The Problem with Parrots and Superheroes

A wedding followed by a bachelor party for another upcoming wedding. This is what summer is all about. We headed to Boston and saw the Red Sox defeat the Twins. The limo ride was nice. Getting a 10:30 start was the way to go.
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How to compare the fantastic 4 and Sky high? Both movies are not all that good but not as bad as one would originally guess. Sky High had some very funny scenes and lines. “My mother talks to animals, she says they don’t like being eaten.” Bruce Campbell was pretty good as was Ron Wilson the bus driver. The movie fell into the Disney mold and got way too predictable.
The Fantastic Four was good fun. Jessica Alba was her usual gorgeous self, the thing was not CGI thank goodness, and Johny Storm was very well cast.

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LONDON (AFP) - A foul-mouthed parrot previously owned by a lorry driver has been banished from public areas in a British animal sanctuary after repeatedly embarrassing his keepers, they said." He's told a lady mayoress to f..(expletive) off and he told a lady vicar: 'And you can f... off as well'," sanctuary worker Stacey Clark said. Two policemen came to have a look at the centre. He told them: 'And you can f... off you two wankers'."
"He does say 'Hello, big boy' and 'Thank you' when you give him a biscuit," she added. "But it's mainly naughty words and always to the wrong people. We're trying to teach him not to swear. Macaws are very intelligent birds."
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Reading: Shadow of the Hegemon
Listening to: Colin Hay
Watching: Laguna Beach, Hogan Knows Best, Blow Out,

Wedding etc

Just got back from Dan's wedding. I'll post some pictures at some point but I did not take too many. This wedding was at his house, on the beach which meant no driving to the reception hall.
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Clinton announced again his regret for not doing more to stop the killing in Rwanda. The reason ofcourse was from the people we had lost in Somalia. One thing that is odd is that even though the UN is supposed to deal with situations like this, if something goes wrong the blame still falls on us partly, as it should. There was soo much outrage over the US going above the UN in Iraq and probably other situations but if it is sometimes expected then when is it right and not right? In hindsight we should have done much more in Rwanda and obviously Iraq is a mess scarring the US image and our ability to "police" the world for a long time.
The UN debated what to do in Rwanda for far too long. The US and other countries did not take enough decisive action here when they could have. France actually saved thousands of people when they went in and set up a safe zone. They received permission from the UN beforehand.
Anyways, enough on that rant. I never talk about politics and will not for a long time. Back to movies, pictures and jokes.
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Listening to: Colin Hay

Toddler has identity stolen, twice

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - At 22 months old, Jabriona Terry is a little young to have her own phone. But her mother discovered her daughter's name listed in a phone book and soon realized an acquaintance had used the girl's Social Security number to set up the phone service.
It wasn't the first time the girl has been victimized by identity theft, her mother said.
Someone else using her name and Social Security number listed her on his tax return, claiming her as a dependent to get a larger tax refund, she said.
Another reason Terry has not gotten a response is that technically she and her daughter are not victims of fraud because there was no financial loss, Niblick said.
The phone company has suffered financial losses, so unless it files charges, nothing will be done, he said.
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Also, please be on the look out for this person:

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. - Police are on the lookout for the naked tickler. Investigators said they believe one man could be responsible for a series of bizarre break-ins in which a naked man enters victims' rooms while they are sleeping and tries to tickle their feet.

The naked tickler struck again in New Smyrna Beach over the weekend.
Investigators have been working on five similar, unsolved cases since 2001. Most of the victims are women over age 60, said police Cmdr. Wade Kirby.
Kirby said no arrests have yet been made because they don't have a lot to go on.

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A group of dogs is taken to a day camp near Bogota in a bus in this photo taken on June 30, 2005. The Transmiperro system (Transport my Dog) is a day camp for dogs, where a colourful bus takes them to a camp in the village of Cajic, 30 km (19 miles) north of Bogot, where the animals are trained and enjoy games and activities. Each pet owner pays between $34 and $106 per month depending on the program the dog is enrolled in. The dogs are returned home, exhausted, at the end of the day

A few recent films

The Best

Batman Begins

Christian Bale as Batman is really all you had to say to get me to see this film. He may be the best actor in Hollywood that noone knows. His dedication to his work in films like the Machinist(He went down to 125 pounds only to go back to 190 for Batman) is well know in Hollywood.
I then heard the rest of the cast: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Katie Holmes, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe. They were all good. Oldman played a normal person and not a villain for once, Freeman was his usual self and Katie Holmes looked good with her sexy half smile. Oddly Cillian Murphy was among the best characters and barely recognizable from 28 days later.
Anyways back to the movie. Without going into too many details, this was the best movie of the Summer thus far along with Crash. This was a Batman grounded in the character of Batman. We do not have the silly villains and all their backstories but just the Physical and physiological journey of Bruce Wayne. This is an all around excellent film.

Crash

Not too preachy. That sums up this film nicely. Most people know this is a film about the constant challenge of living with multiple cultures in the United States. I was worried that this film would throw us soo many stereotypes and messages that it would weigh heavily against the story. This, luckily did not occur. Crash does delve deep into American racism, but it does so after building up a cast of incredible characters. The bottom line here is that every day at any time your life can be altered, even destroyed due to a wrong decision. Crash deals with devastating decisions grounded in misconceptions of race. Every angle is covered here and there are no "good guys or bad guys." We are the villains if we act before we think or understand. This should be a heavy Academy Awards film.




