Friday Bottom 3: Kevin Costner Movies

What do I say about Kevin Costner?  I don’t really like his acting, and I don’t really dislike his acting.  He’s just kind of there.  These are the movies that I don’t like starring Kevin Costner.

#3.  Waterworld – I saw this stinker at a drive through in Tennessee my second year in college.  The budget on this flick was so high and the expectations were not even approached, much less matched.  As an action film, it’s about average.  As an epic film it totally bombed.

#2. 3000 Miles to Graceland – This action film is supposed to have “style”.  Yea, it’s style if you consider garbage to be style.

#1.  Dances With Wolves – I really don’t know why I dislike this movie so much, but I do.  I suppose it could be the complete pile of unrealistic trash combined with political correctness.

Diagnostic Thoughts

-sarcasm: I love sitting in line at the doctor’s office, dentist, etc. /sarcasm

-Guess what I am doing as I type this blog out. 🙂

-Here’s the deal, two nights ago, I woke up around 3 am with a pulsating pain in my chest, like intense heart burn. I went to work the next day anyway, but the pain didn’t go down.

-I ended up leaving work early to see the doctor, waited there, explained all the symptoms. Apparently I do have heart burn, GERD to be exact.

-I am here at the diagnostic center to get an x-ray to see if I might have a hiatal hernia, possibly aggravated by the coughing from my cold earlier in the week.

-The doctor gave me some medicine and it has made a world of difference. It’s no fun dealing with intense pain that will not stop and give you a break. Sometimes it makes you feel like you will go out of your mind.

-This past Saturday, my mom and dad celebrated their fortieth anniversary. Marcela, Kelly, Trav, their kids, and I went to my mom and dad’s place for dinner. My dad snuck my mom out of the house while Marcela and Kelly decorated. Food was catered and we put out 40 red roses that my dad purchased. Kelly and Marcela waited on the table and served each course. For dessert, we had homemade coconut and pineapple ice cream served in coconut shells to commemorate my mom and dad’s engagement dinner at the Columbia in Ybor City where it was served in the same manner. The night was great fun!

-This time next week, I will be on the gun range for annual qualifications with my 9mm, AR 15, and all the other training requals. Most people hate it, but I actually enjoy it.

-The only thing I don’t like about it anymore is that they no longer let us train on our off days. That means I will lose quite a bit of pay since our training days are about 10 hours long instead of 12.

-Marcela and I watched October Sky a couple nights ago. It’s a great family film based on a true story about some kids from West Virginia who learn about the science of rocket engineering. The town and their family at first make fun of them and give them a hard time, but their teacher inspires them to work hard at what they are doing. I highly recommend this film!

Movie: August Rush

Last night, Marcela and I decided to watch a DVD while she prepared her lessons and graded her work. We wanted something a little less loud and hectic so we put The Hulk away and opted for August Rush instead. That was a great choice.

Without giving too much of the story away, let me give you some of the reasons I really loved this one.

1. It was almost completely family friendly. There was one fist fight portrayed and a little bit of violent behavior portrayed against children, a little boozing by a rock band, no foul language that I remember, no sexual content, and no drug content.

2. It portrayed a case manager played by Terence Howard as an extremely thoughtful individual. He reminded me very much of the people I worked with at CHARLEE and it reminded me of the work I did.

3. It’s a movie about music, REAL music, not some glamorized rock band music. There was a struggling rock band in the movie, but Keri Russel also plays the part of a concert cellist who studied at Juliard.

4. Freddie Highmore who stars as young Evan Taylor/August Rush really nailed the part of a musical child prodigy desperate to be with the parents he never knew.

The plot is pretty simple and beautiful. A teen cellist (Russel) becomes pregnant from an Irish rock artist played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The girl is tricked by her father into giving the boy up for adoption and told that the baby died. The baby lives in a group home/orphanage to the age of about 11, then runs away to find his parents despite the warnings of his case manager that his parents may be never found, may be dead, or may not be the best for him. But the boy is special! He hears music everywhere in everything he does. He learns an instrument (guitar, piano, and organ are shown, but it implies that he learns every instrument) in just minutes. He writes music as if he is writing words on a paper. He is taken in by a “street family” whose head, played by Robin Williams, seeks to exploit and control him. Then when he finally gets a break, he is recaptured by “The Wizard” (Williams). His mother learns that the boy is alive so she goes to the child protection agency and tries to locate the boy where she finds out he ran away. The rest of the story is so inspiring and beautiful to me, but I won’t spoil it any further.

