Quick Review

Saw Superman tonight with the family...it was OK. Nothing spectacular, nothing jump out of my seat, but OK.

No revisiting the origins, continues where the old Superman movies left off, the history is there and if you do not know it then too bad...plot OK, Spacey was awesome, Superman was great, the rest...OK. Some holes if you forgot Superman I and II, special effects were fantastic, continuity was great, ending was...OK.

In a nutshell, see it on the big screen but go to the matinee....oh and the kids will be B O R E D...it is a love story........

Up, Up and Away...

Look up in the sky, it's a bird, no it's a plane, no it's....a tent!!!!!

After having a father/son talk about responsibility, taking intuitive,
and thinking outside the box, he did just that. After returning from
our camp out a tent needed to be cleaned and aired out. So he took it
upon himself to set it up in the backyard (like we always do) on a
nice day, open the flaps and air it out. we never stake it or put on
the rain fly (we dry that separately). So he sets it up and then
meets me at a meeting. During the meeting a rogue thunder storm comes
out of nowhere (it was 80 at the time of the meeting). We finish up
and head home.

At home I look out back and see my little storage shed (Rubbermaid) in
several pieces, and then notice the lack of tentage in the yard.
Winds had come and blown my little mower shed apart and took the tent.
We spent the better part of 30-45 minutes looking for it in the
neighborhood to no avail.

The next day the boy and buddies expanded the search and finally found
the tent. It was 5 houses down in the next development, the owners
saw it fly by and grabbed it and threw it in the garage and waited for
the tent owner to show up. That was very nice of them and the boy was
relieved that we did not have to replace the tent for the Troop....

PS Superman Returns opens today and I have to admit, while not a big
Superman fan I am a little excited.......check it out.

The Long Haul

Well the weekend from hell is OVER!!!!!! After spending 12 glorious hours working freelance (not said in sarcasm) I awoke very early on Sunday to pick up the boy from his security detail at the Festival. We then went back and worked the booth for a few hours, then got ready for the parade.

Thirty minutes before start time the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the police came through the parade route telling everyone to seek shelter, a storm was coming with a tornado watch. We spent 45 minutes in the car the saw the Fire Trucks start to line up for the parade. A few bands cancelled due to the continuing rain (ruin the instruments) but we all had a great time!!!

After the parade is was off to Cheeseburger In Paradise to celebrate my father's birthday. Everyone was starving and we picked up the bill (yikees)!!! With full bellies I went to work (Directing the 10pm newscast) and the rest of the family went to see the fireworks.

Home at Midnight I crashed and did not wake until I started writing this entry...so no workout but very well rested (I had suitcases under my eyes all day yesterday). The boy is sleeping in, most likely till 5pm and I am leaving for work ( Day 9 in a row)....see ya!!!!

Victory!!!

SO we went out on Friday and did what we do, play smart baseball. At the end of the 4th it was 19-3 and the mercy rule took effect. We walked away from a great season with the Championship. The boy has played baseball for several years and has never been on a Championship team. He felt great, and knew that hard work and perserverance pay off!!!!!

Yesterday was the All Star Game for High School Basketball, I worked it (12 hours) and got home after midnight tired, hungry and having to use the bathroom. I hit the bed hard but was awoken this morning by the boy calling to pick him up from his 'security' gig at the festival. The scouts walk the perimeter with a police officer at night the 'protect' the booths at the fair. They have fun and stay up all night with the cops......

SO here it is 11am and I have already been to the fair twice (had to drop off the wife for her shift) and now I have to wake up the boy so we can shower and head out there. He is marching in the parade at 3pm so we have to get there early to get his uniforms and such........

Back to the grind....

PS I have to be at work tonight at 9pm....it is going to be a long day!!!

Defeat...

Wednesday was the Big Game.  We played Arizona State, whom we had defeated earlier in the tourney, and played an awesome game.  We were down 2-0 going into the 4th and we made a comeback.  But then in the 7th they pulled ahead 7-5 and never looked back.  All we had to do was hold them at the top of the 7th and we won, but we fell apart.  No ONE person caused the loss, baseball is a team sport, but some players gave up and we made 4 errors in the 7th, more than the past 4 games combined.

 

The boys were upset, but we have another shot at it tonight.  All we have to do is play smart baseball and we can do it!!  When we got home after the game, the boy was very upset.  I told him the yell, shout, scream, cry or whatever after the game.  When all was said and done, keep your head and play your game, afterwards when you are in the car or already home then it is time to let it out, never on the field and never in the dugout.  Get pissed, get angry but do not let it affect your game.  So he had a good cry but when we talked about the game (he was not in the 7th inning) we found that he did his best and contributed to the team and even supported them when on the bench.  In that case I told him to be upset at the outcome but not at himself or his play, IF he did his best, which he did.

