Welcome to the World, Bryce

Another great day for the family--the birth of Bryce Garrison Loescher! He was born in Oregon at 11:43 AM PDT. His stats are: 8 lbs 1 oz, 20.5 inches. He looks about as goofy as every baby looks when first born, but I understand he is gorgeous in person.

Proof:

Not bad shape for having been through such a harrowing ordeal!

Pete

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Pete and Tracy are ecstatic, as you would expect...Tracy especially, since she didn't have to spend 4 days in labor!

The Trojan Skirmish

The Trojans--too much potential for a host of different jokes, but I won't stoop to that level. As Urban had said, the Men of Troy could have been a problem. Similar to Hawaii early last season, they had had good years and might have made it close, but for a lack of depth. And talent. And the Florida coaches' ability to adapt to a strange defense. It appears that Troy put in a brand new defense for this game, and it--and the downpour early--kept the Gators off balance in the first quarter. But these guys weren't good enough to keep it up and UF's 28 second quarter points let us all breathe easier.

The Gators margin of victory (we were #1 last week) fell to 7th highest, but was second only to BYU for teams playing BCS (formerly known as Division 1) teams. It appears I was mistaken when I said UF had the highest margin of victory last week--that honor (?) went to Air Force with a 72 point win over an FCS (formerly known as Division 2) team, and the winner over non-FCS teams in point spread was.... Tennessee. But c'mon . . . Western Kentucky? Division 1 by lack of quality control more than anything. Oh, well, wait 'til next week!

Now that the offense took off the handcuffs, Tim got to showcase his more customary game and made a strong argument that as Tim goes, so go the Gators. Four (or five) touchdown passes, one running TD. He could have had another easy one, but gave it to Rainey--what a leader! If the idiotic Heisman voters who put TT 3rd on their ballots had to judge the candidates by only what they did in the first half, he would have won it going away. If Tim stayed in the whole game, or even through 3 quarters, he would have rewritten all the record books already. His stats would be eye-popping. But Johnny B needs the playing time for next year, and the only numbers that really count are the final score in the national championship game.

Another great effort by the defense to keep the Trojans from scoring (well, that almost rises to the level of a joke). We can give up field goals all day long, but I wonder how many games into the season we'll go before the opps score a touchdown. A long way, we hope. It would be more than could be reasonably expected for to shut out the Vols. But it would be G-R-E-A-T.

Stars of the game:


Tebow (of course)



Rainey (some nifty running)



Brandon James caught a touchdown




Moody got some game time (and didn't fumble)

Cooper (I have to say he is winning my admiration, grudgingly after last year)




And, of course, the D. Still no touchdowns against any squad.




Let's all hope for a fantastic game next week . . . 63 to 0 would be about right. Just enough.

Oh, yeah. . . almost forgot. The Bumper Sticker of the Week is:

I never thought I would miss Nixon.

The Season Begins!

Well, actually, the preseason. The real football begins September 19th when the UT assholes come to town. That will be a good game. Meanwhile, Charleston Southern is the lamb of the moment. I hear a lot of crap about the quality of this opponent, but I also heard a rumor that the original victim was to be UCF, who bailed. When you have to find a date to the big dance at the last minute, you gotta take what you can get. Kinda like Orange and Blue, Part Deux. Except to get to hit other people besides your teammates.

There was also a piece on ESPN interviewing the coach of the Buccaneers, and it appeared that
they were extremely grateful to be able to play Florida. Half their team was from Florida and the opportunity to play in front of friends and family--not to menition 90,000+ screaming folks--was a tremendous windfall for them. The money didn't hurt either, but the coach made a good argument that the money didn't make the deal. I don't recall when I've ever seen any team rated as a 73 point underdog. Yikes! This was the first time since Ole Miss last year that the Gators didn't cover the spread. But why would they? If they had played their best brand of football, even with the second stringers, they could have hung 100 on that team. Seems that wouldn't have been the kindliest (or smartest) thing to do, so the Gators played the entire game with about 3 sets on offense and 3 on defense. No stunts, not much in the way of blitzes, if any. Meyer described it as "painfully vanilla." Maybe that will teach the oddsmakers a lesson.

