Moving Slowly, even with Friday Five

Since the shoulder surgery, I've felt sluggish (snail-ish?) as I am not moving quickly while keeping my right arm and shoulder still. This continues even with the TRIUMPH of driving again--it is a slow process, especially getting in and out of the car, starting and stopping, etc.

This is a lesson in attentiveness: Having the sling always on to keep my right elbow next to my body, I must reach over with my left hand to put the key in the ignition and turn it on, then put my seat belt on, and finally move the center gear shift. This is a seemingly long process, as well as driving without making left turns (if possible)! Yesterday I drove to the library and today I drove to physical therapy. Yay! It is more stressful than I'd anticipated, but a good step forward.

Just like typing on the computer, my arm is in the sling. It is helpful that the keyboard is on a ledge below the desktop or it would be more difficult to type with both hands. But my computer has been exceedingly slow since the installation of the latest update of Norton, which keeps scanning my computer throughout the day, no matter how its controls are set.

Thus I was late setting up the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five today--it was a hurried job, because I always forget how long it takes me to get dressed and showered these days--with my husband's help, which I greatly appreciate but the time is surely doubled. Then I only had ten minutes to write the Friday Five for day, which extended into the Renovare Meeting that meets every Friday at my house at 8 am. . . .because the computer kept going so s l o w l y.
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So here's my belated FRIDAY FIVE, which is about MOVIES:

Thinking of movie-watching, what do you prefer?

1. At home or at a theater?
I see more movies at home, because my husband would rather not go out to the theater. I love to see movies at a theater, which happens more frequently when one of my kids are home and they'll go with me.

2. With whom?
In recent years, I've gone to movies more often with my youngest daughter MJ, but this year she will graduate from college and won't be home for as many vacations as previously. A few days before my shoulder surgery, my husband surprised me by taking me to see "The Descendents."

3. Movie you look forward to seeing?
Over Christmas (when I was sick with the flu), the kids went to see the second Sherlock Holmes movie, which I would still like to see. I would like to see "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", and maybe "Haywire." The previews for "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" make me want to see it, but I haven't read any reviews of it and Rotten Tomatoes only rates it at 50%, which isn't so good.

4. Movie you like to see repeatedly?
Husband CB likes to watch movies that are recurring on the various cable channels, so it seems like some are seen frequently, like the Bourne movies. Last night I watched the last half of "The King's Speech," which I enjoyed. Some movies I don't want to see a second time, such as "The Descendents." Oddly, I like watching the "Kill Bill" movies, which is probably why I want to see "Haywire."

5. Food with a movie?
Popcorn with no butter.

Bonus: Recommendations for home/theater viewing.
If you haven't seen "Kinky Boots," you should rent it! It's a funny British comedy.

"Rabbit Hole"

Recently, we watched the December 2010 movie "Rabbit Hole." Several friends kept recommending it to me. I really liked it, but my husband did not, though he did stay through to watch the entire movie.

"Rabbit Hole" is a sad and intense movie about two parents whose 4-year-old son died eight months before. Each copes in different ways and seems to lose the way without one another. Their groping towards and away from each other is painful and very realistic. It is a beautiful movie, very well done.

I am still thinking about it. The dvd is available for rental. I recommend it.

Saturday Stuff

It is warmer than it has been for days and rain is pouring down, as I yawn and think of going to bed. Instead, I will be self-preoccupied and write bullets about the trivia that is occupying me right now:

• MJ is home after a week of visiting friends at Trinity University in San Antonio. She will leave for Spain on Jan. 24.

• CB and I saw "The King's Speech" yesterday. It was excellent. I learned a lot, while being very impressed with Colin Firth's performance as King George VI.
  

• I am voraciously reading mysteries by Charles Todd, all checked out from the public library. These are about Ian Rutledge, a Scotland Yard inspector who suffers from shell-shock from WWI, while trying to do his job investigating murder cases. I really like the Maisie Dobbs mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear, which are about an exceptional woman who served as a nurse in WWI, whose fiance returned from the war so damaged that he did not recognize anyone. It is interesting that these mysteries are connected to WWI.

• I failed in my month-long commitment to blog about "friends" for NaBloPoMo -- mostly because I did not pre-post enough before I went on my silent retreat at Lebh Shomea.

