Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

I know, the holidays are just about over, but the time is always right for some great sounding a Capella, even if it is the "12 Days of Christmas".

Thanks to Cindy Campbell of Q106.5 FM for the link.

Tastes Like Chicken

3:16

Upon leaving work today, by buddy Dave comes up to me and says, "Merry Christmas" and hands me the new book by Max Lucado called 3:16: The Numbers of Hope.

The title and book are on the following scripture, John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

I almost hate to admit this but, I have never read a Max Lucado book. However, I am excited to delve into this one. This scripture alone is enough to fill anyone with hope. Even though too many have had it crammed down their throats but crazy evangelists, fanatics and those people that go to sporting events with the homemade sign that says "John 3:16". There are so many out there that give Christ a bad representation. But that is for another post.

Personally, this is one of my favorite scriptures that I find truly remarkable. But speaking contextually, I really think any "3:16" reference should be followed up by John 3:17:

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

God sent Jesus into the world to save us, not condemn us. Unfortunately, too many non-Christians see and here the condemnation aspect from other Christians rather than the love. It is truly awe inspiring that God loves us so much and yearns for a relationship with us so much that he would send his only son to be the sacrifice for us so that we can reconnect with our creator. Wow.

I'm eager to see what Max Lucado has to say on this topic.

14 Years...

Today, Jess and I celebrate 14 years of dating/marriage. We just passed the 7 1/2 marriage mark, leaving you to do the math for the rest of our relationship.

On December 21, we started going out. Of course, this was after being turned down for a first date (Can you believe it?). I asked her to go to a hockey game. The second date was obviously more successful...

So to celebrate this week, we went to a hockey game on Tuesday night. The Portland Pirates played a game at Alfond Arena. Great time but wow, the Pirates were awful. Good thing I had great company.

Tonight, we went to Starbuck's on a "Hot Chocolate Date".

Now, when we were first going out we were in college and didn't have a lot of money (wait, we still don't have a lot of money), so we went on Hot Chocolate dates to McDonald's. We decided after 14 years we could upgrade a little.

However, it is roughly 7:00 P.M. and Jess is about to doze off. And I don't think I am too far behind her.

We're getting old(er)...

Tastes Like Chicken

I'm guessing Peter's tree is looking a bit like this with his small child's decorating sense.

I, Robot

Much to Esther's chagrin, the Sci-Fi theme continues, at least for a little while.

I just finished reading I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. We have been doing a Sci-Fi unit for English class, so I figured the way to end the unit was to watch a Sci-Fi movie, and because we had read an Asimov short story, I decided to watch the movie of the same name.

If you look at Amazon or your local book store, you'll find the I, Robot cover with the ever-hunky, Big Willie style all up in it, Will Smith cover. But do not be fooled gentle reader, the book has little to do with the movie. Some of the themes and characters are the same, but that is where the similarities end. Detective Dale Spooner, the main character, isn't even in the book.

With that said, the Asimov book is pretty good. It is a collection of short stories all revolving around robots and the Three Laws of robotics. It is dated, but still a good read. A couple of the stories had more appeal for me than the others.

I would only recommend this book for the hardcore Sci-Fi fan.

I am Iron Man!!!

Okay, the comic book theme continues with this new pic of Iron Man! Can't wait for this one! It is gonna be amazing. I hope...

Wanted Trailer

Comic book fans rejoice for another graphic novel comes to the big screen. I don't know anything about the book upon which this is based, but the trailer looks awesome.

Plus, how can you go wrong with a movie featuring Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie...

This is gonna be good...

Empire magazine's January 2008 cover features Heath Ledger as The Joker.

And Ledger's Joker looks like a really bad man!!! If DC and Warner Brothers were going for a darker, grittier Batman (as evidenced by "Batman Begins"), this is gonna cinch the deal.

And I love it!!! Of all the comic book characters that should be embracing the seedy underworld, it should be the Dark Knight.

July 18th doesn't seem all far off...

Photo courtesy of SuperHeroHype.com.

Tastes Like Chicken: When is early too early

A whirling vortex of time wasting destruction

Sorry loyal reader for the lack of posts lately. I have become engrossed in the phenomena known as Facebook.

So, any time that could be spent writing quality posts for this blog, are getting completely wasted on "Pirates", "Warbook", "Sending a friend a drink" and any other time-devouring goody I can find.

I...am...so...sorry...must...make...a...move...in...chess...

Tastes Like Chicken

The Unit: Play 16

This was the highly anticipated follow up to the now infamous "They Killed Hector" episode (actually "Five Brothers").

Jonas seeks revenge for the murder of his fallen colleague as the Unit has to keep moving forward on another mission. The team embarks on a new assignment when Bob Brown has to deal with a rescued journalist at the same time as keeping an eye on him to make sure he doesn't betray the Unit. Jonas plunges back into the underworld of Beirut, seeming hell-bent on finding the men responsible for Williams’ death.

Now unless there is more espionage to come, there was no hidden agendas by Ryan or anyone else, just a terrorist sniper that took down our beloved Hector. The ol' Snake Doctor took care of business though, first by welding the huge plow on the front of the deuce an a half, then hiding a gun to take out his so called friends when they turned. Even Crocodile Dundee would have said, "Now this is a knife". Don't cross Jonas...

Now when most people decide to leave a show there is news somewhere, like Jorja Fox leaving CSI or that guy who played Speedle on CSI: Miami (He left to pursue a lucrative movie career. So how is that working out for ya...). But, no news on Demore Barnes, so either he didn't want to leave and they killed him off anyway (writer's strike anyone) or he left under bad terms. But considering how "dead" he had to be in the last episode, he did an amazing job.

We'll see if any info surfaces after sweeps.

Veteran's Day

What a way to start the day- Golden Army images

Monday morning brings a day off, and I figured I would start the day with some Hellboy: The Golden Army concept art. I loved the first movie and can't wait to see the deuce. Images courtesy of Wizard's Universe.

That's a really big gun! And I thought "The Samaritan" was huge...

They killed Hector!?!?!?!?!

For those of you who are fans of "The Unit" on CBS, we got a complete shock last night when they killed off Hector Williams instead of Charles Grey.

We hardly knew you Hector... RIP Hammerhead.

No news on this one yet, but when I find something I'll post.

