The woes of selecting seats.

Thursday: Point of View

As mentioned in the post Next...!, I went with my husband and son to see Avengers: Endgame (2019) the weekend it opened. When I learned it was three hours long, I dreaded it. That's a long time to sit in the theater. However, our air conditioner chose that weekend to go on the fritz with outdoor temps around 97°F, so (like I mentioned in Weather) I was happy to sit in the nice cool theater for three hours!

I gave it a thumbs up (plot holes, sure, but still entertaining), my husband gave it a thumb sideways, and my son gave it a thumbs down with an asterisk... *his view of the movie was tainted by his frustration with the seat occupant next to him... a wiggly toddler. Yes, toddler, who did everything except sit still while the parents ignored the child's behavior for the duration of the movie.

Made me think of a post I wrote several years ago, Outtake: Picking your seat. Here it is:


When we were kids, one of my brothers saw a man pulling at the back of his pants and quipped, "That guy must be going to the movies... he's picking his seat."

There are some theaters that make us select our seats when purchasing tickets. The first time we experienced this, it was not good. We selected our seats on the computer screen by looking for the green chairs (available) in the midst of the red (taken), but when we arrived inside the theater, we discovered that a huge guy filled not only his own seat, but also half of my husband's. And as I stepped over to my seat, I felt a slosh beneath my feet. A noisy child behind me had spilled an entire bottle of water (thankfully just water). I spent the duration of the movie trying to keep my feet dry.

So I think if theaters (and airlines) insist on people selecting their seats at time of ticket purchase, they need to provide detailed information on the screen. The seat map should indicate things such as:

Row F Seat 14 - Reeks of cheap perfume.

Row C Seat 6 - Crying child.

Row M Seat 12 - Addicted to texting.

Row S Seat 4 - Hasn't bathed in a week.

Row P Seats 7, 8, 9, 10 - Talkative group.

Row N Seats 12 & 13 - Needs to get a room.

Row G Seat 3 - Flatulent Freddy.


When you select seats, what information do you wish the chart included?

A favorite movie added to Netflix

The Bishop's Wife (1947) is my favorite Christmas movie, so I am thrilled to discover it is now available streaming on Netflix.

I have the DVD, but I want readers to know about the Netflix option, in case someone wants to see it.

Don't spoil the adventure.

Monday: Dialogue, Lines, or Quotes

I sense a creative wave approaching and due to my tendency to analyze ideas to death, I need this reminder:

Mary Poppins (Emily Blunt)

We're on the brink of adventure, children. Don't spoil it with too many questions.

For my review of Mary Poppins Returns (2018) click here.

Thank you! Reflection for the 2019 A to Z Challenge.

To borrow from an old commercial, "Thanks, I needed that!"

I just finished my fifth consecutive April A to Z Challenge. I almost didn't participate this year, and registered just a few days prior to April even though I was still unsure about committing.

The problem was... I felt disheartened about film industry standards (a problem I face in my quest for quality films) and wondered why do I watch movies? 

Those thoughts led to my theme: Why I watch movies (as if I need a reason)...  a theme I needed.

Writing posts that focused on why helped me tremendously, plus reader comments and movie suggestions rekindled my enthusiasm for watching films and for blogging.

"Thanks! I needed that!"


Now for the nuts and bolts of the Reflection Post:

This is the first year I used the master list. I mean actually used, not just for signing up. The Google sheet was such a valuable tool, I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of it in the past.

I copied the list and then tweaked it to my liking. Having my own copy allowed me to:

• Delete duplicate blog registrations
• Delete blogs that weren't actually doing the challenge, or I couldn't find their A to Z posts
• Hide blogs that I visited and didn't plan to return to (topic didn't interest me, blog page difficult to read...)
• Color code blogs
• One color for blogs I want to return to when I have more time.
• Another color for blogs I followed daily during the challenge (on days I only had time to visit a few blogs, I made sure to visit these):
• Curious as a Cathy by Cathy
• Janet's Smiles by Janet 
• Keith's Ramblings by Keith Hillman
• Pulp Paper & Pigment by Linda Gardiner
• Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting about Austin Kleon. I had not heard of him, and after reading your post, I immediately checked out (and read) Keep Going, and am currently reading Show Your Work. My head is swimming with creative plans!
• The Sound of One Hand Typing by John Holton
• Tossing It Out by Arlee Bird, founder of the April A to Z Challenge

Next year I want to:

• Have my posts ready before April
• Link up on other social media (I might even reactivate the FB account I closed four years ago!)
• Visit more blogs (I visited a lot this year, but if my posts are ready I can visit more next year!)
• Leave comments on more blogs

I've already selected a theme (out of my list of 19 ideas) for next year's challenge and I need to watch a whole lot of movies between now and then.

Thanks to this challenge, I'm up for that!