Though the Gators looked a tad rusty at first, they had some super plays from all 3 squads (1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings--maybe even 4th). Call it a mercy killing.


Demps was outstanding, as usual, and it's fun to watch him burst out and blow by everybody.


Rainey--1 carry for 76 yards!--was phenomenal. Hard to believe that defensive back almost caught him.



And the Gatornaughts were supreme (again).








.... and Timmy, well, he was typically Timmy.







Keeping alive the streak of 29 consecutive games with a touchdown pass--the next closest quarterback has 18! And Tim only plays the first two quarters...can you imagine his stats if he played the entire game each week?
As he creeps up on the seemingly unreachable record by the great Herschel Walker of 49 rushing touchdowns, we might see more short yardage runs near the goal line by Tim Terrific.

One of his favorite targets? Aaron Hernandez, the best tight end in college football. Critical catches, TD running over people...what a football player.

The defense played well under the restrictions they had, and the third string (or 4th?) managed a goal line stand to preserve the touchdown shutout. It's hard to prevent field goals nowadays, but it's a matter of honor to keep the other team out of the end zone. It was tight in the closing minutes, but you know the rest of the defense appreciated it.


And so, having vanquished the less than mighty Charleston Southern Buccaneers, we have the first one in the books for 2009. GO GATORS!!!!!!!

Nintendo Rules!

Birthday came, free time went. After a quick head fake, thinking I might get Wii Sports Resort for my BD, I dove in and upgraded to the Motion Plus experience with the WSR. Though skeptical at first, I am now a convert. The package has about a dozen games, though at least half of them are pretty lame--c'mon, folks....bicycling? Kayaking? YGBSM. I do love--no, make that LOVE--several games and have gotten to Pro level in a few. From there it gets tough. It's hard to choose a favorite between Swordplay (stupid name: it should really be called Samurai) and Table Tennis. Another one coming on strong recently is the 3 on 3 pickup basketball. When Maitlyn's and Braiden's little Mii's (still bald) leap into the air for an outrageous slam dunk, it is truly a sight to behold. I should try to make a video of that.

The Air Sports aren't bad, though the sky diving is dumb. Bowling really sucks, as compared to regular Wii Sports. I don't know why, but the same motions in the original game now result in uncontrollable spin. Hard to like that one. Archery? Suppose there needs to something for the ladies. Frisbee...only the Frisbee golf is enjoyable, the other is too frustrating. Speaking of golf, there are new courses, and a whole new way to hit the ball...much more like real golf (perhaps too much). All in all, I'd give the 4 sports I like a 10+ but the package as a whole gets a 7 for having too high a percentage of lameness. Between this and the IJLego Adventures I got for my BD, my arm, wrist, and shoulder are experiencing serious pain. At least I'm exercising! Table Tennis, anyone?

As if that weren't enough, several weeks ago I broke down and got a new DS game called N+. It was known as N when I found it on albinoblacksheep.com, a well known game freeware site. Those initials stand for Ninja, which is what your stick figure character is supposed to be in the game. He (though no reason it couldn't be a she--impossible to tell from the graphics) jumps, runs, climbs and frequently gets blown to bits by booby traps or long falls from the top of the screen (also known as deceleration trauma). There are hundreds of levels to run through, many of which are maddeningly difficult. I am currently stuck on one that I fear is impossible, at least for someone of my advanced age and impaired dexterity. But the game can fairly be rated "A" for addictive.

Here is a sample of some levels to be clambered around in:

I can't understand why Nintendo stock has been so flat this year and Sony's has almost doubled. Seems backward. I guess the hard core gamers buy more than us geezers. And Nintendo doesn't have a movie studio to bail it out.

Drum roll please .... for the Bumper Sticker of the Week:

If you can't read this, thank the teachers' union.

It's the BIG one!

The BIG 6-0 has arrived, with a modicum of kicking and screaming. I really don't feel much different than I did yesterday, but I suppose that is how it works. I think it was less hectic being at the beach than in Chile.... and when you get old, less hectic is good.

