Ok, Here it is, my personal ranking for every Disney and Pixar animated theatrical release. I figure since I went to the trouble of watching all of these, I get the right to judge them however I want on my blog read by tens of people. I've also given each movie an arbitrary award, for my own amusement. I hope you like it. I do....well, and least the movies from 43 on.
65 - Home on the Range: worst. movie. ever.
64 - Dinosaur: Best movie to cure insomnia/improve your self esteem as a writer
63 - Oliver & Company: worst animation in the whole Disney canon
62 - Bolt: Worst attempt at hip/sarcastic humor
61 - Cars 2: worst Cash Grab/worst sequel
60 - The Aristocats: Best demonstration of the hole Walt left when he died
59 - The Black Cauldron: Worst adaptation of a book
57 - Tie- Saludos Amigos/Three Caballeros: Most spanish in Disney movies
56 - Atlantis: The Lost Empire: Worst use of Michael J. Fox
55 - Make Mine Music: Worst Compilation feature
54 - The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad: worst story about a toad
53 - Brother Bear: Worst use of Phil Collins
52 - Fun and Fancy Free: creepiest use of puppets
51 - A Bug's Life: Most inconsistent tone
50 - The Fox and the Hound: Most confusing message
49 - Alice in Wonderland: Best Animation in a Terrible Movie
48 - Pinochio: Biggest disappointment
47 - Treasure Planet: Best movie ruined by Martin Short
46 - Rescuers Down Under: Most unfairly maligned by me before I saw the depths of horror that is Home on the Range
45 - The Rescuers: most unpleasant looking villians, like, lose your appetite unpleasant.
44 - The Great Mouse Detective: Best mediocre movie
43 - Bambi: Best movie you forgot the second half of
42 - The Sword in the Stone: Best Wizards Duel
41 - Hercules: Best James Woods
40 - Melody Time: Most pleasant Surprise
39 - Tarzan: Best use of Phil Collins
38 - Ratatouille: Best movie I wish I liked more
37 - Pocahontas: Best movie if you can block out what comes next in your history book
36 - Dumbo: Best movie with a drunk baby elephant
35 - Peter Pan: Most evil "good" character (Tinkerbell)
34 - Mulan: Best movie I overlooked due to my hatred of Donny Osmond
33 - Chicken Little: Best homage to King Kong
32 - Sleeping Beauty: Coolest Villain/Least interesting Title Character
31 - Toy Story 2: Best Sequel
30 - Meet the Robinsons: Best Dinosaur in a hat
29 - The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Best Ride in the Magic Kingdom
28 - Lady and the Tramp: Best Reference to depressing Russian play in a movie about puppies (The Lower Depths)
27 - The Little Mermaid: Most frustratingly realistic depiction of a dumb teenager
26 - The Emperor's New Groove: Best use of hip/sarcastic humor
25 - Wreck-it Ralph: Best homage to Ed Wynn
24 - Winnie the Pooh: Best Puns/word play
23 - Robin Hood: Best use of "On Wisconsin"
22 - Fantasia 2000: Best George Gershwin sequence
21 - Fantasia: Best movie that scared me when I was little
20 - Monsters, Inc: Cutest kid
19 - Lilo & Stitch: Best combination of space aliens and child services
18 - Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Scariest Vilain
17 - Brave: Most Nudity
16 - 101 Dalmations: Best scenic painting
15 - The Lion King: Best Opening Sequence
14 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Best songs to belt out in your car
13 - The Princess and the Frog: Best argument to continue making hand-drawn animated films
12 - Tangled: Best Hair
11 - Cars: Most Underrated
10 - Finding Nemo: Best Sidekick (Dory)
9 - Toy Story 3: Best Goodbye Scene
8 - The Incredibles: Best Midlife Crisis
7 - The Jungle Book: Best Bear (Baloo)
6 - Beauty and the Beast: Best Princess
5 - Wall-E: Most Genuine and Innocent Main Character
4 - Cinderella: Most often misinterpreted by spoiled brats
3 - Aladdin: Favorite Childhood movie
2 - Toy Story: Best Jokes
1 - Up: Best Movie
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
DMCP #65 - Brave
Ta-Dah!!! I did it! All 65 Disney/Pixar Thatrical releases. I will be writing more about the project as a whole, but let's finish by talking about Brave first.
