Beatlemania Has Taken Over in I Wanna Hold Your Hand

My brother Nathan, the most avid Beatles fan in our family, was home this week, so the timing was just right for my latest Netflix delivery, a movie called I Wanna Hold Your Hand that takes place on the February day in 1964 when the Beatles played the Ed Sullivan Theatre. Though I wasn't familiar with any of the principal cast members, I'm certainly a fan of director Robert Zemeckis and producer Steven Spielberg, and the subject matter intrigued me, so when my friend Beth reviewed it here a while back, I stuck it in my queue. While I agree with her that it's a little excessively silly, a few laughs were just what we needed last night.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand chronicles the adventures of six teenagers who, for one reason or another, are determined to get to the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City for the Beatles' big show. They're from Jersey, and intrepid aspiring photographer Grace (Theresa Saldana), who is desperate for the chance of a career-making photo, has discovered that limousines are allowed to pull up to the hotel where the Beatles will be staying, so she sweet-talks the shy, awkward, not-yet-licensed Larry (Marc McClure) into commandeering his dad's limo and taking a little road trip.

Also along for the ride are reluctant Pam (Nancy Allen), who's about to get married and doesn't think her fiance will be thrilled about her spending her last night as a single woman out chasing the Beatles, and spastic Paul fanatic Rosie (Wendie Jo Sperber), who knows the answer to every trivia question on the radio and will risk life and limb to get to a phone in an effort to win a coveted pair of tickets. Janis (Susan Kendall Newman), a long-haired counter-culturalist who I'm guessing was named after Janis Joplin, wants to protest these artistically barren moptops in a place where she's most likely to get extensive exposure. The last to join the group is Tony (Bobby DiCicco), a Fonzie-like greaseball with a too-cool-for-school 'tude who tags along by pulling off one of the most reckless automobile stunts I've ever seen.

The chief attribute of this movie is that it is loud. My goodness, those Beatles groupies could screech. And it isn't just squealing and hollering, either; it's sobbing hysterically and trampling each other in an effort to catch a glimpse of their beloved Liverpool boys. If I were John, Paul, George or Ringo, I think I would be terrified. We don't really get to see the lads much, though we do catch a few glimpses of them thanks to Pam, who, despite not really wanting to be there at all, manages to get within close proximity to them on a couple of occasions. It's fun to hear their banter and to observe Pam's reactions, though her initial response to being in the Beatles' hotel room is rather indecent. I would have expected it of the ludicrous Rosie, but not the apparently level-headed Pam. But then this day is all about self-discovery.

While the teens arrive together, it doesn't take long for them to split up, so there's a lot of madcap action as their paths intersect and each faces different challenges in achieving the desired end. After her initial stalking efforts are thwarted, Rosie wriggles out of police custody only to hook up with Richard (Eddie Deezen), a bespectacled geek who is, amazingly, even more of a spaz than she is. An avid collector of Beatles memorabilia, this young man who insists on being called Ringo has been holing up illegally in one of the hotel's rooms. Though Rosie is still madly in love with Paul, she can't help but feel a spark of connection between her and this oddball.

Janis, too, makes a new friend in New York, a boy named Peter (Christian Juttner) whose father is holding his tickets to the Ed Sullivan Show hostage until the moptop gets a haircut. It's funny to hear the irascible father (Read Morgan) rant and rave about his son's girly hair when it's a style that, looking back, seems so natural and inoffensive. Peter is so attached to his look that he'd rather miss out on the Beatles than comply with his father's wishes, but with some help from an agitated Tony, Janis hatches a plan that leads to the boy going directly into the den of terror, complete with an intimidating one-eyed barber who reminds me of surly Mikhail from LOST.

Poor Larry does his best to accommodate Grace throughout the day, but she's so focused on getting her snapshot that it takes her a long time to realize what a gentleman he is. He strikes me as a prototype for Back to the Future's wimpy George McFly, particularly in one scene in which he utters a line that is given to George seven years later. He seems like the most normal one of the bunch, though he has his quirks, most notably very poor driving skills - though his unruly passengers don't help him out any on that score. If the hysterics of the young (and not-so-young) women in this movie are disturbing, the driving habits of the general teenage population are downright alarming.

Fans of the Beatles will enjoy bopping along to some of their hits, particularly the title song, which plays in the opening credits atop footage of the lads landing in New York. They'll also want to keep an ear out for references to later songs that are cleverly incorporated into dialogue. Meanwhile, if the 60s is your scene when it comes to music, it's fun to hear various characters discuss other musicians like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Peter Paul & Mary. Zemeckis fans, meanwhile, should be on the lookout for elements incorporated into his later films.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a silly movie, and most of its characters are so shrill that they can only be handled in small doses. There's some risky business going on behind closed hotel room doors as well as out in the streets, where obsessed fans will do just about anything to increase their likelihood of contact with John, Paul, George or Ringo. But the protagonists are likable even when they're irritating, and it's fun to watch the very different ways in which they come closer to their goals. I'm not sure if I could have braved a crowd in the throes of Beatlemania, but watching it all unfold on my TV screen is a pretty enjoyable way to spend an evening.

Trek Proudly With Toy Factory's Plush Scotty Doll

Shortly after Star Trek came out in May, I was delighted to find a talking Spock bobblehead. He was one of four, but I had no great desire to purchase Captain Kirk or either of the one-shot aliens that had also been given the bobblehead treatment. I wished that other characters had been selected instead, especially Scotty and Bones. I'm still on the lookout for Dr. McCoy, but thanks to a lucky block sale find, I can now check Scotty off my list.

I was perusing a table full of oddities when I spotted him out of the corner of my eye, lying on a blanket in the grass. I saw the insignia first, and I knew I'd want him whoever he was, because how often does one stumble upon a foot-and-a-half-tall plush Enterprise crew member for fifty cents? But a quick peek at the red shirt and the expression of consternation told me that this was Montgomery Scott, galaxy-class engineer. Either that, or a random red-shirt about to be pulverized by some hostile alien being. But a peek at the tag confirmed it. I had my Scotty.

I find it rather sad that poor Scotty must be frozen into a permanent state of aggravation, but given that most of his catch phrases - "I canna change the laws of physics!", "I'm givin' 'er all she's got, cap'n!" and the like - involve perilous situations, it seems like an appropriate choice. I wish that Scotty, like Spock, could talk; would it have been that hard to stick a sound chip into his hand or behind the gold insignia on his uniform shirt? Half the fun of the character is his Scottish accent, but you just have to imagine it, or provide it yourself.

Scotty has big black shoes and black pants, and his shirt is red with gold trim and a black collar. The pants seem to be made of felt, while the shirt and shoes look like nylon and don't attract pet hair so easily. Scotty's flesh-colored hands and black hair are the same material as the pants, while his flesh-colored face and ears are the same as the shirt and shoes. His facial features are purely two-dimensional, with thick lines forming his mouth, nose, eyes and eyebrows and thinner lines helping to accentuate how stressed out he is.

Scotty is just large enough that he makes a good stand-in for a teddy bear, especially on trips, where his presence is likely to inspire laughter. I brought him camping with me, and upon my return to our small cabin, I discovered that my friend had left him dangling by one foot from the top bunk, giving him a good reason for that grimace. I haven't removed his tag yet, but once I do, I'm sure he'll be even more cuddly. I expect the same is true of solemn Spock and smirking Kirk, the other two characters in this line.

I was surprised to find out that they'd been released in 2009; what would prompt his young owner to toss him in the yard sale so quickly? Maybe he was a gift from someone trying unsuccessfully to turn the kid into a Trekkie. In any event, he cheerfully said, "Oh, that's mine!" when he spotted Scotty in my arms and rushed off to get me a bag. So I think he was much more excited about gaining fifty cents than upset about losing the greatest engineer Starfleet has ever known.

If you're a Trekkie looking for a fun addition to your bedroom, you might want to look into Scotty or his commanders. I've never seen them in stores, but they seem to be pretty easy to come by on eBay and Amazon, where you can expect to pay $10 to $15 each for them. A note on my tag promises, "More beaming down soon!" so perhaps all seven of the major crewmembers will be pillows before long. So far, I've seen no evidence that this Toy Factory line has expanded, but if Bones turns up, I might have to think about giving Scotty a buddy. Till then, perhaps my Tribble would be appropriate company...

Addie Schmeeter's Resolve Helps Her Get By While She's Waiting for Normal

Several months ago, I read Linda Urban's A Crooked Kind of Perfect, a middle-grade novel about a girl named Zoe learning to play the organ and to adjust to the many times in her life when things don't go just as planned. The young narrator faces disappointments, but she always manages to overcome them, with some help from her small circle of close family and friends. I found myself reminded of Zoe this week when I read Waiting for Normal, another middle-grade novel by Leslie Connor. It, too, is narrated by a spunky young aspiring musician who occasionally longs for a much different life. Addie Schmeeter doesn't dream of Carnegie Hall; she yearns for normalcy, which she explains as "being able to count on certain things. Good things. And it's having everyone together - just because they belong that way."

Addie is 12 years old, a couple of years older than Zoe, and the challenges she faces are so severe that most readers might well marvel that she is such an optimistic, compassionate, well-adjusted child. In the first of 49 short chapters ranging in length from two to 12 pages, she and her mother - Mommers to her and her half-sisters, Denise to everyone else - move into a tiny trailer in an empty lot in Schenechtady, New York. Immediately, her mother launches into a tirade of complaints about the home that her ex-husband, Dwight, has provided for them, but where Denise sees "a tin box on a tar patch," Addie sees possibility. She finds the miniature kitchen charming - just her size, which is fitting, since most of the time, she's the only one who uses it. She likes the bunk bed at the head of the trailer with the curtain that closes for privacy and the view of the stretch of grass sprinkled with flowers. And she loves the fact that just across the parking lot is a gas station run by a large, maternal woman named Soula and her best friend, a jovial neatnik named Elliot.

