So much for that

So, Van Halen today announced they are going back on tour with David Lee Roth for the first time since the 1984 tour. They announced 25 dates ... not a single one in DENVER!

I'll admit I wasn't sure if I wanted to see them this time around. I mean Michael Anthony won't be with them because Eddie's son is playing bass. He was a HUGE part of the band (and I loved his Jack Daniel's bass!).

On the other hand, Van Halen was my first rock concert. May 11, 1984, at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. My mom took me and four of my best friends to the show (she never attended another concert with my after the guy in front of her spent most of the evening throwing up). But that concert was legendary in my book. Eddie did a 35-minute guitar solo. DLR was unbelievable. Even Alex Van Halen was pretty damn good on his solo.

I saw Van Hagar a couple times later on but it was never the same as that first show. I love Sammy (his solo stuff is WAY better than most Van Hagar stuff).

I guess it doesn't matter what I think because Eddie and the boys are skipping Colorado completely. Happy Trails, boys.

Dogpile

The boys had a good time tackling Aunt Greta this weekend.

I also really enjoyed going to the Rockies on Saturday with a friend who is a Cubs fan as the Rox pummelled them 15-2.

Below is said fan (notice the frown even though the score was only 7-2 at the time) ...

Forgot

Another pic from Austin's visit (turn your head, I'm too lazy to adjust it on my end!)

Rockies are now alone in third place and playing great. Series with Cubbies at home is HUGE!!!!

Third

Rockies are tied for third place in the NL West after last night's win. This team is WAY more fun to watch than any other. We're 4 games out of first ... and it's August. We Rockies fans rarely get to say something like that.

Woo-HOO!!!!

Adios

Well, it's been a fun two weeks with my nephew, Austin, at our house. We had a great time with him and hopefully we can do it again some time.

The picture is of his plane about to take off with a pretty rainbow behind it. A fitting conclusion for his flight back to rainy Seattle.

Jealous

As I was devouring the last 15 pages of the last Harry Potter book, I gasped at some description and Alex overheard me. He wanted to know what was wrong.

I told him it was just a great story. And then I told him I was jealous of him.

"Why?"

"Because you've only read the first four books. You have three books still to read. This is my last one!"

Yes, the series is that good.

I feel the same way about anyone who has never read Dean Koontz' "Watchers."

I know I can go back and re-read them (and I do every couple years with Watchers) but it's different when it's the first time.

I'm just jealous.

Bats

Oh, yeah, and the boys love to "hit" the batting cages!

Acting

You take 4 boys (age 7,9,9 and 38) to the Shakespeare Festival in Boulder and you have them watch not just one but TWO plays ... Sounds like a recipe for disaster, huh?

Actually we had a blast! We saw Tracy's cousin, Charles, (pictured with said boys -- except for the old one shooting the picture) in "Alls Well That Ends Well" and then we saw "Around the World in 80 Days" (yes, I know William didn't write the latter play, but it still counts!)

And we had a great time. This is the second time I've been to the Festival and I am still impressed with the great quality of the performances (especially Charles who kicks butt as Bertram and also plays a baddie in Julius Ceasar).

Visitor

My nephew, Austin, is staying with us for a couple weeks (his parents live in Seattle). Austin is 5 months younger than Alex, but he's about three times Alex's height (or close to it).

Anyway, we've been having a great time. Alex and Andy love having another person in the house to help drive Tracy completely nuts. It's hard living so far from my family, so it's especially nice to have this connection time with Austin.

We're planning to hit Boulder this weekend for the Shakespear Festival (Tracy's cousin, Charles, is in two plays). Then, we're going to Elitch Gardens (anybody been since Six Flags sold it? Still looks good, but pricey!). Then we're off to Grand Lake for some fun in the mountains for a few days.

The other day, my Uncle Bill came up to have lunch with us. Above a pic of the crew.

Still catching up...

... from vacation. So here's another picture...

This is Andy and Grandma playing with dominos at the Children's Museum in Santa Fe.

Old churches

We saw a bunch of old churches throughout Santa Fe (I think they have more than that there, but that's what we saw mostly). These crosses were really cool looking. They are about 12-15 feet high near a church in a town I can't pronounce. Dirt from the floor of one corner of the church is supposed to have healing powers. So, yes, we have a bunch of dirt at our house in case our HMO runs out.

Back with a bite

Got back from our Santa Fe, Alamosa, Canon City trip. Pretty fun.
This pic is from the Gator Farm near the Great Sand Dunes. Notice the wuss who ain't touching the baby croc!

Surprising

Other than some really bad golf and some weeding, much of my weekend was movies. And they were amazingly all pretty good...

1408 ... Didn't know much about this one except the reviews were good. I went with a friend who also likes spooky flicks. It was very creepy and nicely scary. The ending was pretty good (that's usually the hardest part to do well in a scary movie). John Cusack was really good. Actually very, very good. Didn't know he was that good.

Evan Almighty ... We took the kids despite the mediocre reviews and we all were surprised at how much we liked it. Alex and Andy were laughing throughout it. Tracy and I had a lot of big laughs also. The special effects were excellent. In the end, it was a little preachy and a lot predictable, but still WAY better than the reviews.

Apocalypto ... Tracy had to get some work done so I watched this on pay-per-view. All I knew was that it was all subtitled and that it was pretty gory. That's all I knew. But WOW! What a movie! This is probably the best movie I've seen since Crash and it may be better than that. The subtitles aren't a problem because there isn't really much dialogue. The movie is almost all action. And great action. A truly touching and thrilling movie. Please go see this movie. It's incredible!

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEET

SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!! SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!
SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!
SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!SWEEEEEEPPPPP!!!!!

Woo-hoo!

They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!! They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!They did it again! Bring out the brooms!!!

YES!

We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees! We beat the Yankees!

Dad day

So I woke up really late Sunday morning. Played poker Saturday night so I needed it.
Tracy had taken the boys to their swim lessons. Quiet house.
I went to the store to buy the last-minute fixings for my Daddy-Day lasagna.
Grabbed a latte' for walking around the store.
Couldn't find the exact meat I was looking for, but it was OK.
Went home and had lunch in front of the TV switching back and forth between the Rockies and the US Open.
Rocks lost. Tiger couldn't do squat.
Called my dad and we complained about our own golf games (although he says he's playing better lately).
Made lasagna.
Tracy's mom and sister came over to eat with us. Watched "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" (a pretty cute doc).
Got Dean Koontz's new book and a gift certificate for golf.
All in all, a great Dad day.

Weekend

* Played some really bad golf on Friday at Saddleback in Firestone. Nice course. Got two pars. Won't talk about the rest.
* Went to the pool with the boys ... a lot.
* Saturday took the boys to the Avalon Aviary. Alex is obsessed with birds right now. I really don't want one. I'll probably lose, though.
* Took the boys to see "Surfs Up". Good time for Dad to nap!
* Tracy and I went to "Oceans Thirteen." WAY better than 12. Not as good as 11.
* We then went to eat at The Harvest Restaurant. Fantastic!
* Watched The Sopranos finale. Kinda disappointing. I know what they were doing, but it felt like a cop-out.
* Watch the John From Cincinnatti premiere. Looks like an interesting show. Pretty strange, but I love David Milch so I'll stick with it for awhile.

Whew!

Still a little wiped from last weekend. Taught a writing class. Was at Relay For Life for more than 16 hours (including a walking stint from 2 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.) and the boys joined me to sleep over. And then Aims had a special night at the Greeley Grays, our local collegiate-league baseball team, that I had to organize.

Other stuff going on:
Boys are busy with baseball.
Alex is showing his first interest in the opposite sex (scary!)
Unless he's asleep, Andy is throwing, catching or kicking a ball
I've been getting iron treatments for my anemia and I HATE needles!
Tracy has been busy with her free-lance stuff and being the boys driver.
I get to play golf on Friday.
I played in a tournament recently and, wow, was I awful! But it was fun.
Saw "Knocked Up" ... wasn't as great as people say, and I liked it more than Tracy.
Saw "Pirates" ... AWFUL!

Not dead

Just WAY too busy these days. After this weekend, life should be a bit easier.

Lots

Been a lot going on so I haven't had much time to blog.

Here's a quick recap:

* Working 10 hour days at work so we have Fridays off over the summer.

* Getting set for Relay For Life on June 1 and 2

* Got to play golf with my Uncle Bill and Uncle Ron

* Got an i-pod for my birthday and I've been waking up early every morning to walk

* My buddy, Dan, has two new lovely daughters ... born one day after my birthday

* Took the boys to the Rockies yesterday. They got to run the bases. They did it better than the Rockies did (that's not saying much).

* Saw "28 Weeks Later" this weekend. I thought it was pretty good. Some scenes were more graphic than was needed, but it is WAY above the average freaky movie.

* This is the last week of school for the boys and Tracy has been busy planning Alex's school barbecue that is today.