 

So, no prayers or good thoughts needed tonight (if you pray to God to help your team, does that mean he abandons the other team?), just hope for good, clean baseball and all the boys to have a good time.  There will be a winner and a loser, but as long as you play your game there is no reason to walk with your head lowered!!!!!

Friday Already...

What a week! We have been very busy all week, so much so that I have not worked out but once all week and hardly visited my regular reads and sites on the internet in 2 days, I also had 43 emails this morning waiting for me.

Let's get started...

Monday: Big baseball game and we won and are going to the semi-finals! After a weekend of camping and canoeing it was a long hard game but well earned win!!!

Tuesday: Drove the boy to climbing camp at 7am (he then went from camp till 4pm straight to band rehearsal till 9:30). So I was up early and ran errands...

Wednesday: Camp again at 8am this time and then the Championship game at 7:30 till after 11pm which we lost. But since it is a double elimination we play again on Friday.

Thursday: Up early and too work by 9am to prepare for this weekends Indiana High School All Star Game, which I am switching as a freelance gig. Worked several hours prepping for it then got to regular job at 2pm to see Weather warnings and cut ins and all sorts of good stuff to keep one busy till quitting time. By the time I got home I was fried!!!!!

Today: The boy is at the last day of camp, we have our final game tonight at 7:30 (weather permitting) then off to the weekend....

Saturday & Sunday: I am working from Noon till 11pm on the All Star Game, the wife is working 9-Noon, the boy has Scout set up from Noon - 2pm then Scout Service from 6-8 then is doing 'security' for a festival with the scouts from 8pm till 8am (over night, walk the fair with Police Officers) then he marches in the Festival Parade from 2pm till 6pm then after party BBQ with band. The wife has to work the festival with her group from 8am till 11am and I have to work the late shift from 9pm till Midnight.

SO I will say ado for now as I might not have time to sleep let alone jump on the PC.....but you never know!

Quick Movie Reviews

Now that Summer is upon us, we have no TV to watch (regularly) and will be watching a bit more movies (thank you Netflix):

 

King Kong: A fun movie, wished I saw it on the big screen for the special effects were awesome.  The cast and crew fantastic (Black was GREAT!!) but the story was a little long and they breezed over New York.  I could have done without the Ice Skating on the pond date scene and added more Kong in New York on the rampage.  All in all good fun, but could have been better.

 

X-Men 3:  Another good movie.  No spoilers but too many people "killed' off (either dead or no powers).  Not a lot of dialogue, but too much CGI action (that looked CGI, not like King Kong).  The characters were spot on (a big fan of X-Men since the late 70's) but a few things bothered me:

• Wolverine is too tall, you CGI everything else, make him shorter!!!
• Peter answered a question with "Yes" not "Da"
• Juggernaut not mentioned as Xavier's Step-Brother
• And at one point Juggernaut says to Kitty: "I am the Juggernaut, Bitch!!!"

The first three were nitpicky (just the geek in me) but the last one was uncalled for.  Even for the violence and story content X-Men has always been a PG Comic and should be a PG movie.  Some people do not like violence (bloodless) and I understand that, but there was no reason to drop the B-word in the movie and it brought me RIGHT OUT OF IT.  As soon as he said it I looked at the wife and said: "Why did he need to say that?"  And we were at the climatic end of the movie.  I take away a full star for that one line, sorry.

 

Also, stay to the very end of the credits for X-Men 4 teaser, do not miss it!!!

Aftermath...

Hope you had a great Father's Day.  I did!!  We went camping this weekend (and canoeing) and had a blast.  We got there Saturday morning because we had a late Playoff game on Friday (we won 4-3, moving on...) and did not get home till 10:45pm.  Lights out are at 11pm so we got up early and made it to camp as they were leaving for the river.

 

The first leg was from the launch point to our camp.  Stopping for lunch and rest the afternoon leg included a portage (taking the boats out of the water and walking over land) to go around a dam and then to the take out point.  The rental place drove us back to camp.  Meals were good and the campfire has some great skits, the youngest patrol won Best Skit and got a dozen donuts for breakfast.

 

Saturday night we had a big storm, thunder lightening and wind that laid the tents DOWN.  I woke up with the top of my tent on my face and the tent poles bent...everyone survived!!!