At school, Addie soon makes more friends, bonding with the delicate Marissa and the portly Helena and eventually getting on chummy terms with Robert, though she initially terms him a "reprobate" for welcoming her to the school by offering her an ice cream sandwich he had just squished. She also likes Ms. Rivera, the orchestra leader at school who gives Addie her flute music early to accommodate her slow learning process; while Addie doesn't discover this until much later, those familiar with the condition are likely to quickly recognize in her the signs of dyslexia. Though school is difficult for her, Addie makes the necessary adjustments that allow her to get through her classes, though she is embarrassed that she doesn't, as Mommers says, have the "Love of Learning". One of her methods of combating this is creating a vocabulary notebook, which she fills with every big word she encounters.

For Addie, this is a year of big changes and eye-opening experiences. She discovers that Soula, who affectionately calls her "Cookie," is fighting for her life, and that the cure for her disease is almost as harrowing as the disease itself. She meets Rick, the owner of a nearby greasy spoon, and learns that he and Elliot are a couple. She undergoes the uncomfortable beginnings of puberty, and the experience is worsened by her mother's insensitivity. Mommers is the reason that Addie has such a deep desire for a normal life. There's nothing normal about having to catalog the food in the nearly-empty cupboard and ration it out because her mom has been absent for days and she doesn't know when she's coming back. There's nothing normal about having to be almost totally self-sufficient because Mommers spends all of her time glued to a chat room or away on "business meetings". Nothing normal about her mother having nothing but derision for almost everyone Addie loves, from Soula and Piccolo, Addie's pet hamster, to Grandio, whose son, Addie's father, died when she was three, and Dwight. Especially Dwight, the gentle man who has been as good as a father to her for almost as long as she can remember.

As the year progresses, it becomes increasingly painful to watch her put on a brave face and take care of her train wreck of a mother while secretly longing to be taken care of herself. Visits with 6-year-old Brynna and 3-year-old Katie (collectively called the Littles) and Dwight become especially rare after he moves out of town to renovate a mansion in the country. When Addie is able to pay them a visit for several days over Thanksgiving, she learns that Dwight has fallen in love again, and Hannah is everything her mother is not: stable, affectionate, reasonable. Before the weekend is out, Addie loves her too, but she aches to think of Dwight starting another family, one that definitively does not include her. Returning from that den of warmth and laughter to her cold, empty trailer is so crushing that Addie begins to wonder whether it might be better to cut them out of her life entirely and concentrate all of her resolve into getting Mommers back on her feet. But how much responsibility can a 12-year-old be expected to shoulder?

Leslie Connor has crafted a book that is at once desperately sad and relentlessly hopeful. Addie's remarkable ability to look on the bright side of life makes her a heroine who is very easy to root for, and after nearly 300 pages in her head, some of that can-do attitude might just rub off on the reader. Because of some of the mature issues that arise, I'd recommend Waiting for Normal to a slightly older readership than A Crooked Kind of Perfect; I wouldn't go any younger than 10, and parents of pre-teens may want to preview the book for themselves so that they can be better prepared to discuss some of these topics. Addie is a girl who must deal with more troubles than any child should, but her capacity to find the best in each situation helps her to rise above adversity. Look through her eyes, and you'll come to appreciate just how beautiful normal can be.

The Lads Prove Their Staying Power in Celtic Thunder's Take Me Home

My parents and I spent this past weekend in Dayton, Ohio, attending its large annual Celtic fest with my uncle and his family. While we were there, we saw several different Irish bands, all for free (though a donation bucket was in constant circulation). There was Scythian, whose humorous concert ended with a schtick in which whichever band member drew the short straw had to wear a clunky Christmas sweater found at Goodwill until the next set; Slide, with its energetic fiddler and youthful guitarist; Blackthorn, who claim to be the most popular Irish band in Pennsylvania; and Fannigan's Wake, a local folk duo featuring my cousin's bagpipe teacher. Mostly, though, there was Gaelic Storm, a rollicking group that hit the big time when it was featured as the band playing on the lower decks in Titanic. They played on four different occasions throughout the weekend, and I saw them on three.

All of the bands were excellent, and it got us thinking about other Celtic groups that could participate. The Clancy Brothers? The Chieftains? My all-time favorites, the Irish Rovers? But as Gaelic Storm has headlined the festival year after year, nobody quite that renowned seemed likely to us, and we were sure of two groups who wouldn't be putting in an appearance: PBS's Celtic Woman and Celtic Thunder, both of which require an elaborate stage set-up and strictly control the presence of camera and video cameras, which would have been nigh unto impossible with this free-flowing crowd. I knew Celtic Woman had been to Erie at least once, as I'd wanted to see them but hadn't made it, and given the popularity of Irish culture here, I suspected that Celtic Thunder wouldn't be far behind.

Still, I was surprised when a little Googling unearthed an Erie tour date of October 14. So now we've saved the date and plan to snatch up tickets as soon as they go on sale. Meanwhile, I also discovered that they came out with a third album last week, which perhaps surprised me even more, since I'd done several searches for news on that score and hadn't heard anything. So while we will be making our way to the bookstore soon to purchase Take Me Home, PBS has been generous with the video segments officially released on YouTube, and what few tracks aren't available there can be easily found on Rhapsody. So I've already listened to it and have added a few of its tracks to my list of personal favorites, while there are others I suspect I will skip frequently when we have the album.

Unfortunately, the skippable tracks include both of Damian McGinty's solos. This golden-voiced youth is no longer the 14-year-old with the pristine, boyish tenor. Now 16, he boasts a startlingly deep voice, and I get the sense that producer Phil Coulter hasn't quite figured out what to do with him. He fared well before with the early rock hits Puppy Love and Young Love, but it was the more traditional, inspirational Come By the Hills and A Bird Without Wings that really showcased his talent. The former were more about showmanship, the latter about vocal chops.

It's a shame that both of Damian's songs this time around are sock hop ditties and a bigger shame that he must be backed up by a gaggle of annoying singers. It's much more obnoxious on video, since the women who do the singing seem to be there mostly as eye candy as they shimmy around the stage. But even just to listen to it, I find it grating; I never have been a fan of what I think of as the "chorus of birdies" style of accompaniment evident in so many songs of the '50s. It's not that they aren't talented, but I can't pretend they don't get on my nerves here. Damian croons his way through Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, where the vocal accompaniment feels more necessary but intrudes much more than it needs to. He gets pretty into it, and he soldiers through Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, but even he can't prevent that one from sounding irritating. It's also a little goofy to hear him singing about how "you've grown up before my very eyes" when he's the one to whom that description applies. At least he wasn't subjected to Calendar Girl...

Speaking of annoying songs, Ryan Kelly drew the short straw this time when it comes to getting stuck with a bland power ballad. Stalker anthem Every Breath You Take fits Ryan's bad-boy persona, but frankly, I find watching him freeze into a variety of leering expressions on the video a bit creepy. Couldn't they have come up with something better than this? His voice is fine, but there are much better songs that he could have covered.

Thankfully, this smokin' dark-haired Irishman who knocked me off my feet with Desperado fares much better with a Coulter original called Midnight Well. This song has a traditional flavor to it, though it's augmented by a tango beat, recalling the saucy Heartbreaker from the second album. It tells the story of a seductive gypsy who steals away an innocent maiden late one night, and it's easily the most risque song on the album, though it still barely qualifies as PG-13. Oddly, I've noticed that most of the songs Ryan performs solo include some form of the word "ride," and this is no exception. What is it with him and horses?

Paul Byrom, a classically trained singer who, like Ryan, is about 30 years old, is the one member of Celtic Thunder who has always felt rather out of place to me. His voice is gorgeous, but its operatic quality doesn't always mesh naturally with the others. Mostly, though, his background means that he ends up singing a lot of songs in Italian or Spanish. He does it again with Because We Believe, but this inspirational ballad is mostly in English, and I prefer it to any of his other foreign-language contributions.

It also goes perfectly with his other song, You Raise Me Up, which finally allows him to shine on something that actually sounds Celtic. Of course, by now, most people are familiar with Josh Groban's version of this song, and Celtic Woman covered it too. I'm not sure I can say Paul's is my favorite rendition out there, but he does a beautiful job with it, particularly when he explodes into the final repetition of the chorus, demonstrating just how much power is behind that voice of his. His phrasing on the last "I am strong" is particularly impressive. Props, too, to the bagpiper and the violinists who do such a lovely job with the instrumental portion.

Feathery blond teen dream Keith Harkin, who is in his early 20s, does a nice job with wistful Wichita Lineman, especially toward the end, but it's Homes Of Donegal that really showcases his vocal and emotive abilities. On this traditional tune, there are several opportunities for him to sustain notes for impressive lengths of time as well as embellish them with runs that would make Mariah Carey proud. I suspect that after a couple more listens, I may become just as fond of this one as I am of Mountains of Mourne and The Island.

But George Donaldson, the elder statesman of the group by a decade, undeniably gets my vote for MVP on this album. His rich Scottish baritone deepens the group harmonies and is ideally suited for gritty narrative ballads. His Working Man, which in many ways recalls the bitter Yesterday's Men from the second album, is one of my three favorite tracks on the album. Embracing the simple but affecting melody, George soulfully delivers the lyrics about a man who has worked his whole life in the coal mines. The cherry on top of this masterful performance is the final chorus, when the rest of the men join him for a truly harmonious conclusion: "It's a working man I am / And I've been down underground / And I swear to God / If I ever see the sun / Or for any length of time / I can hold it in my mind / I never again / Will go down underground."

Celtic Thunder has a tendency to take itself very seriously, and George usually comes across as especially solemn, so it's a hoot to hear him rollick his way through the Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 miles). I still remember the first time I heard the Scottish twins perform this song on Good Morning America. I recall claiming to be distinctly unimpressed, yet every time I've heard it since, I've felt compelled to bop my head in time to the beat. From the moment George's rendition begins, I can't help but break into a big grin, and usually a few giggles, especially if I'm watching the video. He looks like he's having an absolute blast out there, especially when he flings his arms out to the audience so they can provide the "da da da da"s. It's a hard-rocking, bass-heavy tune, but ultimately it's also a sweet song of what I take to be marital devotion, which puts it right in keeping with most of George's other songs.

The instrumentalists are enormously important to Celtic Thunder, and on this album they get two tracks to themselves. Belfast Polka/Pennsylvania Rairoad is a joyous romp that focuses mostly on the woodwinds, while Appalachian Round Up is more of a showcase for the strings and the drums. Both are exuberant tunes that make you want to get up and dance a jig; indeed, when this concert was filmed, some of the audience members did just that.