UPDATE: This is the most hush-hush TV story out there. I'm looking through my new issue of TV Guide and I reading spoilers on what gonna happen on Heroes in December, but I can't find one story on why the writers killed Hector. Unless next week's episode answers all those nagging questions and theories that we have...

The one theory I've seen mentioned is that maybe Ryan had Hector done in cause he saw the Colonel and Tiffy together, which you have to admit has merit, but after everything Ryan and the Unit has been through so far this season, and I can't buy into this. Ryan was ready to throw it all away to save his men. If Ryan wanted Hector to stay quiet, there are a lot of less life-ending ways he could have done it.

However this turns out, it has made for some awesome TV!

Tastes Like Chicken

A funny thing happened on the way to the civic center...

Well, I just got back from my very first Alternative Education Association (AEA) conference, and a good time was had by all.

My cohorts and myself traveled down to Distgusta (Oops, I mean Augusta) this morning for the all day event. Most of the sessions were well done and very informative. It is always great when you go to a conference and actually get some information that can actually be used in everyday life. We came away with a couple of jems that we are going to use on, I mean with, the students.

Now, this is the first time that all three of us were going to be gone at the same time, and after we told the kids we were giving them the day off, we found out we were going to have substitutes to fill our shoes. Now, this could have gone a whole lot of ways wrong. But, thank God, it didn't. Most of the kids showed up, which is amazing in itself, and the place was still standing when we got back, which is also amazing. One of the subs knows our kids very well and was way more positive about the kids behavior today than the new sub. When reported that the kids just sat around and did no work, the sub was very disappointed at this. Well, in a regular setting, probably so, but, seeing who are population is and what could have happened, this was a walk in the park.

Plus, my English class went great!!! They worked hard and did a good job. Oh, I've got them trained...

Now, we are off to some friends to play games, eat and party down!!!

TLC

Marvel does it right again

Unlike the fiasco made with movie titles like Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3, Marvel has done it right again with the new Wolverine movie.

The film, do out in May 2009, is called X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

How cool a title is that?!?! I mean, Marvel did a good job by naming the two FF movies Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. I really hate it when companies go with the very lame 1 and 2s in a movie title. I mean, c'mon, give us the movie viewer some credit for figuring out the title orders of a series of movies.

But until Wolverine comes out, we have Iron Man.

What a week...

I don't know about you, but it has been a crazy, busy week here. Since my triumphant return from Blueberry Mountain, it has been nose to the grindstone.

School has been ridiculously busy, barely having time to breath during the day. And then the real fun starts...

Monday afternoon/evening (not too late at least), Pop-in-law and I made a run to the "New and Improved" hunting camp with some furniture and cupboards.

Tuesday I skipped Man-Group so to have a night at home with the Mrs. (Sorry guys)

Wednesday brings music practice. While time consuming, it is a lot of fun.

Thursday night I volunteered to help with our Alpha group at church. Then, it was Halo night! Then Red Sox! Oh yeah!!!

So here it is Friday night, and the Missus and I are catching up on some shows that we missed this week. Smallville was fantastic, and Supernatural is great as always, one of my faves.

Saturday brings a little drywall action at my buddy Scott's. Jess is off to Rockland to visit with the rest of the fam.

Hopefully, Sunday will bring a little rest. But I wouldn't trade it all for the world.

Tastes Like Chicken

A Weekend Away-A Man Advance

I just spent the weekend at Blueberry Mountain Bible Camp for what we are calling our first of many "Growing Men of Integrity" men's conferences. Instead of calling it a "retreat", usually a time to kind of get away from everything and collect our thoughts and regroup, we decided to call it an "advance", because that is what a good soldier does in this battle we are fighting with Satan, the world, and our sinful natures.

We left church at around 3:3o on Friday afternoon to head to Weld, where the facility is that we stayed at. We arrived around 6:30 to a great meal. Then we kicked off our festivities for the weekend.

Bruce Johnson, our Outreach pastor was the keynote speaker, and the theme was becoming "revolutionaries" for Christ, which is what we are really called to be, that is not to conform to the cultural norms of our world and sometimes even the norms of the church world that keep us from fulfilling the purpose for which we were created for by God. It was a great kickoff and we had a great time of sharing and bonding as a group of guys.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at 7:30, started our morning at around 8:00 with some music and more "revolutionary" thinking. We went until about 10:30 and then we all were shocked by what came next: free time! Most conferences you go to are booked every second so you have no downtime and you're exhausted, but not ours. From 10:30 to 5:oo was all ours.

While some relaxed by reading, hanging out and checking out the facilities, a group of us I'm calling the "Blueberry Mountain Six" decided to tackle the local mountain (elevation 2950') whose trailhead is located right by the camp.

Now, the trail was rated at a "2" on the difficulty scale, and once you are on it, you realize that whoever decided that this trail deserved a "2" never climbed it or was smoking something a little funny. Leaves, running water and at times almost near verticle climbs made this one of the most challenging trails I have personally done. But we were all in the same boat physically, took our time, and were greatly rewarded by the beautiful colors of the Fall foliage and the 360º views from the top. We'll definitely do this climb again at next year's conference and a planned trip to Katahdin is on the docket for next Spring. Time to start working out for that one...

After our grueling trek, we returned to an amazing meal prepared by the camp staff and then a great night of discussion and learning about our God and King.

Sunday morning after breakfast we met for our last session which started out with an amazing time of praise. Then we had our best time of discussion and bonding yet. The cool thing is that when you spend a weekend together hanging out and sharing your thoughts and feelings with others guys you get a real sense of transparency and honesty you just don't get in church on Sunday morning. What an amazing time!!!

Tastes Like Chicken: Water

Thor, The God of Thunder

Marvel Comics isn't sparing any change when it comes to making movies, and the newest one has piqued my interest. Enter: Thor! And here are the potentials, and most of them would be perfect.

Kevin McKidd as Thor With a hefty dose of Scottish swagger, the gravelly voiced star of NBC’s “Journeyman” exudes the perfect attitude to bring the Thunder God to theaters. Add that to McKidd’s sword-swinging action résumé in HBO’s “Rome” and the recent “The Last Legion,” and you’ve got Mjolnir’s new master.

Jesse Spencer as Donald Blake Thor’s physician alter ego needs to have the same look as his godly counterpart, but with a much frailer physique. “House” co-star Spencer has the perfect mix of charm and nerdiness.

