Music of the Day: Eric Reed, Why

Disclaimer: After seeing the film I'm about to write about, MLB and I had a nice dinner, which for me included two monster/killer margaritas, so any and all typos, grammatical errors, errors of haste, and so forth, can be directly blamed on entirely too much really good tequila.

I don't often enthuse here, or anywhere else, about movies, but I'll make an exception this evening. We zipped out of the house at around 5:00pm to make the big drive into town to see a film; maybe it was too early, but the size of the audience was a bit disconcerting--maybe eight people, MLB and myself included, which can be a truly bad sign. Of all the movies offered at our local theatre "complex" I think we were the luckiest eight people in attendance--the other choices were, at best, meagre and our film, Kite Runner, was absolutely first rate.

We both read the book about three years ago and MLB's memory is much better than mine, so she was less surprised than I about many aspects of the film, but still this was an accurate and loving interpretation of the novel. If you've read the book, go see the film; if you haven't read the book, it's okay, go see the film anyway. Then read the novel. Not much is lost, although as MLB pointed out, some elements in the novel were necessarily absent from the film-rendering of the story. Still, this is an excellent film and I would have to say it is the best movie I have seen in quite a long time. If you only see films with Hollywood "stars" in them, you'll have to miss this one; there wasn't a familiar face in the entire cast, but rather than detracting from the film, this seemed to be a refreshing change from the same old faces doing the same old stuff. If you have seen Charlie Wilson's War, a pure fluff piece, this will serve as a serious and important couterpoint to that film featuring, of course, Tom Hanks, one of the regulars cranking out standard Hollywood stuff.

Tomorrow, we'll see another film, with some of the faces likely doing some of the same old stuff; depending on the number of margaritas consumed, there may be a report here on The Bucket List--I'm expecting a bit of a laugh-fest, which is okay, but I'm guessing the latest from Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman will contain only a serious moment or two.

More later. . . .

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

Did Obama's campaign get the kiss of death from John Kerry today?!?! What's next--an endorsement from Al Gore? Walter Mondale? George McGovern?

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

Music of the Day: Chris Standring, Mumbo Jumbo

My political sickness overtook me this evening; instead of going out to dinner with Dr. Phil and His Lovely Bride and our friends DG and BG, I stayed home with CLG and watched the Republican debate on the TeeVee. In part this came about because I promised myself, last year, that I wouldn't get too serious about the various and sundry candidates until 2008 and this was the first real chance to do so (aside from yesterday's similar event held by the Dems, which I did not watch--more on this below). Also, I wanted to read a little this evening and I wanted to put a few ideas here on the blog about tonight's debate, hence my decision to decline the offer to have another nice meal, some good conversation, and a cold beer or two with really nice people. For the record, MLB is on the other side of the country, visiting family and doing tourist-related stuff, while CLG and I supervise the activities of Max the Wonder Dog (see my Gallery).

The assembled disputants were the five top dudes in the Republican race, Mayor Giuliani, Senator McCain, Senator Thompson, Governor Romney, and Governor Huckabee. I have to admit that it was, initially, hard to watch because each man did some obligatory chest-thumping when given the opportunity and frankly I think I'd prefer to see a little more humility from those seeking the highest office in the land, but that's just me. Once they got that stuff out of their systems, it went pretty well although I gotta' say I think the one guy who didn't get it out of his system very well was Governor Romney--it's unfortunate, but he reminds me a bit too much of John Kerry, at least in his mannerisms and his arrogance-factor. Plus, once Mr. Romney gets the floor, he's relentless and can't seem to stop talking, which isn't very appealing. But that's just me. . . .

The two governors, seated next to each other, sniped a lot at each other, which was a bit unbecoming and it made me cringe a couple of times, but the other three men avoided that kind of stuff almost entirely, much to their credit. But that's just me. As I anticipated, Senator McCain was the strongest candidate on foreign policy issues and those issues having to do with national security, with Mayor Giuliani running a very close second on these isssues--both men, I think, see the primacy of national security and are willing to say so, which I appreciate. But that's just me. . . .

Mayor Giuliani has the best sense of humor, with Senator McCain a close second, and both Governor Huckabee and Governor Romney demonstrated strained attempts at humor, including Romney's attempt at self-deprecation by mentioning that Ed Rollins was free to punch Mr. Romney in the teeth as long as he didn't mess up the Governor's hair. Not a great line, but that's just me. . . .

And honestly, through all of this I kept asking myself, "Why is Fred Thompson running for president?" I couldn't come up with an answer to that question, but that's just me. . . .

I guess there will be more of this in the weeks to come; how much more time I spend on this I do not know, but tonight I ruled out two of the five Republicans (Romney and Thompson) and I have more or less ruled out Huckabee; maybe I'll change my mind in the coming weeks, but for now I have to give the nod to Senator McCain and Mayor Giuliani as my top two in the race for the nomination.

As for watching the Dems debate, I cannot commit to that idea, not after my last attempt that featured the idiocy of YouTube questions from semi-literates and the vapid "answers" provided by the assembled Dem-disputants. And now that Dennis Kucinich has gone back to the home planet, even the laugh-potential of the Dem-debates is gone, so I can't see gearing up for two hours of Mr. Obama repeating the call for "change" and Mrs. Clinton insisting that she's experienced because she was First Lady for eight years. But that's just me. . . .

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

Music of the Day: Spyrogyra, Funkyard Dog

Our family was not without its struggles in 2007 but it looks as if we are still around for 2008. We survived New Year's Eve, but that was easy--we stayed home, thereby avoiding what Dr. GDA, Jr. calls the "amateur drunks." We are here, we're good, we're looking forward to 2008.

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.

Music of the Day: Craig Chaquico & Russ Freeman, Seattle Child

Today is my daughter's 29th birthday. Twenty nine years ago today, at noon, my good friend RAP and I left the hospital to catch something to eat at Burger King--the doctor's told me it would take 45 minutes to prep my wife for the unscheduled CaesarIan surgery, so RAP and I, both former medics in the military, figured we had plenty of time for some food. When we arrived back at the hospital, my daughter was already in the nursery and my wife was already in the recovery room. Ooops.

When my son was born two years later, I was actually in the OR when he was born; I was the first person, other than the nurse, to hold him after he started breathing (and yowling). No Burger King for me that day. Live and learn.

These were two of the greatest moments of my life and I am forever grateful for the lives of my children; and I am forever grateful for the lives of MLB's two wonderful sons. There were plenty of dark days, and nights, (weeks and months of them) after my divorce when I thought my life would always be empty and raw, but I was wrong. Those two special days, when those two children came into the world, changed me forever and made me a better human being. And MLB changed me and made me a better human being, too.

Remember your special days. And keep breathing--more special days may await you, still. . . .

AJ

TO LIVE IN FREEDOM'S LIGHT IS THE RIGHT OF MANKIND.