* Very ready for a four-day weekend this weekend

* Will probably take kids to Shrek next weekend

* 10-hour days suck.

Weekend

Thursday: “Don’t forget, Saturday is Aiden’s (my nephew) birthday. We can’t forget to call.”

Friday: “OK, everyone, we have to remember to call Aiden tomorrow for his birthday.”

Saturday (before soccer games): “It’s probably too early to call. But we can’t forget when we get back.”

Saturday (after one game is rained out and we slog through the other and then Jared has to go to work for awhile and then he grabs dinner and Tracy and Jared look at the clock and together say:) “Oh, crap! It’s too late to call now. We blew it. We’ll have to call tomorrow.”

Sunday (Jared takes boys to Spider-Man 3 and just as the credits rolls …): “Boys, don’t let me forget to call Aiden when we get home.”
(Editor's note -- For review purposes, SM3 was no where near as good as 2. They put way too much in one movie and it was still boring. The highlight was the cameo of Bruce Campbell. Bruce with a French accent was just awesome! "Yes, I am French." is the best line in the movie)

Sunday (Jared takes boys to hit baseballs at a local park): "Oh, man, we have to call Aiden when we get home. Don't let me forget."

Sunday (while Sopranos is being watched on DVR): “Oh, CRAP!”

Sorry, Aiden. Happy Birthday, little Dude.

I am a horrible uncle.

Mitzi

The saddest news of the weekend was that my Great-Aunt Mitzi is not doing well following a stroke she had last week. Mitzi and my Uncle Bill live in Longmont. Bill is my grandma's brother. But Bill and Mitzi are as close, if not more so, to us than my real grandparents. They have attended every single major celebration in my life (including 8th grade graduation!). They were also the only relatives (other than an uncle) who ever visited me when I was living in New Mexico.

Mitzi has always been the one to ensure our family stayed together. If I told her I was travelling somewhere, she would tell me that I needed to look up so-and-so who was a 3rd cousin on my grandma's side twice removed.

When I think about me extended family, Mitzi is always the first face I think of. She is one of the sweetest and most caring people I have ever known.

Her condition is such that we don't know what to hope for: that she should get better or not. But no matter what happens, Mitzi's smiling face will always be with me.

Weekend

So, Tracy and I saw "Fracture" this weekend because she refuses to see Grindhouse or Hot Fuzz. Anyway, it's not a bad movie. The acting is OK. The storyline was pretty simplistic and VERY predictable. But all in all, it was fine. Just not great.

My friend told me to start renting the first season of Battlestar Gallactica (the new one). And Entertainment Weekly also called it the best show on TV. So, I have seen the mini-series that started it and the first 8 episodes and I gotta agree that it is awesome. Guess I know what will be on my que for awhile.

On Sunday, the boys and I went on a 10-mile bike trip on the Poudre River Trail. By far it's the longest we've gone. Andy's bike is a little small for him, but he was moving his little legs as fast as he could the whole time. Very impressive and both boys slept REALLY well.

Frustration

You know that serenity prayer where you are supposed to not give a crap about things you can't control?

I'm apparently not very serene right now.

Here are my frustrations with crap I can't control:

* The FREAKIN' Rockies! I watch games. I listen to games. I cheer for the team ALL THE TIME! For many, many years now. From Day 1. AND THEY SUCK! AGAIN!!! We filled the stadium and bought all the souvenirs and rooted for no-name players anyway. And what has it gotten us? A team that is playing so crappy the NY Mets were nearly salivating when they came to town. I hate that this affects me, but it does. The Cubs fans claim to have the hardest luck story but we don't even have a stupid fan to blame for not being in the playoffs, we just have a crappy team!!!

* 24. I know I have ranted about this before, but I have invested a lot of time in this show. Five full days of viewing time, plus about 20 hours this season. That's a lot. And this season has been horrible. Tracy has given up. Dono has given up. But for me, I'm not willing to sever ties yet. I should. There's simply no way to salvage this season. But I'll see what they do. Jack is gonna have to do something pretty amazing to make me stick around for another day with him.

* Time. I know that technically I can control this. But I have so much work to do, so many things going on at home, so many TV shows to watch (yeah, I know), and I just don't seem to have time for it all. I ended up working last weekend and I'm still behind! URG!

That's it for now.

The Runaways

I discovered The Runaways after they were already broken up. I'll admit, I was hot for Lita Ford and when I heard she was previously in a band with Joan Jett, I had to find the albums.

The Runaways rocked hard. Great guitar riffs. Awesome vocals. Very powerful. They didn't do anything deep, meaningful or complicated but that was the beauty of the sound. Just simple rock.

Why am I talking about them now? Well, I just ran across the news item below... Guess they're making a movie about them, but there's no mention of Lita... strange...


Linsons set for movie on rock band the Runaways

Producers Art and John Linson have secured deals that pave the way for them to bring the story of the 1970s female rock band the Runaways to the big screen. Floria Sigismondi will write and direct the project, which is titled Neon Angeles. Sigismondi has directed music videos for the White Stripes, Marilyn Manson, and David Bowie. The Linsons secured music rights and deals that allow them to tell the stories of members Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, and the late Sandy West. They will also tap an unpublished memoir written by Curie. The movie is expected to cover the band's heavy partying as well as the heartache they experienced as they struggled to be known more for their music than as girl-rocker sex symbols. The movie will be financed independently with Jett serving as executive producer. Both she and Currie say they want the movie to be R-rated and edgy.

Reviews

OK, so it's been awhile, but here's what I've seen recently:

The Hoax ... saw it this weekend. A little like "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" but a very good movie. Great acting. Interesting story that was more than I thought it would be. That doesn't happen often. Definitely worth checking out.

Meet The Robinsons ... Took the boys to see this in Fort Collins where it was shown in 3D (it's only in 3D in a few theaters). It was definitely worth the trip. The movie is mediocre at best, but the 3D effects are incredible and the previews for upcoming 3D movies indicate more great stuff is on the way. This isn't Jaws 3D kind of 3D, this is awesome!

The Iceman Interviews ... Rented this on NetFlix. I have to admit I'm obsessed with serial killers (obviously, if you've read any of my novels!). But this is actually interviews with a mob killer. Kind of interesting, but the three different documentaries overlap so much it wasn't all that great.

24 ... OK, Donovan and Tracy have now given up on this season. And I'll admit it's freakin' awful so far. But I just can't let it go. Maybe I'm like Grady Little keeping Pedro in too long, but I keep thinking they are finally going to be as good as they once were.

The Riches ... based on the recommendation of a friend, I DVR'd a bunch of these shows from a marathon they had last week. We watched the pilot episode last night and it was REALLY good. Can't wait to see where this show goes.

The Sopranos ... don't know anyone who is watching right now which is really frustrating because I want to talk to somebody about it. It's so good right now!

Trippin'

I love the Internet.
As I've bemoaned before, my 20th high school reunion is coming up and I have no real plans to go. There are very few people I really feel the need to catch up with ... and most of those folks I have kept in touch with anyway.

But one of the people I have wanted to talk to was Mark Lansberger. Mark was a good friend in high school. He was very cool and just a really nice guy. I used to drive him to school because his house was on the way. He was in a band called Tempered Steel and he actually used a poem I wrote called "Don't Fight The Light" and put it to music and recorded it on their first (and possibly only) recording.

Anyway, I was doing some obscure band Googling on the net the other day and I thought I'd see if there was any reference to Tempered Steel. And I came across this link. And there was Mark. I e-mailed him and we're talking now. Guess he lives near my sister in Washington.

Now, if anyone knows where Scott Winkler, Tim Nolan or Susan Grady are, I'd love to know.

Reach out

This weekend, one of Tracy's cousins killed himself. It is just a horrible thing. The guy was my age. He was a nice guy always had a smile. He had two kids.

And now he's gone.

I'm not sure what could have been done to avert this horrible situation. But it makes you think about all the people in your life who struggle every day (often without saying anything). It's awful that something like is what it takes to make you realize that you should reach out to people more, but it does.

Bummer

Mark St. John was easily the best guitarist other than Ace Frehley to be in Kiss. And some would argue he was actually better than Ace. Too bad.

Who says it wasn't educational?

Driving in Kingman, Arizona, as part of the Testosterone Tour and saw this sign.
I never knew who Andy Devine was. But the name rang a bell from Jimmy Buffett's song, Pencil-Thin Moustache.
Asked some locals and found out he was a famous cowboy sidekick.
Guess you learn stuff all the time.

Bathroom behavior

This is the coolest bathroom wallpaper I've ever seen. It's from the men's room in the Vegas Hilton.

Opening Day!

I love baseball's opening day. This year it was perfect weather. HUGE crowd.

Here are some pics:

Woo-hoo!