If you like music, family, and movies with redeeming qualities and wholesome entertainment, I highly recommend this movie.

Saturday Top 5: Schwarzenegger Flicks

The governator has largely been a disappointment to many people who had high hopes for political change on the “left coast”. Perhaps he should stick to movies when you consider that other than a couple of stinkers he was anything but a disappointment. These are my top 5 Arnold Scwarzenegger movies.

Honorable Mention

Last Action Hero – This is a fun movie about movie heros and villains coming to life through a magic movie ticket. It’s a little bit cheesy, but which Arnold movie isn’t? It’s still one of my personal favorite Arnold films.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines – This 3rd installation of the Terminator series does not suffer from the problems many sequels have like repetition, too many twists, confused story lines, or stale rehashing. They really worked in a new story without ruining the previous lines, and there was plenty of new effects and action to hold your attention. Of all 3 Terminator films, this one had the best acting, detail in the story, and drama.

#5. Total Recall – Mars has been colonized, the brain has been tapped, and Arnold is in the middle of it all. This is great sci-fi action and a pretty cool story combined with classic Arnoldisms. “Consider this a divorce!”

#4. True Lies – A secret agent discovers a terrorist plot to blow up a nuke in the US. His wife thinks he’s a boring guy, when in reality he lives an exciting life as a spy. This movie has it all: great Arnold quotes, explosions, action, humor, and some Miami and FL Keys scenery. “Here’s your invitation.”

#3. Predator – An alien species comes to earth to hunt people for sport. They didn’t count on running into a one man wrecking crew. This was another awesome sci-fi film by Arnold. That’s what he does best!

#2. T2: Judgment Day – This was a great sequel in a great franchise, but the movie had great special effects advances and a story line that helps this movie rise above the typical sequel stigma. The action scenes were great and the visuals were tops in its day. It saw the return of the main character played by Arnold in one of the great switches ever from a notable villain in part 1 to a great hero in part 2. I loved this flick.

#1. The Terminator – To me, this was a no brainer. Not only was this the one that started one of the top movie franchises ever, it was certainly one of the great sci-fi films of all time. It was also recently selected along with 24 other movies including Sergeant York and Deliverance to be archived in the Library of Congress. The terminator cyborg is one of the worst villains of all time! “I’ll be back!”

Christmas Day Thoughts

-Today is my first full Christmas day on the job.
-Last year I worked Christmas Eve on night shift and spent Christmas day in a haze.
-Yesterday, Marcela and I spent the day celebrating Christmas with my wonderful parents.
-We enjoyed a day of food (brown sugar and honey glazed ham, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole), gift giving, games, and watching “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
-As you probably have read, “It’s a Wonderful Life” is my favorite Christmas movie, and to me is one of the greatest movies ever made.
-My mom and dad did not get each other any big Christmas gifts this year, well, not in the sense that you wrap a present and give it. They each agreed to skip that and give a child the gift of freedom. I could not be at church to see for my self, but Bill Wilson gathers resources to free children in the far east from the sex slafe. I believe the cost is around $300 dollars. What a precious gift.
-I just want to mention how much I love my mom and dad. My mom is the most giving, caring, and selfless person I know. My dad has always done everything he could to shield his children from tough times growing up. I never felt the strain of tight economic struggles, family disputes, or “hard time” because my dad made sure that while I was a child I saw the world through a child’s eyes. There were definitely hard times, I just never knew about them.
-Marcela hooked me up with a couple of great DVD’s: Iron Man and The Dark Knight.
-My mom and dad gave me tickets to Mannheim Steamroller, two pairs of flannel pants, a new thermos, a bag full of coffee goodies including a pound of my favorite St. Arbucks coffee (Italian).
-I came in to work today and I was listed on the roll as being on vacation today. I could have gone home, but it’s hard to pass up the 2 and 1/2 time.
-In a couple weeks I will have an opportunity to take the operations exam at work. If I pass, it could really change things for me.
-A friend from here at work will be studying with me so we can pass this thing.
-See you guys and gals at church Sunday. Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas! Remember the reason we celebrate. Jesus stepped into a robe of flesh, took on suffering and pain, and gave his life that we could be free. Presents, dinners, music, and movies are all fun. But Jesus is the “reason for the season”. Don’t forget it.

Saturday Top 5: Christmas Activities

For me, Christmas is a time to reflect on the previous year, to be with family, and to think about other people. It really is the most wonderful time of the year to me. I know that for many of you, it is the toughest time of the year because of hurt and loss. Just remember that the true meaning of Christmas is Jesus. He took on a robe of flesh and lived a life filled with temptations, rejection, and physical pain that we could live. These are the top 5 activities at Christmas time.