• It is hard to believe that one week ago I was there and only returned home two days ago. After so much time spent in meditation, I am somewhat surprised that I have been captured again by habits of home, etc.
  

• I have not thought of a "word" for 2011 yet. First it seemed like "friends" would be it, but at Lebh Shomea I started pondering the word "stirrings," which will be a future post.

• I saw many wild animals at Lebh Shomea. For the first time I saw a nilgai, which comes originally from India. On one of the trails, I saw a black object far ahead that I wondered about; it was so still, could it be a tree? As I came closer, something black and as big as a horse moved.

Friday Five: Why to Get Up

Singing Owl brings this wonderful cartoon and the following Friday Five for RevGalBlogPals:

Where I am it is dark, and it is cold, and it is snowing. I really wanted to stay in bed with the electric blanket cranked this morning. Share five things that made getting out of bed worthwhile for you today!

Even here in south Texas, it is cold. The cold seems worse for us (though it isn't) because we are not used to it. For the past few days the high temperature has stayed in the 40s F. It seemed especially cold while I was in a little dwelling at Lebh Shomea on my retreat, so I really can identify with wanting to stay in the warm bed, with lots of blankets!

Today I left my bed because:
1. It is nice to be home again; I felt like I was sleeping late until 7 am, because at Lebh Shomea they have a contemplative mass at 7 am.

2. Our weekly Renovare Group meets every Friday morning at my house at 8 am. This group, minus some members and added ones, has met weekly since about 1995.

3. Like Terri, I like to see what the Friday Five will be. This is especially true because I had a week with no access to a computer. (There seemed to be A LOT of time at Lebh Shomea.)

It was funny that Singing Owl pre-posted the FF to appear at 5 PM instead of 5 AM, so it was not apparent for awhile. Whenever a FF is late like this, I have a panicky feeling that it might have been MY turn to do it! Then I have to ask myself if this is the third Friday of the month, which is much easier this year because I have a calendar hanging above the computer. (It is one I bought in Alaska this past summer and features the amusing art of Barbara Lavallee.)

4. I was glad to read the morning newspaper, especially with its two pages of comics.

5. Reading the newspaper, I discovered that the film "The King's Speech" has finally reached Corpus Christi; I was not sure the movie would ever be shown here. Maybe we'll see it this afternoon!

P.S. I do not drink coffee, but I still love that cat's attitude!

Today's Trivia

Today is September 17, and I actually saw the new movie "The Town" on its opening day! Thanks to son DC and his wife AA visiting and taking me to the movie for the matinee showing this afternoon. We all really enjoyed it. Ben Affleck directed and starred in it, both in excellent ways.

And here is the trivia of the past few days:

• AA's baby shower was nicer than I anticipated--five of my friends and one of hers hostessed it, with yummy food, loving friends, and cute baby gifts. AA is so much bubblier than I ever am that it was a joy to watch her interact with everyone. I am always glad to be with her and know she is my daughter-in-law.
  

• There are dark and heavy rainclouds all around, and it is starting to pour. Luckily, I dried a load of clothes on the clothesline before the rain started. It is supposed to rain heavily this weekend and keep on coming down next week, due to Hurricane Karl which already hit landfall in Mexico.
  

• Remember how I took Maisie to her first training class last Friday? She was the only pupil. That was cancelled today, which is why I could go to the movie with AA and DC. A new class time is yet to be determined. That's probably good as I have not been disciplined about teaching her and will renew my efforts this weekend. (I'm the one who needs to be a better student--and teacher.)
  

• The backyard looks empty without the big ash tree in the middle. We will get another tree to put there, which will be much smaller. I am hoping that we will get a live oak tree.

• Last weekend the Rev. Drs. Jane Patterson and the Rev. John Lewis, founders of The Workshop, spoke at All Saints Episcopal Church. I keep thinking about the teaching that "the NAME" of Jesus Christ means the "the nature and character." I am really helped to expand that meaning in my heart and mind that praying "in the name of Jesus Christ" could be described as praying "in the nature and character of Jesus Christ," just as Christians wish to live in that same nature and character.

The caption is "No Words"

The caption for this is "no words," which is how I've been feeling lately.

