The Memorial Day Double

Well, every year on Memorial day there are two prominent races in the nations two top series. The Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. I usually try to watch both, this year I was successful. I'll spare you the boring details since most of you aren't race fans but we'll say congrats to Sam Hornish who had NEVER finished an Indy 500 in his career but finished in the right spot today and got to drink milk in victory lane at the Brickyard...


And congrats to one of my favorite drivers Kasey Kahne who put Dodge in Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the first time since Richard Petty in 1977. Whoo hoo!!!

Movie Review - X-Men 3 The Last Stand

As I'm sure everyone has been reading, I've been excited about seeing X-3 like nothing else. So on opening night we managed to get to see it. Being the serious dork that I am I bought tickets in advance two or three days before. The Rave was nice enough to sell me six child tickets so we all got in at a discounted rate. Nice. Really nice. Anyway, the movie had one really good trailer on it and plenty of just okay ones that I'm not really excited about. There is now a full trailer available for Ghost Rider out and I have to say it looks pretty damn cool. It comes out Valentines weekend so I'm going to have to skip a day of work to see it I'm pretty sure. On to X-3.

The movie was good, and it picks up right where the last one let off. Professor X talks about passing the torch to Storm, and Cyclops is still broken up about Jean dying in the last movie. From the trailer we can tell she comes back. It's somewhat corny the way she does, but makes for good movie I guess. The mutant cure becomes available and of course the war begins. Magneto sends a public address to the world that he's going to stop the cure and kill anything in his way. Halle Berry and Famke Jansen are hotter in this movie than they were in the last one, and I just didn't think that was possible. Not only that, they both kick some serious ass in the movie. Very cool to watch. The war between good and evil once again wages, only with Famke Jansen on the bad side. The movie I think was a little too short, but it was still good. Lots of action, lots of good fight scenes and explosions. It was good enough that Mike and I are going to go see a Matinee again tomorrow since we're both off. The movie also stars Kelsey Grammer in a very different role as well as Vinnie Jones in a role that was a little too small for the level of his characters coolness.

Outside of that I'm thinking I need to grille something this weekend but we will see. I'll probably not get to grille anything until my neighbors return with shark steaks from their vacation. I've never had them but they sound good. I hope everyone else enjoys their holiday weekends!

Movie Review - The Da Vinci Code

This weekend didn't bring much excitement short of a new riding lawnmower and lots of Aleve for a neck cramp that won't go away. These things are annoying...very annoying. Anyway, Saturday we went to see a Matinee of The Da Vinci Code with some friends of ours. My wife read the book, but I didn't. Not sure why I just don't get in to reading that much. I know...it's odd to own a bookstore and not read. So on to the review...

Be forewarned the trailer for the new World Trade Center movie opens with this movie. The trailer is sad and I think everyone in the theater cried when they saw it. It's probably going to be a good movie, but I'll probably still not go see it as I've got issues with 911 movies. The Da Vinci Code was good. It had a feel like National Treasure/Indiana Jones but not quite as intense. It's an interesting theory on religion in general. It portrays Jesus in a light not seen before. It talks about his marriage to Mary Magdalen and that they had a baby together, and how all of this was covered up by the Romans and the Catholic Church to keep a stronghold on it's people. The story line is good, as are all the actors in their roles. I think that Tom Hanks character probably would have been better played by Harrison Ford, but that's not to discredit Tom Hanks. He was good in his role, but it really seemed more like a modern day Indiana Jones role. I hadn't seen a movie with Audrey Tautou, but she was good...and strangely hot to be French. As a Christian the movie did not offend me, but I'm not easily offended. I don't see the movie as maliciously portraying the wrong thing, I see it as fiction. As a religious person it's still a neat story. They don't Jesus bash, while they do say he was married and was a mortal, they still say he accomplished great things, and was a great leader of men. I guess if you wanted to believe it, it could be a different theory on Christ and his life. There are plenty of theories out there, that's why we have different religions. We don't all believe the same. The difference in religions and theorys has always fascinated me. What fascinates me even more is how up in arms people get about different religions and beliefs. The only religion I see out there that to me is completely absurd is Scientology. Yes, I've read a few things about it that were written by L. Ron Hubbard so I drew my own conclusions, and I still think it's messed up. To each their own. If you can sit through a movie like The Da Vinci Code and just get offended you have some serious issues. It's a good story, an interesting (and yes I believe an untrue) theory on Christ and his life. I don't think for a second you should question your beliefs based on this movie. I don't even see that the movie asks you to. As Christians we're called to have faith that Christ was a savior. The movie doesn't discredit him as a savior, or redeemer, but portrays him as a mortal who took a wife, had a child, and was crucified by the Romans. To me, it's just a fictional take meant to entertain. If you are one of those people that asks bookstores not to sell this book because you think it sends the wrong message...I hate you. You are seriously closed minded and have issues you should work out in some intense therapy. At any rate, the movie is good, entertaining, and everything a movie should be. See it as an avid movie-goer, a Christian, an Aetheist, however you believe. It's just a neat movie and well worth the price of admission. Off the soap box now, enjoy your Monday, make time to see this movie. X-3 comes out this Friday so the countdown is on to what is probably going to be the best movie of the summer. I can't wait. If you can't get a ticket to see X-3, make sure you get a ticket to see Da Vinci Code. It's worth at least seeing a matinee.

