A set of Friday the 13th funnies scared up from the small screen

Happy Friday the 13th,folks-plenty of spookiness to be found today,especially if you're a delusional out of work sitcom star who still thinks that no one can replace him on that popular show of his(as the tuna commercial used to say,sorry Charlie!).

Taking today's theme by the horns, one of the best ways to overcome your fears is laughter,which many a comedy show and even a few dramas have eagerly embraced.

For your eerie amusement,here are a handful of scary subjects explored and exploited for giggles on the TV fictional front:



GHOSTS: Most of the time,these undead spirits only crop up on shows dealing with witches,vampires or moody gals needing to practice their therapy skills.

However,they can be invoked for strictly entertainment purposes elsewhere,as Reba did for one episode when Barbara Jean's constant overreactions to the idea of her house being haunted kept cracking her up.

Unfortunately,that game backfired on her as Barbara Jean started haunting Reba for real by refusing to leave her side until the unworldly menace was sent packing:



CLOWNS: Fear of these professional merry makers is no laughing matter for some,especially Special Agent Seeley Booth on Bones. This top notch crime fighter has no hesitation when it comes to throwing himself into the path of danger but one literal bozo gives him the shakes,not to mention an extra itchy trigger finger:



LIVING NIGHTMARE: Bad dreams are far from fun but usually you can breath a sigh of relief about them once you wake up. Having one of them appear to come true in the real world is the ultimate nightmare,unless you're dealing with more than one freak-out at a time.

On the Golden Girls,the ladies took a trip together that was meant to kill two terrors with one stone-Dorothy's fear of flying and Rose's of public speaking. However,it was Blanche who had the real fright as her reoccurring dream about being trapped with a group of bald men on a doomed ride seemed to be come alive all around them:





ANIMAL ATTACKS: Coming face to face with wild creatures in the work place is rather unsettling,unless you're used to running into them at the water cooler on a regular basis. The way that your co-workers react to the introduction of a critter in their employee environment can tell you a lot about them,indeed.

One of my favorite episodes of The Office has a bat invade the less than hallowed quarters of Dunder Mifflin,causing most of the gang to shriek,hide and in the case of Stanley,flee for the day.

Dwight and Jim,of course,did what came naturally to them;one took extreme charge of the situation while the other took humorous advantage of it:





I hope this string of silly clips gives any of you out there feeling a little silly about being spooked on a day like this something to enjoy. Even the most sensible of us can fall prey to our worst notions about what a certain day,time or place can mean.

So,let's just relax and try not to worry too much about what's to come or we'll never get anything positive accomplished. Getting all worked about Friday the 13th is fine when planning a horror movie marathon but that should be the extent of it. After all,it's not like Saturday the 14th is closing in on us or something...that would truly be scary!:

TC Masters party like a rock star,the Gaga factor on Idol and the winners of TAR:Unfinished Business are...

For their Quickfire challenge on Top Chef Masters this week, the chefs were granted "seven minutes in heaven"-as in making a dish in seven minutes using the most divine ingredients(truffles,diver scallops,foie gras,etc).

As an extra twist,the chefs had to judge each other's food based on a scale of 1 to 7. It was pretty touch and go there,but Traci won this round for her beef tenderloin carpaccio served with truffle vinaigrette and maitake mushrooms.



Everyone was then divided up into two teams for the Elimination challenge,which was to cook a family style meal for the band Maroon 5. Each member of the group had a different food request ranging from vegan to Japanese style and even Thanksgiving.

The teams then had to board tour buses to take them supply shopping and the prep for their meal had to be done on the road to the hotel where the band and judges would be waiting to taste their dishes.



Turns out that both teams made similar food,a plus and a minus for them due to the ease of compare and contrast for the judges here.

Team Black did very well here,having four members on deck,and one of the high points of their service was Naomi's mashed potatoes that had chanterelle mushrooms mixed into them with a sour cherry cranberry chutney. The turkey cutlets on the plate were breaded with a thick cornmeal mix that was rough on the palate but the potatoes had enough standout power to make up for that.