While each of the members of Celtic Thunder is enormously talented, there's a certain magic that happens when the five of them join forces that makes me want shout, "By your powers combined, I am Celtic Thunder!" Seriously, these guys should invest in some snazzy rings... At any rate, it's the group numbers that really bring out the "thunder" in the group's name, even if it's just a gentle rumble. The only song on the album that's a repeat from previous outings is Steal Away, and this version is different enough that I don't mind much. Instead of Paul taking the lead the bulk of the time, Damian does it, and I much prefer his singing here to that in his silly solos. Additionally, George plays the guitar, which is nice, as up until this point, only Keith contributed to the instrumentals. While this version is not quite a cappella, the instrumentation is so delicate that much of the time, I almost forget it's there. I love the way it gently augments the song, and the pennywhistle the accompanies the final chorus may just be enough to give this the edge as my favorite of the two versions.

The album ends with another Coulter original entitled Take Me Home. Comparable to Ireland's Call and Caledonia, this show-stopper has the men switching off throughout the verses to express their longings for home before blending marvelously in the chorus: "Home / Oh take me home / Home to the people / I left behind / Home to the love / I know I'll find / Oh take me home!" I found myself really liking the bass in this song and loving the piano, which has an especially percussive quality to it. I've been reading that others have found this number corny, but I really like it, and when I heard it, I suspected that it would wind up being my favorite track.

But that was before I encountered The Green Fields of France, their other big new group song. Individually, each of the men sounds better here than on any other single track on the album. I'm especially moved by Ryan, who otherwise doesn't get any opportunity for heart-tugging; his bad-boy persona is fun, but it's when he gets reflective that he really slays me. When they hit the chorus, meanwhile, the five men harmonize in the most exquisite of ways. Like Christmas 1915, this is an epic anti-war song in which the tight harmony underscores the idea that all men are brothers and shouldn't be going around killing each other. Almost as effective as the vocals are the strains of the mandolin rippling throughout this ode to a teenage soldier whose simple grave stands as a testament to his death during World War I. "Now Willy McBride, I can't help wondering why. / Do those who lie here know why they died? / Did they really believe when they answered the cause, / Did they really believe that this war would end wars? / But the sorrow, the sufferin', the glory, the pain, / The killing and dying were all done in vain. / But to Willy McBride, it all happened again, / And again, and again, and again, and again."

While a few tracks are disappointing, the quality of the rest easily balance those out. I would've liked a little more traditional Celtic music, particularly for Damian. I wonder if the Celtic elements are being toned down; there's no Gaelic on this album at all, and I've heard that there are plans to evict the kilts from the men's concert wardrobes. However, there are harps, bagpipes, pennywhistles and other instruments that evoke the culture, and several of the songs specifically do that as well. I probably would recommend picking up the first or second album before Take Me Home, but if you've developed a taste for these Celtic crooners, this third album is well worth taking home.

Take Home Celtic Thunder's Take Me Home DVD, If You Don't Mind Repetition

It's only been about a year and a half since the lads of Celtic Thunder were introduced to America on PBS, but the members of the quintet have already released a third CD, and with it, a second DVD. I'm tickled about the CD and surprised about the DVD; I would've thought they would wait until a fourth album so they could do a concert stuffed with entirely new material. As it is, there are 29 songs on the Take Me Home DVD, but 17 appeared on the first DVD, and another two turned up on the second album. So while these are new performances, most of the arrangements don't differ very much from the first DVD, and only a third of the songs are purely new. Thus, if you own the first DVD, you might be better off buying the Take Me Home CD.

Celtic Thunder is a men's pop group assembled by Sharon Browne and Phil Coulter that features five singers from Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Paternal George Donaldson, 41, was already well-known in Scotland before he joined the group, and with his solemn features, bald head and rich baritone, this oldest member adds gravitas to the group. Sultry Ryan Kelly, 30, of Northern Ireland, has dark hair, a dazzling smile and a bad-boy stage persona that probably has little to do with his pre-CT life as an aspiring accountant. Sensitive Paul Byrom, also 30, from Dublin, is classically trained, so his voice is suited to operatic offerings. Dreamy Keith Harkin, 23, of Northern Ireland, plays the guitar and specializes in earnest romantic ballads, and he now has the highest voice in the group, since 16-year-old Damian McGinty, also of Northern Ireland, has settled into a much deeper voice, giving the group a slightly different sound than before.

Damian is perhaps the most interesting member to watch here if you've seen the first DVD already. It's fun to compare versions of the songs in which he plays a large part, though the general consensus seems to be that folks miss the adorable wunderkind. His new voice and more adult demeanor take some getting used to, but once he starts doing different songs - and ones that are more suited to a slightly more mature performer - I expect that will work itself out. We all knew this was coming; I wish, then, that whoever selected his new songs had borne that in mind more. Damian looks and sounds adorable on the first DVD as he belts out these teenage love anthems from the '50s, but that schtick seems a tad uncomfortable now, especially since he's standing up there with a chorus of gorgeous women fawning all over him. He's old enough that the attention doesn't seem maternal, young enough that it seems a little skeezy. It's fun to watch him leap around the stage in Breaking Up Is Hard to Do and Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, but his best songs are those we've heard before, and while he still sounds terrific, A Bird Without Wings and Come By the Hills can't help but suffer a little from comparison with his younger self.

Keith still sounds fantastic on his songs, but while he has two new ones on the album, everything here is a rehash. Castles in the Air is the closest thing we have to a new song, since an earlier rendition appeared on a CD but not a DVD. It's sprightly but wistful, and it showcases his guitar playing well. My favorite of his songs, Mountains of Mourne, does not return for this concert, but The Island, a close second, does, as does his own composition, Lauren and I, and my least favorite of his songs, the overly earnest power ballad I Want to Know What Love Is. While everybody else seems to be having a great time, I occasionally get a vibe from Keith that he's starting to get tired of this. I've heard talk of solo albums in connection with each of the men, but mostly Keith; I wonder if he's starting to think about breaking off and striking out on his own. I hope he's not in too much of a hurry...

It took me a while to really warm up to Paul, and I didn't really manage it until I had watched the first concert DVD. It's much easier to get a sense of his personality when I can see his expressive face, which seems to suggest more humility than I would have expected from someone with such a grandiose voice. He strikes me as quite sweet and down-to-earth, so I try to give him equal time even if I sometimes become impatient with all the Italian and Spanish in his songs. Remember Me is the one on this DVD that offers the biggest challenge to mere speakers of English, though I have a harder time getting into Nights in White Satin. Love Thee Dearest is pleasant, and That's a Woman, his extensive duet with Ryan, is riveting. All of those were featured on the first DVD, but the new addition is the most exciting. I'm thrilled that Paul finally gets a full-blown Celtic-sounding anthem with You Raise Me Up, the soaring inspirational ballad that shares much of its melody with Danny Boy. It's the perfect showcase for both his sensitivity and his capacity to perform with massive amounts of lung power.

Ryan reprises most of his solos from the first DVD. Happily, that includes Desperado, which he performs so gorgeously; sadly, the elegiac Brothers in Arms is absent. His saucy tango Heartbreaker remains, as does the angsty Ride On. The only new song we get from Ryan is the stalkerish I'll Be Watching You. Yeah, I guess it's kinda catchy, and if you're going to have somebody keeping you under constant surveillance, smokin' Ryan's not such a bad option. But while I love the guy and consider him the most swoon-worthy of the Thunderers, I'm not such a fan of his over-the-top leering in this number. Unfortunately, while Phil Coulter wrote a new song for Ryan, it isn't included on the DVD. I would've preferred it if they had skipped this one and given us Midnight Well instead.  (I also wish that Ryan would have the chance to sing The Village That They Call the Moy, his own tender tribute to his hometown, as a part of Celtic Thunder; it's well on its way to overtaking The Isle of Innisfree as my favorite Irish song of longing for one's hometown.)

I'd say that George has the best bunch of songs of the group. I have no complaints about any of the selections; I suspect that being older has spared him some rather grating pop numbers. Some will no doubt say that 500 Miles, one of his two new songs, fits into that category; the Proclaimers hit certainly isn't as grave as most of his songs, but I say every once in a while, he ought to be able to let his hair down. Well, if he had hair... This one's just a joy to watch because it looks like he's having so much fun up there, and the instrumentalists, especially the drummer, keep cracking up as they accompany him. The bitter, rollicking Yesterday's Men was on the first DVD, but as it was a bonus track that had to be accessed separately from the rest of the concert, some may have missed it. That most excellent ballad goes well with George's other new song, Working Man, an exquisite coal miner's lament in which the rest of the lads join him for the final chorus.

While certain instrumentalists share the spotlight on various songs, the singers get out of the way entirely for the exuberant Belfast Polka / Pennsylvania Railroad and Appalachian Round Up. Meanwhile, the instrumentalists are absent for the lovely a cappella rendition of Danny Boy. Damian is highlighted in this version, and I found myself especially appreciating Ryan's yearning delivery as well. I'm annoyed that yet again they've skipped the second verse, but what's there is exceptional. Steal Away is no longer a cappella, but the instrumentation is minimal - and most of it is provided by George. Meanwhile, Damian takes lead vocals again, though his solo bit in Heartland disappears. The other ensemble repeats are Raggle Taggle Gypsy, Ireland's Call and Caledonia. The only purely new ensemble number is the title song, a Phil Coulter original about love for one's home. I especially like the first verse, in which the men switch off every couple of lines, with the spotlight on each singer while the others remain shrouded in darkness, and the concluding choruses, with their rich layers of harmony. The percussive piano is also really nice on this one. I'm glad it was included but wish my favorite song from the third album, the gorgeously elegiac The Green Fields of France, had made it to this concert as well.

Yes, the second DVD suffers from some of the same corny choreography afflicting the first, and other production issues occasionally intrude on the viewing experience too. And yes, I think they jumped the gun in releasing it; with so much overlap, it almost seems excessive to purchase both. If you buy the first DVD and the CD Take Me Home, you'll only be missing two songs, so that's not a bad way to cover your bases. Still, this two-hour concert DVD is available for as little as $14, so if you love these guys as much as I do, I'd recommend Take Me Home on DVD, whether or not you already have the first one. Now, on to the Christmas concert...