Honorable Mention
Listening to Music – Regardless of what you may think based on previous posts about bad Christmas songs, I enjoy Christmas music. I like everything from old tunes by Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole to soft Celtic Christmas to rockin Mannheim Steamroller and Trans Siberian Orchestra. I even like country Christmas songs.

#5. Christmas Dinner – We usually do a Thanksgiving redux at Christmas, but sometimes we have something different. The best part of Christmas dinner is just being with family at the table. My mom’s cornbread stuffing is pretty dern good too!

#4. Light Seeing – One of the Christmas traditions is to drive and look at Christmas lights. The Johnson family has several favorite spots that we have been visiting for years. We always take a thermos with spiced apple cider, hot chocolate, or some other tasty hot beverage. Unfortunately, getting cold weather at Christmas is like playing a slot machine. You pull the handle and just settle for whatever you get.

#3. Christmas Movies and TV Specials – 3 or 4 times a week for the past several weeks, Marcela and I will sit down to watch a Christmas movie. I don’t really prefer one style over another. I like the serious tear-jerkers, the silly love stories, the family specials, clay-mation or cartoon, and the goofy comedy Christmas movies. They’re all great!

#2. Christmas Plays – Dramatic Christmas presentations, Cantatas, and living Christmas tree type presentations are great fun. The plays by the kids are great as are the more professionally arranged church plays. A really well done Christmas play has a way of transporting you in mind to the birthplace and time of Jesus to view the representations of his humble birth, Mary’s obedience and faithfulness, and Joseph’s loyalty. I really love the nativity scenes best.

#1. Giving – I really do love to make Christmas a time to give both in service to others and in gift giving. It’s so neat to see the look on someone’s face when they receive something that they were not expecting.

Yule Thoughts

• Another Christmas movie is under the belt; this time it was Christmas Vacation.
• So far we have seen Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Home Alone, Elf, The Christmas Shoes, and Christmas Story.
• On our list of “to see” we have Scrooged, Scrooge (A Christmas Carol), It’s a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street.
• I like sappy family Christmas movies, clay-mation and cartoon Christmas movies, and I like goofy Christmas comedies.  I can’t really say that one is more preferred over the other.  It depends on my mood.
• I have a couple of things I need to pick up today or tomorrow for Christmas gifts, but thanks to my wife I don’t really have much to do.
• Marcela has purchased and wrapped nearly everyone’s gift already.
• We do not yet have a full sized Christmas tree.  We have a couple small ones, but not the big one.  I am not sure if we are going to at all.
• I am still enjoying Christmas music around the clock.  I don’t have the Pandora thing going yet, but I do have my Mannheim Steamroller, Trans Siberian Orchestra, and various other Christmas favorites of mine playing all the time.  I also have a radio set to 93.9 for 24/7 Christmas tunes.
• I also plan on making our annual trip to the Clot family Christmas house in Pinecrest.  We usually grab some spiced apple cider and walk around looking at the Christmas displays that this kind family puts up every year for the community to enjoy.
• We have been going to visit the Clot house for so many years that I cannot even remember how long it has been.  Sometime in the very early 90’s if I am not mistaken.
• Global warming is really kicking up some winter storms, record lows, and snow storms across the US.  One bonehead was quoted as saying that the rapid cooling shows just how much global warming is accelerating.  Huh?
• I guess my next thoughts will be on Christmas day.  So until then, Merry Christmas!

Wednesday Quotable

Todays quote is from the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”. When the Griswolds finally locate that perfect tree, in reflecting over the moment with his frozen crew, Clark makes this classic speech.

The most enjoying traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin. Thith tree is a thymbol of the thpirit of the Griswold family Chrithmath.

-Clark W. Griswold

Saturday’s Top 5: Christmas Movies

One of the fun parts of the Christmas season is watching the great Christmas movies. These are my favorite Christmas films. I am revising my previous list on Thursday’s thoughts.

Honorable Mention:

Scrooged – This is a modern and hilarious re telling of the Christmas Carol with my favorite comedic actor, Bill Murray. His snarky arrogance fits perfectly for the twist that is needed to portray Frank Cross (the Scrooge character) as an ambitious man who has lost touch with what is really important in life, love.

#5. Home Alone – This movie humorously pointed out the value of family, second chances, and need for paint cans and beebee guns to make booby traps for bad guys. How can you dislike this flick?