I hope I am not joining the ranks of former bloggers who just leave. Since vacation to Alaska, where I pre-posted, I have had little interest in blogging, not even putting pictures from the trip here. To capture my interest tonight, I thought I'd do one of those me-me-me bullet points of what is/is not going on lately.

• My mouth has mostly healed from my splat accident in Seattle two weeks ago. I have an annoying bump that still needs to heal inside of my mouth, which seems to be the remnant of the hole.

• I continue in my reading of mysteries checked out from our public library. I really like the authors recommended in the "Newsweek" editorial that I mentioned here. Denise Mina and Benjamin Black are my current favorites. I am able to find more books by Denise Mina at the local libraries. I really like the young journalist in Glasgow that Mina writes about; she is an interesting character from an Irish Catholic background but in Scotland.

• I am reading too much to be de-cluttering. It's more than likely a procrastination ploy. I am enjoying these last few weeks before all the classes and commitments start up again with the advent of Labor Day.

• A friend asked me to help at the Green Fair she organized for next Sunday at First United Methodist Church. I was excited about reading Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices by Julie Clawson, which prompted my interest in participating in the Green Fair--especially about fair trade items. Today I bought a cardboard project board, which I will be decorating with info this week.

• Among the interesting and disturbing topics I have learned about is the slavery and human trafficking involved in the farming and production of cocoa beans. I learned much more when I read Bitter Chocolate: The Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet by Carol Off. The author dramatically quotes a young cocoa worker saying, "When people eat chocolate, they are eating my flesh." (134)

• Go here to see a chart that shows which chocolate companies have slave-free chocolate, as well as reading a well-researched articled about chocolate and its production.

• Oddly, both husband CB and I are called to show up for jury duty on the same date and time--next Monday, August 30 at 8 am.

• My friend Terry in Seattle will be 60 years old tomorrow. Happy Birthday to Terry! I will be 60 in two months.

• CB and I saw the movie "Inception" yesterday at a matinee. We really enjoyed it. I liked it better than CB, who said it got too complicated. I want to see it again to wait until after all the credits are run to see if the top stops spinning.

"As It Is In Heaven"

Before this Alaska trip, CB and watched a movie from 2005 entitled "As It Is In Heaven." Even with those subtitles he hates, CB enthusiastically told the choir at church about this film. I was surprised by his enthusiasm, but not by his preoccupation with the movie.

It is about a young boy who is bulled in his Swedish town until he and his mother move away. Then it flashes to him grown up--a great musician and conductor who must give up his career due to his health. Unexpectedly, he returns to the town of his youth. There follows the stories of different villagers, including a wife-beater, whom the ex-conductor leads in the church choir. Transformations ensue, though not for everyone (of course). It is interesting how the dynamics of the village change as different people experience a new sort of freedom.

This is an excellent movie!

Sex Trade

An article on Human Trafficking brings my attention back to a movie we recently rented on Netflix: Trade starring Kevin Kline.


The only reason I ordered it was Kevin Kline, as we like his acting and acting choices.

The movie turned out to be eye-opening and emotional; it is truly a terrible story. A young Mexican gangster is trying to find his kidnapped 13-year old sister, eventually with the help of a police officer played by Kevin Kline. The movie is a must see, but not because it will make you feel good. It is as dark and disturbing a film as you will see and yet reveals an all too real evil in our world.

The above mentioned article states:

"The report (2010 Trafficking in Persons Report) also indicates that U.S. citizens are more likely to be victims of sexual trafficking, as opposed to labor trafficking. Of these, child victims are often runaways and homeless. A 2001 study from the University of Pennsylvania estimated that almost 300,000 U.S. children are at risk of being forced into the sex trade."

This article ends with:

More information on human trafficking is available at the following:

U.S. Dept. of State Office to Monitor & Combat Trafficking in Persons.

U.S. Dept. of Justice Child Exploitation & Obscenities Section.

“The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada and Mexico”, Richard J. Estes and Neil Alan Weiner. University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work. 2001.

“Playground: The Child Sex Trade in America,” documentary directed by Libby Spears.

“Thoughts Upon Slavery,” John Wesley (1774).