Linda Cardellini as Jane Foster Blake’s assistant needs a specific kind of gal Friday sexy, and “E.R.” actress Cardellini exudes more than enough “girl next door” hotness to coerce fans into scheduling multiple doctor’s appointments.

Cillian Murphy as Loki Previous roles in “Batman Begins” and “Red Eye” were scary enough, but with a touch of CGI, Murphy’s take on the persuasive and perverse trickster god Loki could be the most frightening comic villain in screen history.

Kate Beckinsale as Lady Sif Female furies who kick ass and carry big swords are hard to find. Luckily, Beckinsale can pull off the action heroine part (a la “Underworld”) without snuffing out her smoldering hotness.

Cilian Murphy and Kate Beckinsale are amazing choices, and Kevin McKidd is a great looking choice, but in my opinion to be a real Thor he has got to beef up a bit. This one will be one to watch for.

More on Gore and the Nobel faux pas...

I'm not the only one it thinks it in bad taste that the Nobel committee gave a Peace Prize to Al Gore while overlooking some people who were actually worthy of the prestigious award. My buddy Peter points this out:

This year, though, the committee outdid itself. Here's who it ignored in favor of Gore:

Irena Sendler, born in 1910, was raised by her Catholic parents to respect and love people regardless of their ethnicity or social status. Her father, a physician, died from typhus that he contracted during an epidemic in 1917. He was the only doctor in his town near Warsaw who would treat the poor, mostly Jewish victims of this tragic disease. As he was dying, he told 7-year-old Irena, "If you see someone drowning you must try to rescue them, even if you cannot swim." In 1939 the Nazis swept through Poland and imprisoned the Jews in ghettos where they were first starved to death and then systematically murdered in killing camps. Irena, by than a social worker in Warsaw, saw the Jewish people drowning and resolved to do what she could to rescue as many as possible, especially the children. Working with a network of other social workers and brave Poles, mostly women, she smuggled 2,500 children out of the Warsaw ghetto and hid them safely until the end of the war.

Sendler was tortured and nearly killed for her principles.

Peter also links to a post about how old Al Gore doesn't even live according to his own proclamations. Gore's "Carbon Footprint" is BIG!

They'll give these things to anyone...

Al Gore and U.N. Climate Panel win a Nobel Prize. Somebody had a little too much to drink while selecting this one. This was a bad decision for a couple of reasons.

First, it's Al Gore, they guy who "invented" the internet. The really funny thing is I found a site that defends Gore's statement and tries to explain it. It think it is pretty clear irregardless of the context:

But it will emerge from my dialogue with the American people. I've traveled to every part of this country during the last six years. During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

Looks like a pretty clear cut statement to me. Anyway, here is a great article by Steven Hayward about Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize. Some highlights:

Parson Al winning the Nobel Peace Prize was as predictable as his Oscar for Best Documentary, and represents the final debasement of a once-prestigious award. It used to be that the award went to people of genuine humanitarian or diplomatic accomplishment, like Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer or Doctors Without Borders. Now it goes to frauds and poseurs like Rigoberta Menchu, Yassir Arafat, the U.N. (three times now, counting Gore’s co-winner, the U.N.’s climate change panel), and Jimmy Carter. About the only way to top this would be to give the next Peace Prize to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. More likely the Nobel committee will, one of these days, simply pat itself on the back and give the award to . . . themselves.

The glitter of the Nobel overshadows the inconvenient news reported last week that a British court of law labeled Gore’s movie as partisan political propaganda, pointing out 11 different errors of fact or scientific judgment, and prohibiting its screening in British public schools without a disclaimer of these defects. The Nobel will be one more quiver in Gore’s arsenal of intransigent moral authority by which he refuses to debate any aspect of the subject and declares the entire matter “settled.” It’s never a good sign when politicians declare a scientific matter settled; we all remember how well that worked out for the Vatican when they told Galileo 400 years ago that astronomy was settled. It is even more problematic to suggest that climate change is not a political issue, but a moral issue, but then to demand massive political interventions in the economy to fix the problem.

Likewise, climate change is a real phenomenon, but the catastrophic scenario of Gore and his fellow climate campaigners is steadily fraying around the edges if you follow the scientific literature closely. Has anyone noticed, for example, that global temperature has been flat for the last decade, after two decades of slow and steady increase from 1980 to 1998? Most of the climate models suggest global temperature should be consistently warming with the rise of greenhouse gases, but it has stopped. This increasingly inconvenient truth will eventually become too obvious for even the media to ignore. Meanwhile, the real world economic consequences of Gore’s policy agenda (which Obama and Edwards—but not Hillary—have signed up for) are so extreme that no self-governing people will ever submit to it, which is why a few environmentalists have gone so far as to say openly, “down with democracy.” Go ahead; make my day; try that out on the American people. The Democratic Congress can’t even pass a modest emissions trading scheme that would barely begin to enact Gore’s agenda, because they are afraid of its cost.

Next, there is the problem with the science of Global Warming. Richard Lindzen, an MIT scientist, is refuting the findings of the U.N. and Gore:

The reports maintain that there's more than a 90 percent chance that human activity—primarily the burning of fossil fuels, resulting in increased levels of atmospheric CO2—is responsible for the earth's recent warming, which amounts to a 1.2-degree-Fahrenheit rise in global mean temperature over the past 100 years. Noting that the current atmospheric concentration of CO2 is higher than it's been in the past 650,000 years, the IPCC predicts that human-induced climate change could spell extinction for 20 to 30 percent of the world's species by the end of this century, cause increasingly destructive weather patterns, and flood coastal cities.

Lindzen doesn't dispute that the planet has warmed up in the past three decades, but he argues that human-generated CO2 accounts for no more than 30 percent of this temperature rise. Much of the warming, he says, stems from fluctuations in temperature that have occurred for millions of years—explained by complicated natural changes in equilibrium between the oceans and the atmosphere—and the latest period of warming will not result in catastrophe.

Okay, that's enough. I'm going to go continue my ground-breaking research into re-creating the internet and put my name in for one of them there fancy and relatively easy to get Peace Prizes...

Hopefully they don't get stuck in the ice as well...

Some of descendants Ernest Shackleton and his crew are attempting to replicate the failed "Nimrod" Antarctic trek of 1908 and reach the South Pole.

Of course, Shackleton is best known for his 1914 Endurance expedition that is known as one of if not the greatest survival stories of all time.