OK, so I'll admit I was a little bummed my picture with Tony Gwynn didn't come out. But when we got Tracy's film developed, we saw something funny in the picture with Tony and the boys: I'm in there too. I'm the blob in the back who's on the phone (I was actually talking to my friend Randy Bangert and I was saying, "I'm standing 25 feet from Tony Gwynn right now!").

Here's the pic:

Back to the real world

OK, I had the guy trip.
Had the San Diego trip.
Playing poker this weekend.
Opening Day is Monday.
But it's time to get back to reality.
My goals:
* Weight... I gained 5 of the 17 pounds back over the 2 trips. All in all I thought that was pretty good because I figured I'd gain more like 45. But now it's time to get back at it.
* Book ... yeah, it's not November. But I know I can do this. My dreams of being a full-time writer seem to pop up more and more. I just need to carve the time out to do it. My plans are to put together a good letter for agents and send it out to about five at a time until I get a nibble. This will be for my novel, Wrath. Then, I'm going to FINALLY finish Black Sheep. This book is proably the best thing I've written. It actually scared me while I was writing it. But I need to write the last third of it and then work on the editing because I actually think this would make a good movie as well.

Reality ain't so tough.

Reviews

Been awhile since I got to the movies, so I made up for it this weekend. Saw 3 flicks...

TMNT -- I remember seeing the first movie the day it came out when I was in college. And now it's my son, Andy, who is the Turtle freak. I've been a fan of the Turtles ever since I saw a reference to them on a Metallica album, back in the day before the cartoons when the Turtles were an underground comic that was so funny! The new movie was pretty darn good. Beautiful visuals, lots of good action. I just wish it didn't take itself so seriously. Yes, there was some humor, but c'mon these are mutants who are ninjas and turtles. That really should be sillier.

Reign on Me -- The guy who tore my ticket said, "Hope you enjoy Re-Geen on Me." Makes me sad for public education. Anyway, the movie was OK. Great acting. OK story. But I totally wasn't in the mood for it. For some reason.

300 -- I didn't really have plans to see this one. (Actually, I wanted to see "Zodiac" but the Trib had the times printed wrong for TWO different theaters, so I had to see this one.) The story is pretty blah. Braveheart redux. But the visuals were incredible. Absolutely gorgeous shots in every scene. Very gory and lots of blood. Too bad the story wasn't better.

Second brush

Celebrities, especially those I really admire, pretty much make me lose it. I become a babbling moron. Yes, I know they are just people.

So, when I was informed by my son (who was informed by a security guard) that one of my all-time baseball idols was in front of us, I'm still shocked I was able to remain conscious.

As a dedicated reader, you probably know I'm a huge fan of Tony Gwynn.

And there he was. Standing five feet in front of me, standing in line for the security screening at the San Diego airport (I was there for a work function, which I can't remember squat from because I MET TONY GWYNN!!!!).

I said something brilliant to him (sounded like "ARGHH ... GHHH... GAH ..." and he turned to see who the idiot was behind him. He is apparently used to this reaction and he reached to shake my hand.

As I shook his hand, my mouth was able to form the words, "Could I get a picture?" I figured standing in a security line made a perfectly appropriate place for a picture. What I didn't notice was that he was about two feet from going through the screener (my part of the line wound around for awhile).

He said he'd be happy to, but could I wait until after we got through the screening? I said sure (What else am I going to say?) but I figured he was blowing me off to escape the crazed psycho fan that was me.

But he waited off to the side until I got all my stuff (and my kids) through the screening and then he posed for a picture with me. My son, Alex, took the picture and it was a very good shot. I would love to share it with you here, but I was so shaken, I must have trashed it instead of saving it (I didn't know this until I got on the plane!). While we waited for Alex to set up the shot, I congratulated him on making the Hall of Fame and told him I had a signed picture/plaque of him I had won in a raffle a couple years ago. He nodded like he actually cared and then went off on his way.

Anyway, we walked to our gate and we realized he was waiting for the same plane. He was there to take his team (the San Diego State University baseball team) to Colorado to play Air Force. So, my boys went and had their pictures taken with him (with a real camera) and got an autograph.

When we landed in Denver, Andy and I got off and waited for Tracy and Alex who were toward the back of the plane. When Tony Gwynn got off, he waved at me and Andy offered to shoot another picture of me, but I told him I didn't need to bother him ... plus I was so happy, I really didn't need a picture to remember it.

For 24 fans

Check this out ...

Movies

Haven't been to the theater in awhile. But I did watch two movies in the hotel room on the trip ... No! Not THOSE kinds of movies.
First, Dejavu with Denzel Washington. Trippy, fun flick. Not sure why this didn't do better in the theaters. Good story and excellent acting.
Second, Rocky Balboa (we had a choice between this and Blood Diamond and we chose this which shows the mindset of a guy roadtrip). Actually, I thought it was pretty good. WAY better than Rocky V. About on par with Rocky IV and not quite as good as the first three (although there is a flashback shot of Mr. T and that automatically improves any movie!).

Numbers

• Five rounds of golf.
• Four baseball games.
• One Broadway show (now in Vegas).
• Two days in Vegas.
• Untold dollars lost in Vegas.
• A lot of beer, tequilla and rum imbibed.
• Five guys in one Vegas hotel room (don't ask).
• 42-inch Plasma screen TV in the Tucson hotel room.
• More than 2,000 miles on the road.
• At least four hours in Phoenix traffic!!!
• Dozens of golf balls lost in the desert, fancy homes, ponds and a few on a stretch of highway near Kingman, Arizona.
• Four times listened to Beatles "1" CD.

It was a great trip!

Brushes with Greatness

Well, just got back from my week-long Testosterone Tour in Arizona and Vegas. Had a blast. Lots of stories. But I'll just start with the famous (some not quite) folks we met along the way:

• Woody Harrelson ... OK, we didn't meet him, but my buddy Andy was convinced he was one of the twosome we got paired with for our first golf outing in Tucson (he was actually a local printer who had enjoyed about 18 beers before we even started playing).







• Vinny Castilla ... At the Rockies/D-back Spring Training game, Vinny was helping out on the field and signing autographs. I got my picture with him and he was very cool.






• Dick Hoerner ... Read his stats on the link. He was a running back for the LA Rams. We met him at a restaurant in Harrahs in Vegas. We were rather intoxicated and talking with all of the folks at tables nearby and Dick chimed in. He's a very nice guy and even gave us an autograph and pic. (That's Randy with Dick up above).






• Lee Smith ... He's now No. 2 on the all-time saves list and trying to get in the HOF. But he was happily signing autographs and pictures (for a fee which is why my pic is from far away and he's not recognizable). He was working with Fergie Jenkins. And I was too lazy to adjust the image beforehand so tilt your head and look for the blob in the middle, that's Lee.




• Eric Idle ... Monty Python alum and creator of "Spamalot." We probably never would have seen him except there was a screw-up at the play (it was only the second night in Vegas!) and he came up from the audience to aplogize and did about 10 minutes of stand-up that was awesome. The picture is the glowing man. Apparently British actors emit a glow when shot with a crappy camera phone.




• Chris "Jesus" Ferguson ... For those who don't know who he is, click on the link. I saw him as we were leaving "Spamalot" and I got a picture (actually some woman offered to shoot it and she didn't know what she was doing so it didn't come out at all) and an autograph. I was amazed at how friendly and courteous he was to all of us poker nerds who wanted a memento.


• Michael Boatman ... Michael is good friends with TT member, Andy, and he met us with Andy's other friend, John, in Vegas. Michael is a very cool guy who earns his money acting (he was in LA shooting Grey's Anatomy) but he also loves writing and I love talking to him about it. He is a heck of a lot more disciplined about it than me.

Oh, yeah

A couple people have asked... so I'll tell you.
I'm down 17 pounds total so far.
I'm feeling a lot better and my racquetball game is definitely improving.
We'll see how my golf is affected.
Anyway, it still doesn't show, but it's progress. (Much like my writing!)

Papers

Journalism was how I began my career. And I loved it.
But the long hours and low pay were too much for me. It's not for many folks.
I have many friends who still work at papers all over the country.
And I have a lot of people who influenced me and my life who still work in papers.

No. 1 would be Bill Spencer with the Fort Morgan Times. Still my favorite editor and a good friend. Bill taught me about remaining cool under pressure (I swear this guy's blood pressure is something like 2) and about what is now called "community journalism" which really means a paper is more than a way to communicate, it's a member of the community.

One of the other biggest influences on me was Chris Cobler of the Greeley Tribune. Chris was the one who called me while I was working in Fort Morgan and asked if I wanted to interview for a job in Greeley. For the next four years, with Chris pushing me, like he did everyone who worked at the Trib, and with my good friend Randy Bangert leading, I realized two things: 1) Newspapers are tough beasts. They demand time, skills, patience, dogged competition, time (did I mention that?), dedication and invite, often times, brutal criticism. 2) Newspapers are not my life.