While the vegan tostadas that Mary Sue made looked funny,the flavors knocked everyone at the table off their feet. The black bean topping with crispy salad was great but the real kicker was the crispy fried avocado wedge on it.



The winner for this round again was Traci. Her Japanese steak with daikon braised in miso and a pea shoot salad on the side thrilled the taste buds of lead singer Adam Levine quite nicely there. This being her third win of the season,Traci has so far raised $25,000 for her charity La Cochina. Good going there,Traci!



The Red Team wound up on the chopping block and the difference in their dishes vs. the other team really showed a couple of them up.

While Celina's corn soup was appreciated much more than Hugh's on the opposite side(why would anyone think that vanilla and corn would taste good together?),his spankopita aced hers. All agreed that her version had a straight out of the frozen food bag flavor to it.



Floyd's steak paled in comparison to Traci's,with a blandness coming off of the rice wine and vinegar marinated meat. The only other thing he made for the challenge was a winter salad that one of the judges pointed out probably took five minutes to make while his team mates,particularly Alex,contributed a lot to the meal. I thought his goose was cooked for sure on this one.



However,it was Alex who had to pack his knives and go. While he did make four dishes,the quality of them was stretched thin. The worst was the penne pasta plate with broccolini,tomato and garlic;everything was overcooked and as a vegan alternative,pretty predictable.

Next week,the chefs take a blind taste test and one of them gets a cut that's too close for comfort. Hopefully, that injury won't keep that person out of the running here.



The Amazing Race:Unfinished Business had a two hour finale,the first half being in Brazil where Zev and Justin screamed the loudest during their body waxing challenge and were eliminated by that leg's end.

That left only the Globetrotters,Gary and Mallory and the sisters Jen and Kisha to complete this run in Miami. The next to last hurdle each team had to overcome was setting up a trailer motif during a high wind storm,something that slowed all of them down for a spell.

Yet,it was Jen and Kisha who reached the final Pit Stop and won the million dollars. Congratulations,ladies-you ran a clean race and even tho you didn't come in first for any of the other legs,it was the last one that counted:





For the second half of the Final Four performances on American Idol,Lady Gaga showed up as the mentor to guide them through the Lerner and Stoll songs they chose to perform.

I know that plenty of eyebrows were raised when Gaga made her suggestions to Scotty but,honestly people,models and actresses have been told for decades to "make love" to the camera,so her telling Scotty to treat his mike like his girlfriend wasn't that outlandish.

What was disheartening was seeing Gaga's advice fall on deaf ears,as it did with Haley in my opinion. I'm sorry but that girl didn't deserve a standing ovation for that bland ballet version of "I Who Have Nothing" there. When a great singer like Shirley Bassey sings that song,she makes it sound like her soul is being destroyed right in front of you.

Yes,Haley sang the song technically well but emotional resonance is what it makes it soar. Gaga told her to channel Edith Piaf but I suspect that Haley thought she was talking about a rice dish. So,here's another Sanjaya award for you,Haley and hopefully you'll be taking that dubious honor home with you tonight:

YOU HAVE NOTHING ON THE ORIGINAL



SOMETIMES, AN X FACTOR IS NEEDED TO HIT THE MARK




RANDOM NOTES

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: The second season finale is tonight and cliffhangers abound-will Damon find a cure for his werewolf bite in time? How will Caroline and her mom deal with their new found status as vampire and vampire slayer? Can Stefan find a way to help anybody and how many cast members will be left standing for next season? Should be a real nail biter in more ways than one,friends and fiends:

What's on deck for female friendly films this summer season

With spring turning quickly into summer movie time,all of the big budget films are getting ready to take their turn on the cinematic catwalk at your local multiplex.

Most of the genre focused features coming out are pretty much male centric but there are some aimed at the feminine audience as well(for better and for worse). So,let's browse through the lot assigned to the ladies and see if any of them are a real bargain for your movie going buck.

Getting a ton of advance press and good will is this upcoming weekend's major league laugh fest Bridesmaids,starring SNL alumnae Kristen Wiig(who co-wrote the screenplay) and Maya Rudolph as two life long friends whose relationship dynamic changes when one of them is going to be married and the other becomes her maid of honor.