28 crew members trapped on the ice flows of the Weddell Sea for almost 2 years, and they were all rescued. Remarkable.

Pushing Daisies -

We'll start with the fluff today, and that fluff is Pushing Daisies. I would dare say that this is my favorite new show this season. Great fun, especially with Kristin Chenoweth singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You" to Digby the dog while pining away for the Pie Maker.

I hope this one sticks around.

Tastes Like Chicken: Bacon

Peculiar Posts

The world of the weird and peculiar brings us this story from MSNBC: Poisoned tourist saved with vodka drip.

BRISBANE, Australia - Australian doctors said they plugged a poisoned Italian tourist into a vodka drip after running out of the medicinal alcohol they would normally have used to save his life.

The 24-year-old Italian, who was not further identified, was diagnosed as having ingested a large quantity of ethylene glycol, a common ingredient in antifreeze that can cause renal failure.

Pure alcohol is often given in treating such cases because it can inhibit the toxic effects of ethylene glycol.

Dr. Pascal Gelperowicz at Mackay Base Hospital where the man was taken for treatment said he was given pharmaceutical-grade alcohol on arrival, but that the hospital's supplies soon ran out.

"We quickly used all the available vials of 100 percent alcohol and decided the next best way to get alcohol into the man's system was by feeding him spirits through a nasogastric tube," Gelperowicz said in a statement.

"The patient was drip-fed about three standard drinks an hour for three days in the intensive care unit," he said. "The hospital's administrators were also very understanding when we explained our reasons for buying a case of vodka."

The patient made a successful recovery. The incident occurred about two months ago, though the hospital just released information on the case.

Used a vodka drip. Who knew that was going to work?

What I really want to know is how the poisoned tourist got so much Ethylene Glycol in his system in the first place...

Columbus Day

Which essentially means in the educational world a day off.

Here is the obligatory link with info about the explorer the said day is named in honor of.

As for me, here is what the day entails. A few chores around the house. Right now, Pitch Black is in the DVD player, with the Chronicles of Riddick and Hot Fuzz in the queue.

A little reading is on the menu as well. My light reading is Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston and my heavy reading is Six Battles Every Man Must Win by Bill Perkins.

Of course, tonight brings tons of good TV with "Chuck", "Heroes", "Journeyman" and "CSI: Miami".

Have a great day!

Patriots vs. Browns

Wow!!! The Patriots are stomping on the neck of yet another team. The Patties are up 20-0 and have intercepted Cleveland Browns QB Derek Anderson 3 times already.

I almost feel bad for the Browns. Almost.

Bruschi just ran over Anderson like a freight train...

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

The pumpkin theme continues with this yummy number. Now, this one is a first time recipe and the cakes are cooling on the rack as I write this, so an update will be in order later.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

1 can pumpkin
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease and flour 7x3 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Now we tweaked this recipe just slightly. We used a couple of bundt pans and 1 tbs of pumpkin pie allspice instead of all the separate ingredients.

I'll let you know how it tastes...

Update: This didn't come out so good. Tasted great but didn't cook all the way through. Should of cooked them about 30 minutes longer.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

When we got home from church today, Jess and I looked at each other and said, "Let's make some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies!" So, we did. And they taste amazing!

Here is the recipe:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 can pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chocolate morsels

Mix together butter, sugar, egg, pumpkin and vanilla extract. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Add chocolate morsels. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350º for 12-14 minutes.

This is an amazing recipe, and fall is a great time for all things pumpkin. Enjoy!!!

The Black Frog's "Naked Lunch" in murky water

And I'm not just talked about Moosehead Lake. The Black Frog, a Greenville restaurant that Jess and I ate at about a month ago, has made the front page of MSNBC.com. I'm not sure that is a good thing. Apparently, the "Naked Lunch" is in jeopardy:

A sandwich called the Skinny Dip, featuring sliced prime rib in a baguette roll, has been offered free of charge to anyone willing to plunge naked from the restaurant's dock into Moosehead Lake.

Since the free sandwich offer was introduced three years ago, owner Leigh Turner has found plenty of takers. "We've had two or three a week," he said.

During that time only one patron has suggested the activity was inappropriate, Turner said. However, that patron apparently suggested to selectmen recently that the activity be curtailed.

The naked lunch issue surfaced this week when Town Manager John Simko presented the Black Frog's application to renew its liquor license. Simko said he had been approached about the nudity and suggested that Police Chief Scott MacMaster speak to the owner about it.

Turner did not attend the selectmen's meeting, but said he would remove the free lunch offer if asked to do so.

The skinny dip was typically done at night, no frontal nudity was exposed to customers and a towel was readily available, Turner said.

"Most everybody applauded" when patrons took the plunge, he added.

Yeah, this is sad that the "Skinny Dip" has become a "national" story. Someone got their undies in a bundle, had some pull with the town selectmen, and when of all things the Black Frog's liquor licence came up, then all of a sudden the "Naked Lunch" becomes a big deal.

Lighten up people. If you're stupid enough to jump in the lake that usually hovers around freezing naked to get a free meal, the more power to you.

TLC

Tastes Like Chicken for this week.

Yup, I figured the whole Christopher Columbus thing went down like this!

Keep up the good work, Josh!!!

I'm no tree-hugging, eco-conservationalist but...

...I was really excited to see that the Friends of Acadia were able to step up and buy a 25 acre parcel of land on the north side of Acadia Mountain that was slated for development.

So much of the natural beauty and landscape in our country has been developed, so it is good to see groups out there trying to save it, and especially saving the natural habitat here in our own beloved state.

More than Meets the Eye once again...

Dreamworks and Paramount commit to "Transformers 2". (Hopefully not the name. I hate movie titles with "2" in the title.)

It sounds like Michael Bay, Shia LeBeouf and Steven Spielberg are in for the Deuce!!!

Boy, its a long time until 2009...

Sad, but not surprising

Britney Spears' long spiral down is now just about complete as she has now lost the custody of her children. How selfish and immature can one person be? Hopefully this is a major kick in the ass for Brit and she'll finally come to her senses.

She's at rock bottom now, so hopefully she can pull herself together for the sake of her kids...

The Week in Review

Some great shows this week on the old TV. Here are some highlights that I haven't hit yet.

