Another year, another anniversary. 23 and going strong. Hold your breath and make a wish because things are going our way. Ups and downs are the norm for us but it seems like we are on a good run. Two things… One we keep the Lord center in our lives and two stay focused on us and our family… Love you babe! Happy 23rd. Growing old with you is my pleasure, and I'm looking forward to another 23…. How cute are we going to be sitting on the porch of our beach house in our rocking chairs complaining that the kids and grandkids don't visit… It will be here before we know it but let's enjoy the ride as we go….

 2/7/23

Today someone mentioned Zingers which was all it took for a flood of memories to drown my thoughts with recollections of my Pepaw, Lawrence Frederick Collins. Pepaw was a route manager for Dolly Madison, the creator of the Zinger snack cake. When I was a single digit kid there was no shortage of Dolly Madison snack cakes in our house, Zingers included. The memories I have of my Pepaw are extensive but one of my fondest is going into grocery stores with him when I was a kid and how much he would embarrass me. He would seek out the largest, usually, African American female cashiers he could find and proceed to flirt like a professional. Looking back on this, watching my Pepaw flirt was similar to watching Michael Jordan play basketball, he was exceedingly good at it. He would use terms of endearment with these women who at the beginning of the exchange were not endeared to him but by the end of the exchange they appeared to be completely smitten with him. The irony in this is how badly he embarrassed me as a child, you would think I would abhor that type of behavior as an adult but in fact the contrary is true. I find myself, the older I get, using keywords such as “Honey”, “Sweetie” and “Sugar” when addressing female service workers. I truly have no control over this phenomenon and remember being confused and surprised the first time this happened. The unfortunate side to this is in this day and time, more often than not, this type of interaction is inaccurately perceived as demeaning with a touch of condescension, or perhaps I just don’t have the level of charisma that Pepaw had. On the other hand, maybe I just haven’t actually reached the age where I can get away with it. It’s a funny thing as you get older. You start thinking about the people who raised you both living and passed; all the parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even great grandparents. Then you start remembering all of their idiosyncrasies and habits by recognizing them in yourself. If I were to make a pie chart of which relative is responsible for which percentage of my personality, my pepaw would own a large chunk. I loved my pepaw very much and wish he were still here, he left a big void when he passed. It is my sincerest hope that 20 years after I pass, my grandkids remember me as fondly as I remember my pepaw.

 2/9/23

When I was around 13 and my parents were comfortable enough to allow me to mow without supervision that became my job. I guess you could say that was my first of many jobs. It wasn’t long before I was mowing my yard, our neighbors yard and my granddaddy Bill’s yard. Then I started working with another guy who would do the mowing for 50 percent of the money which freed me up to go door to door finding more yards to mow. Between the two of us we were responsible for about 6 yards. Our arrangement didn’t last for the summer though. My partner got tired of doing most of the physical work while I sold the service and dissolved our partnership. We agreed I would keep 3 of our yards and he would keep the others. I mowed these yards until around the time I turned 16 and went to work at McDonalds for my first official job. I learned a lot at McDonalds. I learned how to work as a part of a team, negotiating all the different personalities that exist in any workplace. I also learned how to speak to customers and exchange goods and services for money. One other skill I picked up at McDonalds was how to sweep and mop. These skills have all been utilized in my life and all the other jobs and in my personal life. Working at McDonald’s was a really great experience for me and I have very fond memories of that time. I worked there until I was 17 or so when I got my dream job, at least my dream job for my teenage years, working at the movie theatre. This was roughly around 1988 or 89. During the two years I worked there I saw every single movie that came out and in many cases saw them multiple times. I loved working there, being in the center of the social scene in our small town. If the theater manager would not have fired me I would have worked there for the rest of my life. I still remember going to my manager and telling him when I graduate high school I wanted to go full time and work my way into management. I had a coworker at the theater who was about my age and started shortly after I did. She was a sweet girl with a touch of social anxiety, kind of awkward and quiet. I worked with her and trained her to work the counter. She was a decent employee and moved up quickly being promoted to selling tickets even though honestly, there were superior candidates. Being a better employee makes no difference at all when you are up against the theater manager's daughter for a promotion. My completely average trainee was the boss's daughter. For most of my life I have believed that I lost my dream job trying to move into management because that was the career path he had in mind for his daughter. I truly believed I had been victimized by minimum wage nepotism but as I have age has grown so has my perspective. I now realize that my old manager saw something in me. I believe that he recognized greatness in me that could never be fully realized in the dead end, no future employment penal institution of the movie theater, so he nudged me out of the nest and onto my destiny. It was three years before I showed my face in that movie house.