Arlo Guthrie Proves Himself a Storyteller Extraordinaire on July 21, 2009, in Erie, PA

Here in Erie, Pennsylvania, one of our more popular summer traditions is an event called Eight Great Tuesdays, during which eight free concerts are given at the Pepsi Amphitheater down by the lake. I've rarely gone, but a couple weeks ago an upcoming performer caught my eye. Arlo Guthrie was coming to Erie, and that seemed to merit attendance on my part.

I've always been familiar with some of Woody Guthrie's music, but I developed an especially keen interest in him in 2006, when I happened to watch a documentary about him. It really caught my fancy, especially the fact that on one occasion, he spent 28 days riding around on a train, writing songs about labor disputes around the country.

He wrote 26. I decided that I was going to do the same thing. Except I wasn't feeling like much of a composer, and instead I wanted to just do song parodies, or filksongs, or whatever the best word is for writing new lyrics to existing songs. So since I wasn't going to write the music, I set a goal of 52, since I figured he did at least twice as much work as I would be doing. And I actually managed to make my goal. I'm no Woody, but I think a few of them turned out pretty well, and it certainly was one of the most productive summers I've ever had. So I kinda felt like I owed it to him to give his son a fair shake.

When we arrived, we sat up at the top of the hill, where we couldn't see or hear much of anything. If you're lucky enough to have good weather, Eight Great Tuesdays is a pretty great way to spend the evening, but the downside is that a lot of people show up just for the atmosphere and couldn't care less about who's up on stage, and they chatter throughout the whole show.

Once the opening band stopped playing and someone announced that Arlo was coming soon, I headed down to the front, where the most ardent hippies were standing. I saw dreadlocks, a Bob Marley jacket, an Arlo Guthrie t-shirt, a sign that said "I Don't Want a Pickle" and a delightfully bizarre ensemble that included a peasant skirt and a hoodie with some sort of ears attached. I also saw a lot of smoke, and though my eyes couldn't confirm it, my nostrils suspected that not all of it was emanating from cigarettes. I wound up about four makeshift rows from the stage. I'm glad I moved; I could hear him just fine, and most of the time I had a pretty good view too, and I even managed to snap some decent photos. It also meant I got to stand in the "Wooooo!!"-ing section. Sometimes, it's just really swell to let out a mighty whoop.

Rain threatened all night, and at one point a good chunk of the audience left after seeing a distant flash of lightning. Mom and Dad were able to move their chairs up and find a much better spot. They also bumped into my brother Nathan. After the show, I saw him too, and he observed that, judging by the volume of my voice, I must have been standing really close to the stage.

Arlo Guthrie is an awesome storyteller. I wish I'd bought an extra video tape so I could've gotten more of his stories. I think my favorite bit of banter from him concerned his songwriting advice and went something like this...

"Now that I'm gettin' older, I notice a lot of young folks writin' me, askin' for songwriting tips. They figure I've been around a while, so I must know somethin'. Well, I tell 'em, songwriting is like fishing. You spend a lot of time sittin' around. And every once in a while a song swims by. If you're lucky, and you've got a pen, you catch it. The rest - they go to Bob Dylan. I even wrote to Bob one time, and I said to him, 'Bob, couldn't you just let a little one go once in a while?' He wasn't amused. So I guess my advice to songwriters would be, 'Don't sit downstream of Bob Dylan.'"

Arlo's rambling introductions to his songs tended to be longer than the songs themselves, and even more fun. I got his story about the man who sustained a ridiculous number of injuries in one day on tape, as well as his reflections on Woodstock.

"There were these two cops, and the big one said, 'You know, I think there are gonna be a lot of hippies hangin' around this weekend.' And the little one said, 'Yup.' And the big guy, he said, 'I bet those guys are gonna be doin' things that are illegal.' And the little guy said, 'Yup.' And the big cop said, 'I'm not gonna go down there, are you?' And the little guy said, 'Nope.' And that was when I realized we were probably gonna have a pretty good time that weekend. And I was right!"

Arlo mentioned his dad a few times, but the best reference was his singing of "This Land Is Your Land," which took him about 15 minutes all told. That's because he kept interrupting it to tell another rambling story, and he even slipped another song in there. He said his 7-year-old grandkids informed him that they wanted to open a recent show of his and that they'd written a few songs. He was surprised but gave them the go-ahead and found he really liked one of their compositions, a ditty called "Take Me to Show and Tell," which he then proceeded to sing; by the end of it, he had us all singing along. "This Land," incidentally, was one of the highlights of the Peter Paul and Mary concert I attended as well. It's one of those songs that really gets people singing.

I'm a fan of the no-frills show. Nothing but Arlo - clad in jeans and a leather vest over a black and white shirt, large glasses perched on his nose and his long, frizzy white hair pulled into a ponytail under an orange ballcap - and his guitar, and for a couple of songs, his keyboard. And a harmonica. He was onstage for upwards of an hour and a half if you include the encores. And he does this dozens of times a year. Must be exhausting! I imagine he changes things up a bit each night; the stories had an off-the-cuff feel to them, and his catalogue of songs is extensive, so I suspect it isn't the same exact set list time and again.

There was one particular song that I was really burning to hear, though, and I suspect most of the audience was with me on that. Truth of the matter is that I'm not terribly familiar with Arlo. He looked and sounded about how I imagined he would, but my experience with him is limited. But boy, do I love "The City of New Orleans".

He didn't write it; a guy by the name of Steve Goodman did. I'd think it would be a little annoying for a songwriter to be most famous for singing a song he didn't write. But it's so fantastic, even blows John Denver's version out of the water. Back when Katrina hit, I heard this song on the mall radio practically every day. And I always perked up my ears and listened, and often sang along under my breath.

This was the one song I was really looking forward to, and I figured he would sing it last, as Don McLean wisely did with "American Pie" at his free concert in Buffalo. I thought the crowd would disperse after he sang it, so naturally he'd wait until the end. But he ended up singing it at about 8:50, 40 minutes before the concert was supposed to end, with barely an introduction. I'd just turned my camera off to conserve the battery and reduce my temptation to tape other stuff for fear I'd run out before the song was over. So instead, I missed "Ridin' on the City of New Orleans, Illinois Central Monday mornin' rail..." Blah. Pretty sure I got the rest of it though. Unfortunately, since I was the one holding the camera, I suspect that my off-key singing-along voice is gonna be all over that recording. I didn't notice that the keyboard was there until he went over to play it. He saved it for this song, and the fact that he switched instruments to play it made it feel especially momentous.

That wasn't the only New Orleans song he sang. Immediately preceding it was a song he wrote in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I'd never heard it before, but I thought it was very moving, especially the last two verses: "I see the storm clouds rise above me; / The sky is dark and the night has come./ I walk alone along this highway, / Where friends have gathered one by one. / I know the storm will soon be over, / The howling winds will cease to be. / I walk with friends from every nation, / On freedom's highway, in times like these."

A lot of people seemed to be waiting for "Alice's Restaurant," which I've never heard before. Apparently it's very long. Maybe too long for him to remember. Or he just wanted to give us more variety by playing three or four songs in the time it would've taken to perform that one. I really need to familiarize myself more with Arlo's music. I liked almost everything I heard. And he seemed very gracious, seemed to love the natural beauty of the lakefront and the enthusiasm of the crowd.

"Let me tell you, though," he said, "there are some weird people in Erie. And some of them look normal, but you get 'em here, and then all that peace and love stuff starts comin' out, and they just can't hide it anymore. I'm onto you!"

He said he used to be a peace and love guy, until he decided that if we succeded in making the world into this wonderful place, it'd be awfully hard to find a way of making a positive contribution.

"With the world such a mess," he said, "it makes my job a lot easier."

Of course, he was joking around, and before singing gentle rendition of "My Peace Is All I Have," a poem of Woody's that Arlo set to music, he offered the following thought: "If people would pay attention to the little peace, I think the big peace would just kinda sort itself out."

Did I mention how much fun the crowd was - at least the standing crowd? They really wanted him to stick around, too. He did two encores, and I'm not entirely certain the second one was planned. These guys tried valiantly for a third; they kept chanting "Arlo! Arlo! Arlo!" long after he'd gotten on his tour bus. I guess they figured there was hope as long as he hadn't pulled away yet.

I was a little surprised he didn't have a merchandise table; I would have bought a CD. But since we'd bumped into my brother, we were still among the last to leave.

The shuttle back to the car that we happened to catch was full of loopy folks who seemed likely to have attended Woodstock themselves. I stepped on the bus, and suddenly everyone started singing "Feelin' Groovy.' And I wasn't even wearing my Simon and Garfunkel t-shirt! As tends to happen with impromptu sing-alongs, it fell apart after the first chorus, and "If I Fell" was a total trainwreck. But man, what a cool group of people to ride around downtown Erie with!

If you ever get the chance to see Arlo Guthrie in concert, I'd recommend it. His voice is gritty, with a voice that reminded be of Dylan but grated on me less than that of the nasally troubadour. If folk is your scene, then it's an experience you won't want to miss. The songs are great; the stories are even better.

Jim Broadbent and Teen Silliness Prevail in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Late one Friday night two years ago, the seventh book in the Harry Potter series hit shelves. Like thousands of other Potter fans, I stood in line for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and though I did my best to savor my reading experience, I had nonetheless devoured the conclusion of the epic saga by Monday night - at which point I, like so many others, felt a searing sense of loss. No more books to anticipate. How could we stand it? Eventually, we recovered, and we found a salve in the knowledge that while the books were finished, three movies remained. Now we are down to two.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of the funniest books in the series. It's also one of the most emotionally wrenching. I hoped that the movie would be able to successfully convey both extremes, and though I often tut-tutted over the film's many omissions, I believe that screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates ultimately pulled the task off admirably. Would I have done some things differently? You bet. But I applauded as loudly as anyone when the credits began to roll. (Fair warning: Here be spoilers. I try not to spill too much, but if you haven't seen the movie yet, you may want to skim.)

