Summer

For my last blog I thought it would only be suiting to talk about the wondrous thing called summer.  OH how I cannot wait to get my summer started.  I have never been more thrilled for summer, actually I take that back, last year I was pumped for summer because I was going to Europe, but none the less I am still very excited for summer 2011.  I can't believe that I have finished my first year of college, and am now going to be a summer.  It seems like it all went by so fast, but I am completely ok with that, because now summer has arrived once again, and it didn't seem like I had to wait that long.  This summer, although I am not travelling a lot, or going over seas, like I desperately wanted to do again, I have great plans to spend all my days working and being outside.  I have never wanted more than anything to just be outside all the time and do nothing else.  I plan on getting a hammock and taking my hammock to different peaceful, and beautiful places to set up and just enjoy the outdoors.  I also plan on spending every day hiking, biking, and caving.  I love all of these things and just want to spend my entire summer doing so.  I also want to take lots of trips to the river and lake and boat, jet ski, and canoe.  I went to the Buffalo River a couple years ago and absolutely loved it.  Spending an entire day canoeing is probably one of the best and most fun things to do during the summer.  I hope that I can get a big group of my friends together and we can go do this sometime.  This summer is going to be amazing I just know it.  I also don't have to worry about volleyball for once either; my entire summer is volleyball free except for of course working out and the occasional volleyball practices with my high school.  I need to sharpen my skills since I have been out for a while because of my recent knee surgery, but I hope that it will all work out and I will be able to play decently again, but you never know.  The only thing I am sad about and that will make my summer not as amazing, is the fact that my best friend, Keller, will be leaving me for basically the entire summer.  She has always gone to a camp in North Carolina where she is a counselor and she's gone the entire summer.  I am very depressed about this, yes, but I will make the best of it and I do have a little while with her before she leaves in June, but it will still be sad to see her go.  Oh the other thing I almost forgot about is the one trip I have planned for sure; and that is the BEACH! My family and I are going to spend a couple of weeks in Destin, Florida and I cannot wait.  I haven't been to the beach, let alone Destin in years, and I love it there.  It will definitely be a fun time and I cannot wait for it. 

Summer 2011!!! Let it begin!!!!

Hope everyone has enjoyed reading my babble and I hope you all have a great summer!!!!
Love & Peace

.Jackie Cooper, Former Child Star, 'Superman' Actor, Dies at 88

Just this week a former Oscar nominated TV-star, and TV executive and director while amassing scores of acting credits, including playing Perry White in the four Christopher Reeve Superman films died this week.  On Tuesday the former star died at the age of eighty eight in Santa Monica.  Cooper was lucky enough to experience and enjoy a 60 year acting career.  He was the most popular and widely recognized child star of the early 1930s and the first kid to shine in “talkies," until Shirely Temple.  His pug nose, crinkly smile and pouty lip endeared him to a nationwide audience, first as Jackie in Hal Roach’s Our Gang comedies. This popular 1920s that depicted the story of neighborhood children and their adventures.  It was also called the Little Rascals.  Cooper was so popular as a child that he was referred to as the "American Boy."  Jackie Cooper was born on September 15, 1922 in Los Angeles, he broke in as a bit player in silent films. Cooper acted in 15 Our Gang shorts between 1929 and 1931 His uncle, the director, Norman Taurog, cast him in the title role of Skippy, which was based on a comic strip. Cooper earned a best actor Academy Award nomination for the film.  This was the the first time for a child actor to do so and still the youngest to receive an Oscar nomination for a leading role.  These films were a great thing for Cooper. The films launched Cooper to stardom, and he went on to star opposite Wallace Beery in three films: The Champ,  The Bowery, and Treasure Island. Like most child stars, Cooper hit a difficult period during adolescence, both professionally and personally.  Due to age he was being replaced with younger child stars.  Based on his experiences, Cooper later opposed children growing up as actors. None of his four children went on to  perform.  As a teen, he showed his maturity and acting skills in 1940’s Seventeen and gave an inspiring performance as a trumpeter in Syncopation before joining the Navy during World War II, where he was ranked as captain. After the war, Cooper found movie roles harder to come by, enduring such low-budget pictures as Stork Bites Man, Kilroy Was Here and French Leave. The experiences ruined his love for the acting, and he left Hollywood, touring in stock companies and performing on Broadway in New York.  While in New York he also directed, produced, and starred in two series.  For a period during the 1960s, Cooper thrived as a TV executive. He served as vice president of program development at Columbia Pictures Television.  He began to direct episodic TV, and during the ’70s he was active in tackling tricky social issues like runaway teens. Based on his experiences, he couldn’t resist attacking the hypocrisy of show business. He returned to acting in the 1971 film The Love Machine, playing an obsequious and smarmy TV programming executive.  He continued to direct for TV throughout the 1970s and ’80s, winning a pair of Emmys for M*A*S*H andThe White Shadow. He directed multiple episodes of those shows along with others.  He also helmed two telefilms that centered on show business figures.  Cooper was a man of the TV screen making not only appearances in his own shows, but others. He guested on dozens of TV series including Suspense, The Twilight Zone, Hawaii Five-O, Kojak, Columbo, The Rockford Files, St. Elsewhere and Murder, She Wrote. He was most recognizable to latter-day audiences for playing Daily Planet editor Perry White in the four Superman films starring Reeve from 1978-87.  He also achieved a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame in 1960.  He retired in 1989, and has lived a quite life, raising horses in San Diego. He was divorced twice.  Once from June Horne, with whom he had a child, and Hildy Parks. In 1954, Cooper married Barbara Kraus, and the couple had three children. He is survived by two of this children.  Jackie Cooper was a man to be remembered and had many great successes in his life.  He went from child star, to famous executive and producer, all achieving great success.  He was a man of many talents and his death is one that surprises and sadness us. However he will always be remembered and honored for his great impact on television. 
May he rest in peace.