I really like Brave. I know some people were down on it, but we got a couple of things you don't see often. First, we have a movie where both parents of our main Character are alive and well. Second, the movie is about a mother/daughter relationship, and neither of them are evil. You can tell that co-director Brenda Chapman was drawing from very personal experience. I also watched it with my own mother who happens to have a daughter known to be stubborn from time to time, and judging from the amount of crying going on, I'm assuming it resonated with mothers and daughters everywhere. It's a great tale of two people who love each other, but can't seem to stop hurting each other. We get to see through the course of the film that part of the reason they can't get along is that they are so similar. Queen Eleanor knows what it takes to run a kingdom and carries the burdens of her responsibilities while Merida sees this and is trying to run away from responsibilities that will soon be hers. It's like Merida actively doesn't want to grow up to be her mother. Can you believe that kids don't always want to be their parents when they grow up?! The movie handles this very well, and it takes a lot of poor decisions before they can mend their bond. It's really very heartfelt and sweet.
Amid this very personal tale, we get to have a lot of fun with the male characters. The leaders of the Scotish clans are brash, loud, and ridiculous. They are voiced by Billy Connolity, Craig Ferguson, Hagrid, and Dr. Owen Hunt from Grey's Anatomy. I thought it was an interesting turn where the most realistic characters were female and the men got to be walking stereotypes for a change. The men are big, dumb, and love eating and fighting and showing their butts to people. (side note, this movie has more naked man butt than Magic Mike did. Naked, pale, Scottish old Man-butt.) I like that the men are drawn overly broad because it pays off in a big way during one of Merida's big character moments. While the clans have decided to shout and threaten war with each other, Merida needs to find a way to get them to work together. She speaks about how they are a new country, whose stories are not yet legend, but whose aliances were born of friendship and fighting together to drive out their common foe. Sound familiar? It's a call to reject the partisan ideas that have driven people apart and to mend the bonds that made us great. I like that she deliver's this to broadly drawn characters because every one of them is being a ridiculous man-baby. It reminds us that no matter what side of the political spectrum we fall on, when we only focus on what divides us and refuse to seek common ground, no one is in the right and everyone is being stupid.
On a final note, this movie contains some of the most breathtaking animation I've ever seen. Pixar continues to raise the bar for what is possible with computer animation. Merida's hair alone makes the movie a must see, but we also get gorgeous Scotish countryside and thrilling action set pieces...and man-butt.
8/10
I really like Brave. I know some people were down on it, but we got a couple of things you don't see often. First, we have a movie where both parents of our main Character are alive and well. Second, the movie is about a mother/daughter relationship, and neither of them are evil. You can tell that co-director Brenda Chapman was drawing from very personal experience. I also watched it with my own mother who happens to have a daughter known to be stubborn from time to time, and judging from the amount of crying going on, I'm assuming it resonated with mothers and daughters everywhere. It's a great tale of two people who love each other, but can't seem to stop hurting each other. We get to see through the course of the film that part of the reason they can't get along is that they are so similar. Queen Eleanor knows what it takes to run a kingdom and carries the burdens of her responsibilities while Merida sees this and is trying to run away from responsibilities that will soon be hers. It's like Merida actively doesn't want to grow up to be her mother. Can you believe that kids don't always want to be their parents when they grow up?! The movie handles this very well, and it takes a lot of poor decisions before they can mend their bond. It's really very heartfelt and sweet.
