Brief Review: Mama Mia

I needed at least a little break from the lecture preparations, so after doing some work on the next two outlines over sushi (I had an "I need to get out of the house to avoid distractions" evening) I swung by the theater to see Mama Mia!. Yes, I know that in some people's eyes my love of ABBA music puts me beyond redemption. (On the other hand, Tuesday at the gym, when I needed to work off the desperate need to strangle at least one of my co-workers, after pondering between setting the iPod to Sousa, Wagner, or ABBA, I chose the last because it seemed the other two were much too mellow and laid back. So ... whatever.)

This is a FUN movie. I laughed. I cried. I sang along at points. (I think this is going to end up being one of those sing-along-cult movies.) I reveled in a movie centering around mature women being unabashedly sexual and sexy. OHMIGHOD MERYL STREEP IS SOOOOOOO HOT! Seriously. The only part of the movie that came close to the delightfulness of Meryl Streep was the Greek Chorus (often, literally Greek). Especially the ladies in the kitchen. Oh, and the old woman with the sticks. Perfect. In fact, the whole Dancing Queen procession bit. This is about the third recent movie musical that has made me think that Bollywood is making some major infiltrations into American cinematic esthetics.

Totally different subject. We got a "save the date" notice at work that they're reviving the tradition of alternating the annual summer picnic with a "formal dinner gala". My first reaction was, "Yeah, that'd be a barrel of monkeys if you don't have a date." Then I realized that it was a perfect challenge for the Dating Project: find someone who would not only be up to attending a formal employer-sponsored dinner (free food!) but could have a good time doing so. Dancing may be required. I have until mid-November. (It is, alas, on the same day as Mists Investiture, but then I don't think that cuts down the available dating pool significantly.)

Decisions, decisions

So here it is, 9:30 pm and I've just finished dinner (well, what I was hungry for anyway -- somehow there are vast gobs of sweet potato, broccoli, and onion left on my plate that shall have to return again tomorrow) and e-mail. And the question is: do I make a really early bedtime of it, get caught up on my sleep, and then work even more intensively on the lecture presentations tomorrow; or do I go downstairs to the desktop unit, start scanning in images, and finally quit well after midnight, going to bed dead-tired, sleeping late into the morning, and not really getting started on the work tomorrow until around noon. Hmm. Answers that question. Yoo-hoo! Bed! Here I come!