HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010!

Countdown by Widgia.com

Thanks to everyone for stopping by for a visit.

Thanks to my 48 Followers.

Thanks to all my many commenters.

Thanks to my new friends.

I started this blog solely for the purpose of easier access and tracking of the blogs I liked to read and follow. Then one day I decided to fill the empty space to the left of my blogroll and have built up momentum ever since. As I approach my 1st Blogversary, 20,000 hits, 200 posts and 50 followers, I hope to continue to make my posts interesting and coming and that I continue to evolve as a blogger/writer.

Have a Happy New Year and may 2010 be filled with love, happiness, good health, good friends, good food, good times, better politics, more peace, more understanding and less CO2, less violence and less ignorance.

BRADLEY COOPER

I have a few celebrity crushes -- Jakey, Brad Pitt, Chris Evans and today it's Bradley Cooper.  I first saw him in Alias and it's been lust ever since. So I was just over at Yummy of the Day where they had these pics of him walking his dog and I had to spread (pun intended) view. I added the one in the tub (my favorite) and the one in the pool.

5 FOR / 5 AGAINST: DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS

I saw this movie for two reasons. First, a friend loves SJP and I thought being able to talk about the movie could help develop the "friendship." Second, I couldn't find parking so I was too late to see It's Complicated. 

The Morgans are typical New Yorkers who live a rich, glamorous life and a life that for them only exists in NY. Their hectic, NY lives are aided by their dependance on their electronics and assistants. The Morgans are separated and after a "let's talk dinner" witness a murder that sends them into the Witness Relocation Program -- in Ray, Wyoming. From here you can write the movie. Very typical, no surprises, should have been titled, Hugh Grant and Carrie Bradshaw in Wyoming

5 FOR:

1. Damn! Hugh Grant is looking fine! He is aging well and shows some damn sexy legs.
2. Mary Steenburgen is a breath of fresh mountain air in this mostly stale movie.
3. If you ever wanted to see Carrie Bradshaw ride a horse, shoot a gun and shop in Costco (or known as Bargain Barn in this movie), this is the movie for you.
4. Hugh Grant is Hugh Grant from Four Weddings, Notting Hill, Two Weeks Notice, Music and Lyrics, and Bridget Jones and there's nothing wrong with that. I like the character, his wit and sense of humor; however, this movie is the least likable.
5. I'm still working on this one.

5 AGAINST:

1. Every scene which shows SJP's hands. She has some real old meat hooks that she doesn't even bother to put polish on. She must have a nail biting problem.
2. There is no chemistry between Hugh and SJP. There's no real anger, no evidence of a glorious lost love and no passion reborn.
3. There are many actors who act the same in every role but Hugh seems to play the same character in every movie. He even tells the same jokes and observations.
4. I couldn't understand why I wasn't hearing Carrie's thoughts.
5. It's not an intolerable movie. I sat there and chuckled every now and then, really didn't care that it was so predictable and never looked at my watch. I suggest waiting for the DVD or cable as I have for all their other movies. I just wish I had something more positive to share with my **cough** potential new friend.

AT THE BEACH

It was a dark and stormy day (I think I'll use that as the beginning of my novel) so I headed down to the beach to check out the surf. The wind was gusting, the rain was like bullets against my face and the surf was high, rough and covering about 75% of the normal weather beach.

I took these pics on and of the boardwalk. There were about 8 guys out surfing but they were so far out that the camera couldn't pick them up; however, I was able to photograph the cute teenager.

Today is beautiful, sunny and warmer, about 50 degrees and most traces of last Saturday's storm are gone.

Inspired by but not as well executed as  No Excuse, No Explanation's Scenic-Saturday.

IF STAR WARS HAD FACEBOOK

I saw this on BillinExile who got it from TheMovieBlog.com  Too Funny!

Its a good thing that Star Wars was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. It explains why they are not taking advantage of earth’s technological advances.

Like for instance, if Star Wars had Facebook, statuses might have looked like this:

“When I was a kid I used to have an imaginary friend, but now that I’m on Facebook, I have over 700!” — Michael Parisi

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ziggy by Tom Wilson & Tom II

5 FOR / 5 AGAINST: AVATAR

You know the story, most expensive movie every made, 10 years in the making and takes film making to a new level. Well, that's the story of making the film, the story the film is about is not new or original but does make for a solid, enjoyable movie experience.

One-hundred and fifty years into the future man has found an extremely valuable mineral on Pandora but their ability to mine the mineral is hindered by the indigenous population. There's the evil, greedy corporation, the heartless Blackwater type security force and the altruistic scientists. For some reason, they have the technology to make Avatars, a combination of human and Na'vi DNA that allows them to breath on the planet and interact with the Na'vi.