"U.S. reports 'serious problem' with trafficking," (United Methodist News Service, June 24)

This is an important issue I know I need to learn more about. And pray about, especially with the help of the Ho'opono Cleansing Prayer.
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MomPriest wrote in the comments below:

"This is one of the biggest concerns with immigration legistlation. The desert of southern Arizona is littered with the remnants of this issue called, "rape trees" - literally trees where the woman (usually) was tied up and raped and left for dead, her clothes flung into the branches above. It's awful."

That brings it closer to home. Thanks, MomPriest for writing.

BABIES

A dear friend who is in a weekly Renovare group with me is excited about the upcoming movie "Babies." Her granddaughter Hattie is one of the four babies featured in the first year of their lives. The babies are from the USA, Namibia, Japan, and Mongolia. Although Huffington Post Joel Schwartzberg finds the movie pleasant but pointless, I am very interested in seeing it. Maybe that's because I'm going to be a grandmother in November, but it's also because I love babies (as evidenced by being a La Leche League Leader for over 12 years of my life).

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers!

Cynthia posted about this upcoming movie, which looks like a breath of fresh air about the Christianity I believe is true.

Friday Five: Gloom before Spring

Sally says at RevGalBlogPals:

Candlemass is past, and Christmas is well and truly over, here in the UK February looks set to be its usual grey and cold self. Signs of spring are yet to emerge; if like me you long for them perhaps you need ways to get through these long dark days. So lets share a few tips for a cold and rainy/ snowy day....

1. Exercise, what do you do if you can't face getting out into the cold and damp?
Lately it has been raining and even one day was immersed in fog so that I have not felt like going out to walk the puppy Maisie. It was so exciting last night to see the clouds parting, and today the sun is shining!

2. Food; time to comfort eat, or time to prepare your body for the coming spring/summer?

The past few weeks of cold weather reminded me of my coping mechanisms when we lived in RI and NJ--I would cook and bake! I found the coziest, almost mushy, chicken recipe to cook in the crockpot this week: I’ve Died & Gone to Heaven Chicken Slow Cooker / Crock Pot Recipe. CB has even enjoyed it with his oppressive cold. But I need to renew my commitment to counting points with the Weight Watchers program.

3. Brainpower; do you like me need to stave off depression, if so how do you do it?
Since I suffered from clinical depression for years, I take prozac daily, and believe the medicine (and therapy) saved my life. Now in the current issue of Newsweek, the cover and a long article discuss "The Depressing News About Antidepressants: Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse."

I have tried to stop taking prozac, but fall into the flat affect state which deteriorates into suicidal ideation for me. So I continue to take meds.

4. How about a story that lifts your spirits, is there a book or film that you return to to stave off the gloom?
We recently watched "Kinky Boots," which both CB and I love.



5. Looking forward, do you have a favourite spring flower/ is there something that says spring is here more than anything else?
I love daffodils, which I could see bringing forth the message of spring in Bellingham, WA and when we also lived in RI and NJ. I fondly remember the daffodils blooming at the cemetery soon after my dad was buried there in Feb. 2002.

But in TX the wildflowers can be abundant and glorious. However, there have been few coming forth in the past few years because of the severe drought in this area. With all the rainfall this past fall and winter, we are hoping we'll see bluebonnets and other wildflowers in their glory soon.
Bonus; post a poem/ piece of music that points to the coming spring......

The Bright Field

by R. S. Thomas

I have seen the sun break through

to illuminate a small field

for a while, and gone my way

and forgotten it. But that was the pearl

of great price, the one field that had

the treasure in it. I realize now

that I must give all that I have

to possess it. Life is not hurrying

on to a receding future, nor hankering after

an imagined past. It is the turning

aside like Moses to the miracle

of the lit bush, to a brightness

that seemed as transitory as your youth

once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

Pictures

Cisco and Maisie

MJ with wiggly Maisie

Compare these pictures with the puppy pictures I posted about ten days ago. Maisie is growing and growing. She is so quick that my pictures are often blurry.

Tonight I tripped over one of the three dogs and fell flat on my stomach on the tile floor in the laundry room. Luckily, I have strong bones. I landed mostly on my knees and left hand, which is slightly swollen (but I can still type!). I lay there for a few minutes, and when I moved my head, I saw that the puppy was sitting very quietly in the crate looking at me.

Today we took down all the Christmas decorations, nativity scenes, and tree. The house looks bare.

