Reminds Me of Back-In-The-Day

Check out the blog picture of Dwight Howard’s “Super” dunk at the recent NBA All Star Dunk Competition. It’s quite a site to see Howard’s 6-foot-11 inch, 265 pound frame soar to eye level with the rim of the basket. I use to be able to do that, without the cape of course, in the garage at my cousin Jerry’s house. OK, so the basket - yes, it really was nailed to a rafter inside the garage - stood only about seven feet high… still, it was a good effort for a short fifteen year old kid. Those were the days!

Oscar Night

Nancy and I like watching movies. We see a fair number of movies during the course of a year - most all of them on DVD. That’s why we enjoy watching the Academy Awards. Even though we haven’t necessarily seen a majority of the movies that are nominated for Oscars, many movies don’t make it to DVD status until after the Academy Awards, we like to see which movies are notable enough to be nominated. That way we can narrow down our list of Blockbuster rentals. This year statuettes went to actors and actresses that were familiar to me, because of my practice of watching a movie while I exercise. In prior years I oftentimes could not name many of the nominees, because I probably only watched six or seven movies over the course of a year. Now, I watch that many movies in a couple weeks time. As for the movies that I look forward to renting in the coming months, based on the Academy Awards selections (not only winners, but nominees as well), here are a few:
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
American Gangster (this is the first one I’ll be viewing)
Atonement
There Will Be Blood
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
The Savages
La Vie en Rose
Into the Wild
Charlie Wilson’s War
Taxi to the Dark Side
Well, that should keep me busy for awhile. I recently saw Julie Christie in Away From Her and thought it was great. I remember Julie from her role in Shampoo (a favorite movie of mine) and she still has exceptional screen presence. Consider viewing Away from Her. It's a notable movie.

Computer Shopper Magazine

I receive several computer magazines each month. Computer Shopper is one of my favorites - primarily because of the excellent job they do when reviewing new products. I like the criteria that is used to determine how many points that is to be awarded for each product reviewed. Also, the narrative regarding the pros and cons of the product is very helpful for comparison purposes. The subscription price is reasonable, and although the magazine contains a lot of ads, it is usually advertisements about products that I have some interest in. Check out a newsstand issue to see if you agree. I have a feeling that afterwards you just might also want to consider getting a subscription.

One Year of Bloging

This week marks the passage of one year since I started the blog site. I'm still enjoying posting to the blog, so I plan to continue. Blogs are a good way to share a variety of information with friends. I get some interesting feedback from this blog site.

I'll be doing an update on a couple of movies that I recently rented. I'm finding that there are several Sundance movies that oftentimes are somewhat offbeat, but rather interesting. I see a lot more movies, now that I watch DVD's while exercising. It's a good pairing - movies and exercising. Helps to curtail the rather boring and repetitous nature of exercising. Hope I don't run out of DVD's to watch!

Review of Movie - Interview

I just finished viewing the movie “Interview”. I believe it is the first movie that I’ve seen with Sienna Miller starring. She is a very talented actress and well suited for her role in this movie. I had seen Steve Buscemi in a few movies prior to this one, but I really don’t remember much about any of his previous roles. He does a very good job, in Interview, of playing a war journalist (Steve) who feels his current assignment, interviewing Katya (Miller), a soap actress, is very much below him. If you like a movie that deals with two people from very different professions who from the get go start verbally sparing with one another - and who continue their sparring and drinking throughout the film, practically to the point of exhaustion - then you should enjoy this movie. The writing is excellent and the actors portray their characters in a fashion that is not only believable, but entertaining, as well. Thumb up from me for “Interview”.

Update - iPod Touch

I recently encountered a problem with my iPod Touch that could not be satisfactorily resolved by Apple tech support. The techies gave it the old college try, but to no avail. I liked the “Touch” - a lot, but my device had a software issue that caused me to question my early adopter status. I was aware that the iPod Touch was somewhat buggy when I made the purchase, but I was hopping that my unit would not be afflicted with any serious problems. I purchased my iPod at Best Buy and since it was a Christmas gift (for myself) the return period was extended for roughly six weeks beyond the normal time span allowed for returns. Also, there was no restocking fee. I kept my iPod to the last day of the return period (January 31st), but then I decide to give it up - much to my chagrin.
The iPod Touch is a very unique member of the iPod family and one that I will revisit when the software gets to be more user friendly. My Christmas gift ended up basically being a “brick”. Nevertheless, I have rejoined the Apple cult - I guess that I never really left because I have an iPod Classic from way back when (it has always worked without a hitch) - with the purchase of the new little “Nano” iPod. It’s working like a champ and the Nano now also includes video, a big plus. But alas, I no longer have my Wi Fi function, nor my You Tube function that I so dearly loved when I had the “Touch”.
I would also consider the iPhone for a future purchase; it’s basically a “Touch” with phone functionality - that is if Steve and the crew could get it to work on AT&T’s 3G system. It’s just too slow when connected to the inherently sluggish EDGE format that AT&T currently uses.
Oh well, technology marches forward, or some such metaphor as that, and the day will come when the glitches will be gone from Apple’s “Touch”. Or perhaps the iPhone will zip along like it's always in a Wi Fi connection, and by that time I‘ll want one. However, at this point, I choose only to be an iPod Classic and Nano kind-of-guy.

