I'm Out

Of the playoffs in all three leagues ending my Fantasy season.

I can still play for a weekly first place which pays forty dollars but outside of that I'm done. It won't be long before I am starting up my fantasy football homework again.

I will be going to the second night of the auditions for day two of the documentary! This is pretty much groundwork footage so far but it looks like it will be getting very interesting!!!! I'm very excited!

A Good Start!!!!

It was a good start to the documentary project!
All of the actors seemed to not mind the camera as I was switching locations. I got a couple of unguarded moments.

All in all it IS like gold mining. You shoot lots and lots of footage for a documentary and mine the storylines whereas in filmmaking you have a story in front of you and then efficiently shoot as few takes as possible to get what you need to edit that story together.

There is no deadline for this documentary. No set ending either. I have no idea when to stop the film rolling so it will just go until something natural happens that would make a good ending point.

This is going to be an exciting journey!

And So We Begin!!!!

Yes my friends my first project officially kicks off here shortly and I'm thrilled!!!!

I'll report later:)

Drinkbusters 1x5!!!!

My friends Drinkbusters 1x5 is finally up and ready to view. It was done just over a month ago but is a good one nonetheless!

This is the Google video site: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2568210491521846916&hl=en

This is the You Tube site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxB8Ag6rSBk

Hope you enjoy it!!!!

Ouch It Hurts!!!!

Ok American culture has devolved to where anyone with a single digit IQ can not only become ultra successful and bypass a well deserved career of deep fat frying things.

I saw a story this morning where Jessica Simpson had such a difficult time saying her lines in her new project that the producers had to have her fitted for a ear piece so that they could feed her the lines.

Yes in today's world you can get by on looks alone, which is probably why I am a poor blue collar worker who hits a clock in the morning. Yes I am very pro capitalism and this is one of those unfortunate side effects of such a system.

I swear, she is one sneeze away from losing her only working brain cell and is worth more than Africa and India combined!

Somewhere a Hooters is missing their model employee prototype. No it doesn't make me jealous, it gives me hope that someone who can work hard can get ahead and obviously the American Dream is available to everyone. The size of the pie is infinite and welcome to all.

Tomorrow the documentary starts. We are supposed to meet for a pre-audition drink and kick things off with a Vinatieri field goal instead of a Vanderjagt like shank. We have some great groundwork put into place and I am confident that this is going to be a successful endeavor!

Saturday Morning Roast

Last night before I went to bed I put a venison roast in the crock pot.

YUMMY!!!! It made for a very good breakfast and will serve to feed me all weekend with what is leftover will feed the dog quite well!!!!

I put the roast in the crock pot, chopped up enough potatoes to fill up the rest of the pot, added spices, and covered in beer. Use whatever regular beer you can find. Just not a light beer. I generally use Miller High Life or Genuine Draft. It is cheap and adds plenty of flavor to your meal.

This also works well for a beef roast if not a bit better since there is a bit more fat with beef than there is with venison. You just want to use the spices that you are comfortable with. If you want it spicy then go with a bit of chili pepper, if you don't want spicy then use a bit more salt and pepper or get a pack of mixed spices and use that.

If you want a simple to prepare meal that will feed you for a few days or several people that will be very happy with the results, there ya go!

A Great Meeting!!!!

Tonight we had a wonderful meeting about the documentary for a upcoming play.
There are several storylines we decided to pursue but since it is a documentary they very well will likely change.

Documentary shooting is a lot like gold mining. You get a lot of dirt and sift through it to come up with the nuggets that make up the great stories. There really is no agenda with this doc. It has the potential to become very uplifting and inspirational. It also has the potential to become very heartbreaking, that is not likely but there is the potential it could happen.

We start filming on Monday and go until we are finished whenever that could be.

I'm looking forward to this project very much. It'll be great to get this project going and see where it goes because I really don't know the ending!!!!

Thursday And

It was alright!
One day closer to the weekend and one that I am looking forward to. Well not that I don't look forward to every weekend but this one is a great football weekend:)

I am onto the first round of playoffs in one league and the second round in my money league:) Woohoooo!!!!

It was very nice out today. Warm, a bit windy, but overall nice:) We have set the next date to film Drinkbusters 1X6 which will be a Holiday/Winter drink episode!!!! It will be a lot of fun!!!!

I know I know, I don't even have 1X5 edited yet, I just don't have anyway to power up my camera to do the transfer to my hard drive from the tape. Soon my friends, soon:)

I finished up 24 season 5 last night. It probably was the best season so far. Very good and was lacking the constant perils that really didn't contribute much to the storyline that have plagued past seasons. This had a very strong season long arc which did keep you glued to the series!!!!
I couldn't do this season justice at all in a regular review so I just won't do it. If you see it you will be happy you did!

