Two movies, two disappointments-

The BSU and I have been to 2 movies over the past 2 weeks, 2 movies that are nominated for Academy Awards, including best picture and I can tell you I haven't been more disappointed by 2 movies in a long time. Last weekend we saw Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, this weekend it was Warhorse. Both of these movies are (obviously) intended to be tear jerkers yet I found both of them to be emotionally flat- ran-over, squashed armadillo flat! Really, I pretty much hated both of them!

EL&IC was full of logic holes and reality flaws and the main character, the little boy who is perhaps dealing with Asbergers Sydrome just doesn't make me believe him. I thought it was predictable and lame.

Warhorse this weekend was equally bad. Sure, it's supposed to be a tearjerker and a big tale of a boy and his horse, bonding as a colt and a child, being lost to each other due to a World War and finding each other in the darkness of of trench warfare and chemical gassing. There were some scenes of trench fighting and soldiers dieing but it just didn't have any emotion in it. At least for me it didn't. This story might have been a very good read in a book where one's mind could fill in the emotion and substance but as a movie I did not like it.

Next week I get to pick the movie!

Worst movie ever!

Since the BSU is still away and I was pretty certain she wouldn't like it, I went to see Your Highness tonight. I'm not going to link to it because it's not worth it. If you're 20, maybe 25, this money might be funny and a good tale. If you are older than that, you're probably not going to love it.

I watched it and tried to enjoy the tale of knights on a quest to save the betrothed of one of the 2 brothers, one knight strong and honorable, the other a bumbler and layabout but I just didn't like it. It's vulgar and rude. It has pretty women in it- that's the only positive but the rest of the movie is trash1

Sunday evening week in review-

I used to squeeze in a post most every Sunday evening but that habit slipped off some time back- completely unremarked by the (very) few of you that still stop by but I'd thought I might try to get back into the habit. This last week has been full and busy and heartbreaking, so it's only fair that I share some of it with you.

You already might have seen that we took our Very Elderly Visla to the vet for her very last appointment. That was a heartbreaker for everyone concerned but it really was time. We are missing her around here very much. Eating the last bite of my peanut butter toast or lunch snadwich seems completely foreign to me as she has shared those bites these many years. The picture down below actually shows Sandy enjoying her last bite of peanut butter toast before leaving for the vet's office, that's why her lips are curled and her teeth are showing, not because she was snarling as it appears.

I stayed busy job hunting this week. The job interview for the hardware store job seemed to go well but they haven't called and asked me to start. The store is scheduled to open on April 11 so if they are going to call, I suppose it will be soon. I applied for a job as a maintenance manager for some type of equipment fleet. That should be a shoe-in as I was an aircraft maintenance manager for 18 years while in the service! I even took the time to write a new resume that focused on my experience managing aircraft fleet maintenance requirements. But again, I haven't heard anything back from that action; maybe next week.

I applied for a handful of jobs with the giant orange box store so maybe I'll land a job that requires me to wear an orange apron everyday. We'll see.

I actually may have scored a job as a Program Manager but it is contract work similar to what I've done for 10 years and the contract won't be issued until July. If the company that contacted me wins the contract, I'll be fully employed in August but that sure is a very long way away.

The BSU and I went out to the movies Friday night and saw Lincoln Lawyer which although it's no Oscar candidate, it is a decent and interesting tale. Matthew McConaughey plays an LA defense lawyer that prefers operating from the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car who runs into a big-time case that really puts all his skills to task. It isn't too long before he realizes that his client is not only probably guilty of the current crime he is accused of but is without doubt guilty of killing a woman that another client went to jail for all the while claiming his innocence. But in spite of threats to his family and the murder of his good friend and investigator, he manages to earn an aquittal for his client and the fat payday that was agreed upon while getting justice done on all coounts. It was definitely a worthwhile movie for the cost of the tickets and popcorn so go see it if you're so inclined.

Oh yeah, we got out taxes done... Being unemployed and having to take money out of a couple retirement accounts has not done me any favors with the IRS and the state. Not sure at all how I'm going to get everything paid that needs paid but it sure is going to keep me eating cheap for a significant period of time!

Next week- a coule days of driving cars, taking the BSU to the airport for another trip to Oregon, a Dr.'s appointment, and I have to get the Lincoln inspected so I can buy registration for the next year. The Lincoln needs new air springs up front, (and maybe more suspension parts) so getting it passed might be a trick. And perhaps I'll get fishing line wet for the first time this year with Jim & Kenny but it has to quit snowing first!

