National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

I know it came out a long time ago, but it just recently came to the cheap theater which is the only place I can afford to take the whole family and not feel horribly guilty ($60 for a movie night is WAAAAAYYYYY too ridiculous).

So, okay, the movie. It was fun. A certain Sherlock suggested it was a lot like the first movie, but really, it wasn't. You remember how Disney used to put out sequels straight-to-video of their brilliant 2-D animations that they've so foolishly cast aside (the original, not the sequels). The originals were by top drawer talent and the sequels were done by the television third-rate pitchure draw-ers and felt like it.

Same with this movie. The scams were EFFORTLESS and EASY. They made it look like anyone could do it (the first movie was clever, this one was cheap). The actors were fun, the plot needed a re-write, the stakes were too low. If he had easy access to the president, why not just ask? Had they been bitter enemies, had the queen been in residence, had it just be harder and more risky instead of everyone seeming to be sleepwalking...

Nonetheless - apart from a truly bad hairpiece for Nick Cage - it was clean (even the ogling White House guy was mostly implied).

The elements were there; the execution was not... should have used the room behind Mt. Rushmore which was SUPPOSED to be a library but "never was." More real history bent to story purposes, higher stakes, and a better ticking clock is all they needed.

:)

So So

Goodness, the press had made hay out of a totally pragmatic response of VP Cheney's response to a reporter saying two-thirds of Americans don't think the Iraqi war is worth it. He said, "So?"

Probably not the most diplomatic response, but truthful? Yup. Until a time machine is invented, what we now think of a past action that is irrevocable should be "so what?"

We can't change the past. Now that we're there, we have no viable choice but to see it through. What should he have said? "I'm sorry" "that's too bad" "I'm not one of them?" No, none of those are effective responses because looking back is not what's called of leadership, looking forward is. Regret is not an executive quality. Perhaps that's the difference between Republicans and Democrats (or at least these Republicans and, y'know, those Democrats), the recognition that polls do not determine right or wrong or leadership.

"So" indeed.

Crosshatching

I don't know what they call it, but have you ever seen ice skaters do this odd figure-eight thing with their feet where it looks like their feet go through each other before moving away again? My brain does that a lot.

I was sitting here thinking about the presidential race and the dismal prospects ahead of us and I realized something. Most presidents are just standing in until a great one comes on the scene. Sure they may do some good, but that's what they're supposed to do. Some, like Carter, you have to be grateful they didn't completely destroy the world. Most, you have to hope they manage to keep the damage down to a minimum. I think we're due a great president soon. Certainly not in this race, probably not in the next two, but we're due soon. Washington was a great president. Then there were some good ones just standing in until Lincoln showed up (interestingly, he was an okay president his first time, then a phenomenal one his second term). After that we had some boozers and losers until Franklin Roosevelt hit the scene (a Democrat!). Then we had some primpers and sour fellows until Reagan came up. Since then we've had major disappointments... to be fair, GW Bush was a miraculous right man at the right time in his first term; kind of sad in his second...

Then my brain did the crosshatch thing.

I realized that that's descriptive of a man's life, too (and maybe a woman's, but I don't have first hand knowledge of that). Most of the time we're just standing in for ourselves, then there are moments or seasons in our life where we are great (invested unduly with the grace of God, no doubt). It's more obvious in some people's lives. A prolific writer, for example, where many of his books are just okay, but then suddenly the great one comes out. The one he was born to write and the others were just practice. Or perhaps a composer and his one or four songs out of two dozen. Or an athlete who puts it all together for a star performance just once.

There are some people who are great all the time (Spurgeon, Shakespeare, Di Vince) but for most of us there are golden moments but briefly... but, oh, those times are like lightening in a bottle. They may not be loud, or all that golden for others, but we know our own moments.

It's been awhile for me. I'm hoping I have a few left...

Talk about lazy...

I'm sitting in my easychair with my laptop in hand. Lynette is at her laptop in the other corner of the room. She's reading a funny e-mail and getting a real kick out of it. So I ask her to send it to me, which she does.