Amid this very personal tale, we get to have a lot of fun with the male characters. The leaders of the Scotish clans are brash, loud, and ridiculous. They are voiced by Billy Connolity, Craig Ferguson, Hagrid, and Dr. Owen Hunt from Grey's Anatomy. I thought it was an interesting turn where the most realistic characters were female and the men got to be walking stereotypes for a change. The men are big, dumb, and love eating and fighting and showing their butts to people. (side note, this movie has more naked man butt than Magic Mike did. Naked, pale, Scottish old Man-butt.) I like that the men are drawn overly broad because it pays off in a big way during one of Merida's big character moments. While the clans have decided to shout and threaten war with each other, Merida needs to find a way to get them to work together. She speaks about how they are a new country, whose stories are not yet legend, but whose aliances were born of friendship and fighting together to drive out their common foe. Sound familiar? It's a call to reject the partisan ideas that have driven people apart and to mend the bonds that made us great. I like that she deliver's this to broadly drawn characters because every one of them is being a ridiculous man-baby. It reminds us that no matter what side of the political spectrum we fall on, when we only focus on what divides us and refuse to seek common ground, no one is in the right and everyone is being stupid.
On a final note, this movie contains some of the most breathtaking animation I've ever seen. Pixar continues to raise the bar for what is possible with computer animation. Merida's hair alone makes the movie a must see, but we also get gorgeous Scotish countryside and thrilling action set pieces...and man-butt.
8/10
Friday, April 19, 2013
DMCP # 64 - Toy Story 3
I'm going to go ahead and assume everyone has seen all the Toy Story movies as I talk about this one. Just a heads up.
So I've seen this movie 4-5 times now, and I've even intended to write about it before now. But I kept putting it off because it was a daunting task. This movie is packed with so many different themes that you could write several books about it, which is a lot to say about an animated movie about anthropomorphic toys. Seeing as I just reported on Toy Story 2, I'm gonna start with the continued existential crisis of toys. The movie opens with a brilliant view of playtime as it is experienced by Andy and the toys, filled with action, adventure, and lots of explosions. It is breathtaking. We then get to see another montage of our heroes in their heyday, having countless adventures with Andy. It sets up the stark contrast when we cut to the present, and the few surviving toys are making one last ditch attempt at being played with. You see the desperate loneliness as Woody and his friends realize that Andy and, by extension, the world as moved on and forgotten them. We have a group of characters facing the stark reality of retirement, of being told that they have no use anymore and must adjourn to the nursing home-I mean- attic. The fears Woody struggled with in the second movie have come to pass and he is trying to rally the troops that it won't be so bad, with little success.
All of the Toy Story movies use the fleeting nature of a toys existence as a meditation on our own morality, but the theme of impending death is almost oppressive in this one. The toys are forgotten, almost thrown away, tortured and imprisoned by a sadistic bear, and nearly incinerated. I think what makes this movie so special though is that none of this is needless. The ultimate message of the movie, I believe, is one of learning to let go and move on. The toys have reached the end of their relationship with Andy, but they can see no future without him. When they decide to go to the daycare center, they are making the choice almost out of spite. They just want someone, anyone to play with them. They want to move on, but they aren't really ready yet, and Woody never will be. Some people questioned how dark the movie gets during the landfill sequence, thinking it was unnecessarily bleak. I think it was as dark as it needed to be. Woody and the toys needed to come to an acceptance over their own mortality before they could move on to a new life. It important to note that Woody chooses to get into the box to live with Bonny at the end of the movie. Woody, who spent the whole movie fighting and struggling to bring everyone back to Andy, ultimately decides to leave Andy for a better life. After facing death with his friends, he is finally able to recognize that they deserve better than a life in the attic. He sees that they have value without Andy, and makes the choice to find them a new home where they will be happy and loved again. Because Woody's devotion is so strong, it takes a life changing act for him to change his ways. The movie has to get that dark in order to earn the ending that brought so many people to tears. The toys have a wonderful new home and a new lease on life, and Andy goes to college without fear of being picked on for bringing a stuffed cowboy with him. As someone who lived in a college dorm, I can tell you, the right choice was made.
