Between Dragon Age and all the writing I've been doing, my reading rate has taken a huge hit. But finally I have a new set of books to review!
Marguerite Henry, Justin Morgan Had a Horse. The story of the origin of the Morgan horse, an American breed of draft horses. It's very similar in tone to much of Henry's other works, and is not as good as my two favorites (King of the Wind and Brighty of the Grand Canyon), but is still a solid, sweet story.
Anna Katherine Green, The Filigree Ball. Green is America's first lady crime novelist - Filigree Ball is copyrighted 1903 - and her work stands up well. The mores and values and mindsets of the people she's writing about are not the same as today, certainly, but her unnamed detective did some good work and had a solid personality which has not been stereotyped by later writers.
Melissa Wiley, Across the Puddingstone Dam. The last (I believe) in the series about the childhood of Laura Ingalls Wilder's grandmother. Similar in tone and theme to the others in the series. Strong, heartfelt, and enjoyable.
Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove. What a ride! I'd never read the book or seen the miniseries, so it was all new to me. I found it, truthfully, hit or miss. Some of the characters - Gus, for one - leaped off the page in full color, while others faded into the background. I found the plot a mite on the unbelievable side, and was left unsatisfied by the ending, although I did enjoy the writing. Still, I'm not sure I'm likely to want to read it again.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
why I don't care about the Olympics
Yes, the Olympics are on. Whoop-de-do. I remember being into them a bit as a kid ... but that interest has waned over time. So the following are my reasons for not being interested in the Olympics today:
* Professionalization. Once upon a time, the Olympics were supposed to be for amateur athletes. Real people, you know? Enter the Dream Team (remember them? I believe they lost pretty badly, if my memory serves). And I think the Olympics in general have lost something because of that.
* Coverage. It's not American Idol, people! Stop showing all the human interest stories that aren't interesting (really? A guy had surgery on his ACL and this is news? Show me 5 athletes who haven't had an ACL injury, and that'll be news), stop showing the Americans who get beat badly, and show the good races. You know, the medalists? Without worrying about where they're from. The Olympics are supposed to be about celebrating the world's achievements in sports.
* Coverage timing. Kids were way into the Olympics when I was younger. You know, when they could watch them? But now, like so many other sporting events (World Series, anyone?), they have to be so late that most adults are impairing their work performances to stay up and watch. Forget letting the kids see. And let's not forget that we're all so internet-savvy that most of us already know the outcomes of the events long before we get the chance to see them. Get with the millennium, NBC.
* The sports. Once upon a time, the Olympics was about traditional sports. Now a lot of them seem made up, frankly, or not really sporty. (Ice dancing?)
* The general level of elitism. Okay, yes, the Olympics are the best of the best ... but the best of the best seem to need to be of a certain socioeconomic level in order to be able to play these sports and achieve the level needed. How many kids from the projects show up in the Olympics?
Now, I may have an overgeneralized and overcynical view of the modern-day Olympic games ... but as far as I can tell it's a bunch of rich kids doing obscure sports that most people have to stay up way too late in order to see on TV long hours after they've actually happened.
Pass.
* Professionalization. Once upon a time, the Olympics were supposed to be for amateur athletes. Real people, you know? Enter the Dream Team (remember them? I believe they lost pretty badly, if my memory serves). And I think the Olympics in general have lost something because of that.
* Coverage. It's not American Idol, people! Stop showing all the human interest stories that aren't interesting (really? A guy had surgery on his ACL and this is news? Show me 5 athletes who haven't had an ACL injury, and that'll be news), stop showing the Americans who get beat badly, and show the good races. You know, the medalists? Without worrying about where they're from. The Olympics are supposed to be about celebrating the world's achievements in sports.
* Coverage timing. Kids were way into the Olympics when I was younger. You know, when they could watch them? But now, like so many other sporting events (World Series, anyone?), they have to be so late that most adults are impairing their work performances to stay up and watch. Forget letting the kids see. And let's not forget that we're all so internet-savvy that most of us already know the outcomes of the events long before we get the chance to see them. Get with the millennium, NBC.
* The sports. Once upon a time, the Olympics was about traditional sports. Now a lot of them seem made up, frankly, or not really sporty. (Ice dancing?)
