No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency_IMDB_Good Book AND Good TV?

Listen up people…..I just heard that a well loved series of books is coming to HBO later this month. Alexander McCall Smith’s No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency will be premiering Sunday, March 29, 2009 at 8pm EST. Will you be tuning in? I know the books have a large fan base all over the world, and just recently I received these books as a gift from a good friend. I’m sure he may tune in a time or two. Just goes to show you how hungry film and TV are for literature that translates to the screen. Write a great piece of literature and it won’t be long before Hollywood comes a courtin’!

Rihanna_IMDB_ Starring In the Bodyguard Remake?

Also newsworthy, there’s a little buzzing about Rihanna (Robyn Fenty) starring in a remake of the Bodyguard. You remember that flick that starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner? I wonder if it will be any better than the first, and who will be her Bodyguard? Any suggestions?

90210_IMDB_90210 Then

Plus, Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty, and Tori Spelling on the new 90210?

90210_IMDB_90210 Now

Will wonders never cease to amaze me. It looks like a Beverly Hills high school reunion…..OK….I’m done.

~P.S.~ Is it Robyn or Robin?

Mzee and Owen_letsbefriends.blogspot.com

OK….so take a good look at this pic. Cute, huh? Well, it’s been circulating around the internet for a while now. Believe it or not, it’s a real life pic about a baby hippo named Owen who was displaced by the tsunami of December 26, 2004, and ended up becoming attached to a 130 year old male tortoise named Mzee. Now they are inseparable, and in my opinion, I think the baby hippo considers the tortoise to be his surrogate mommy. Inevitably, I fell inlove with this little situation, and I thought, I am soooooo going to write a book about this. Imagine my de-elation when I wandered into Chapters not a week later only to see a huge picture book named Owen and Mzee:The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship.

Owen and Mzee Story_Amazon.ca

Of course, I bought it for my Youngling — supposedly. It was thanks to my Youngling that I’d even found the story on the net in the first place. So much for my dreams of writing that children’s book I’ve always been meaning to write. Then I thought, “Eureka! I’ll still do it!” And off I went writing my master plan and developing a wonderfully, engaging and heartwarming story…….Only to encounter disaster again! While surfing the web, what did I find? Only the name of Disney someone and some such attached to a comment about a cute pic and oh, what a fabulous story!

So, maybe I will still write the book. My characters are still my characters, even if they are based on a true story that has managed to capture the fascination of the world. HOWEVER, that being said, here is my prediction:

*****Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios will soon make a wonderfully endearing, and heartwarming animated movie based on the story of Mzee and Owen in the near and not too distant future.

Finding Nemo_IMDB

It will be a movie of the likes of Finding Nemo (directed by Andrew Stanton)…………………..

WALL-E_IMDB

WALL-E (also directed by Andrew Stanton)…………………………

Toy Story_IMDB

and Toy Story, which is a modern classic and was THE film that started all this computer animated film stuff (directed by John Lasseter, but Andrew Stanton helped write it!). Hopefully they will let Andrew Stanton direct the Mzee and Owen Movie, because he does great work! And that’s my prediction!

~P.S.~ After all the sites and stories dedicated to this unlikely pair, I think I may have been stuck up in the wilds not to have heard about this story a loooong time ago, and write a fantabulous story before anyone else could. And, in my defense, I was stuck up in the wilds…..on dial up!

Greetings All and Sundry!

Thanks immensely for all the wonderful comments. It’s nice to see I have a select following. Keep reading, keep enjoying and most NB…keep commenting!

Sincerely,

Your Brighter Scribe….;o)

The Toys R Us Ghost_Ghost Research Society

~P.S.~ Did anything supernatural happen to you guys on Friday the 13th? Do tell, do tell…….

~~P.P.S.~~ For the story accompanying this image go to the Ghost Research Society website! For me, this was a real blast from the past! When looking for a ghostly image to add to this post, I stumbled upon this image. Never in a million years did I ever think to find this image and the story! When I was a kid, I remember watching this very episode of That’s Incredible! I remember watching Kathy Lee Crosby, Frank Tarkenton and John Davidson. It was one of my first instances of awareness of the concept of ghosts. I remember being quite scared and fascinated at the same time, and the story, the way it was narrated, and the images have never left me. Over the years, as the internet makes anything possible, I searched for the story and images with no success, because, even though I remembered the story, I couldn’t remember any names or the show it was on! Imagine my surprise when out of the blue, I come across this image! Weird. I wasn’t even looking for it now, and suddenly, there it is! Weird. Definitely a blast from the past!

Salma Hayek_IMDB_I See Dead People?

Being that it is Friday the 13th, I would be remiss if I didn’t add something a little supernatural to the annals of the unexplained. A little while ago, I heard through the grapevine that the delightful screen actress Salma Hayek claims her 16 month old daughter Valentina has a sixth sense that allows her to see and talk to spirits. When I heard this, the very first thing I thought is, “That reminds me of the movie with Bruce Willis called The Sixth Sense.” I think we can all recall the moment when Haley Joel Osment uttered the words that made him famous. “I see dead people,” is a phrase in cinematic history that definitely gave me chills the first time I heard it.

The Sixth Sense_IMDB

I’ve also heard people other than Salma claim that their children can see spirits or have memories of past lives. I even had an old lady tell me once that my youngling was seeing guardian angels one day as she observed my offspring’s eyes fastened on something at the ceiling that was darting around like a trapped sparrow. If I remember correctly, I was indeed a little freaked out myself. Just ask Salma, so was she!

According to Wikipedia, a Gallup Poll conducted in 2005 states that 73% of people in the United States alone believe in something paranormal, with 32% of people believing in actual ghosts. With those kinds of numbers, it’s no wonder that over the recent years we have seen a major crop of new TV shows dealing with the paranormal and the supernatural. There are actual paranormal research groups that have their own shows, like Ryan Buell and his group at Penn State and their show called Paranormal State. There is also the Ghost Whisperer series, and a show just called Supernatural. Do you guys remember a show called Crossing Over with John Edward? I think that is when the paranormal genre on TV really started to pick up steam. I don’t think there is a station who doesn’t have its own ghost show. You know you’re on to something when even credible stations like A & E with their aforementioned Paranormal State, and Discovery Channel with their A Haunting have hopped on the ghost wagon.

M. Night Shyamalan_IMDB_ Mr. Suspense Himself

Anyway, M. Night Shyamalan directed The Sixth Sense; a movie which went on to enjoy great success, generated a lot of buzz and brought the suspenseful talents of Mr. Night himself into the forefront of thriller directors and screenwriters. It was definitely a cringe worthy movie, and the end twist (which I won’t ruin for you just in case you’ve been under a rock and haven’t seen The Sixth Sense) was definitely jaw dropping. And yes, my jaw was on the floor, and to this day I muse on the fact that I didn’t see that twist coming, and usually I’m pretty good. Mr. Night has my vote for delivering scary thriller movies; even Lady In the Water had me going at moments, though Signs wins hands down for having me wound the tightest the longest and actually making me so afraid I was sweating while watching the flick.

So, since it is Friday the 13th, watch a scary movie. If you want to see a ghost, I think I’ve heard somewhere that the time between 1am and 3am are the best times, for whatever reason I don’t know. I guess the million dollar question is, do you believe in ghosts? What would your response be if someone said to you, “I see dead people,”?

~P.S.~ Be sure to watch for my post on the upcoming movie A Haunting In Connecticut! It looks very scary!

Dear Editor,

Sometimes we are very lucky in life to have people who are always watching our backs! I’m grateful to the editor who has mine!