The film was produced by Judd Apatow and has some of his other collaborators involved here,which is why the movie comes across as a Girls Can Be Gross and Funny,Too! type of deal. While it may be funny,not to mention seeing Gilmore Girls/Mike & Molly comedienne Melissa McCarthy get a nice share of screen time,I have no earthly desire to check this out. Bridesmaids may be way better than something like Sex and The City 2 yet the same off putting vibe is hitting me hard:





Another top candidate in the Raunchy Girls category for June,Bad Teacher has Cameron Diaz as the unmotivated educational professional of the title who wants to switch careers and become a gold digger. Her big plan is to entice goofy but comes from money substitute teacher Scott(Justin Timberlake)by raising enough cash to get breast implants to make her body resemble the last hot girl who dumped him.

In the meantime,she ignores the romantic overtures of nice guy gym teacher Russell(Jason Segel)and increases her rivalry with arch enemy Amy by competing for the bonus awarded to the teacher whose class achieves the highest grade point average.

Never mind the ludicrous plot for the moment and consider this question;hasn't Cameron Diaz worn out this type of film more than Violet Beauregard's famed piece of chewing gum? Yes,she can be hilarious in the right film but something tells me that not only is she going through the motions,Diaz doesn't care if we see her sweat or not as long as we pony up our dough on opening weekend. Well,this lesson plan is getting a pass from me,to the back of the line:





Things are looking a bit brighter in the Ladies of Literary Adaptation section,starting with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Based on the acclaimed novel by Lisa See,the story begins with the friendship of two young girls in 19th century China(Bingbing Li and Gianna Jun) who create a secret language in order to share their joys and sorrows in private over the years.

This bond extends even further,as a pair of their descendants connect in modern day Shanghai and try to support each other emotionally as their ancestors did. A limited theatrical release in July is planned for this film,which I hope doesn't keep it away from the wide audience that it deserves:





Author David Nicholls was granted the chance to adapt his novel One Day for the big screen,which will be out in late summer. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess play Emma and Dexter,who first met on their graduation day from college.

For the next twenty years,they reunite once a year on that same day to share their experiences and slowly fall in love. While I didn't read the book in question(or Snow Flower and the Secret Fan either),something tells me that the comparisons to the film are going to get rough,especially since Anne Hathaway is playing a Brit again.

If the film does falter for those of you who loved the source material,try to bear in mind that the original writer did work on the script and that interest in the movie should encourage newcomers to read the book. That should give you some solace at least:





If you're more in the mood for a Gun Slinging Gal flick,your wait will be long as Columbiana won't be in theaters until early September. Zoe Saldana plays the determined hit woman out to avenge the murder of her parents by mobsters in Bogota.

Her vendetta is conducted during from the wet work done for her uncle and without any assistance from her artist boyfriend(Michael Vartan) who has no idea about the dark world that she treads in.

However,keeping all of those worlds from colliding ultimately becomes a sacrifice to be made in the name of blood justice. Saldana has grown into quite the girl power icon and this slice of action movie pie sounds like it packs one hell of a punch:



The pickings do seem slim for a good female focused film this season,yet things could be scarier on this horizon. At least we don't have any revamped remakes lurking in the wings or a supposedly giddy over bonding gal pal movies ready to pounce on the unsuspecting souls desperate to sit through anything to avoid the sweltering temperatures outside. Or have I spoken too soon...:

The Girl in the Garden blossoms with bittersweet delights

In the opening pages of The Girl in the Garden, a young woman flees from her fiance's side in the middle of the night leaving only her engagement ring and a written explanation behind.

Rakhee Singh is still haunted by the memories of a past summer that revealed more than she ever cared to know about her mother yet in order to go forward with her marriage plans,she must find a way to make peace with those family secrets.