You cannot complete any discussion of Toy Story 3 without at least mentioning Lotso. This sadistic, strawberry-scented, sociopath is one of Disney's greatest villains. He's a vision of where Woody was headed during the first movie. Although they eventually dealt with it in different ways, both Woody and Lotso were faced with the reality of being replaced, and neither of them took it well. If Woody had succeeded in knocking Buzz behind the desk in the first movie instead of out the window, we might see a world where Woody's increasing jealousy consumed him the way it does Lotso. Fortunately, Woody was given a chance to see the error of his ways and learn that he was loved all along. Lotso never had that chance. He truly loved Daisy, and, as far as he's concerned, she betrayed him and threw him to the curb. His pain went so deep that it broke him. The rest of his actions from that moment stem from his pain and fear of being alone. His fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the Sunnyside daycare center where Lotso uses his twisted beliefs to enslave the entire facility. His evil has become so corrupted that even the idea of goodness causes him pain. This is why, even after Woody saves him, he still tries to have them killed. Woody's faith in Andy only further reminds Lotso of what he doesn't have and it makes him furious. Woody isn't consistent with the dark, cold world Lotso believes in, and if Woody is right, that means Lotso has been living a lie, and this is not acceptable. Therefore, Woody must die. It's the kind of twisted thinking you see in extremists of any kind. People who have developed a world view so strict and so narrow that any contradictions must be destroyed and descension crushed. What is so brilliant about Lotso's portrayal in the movie, is that we can still relate to him. We can identify with his pain, and his story becomes a cautionary tale more than just another story of a mad tyrant.
All of this happens and I haven't even mentioned that the movie is a take on a classic prison movie, complete with double crosses, an elaborate breakout plan, and the lifer who finally breaks, in this instance, he's an old fisher price play phone. It's a complete masterpiece, and Mr. Potato head gives us one of the greatest bits of physical comedy I have ever seen. The movie is equal parts touching, funny, and thrilling and it stands as one of the very best in the Pixar/Disney cannon.
10/10
On a side note. I wanted to recommend another take on this movie for anyone interested. Critic Tyler Smith of http://battleshippretension.com/ has is own podcast, "More Than One Lesson" which is an amazing podcast that discusses movies from a Christian perspective. I highly recommend checking out his episode about Toy Story 3, it's truly brilliant, no matter what your beliefs might be. So go to iTunes and check that out too.
So I've seen this movie 4-5 times now, and I've even intended to write about it before now. But I kept putting it off because it was a daunting task. This movie is packed with so many different themes that you could write several books about it, which is a lot to say about an animated movie about anthropomorphic toys. Seeing as I just reported on Toy Story 2, I'm gonna start with the continued existential crisis of toys. The movie opens with a brilliant view of playtime as it is experienced by Andy and the toys, filled with action, adventure, and lots of explosions. It is breathtaking. We then get to see another montage of our heroes in their heyday, having countless adventures with Andy. It sets up the stark contrast when we cut to the present, and the few surviving toys are making one last ditch attempt at being played with. You see the desperate loneliness as Woody and his friends realize that Andy and, by extension, the world as moved on and forgotten them. We have a group of characters facing the stark reality of retirement, of being told that they have no use anymore and must adjourn to the nursing home-I mean- attic. The fears Woody struggled with in the second movie have come to pass and he is trying to rally the troops that it won't be so bad, with little success.
All of the Toy Story movies use the fleeting nature of a toys existence as a meditation on our own morality, but the theme of impending death is almost oppressive in this one. The toys are forgotten, almost thrown away, tortured and imprisoned by a sadistic bear, and nearly incinerated. I think what makes this movie so special though is that none of this is needless. The ultimate message of the movie, I believe, is one of learning to let go and move on. The toys have reached the end of their relationship with Andy, but they can see no future without him. When they decide to go to the daycare center, they are making the choice almost out of spite. They just want someone, anyone to play with them. They want to move on, but they aren't really ready yet, and Woody never will be. Some people questioned how dark the movie gets during the landfill sequence, thinking it was unnecessarily bleak. I think it was as dark as it needed to be. Woody and the toys needed to come to an acceptance over their own mortality before they could move on to a new life. It important to note that Woody chooses to get into the box to live with Bonny at the end of the movie. Woody, who spent the whole movie fighting and struggling to bring everyone back to Andy, ultimately decides to leave Andy for a better life. After facing death with his friends, he is finally able to recognize that they deserve better than a life in the attic. He sees that they have value without Andy, and makes the choice to find them a new home where they will be happy and loved again. Because Woody's devotion is so strong, it takes a life changing act for him to change his ways. The movie has to get that dark in order to earn the ending that brought so many people to tears. The toys have a wonderful new home and a new lease on life, and Andy goes to college without fear of being picked on for bringing a stuffed cowboy with him. As someone who lived in a college dorm, I can tell you, the right choice was made.