Now, I could have gotten up and gone the eight feet to look over her shoulder, but instead I have her forward it to me, which means the e-mail bounces out of the house, shoots through the network to Timbuktu and back to my house just a few feet from the originating computer. This doesn't cost any money, or slow down anyone's server. With all the traffic on the superhighway, this is less than a mote of dust on a scooter's windshield, but still, SOMEHOW, this is a waste of resources. For SOME REASON it would have been better for me to get up and walk the 8 feet.

But I didn't. And while I confess, I'm not so sure I repent...

Forever Young...

My oh my things are a-changin'

We have three kids in our sunday school class leaving for different states or churches. Home group seems very small all of a sudden. I was sitting there trying to imagine what the Cook group will be like without so many key players attending anymore.

Clearly, the Youngs may not go on vacation anymore. Forget about hosting it, with the exodus of the K's, M's, S's, and C's it is imperative that the Y's be there week in and week out. Imperative, I say. It's like a ship without an anchor, a camera without a flash, a sundae without chocolate.

(the official post missing the Youngs)

The Diet/Non-Diet Thing

Okay, I got fed up with the extra fat I'd been sporting so I finally had the conviction to do something about it. I gave up processed sugar and dropped 15 pounds quickly. Lack of soda pop changes your eating habits a bit, but otherwise no-sugar was the big thing. Not as difficult as I'd have thought (but then, conviction comes from God and he helps with stuff He commands).

What has been difficult is training myself to eat when I'm hungry and not just when appetite shouts from its empty-calorie lungs. I don't think snacking between meals is bad unless it's because I feel like eating and not when I'm truly hungry.

For you young-and-can-eat-14-pizzas-and-six-liters-of-Coke-and-still-look-thin, enjoy it while you can.

At the same time, we just visited a nursing home and I couldn't help but think that a good, healthy diet gives you a long life that ends up there. If eating badly meant I'd go quickly and avoid long-term care facilities, it might be worth it.

Hypothetical (story idea, not reality): If you put a contract out on yourself and hire bodyguards to protect you, if the assassin succeeds is it suicide?

Too bad cockroaches are vile, disgusting creatures...

...because really, they're quite pretty - if you can divorce yourself of their loathsomeness.

On the big palmettos, they have an exoskeleton reminiscent of the finest wood grain. And when you spray them and they flip over, the segmentation of their feebly kicking legs is an amazing example of engineering design.

Sometimes, as I gas them with a shot of Raid, I wonder, "what if we have it wrong? What if cockroaches are God's chosen people?" Think about it, after a nuclear war, they'll be scampering around on our radioactive bones. Everything about them denotes amazing design.

Doesn't stop me from killing them, of course, but sometimes I wonder.

Along the same lines, I watched a squirrel bound over grass and up a tree in a heartbeat and exulted in the furry clown. But if it had been a rat leaping and climbing I'd have grabbed a pellet gun. Can hair really make that much difference? Then I remember Farrah Fawcett from my youth and remember "yes it can."

Presenting Mrs. Colleen Moore!

Colleen and David had a beautiful wedding. I am moved by God's graciousness to Colleen. She sold her house and moved down to Orlando. For seemingly unknowable purposes, God did not allow her to buy a house here. Staying afloat was difficult. Now, a few years later the purpose becomes clear. Colleen has moved to Jacksonville; had she bought a house, this housing slump would prevent her from selling it. Instead God has demonstrated her need to rely on Him (and she has faithfully always done so) and He would provide what she needs.

That's where David comes in. Colleen has a.... boistrous personality... and not just anyone would be a marvelous match for her. David, and his unique and lovable family is not just a match, but THE perfect match. He has demonstrated his love and faithfulness to her as the Lord has.

I wish them a happy life (which is like betting on a sure thing). Rock on, Moores!

Thank you, all our soldiers...

I just watched a YouTube presentation brilliantly promoting us to remember, love, and support our troops. It reminded us of every possible kind of relationship we could have with a soldier. Well done, and it made me think...

I have no family in the military right now. No one in the current generation has signed up. No one in my generation signed up. My father, maternal grandfather, and uncle all served, but no one does now. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

On the one hand, relief. My nephews and nieces aren't in military harm's way (though civilian life is dangerous enough). And I certainly can't demand from them something I didn't do (I was rebellious, short-sighted, and self-centered. The military probably would have done me good). I know a civilian contractor over there. There are a few boys from church who enlisted, but mostly I don't know many soldiers.

