I’ve Been Vacationing for a Week . . . What Did I Miss?

So the family and I trekked to Orlando this past week to partake of the glories of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the stomach-clenching thrills of the Universal Studios theme park, the splashes of the chlorinated water rides at Aquatica, the wonders of marine life at Sea World (where we sat in the back during the killer whale show, and learn about NASA history at the Kennedy Space Center where the last space shuttle, Atlantis, is currently sitting on the launch site aiming for a July 8 lift-off.

And while the kiddos, The Spouse and I enjoyed ourselves in spite of frequent rain – and despite the fact that an employee at the Three Broomsticks restaurant in the Wizarding World told me that it was “against the law” to serve me (a person with a dairy allergy) the non-dairy Butterbeer drink sans the dairy topping (??!!) . . . I partook of a delightful Pumpkin Fizz instead – I, a political junkie, was sad to have missed a boatload of news:

As my family was making its way to the airport last week, one of the top 10 Most Wanted criminals in the nation, Whitey Bulger who hails from Boston, was arrested after 16 years on the lam, in California and, from what I could gather via Twitter, it was a veritable media circus as he was taken into custody and transported to Massachusetts, topped off with a $14,000 helicopter ride yesterday taking him from Plymouth to his court date in Boston via the air. I guess my family members weren't the only ones going on pricey rides this past week.

As I was busy riding on Universal Studios’ Men in Black ride multiple times (always accruing the least amount of points compared to everyone else), news came down about the Blagojevich conviction which the Chicago Tribune described thusly: “A federal jury Monday convicted Rod Blagojevich of sweeping corruption, putting an end to a tragicomic legal and political drama that brought down Illinois’ showy and would-be populist former governor. In its 10th day of deliberations, the 11-woman, one-man jury convicted Blagojevich of several shakedown attempts, including allegations that he brazenly tried to sell President Barack Obama’s old U.S. Senate seat in 2008.” I kept thinking about the kooky Rod “The Hair” Blago going to prison as we headed over to the Simpsons’ ride, featuring one of America’s most dysfunctional families.

I was packing my suitcase to leave for Orlando when the president made his snoozy address about our troops in Afghanistan but I didn’t get a chance to indulge myself and imbibe copious amounts of follow-up news analysis. I did, however, later take my 9-year-old through the Marvel comics sections of Universal Studios park where the good guys always win and always seem confident. Hmmm . . .

As the political hubbub about U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s presidential run escalated (from her being called a “flake” by a TV newsman and people mocking her for messing up Revolution era history, to the media’s discomfort as they once again grapple with locating the correct language to use when talking about a female presidential candidate, as one political pundit likened the media attacks on “conservative women” to “near-gynecological exams”), I was introducing my kiddos to the works of an award-winning actress named Lucille Ball. (FYI -- While I agree that all women, especially conservative ones, are savaged by the media, invoking gynecology is just . . . well . . . the male pundit shouldn’t have gone there. Seriously.)


But despite the fact that my news came mainly from my Twitter feed during the past week, I made up for the fact that I was in a family vacation bubble and wanted more news by reveling in spending way too many hours in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (buying "magical" wands for the kids, among other souvenirs), riding only the tamest of rides (I’m not an amusement ride kinda gal) and being accosted all over the place for wearing my Boston Red Sox baseball cap, mostly positively accosted . . . even when confronted (playfully) by Yankees fans.

If only the three Chocolate Frogs we bought (they're Potter-themed candy) hadn't gotten somewhat mangled by the time we got home. See how nice they looked BEFORE we attempted to keep them cool in ice as we traveled to the airport, then packed them up in a suitcase?

Notes on Pop Culture: FNL's Matt Saracen's Heartbreak, Harry Potter 'Deathly Hallows' Trailer, Summer TV

FNL's Matt Saracen's Heartbreak


How good was the actor, Zach Gilford, who plays Matt Saracen on Friday Night Lights in the recent episode, “The Son?” He underplayed his role as the grieving son very nicely and to great effect.

For practically the entire series, Matt has been the character who’s had to act more mature than his age, like the responsible authority figure in his house when he was just an immature high school kid. He took care of his ailing grandmother and, only recently allowed his previously estranged mother to help them out. At the end of last season Matt was planning to go to Chicago to pursue his promising art career. He prepared by getting his grandmother all set up in a home that would keep her safe.

Then he was beset by horrendous guilt. Guilt about leaving his girlfriend Julie behind. Guilt about leaving his grandmother in a group home. He, once again, put himself and his desires on the backburner, took a job delivering Panther pizza and enrolled in community college classes where his art teacher didn't think his work was all that special.

Now, in this recent episode, his largely absent Army father was killed in Iraq. The normally even-keeled Matt felt utterly lost and unhinged, particularly by his mixed feelings about a dad who he believed was so afraid of responsibility and child-rearing that he kept re-enlisting and going to Iraq to avoid being with his son.

That scene with Tami and Matt at a strip mall funeral home, so upsetting. If that scene, where Tami dressed down the funeral director after Matt left -- chastizing the man for how much he was trying to charge Matt for the funeral services -- doesn’t demonstrate that the Taylors are the central, beating hearts of this show, nothing does. (Why, by the way, was Tami there and not Matt’s mom? Is it because he’s closer to Tami? That doesn't say much about Matt's mother.)

Will this event become a major catalyst for the drifting Matt? We'll see.

Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Trailer



I live in a house full of Harry Potter fans. My 11-year-old twins have read the Potter series over and over again and have seen all the movies. My husband – who’s not a big reader – was coerced by the twins into reading the entire series last summer.

Currently my husband and I are reading the series aloud to our 8-year-old son – we’re in the middle of the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire. So whenever there’s anything new on the Harry Potter front, there’s tremendous excitement.

While my kids have been asking when we’re going to go down to Florida to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios, I think I'm going to try to distract them with this new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Summer TV



Who says there’s nothing decent on TV in the summer? You’ve got FNL still airing new episodes, Mad Men coming up next month, Weeds and couple of new shows including ones starring Betty White and Laura Linney on tap.

My Pop Culture column this week is all about summer TV and I highlighted what’s in store for shows like Mad Men, Rescue Me, Hot in Cleveland, The Big C, Weeds and HawthoRNe.

When it comes to Weeds, what’s your take on the teaser Showtime put out? Do you really think that, after Nancy’s son killed Esteban’s evil, criminal political “consultant” with a croquet mallet in the season finale last year, that Nancy’s really going to be able to “bury” her connections to Esteban, especially given that she had his baby, oh, and she married him last season?

A Real Life Hogwarts, Hogsmeade and Honeydukes?

When I read the news about the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park that's slated to open at Universal Orlando Resort in the spring, the kid in me felt like it was Christmas.

I gush about the Potter books, the possibility of actually ordering a Butterbeer and rub my hands together in anticipation on my Picket Fence Post blog where I talk about my and my kids' affection for all things Potter.

Is it too early to start planning to buy myself a pair of Extendable Ears at Zonkos?

Image credit: Times Online.