Gnomeo and Juliet- great movie fun!

Tonight the BSU felt well enough to go out for a movie and I got to pick. So I chose Gnomeo and Juliet. As it should be perfectly obvious, this is Will Shakespear's most famous tale of two feuding families and two young lovers caught in the battleground between their families. But this time the families are British garden gnomes who have a pretty active life whenever the humans- who also seem to hate each other, are away from home. There is a complete cast of weirdos- a gnome dancing in a thong swimsuit, a Dolly Parton gnome and a best girlfriend water spurting frog. There are lawnmower races in the alley, cheating, revenge and young love, coming to fruition under the tutelage of a greatful flamingo who's been missing one of his wire legs and trapped in a shed for years. The gnome characters all make ceramic clanking sounds as they move and freeze solid whenever the humans arrive. There's lots of jokes and lines related to other movies- "I wish I could quit you," and the soundtrack is all Elton John, mostly classic songs and a couple written for the movie.

It was great fun and a lot of laughs. The 3D effects were pleasant and the music terrific. I give it 2 thumbs up as does the BSU. Take your kids or grandkids and go have a great time.

And I really want a Terraferminator!

Another movie you might want to skip-

The BSU talked me into seeing Expecting Mary on Friday evening. The spousal unit prefers to NOT know anything about a movie before attending but apparently she saw a tv advert for this one and since it was her turn to choose the movie, this is the one we paid to see.

If you thought Napoleon Dynamite or Juno were hilarious and significant movies, you might also like Expecting Mary. Otherwise, you might give this one a miss even though it is star studded with Linda Gray, Cloris Leachman, Cybil Sheppard, Fred Willard and Gene Simmons. (Wait, Fred Willard and Gene Simmons are stars?) It is a strange story of a 16 year old runaway, 8 month pregnant girl- Mary meeting a strange trailer court full of odd characters and finding a new home. The scene of her delivering her baby on top of hay bales in front of a nativity scene in the front yard of a church on Christmas Eve surrounded by her new, weird friends and rich, flew in from New York parents is so over the top that it is just hard to imagine. But it all turns out well in the end and love is spread all around with goodwill for all.

But it is weird!

No posting? Been busy I guess-

So what have I been doing? Not blogging obviously. I've been to the International Sportsmans Show with Kenny and Jim- we went on Thursday- before the weekend crowds arrived. I guess that's one nice thing about not working, I can go do things during the week that I couldn't if I had a job. But anyway, we had a really nice time checking out the exhibits, spending our money with Rocky Mountain Tackle, and ran into the guy we met last summer while we were staying at the Vacation Inn over at Flaming Gorge. It was a really nice day out.

I'm still working on Fish Slayer. Today I finally pulled out 1/2 of the floor and installed the first seat post base and got the floor back in and screwed down. Tomorrow I'll get the other side and then I can begin putting back in all the panels I've pulled out to recover. I put new black vinyl on both consoles, reinstalled the formerly missing horn, dropped the steering wheel key under the floor- I guess I'll get it back tomorrow, and fixed the light on the tachometer already. So reinstalling the trim boards is next and then the downriggers can be installed- the 2nd one arrived today- thanks Ebay! and then the boat will be ready for fishing. I'm getting pretty excited about getting on the lake!

What else... the BSU and I have been to the movies a couple times recently. She's Out of My League is a raunchy, funny romp that we both really liked. It's a "timid, nerdy boy meets hot, successful girl" love story and if you liked There's Something About Mary you'll probably get a kick out of this movie.

We also saw Bounty Hunter that stars Jenifer Anniston and Gerard Butler, he's a former cop turned bounty hunter, she's a succesful newspaper reporter on the trail of a story nobody else suspects and a bail jumper due to a missed court date. And they are both ex's, formerly married to each other and now distractedly divorced and still angry at each other. But she has a warrant out for her arrest and he is promised 5000 bucks for bringing her in and they spend the weekend handcuffed together, checking into the honeymoon bed & breakfast, running from bookie money collectors and generally misbehaving. If there were an Academy Award for the best boobs on display for the greatest portion of a movie, Bounty Hunter would be a contender because Jen's rack is generally on display for the entire time except for the time Gerard has her slung over her shoulder and her shapely butt is on display! Of course they end up falling back in love and solving the murder mystery by the time the weekend is over. We both liked this one- me particularly because of the previously mentioned cleavage bounty but it's fast paced and fun.