I heard from all my kiddos and got gifts and cards, so I was a happy man. The girls put together a marvelous book of pictures from the trust celebration in Montana in Feb. I was surprised, but not overwhelmed--that's the kind of thing tech savvy children do nowadays. It wasn't until I looked at the book with its text that I was truly surprised. The written content surrounding the pictures was extremely well-written, witty and with a distinct style. That wouldn't be a surprise, but what I found ingenious was that it was taken from my own blog of the trip! You can't go wrong giving a man something in book form he wrote himself--who else could capture the memories better? Of course, at age 60, my memory isn't what it used to be.... It was very clever and much appreciated.

I also got lovely pictures of Pierce and a new addiction (thanks, Brant) in the form of an Indiana Jones LEGO Wii game. I wondered what I would do with those extra 90 hours of free time I don't have. But, someone has to do it.... Another book came in the mail from HLeer as well--a picture book that included items from the Germany trip in 2006. How long ago that seemed!

As to the day itself, it was quiet. Jane and I went out to dinner at North Beach Bistro with Johnny and Lynn and, in keeping with my new Senior Citizen status, we went early. (Truth be told, it was to get in during Happy Hour.) A couple of draft Newcastles and age was just a number--a blurry one. We then stopped by Blockbuster to rent a new movie for my Blu-Ray. Did I mention I bought myself one for my birthday? The selection was slim that night, and we ended up having to settle for National Treasure II (my choice, sadly--no one else to take the blame). While the movie was not up to our usual standards, the visual presentation was stunning; actually, the movie did teach me a valuable lesson: a stupid movie rendered beautifully in Blu-Ray is still a stupid movie. Between this and the latest Nick Cage BOMB (that would be Knowing), I have to add him to my "swear-off" list, right up there with Keanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper (think Speed--ooo, ooo, a twofer).

Remember the Hippie author who wrote Steal This Book? Someone should write "Steal This Movie" on every copy out there, followed by "...then throw it away." Save a fellow human being's brain today!

Movies: blogged the best, this is the rest

Drum roll please.... I'll keep this short and bitter. The good ones were discussed earlier--these are the leftovers, the also-rans, the detritus of my viewing experience. Don't enjoy.

The X-Files. The truth is out there--and the truth is that Mulder's time has come and gone. This is for hard core fans only, and then only as a form of closure. May the oddity that was X-Files rest in peace.

War, Inc. This was touted as a sequel to the very well done Gross Pointe Blank, in which John Cusack was an angst-ridden hit man hot for Minnie Driver. I'm sorry John needs the money so badly that he did this atrocity. Maybe we should take up a collection. Aside from sleepwalking through it, he didn't have much to work with. Without redeeming value of any kind.

Tropic Thunder. This is a tough one to pan, because it had its moments. (Best Line candidate: "What do you mean, you people?") Downey was really a hoot in this as an Australian actor playing a black soldier and Stiller was, well, himself. But worse, if that's possible. Extreme silliness, but when I see it on the program menu, I try to catch that line.

Transporter 3. We search for an answer to the age-old question of "when does a franchise run out of steam?" For this particular series it was after the second one (some would say the first one, but hey, benefit of the doubt--and that combination of garters and machine guns...). I like Jason, and this is a highly flexible concept, but the think tank for this one is decidedly empty. Avoid.

Indiana Jones and the Something of Something. Sad, sad, sad. Just looking at Harrison in this one I aged 10 years. Reminds me of Brett Favre. Harrison... no, don't put the hat on again...please... let us keep our illusions and memories. Having said that, I suspected as much before I got this one. Watching it was more about closure than enjoyment. It was a tolerable story, but little really new. Maybe the idea is to restart the franchise with Shia as the new hero. Won't be the same, will it, Roger?

Quantum of Solace. Speaking of which, I think the reviews on this one were right on. Just a pale sequel to the pretty good Casino Royale. An adventure with no substance to speak of. In fact, I can't remember a single thing about the story, plot, characters, etc. But, it's James Bond, for heaven's sake--what do you expect? Sorry, Danny, you're still not doing it for me. If only you'd dye your hair black...at least you're not the pussy that Brosnan and Moore were. God, if only Clive Owen would take it on....

