Today I finally got to see the “infamous” Disney movie Song of the South. As it’s never been released on video (many speculate that this was due to complaints by the NAACP over the depiction of blacks in the film), the Snook managed to download a copy from Kazaa for me. Personally, I didn’t find it offensive at all. In fact, I didn’t realize til afterwards that the movie is set after the Civil War, and thus none of the blacks in it are supposed to be slaves. For a film made in the 1940’s, Disney treated the subject just about as sensitively as he could, I think. The result is actually a surprisingly boring film. I was expecting an animated version of Birth of a Nation, but instead it was more like Old Yeller (in the blandness of the live-action footage and story). The animated sequences were great, but they only constituted about 10% of the film. (They gave me crazy nostalgia though. I’m pretty sure I had a Brer Rabbit Little Golden Book as a child, because – though I hadn’t seen the movie before – I could practically recite the cartoon dialogue.) At any rate, I found a great fan site with loads of information about the film. It’s really well designed too. You should check it out, if only to see how all fan sites should be done.

Looking for a great Christmas gift for that special Roald Dahl fan in your life? Why not buy them The Gremlins, his super-rare first book from 1943! They’ll love you, I promise. (But don’t buy it for me, silly! I’m the one selling it.)

The Snook and I did our ritual “weighing-in” this morning to check our diet progress, and get this: I weigh 50% more than he does. Yeah, he’s a skinny little man, but still. I’m going to go stick my head in the oven.

Oh dear God. Some English couple got high on GHB and the guy ended up yanking out 18 of his girlfriend’s teeth. And what was the bit about her being dressed in a clown suit? I’m gonna have nightmares about that. (Link courtesy of Jann).

New Poll: Now I’m thinking about my new DVDs. For those of you that watched the show, which guy did you like the best? When I was Angela’s age, I was all about Jordan. Now that I’m older and more mature, I’ll go with the sensitive nerdy Brian Krakow type every time. (I’ve also thrown in the Dad and the Gay Best Friend for those of you with different tastes.)

Kick. Ass. I just got an e-mail notifying me that my My So-Called Life DVD Box Set is finally being shipped! I was freaking out, what with A) the company turning out to be dodgy and delaying the release for months, B) us moving house and me not remembering what address I put on the order, and C) other people already receiving theirs and me not hearing a word. I’d honestly just about written off the money. But lo and behold, it’s on its way! Apparently I was even brilliant enough to use my Mom’s address (thus saving the international shipping costs). So it’ll still be weeks and weeks before I have it in my hands… but at least I didn’t get ripped off.

Happy belated birthday to Tricia! Really, you’d think being a blogger she would’ve given us more notice. Come on, girl! We expect a countdown weeks in advance and daily reminders of your Amazon wish list. 🙂

(Only sixteen weeks til my birthday! I know you can’t wait.)

The whole list of the Top 100 Albums of the 80’s is out. The good: REM kicked U2’s ass. The bad: I think my alterna-teen high school boyfriend had, like, most of these records. Thus either he was cooler than me (impossible!), or the whole list is crap (thus negating REM’s victory). Oh wait – there’s a a third possibility. He was a pretentious wanker! I feel better now.

Outbreak. Dammit. I hate cold sores. I just felt the tell-tale “tingle”. Yeah, yeah, I’ve already started smearing medicine all over it, but I don’t know how much good it will do. Those stomach cramps a few days ago must have been related to some minor virus. I always get a cold sore whenever my immune system’s been compromised. (I also get them under extreme stress, but I haven’t been feeling that.) Bugger.

My sister – yeah, the one who called me and the Snook “pod people” – just sent me a link to this MSNBC article about three new studies that say the Atkins Diet is better at reducing cholesterol and weight than the traditional low-fat diet. She will be assimilated.