A Christmas Missive

I contributed to my DVD horde today by purchasing some Gilmore Girls (I'm not afraid to admit that I like this show) and the two volumes of Warner Bros. Holiday DVD Collection. My, that's a lot of DVDs in my collection. Anyway, I watched the first disc in Volume 1 of the collction, Boys Town (and on the flip side, Men of Boys Town. What a great movie or two. Both of these spoke to something in my heart, but more of that later.

I started watching A Christmas Carol from 1938 with Reginald Owen as Scrooge. And I got to thinking about our life in America today, what our expectations are about things, and all that kind of thing. In particular, about Christmas. I could go on about how commercialized Christmas has become and how we might just as well call it X-Mas for all we don't think about Christ and His birth. (And yes, I know the "x" really does stand for Christ, but in today's world, it's not understood or generally meant as a substitute for Christ). And to be honest, I've played a bit into this commercialism this year, but I do it out of love rather than obligation. ($200 isn't too much to spend on my mother, but don't let her read that! LOL.)

What is Christmas for beside a celebration of the birth of our Savior? I think spending time with family is important. In the past, I've always looked forward to Christmas. This year, though, with the death of my father, I've been dreading these holidays. When I think about it, that he's gone, it truly brings me to tears. And my poor mother, all alone now. She and my father had made plans, well, not so much plans as enjoying being with each other, and they were looking forward to retirement.

Again, I know I'm not the first person to lose a parent, and I'm blessed that he was around for as long as he was. And still, it hurts more than I can tell. As a friend who has passed this way told me, this is not something you can practice for or really even prepare for. You can expect it, but that's it. I know he's out of his suffering, and still it hurts. I can only trust that God will see us all through.

Existing all the things

I've had so many ideas for blog posts lately, but I haven't done anything about it. I do have a draft about Jesus, but it's not flowing together completely, so I still need to work on it.

Anyway, I get several different emails daily from Google Alerts. (Aside: this is a great service, kind of like an automated Google search delivered right to your inbox every day; you should really check it out. note: this is not a paid advertisement.) Through some of the alerts over time, I've discovered some kind of movie-review 'bot (robot) that's kind of "engrish", except more like "ind-rish".

One particular alert item that came across today was for one of my 50 favorite movies, Charade, starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. This is the Hitchcock film that Hitchcock didn't make but wishes he could have. [Editor's Note: While this is one of my favorite movies, it could be a gross inaccuracy to state it is one of my 50 favorite movies. I have not counted, nor have I ranked, movies beyond say my top five.]

This is the quote that showed up in my inbox (when I went to get the quote, I discovered it's for a movie, Wait Until Dark, starring Audrey Hepburn (as a blind woman) and Alan Arkin. Very suspenseful. On with the quote:

Wait Until Dark was grateful! You have to detect this movie! A egregious performance by Audrey Hepburn & Alan Arkin make Wait Until Dark a “have to twig” movie! The eye-opening cast includes Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna,

Doesn't this seem like some kind of Mad-Libs type thing, where someone picked out some adjectives which were selected at random?

Short

The innocent blame themselves.
The guilty blame the innocent.

Wondering

I always wondered what I would think or do if I ever encountered my ex-fiance again. Well, through the magic of Facebook, she contacted me tonight.

I went cold, because our parting was a tad one-sided, or make that one-decided. She just kind of dumped me with no real explanation. When she got married a few months later (within the year), it kind of dawned on me that maybe, just maybe, she had met someone else that floated her boat more.

Which I could handle. I was more upset that, with her being my best friend for so many years, she just shut me out cold. It's not like we had imaginary conversations or anything. I actually talked to her in person and on the phone, and she talked back. Until she discarded me.

Anyway, I realize now it's better that we didn't get married. But that was a really big wound that just kind of scarred over after a long long time. (add a few more "long"'s to get a better picture -- then double it)

The Things He Carried - The Atlantic (November 2008)

This is what I've long thought about "security" at airports now, that it's just for show and does nothing for true security. All the current TSA guidelines do is make life harder for the average and even not-so-average travelers. Real terrorists, however, will always find a way.

The Things He Carried - The Atlantic (November 2008)

We only attack what's been done in the past (like the whole liquids brought on board thing, which seems more about raising the economic status of terminal shops than anything to do with security), and we do nothing about prevention/detection.