* The general level of elitism. Okay, yes, the Olympics are the best of the best ... but the best of the best seem to need to be of a certain socioeconomic level in order to be able to play these sports and achieve the level needed. How many kids from the projects show up in the Olympics?
Now, I may have an overgeneralized and overcynical view of the modern-day Olympic games ... but as far as I can tell it's a bunch of rich kids doing obscure sports that most people have to stay up way too late in order to see on TV long hours after they've actually happened.
Pass.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
thinking about gardens
Yes, it's mid-February, and I make it a rule not to plant before May 1st. Also, there's still 2 feet of snow in my front yard.
But the sun is shining, and I can actually see more-or-less green grass in a few places in my yard.
Having debated various locations for a vegetable garden last summer, the answer was pretty simple - there aren't a lot of good ones. This might be a surprise, given the whole 6 acres bit, but it needs to be a plot near the house so the deer don't decimate the vegetables too much, but not one that gets in the way of children and/or lawnmower. I'm thinking of ditching a couple of bushes tucked in a corner of the house and making that plot more veggie-friendly. I have a couple of herbs that have done well there, so it might work.
I'd like to try the apple tree thing again ... but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort. The berries are all doing well. And I'm really hoping my rosemary successfully wintered over and looking forward to seeing how well all the bulbs I planted last summer will do.
Bring on the sunshine and warmth!
But the sun is shining, and I can actually see more-or-less green grass in a few places in my yard.
Having debated various locations for a vegetable garden last summer, the answer was pretty simple - there aren't a lot of good ones. This might be a surprise, given the whole 6 acres bit, but it needs to be a plot near the house so the deer don't decimate the vegetables too much, but not one that gets in the way of children and/or lawnmower. I'm thinking of ditching a couple of bushes tucked in a corner of the house and making that plot more veggie-friendly. I have a couple of herbs that have done well there, so it might work.
I'd like to try the apple tree thing again ... but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort. The berries are all doing well. And I'm really hoping my rosemary successfully wintered over and looking forward to seeing how well all the bulbs I planted last summer will do.
Bring on the sunshine and warmth!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
ahhh, Saturdays
Here we are on a Saturday twilight. Mommy's catching up on the world of the Internet; Daddy and the Kid are having a shopping day; the future Kid Actor is watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (honing his craft, you see); and Miss Bunny is 'cleaning' the basement. All though I should give her more credit ... she's turning into a pretty good little cleaner. My younger two children may have gotten some of my less attractive personality traits (I cannot deny where the tantrums came from), but they also got some of my more useful skills.
Meanwhile, the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer are busily humming, my tea is cooling, and I can actually see part of my lawn under the melting tundra. Life is good.
Meanwhile, the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer are busily humming, my tea is cooling, and I can actually see part of my lawn under the melting tundra. Life is good.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
5 things that changed my life
I was thinking about this this morning - things/people that have had huge transitional impacts on my life. There are more, of course, but I think these have had the biggest impact on shaping who I am today.
1. vampyres@guvm. Once upon a time in the dark ages (that would be 1994), a college friend told me about this listserv that talked about vampires. I joined, jumped in the chat, and only two months later got in a (gasp!) stranger's car and drove from New York to Indiana with him. That weekend was the first time I really felt I fit in with a group of people. It was extraordinary. The people I met through that listserv went on to be pivotal in my life, and it was at one of their weddings that I met my husband ... but I think it's the confidence gained through that first Bloodstock that made the biggest difference - meeting people who were like me, articulate, literate, a bit fringy.
2. Lou. I'm hardly the first to extol the benefits of being married - learning to compromise, having someone who believes in you and always wants to spend time with you, etc., and those things have certainly impacted my life - but I feel particularly fortunate to be married to someone so endlessly interested in everything around him, someone so generous with my knowledge and so patient with my lack of it. I hope over time I have learned to take greater interest in things outside my comfort zone.
3. Matthew. You would think losing a child would be a completely negative experience, but as we approach his 9th birthday, I still feel grateful for it. I feel that having had Matthew makes me a more practical, less foofy, calmer, more understanding person. And also, I think I'm much better able to cut to the quick of what's really important ... I don't think I waste nearly as much time and energy on things that don't matter. Finally, I am sure that I am a better parent for having known my beautiful little boy - at the end of the day, I do my best to keep them all happy, healthy, and safe, but I would never deny them the chance to live their lives to the fullest, either.