 2/14/23

Rebecca and I recently celebrated our 30th anniversary which came shortly after my 50th birthday. I have never been great at math but even I can figure out that I have been married most of my life. We have quite literally grown up together. I can still remember vividly the first time I saw her and in many ways that was the day I stopped being a child and became a man, because that was the day I stopped putting myself first and prioritized her needs above my own. Today is Valentine’s Day which is a big deal to many but not so much for us. We used to stress ourselves out trying to go out and fight the crowd eating out or going to the movies but after about the first five or so years we threw in the towel and gave up V-day celebrations. The last attempt I recall we went to about three restaurants that had 2-3 hour waits. I still remember looking at Rebecca and she looked back at me, she then asked if I just wanted to go to McDonald’s to which I responded thank you. There was one other attempt in the last 10 years. I was going to surprise my beloved by sending flowers to her work. People who know us would all agree she is the “responsible one” which means she handles the finances. 15 minutes after I placed the order for her flowers I got an angry phone call from her wanting to know who I was sending flowers to. After I asked her if she got an alert every time I used my debit card (which would be a reasonable thing for her to do) I explained to her that she was the person I was sending flowers to which made her feel horrible for ruining the surprise. So yeah, we don’t go crazy for Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is only one of 365 days that make up a whole year. One of the things in my life that I take the most pride in is my relationship with my wife and that after 30 years I still want to celebrate our love the entire year and not just one day. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone- don’t stress yourselves out celebrating, just enjoy loving either the person you’re with or just loving the people in your life.

    Bywater Adventures

Part 1

Vala stood on the banks of Bywater scanning the water for any signs of danger. Her trusted travelling companion Yendor was perched on her shoulders playing in her hair. Being that Vala was a Half Orc and Yendor was a Forest Gnome she barely noticed he was there until he pulled her hair a little too roughly. She briefly reminisced how much Bywater had changed over the last two years. Back then Bywater was such a lovely little place, a literal hub of activity with people coming and going, the gold flowed freely, life was good. Then on that fateful night as most people were asleep in their bunks, a flaming ball that could only be described as a star fell from the sky, splitting in two just before splashing into the sea. Ever since that fateful night people stopped travelling and the money dried up. Times were hard for everyone, but times were especially hard for Vala, Yendor and their travelling companions. They relied solely on their wits and all their opportunities vanished overnight.

Yala turned away from the shore to face her other companions. Almodus the Human Wizard approached. He smiled at Vala and asked if she was thinking about the star, and she grunted in approval. Glancing up at Yendor he looked back at Vala and said, “I don’t know how you tolerate that little trouble- maker” she replied, “He’s no trouble”. Yendor noticed the exchange and grinned at Almondus saying “You know you love me”. While they spoke a man that could only be described as a 7-foot-tall human giant splashing in the water yelled at the group “Gronk hungry- Gronk need food”. The friends knew that when Gronk was hungry it was best to provide him with food as fast as possible, as he was for lack of better phrasing prone to fits of rage. As they all simultaneously reached in their pouches to look for something edible, they noticed an unnatural movement in the water 20 feet from the shore. As it got closer, they noticed it was Eye their Lizardfolk companion swimming towards them. As he reached the shore it was apparent, he had a large fish in his mouth and another two, one in each hand. He tossed one to Gronk. Wasting no time Gronk violently devoured the fish. Eye walked out of the water and handed the other fish to Vala and said, “This should be enough for you three”. Vala delicately placed the fish in her pouch for later observing admirably as Gronk was finished his fish whole and uncooked. Vala was a Half Orc, while the Orc in her wanted to follow suit and eat the fish whole, in most cases she attempted to embrace her human side.

Work was hard to come by and the group entertained any job that came their way, and they all made their way back to the caravan they had agreed to escort to the town of Bywater. Their employer was a merchant farmer who was heading to town to sell his recent crop. The money was not great, but it was better than nothing. As the group sped up to catchup with the caravan, they noticed a tree that had fallen over the road. Yendor jumped off Vala’s shoulder climbing on to the top of the lead wagon. Vala and Gronk walked toward the tree in front of the lead wagon to attempt to move the tree. As they got closer to the tree, they noticed 4 human men walking out from behind the tree. Each of them had swords and did not look friendly. Eye and Almondus were in the rear of the caravan when a noise behind them alerted them to turn around. They saw another three human males approaching from the rear. 