Our solution most likely will be further harassment of grandmothers and children.

Writing

So far this year, I have not managed to write a great deal on this blog. Nothing much to say, I suppose, other than it's just been a way tough year for me, possibly the hardest one ever, and I just haven't felt like writing a whole bunch. And not being around a computer to type up the things that do pop into my mind.

Driving to work this morning, I was thinking about National Novel Writing Month (affectionately "shortened" to NaNoWriMo) starting up Nov. 1, and how I'll be either driving to VA or in VA for the first few days, but I should write anywhere I can, not just in TX. Then I thought that I should get some voice recognition software for my laptop. Fifteen hundred words a day is a whole lot of typing; dictation is faster-- even with corrections. I'm a decent typist, but not that fast, about 40-50 words a minute (if I know what I'm typing). I also thought about getting one of those digital voice recorders that will transcribe into your computer using voice recognition software (kind of cool and geeky). So many decisions.

I also don't currently have the discipline of writing daily, so I thought I would at least blog every day to help inspire that. We'll see how that goes. I'm also thinking about cheating on my novel-writing by starting it now, just so it's not quite so ambitious a task, as I will give up rather easily. At the very least, I can start planning it now, characters, settings, situations, plot, etc. All in concert to produce my first unreadable writing for fun. Oh yeah, this is for fun. Again, check the "we'll see" column for that one.

Well, it's late or early, depending upon how you look at it. Rather than look, I should just close my eyes and go to sleep. I will after I post and put my laptop out of my bed.

So, we don't know science

Got this clip from failblog.org.



While there might be things to wonder about in our water, that it creates rainbows when the light hits it is something that should reassure us, not cause us alarm.

Work is Back to Normal

So, I get in today, and our male boss/owner, who went to China the day Ike hit, has returned and delivered us an email: Since we missed three days (24 hours) of work, and since traffic has been bad since then and we were late/delayed, we are being "charged" for the "fair" amount of 12 hours to apply against vacation time or make up the hours. Never mind that the building was shut down for those three days, and that some of us had no power (they were without power until Saturday).

Apparently, we were just goofing off, choosing not to come work.

Still Alive

This past weekend in the Houston and surrounding area, we had this little thing called a hurricane. It's name? Ike, just in case you hadn't heard.

What horrible devastation. I'm so thankful that nothing really happened to me (and debris was hitting my window all night -- nothing major, but I've seen lesser things break windows, especially under high spend). A little leak in one corner of a window is really all. And no power since just before 8pm Friday night. At least the weather is nice now, even if I can't open a window.

What is amazing is all the trees down, most of which didn't hit houses, at least not in this area. But Galveston? yikes! And I know, like New Orleans after Katrina, Galveston will be the focus of media attention, but other cities were obliterated during Katrina that don't get talked about. And the same will happen with Ike (though, to be fair, at least Galveston has been truly devastated, not just flooded).

Please pray for those families affected by this. My life is inconvenienced at worst. Those who lost their houses (and property -- and loved ones) have a tough road ahead of them.

Vista

I recently ordered a laptop from Dell. It's plum purple and much nicer looking that I thought it would be. The purple is kind of subtle; it makes me wonder what the green one would have been like, but I still think it's too apple green for me.

Anyway, my original plan was to get the laptop with Vista and then "upgrade" to XP Pro. I've decided to postpone that for now and see what Vista is really like. I know what I've read, that it's a dog, horrible, etc. If nothing else, I can say it's pretty. And not having a mouse for control is very challenging (I'm not a big touch pad person).

So, I'll give it a month (if I last that long), and decide if it's okay enough to keep.

Happy Birthday

Today, my father would have been 67. Happy Birthday, Pops! You are sorely missed.

You WILL Cry

I just watched this video on Godtube.com. Be prepared: you will cry.

Traitor!

I'll get to the title of this post momentarily. But first, this message:

After reviewing my recording on my MP3 player, I finally have that second thing I couldn't remember before. I do lots of surveys and pretty much get points. Eventually, enough points adds up to getting some merchandise. I've only traded in points for a couple of things, both DVDs (the other merchandise is either junk, or just not to my taste). So, back in January, I ordered a DVD, Grave of the Fireflies - Collector's Edition. I received an order-verification email on Jan 5, which was several days after placing the actual order (maybe Jan 1).

