My day off

I took today off and spent it in court: watching the Casey Anthony trial until the Blagojevich verdict came in. I also picked up my contact lenses, bought a very nice card to go along with my friend John's birthday present, went to the health club for some early evening cardio, and (uh-oh) stopped at Trader Joe's for some fruit and vegetables ... and cinnamon crumb cake. My downfall! I really have to avoid having anything like that in the house.

Movie Monday

Epic Battle Scenes... Share those battle scenes that are so epic, they make you stop everything to watch. Link back here to the Bumbles.

This one is tough for me, because I'm not a big fan of war movies. So I'm throwing myself on the mercy of The Bumbles and bending the rules a bit to show an epic scene regarding the aftermath of battle.

In Gone with the Wind, Melanie goes into labor at the worst possible time, as Sherman relentlessly heads toward Atlanta, leaving carnage in his wake. As Scarlett frantically searches for Dr. Meade at the Atlanta train station, she has to pick up her skirts to avoid smothering the soldiers she steps over. It's an amazing scene visually -- opening tight on Scarlett and then pulling back and back, revealing more and more dead and dying boys and young men. Until there are nothing but bodies for as far as the eye can see.

Now I'm not only a Northerner but also a proud native of The Land of Lincoln, so the romance of the South and her "cause" has always been lost on me. Secession and slavery hold no nobility for this Gal. And yet this scene still packs an emotional wallop. War is a sad, ugly, painful, profane business. A heartbreaking tragedy for both sides.