In the front of the group Gronk and Vala prepared for action when a small arrow whizzed between them striking the far-left bandit squarely in the crotch and he fell over in pain. Gronk and Vala heard Yendor giggling behind them. Gronk approached the bandit beside the one screaming in pain swinging his staff over his head, after he swung it three times above his head as he yelled “Gronk casts Sleep” and just before smashing him in the head the bandit gave a confused look, before falling to the side. Vala reached in her pouch as the third bandit slowed his approach in anticipation, when he saw her pull out a wooden flute, he laughingly continued toward her. Vala fumbled and dropped her flute on the ground as the bandit slashed at her slicing her arm. At this point the fourth bandit approached and received an arrow in his hip as Gronk smashed the third bandit that sliced Vala in the gut knocking the air out of him and likely smashing a few ribs. The last of the bandits noticing his three companions had all been incapacitated turned to run, but Vala grabbed him by the collar spinning him around towards Gronk yelling “Gronk casts Fistol Cuffs” repeatedly punching him in the face until he ceased moving. 

As this is happening in the front of the caravan, in the rear of the caravan Eye began moving toward the three bandits. He glanced to his right where Almondus was standing but he wasn’t there anymore. He turned to see where he went and noticed Almondus retreating to the wagon, scurrying under the wagon for cover. He shrugged with a smile on his face and thought to himself, “More rations for me” as he bared his teeth continuing toward the bandits. Eye pulled out his blood-stained short sword and swung it full force at the first bandit making contact diagonally across his chest, at the exact same time another small arrow struck the second bandit square in the belly. Eye made a mental note to thank Yendor later for the assist. Times like this made Eye grateful he never made a snack of the little Gnome, no matter how much of a pest he could be, he always seemed to make himself useful. Eye could hear Almondus muttering some words and noticed the third bandit began to yawn and slowed his approach. Apparently, he was attempting to atone for leaving his side before the engagement began by casting a sleep spell. It was only partially effective though and the bandit swung his sword nicking Eye’s shoulder. It did little more than enrage the lizard man. Eye dropped his sword and dove at the third bandit biting at him. He was aiming for his face but between the bandit’s grogginess and his fearful retreat Eye instead latched on to his crotch. The second bandit screamed in terror as another arrow zinged through the air finding a home in his face. Gronk and Vala approached with Yendor jumping on Vala’s back as they passed. When they arrived at the scene Yendor was nearly sick when he saw Eye making a meal of the third bandit. Vala looked at the second bandit with the arrow in his stomach and asked “What about him” to which Yendor replied he will pass soon enough. Gronk grunted and said, “Me put him to sleep” and he walked over to the second bandit- he swung his staff three times in the air and again yelled “Gronk casts sleep” and brought his staff down crushing his skull. Yendor whispered in Vala’s ear “After all this time I still think its funny Gronk thinks he’s a wizard” to which Vala replied “He may yet surprise us all one day”. Vala scanned the horizon and asked, “Where is Almondus?” Yendor having the best viewpoint on Vala’s shoulders finally spotted him still under the wagon fumbling with his spell components nervously. Vala tapped Eye on the back and said, “Eye we need to hasten things up and get moving” Eye glanced at Vala side eyed and said, “I am finishing this guy off”. 

The ragged band quickly searched the corpses and found little to nothing of value. Gronk proclaimed how peaceful they all looked sleeping the day away. The merchant who had been hiding inside his carriage emerged to survey the carnage and proclaimed in a disgusted manner, “Why did you all attack their groins?” Yendor gleefully responded, “That’s why we are called The Crotch Goblins” Vala was quick to correct him saying, “No one calls us that” to which Yendor replied, “Not yet they don’t, but they will” with a big, crooked smile on his face. The merchant switched his mood to business and said, “Can someone please tell the lizard to stop chopping off body parts for road snacks so we can make it to Bywater before the sun goes down.” After Vala and Gronk teamed up to finish the task of moving the tree the group continued their journey leaving what was left of the bandits to the buzzards.

 A lot can happen in 19 years. In 19 years I have fathered 3 children, had a total of more than 10 jobs, and owned about 8 different automobiles. I have been well and I have been sick. I have been on more numerous vacations than I can count. I have experienced more joy than I deserved and have lived through more pain than I would have ever believed I could bear. I have laughed, cried, and been numb, sometimes in the same day. I have been involved in some of the greatest parties possible: birthdays, holidays, graduations, and many more. Looking back, not much has stayed the same. People have not stopped growing or aging, and the world changes never cease to surprise me. One of the few constants in my life has been my wife Rebecca Fortner who 19 years ago today said “I do”  to being my wife, and it has been my privilege to share the last 19 years on this planet with her. The only thing I can say is, where did the time go.... 19 years sounds like a long time, but it sure went by quick. I love you Rebecca.