You cannot complete any discussion of Toy Story 3 without at least mentioning Lotso. This sadistic, strawberry-scented, sociopath is one of Disney's greatest villains. He's a vision of where Woody was headed during the first movie. Although they eventually dealt with it in different ways, both Woody and Lotso were faced with the reality of being replaced, and neither of them took it well. If Woody had succeeded in knocking Buzz behind the desk in the first movie instead of out the window, we might see a world where Woody's increasing jealousy consumed him the way it does Lotso. Fortunately, Woody was given a chance to see the error of his ways and learn that he was loved all along. Lotso never had that chance. He truly loved Daisy, and, as far as he's concerned, she betrayed him and threw him to the curb. His pain went so deep that it broke him. The rest of his actions from that moment stem from his pain and fear of being alone. His fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the Sunnyside daycare center where Lotso uses his twisted beliefs to enslave the entire facility. His evil has become so corrupted that even the idea of goodness causes him pain. This is why, even after Woody saves him, he still tries to have them killed. Woody's faith in Andy only further reminds Lotso of what he doesn't have and it makes him furious. Woody isn't consistent with the dark, cold world Lotso believes in, and if Woody is right, that means Lotso has been living a lie, and this is not acceptable. Therefore, Woody must die. It's the kind of twisted thinking you see in extremists of any kind. People who have developed a world view so strict and so narrow that any contradictions must be destroyed and descension crushed. What is so brilliant about Lotso's portrayal in the movie, is that we can still relate to him. We can identify with his pain, and his story becomes a cautionary tale more than just another story of a mad tyrant.
All of this happens and I haven't even mentioned that the movie is a take on a classic prison movie, complete with double crosses, an elaborate breakout plan, and the lifer who finally breaks, in this instance, he's an old fisher price play phone. It's a complete masterpiece, and Mr. Potato head gives us one of the greatest bits of physical comedy I have ever seen. The movie is equal parts touching, funny, and thrilling and it stands as one of the very best in the Pixar/Disney cannon.
10/10
On a side note. I wanted to recommend another take on this movie for anyone interested. Critic Tyler Smith of http://battleshippretension.com/ has is own podcast, "More Than One Lesson" which is an amazing podcast that discusses movies from a Christian perspective. I highly recommend checking out his episode about Toy Story 3, it's truly brilliant, no matter what your beliefs might be. So go to iTunes and check that out too.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
DMCP #63 - Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is about the mid-life crisis of toys. Specifically, Woody has an accident that gets him put on the shelf. For a toy that doesn't age, it's a reminder that he won't necessarily last forever. He begins to have nightmares that he will be replaced, discarded and, ultimately forgotten. It is during this vulnerable time that he is stolen by Newman from Seinfeld. It turns out that Woody is actually a rare collectible toy from the 1950s. Woody suddenly finds a way out of his life of being forgotten. He can try to return to his family and make the most of the time he has left, or he can live a life behind glass in a museum, adored by many, but never being played with again. The movie plays with the ideas of how we deal with the direction life brings us, and if we should abandon it all for a chance at a glamorous, but less fulfilling life. Normally, a story about a midlife crisis involves a male character making an outrageous purchase or Kevin Spacey narrating his sad bathroom habits to us. Instead, we get a moving story of a character tempted to leave behind everything he loves because he fears his own mortality. He is worried about becoming obsolete, and his fears are compounded by the story of Jessie the cowgirl, who has already suffered this fate. Jessie's story pushes Woody to try to avoid her fate by leaving his life behind on his own terms. I think most if not all people have at least daydreamed about leaving everything behind and beginning a new life, but the movie demonstrates that this is only a hollow sort of life. Given the subject matter, this movie is relatively lacking in laughs. Buzz, Ham, Mr. Potato Head, and Rex to their best on the rescue mission, but the jokes are more cute that laugh out loud funny. All in all though, this is a pretty good movie.