With Chris and Randy at the Trib, the paper became the best mid-sized daily paper in the state, and I would have compared it to any around the country.

This week, Chris is leaving the Trib. I don't like the circumstances. It's too complicated to get into here. But my problem is that a lot of people who worked with Chris don't seem to care what he gave up and what he did to help make the Trib great. One of my friends who used to work at the Trib paraphrases the Marines slogan when talking about the Trib: "It's the toughest job you'll ever hate."

And I can understand that. Chris was a hard-ass. He didn't settle for crappy quality and demanded a lot out of everyone who worked at the paper. I realized my family was more important to me than a newspaper. That's why I left. And while I may have been frustrated at that, I certainly never questioned Chris' commitment and dedication to the Trib and to journalism.

This year Alex also got to work under Chris ... as a player on Chris' basketball team. It has been the best basketball experience he has had. He has learned more and appreciated the game more than ever before (even if I still don't think it's a sport!). Chris is an excellent mentor and knows how to get the best out of people.

I am going to miss Chris and I wish him and his family the best in wherever life takes them next.

Oscars

OK, so my fav movie of the year won for two years in a row. That's just strange to me. And Scorsese was best director.

But other than the Will Ferrell/Jack Black/John C. Reilly song, was this the most boring Oscars ever?

Alan Arkin was the only real surprise of the night. (Wahlberg should have won!). Speeches were boring. Seems like they should have provided winners with Red Bull before they got up there.

Because of yet another busy weekend, I didn't get out to see any movies. I did watch "Date Movie" on HBO and it was actually worse than the critics said. I still think there's great potential in a parody of the Rom-Com genre. Too bad this wasn't it.

Nothing to report

I didn't get to any movies this weekend. Tracy and the boys were to Terebithia and (because Terebithia was so depressing) went to see Music and Lyrics. The report back: They both sucked.

On Friday, Tracy made me go to the Big Band Boogie Ball. Lots of music. Lots of dancing. She was thrilled and I would have preferred to have gone through a second vasectomy than to be there. Opposites attract, huh!

Saturday, I had a fun poker night with a bunch of friends. Always fun. I never seem to be the big winner or the big loser. Guess that's OK. But I'm heading to Vegas in a couple weeks and I could go for a big win there!

All the rest of the time was spent in planning the big "Testosterone Tour." Can't wait! Golf. Baseball. Gambling. Drinking. It outta be fantastic!

I have no gone over my quota for exclamation points, so I have to sign off now.

Light

Big speech ... done.
Big Class ... done.
Lots of stuff to do at work, have to attend Big Band Boogie Ball with Tracy for Valentines, have to clean the bathrooms, have to work on my committee stuff for Relay For Life, have to clean up the house, have to prepare for another class, have to do a ton of other things I'm probably forgetting ... It's all good.
Why?
Because me and some buddies are going to Arizona for a week to play golf, watch baseball, gamble, drink and generally pretend we're 20-somethings again.
When the light at the end of the tunnel is that bright, it's amazing how much other crap it can blind you to.
Yeah!

24

Unless something amazing happens (i.e. Audrey is put to death to resurrect the body of Edgar!) this will go down as the worst season of 24 ever…

The following plot holes occurred between 1 and 3 p.m.: (And I mean 24-plot holes, not just normal-show plot holes so they are HUGE)

1:06 p.m. : Unless a helicopter is right on top of you, you aren’t going to hear it in a car.

1:07 p.m. : Why would there be all those cars parked under the overpass? And how do you start one with a rock?

1:08 p.m.: With satellite and helicopter coverage, they STILL lose them!

1:10 p.m.: McCarthy’s girlfriend went from bimbo on the street to killer AFTER she found out this involved a nuke that killed 12,000 people and ruined her vacation.

1:17 p.m.: AFTER the lamest ousting of Karen ever, Lennox decides to quit because the pres won’t listen to him. C’mon!

1:29 p.m.: Milo and his moustache annoy me (not a plot hole, but a truth!)

1:31 p.m.: OK, let’s assume Assad is on-par with Bin Laden. What are the chances the Secret Service would let Bin Laden and G.W. ALONE in the same room? AND wasn’t it just a little stupid when he said, “If one more nuclear weapon goes off …” (I use the same tone when I tell my kids that if they don’t get their feet off the table …)

1:34 p.m.: Has any CTU perimeter ever actually contained anyone?

1:35 p.m.: After a little bit of torture (10 min. worth max.), CTU arrives and does a fire alarm just to make sure the terrorists know. So, Morris knows the good guys are outside, too, right? So, instead of stalling or instead of making a thing-ma-bobber that doesn’t work, what does Morris do? He HURRIES to get the thing for the bad guys!?!

1:47 p.m.: OK, let’s pretend Morris thought that he could make the little device operational BECAUSE CTU was outside and that the nukes were somewhere else … And THEN Fayyad shows him one of the nukes and tells him to arm it (while hitting him in the sore … ARM, get it?). But instead of screwing it up or declining politely, what does Morris do? HE ARMS IT!?!?!

1:48 p.m.: Apparently Fayyed goes out the little closet door, down a sewer and to an awaiting helicopter (THROUGH THE PERIMETER!!!). But he left one of the bombs to blow up. What if it had blown up? Well, that’s pretty much the end of the story. Terrorist dead. Did he just assume Jack Bauer (who just this morning was released from a Chinese prison where he’s been locked up and tortured for THREE YEARS) would be able to stop it? AND since it stopped, shouldn’t he believe that maybe Morris’ little gizmo didn’t really work???!?!?

2:00 p.m.: CTU can track one car out of millions on the LA highways, but they can’t follow ONE damn helicopter?

2:02 p.m.: Morris has recovered from being knocked out AND is already back at CTU. And the Cloe I know and love would have gone over to him and beat the piss out of Morris (or at least tasered him) instead of hugging him. I don’t like the new Cloe.

2:07 p.m.: Evil Farmer Hoggett was already left alone so he could kill his son. But apparently CTU didn’t think his CELL PHONE might have any clues on it, so they allowed Hoggett to erase it for them!?!?!?

2:08 p.m.: While CTU can grab snippets of phone conversations all over the city, they can’t monitor Hoggett’s call to the new evil mastermind … from INSIDE CTU!!!

2:14 p.m.: Bill and Jack discuss the interrogation of his brother. Yes, that’s what happened. One nuke has exploded. Three more are about to be. And they are worried about Jack going around PROTOCOLS? This is a guy who once killed a guy and cut off his head just to make a point.

2:15 p.m.: Jack cries about his brother. This should be a sign that something is wrong with this season. If Jack’s crying, the season is dying!

2:20 p.m.: President NOT-Palmer and Assad are sitting together like old buddies discussing his speech to the world. It’s pretty bad when a maniacal freak who used to be on Ally McBeal sounds more reasonable than either of these two dorks.

2:23 p.m.: AFTER saying that it would unreasonable to vote to kick the President out, Ally McBeal guy thinks it wouldn’t be unreasonable to kill him. (Actually I don’t care how they do it, but they should do it soon before his SISTER comes back).

2:36 p.m. Farmer Hoggett, despite owning a company that GAVE the nuke to the terrorists, is allowed to go have some “grandpa-time” with his grandson.

2:45 p.m. Hoggett calls Marilyn who’s riding in a car with Jack to say that he is really a bad guy and to prove it, he was one who killed Romano. So, she knows Jack is an OK guy, but she puts more trust into the old guy threatening her son than Jack. This is so stupid it baffles the imagination.

2:50 p.m.: Marilyn takes CTU right by the real house and to this new address that Hoggett told her. Problem 1: She allegedly didn’t know the address, right? So how does she now guide them to an unknown house using just the address? Problem 2: When they get there, it’s pretty darn obvious that she could not have snuck up on that house and overheard the Russians as she previously stated. Problem 3: She keeps trying to talk to Jack and he won’t listen. I hate it when shows do this.

2:56 p.m.: Why do all bombs in 24-land have to beep? (This isn’t a plot hole, just an observation)
Next Time: NOW she finally tells Jack about Hoggett.

Only redeeming things in this show:
No Presidential Sister and he annoying boyfriend.
Drill torture!!!!

If this season is to be saved:
* Morris will have to be actually working with Hoggett and his group who (for some reason) want the Arabs to have the nukes. This is the only explanation for giving in so easily.
* Hoggett will have to get together with President Weenie from last season SOON!
* Edgar's ghost will eat President's sister!

Letters review

This weekend, despite a speech and a 3-hour grammar class I taught, I still managed to see two very different movies...

Letters from Iwo Jima -- Very good movie. Better than Flags of our Fathers. Nicely directed (I'm still rooting for Scorsese, though) with some great acting. Still not in the class of Saving Private Ryan or even Tora, Tora, Tora but still a darn good war movie.