4. MOPS. It would be hard to find two groups more different than Vampyres and MOPS, but what the one began, the other deepened. My experience in my years at MOPS taught me a great deal about other women, and friendship, and how to be the kind of person other people like to be around. (Key? Chilling out and not worrying about it so much.) There were ups and downs, but in the long run I feel that I entered my 30s a much better friend because of what I learned from MOPS.
5. Dragon Age: Origins. Okay, it's a computer game. And it's only been two months, so perhaps counting on these to be permanent changes is a bit premature ... but the new perspectives on writing and on more intimate topics that I've gained from a two-month obsession with a pile of pixels have made this a very introspective winter in ways that I intend to carry forward.
1. vampyres@guvm. Once upon a time in the dark ages (that would be 1994), a college friend told me about this listserv that talked about vampires. I joined, jumped in the chat, and only two months later got in a (gasp!) stranger's car and drove from New York to Indiana with him. That weekend was the first time I really felt I fit in with a group of people. It was extraordinary. The people I met through that listserv went on to be pivotal in my life, and it was at one of their weddings that I met my husband ... but I think it's the confidence gained through that first Bloodstock that made the biggest difference - meeting people who were like me, articulate, literate, a bit fringy.
2. Lou. I'm hardly the first to extol the benefits of being married - learning to compromise, having someone who believes in you and always wants to spend time with you, etc., and those things have certainly impacted my life - but I feel particularly fortunate to be married to someone so endlessly interested in everything around him, someone so generous with my knowledge and so patient with my lack of it. I hope over time I have learned to take greater interest in things outside my comfort zone.
3. Matthew. You would think losing a child would be a completely negative experience, but as we approach his 9th birthday, I still feel grateful for it. I feel that having had Matthew makes me a more practical, less foofy, calmer, more understanding person. And also, I think I'm much better able to cut to the quick of what's really important ... I don't think I waste nearly as much time and energy on things that don't matter. Finally, I am sure that I am a better parent for having known my beautiful little boy - at the end of the day, I do my best to keep them all happy, healthy, and safe, but I would never deny them the chance to live their lives to the fullest, either.
4. MOPS. It would be hard to find two groups more different than Vampyres and MOPS, but what the one began, the other deepened. My experience in my years at MOPS taught me a great deal about other women, and friendship, and how to be the kind of person other people like to be around. (Key? Chilling out and not worrying about it so much.) There were ups and downs, but in the long run I feel that I entered my 30s a much better friend because of what I learned from MOPS.
5. Dragon Age: Origins. Okay, it's a computer game. And it's only been two months, so perhaps counting on these to be permanent changes is a bit premature ... but the new perspectives on writing and on more intimate topics that I've gained from a two-month obsession with a pile of pixels have made this a very introspective winter in ways that I intend to carry forward.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
dear blog:
How shamefully I have neglected you. I will have to work on that.
Today, we are on day 2 of February vacation. It is snowing. My daughter is napping. My sons are playing Wii. I have been working on house-cleaning, catching up on some long overdue emails, and writing (still on the fanfic, but will be moving on to more ... legitimate? work shortly. Or at least, that's the plan). I will try to update more!
Today, we are on day 2 of February vacation. It is snowing. My daughter is napping. My sons are playing Wii. I have been working on house-cleaning, catching up on some long overdue emails, and writing (still on the fanfic, but will be moving on to more ... legitimate? work shortly. Or at least, that's the plan). I will try to update more!
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
book reviews
I know, it's been a shamefully long time since I had one of these. Factors have contributed - first, the shuffle of the book lineup at the New Year, which meant I started a bunch of all-new nonfictions. Always slows things down some. Second ... Dragon Age. Which has had a surprisingly good effect on several areas of my life, but has absolutely killed my reading rate. Third, I was stuck in a pretty slow-going book for most of January.