 2/8/23

I have never met anyone with a photographic memory. I have met some people that claim they do- but those people have never given me a reason to believe it. I think it would be a pretty amazing gift to have a photographic memory and have the ability to recall everything that ever happened to you with perfect clarity. With all of my efforts I try to recall my childhood but the things I think I remember are practically shadows, barely visible. One of these shadow memories I have involves my Uncle Freddy who was my mother’s older brother. I recall one time when I was a single digit kid when Freddy came by. We lived in a small house at the top of a small hill and this had to be a summer day because I remember being in shorts and not having any shoes on, not unlike any other child, boy or girl, in the summer especially in the south. On this particular day Freddy had a Doberman Pinscher with him. I am not sure if this was his dog or if he was watching it for a friend but I remember having a very strong desire to hold the leash of this dog, likely due to my life long love of animals. I remember begging my mom and uncle to let me hold the leash but they would not allow it. When they finally relented and permitted me to hold the leash I was dragged down the hill by the dog with my mother and my uncle chasing after us to try to get ahold of me, the leash or the dog which they eventually did. The funny thing about this memory is that in my mind the hill that I got dragged down was at least a mile long with gravel and pavement. Recently on a trip down memory lane we drove by the old homestead and my memories were confirmed as inaccurate. The hill could barely be classified as such and it was not even close to a mile. Funny how big things when you are small decrease exponentially as your age increases. Recalling these events make me realize how convenient it would be to have a photographic memory, however I would be curious if total recall would affect my recollection of the hard times. The deaths and the job losses and the sickness- it’s not so bad to not be able to remember those in great detail. I enjoy my poor memory dulling those moments, even though they are part of the forgery forming the metal of who I am and have led me to the people that are in my life. I like to believe the person I am is worthy of the people in my life and the life we all share.

Rick Anderson Memories

 2025 has really been challenging for me having lost my father in January and my uncle in June. Then we lost Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne and Malcolm Jamal Warner within like a week of each other and now Rick. It’s like I’m actively watching my childhood becoming misty water colored memories. I was inspired by his celebration of life and all of the stories I heard. It motivated me to share some of the memories I had. 

Rick and his mother Anganetta, or Angie as I knew her were my neighbors growing up in the early 80’s. I was maybe 7 or 8 when I met Rick who at the time was 13 or 14. At the time I was a little boy in a dirty t-shirt and cut off blue jeans who refused to wear shoes. You might say I was a bit feral. Rick, on the other hand, was a very well behaved young man who dressed like the kids in the Sunday sales ads. His clothes and appearance were pristine. Unlike me he was polite and said things like please and thank you. When his mother asked him to do something he did it without her having to raise her voice or threaten him with violence. You could say he made an immediate impact on me. I’m not going to say Rick’s influence completely changed my rugged childhood, but he definitely gave me some behavioral goals to work toward. Rick was always the coolest guy I knew. When Rick graduated high school a year early, that blew my mind. I thought he was some kind of Doogie Howser. I didn’t even know you could skip your senior year of high school and go straight to college but Rick did it.

Speaking of my father, who loved Rick like a little brother, It was around this time in my recollections that my father found a rusted out dilapidated Karman Ghia convertible in a junkyard. For years my father poured every spare minute and all of his surplus money restoring this automobile. Rick loved the car and would bring his friends from college to drool over it. It never really bothered me because my father also loved the car and appreciated Rick’s approval. I also loved the car and thought of it as my birthright. I looked forward to turning 16 and cruising around Salisbury turning heads on every corner. Then Rick started asking dad if he would ever sell “my birthright” to him. At first I wasn’t worried, dad loved the car as much as I did, but then I discovered something, that for the first time that made me worry about my imagined future, my mother hated the car. It was an unnecessary expense that dad spent too much of his free time on away from the family. When my parents talked about Rick's offer, mom insisted dad sell the car to Rick and that was that. I was upset at first but it didn’t last. Rick would come by often and visit with my parents with his school friends, most of whom were some of the most beautiful college girls I had ever seen in person. I was enthralled.

My biggest regret is not having been more a part of Rick's life as an adult. I always enjoyed seeing him out and catching up. When I worked at Circuit City Rick and Scott were two of my favorite customers and would only buy from me no matter how busy I was. They were just an absolute joy to interact with. For the last few years I have seen Rick’s life play out on social media which for me has been similar to watching an episode of Downton Abbey. I always imagined Rick being at the center of Salisbury’s high society. Quite frankly, I was proud to know him and even though I personally have never met a famous person, I have met Rick Anderson and in Salisbury that counts. 

