Movie Trilogies

There must be something very difficult about creating a movie trilogy. Even when the story is naturally continued, Hollywood doesn't seem to be able to pull this off very often.

How many trilogies have actually delivered? I can think of just two.

The Lord of the Rings and the Bourne movies.

Patti, Daughter #3 and I watched the third movie of the Bourne series last night. Totally enjoyed it. I'm not saying the Bourne movies are as good as the Rings trilogy, just that it holds up really well in comparison to the two first movies. Damon is terrific and the directing has a frenetic quality that increases the tension. So overall, the quality of all three movies is good.

I think the LOTR is the first great trilogy. Oh, it's been tried. The Die Hard, Matrix, Lethal Weapon, Alien(s), the Godfather series. The Matrix has to be the biggest disappointment after the first movie. Really captivating stuff, then two duds! You can nearly make an argument for the Die Hard series. The second movie isn't as good, but descent but the third falls flat. Same with the Godfather series, arguably the first two movies are brilliant. The third is a real dud, especially in comparison with the first two.

And that's what it comes down to, the drop off after a good first installment. It seems that if Hollywood can pull off the first one it, it naturally figures the sequel is money in the bank.

But jeez look at Speed 2. What a piece of crap that was, and if it had made any money I totally think they'd have made another. I can think of a bunch of examples of great first movies and tragically bad sequels.

The first two Lethal weapon movies are really pretty good, the third is a real stinker. Just a cartoon with the characters of the first two movies.

The first 3 Alien movies are really pretty good, but the third is pretty dark, but really doesn't compare to the first two. (The 4th was a real bummer, I love Joss Whedon, who wrote the screenplay, but the last 1/3 of that movie is a mess).

So have I missed any?

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Biggest, Dumbest Holiday on the Planet

New Year's eve is approaching, one of the biggest, dumbest holidays of them all.

I used to work with a guy from Belarus. And apparently in Russia it was the grand daddy of all holidays. This guy used to get excited weeks in advance for New Years. He would never work on New Year's day. (I used to work for an accounting place, we always had to be there for customers closing their books for the year) He routinely wouldn't even get home until morning of the next day.

I remember being in high school and NYD was just a reason to have a party. When I was in high school I didn't need a reason to party other than being a teenager.

As an adult, I've never been to one of those rockin' affairs that others have gone to. Replete with drunken spouses and stories that would last into the next year. Maybe if I had, I'd feel different about the holiday.

Patti and I have always stayed home. When the kids were small we'd buy ridiculous snacks and stay up late with them. I think the last couple we were long in bed before midnight even happened and asleep for at least one of them.

So for Patti and I it's a day off. We don't have any real plans for the New Year's eve thing. We'll probably be babysitting! WHOOOOOHOOO!!! Party, Party, Party!!!!

So, anyone doing anything good? Any big plans? I'd love to see how the other half lives!
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Sports

I like sports. I'm not one of those guys that watches football all weekend, but I like sports.

Hockey is the only sport I follow even sorta well. My wife and I had season tickets to the Buffalo Sabres in the eighties. She used to be a big hockey fan, but the after the strikes by the players (the first one) that was it for her.

We also watch tennis, especially the US Open and Wimbledon. Great stuff.

And it got us to talking. One of the cool things about tennis is that two people (or four) are facing each other skill to skill. mano y mano. Rare thing when you think about it. We tried to think of another individual sport that had that dynamic. Boxing, Fencing and wrestling?, not exactly 'big' sports.

You could say golf, but really your beating a score, not a person - same with bowling. Races are all about time - skiiing, that oval skating. So they are races, not exactly sport.

Anything with judges is a contest. (not a sport) Snowboarding, ice skating, surfing - again the judges wield too much influence to make it a sport. How many times have you watched figure skating where the team that should win doesn't because 'they are paying their dues'. That's bullshit - it they skated better that day - they should win!

So can any of you think of a sport that has that tennis dynamic?

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Nice

We had a great Christmas.

I really enjoyed my Christmas this year. My daughter's birthday is Christmas Eve, which is always nice. She's my pharmacy grad student, and I couldn't be more proud of her.

We had 9 guests for dinner and 2 extra for dessert. I am one blessed man. I have an amazing family.

