The Week in Review: The Newport Ladies Book Club off to a great start

The Robbins household looks perfect from the outside: no dust, no stains, no wrinkles. Yet a glimpse into its heart reveals no laughter, no closeness, no joy. Olivia thinks that if she keeps everything tidy and serves delicious meals on time, family life is bound to get better. But when her husband, Nick, misses their anniversary, she realizes no amount of domestic success will compensate for failure in their marriage, or for her own failure to develop her identity-always busy as a mother, wife, and neighbor, she has forgotten how to be a unique and vibrant individual.

Determined to make a change, Olivia joins a local book club, where she nurtures new friendships and explores new ideas. But her growing confidence falters when Nick declares his independence- and while her new friends lovingly encircle her with support, only Olivia can reach into the depths of her fledgling self to find the faith, hope, and love her troubled family needs.

 What a wonderful way to start of a new year of reading! Olivia, the first book in the Newport Ladies Book Club series, was an absolute delight. Yes, the characters face struggles, yes the book brought on some tears, but the optimism of Olivia, the main character, continued to shine through, despite the difficult times she faced.
I wanted Olivia to be one of my best friends, then I remembers, I had author Julie Wright as a friend, and she is as much like Olivia as anyone can be when it comes to optimism. How lucky can I be?


In the novel, we also meet the women who will be telling their own stories in the books to follow. Daisy, Athena, and Paige are already feeling like friends, and I can hardly wait.

A MUST read for next year's General Fiction category of the Whitney Awards.Why not read it and nominate now? http://whitneyawards.com/wordpress/nominate/

The Week in Review: Lights, Camera, Action-packed Sequels

Christmas break always means family time at the movies for the Staheli family. This year’s selection wasn’t as appealing perhaps as in recent years, but I still managed to find two movies that I really enjoyed, maybe more than I liked the previous installments if the truth be told. The target audience for both might have initial been of the male persuasion, but add a little eye-candy and women like me will enjoy them too.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Okay, so Tom Cruise got a little wild when he jumped on Oprah’s couch, and maybe Knight and Day didn’t make a billion dollars for Hollywood (although I personally enjoyed it very much!), and maybe Valkyrie was a little too dramatic for you, but surely you can’t hold that against Tom forever.

The Mission Impossible franchise is back, and on top—on top of the tallest building in the world as well, a stunt that Tom actually did himself, albeit with lots of harnesses that magically disappear in the final movie. Even though my mind knew those harnesses were there while they filmed, I still found myself emotionally involved when the dust storm was coming and the specially designed grabber glove failed. Oh my!

And the eye candy? Tom was more than cute in this movie. There were certain scenes when he was downright sexy. A subtle look, the way he stood, the clothes he wore all added up to make those years melt away and he was HOT! Sorry, getting a little carried away here.

Anyway, I loved the movie. The addition of humor enhanced not only the plot, but the total viewing experience. And the potential promise of more to come made this movie-goer very happy. I think I’ll have to hit the theater a second time when it comes to my hometown.

 

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Robert Downey, Jr. is another actor that has had his ups and downs. Thanks heavens he is on the upside now (and   not bad eye-candy himself, despite the sometimes grimy condition he gets himself into in this movie). Both Iron Man movies have been stellar, we’re looking forward to the Avengers (did you catch his small part at the end of Captain America?), and now a second Sherlock that I think was better than the first.

This isn’t the Sherlock Holmes your grandparents knew, but that’s okay. The story takes up exactly where the last one leaves off, adds a little more steam punk, tosses in some intriguing use of slow motion photography and rewinding time techniques, and the audience begins to see things the way the mind of Sherlock does when he unravels a mystery.

I predicted the end of this film only because I was familiar with the history of the Sherlock Holmes stories, but let it be said that this one leaves itself also wide open for yet another film to follow. And it must! After all, aren’t movies and books meant to be trilogies, rather than a simple duo?

Week in Review – Chan Staheli, At the Movies

Any of you who know my son Chan knows that he is not only a movie affectinado, but also that his life intention is to be an actor and film director. You also know that Chan is not afraid to let the public know about his passions. This has been evident quite a bit lately from his appearances as a variety of film characters as he attends the opening night shows of new movies starring his favorite characters. I’ve been three of those movies with him recently myself, and it’s those films I’ll write about today. Of course, I’ll also let you get a chance to see just what life can be like with Chan Staheli in the house. Why did I think since I had no daughters that I would ever have to worry about playing dress up?