On Monday, June 23, I got a package with a return address I did not recognize. I opened the package, and there was my DVD that I had ordered nearly six months prior. Talk about timely shipment. After all, it came the same year, didn't it?

So, about that traitor thing: I've been a member of Netflix since February 2000. They're the first, and frankly, they're the best, too. I stopped renting from Hollywood Video (except on days I was sick and stayed home from work and wanted multiple movies to watch all day). Blockbuster has never been all that attractive to me, even with their online and in-store combo program.

Tonight, however, I wanted some lighter fare than what was currently at home from Netflix (all good stuff, I'm sure, but sometimes you're just in a mood to watch something else). I stopped by McDonald's (second time this month, which is now twice in the past two years) to get a salad. And there was the red Red Box box (aptly named - who'd imagine they'd find a red box and come up with the name "Red Box"?).

I've looked at their offerings before, and with it being generally mainstream-only recent releases, I've never been tempted. Tonight, not only was I tempted, I succumbed and rented not one but two (count 'em) movies. I feel so dirty. The only catch is, I've got to watch both movies by 9 p.m. tomorrow night to make it worthwhile. I'm halfway there!

(Oh, I rented Fool's Gold, which was cute and enjoyable, but not something I would buy; definitely worth $1. The other movie is Jumper, which I have not watched yet. Maybe tomorrow after going to Batman: The Dark Knight.)

A Couple of Things II

A couple of things (and I'll actually address two things this time, unlike this previous post — I kept recalling for about three days afterwords what the second thing was, but never when I was in a position to write about it. Oh, wait, I think I did a voice recording of what that thing is; I'll have to get my mp3 player out and check it out. I'll post it soon. I also plan a glowing review of said mp3 player sometime soon, too. Maybe this weekend.)

Item the First: I just read that the band Delirious? has disbanded, or will disband at the end of 2009. They have long been a cornerstone of (decent) modern Christian music, not catering to the lowest common denominator like a certain three-named Christian singer. They had their misses, but they had more than their share of hits.

Item the Second: I thought I had posted about the TV show previously, but a Google site search produced no results. So, let me mention Burn Notice, a show found on the USA Network (Burn Notice site).

A brief synopsis: Michael Westen, a spy for the United States, receives a "burn notice" while on a covert op (aren't spies always on covert ops? bad writing on my part). Essentially, he is fired and no longer has any backing — he's on his own. He gets beaten up, gets on a plane, passes out, and wakes up in Miami, his home town. The FBI is watching him, and he can't leave the city. There are worse places to be stuck, I'm sure, but his mom is there, his mom with whom he does not get along very well. His non-girlfriend, Fi (short for Fiona), and long-time acquaintance/fellow former spy, Sam, are also hanging around. He takes up odd jobs helping people out of tight jams (a la The Equalizer) but with a much more light-hearted spin.

I watched the first seven episodes online a few weeks ago (I didn't realize they were available when the show premiered last year) and then ordered the season one DVD. I watched the remaining four episodes last night (three regular hour-long episodes and a double episode season finale). What a great show! My jaw nearly broke from some of the stuff that happened in the finale, totally unexpected.

Now, I can keep up with season two online (since I don't have cable or satellite).

It's really nice to have a smartly-written show that doesn't cater to lowest common denominator (I detect a pattern here) pablum. It's all fantasy, but it's realistic. The characters are real and pretty much stay true to their setup, but they also evolve grow over the course of the season. Great scenery, nice stories, and decent plots all serve up a tasty dish.

Vertigo

I'm a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's. Or, maybe better, I tend to like his movies. I suppose for directors I recognize and "follow", he would be in my Top Ten. Every movie of his I've seen, I've really enjoyed.

Except Vertigo.

Oh, the technique he developed for the vertigo effect is wonderful. And Jimmy Stuart and Kim Novak are quite wonderful. But the movie just left me feeling, "So what? This is really lame and empty." I really couldn't understand what people saw in this movie, and certainly not why anyone would rank it their favorite Hitchcock movie. I know virtually every movie's is someone's favorite movie, but there's no accounting for some people's taste.