The year that she turned eleven,Rahkee and her mother Chitra take a trip to India and to the ancestral homestead of her maternal side of the family,a place that her mother fled many years earlier. While missing her father back home in Minnesota,Rakhee finds some solace in getting to know her cousins and is just as curious as they are about the unspoken reasons that the adults around them have for their actions.



A few of those odd actions are connected to Rakhee's mother,who receives secret visits from a man named Prem,who may have been the author of the mysterious letters that gave her the incentive to make this journey in the first place.

Another strange thing is the family's deference to Dev,the obnoxious man that runs the local hospital started up by their grandfather. Even tho the hospital is still in the family's name,with one of the uncles on staff most of the time,Dev seems to hold some sway over their lives and livelihood for his own resentful ends.

What really intrigues Rakhee is the walled off section of the backyard,forbidden to all,especially the children. Despite being a little afraid about the tales of a scary monster ready to pounce on wayward kids,Rakhee decides to check it out for herself. She discovers a hidden garden built to house a very special person for truly special reasons:





As Rakhee develops her new friendship away from the eyes of others,Chitra's reunited ties to Prem are also growing stronger. Given that her mother is prone to strong bouts of depression and has chosen to not take her medicine before making this summer visit,Rakhee begins to worry about ever going home again.

Other complications arise within the family circle,particularly after the death of a loved one that forces the eldest cousin to make a most unwanted arranged marriage match in order to preserve the honor and esteem of their name.

Not only is keeping secrets a passed down tradition for this clan,so is making personal sacrifices for the sake of familial duty:





Before all is said and done,Rakhee has to deal with the knowledge she discovers both on her own and with the help of others as well as accept the past to make peace with the present. This is a debut novel by Kamala Nair,who writes with a skillful hand and a narrative tone that's as alluring as a sweet summer breeze.

While the ending of the book may feel a little rushed,the power of the emotional journey undertaken by the leading lady of the piece more than makes up for that. Amongst the novel's strengths is the mindset of Rakhee's younger self that brings this preteen girl to vivid life and deftly showcases the struggles and hypocrisies of the adults who are supposed to rule her world yet can't control their own.

The Girl in the Garden will be available on June 15,so there's no time like the present to bookmark it for your summer reading. Such a tale of modern dreams clashing with long held traditions mixed with secrets of the heart should receive as wide an audience as possible.

Family ties can be uncomfortably binding but they also lead the way to loving embraces,as this story shows,a marriage made not in heaven but right down to earth in the best sense of the term:

Celebrating mothers who do as well as say they'll knock you out

This weekend is all about Mother's Day,that special time when you honor the maternal figure in your life with flowers,candy and greeting cards. While the gentler qualities of motherhood take up the spotlight on this day,I'd like to talk about what I consider to be the greatest sign of love that any mother can show;her fierceness.

I'm not talking about getting into the face of someone hurting their child's feelings and delivering a stern scolding-the moms on display here will not hesitate to pick up whatever is on hand to smack down any fool daring to touch their loved ones in a less than loving manner. No matter how tough the bad guys can be,the fury of a mother ready to kick ass conquers all:



EVELYN O'CONNELL(THE MUMMY RETURNS)

When we first met Evelyn in the original 1999 Mummy film,she seemed like a smart yet spunky gal ready to tackle adventure. By the time the mummy menace returned to her life,Evie was a wife and mother hoping to have more of a normal existence.

That longing for a happy homestead didn't stop her from fighting back as ferociously as her husband Rick when danger dropped in on their doorstep and took their son along for a wickedly wild ride.

As it turned out,this was a battle that Evelyn was destined to take part in as she had done in a past life against the same enemy who set out to destroy her kindred yet again. The one mistake her foe made both then and now was to underestimate Evelyn's determination to protect her family at all costs:





RACHEL COOPER(NIGHT OF THE HUNTER)

A biological connection isn't always necessary for a formidable fighter mother to have. Rachel's devotion to the children in her charge,including the young brother and sister on the run from the devious yet charming maniac Harry Powell,didn't flag for an instant when faced with the threat camped out in her backyard.