So I Come Home

To find a package sitting on my doorstep, a black and white cat is perched on top of it and seemingly unafraid of me as I approached.

I quickened my pace and the kitty skittered off around the house.

So I knew I haven't ordered anything I was confused as I picked up the package. So I look at the address and sure enough, Fedex had delivered to the wrong address. So I see that it came from Circuit City and call the number on the address and they are of little help.

I thought maybe they could arrange a truck to come around and pick it up and redeliver the package to the owner. Well no luck and they, yes they did, suggested I keep the merchandise. I said that it wasn't mine and it needs to go to the proper owner.

So I get off of the phone with the Circuit City tech support and to my surprise they wish me a Merry Christmas which actually gave me a smile as it put me into shock! So I decide to just bypass calling Fedex and go directly to the owner himself. So I find his phone number and learn he is working out and is very happy to come by and pick up his box in about an hour.

So I decide to watch a few episodes of 24 season 5 and then I hear a truck pulling up. It is the proper owner and he is simply thrilled!!!! It is really a simple product, a XM satellite radio mount for his inside stereo so he can listen to the satellite radio service in his house. He is massive and has several tattoos to go along with his shaved head and goatee but he is a bit slow in his speech and motions but he is extremely friendly and happy!

All together I am happy I was able to find him and get the property to him as well be wish Merry Christmas by a stranger on the phone!

A unique day:)

2-1

I've secured the fourth and final spot in one of the playoff brackets in a Yahoo league by beating the top ranked team and having one of the top four teams lose. I needed help to get in and I got it.

I'm completely out of the other Yahoo league and dwelling near the bottom of the ladder.

My money league, well I won the first round of the playoffs and won second place overall this week with 74 points!!!! First place had 75 points this week so I was really close! That is alright though, I won twenty dollars!!!!

I had a very good day yesterday! Got back home around 9:30 recovered a bit and went to bed. I feel pretty good this morning! I wish I could have more days like yesterday in fact. I'd make coffee right now but I really don't have a travel mug to take with me to work. I think I'm just going to keep stopping by the quick shop and getting coffee:) I need routine sometimes and that isn't a bad one.

A Good Weekend!!!!

I had a pretty good weekend!!!!
It was nice, peaceful, and just real nice.

Nothing I can really put my finger on and nothing really tangible but it was enjoyed. I've been watching football and the fifth season of 24 which has been very good!

So far in my fantasy leagues I'm 2-1 and I have three players going tonight in my money league. This was the first week of the money league playoffs and I have won my heads up this week so my team is going to advance. If my team scores at least 10 points then I'll be in the running for the weekly money.

I got confirmation on a documentary project will soon be in production that I have been asked to work on. That'll be nice! I love documentaries. They make for some interesting viewing. Yeah I know that is weird for me to say that since I hate reality TV....almost as much as I hate remakes.
Can't stand it but a documentary is so much better. There is usually a great narrative that tells the story the filmmaker has in mind. I'm starting to see a couple of different storylines that this documentary can present.

We are going to meet this week and start to discuss the project. YES I'm excited!!!! This is my passion. This is one of the places I feel comfortable. This is one of the places I feel I have a real purpose and one of the places I feel a measure of happiness. That is one of the reasons I felt so sad that I left Chris's project. Yeah I'm better now and I confess to feeling relieved that I wasn't working on his project.

That is mainly that we do have different styles. Just like you can watch a Hitchcock movie and a Michael Bay movie and tell they have vastly different styles. Chris and I are like that. We have different views on filmmaking and different ways to go about it. Neither is right or wrong, just different.

Anyway I am very much looking forward to this documentary project. I believe that there might just be two to three different subjects to focus on and document.

New Coffee Pot

The Drinkbusters are planning a Holiday Drink episode so since some of the drinks might just involve coffee I decided to purchase a coffee maker last night. I have one already but it is pretty old and I decided to get a new one since they are cheap and it is just better to have.

I doubt if the old one would even work without doing some maintenance and even then I bet the quality of the coffee made wouldn't be that good. So if a hot holiday drink is selected that involves coffee we are now prepared!

Yes there is also another motive. Chianti requested coffee last time we filmed and I couldn't make any that I felt comfortable giving her so I made hot tea instead. So now when we film and Chianti, Weezy, or Beersnob request coffee I can oblige!!!! They are my friends and I take care of them after all!

My vehicle runs smoothly now. I replaced the battery cable ends and added some diesel fuel additive for cold weather starting so it will fire smoothly now. Both batteries are charged up to 100% and the block heater is on. I'm off tomorrow to visit a friend so I have a full tank of fuel as well!!!!

Life is good!!!!

Ikiru

A few years ago I had the privilege of watching this most AMAZING movie. I thought I had written a blog about it but I failed to find one. I showed it to Chris and he still finds this as one of the most profound movies he has ever seen.