One thing did pissmeoff about this movie and it is high time Hollywood get this message- Get your boogerhook off the bang switch! Butler's character Milo has his index finger jammed into the trigger guard of his handgun every time, from the minute he pulls it out from wherever he's hiding it! I found this dumbass behavior more than annoying and it is time for it to stop!

I see you-

Since DBD is showing an Avatar related strip this morning, it's only fair to report that the BSU and I went to see the movie in 3D this week. I must tell you right up front that this was a much better movie than I ever expected. Sure, I've read most of the reviews and yes, the story is derivative of several other stories and yes, there are some funny riffs on other movies that feel like inside jokes but the story is fun enough and the special effects are terrific- magical even.

The special effects have probably gotten the most press and rightly so because they are beautiful, surprising and all-encompassing. I understand that the real way to see the movie is in IMAX and I'd probably even pay to see it again in the big format. But if you do go see the movie, don't cheap out and not see it in 3D because the effects are really remarkable and worth the extra cost. There are so many amazing things happening in the forest and bizarre creatures that appear that it is a constant surprise to the viewer as the movie unfolds.

The story is pretty simple and certainly does draw upon Dances With Wolves or Pocahontas but it's a story of conflict and love and connection with something bigger than one's self so some shared concepts have to be expected.

I really loved all the high-tech equipment on display- weird helicopters with counter-rotating bladed inside tiltable rings and transparent, touch screen portable or moveable display cards and screens and other neat imaginary technology that probably isn't that far removed from our future.

So it's worth it. Two thumbs up from both of us here at Wasted Electrons World Headquarters!

The Book of Eli-a review

Wow! What a movie! Last night the BSU and I went to see The Book of Eli starring Denzel Washington. The story is superficially about 1 man- Eli, on a post-apocolytic, self-imposed mission walking through a destroyed America. We don't learn much about why the country has broken down so dreadfully but Eli seems to have a secret in his backpack that he will protect to the death. And he gets numerous opportunities to protect his secret from assorted miscreants with his trusty machete, his wits and other lethal tools. Eli runs into Carlisle, a would-be town builder with thugs and guns and control over a water supply. Carlisle is searching for a book- one particular book and it turns out to be the book that Eli has in his backpack.

This movie is gritty, violent and thought provoking all at the same time. I walked out with as many questions as there were answers provided by the story. Both the spouse and I really liked it though she thought the tale played out too slowly and said she had to force herself to sit back and see where the story was going to go. I found 1 significant storyline flaw near the end of the movie but it didn't affect the overall tale. Overall, Denzel does a terrific job in his part and the movie gets 2 thumbs up from this household.

The Wizard of Oz- On the Big Screen!

Tuesday night I'm going to do something I have never done before- I'm packing up the BSU and we are going to see The Wizard of Oz on the big screen at our local cineplex. The film is 70 years old this year and I can't remember the last time I watched it on tv but it's been a couple of decades at least since I last watched it.

Kenny is bringing his lovely spouse and I've invited another couple from church to attend the event with us too. I can't convince Kenny that the best way to attend this movie is in costume- he says he is not going to do it, even though I suggested that he would make a terrific cowardly lion.

But there's still time for you to make your plans to see it Tuesday night too so check out the link and see where it might be showing in your neighborhood. I'll bet you've never seen this classic in a theater and now is your chance so make some plans, invite your friends, hire a babysitter, rent costumes and head over to the mall to share this special event.

It should be a really fun evening!

Pirate Radio-

Rock & roll, baby! We went to see this terrific movie tonight and I have to tell you that it is a hoot! The story is about a rock and roll radio station that broadcast from international waters outside of Great Britain during the 60s- the heyday for British rock and pop music. The government owned the legal airwaves and didn't like the popular music and so a motley bunch of DJs set up shop on a ratty freighter and piped in the music outside of the government's control.

Mayhem ensues.

The story is profane and funny. The characters are flawed but earnest and the soundtrack is awesome- remember, this story takes place in 1966 so the music is chock full of great pop and rock hits from the time. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays the part of the only Yank on board and he bumps egos with the Brit superstar DJ until they play a scary game of chicken that leads to shared injuries and respect.

We both loved this movie. If you grew up with rock and roll during the 60s, you may get a real kick out of this show just like we did.