Love & Peace

Tangled

Disney has been a major part of my life growing up.  As a little kid I would spend endless hours watching my favorite Disney princess movies.  It was enjoyable and fun for me.  Just recently Disney came out with a new princess movie, called "Tangled."  "Tangled" is the last Disney princess movie to ever be made, and it depicts the story of Rapunzel.  Since I am a Disney princess fanatic, I decided I had to see the new movie.  Let me tell you, I am absolutely obsessed with this movie.  It is so cute and actually really very good! The story line is very fun and different than any Rapunzel story I have ever really heard, however I can't say I know much about Rapunzel except that she has extremely long hair.  There is so much more to this story and I was really please, because I didn't really know where they were going to go with her story. The movie had some very memorable moments and one of the biggest and most shocking ones was of course, the hair! Even though it is a cartoon, I have never seen hair so long in my life.  The entire time I watched the movie I couldn't stop thinking about her hair.  How heavy must her hair be? How does she get around with all that hair in the way? And I can't imagine how dirty her hair is. HA! I was none the less to say, mesmerized by her hair.

Throughout the entire movie Rapunzel was accompanied by a little friend; her closest friend.  This friend was her bet chameleon, named Pascal.  Pascal was by far the funniest character in this entire movie, yet he had no lines.  This chameleon killed me (with laughs) with his facial expressions and personality.  He was the funniest little thing I have ever seen in my life.  I have never been so amused by something so much, like I am by Pascal.  It is probably safe to say I am obsessed with him.  Literally the entire time I was focused on Pascal and what he would do next.  All of my closest friends think I'm crazy because of how much I talk about Pascal.  I couldn't stop laughing because of this little guy.  There was another animal in this movie whom I absolutely adored, and he was the palace horse Maximus, or Max for short.  This guy as well was extremely funny, and what I like to call sassy.  Everything he did was with a dramatic, sassy type of behavior.  He was not going to let anyone stand in his way of doing what he was supposed to.  It was hilarious.  He especially showed his personality when he and the wanted thief, Flynn Ryder, got together.  Those two were always at it, because Max was trying to capture Flynn since he stole from the palace.  It was priceless. 

I absolutely love this movie, if no one could tell, and highly recommend it to everyone to see, at least once.  If your sense of humor is anything like mine, you will laugh your sides into a pain frenzy.  I am very sad that this is the last Disney princess movie, but I think the ended it very well.  It was cute, funny, and something that will be remembered.  Disney was successful with the story of Rapunzel, and in my opinion it was a huge success.  Now I must go watch this movie again, because I have made myself interested once again.

Love & Peace



Must see it!!! SOOOO funny!!!