Anyone who knows me knows that I cite Akira Kurosawa as one of my favorite directors along with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra.

I could never name a favorite of all time, not even with a gun to my head. Can't do it. They are all great for different reasons. Kurosawa's reason is that he really had a grasp on what it meant to be alive and explored that. From his masterpiece Seven Samurai to Ikiru. In my very humble opinion these should be always mentioned in the same sentence as his masterpieces.

Ikiru is simply about a man who has lived his entire life as a mid level bureaucrat. He learns that his has stomach cancer and has little time left. What results is one of the best performances ever committed to film in Takashi Shimura's Kanji Watanabe. When he is suddenly confronted with his mortality he sees how unfulfilled his life has been. How he has never accomplished anything but shuffling papers.

He starts to search for what it means to live. He tries several traditional routes to find this fulfillment and fails. I can't say more without spoiling this beautiful story.

The way Kurosawa tells this story is very unique. It is told in two parts, one dealing with his search for meaning in his life and the other at his wake told in flashback form. This is a very atmospheric movie and every frame makes you want to search for the meaning in your own life. It makes you crave it. It makes you desire to find and define what meaning is to you. It isn't a happy film, it is quite melancholic, but it isn't a sad film either. It is inspirational. The final scene would move the most cold hearted person to tears as it is one of the most poignant statements ever committed to film. It is beyond my simple words to describe it.

Now why would I write about this movie that I have seen a couple of years ago today? Because it has been brought to my attention that there might be a remake of this magnificent film. Again you all know my policy on remakes. I refuse to even see one if I can help it. Not at the theater, not on DVD, not even on cable on TNT or whenever it will be aired. I refuse.

There are some things that should be considered cinematic blasphemy and remaking this gentle masterpiece is that. Even if it is done well, even if it has every single moment of tenderness and passion, even if it is done with great care, it cannot match the original. It can't be done, NO, it should not be done.

You can't remake Casablanca, Vertigo, or Citizen Kane. Ikiru has nothing to prove to any of these movies even though it is not known outside of the realm of film geeks. Hopefully it won't be remade but if it is then the best anyone can hope for is that it drives people to see the Kurosawa original.

Home Today....Sigh....

I wasn't trying to have a four day weekend but it is going to turn out that way.

I am trying to save my leave up because during the Christmas break we have a unique situation nearly every year where if we take three days of leave we get a full ten days off. It is a great time of year and nearly everyone takes advantage of this.

I have plenty of leave for this but I'd still like to acquire more right now....well for cases like today. I went out to start my vehicle, which as my steady readers know is a diesel, and it barely cranks over. The cold has finally drained the batteries. So I am home today and I'll be going to see a friend on Monday so I asked off for that day early this past week.

So here I am starting a four day weekend:) Last night Chris, Weezy, and I went to Callahan's for supper. It was a great time and we enjoyed each others company quite a bit as we sat and ate. I only had iced tea and Chris really doesn't drink. Weezy had two Irish Coffees which she allowed me to sample. It was very good for a very cold night!!!!

I have to say that I do have a coffee maker but I really haven't used it in many many years as I usually picked up a cup on the way to work. So I just had no use for it but after drinking Weezy's coffee I might change my mind. I have the ingredients to make nearly any drink since I have a well stocked bar for Drinkbusters. I rarely tap into that bar except for the very wintery days and I fixed the Bailey's and Hot Chocolate drink a few times:)

I ran the idea past the Drinkbuster's team to have a Holiday Themed episode and everyone loved the idea! So now Chianti, Beersnob, Weezy, and myself are looking for holiday drinks! I don't know if Irish Coffee qualifies but we'll see, it is pretty tasty!

I'm just not a big drinker anymore, I probably just have to accept that fact.

Well now as my battery charges my two batteries in my vehicle I am here at home and will be researching Holiday drinks!
What a life huh?!?!

SNL

I picked up the first full season of Saturday Night Live recently and have been enjoying it with pleasure!

It is great to see these shows again as they aired. No I'm not old enough to remember the first season as it aired, I believe that I started watching the show around 77. I do remember those shows though and yes I was old enough then. You'd be amazed what I remember about TV from those days.

For the most part growing up we had three channels and our entertainment choices were very limited which is why I went to the theater so much...well except when there was a rated R movie playing that week.

Anyway SNL was a great way to stay up late on a Saturday night and have a few laughs. Yeah a lot of the humor was over my head but it was still funny. The parody commercials, the Star Trek parodies, Don Pardo....well you get the idea.

I've seen about three episodes so far and they are wonderful. Sometimes the jokes work sometimes they don't. There is a lot that appeals to that time frame and the context of that era but there is still some very funny moments! You can start to see the evolution of Andy Kaufman as he gets his first major exposure before Taxi started in 1978.

