100 Greatest Comedies #24 - Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Something that I have been also working on and will soon pick back up starting next year is watching the 100 Greatest Movies as well as some of the lesser categories like the 100 Greatest Romances, Comedies, and Thrillers. Well this entry is for my 24th movie on the 100 Greatest Comedies list - Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

This is similar in vein to American Pie for my generation. Basically it is a comedy about the sexual tensions of people in high school. I felt before I watched the movie that it would be very dated but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it still holds up very well in the modern day. I had hoped that I would be laughing out loud for the majority of the movie and even though I did have a couple of good laughs, for the most part is was a consistently amusing movie but not really a gut bursting movie. Still, it is a good movie.

2010 Personal Updates - October Update

9 months in, 3/4 of the way done.

1. Finish first draft of my novel -
January 1st - 1st third done
February 1st - Nothing new
March 1st - Nothing
April 1st - Nothing
May 1st - Nothing
June 1st - Nothing
July 1st - Nothing
August 1st - I actually did start working on this. Reread over part of section 1
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Nothing New

2. Drop weight to 167
January 1st - 175.0
February 1st - 176.0
March 1st - 176.0
April 1st - 176.6
May 1st - 176.6
June 1st - 169.2 - Apparently walking around with Gummy Bear non-stop is a good weight loss plan.
July 1st - 170.0
August 1st - 170.2
September 1st - 172.2
October 1st - 173.4


3. Balance our budget
January 1st - Things are looking up for this year
February 1st - Working over the winter break helped, a $1700 car repair bill did not
March 1st - Going the wrong way, another car bill as well as a new carpet and apparently I owe on my taxes, great.
April 1st - Working out those extra expenses a little bit at a time
May 1st - Still working it out
June 1st - Getting closer
July 1st - Bah
August 1st - Still bah
September 1st - Still bah
October 1st - Since the desktop went on the fritz I have been keeping a close eye on this


a. Pay credit card
January 1st - Only one card left
February 1st - Still one card left
March 1st - Still on to go
April 1st - Still working on the one
May 1st - One
June 1st - One
July 1st - One to go but I made a large payment on it last month
August 1st - One
September 1st - One
October 1st - One


4. Read a total of 100 of the greatest books on my lists
January 1st - Current count 86
February 1st - In the middle of Canterbury Tales
March 1st - Took a break from Canterbury Tales, time to get back
April 1st - Finished Canterbury Tales. 13 left to go. Reading Madame Bovary now
May 1st - Finished Madame Bovary. 12 left to go. Reading The Maltese Falcon now
June 1st - Finished The Maltese Falcon and The Twits. 10 left to go. Reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now
July 1st - Finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 9 left to go. Not sure what to read next, I have a couple of choices lined up.
August 1st - Finished Matilda. 8 left to go.
September 1st - Finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Charlotte's Web. 6 left to go.
October 1st - Finished The Secret Garden. 5 left to go.


5. Finish 2 more movies on my Geological Movie Review
January 1st - Look to start 2 new movies
February 1st - Nothing done on this
March 1st - Nothing done
April 1st - Nothing done
May 1st - Nothing
June 1st -Nothing
July 1st - Started working on Earthquake!
August 1st - In the middle of one
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Nothing new


a. Also update the last two I did
January 1st - One out of 3 up to par
February 1st - Nothing done on this
March 1st - Nothing done
April 1st - Nothing done
May 1st - Nothing
June 1st - Nothing
July 1st - Nothing
August 1st - Got the first 2 parts of Armageddon out
September 1st - Finished Armadeddon. 1 left to do.
October 1st - Nothing New

Other items of interest:
Things are still very hectic around here with school starting up and having to take care of a 4-5 month old. So things on my personal list have taken a sort of back seat except for the readings which anthing on this list are books I have read to Annabelle.

The 306 Greatest Books #95 - The Secret Garden

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This book can be found on the BBC and My Book Lists.

For a children's book, this was not what I was expecting. I was expecting more of the same from what I have read in my daughter's other books including some of the ones on this list. However, The Secret Garden was actually very good. The lessons that the story espouses we remarkably poignant, demonstrating that children are not a product of their birth, but more a product of their upbringing. And that children who seem completely lost to the point that nobody could care for them, somebody still might and bring that child back from the brink, resulting in a normal, happy, and fulfilling childhood. I would have to recommend this to any parent and child as a lesson in how to view life. Although the parts about the "magic" did seem a bit too preachy for my taste, it was not over-the-top.