Nonetheless, I've finally collected a few:
Michael Cox, ed., Victorian Detective Stories. This is a decent-quality anthology, and at nearly 600 pages is certainly chock-full of entries. Most of which are good. But it was slow-moving - the Victorians tended to be flowery and dense in their writing - and took most of the month to get through.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, A Feast in Exile. I appreciated this one for breaking the standard Yarbro pattern. St. Germain was thrown out of his usual comfort zone and forced to deal with the discomforts of travel and poverty, and faithful servant Roger got a little bit more to do than usual. (I like Roger - I was glad to see a bit more of him.) Nonetheless, I still think it was a bit too dense to be enjoyable and the historical era didn't grab me (India at the time of Tamerlane). So I think this one is not a keeper.
Ken Follett, World Without End. Not sure if I reviewed this one back when I read it or not, honestly, but I'll do it again. I thought it was a decent book, following the lives of some medieval men and women in the time of the Black Plague. It was definitely too long, with a whole section in the middle that felt really forced and did little to advance the plot. But much of the book was quite well-written, the characters were interesting and varied, and I enjoyed about half of it. Which I think doesn't make it a keeper.
Janet Evanovich, To the Nines. I was a big fan of Stephanie Plum to begin with. I loved the first few books. Then the plot got all formulaic, the overarching interpersonal plot froze in place, and it just got to be too much repetition. I've pushed my way through the last few installments in the series, and finally have to admit that I'm all done. The writing is good, the characters are funny and lively ... but the plots are all a bit too similar and the characters are just not going anywhere.
It's a shame this installment is filled with so many nonkeepers! Hoping for better - and sooner - the next time around.
Nonetheless, I've finally collected a few:
Michael Cox, ed., Victorian Detective Stories. This is a decent-quality anthology, and at nearly 600 pages is certainly chock-full of entries. Most of which are good. But it was slow-moving - the Victorians tended to be flowery and dense in their writing - and took most of the month to get through.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, A Feast in Exile. I appreciated this one for breaking the standard Yarbro pattern. St. Germain was thrown out of his usual comfort zone and forced to deal with the discomforts of travel and poverty, and faithful servant Roger got a little bit more to do than usual. (I like Roger - I was glad to see a bit more of him.) Nonetheless, I still think it was a bit too dense to be enjoyable and the historical era didn't grab me (India at the time of Tamerlane). So I think this one is not a keeper.
Ken Follett, World Without End. Not sure if I reviewed this one back when I read it or not, honestly, but I'll do it again. I thought it was a decent book, following the lives of some medieval men and women in the time of the Black Plague. It was definitely too long, with a whole section in the middle that felt really forced and did little to advance the plot. But much of the book was quite well-written, the characters were interesting and varied, and I enjoyed about half of it. Which I think doesn't make it a keeper.
Janet Evanovich, To the Nines. I was a big fan of Stephanie Plum to begin with. I loved the first few books. Then the plot got all formulaic, the overarching interpersonal plot froze in place, and it just got to be too much repetition. I've pushed my way through the last few installments in the series, and finally have to admit that I'm all done. The writing is good, the characters are funny and lively ... but the plots are all a bit too similar and the characters are just not going anywhere.
It's a shame this installment is filled with so many nonkeepers! Hoping for better - and sooner - the next time around.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
5 good grown-up shows
Our shows don't change as often as the kids' do, but the list isn't exactly static, either. Here are 5 of my favorites from the current crop (scripted only - reality shows have been well-covered, I believe!).
Leverage. A TNT series, it follows a Robin Hoodesque group of thieves who use their skills to help people. An early millennium A-Team, really. It's an ensemble, with two of the characters loosely used as the "leaders" of the group ... but it's the three more 'supporting' cast that make the show. Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge, and Beth Reisgraf are all excellent in their roles, and the show's mix of heart, humor, and action makes it well worth watching.
Burn Notice. A USA series, Burn Notice is about a spy who has been kicked out of the business and is left stranded in Miami. It follows his exploits as he tries to earn money by helping people (although one of the show's biggest plot issues is that he's too soft-hearted to really take money from the people he's helping, so how the heck does he afford to buy all his yogurt?) while trying to remove the "burn notice" so he can resume his life as a spy. Jeffrey Donovan in the lead role is amazing - he's able to make all the roles the spy needs to assume believable, and has a good emotional range, as well.