Rush Rush Rush

Sorry I've been out of touch this week. Summer classes started yesterday and it's been pretty hectic around here. I do have a couple of good stories for you though. We started a contest here at the store to see who got the dumbest question asked to them each day. Since I'm here most of the time by myself it's a contest I always win. The winner gets a shot of tequila. Todays winner (and only todays because the 100 proof tequila makes yesterdays winner a little fuzzy) might take the cake for the month. A girl walks in with two books and says "I need to get some money for these." I assume they're her books from last semester so I scan them as if I'm buying them back. She gave me a funny look and said "No. Um...I wanted to check your prices on the books." Okay, it was early, tequila was cold, maybe I misunderstood her. So I bring up the same books with our price, and we're sure enough cheaper than campus. Then she said "Okay, um how do we do this?" I was confused and said "How do we do what?" She said "Well, I'd rather pay your price so I need some money." So I told her she'd have to return those to the bookstore and then come buy these from me. She looked very puzzled and said "I didn't really want to do all that so I was just hoping that you would give me the difference in price." I'm not sure what look I gave her, but it had to be a "Did you really just say that?" look. Before I could speak she interrupted with "If I could just keep these books, and you can give me the difference in price, I think it's like $40, that would be fine. That way I can keep these and have them at your price." Needless to say I didn't give her the money. What thought process does someone go through to arrive at that as a good idea? Do you think this made more sense in her mind than it did when she said it out loud? She came back by to tell me I didn't have to hold the books for her anymore because the campus store told her she couldn't buy them here. Call me crazy, but this might be the dumbest girl alive.

75 Bands

Okay, your Wednesday activity is to see how many bands we can get. My personal favorites (picture wise) are The Sex Pistols, Guns and Roses, and White Zombie. I don't have the answer, but there are 75 of these. I'm sure we're all smart enough to find them all...

Movie Review - MI-III

I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this movie or not, so I decided on a matinee with a friend. I have to say I liked it pretty well. I'm not sure how in line or not in line with the other two it was, but it was different. This one is basically Tom Cruise moving on with his life and getting married. He's convinced his Fiancee that he works for the Department of Transportation analyzing traffic patterns. What he really does is train field agents for the IMF but he's not on active duty. As you've already figured he goes back for one last mission to rescue one of his trainees. The movies stars Laurence Fishburn who just can't help but be awesome. I never saw many of his pre-matrix movies, but from the Matrix on I think he's just awesome. He's got the best line when they think Tom Cruise is a traitor and he (playing the director of IMF) says "You can look at me with those judgemental eyes all you want, but I shit you not. I will not harbor terrorists or traitors and I will slit my wrists and bleed on the American Flag to keep it's stripes red." Somehow I don't think anyone else saying lines like that would be near as cool. It's got a few twists and turns, and of course the new love interest (that isn't Katie Holmes or a Scientologist) is good in her role. Ving Rhames is back and he's got a new team of people. It's somewhat predictable so you're not really wondering what is going to happen next, you can watch and say "yeah, I knew that was coming." The only thing it really lacked was a good high speed chase. They had a chase through Shang Hai with two Land Rovers and two seven series BMW's, but it wasn't special. The hot hawaiian girl on the team drives a super nice Lamborghini but it's only in the movie for a second before it's blown up. I think with that at your disposal you should do more with it. Anyway, the movie is good but I think it will fade from the top five once The DaVinci Code and X-3 come in to play. In short, you could wait to video and not really be missing anything. I've changed my mind about Superman. I don't know that it's going to be as good as X-3 or Batman Begins from last year. I know I originally said it was, but I don't think it will be. I think X-3 and Pirates of the Carribean will be the big summer blockbusters this year.

