Movie Review (The Sentinel)

The Sentinel is about a veteran Secret Service Agent (Michael Douglas, looking old) who is getting framed for wanting to assassinate the President. Too screw his life up more he happens to be in love with the President's wife (Kim Basinger, looking hot as ever). The pace was good, the action pretty solid and the actors were great. I liked the girl from Desperate Housewives (total crap) as she pulled her role off effortlessly. Kiefer Sutherland delivered one of his standard stoic characters, but I think that's cool too. I could have stood a little more action and perhaps I might have actually enjoyed a little more background on the love story. Anyway, there's a great little twist/surprise towards the end and everything wraps up nicely. If you rent the DVD be sure to check the special features for the alternate ending.

I recommend this movie for rental night.

Movie Review (The Lake House)

The Lake House is a story about two people who live two years apart and fall in love through their ability to write letters to each other across the time gap. Somehow the mailbox at said location allows them to do this. Their deep love for each other must wait until their lives can somehow cross, and it torments them both. The main actors were absolutely fantastic which was a pleasant surprise since I was expecting Speed 4 or something like it. They both conveyed emotion effectively and kept you engaged in the story. Additionally, the pace of the movie was great, it never had a lull which I rarely say about romance crap. For sure there are some oddities that defy logic, but look beyond to the deeper meaning. There is a plot twist that is fairly easy to discover long before it is revealed, but the ending is still a tense and magical moment that is portrayed well by both the script and the players. There is some breathtaking scenery, but it seemed to flash by too quickly for me, and some of the father son relationship problems were a touch vague but it finally came out in one brief scene.

For me personally, I understood the story on its deeper level and this was the first time I have ever connected to a movie of this type. I am hoping to not make this a habit by watching The Sentinel today. One of Captain Dude's readers will definitely understand that first sentence.

I highly recommend this film.

The Captain gets on the Mancow show

Monday morning as I drove in I decided to listen to the Mancow show to see what the day's rant was. Apparently some human remains have been found a few blocks from ground zero and some concerned folks want all construction to stop until everything is recovered. Mancow seemed completely pissed off that Mayor Bloomberg would not halt everything, so I decided to phone in. They screen you pretty carefully and you have to sit on hold for about 15 minutes but it was worth it. My two comments to him were:

The sound bite of Bloomberg sounded like he was saying construction would continue only in areas that had been thoroughly searched. Mancow responded that was not what the Mayor said but I still haven't heard evidence beyond that.

Secondly, I asked about the Sailors, Marines, and Civilians interred at Pearl Harbor. Surely all of their relatives were not ok with them being left in their watery graves, but it is a fitting tribute to their sacrifice and a reminder of why we went to war. I received no answer or comment at all on this statement.

To clear it up, you cannot recover all remains from that type of devastation, and we are not recovering those people. What made them who they are is now gone and in another place. I believe 24 people are missing and presumed dead. For those families I know they seek closure, but truly if they are not dead they do not want to be found.

Stupid Drivers

So this morning I came to an intersection that does not have a light and where you must cross 4 lanes of traffic. It was then I ran into the "Knoxville Anomaly" that irks me so much. There was finally a break in traffic on my side of the road, and two cars coming on the far side so I proceeded to the middle of the intersection. My intent was to wait for the two oncoming cars to pass and then proceed the rest of the way. Instead the lead driver slammed on his brakes, I had already come to a complete stop well before this, and decided to motion me through the intersection to be nice.
This driver's attempt to be kind almost caused two cars and six people to be involved in a wreck at almost 55 miles per hour. Had this driver been smart enough to look in his rear view mirror he would have seen that there was no traffic after the two of them and that the correct thing to do was OBEY THE LAW and just keep going. This anomaly happens often in Knoxville where the second or third to last vehicle in a line will stop and try to let people in instead of just letting the traffic flow naturally. It is also never the person near the front of a long line where it might actually be beneficial.

That's how I started my day.

University of Tennessee Football

I am finally becoming a believer in the UT volunteers football team. The new OC has a grip on Erik Ainge's strengths and weaknesses and they are managing the game effectively against multiple types of opponents. With the exception of the Florida game and almost Air Force things are clicking well. I heard yesterday that Mr. Ainge was mentioned in the Heisman race. To clear this up he shouldn't be, but I guess no one is setting themselves apart right now.
For the season he has an NCAA QB rating of 172.58 and an NFL rating of 115.73, he also averages 9.74 yards per completion. These are REALLY good numbers for a guy that stunk up the joint just a season ago. The main difference is that this season he is the guy, no fear of being yanked after one poor play for a Clausen. Clausen, by the way, is German for crappy quarterback; if you don't believe me watch one of them play. Thankfully Notre Dame has inherited this plague.

Movie Review (Fun with Dick and Jane)

This movie is about a man who is a rising star in his multi-national company who suddenly finds the rug yanked out from under him Enron style. After trying to find a comparable job and failing he seeks "regular" employment and also cannot succeed in that environment. Becoming desperate he and his wife switch to a life of crime to support themselves Robin Hood style, or so they think. Anyway they get desperate, do some stupid things and there are some funny moments along the way. It all appears to work out in the end but no one ever really wraps up the whole plot.

This movie was borderline stupid with the saving graces being the peppering of funny moments and Tea Leoni being smokin' hot.

Rent it if you have nothing better to do, otherwise avoid it.

