DVD Fun - Walk the Line

Walk the Line. Loved it, just loved it. Now, I am a Johnny Cash fan I must admit. And I wanted to see this when it was in the theater, but GF's aversion to all things Cash steered us away from going. She'd say, "We can go if you really, really want to....", and of course we would see something else. Anyway, we dropped by Hollywood Video and I just walked over and grabbed it and proclaimed this was the movie for the evening, and having just been dinnered-up, she did not protest.

First let me say that Joaquin Phoenix is incredible in this role. He does Johnny Cash, but it's his own very believable version of the man. Different, but the difference is excellent - hard to explain exactly (not being a professional movie critic - har har). And the singing is startlingly good. And I loved all the Cash mannerisms like the way he played the guitar. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter was a winner I would not have expected. And I didn't question the dynamic between them - it works. Her slow, slow belief in the man that swore his love and swore off the booze and drugs after so many years was cool and I liked the way the movie focused on those early years.

And.... halfway through the movie I looked down and saw, to my astonishment, GF's feet tapping away to the music. I gave her a questioning look and she just grinned and shrugged her shoulders and said, "I know, I know, I can't help it." Whether you like Johnny Cash or not, you'll probably like the movie.

 

Listening To - The Chieftains

Long Black Veil. I know some of the Chieftains purists don't like these star-studded albums packed with guest musicians and I can identify with the sentiment. But, even so this is one of my favorite of their albums. The Chieftains do their thing with a mix of various musical genres: celtic, pop, even country-esque. And I think the guests really add to the album rather than distract. I'm not a big Sinead O'Connor fan (not the politics - just can't identify with a lot of her music), but she is just brilliant along with the Chieftains.

 

Sexy Ride

What? My 2002 Mazda B3000 pickup didn't make the Forbes list of sexiest cars? How could they have overlooked such a sleek and sexy contender? Oh well. If I had to pick one of the Forbes' choices for sexiest car, I guess I'd have to take the Saturn Sky roadster. Sure, a Rolls-Royce or a Lamborghini would be fun, but the Saturn is more my style - convertable, sporty, and the one in the picture has a girl already in it! As Stewie would say..."Excellent."

 

Dog Blogging

Mr. Fun-And-Games has way, way too many toys. I have boxes full of the spit-crunchy stuffed animals he loves to ravage and throw about. But, when the toys go up on the little table, they are off limits for doggies and this is one good doggie in this respect (he could easily grab one as you can see). But, that doesn't stop him from looking. And look he does. Sometimes I'll catch him (like here) just staring at the pile.

 

Listening To - Blink 182

The Mark Tom and Travis Show. I went on a driving vacation across the Western States in the summer of 2001. Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana all in a month. It was just me all alone and I camped most of the time. It was fantastic. And I picked up this little gem at a dinky record store in Kalispell, Montana. And now, every time I here this album I think if that wonderful month of sun and fun, climbing to Angels Landing in Zion National Park or sitting all alone on the edge of Lake McDonald with only mountain goats around in Glacier Park. It looks like this album's not even available on Amazon - not sure why, but if you are a Blink fan maybe you can find it somewhere else. It's a good one as live Blink shows go - lots of fun and energy and good sound quality for a live gig. And remember, if you're going to Glacier Park this summer, there are lots of BEARS. Big Grizzly bears. So get some of that "grizzly-be-gone" pepper spray and don't hike alone. Or, if you do hike alone, take this CD and a little boom box and crank up the Blink on the trail. Bears will scatter without a doubt.

 

Stretched Thin

Do you ever have one of those months where every single solitary day is filled from sun up to sun set, weekends included? That's me right now. Crank that streching machine up.

 

Camera and Flower Blogging

Camera testing part one: The Tulip Festival. This was a good test of GF's new digital camera, the pink Panasonic DMC-FX01P, with its image stabilization. The wind was blowing the flowers around combined with GF's shaky hands and still the picture is clear and quite beautiful. Compared to the pictures she was taking with my clunky old Sony Cybershot, which were blurry a lot of the time, the image stabilization really seems to work. Note that this feature, while important, was a pale second to this cameras main feature from her point of view, namely, its pinkness.

 

Boobs win

Anna Nicole Smith wins:

"Dressed in all black, she wept in the courtroom in late February as justices discussed Marshall and whether he had intended to provide for his young wife in death. When Smith arrived at the court, several photographers were knocked to the ground in a scuffle to photograph her. "

Ahhhhh, so this is what love is all about. Poor girl, she clearly misses her deceased husband terribly and only wants his money to remember him by. But, maybe she should get back to "acting" to take her mind off of her loss.

 

Dangerous Chicken

On Iran from the Christian Science Monitor:

Iran's breaking of its NPT obligations, as well as a US State Department report on terrorism worldwide that describes Iran as the most active state sponsor of terrorism, gives it little global support against sanctions. With Europe's help, the US could put public pressure on companies doing business in Iran, such as Royal Dutch/Shell and LG Construction, as well as banks supporting them.

Iran said it wouldn't turn off its oil spigot in response. But if, as OPEC's second-largest producer, it did so, the West would need to contend with prices above $100 a barrel. Striking a deal before such a game of chicken plays out seems like the most sensible course for all sides to take.

I think the CSM op-eders are probably pulling the $100 a barrel cost of oil out of their butt. However, obviously it is in everyone's best interest (in the West and America specifically) not to have Iran shut the valve. And I do agree that Iran has few friends in this world to help push their nuclear agenda. The veil of legitimacy in their "civilian" nuclear program looks lamer and lamer the harder they push and the more threats they issue. And I don't think even Russia and China will back them in the end.

 

On DVD - Walk the Line

Walk the Line. Loved it, just loved it. Now, I am a Johnny Cash fan I must admit. And I wanted to see this when it was in the theater, but GF's aversion to all things Cash steered us away from going. She'd say, "We can go if you really, really want to....", and of course we would see something else. Anyway, we dropped by Hollywood Video and I just walked over and grabbed it and proclaimed this was the movie for the evening, and having just been dinnered-up, she did not protest.

First let me say that Joaquin Phoenix is incredible in this role. He does Johnny Cash, but it's his own very believable version of the man. Different, but the difference is excellent - hard to explain exactly (not being a professional movie critic - har har). And the singing is startlingly good. And I loved all the Cash mannerisms like the way he played the guitar. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter was a winner I would not have expected. And I didn't question the dynamic between them - it works. Her slow, slow belief in the man that swore his love and swore off the booze and drugs after so many years was cool and I liked the way the movie focused on those early years.

And.... halfway through the movie I looked down and saw, to my astonishment, GF's feet tapping away to the music. I gave her a questioning look and she just grinned and shrugged her shoulders and said, "I know, I know, I can't help it." Whether you like Johnny Cash or not, you'll probably like the movie.

 

Filler-up with Corn

This is a good article by those wonderful folks over at Popular Mechanics on the different options available to replace gasoline in motor vehicles. They compare cost and efficiency as well as likelihood of infrastructure development for ethanol, methanol, electricity, bio diesel, natural gas, and a couple of others. The skinny: there are no perfect options, but of those that could actually work today and in the near future, bio diesel looks like a good bet. Another interesting point is that once we begin to seriously pursue gasoline replacement we can count on the oil producing countries to lower their prices. But, they know we aren't serious yet. A good article.