The Weekend That Was

I had one of those nice movie weekends in which I saw three movies in three days. Unfortunately each movie was worse than the one before.

Friday, one time blogger, long time co-worker, Krystal, organized a group of us to go see "The Puffy Chair." It's a very enjoyable independent movie about Josh who takes (actually it's more like he's forced) his girlfriend (Emily) and his brother (Rhett) to pick-up a chair he bought as a birthday gift for his father. From New York to Atlanta, Josh and Emily take stock in where their relationship is headed. Often funny and hits those relationship points that we have either experienced ourselves or have seen in others. The movie feels very true. The brothers who wrote, directed, and produced the movie were on hand after the movie for a little Q&A. One of the brothers also plays the lead. Kathryn Aselton, who plays Emily, was also there. I will admit she is also my new minor celebrity crush. She is also very very good in the movie. I highly suggest you see this if it comes to a theater near you.

Saturday night I went to see the Pirates sequel...eh. A couple nice action set pieces but not much of a script and again too long. The real problem was that I went to the late showing at the middling movie theater. Usually, the theater is never packed...ever. I never have to wait in line, or show up an hour early to make sure I got a seat. Of course there was a line around the building for the late show. For Pirates of the Caribbean? Really? The public was clamoring for this over Superman or even Da Vinci Code? I'm clearly out of touch with the public.

Sunday, the movie weekend was interrupted by the World Cup. Thank goodness I watched it or I would've missed one of the greatest "brain snaps" by one of the biggest players in the biggest game in the world. Completely out of nowhere and a definite tivo rewind moment. It was a near Mike Tyson moment.

After the game, I joined bobby and Brian D. for Through a Scanner Darkly. bobby and Brian struggled to stay awake. I stayed awake the whole time, so I guess I liked it. Maybe bobby is right and I didn't want to feel I wasted the 45 minute drive from Long Beach on a movie I didn't like.

One thing of note did happen. While ordering my hotdog and drink, the cashier asked if I was from Chicago because of my hat. I honestly said "no." The cashier then asked if I was in fact wearing a Cubs hat. I said "yes" and left it at that. bobby then said I should have just said I was from Chicago. I actually disagree. He clearly lived in Chicago at some time or he wouldn't have asked. If I had said "yes," there would've been a whole conversation involving question like: What part of Chicago did I live in? Where did I go to school? Did I know such and such? Did I ever go to this place or that place? On and on and on and on the conversation would've gone with someone who I only wanted was a hotdog and drink.

Ramblings

Fourth of July makes me thankful for many things:

I still have all my fingers, both eyes, and most of my hearing.

I didn't burn down the woods or our house.

That I didn't blow off my brother's fingers, eyes, or deafen him.

So I've been getting my fill of the World Cup. It's been fantastic. My problem has been who to cheer for since the US is always out of it. I could cheer for Brazil since my grandparents and aunt and uncle were/are missionaries in Brazil. I still miss the old Brazil T-shirt I had as a kid. But Brazil is also like the Yankees of the World Cup. I can't cheer for the Yankees of the World Cup. Germany was an underdog, so I was slightly intrigued to root for them. But then it's Germany. Which brings up another question: Are there so curses in soccer? Doesn't the Holocaust beat out something like selling Babe Ruth or kicking a goat out of the stadium in things likely to curse a team? Maybe since it's not sports related it doesn't count. But these teams all represent their country. It is Germany against Italy. Maybe each country has had it's own share of atrocities that they all somehow cancel each other out. Anyway, I had a difficult time cheering for Germany. Then there's the whole France thing. There's no way I'm cheering for a France team. No way. I could've gone the Switzerland route since I'm part Swiss. But then they lost to Ukraine. This basically left me with cheering on a game by game basis. I was behind Ghana and Australia as underdogs. They both lost. I wanted Italy, the lesser of former Axis powers, and they won. If Portugal beats France then I'm kind of stuck. I don't know who I'll cheer for in the final match. I guess I'll lean toward the smaller country in terms of square kilometers. That means Portugal! For those non soccer fans, I apologize for this. At least the World Cup only comes around every four years.

Could you imagine if spiders also had wings? They would be unstoppable.