Saw III -- Almost seems wrong to list these two movies together, but I am. Anyway, this one is much like the first two. Yes, there's a lot of gore (I think I read the DVD is more hardcore than the theatrical release). But there is an interesting underlying story here. Looks like they have at least one more in the series to go. And I'm sure I'll see it. Sometimes I even worry myself.

Babel

Well, Babel finally came to Greeley (as did most of the Oscar noms). We saw it last weekend and I thought it was a pretty awesome movie. It certainly didn't hold together as a movie as good as Crash, but I thought the performances of the two nominated actresses were phenomenal (they'll probably lose to Dreamgirls, but I haven't seen that one yet, so I can't say they were better).

I really like how each of the different segments actually had different cinematography that made it very clear which storyline you were in, especially the Asian parts ... it felt like watching an Asian release. Very nice.

Because of that and the incredible way this movie was shot throughout, I can understand why many people want this director to get the Oscar. And it would be hard to argue that.

By far, I think The Departed was a MUCH better movie, but that's mainly due to the acting and the great story. For direction, it's hard to argue with Babel.

Of course, the biggest argument is that The Departed is MARTIN FREAKIN' SCORSESE who has deserved at least three Oscars before (I especially thought he was robbed after Gangs of NY which I thought was incredible!).

So, I am rooting for Martin, but if Babel guy (can't remember his name) wins, I won't be that upset. That just means Scorsese will have to make another movie and that's a good thing.

As we get a little closer, I'll spill my picks for Oscar (and the ones I think will really win).

The Queen

Forgot my weekend movie review: The Queen.

Condensed version: Pretty bloody good.

Longer: I have to admit that I am of the conspiracy mindset who believes the royal family DID have something to do with Diana's death, so realize I watched the movie through that lens. (I also believe the government shot down United 93, but that's just me).

Anyway, the movie did a great job of showing just how isolated the royals are from real people. As an American is it hard to fathom why these people even exist, but this felt like a rather realistic portrayal of what their lives are like. Certainly makes Tony Blair look good (and his wife, even better!).

I have to admit I thought Helen Mirren was excellent, but I don't see it as the best performance of the year. Guess I'm not into subtlety. Personally, I thought Streep kicked butt in Prada.

Anyway, definitely worth a look.

Crazy

So, this week:
* Have to work on 1 hour speech for entrepreneur meeting. Supposed to be funny. I have a new respect for all comedians. Even the bad ones.
* Have to write my column for the week. Supposed to be funny, also.
* Design the Relay For Life newsletter. Doesn't need to be funny but has to get done.
* Work on Business Writing class I'm teaching next week.
* Sleep (at least a little)
* Play racquetball three times this week.
* Say hi to the little people who live in my house (they keep calling me "Dad" ... not sure what that's about).
* Go to work (darn!)
* Go see "Babel" (until then The Departed is still my pick for Best Picture)
* Sunday is shot because we're going to our friends' house for the Super Bowl (they are HUGE Bears fans ... I don't mean huge bears or that they are personally huge ... they just really like the Bears ... so I will spend the evening consolling them ... HA!)
* Kids basketball...

I just have to keep thinking that in March I will be in in Arizona and Vegas, watching baseball, playing golf and drinking too much... the light at the end of this ugly tunnel!

Dozen

Down 12 pounds so far. Still doesn't show.
Just a drop in the lard-butt bucket, but at least it's progress!

Razz

Well, it is awards season you know so I was excited to see the 2006 Golden Raspberry nominations for the worst movies of the year.

Much like the probable Oscar noms this year, I haven't seen many of the Razzie noms either.

Here's my take on the ones I saw:

Lady in the Water -- Certainly not a good movie. Definitely sad for M. Night who I think is one of the most talented directors ever. But I would definitely not give it the worst of the year.

Santa Claus 3 and The Shaggy Dog -- Both were kid movies that served their purpose for me (this means they weren't so loud so I could catch a nap while they were interesting enough to keep my kids from bugging me for 90 minutes!)

Superman Returns -- I'll admit Kate Bosworth was bad, but I thought Katie Holmes was WAY worse in the last Batman movie.

Review: Firewall and The Descent

With the big play, we weren't able to get out this weekend, but I did end up seeing these two flicks (one on OnDemand and the other on NetFlix).

Firewall -- If you want a fun movie that doesn't really challenge you, this is a good one. Nothing too deep. No Oscar thoughts. Just an interesting story. Harrison Ford is pretty good, especially when he's stumbling and falling as he flees his would-be captors. This isn't Indy, this is a real guy in a crappy situation. Paul Bettany should be in every movie that comes out from now on. Dude is good.

The Descent -- OK, so I'm a horror geek. I love cheesy, awful gross horror movies. This one is not too bad. It's interesting because it's about six women, so you don't get the horror stand-by of having a guy come in and save the girl. The creepy mole people are pretty freaky for the most part, but also pretty dumb, so it doesn't take a lot to take 'em down. Kinda like zombies mole people. The DVD is not bad and they actually have Outtakes which I think all horror movies should have. The dancing mole people in the outtakes were just funny!

A joker and two queens

So, this weekend was mostly dedicated to Andy.

Andy was a rat. Literally.

After auditioning, Andy was chosen to be one of about 18 kiddos playing rats in the Missoula Children's Theater production of "The Pied Piper." He was especially pleased because he was given an additional duty in one of the songs of biting one of the other cast members. So, he was officially "The Biting Rat."

Andy had a great time and really hammed it up for the "Cheese, Cheese" song. I think it's got to be tough to be a little brother, so I was glad he got his chance in the spotlight.

And Alex is crossing his fingers. He and his buddy Kevin tried out for the school talent show with a hilarious Spongebob and Patrick song. He finds out Wednesday if they made it. He's pretty excited about it, so I'm crossing my fingers for him (which makes it very difficult to type BTW).

And in other news, my friend, Dan, and his lovely wife, Kate, are expecting twins! They found out on Friday. This will be their second and third. Both girls. They already have one adorable son, Jayden. My dad is a twin and Tracy's uncles are twins, so we figured we had a pretty high chance of having twins sometime, but we didn't. I am so thrilled for Dan and Kate. It's scary but it's also going to be a blast. Good luck, Bud!

It's a start

Well without a real plan except to drink tons of water, avoid ice cream and eat more "real" foods (fruits and veggies) on top of doing some light exercise every morning and playing racquetball twice a week, I have managed to lose eight pounds in a little more than a week.

Tracy tells me I don't want to lose it too fast because my body will freak out, but I'm such a lard-butt right now, my body doesn't even notice eight pounds.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy so far. It's not real painful so I hope that continues.

Crack

I'm fairly certain that the makers of LEGO put crack or meth or some other drug in the plastic for their pieces because my sons are addicts. Alex will only talk about LEGO and even created a LEGO-themed hat for New Year's. Both boys ordered some stuff from the LEGO site (thanks to a gift certificate from my mom, who I will now refer to as "The Pusher.") and the stuff arrived two days ago. Our living room was turned into a LEGO assembly area.

But at least they're happy.

I'm planning to go break everything they have put together because we have another snow storm coming and I want them to have something to do!

Movie review: Children of Men

Not to be confused with Little Children or Children of a Lesser God or In the Company of Men.

So, we saw this on Saturday. Quick thought: Eh!

It was visually a very interesting movie, but that's about all I can say for it. It starred Clive Owen. My wife loves this guy. And I have no idea why. To me he has done nothing that is remotely interesting. He looks half asleep in everything he does. His King Arthur was so laid back I figured he'd say "Yeah, Lancelot, go ahead and take her."

My other problem with it was the ending. And I wasn't the only one. When the credits started to roll, someone else in the audience said rather loudly, "What?" and many others laughed.

I know this flick is getting some high critical praise and I have absolutely no idea why. I thought it was boring and pointless. Then again, I'm not much for big "message" movies. I go to movies to be entertained; not enlightened. And this movie was NOT entertaining.

I did rent "Me, You and Dupree" (thanks NetFlix) and while it wasn't a great movie (or even a good one), there were some laughs and the DVD has a special parody trailer which I thought was hysterical and actually made the whole thing worth it for me. So, yes, this was WAY better than Children of Men.

HOFs

So, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are decided. Gotta say that I agree with all of them (although I still think it's too early for REM) except for the Ronettes. Only thing I can see they did was sing backup to the Righteous Brothers and sing "Be My Baby" which was used partially with the help of Ronnie Spector in Eddie Money's version. That's not HOF material in my book, but I guess it helps when Phil Spector is one of the "experts" coming up with the nominations (which STILL have not included Kiss, Rush or Genesis.

Anyway, I can't wait to see who is singing for Van Halen at the ceremony. The big news is that Eddie's son, Wolfgang, has replaced Michael Anthony on bass in the band. Not that there really is a band right now anyway, but still...

