Summer Days, Driftin' Away
Quote For The Day:
"I gotta be honest, at this point, the length of this conversation is way out of proportion to my interest in it." - Dan Rydell, "Sports Night"
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Ok, so it's been a solid two and a half months since I updated for real. This could take a while, so let's get started. BTW, to keep this long entry from being super monotonous, I'm gonna put most of it in LJ cuts, and intersperse some movie reviews in there, too.
Movie Review #1
I saw M. Night Shamalamadingdong's "Lady in the Water" last week. It was ok. Not as good as "Sixth Sense" or "Signs," but it was alright. A little more fantasy than usual, which was kinda weird. Also, the director himself played a major role, which was also a little disconcerting. I mean, he usually has a cameo, but it seemed like he just couldn't find someone to play the part. All in all, it's a rental at best. A movie I didn't mind seeing once, but not one I'd want to see again.
Right after I updated last, I took my Memorial Day trip out to the AZ. It was pretty good. Started with my first Greyhound trip ever. That was... interesting. First thing the next morning, Christina and I hit the airport for our plane ride out there, which was uneventful. Arizona was fun. Took an elbow to the eye fighting for a loose ball in 2-on-2 pool b-ball, which was immediately followed by my first experience with double vision. I think everyone should have that experience at least once. The flight back was a little more eventful, mostly when we were less than 50 feet from the ground in Denver for our stopover on an already bumpy approach, when we pulled up and had to circle around. This led to no less than six people getting sick on the plane. Not a fun experience, especially for them. But other than that, the trip was good.
While I was out there, I watched the first half of the "Sports Night" dvds I got my dad for his birthday, and brought the other half back here to finish. I continue to be amazed by the fact that a show that over the course of two seasons was nominated for 8 Emmys and won 3 of them can get cancelled. Anywho, you guys should check it out.
Please, someone explain something to me. A few months ago, I had some sugar ants hanging around my desk, and couldn't figure out why, cause I wasn't leaving food around. Then Christina told me that sugar ants are attracted to water. If that's the case, why aren't they called water ants? What the heck?
Movie Review #2
While I was in Brandon last weekend, I saw Pirates 2. Pretty good. Not as good as the first. They moved a little away from the quick one-liners in favor of more slapstick, which I wasn't super happy about. That scene with the chest and the wheel thing reminded me of a bad cartoon hallway chase scene. Overall, it was a very good sequel. And I gotta admit, I'm looking forward to the third one.
My band that I mentioned last time, Separate Peace, went into the recording studio again a few weeks ago. It wasn't nearly as productive a session as the first. Dave did finish all his stuff on bass, and R.J. laid down vocals on I think two songs, one of which I laid down some BGVs on. And Ryan did get a little work done, but when you look at the amount of time we spent there and the amount of work we actually got done, we kinda felt like we were wasting the guy's time.
On a more positive note, we're working on our second worship album at church. I went in and recorded my drum parts along with Pastor Charlie's piano parts to two songs last Thursday, then came up earlier today and did another. And after church tonight, along with Dave and Ryan, we put down a freakin' sweet recording of one of his originals, "Let It Rise." It, along with the whole disc, is gonna be nice!
Since I'm in the same apt, but a different bedroom for the fall, they let me go ahead and move in this week so I don't have to fight with finding a place to store my crap, finding a place to stay for those three days before dorms open, then trying to move back in during Chiefs and junk. So I moved over here yesterday (Tuesday), and got cable hooked up today. It has a slightly different setup than the other one, which is partially good and partially bad. There's a little less room, but on the positive, there are better sightlines for the tv. :-D
I was in Brandon last weekend for two big events: Christina's birthday and Erika's wedding. I'm not gonna lie, I was totally freaked out by the fact that someone a month younger than me is married. I mean personally, I'm probably five years from being ready to settle down. And the concept that people my age are already doing so is extremely weird.
Movie Review #3
Last night, I went to see Miami Vice w/ Colin Farrell and Jamie Fox. I'd heard some bad reviews. In fact, I hadn't heard a single good one. But I think they were all expecting Don Johnson in bad white blazers, and it's not like that. They did a good job of modernizing it, and I enjoyed it. Good action, decent acting, good script, and a real nice soundtrack. And as a straight, totally heterosexual man who's very confident in his sexuality, I have to admit that Farrell looked good with his longer, blondish hair and one of the coolest mustaches ever. All in all, I thought it was very good.
Last but not least, on to sports. The big news right after my last update, the Heat went to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, who won a nice tight series against LeBron and the up-and-coming Cavs. Miami took Game 1 in Detroit, therefore stealing home-court from the Pistons, before dropping Game 2. Back in SoFla, Miami took Games 3 and 4 fairly handily before laying an egg in Game 5 in Detroit, forcing the series back to Miami for Game 6, in which the Heat were absolutely dominant, walking away with their first Eastern Conference Title, which led to...
The Finals, against The Dallas Cubans. Unlike the rest of the series, this one would follow a 2-3-2 court format, as opposed to the 2-2-1-1-1 format used throughout the rest of the playoffs, which would be huge later on. The series started in Ft. Worth, and the Heat came out hot, taking a 31-23 first-quarter lead. But alas, they couldn't hold on, and dropped it 90-80. Then in Game 2, Miami came out flat and dropped a 14-point egg. So, the series shifted back to Miami, with basically the outcome of the series in the balance. Again, Miami came out hot, scoring nearly thirty in the first again. Then in the second, Dallas came back to tie, but the Heat went on a tear to close the half out with a 9-point lead. But then in the third, Dallas came back with an 18-point turnaround, to take a 9-point lead into the final quarter. In the fourth, Miami went on yet another tear, tying the game with 33 ticks left. Then, the old man of the team, GP, dropped a 21-footer with 9 seconds left to take the lead by 2. Next thing you know, Hasselhoff's only making one of his two free throw attempts, and Flash is doing the same to ice it, and it was on to Game 4. In the middle game in Miami, the Heat came out ridiculously hot, and never slowed down in a 98-74 laugher. Then came Game 5. In an Instant Classic, the two teams fought back and forth, which ended with a tie game after regulation. In the overtime, D-Wade capped off his third consecutive thirty-five point game. Finally, it was back to Ft. Worth for Game 6, in which the Heat took a close one, 98-95, to win their first ever NBA Championship. D-Wade was named Finals MVP, and Zo and GP got their first rings after long, productive careers. And to top it all off, the entire starting line-up has already announced they're coming back. Can you say, one more for the road?
In baseball, after the slow start, the Marlins have fought back to be 50-57, in fourth place in the division, and only 5 games from the wild-card. It's a long shot, but it's still possible.
BTW, my plans during the break are as follows. Friday or Saturday, go to Grandad's, meet up with him and the Bubble. Saturday afternoon, drive to Miami. Monday daytime, back to NSB. The next Saturday, to Brandon for a night. Sunday afternoon, back to the Grandad's place. Tuesday, back in the armpit for Chiefly activities.
Ok, I guess that's it for now. Make sure you read this and be sure and watch the video:
Sinking Lake
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200475,00.html
My house when we lived in Lakeland was, according to my estimate, less than a half mile from that very spot. Frightening, no?
Ok, I'm really done. You guys have a good one, and remember, all of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.
Adios