Howl's Moving Castle

Hayao Miyazaki is regarded as one of the greatest creators of animated films, and his work certainly stands as some of the best the genre has to offer. What is surprising is that people in the stays do not seem to care too much about his films. I do not like anime and I do not think most people do. This is not anime but is a traditional cartoon. The creativity and originality is once again on a new level. I never know what to expect from a Miyazaki film. The steam powered World War 2 styled armies with Napoleonic soldiers was brilliant. It was kind of like a society that could have occurred if flight was discovered before the electric engine.
This is no Spirited Away, but still one of the Summer's best.


The Pretty Good

The Kingdon of Heaven and Earth

Do not let the bad reviews fool you into thinking this is another Alexander. This is a fine film but just not another Gladiator. The battle scenes and castle sieges are classic scenes. I guess people were disappointed by how politically correct this film tries to be. I know Scott had the Muslim groups all over him during filming and probably some major christian groups as well. The Crusades were not religion's finest hour. Scott depicts this with an eye for political correctness. It is apparent but did not lessen my enjoyment.

Mr and Mrs Smith

Ahh Angelina, is there anything you can't do? Sexy people become spies in this insanely well shot action movie. This is a silly story that should not have worked but when the film is shot soo well it works on many levels. I'm still wondering when Brad Pitt will begin acting in roles that he is capable of (Fight Club, Kalifornia, Snatch, 12 Monkeys) as opposed to everything he has done since 2001 which seem like watered down popcorn films.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Not as good as the BBC version from the 80's but still a decent film. They kept the whale scene in tact which made me happy. What a classic book made into an ok film, oh well.

Sin City /The Jacket

This is a fun film full of great acting and impressive video style. Micky Rourke is the true star here but the cast in general is quite good. I reviewed this earlier along with the Jacket which was another good film.

Hostage

Good stuff. This film breezed out of theatres early to make room for Star Wars and some other drivel. I liked it, you'll probably like it too so you should go get it, watch it and then finish reading my reviews after you're done.

Wedding Crashers

This was almost a great film. Vince Vaughn owns every scene he is in and I was laughing so hard I was crying at one point. Cut out the last 1/2 hour and maybe remove Owen Wilson and you have a classic. I would still see this just for Vaughn at his best. One of the best comedic performances.

Dark Water

Not bad but just not too scary. The acting is great and I loved the lawyer guy. This film is just missing the scary bits.

War of the Worlds

This film was good but something just does not quite click keeping it from beaing a great film. There were two classic scenes: The first was when Dakota Flemming is looking out over the river and a mass of bodies just floats past. This was a very effective scene. The second is when Tom Cruise is waiting at a train station and the train finally comes by but is completely on fire. There was a sense that something bad is approaching and this helps build a sense of tension.

The Bad

Star Wars Episode 3 -------I wont even waste any time on this film. What a shame. I'm still in awe people enjoyed this film but that's cool, to each their own. The new trilogy was a bad joke.

Longest Yard----should have been called longest movie, I'd rather watch two hours of the View.

Unleashed--Nice trailer and nice acting by Freeman and Hoskins. The film just misses it's mark.

Kung Fu Hustle--Great try and a watchable film but still not a wonderful movie.

One Eyed Bacon Burger w/Cheese

This is a true delight to anyone who is craving a heart attack. It starts with a giant burger and then has four types of cheese. Another liquid type cheese is also added which is very good. Add three slices of bacon, a fried egg and a big gob of chile and you have my favorite burger. I just had one and am feeling great! If you go on a date and eat one of these I doubt you will get a goodnight kiss, but atleast you won't be hungry! Next time you are at the Great Lost Bear check it out.
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We had to disband our kickball team, the Beavers. Oddly the day we disbanded the team a reporter came and write this article. There just was not enough organization and the only way the team was started was by harassing the people in charge. It was fun for a bit however.

Random Pictures

Random Pictures

Had a cookout last night with some friends, the weekend before Dan and Tammie's wedding. It was a fun night but tragically we forgot to cook marshmellows. I knew something was missing. The swimming was fun as usual. We'll hopefully be doing something similar next weekend for the wedding.

Mount Desert Island no 10

It lost a place from last year but Mount Desert Island (Acadia) is number 10 in World's Best Islands. The top cities are pretty much the same with two from Thailand making me want to go back soon.

Homerun Derby

I lost my domain name for a bit and had to reregister etc. I am back now!
Watching the Home Run Derby and a new record was just set while poor Jay Bay had none (
The yearly fantasy baseball league is at its mid way point and I am insecond with a tough opponent in first. It all rests on the shoulders of Curt Schilling. Hopefull he takes some time off from Everquest conventions and decides to do some pitching.

Above is Curt at an Everquest Convention with his EQ buddies.
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Thinking of seeing Fantastic Four? Roger Ebert has a good quote about this one:

"And the really good superhero movies, like "Superman," "SpiderMan 2" and "Batman Begins," leave "Fantastic Four" so far behind that the movie should almost be ashamed to show itself in the same theaters. "

Video Test

Test
you need to click on the videos

Also this is one of many old links I have from my old site I will someday put on this.

Too Far?

A diner eats ice cream at a toilet-themed restaurant in the southern Taiwan city of Kaohsiung June 29, 2005. The Martun, or toilet in Chinese, restaurant in the southern port city of Kaohsiung boasts lengthy queues on weekends as diners wait for a toilet seat in its brightly coloured tile interior. Food arrives in bowls shaped like Western-style toilets or Asian-style 'squat pots'. Picture taken June 29, 2005. REUTERS/David Lin