Harry might have thought a sweet little old lady was no match for him but Rachel was definitely out of his league,ready with shotgun in hand and faith in her heart to strike down evil at a moment's notice:





VENITA GREEN(KILL BILL,VOl.1)

While most of the audience sympathies go to Kill Bill's Bride in her quest to avenge the loss of her child and husband(not to mention the coma she was put in),you can't help but admire the kick-ass response that Venita,aka Copperhead,gave her when the Bride knocked on her suburban door to get some serious payback.

Venita's ability to switch from nurturing homemaker to cold blooded killer was useful in sparing her little girl from her former friend's wrath yet not enough to spare her one life or prevent her daughter from that traumatic discovery. Maybe Niki will take up the Bride's offer to extract revenge for her mother's well earned demise in the future-now that should be a fight to see:





SARAH CONNOR(TERMINATOR 2/THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES)

Out of the numerous warrior women sprung from the science fiction/fantasy realm,this average girl turned guardian to the future leader of the resistance against the forces of humanity hating technology has become quite the iconic figure.

Terminator 2:Judgment Day is really where Sarah Connor made her mark as a maternal force to be reckoned,at one point having to be talked down by her son from wiping out the scientist who unwittingly was destined to set the electronic end of days into motion. Sure enough,Sarah re-targeted her deadly focus on the real enemy in order to save the day or so she thought.



While her character's involvement with the Terminator series was over and done with on film by the third sequel,she was revived on TV. The Sarah Connor Chronicles lasted two seasons,with it's leading lady doing what she could to protect her teenage son John with the help of some time travel and a female Terminator at their side.

It's a real tribute to the resilience of the character that sci-fi fans don't want her to go off into that good night any time soon. There is talk of including Sarah Connor in another big screen Terminator flick(she did a few voice overs in Terminator Salvation)despite her demise and it would be great to see her back in robot rebelling action again:





NIKI/JESSICA SANDERS(HEROES)

Even when under the influence of her super strength alter ego Jessica,Niki's main motive was to protect and provide for her son Micah. While she had trouble dealing with her duality,the safety of Micah was foremost in her mind and to a certain extent,her husband D.L.(once he proved that his only concern was saving their boy).

Eventually,Niki and Jessica had to bond in order to save Micah from the true villains in their way. At one point,she was able to lend a helping hand in laying the smack down on Sylar,a fight that should have happened but didn't. Regardless of that,Niki was a real mother in every sense of the term:



Happy Mother's Day to all,whether your mom is sweet or salty when it comes to watching over you. Of course,there is such a thing as being too overprotective of your child,which hopefully won't make relations with your mother too tangled if the need to put that in check comes up:

TC Masters take it slow in the fast food lane,TAR's teams will soon finish their business and not gaga for Haley on Idol

On Top Chef Masters last night,a little bargain shopping was in order as the chefs had to make an appetizer in twenty minutes with a budget of one dollar. All the ingredients they had to "buy" were laid out on a display table and labeled with various prices(18 cents for eggs,for example)with calculators on hand to keep a running total.

Naomi won this challenge,getting another five grand for her charity along with immunity for the next round. Her asparagus and bread salad with cherry tomatoes was a real hit with Curtis Stone and his guest judges,Rico and Brendan from NPR's Dinner Party Download.



The Elimination Challenge was set at a "mystery location",with the only advance instructions given to the chefs was to make an entree with a side dish for 100 people and that none of the diners would be using any utensils.

That locale turned out to be a fast food place called Farmer Boys,complete with a drive thru window. Everyone broke up into two shifts,one dealing with the front counter and the other with the back kitchen and drive thru. After a while,both groups would switch over.

Since only a small number of the chefs had any work experience with restaurants that weren't fine dining(Celina mentioned that she was on staff at Bennigans early in her career),service on either section of Farmer Boys was at a snail's pace that day.



Things got so bad that the Bottom Three were called up to the judges' table first. Alex served up a salmon taco with fennel slaw and butternut squash fritters. Salmon is not a fish that easily adapts itself to taco servings and the whole meal was pretty much a struggle along those lines.