"Reaper" was awesome. Sam is a 21 year old slacker who finds out his parents sold his soul to the devil and now he is Satan's bounty hunter returning escaped souls to Hell. Now for some reason, when you have a show or movie that has something to do with the devil and religion, people seem to think they can find some sort of spiritual truth in it. I don't know why. I guess some people are just searching for God. I mean, Constantine was a great movie, but the writers of the movie (maybe is was just Keanu messing up his lines) couldn't even get a scriptural quote from the book of Revelation right. Constantine calls it the "Book of Revelations" which just isn't right.

Any, there is some spiritual truth in "Reaper" though. During the first episode the devil looks at Sam and says something to effect of (paraphrasing here), "You know how this ends, God wins in the end". Amazing scriptural truth there. Must be a Christian on the writing staff...

"CSI" was great and still one of my faves. Except, they saved Sara. I was kinda hoping she would drown pinned under the car.

"Smallville" just gets better each season, and is seriously becoming a TV show of epic proportions. Clark takes on Bizzaro, Chloe finds out what her special power is, Martian Manhunter returns, and cousin Kara gets cut loose from here Earthly prison. Hopefully she teaches Clark how to fly...

I can't wait to see what's in store this week on the tube! Stay tuned...

You're all gonna laugh at me...

Well, a first this week. I used an Iron Maiden song for my English class. We have been reading about Alexander the Great, so I figured I would use the Iron Maiden song. The kids thought it was awesome!

So, in that vain, I found the newest Iron Maiden video called "Different World". (Plus, I wanted to try and post a video.) This is the studio version (way cooler than the foolish CG one). I know, I know, but I have a soft spot in my heart for IM. Ever since I heard the amazing harmonies and driving sound of "The Trooper" I've been hooked. Plus, check out the beautiful guitar that Adrian Smith is playing (the guy with the hat). It looks like a Gibson SG. Gorgeous...

What was this guy thinking?

I saw a piece on "The Today Show" this morning that was about a naval building in Coronado, California that looks like a swastika from the air. And thanks to Google Maps, here it is:


Oops! Designed by John Mock and built in the the late 60's, the plans called for an "L-Shaped" barracks to build and repeated three more times. Not until they broke ground for the project did the Navy realize it looked like a Swastika. And they still built it...

Now 40 years later and Google giving everybody a bird's eye view of the building, it's gonna get a face lift at a price tag of $600,000. Everything looks better on paper...

But I'm not sure what is more shocking. Using Google Maps to look at the Swastika-shaped building, or being able to zoom in at all the ships that are in the water at the base.

Bionic Woman

Watching the Bionic Woman right now. Amazing!!!

Update: Wow, this show was incredible. A great reinventing of the original classic. Michelle Ryan was a great choice to play Jamie Sommers. Plus, you can't beat the beat down that Jaime Sommers and Sarah Corvus (played by Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackoff) gave to each other. Amazing effects as well. Here is the video of the fight from film.com (you might need to watch a commercial first). Good show that we'll continue to watch each week.

I almost liked this better than "Heroes" season premiere...

From terrific to tired...

Very tired... must go to bed... very long day... kids drove me crazy...

All hopes of watching the tube tonight have gone out the window, and my head is going to hit the pillow in mere moments. And with just passing a significant birthday, this doesn't bode well for my nocturnal activities...

I'll have to ramble on about Wednesday's new shows tomorrow. Right now, I'm gonna read a few pages of my new book and then turn out the lights for a long night's slumber.

And winter isn't even upon us yet. Oh, crap...

Terrific Tuesday

Okay, tomorrow brings night two of new TV offerings, and I have to say, Tuesday is gonna be a light viewing night. Only a couple of shows to watch here:

"The Unit" is a favorite and I am looking forward to the new season. Jonas is on the run, and I bet old Uncle Sam has a hard time catching him. He's "On the Lam". Kinda like Tony Soprano...

"Cane" might be a one time shot, especially with all the other shows we are watching. If it isn't amazing we'll just catch it on reruns in the off seasons.

Here on the other hand, is a show I am really looking forward to checking out: "Reaper". A slacker (which don't we all just secretly want to be sometimes) with unrealized potential and a grand destiny who winds up finding out his parents sold his soul to the devil and now he works for the underworld returning all sorts of baddies. I'll let you know whether it's a hit, or a complete miss.

Next up: Wicked Weird Wednesday!

Monday Night TV Recap

Well, the new TV season is off with a bang! "Chuck" was actually quite good and worth a second look. The premise is that Chuck's old college roomate was a rogue CIA spy, and with his dying breath he sent Chuck an email, which essentially ingrains all of the government's secrets into Chuck's brain. So now he is the ultimate computer program for the Feds and they need to protect him at all costs and also use him as an operative. Plus, you can't beat "The Nerd Herd", which is the computer division of the large electronics store he works for. I wonder where they got the idea for that from...

"Heroes" was great, but not as amazing as I thought it would have been, and both Jess and I are feeling a little flat after the episode which was presented with limited commercial interuption with sponsorship from you-know-who: Nissan. Plenty of shameless plugs for the new Nissan Rogue during the show as well.

But on the flipside, they did catch us up to speed with what has been happening with most of the major characters in the four months since the big showdown with Sylar. Plus we get to meet several new "Heroes" including Sark (Remember Alias?)!

"CSI:Miami" and "Journeyman" are recording as I write this, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to check those out.

A Record High!!!

I can't believe it! I just checked my Sitemeter counter this morning, and I got 6o hits yesterday!!! Woohoo!!! Of course, this is surprising because I have been neglecting The World of Tomorrow for most of the year.

Whoever checked out my blog via Captain's Quarters, thanks!!!

If I write it, they will come...

Update: I'm looking at Sitemeter right now, and I'm at 84 visits for today (Monday). What is going on?!?!

Finally, it's Premiere Week!

The Fall TV Season is about to begin, and so won't the insanity! I don't know how we are going to watch it all. The DVR and the VHS will be running ragged each week in a vain attempt to keep up with all the scrumptious TV goodness.

So, I'll start with Monday Madness:

NBC will be the reigning Monday Night King. The first show we are going to check out is "Chuck". Ubergeek turned super spy. Could be entertaining. Worth a peek anyway. But this love affair might not last...

Next up: "Heroes"! After an amazing first season, which was a surprise for most because it was a "Super Hero" show, "Heroes" returns for what is sure to be a stellar second season. Can't wait to watch!

