodel of a 740sf waterfront house outside of Juneau. Good friends of ours were their neighbors. I marveled that this couple also had a baby during this lengthy remodel. Like our friends, this couple had to hike in a half mile from a small parking lot and their water came from a cistern. Slightly rough, but doable living. I was inspired by the idea of clearing clutter and getting down to “necessities.” When I asked our friends about this couple, they laughed. Why? Because right after the article came out, this couple SOLD their house (I can see the classified ad now….”as featured in Sunset Magazine”) and were excited to tell their former neighbors about the driveway, water lines, and additional space their new house has!

Oh, well. It was a good article.

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Posted in brilliant ideas, op-ed