Worst movie EVER!

Horrible. Incomprehensible. Incoherent. So full of flawed logic and misteps that it falls all over itself. I hated it.

What movie? The Time Traveler's Wife. The BSU talked me into seeing it Friday night after a lengthy break from our usual cineplex dates and I, being in an agreeable mood, agreed to see what I knew was going to be a chick-flick of huge proportion. And it is that- a chick-flick beyond any doubt. Hell, I think there was only 3 men in the entire theater when we saw it.

But it wasn't just a romantic tear jerker of a movie. It was an exploded head of rotted cabbage mess of a movie! Obviously with a title that mentions time traveling, you could expect certain liberties to be taken with reality but this story is all over the place. The traveler and husband, Henry, (Eric Bana) trips forward and back in time, because of his genes and with no control over when or where he goes yet he can travel to the same place repeatedly somehow and he can be gone for just seconds or weeks without any control. When he travels to the future, he returns older than he was when he left, when he goes to the past, he returns younger and still fertile after having a vasectomy in current time. And no matter how young or old he is when he turns up, he always needs a shave! Somehow on his wedding day he vanishes for just a couple minutes leaving his best man to panic yet after the wedding he disappears from before Christmas to after New Years. He also never knows the date or even the year that he returns to yet somehow he had the forethought while traveling into the future to pick up a newspaper and memorize the week's winning lottery numbers and he gets back home just in time to buy his wife the winning ticket...

The wife- Clare is played by Rachel McAdams and she is a pretty woman but she is desperately in need of a couple cheezeburgers and a milkshake because she is way to skinny for my tastes. In one scene she gets out of bed with her entire back exposed and you can not only see every vertabrae in her back but all her ribs too! She looked like a nazi prison camp survivor from the back!

So- guys, if your significant other says she wants to see this movie- get her to call a girlfriend to go see it with her. They will cry together and love it. Do whatever you can to avoid seeing this movie though because it will just make anybody with a normal testoerone level cringe. Really. It's that bad.

Going to the movies- by train!

Saturday morning we had a visitor, Weston, the guy who asked us to watch his dog Sandy six years ago, came back to town for a couple days. And like he always does, he called and asked to visit Sandy. So he did come over, with a very pretty girlfriend and visited with Sandy for a little while even though Sandy doesn't seem to remember him. She was coaxed into being friendly with some toast and they had a nice visit. I did catch a picture of the two of them before Weston had to go.

Later the BSU wanted to have lunch at Union Grill, which is where we went, and had a very fine lunch. We knew we wanted to go into Salt Lake City to see The Reader and, since we were already at the train station, we decided to take the train- Front Runner and go into the big city.

This was our first trip on Front Runner and it turned out to be a great trip. It felt like an adventure sitting up high on the second seating level and watching our community from a vantage point we've never seen before. Once in Salt Lake, we walked across the platform, boarded a Trax, rode it down to 3300 south and then walked the 3 blocks to the theater. It worked out perfectly and the return trip was just as painless. It was more expensive than driving but it was fun. We saw downtown Salt Lake without being stuck in traffic, we got a little exersize and we saw a very terrific movie.

If you get a chance, go see The Reader. It is a powerful story and I won't spoil it by giving away the details, but go see it. It certainly deserved it's nomination for Best Picture with the Academy Awards, and having seen most of the nominees, this one could have won just as easily as Slumdog Millionaire. So see it!

What a week!

I mentioned at the beginning of the week that this would be a busy one, and I wasn't lieing! It has been fun though and the BSU and I have about worn ourselves out with the activity.

Wednesday night was an Ash Wednesday church service and the start of the Lenten season. I didn't make any commitments to give up anything for Lent but I have made a couple commitments to things I want to accomplish for my family's benefit during this time.

Thursday night we went to a concert- One Night of Queen performed by Gary Mullen and The Works. This was a really fun night out and the band was terrific. Gary Mullen, according to his bio in the program, used to wow his buddies in the pub on karaoke nights. And his Mum and wife thought he was good enough to be on television, so they submitted his name to "Stars in Their Eyes", a UK star-search program, where he won the Grand Final and started a career on stage as a professional. Now he and a terrific band tour in the US, UK and Europe, keeping the anthems and antics of Freddie Mercury alive. So it was fun and I was surprised to see how many folks our age were there in the seats but had also brought their kids- teenagers and some pre-teens too, all seemingly rockin out to some great old tunes.