While Celina may have had chain restaurant priors,her lamb and pork wrap with garbanzo beans wasn't finger food friendly. The pickled cauliflower on the side received some praise but the flavor profile of the entire portion reeked of the bland.



Going home,however,was George for his pork and chorizo skewers that were deemed to be "ugly" both in look and taste. The mix of clam,cucumber and olives as his side did him no favors,either. At least his charity,Water, will be getting a nice donation there.



On a more positive note,Traci wound up in the Top Three for her chicken chili verde that Curtis Stone declared was "fist pounding good." It was complimented rather well with jicama sticks and tortilla chips,an adaptation that pleased the palates of all.



Joining her in the winner's circle was Floyd,with his chicken frank wrap served with a side of slaw that was made up of cucumbers,grapes and daikon. It was one of the better wraps offered up that day and the texture of the dish was particularly noted.



The champ for this round was Mary Sue,a nice turn around since her Quickfire dish did so poorly(how do you as a master chef not realize that bacon is salty and therefore adding celery salt on top of that is a bad idea?). Her skirt steak quesadilla rocked the house and the quinoa fritters that went along side it was a risk that paid off well for Mary Sue and her charity,Share Our Strength.

Next week,the gang gets to cook for Maroon 5,right after making a seven minute meal. Let's hope the end results will be harmonious in flavor.



The next to last leg of The Amazing Race:Unfinished Business took place in Switzerland,where a kerfuffle arose during a Road Block challenge that had one team member making a chocolate mold version of the Travelocity Gnome.

Kent kept nagging poor Vyxsin so much that she got confused over which mold was hers in the blast freezer and took Flight Time's by mistake.That caused a small shouting match between the Globetrotters and the Goths,which ended peaceably enough.

Yet,things didn't go well for Team Goth,who took a 30 minute penalty at the Pit Stop for not paying attention to their last clue and taking a cab instead of walking there. As sad as I am to see them go,Kent's whining at Vyxsin(who takes too much crap off of him,from what we've been seeing these last few episodes)was hard to take at times.

With a two hour finale on Mother's Day this weekend,my fingers will be crossed for Flight Time and Big Easy,who may get a little touchy once in a while but who also give each other constant support over the rough spots:





There was sort of a "then and now" theme on American Idol last night,as each of the remaining five contenders did a song from the sixties and one from today. While Jacob came close to winning a Sanjaya award for his misguided attempt to sing a duet solo,he redeemed himself later on in the show with a knockout rendition of "Love Hurts."

That gives Haley our best of the worst this week for her version of an "unreleased" song by Lady Gaga("You and I" is scheduled to be on Gaga's new album Born This Way). The judges mostly critiqued her for doing a song that's not as well known but that is not the real problem to me.

Haley's a decent singer but let's face it,folks-she is not all that and a bag of Janis Joplin chips there. Plus,her perkiness doesn't work for every song and in this instance,she sounds a little too needy. All the jumping around she does on stage is undercut by seeing Gaga perform this song with more nuance and emotion while staying true to her piano bench-check out the compare and contrast clips to get what I mean:

NOT YOU OR I ON THIS ONE



AS GAGA AS IT GETS



RANDOM NOTES

LADY GAGA PRESENTS THE MONSTER BALL TOUR: Speaking of Her Lady Ship,HBO will be airing her concert on Saturday as it was done at Madison Square Garden. Songs from her playlist both old and new are set to be on deck,not to mention one hell of a stage show. Hopefully,all the little monsters who couldn't see her live can mash to this uniquely talented tunesmith that night:

Book promos a-go-go

Since we do a regular round of movie trailers every now and then here at LRG,I thought it would be good to do more book trailers as well(beyond our usual bimonthly book preview). After all,as the tried and true saying goes,there really are so many books and so little time,so every media tidbit and teaser counts!

To start things off surrealistically,take a gander at the latest upcoming classic monster mash-up from Quirk Classics. The Meowmorphosis puts a cuter face on the Frank Kafka novel as Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he is no longer human.