Numb3rs. This show is a bit older than the others - on its 6th season, I believe - but its quality remains high. The leads - David Krumholtz, Judd Hirsch, and Rob Morrow - have the single greatest family dynamic I've ever been privileged to see on TV. I end almost every episode hoping I can have that relationship with my kids as they grow older. The supporting cast is good, the cast as a whole works together, and while the plots do tend to give my physicist husband headaches, the amazing grasp the writers have on the characters and their interpersonal relationships (without getting at all soap operatic, which is a hard line to walk) makes the show continue to work.
The Big Bang Theory. We're newcomers to this show about a bunch of geniuses and their waitress/actress neighbor, but have taken to it with enthusiasm. Jim Parsons is amazing. Sheldon Cooper is a not entirely believable character, but always entertaining, always remains very true to himself, but you can understand why the other characters are his friends. Kunal Nayyar and Johnny Galecki are both quite amusing, Kaley Cuoco is growing on me, and Simon Helberg as Wolowitz is the skeeviest thing I've ever seen on TV. Not sure if that's a compliment or not. Taken all together, the show is really amusing and also has a lot of truth. Not easy to accomplish.
Castle. Procedural meets romantic comedy, with the always charming Nathan Fillion in the lead role. The cast is really hitting its stride - you can tell they're getting used to working together - and they haven't gotten awkward with the sexual tension between the two main characters yet. The true test will be where they go with that relationship ... but it'll be interesting seeing them get there. Additionally, the relationship between Fillion as father and Molly Quinn as daughter is heartwarmingly affectionate and spontaneous.
Honorable mentions, if I were to give them, would go to my beloved Cold Case, which I still enjoy but am now so distracted by what Kathryn Morris has done to her lovely face that I have a hard time watching; How I Met Your Mother, whose cast I continue to love but whose plots I feel are becoming a bit strained; and Modern Family, which is funny but which we are too far behind on for me to feel like I can comment on it.
Leverage. A TNT series, it follows a Robin Hoodesque group of thieves who use their skills to help people. An early millennium A-Team, really. It's an ensemble, with two of the characters loosely used as the "leaders" of the group ... but it's the three more 'supporting' cast that make the show. Christian Kane, Aldis Hodge, and Beth Reisgraf are all excellent in their roles, and the show's mix of heart, humor, and action makes it well worth watching.
Burn Notice. A USA series, Burn Notice is about a spy who has been kicked out of the business and is left stranded in Miami. It follows his exploits as he tries to earn money by helping people (although one of the show's biggest plot issues is that he's too soft-hearted to really take money from the people he's helping, so how the heck does he afford to buy all his yogurt?) while trying to remove the "burn notice" so he can resume his life as a spy. Jeffrey Donovan in the lead role is amazing - he's able to make all the roles the spy needs to assume believable, and has a good emotional range, as well.
Numb3rs. This show is a bit older than the others - on its 6th season, I believe - but its quality remains high. The leads - David Krumholtz, Judd Hirsch, and Rob Morrow - have the single greatest family dynamic I've ever been privileged to see on TV. I end almost every episode hoping I can have that relationship with my kids as they grow older. The supporting cast is good, the cast as a whole works together, and while the plots do tend to give my physicist husband headaches, the amazing grasp the writers have on the characters and their interpersonal relationships (without getting at all soap operatic, which is a hard line to walk) makes the show continue to work.
The Big Bang Theory. We're newcomers to this show about a bunch of geniuses and their waitress/actress neighbor, but have taken to it with enthusiasm. Jim Parsons is amazing. Sheldon Cooper is a not entirely believable character, but always entertaining, always remains very true to himself, but you can understand why the other characters are his friends. Kunal Nayyar and Johnny Galecki are both quite amusing, Kaley Cuoco is growing on me, and Simon Helberg as Wolowitz is the skeeviest thing I've ever seen on TV. Not sure if that's a compliment or not. Taken all together, the show is really amusing and also has a lot of truth. Not easy to accomplish.
Castle. Procedural meets romantic comedy, with the always charming Nathan Fillion in the lead role. The cast is really hitting its stride - you can tell they're getting used to working together - and they haven't gotten awkward with the sexual tension between the two main characters yet. The true test will be where they go with that relationship ... but it'll be interesting seeing them get there. Additionally, the relationship between Fillion as father and Molly Quinn as daughter is heartwarmingly affectionate and spontaneous.
