July 16th, 2010

The WNBA: Basketball at it’s finest

On Sunday, July 11, 2010, I took the family to their first WNBA game at Madison Square Garden (thanks to the One 2 One Network for providing us with three free tickets).  My husband is an ex-NBA fan who has a love for basketball, but has grown sick of the current NBA game and it’s players.  I love basketball. I was a baller in high school, long before there was a WNBA, and was supposed to play in college. Unfortunately, I suffered a knee injury  ending my college career before it started.  This game was special for me because I was able introduce basketball to my four year old daughter.  So we jumped at the chance to get back to the Garden for a professional game.

We drove down the Henry Hudson Parkway to Manhattan from our Yonkers home with ease and parked on 9^th Avenue between 33^rd and 34^th Streets, for free thanks to Sunday parking rules.  The two block stroll was pleasant thanks to a nice breeze that cooled what had to be a 90*F afternoon and highlighted by the site of the circular structure that is the Garden with the Empire State Building in the backdrop.

The New York Liberty were playing the Chicago Sky and the game was incredible.  The WNBA is professional basketball at its best.  The players play their hearts out with an intensity that could only be maintained by people who truly love basketball.  It was great to see the teamwork and fundamentals displayed during each offensive possession as you could see each set play develop right before your eyes.  Someone who wants to learn or teach basketball should use WNBA games as visuals.  The game was great as the Liberty were down by nine at the half and clawed their way back in the last seconds of the game to win 57-54.

The fans were rabid as they cheered for the Liberty and I have been to a lot of games and never have seen so much fan excitement for a regular season game.  The fans are loyal too as we sat next to a women who drives down over two hours from Northern Connecticut to catch every weekend home game and the Liberty honored a season ticket holder who has purchased her season tickets every year since the Liberty’s creation  in 1997.  It really stuck out how much the WNBA interacts with its fans.  They have fan contests between every quarter.  They have several raffles throughout the game.  Most commercial breaks pass with dance shows performed by very talented kids who also launch t-shirts into the crowd.  Half time entertainment included a Zumba Fitness demo performed by 160 instructors and members.  Overall, the entertainment level is high and well worth the price of admission with tickets ranging from $10 to  $260 per ticket for the Liberty.

It didn’t take long before my husband and I were screaming for “our” Liberty and my daughter was dancing on her seat and cheering “Let’s Go Liberty” and “De-Fense” with the PA Announcer.  We also received passes to an autograph session after the game but had to leave before it started. Luckily those passes are good until August so we may be able to use them again.

The first thing we did when we got home was to start planning our next game.  I plan on picking up season tickets next season because we are hooked.  If you are looking for excellent family fun then the WNBA is for you.

* thanks to my husband who helped write this review.

Disclosure Policy: Compensation Level I: Kristina Brooke received three tickets to the WNBA game. All content is solely her own and review is based on her own experiences. For more information regarding disclosure policy at Mom on the Rise please see http://www.mom on the rise.com/about/disclosure.

July 15th, 2010

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE: A Premiere Event

Disney invited me to the World Premiere of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice at the New Amsterdam Theatre in New York City last Tuesday, July 6.  This was the red carpet event attended by cast members Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, and Teresa Palmer, and producer Jerry  Bruckheimer, and director Jon Turteltaub.  It was the first time I (along with my husband)  have ever strolled down the red carpet  and it was certainly an interesting experience.  The whole event was far more organized than I pictured from watching these sort of things on TV.  The carpet extended down about half a block on 42^nd Street between 8^th Avenue and 7^th Avenue.  There were about 6 staging areas where camera and press equipment was setup to photograph and interact with the celebs.  Of course, for us non “fabulous” people there was an express path to walk behind all of the action and I was OK with that. I did not want to end up on Page 6 as a “Fashion Don’t!”

The New Amsterdam Theatre, complete with it’s old-styled charm, has three levels and numerous private balconies.  The internal structure was very beautiful with intricate woodwork and delicate marble murals.  The high arching hallways and exquisite chandeliers really send you back to a time when a night out required suits and even tuxedos.  We were seated off to the left a bit and about 5 rows from the bottom, but unlike most theaters we were not straining our necks to view the movie.  With the three levels of seating and the private balconies, we figured the stars would be seated separately from the general audience.  We were, in fact, wrong as our seating was 1 row ahead and about 10 to 15 seats away from both Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel.  Of course, to my determinate I am a rule follower and did not bring a camera so we could not get any pictures to share.  However, there were plenty of pocket digital camera flashes popping. I do have 6 pictures that I took with my phone of Nicholas Cage but they are so dark that only my husband and I know that he was really there.