Mini Mag 2 AA 3watt LED (New Flashlight)

I have been looking to purchase an LED flashlight for about a year but didn't really want to shell out almost $100. One option I had previously considered was the $10-$15 upgrade for my 2AA Mini-Mag but the reviews on the upgrade's durability were poor. Beyond that the batteries in my mini mag burst this summer ruining the flashlight. Before I tell you about the new Mini Mag let me say that if you haven't used these lights in the past they are the best. Virtually indestructible and great performance are things I have come to expect from anything made by Maglite.
Now reading about LED technology before my purchase I understood that there were some negative aspects to converting to the newer technology. The most notable issues are price, and that and LED does not "throw" the beam as far as a traditional bulb. WHATEVER! This light, or "torch" as my friend the Artificial Dragon calls them, was $24 at Lowes and is brighter than the sun. I was looking down into the bulb from about 3 feet away when I first turned it on and my eye still hurts. The best thing for me about the new Mini Mag is that it still has their patented "candle mode" allowing you to convert the front focusing piece into a base by removing it. I do need to check and see if it came with a spare bulb, which has also always been a favorite feature of mine.

Movie Review (The Departed)

The Departed is about the convergence of the paths of two men on opposite sides of the law. Both men are cops but for very different reasons. This movie was around 2:30 long and for the first two hours the cast and the writing will absolutely dazzle you. There is some stupid artsy cinematography but that's to be expected these days. The cast is stellar and they play their parts very impressively. The script/screenplay is dynamic and twisting and takes you down several interesting paths, I was thoroughly engaged during most of the movie. The downsides were the overly abusive language which, at times, was gratuitous and not realistic. The gore from the deaths was extremely realistic so beware of that if you are squeamish. Now for the part that made this the second worst movie I have ever seen

WARNING****SPOILER****WARNING

The script writer apparently did not want to wrap up all of the interesting plot twists and turns he created during the course of the movie. Instead of working out about four details he decides to kill everyone in the movie. When I say everyone I mean he kills five of the eight main characters that you have become acquainted with throughout the film. Their deaths also do not tie up several oddities such as:
How did "the love interest" understand what was on "the CD"
What was in "the envelope"
What about "the baby"
Where did Dingham come from?
What happens to "the love interest"

I think I would still recommend seeing this film since the first part is stellar. It was worth he $8 for that, but is weird at the end.

Feeding Babies

The time has come to start feeding Mr. Chunky solid foods. I don't really see the need since he seems to pack on the pounds just fine with Mother's Milk. Something about doctor's orders etc. but anyway I am pretty sure these were green beans. Gross!

He can Dance!

Yesterday I caught my son trying the Macarena. I told him this would be his only warning on this type of behavior which includes all line dancing. I retruned from a trip out of town and initially thought he may have lost weight; as you can see from the picture, I was mistaken.

A funny (Airline Bathrooms and Seats)

I needed a funny today, check it out:

Dear Continental Airlines,

I am disgusted as I write this note to you about the miserable experience I am having sitting in seat 29E on one of your aircrafts. As you may know, this seat is situated directly across from the lavatory, so close that I can reach out my left am and touch the door.

All my senses are being tortured simultaneously. It's difficult to say what the worst part about sitting in 29E really is? Is it the stench of the sanitation fluid that's blown all over my body every 60 seconds when the door opens? Is it the wooosh of the constant flushing? Or is it the passengers asses that seem to fit into my personal space like a pornographic jig-saw puzzel?

I constructed a stink-shield by shoving one end of a blanket into the overhead compartment — while effective in blocking at least some of the smell, and offering a small bit of privacy, the ass-on-my-body factor has increased, as without my evil glare, passengers feel free to lean up against what they think is some kind of blanketed wall. The next ass that touches my shoulder will be the last!

I am picturing a board room full of executives giving props to the young promising engineer that figured out how to squeeze an additional row of seats onto this plane by putting them next to the LAV. I would like to flush his head in the toilet that I am close enough to touch, and taste, from my seat.

Putting a seat here was a very bad idea. I just heard a man groan in there! This sucks!

Worse yet, is I've paid over $400.00 for the honor of sitting in this seat!

Does your company give refunds? I'd like to go back where I came from and start over. Seat 29E could only be worse if it was located inside the bathroom.

I wonder if my clothing will retain the sanitizing odor . . . what about my hair! I feel like I'm bathing in a toilet bowl of blue liquid, and there is no man in a little boat to save me.

I am filled with a deep hatred for your plane designer and a general dis-ease that may last for hours.

We are finally decending, and soon I will be able to tear down the stink-shield, but the scars will remain.

I suggest that you initiate immediate removal of this seat from all of your crafts. Just remove it, and leave the smouldering brown hole empty, a good place for sturdy/non-absorbing luggage maybe, but not human cargo.

Even better it appears to be factual:
http://www.snopes.com/travel/airline/seat29e.asp

Death in the Family

We returned home yesterday evening around 2000 and received a call that Grandmomma had passed away this morning at 0215. We are very thankful for the 82 wonderful years that Grandmomma had and especially thankful for the opportunity that we had to spend time with her last week. She died two weeks after her diagnosis so the suffering for her and the family was certainly not as long as it could have been. While we will miss Grandmomma we know that she was a believer and that she had accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior, there lies the hope and the glory in this situation. The picture above was taken in August.