Mama Mia that stinks!

Just got back from seeing the movie Mama Mia at the Crossroads 20 in Cary (or is it Raleigh?).  Mama Mia stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgard.  It is the story of an ex-hippie who, as a single mom, raised her daughter on a Greek island.  At 20, her daughter, played by Amanda Seyfried, is getting married on the island and has invited the three men who her mother was involved with 20 years and 9 months before, so she can find out which one of them is her father.  Produced by ABBA's original songwriters, it is the movie adaptation of a successful musical which regurgitates all of ABBA's old songs.

The musical might have had a chance except for the fact that it was cast using geriatric actresses and actors that could better have played the young bride's grandmother and great aunts rather than mother and friends.  The entire cast, with the exception of Amanda Seyfried and her boyfriend, are all played by people who have been long time members of AARP. I mean come on, Meryl Streep is 58. Can we believe that she was a "hippie" traveling Europe 20 years ago at 38?

I'm not against age.  Heck, I'm in my 50's, but play the right part.  

The scene where Meryl comes out as a rock star in tights singing with her Estelle Getty look alike friend and another gal, I jumped with shock.  I'm sure if I eat late tonight I will see that scene in my nightmare.

By the way, Pierce Brosnan cannot sing, but I will have to hand it to Meryl that she has a beautiful voice.

Check here for a favorable review (written in San Francisco)

Click here for the movie web site.

The Brickyard 400 - Goodyear laid a brick

As you race fans know, Sunday was the famed Brickyard 400 (actually the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard but we all know what the fans call it). It was in my old hometown, Indy, where the Indy 500 is run.

Sunday’s race was a series of 10 lap sprints. Why? Because the Goodyear tires kept wearing down to the cords every 10 -15 laps. So NASCAR instituted a rule that the race would be yellow flagged every 10 laps to allow the racers to come in and get new tires.

In typical NASCAR lockstep, everyone, including the announcers, drivers, and NASCAR officials repeated the mantra that Goodyear was not to blame.

Not to blame? Let’s see, Goodyear produced the tires after testing at the Brickyard, the weather was the normal temp and humidity, there was no difference in the track surface than was anticipated and the tires could not last more than 10 or 15 laps. If Goodyear was not to blame, then who would be? The soft drink vendors? the people who shelled out big money to attend? ESPN who broadcast it? or a fan here in North Carolina who wanted to watch a 400 mile NASCAR race?

I understand that NASCAR is a family and they pull together, but even in my family, if my son doesn’t get his chores done, or I don’t bring the milk home from the store, we hear about it. We get corrected so we do it right the next time.

This was a manifest failure by Goodyear. They would have been much better off to get out in front of this and have a tire expert explain that in trying to get a tire compound that will get the extraordinary grip needed for a NASCAR race, sometimes the rubber gets too soft and that is what happened here.

In the meantime, I’m not buying Goodyear tires.