ReadySetMom

Media Think survey on kids and media

Media Think, a media literacy organization SW Portland'd Rick Seifert helped start in 2000, is conducting an online survey. They'd like parents to respond to a brief questionnaire about how their families use media. Can you help? Click to give your input to the Media Think Survey. I just took it, and was done in 3 minutes.

Movies for grown-ups!

Enough with Disney and Pixar and pint-sized fare. Let's talk about movies for mommies (and daddies)! Maybe it's a summertime thing, I dunno, but I'm heavily in love with two big movies that are out RIGHT NOW and I want more! More date nights! More escape from reality! More gut-busting tubs of popcorn! Here are my recent faves:

Iron Man. Iron Man! I cannot tell you how much I loved this movie! I'm not a huge fan of superhero/action hero movies, but I can get into some of them. This one was perfect! So much so that I promptly added Robert Downey, Jr. to my list of Celebrities I'm Allowed To Have Sex With Should The Opportunity Arise (and even though my husband suspects RDJ might be smelly, I've decided that I can live with that). This is the perfect movie. Great story, great acting, great action and the violence was not so terrible that I had to hide behind my hands. I can't wait to see it again.

Sex in the City. Sex! In the City! No, I haven't seen it yet (since it just came out) but Yes I will as soon as I can find someone to go with me. I loved the series, and I'm no sex-starved (well, a little), cocktail-sipping fashionista. These are not real women, but they are funny women, and I love them. I hope they keep on making SITC movies so we can all age together. Are you going to see it?

On DVD: We subscribe to Netflix, which is totally not working for us. We pay for two movies a week, but we NEVER remember to mail them back so we end up keeping them for a month. Then we forget to update our queue and we end up getting something that we really weren't in the mood for (like Gandhi, when we really wanted Casino Royale, which I've seen three times and still love.) But like my Costco membership, I'm afraid to give up Netflix because I might regret it later. Here are some winners we've seen:

Juno: About as perfect as movies get. Your husband will like it, too. It's so freaking funny.

Michael Clayton: Somewhat confusing plot, but excellent acting and story, and George!

Away from Her: Julie Christie is like 70 and still a total babe! Lovely, depressing movie about loving a woman with Alzheimers.

Lars and the Real Girl: Really weird but totally charming movie about a guy who falls in love with a blow-up sex doll.

No Country for Old Men: Disturbing but addictive. Guy with a Dorothy Hamill bob goes commando on everyone he meets.

I'm pretty sure there are bunches more that I'm forgetting (momnesia), but it's a start. I do, however, remember two recent and utterly forgettable movies: 27 Dresses (saw it on a plane) and Enchanted (my husband picked this out!). Didn't much care for either one.

What have you seen lately on the big or small screen that you loved, and what are you dying to see? Bring on date night!

(And, UGH, I see that the word 'totally' is totally re-entering my vocabulary. And have you ever seen so many exclamation marks?! I guess movies make me totally excited.)

At what age did your kids first see "High School Musical"?

High School Musical. These three words scare me. We've never seen it -- let me start by telling you that. But we have an invitation to a birthday party to see it. That's the part that worries me. Now, the Parents Television Council gives High School Musical a rave review. They don't state a suggested viewing age. For HSM2 they suggest it's for kids 8 and up.

At what age did your child watch the original High School Musical? Did they immediately start acting like the characters in the movie, doing the dances, singing the songs? Is there a way to de-program them once they start exhibiting this behavior? Or is the movie wholesome, entertaining and cute, and I'm just being a worry-wort, fuddy-duddy about it?

Several nights before Christmas...

Over on EnviroMom, I struggled with trying to reduce the impact of sending a traditional holiday greeting card, so our family ended up by making an iMovie that we broadcast over YouTube to family and friends both far and near. We had a few requests on EnviroMom to make it public, so I thought I'd link to it here as well (given how many of our readers enjoyed the Bedtime song to end all bedtime songs a while back...)

Prepare to laugh or else be very disturbed by our family's rendition of that holiday classic: The Night before Christmas.

Happy holidays to you and yours! Thanks for being a part of the ReadySetMom community!!

In search of a good, long laugh

A couple of days ago my husband and I went out ON A DATE and saw the movie "Knocked Up," which is by the guy who made "The 40 Year Old Virgin." It was really crude humor, which is probably why we laughed so much. It felt really, really good to laugh like that. There aren't that many movies that have been made, say, oh, in the last 10 years that really make me laugh hard. "Virgin" was one of the few. Also "Old School" and "Dodgeball." I could watch those three movies over and over and still laugh until my facial muscles get all twitchy and tears course down my cheeks. Ah, good times. Sometimes, after a long week filled with the demands of small children, home maintenance, and all the other gobbly-gook that comes with life, the only thing that can really bring release is a good, long laugh. What movies or TV shows make you laugh?

Free movies in Portland parks

It might be a bit late for my kiddos, but those of you with older kids should take advantage of Portland Parks & Rec Movies in the Park. Movies start at dusk (8-8:45pm). Next up is Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire at Sellwood Park this Friday and Jurassic Park 3 at Westmoreland Park on Saturday. Next Thursday, August 2 is Charlotte's Web back at Sellwood (I'm assuming it's the latest film version). Free, of course.

Lake Oswego offers movies in the park

Thursday nights are movie nights at Millenium Park Plaza in Lake Oswego. When the sun goes down, lay out your blanket, pull out the popcorn and enjoy kid-friendly fare:

July 26 - Hook (PG)

August 2 - Radio (PG)

August 9 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (PG)

August 16 - Open Season (PG)

August 23 - The Muppet Movie (G)

August 30 - Goonies (PG)

Free movies @ Regal Cinemas

Gosh I wish I'd known about this on Tuesday when it was so freakin' hot! Every Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am through August 15, select Regal Cinemas show kid-friendly films for free! Pioneer Place and Lloyd Mall are both participating, as are theaters in Gresham, Hillsboro, Tigard, Sherwood and Oregon City. Some of my kids' favorites, like Flushed Away (quite funny), Wallace & Gromit and Charlotte's Web will be playing, as well as gentler fare like Clifford, Rugrats and Elmo.

Outdoor movies @ Multnomah Arts Center

Multnomah Outdoor Cinema kicked off their season with Shrek 2 yesterday. Anyone go? Was it fun?  Just so you know what's coming up, here are the details, dates and movies in the works:

• July 6: Back to the Future
• August 3: Jurassic Park
• September 7: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Movies start at 9pm (so not really meant for little kids, though neither are the movies) and are FREE.

Reuniting with The Muppets

I'd forgotten how much I loved The Muppet Show until I watched a couple of YouTube videos over at The Poop. Growing up my family watched it religiously, and we used to have dinner conversations where we talked just like the Swedish Chef. I put a couple of Muppet Show DVDs on hold at the library -- can't wait to watch them with the kids! Did you love the Muppets when you were growing up? Do your kids like them now?