Short of that, the weekend was uneventful. I rebuilt the brakes on my wifes car and cut the grass. We hung out with our new neighbors (because I guess that's the neighborly thing to do) on Saturday night and stayed out too late but that is about it.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

In honor of Mexican independence and the true Mexican way, I'm not paying taxes and I'm going to do random illegal acts to celebrate it in style. Tomorrow I will want more rights, but for today I'm protesting in a dumb way.

Moving on...

Some Awesomeness for your Friday.


Have a good weekend!

The Great Mexican Walkout

So, did anyone else notice how the country survived on Monday? Yeah, we're fine. No thanks to thousands of illegal aliens that decided not to work one day this week. I'm confused as to their message really. They want to be in this country illegally, and not work. Is that pretty much it? Personally I think we should have used that as a great opportunity to round up everyone that didn't have a green card or a work visa and cart them right back to Mexico. Realistically they were a huge target and we didn't capitalize. I think the walk out was the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. I think Mike and I are going to go rob a bank this week and say we don't want to be prosecuted and want more rights to the money because...well because if we don't we'll sing the national anthem in spanish. The good news is that on CNN and Fox News this morning it was gone from the headlines. I just wish we'd capitalized a little more.

Spring classes are ending at school and Summer buyback is in progress. Today I have some help but yesterday I did not and it was busy until I went home. Today looks to be more of the same so I'd better get to it. Have a good wednesday everybody!

#300 and Movies Reviews

Wow, this is my 300th post as a blogger. Somehow I thought this post would be special, or amusing, or something that both of my loyal readers would want to read. Sorry guys.

On to the movie reviews!

Torque - Sufficiently lame. It's done by the same people that did Fast and the Furious and xXx. It's a decent mindless action flick and it's something I can put in and not have to pay attention to and clean or cook or do one of those do it yourself projects around the house I like so much. Usually Ice Cube is dumb in his movies, and this one was no exception. However, his worst actor nod was trumped by Matt Schulze (pictured on the left). Known as Vince in Fast and the Furious and glorified extras in the first two Blade movies, he might be the worst actor in the history of time. Any time you're in a movie made by the same people that made Fast and the Furious that stars Ice Cube and you can walk away with the worst actor award, that's really something. I'm sure Mr. Schulze is a nice guy, and at this point he's type cast in the token bad guy roles so maybe it isn't his fault. Seriously, he was worse than Hayden Christensen in the first three Star Wars movies, and worse than Ice Cube in this movie...and that's bad. Best depiction of white trash for sure goes to Jaime Pressley (pictured right). Mike and I were talking this weekend and he thinks she was created specifically for these roles. Don't get me wrong, she's smoking hot and might have two lines in the movie, but if you were to imagine a girl in a trailer park being hot and becoming an actress, it's her. Hotest girl in a dumb action flic goes to Monet Mazur (the hot one in the middle). Her lines were mostly dumb as were everyone else's in the movie, but she takes the cake for hot chic in this movie and I don't even really like blondes. I could go on, but I'll just tell you if you really like motorcycles, hot girls, stupid bad guys, racial stereotypes, unbelievable (don't read that as exceptionally good...read that as they're not humanly possible) chase scenes, and movies that in general require no thought and let you have the attention span of a two year old while getting some enjoyment out of it, check it out for free if you can.

Next up, The Pianist - I would love to be able to review this movie for you. However, Netflix sent us a copy that cut out halfway through the movie. To me this is not acceptable. They're sending us another one today so I can get a good review of it later in the week. For now you get the first half. To the halfway point, it's good. I can only imagine what it was like living in those times. What sort of enraged me was that the Jewish community said things like "Why doesn't America join the war and help us? Why didn't they do something sooner?" Now, we start a war to free a country and we're considered warmongers. Seriously, do you think people in Iraq wondered why we didn't invade sooner? Probably. Do you think some of them think we should have stayed out? Probably. We can't please everybody and sometimes I wonder why we try. Before I go off on a rant and lose both of my loyal readers I'll stop there. The movie looks good so far and seems to be a good story. I'm not sure I'll watch it over and over, but it's got the makings of a good movie.

I borrowed Mike's extended cut of Sin City and decided to buy my own. I really like that movie, and I also bought Hostel this weekend...both Tarantino movies, both fantastic and wrong in every way possible. If you have the same weird taste in movies that I do you'll probably like them. If you have the same taste as my wife and...well...most of our friends besides Mike you probably won't like them, but seriously that's your loss because they're great movies.