G-rated night

Two random points:

1) The BBC is remaking Ballet Shoes! For those of you who are not, well, girls, Noel Streatfeild's {sic} Ballet Shoes is a great little book about three little orphans in London in... I just realized I don't know when. I think post-WWI, because the second little girl, Petrova, is obsessed with cars and planes. They grow up under the care of a devoted young woman and her own old governess and all become stage children to help out with money; they sing and dance and act Shakespeare and worry about their clothes and eat biscuits. It's sickeningly cute and charming, and I have loved it since I was a wee tiny thing. A version was made in the '70s, but I've never seen it. This version, which should come out around Christmas, stars Hermione as the oldest girl. I haven't seen the latest Harry Potter, but found her acting quite bad in Movie #4, so I don't hold out a ton of hope. But I am excited that a whole new generation of little girls (I am sorry, but it is just so excessively girlie) will get to know this book. Well, a whole new generation of British girls. But maybe the crazy American Harry Potter fans will get their hands on it eventually.

I just remembered that the grown-up girls are background characters in another book of his, which takes place during a war, but I don't know which one. Still, cars and planes? More likely post-WWI.

OK, it was bugging me, so I went and checked my copy. Original text copyright 1937, so unless Noel was a lot smarter than Chamberlain, post-WWI.

2) Saw standup comic Jeff Caldwell on Letterman the other night. I've seen him on Craig Ferguson a couple of times and actually watched and liked him, which is quite rare for me -- generally the comics come on and I start wondering if maybe Oprah is talking about a new vitamin I should know about. (Central Time, people, Oprah is on at 11pm here.) I looked him up, and his press makes a big deal about him being a 'clean' comic. Upon careful recollection, this is true, but it was not annoyingly obvious; he doesn't joke about Jesus and small furry kittens. His website is www.standupguy.com, and he has a myspace page. Watch his clips. The student loan set will send sympathetic chills right down your spine.