There is learning, love, betrayal, conquest, death, heroism, love, resurrection, tears and triumph.

5 FOR:

1. The film is spectacular, beautiful and full of interesting creatures and lighting. A must see in the theater. I was pleasantly surprised to be moved to the point of tears.
2. Sigourney Weaver shines. Intense, funny, smart, compassionate, feisty and pretty hot as a Na'vi. She steals the movie from the rest of the cast. I loved Michelle Rodriguez, she kicks ass and has some of the best one liners in the movie.  Giovanni Ribisi (Friends), Zoe Saldana (Uhura in Star Trek) and Dileep Rao (Drag Me To Hell) all contribute nice performances.
3. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, plus 15 minutes of previews, this is a long movie but the story and action moves quickly and as long as you don't have to pee, you are unaware of the time.
4. An entertaining movie for people of all ages, tastes and species. You'll make many plot comparisons to other movies, wars and politics but it flows and there were no big plot holes. The movie does have great attention to detail and near flawless continuity. I love continuity.
5. I love how the Na'vi are connected and a part of all life on the planet. I did see "it" coming. I won't say what "it" is as it could be spoilery.

5 AGAINST:

1. 3D. I'm not a fan of 3D, I find that it distracts from the film more than it contributes. 3D hurts my eyes, makes reading subtitles difficult, the glasses are uncomfortable and for all the expense and advances in 3D technology developed for this movie, there was no WOW factor. Plus, they charge $5 more for 3D and it is not worth it. (I choose to see 3D to witness the advancements.)
2. This is not a big negative but is worth noting. The story is not original and you'll have thoughts of American Indians, Aliens (Leave her along YOU BITCH!), Ewoks on planet Endor, and Dinotopia.
3. Sam Worthington as a human was very flat and actually not that attractive. As a Na'vi, he was multi-dimensional, expressive and sexy.
4. Man has made amazing technological advancements including, long distance space travel, Avatars and cryogenics but still uses bullets and helicopters. WTF?
5. The ending was satisfying but too abrupt for a 2 hour and 45 minute movie. Would one more minute be too much to ask for? 

Mine too!

Last Kiss by John Lustig

WHEW!!!

The past few days have been amazing and exhausting!

I went out at 9pm Sat night to walk the doggies but there was too much snow -- about 7 inches, there was barely an inch three hours earlier. My doggies don't stand much higher than that so I had to shovel a "Pee and Poop Path" for them in the backyard and then attempted to shovel the driveway and walk but the snow was coming down too fast and the wind was blowing too hard and I conceded after 20 minutes.

(The Tramp and Miss Truvy)

(the pee and poop path)

(Daddy we're finished! Daddy??)

(7.5 inches with way too much girth!)

(Stop with the pics daddy and let's go back inside!)

At 11 pm the doggies decided they wanted out again and we all were dismayed to see no remnant of the Pee and Poop Path. So I bundled up again and dug a smaller path. They took two steps out and decided they could hold it and ran back into the house. It was time for us to snuggle under my big down comforter, finish watching Dr Who and get some sleep because Sunday was going to be a busy day.

(taken at the end of the big dig)

I woke up to a sunny day and 17 inches of snow and snow drifts of 3-5 FEET on the side of the cars for the length of the driveway!! All the doors were blocked by so much snow that I couldn't push them open and had to take out the window in the storm door to dig out. The doggies were getting antsy. It took the better part of the day to dig out. Fortunately, my neighbor finally came over with his snowblower to help finish the job. After a huge bowl of spaghetti and meatballs (my moms blizzard special, she makes it whenever a storm is forcast) it was time to prep the house for my cousin's wedding - cooking, cleaning, decorating and moving furniture.

At 10 pm I learned that I'd have to drive over an hour to pickup the minister because she was too nervous to drive herself on the roads (the roads were fine) but she was very nice and we were able to talk about the wedding, her internet dating, movies and our doggies.

(Mr. and Mrs. Matt and Amanda Soulant)

After driving for two hours, I arrived back at the house and the Wedding commenced. It was a beautiful ceremony attended by over 40 family and friends. After some food and a champaign toast, it was time to drive the minister home. By the time I got back (I encountered two accidents involving flipped SUVs) everyone had left and I started to clean up (my mom was exhausted and sad to say, getting too old to host such big occasions). I had a relaxing evening, a good night's sleep and awoke to a huge problem.

I spent the morning on the phone with the bank because I had thousands of dollars of pending charges I didn't make in my checking account. BOA was pretty good and said I did't have to worry or contact the companies (all internet purchases) but I called the companies that I could - they weren't very helpful saying that my bank would handle it. I'll not see most of my money again for several weeks.