Half-Blood Prince finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) poised on the brink of adulthood. Within the space of a year, he has witnessed the deaths of two friends, and he knows that his nemesis, the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, who does not appear in this film), is gaining strength. Eventually, they will have to face each other again; meanwhile, he finds himself in unusually close confidence with Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) as the headmaster shares several memories that shed light on the Dark Lord's early years. While arming himself with this knowledge, he devotes most of his school hours to homework, romantic entanglements and Draco Malfoy, who he's sure is up to something sinister. There's also the matter of Dumbledore's assignment to retrieve a crucial memory from Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), the old potions master who has returned to his post after a lengthy absence.

Radcliffe is terrific as Harry, particularly during the movie's lighter moments. One notable thing about the sixth installment is the extraordinary amount of silly behavior displayed by hormonal teenagers. Ron (Rupert Grint) is by far the worst offender in this regard, at least of the trio, but Harry and Hermione (Emma Watson) each have their moments. There are many awkward pauses and nervous giggles, and food is constantly being used as a prop to enhance the comedy of the situation.

Up until this point, Grint has been somewhat underused in the films, often given lame dialogue and few opportunities to make a tangible contribution. Here, he is frequently front and center, and acting like a complete doofus. Yes, he's still used almost entirely for comic relief, but I'm okay with that; his performance, particularly during the scene in which Ron accidentally ingests a powerful love potion, is inspired. The film might have delved a bit more into his jealousy and insecurity than it did; his reactions to certain events don't seem as vehement as they could be. But Kloves concentrates these emotions in Hermione, which is a decision I can live with.

While Ron spends much of the movie swaggering, we see Hermione at her most vulnerable, and she turns to Harry for comfort, knowing that things aren't going so well for him in the romance department either. It's sweet to see the depth of their friendship here, knowing that the relationship is purely platonic. Harry does get on Hermione's nerves, however, as he surpasses her best efforts in Potions by following the instructions scribbled in his second-hand textbook. In this movie, then, we see Hermione at her most emotional, stung by Ron's insensitive behavior and seething that Harry is coasting along on academic dishonesty, cheating from some past student who might not have been a very nice person.

As Dean Thomas, who is dating Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright), Alfie Enoch scarcely says a word, but it's still a more interesting role than he's ever had before, so it's a shame that we never get to witness their break-up, or even hear of a definitive end to their relationship. He just drops out of the movie. Anna Shaffer gets a moment or two to make eyes at Harry as Romilda Vane, but it's Jessie Cave as Lavender Brown, who throws herself all over an initially unprotesting Ron, who really shows the female capacity for silliness. She spends the first part of the movie sighing and swooning whenever Ron comes near; once they're together, she smothers him with public displays of affection, draping him with a gaudy love locket, calling him "Won-Won," drawing tokens of her regard in fogged windows and, of course, snogging him relentlessly. Almost as jarring is Freddie Stroma as conceited Cormac McLaggen, whose attentions toward Hermione are as amusing as they are unwelcome. His storyline wraps up before Christmas, but not before an encounter with Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) that is one of the funniest moments completely invented for the film. None of these inadequate love interests is part of the picture by the time the movie's mood turns dark for Harry and Dumbledore's dangerous late-night Horcrux-hunting adventure, but each contributes significantly to the film's lighter portion.

Among secondary students, Tom Felton is the standout as Draco Malfoy, who for the first time becomes a truly three-dimensional character. In early scenes, he struts around arrogantly, looking quite creepy with his pale face and white-blond hair contrasting starkly with dark outfits that almost seem out of The Matrix. There's a military precision to his movements as he proudly prepares for the task that Voldemort has set him. But as the film progresses, we see, mostly in short asides that shift the perspective from Harry to Draco, that he's struggling, and by the end of the movie we witness real agony and pathos from him. I would have liked for his conversation with Dumbledore to have gone on a bit longer than it did - long enough, at least, for the headmaster to utter one of the most important lines in the series. But their encounter is riveting nonetheless; Draco has never been so fascinating. Unfortunately, his henchmen Crabbe and Goyle (Jamie Waylett and Josh Herdman) scarcely appear in the movie at all; theirs is one of several subplots that gets cut, making many of the film's events seem much more coincidental than those in the book.

Sadly, another student almost entirely absent is Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), the almost-Chosen One who is much more competent and courageous than anyone would initially guess. He doesn't have an especially large role in the sixth book, but there are still opportunities for him to shine: Harry's staunch loyalty to him on the Hogwarts Express; Professor McGonagall's (Maggie Smith) unexpected words of praise during their class scheduling conference; his improved performance in light of having a custom wand for the first time; his participation in the defense against the Death Eaters who infiltrate the school as this installment concludes. None of that shows up in the movie. In fact, as I recall, he only speaks in one scene, when he offers Harry a drink at Slughorn's Christmas party, as he's been deemed unfit for the professor's elite Slug Club but worthy of serving as a waiter to its members. An earlier scene shows him at a dinner party thrown by Slughorn, but aside from sporting a very snazzy vest, he makes no contribution to the evening.

On the other hand, Evanna Lynch is positively radiant as Luna Lovegood, the ethereal, eccentric fifth-year Ravenclaw who can always be counted on to provide a startling observation. She replaces Tonks (Natalia Tena) as Harry's liberator after he finds himself in a nasty jam on the train, and though I hate the way Tonks is shunted aside in this movie, the scene is so funny and sweet that I don't mind the change. While I wish we could've heard Luna commentate a Quidditch match, we do get to see her support her friends by wearing her enormous lion's head, and her all-too-brief scene at Slughorn's Christmas party is wonderful. Quick props to Georgina Leonidas as Katie Bell for giving us what is perhaps the film's creepiest image, and I should also mention Robert Knox as Slug Club hopeful Marcus Belby, who's played mostly for laughs as a ravenous eater with a tenuous family connection to a famous potioneer. Tragically, Knox was stabbed to death days after he finished filming, cutting short a career that had barely begun.

I was thrilled to see Fred and George Weasley (James and Oliver Phelps) steal a couple of scenes; because they are no longer in school, I feared they might get cut altogether, but they share the spotlight in an eye-popping detour to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the Diagon Alley joke shop they co-own. This early scene is pure eye candy, and it's such fun to see them careen around the shop, speaking in unison and hawking their wares, while missing no opportunity to give their little brother a hard time. Sadly, not only is Percy absent from the film, he's never mentioned at all, which would make me nervous that his storyline might not be resolved at all, except that he's listed in the credits for both installments of Deathly Hallows. I suppose we just have to wait extra long to cram in three books' worth of family tension. It's also taking an inordinately long time to introduce Bill Weasley. Omitting him and Fleur Delacour from the movie strikes me as most unfortunate; I don't see how there will be time to establish meaningful character arcs for them prior to their wedding. Then again, post-Hogwarts romance in general doesn't seem to fare too well; the complex relationship between Remus Lupin (David Thewlis) and Tonks that is so subtly developed throughout the book is distilled to one throwaway line in the middle of the movie that is likely to be as befuddling to the uninitiated as Eowyn and Faramir's hand-holding at Aragorn's coronation in Return of the King.

At least Ginny has plenty to do here. Indeed, proportionally speaking, we probably actually see more of her in the movie than in the book, since the film has her palling around with Harry, Hermione and Ron constantly, almost making their trio a quartet. She comes across as fairly quiet but unafraid of asserting herself, as she demonstrates most humorously during the dizzying tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. It's fun to see her right there in the thick of things, though it lessens the romantic tension since she and Harry sort of slide into their relationship with each other. Fans of the book may be disappointed to see that the dramatic moment in which they finally put an end to all that painful longing is entirely omitted, though it's replaced with a scene that is more intimate and subtly sensuous. Additionally, Arthur (Mark Williams) and Molly Weasley (Julie Walters) appear briefly, with Molly the centerpiece of the hilarious and beautifully shot scene in which Harry arrives at the Burrow before the start of term. They also are on hand to witness the film's strangest departure from the book. I guess this mid-movie disaster supposed to drive home the fact that, despite the frivolity occurring within school walls, these are dangerous times, but it could mean a major change for the seventh movie. I'll be curious to see how the aftermath is handled.

Among the adults, Maggie Smith has a stronger presence here than she's probably had since the first movie. That's not to say that she's in the movie much; we never see a Transfigurations class, and a couple of McGonagall's best scenes are eliminated. But though Smith is looking even frailer than usual, she never leaves us in any doubt as to this professor's formidability, and with a silent gesture in the film's last moments, she sparks one of the most moving visuals the film series has given us. I continue to be thoroughly pleased with Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid, my favorite character in the Potterverse. Though I would have liked to see some reference to the Trio dropping Hagrid's class, the fallout from that was brief, and the incident had little bearing on the plot, so I can see why it was cut. I was worried that somehow Harry's final attempt to gain the critical memory from Slughorn might be altered to exclude Hagrid, but thankfully, though a few details are different, it remains as much a showcase for the huge-hearted half-giant as before. Though elements of this scene are sad, it offers Coltrane, Radcliffe and Broadbent each the opportunity to give some of the strongest comedic performances in the movie.

I'm still bewildered by the decision to change Professor Flitwick (Warwick Davis) from congenial and elderly to young and cranky, but while he barely appears in the movie at all, he gets a throwaway line that made me laugh harder than almost any other moment in the film. Argus Filch (David Bradley) gets a funny moment or two as he eagerly performs wand searches on students, but sour librarian Madam Pince, who has only appeared in one of the films, doesn't return, so there's no opportunity for hints of romance between them. While Professor Sprout is mentioned, she isn't seen, but the one absence at the teachers' table that really stings is Professor Sybil Trelawney (Emma Thompson). Though she only appears in a few scenes in the book, one provides Harry with some pretty crucial information.

Few characters in the Harry Potter series have inspired as much study and debate as Severus Snape, and the arrival of Rickman in 2001 to color fans' interpretation of the character seems to have increased interest considerably. After a rare glimpse of him in his home environment in a scene that helped turn the question of Snape's loyalties into one of the central issues of the series, we see much less of the surly professor than many would like, but as usual, Rickman commands the audience's attention every time he appears. Snape's deliberate way of speaking, caressing each word as deep-seated emotions struggle to express themselves in his inscrutable face, makes him riveting to watch. I was especially impressed with his performance during his nearly wordless taking of the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory). I do find it a shame, however, that we are unable to watch Snape in action in Defense Against the Dark Arts, the post he craved for so long, and that we don't even see much of a reaction from him or anyone else to the announcement that he has attained the position at last. I also find it laughable that we're expected to believe that after he bursts in on the aftermath of a duel between Harry and Draco in which Harry does significantly more damage than he intended, our bespectacled hero is simply able to make a break for it with no repercussions.