Before legions of Hitchcock/Vertigo fans attack, please, please, please, read the rest of the story.

I went to see my mother this past weekend (the fourth weekend). She has cable (I don't), and I enjoy getting to watch SCi-Fi, Cartoon Network, Nick, HGTV, etc. This time, I watched quite a bit of TCM (Turner Classic Movies). There was a Hitchcock festival on TCM, and I watched several movies, one of which was, you guessed it, Vertigo. Actually, it was already running when I came across it. I told my mother that I was going to watch it again, but that I just didn't get why people like this movie. I was going to give it a fourth or fifth try.

An important note before continuing: I have only seen Vertigo on tv, not on DVD. I'm still not sure how it figures in, but I know that it does somewhere or somehow.

We get to the point after the inquest (which I don't recall ever seeing before), but I do remember Jimmy Stewart being in the recovery asylum.

Then, the movie continues. My jaw hits the floor (not really, that would hurt, but, you know, it's just an expression of surprise, shock, and/or awe). I've never seen this bit before. Who's this Judy woman? And I continue watching, understanding more and more why people like this movie. When it's over, I'm furiously trying to figure out how in the world I could have not seen the most important part of the movie — multiple times! It's still not my favorite Hitchcock film (either Psycho or North by Northwest fills that role), but it has certainly moved way up the list as an interesting movie, one I can unreservedly recommend others watch.

A Couple of Things

On June 5, the right side of my face went numb and stopped moving. Not sure if I was having a stroke, I went to the emergency room. It turns out to be a Bell's Palsy (link on WebMD opens in new window/tab), apparently a result of a severe sinus infection and no small amount of stress over the past few months.

After years of abusing my body by not taking care of it, exercising, and eating decently, it was also discovered that I have high blood pressure and diabetes (the non-insulin injecting kind). The good news is that my doctor feels that losing 25 pounds or so should fix things so that I don't have to take medication any longer. The nurse gave me a glucose testing kit (which only has 10 strips and 10 lancets, so they went pretty quickly when you're testing multiple times a day -- I'm going to once a day testing now).

When I filled my prescription to get new lancets and testing strips, the pharmacy was out of the testing strips the insurance company would cover. And buying the larger size (100-count as opposed to 50-count) would cost me $109. Well, the insurance company has their rules about stuff, so I didn't think much about it until I got home.

Interlude

The insurance company won't let me renew my diabetes medication until the 28th because it would be "too soon" otherwise. Whatever.

End Interlude

When unpackaging what I could get tonight, I discovered this: I couldn't get 100 test strips covered, only 50, but for lancets (mind you, one use only), I got a box of 100. That just doesn't make sense to me. I know it's all a money game, but I think it's almost as ridiculous as being treated like a criminal just to buy sinus medication and not being able to buy it in bulk if it's on sale or just to have.

Grrr

(P.S.: I know I said a couple of things, but I've forgotten the second thing.)

Super, man

Those of you who know me know of my love of Superman. I mean, my cat's name is Clark Kent. I came across this video tonight on godtube.com (the link should take you to a new window or tab if you know how to do that).

Superman

Gone

It's been a while since I last posted.

My father passed away at 4:30 a.m. on May 6, 2008. I went home May 2 (after watching Iron Man) not so much to say goodbye as to let him know I was there and be a support for my mother. And to be there with him. I often downplay my role in anything, like this wasn't about me. But then I realized, this was about all three of us: my mom, my dad, and me. We're a family, and this happened to all us, not just him or her or them.

And I haven't known completely how to grieve; I've mostly been just numb. For my father's sake, we're glad he's not suffering any longer. (Those last few days, when the medical staff were administering morphine for pain management, we discovered the morphine was 40% effective at best, as his veins were collapsing or infection was blocking the central line.) We had hoped, of course, that he would recover from the brain cancer, but we also knew it was an uphill battle. And we're confident he's in heaven now, glorifying Jesus.

On Memorial Day, I hadn't gone to sleep until 5:30 a.m. from the night before, and I had a dream that my cat (Clark) was killed in an explosion. It was framed as an angry woman dressed all in red planting explosives in a house as revenge against the home owner. Clark ran away from the house but returned the next morning. I had to leave Clark at the house to go take care of some business, and then the house exploded (I was a couple of miles away but heard the explosion). Someone told me the house exploded; I asked about the homeowner and was told he wasn't even around. Then I asked about Clark and was told he didn't make it.