Hmm. The Cubs still suck. They perhaps suck even more than last month. Apparently, nobody on the team can hit left handers. That makes me wonder why teams don't just call up any lefthanders they have to pitch the Cubs all series. They also can't hit the cut off man, smartly run the bases in an aggressive manner, or really do anything well. It seems that Baker is on his way out. There have been some names floating around for who will replace Baker like Lou Piniella, Tom Kelly, Jimy Williams, Gene Lamont and Fredi Gonzalez. I will quit if it ends up being Jimy Williams. Jimy Williams! Are you kidding me? My vote is for Fredi Gonzalez of the Atlanta Braves. Yes, part of the reason is that we would have a manager named Fredi. At least my NL only fantasy team is kicking ass. I probably just cursed them by saying that.

I'm pretty sure that "Ghost Rider" is going to be the movie that kills comic book adaptations. At least it should be the movie that kills comic book adaptations.

Did the Wayans have to buy the story rights to the Bugs Bunny cartoon "Baby Buggy Bunny" to do their movie "Little Man?"

Can they make a First Person Shooter video game that can't be beat in a weekend? I had Call of Duty 2 sitting on my shelf while I was immersed in Oblivion. I cracked it open on Sunday and finished it last night. It's still a solid game with some great moments, but can't they make such a game last a little longer? I don't mean this as bragging. There are plenty of twelve year olds that kick my ass on Xbox live. I'm mediocre at best.

I almost wore shorts the other day, but wisely came to my senses.

To follow up on my fear of creeping out the neighbor, I offer this story. Last week, I was up late last writing till about 3am. I went out to have a cigarette before bed. Sure enough her door opens and she's standing in her underwear letting her boyfriend out. There was that awkward eye contact, and then I quickly scurried away. I can't win.

Ramblings

This has been a pretty great time of the year for sports fans. We are nearing the All-Star break in baseball. With so many teams still in the mix it will make the trade deadline either very interesting or a snoozer. Fans in Detroit and Cincy have finally been given a reason to cheer. There seems to an influx of great young talent from Utley to Liriano to King Felix to the Mets MVP Wright. Oh and the Cubs still suck almost as bad as the Royals. Then you have the NBA which has pulled a lot of people back into the fold with a stellar post season. I never thought I'd find myself back watching the NBA. The NHL's postseason hasn't been to shabby either. Then you have the World Cup. I always enjoy how all the soccer fans come out of the woodwork every four years to proclaim that this is soccer's year. Much like cicadas only with a shorter maturity cycle they come out every four years and start chirpping the praises of soccer. Not that I don't enjoy the World Cup, but it will never ever be big in the States...ever. Even if the US were to win the World Cup (which will never happen) soccer will be a secondary sport. Speaking of secondary sports, who is starting up all these "Major Leagues" of minor sports? Do we need a major league for lacrosse? Does this need to be aired on TV? Who watches those paintball championships on The deuce? What's next a women's NBA?

Just for the record, that Gnarls Barkley album containing the "jam of the summer," Crazy is an R&B album not a hip-hop album. I know Dj Danger Mouse is part of the dynamic duo, but it's an R&B album.

Yesterday I broke through my month long funk. I'm still trying to figure out what caused the breakthrough. I've narrowed it down to either work replacing my CRT monitor with a new LCD monitor, or perhaps it's because I'm only four days away from...


















That's right! It's time to don the mask one more time!




















Yes, I'm still upset Reggie Evans stole my finishing move.

For those who are interested in what I actually research, here's a few of the things I had to look up this week:

1. How a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer and a time-of-flight mass spectrometer
were combined to be able to quickly analyze VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds).

2. How a Medical Examiner will submerge a body in water when an air embolism is suspected
as the cause of death. You see if there's an air bubble in the veins or artery they will be visible
when released under water.

3. I had to look up the components of tear gas and other tactics used in riot control. Then see
what trace would be left behind by each weapon and how they would be analyzed.

4. I then had to look up and see if Miami has fire hydrants. Sigh

How much do you compromise on a girl if she owns or has access to something unbelievable. For example, if a girl had season tickets behind home plate for the Cubs, where do I draw the line? Do I draw the line at her refusing to shave? Eye patch? Adam's apple?

We will end on that uncomfortable note. Have a good weekend.