Incidentally, this scene would seem a lot more logical if Moaning Myrtle had been there to alert the whole castle to the attack; as it is, Snape's sudden presence seems a little too convenient. Unfortunately, magical beings really get the short end of the stick here. No ghosts, centaurs or mermaids appear or are even referenced, nor are such creatures as Hagrid's brother Grawp, his bowtruckles or his hippogriff Buckbeak (newly christened Witherwings). Most egregious of all, however, is the complete omission of House Elves. Three of them play a fairly significant role in the sixth book, and two are critical to the seventh installment. We haven't seen Dobby since the second movie, and I fear that by the time he turns up in the seventh or eighth, half of the filmgoers who haven't read the books will have forgotten all about him.

While this film boasts a few fresh faces, the most important newcomer by far is Broadbent, and his performance as vain but accomplished Slughorn is nothing short of masterful. There is much humor to be mined from this professor who at times acts almost as silly as Gilderoy Lockhart, the self-absorbed ninny from Chamber of Secrets, and Broadbent wastes none of these opportunities, but he also gives us genuine emotion, whether it's terror at the thought of a long-ago tete-a-tete connecting him with some of Voldemort's most heinous crimes or grief as he tenderly recalls Harry's mother Lily, one of his favorite students. I found one recollection about Lily added for the film especially touching. Whether the scene calls for jocularity or solemnity, Broadbent rises to the occasion, giving the strongest all-around performance of the movie.

I've had my share of complaints about Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, so I was concerned about how he would pull off this movie, in which the headmaster is so central. While I still wish that Richard Harris could have portrayed him, I found myself mostly happy with Dumbledore here. I still think he's too abrupt, though part of that is down to Kloves; in the book, Dumbeldore makes Harry much more aware of what is going on from the beginning. He sends notice that he'll be arriving to pick him up and when to expect him; he doesn't just show up on the street and whisk him away without even warning him they're about to Apparate. I was sorry to see the Dursleys excised from the movie when Dumbledore's visit with them is one of my favorite chapters in the book, and I was annoyed by the gruff behavior of Gambon's Dumbledore. Similarly, I found it pretty irresponsible of him to drop Harry off in the middle of the night in a swamp half a mile from the Burrow when Death Eaters are roaming the countryside freely. However, I loved his interaction with Slughorn, and in his ensuing conversations with Harry he not only toned down the bark but managed a bit of humor. Moreover, Gambon's haggard performance in the cave and polite conversation with Draco are just about perfect.

It is in connection with Dumbledore that we see the 11-year-old Tom Riddle, the boy who will grow up to become Lord Voldemort. We witness his conversation with this creepy child played by Fiennes' nephew, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, and it says a lot both about Dumbledore's class and compassion and Voldemort's early sociopathy. The film doesn't delve as deeply as the book does, but it shows us a boy who steals and takes grim pleasure in hurting others. I think the scene could have gone on a bit longer, but it's effective as it is. So is Slughorn's memory, in which he uncomfortably discusses Horcruxes with the smarmy teenaged Tom, played by Frank Dillane.

Dumbledore and Harry's Pensieve-peering sessions are greatly reduced in number, with only two memories examined, though as the memories are shown as being stored in marked vials in a cabinet, we are left with the possibility that Harry could peruse other memories at a later date. It almost seems he would have to, for as the movie concludes, we have no reason to think he has any idea what he is looking for, other than the locket, and he doesn't know what that looks like or what its history is. It irked me a bit that Dumbledore made a remark about how a Horcrux could be the most commonplace of objects, almost the opposite of what he said in the book. Essentially, movie Dumbledore has given Harry almost nothing to go on.

It also irritated me that after having it drilled into our heads time after time that you can't Apparate or Disapparate on Hogwarts grounds, Dumbledore and Harry do both. Granted, Harry questions it, and Dumbledore replies with a quip about how it's good to be him sometimes. But it still didn't cut it for me, especially since it allowed the omission of yet another character, Madam Rosmerta, who owns The Three Broomsticks, a popular Hogsmeade pub. In the book, it is she who tips Draco off that Dumbledore has left the school; in the movie, it seems like just another all-too-convenient coincidence that he happens to decide that this is the night to put his plan into action. There's also no real explanation for why Draco seeks Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower. Additionally, allowing such an instant getaway from the cave to the school truncated the time in which Harry had to help his ailing mentor, to the point that there was no opportunity for Dumbledore to utter my favorite line of the book: "I am not worried, Harry. I am with you." Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, since its sister line from the beginning of the book, in which Dumbledore tells Harry not to worry because "you are with me," is also absent, but it's such an iconic quote I felt sure it would be included.

I worry that my favorite line from Deathly Hallows will suffer a similar fate. It's less iconic, and it hinges on the character of Stan Shunpike, who has not been mentioned in the movies since the third film. Which brings me to another complaint. The Ministry of Magic is scarcely discussed at all in the film. We are never introduced to the new Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour, or even told that Cornelius Fudge has lost his job, unless it was in an article in The Daily Prophet that I missed. There's no direct indication that the Ministry is ineffective or corrupt; Order of the Phoenix pointed us in that direction, but it still seems like Kloves is leaving himself an awful lot of ground to cover in the next installment. On the other hand, I think it was probably a wise move to open the film not with a conference between the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister but with an in-the-moment shot of Bellatrix LeStrange (Helena Bonham Carter) and her crew (which includes vicious werewolf Fenrir Greyback (Dave Legeno), on whom we never really get any background) wreaking havoc on London, shooting across the sky with black smoke in their wake like a band of escapees from Smallville's Phantom Zone. It's a visually arresting opening to a film whose cinematography never failed to wow me. This is Bruno Delbonnel's first time as cinematographer for a Harry Potter movie, and I was most impressed with his efforts.

Potter fans know to expect that significant plot threads and characters will be dropped from the films, so I'm not sure how much I should sigh over the loss of certain elements, but there are two more I feel compelled to mention. While Harry does Apparate in the movie, it is only by grabbing onto Dumbledore's arm. There's nothing to indicate that he has any idea how to do it himself. The ability to Apparate is a significant milestone for a young witch or wizard, similar to the acquisition of a driver's license, and considering how much Harry, Ron and Hermione have to do it in the seventh book, it seems like this movie ought to have given us a glimpse of their lessons. The biggest omission, though, is the battle that members of Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix launch against the Death Eaters. After Harry drinks his luck potion, the camera seems to linger for a moment on the tiny bottle, just to assure us he still has a fair amount left. I assumed that this was a set-up for the moment when Harry passes it on to his friends, asking them to patrol the corridors and share the luck amongst themselves, but that moment never comes, and thus all of Harry's protectors are robbed of their chance to demonstrate their valor.

I knew that re-reading the book shortly before I saw the movie would lead to me nit-picking even more than I might have otherwise. I was acutely aware of all the departures, and the purist in me did quite a bit of grumbling. I definitely disagree with some of the directions that were taken. However, while I would venture a guess that only about half the scenes in the film had a direct counterpart in the book, most of the new material felt very true to the characters and often managed to condense many pages worth of conflict into a minute or two. In terms of comedy and teen romance, I think Kloves and Yates absolutely got things right. I laughed aloud many times, both at the dialogue and the expert way in which it was delivered, not to mention the purely nonverbal moments that tickled my funny bone. It's in the more serious part of the movie that I have issues. Though my concerns are enough to make me wonder if the proper groundwork for the last two movies has been set down, when I step back and look at the movie as a whole, especially after removing my purist goggles and acknowledging that no two fans are likely to be in complete agreement as to what should go into an adaptation, I see what may well be the best Potter film yet. May Deathly Hallows be even better.

It's a Jolly Holiday With Mary; No Wonder That It's Mary That We Love!

Last week, my friend Libbie and I set off around her neighborhood in search of treasure at her block sale. The day was overcast, and there seemed to be only a small smattering of houses participating, so we weren't sure how much luck we would have. Imagine our surprise, then, when one of the first houses we visited had several Mattel dolls for sale, each in its original packaging and selling for five dollars. I'm not a big Barbie fan, but I spotted one that appealed to me; Barbie looked much more youthful than usual, wearing a pale pink dress with a white overskirt featuring illustrations from one of my favorite childhood books. Then Libbie turned my attention to Mary Poppins, and I gave a squeal of delight, for that sweet-as-sugar but no-nonsense nanny has always been one of my very favorite characters. Even better, this was not merely Barbie dressed as Mary; one look at the face made it clear that Julie Andrews was the model for this particular doll. I knew I had to snag it.

This Disney Collector Doll is the Jolly Holiday Edition, which suggested to me that there was another edition, perhaps Mary in her black suit and hat with her handbag. This doll came out in 1999; I see that Mattel released one in more conservative attire in 1993, though it included a Jolly Holiday outfit and the face looked more like Barbie than Andrews. My mom tells me she had a Mary doll when she was growing up, and it was Mary as she appeared at the beginning of the film, but unfortunately, that was one of those childhood toys that fell out of her possession before I came along. Certainly Mattel is not the only company to have used this movie as inspiration, but this Jolly Holiday Edition Mary may just be the nicest option out there for fans of the classic Disney musical.

I debated before deciding to take Mary out of her packaging. After all, it's very attractive, with a backdrop of the ornate carousel she rides in the chalk drawing, with views of the lush, tree-laden park on either side. The backdrop is removable from the box, and it can fold out to be a bit larger if you remove the tape on the back. Mary is tethered down with many strings and plastic twist-ties, so getting her completely loose from her packaging took me quite a while, but as long as you're careful, you'll still have a decent-looking backdrop when you're done. The box itself is also very nice. Most of the front portion is transparent, with red curtains on the top and bottom. This design continues on the sides and the back, which features two pictures of Mary and Bert as well as a description of the doll and its context in the movie. I have no plans to sell Mary, but I intend to keep the box and leave the certificate of authenticity inside.