So many of the people I know have all kinds of drama and stress around the holidays. We hung out, watched the grandkids open their presents and sat down to a terrific meal. (If I do say so myself)

It wasn't stressful, it was perfect! I am so grateful for my wife, children and grand children.

I am one lucky short, bald guy.
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Bread Monstrosity

I purchased a bread machine this week. It's something I've been looking at for a while and when I got an email from buy.com that it was on sale, I snapped it up.

We buy a lot of fresh bread. I bought 3 different loaves last weekend. I make a lot of soups and stews and stuff and we've talked about picking one of these up for a while.

I have a thing about minor appliances. If I'm not going to use them, I don't want them. Then you have to store the freakin' thing somewhere. We've got a blender taking up space, I think I've used that thing once. Same thing with the waffle maker, although I haven't used it a ton, it does get used, maybe a couple times a year.

So meeting all of the criteria for use, I got the bread machine.

The thing is freakin' HUGE. It's a 2 lb loaf maker and it's taller than my microwave, not as wide, but even deeper. (didn't look that big in the pictures!) Where the hell am I going to put that thing? Counter space is at a premium (90 yr old house).

I haven't fired it up yet, do any of you have one of these? Do you use it? Where do you store it? Do you put it in a cupboard, or is it out on the counter?

Any good recipes?

I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this thing...
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Musical Perspective

I have a large collection of music, and through my co-workers access to lots, lots more.

Recently, one of the guys brought in two CD's from my 'formative years'. Yes 'Fragile' and Blue Oyster Cult's live album 'On Your Feet or on Your Knees'. (This was before the Reaper and Godzilla years).

When I was a teenager, I wore the grooves off of both of these albums. I knew every note, every pop, every crack. And I connected with the music.

I don't think I've heard the BOC album in over 25 years. And musically, it's probably not great. I like to think my tastes have refined, or whatever. But even though I can see it as flawed I still connected with it. It still had an evocative effect. And that is really powerful/wonderful.

I picked up the remastered copies of Diamond Dogs and Station to Station by Bowie for my wife recently. Same thing, like she was 15 again...

What is it about music that so galvanizes in you that even decades later can transport you to your bedroom, in your patched jeans, with HUGE headphones on?

- quick aside - I always wore headphones and played music at ridiculous levels. I remember my mother bursting into my room screaming at me. Apparently she'd been calling me for some time and was very pissed I was ignoring her. She was completely beside herself screaming and gesturing and I was completely oblivious. Great image of my mom with her seventies hair (like Mrs. Brady) - just furious - good stuff!

I try to listen to new music, I really do. But I haven't found much out there that I connect with anymore. And you know, I WANT to. But so little clicks with me. I'm open to suggestions people...

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That Christmas Magic

Interesting Christmas season for Patti and I this year.

We are way behind on our shopping, making this week a real adventure. We've committed to going out every day after work and getting it all done.

And it's been pretty nice! I didn't expect it, I've been dreading it in fact. Sure, the bad drivers are out there and some of the people have been pretty rude.

Last night we went to TJ Max. I hate this store. This is a store for women. Let me explain.
TJ Max is just a complete mess. Sure, they have racks of stuff with sizes, but everything is just misplaced, stuff is all mixed up. They have racks and tables with stuff just piled high. A woman will actually paw through it all to find what they want. A guy, not so much. I just pack it in after a while. Shopping for men isn't about the hunt, it's about the kill. Find what you want, buy it, and get out. This is just not possible in a place like that.

I was looking at t-shirts for my son in law and had my cart in front of the rack I was browsing. When an older black woman, bashed into my cart. So, I moved it aside so she could get by. (It was a narrow aisle). She then asked me to move so she could get through, so I backed the cart out of the way and stood aside. So she parked in front of the rack of stuff I was looking at and stood there shopping. I couldn't believe it! I wasn't so much pissed as surprised. People can really be something.

But we quit when we got tired and we didn't get home too late. And it was really a pretty nice night out with Patti. We had a leisurely dinner, talked about what we still needed and really hung out with the shopping as a back drop.

We're hitting the big mall here in town tonight, probably be a more stressful experience, but if the shopping goes like it did last night I won't mind at all.

