A Thousand Splendid Suns · 30 June 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
GO. READ THIS NOW.
On CD/tape if you can. The story is amazing and the reader is superb.
Another place where we are out of touch with reality – and try to avoid hearing the truth about how people are treated by others. Oh, the suffering of women in Afghanistan… very sad…
The Constant Gardener · 28 June 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
Oh, what a horrific movie…don’t read that as permission to avoid it. It’s just pretty honest about some of the horrible stuff going on in Africa – most of which we either don’t know about or want to avoid. It left me pretty drained – and a little lost about how to respond. It has a whole lot of stuff about people wanting to help and being stopped – by any means necessary.
It’s interesting to write about this now. I actually watched it a while ago. But since then, I keep having conversations about power. And how the people in power don’t want to lose power. This movie is all about the power that people hold – and how much they don’t want to give it up.
And it doesn’t seem that people get Jesus’ message about power – give it up – and you get more than you could ever realize. Of course, it’s not worldly power, so perhaps people don’t care about the power that Jesus has to share…
But regardless, even in secular circles, people who share power find rewards in rich ways. But it’s hard to get away from what perceived power can do for us…which is mainly getting us recognition now.
GARAGE! · 19 June 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
Yes – I know…
Forever since I’ve posted…
It’s been busy and crazy…
And we have a garage started! It’s fabulous! Thanks to Shawn we have a real plan. Henry, Hank, and John are helping out.
Almost 7 months since the fire…all the pieces had to come into place.
A couple more weeks, hopefully.
As long as the rain stays away….
Have I mentioned lately – get your insurance checked…
Chicken Little · 17 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
One of those random little movies that we saw…not overly wonderful. Fun for the family, but not one that you need to run out and get. Perhaps a little there about family dynamics and trust between the family – how do we trust one another? How can we make sure to be in contact with one another?
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry · 13 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
A friend suggested that I watch this…he said that it was good and fun. And he was exactly right! It has the fun of Adam Sandler and Kevin James (I like them) and then some extra touching scenes about male friendships and bonding and how important they are. It’s a message that more men could listen to and use themselves. It’s important to claim relationship – to acknowledge those to each other, and possibly publicly. With all the stereotypes in our society, we need men who acknowledge feelings. Might as well start the conversation early – helps people
Mamma Mia! · 12 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
My friends and I watched Mamma Mia! at Clergy Leadership Project. What fun! We had a great time watching it. Definitely a fun sing along song (good thing for subtitles). Meryl Streep – does a great job here, as well as some other movies lately. Pierce Brosnan – what a good looking guy, though seems that he’s not very kind (according to people in Coeur d’Alene, where he stayed while doing Dante’s Peak) – can’t sing at all. Nice to look at – “it’s okay, honey – just sit there and look pretty.” Oh, well. No one asked me when casting.
Fun evening – especially for the “girls’ night out” plans…
Dead Watch · 11 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
The new car doesn’t have an aux jack – so I don’t listen to my iPod in the car anymore. I’m back to the library finding books on CD. I picked up Dead Watch by John Sandford. I like the prey books, though I’m not very far in the series. This was on the shelf and easy to get – though, unfortunately, abridged (which I didn’t realize until after I started listening to it…).
Even abridged, I enjoyed the characters and the story line. It will be interesting to see if he pursues this character in more books.
Monsters vs. Aliens · 10 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
I wanted to see this in big 3-D, so we went to the theater to see it. Overall, not thrilled with it. Had some really slow parts, and sort of wandered around… But the wonderful part was the great character of Ginormica. She was GREAT. Her journey of self-discovery and self-definition is well worth the time of all of our girls. Girls, youth, and young women need to be empowered as individuals, and not rely on defining themselves by the connections that they have with others (especially men). This movie could be used to start conversations with our young people about discovering their own voices, talents, and skills – and how to use them to the best of their abilities.
So, while not a wonderful movie, worth it for Ginormica’s understanding and growth as a person.
Wolverine · 7 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
We went and saw Wolverine on opening night. I enjoyed it. It seems that I don’t necessarily remember the events of all the X-men movies… And we know that I rely on others to tell me about the actual comic books…
But, I did enjoy the adventure of the movie. Definitely worth the time!
Superbad · 6 May 2009 by Heather Voss Barta
OMG. So funny!
Henry and I got it from Netflix. It had been out there as a rental idea. But, oh, so funny. I laughed out loud. It was probably in that category of “stupid funny” but it was clever stupid funny. Lots of laughing out loud at the antics and the coincidences. Quite an adventure movie.