As a writer, I am dependant on the military to safeguard my right to free speech; I am eternally grateful for the safety and freedom secured and defended by our soldiers. So why aren't there more of them? Why has my generation and the current generation forsaken military duty? In so successfully ensuring civilization, has our military created a society of non-warriors?

What are your thoughts?

The Prestige

Somewhere along the way I've started to like Michael Caine, go figure.

Caught the Prestige finally. Excellent movie. I had to see it over the course of a couple days, so that's probably why it felt choppy. I'll have to read the novel at some point. Some of the tricks that were sabotaged where incomprehensible on the small screen (the dove cage apparatus looked cool, didn't understand how it worked, and seemed elaborate for a sad little trick).

Christian Bale is an okay actor, despite the back teeth thing. He kind of slips in and out of character a little bit. I saw his arc halfway through and find it a bit unbelievable, so no surprise with that one.

Hugh Jackman is great. His arc was a surprise (nice twist of mystic realism) and quite a bit disturbing.

I wasn't sure if Bale's character was going to use the machine to replace his you-know-what (avoiding spoilers).

David Bowie is a scene stealer (didn't even know it was him). Tesla has always been an intriguing character (anyone who has all their notes, plans, and goods stolen by the government in quasi-legal manner, and which is STILL under secrecy despite the secrecy laws saying it should have been opened up long ago HAS to be an interesting fellow. His story needs to be told, but no one knows what his story really is...)

Filmmaking-wise this was excellent. The script turned in on itself wonderfully if not a little predictably (mystic realism is a bit of a cheat because you can't predict it, but it's fun anyway).

Not a film for kids, BTW. (Though I expect certain hands-in-his-pockets-while-others-work teenagers have seen it...)

The author of the novel, Christopher Priest, is an editor and writer at DC Comics under different names, by the way. A very nice and unassuming man who rarely trumpets his accomplishments. Met him at a trade show when some of his comics were the hottest things in the industry and he shunned the spotlight. Rather amazed he was in the extras of the DVD...

I've Lost my Space Pen!

It's the coolest pen ever made. I carried it with me everywhere. It could write underwater (tested and proven), upside down, and in space (never personally tested).

I think I loaned it to someone at church and never got it back. :(

This age thing...

My back is almost healed up from the muscle spasm Sunday. I'm hoping the cold weather won't cause a set back...

I've had no sugar for a week (at least none consciously; I'm sure there's trace levels in just about everything). I didn't weigh in on Thursday, but I did on Sunday. I'm down six pounds since then. Probably from between my ears...

The bummer thing about fat is that don't lose it in the order that you got it. The fat on my arms, legs, face, wherever will probably all come off before any fat around my stomach and sides. If I can stick with this, that will give me the skinny duded with the fat belly look. Plus with my dad's genes, I'll still have a big tummy with no fat on it.

Youth is wasted on the young.

Okay, Stay With Me Here...

Consider:

Romney-the-man-of-no-integrity runs as the "only true conservative" blasting McCain for being too far to the left.

Romney complains that he's splitting the vote with Huckabee, suggesting that he and Huckster are too similar (he wishes).

Romney then drops out of the race... and supports MCCAIN! You know, the guy who's too far to the left.

What does this mean? It means the spineless loser has made a deal with McCain to be his VP.

Should McCain get the endorsement and he selects Romney as Veep, that's proof the deal was made. Meaning Romney will make a deal with the devil if it benefits him (no surprise, considering he's a follower of Joseph Smith).

Part time Flu

This is the weirdest illness I've had yet. Mornings, I'm fine, then around 10:30 my stomach starts hurting. By the time I get home from work it's awful and all I can do is climb into bed. Two days later it started later in the afternoon and it was my ribs and back that hurt REALLY BAD. Yesterday it started even later and didn't hurt as much. Each day, though, it would go away around 8 or 9. Hopefully today it's over...

Mea Culpa

Okay, I was wrong about the Super Bowl, so maybe I'll be wrong about the election.

