Double Feature

Probably not since high school have I been to the movies twice in a single day. Last Friday, however, I had the chance to see two first-run movies at the theater. At work, we wrapped up a project at 2:00 so Bob and I went out and saw X-Men 3. Then, later in the evening Annette and I saw The DaVinci Code.

While it was fun to see two movies in one day, unfortunately neither of them was particularly entertaining. I suppose when you see a movie based on comic-book superheroes you should expect it to be a little hoaky, but the writers of X-Men took cheesiness to the extreme. The special effects were very impressive and the action was fast-paced, but the plot was very weak and some of the lines were laugh-out-loud terrible. I'd still recommend seeing it on the big screen, but don't expect it to be as good as 1 or 2.

In the defense of The DaVinci Code, we went to a late showing and I was too tired to think really hard. The movie was okay (I read the book and liked, but not loved, it). I was entertained, but at times I definitely found myself glancing at my watch and hoping for it to just move along a little faster. I enjoyed Brown's other book, Angels & Demons, much more than The DaVinci Code and hope they make a movie of it someday.

Camping

Other photos of the trip are now posted. In addition to breakfast, another highlight of the trip was the hike through Clifton Gorge. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it--the scenery is beautiful. We were also proud of Maria, who made it all the way through our 3-mile hike over some rough terrain. I was afraid I would have to carry her halfway, but she actually led the way through much of the trip.

"The Breakfast"

We returned Sunday after a somewhat cold but very enjoyable camping trip to John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge. The entire trip was a lot of fun, and I will post pictures shortly, but I first had to post about the most memorable part of the trip--"The Breakfast". We went to Clifton Mill for breakfast on Sunday morning and ordered an item on the menu simply known as "The Breakfast". For a little over $20, we received a meal that fed Annette, Maria, and me (with enough left over to share bacon with Ben and a pancake and potatoes with two other Cub Scouts).

Wednesday night surprises

The ending to Lost last week was possibly the most surprising thing I have ever seen on TV. It was a great twist--totally catching me off guard like the ending of the movie The Sixth Sense or the book Debt of Honor.

However, tonight's television viewing had an even more shocking ending...but unfortunately, it was not a good twist. Chris Daughtry was, in my opinion, by far the most talented singer on American Idol--this season or in any other season. I'm not sure how he lost. The only thing I can think of is that people assumed he was OK so they voted for whoever they thought was on the bubble.

I have no doubt that he will have a successful career, and I will definitely be buying his CD when it comes out. In the meantime, I suppose I'm rooting for Elliot.

The Lunch Nazi

I took the day off work last Friday, in part so I could attend Chris' end-of-year school singing performance. After sleeping in 'til 10:30 (which was WONDERFUL), I stopped and got carry-out Skyline Chili to take lunch to the boys at school--a break from the usual dining hall fare. While we were enjoying our lunch, one of the lunch ladies suddenly raised her arm and made a "peace" sign and repeatedly (and annoyingly) started blowing a whistle. The noise level was evidently too high for her.

It got a little quieter, and she seemed placated. However, a few minutes later the hand and whistle started up again. This time she made everyone stop talking and had one of the kids recite the cafeteria rules.

I have a several problems with this:

1. The noise level wasn't ever very loud. For a room with 100 or so elementary school kids, I would say it was pretty darn quiet. It's often louder in my office than it was in that cafeteria.

2. The kids were very well behaved. No food was flying, nobody was punching anyone--they were just talking to each other. Isn't that what you do at lunch?

3. The kids actually had the cafeteria rules memorized. This disturbs me...how often do they recite these rules. Daily? Weekly? Obviously this isn't the first time it's happened.

4. The kids get only about 20 minutes to eat. I don't appreciate 10 percent of this time being taken up by a recitation of the cafeteria rules.

Lunch is the time for the kids to be able to vent a little and talk to their friends. I agree that you can't just let them go wild and swing from the chandaliers, but to demand a large room full of kids to keep their volume to a whisper is asking too much. Let them be kids.

By the way, Chris' performance was excellent.

Weboggle 2

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my new evening addiction is playing Boggle online. It has been fun, but humbling. I have always considered myself pretty good at word games, and my scores have been decidedly average.

Playing as a team with Annette, Dianne, and Earl, we typically place fairly high (and have even come in first place a time or two). However, when I play solo I usually finish is 30th place or even lower (there are usually 100 to 120 people playing at any given time).

Tonight, however, the words were leaping off the screen at me and I had my first top-five solo finish. It was pretty exciting--which is a sign that I really need to get a life! :)

Bush impersonator

I'm about as non-political as they come, but this video is pretty darn funny.