Brideshead Revisited. Don't go there, even once. If I were a member of the British aristocracy, I would sue.

Australia. Falls in the category of listen to your family. Laura saw this and had a rant about how bad it was. But it was in Redbox, how bad could it be for $1? it was worse. Aha, it dawns on me, it isn't the money, it's the time wasted in front of it. (We even FF'd it and it was dreadful.) In fairness, it did take me back to my youth when they made silly bad movies with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in front of painted scenery with one or two cows. Wait, maybe this was an homage to those days.... If so, I'm glad they're gone. (And Marion is rolling over in his grave.)

That's it for now. But don't worry, I see far more movies than I need to and have lots of opinions about them, which I will gladly share with anyone who listens. Take, for example, my white-hot hatred for Cage's latest fiasco, Knowing. I returned the movie to Blockbuster and asked who I needed to talk to to get those 2 hours of my life back. The guy behind the desk said he liked the movie. And I said, well, then, you probably liked that Mel Gibson abomination Signs, too. Yep he did. I shrugged that off. Next day at Redbox, a lady ahead of me was pondering what to rent and I said, "whatever you do, don't get that stupid Nicholas Cage movie." You can guess this, I'm sure...she liked it. I give up.

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

What would Scooby Do?

Movies, Movies, Movies

I've been building up quite a collection of movie reviews—never seems to be enough time to rag on bad movies (or praise the few good ones). But before they all get away from me, here are some thoughts (IMHO) about some new and maybe not so new offerings from the Hollywood Dream Machine. These aren't in a specific order of viewing or release, just where they happen to land on the page as I dragged in the pictures. I hate to say it, but these are the best of the ones we've been watching.

X-Men: Wolverine Origins. I tend to follow movies pretty linearly, so if the director is trying to make sense, I can usually keep up. Sadly, if Gavin Hood thought he was making sense, he should give up whatever mind-altering substance that allowed him to entertain that idea. Don’t get me wrong—criticizing the plot, the pace, and the internal coherency of the film doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I didn’t love it, but it had enough special effects (do they still call it that now, since every movie that isn’t a chick flick seems to have them—why are they still special?) to satisfy the testosterone driven side of my brain. But it wasn’t art.

Star Trek. Unlike Wolverine, this was a good movie standing alone. The franchise had been laid pretty low by the Lawrence Luckinbill fiasco (Star Trek V in 1989), followed by the dead cat bounce of ST VI. Of course, we can’t count anything that has old baldy in it as being “true” Star Trek—that is just for the latecomers who are merely posers in the ST world. The universe that is (was) Star Trek needed a lift, a new direction. And with Mr. J. J. Abrams it got just that. You might remember JJ from his various hit TV series, specifically Felicity (forgettable), Alias (unforgettable), and the TV old cult and new quirk shows, Lost and Fringe. He used the same team as for this movie in resurrecting the Mission Impossible franchise (M:I 3 in 2006) after it went into cardiac arrest following a too large dose of Thandie Newton. The good news is JJ has new flicks for both series coming out in 2011. But I digress....

This movie is excellent. I say that not just as an original Star Trek fan or as a guy, but as a connoisseur of intelligent, well made movies. Intelligent? Has he lost his mind, you say? But yes, it was such a good movie, even Jane enjoyed it, and she is no SciFi buff to say the least. The movie started with a huge obstacle—prequels are tough anyway because you have to fit in so much stuff that came after, and the perceived freedom you have to “make up stuff” is bounded by the existing fans' own expectations of how it ought to be, as well as by facts and plotlines (including those irritating inconsistencies) from the original(s). Abrams and crew took a huge step sideways, and did it brilliantly. Hey, if we go back to the past and tell a story about Kirk and Spock etc., we have baggage….what if we imagine a visitor from the future who changes something so that the characters, though familiar, veer off into a slightly different story arc? So, like, some of the stuff is the same, some of it was never fleshed out anyway, but there is enough like what the original might have been (the personality development—more later on that) to keep everyone happy. (Except the die-hard Trekkies who are too brain-fried to realize that their complaints about Romulians showing up too soon in the arc have been mooted by the altered events—sheesh.) It was sheer genius. Then all they had to do was write it, cast it, shoot it, and convince everyone it wasn’t the same rehash as the other ones.