Must be the Christmas magic working, cuz it sure doesn't feel like me!
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Let it snow....

Oh, we got it pretty good over the weekend! Not as much as they predicted, but a good foot or so of snow!

We were supposed to go Christmas shopping yesterday, but I made a crock of french onion soup and we hung out in front of a fire watching 'Lawrence of Arabia'. It ended up being a pretty relaxing day!

Of course, I was out shoveling by 5:15 this morning, which isn't my favorite way of waking up.

The local news people were beating the drums big time over the storm. They are all about scaring everybody with this stuff. I mean, it's Buffalo. It snows. This wasn't even that big a deal. But to hear the local news it was a huge story. I really think the point of local news has become all about scaring the old people. They had everyone running out and buying bread and milk, just crazy.

If we were in a southern state, with no plows, salters or any of the rest, it would make more sense. I watched the weather channel and one of their big stories was that it snowed in Boston.
Well, yeah, it always snows in Boston in the winter. They don't do whole piece when it's sunny in Florida. Or is it just me?

More Christmas shopping tonight! So if you need a good dose of snow to get you in the Christmas spirit, you'll have no trouble getting it going today!
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Not too shabby

Well, we braved the Christmas Shopping season last night and it wasn't too bad!

We got about 4 inches of snow during the morning/early afternoon and I think it kept a lot of people home. Which was really a bonus. We had no lines at the checkout and put a pretty good dent in the shopping, which kinda seems like a burden right now.

Shopping late sucks. Puts you on the road and in the stores at crunch time. Some people really get off on that late crush, me - not so much.

The real topper though was about an hour of shoveling snow when I got home. I was doing just fine before that. Really took the stuffing out of me and by the time I came in, I was done for the night. But I wasn't aggravated, just tired. And I rather be tired than aggravated! As some of you know I'm not Mr. Patience...

Visiting friends tonight and gearing up for a shopping blitz early sunday morning! Have a good weekend people!
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Saddle up

We are starting our Christmas shopping today. We are not the usual late shoppers but with a daughter in Pharmacy school, things are a bit tight.

My wife got a generous Christmas bonus which is why we're shopping now at all. We weren't sure what/how much we were gonna do before that rolled in.

So, off we go. I was out last night and EVERYONE is out and about. So I am totally dreading this whole deal.

I like buying the presents, but the crowds and the traffic really take the stuffing out of me (and Patti for that matter).

So wish me luck, as I wade in to the fray!
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Internet friends

When I used to hear about people leaving their spouses and running off with someone they found on the internet, I used to think - 'these people are just nuts'

I don't think they're nuts anymore. I've found that I feel I know several people over the internet that I've never met. Not that I'm going to run off with anyone or anything, I just think I understand this now in a way I couldn't before.

I mean, I've been reading Jeff Kay's stuff at the WVSR for years. I've never met Jeff, we've exchanged a few emails, but mostly I know Jeff through his blog postings. And I've never met him, and probably never will, but I was pulling for him to get his new job, love his hilarious stories about his in-laws.

I've ordered the shirt and hat - gotta support your friends ya know. My wife doesn't get it, she just thinks he must be some internet kook, so I had some 'splaining to do for the orders.

And I read Tammie the Blonde Goddess every day. And if you haven't checked out yesterday's post you'll find you'll know an awful lot about her from one read!

So, cheers to my internet friends - I getcha now!
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Excellent Weekend

Man, does an excellent weekend help!

Patti and I went to visit my daughter at her apartment. She is attending pharmacy school which is just a brutal program. She's already gone through 4 years of undergrad work and she is now in her first semester at grad school, which is another 4 years! She'll be a Dr. of Pharmacy (PharmD) when she's done and I think she was doubting herself before thanksgiving or so.

But Daughter #3 righted herself and is in fine shape going into finals week and her confidence has surged. She seems kinda tired to me, but she has been working very hard. All of the people she's with are pretty smart, you have to do well on a standardized test (PCAT) to apply, have all the prerequisite requirements and get through an interview even to get in to grad school. So the people she's with are no slouches. And she's at or above average on all her courses!

We went and caught a movie ('Before the Devil knows your Dead' - very dark, but pretty good - Marisa Tomei is very hot!) went out to eat and just hung out. Very nice.

