Trying To Pull It Together

I would consider today a pretty momentous day. Jenny and I finished up 99.9% of all Christmas shopping a good month before Christmas! Thanksgiving is next week, which means the beginning of the busiest part of the year for us. I may have mentioned it in blogs past but I’ll bring it up again.

Jen and I rotate our Thanksgiving locale every year. Some people prefer the insane method of visitng everyone and having six different dinners. I love Thanksgiving and all but no thank you. We rotate between going to Jen’s parents, my parents, and having it here at home with my parents. To sort this out out you might need a flow chart but I’ve managed to simplify it pretty easily.

Jen’s parents place on Thanksgiving is the ground zero for all family activity on her side of the family. Jen’s Mom has a good 25 or people over year (not including us). They also live a good 10 minutes away from us, so we figure we are giving them a break on the work load to not have to feed three extra mouths, plus we seem them on a pretty regular basis. My parents live out a bit farther away and we don’t see them as often so inviting them over when we have dinner here always seems like a nice thing to do.

After Thanksgiving we are re-arranging  the living room to make room for the Xmas tree and all other Xmas related decorations.  So it’s going to be a busy few weeks leading up to the 25th O’ December.

Jen and I check out Funny People from one Judd Apatow who was behind 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked, ect ect.

Real good movie! Laughed my ass off at a lot of stuff. I thought Eric Bana was really awesome in this, and Adam Sandler works so much better mixing comedy and drama then he ever did with just the comedy in my opinion.  If anyone has not checked this out yet then I highly suggest a viewing or an extra addition to your Xmas lists.

Also watched Drag Me To Hell from Sam Raimi and I was less impressed. Most horror movies do not earn high critical praise and thi one most certainly did. I was told to expect cheese, but that it would be of the good to great variety and I guess I just didn’t see it. I certainly saw in parts of the movie but most of what I saw was the bad kind of cheesy.

On a totally unrelated note I am getting a little worried about my classes. I knew the math classes were coming down the road and I thought I’d be ready for them when they did but so far it is not turning out that way. I have always been a terrible numbers person and it doesn’t help that I find pretty much everything above basic math to be pointless in everyday life. I’m hoping (as the title indicates) that I can pull it all together sooner rather than later as not only do I have to pass these classes but I have to maintain a decent GPA in order to continue my grants.

And September Smiles On Me

Things are looking up….kinda…sorta… We still aren’t doing the best financially but that is not to say the situation isn’t improving at all. We’ve started saving for Christmas, which we at first thought might end up being a sparse one but I think we are gonna be okay in that department.

I spent the majority of last weekend working on my Early American History and Economic Theory finals. Needless to say I passed both finals and I passed both classes and I am now moving on to International Business and Religions of the World. Two electives in a row is mighty nice I have to say…..anything to distract me from my core classes

The Tigers continue to hold on to the first place spot they’ve held since May! Being that it is now September the race for the AL Central is officially on! And it is nice to once again the Tigers contending for a playoff spot following the debacle from last year.

I recently saw Inglorious Basterds and while I enjoyed it I just wasn’t all that blown away by it. LOTS of dialogue heavy scenes that dragged on for what seems like ever and most of it is in French, or German.  The most interesting characters had the least amount of screen time. The fellow playing Landa should receive an Oscar nod however.

I also saw District 9, a movie that I was blown away by. It is  featuring a talent pool from South America and a strange documentary/actual film kind of style that really sucked me in.

WETA and Peter Jackson once again delivered stunning and subtle special effects. They blend in so well that you just buy it. The story isn’t all that uncommon but it is told from a different perspective and it was just done so good. For me it does what a good movie should and that is that it should suck you into the narritive to the point where you are almost living in the story for a while. Great movie!

Where No Blog Has Blogged Before

Yes I have realized that it has been nearly a month since my last post. I guess there has really been that little going on in my life. Still recovering from foot surgery number two. I head back for another check up on the 26th.

I did have the great pleasure of seeing the new Star Trek movie and that has really been a highlight for me.