7/10
7/10
Sunday, April 7, 2013
100 by 30 - Book 9
Every Day is an Atheist Holiday! by Penn Jillette
Despite the title, the latest memoir by one half of Penn & Teller is more about his latest life adventures than a treatise on his lack of religion. It's funny, heartfelt, and contains the same measure of brilliance and self-deprecation that have made him such an engaging entertainer over the last 35 years. We get stories about missing his chance to meet Johnny Carson, the time some jackass tried to extort him, and his dislike of Clay Aiken on Celebrity Aprentice. He writes in a heartfelt, off the cuff sort of way, and you can see how his passions and pet peeves make him the unintentional jerk in many situations, and all for our benefit. My favorite example is the story of how he and his wife used IVF to concieve their first child. In the um *ready room*, the "inspirational images" he gets are seductive posters of three famous models/actresses, each of which he has made cry in public. The situation gets worse from there, but you can read the book for more details.
When Penn does talk about his family and atheism, he does so on a very personal level. He doesn't try to justify his beliefs to the whole world, but merely to show how they have given him a perspective and moral code to live by. In short, the universe is incredible and amazing without the presence of a deity. This world is enough. Morality is completely separate from religion. In various places, the bible condones rape, murder, slavery, abuse, geonocide, and religious intolerance. People have decided that these things are immoral without the help of a supreme being. To put it another way, when asked, "without god, what's to stop you from raping and murdering anyone you want?", He responds, "I have already raped and murdered everyone I want to, and that number is zero." For many atheists, true morality isn't refraining from causing harm because you might get caught, but refraining from harming others because it's the right thing to do. Morality is how we behave when we think no one is looking. And has far as a fear of death goes, his response is November 9, 1909. If you didn't exist then, and it doesn't scare you, then not existing 100 years from now shouldn't scare you either.
If nothing else, he does a good job of demystifying atheism for people who've never met an atheist and think they all want to just cause pain and choas wherever they go. In fact, most of the atheists I've met are exceedingly gentle, kind hearted souls. Ok, maybe not souls. But people, and good people should always be treasured, no matter what beliefs got them there. Besides, it's always good to be reminded that, no matter what your most cherished beliefs are, there is someone out there who thinks that they are the dumbest thing they have ever heard.
7/10
Despite the title, the latest memoir by one half of Penn & Teller is more about his latest life adventures than a treatise on his lack of religion. It's funny, heartfelt, and contains the same measure of brilliance and self-deprecation that have made him such an engaging entertainer over the last 35 years. We get stories about missing his chance to meet Johnny Carson, the time some jackass tried to extort him, and his dislike of Clay Aiken on Celebrity Aprentice. He writes in a heartfelt, off the cuff sort of way, and you can see how his passions and pet peeves make him the unintentional jerk in many situations, and all for our benefit. My favorite example is the story of how he and his wife used IVF to concieve their first child. In the um *ready room*, the "inspirational images" he gets are seductive posters of three famous models/actresses, each of which he has made cry in public. The situation gets worse from there, but you can read the book for more details.
When Penn does talk about his family and atheism, he does so on a very personal level. He doesn't try to justify his beliefs to the whole world, but merely to show how they have given him a perspective and moral code to live by. In short, the universe is incredible and amazing without the presence of a deity. This world is enough. Morality is completely separate from religion. In various places, the bible condones rape, murder, slavery, abuse, geonocide, and religious intolerance. People have decided that these things are immoral without the help of a supreme being. To put it another way, when asked, "without god, what's to stop you from raping and murdering anyone you want?", He responds, "I have already raped and murdered everyone I want to, and that number is zero." For many atheists, true morality isn't refraining from causing harm because you might get caught, but refraining from harming others because it's the right thing to do. Morality is how we behave when we think no one is looking. And has far as a fear of death goes, his response is November 9, 1909. If you didn't exist then, and it doesn't scare you, then not existing 100 years from now shouldn't scare you either.