#4. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – There is a tradition in my maternal uncle’s family of watching this movie every Christmas. It really doesn’t get old. Poor Clark just wants to do something great for his family, but it always blows up in his face. This time it’s Christmas as he dreams of adding a pool to the house with his Christmas bonus money. Even though he has successfully created a non-nutritive cereal varnish that keeps the flakes crispy in milk for a longer time, he gets a “Jelly of the Month” subscription because the company’s cutting back.

#3. Scrooge aka A Christmas Carol – I like the 1951 Alastair Sim version best, but I also enjoy the remake with George C. Scott. The 1951 version was so great because the transformation of Ebeneezer Scrooge was so visibly evident when he changed following the visits by the ghosts.

#2. A Christmas Story – It’s a little dark and wierd, but funny and true. It captures the way kids are just so desperate for that one perfect gift that will make their life complete. I guess the reason I liked this movie so much was I enjoyed the quirkiness of the family and the real way that the story was conveyed. Ralphie just had to have that Red Rider BB gun. Better be careful, you’ll shoot your eye out.

#1. It’s a Wonderful Life – This is not only the best Christmas movie, but one of the greatest movies of all time. James Stewart was one of the great actors of all time and was on target as a desperate man truly unaware of his impact on those around him. This tale is moving and has a charm that is completely gone in modern movie making. I can relate a little to George Bailey’s feeling that everything is crashing in and being worth more gone than here. Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

Of course, this is the part where you try to convince me that Miracle of 34th Street, Jingle All the Way, or Elf should have made my list. As always, my list is correct and complete.

Fair Thoughts

• As of last Friday, it is Christmas season.  I always consider the Christmas season starting as soon as Thanksgiving day is over.
• Marcela has already packaged and wrapped presents and put up a couple Christmas trees.  Max even had a Santa hat on last night.  He didn’t like it very much.
• I finished the last of the leftover Thanksgiving turkey today.  I made turkey salad and in the words of cousin Eddy, “it was gooo-ooood.”
• We watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Raindeer clay-mation show two nights ago.  We plan on watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town this weekend.  Those are two of my favorite Christmas specials.
• My all time favorite Christmas movies are:

1. It’s a Wonderful Life
2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
3. A Christmas Story (what kid wouldn’t want a Red Rider BB Gun?)
4. Home Alone

• Sean Avery of the NHL’s Dallas Stars was suspended indefinitely for calling his ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert of 24 his “sloppy seconds” because she is now dating another NHL player.  Many people are crying “FREE SPEECH VIOLATION!”  For those who are constitutionally challenged, this is no 1st Amendment violation.
• While I do not agree with a harsh suspension due to the lack of even-handedness across the NHL to players who have said much worse, it is the discretion of the NHL to determine what language reflects poorly on them concerning his player conduct clause in his $15.5 million 4-year contract.  The Standard Player Contract he signed specifically states that his conduct reflects on the NHL on and off the rink and “must be held to the highest standard of honesty, morality, fair play, and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey.”
• My disagreement is not that the NHL does not have the right to do such, but that they are coming down hard on this idiot for insulting his Ex while they have done little more than a slap on the wrist for some players who have made racist comments, physically attacked players on the ice unprovoked, and have committed felonies off the rink.  The NHL got this one wrong, but so did Avery.  Maybe he will learn to keep his mouth shut.
• I got my Curve in the mail yesterday.  It is set up and running smoothly.  My old BlackBerry has been spotty, signal was degrading, camera stopped working, and battery was fading.  I had about 5 days left on my Warranty when I called to see about a new phone.  That saved me hundreds of dollars.
• Originally, I had the charcoal colored Curve, and they sent me the red Curve in the mail.  I like the red one better!
• Our fantasy football league is winding down with one more regular season game followed by the two game playoffs.  Right now, Mark Similey and I are the only two who have wrapped up our playoff spot.  Ritz, after starting 6-1 has lost 4 of his last 5 and really needs to win his last game to make the playoffs.  Jesse who also started 6-1 has lost 4 of his last 5 and needs to win this week to ensure that he makes the playoffs.
• This has been a super competitive league.  3 teams are stilly vying for 2 playoff spots in the final week.  No teams had clinched until the second to last week of the season.  I have never seen a league with so much parity.  I have also only been in a league one other time with Trav when he did not make the playoffs.  That was the year that the commish cheated and we both set the earth on fire before being kicked out of the league.
• Marcela and I purchased bicycles on Black Friday.  I got a cool little mountain bike for all the mountains here in FL, and Marcela got a multi-speed hybrid.
• I have to go, Max just did something bad!