The other big HOF is baseball. Tomorrow the inductees are announced. Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. are no-doubters. With the backlash against Mark MacGwire, it looks like another of my favs, Goose Gossage, may make it in. I'm crossing my fingers. To see Gwynn and Gossage in on the same year would make me consider making a trip to Cooperstown.

Just hoping.

'Nuff already

This one was going to be light... "nothing like the last two" ... "Just a dusting." ...

Well, we woke up to ANOTHER four inches of snow today. In the past 11 years, I would venture to say 4 inches was probably our biggest storm every year.

So, again my neighbors and I griped as we shoveled our walks and driveways.

I love winter and I love snow. But c'mon!

Good/sad

The Good news: The Police may be getting back together.

The Sad news: It's been 30 YEARS since "Roxanne" was released! (Holy crap, I'm old!!!!)

Back

Long time, no blog.
Just got back from an extended holiday break thanks to the biggest snow storm I've even been in. We got about 2 feet of snow and basically shut down everything. It's been fun driving around. Greeley looks like a ski town with the big drifts everywhere.
Mom and Dad were here over the holidays (although a bit delayed thanks to said storm). We had a great time and the boys were happy to have them.
Now it's back to the grindstone and it's pretty tough to get started again.
But it's a new year, so I figure I better make some resolutions:
1. Lose weight. Seems like a cliche' but I really need to and I'm going to do it. Promise.
2. Get queries out to agents for my novel, Wrath. I know this book would sell well. I just need to do it.
3. Get organized. I have come to the conclusion that I can't trust my memory for anything longer than about 2.4 seconds. So, I need to get better about writing stuff down I need to do.
4. Enjoy the boys. Like everyone, we are so busy and the boys are more independent now so they don't NEED me to help out with everything. So, I need to make a more concentrated effort to be involved even though I don't NEED to be.
5. Lose weight. Just needed a second reminder.

It's my fault

Things are crazy busy around the house and I got to thinking about why.

Then, I realized I'm making my son's birthday cake (instead of buying one) and I'm also making several Christmas gifts (can't tell you what!) this year instead of buying them. I'm sending out my normal slew of Christmas cards (many to folks I only communicate with once a year any more) even though it doesn't make a lot of sense to send so many. And I always have to do a fancy newsletter instead of just a normal holiday letter. And that took time.

So, the problem is: ME!

If I'd just give up on some of this stuff, my life would be a heck of a lot easier right now. All I'd have to work on would be cleaning our house for when my parents come next week.

But, I really love making birthday cakes and ... emmm ... other presents. And I like making a fun newsletter. And sending cards to long-lost friends.

The holidays are weird ... and so am I.

One down

Of all the stuff we were focusing on in our house, the production of "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" was a big one. But it's over now after a successful four-show stint this weekend.

Both Alex and Andy were fantastic. I'm just amazed at home mature they are now (usually).

But no kid production would be complete without some mess-ups so here are my favs:
* On the first night, the lamp post shorted out toward the end of the show and blew the circuit for all the stage lights so the end of the show took place under the regular house lights.
* During a sweet scene with Aslan, the sound effects for the fight scene blared from the speakers for a couple seconds. (The kids did a great job of continuing on).
* Alex's final scene was completely cut on one show because, well, nobody really knows why. Just happened.
* During the last show, Father Christmas was supposed to have a present for Edmund, but it was misplaced so when it came time to give it, he said, "Well, that's all I have." And then the Lucy character tried to remind him, "Is there a present for Edmund?" and Father Christmas responded, "Nope." Just classic theater IMHO.

So, now the only things on the agenda are: take picture for family newsletter, write family newsletter, address cards for newsletter, make and decorate Andy's birthday cake, work on special gift for parents (shhhh, don't tell!), wrap presents, get house cleaned for parent visit, make gifts for co-workers (shhhh, don't tell!), try to calm down Tracy who will be freaking out about cleaning house for parent visit, having Andy's birthday party and editing the video from that for thank-yous, and possibly feeding and bathing the children every so often.

I love the holidays.

Clerks 2

So, I don't know why I didn't see it in the theaters, but I just watched Clerks 2 on DVD (thank you NetFlix!).

I have no idea why this movie didn't do better in the theaters. It was funny. It was well written and the love story was actually touching (as opposed to Jersey Girl which was just lame).

The intros by KS are great and, of course, having Jay and Silent Bob back is great. You need to watch the deleted scenes because it does explain one plot hole that was bothering me.

In the opening, KS explains that there are outtakes on the DVD as well, but I couldn't find them. Anybody else had better luck? There's one part of the deleted scenes with Wanda Sykes that is close to outtakes, but I don't think that's it.

Anyway, if you haven't seen it, you should. I actually think I like this one more than the original and I can't remember the last time I said that.

Big show

So, this weekend -- after many, many long hours of practice -- the boys will be featured in the play "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" which is being put on by the Broadway Bound Theater School.

Alex will be Mr. Beaver and he's very excited to have such a big role.

Andy will be a Dwarf and an Animal on different nights. He is outstanding as the Dwarf being a power-hungry underling. He loves to yell at people and now he's being encouraged to do it.

Should be a lot of fun, but I'm mainly looking forward to it all being over after Sunday so we can get back to our regular lives again. It's been a grueling time and Tracy has been helping out a bunch, so she's really beat, too.

Tradition

Last night, we continued our holiday tradition and saw the Air Force Academy Band's holiday show at the Union Colony Civic Center here in Greeley. We have been going to this show ever since we moved to Greeley and it's just fantastic. Tracy's cousin's husband, Mark, is in the band which makes it really special, and all of the performers are top notch.

Alex and Andy love to hang around after the show and get autographs from the performers. And every year they mob the stage with the other kids to see Santa. It'll be sad when they're too old to do that anymore.

I consider myself a pretty cynical person, but I fall for the Christmas fuzzies in this show every year. We're lucky to have this here and such a nice place to see it.

Wow, that was a lot of sweet stuff for one of my blogs. I'll try better next time.

D'oh

So, now that NaNo is over, we can get to more serious issues...

TV Land is brilliant because it is doing the 100 greatest catchphrases ever list.

The only things wrong with the list of nominations: Paris Hilton is in there and "finger-lickin' good" isn't!

Here are my top 10:

1. "D'oh!" (Homer Simpson, "The Simpsons") – The fact this is now in the dictionary just shows how much it has taken over. I use this word daily (in my feeble attempt to decrease the number of actual swear words I say daily)

2. "Do you believe in miracles?" (Al Michaels, 1980 Winter Olympics) – For historical relevance as well as just the perfect summation of the event. Any time someone says “Do you believe …” you immediately think back to this.

3. “And that's the way it is" (Walter Cronkite, "CBS Evening News”) – Just classic.

4. “I know nothing!" (Sgt. Schultz, "Hogan's Heroes”) – Another one of those things I say pretty much every day. Anyone under 30 has no idea what I’m saying, but screw ‘em.

5. “Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld") – I figure it would be bad form to have more than one line from one show so I chose this over “No soup for you” but it was tough.

6. “Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" (Arnold Drummond, "Diff'rent Strokes") – When I first say the name of this list, this was the first phrase that popped in my mind.

7. “Jane, you ignorant slut" (Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, "Saturday Night Live") – Again I didn’t want two from the same show so this beat out “2 wild and crazy guys” mainly because I can’t meet someone named Jane without thinking about this.

8. “The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat" (Jim McKay, "ABC's Wide World of Sports") – Classic.

9. “If it weren't for you meddling kids!" (Various villains, "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?”) – You know that “meddling” was actually supposed to be a swear word!

10. “Say good night, Gracie" (George Burns, "The Burns & Allen Show") – This is one of my all-time fav shows and this line is just awesome!

Honorable mentions:
_"De plane! De plane!" (Tattoo, "Fantasy Island")
_"Good night, John Boy" ("The Waltons")
_"Here's Johnny!" (Ed McMahon, "The Tonight Show")
_"Holy (whatever), Batman!" (Robin, "Batman")
_"How you doin'?" (Joey Tribbiani, "Friends")
_"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV" (Vicks Formula 44 ad)
_"It keeps going and going and going ..." (Energizer Batteries ad)
_"Mom always liked you best" (Tommy Smothers, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour")
_"Nip it!" (Barney Fife, "The Andy Griffith Show")
_"No soup for you!" (The Soup Nazi, "Seinfeld")
_"Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!" (Stan and Kyle, "South Park")
_"One small step for man ..." (Neil Armstrong)
_"Tastes great! Less filling!" (Miller Lite beer ad)
_"Up your nose with a rubber hose" (Vinnie Barbarino, "Welcome Back, Kotter")
_"We are two wild and crazy guys!" (Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd as Czech playboys, "Saturday Night Live")

Done

The book stinks. The characters are boring. The plot is juvenile (and not in a good way!).

