Surprise, surprise! A couple of days ago, the sweet ladies at Pure Entertainment Preservation Society nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you so much, Tiffany and Rebekah. This award comes with certain duties (find out where it started here), and the first one is to relay the Versatile Blogger Code of Conduct: Thank … Continue reading The Versatile Blogger Award
U2 Loves America
Last year was the thirtieth anniversary of U2's sublime album, The Joshua Tree, and now it's thirty years since the follow-up album and tour it spawned, Rattle and Hum. Admittedly, some people are still mad at U2 for the Songs of Innocence faux pas, not to mention the seeming shift in beliefs they've taken lately, … Continue reading U2 Loves America
Presenting Christ (Also, One Week Left!)
Hear ye, hear ye--the Broadway Bound Blogathon is one week away. I repeat, one week. Are you ready? Now, on to today's business... In 1994, my parents and I took a trip to New York and Washington. D.C., for about a week, and that Sunday we went to New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Located at … Continue reading Presenting Christ (Also, One Week Left!)
Shamedown #2: Bridget Jones’s Baby
Ah, Numero Dos. Again, for those of you who are new to the Shamedown thing, please see Cinema Shame for the whys and wherefores. Everyone has a guilty pleasure, and one of mine happens to be Bridget Jones. Sometimes. Normally, R-ratings are a turnoff, but I'll make an exception now and then, and Bridget has grown on … Continue reading Shamedown #2: Bridget Jones’s Baby
Whales of Star Trek
The time, it must be traveled. Little side note: Because Star Trek is so well-known, I won't be including the names of the principal cast. Supporting actors are a different story, though. Although I like Star Trek, I'm not a Trekkie by any stretch of the imagination. Or maybe I am--I've seen most of the movies, and … Continue reading Whales of Star Trek
Origins: A Wrinkle In Time
Every once in a while, Hollywood seems to turn out something promising, and the upcoming A Wrinkle In Time looks to be one of those. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, and Zack Galifinakis, with Storm Reid as Meg, the film is, of course, based on Madeleine L'Engle's superlative novel. I read the book … Continue reading Origins: A Wrinkle In Time
The Face On the Lunchbox
There have been a lot of famous last words spoken throughout history. John Lennon's aunt famously told him, "A guitar is nice, but you'll never make a living with it." Neville Chamberlain waved the Munich Pact and declared "Peace in our time." The Titanic was called "unsinkable." Then there's this little gem: "I'm telling you, this is … Continue reading The Face On the Lunchbox
Another Year
Taking Up Room is now two. Wow, this has been a big year. One of the things about 2017 that blows my mind is that as of next week I will have gotten to participate in a whopping twenty-two blogathons. In 2016 I only did four. Blogathons are addictive. I hesitate to call 2017 the … Continue reading Another Year
A Strange Brand of…Something
Christian films can be just as dicey as Christian fiction, only more so. To be clear, I'm not talking about Christian-themed movies made by major studios necessarily, but movies made by Christian film companies. I've never held with the idea that as a Christian I need to champion Christian films just because they're Christian. Personally, … Continue reading A Strange Brand of…Something
Show Me Some Attitude
Disclaimer: Save the Last Dance is not exactly a family-friendly film. It's not Showgirls or anything, but it's not G-rated either. IMDb has a Parents' Guide if anyone feels cautious. There's something visceral about performing because there's so much emotion involved--it becomes part of a person's identity, and it's definitely a release. If that outlet is cut off for whatever … Continue reading Show Me Some Attitude
Don’t Hate Me, But…
Guess today is the first day of the rest of my life--I've been tagged to do a blog poll. Move around in the blogosphere long enough, and these things will pop up eventually. A big thank you to Catherine at Thoughts All Sorts for tagging me! This should be fun. This poll is one of those infamous … Continue reading Don’t Hate Me, But…
On One Hand: My Five Favorite Classic Stars
It's National Classic Movie Day again, and Rick has another question for us bloggers: Which five stars are your favorite? Eeeep. That's even tougher than last year's challenge. Anyone who's an old film lover knows there's so much to like about the Golden Age. Me, I always enjoy watching the repartee between Katharine Hepburn and … Continue reading On One Hand: My Five Favorite Classic Stars
Get Me To the (House) On Time
Time to go home. Well, sort of... I have to say, I've never done a review like this before. One of my favorite blogs is Hooked On Houses, but it's the kind of thing where I look but don't touch. Part of this is because I live in an apartment, so I have no skin in … Continue reading Get Me To the (House) On Time
Under the Big Top
As many of you have probably heard by now, Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus will be ending their 146-year run and heading for the history books. A very few folks have been presumptuously gloating, but I won't name names here. More often than not, though, a lot of people feel rather melancholy over the … Continue reading Under the Big Top
Happy Blog-a-virsary, Baby
Taking Up Room is now a year old. Can you believe it? A whole year. When I started this blog, I had no idea what I was doing or where it would go. I just thought it would be a great writing outlet, and it is. I feel as though I've improved as a writer … Continue reading Happy Blog-a-virsary, Baby
A Way of Escape
The concept of escapism is something I've dipped my little toe into already on this blog, but when Ruth and Kristina announced their Things I Learned From the Movies blogathon, I decided to go a bit deeper--namely, the point at which I got what escapism means. I have grown up on old movies, mainly because of my parents. … Continue reading A Way of Escape
“Is Good. We Do Not Have To Go To the Bank.”
Today my son started fourth grade (yipe), and you know what that means: Time to study state history. In our case, that of course is California, which I love, and I'm excited because we've got a ton of history right in our own backyard. Our curriculum looks fairly awesome, too. Besides a Friday class at our … Continue reading “Is Good. We Do Not Have To Go To the Bank.”
Taking Up Room 