 

Father's Day started wet but we packed up and did a service project for the camp (instead of paying for the site the boys do some service for the camp, once we mulched a trail at a State Park, here we picked rocks out of a large field that they are seeding).  Wet, tired and happy we headed home to dry land and showers.  A quick nap later my family came over and we had a nice home cooked meal by the wife and watched Toy Story with the nephew (He told me Happy Father's Day and made a "Happy Uncle's Day" card for me).  The boy got me the Rush DVD Replay x3 and the wife a new paper shredder (hint Clean Your Office).  We got my Dad a cordless drill set (Craftsman) with my brother and sister.  Ice cream, fruit and pound cake for dessert and the day was complete...a perfect end to a perfect weekend.

 

Hope yours went as well, or even better!!!!

Pics...

The tanks were a little dark and my old digital camera doesn't like that in between light so they are a little fuzzy, but you get the point...

We have a busy weekend ahead...tonight we have PLayoff Game #2 (7:45) then off to the camp (hopefully around 11:00), than canoeing tomorrow and Sunday, return on Father's Day at Noon then Playoff Game #3 at 2:00pm then Playoff Game #4 at 4:00pm. So if I do not make it back here until then Happy Father's Day to all you mothers out there!!!!!!!!

Almost There.....

Is it just me or when Gold Leader is telling his team to Stay On Target then one guy screams "Loosen Up!!!" at him just before the TIE Fighter destroys him just makes the whole movie seem so 'real'!!

Almost had a disaster today. I moved the washer clothes to the dryer because I thought my workout clothes were in there, when I woke this morning and went into the laundry room I could not find my workout stuff, I then found them still in the hamper from Tuesday (I had forgotten to move them to the laundry room). So I got back in bed to go back to sleep and use the dirty clothes as an excuse. After a few moments the thought processes went something like this:

"Fuck It..."

Then I got up, got out the dirty clothes, put them on and hit the gym. I am going to be sweaty and stinky in them in a moment anyway, so who will notice if they are not washed. End result is I worked out (hard) and feel better for it!

Now it is time to hit the shower and go to work!

Till Next Time.

PS Gased up on the way to the Y and spent $2.95 a gallon.

Tuesday's With Bryan

It's been awhile since we visited Tuesday...and nothing has changed. THe boy is very active the rest of the summer, maybe. He has YMCA camp for the next 2 weeks, then goes to Wisconsin for a week with Boy Scouts and then spends about every day at Band Practice and Band camp for one week in August. The problem is that he is missing the next few band practices due to Scouts and Baseball Playoffs and the wife an dI had a disagreement last night about continuing on with band. It is a major commitment, time and money, and the boy is going into 8th grade but got invited to be in the High School Marching Band (he is pretty good on the drums). So I am thinking of calling the Band Director and laying out the situation and seeing what he has to say. I think the boy will love it, it is just a little too busy right now......

Things are back to normal at work, people were out on vacation and other personal time last week so everyone was in a situation they are not in regularly, but now that certain people are back I remember why they needed a vacation...if you hate your job so much, then quit. I do think it is that simple. I was miserable in New York and was done dealing with all the bullshit, an opportunity arrived and within 2 weeks I was out the door and 600 miles away, and better for it!!!

PS: Worked out this morning, I am sore but healthy and feeling great...

PPS: Hell's Kitchen returned last night and it was AWESOME!!!!

PPPS: Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares is on BBC America and it is AWESOME as well!!!

PPPPS: Rush Replay x3 DVD came out today, if anyone wants to get me a Father's Day Gift, that is it....

Oh What A Night.....

Actually what a weekend. It started on Saturday, as most do, with NOTHING. We slept in till 10am, it rained all day so no yard work, just hanging around the house, cleaning and eating and well hanging out.

Sunday was another story. We slept in a bit, 9am, woke and had breakfast and prepared. Prepared for this busy week, prepared some meals for the days to come and prepared for the Swimming with the Dolphins at the zoo. It was fantastic, the boy got it for his birthday from his aunts and uncles. We arrived early and got right into the class session (15 minutes). Just an intro to dolphins and what you will experience. They limit the group in the water to 6 and observers (out of water) to 10. The 6 in the water split into groups of 3 with their own trainer and dolphins. I took tons of video and pictures (I will post some). It was a great time, the boy loved it and while there is no actual swimming (it is a new program) they do touch and feed and learn commands and make the dolphins flip, etc. We all had a great time and I think I would like to do it again!!!!

Also this week I drop tons of money into the car. The back brakes were grinding and had to be replaced (rotors and pads) for $350.00. I got the lifetime on the fronts and rears now so I do not expect to be spending that type of money again on those damn things...