CB is off to choir practice, and in a few minutes MJ and I are going to see a movie--"Up in the Air." CB doesn't like to go to movie theaters, so I am glad I get to go out to see a movie tonight!

"Snow Cake"

Since I recommitted with nablopomo.com to blog every day in November, I have to post something. So I will recommend a movie I already suggested on Facebook: Snow Cake.

The movie is so good that I've bought it. The acting is excellent, especially with Sigourney Weaver playing an autistic woman.

Here is the story line (from here):

"Alex Hughes, an ex-convict, is on a road trip to Winnipeg to see an old friend. Along the way, he meets the annoying, but vivacious, Vivienne Freeman who manages to bum a ride with him. Just as he begins to warm to this eccentric girl, Alex's vehicle is in a serious automobile accident that kills Vivienne. After his meeting with the police, Alex decides to speak with Vivienne's mother. Upon arrival at her home, Alex discovers that the mother, Linda, is a highly functional autistic woman who convinces him to stay long to take out the garbage the day after the funeral he agrees to arrange. In those few days, Alex discovers new friends and learns more about the uniqueness of Linda even as he struggles to come to terms with his own grief."

"Gran Torino" movie

Here is Clint Eastwood in his latest movie "Gran Torino," which is excellent. My oldest son DC told me months ago that this character reminded him of my dad, who had been a career Marine officer (mustang--who rose from the enlisted ranks to being an officer without a college degree). My dad stood ramrod straight, wore shabby clothes, and was often grumpy. He also could look this disapproving and dissatisfied.

CB and I really enjoyed this movie tonight. It is especially poignant for baby boomers with dads who fought in WWII or in the Korean War. Others will enjoy it, as my 29 year old son liked it.

Which Perspective?

I have just started reading a new book, while reading several others. On the first page of Karen Oberst's book on the Beatitudes was a paragraph that immediately connected me with a movie I saw last week, which was very much about how preconceptions shape the way we view someone. The movie was "The Closet," but first I am going to copy the paragraph from Oberst's book:

"In a Chinese folktale called 'The Neighbor's Shifty Son,' a farmer's ax disappears. Believing his neighbor's son to have stolen it, the farmer keeps watch all day, noticing how guilty both his neighbor and his neighbor's son appear. On the following day, however, he finds his ax in the field where he left it. When he next looks at his neighbor, he sees a perfectly normal person with his perfectly innocent son. Learning the truth changed the way he saw his neighbor." (1)

Oberst, Karen L. But I Tell You: Jesus Introduces a Better Way to Live. Newberg, OR: Barclay Press, 2007.

"The Closet" is a light-hearted French movie from 2001 that I watched while I was ironing clothes last Saturday. CB doesn't like subtitles, so I saw it while he was working at Habitat for Humanity. It's about a boring accountant who loses his job of many years, but regains it when doctored photos of him in male relationships are sent to the rubber corporation. When he returns everyone interprets his continued ordinary actions as "gay." He seems interesting now, while before he was not.

How expectations predispose us to see things and people in specific ways. I recently posted a quote from Gerald May's book The Awakened Heart about the difference between expectation and hope. Expectations (not "expectations" as "goals") limit us in a rigid way, while hope expands the situation. The movie and the Oberst quote point out how we have tainted vision when we have preconceived ideas of someone.

In fact, a friend and I were talking about this last Sunday when we walked in the humid, windy night. KK said someone on the church staff where she works was shocked that KK laughed a joke about an email that played various farting sounds. The secretary had an image of KK that limited who she thought KK to be. In a similar fashion, when I went to Zambia with four RC religious in 2006, one of the young men (who will soon be ordained an OMI priest), was shocked when I experienced "gas." He told me that his mother NEVER had flatulence and so he had thought mothers never did that!! Wow, did I open his mind (and senses)!

Unless we become more aware/awake, we'll never know we are restricting our views. No one is totally one way or another, but too often we assume they are. How little we know of ourselves, others, and God when we have automatic/reactive judgments that come from our childhood, family, and culture.

I am interested in this new book by Oberst, who is 'following the Greek where it leads, supplemented by research on customs of the times." (2) She says she is no theologian or expert, but was a Greek major in college. The book looks interesting, especially as I believe translations and semantics make big differences in our understanding.