After a 5 margarita lunch, I wanted to download the wedding photos so I could use one for this post but ended up (I'm not very skilled at manipulating digital photos into albums and slideshows so this took a while) creating a slideshow with the wedding music and burning it to a CD. I only had the 104 not so good photos my dad took but the final show was quite nice.

Now you're all caught up so now I can catch up on all my blogs!

SnOMG! It's Snowmageddon!! The Snowpocalypse is coming!!

To quote David Dust, "SnOMG!  It's Snowmageddon!!  The Snowpocalypse is coming!!" Well, not quite yet. The storm will be hitting my area late this evening into the late morning.

My cousin's brother and fiancee are 30 miles north of DC -- they have been driving for 9 hours!

Cool mistake!

Storm at 5pm

Storm at 3:30 pm

The longest journey begins with a single step just as the biggest snow storm begins with a single snowflake.

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass--It's about dancing in the rain snow."

Storm starting around 1:30 pm

HAPPY 29TH BIRTHDAY JAKEY!!

And so it begins...

I'm at my parent's home on Long Island. You can't see it but the snow has just started here and is not supposed to end until we have a good 10-15 non-AOL inches. Late in the afternoon, the wind is supposed to start blowing 20-30 mph with gusts over 50! I was at the store last night buying milk, bread and toilet paper. It's times like this that Netflix is outdone by Blockbuster and Redbox.

I'm here early for my cousin's wedding on Monday. He's just finished Army bootcamp and will begin training as a helicopter mechanic after his honeymoon. Of course the storm has caused all sorts of drama for the wedding already. Matt is stationed in Newport News,VA and all flights were canceled this morning and not rescheduled until Monday (I don't believe this but I'm not checking) so he is driving up to MD to meet his brother and fiancee who are drive into the storm. Ah, young love.

I'll post pics throughout the day. Stay warm, stay safe and stay posted.

John Sherffius Political Cartoon, 12/15/2009

Click to enlarge! John nails it! John Sherffius Political Cartoon, 12/15/2009

5 FOR / 5 AGAINST: UP IN THE AIR

I'm not sure why I wound up seeing "Up in the Air," I'm more of a fan of George's classic good looks then I am of his movies or acting, but I enjoyed it. The theater was fairly crowded and we laughed throughout the movie.

Ryan Bingham's (George) job is to fly all over the country firing people. Unlike most people, Ryan loves traveling and has elevated it to an art form. In addition, traveling helps to keep his relationships simple and uncomplicated. That's about to change.

First, Ryan meets Alex (Vera Farmiga) a fellow traveler and George with a vagina. Next he meets Natalie (Anna Kendrick) a young go getter who threatens his way of traveling life. "Up in the Air" is an exploration of a man and his interpersonal relations mixed with too many scenes of people reacting to losing their jobs and their way of life.

5 FOR:

1. George is his usual charming, handsome and humorous self. This role is perfect for him and he shines in it.
2. Alex in a neck tie -- gave me a woody. Vera is so sexy and hot and more than holds her own with George in charm, good looks and humor.
3. Natalie is a scene stealer and challenges, "He's too old for me," Ryan. I especially enjoyed their almost father/daughter relationship and the banter there-in.
4. One of the aspects I enjoyed most about this movie was its exploration of life and relationships and how they change and adapt as you grow older. Natalie's debate with Ryan and Alex is both interesting and potentially depressing but ultimately dead on and a revelation for Natalie.
5. Funny, funny, funny except when people are crying over their "new opportunities." 

5 AGAINST:

1. George is starting to show his age - especially around his neck. His skin has an almost gray hue and he didn't give me a woody lying naked (from the nipples up) on the floor. His hair and smile are awesome.
2. Vera in that neck tie gave me a woody and even left me wanting more! PING! That was the sound of my Kinsey Scale rating sliding in the wrong direction. I better listen to some Cher.
3. This would have been a better movie for me if it had just focused on Ryan's traveling, relationships and changes to his job and not so much about what his job is. It would have been just as easy to move the story along and the movie could have had more impact. 
4. Huge, ridiculous, obvious, saw it coming from a mile away cliche Hollywood moment that no one in their right mind would ever decide to do. 
5.  Right on the heals of a huge, ridiculous, obvious, saw it coming from a mile away cliche Hollywood moment that no one in their right mind would ever decide to do is a second Hollywood moment that a blind man, blindfolded and under a leather hood, in a windowless, doorless, lightless brick room, at the bottom of a collapsed mine shaft could see coming. I felt these "plot twists" were lazy and left me with a bad taste in my mouth for this movie. I don't understand all the positive press and reviews.