Cowboys and Aliens
The second we heard this movie would be starring Harrison Ford, there was no question but that Chan, and the rest of the family, would be seeing this one. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ve probably already seen photos of Chan, or perhaps watched his movies, of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, seeing him in his full costume regalia. Harrison Ford is not only an icon, but he is nearly worshiped in Chan’s world. I’m happy to say that Harrison Ford did not let us down. Okay, the concept sounds dorky---a Western town invaded by scary aliens? And one cowboy’s ability to fight them because of some incredibly chunky bracelet he wears? The screenwriter was kidding, right? Nope, and it turned out to be okay. If you like westerns, you’ll love this film. If you like frightening aliens, you’ll also love it. Put the two together, add Harrison Ford and stir in some Daniel Craig, and Cowboys and Aliens was a winner!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The boy wizard has been part of our lives from the beginning. I was the first one to discover Harry, having read Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets long before the series became the phenomenon it is today. We have Harry Potter dolls, wands, and board games at our house. My husband became so addicted he listened to the CDs every time he commuted to Los Angeles from Utah, which is quite often since that’s where he works and we live in Utah. He would read the books themselves in the first 24 hours after they were released. He, along with Chan, Kent and I have enjoyed the movies as well, usually going together as a family on opening weekend. As luck had it, my husband was working in L.A. for this time around and he was bummed---not only would we see the movie before he did, but we also had early tickets to see it before the midnight show. But that didn’t stop the rest of us from going, and enjoying it enough that we’ve been back to see it a second for Zach and me, and third time for Chan and Kent. This is the darkest and most violent of the films, but if you’ve grown up with Harry, you’ll definitely need to see this one. It’s already made it into the Billion Dollar Club with worldwide tickets sales, so I know many other people agree with me. Either Chan or Kent had a Harry Potter costume one year for Halloween, but somehow the one Chan put together for this event seemed a little more authentic.

Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides
We are a Disney family. We have annual passes and have been to Disneyland several times already this year. The last time we went as an entire family, Chan wore part of his Captain Jack Sparrow costume into the park and had a great time feeling the part on the Pirates of the Carribean ride and at the Pirate’s Lair on what used to be Tom Sawyer’s Island. When you get a look at this photo of Chan (yep, that’s really him and not Johnny Depp) is it any wonder that we’ve seen the newest version of Pirates several times? I really enjoyed this movie, loved the subtlety of the jokes broadness of the physical comedy. We already have the Blue Ray 3 pack DVD set on order, and I’m sure we will be watching this one again and again. But until it arrives, we always have Chan around to remind us of the best lines from the movie.

Anybody want to hire this kid for a personal appearance at a child's birthday party?

Hooray for Hollywood!

I’ve loved celebrities for as long as I can remember, probably because my dad loved movies and television. My very first memory is of the Brylcreem commercial–“A little dab’ll do ya”–when I was less than a year old. By the time I was in sixth grade, I wanted to know more about those celebs I saw on TV or heard on the radio. On a school field trip, I bought my very first 16 Magazine. Sonny & Cher were on the cover. I took it home and faithfully read every word of the entire magazine and my love for celebrity biographies was born. I guess it’s no wonder that I’ve written a few myself, or that I still love to read them. Here are three I’ve recently read and loved. Maybe they will capture your interest as well.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends – Rob Lowe
At last a celebrity bio that really shows Hollywood for what it is. Rob is totally honest about what it takes to make it in the world of movies and television. His honest evaluation should be a real eye-opener for anyone who thinks that the life of a celebrity is all parties and fabulous roles. It’s not, and those who try to make it out to be find themselves in some sort of trouble sooner or later (Think Lindsey Lohan or Paris Hilton). Another cool thing about this book (although not for co-writers like me), Rob wrote the book himself. That might have given him the opportunity to cover-up parts of his life that weren’t that pretty, but he didn’t. Rob gives readers an honest portrayal of who his is and what he’s done. He also shares some fun stories about those people he has worked with and counted among his friends (Charlie Sheen and Tom Cruise among them). If you want to know more about how Hollywood works, then read this book, but be forewarned there are a few instances of strong language and sexual content. 

If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won’t) – Betty White
What a delightful read! I have grown up with Betty White as a part of my television life. I first saw her on Password, the game show where she met the love of her life, Allen Ludden. This book–Betty’s fifth–is a series of short chapters of memoir about people she has worked with on various TV series, her love for animals, and memories from the early days of show business. The book is a quick read–I finished it in a couple of hours–but it is jam-packed with lots of funny stories and a great insight into life in Hollywood. Whether you’re a new Betty White fan, or one who’s been around for awhile like me, I think you’ll enjoy this book. I know I now want to read one of her earlier books just to hear some more of her stories.

I’m Over All That (And Other Confessions) – Shirley MacLaine
I’ll admit, I had lots of preconceived ideas about who I thought Shirley MacLaine was and what I expected this book to be. My husband had worked with Shirley on “The Westside Waltz” and I knew about her almost fanaticism for holistic medicine. I’d heard about her belief in reincarnation. And I knew that she had been a Hollywood jet-setter long before there was much known about that sort of thing. I was pretty sure that she and I would never see eye to eye on anything, especially politics, but I was pleasantly surprised. Whether it’s because of her age (she’s now 77) or the fact that she’s a Hollywood icon who is far past the need to preen for the paparazzi and get her mug splashed across the rags, Shirley is not at all who I expected her to be. Oh, yeah she talks about the reincarnation stuff, and I ‘m sure she really believes it, but everything else seemed to fit right in line with my own system of beliefs, and her stories about her friendships and relationships.