Instead of being a giant roach,however,Gregor is a kitten which in some ways is a lot more purr-ferable(couldn't resist the pun,sorry!)but still troublesome. This cuddly remix will be out by May 10,so keep those yarn balls handy,folks:





Next, author Wendy McClure explores The Wilder Life,where she looks back at the literary legacy of the Little House on the Prairie series.

From rereading the books to remembering the TV show as well as traveling to some of the actual locations where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived,plus trying her hand at butter churning,McClure delights in all aspects of the impact these stories made upon our culture.

The book has just been released,so it should be a delightful gift for Mother's Day,especially if Mom is a fan. Wendy's charming insights are delivered with personal glimpses and good humor,which is well showcased in this interview:





Speaking of Little House,the snappy memoirs of Alison Arngrim will be available in paperback this June. Confessions of a Prairie Bitch goes over the highs and lows of being Nellie Oleson,along with how the rest of her life and career has gone.

While Arngrim has never been able to slip fully out of the childhood star mold,she has embraced that pop culture status with sharp wit and entertaining matter of fact response to many of those frequently asked questions thrown into her path,both in person and on the page:






To round things out,we have the trailer for the film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's bestseller The Help. Emma Stone stars as "Skeeter",the young girl home from college who decides to write about the plight of the African American housemaids in her home town.

Two of the ladies in question,Minny(Octavia Spencer)and Aibileen(Viola Davis)have their real life struggles become pivotal points in the book that Skeeter ultimately writes and has published.

Now,I haven't read the book yet but the trailer does seem to be giving an awful lot of plot away(something that appears to be a standard requirement in Hollywood these days when it comes to promos)there.

The tone is a tad upbeat as well,mainly due to the music chosen. Maybe it's suitable to the story,I don't know at this time. Hopefully,the movie will live up to the expectations of the book's readers,both old and new:



Well,I hope this post is useful in keeping these books in mind when you go out looking for them at your local bookseller or library. It really is a plus to know the correct spelling of both the title and author when checking with the clerk in charge and prevents him or her from getting lost in the stacks(not to mention crazed on occasion):

Will Thor herald in a new age of deities on the pop culture scene?

Hitting many a multiplex this weekend will be Thor,the Marvel comic adaptation that turns the Norse god of thunder into a superhero.

The legendary mythological character has been in the comic book realm since the early 60s and has made appearances before in animated TV shows(mostly in guest star spots),plus plans are under way to include him in the upcoming Avengers movie due out next year. That's quite a load of expectations there,especially for a god.

However,the film does look promising even with the hard to avoid touch of cinematic cheese tossed into the proceedings. Thor may prove to be worthy of worship at the box office,indeed:





In anticipation of Thor's mighty hammer throw into the pop culture pond,let us take a look at handful of other gods and goddesses who have crossed over into the live action circuit and made their marks upon it,for better or worse.

First up is Isis,DC Comics' take on the ancient Egyptian goddess as Saturday morning school teacher/super heroine. She was later incorporated into the print comics but got her start on TV,endearing this deity to many budding mythology fans.

Her cult status was strong enough to merit an appearance on Smallville this season(altho in more of a villainess form)and perhaps she'll return someday to reclaim her small screen throne for a new generation:





Of course,having a god arrive on Earth isn't always a positive experience. The guys from Ghostbusters found that out in their first film,as Sumerian shapeshifter Gozer the Gozerian came forth to begin it's reign of destruction.

The most important lesson that the Ghostbusters learned in this otherworldly encounter is that when a scary supernatural being asks you about your godhood status,it's best to say yes:





Even trickier to deal with than an actual god is their determinedly demented followers such as Maryann the mad maenad on season two of True Blood. Her ultimate purpose in life was to conquer up Dionysus,the bull headed god of debauchery,via blood sacrifice and the spreading of madness amongst whatever local population was on hand to serve her.

Fortunately,Maryann's fervent devotion offered up the right moment of vulnerability for those not under her spell to stop her in time. It wasn't an easy thing to do neatly yet sometimes you have no choice but to break a bloody egg or two in order to save the day:





Defeating a god directly is a lot harder,as Buffy Summers came to realize. Exiled hellgoddess Glory was truly hellbent on getting back to her original plane of existence any way she could,provided the Key that unlocked the dimensional doorways was hers to fatally turn.