Friday was tax day and we spent the morning getting through that minor ordeal. Then to celebrate being finished, the BSU dragged me shopping for a bit. Later I bought another storage cabinet for my workshop and assembled it. And we rested up in the evening, renting movies- Choke and Before it Rains. These were a couple af pretty terrific movies, completely different in their tone and subject and style, but they were both really enjoyable movies. I really recommend Before it Rains for it's story of passion and betrayal.

SO that catches us up to the weekend but this post is long enough. So I think I'll close this one and start another- before Blogger tries to crash on me!

Its been a very good weekend-

But I'm just pretty tired so I'll write just the high points.

I did go shooting at Impact Guns, with Kenny on Friday. My new Taurus PT1911 works just fine, right out of the box. Its easy shooting, on target and didn't miss a lick with 100 rounds fed through it. My little NAA Mini-Master works great too and it's pretty accurate for it's tiny size. It can be a really great backup gun but with the terrible slow method of reloading, it can't be a primary defense gun. Anyway, it is plenty fun to shoot.

The BSU and I went to see Gran Torino and it is a powerful and moving movie. It's not a particularly pretty movie and some parts of it can be uncomfortable. But it is a great story and Clint Eastwood does a terrific job pulling this story together. Go see it! I might have to see it again just to soak up some of the tale that I know I missed during the first showing.

Now it's bedtime!

Took a 4 day vacation at home!

With yesterday being Veterans Day I took the opportunity to switch a regular Friday off with Monday and turned the weekend into 4 days off. And since we had some time off, we decided to take a little vacation.

We talked about going to Vegas.

But the BSU got cold feet so we decided to stay at home and still vacation a little bit. Friday night we had a great dinner at Jeremiahs which is a nice, casual restaurant with really terrific food. We've been there a few times but not in a couple years, so it was a dandy treat and a great meal. The service was friendly and polite and the food came out of the kitchen fast! After dinner we saw Madagascar- Escape to Africa and got to catch up with our animated friends, Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman along with the bizarre penguins and King Julian the Lemur king. The story's funny and silly and since the critters were originally from Africa before living most of their lives in the New York Zoo, they find friends and family they didn't know existed in Africa. It's a hoot, so go see it!

Saturday and Sunday were pretty well filled up with chores and preparation for winter. I fixed the floodlight on my shop front- again, fixed a leaky gutter and drained the secondary water system so hopefully I won't have any freeze problems next spring. Saturday night we go to a Grizzlies hockey game and the BSU invited along the eldest boy and he brought his latest girlfriend, so we all had a good time. The game was wild and the Grizzlies might have won except that they really didn'y get warmed up and playing for the first 10 minutes of the game while the Ontario Reign got 2 goals on the scoreboard. Our team lost, 6-5 but it was a terrific fight with some great skating and hockey in between.

Monday we did something fun and entirely different, we went to see Body Worlds in Salt Lake. This traveling exhibit has been selling out in Salt Lake for a couple months now and everyone is talking about it, so Monday seemed like a good time to see it. Body Worlds is a display of human bodies, preserved in a unique fashion and then displayed in an artistic and educational manner that is really something to see. There are displays of every portion of the body's systems on display, right down to the complete nerve system or every capilary, artery and vein, in place on a skeleton. There are comparison displays of healthy and damaged lungs, cross sections of complete torsos so that you can see where everything fits inside your body and more. But the big draws are the entire bodies on display with their muscles, organs, ligaments and brains on display. The bodies are freaky at first but have a bizarre beaauty too and as you look at them and remember that these displays were people that donated their bodies for this purpose, it becomes a respectful view too.

Body Worlds is an educational and artistic display and if you get a chance, I really recommend that you go see it.

Most of Monday was more chores around the yard and I finally got the scooters moved around and tucked in. Sleek Black Beauty is in the shop and sitting on a dolly so that I can move it around as I need to and the Phantom is under the Bike Barn, under the carport. And last, we went to see another movie, Soul Men. It's a funny story, starring Samuel L Jackson and Bernie Mac as 2 retired and down on their luck back up singers, making their way to the memorial service for the recently deceased front man from 30 years ago. There's bad blood, and a road trip in a Caddy Eldorado convertible named the Muthaship and a jail break as they travel to New York City and the famed Apollo Theater. Its a pretty funny movie but it earns it's R rating with language so if you don't like to hear course language and lots of it, this won't be your movie. Its also the last work accomplished by both Bernie Mac and Isaac Hays before they passed away so it is a tribute to them both.

