Silly Thinking

Hi everyone and thanks for making "Silly Thinking With Douglas Lain Now Union Made" one of the fastest growing web zine blog site pages on the internet. I'm Jim Farris filling in for Douglas Lain while he's on a promotional tour for his new story published at Strange Horizons entitled "Shopping At The End Of The World".

And now here's our popular Friday feature "Entertainment Roundup Report".

It may be fall but it seems like summer with tempatures reaching 92 degrees this weekend. Frankly I am sick of the heat- you may want to do what I do on hot days: head for the air conditioned comfort of a multiplex cinema, pay once and sneak into as many movies as you can stand till it cools off.

This week "Under The Tuscan Sun" opens wide in theatres everywhere. A so-so romantic comedy that seems to want to be a better smaller, quirkier, movie; this overwrought film based on the popular book by Audrey Wells is beautifully shot on location in Italy but dumbed down so much it looses it's impact. Diane Lane stars and gives a bit of a hammy performance but it's great to see this underused actress in a first class movie. Too bad the studio treatment ruins what might have been a slight little classic.
The critically acclaimed new film by Sophia Coppola gets a wider release today as "Lost In Translation" with Bill Murray is now playing near you.
And if you resisted Johnny Depp dressed up as a pirate all summer "The Pirates Of The Caribbean" is still playing in first run theatres. In August when it was 102 degrees I snuck into see this comedy adventure and it was cool and delicous.

Cinema 21 is holding another of thier Animation Festivals this week and that's always worth a look. Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt will introduce the cartoons tonight.

Also in town this week is the extraordinary "Cirque De Soliel" and thier new presentation "Algeria" which will play in a big circus tent south of the Marquam bridge for three weeks. One of the things these bizarre circus folk do while there in town is hold a "Cirque For Life" event at Cinema 21. It's a documentary film on the "Cirques" program of helping troubled children by giving them Cirque training. The work they've done in Chile, Canada, and most importantly South Africa is inspiring and not to well known. The movie is free on Oct. 20th at 7 pm. The Cirque is not free in fact it costs a bundle but when they are investing time and energy in solid unreported humanitarian programs you might want to help by seeing thier show which is amazing and life changing onto itself.

Not amazing or life changing is the semi-staged Oregon Symphony Pops adaptation of "Camelot" this weekend. Norman Leyden conducts and these mini-musicals are a lot better than I thought they would be. I'll bet good tickets are still available.

And finally the Oregon Flock And Fiber Festival is happening at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm. Free admission and parking with exhibits featuring Sheep, llamas, goats, rabbits, camels, and yaks. Here's the disturbing part there is also a Potluck BBQ. I hope the BBQ pit is seperate from the displays.

Well that's just to much entertainment. Join us Saturday and Sunday for our award winning internet feature "A Few Moments With Dead Celebrites" I happen to know whose booked this weekend and they are very popular dead people.

Keep in touch because we love to hear from you. See ya next week.