In 1978, when Judi Barrett first published the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, climate change and national obesity were not marquee political issues. No one had heard of genetically modified foods and you could probably not have named the CEO of Microsoft, or any of its products.

Times have changed.

One of the remarkable things about the film version of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is that, in spite of the fact that it is so radical a departure from the book, both the film and the book work on their own. The novel — hardly older than my co-blogger — reads as a warm, timeless classic: maybe not chicken soup for the soul, but certainly a steaming cup of French onion. The movie plays as urgent political satire in which two of our greatest national anxieties collide with terrifying (that is to say: hilarious) results. Yes, both are excellent pieces of art, but that the motion picture also works as a children’s film gives it a leg up on the book, which is only a children’s book. Yes, the print version has some silly, subtle visual puns (a noodle on the noodle, indeed) while the movie opts for over-the-top Yankee humor (in the same scene the victim shrieks “I’ve got a macaroni on my head!”). But I enjoyed the film much better. FLDSMDFR, indeed.

Oh, yeah: nothing to report musically. I take it that the iCarly girl is sixteen now and handling the continued, awkward transition from child star to hottie quite … awkwardly, thank you very much. The latest installment of which is the harmless non-track It’s Raining Sunshine, which she contributed to the film.