Another new show is up next on the list: "Journeyman". A news reporter and time travel doesn't seem like a new idea (Wasn't there a show that had a newspaper that told the future?), but this looks good. Anything with time travel and tragedy is worth checking out.

And last but not least: Horatio Caine and CSI: Miami! Either you love David Caruso or you hate him, but that not withstanding, I love "Miami". You can't beat the unbeatable "H" sauntering away from a 5 Megaton explosion with his hands on his hips and nary a hair outta place. Great fun!

Next up: Terrific Tuesday!

Movie Mayhem

This morning, very early, Jess and I descended into the third circle of the underworld, known also as Walmart, to do a little shopping before the crowds hit. And what a trip it was...

...because they had $5.00 movies!!! And we got a bunch. Some were just to add to the collection, but some were bought with my birthday bounty. And here they are:

First up, the classic 1994 film "Stargate" featuring James Spader and Kurt Russell. I'm not a particular fan of either guy (I can't stand "Boston Legal"), but mix in a gate to the unknown and Egyptian Mythology, and I'm in!

Next up with have, "Jumanji" starring Robin Williams. The FX in this film were amazing for 1995, and it also helped that it was based on a children' book by Chris Van Allsburg.

Next up in the delicious movie bonanza is: "The Mexican". Now, some of you will be like, "Oh Yeah!" Others will be like, "What are you thinking?" I can't help it, I really dig this movie. I'm not a big Julia Roberts fan (not a fan at all really), but Brad Pitt is awesome! James Gandolfini (Tony Soprano) is amazing as well. Mix in a cursed Mexican pistol and you've got one cool movie.

And last but not least we have, "Twister". Good movie. I don't particularly care for Bill Paxton or Helen Hunt, but the effects are great and I use this movie for my Earth Science class when we do our unit on Tornadoes. Hey, some of us are visual learners!

Back to You Premiere

I just finished watching the new Fox show "Back to You" with Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammar, and it was amazing. I haven't laughed that hard during a sitcom since "Frasier". (I never laughed watching "Everybody Loves Raymond. I hated that show.)

I'm adding this show to the weekly watch list, which is insane already.

How am I going to get the DVR and the VCR to record simultaneously...

Watch a video, fight ALS

Every time somebody watches this video, $2 will be donated to fight ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Thanks to Peter for the link.

Stardust

The Missus and I decided on an impromptu date night, and we ended up at the local cheap seats to see the movie "Stardust".

What an incredible film! Based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman, there is something for everyone in this film. Action, adventure, intrigue, romance, this movie has it all.

The film stars Charlie Cox as Tristan, a village shop boy with dreams of grandeur, Claire Danes as Yvaine, a fallen star brought to Earth to help Tristan fulfill his destiny, and Michelle Pfieffer as Lamia, and evil witch out to destroy the fallen star and prolong her life. Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett, and a "flamboyant" performance by Robert De Niro as Captain Shakespeare round out the amazing cast assembled for this film.

I am going to make a bold claim right now: This could possibly be "The Princess Bride" of the new century. This one will definitely be added to the library when it is released on DVD (estimated to be December 2007). I wish I had paid the big bucks to see it at the nice, expensive theater.

More photos

Here is the money shot from the weekend in Greenville. Nice flower!!!

Picture Time

Time to share a picture from our trip to Greenville/Rockwood (and no, I didn't see a moose).

This is taken looking up The Moose River where we stayed.

3:10 to Yuma

For my birthday, I went out with some friends and we ended up seeing "3:10 to Yuma" with Russell Crowe and the "Dark Knight" himself, Christian Bale.

Let me start out by saying that I wasn't really quite sure what to expect from this film. Was it going to be all action, like a good western should, or is it going to be all story and character development with little action? It turned out to be a pleasant mixture of both.

Both Russell Crowe and Christian Bale did a fabulous job with their characters, and the dynamic between the two was electric. They played very well together, one guy "good" the other "bad", but both with some redeemable qualities that endear themselves to the audience. And some naughty characteristics that make you cheer for them as well (But what's up with the gunfights?).

The language was realitively mild in this one (I've sat through far worse) and the action was amazing. The film moved along at a nice clip, with only a couple of places it bogs down.

Definetely worth the price of full admission. I may even go the theater to see it again. The story is really deep enough to warrant a second viewing to catch all the nuances.

The Ruins by Scott Smith

I just recently finished reading "The Ruins" by "A Simple Plan" author Scott Smith. Now, I have never read "A Simple Plan", but I hope it is a far superior work than the current one.

I have been thinking about how I can write a scathing review of this bookish blunder, but I'll just give it to ya straight: This book was hideous! Sorry, Peter...

The only question that continually popped into my head was, "What is this guy thinking?".

Now, there was a couple of bright spots. The "bad guy" of the book had some pretty interesting ways of tormenting his victims, which was cool, and the ending was great, but that doesn't save this albatross from going down with the ship.

The time spent reading this literary fiasco can never be returned. So, the long and the short of it: don't read it.

My Triumphant Return

Well, I've just been on a trip through Europe and now I am back and ready to blog.

Just kidding, I've have just been too lazy or busy to put in the effort, much to my wife's chagrin, and probably some of my friends as well. But, here I am, trying to get back in the saddle and actually take time to write. Cause, like most people, I've got stuff to say.

School is back in and going extremely well, unlike last year, which was my first teaching high school. I was a nervous wreck, and not because of the kids. It was just because I had no idea what I was doing. Got a little more on the ball this year... and I'm a little crazier.

My freinds Jason and Sarah have joined the blogging game, and they can be found here. I'll add a link to the side kids!

Okay now on to some reviews...

Transformers Viewing 2

Well, I went and saw it again today, and it was more amazing. This is really an incredibly well done film. I have to admit, I was a little nervous with Michael Bay at the helm, but he came through in a pinch. Of course, with Spielberg as an executive producer, how could it come out too badly.

Okay, as I have mentioned before, Transformers has become my new favorite movie. So, here is a screen shot from one of my favorite scenes:Now a couple of things about this shot. Notice the cool eye protection Bumblebee dons when he fights. You will also notice the tow truck. Important to the scene, but I'll say no more.

Make sure you see Transformers this weekend!!!

Back to normal...

The big news this weekend wasn't that Russian President Vladimir Putin was visiting our beloved state to spend 24 hours at Walker's Point, aka the Bush Compound, but that he was leaving today, the protesters were leaving today and that everything was going to be back to normal.

