Coraline and Burgers

I realize that my burger-related reports have been lax over the last several weeks. I want to assure you that my appreciation of meaty treats has not degraded over the past weeks, and I am still absolutely committed to consuming the burgers on The Free Press' list of metro-Detroit's best burgers. Actually, I have two burger eating experiences in the can (by can, I mean, in order, my stomach and then the crapper), and I'm excited to report out on those as soon as possible. The one primary holdup is that my parents took the digital camera to Minnesota this weekend to see their grandchild and the pictures are an integral component of BurgerFest-O-Rama - at least as much as they can be a part. The camera should return to Royal Oak on Tuesday evening, so that is when I imagine you will again have the privilege to read what I think about the combination of meat and bread products. BurgerFest-O-Rama lives, just a little bit slower than you and I may like. At least it probably decreases the odds of me dying from burger overdose. On to the next topic...

Today, Steve and I took my uncle and grandma to see the movie Coraline at the AMC John R Theater. A small part of me remains sad that Star had to sell to AMC, but progress continues to progress. The movie is a pretty dazzling combination of stop-motion and computer animation, but it is not a movie I would recommend for the youngest children out there. There is some imagery that I have to imagine would have spooked me as a youngster, and there is an air of melancholy throughout the movie. I have known for several months now that I've gone a little off the deep end on this "Yes! Michigan" thing, but my insight into this part of me was clarified even more by the movie. The setup for the movie is that the main character, coincidentally named Coraline (they caught a break when the named the movie that way), and her family have just moved to Oregon into a fairly creepy mansion/home thingy, and events ensue. I'm very specific. The kicker and most awesome part of the movie is that the family is originally from, you guessed it, Pontiac, Michigan. I have no idea how they chose Pontiac or Michigan, but I'll take it. On top of that, the dad is always wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt through the whole movie and Coraline owns a snow globe from The Detroit Zoo featuring the bear fountain in the middle of the zoo. The snow globe plays a fairly integral part in the storyline. How awesome is that? Not very much if you're not from Michigan, but very cool if you're me. It is possible that the creative team responsible for the movie was under the impression that if you mention Michigan in your movie, you receive Michigan's film tax credits, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. You know I'm a little bit off when I want to stand up and applaud when I hear "Pontiac, Michigan" in an animated film.