You get to see some eclectic musical guests and some great hosts. Some of the funniest moments so far has been the Land Shark (a favorite of mine since I was a kid and do remember this character) Jim Henson's Muppets, Jim Belushi's impersonation of Joe Cocker, it is dead on since Cocker sings along side of him as well.

The value of this set will amaze you. It is a set that will put you into the state of mind that you might have forgotten about as you saw these shows the first time around. It'll surely bring back a lot of memories and hopefully those memories were good ones:)

It is great to see the mid 70's styles, clothing, humor, musical, and some of the Weekend Update news stories.

A great ride down memory lane my friends!

3-0 This Week

Yep, in my football leagues I was undefeated, however it really doesn't amount to a lot at this point of the season.

The playoffs are about to start in most leagues, in my money league it is starting this coming week in the free Yahoo leagues I believe it is another week away. I am probably not going to make the E-Town league playoff and I'm way way out of the other free league.

In my money league I don't think I am going to make the playoffs either. We'll see though.

My team has been so sporadic this year that it is hard to predict the performance from week to week. I am way out of the money so I've become a donater this season.

Next season will be better though!

The Joys Of The Season

Sirius started with their Christmas music on Thanksgiving Day this year. Fine with me!
Love holiday music!!!! Can't get enough of it. Sometimes when I find I am down I will get into my MP3 file and pull up some Christmas music.

I always find that I feel better about things afterwards. Sirius has allowed me to hear some songs I either haven't heard in years or new songs that really make an impression.

Being a eclectic music fan I listen to a lot of classic country as many of you readers already know. Well when I heard the Chet Atkins version of Do You Hear What I Hear my heart melted. It is simply one beautiful piece of music. It compares to the Bing Crosby version very well which I consider probably the definitive version.

I've heard all of the classics from Nat King Cole to Frank Sinatra to the contemporary artists. On the Roadhouse channel which has been turned into the Country version I've heard many of the songs I grew up listening to like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer from Gene Autry himself!!!!

I know it isn't what the season is about but to me it really brings back good memories and puts me into a state of mind that is always joyful and good. Yeah I do less whining on my blog too.
Love this time of year my friends, love it!

Lazy Days

Yesterday and today are pretty lazy days.
It is still pretty cold out, around 27 as I write this. I went out yesterday and got groceries for a few days so I am set.

It's alright though, yesterday there were some very good college football games on and one more nail in the coffin of the BCS. The consensus number 2 team USC was beaten by unranked UCLA which sets up either a rematch between Ohio State and Michigan or a Ohio State and Florida match up.

Either way it should be a good game however Boise State is undefeated at 12-0 and they are relegated to the Fiesta Bowl to play OU. A undefeated team doesn't get a chance to play for the National Championship. A team that is 12-0!!!!

Give me a sixteen team playoff. That is the solution. A four team would be a baby step in the right direction. What needs to happen though is the abolition of the BCS. When teams can't settle it on the field and who plays is left up to a computer program, well that takes the fun out of the sport and is unfair to the athletes who worked very hard to become undefeated.

What do they get to play for? "We are the Fiesta Bowl Winners....great.....woohoooo.....yep....I'm hungry, where do you want to eat?"
No one is going to remember that or care but they will remember the National Champion.
What I'll remember is a team that has done everything it could do to play for a National Championship and get the very short end of the stick because of a system that is blatantly biased to big schools. They have nothing to gain except a win in a meaningless bowl. If they win then so what? If they lose then they were supposed to lose and have no business playing against the top conferences anyway.

Who loses? Boise State and the fans.
Who wins? The Bowl hosts who have conned the public that their bowl games mean something today.

Happiness....Even A Small Measure

Is seemingly gone today.

A few different reasons but the one I will dwell on here is something simple. One of the simple pleasures for me the past few years has been my coffee card. I have written about it and I know that every morning I get a stamp that leads up to a free cup of coffee every week after five stamps.

Now the quick shop I go to for coffee has done away with the coffee card. One of the simple pleasures that has sustained me over the past few years.

Gone. All gone.

I got my fifth stamp yesterday on the last card they gave out. I used my card this morning for my free cup of coffee and now Monday I won't have a card to get a stamp for. I don't know how such a small thing can give me pleasure but it has and now it is gone.

Yeah, I'm really sad.

Well....

The snow isn't that bad. I think there was so much wind that it kinda blew the snow further South. The roads are icy and hard frozen but being the intrepid explorer that I am....hehehe....I plan on going to work this morning.

I have gone through too much leave already. I didn't want to use up as much as I have the past two weeks which comes down to about twenty two hours including yesterday. The sky is clear so I know the Sun will be out and start to clean off the roads today. Yeah it is cold out, around 20ish but my Suburban has been running for about an hour now so it is all warm inside.

I'm leaving for work fairly soon to give myself enough time to get there. I am sure that the City has been sanding the streets and intersections all night....LOL!!!!