The plot is a tad hard to follow but only where the time warp thing intersects with it; temporarily suspending mental discomfort is rewarded in the end as Eric Bana—far too villainous to be a simple mining ship captain—explains it all in the end. The effects are, of course, excellent. I can’t wait to get this on BluRay on my big TV. But the strength of the movie is in the personality development (including the offhanded introduction) of the regulars in their younger versions. Chris Pine was an excellent choice for Kirk, and Spock and Scotty were also good selections (but not as good). He more than anyone, though to a great extent all the main characters, had a sense of the mannerisms, inflection, and personalities of their older alter egos. There were times I could actually see Shatner on screen as young Kirk moved or spoke. Spooky. (or is that Spocky?)

I recommend the movie highly, as you may have guessed. If I had quibbles (vs. tribbles) it would be that an old wrinkled Nimoy got way too much screen time—maybe they needed to wring out every last dollar they paid him to come back—and the relationship between young Spock and Uhuru was completely fabricated and added nothing but static to the story. But those complaints are swallowed up by the overall beauty of the film as a whole. Go, see, enjoy.

P.S. Some have questioned why Bill Shatner wasn’t included in the project, but I disagree that he would have helped; I can’t see how he would have done anything but focus the attention on himself and distract the flow. He always will be Kirk, but this was not about the old days, it was all new. Even Nimoy wasn’t (or shouldn’t have been) a major part of the story, but instead a means to move it along and flesh out the plot.

P. P. S. The similarity of one plot contrivance with one of JJ's TV series was pointed out to me (I had been only subconsciously aware of it, if at all). We should look to make sure none of the starships in the movie were named USS Rambaldi. (thank you, Andrea)

Wall-E. How did this piece of crap get so much hype? OK, Best Animation, I can give you that (though that should be a technological award, it sure didn't deserve it for story--that should go to Bolt, see below). I saw a lot of previews of Wall-E rolling around on earth, gathering and crushing stuff, but the setup for that was nonexistent. The actual movie, however, is about 20% on earth and 80% rolling around on a spaceship full of fat cartoon people. The only thing more disgusting than cartoon characters who are morbidly obese is real people who are morbidly obese. Ugh! Bad plot, uninteresting characters, and tragic overhype. But the animation was good.

RocknRolla. As a Guy Ritchie fan—I watch LSATSB and Snatch whenever I channel surf by them—I was disappointed by this one. It just wasn’t good. And it didn’t have the fully intertwined plot that GR is known for. I was hoping it would redeem him from his bizarre and mind warping previous offering of Revolver, with his old standby Jason Statham (after that one, I’m not surprised Jason wasn’t in this flick, but I hope Gerard Butler’s career can survive it).

The Reader. Ah, the Academy. They finally got one right. An excellent, though sometimes depressing, film. You wouldn’t think movies about the Holocaust would still be made in Hollywood (the liberals wouldn’t want to upset our Muslim friends who obsessively contend it never happened), but this one says more about the German post-war mentality (and by extension, applies to all of us) than anything I have seen. It isn’t Schindler’s List, but it wasn’t intended to be. Kate Winslet was stunning and well deserved the Oscar® for her performance. She was undressed a lot, but it seemed natural as the movie went. (In that respect it reminded me of Sirens, which surprisingly shows us how a clump of beautiful naked women can become ordinary after only a short while.) Well worth the time to watch it. Unless you're Muslim.

The Tale of Despereaux. Yawn.... I was drawn (no pun intended) to this one because of the pictures of the mouse in the promos and because Ratatouille
was pretty good (even though French). The mouse was so cute, the story sounded like a heartwarming underdog tale...in short it had all the elements for a good marketing campaign. Inane, predictable, and way too long. Not even sure kids would like it, though the artwork might hold their interest.

