Paper Jewels

I’m probably joining a very big bandwagon here, but I don’t care - they need to find a way to let Vermontasaurus live.

You’ve probably heard about it, but if not, here’s the short form: Brian Boland, a gentleman in Vermont, decided to turn a bunch of trash, scrap lumber, discarded broken ladders, and you name it, into a… well, a dinosaur-ish creature. This was apparently a spontaneous idea, and a fun one, and the stuff was just trash and junk, and he (and a bunch of volunteers) made - Ta Da - Vermontasaurus:

Vermontasaurus, The Only One Of His Kind

And they - the guvmint, the revooners, the permit people, the Official Nameless Ones, are probably going to make him tear it down. It’s probably a fire hazard, or somebody might stab themselves on a rusty nail, or maybe kids will god forbid play on it.

Yes, kids should probably stay off it. And I guess they have to think about the fire thing - although the ‘raw materials’ trash was allowed to collect, and nobody hollered about it. But either way, dammit, this is Art, or at least Fresh Air, this was spontaneous or so we’re told, and it’s fun. At a time when we could use a little of that - well we always need fun, truly - but right now? with all the bad news out there? Come on.

Let the Vermontasaurus live.

I know, there’s a ton of hype and all, and come on, what do I care about cartoon or animated movies? Not so much. But.

Toy Story 3 - read more about it at imdb.com

I have to say it. This is a great movie. This is a movie about toys! How could it be moving, entertaining, gripping, romantic (sometimes), hysterically funny (sometimes), surprisingly sophisticated (sometimes)? But it is!

These guys are GOOD. Not only the actors - even more, the writers, the Pixar staff, the animators, all of them. They made me care. They practically had me on the edge of my seat. I knew the good guys would win, I mean, come on, it’s meant for kids (maybe), and it’s Disney, and it’s about TOYS. The good guys have to win. And they caught me up and all right, maybe there was one tiny tear or two.

Not surprisingly, the cast is terrific - but you knew they would be. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton - Michael Keaton! wait till you catch his character! Wallace Shawn, Ned Beatty, and I know I’m forgetting some of the good ones. How could they not be good?

It’s really funny. It’s really interesting. It’s really good. Go see it.