Rick will be missed but he certainly left a mark on me as he obviously did with everyone he met. Every time I dress a little nicer than I normally do or take a little extra time on my appearance I’ll think of Rick. Every time I drive through Salisbury past where the Sidewalk Deli was, I’ll think of Rick. But most of all when I’m thinking of the people who have influenced my life and the person I have grown to be, I will think of Rick.

Shadow Memories

I have never met anyone with a photographic memory. I have met some people that claim they do- but those people have never given me a reason to believe it. I think it would be a pretty amazing gift to have a photographic memory and have the ability to recall everything that ever happened to you with perfect clarity. With all of my efforts I try to recall my childhood but the things I think I remember are practically shadows, barely visible. One of these shadow memories I have involves my Uncle Freddy who was my mother’s older brother. I recall one time when I was a single digit kid when Freddy came by. We lived in a small house at the top of a small hill and this had to be a summer day because I remember being in shorts and not having any shoes on, not unlike any other child, boy or girl, in the summer especially in the south. On this particular day Freddy had a Doberman Pinscher with him. I am not sure if this was his dog or if he was watching it for a friend but I remember having a very strong desire to hold the leash of this dog, likely due to my life long love of animals. I remember begging my mom and uncle to let me hold the leash but they would not allow it. When they finally relented and permitted me to hold the leash I was dragged down the hill by the dog with my mother and my uncle chasing after us to try to get ahold of me, the leash or the dog which they eventually did. The funny thing about this memory is that in my mind the hill that I got dragged down was at least a mile long with gravel and pavement. Recently on a trip down memory lane we drove by the old homestead and my memories were confirmed as inaccurate. The hill could barely be classified as such and it was not even close to a mile. Funny how big things when you are small decrease exponentially as your age increases. Recalling these events make me realize how convenient it would be to have a photographic memory, however I would be curious if total recall would affect my recollection of the hard times. The deaths and the job losses and the sickness- it’s not so bad to not be able to remember those in great detail. I enjoy my poor memory dulling those moments, even though they are part of the forgery forming the metal of who I am and have led me to the people that are in my life. I like to believe the person I am is worthy of the people in my life and the life we all share. 

Floodwater Thoughts

2/7/23

Today someone mentioned Zingers which was all it took for a flood of memories to drown my thoughts with recollections of my Pepaw, Lawrence Frederick Collins. Pepaw was a route manager for Dolly Madison, the creator of the Zinger snack cake. When I was a single digit kid there was no shortage of Dolly Madison snack cakes in our house, Zingers included. The memories I have of my Pepaw are extensive but one of my fondest is going into grocery stores with him when I was a kid and how much he would embarrass me. He would seek out the largest, usually, African American female cashiers he could find and proceed to flirt like a professional. Looking back on this, watching my Pepaw flirt was similar to watching Michael Jordan play basketball, he was exceedingly good at it. He would use terms of endearment with these women who at the beginning of the exchange were not endeared to him but by the end of the exchange they appeared to be completely smitten with him. The irony in this is how badly he embarrassed me as a child, you would think I would abhor that type of behavior as an adult but in fact the contrary is true. I find myself, the older I get, using keywords such as “Honey”, “Sweetie” and “Sugar” when addressing female service workers. I truly have no control over this phenomenon and remember being confused and surprised the first time this happened. The unfortunate side to this is in this day and time, more often than not, this type of interaction is inaccurately perceived as demeaning with a touch of condescension, or perhaps I just don’t have the level of charisma that Pepaw had. On the other hand, maybe I just haven’t actually reached the age where I can get away with it. It’s a funny thing as you get older. You start thinking about the people who raised you both living and passed; all the parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even great grandparents. Then you start remembering all of their idiosyncrasies and habits by recognizing them in yourself. If I were to make a pie chart of which relative is responsible for which percentage of my personality, my pepaw would own a large chunk. I loved my pepaw very much and wish he were still here, he left a big void when he passed. It is my sincerest hope that 20 years after I pass, my grandkids remember me as fondly as I remember my pepaw. 

