The Power of Three (photo post)

Wifey and I went back out house hunting today, after a forced month off, and stumbled upon this item. We like the house it comes with quite a bit, but it’s in its due diligence period, so the likelihood we’ll be able to put a bid down is low. However, as a ‘Charmed’ fan, I couldn’t help grab a photo of the door knocker.

Maybe we’ll get lucky.

Sadly, our familiar is more interested in sleeping than any house.

Until next time!

Beware of Misfire: The Last Stand [movie review]

As a child, my first R-rated film was The Terminator – a quintessential piece of cinematic history – and it was merely the first of other films that would become tent poles of my life.  Commando (prepare for World War III). The Running Man (I’ll be back). Twins (The first rule in a crisis situation). Total Recall (get ready for a surprise!). Kindergarten Cop (It’s not a tumor!). T2: Judgment Day (hasta la vista, baby). Last Action Hero (rubber baby buggy bumpers!). True Lies (you know my handcuffs? I picked them). Though there have been a few films in which he has made an appearance since taking office in California, The Last Stand appears to be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s true return to cinema.

Ahnold’s “Last Stand” [review primer]

Releasing today is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand, his first real picture since leaving office. I choose not to include The Expendables 1 & 2 or The Rundown, as he didn’t play a huge role in any of them (though they were entertaining). The film pits Schwarzenegger’s Sheriff Owens against a drug cartel’s bid for freedom. Frankly, It doesn’t matter to me how old Ahnold gets, he’s going to be a badass.

School’s In Session

Hello, everyone! Been awhile. I hope you’ve all been as busy as I’ve been while I’ve been quiet here. Last check-in was in September, and I’m sorry it’s been so long.

When I started working at Myjive I mentioned that I could go dark for a bit, but that’s only because I wanted to put everything I had into it. And I did. They hired me to work 20hrs a week, and for the first ten weeks I worked 4-5 days a week. Then I got a call from Central Piedmont Community College asking if I was available to teach an evening course of ‘Introduction to Communication’…starting the next week. It was going to be a challenge already, since I had no real teaching experience aside from a few times I presented to my mother’s high school classes, but they wanted me prepped and ready to roll in less than a week PLUS stay with Myjive.

Well, I did it. I barely survived the overlapping four weeks that Myjive and CPCC shared, but thanks to the patience and generous nature of my manager, Brett McCoy, I made it. And CPCC asked me to come back for the Spring – this time teaching three sections of ‘Introduction to Communication.’ The session has already started (today is the second day) and I’m feeling pretty good about it. Granted I have all three in a row from 12:30p – 4:50p (that’s a long time to perform/present), but at only twice a week, I have time to prep for class and maybe have some extracurricular fun on the side. The best part of it all – I’m not longer jumping from contract gig to contract gig. I’ve graduated to ‘Part-Time’ status. A little more work and I might just make it to ‘Full-Time’. haha

Yom Kippur 2012

Today is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. It marks the end of the High Holy Days, and is meant to be a somber time of reflection. Growing up, we would go to services on the night it starts (all Jewish holidays begin at sundown) and then come back in the morning to spend all day at services until the break fast. I don’t know when it began, but we fast during Yom Kippur as a metaphor for suffering ‘my people’ have gone through throughout the last 5773 years. (Not a typo – our calendar is 5773 years old.)

Having long since given up on going to services, I try to take this time to reflect on myself and the past year. We’re told in services that the Book of Life opens on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and is sealed on Yom Kippur. I’ve adapted that to mean that after today, I focus on moving forward, not backward, in all aspects of my life. To do this, I tend to take an accounting of how things have changed, how I’ve changed, and what that can mean for me.

Borderlands 2 Opening Cinematic

Here is the opening cinematic for the new (this week) release of Borderlands 2. If you played the first one, this game is incredibly refreshing & innovative, while simultaneously being the very thing we loved in the first place.

I played it for nearly 3.5 uninterrupted hours last night, and I barely scratched the surface. Heck, I didn’t even beat the real boss yet. I do have some neat weapons (fire pistol, grenadier assault rifle), reached a level 7 Assassin, and have a BadAss Rank of 48.

This weekend is going to go QUICK. I wonder if Wifey will miss me…

Catching Up

Hope you all have a great Labor Day Weekend! I spent mine juggling car trouble one day into potential flea issues which required a trip to the laundromat the next. I did get to relax on Sunday and Monday, spending some good quality time with Wifey. We didn’t do much, but hang out and watch a little Doctor Who, but that works for us.

Look who came back Saturday! (And he brought trouble)

My intent, at the onset, was to be brief, but I suspect that this may get a touch out of hand as there’s a bit to cover since the last time. I’m going to try to do better about posting content, but it will all be dependent on time. I know you’ll understand if I have to take a break for a bit. Spending time with Wifey and Kaylee is far too important to miss. Especially as things get busier and busier.

Weird Wins [ParaNorman Review]

Last Thursday, Wifey, Elder Bro, and I went to a sneak preview of ParaNorman courtesy of two passes from Polka Dot Bakeshop. It was screened at the Regal Phillips Place and in 3D.

If you’re unfamiliar, ParaNorman is the story of 11yr old Norman Babcock, a boy with the ability to see and talk with the dead. Norman takes to his ability with relative ease, and doesn’t appear to keep it a secret from anyone. A fact that has made him an outcast in the town of Blithe Hollow and at home. His father would prefer to be “normal”, his sister would prefer he stop being an embarrassment, his mother would prefer that everyone got along, and his dead grandmother would prefer Norman just be happy. His gift, however, appears to run in the family, as his uncle suffers from the same gift and bears a similar reputation. But what Norman doesn’t know could put the entire town in jeopardy. As the town approaches the next anniversary of the death of Agatha Prenderghast, an accused witch who, in death, has cursed the seven people who judged and killed her. Can Norman save the day?

Weekend Well Spent

Friday was my elder brother’s 36th birthday. To celebrate, we all gathered first for dinner on Friday with our mother and then again on Saturday with our father, who luckily happened to be passing through town. During the day Saturday, though, is when the real fun took place. Elder bro wanted to play laser tag at Laser Quest.

Go On [Pilot PreAir Review]

Matthew Perry returns to TV this fall on NBC in Go On, a comedy about getting over grief. A growing trend for new programs, the full pilot is available for download on iTunes in advance of its on-air debut on September 11^th – a date, I wonder, chosen at random or meant to be a significant metaphor.

Perry stars as ‘Ryan King’, a sports broadcaster and recent widower, who is forced by his boss to attend group grief counseling in order to be allowed on the air. As is typical for a pilot, King doesn’t take to the concept of the counseling process, instead choosing to take control of the group, conveniently done on the day the group counselor is late, and have them compete in a ‘March Sadness’ tournament to discover whose story is saddest and whose life is the worst. This means, of course, that King doesn’t initially get along with the group counselor, but through his unconventional style is able to connect with the members of the group.