Honorable mentions, if I were to give them, would go to my beloved Cold Case, which I still enjoy but am now so distracted by what Kathryn Morris has done to her lovely face that I have a hard time watching; How I Met Your Mother, whose cast I continue to love but whose plots I feel are becoming a bit strained; and Modern Family, which is funny but which we are too far behind on for me to feel like I can comment on it.
Monday, February 01, 2010
5 good kids' shows
The content of our TiVo is always in flux, although the kids' tastes change a lot faster than ours. I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising! Here are 5 of the current crop of favorites that are actually worth watching.
1. Wordgirl. This PBS offering is relatively erudite, Wordgirl herself is both strong superhero and believable little girl, and the villains are clever and entertaining. Plus, most of the people on the show (including many of the villains) have good hearts.
2. Arthur. Also PBS. I think Arthur can safely be referred to as a classic by this point. The characters are well defined and multidimensional (mostly), the stories are reasonably true to life, and the lessons are generally pretty clear-headed and not at all panicky. A bonus!
3. Phineas and Ferb. This Disney channel show focuses on the power of imagination, adds some inter-sibling drama but with real love underneath, and is peopled with a cast of entertaining and unusual characters. The songs and the intertwined Perry the Secret Agent Platypus storyline don't hurt either. It's not my favorite animation, and I wish Ferb would react more (sometimes the blank face is a bit disturbing), but it's a quality show and amusing for the whole family.
4. Time Warp Trio. DK channel (Discovery Kids). Based on a popular book series, this is about three modern-day boys and their three great-granddaughters from the future bopping about through time. While I admit I do have some reservations about the time travel issues, the show addresses those (as much as it can), and I find that it doesn't pull its punches regarding history. You get some obscure facts, the times they visit tend to be presented fairly, and if they lower themselves occasionally (like the episode where the Mayan king was named Cacapoopoohead), there's still a lot of quality education to be found. (Most recent episode? Set during a famous early 19th-century weekend in Switzerland that was the birth of both Frankenstein and the forerunner of Dracula. Although Percy Shelley was tragically underutilized in the episode.)
5. Penguins of Madagascar. Nickelodeon? I think so. At any rate, this spinoff from the movie Madagascar is set in the Central Park Zoo, and stars some impressively mechanized penguins. I'm not always wild about the supporting characters, but the main three penguins - Skipper, the gruff leader; Kowalski, the scientist; and Private, the heart of the team - are both funny and lovable.
1. Wordgirl. This PBS offering is relatively erudite, Wordgirl herself is both strong superhero and believable little girl, and the villains are clever and entertaining. Plus, most of the people on the show (including many of the villains) have good hearts.
2. Arthur. Also PBS. I think Arthur can safely be referred to as a classic by this point. The characters are well defined and multidimensional (mostly), the stories are reasonably true to life, and the lessons are generally pretty clear-headed and not at all panicky. A bonus!
3. Phineas and Ferb. This Disney channel show focuses on the power of imagination, adds some inter-sibling drama but with real love underneath, and is peopled with a cast of entertaining and unusual characters. The songs and the intertwined Perry the Secret Agent Platypus storyline don't hurt either. It's not my favorite animation, and I wish Ferb would react more (sometimes the blank face is a bit disturbing), but it's a quality show and amusing for the whole family.
4. Time Warp Trio. DK channel (Discovery Kids). Based on a popular book series, this is about three modern-day boys and their three great-granddaughters from the future bopping about through time. While I admit I do have some reservations about the time travel issues, the show addresses those (as much as it can), and I find that it doesn't pull its punches regarding history. You get some obscure facts, the times they visit tend to be presented fairly, and if they lower themselves occasionally (like the episode where the Mayan king was named Cacapoopoohead), there's still a lot of quality education to be found. (Most recent episode? Set during a famous early 19th-century weekend in Switzerland that was the birth of both Frankenstein and the forerunner of Dracula. Although Percy Shelley was tragically underutilized in the episode.)
5. Penguins of Madagascar. Nickelodeon? I think so. At any rate, this spinoff from the movie Madagascar is set in the Central Park Zoo, and stars some impressively mechanized penguins. I'm not always wild about the supporting characters, but the main three penguins - Skipper, the gruff leader; Kowalski, the scientist; and Private, the heart of the team - are both funny and lovable.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)