Friday at Five and Speed of Light Weekends

I love my free time. It seems like when my week begins Monday morning it takes forever for Friday at 5 to get here. Then the time between Friday at 5 and Monday morning 8 o'clock passes with preternatural speed. The age old question is why does time go so slow when you are doing something you do not want to do, but go so fast when you are doing something you enjoy? I love Christmas. I love the family togetherness, the food, the gifts, and the Christmas carols. I love going to church and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. I love all things Christmas. There are two ways to look at the passing of time and Christmas. One way is to consider that Christmas 2012 feels like it was only yesterday. The other is, do you realize that at this point, we are almost halfway through the year to Christmas again? My family and I went on a cruise in April. We had a wonderful time taking the kids and spending time with my in-laws Chuck and Karen with their daughter (my other daughter) India. I still remember vividly waiting for the passing of time at work waiting for my vacation to begin. Then the second after my work day ended time went into fast forward mode and my vacation ended as abruptly as it began.
What can be done? Should we stop looking forward to things? I just dont see how thats an option. Having something to look forward to is one of the keys to my happiness. When I have something to look forward to, I am in much higher spirits. Right now we are getting ready to go to my great niece Raegan's 10th birthday party, and I am happy because I am looking forward to it. The unfortunate flip side is after the thing that I am looking forward to comes to an end, I go through a minor state of depression. Sometimes the depression is worse than others. After Raegan's birthday party I will be slightly depressed, whereas after the cruise I was totally depressed and in a funk for a week. For those that have cruised before they will understand my meaning. Unless it was the cruise that got stranded on the boat with poop on the walls.
Anyways I have to go now, but memories are worth the post fun activity depression.

World War Z- Didn't disappoint....

Tonight I did something I haven't done in a long time. I went to see a movie on opening night. My father and I snuck out and took in a 7:10pm showing of one of the biggest movies of the summer, World War Z. My normal movie buddy my middle son Conner was swimming and my father and i decided to go in the span of like 5 minutes after dinner, so we left without telling him. I have a little bit of guilt about not taking him, and he was good heatedly upset about missing it, but I will make sure he sees it before it leaves theaters. 

I have to be honest, I was apprehensive about seeing this movie. It was full of hype since, thanks to the massive success of the Walking Dead TV show,zombies are kind of in right now. There was also a ton of controversy about the movie because it was based on Max Brook's best selling novel of the same name, and from my understanding they strayed massively from the source material. Shortly after the movie began though, all of my worries vanished and I found myself emerged into a wonderful movie. After I got into the movie, my biggest concern was that they would mess up the story along the way, but I have good news... They did not. Brad Pitt plays a U.N investigator that specializes in troubleshooting troubled areas in the world. His former boss at the U.N deems him worthwhile of rescue and arranges for him and his family to be airlifted out of Philadelphia. I guess his former U.N job makes him the guy to figure out the virus and come up with a solution. He initially resists leaving the safety of the aircraft carrier they are on off the coast of New York not wanting to leave the family, but is convinced by the guy in charge that if he is not part of the solution, him and his family have to leave, and be returned to less safe accommodations. This sets the story in motion and it does not disappoint. 

I have spoken out in the past about movies where they dull down the violence in a movie to achieve the more profitable PG-13. The primary example that comes to mind is Alien vs Predator. AVP was the crossover attempt at two fantastically violent R rated movies that any movie fan has to love. AVP had potential, but they went for profit and made a substandard movie in my opinion, by making it PG-13. Well you don't have to be a scholar to see where I am going with this because WWZ was also made as a PG-13 movie. Trust me when I say though, it does not affect the story of WWZ. There was not unnecessary gore or any blatant bloody violence, but I still found myself emerged. There were many scenes where I was literally on the edge of my seat. 

I really enjoyed this movie. In the grand scheme of zombie flicks it ranks right up there with 28 days(I understand they are not really zombies in this one, but its still a zombie movie), Shawn of the Dead and Dawn of the Dead. I personally am happy we now have another quality entry into the genre

Steven Soderbergh and the weekend

Last night we took a chance and watched Side Effects, one of Steven Soderbergh's most recent movies. The cast was pretty good and the story was decent. The movie features Rooney Mara as damaged goods and Channing Tatum as her recently paroled white collar criminal hubby. Jude Law and Catherine Zeta Jones round out the cast as psychiatrists who both have worked on Rooney Mara's character. I really like Rooney Mara as an actress. She has a unique look about her. I really enjoyed her Lisbeth Salander in the American version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and cant wait to see the forthcoming Girl Who Played With Fire. Jude Law is always a reliable actor. The best thing I can say about Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta Jones is they do not negatively impact the movies they star in. Steven Soderbergh directed this film and he is a very hit and miss director for me. He has the capacity to knock one out of the park like Traffic, but he can also strike out swinging with a movie like Haywire(if you haven't seen this don't bother). The cool thing about Soderbergh is when his movie is crap, no one trashes him in the media, its like people just overlook his short comings. Now if M. Night Shyamalan makes a crap movie, he gets destroyed in the media, not Steven Soderbergh though. Soderbergh however doesn't misstep much. Even the movies he makes that I don't care for like Magic Mike and the crappy Oceans  movies (that I think everyone besides me loved) enjoy a level of success in the box office. So anyway Side Effects was a good effort, but fell a little short of being a great movie. Honestly though one of my favorite things about the movie was that it came in under the 2 hour mark at 109 minutes. I think that is just about the perfect running time for a movie. When you get into the 2+ hour movies, they require much more of a commitment than I can sometimes offer. On the other hand if a movie is only 109 minutes long, as long as I start it before 9:30pm, I can still watch it and have enough time left over to put the dogs out and set the coffee pot to be in bed by 11:00pm. It is sad that sometimes my love of a good night sleep limits the movies that I watch, but there are few things I love as much as restful sleep.
This weekend World War Z starts in theatres. I am greatly looking forward to this movie and hope to see it this weekend. I know there were a lot of liberties taken with the source material by Max Brooks but it still looks like it could be entertaining. The thing that scares me is the rumors of the re-shoots they executed just prior to the movies release. These reshoots could be good in that they fixed the crappy ending, or they could be bad with the people responsible not being able to figure out how to wrap it up. Time will tell.