On the front of the box is a note that says "For the adult collector over 14 years." In other words, this doll is more of a display piece than a toy. Mary comes with a doll stand, the base of which reads, in fancy curlicued letters, "Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins". Articulation is limited, but her legs, arms and head are moveable in a variety of directions. Mary's dress is the pinnacle of frothy summery beauty. Her dress is white with a white gauze overlay garnished with red bows. Connecting the top and bottom portion of the dress is a red section with white stripes. Mary also wears lacy half-gloves, and though the main fabric in her upper dress is sleeveless, her arms and neck are covered in the gauzy material.

On her head is a plastic hat that is transparent with white trim and three pink cloth roses on the brim. This is attached with a sort of red collar with white stripes and a large gauzy bow. Under her dress is a frilly pink petticoat that matches her pink shoes, over which she wears high white socks. Her dress closes with Velcro at the back. Her brown hair is pulled into a neat bun, her lash-enhanced eyes are a sparkling blue, and her mouth forms a contented grin, with red lipstick and dazzling white teeth in stark contrast. Finally, attached to her left hand is her pink and white parasol, which is closed and which has her parrot on the end. As in the movie, the parrot can open and close its mouth. Mary rests comfortably on the doll stand, though I have a difficult time getting her to stand up entirely straight. She has a tendency to lean forward, but she doesn't seem in any danger of toppling.

If Mattel had wanted to go all out, this doll could have included a couple of other props; I would've especially enjoyed the penguins that serve as her waiters in one of the movie's funniest scenes. Also, a later edition of this doll evidently has a musical stand; I assume it winds up at the bottom, and probably plays Jolly Holiday. That would be a really neat feature. Of course, if you choose not to take your doll out of the case, it won't be of much use. The other thing that I discovered is that Mattel released a Bert doll that looks equally charming. I love Bert just as much as Mary, and it would be really neat to have both of them, especially since I happen to know that my parents once performed a series of musical numbers from the film dressed as Mary and Bert in their Jolly Holiday attire. I doubt I'll be lucky enough to stumble upon Bert at another yard sale, but I might have to keep my eye on eBay for a killer deal. Meanwhile, I'm happy to display the one I have and cheerfully declare that it's a jolly holiday with Mary!

A Baby Brother Brings Confusion in Junie B. Jones and A Little Monkey Business

During my years of working at a bookstore, I have become very familiar with the popularity of Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones series, but until the other day, I had never actually read beyond the back-cover blurb. When my friend Libbie picked up a couple of the books at a block sale, I got my first full dose of Junie B., a sort of latter-day Ramona Quimby. The books are divided into chapters and run about 60 pages each, but the large print and the many illustrations make them easy for an adult to devour in well under an hour. I began my immersion with Junie B. Jones and A Little Monkey Business, the second book in the series.

In the first 17 Junie B. Jones books, the protagonist is a spunky kindergartener. While Beverly Clearly gets readers into Ramona's head, those books are still written in the third person, while Junie narrates these stories herself. That means that there is a lot of improper grammar, as Junie isn't anywhere near mastery of the English language yet. It also means that everything is filtered through her limited understanding. Denise Brunkus's illustrations are detailed and full of expression, and Junie herself is usually the focus of them. Aside from the cover art, these pictures are all in black and white.

Monkey Business opens with Junie reacting to her parents' announcement that they have a surprise for her. It's a rather troubling scene because it is reminiscent of a typical day in the Dursley household in the Harry Potter books, with spoiled young Dudley ranting and raving because he wants something and it isn't being delivered quickly enough for his liking. When Junie hears "surprise," she thinks "present," and when it turns out that what her parents have instead is news of an impending baby, she behaves in a manner that is most unbecoming.

Later in the book, after Junie has adjusted to the idea of sharing her home with a sibling, she encourages a bidding war between her best friends Lucille and Grace, both of whom want to be the first to see her newborn brother. Lucille, who comes from an affluent family, is the one who plants the idea in her head by offering Junie temporary ownership of her locket in exchange for first dibs. Junie thinks that allowing Grace the chance to pay her off as well is only fair, though of course it would have been better to tell both girls that they could see her brother soon, no charge. This scene reminds me of Tom Sawyer's fence-painting con, in which the rascal manages to make his chore sound so appealing that his friends start paying him whatever they can find for the privilege of participating. It ceases to be funny, however, as Junie begins to feel that she is entitled to everything of value that both of her friends possess, whether it's fancy new shoes or snack tickets. The tantrum and the extortion are the most unseemly moments in the book.

Junie is more willfully naughty than Ramona. However, some of the mistakes that she makes are simple misunderstandings that become magnified when coupled with her forceful personality. The biggest misunderstanding in this book has to do with idioms and serves as a reminder that for those just learning the language, these phrases can be very confusing. In this instance, Junie's grandma describes the new baby as a "cute little monkey" with long fingers and loads of dark hair, which leads Junie to believe that her brother is literally a monkey. I thought this was a clever premise on which to hang a story, and I liked the compassionate, level-headed way the principal responds to the situation, turning an embarrassing mistake into a learning experience for everyone.

My favorite character aside from the principal is Frank Miller, Junie's grandpa. We don't see him very much, but he's a warm and funny man who seems especially adept at understanding how a kid's mind works. He makes her waffles and plays games with her, and because of his attention, Junie is too busy having fun to feel left out of the birth process. I have a vivid recollection of waking up in the middle of the night in September of 1988 to the sight of my grandparents; when I asked if the baby had been born yet, Grandpa assured me, "Well, he's thinkin' about it!" He didn't live to see my brother's first birthday, so I'm especially glad that we were able to share such a landmark event.

Now that I've read a couple of books in Park's series, I would say that they're not nearly as classic as Cleary's books. For one thing, there are many more of them, with nearly 30 in the series so far as opposed to eight Ramona books. For another, they are considerably shorter, and some are likely to find the writing style annoying. Additionally, Junie's behavior tends to be a little bit more intentionally bratty than Ramona's.

On the other hand, the books are very funny, and Junie usually walks away from her latest adventure wiser in some way, and perhaps chastened. The principal is a great example of a school administrator who truly cares about the students in his care and strikes a good balance between strict and understanding in dealing with transgressions. Moreover, as Junie discovers new words, she passes her knowledge onto readers with custom definitions that entertain as they inform, which reminded me a bit of Lemony Snicket.

I'd recommend these books for young readers, preferably a little bit older than Junie so they will come into it with a solid understanding of what constitutes appropriate behavior, especially in school. In any case, I advise parents to familiarize themselves with the stories so that even if the children read them on their own, some frank parent-child discussions can follow. Junie has many lessons to teach, but most are by negative example, so it's important to talk about why some of the things she does are out of line and what might be a better way of handling the situation. As long as young readers approach it with that spirit, Junie B. Jones and A Little Monkey Business is a bundle of fun.

Vintage Sesame Street: The Together Book Teaches Comprehension and Cooperation

This morning, my friend Libbie and I went on a treasure hunt. No, we weren't panning for gold or running a metal detector along the beach in hopes of unearthing someone's long-buried valuables. We spent the morning meandering her block sale, hoping for treasures of a more sentimental kind. One of my favorite finds was The Together Book, a Sesame Street Little Golden Book first printed in 1971.

When I was growing up, I loved The Monster at the End of This Book and Oscar's Book, the first starring Grover and the second, Oscar the Grouch. Though Monster came out the same year as The Together Book, I was surprised by the look of the characters, perhaps because Grover pretty much has his book to himself. As one would expect from the title, The Together Book, which was written by Revena Dwight and illustrated by Roger Bradfield, is an ensemble picture book, with many residents of Sesame Street playing a part.

Although none of the characters is specifically identified, Sesame Street fans will have no trouble finding Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Grover and Cookie Monster. They'll have to look harder for Oscar the Grouch, but he's there. While a few characters, including all of the humans, are absent, some slightly less famous Muppets, like Betty Lou, Farley, Sherlock Hemlock, Little Bird and Herry Monster, make appearances. There are also several, such as a small purple monster in a baby bonnet and a blue fellow with a bushy white beard, that I don't recognize at all.

While contemporary Sesame Street books are very smooth-looking, this one has a rough, sketchy quality to it. The colors are a bit drab, and while the characters are always in full color, on several pages the backdrops are in black and white. This aspect of the illustrations is what most roots the book in the early 1970s. While I'm a fan of smooth, vibrant pictures, I love the retro look of this book, which makes me feel as though I've been transported back to the early days of my favorite classic kids' show.

The structure of this book is very simple. It begins with a question: "What do I have that needs a helper?" There are no quotation marks used throughout the book, but this particular question is repeated four times, from a different perspective on each occasion. Each time, this question is followed by something more specific, like "I have a double-thick malted milk... Who has something good for drinking?" Big Bird, Betty Lou, the purple monster, Ernie and Farley all receive an avalanche of offers from their friends, whose enthusiasm makes up for the impracticality of their contributions.

A note on the title page indicates a dual purpose for this book: to instill the value of cooperation and to encourage logical thinking by having children choose the most practical object for each occasion. On a more basic note, children can name the various characters and the things they carry. It might also be fun to discuss ways in which the other objects brought by the friends might be useful. For instance, while Farley solves Betty Lou's milkshake problem with a fistful of straws, Little Bird's flyswatter could be handy in keeping the bugs away from her delectable treat, and Grover's umbrella could offer welcome shade. Meanwhile, Herry, Big Bird, Ernie and Bert could combine their drum, washboard, pipe and silverware and form a band for some snacktime musical entertainment. It's amusing to guess at what might have inspired each character to contribute each item; perhaps my favorite oddball object is Little Bird's print of American Gothic.

Sesame Street lovers of all ages are likely to get a laugh out of this book, though I suspect that nostalgic adults may be most receptive to it. As is typical for the groundbreaking series, The Together Book combines outright silliness with important lessons, none more valuable than the example of an incredibly diverse group of friends eager to help each other out of a jam.

Spread Some Cheer With the Care Bears Vending Machine Toys

Ever since I was little, I've loved stopping at the toy vending machines that tend to be positioned in the entryways of stores like K-Mart and Tops. Up until recently, I could count on my quarters buying me something completely random and probably pretty junky. But the past five years or so has seen a great improvement in these vending machine toys. Now, most machines contain only one type of toy, so you're guaranteed to get a bouncy ball or a Peek-a-Pooh or a Lord of the Rings mini-bust... or a Care Bear. At the mall where I have spent several seasons as a kiosk attendant, there used to be an enormously tall machine filled with plastic Care Bears for fifty cents each. I often stopped by after work to buy one, and I was sad when I returned one year to find the machine gone.