And this morning? I had to get out of bed and go back to work! It sure was good to have 4 days off though.

Another movie- a hilarious love story-

Its called Zack and Miri Make a Porno except here in Utah where it is only being titled Zack and Miri. This is a funny story about 2 down-on-their-funds best friends that share an apartment and just about everything else except sex. To get the utilities turned back on in their drafty Pittsburgh apartment, they cook up a wild idea- to make a porno movie!

They draft some friends and recruit some additional strippers and set to work making a porno, a film that will require them to have sex, which they have convinced themselves will have no affect on their friendship. Their first rented film set gets bulldozed and so the next attempt takes place after hours in the coffee shop where Zach (barely) works. Hilarity ensures as each of the scenes takes place with the weird assembled group of characters as they all become friends.

But this is a love story in spite of the raunchy porno that the gang is determined to produce and after Zach and Miri have sex, on film and in front of the rest of the cast, they discover that there really is more to their relationship than they first realized. From there the movie takes a pretty predictable course that involves breaking up, moving out and finally intervention by the friends to get things back on an even track.

Yes, its raunchy. There's nudity and crudity. But it's also laugh out loud funny with great lines and funny sight gags. There's a love story in there too. If you like Seth Rogen in The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up, you owe it to yourself to go see this movie and enjoy the laughs.

Made it out to the movies tonight-

And the BSU and I really enjoyed The Changeling. It stars Angelolina Jolie, John Malkovich and was produced by Clint Eastwood, so it has real star power in front and behind the cameras in this movie. Its a true story that took place in 1920s and 30s Los Angeles and centers around Jolie's character, Christine Collins' search for her abducted son. The LA police department produce a boy that they claim is her son after several months but she knows, from the minute of introduction that the boy is not her son and is an imposter.

LAPD puts up every lie and delay possible, including throwing Collins into the county mental hospital where she can't reach the outside world. Only through the efforts of an activist preacher who has taken up Collins' case does she get released and the story taken public. In the mean time, a detective in the force is uncovering a tragic multiple homicide story told by a young boy that interconnects with Christine's search for Walter.

It's a good story. It is a dramatic tale of one woman's uncompromising search for her lost son as she brings down a corrupt police force in a growing California city. The acting and period clothing and vintage autos and sets are just as excellent as any movie I've seen lately. That it is a true story brought to the big screen makes it even better.

There is one detraction- ok, 2 distractions in this movie; Angelina Jolie's lips! She has terrible, big fat lips and glossing them up with vintage cardinal red lipstick just makes those lips stick out like giant, puffy flags that distracted me through out the movie. Otherwise this film gets 2 thumbs up from the BSU and myself!

A movie you should spend your money on-

Eagle Eye! This movie doesn't have all the pretensions of Miracle of St Anna, its just a great movie. Its an action adventure drama with two unwilling characters, brought together and trying to save their own skin by complying with a woman that contacts them through cell phones, blinking parking garage signs and can seemingly see their every move, no matter where they are.

This movie is fast paced, exciting and turns out to be related to another famous thriller movie but to tell you more would spoil it. This movie is as fast paced and thrilling as The Bourne Ultimatum and is worthy of your movie ticket and popcorn dollars.

Worst movie ever!

Let me save you 8 bucks and a bucket of popcorn right now- Miracle at St Anna sucks hind tit. Really. It may be the worst movie I've seen in a year or more.

I know this movie is Spike Lee's big movie that he hopes to score an Oscar with later in the year, but this movie is just horrible. First of all, its 2 hours and 40 minutes long and there are enough unrelated, disconnected and disjointed scenes included that should have been cut out that the movie could have been cut back to 2 hours easily. There are scenes- including scenes that include titties, that are completely unneccesary to the story and should have been left on the editing room floor.

Next, this is a war story, so there's violence on the screen, lots of violence. In some of the scenes it is as gritty as Saving Private Ryan. But there's lots more violence, scenes of women and children being slaughtered by the evil Nazis that are just gratuitious and ugly and unneccesary to the story. The tale could have been told just as easily without the very excess violence.

And this is a story about 4 black soldiers from the 92nd Infantry Division, a segregated unit. So the story is about the war from the point of view of these 4 soldiers, the good hearted but simple giant, the womanizing preacher and two more soldiers just trying to get out of Italy alive. There's lots of yakking about their fears and feelings and flashbacks to how they were mistreated back in the US in spite of their uniforms. And it seems to go on forever!