Oz Great and Powerful

I watched Oz Great and Powerful last night and was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed it. I was not expecting much and if I'm being honest really wasn't even giving it 100 percent of my attention for the first 30 or so minutes, but it caught my undivided attention and totally engaged me. I think one of the reasons I was so pleasantly surprised was that I really wasn't expecting to like it. I didn't even bother with it in the movies thinking it was going to be like Alice in Wonderland (which I was also surprised that I liked). It has become obvious to me that in the case of movies like Alice in Wonderland and Oz Great and Powerful that I am not excited about, if they exceed my low expectations they are remembered by me to be fantastic. On the other hand if I am really excited about a movie like Man of Steel and my expectations are high, then it is much more difficult for me to walk away from the movie experience satisfied. Unfortunately the later is most often the case. It is becoming increasingly rare for me to be excited about a movie and overwhelmed by the same movie after viewing. In fact in recent memory only one film comes to mind that I have been excited and overwhelmed, and that was Star Trek 2.
Oz Great and Powerful begins in Kansas with Oz who is a carnival magician and demonstrates his unscrupulous behavior by handing out cheap music boxes that were "His Grandmother's". In the first 15 minutes at least 3 of these boxes have been handed out, when the strong man of the carnival, who is the boyfriend/ husband of one of the ladies who receives a music box chases Oz away. Oz escapes by retreating to a hot air balloon promptly getting whisked away by a tornado to The Land of Oz. What follows is about 2 hours of fun building up to a point in time that would slightly pre-date Dorothy's arrival. You get to see the birth of The Wicked Witch of the West. You get to see the origination of The Wizard's scary smoke and mirrors machine. If you pay attention you will also catch many references to The Wizard of Oz movie.
I'm going to make a statement now that many people would disagree with. I don't care for James Franco. With the exception of 127 Hours, Spiderman and Rise of the Planet of the Apes his entire IMDB page is garbage. The movies of his that I like his characters would have been better if cast with a different actor. In fact I would even wager that in each case, James Franco was the second choice. I know for a fact Sam Raimi wanted Robert Downey Jr. originally, but settled for Franco. I still remember when Franco hosted the Oscar's a couple of years ago and just appeared completely disengaged. He is just  NOT as awesome as he thinks he is.
On the other hand is Michelle Williams. I used to not care for Michelle, but that all started changing after My Week with Marilyn. Ever since that movie I have started taking notice of her and have become a genuine fan. I think my dislike for her goes back to the smug character she played on Dawson's Creek. Yes I was a "Creek Geek", but for 1 it was filmed in NC and for 2 it came on either before or after Buffy the Vampire Slayer which is one of my top 25 shows in the last 10 years. So Michelle Williams- If you get a chance to read this- Keep up the good work, you are quickly moving up my list of favorite actresses.
Sam Raimi is a genius. There are few directors in the world that I will watch their movies without question and Sam Raimi is one of them. Evil Dead- Great. Darkman- Great. Spiderman- Great. He has a list of fantastic movies and I would say with Oz, he has added another to the list.