In a word the movie was “awesome”! I grew up with my parents who told me stories about how they watched TOS everyday when they came home from school. So I very much grew up on Trek. The first Trek I ever saw was The Search For Spock and The Voyage Home. Of course I grew up on The Next Generation and I was a bit of a closet Trek junkie. Since those years I have come out of the closet. Matter of fact I am nearning the completion of a Star Trek odyssey that began late last year. I have watched every single episode of every series and movie in chronological order! I just have Season 7 of Voyager and the Nemesis movie left to go. So it is a safe bet to say that I am a die hard Trek fan.

I was excited to hear that a new movie was being made I was less excited to hear it was going to be Kirk and Spock in college. But I gave it shot albeit a small one. That’s how it started. I was trepidacious at first but I grew more and more excited the more I read, heard, and saw from the movie. By the time 2009 rolled around I was really looking forward to it.

It is obvious the new creative team wanted to appeal to their inner nerd but also wanted to reach out to the mainstream audience. The last 40 years of Star Trek have been incredible for me but that formula is dead, and it has been proven in the box office and in the TV ratings. New things HAD to be done in order to bring Trek back. Yes, there will be people who think they should have left Trek where it was even if it meant no more new content.

I found it hard to believe that the reports I heard were true. This new Trek was different but REALLY familiar. After watching it I found out what that meant. This is most definitely Star Trek but it’s also been done in a whole new way that DOES NOT destroy what came before it. I will touch on that in a second. I certainly think the new cast really pulled it off. Perfectly cast, and everyone did a great job of walking in the foot prints of those who came before them. Nobody can ever replace Shatner, Nimoy, and DeForest but Pine, Quinto, and Urban did a great job of honoring them without imitating them. Urban literally channeled DK at times and sans the accent he was a perfect choice.

As far as following cannon….. It most certainly does. Also it doesn’t which is the beauty of this reboot. The villain and original Spock come from the future 8 years following the events of the last TNG movie, they go back in time and the past is altered. After that the writers are free to change what they want.

Let me just say that the original time line of Star Trek IS NOT ERASED! Think Back to the Future.

Marty and Doc Brown existed in their time line much like Nero and Spock (Prime). When Doc and Marty went back in time Marty did something that changed the future. It created an alternate time line. Essentially life is full of choices and one theory states that for every possible choice there is an alternate reality where that choice is made instead of the one you chose. If you’ll notice on the chalk board the original time line doesn’t vanish Marty and Doc simply are no longer in it, they are trapped in the alternate time line created by Marty’s actions. Luckily they had a time machine. They went back in time before the mistake was made, they fixed it and Marty and Doc were restored to their normal time line as a result (having never altered the past).

The same has happened here. Nero and Spock (Prime) have changed the past and created an alternate time line. The original remains intact, except nobody goes back in time to stop the original incursion and therefore we stay in the new time line. Much like how Marty and Doc were the only ones to notice the difference so are Nero and Spock (Prime).

Yes there are a few things to nitpick over but most of it can be brushed aside with some logical fannon (aka filling in the blanks yourself). At the end of the day Trek has been reborn, and it is back and it could be better than ever. This new movie is an origin story and it has the pitfalls of one. You have to spend the whole movie telling the stories of the characters, but it sets up some good story telling for the sequels.

In other news I am burned out on Epic and wrestling in general these days. It might just be that I am in a crummy mood in general as a result of the surgery and being forced to esstianlly live in my living room for the last year and a half. The Tigers are in first place and kicking some ass this year. Rookie pitcher Rick Porcello, Justin Verlander, and Edwin Jackson are really throwing the ball well. Brandon Inge is having an incredible season thus far. Plus the Red Wings are heading towards the Western Conference Finals tonight vs. The Blackhawks! A good time for Michigan sports so long as you ignore the Lions and Pistons.

CRAZY!

No House on Monday……..grrrrrr……Heroes was pretty decent however, one of the better episodes this season I would even say. FINALLY got to see Scrubs again and oooohhhh maaaannn was it a good episode. This season has been unbelievable when it comes to the funny scale. I wouldn’t even know where to begin…….