The machine invited Care Bears enthusiasts to collect all 32 bears, which I never managed to do. However, it's really just eight different bears in four poses each. I did manage to get one of each bear, so that was good enough for me, though I've since given away most of my duplicate bears and wish I had easy access to another supply, as they make great little just-because presents. To paraphrase A. A. Milne, no one can be un-cheered by a Care Bear. Just to be on the safe side, however, the makers of this collection omitted Grumpy Bear, a standout among his perpetually smiling pals because of the stormcloud on his tummy and the scowl on his face. Like Eeyore, he grumbles a lot, but he's lovable nonetheless, and I wish he had been included. Indeed, it would be great if there really were 32 different bears, not to mention the Care Bear Cousins. Maybe they'll consider another line in the future; Peek-a-Pooh is still going strong after about 20 sets.

The eight bears available in this set are Friend Bear, Wish Bear, Cheer Bear, Share Bear, Love-a-Lot Bear, Good Luck Bear, Bedtime Bear and Funshine Bear. Each of the bears is a different color, though their snouts and stomachs are white. Their noses and the pads of their paws are heart-shaped and a darker shade of their fur color. Each also has a red heart located near his or her tail. My favorite is Good Luck Bear, who is green and has a four-leaf clover on his tummy. This is the one I was most excited to get, and though my Dad and brother aren't exactly the Care Bear enthusiasts I am, each of them gladly accepted one of these as token of luck and Irish heritage.

Wish Bear is halfway between green and blue, a pastel sort of sea green. She has a shooting star on her tummy. Bedtime Bear is all blue with a dark blue crescent moon on his tummy. Share Bear is pinky-purple, with interlocking heart-stamped lollipops on her tummy, while Love-a-Lot Bear is dark pink with two hearts on her tummy. Pale pink Cheer Bear has a rainbow on her tummy. Orange Friend Bear has interlocking flowers on her tummy, and yellow Funshine Bear sports a smiling sun on his. Each one wears a happy expression, with differing degrees of the smiling mouth exposed.

All of the bears are in seated positions, and there is no articulation to them. The biggest variation among the poses involves the arms. Two of the poses have both arms stretched out, though in one, the bear looks straight ahead, while in the other, his or her head is turned to the left. In the other two poses, the left arm is outstretched, but in one, the right paw rests on the knee, while in the other it rests near the mouth in a pensive position. I don't know that I can say I prefer one pose over the others; all are equally cute. These figures stand on their own with no trouble. I keep them in a cluster on my piano, though I will occasionally move them elsewhere in order to entertain myself with them. I especially had fun last week when we had a downpour that lasted all morning. I brought out several props from my Pooh's Friendly Places play sets, as the tiny figures of Pooh, Piglet and pals that came with those sets are fairly comparable in size to these one and a half inch-tall bears. I especially had fun placing pairs of bears in Piglet's ornate bathtub and sending them to float along in our neighbor's front-yard lake.

Because of their diminutive size I can't really recommend these toys for anyone under the age of four or so, but older children ought to have fun with them, as they are sturdy, colorful and just plain fun. They make terrific add-ons to birthday presents - just tape one to the package - or random pick-me-uppers to be send through the mail or given in person. You could also place them on top of a cake if you wanted to, or stick them in Easter eggs and make a hunt extra fun. Or hand them over to an aspiring juggler and see how he manages with them. There are all sorts of possibilities with these little bears, and if you don't happen to have a vending machine in your area that sells them, they're pretty easy to find online. A set containing one of each is available on Amazon for four dollars; another containing a random assortment of 50 goes for $25. If I ever find myself stuck for a fun giveaway item for a party or event, I may spring for that. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the ten bears I have and contemplate who could do with a little extra cheer in her day. One of my remaining duplicates is Friend Bear, the other Love-a-Lot. Both are poised to be a little plastic stand-in for an in-person hug, because spreading goodwill is what Care Bears do best.

Tranquility Trumps Terror in LOST's Surprisingly Mellow Season 2 Soundtrack

When I think of LOST's second season, there are many things that spring to mind: Desmond. Henry. Tailies. Dharma Initiative. Computer. WAAAAAALLLLTTT!!!! But perhaps more than anything else, the first word that pops into my head is artillery. It was in this season that it suddenly seemed everyone on the Island was packing heat, with deadly results. So while in certain respects the castaways are in a more secure position - they have shelter and ample food, and most of them have learned to work together - I tend to think of season two as having a somewhat oppressive flavor. I was surprised, then, to discover how tranquil the bulk of the season two soundtrack is.

Michael Giacchino has composed all of the music for LOST, and he has an army of musicians behind him to bring that score to life. Some of the musical themes from the first season are revisited in the second, while new ones are introduced. Surprisingly, none of the tracks on the season two soundtrack incorporate Life and Death, the iconic melody that I consider the drama's predominant musical theme. I'm fairly certain it made an appearance in the second season, but of course the album only gives us a small sampling of all the music composed. Nonetheless, variations on this particular theme can be found on the third and fourth soundtracks as well as the first, and I suspect the tune will turn up again on the fifth. Moreover, I fully expect an exquisite rendition of Life and Death that ingeniously ties together several prominent motifs to underscore the closing moments of the series finale.

While I'm on the subject of what the album lacks, DriveShaft fans are bound to be disappointed yet again. Season two includes snippets of flash-in-the-pan chart-topper You All Everybody and Charlie's contemplative, as-far-as-we-know unfinished ballad Funny Now, but unless Dom Monaghan and Neil Hopkins get together and actually record the fabled DriveShaft Greatest Hits album, YouTube is your best bet if you want to listen to these songs in isolation. Nonetheless, Charlie is well represented on this album, with three tracks bearing his name. These are from The 23rd Psalm and Fire + Water, the second of which is the only Charlie-centric episode of the second season. All's Forgiven... Except Charlie starts out heavy on the harp and strings and captures the emotion of the moment in which Eko and Charlie recite the 23rd Psalm together while the wreckage of Yemi's plane burns. The melody carries a hint of a famous musical arrangement of that psalm. The track goes back and forth between the sad, reflective Eko and Charlie music and the bouncier "back at the beach" music, which features guitar and some type of percussion that sounds like a mellow maraca. It ends on a note of suspense, which is how Charlie's Dream begins. This short, intense track demonstrates Charlie's confusion and panic during his vision of an endangered Aaron. Charlie's Temptation returns to a familiar musical theme that plays out in low tones on one of the album's shortest tracks.

If you crave the adrenaline rush of LOST's most pulse-pounding moments, there are plenty of tracks to satisfy, including the action-packed Peace Through Superior Firepower, which accompanies Desmond running and is augmented by eerie windchime-like sounds; the almost-cacophonous Just Another Day on the Beach and The Tribes Merge, in which oppressive drums are the predominant instruments as the Tailies and some of the Fuselage folks meet for the first time. Other tracks, like lengthy The Final Countdown and the brief Mapquest, are quietly menacing, which is how Claire's Escape starts before exploding into full-blown peril. Finally, all six of the tracks drawn from season finale Live Together, Die Alone have some element of danger about them. Toxic Avenger and I Crashed Your Plane, Brotha both feature spooky percussion that fits well with Desmond's deranged state of mind. Eko Blaster is short and punchy; The Hunt is sparse and suspenseful; McGale's Navy, which probably gets my vote for favorite track title, builds to a strong finish; and Bon Voyage, Traitor, which starts out quite lovely, finally puts a spotlight on Michael, whose centric episodes - Adrift and Three Minutes - are unrepresented on this album (along with seven other episodes).

If, like me, you prefer the emotional, character-driven tracks, you won't be disappointed either. The slow, strings-heavy Ana Cries doesn't have a strong driving melody, but it accompanies a moment of refreshing humanity from the usually-tough Ana Lucia, who receives some condolence from Eko after an especially trying experience. The Gathering is one of the prettiest tracks on the album, and it chronicles one of the most-anticipated scenes. Some earlier themes are revisited in the midst of many reunions, most notably between Rose and Bernard and Sun and Jin. Shannon's Funeral is sad, though not nearly as affecting as Boone's on the first album or A New Trade, which explores Sayid's emotions in dealing with potentially villainous newcomer Henry. The Last to Know, the backdrop to Sun telling Jin that she is pregnant, carries with it a feeling of hesitancy amidst the happiness, as Jin is afraid to believe such good news and Sun is afraid that he is not the father. My favorite of the "character" tracks is Rose and Bernard, a musical theme that stood out to me more when I listened to it after the season five finale, in which it is revisited with such aching beauty that I can almost guarantee it will be my favorite track on the season five album (and if it's not there, I will be sorely disappointed). It reminds me just a bit of the orchestral version of Unchained Melody at the end of Ghost; few pieces of movie music have moved me so much, and the idea of hungering for one's touch seems pretty appropriate for a couple who didn't find each other until their 50s and who spent the first weeks of their marriage separated from one another.

I ended my review of the first album with Hurley, and I'll do it again here, since I'm finding that music from any scene involving him tends to be especially satisfying. While Dave, Hurley's second centric episode of the season, is unrepresented on this album, three tracks are drawn from Everybody Hates Hugo. World's Worst Landscaping feels suspenseful until about halfway through, when the mood becomes playful, as befits a moment in which he and his best buddy prank their boss in a flashback. Mess It All Up is introspective and a touch mournful, accompanying his heart-to-heart with Rose. My favorite track on the album is Hurley's Handouts, which is the deliciously mellow backdrop to his distribution of the food in the hatch to everyone on the beach. Piano and guitar share the spotlight with the strings in this perfect montage melody, a variation on the tune found in season one's Leaving the Island. As in that album's unexpectedly amusing I've Got a Plane to Catch, the understated guitar adds a sense of fun, which eventually gives way to the emotion of the piano and violins.

The season two soundtrack is much less perilous and more character-driven than I expected, so although most of its tracks are not as iconic as those in season one, I find myself listening to this album nearly as often. If you're only going to own one LOST album, I still recommend the first, but if you want to go all out, don't hesitate to invest in this one as well.