But it's 50K words. I might add a few more before I officially verify the count tonight or tomorrow, but I'm done for another year. Yeah!

The only things that has come out of this year:

• A few kernels of ideas for actual good books
• The realization that I can force myself to write 50K words on total crap
• Something closely resembling a habit (but really November is all about not getting proper sleep and that's not really a good habit ... even if I am writing). I need to develop a healthy habitual writing schedule.
• Even with two medical procedures, a whole house carpet and duct-work cleaning (try typing when your living room sofa is jammed in your ribs!), two sons trying to memorize their lines for their upcoming play (I think I know it better than they do!), my wife who was rabidly trying to sort through boxes of memorobilia dating back to her birth to make way for the major cleaning, and all the hundreds of other things that normally keep me from writing, I still got 50K.

Woo-hoo! Now, I'm going to sleep.

Tastelessly funny

I'm going to hell for linking to this...

In other news

There's a bunch of talk about the Baseball Hall of Fame now.

Three guys Tony Gwynn. Cal Ripken, Jr. and Mark McGwire.

Gwynn and Ripken are no-brainers. Gwynn is one of my all-time favs. I won a signed picture/plaque of his at the Baseball Breakfast of Champions a few years ago and it hangs proudly on my wall. (This year's BoC features Nolan Ryan!!!). I heard a stat somewhere that Gwynn could have struck out 2,000 times and his career batting average still would have been over .300. That's incredible.

Ripken is just awesome. I will never forget watching him on the day he broke Gehrig's streak. The guy was class and a pro.

Both Gwynn and Ripken were great players. And shoo-ins. The only question is if either one will get 100 percent of the vote. (Nobody ever has ... not Mantle ... not Mays ... not Ruth). And they deserve it. But let's face it, they were boring. Gwynn was never a home run guy or an RBI guy. He just got hits. A lot of them. But usually they were a slap into the opposite field. Pretty boring. Ripken's greatest achievement was for basically never calling in sick. He played every day. And, yes, that's incredible, but it's also kinda boring. (Please remember I love both of these guys and I'm not saying they shouldn't be first ballot...)

So, that leaves us with McGwire. I'll admit I am biased. I remember his rookie season with Oakland. A season when people were talking about him breaking Maris' record at the All-Star break. He fell short that year, but he was always exciting to watch. He lit up the scoreboard. With his Bash Brother, Jose Canseco, they scared the pee-water out of opposing pitchers. And there are very few people who would disagree that when McGwire and Sosa broke Maris' record in that incredible summer, they brought droves of people back to the game -- people who swore to never return after the strikes. He helped save the game.

Of course everyone talks about the steroids. Possible steroids. Did he take 'em? Probably. Can anyone EVER prove it? NO! So, get over it. What if alcohol became a banned substance? Would we have to wipe out Ruth's records? Of course not. Could Mantle have been dosing on illegal pain killers to help him play? Maybe. Doesn't mean we ban him from the Hall. Plus, WE CAN'T PROVE IT!

So, obviously I think McGwire should be eligible for the hall. I also think he should get in. His impact on the game is larger than any other person in the 90s. However, looking at his stats, I don't think he's a first round guy. That's hard for me to say because I loved watching him play. But he didn't get to 2,000 hits and he didn't play for as long or as well as Gwynn and Ripken. They should go in together and then next year we could have McGwire and FINALLY Goose Gossage.

I still think I can...

Guy coming to the house today to clean our vents and our carpets. Whole house in disarray. Still got a decent word count. Hopefully cross 50K tomorrow. Normally I keep writing until the story is done, but I hate this one so much I will probably just sleep in on Thursday morning. YEAH!

I think I can ... etc.

Almost there. Finish line in sight. Hate every single word I write. Hate NaNo (not really, but sorta). Hate my characters. Hate my plot. Hate my dialogue.

This is the hardest NaNo ever and vow to NEVER try to rewrite something I started in college. It's just bad. I mean stinky. Really bad.

But almost done!

Limping

This weekend, as expected, kicked my hiney! Now I'm a little below pace. But I am taking off early from work today, so I hope that will put me back.

Gotta go to the doc for a test tomorrow and I'm expecting to return looped-up pretty good, so maybe that will help also.

Pushing

OK, this morning was tough.

My characters didn't really want to do anything and it was the wrong point in the novel to kill any of them (bummer). So, I muddled through.

Still slightly (even slightly-er than in the past) ahead of pace. Still waiting for that 30K slide. I need it badly. This could be an ugly weekend.

Half

OK, so I'm halfway there.
It's been a little slow and a little tough the last couple days. I'm hoping this is last big hurdle before hitting the magical 30,000 word mark which traditionally has been my mark for when things really start to cruise.
<>

Almost there

I was running late for work this morning or I would have added a couple hundred more words to get me officially over the half-way mark. But I'll be there easily by tomorrow.

24,700 not bad.

Today's writing was fun because, for no apparent reason, I started a flashback part for my main character on how he became an FBI dude. It's actually working well with the rest of the book and may come into play for the ending.

No matter. It's just fun. That's the best part about NaNo. I can create a character I truly love and then just forget about him because he bores me later. Or, better yet, kill him!

Busy weekend

Poker Friday (Got creamed)
Stayed up way too late.
Woke up way too late (thanks, Tracy, for letting me!)
Wrote a bit
Took the kids to the Greeley Airport for aviation exhibit (fun!)
Took boys to "Open Season" (at least I got a nap!)
Boys and I went bowling (I stunk!)
Wrote.
Slept.
Woke up early.
Wrote.
Worked with boys to clean their activity room (9 full bags of trash!)
Saw "Stranger than Fiction" (very funny and even saw some fellow NaNo people)
Saw "Borat" (Oh my! I haven't laughed that hard in years. Thought I was going to lose consciousness!)
Wrote
Slept.
Word count: 23,211. Still a bit above pace, but now I'm writing past where I have written in this book before so it will be interesting to see if it goes quicker or slower. I'm hoping quicker.

Fake words, real ones

When you are trying to write 50,000 words in a month, the good part is that those words don't have to be any good.
But then when you have to write 650 words for a bi-weekly column for the local papers, you would think it would be easy. But the problem is that those 650 words might actually get read. So, it's really hard to get out of the mode of writing long crap to writing short decent stuff.
Oh, well.
Anyway, zooming away on track now. I'm still a bit more than 1,000 words over pace. But here comes another weekend!!!

Something different

OK, my NaNo stuff is probably boring the two people who actually read this blog (but I'm still slightly ahead of pace!), so thought I'd bring up something else.

Lost. The TV show. Last season, I was so hooked on this show, I swear they figured out a way to send crack through the airwaves! But this year, I'm bored. Lots of wacky stuff going on. Big smokey monsters. Carnivorous polar bears. A couple deaths. But really just boring. Last night was the final episode before the hiatus until February and I was hoping this whole boring season was leading to something, but it didn't happen last night.

Fortunately, there are some new shows, namely "Heroes" (overtaken Lost for the best show on TV ... especially now that Deadwood is off the air!), "Studio 60" and "The Nine" are all fantastic shows.

So, how do I work, write and stay up on current TV shows? A VCR and LOTS of caffeine.

Fun stuff

One of the interesting things about working on a book that I first started in 1989 (and later worked on in 1993 a bit) is that there is a lot of updating to do (as well as extensive re-writes because I really, really, really liked adjectives and adverbs back then).

E-mail was a brand new thing and I didn't know how it worked so I faked it (not too bad). But now I'm changing it all to IM.

CDs were cutting edge.

Dahmer was the big scary guy (now it's either Bush or Trump, you choose).

Anyway, I'm still spitting out words and I'm a little over pace (yeah!).

Cruisin'

Survived the first weekend ... still on pace (not kicking pace's butt, however definitely on top!)

Yesterday, I had to go in for a medical thing at the hospital, but I hit my count before I left and again this morning, so I'm still golden.

My buddy, Eric, is completely killing right now and that's so cool. Also, our Greeley contingent is doing very well up against our arch-nemisis in Fort Collins. We're having a challenge to see which area will have the higher percentage of completers.

The other good news for the day is that it's Election Day. This is not good because we are once again proving democracy works or because I have a particular favorite candidate I'm pulling for (actually more likely, a candidate I want to lose!). No, my excitement comes from the fact that we won't be getting any more calls, seeing more ads or getting annoying people knocking on our door.

1/10th of the way there

After two painful days, I finally had a good one.

I woke up at 4 a.m. (didn't get out of bed until 4:15) even though my alarm was set for 5 (actually I haven't needed my alarm all week. Strange, huh?)

And then I started writing. It just flew. Characters were fleshed out. An old woman was killed. My cop got wasted. It was really fun.

I think the key for me is dialogue. It takes me a bit to get the feel for a character and how he or she would talk. But once I do, it just goes. Their conversations ramble through tangents and silly stuff and funny stuff and finally get around to advancing the plot while defining the characters to a T (or a P or even a Q).

