Betty White

I know there are some blogs out there wherein people are discussing world peace. raising children. eating good food. finding self enlightenment. But that sort of stuff doesn't happen here. Just a reminder. I know this is fluff and that I must have a pretty good life if questions like these keep me up at night, but:

When will Alaska be Alaska? And by that, I mean: When will be the time I go to the movies and watch a movie that is supposedly taking place in Alaska - even more specifically southeast Alaska - and know that it was filmed in a place that is actually like - maybe even in the same state or (gasp!) the same country - where the story is supposed to be taking place? Essentially: stop passing off Vancouver or - in the case of this evening's movie - Massachusetts as Alaska.

Tonight's $10 went to the major motion picture The Proposal, staring Sandra Bullock and some guy I can't remember the name of but is a slapstick funny kind of guy. The movie is tolerable - Rotten Tomatoes has registered a rating of 49% -- and there are some funny things that happen. I'll let you guess who gets together in the end, but in case you weren't aware, the path of the mad-cap adventure on the way to love goes through Sitka, Alaska. And I recognized one aerial view of Sitka - complete with cruise ship. But the rest certainly was no Sitka.

There was, however, Betty White as a native elder dancing around the fire in her button blanket in front of a green screen (I'm convinced she was nowhere near the actual fire nor was she actually near Sandra Bullock in that scene -- I'm sure I'll never find out, but if someone does find out, tell me).

"Betty White as a native elder," in case you needed to hear that again.

And Sandra Bullock's character did wear extra tuffs a couple of times. And it was on the coast. And it was pretty. And there were boats and small planes involved. There was no bear. Just Betty White doing a Tlingit dance in the woods around a fire. Betty White. Would you buy the story that her great grandparents were Russian and Tlingit?

Lawrence K. Ho / The Times

I've run out of steam.
I'm going to go to sleep and dream about the real Alaska I get to live in tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Hopefully I will not dream of Betty White.