Wayne Kern - Local Artist

Today’s pictures are of a local Sacramento artist by the name of Wayne Kern. He lives, rather frugally, with his dog Buddy and he has recently garnered some recognition for his unique art work crafted from pieces of scrap metal. He uses the material to sculpt various objects - such as the fins of a fish or a metal tree. Last week the Sacramento Bee had an interesting article about him, so I thought I’d share a couple of the pictures that were used in the Bee article. Just like his dog Buddy, which you can see in one of the blog pictures, I find his work to be very interesting

This Week's Exercise Movies

I'll be watching:

Love Lies Bleeding

Seraphim Falls

Stateside

Vera Drake

Last week I saw two very good movies - The Mother and A Price Above Rubies. I also saw - although not all the way to the end (too boring) - Karla and Solaris

Last week, I also watched "The Hawk is Dying". It is an interesting movie, at least to some extent, but you would have to be in the mood for a somewhat tedious account of a man totally immersed in the training of a hawk, for it to hold your interest. Perhaps not everyone's cup of tea. I thought it was watchable, but not mesmerizing.

Super Bowl Sunday

All the guys seem to really enjoy this year's Super Bowl (see blog picture). We ate well - plenty of snacks during the first half - and we had a tasty dinner for the third and forth quarters. My big pot of chili (possum stew) went over real well, as did the tri-tip and cold cut sandwiches. We had ice cream and cookies for dessert. No one left hungry.

OK... I was a little off on my prediction regarding the outcome of the game. I did get the number 17 correct, but instead of it being the point spread for the Pats, it was the total points that the Giants scored - and it was enough to beat the Pats - with Brady's less than stellar offense and the Giants very steller defense. But that's the way it goes in a big game like this one. Sometimes the underdog wins.

The weather was nice in Sacramento on Sunday, a welcome change from all the rain that we've been having of late. We got to shoot a little bit of H-O-R-S-E during halftime. The results were the same as they are most every year. The Kentucky sharpshooter prevailed. I'm expecting more competition next year. If the arthritis in my hands gets worse along the way, I might just get beat next year - but don't bet on it!

Ready For Super Bowl

Nancy and I did some cooking tonight - to get ready for tomorow's big game. The guys will be coming over around three o'clock for the annual event. Each year we vary the snack and dinner offering. This year we'll have the usual chips and dips, but we've also added some fresh salsa. Tonight I made a big pot of chili, or as my friend Dave likes to call it - my possum stew (you know me being a Kentuckian an all, I guess it's befitting). We'll have the chili during half time, along with some tri-tip beef sandwiches and cold cuts. Nancy made her famous potato salad and we'll have some ice cream and cookies for dessert. No one should leave hungry.

The blog picture shows the new tables we just purchased for our Super Bowl gathering. Nothing fancy, just TV type trays that slide under the seats. They make eating the meal a lot easier and a lot less messy. We got the trays at Walgreens. My friend Tim, from Florida, had recently sent us a coupon link for Walgreens and so we used it to get five dollars off the purchase price of the trays. Good deal - thanks Tim.

My pick for the Super Bowl - New England. Brady will make it a perfect season for the Pats. I don't think the game will actually be all that close. I expect the Patriots to win by seventeen points or more. Looking forward to the game - it should be one of the better Super Bowls.

Hyundai Genesis

It won't be too long before the arrival of the Hyundai Genesis. The Genesis will be the new flagship model for Hyundai. I'm not sure what will happen to their current top of the line model, the Azera, but the Genesis has a lot more technology than the Azera and it's available with an eight cylinder engine as well. The Azera only has a six. The Genesis is a rear wheel drive vehicle that should compete effectively with the Acura TL and the Infiniti G35. It might even go head to head with the RL and the M35 - for a lot less money. Hyundai is making a lot of progress in the automotive industry, at a time when sales are down for most auto manufactures. It will be interesting to see how well the new Genesis does in the marketplace. So far, I'm liking both the interior and exterior photos that I've seen. You can see an exterior picture of the Genesis to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.