Transformers

I just got home from a sneak peak showing of Transformers, and let me tell you, this was perhaps the best movie I have ever seen. I have a list of my top films (personal faves) that went something like this:

1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars
3. Return of the Jedi
4. LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring
5. LOTR: The Two Towers
6. LOTR: The Return of the King
7. Aliens

And the list would continue on from there including Spider-Man, X-Men and so on. Well, Transformers has shot to the top of the list. I've had some childhood favorites come to life on the big screen, like the Hulk, Fantastic Four and Ghost Rider, but this blows them all away. Forget Spider-man. He's old news compared to this film. There will be some memorable lines that will come from this movie, as well as some already well known, such as "Autobots: Roll Out!"

I know I make some bold boasts here, but I have never sat even through my favorite films with a palpable sense of excitement, literally on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next scene. Tonight I did.

The Autobots and Decepticons are incredible in this film. You almost expect to step out of the theater and see them standing there the CGI was so amazing.

The action sequences were stunning. Everything I ever wanted in the various TV shows and things I have imagined were made a reality on the big screen. My favorite Autobot was Bumblebee. A favorite as a kid and the co-star with Shia Labeouf, who should get some sort of prestigious award for this film.

Of course, like any movie, there were a few things I didn't care for, but it was all dialoge, and certainly nothing to deter the "WOW" factor of this flick. But, take care, this isn't a film for little kids because the action is very intense and some of the dialog, while minor, is a little rough for young ears.

Amazing film. See it on the big screen, several times.

Okay, when is the first show time for tomorrow...

The Bangor Troop Greeters

Here in our beloved metropolis, we have an amazing group of people who volunteer to greet incoming and outgoing troops at our international airport. We are often the last stop before going over seas or the first stop coming back. Here is a great letter to the editor from one of these grateful troops:

I am a paratrooper serving with the 82nd Airborne Division in Operation Iraqi Freedom, currently forward-deployed in Iraq. I was a part of the "surge" the commander-in-chief called up to help the citizens of Iraq.

During our deployment, our plane stopped at Bangor International Airport on Jan. 2. It was a very cold day, but there were more than 100 volunteers, veterans and supporters at the airport to greet us as we exited the plane. We were greeted with open arms, smiles and handshakes. Additionally, we were provided with phones to contact love ones, food and good conversation.

I can honestly say that was the proudest moment I have had as a soldier serving in the United States Army. The support and kindness shown to us by the great people of Bangor solidified my resolve as to what purpose I was serving in the military. I serve because of people like the residents of Bangor, whom I will fight to protect anywhere, anytime when called upon.

I write this to thank you sincerely for the outpouring of warmth and support. I can't speak for all of the soldiers, but I know they all felt like I feel. We experienced the same hospitality in 2003 when we first started OIF, and I never got the chance to say "thank you". Again, thank you and God bless you all.

Sgt. 1st Class

Derrick Davis

Fort Bragg, N.C.

Why I bother...

Okay gentle reader, I know it has been a long time since I posted and there probably isn't anyone out there left to read this, but I'm gonna write any. Hi to all the peeps that regularly check this site, namely Peter, Kev and Ame, Esther, Scott and my lovely wife.

I have just survived my first year teaching in an alternative ed high school. What is "alternative education" you ask? That is a great question, and depending on where you are and who you ask, you're going to get a variety of answers.

This is what alternative ed is for us. We are part of Brewer High, just off site. Our kids get a diploma just like the kids at the high school. We just do things a little differently...

We have a variety of kids that are with us for a variety of reasons. Yes, we do have some special ed kids with some issues, but nothing major. We have some kids that are gifted and talented. We have kids with some health issues. Usually kids come to us because they are either 1) behind in credits due to dropping out, jail time, illness, etc. or 2) the high school with 900 students just doesn't work for them. Sometimes they come for both reasons.

We have small classes, with about 35 kids for three of us. Between the three of us we have taught roughly 15 different classes, ranging from English to math to science to Russian to guitar to performing arts and the list goes on.

When I first got into education, I was all excited and altruistic and thought "I am going to impact young lives for the better". Uh huh. Nine years in and I hadn't seen any of that. Well, this year was different. Way different. I've been able to help and positively impact a bunch of kids this year. It was an amazing experience to have one of the kid's parents come up to me and thank me with tears in her eyes about how I have been such a positive influence on her son and made a real impact on his life. Finally...

So, I have the summer off for the first time in my life. I'm mentally wiped out after a long year. I'll be doing some summer school stuff and then my "Honey-do" list kicks in, but it looks like I have all of August off.

Oh yeah!!!

When the wife is away...

I know, I haven't blogged in forever, and as Jess keeps reminding me, my status in the TTLB keeps slipping to apparently new abysmal depths (I'm now a Wiggly Worm. That can't be good.).

So, instead of weighing in on the current state of the world with a good quality post, I just finished developing some essay questions about the French defeat at Dienbienphu at the hands of Ho Chi Minh, and now I am going to pop some popcorn, get a Tab on ice, and watch "Shaun of the Dead".

I am going to skip the work on the Health quiz for now...

Philly Day 3

Monday brings Tut!!! The weather is horrible this morning. Here we are 700 miles from Maine and it is snowing. And Jess is sick to boot. So, the idea of riding the train in goes right out the window. So Dad decides we'll drive in. Oh the fun abounds.

The good news is, the drive in was relatively painless. We made a couple of errors in our map reading, but we got to the Franklin Institute ten minutes before we needed to and Dad got a parking spot real close.


The Tut exhibit was everything I hoped for and more. It was just amazing to see all these artifacts that I've been seeing in books for years right there before me in all their antiquated glory. The artifacts date from roughly 1350 B.C., and they were in amazing shape. Of course, I couldn't take pictures in the Tut exhibit, but I'll include some photos of what we saw.

This is a huge statue of Ankenaten, notably the pharaoh that outlawed polytheism in ancient Egypt and instituted monotheism. This was amazing to see. But, understandably, when I got a little too close, there was a security guard who cozied up to me. You can never be to careful...

After being blown away by the Tut exhibit, we checked out the rest of the Franklin Institute. We toured the Giant Heart and the Franklin Air Show.

When we were done at the Franklin, we headed back to our suite for a little rest. After a nap and a great dinner cooked by Mom, I went to a four hour graduate class with Kevin. And I actually learned some stuff. Amazing.