In the end,only magic and the frail human form she was trapped in was enough to halt Glory in her tracks but not before the mystical floodgates were opened that threatened to destroy all worlds. Sadly,Buffy made the ultimate sacrifice which gave that victory all the more bittersweet:





Not all summonings of the gods have to be sad occasions,however. The calling forth of the muses in Xanadu,particularly Kira,the chosen nom de plume of Terpsichore,the goddess of dance,is one of the memorably amusing highlights of the movie.

Kira did a rather good job in inspiring her two charges,with the only drawback being that she fell in love with one of them. Sort of an occupational hazard,I suppose,one that most folks wouldn't dealing with at all:



Whether or not Thor does well in his opening weekend,the use of gods and goddesses on screens big and small should continue to flourish. One of their strengths is adaptability and they do tend to pop up when least expected and occasionally when truly needed to liven things up,even on the dance floor:

Judy Mays doesn't have to justify her love of writing amorous adult fiction

A story about a small town high school English teacher being openly scorned for having a writing career on the steamy side in her community by a few small minded parents with the help of their local news station might simply vanish into the media mist a few years ago.

Fortunately, one of the benefits of technology is being able to champion the cause of those who,through no fault of their own,become the targets of self appointed censors. In particular,websites with strong followings who use their influence for the good and we here at LRG would like to add our two cents in support as well.

At Smart Bitches,Trashy Novels last week,such a true life tale was revealed as Pennsylvania teacher Judy Buranich was the focus of a report on the local news in which her sideline as an author of erotic novels under the pen name Judy Mays was deemed a concern by a handful of parents.

Mind you,Ms. Buranich has been teaching for nearly thirty years and has never brought up the subject of her own writing to her students(many of whom were surprised to find that out but still think highly of her)or to anyone involved within the school.

Despite her detractors,waves of support have been overflowing,with a Facebook page dedicated to her defense and a video made by one of Ms. Buranich's former students who displays the eloquence of language that was clearly well taught to him by this inspiring lady of letters:





Erotic novels are not my cup of tea but that doesn't mean I would prevent anyone else from reading or writing them,which is the truly adult attitude to take. It's sad that even in this age of advanced wonders,many people still tremble in fear at the sight of a few suggestive words in print.

I find it ironic that these parents feel so concerned about their children possibly being exposed to Ms. Mays' work that they chose to bring it into the attention of just about everyone by taking their complaints to the press. Great way to protect your kids...NOT!

Another home truth is that many of the folks who shudder at the thought of so-called "smut" are usually the best customers when it comes to keeping that business mighty profitable. Others tend to read between the lines of even the most innocent of literature to throw some sexy fuel onto their imaginary fires:





What's also troublesome about this issue is that most of the outrage here is about Ms. Baranich's status as a teacher-"How dare she write like that,especially when she's supposed to be a good example for our children!" First of all,the fact that Ms. Baranich has several successful books published,regardless of genre, proves that she is more than qualified to educate young people about proper writing and grammar.

Secondly,I think it's high time that we abandon this puritanical notion of a prim schoolmarm figure as the only suitable persona for a teacher. Even back in the fabled good old days,teachers were regular human beings with flaws and follies just like many of their students.

The best ones were sharply subtle wits who did their best to steer their pupils in a positive direction in life,along with keeping persnickety faculty and families in line whenever nonsense reared it's ugly head. Teachers like that abound in fiction but are rare finds in reality,sad to say,partly due to such ridiculous standards being foisted upon them:



So far,Ms. Baranich's job has not been in official jeopardy but with the negative press out there,it's important to broadcast your support for her right to freedom of expression. Whether you sign out to the Support Judy Mays Facebook page that's championing her,speaking out in your own online forum or buying some of her books,every little bit counts.

A good teacher should be encouraged to expand her horizons,not stifle them. The truly great ones prove that the pen can be mightier than the sword,a lesson worth learning indeed: