Disaster of a Thousand Places

We all agree that there are archetypes in heroic/epic/myth stories. You have your young hero, your peppy sidekick, your old mentor who will die right when they need him most, your princess. There’s also the magic sword (or lightsaber) which our young hero needs to defeat the villain and save the world. From King Arthur to Harry Potter, we find these same characters over and over again. That’s why Joseph Campbell wrote that awesome book The Hero of a Thousand Faces, because these archetypes occur over and over again.

I began to wonder, are there archetypes in disaster movies, especially bad disaster movies with really horrible special effects? (I’m looking at you, Sharknado!)

So we began to take notes, and we found:

• the smart scientist with the unbelievable theory that turns out to be right
• the weak political leader who refuses to listen to the previously mentioned scientist
• the divorced man who wants to get back with his ex-wife
• the new husband who refuses to listen to the divorced man and dies as a result
• the old mentor who dies just when they need him most 
• disasters of mythic proportions, such as a tornado that wipes out an entire tri-state area or a series of earthquakes that literally circle the globe
• one last ditch effort, often using a “magic” weapon, that will save the world 

So I guess that these disaster movies aren’t that much different from the epics that have delighted the world ever since Gilgamesh. If only they had better special effects!

Oh, and if disaster strikes, whatever you do, stay away from the Statue of Liberty. She’s been taking hits ever since Planet of the Apes!

Dear Members of Congress,

We the People of the United States have elected you to do a job. Specifically, balancing the budget.

I would like to re-direct your attention to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States. It declares the principles upon which our country was founded, and these principles should be used in the balancing of our budget.

• in order to form a more perfect union

Well, by not balancing the budget, you have united the country, but they are only united in that every single citizen is MAD AT YOU. Please drop the partisan nonsense and work together for the good of the nation.

• establish Justice

There is not justice in the eyes of the nation when “government employees” who are expected to work do not get their paychecks, yet you get paid for not doing your job. (I know, this part of the Constitution refers to the keeping and upholding of the law, but right now we’re just really mad about the furlough.)

• ensure domestic Tranquility

This simply means keeping peace in the home, on American soil. Attacks happen, like those on 9-11. We don’t blame Congress. But a balanced budget would keep funds available for helping those affected by attacks and disasters like hurricane Sandy.

• provide for the common defense

You scared 1% of the nation when you talked about not giving the military their pay. (No, not that 1%...) The 1% that keeps our country safe. Military members and their families do not live in luxury; they struggle to pay their bills like most of the nation. How can soldiers concentrate on the mission when they are worried about their families not being able to make the rent payment?

• promote the general welfare

I suppose this is where Universal Health Care and, well, Welfare programs come into play. It’s really nice of the government to offer affordable health care. Medical coverage is crazy expensive. However, forcing people to take it?  And fining those who don’t? That’s a bridge too far. People who can’t afford to pay for cheap health care certainly can’t afford to pay the fines for not having it.

• secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity

How can we possibly do this if our nation is gazillions of dollars in debt? Keep raising the debt ceiling? That’s like getting another credit card and continuing to live at your current level. Families with children know that they have to live within their means if they want to pass on ANYTHING but debt. Their income must be more than their outgo. The United States is in debt, which cannot be ignored. We have to pay down that debt while not incurring more debt...it’s really not that complicated.

Well, Congress, That’s what I have to say. Balance the budget. Spend the people’s money on things that are good for the people. Stop spending money on things that we don’t need, and stop taking out loans that we couldn’t repay in a million years.

Please, get the job done. We the People are depending on you.

Sincerely,

Laura Lusby

Drum Roll Please...

Here we are, the list of 100 fantastic films for families. I know, as soon as some of you read the list, you’re going to say, “You included this? What were you thinking?” Or “You left out that? What were you thinking?”

Yeah, yeah. Whatever. It’s my list. I didn’t say these were “the best” movies, just that they were “fantastic.”

Except for The Wizard of Oz. That is the best movie ever. Period.

So, here’s the list. If I can figure out how to put in on here in PDF format I will, but until then, in alphabetical order...

Title	Rating	Year
101 Dalmatians	G	1961
A Bug’s Life	G	1998
Aladdin	G	1992
Anastasia	G	1997
Annie	PG	1982
Arthur and the Invisibles	PG	2006
Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses	NR	2006
Because of Winn-Dixie	PG	2005
Black Beauty	G	1994
Bolt	PG	2008
Brave	PG	2012
Cars; Cars 2	G, G	2006, 2011
Charlotte’s Web	G	1973
Chicken Little	G	2005
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang	G	1968
City of Ember	PG	2008
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs	PG	2009
Curious George	G	2006
Darby O’Gill and the Little People	G	1959
Despicable Me; Despicable Me 2	PG, PG	2010, 2013
Dinosaur	PG	2000
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax	PG	2012
Dumbo	G	1941
Elf	PG	2003
Enchanted	PG	2007
Epic	PG	2013
Finding Nemo	G	2003
Flight of the Navigator	PG	1986
Gnomeo & Juliet	G	2011
Herbie Fully Loaded	G	2005
Holes	PG	2003
Hoodwinked	PG	2005
Hop	PG	2011
How To Train Your Dragon	PG	2010
Hugo	PG	2011
Ice Age	PG	2002
Ice Princess	G	2005
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade	PG-13	1989
It's a Wonderful Life	NR	1946
James and the Giant Peach	PG	1996
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie	G	2002
Lilo & Stitch	PG	2002
March of the Penguins	G	2004
Mary Poppins	G	1964
Meet the Robinsons	G	2007
Megamind	PG	2010
Mirror Mirror	PG	2012
Monsters, Inc; Monsters University	G, G	2001, 2013
Nanny McPhee	PG	2005
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe	PG	2005
National Treasure	PG	2004
Newsies	PG	1992
Night at the Museum	PG	2006
Over the Hedge	PG	2006
Parental Guidance	PG	2012
Pinocchio	G	1940
Planes	PG	2013
Quest For Camelot	G	1998
Ratatouille	G	2007
Robin Hood	G	1973
Robots	PG	2005
Secretariat	PG	2010
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	G	1954
Sleeping Beauty	G	1959
Soul Surfer	PG	2011
Spy Kids	PG	2001
Star Wars (yes, all 6 movies)	PG, PG, PG-13, PG, PG, PG	1999, 2002, 2005, 1977,  1980, 1983
Tangled	PG	2010
Tarzan	G	1999
The Adventures of Tintin	PG	2011
The Apple Dumpling Gang	G	1975
The Aristocats	G	1970
The Croods	PG	2013
The Fox and the Hound	G	1981
The Incredibles	PG	2004
The Indian in the Cupboard	PG	1995
The Jungle Book	G	1967
The Last Unicorn	G	1982
The Little Mermaid	G	1989
The Mighty Ducks	PG	1992
The Muppet Christmas Carol	G	1992
The Muppet Movie	G	1979
The Nativity Story	PG	2006
The NeverEnding Story	PG	1984
The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything	G	2008
The Polar Express	G	2004
The Prince of Egypt	PG	1998
The Princess Bride	PG	1987
The Santa Clause	PG	1994
The Smurfs	PG	2011
The Sound of Music	G	1965
The Tale of Despereaux	G	2008
The Wizard of Oz	G	1939
Toy Story (all 3 movies)	G, G, G	1995, 1999, 2010
Treasure Planet	PG	2002
Turbo	PG	2013
Up	PG	2009
WALL-E	G	2008
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory	G	1971
Wreck-It Ralph	PG	2012

Ok, I cheated. There are more than 100 movies, as some of them deserved to have their sequels included. ** cough ** “Star Wars” ** cough **

I hope that you enjoy the list. I may update it next summer if any movies come out worthy of The List (6 movies on The List came out this year...you can never tell)

Happy watching!!

Laura :-)