A whole lot of nothing else happened this week. Jen and I did get to see Changeling on Blu-Ray. We hadn’t seen it since we went to check it out in the theater. I just get glued to the screen watching that flick.

Oh yeah and I recently cemented my path as the nerdiest person I know….. I finally got all seven season of Star Trek: Voyager~!

This officially gives every season of every Start Trek ever plus all of the movies. To top it off I have and am continuing to watch all of it in chronological order! Right now I am on season seven of TNG and season two of DSS9.

The Epic Anniversary show was tonight. All I can say is that it blew away all of my expectations. I think it was easily our best show top to bottom and it had a little bit of everything on it. I got to meet some really classy and just flat out awesome people tonight as well. Thanks for making it my favorite wrestling related day ever in history!

The Week In One Post

It has in fact been that slow of a week. Kayla had her first real school function of sorts. Her school has a spring concert across the street from us over a John Glenn High School. I was really nervous for her because I know how bad she gets around a lot of people and how nervous she can be with so many eyes on her (lord knows I am). We were both so happy to see her walk out smiling! She sang songs with her classmates in front a packed auditorium (had to be at least 300 people). And she was great!

We were so happy that we went out to McDonald’s to treat her for being so good, not only during the concert but the whole school week. We made it home in enough time to catch the last half hour of House.

I guess I can’t really comment all that much on it. Having missed half the episode I had to take a guess at what was going on. But the last half of the show was really fun. No Heroes this week, and as usual there were no Scrubs either…..WTF!

Turns out I definitely need surgery on my foot again. I go back under the knife on April 8th………I am not looking forward to this at all. In fact I am really starting to dread surgeries , it feels like I am having one a year (and I might very be). As a person in their late 20’s this isn’t a good sign.

Jen and I watched Eagle Eye last night. Pretty fun movie. Not a blow away or anything like that. Certainly good for a once over. Popcorn movies are always a good time. Turn off your mind, have a snack, and kill some time. Speaking of that, check out the watchmen Opening Credits…..Maybe the best credit sequence ever.

Watchmen Opening Credits

Hitler Was A Vegetarian

Oh boy this could be a long one………

Saturday was a good day. In fact the entire week was saved by Saturday. Jenny and I went to see Watchmen~!

Despite there not being a trailer for Star Trek in front of it (more on that in a second) it was a fantastic experience. The movie was everything I had hoped for and maybe more. The focus on character and the way they were able to stay true to the story and adapt as much as they did in the time allowed was incredible to me. The one thing I worried about most was Jenny as an outsider to the book and film and her enjoyment. Most of the critical review said outsiders won’t get it, and as it turns out that couldn’t have been further from the truth. She loved it as well, she even figured out the existence of Adrian Veidt’s pet Bubastis in it’s minute and a half of screen time. I should also mention that Jackie Earle Haley was magnificent as Rorschach!

I should also make mention of how great the opening credits were. Set to a fantastic Bob Dylan tune, the credits managed to cover all of the back story without much explanation later on. Even if you didn’t know who the characters are at the start most of those images are explained later on.

Speaking of the Star Trek trailer that I was disappointed I didn’t get to see on the silver screen…. It hit the net on Friday and it is without a doubt THE BEST Trek trailer in it’s long film history.

That brings us to yesterday and the return of House!

And it was worth the wait. I had tweeted earlier on my Twitter account that I thought the show was good but not blow away. Well it didn’t end up as a blow away episode but it was certainly better than good! I like the way this show is going and as per usually I hope it never stops.

Heroes was pretty decent as well, but it looks like we are having a bigger episode next week. The stuff with Sylar and his Dad started good but I didn’t think it was a very good pay off in the end. Right now I’m kind of hot and cold with the show but I am willing to see how it pays off.

Time to start shopping for gifts! Kayla’s birthday is on April 4th, and Jenny has her birthday on May 10th! It’s also Mommy Day so it looks like I will be embellishing on the love of my life a bit more then usual…..Lucky her!