Sukiyaki Western Django. Wow, this one looked like it had it all--Tarrantino, Kung Fu with a Western theme, hot Asian chicks...what more could you ask for? How about a clue.... It earned its way into my top 25 worst movies of all time. Rated R? That was for Run...away from this movie immediately. Should have been X, for Xtremely awful. Nuff said.

Bolt. A surprisingly entertaining piece of work. We rented it with young ones, and I suspect I enjoyed it as much as they did. My expectations were low and, of course, Travolta’s voice was seriously off-putting. Tuning that out, the movie had well developed, likable characters, an excellent plot (dog trying to get home from far away—how many times has that worked?), and the details integrated nicely. Clever twists, witty repartee, character growth, and 2 hanky ending made it special in the vapid, sugary wasteland that is most cartoons. I recommend it, even if you have to wait until the kids are around so no one will catch you watching it by yourself. Unless you can get Toy Story 2, which has all of these characteristics AND the funniest ending I have ever seen for a cartoon--outtakes. What a concept.

Wanted. This one was a mixed bag. I was really, really looking forward to it. It had Angelina (that would be enough usually) and, for you girls, James McAvoy (Last King of Scotland), and was about a society of assassins. What’s not to like? I wonder if I wasn’t a ninja in a previous life, because I eat that stuff up. Ah, well. The promos for this movie were stunning...I was salivating before I could get it out of the box. And on balance, I thought it was very good—a bit farfetched and silly in quite a few places, but it kept moving apace—but I doubt it could ever have lived up to the expectations generated for it. It has some violence (hey, we all know that’s simulated…not as if it’s a torture flick like Saw) and you have to suspend disbelief pretty sternly, but it’s definitely worth watching if you like that kind of stuff. A chick flick it isn’t, even with Jimmy’s charm.

Burn After Reading. This is one of those movies that Grossi would have called “cute.” It was certainly silly, but that’s how the Coen Brothers must have conceived it. Brad Pitt does an excellent job portraying a dim-witted gym rat (though because it’s him, you know he’s just acting—the curse of the supercelebrity) and Frances McDormand is equally good as a loony, scheming co-worker. Malkovich and Clooney add to the insanity, though they are pretty much over-the-top most of the film (esp. George). The best of the bunch, in his typically understated way, is Richard Jenkins (the dead father of Six Feet Under). If you’re in the mood for a silly flick with some top stars having fun with each other, pop some corn and sit back.

Body of Lies. Very interesting film. I think this is the best work Leo has done since Blood Diamond. And Russell Crowe is excellent as well—I actually bought into his southern accent and sleazy persona. The two work well together so the dialogue was a treat. What is the most intriguing part of this movie is how it got made. I suspect the funding came from moderate elements in the Middle East, because it certainly cast them in a good light. The honest people who are earnestly trying to keep the lid on the crazies come out looking pretty good. The crazies aren’t demonized (as in Nighthawks, a Sly Stallone potboiler, or True Lies, an outstanding flick) but they are shown to be human, albeit hypocrites and cowards—not something the current crop of man-shaped towers of excrement inhabiting Hollywood are known for. The ending was satisfying, and Crowe’s character has a line that is in the running for best line of the year (see also, Tropic Thunder, next blog). I recommend it (you can close you eyes during the very short squeamish parts).

Appaloosa. Funny, I thought this movie had something to do with a horse. Didn't.
It was the name of the town--go figure. Still, it was a modern rendering of an oldstyle western, more authentic than either of the syrupy Wyatt Earp movies in the early 90's. It's sad that Westerns don't often live up to what they used to be; in fact, people say Unforgiven was the last best western. It’s a special category for sure, and one that is frequently exploited to bad ends. (See discussion of Sukiyaki WD above.) In the 50's and 60's the Western mythos represented the last great sense of adventure and independence. We had won the Great War, muddled through a smaller one, just getting into another one, and were adrift over our place in the world, uncertain what it was all about (Alfie). All that got lost in the pre- and post-Woodstock era, and it's no coincidence that the last best Western was released in 1992, as we were careening to the left towards dependency and government control instead of independence and self-reliance. But...I digress. There are some unsatisfying parts of this film that roll around in my head, but I can't verbalize what they are. Maybe that's what it was really like after all--just life.