There's magic- a little Italian boy that one soldier rescues revives a broken radio just by touching it; there are ghosts and two soldiers fighting to have first chance to seduce the one attractive woman in the village and there is a back story of the Italian Partisan rebels and their tales of treachery and traitors.

There's also, (and finally) a modern day story about a marble head, missing for decades from a famous bridge that's found in the closet of a murderous postal employee that is supposed to tie all these strings together into a comprehensive story. It all fails quite miserably in my humble opinion. Finally, the movie is called Miracle at St Anne, but I couldn't find a miracle when only 2 people survived the inevitable Nazi overrun of the village. That's hardly a miracle in my book!

This story is overblown, over-acted and under edited, all for the sake of Spike Lee aiming for a big prize with the Academy. Its horrible, skip it!

Where to start?

You might guess that I'd have more time for blogging due to my current circumstances but it seems that's just not the case. In fact, I've been busier 'n hell for the past several days. So how to tell the story?

Let's see- I've had 2 job interviews that both seemed to go very well. I'm hoping for a call back on one of them in particular but could be in the running for either one. I've also applied for a job that I heard about through a friend that I expect I will get asked to interview for next week. And in spite of all the activity so far that I'm expecting to turn into an offer, tomorrow I'll dig in again to see what other possibilities I can find.

The workshop remodel continues. Noah came home again this weekend and with his help the ends of the shop have been closed in. It was only 3 pieces of paneling on each end but each piece needed to be cut to match the roof line and then screwed into place, so it was a good day's work. We also installed the 2nd skylight this morning. I did the first one by myself and that was pretty tricky so having him to assist this morning made that a much easier task.

The contractor that did our kitchen work finally made it by on Saturday afternoon to inspect our work and to see what would be required to get finished up. He had several suggestions about how to finish up the job and so he will be back later this week to assist me with some improvements and to get all the flashings installed properly. He's going to get me started on the shingling part of the job and loan me the power nail gun for the task.

It hasn't been all work this week though, there's been a little time for recreation too. Friday night the BSU and I saw Traitor, a new suspense-thriller movie that stars Don Cheadle. This is an excellent movie that will leave you scratching your head afterwards as you consider the tricky situation that Cheadle's character plays as an "off-the-books" undercover agent and the twisted thought process of the Islamic terrorists that he has aligned himself with. It really is a terrific film and it gets 2 thumbs up from my house.

Saturday night was a perfect night for baseball and the BSU and I went to see probably our last Raptors game of the season. The team made the southern division playoffs this year but they have to play the arch rivals- the Orem Owlz. The Owlz have beaten the Raptors badly this year; they've beaten every team pretty badly actually, and last night was no different. It was Owlz 5, Raptors 1 at the end of last night's game. They are playing in Orem tonight- the score's tied 5-5 right now and the Raptors will have to beat the Owlz tonight and tomorrow night if they are to go to the Pioneer League championship series later in the week. So we will see what happens but chances are my baseball spectating is done for the summer.And even though the Raptors lost night, it was a beautiful night at Lindquist Field in downtown Ogden.

Today was even more excitement, as I took Sleek Black Beuty for the longest ride yet, out to Toole and Miller Motorsports Park to spectate some vintage motorcycle racing at the Bonneville Vintage GP. It was terrific getting up close to some neat vintage racing bikes and spectating from the elevated deck above the front straightaway. There was some really great racing by guys doing it just for the fun of going fast on old and interesting motorcycles. The road trip on Sleek Black Beauty was 134 miles round trip and most of that was on the highway so I got a pretty good buffeting since the windscreen really doesn't provide much any wind protection. But it was fun and Beauty performed perfectly.

So tomorrow I'm back to job hunting and working on the shop. I've got to get the skylights taped in to seal out the water. I've also got to purchase some more flashing for the roof edges in addition to the rain drip edge that I already have and there are more tasks to accomplish before the contractor shows up to help me finish. Then I can get busy putting everything back inside and (finally) removing all the sawdust and dirt that has collected. I've been doing cleanup nearly every day and it seems that I'll never get rid of all the wood chips that have collected.

So that's it. I'm not dead, just busy and enjoying the cooler temperatures that have occurring lately. Keep your fingers crossed for me and my employment circumstances over the next few days!