Friday

Last night was nothing.  No baseball, no work, no Scouts, no nothing and I ended up going to bed at 10:00pm and not getting up till after 8am.  I had set my alarm clock and the wife tried to wake me several times but I never got up.  I have an old clock and when I get up I wake the wife up because I make so much noise trying to turn the alarm off, but apparently I can turn it off silently while I am still asleep and never wake up...go figure.

 

I am on a short fuse at work recently.  We have a few people that all they do is bitch bitch bitch.  I get along with all of them (mostly) but one I work with never has a good thing to say about anything...and it drives the people here CRAZY!!  Everyone is entitled to bitch but for the love of God people, you are lucky to have a job, so just do it and then afterwards bitch about it.  What we do is not factory work, there is down time and slow time and busy time.  There are days we do NOTHING then days of non-stop work.  It all balances out so why do I have to beg and plead for you to do your regular job on a daily basis, sit your ass in the chair and be on time and stay till finish, it really is that simple.

 

/rant

An Open Letter to HBO

Dear Makers of Soprano's

Thanks for nothing. I have been a loyal fan since the very beginning
and have waited patiently since the last season for this 'final'
season to start...and this is how you repay us??? This piece of crap
season with no story, no drama, no action, no furtherment of the
Soprano World?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Tony shot by Junior, awesome, then the
let down follow up and the lack of Junior all season (except finally).
Meadow a non-entity, Carmella sticking her nose into missing people
when she knows what her husband does for a living, Vito gay, who
cares, take care of him and don't waste several episodes on
NOTHING!!!!!! Christopher and Sil and Paulie were side notes all
season, FBI now helping Tony after he has their informant killed and
do not get me started on Anthony Jr.......

Thanks for destroying a great property and a cast/crew/writers/etc
that made it the best show in TV to a joke........

Sincerely
Average Viewer....

So Tired....

I am so beat down!!! I slept in again today and failed to work out...I will be there tomorrow!!!!

Up late Friday, up early Saturday, up till 2 am Saturday night and up at 8 am Sunday morning and then off to bed after midnight last night, I am so stupid!

Saturday was spent doing yardwork and watching our landscaper come in and clean up around the house. We had tried last year but we have no idea what we are doing so the wife got someone who banks with her and he came over and made the place look awesome!!!! Sunday was Scout day, we had an Eagle Court of Honor at 1pm (both the boy and I spoke), then to the local cemetery at 3pm to put away several hundred flags that we (the Troop) put out on the graves of Veterans for Memorial Day, then to Scout Sunday service at 5pm then to a baseball game at 7pm (which did not start until 8pm). All in all a great day but very busy. On top of that the wife went shopping (with coupons) and bought $300.00 of stuff for $112.76, it was triple coupon days at the store and she went NUTS!!!!!!

Oh well, time to get to work....

Oh, My, God!!!

It cannot believe it is Friday, it should have been Friday 2 days ago but NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so tired I cannot stand it, I did work out today (ya me!!!) and saw that I broke the Top 64 Men in Fitlinx for the month of May (#52). I am tired, sore and grumpy and would call in sick today if I did that sort of thing, but I don't.

Today is also the first day of summer vacation for the boy. He picked it up the last few months and pulled through with good grades, every class is in the 90's but Science, he went from a D to a B and Math, D to a B...job well done!!!! He has a full summer a head of him (his own choice) and today is a sleep in day. I am sure he will be sound asleep when I get home tonight at 6:30.....

Sorry for the short one, was on the phone after the last paragraph and now it is time to go to work....Have a great weekend!!!! I know I will, SLEEPING IN!!!!!!

Baseball, books and eBay...

I am eBay crazy right now. I am collecting baseball cards again for the first time in 10 years. The boy and I got back into this year as he can fully appreciate it and I found some cards I like. The boy is trying to build the 2006 Topps set...basic stuff but always nice cards and a great taste of the world of collecting. I found the Topps Heritage set. It was build as a challenge to set builders. Nice looking cards with a retro feel (based on 1957 Topps cards) and several of the cards are Short Printed so that while it is not easy to build a set, it is not too difficult. Actually puts fun back into set building and the got to have them all (basic) is a nice challenge.

That's were eBay comes in, I got the basic set and am now filling in the Short Prints and finding some lots on eBay. While there I found some cards of my heroes back in the day as well as cheap prices on tons of books I have been wanting to read. While my watch list is about 98 items long I have not gone crazy and bought up everything. I am just lurking for now and seeing what stuff is going for and making a deal or 2 for some old books that I want.......

Anyway, if you have any baseball cards or baseball books that you don't want any more let me know and I will gladly take them off your hands ;-)