In my dream, I began weeping and wailing for what seemed like hours. Loudly. Very loudly. I woke up weeping and wailing, and I immediately looked for Clark (he was at the foot of the bed, breathing). Then, I realized the dream wasn't about Clark at all but about my father (just in case you didn't pick up on that bit). And I wept for another 30 minutes or so until I just ran out of tears. God assured me that I would have plenty more times to cry for him, and that it's all good. And I have cried quite a few times since then.

My mom and I miss him terribly.

A Really Big Store

Monday nights, I meet with a men's group for some accountability and mutual encouragement. This past Monday, we wound up not meeting, so I decided to go to Ikea and look around, see what's new, blag blah blah.

If you don't know about Ikea, it's about the size of a Super-Wal-Mart, two stories. You're also guided through all their different departments. One cannot just run in and grab something without getting the whole "Ikea experience".

About half way through the top floor (where one is encouraged to begin), my knee started hurting. When I got back downstairs, it was beginning to edge toward the excruciating side of things. Trying to find the exit, I was limping softly along, and I finished just short of a long step-drag. Yes, there are so-called "short-cut" exits, but you still have to meander through all the departments, just about 75% of the length rather than the whole.

I only wish there had been a manager or comment card available that I could have voiced my opinion of their enforced shopping method. I guess I can search their web site, but I truly believe that unless I have some kind of scooter or am being pushed in a wheelchair, I will not darken the doors of Ikea again.

Some DVD posting babble

Recently, I wrote about Emergency!. I had gotten the first three seasons on DVD. I went to Sam's tonight to get Season 4 to complete the collection of what's been released so far. Sadly, it was not to be found. I'm not sure what will happen now. My life, nay, my collection, is incomplete!

Okay, Deep Discount DVD recently had The Flash TV series from the late 80's on sale, so I ordered it. I received it Tuesday, and I look forward to watching it. I know it's not the greatest, but it's The Flash. I must love it.

Very exciting news, Freakazoid! is finally coming out on DVD. The news was released on the web site, TV Shows on DVD on April 1, so I was a little leery. They have a link to a trailer on the WB website showing Tiny Toon Adventures and Freakazoid! both being released on July 29. I would feel less inclined to believe this a hoax were it available at Amazon.com for pre-order.

Then there are upcoming releases for Teen Titans Go! and The Batman, both Season 5 (and also the end of each series, I believe, though I think The Batman might be revamping into a new Justice League cartoon, which I'm pretty sure won't suck).

Also exciting DVD news to this super-hero geek, Birds of Prey looks like it might actually be getting a shiny spinny release as well. This was a short-lived series from 2002 on The WB about three crime-fighting heroines, loosely based upon a comic of the same name (which itself is pretty kick-you-know-where). Sadly, The WB canceled the show after about six episodes aired (okay, imdb.com says all thirteen episodes aired, but I only saw about six, and I was looking for it all the time and couldn't find it!). I think right when the writers and actors were getting into the groove, the axe came down. Another victim in the only-instant-success-matters-because-the-audience-is-too-stupid-build-up-a-show mentality of network TV. :::sigh:::

I also recently ordered and received Newhart Season 1 and Barney Miller Season 2. I have yet to get Equalizer, even though I've been stoked about it from the first word I heard. It must be expense that has kept me from ordering it (nigh on to $35!). I think I'll wait a few more weeks and order it from Deep Discount's semi-annual 20%-off sale.

Chocolate Skittles

Note: This should have been published 3/28, but when I tried to publish via email, it came back as undeliverable, and I just didn't get around to it until today.

I went to Wal-Mart last night (and didn't buy a DVD!). At the checkout, I impulsively picked up a bag of the new chocolate Skittles. Someone (CR) had said they were horrible. I won't go that far, but I don't think I'll choose to eat them again. They left a bad chemical aftertaste in my mouth. When chocolate is apparently your first and favorite food group, something like this does not aid in spreading the joy of chocolate.

