Stealing the American Dream

Minnie Driver was never one of my favorite actresses. She kind of lost me when she did Good Will Hunting. That was one bandwagon I just couldn't get on, but despite the less than stellar (imo) start to her career, she had one role that was absolutely fantastic (well, two if you count Phantom of the Opera).

In The Riches, Driver plays Dahlia Malloy, an ex-con who just got released from prison. Her family are travelers (think Brad Pitt in Snatch) and she's pretty much the Princess Kate of the group. Everyone loves Dahlia, though few appreciate her outspoken husband Wayne (played by the always awesome Eddie Izzard). Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, they end up at a massive house in stereotypical suburbs. A bitter battle ensues between Dahlia and Wayne, at the end of which she declares "I don't need much, Wayne, but I need you." That's when Wayne hatches his plan to free his family from their life on the move and give them what he thinks they want and need:  

The American Dream. We're gonna steal it.

What I find most interesting about The Riches (aside from the superb acting, excellent dialogue, and entertaining characters) is that the "American dream" is laid bare. We see the real grit behind it, and we discover that maybe that dream isn't all it's cracked up to be. Society tells us what we should want, that we should have a big house, high-paying jobs, send our kids to private schools, and maybe that works for some people, but is that what really matters? Is it the where and what that make us? Or is it who we are with? Maybe the "American dream" needs a bit of a revamp, moving away from the accumulation of stuff to finding contentment in our current situation.

Sadly, I couldn't find a video of the particular part I was talking about, but here's Cael teaching his sister DiDi how to scam a convenience store worker.

 

Pennies - The Bane of My Existence

Ah, Abraham Lincoln. So stoic with his manicured immediately-recognizable beard. One of America's most beloved president's and hero to slaves all over the south. I wonder, did he realize what a bane his visage would become a century and a half after his death?

President Lincoln's face first appeared on the penny in 1909 in honor of his 100th birthday. (The history of the Lincoln cent is actually somewhat fascinating.) Since then, he has graced purses, wallets, pockets, cup holders, and parking lots all over the world with his presence.

According to the US Mint, the penny is the only coin whose portrait faces to the right

 Yet while the penny is likely the most plentiful coin in the US, I would say it's also the most useless. I hate pennies, with a passion. If I want to spend them, it takes forever to count them out and you always get "that look" from the cashier and all those customers who are behind you in line waiting. And they're so small, they disappear among the other coins. I have 9 pennies in my wallet at this time. How long do you think it took me to find those 9 pennies? A lot longer than it took me to find 1 dime, that's for sure.

So maybe my wallet isn't that bad. Only 9 pennies. Let's take a look at the bottom of my purse, because as you know, you'll get more glares if you actually try to put your change away, so it just gets tossed into the bottom.

• 18 quarters
• 14 dimes
• 6 nickels
• 28 pennies

I thought about heading out to count the pennies in my cupholders, but I have two of them and I think that task may take all day, not to mention how icky it would be.

And those are just the pennies I can keep track of. I'm always finding pennies in random places, too. On the floor, in the washer, under the couch, in water fountains, in every parking lot I've ever been in. They're everywhere. And you know that those pennies sitting on floors and parking lots all over the place aren't being used.  In fact, they're being junked. An estimated 1.2 million pennies are tossed every year. That's 1.2 million dollars being thrown away.

And guess how much it costs to actually make the penny? $0.0179. Yep. It costs more to make it than it does to spend it. But hey, all those pennies in my purse keep me in shape. Guess I can't complain too much. And on that note, I'm going to go wash my hands because I always feel horribly dirty after messing around with change.

Take a look at the Great Penny Debate and let me know what you think. Do you actually use your pennies or do they sit around collecting dust? Do you think the penny should be done away with as its equivalent has in many countries? Do your pennies always make your hands feel like they have an invisible layer of ick on them?

Images courtesy of Wiki Commons