*Still thinking Huck's the Man but willing to believe that the spinning positional dervish that is Mitt might - just might - be able to beat Hillary*

A "Drawback" about the Fair Tax

While without a doubt the Fair Tax is beneficial to all of America it occurs to me that it's bad to politicians.

One of the biggest platforms pols run on is "lowering taxes." Republicans especially trot out lowering taxes and look the big bad guys will raise your taxes. Fair Tax would remove one of the most kneejerk of polical vote gathering. *Gasp* Republicans and Democrats would have to run on the ISSUES and not shallow promises.

Sad, sad, sad

Tell Me I Didn't See What I Think I Saw...

So, I'm driving to work and glace over at the subcompact next to me. A very large lady is eating a chocolate donut with one hand and applying makeup with the other. She's the driver, by the way. As I shudder at the horror of it all, without hands she turns the corner.

She was driving with her stomach.

To laugh or to cry....

The irony of politics

I suppose we get the president we deserve.

It has happened many times before; a republican candidate who can easily beat the democrat can't beat the other republicans for the nomination. And there's only one reason...

Television.

Romney is winning. Romney is a flip-flopping spineless man of no integrity, BUT he has more money than they others, which means he can buy more television air time for commercials. Consider for a moment: his ads have little policy or substance, but his name and face become familiar. That's enough for the limited intelligence of today's Americans.

There is a simple solution: Politicals candidates should be restricted from push technology. Put all the ads you want on YouTube, run as many websites as you want. Publish articles (no ads) in newspapers (free, though, no paid spots). The only money spent must be on pull technology.

Push tech is passive. It comes to you on television or ads in papers and magazines. It requires no thought and no action on the viewers part.

With Pull tech you have to take action (you know: research). You have to go to YouTube and look up the videos. You have to go to the websites. You have to read the articles.

Mr. C. challenged me to dig into Mike Huckabee more than I had. I did and was delighted to discover what a great candidate he is. The ONLY great candidate. All others pale in comparison. This man should be the next president, but he doesn't have the financial machine behind him. So he's run a grassroots campaign that is impressive in scope.

But Romney, who has been pro-choice, anti-second amendment, and every other liberal position you can name, runs as a conservative and people are dumb enough to believe it. But when he's running against Hillary, she'll bring out his hypocrisy and make him eat glass. He will not, cannot win and if by some miracle he does, he'll be no better than Hillary.

Equally revolting is the demogogary that some people give Rush, Hannity, and other radio personalities. They believe them because they hear them and seemingly don't question.

America is going to have a horrible next president, and we deserve it.

The (il)logic of emotion

So, I'm debating same sex marriage with a co-worker. While I don't support the amendment, I do support the idea that no law should enable same sex marriage.

I was told I hate gays.

No, I countered, I see no purpose for such a law. Same sex marriage does not benefit society, so there is no purpose to granting it through legislation. She claimed that they should have the same rights as a straight married couple. I said there are no rights, just benefits. All these benefits, except a tax break, are available through legal means that are non-marriage related.

AH-HA, she says. How about that tax break? No go, I said, the tax break is to encourage mom's to stay at home with their kids; no kids, no tax break. They could adopt! she says. Studies and anacdotal evidence says such kids are troubled and experience role confusion. Mom/Dad are necessary for well-adjusted kids. Even children raised in an orphanage aren't as conflicted.

But they want to be married, so they should be allowed.

They are allowed to make any sort of commitment they want, it just won't be recognized by the law because it serves no purpose to society.

You just hate gays, I'm told.

Sigh. Those with no understanding of legal philosophy have to fall back on emotion, even when it makes no sense.

I like pomegranites, but there shouldn't be a law that recognizes that fact. Y'know?

It Probably Means I'm Shallow

Here's the thing. I don't like the middle east. If not for the Muslim threat and pyramids, I. Just. Wouldn't. Care.

There is nothing appealing about this century's Middle East. Zip. So all these novels and movies are bugging me. I like socio-political thrillers, but not if they take place in the ME and that's all they're writing about. There's a huge crop of movies (which, admittedly, is no big deal since I don't watch movies much anymore), there's probably even trading cards.

Here's the deal. All we have to do to end the M.E. threat is to find an alternative to oil. Cut their funds off and we can go back to ignoring them.

Got Hydrogen?