Your mileage may vary. Splenda tastes poisonous to me (except in very rare circumstances), while others (e.g., DA) love it. Fifty cents at Wal-Mart, it's not a big investment to buy a bag for yourself and make up your own mind. I'm not gonna do it for you.

Emergency!

I recently bought season one of the 1970's show, Emergency!, going on my memory of enjoying it as a kid. I started watching it last Saturday, and it's just as much fun now as I remember it as a child. (I was 7 or 8 when it came out.)

The pilot episode covers the establishment of the paramedic program in California. We take such a program for granted and a given today, but who could imagine that it was ever not around, and that it could have been controversial. Apparently, the controversy arose over the paramedics not being doctors, and many doctors wanting true doctors to be doing everything (that is, if the show's plot had any basis in reality — and I believe it does, unlike any sit-com out there today, which has no basis in reality because people never act as stupid in these types of situations as they are portrayed).

Anyway, the vehicles look very dated, though I'm sure they looked quite modern at the time the show was made, but other than that, it's quite enjoyable.

I Could Never be Your Woman

Have I ever mentioned I love movies? I watched a movie last Friday night, I Could Never Be Your Woman, that was released direct to DVD. Normally, this is the kiss of death for a movie, but in this case, nope. I saw it reviewed on Ebert & Roeper, and both critics gave it a thumbs up. I'm glad in this case that I took them at their word (normally I ignore critics). While Romantic comedies typically follow a pattern (thus becoming far too predictable), this one breaks some of the patterns.

It's a May-December romantic comedy with the guy being younger this time. I didn't buy Jon Lovitz ever being involved with Michelle Pfeiffer (he's the ex), and I don't buy Paul Rudd passing for "29" (he was born in 1969, and a few too many wrinkles show here and there) — and this should probably be the last time an attempt to pass him off as that young. But those two quibbles aside, this movie was quite enjoyable, certainly heavy on the comedy side. And the night club scene really bowled me over; Paul Rudd should try a really physical comedy (I have a feeling he wasn't acting so much in this movie), as it appears he has such great timing.

Don't bother watching the deleted scenes; they add nothing. (And the second one really destroys the tone of the rest of the movie; I'm glad it made it to the cutting room floor.)

More Eli Stone

Hey, Look! a new entry! Sorry, I've got lots of thoughts, most of them irrelevant, but I'll see if I can remember to share them anyway. And, please, drink my milkshake — I'm lactose intolerant.

Now that I've watched a few episodes of Eli Stone (all but the last episode), I must say it's really grown on me. There's a certain predictability a la House (three wrong diagnoses and a final pronouncement), but the writers (yay writers!) really keep it interesting. And the last episode I watched (from 3/6) was a real I-can't-believe-they-did-it moment, really setting up for a good story arc over the rest of the season, however long or short it winds up being. I really like this show.

Eli Stone

Pardon me as I'm typing this standing up.

I had read about Eli Stone a few weeks ago. A very promising premise (precisely!) piqued my curiosity, much like Pushing Daisies: quirky, different, not something run-of-the-mill. Mr. Stone starts having hallucinations of George Michael singing "Faith" in his living room, the lobby at work, etc. He finds out (eventually) that he has an aneurysm (something apparently hereditary so maybe his dead dad wasn't just an alcoholic).

Overall, a very enjoyable show. And, no, I don't think this episode encourages parents to stop giving vaccinations to their children (the plot of episode one involved a mother who claims her son developed autism one week after receiving a vaccination. It's just a show, people.).

The only problem I have with the show is the concept of God they portrayed, which seems to be more the pantheistic (God is everything) style. We'll see where they go.

Here's a poem I wrote last night. excuse the roughness.

What a Day
For the first time ever,
The cheerleader who lives across the way
Saw me and smiled at me.
It was really wild.

For the first time ever,
The jock down the street
Gave me a glance and chuckled.
Sure beats getting pantsed.

For the first time ever,
The traffic cop saw me waiting to cross.
He could not hide his beaming face.
At least it's not a downtown ride.

For the first time ever,
I had a really good day.
No sneering or leering, jeering or fearing.
Maybe I've just imagined it all.

As I got ready for bed that night,
Contemplating the beauty I had encountered,
What did I see when looking down:
My shirt tail poking through my fly.

© 2008 - 42 Penguin Productions

A Quote to Live By

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
--Unknown