Ed Harris is usually pretty understated and was somewhat in this film as well. But compared to Viggo Mortensen’s character, he was a regular Robin Williams. Jeremy Irons was also good as the villain. The plot was well crafted and the movie itself moved along nicely. It did seem that it took a dip near the end and stretched a bit, but it muddled through. We enjoyed it, though it’s not everyone’s teacup.

Whew, that's about it for today. I have some mediocre ones left and some real stinkers. Stay tuned... til next time.

And, what would a blog be without the Bumper Sticker of the Week...

Adjure obfuscation.

World of Goo...Beware all ye....

After the third recommendation for this game, I looked it up on the web and found universally positive comments. So, for $15, what the hell....

Big mistake (sort of)....

One of the reasons I don't have a PS3 is that I can't be trusted to not play it 24/7. The Nintendo DS is merely an aperitif for my addiction, and can be excused on the grounds it exercises the brain. [The brain really isn't a muscle, so those "exercise" metaphors don't quite get there, but such repetition and recollection do manage to dig grooves into the mushy stuff, so it functions much the same.] The Wii....that was a stretch in my conviction. But, hey, it wasn't like it was a REAL video game, now. Just a silly looking thing, another form of exercise really. And the tennis and baseball did actually leave us with sore muscles for a while. But then came the lager and stout of Lego Star Wars and Wii Ski...the latter more justifiable than the former. I told myself it was just the best games I was interested in, and ones that gave back at the same time were that much better. But now I've hit the bottle big time with this little gem. Fortunately it is a short game--unlike the Star Wars behemoth--and it will be done soon. I concur with all the good things said about this game, and will recommend it highly for anyone already addicted.

You go, goo....

Next Snow Event

Am still considering a trip to Chile in August.... I have been excited about the possibility for quite a while. My last trip before hitting 60--and to a virgin locale. Even got My Spanish Coach for the DS, to assist me in the goal of becoming quasi-lingual. I checked into places to go and found a few, one that looked very interesting and not too expensive (as they go).




Here is Valle Nevado...awesome... The landscape is described as "lunar."










This is Portillo, a famous area down there






And Termas de Chillan...what's not to like about this?
Notice the fruit....

The down side popped up looking at flights to Santiago. About $800 from Tampa (going through Atlanta) and a 12 hour trip... and that's the good one. Haven't ruled it out yet, but am reeling, and may fall back to a possible Tampa Bay Ski Club excursion planned for September, if it's still available. The truth is, I should make a decision pretty quick while I still have options. The initial plan was for a stag trip for anyone interested, but that is sort of flexible at this point (especially since at least two of my daughters speak Spanish well). We shall see....

Adios,

The Redbox

We’ve been watching a lot of movies lately. This happened because of two factors:
It stops my hands from shaking while I wait for football season, and we discovered Redbox. The latter is a DVD vending machine distributed around town that dispenses movies for $1 a night. I first found it out west (Hey, Brant…remember Sleuth?), but it has now migrated to the East Coast and can be found in places like Wal-Mart, Walgreens, McDonalds, etc. I was worried it might put Blockbuster out of business—don’t we all like to have options?—but it looks like that fear was premature. We had a good string of 3 straight movies, but then reality hit. One night the local box was out of order; the next time, all the good movies were checked out; then I ran into a line…the bloom has faded from the rose. And it may just be a $1 per day, but that doesn’t count the time wasted standing at the box looking for a movie that isn’t in, or waiting in line at 8:55 to return one, etc. And I value my time more than that, which is why I’ll probably stay with the Blockbuster Total Access service (mail to/from). Plus, I can keep them as long as I want…and it prevents me from spending too much time watching movies. So, the newness of Redbox did prompt us to see some new stuff, like these:

SEVEN POUNDS-- an odd movie. I tend to gauge how I feel after I watch a movie by how much I was disappointed by it, or surprised by it. It would hard to be disappointed by this one because I didn’t know what to expect, and I was most likely surprised by it, but on the whole it was oddly unsatisfying. It had the same curious feel of Memento—it looks interesting and you know something is going on, but you’re not sure what. It was oddly moving (I cried, yes I admit it, but not sobs) because Will Smith was such a good guy in it. Very cathartic. Ultimately, I would recommend it as art, but not if you’re looking for something upbeat.