So, I'm slightly above pace (not as far above as my friend Eric, you can read his update in the Edge of Nowhere link on the right side of the page).

Weekends tend to be tough, but the boys have theater school in the morning, so after I drop them off, I can come home and write for a couple hours so that should help.

Day 2

OK, this morning ...
Woke at 4:45 a.m.
Still earlier than the alarm
But I laid in bed until the alarm went off.
Turned on the computer.
Decided to read the whole next chapter of old book.
That helped because I knew where it was going.
Abandoned where old book was going.
Wrote all new stuff
Much more fun
May have accidentily found out one of my characters is gay who wasn't the first time.
Wrote.
Checked clock.
Checked word count.
Wrote.
Kids wake up and bug me about breakfast.
Writing's done for this morning.
3,104. A little below pace, but not bad.

Simple pleasures

So, one of the candy items are stole from my kids (actually they didn't want it!) was a Tootsie Roll Lollipop. I've always loved those. But now they have a watermelon flavored one. Gotta tell you, it's pretty much heaven on a stick!

A painful start...

Set alarm for 5 a.m.
Get up at 4:15 a.m. because I really want to start writing.
Pull out old novel of which I am revising heavily and FINALLY finishing.
Read first page.
Realize it's total crap.
Freak out.
Start writing anyway.
Each paragraph is worse than the one before it.
Uggghhhh! Why the hell am I doing this again?!?!
Hit "Word Count" about 700 times to see if I passed 1,667 yet!
Not yet.
Keep writing.
It's just so crappy!!!!
Keep writing.
"Word Count"
1,700.
Yeah!
Can't wait for Day 2.

Tracking

I tried this last year and it screwed up my blog... so let's try it again.
Over on the right side you can now track how I'm doing on my word count for National Novel Writing Month. Hope it works!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I realize I go off every year on this topic, but GOOD GOD!!!

First here's the news:
R.E.M., Patti Smith, Chic, the Dave Clark Five, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Ronettes, the Stooges, Joe Tex and Van Halen have been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In January, five of the nine nominees will be selected and will participate in the induction ceremony on March 12th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

My friend Dan sent me this item and he was very excited because of Van Halen, but I have got to tell you this list pisses me off.

First, Van Halen started in 1974. That means they were eligible in 1999. And they are just now put on the list? Ridiculous!

Second, Van Halen was "discovered" in 1976 by Gene Simmons of Kiss. Guess what? Kiss is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This would be laughable if it weren't true!

Third, R.E.M. was founded in 1980 but nobody knew about them until 1982. That means they are eligible for the first time in 2007. And they are on the same ballot? I like REM a lot. I think they did a lot for rock (alt rock, but still rock). But I really think they have to pay some dues.

The following are NOT in the Hall right now (so how can they justify REM?):

Electric Light Orchestra
Squeeze
Yes
Genesis/Peter Gabriel
Rush (MY GOD!!!!)
Alice Cooper
Jethro Tull (I’m not entirely upset about this because of the whole Grammy thing over Metallica!)
ABBA (My wife likes ‘em)
Styx
Def Leppard (1977 founded!)
Journey
And the most egregious one: KISS!

Any one of these groups should be in there. It is a travesty they aren’t. And until the HOF recognizes these issues, it will continue to be a laughingstock. I mean this is the same group that finally enshrined ZZ Topp and Lynyrd Skynrd … LAST YEAR! REM right after them seems crazy!

VH is a no-doubter. Wouldn’t mind Grandmaster and Smith. But I gotta say that REM needs to wait (and, trust me, I’m a fan!).

New look

So, I decided to mess with the look of my blog. How do you like it?

On the writing front, I'm getting set to do National Novel Writing Month. On Sunday, I met with a bunch of my fellow Greeley writers at Margie's. They are a pretty eclectic group, but many of them are into the "community" thing with writers, and I tend to be more solitary. They gather to write together and do exercises in writing. I just like to write. Sometimes I like to chat about it, but not often.

I wish all of those going for NaNo this year success. I can't remember if I have written here about what I'm going to do this year (and I'm too lazy to go look) so here it is. Every year for NaNo, I plan on re-writing and finishing the novel I started when I was in college, Deadlines. But, every year, right before NaNo, I come up with a better idea. Not this year. So, I'll finally be finishing it. It's the story of a reporter who writes about serial killers ... the twist is that he is the serial killer.

So, off we go. Starts tomorrow after midnight (I love that it's Halloween!!!)

Why?

When I tell people I'm doing National Novel Writing Month and writing a 50,000-word novel in one month, that's what they ask... WHY?

There is something to be said for getting in the habit of writing every day ... of stabbing in the heart that internal editor who tells you your stuff sucks ... of writing to write without a concern for quality.

But the truth, I think, is the sense of accomplishment. It's something I don't get from writing a press release, working on an ad campaign, or (ugh) balancing a budget. It's a personal accomplishment.

For 11 months out of the year, my personal accomplishments are pretty mediocre (finishing a "tough" Sudoku in 10 minutes). But for November, every day is filled with a goal and the entire month has a victory just waiting for me to grab it.

Anyone who's reading this in Greeley is invited to Margie's at 3 p.m. on Sunday to help us kick-off NaNo and see a bunch of other folks ready to accomplish something.

Just a few more days

NANO NANO NANO!!!!

Oh, yeah, and HALLOWEEN!!!

Disillusioned

So, last night Tracy and I went with some friends to see The Prestige.
This is the second of two 1800s magic movies. The other was the Illusionist.
Neither was very good.
<<>>

In The Illusionist, we are supposed to believe that in the 1800s, a magician was able to create a 3D projector that would fool people into thinking a real person was there (think like Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor pulled off in Superman except less believable).

In The Prestige, and I'm not making this up, the plot revolves around ... a CLONING DEVICE!!!

<<>>

I can't understand why someone can't make a good magic movie. I used to interview magicians and they all had really interesting things to say about the process and showmanship. Seems like there could be a good flick there.

Too bad these aren't them.

I'm hoping to see Flags of Our Fathers on Friday with Dono and Dan. So far, The Departed is easily the best pic of the year.

Boys day

So, I had two free passes to Six Flags Elitch Gardens. I bought another at King Soopers so the boys and I could check out the Fright Fest activities at the park.

It's been many years since I was there the last time. And at that point Alex was barely old enough to ride the kiddie rides. So, I sat there and watched him go on the train ride AGAIN as I looked longingly at the big coasters and thrill rides that I knew I couldn't ride.

But this time was different. Sure, we spent some time in kiddie land (they actually have a nice trick-or-treat trail thing that the boys liked). But then we ventured to the bigger things.

Andy just made the 48-inch cut-off for most of the big rides and so we hit 'em. We went on the Batwing ride first which is actually just a giant spinning swing ride with the ability to control some movement by moving the big wings on the seat. Both boys loved it and were excited for more.

We hit a number of other spinning, rolling, flying things and they loved each one. And then we went to Twister II which is the big wooden rollercoaster. The boys were in awe, but they were both excited to go. We ended up going on it twice and despite a crazy-hard beating the rides provides, we had a blast.

Alex freaked a little on some of the big rides at Disneyland a few months ago, but he was gung-ho for rides at Elitch's. In fact, when we saw the Flying Coaster, Andy was sad because he was too short to go on it. But Alex asked if he could go by himself. This rides goes upside down and is pretty fast, so I was shocked he'd want to go. But he did and loved it!

Tracy is not a big fan of amusement parks (meaning, she hates them!), so I am glad that my love of the thrill ride rubbed off on both of my boys.

Over-tained

Flags of our Fathers and The Prestige and Marie Antoinette
They all come out this weekend.
And I have one son's birthday on Saturday and we'll be out of town on Sunday. (Poker tonight)
Last weekend we wasted our money on "Man of the Year" and now there's 3 movies I want to see.
We have all of this plus some really good TV shows: Heroes, The Nine, Lost, Studio 60, The Office, Earl, ER and 24 hasn't even started yet.
Plus, HBO and On Demand.
Plus, NetFlix.
I may actually be over-dosing on entertainment.
Didn't know that was possible.

Nanu-NaNo

I can't believe November is almost here again. Which means it's National Novel Writing Month again!!! 50,000 words in one month!!!

I have to admit I'm a little intimidated this year. It's going to be my fifth year of doing this, but I don't feel anywhere near a writing groove. But I have signed up. Here's my profile if you care.

I have also cleaned off my computer work space. I have a new computer that actually connects to the internet so I can do updates easily. I am planning to revisit a novel I began writing in college called "Deadlines." I still think it's a good story. I haven't pursued it in the past because other ideas kept getting in the way. But not I have nothing in the way (meaning I have no new ideas) so that's it. Wish me luck!

No. 1 on my Christmas gift list

I need this for my car!