And to end, I have to take part of a poem I read at Fran's (Go read the rest of the poem!):

Help me, O Mysterious God,
to understand the riddles you've hidden
inside your answers to my prayers.
~~Ed Hays

"Slumdog Millionaire"

I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" for the second time this afternoon with CB. He had wanted to see the Clint Eastwood movie, but that was sold out, so we went to this one instead. I'm glad, because I enjoyed it as much as I did last week when I went with a friend. I noticed more details today. And CB liked it a lot, too.

I'm amazed that the actor who plays Jamil (Dev Patel) is only 18 years old. He is from Great Britain and still lives with his parents. He and the other actors were very good.

Besides learning a lot about India and watching an exciting story, I really enjoyed the Bollywood dancing during the final credits.

Coming Home

I was only trying to find an image evocative of MJ returning home after six weeks of camp. We are very excited that she's coming home this evening!

*Painting: 'Coming Home' Beverley Grant, 2007.

The one above is so beautiful that I had to post it, but it is relating to much more tragic and traumatic leave takings in Australia--the removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

1897 The Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act (Qld) allows the Chief Protector to remove local Aboriginal people onto and between reserves and to hold children in dormitories. Until 1965 the Director of Native Welfare is the legal guardian of all ‘aboriginal’ children whether the parents are living or not.

Photograph: School, Mornington Island, 1950. Courtesy of the State Library of Queensland and the community of Mornington Island.

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*Artist: Beverley Grant
Title: ‘Coming Home’, 2007
Symbolism: Brown, reds and black represent the people and the land. White represents the spiritual connection between the people and
the land.
Story: The family sitting around our circle, participating in a smoking ceremony down by the Lachlan River, NSW. Footprints signify return to family, people and homeland.

~~
And this reminded me of seeing the movie "Rabbit-Proof Fence" which is worth renting, if you have never seen it. It's based on the true story of Molly Craig, an Aboriginal girl who was taken away from her family and found her way back by walking 1500 miles along the rabbit proof fence.

Tears

"Left in Tears" by Donald W. Larson

Various spells of tears today, but CB agreed to go (spontaneously) to the new Indiana Jones movie. We went to a late matinee, and our tickets were only $4.50 each, because there's a Senior discount on Mondays. That was an insult, because you have to be five years older than we are and so we must look that old, but at least we got cheap tickets. After that, we ate dinner at the Thai Cottage and had a delicious dinner. LT and RT, the friends who sat with us at MJ's graduation, walked in after us, which was a nice surprise.

The movie was fun, though belief had to be suspended periodically. My friend NE in California told me that she thought it was a film for baby boomers. That is probably true, because MJ's boy friend CS told me he did not like the movie at all. I liked going to a movie with my husband, which we rarely do. With the senior rate on Mondays, we may continue to swallow our pride so as to take advantage of those cheap tickets.

I appreciate all the support I received in the post below about the Empty Nest. I am in a transitional period, having to let go of MJ, which is a natural process. I want her to go off and become the woman she is meant to be, just as I see her siblings growing into their adult selves. It's just hard to let go and face the emptiness that is yet to be filled. Someday I'll be as lighthearted as the figures in the quilt.

I also know that I need to stay in the present and be with the feelings that arise. I am newly aware of how my mother must have felt when her only child (me) got married at 21 and then left the west coast for the EAST coast at 22. My heart is being stretched.

"Body of War"

My daughter posted this video on her blog. I was so struck by it that I felt that I should copy it here.

Body of War is a documentary that will be released this Spring.




See if it's showing in your city and go watch it.

"Juno"

While daughter MJ is away at a soccer tournament with her high school team, husband CB and I went to see a movie! This is a rare event for us. We saw "Juno," which I really liked, but which CB said would suit MJ more than him.

About a quarter through the movie, a large splotch opened up on the screen and grew with a black ring around it until the screen was white. Someone said the film burned! We sat amidst much noise and giggling, being the oldest people there, for about ten minutes. Then the movie started again.

I am glad that MJ is a different type of girl than Juno, but I think she is as honest as Juno. There were some stereotypes in the movie, but the acting is sincere and may be more true-to-life than I realize (like the language used).