Enough of the fan stuff, let’s get to the movie.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a fantastic movie and thanks to its PG rating, fun for the whole family.  The movie is a fast paced adventure with a running time of 1 hour and 51 minutes, but feels much shorter.  Nicholas Cage’s performance, as Balthazar Blake,  was one of his best.  He was so natural and seemed very comfortable as the master sorcerer.  I am a huge Cage fan and he can overact a bit, but not in this flick though.  Cage and Jay Baruchel, as Dave Stutler, had great chemistry that really stood out throughout the film.  Baruchel successfully held his own onscreen with the superstar Cage.  Their great chemistry is most illustrated in how witty the movie was with I would say at least six occasions where the crowd genuinely burst out laughing.  The jokes were not forced and just flowed naturally, which is a true testament to chemistry of the lead actors and the talent of the  writing team.   Alfred Molina, Maxim Horvath, showcased his talent as the film’s antagonist and added to the overall wittiness of the picture.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was full of CGI effects that were well done and looked realistic even in the absence of IMAX or 3-D viewing as this screening was normal viewing.

A few down points include the rushed feel of the beginning of the movie as it felt as if the movie began at the introduction of the present day Dave and everything leading up to this was added as an afterthought.  Also, Monica Belluci, the Italian bombshell playing Veronica, deserved a larger role with more screen time.  In all seriousness she is a seasoned actor and her character played a large role, but lacked screen time.  Finally, Morgana, played by Alice Krige, needed to be developed more as she was the ultimate evil threat, but the plot lacked the proper build to her climatic fight scene.  If I were to enter this film without some prior knowledge of the story of Merlin I would not really get why Morgana was so feared and powerful.

Overall, the experience was unforgettable as the world premiere lived up to all the hype that I had built up in my head from seeing these sort of things on TV or reading about them on the internet.  The temperature on that July 6^th went above 100*F and the event was just as hot.  I mingled, sort of, with celebrities, walked the red carpet, watched an exciting and enjoyable movie, got free popcorn and soda, and shared a great evening with my wonderful husband.

Enjoy the clip below and make sure that you head to this Family-Friend movie.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice — Film Clip “Sorcery 101″

Become a fan of THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE on Facebook

Disclosure Policy: Compensation Level I: Kristina Brooke received two tickets to the Premier of the Movie. All content is solely her own and review is based on her own experiences. For more information regarding disclosure policy at Mom on the Rise please see http://www.mom on the rise.com/about/disclosure.

July 9th, 2010

A Weigh to Go: I’m Still Here

It’s has been so long since I’ve written here. Longer than I would have liked. So let me catch you up.

I mentioned in my last post that I would continue working out as much as my knees could handle. Unfortunately, as soon as I published that entry an old enemy sneaked up on me and caused my workouts to halt. I suffer from the residual injuries of having been an athlete in my younger years. I played various sports including, basketball, volleyball, and softball, all of which are very hard on the knees. In my junior year of high school I suffered Patellar dislocation in which my kneecap was pushed to the side. For years it would pop in and out of position and caused me to give up on my dream of making it to the [W]NBA. I also shattered my other kneecap about a year later and had to have fragments removed. Needless to say, the added weight has not helped my knees one bit. And so, after a pretty decent workout in May, I hurt my knee so badly that even sitting was painful. No surgery needed, but was required to stop with the cardio/aerobic exercises until my knees were no longer swollen. {Read the whole entry here}

July 4th, 2010

Growing So Fast

Dear BabyGirl,

You lost your first tooth today on July 4, 2010 and upon realizing that you did, I burst into tears. They were not tears of joy as I told you in the hopes of stopping your tears of fear. In fact, while I hugged you and told you that everything would be OK, what I was thinking was that things would never be the same. And my heart aches.

Th loss of the first tooth will be followed by so many other firsts that I don’t want to think about. Each first takes you closer to adulthood and further away from the baby I see when I look at you.

I don’t mind you growing up, despite how it may seem. It’s just that you have grown so much in the last week. You can write all the letters of the alphabet. You can reach things off of Daddy’s dresser with very little strain. You want to pick out all of your own clothes. And now your tooth…

And you are only four. I love you! Please stop growing so fast. I’m not ready.