THE WRESTLER—this one was a disappointment after all the hype Mickey Rourke got for his performance. The movie was entertaining, in an art-house sort of way, and showed the real world of professional wrestling. But the characters weren’t close to real, nor sympathetic. Mickey’s character was just plain pathetic. The problem I have with his performance, though it was vastly different than the “old” Mickey Rourke of Wild Orchid or Body Heat, or Angel Heart, the character was too close to who he is now to be much of a stretch for him. Not his fault, really, but great acting? Not so much.

CHANGELING—this one reminded me very much of a cross between Gone Baby Gone and L.A. Confidential. Angelina gets to go prequel, having a spin in an asylum before being Interrupted. It stretched credibility to imagine the cops being such bad guys (and idiots) back then, but, hey, I wasn’t there to know, and power corrupts (so they say). Well acted, well directed…a mildly satisfying film, but there are better ways to spend 141 minutes.

TAKEN—despite the media opinions of this film, I thoroughly enjoyed it. A Bourne picture that you can watch without getting seasick! Though the end result might be predictable (why would Hollywood make such a movie and have the hero fail to get his daughter back? Unthinkable) it’s the journey not the destination that counts. It’s a thriller regardless. Some might argue about the amount of suspension of disbelief required for Liam Neeson to be such a one-man wrecking crew, but they forget the stakes. He is going to get his daughter, and anyone who stands in his way is unimportant (and frequently dead). We have probably seen too much Hollywood violence in which the spy/hero merely incapacitates the villains or simply knock someone out. Political correctness…ha! In a life or death situation, I doubt it matters to you if the other guy is crippled for life or dead, so the punishment inflicted can be far more than expected. Liam had the element of surprise and nothing to lose. It is by nature a relatively violent (also referred to as “action-packed”) film that falls down in the personal development moments, but if you want that, there’s Schlinder’s List.

BENJAMIN BUTTON—I was pleasantly surprised by this one, as the hype seemed to exceed the ability to deliver. This is derived from an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story about a man who is born old and "ages backwards," becoming younger as time goes by. (Did FSF know any women who weren't named Daisy?) Aside from the technology to do the aging, which was prodigious and subtle at the same time, the performances of the whole cast were excellent. It was a love story, a coming of age story, a tragedy, all rolled into one; I can see how it wouldn’t have galvanized enough of the Academy to get the BP Oscar (I’m not saying it deserved it) but I would recommend it despite it quirkiness.

IN THE ELECTRIC MIST (with the Confederate Dead)—I can certainly see why they dropped the subtitle from the book that was the source of this movie. The title is odd enough to begin with, but that would have thrown it over the edge. And there are, in fact, dead confederates in the movie. Tommy Lee Jones has several dream/hallucination sequences in which a Confederate General John Bell Hood (played with ethereal dignity and wisdom by Levon Helm). The movie is a cop show whodunit more worthy of an hour on a weeknight than a full movie length, but it has TLJ back in the bayou doing a toned down, laid back Marshall Sam Gerard. John Goodman is miscast as a gumbo godfather, and a subplot involving a movie being made in the swamp is a bit of a distraction. It all works out in the end, as you would expect; I can’t say I would recommend running out and renting this, but if it comes on your cable and you don’t have other plans for about 2 hours, it’s worth a look.

Well, that’s the Redbox saga (so far). Having gotten into this, and waiting for Gators to start playing football, I may explore some of the Blockbuster selections in recent months. Also went to two (count ‘em, 2) movies in real theaters. I might do those next simply because they’re more current and topical. The good news is that if you don’t care about my opinion of these films, you can close your browser and go do something productive.

But then, you'd miss the ....(wait for it....) Bumper Sticker of the Month:

Too much Pluribus, not enough Unum.