Java Davis's Blog, page 15
December 23, 2015
Movie Review: Sullivan’s Travels (5 coffee beans)
This is something of an unusual movie review. Sullivan’s Travels is a Preston Sturges movie from 1941, starring the absolutely gorgeous Joel McCrea as Sullivan and his sometime traveling companion, played by Veronica Lake. It’s an old black-and-white, and it’s been all but forgotten except by die-hard movie buffs.
In 1941, the U.S. was seeing the end of the Great Depression, and the beginning of the country’s economic recovery. The movie is about a rich Hollywood mogul who makes greatly loved comedy films. But deep in his heart, he feels contempt for his fluffy comedies and longs to make a serious film. Sullivan decides to slum it in a trailer and picks up a poor girl along the way as a sort of native guide. She thinks it’s ridiculous to want to be poor, but Sullivan is determined.
Unfortunately for Sullivan, dark circumstances cause him to find out the hard way just how tough things are. He ends up in prison, where he sees how much the prisoners appreciate those fluffy comedy movies to take their minds off their troubles.
Sullivan’s solution to get out of prison is to claim that he murdered “Sullivan,” mistakenly believed to be dead. Of course, proving that he’s not dead and not a murderer, Sullivan is released. He is now happy to go back to Hollywood and make those fluffy comedies.
The movie was advertised as a comedy, but I see it as a tragi-comedy. It truly depicted some of the tragic sides of American life in those days. Either way, it’s one heckuva road trip movie, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
December 18, 2015
Hand-Made Gifts?
Hand-Made Gifts?
I’d like to hear from anyone who still makes their holiday gifts. Seriously, please share with us here.
I try as often as possible to make gifts. I’ve only given one gift card in my life, and it didn’t go well. Three years later, Lands End called me to say that my card had never been used, and what did I want to do with the money. I transferred the money to myself and had a small spending spree from Lands End. They bought my lifetime loyalty that year.
This year’s plan was to make hand-made aprons and baked fruitcakes (good ones, not BAD ones!). Procrastination paid off this time around because my husband wasn’t invited to the annual family Christmas get-together. Because we don’t have children and we live far away, we’ve lost the connection to the next generations. They’re not being mean. They simply forgot, saving me a boatload of work.
December 14, 2015
Recipe: Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
http://theroadtripwriter.com/recipe-c...
Recipe: Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
Ladies and Gentlemen, I haven’t shared a recipe in a while. I’m on a diet and am longing for cookies, so I’m sharing one of my favorite cookie recipes with you, and I hope you and your families will eat these in my absence.
2 cups unsifted flour
1-1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup plus 1 Tbs firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened condensed milk (NOT evap!)
1/4 cup concentrated lemon juice (jar)
2 Tbss cornstarch
1 (16 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce
Preheat oven to 350°. In large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, 3/4 cup sugar and butter or margarine. Mix until crumbly. Reserving 1-1/2 cups crumb mixture, press remainder firmly on bottom of greased 13×9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in smaller bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually, beat in condensed milk until smooth. Add lemon juice. Spread evenly over prepared crust. In small bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and cornstarch. Stir in cranberry sauce. Spoon evenly over cheese layer. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 40 minutes or until golden. Cool. Chill. Store covered in refrigerator.
Makes 24 to 36 bars.
I’m crying on the inside as you all eat them!
December 11, 2015
Definition: Caravan
http://theroadtripwriter.com/definiti...
Definition: Caravan
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, this is their definition of “caravan”:
Definition of caravan
: a group of people or animals traveling together on a long journey especially through the desert
: a group of vehicles (such as cars or wagons) traveling together
The photo is of a Bedouin tourist camp. The camels are available for rides.
December 9, 2015
Meet the Author, Clue #3
Let’s recap the first two clues.
Clue #1, the word can be found in one of my blog posts in the Definitions category.
Clue #2, the word has an “-ing” ending.
Here is Clue #3:
The word is an active verb.
Good luck to everyone!
December 8, 2015
Meet the Author: Clue #2
My Meet the Author event on Facebook is in two days. Someone (hopefully) will win a gift package if they “say the secret word.”
Clue #2: the word has an “-ing” ending. The word can be found in my blog’s collection of travel word definitions.
Remember! December 10, Thursday, 7-8 PM Eastern Standard (NYC) time!
December 6, 2015
Meet the Author Clue #1
The word can be found in one of my blog posts that feature word definitions. Here is the first CLUE blogpost:
http://theroadtripwriter.com/meet-the...