Man of Steel

I saw the new Superman movie "Man of Steel" over the weekend, and was happy with the overall finished product. It did not however exceed, or really even meet my expectations. Exceeding my expectations in a movie however has become an increasingly difficult feat for Hollywood to accomplish. I have seen so many movies that the bar for exceeding my expectations has become so lofty that it rarely happens anymore. If there is anyone reading this that has not seen "Man of Steel" I am getting ready to discuss spoilers that may affect your viewing experience so be warned.
First the movie seemed to be a bit of a hodgepodge of different stuff that was (how can I say) borrowed from other movies. The Krypton scenes felt like a mixture of the backdrop from "Prometheus" with the drab grey colors combined with the flying creatures from "Attack of the Clones". Then there was the scene with Zod ordering the release of the planet former. I think his exact line was-"Release the Planet Former" and my friend immediately looked at me and said "And don't forget the Kracken", referencing of course "Clash of the Titans". Then the scene after Kal-El breaks Zod's neck and screams out, I swear I thought he said "KHANNNN"! Of course most of these similarities are mainly just nit-picking, which according to my son Conner is something I do to the extreme whenever he and I disagree on movies (He loved Man of Steel by the way). Combine all these things with the fact that this story has already been told effectively in Superman II, I guess I would summarize everything with the statement that the movie as a whole just felt very familiar to me.
Now to the body of the movie. Russell Crowe was great as Jor-El. He to me embodied the spirit of the character and Michael Shannon's Zod was a great counter balance to Jor-El. They both believed they were acting for Krypton's greater good. I would have to say the casting director really did a great job over-all. Amy Adams as Lois didn't feel right to me though. I know she is a hot commodity now, but I think they could have done better. Maybe Mila Kunis or how about Jessica Biehl, but again just nit picking.
The story was good. The character development which many people have complained about was effective for me. They balanced action and drama well enough for my liking. I didn't care for Lois finding out who Clark really was right from the get-go. It seems like in this version everyone in Smallville knows Clark's little secret from the start. It was also a little goofy to me how he just stumbled on the alien craft too. He just happened to overhear people chatting about this discovery that sets in motion the realization of his identity. I understand that this was the catalyst that set the story in motion and eventually brought Zod to Earth in the first place, but it seemed to me that they could have done something a little different. My single biggest problem with the whole movie was how he dispatched Zod by simply snapping his neck. The battle that Kal-El engages with the Kryptonians effectively destroys the landscape of Metropolis. There are scenes when Kal-El or one of the Kryptonians get thrown through buildings and punched into the air and all this comes to an end when Kal-El slaps on a rear naked choke hold to Zod and snaps his neck. It just seemed a little anti-climactic to me. I'm not even complaining about his use of lethal force like some people are, I just think it was a little too easy after the enormous fight they had just participated in.
I did like the way the Kryptonians had to use a respirator because they could not adjust to Earth's atmosphere. I also liked how Zod's buddies were expelled back to the Phantom zone. So to sum up there was enough things that I liked to balance out the things I didn't like.
When I was younger, I remember DC comics were the best. Marvel had Spiderman, and Hulk but they didn't come close to comparing to Superman. I have put some thought into this recently and have come up with a possible solution as to why Marvel comics have surpassed DC, specifically Superman. Marvel comics like Iron Man, Spiderman, Hulk etc, deal with humans who are very flawed therefore extremely relatable. Superman is an alien who is basically invulnerable to anything that could harm him. He possesses strength and abilities that make him unbelievably powerful. He can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes and has X-ray vision. His powers are basically over-kill even in the world of comics. I can just about buy a multi-millionaire that has a super suit becoming a super hero called Iron Man. But Superman has no real weakness. Even the whole Kryptonite weakness is nearly impossible to exploit. I think it is Superman's strengths that make it difficult for me cinematically because Superman can't loose. His biggest problem is subduing his opponents without killing them.
The long term likability of this movie for me depends on where they go from here. I understand that from here we have to introduce Lex Luthor, but beyond that I want to see some new villains. I want to see the story of Darksied,  Apokolypse, and Braniac. There is more to Superman's storyline than Zod and Lex Luthor and those are the stories I want to see on the big screen.
The success of this movie demonstrates two principles. 1, The world wide love of Superman and 2, The effectiveness of mass marketing. For the last three months you have not been able to log onto the internet or turn on your TV without seeing some type of ad for "Man of Steel" and it has paid off for the studio, but I would be surprised if it enjoys much more success than it already has.

Introduction

I am getting older and it is affecting my memory. I seem to be forgetting things that I would have remembered at one time. I used to be a wiz at movies and music and was able to summon the names of actors, actresses, directors and other odd facts at will. The other day I saw Octavia Spencer in an episode of Big Bang theory and actually had to think for a minute to recall her name, which is just the most recent example of my memory short comings. With that being said, I am still at the top of my game in movie and music pop culture, but I would like to try this blogging thing in an effort to use it as a sort of diary, so I can hopefully keep my memory keen. There are also memories of my childhood that I can hopefully preserve using this as a tool for recollection. The final thing I hope to accomplish is to record my thoughts and current whims. If no one ever reads any of these things they will still be here for me as sort of a "Pensieve" from the Harry Potter world were the wizards were able to store their memories in a device that would free up space in their minds. I have never blogged before so this first entry is somewhat of a trial run, but lets see how this works.