And to prove what a small world it is, when I went on a coffee run to the "Eagle's Nest" for some coffee, I ran into one of the kids from our church who is going to PBU. I had to do the old double take to make sure it was here before I made a real idiot out of myself.

Monday in a nutshell....

Philly Day 2

Sunday brought torrential rains and hazardous conditions. I've never been scared driving in heavy rain before, but I was nervous Sunday morning (and it wasn't your driving, Kev). Unlike Maine roads, which are beveled (hope that is the right word) to allow water and snow to run off, Pennsylvania roads are like bowls, and all the water collects in the middle. The hydroplaning was scary. Especially when you look at the other side of the highway and there are cars off the road, upside down on their roofs and there was even one that shot up the bank on the side of the road. Scary stuff.


But God is good and we got to our destination. We went to the Bacton Hill Bible Church with the Bookers, Grammy Quint, my in-laws and my lovely wife. Of course, I am supposed to be having some time off from leading worship, which I got, but when Kevin asked if I wanted to play with their worship group, I certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity to play.

After church, since the weather was so nasty, we went to the King of Prussia Mall, which was rather lackluster except for that an Apple Store, my Mecca, was held within the KoPM. And let there be no mistake, the Apple Store was amazing! Worth the trip to the stupid mall. Well, I guess I should include the girl's trip to Tiffany's. Thankfully, we made it out with out a little blue box :o)

And another thing, here I was in this colossal shopping mall, and there really wasn't anything different from the Portland, Maine mall or the mall in our quaint metropolis either. I was hoping for a really different experience, with exotic stores with cool stuff, and there were none. The comic store I went to was a sham compared to Top Shelf Comics right down town on Central Street in Bangor. All the names were the same. Gap, Ambercrombie, JC Penny, Macy's, it's all right here in Bangor. Okay, enough ranting about the mall...

Sunday night consisted of having dinner at the house of a childhood friend of Jess'. What a great time. The whole clan got to catch up. We had a great meal and I got to extol the greatness of Apple computers (there were three there to play on) and laud Acadia National Park, so it was all good.

There is Sunday in a nutshell. Great day but very long and tiring.

To Philly and back: Vacation Day 1

Hello all!!! We just got back a couple of days ago from our fabulous trip to Philadelphia, PA to see out friends, the Bookers. Kev, Ame and big K, thanks for everything. We had such a great time and we miss you guys already.

So, it was a great time, with horrible weather. But the company more than made up for the nasty conditions. Here we were going to Philly thinking we were going to have sun and 70's. We were wrong...

But I have tons to write about and not a lot of time tonight to get it all down, so I am going to break things up.

We left Saturday morning, bright and early with almost no incidents. I fell down the stairs the night before, so I was a little sore. I rarely fall down, unlike my wife, but for some crazy reason I took a tumble the night before we left. Nothing major though.

We spent Saturday in the car, with only a couple of stops on the way down. We made our destination in just over nine hours and got to see some really beautiful houses in a town called Buckingham.

After we got settled in, we had a bbq with the Bookers and some of the families that they live with. What a great time with good friends and good food!!! And I couldn't believe it, but we had a fire out in the backyard. No permit necessary! I can't even do that here in my beloved Bangor!

More to come later...

The Case of the Bulging Battery

So, we went to Philly last week, and once we were settled in I got out my MacBook Pro to check my mail and so forth. Well, the trackpad was acting really funning. So I started inspecting my machine, and low and behold, the battery looked like this:



What? How could this be? What caused this? Did I do something wrong?

Come to find out, no I didn't. But, I thought I was going to be stuck buying a brand new $116 battery. But after some digging, I found the Apple Battery Exchange Program, and guess what, my battery was on the "not up to Apple's high quality" list.

Of course, it was buried and not easy to find, but it is there and still working, so I have a new battery coming in 3-5 business days.

Just when I thought I might have an actual reason to diss the Mac, Apple still comes through with the goods, continuing to prove why they are the best computers on the planet (no bias here).

I bet he is a good listener...

The highlight of our ever-so-"Weekly" publication: Tastes Like Chicken.

Great cartoon this week, Josh! Keep up the good work!

Revenge of Old Man Winter

So, last week we were enjoying 50º temps with tons of sun. Today: 10" inches of snow in our area and up to 24" in the mountains. And the skiers rejoiced. Yea.

The Guvnah (governor for those of you out of the state of Maine) even declared a state of emergency so power crews from other states could come in a restore power to up to 275,000 currently without electricity.

But, there is a silver lining, sort of. A couple of weeks ago, I was at our local LL Bean outlet and found the ultimate bargain: a pair of $130 snow pants with all the bells and whistles for $25. What a deal!

I didn't think I was going to be able to try them out until next Winter. Guess I was wrong...

Whining ensues...

I'm gonna get whiny. I've had a cold for two weeks, going on three. I feel like crap. And now this:

4"-10" of snow on the way.

I love spring in Maine...

Ghost Rider

I went to the cheap seats last night and saw Ghost Rider. Now, let me start by saying, most critics panned this movie. Nicolas Cage did a horrible job acting. The story was fluff and not deep enough. The critiques just keep on coming. Well, I disagree with them completely.

Of course, everyone has an opinion, and apparently some get paid for their opinion, so here is mine.

Back in the day, my family took a trip to Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, we had an unplanned stay over. But because of this, I bought my first comic, which was The Hulk. When I got back home, I bought my second comic, which was Ghost Rider.

I really dislike Nicolas Cage. He plays the same character in every movie he is in. But I liked him in GR. He fit the part perfectly. Plus it helped his head was on fire.

The story had its own charm, giving a great background on how Johnny Blaze signs over his soul to Mephistopheles and becomes the "Spirit of Vengeance". The effects were amazing. The first ride by GR was awesome as he melted the asphalt on the street and lit everything in sight on fire. The scene where GR comes riding down the building and creates a crater when he lands was totally awesome. Another favorite scene is when Carter Slade, aka The Caretaker, takes his final ride as a Ghost Rider and both he and Blaze are riding side by side, JB on his bike and CS on his horse. Amazing. Sam Elliot was perfectly cast as Slade.

This was well worth seeing on the big screen, and I'll definitely add this DVD to the collection when it is released.

Added bonus: GR art by Marc Silvestri!