And to complete the recuperative weekend Patti and I did a little around the house and barely left the house after our return home. I don't think we'd ever leave the house other than to get food if we had our choice!

So, good stuff, I feel rested and just a bit optimistic. (Which really doesn't happen that often and as a result makes me vaguely paranoid!!!)

How weird is that?
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Finally Friday (for me!)

I've got the day off tomorrow and I couldn't be happier. Excellent timing that.

We babysat 2 out of 3 grandkids yesterday. Jeez, what a ton of work. I'm 47 and I can't imagine chasing a 21 month old and a 7 year old around full time. I was a young dad and I know quite a few people that started their families later.

My wife's boss is 42 and has a 7, 5 and 3 year old. And I know I could do that, but I sure wouldn't want to.

By the time they left (only 8:30 or so), we booked for our room. I don't think my daughter had left the driveway and we were on our way up to bed!

We're going to visit my daughter at graduate school tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to seeing her and hanging out. I might even have 'fun'!
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ratcheting up

I don't know if it's just me but I think people are a bit on edge these days (me included).

There is just so much pressure. Christmas shopping, social obligations, family obligations - don't even get me started on work stuff....

I don't think it's just me though. People seem to be looking for a good reason to launch off on ya. But it doesn't end there.

I think a lot of people are pretty unhappy out there and when they have a totally justifiable reason to be indignant about something, you might just get all of it dumped on you.

I even understand it. Most of the time I think people feel pretty powerless. I know I do a good chunk of the time. After you take care of all the necessary shit in your life that really NEEDS to be taken care of, there just doesn't seem to be that much for YOU. I remember Rebecca's (the queen of doom herself - Hi Rebecca!) blog saying how she missed fun. Well, where in all that is there is room for fun?

And I wonder if that is a realistic expectation in the first place. And it really turns on that doesn't it? Everybody I know works pretty hard, because that's how you support this American dream thing, right? And, ya know, I'm pretty happy most of the time, but I guess I don't have what most people describe as 'fun'.

I know a couple guys that just do whatever they want, ya know, go out with the guys, do bar softball leagues, bowling and that's all good. My son-in-law plays hockey. But it's not a negotiable thing. He DESERVES to do it. Really, that's his attitude. It's not like, well, if we have some extra money, you can play in the league. And the justification is that he works hard, blah, blah, blah, he should be able to have fun. But what if you don't have the money? Do you still do it?

Most people I know, well yeah, they do. Because we've been led to believe that that's owed to us some how. So either we dig ourselves a bigger hole, or end up disappointed (and NOT happy). Two excellent choices there!

Look at the mortgage mess, sure the lenders were completely irresponsible - predatory even (the bastards). But people signed on the dotted line on huge open-ended commitments that simple math couldn't support. And I suspect a large cross-section of these well intentioned people (the borrowers, not the loan sharks) were just trying to get what they had developed a sense of entitlement for.

And I'm curious to know where that comes from. I mean, where/when did we buy into that (myself included)? I sincerely doubt the people that carved this nation out of wilderness had a ton of fun - or any real expectation of it.

So I try to be pretty careful these days what I get righteously indignant about. A lot of the time I think I might be biting off on something that was sold to me as truth and really could be something else entirely.

I'm ok with trading 'fun' for a sense of accomplishment and contentment, because to a great extent, I think that's what I've done. But it rarely looks like the world I see on TV.

I suspect the rest is just really marketing...
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Moral Dilema (at least)

Didn't get to post yesterday, just way too much going on.

I've been asked (and refused) to do something that I just won't do for my employer. Without going into a lot of detail, I just didn't feel right about it and now I'm worried about what the repercussions might be.

But I couldn't live with myself if I did what was asked. My wife has been totally supportive, which is really cool because I don't think I could fight this on two fronts. I mean, I really couldn't blame her if she said 'What are you kidding? We need that job, just do it'. That makes some sense in a totally practical way of thinking.

We have a daughter in Pharmacy school, my son is getting married in June, let alone Christmas.

Needless to say I'm having a hard time with all this, but I can't pretend this is all ok. It says volumes about the character of my employers - and not in a good way.

Suck factor 10.
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