If nothing else, he does a good job of demystifying atheism for people who've never met an atheist and think they all want to just cause pain and choas wherever they go. In fact, most of the atheists I've met are exceedingly gentle, kind hearted souls. Ok, maybe not souls. But people, and good people should always be treasured, no matter what beliefs got them there. Besides, it's always good to be reminded that, no matter what your most cherished beliefs are, there is someone out there who thinks that they are the dumbest thing they have ever heard.
7/10
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
100 by 30 - Book 8*
Oh my an asterisk! What does it mean?! Well, I read a book, and I read a shorter one. I'll start with the short one first:
If I Ran the Dog Show by Tish Rabe - This was an Easter gift from my mother. It start the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 & 2 as the run a dog show. Why did I get this? Because a) March was national book reading month, b) my dog is very smart (sometimes) c) Dr. Seuess + Dogs is always awesome, and d) so is my mom.
The idea was to read the book to my dog. He didn't like it very much. He couldn't eat it, snuggle it, or chase it, so he decided to see what the food lady was up to instead. Anyway, this is the actual book that counts
THE TAO OF POOH by Benjamin Hoff
This is a primer guide to Taoism as seen through the example of Winnie the Pooh. It's a fun, relatively light read, and I enjoyed it, but the conversations between the author and the characters gets a bit confused and forced at times. For those of you who don't know anything about taoism, the basic idea is to live your life by living in the present and in harmony with yourself and the world around you. In a nutshell: just be. It's about not trying to fit square pegs into round holes. The author uses Pooh as an example of the basic idea of the taoist philosophy. I really identified with the idea of learning not to struggle through life. I have learned this lesson repeatedly, but it's usually after working myself into a frenzy before I realize the answer was right in front of me, and it wasn't what I thought. It's really great advice and I'd recommend it to anyone really struggling with a problem. So if you find yourself banging your head against a wall over a situation or problem, I recommend stepping back for a bit and waiting to see if the solution comes to you. I'm not saying it works for everything, but it is how I found my wife, my job, our home, and our dog....... and my playstation. So I got that going for me, which is nice.
7/10
If I Ran the Dog Show by Tish Rabe - This was an Easter gift from my mother. It start the Cat in the Hat and Thing 1 & 2 as the run a dog show. Why did I get this? Because a) March was national book reading month, b) my dog is very smart (sometimes) c) Dr. Seuess + Dogs is always awesome, and d) so is my mom.
The idea was to read the book to my dog. He didn't like it very much. He couldn't eat it, snuggle it, or chase it, so he decided to see what the food lady was up to instead. Anyway, this is the actual book that counts
THE TAO OF POOH by Benjamin Hoff
This is a primer guide to Taoism as seen through the example of Winnie the Pooh. It's a fun, relatively light read, and I enjoyed it, but the conversations between the author and the characters gets a bit confused and forced at times. For those of you who don't know anything about taoism, the basic idea is to live your life by living in the present and in harmony with yourself and the world around you. In a nutshell: just be. It's about not trying to fit square pegs into round holes. The author uses Pooh as an example of the basic idea of the taoist philosophy. I really identified with the idea of learning not to struggle through life. I have learned this lesson repeatedly, but it's usually after working myself into a frenzy before I realize the answer was right in front of me, and it wasn't what I thought. It's really great advice and I'd recommend it to anyone really struggling with a problem. So if you find yourself banging your head against a wall over a situation or problem, I recommend stepping back for a bit and waiting to see if the solution comes to you. I'm not saying it works for everything, but it is how I found my wife, my job, our home, and our dog....... and my playstation. So I got that going for me, which is nice.
7/10
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