Clear vision, shaky lens
The Dark Knight Rises is fast-becoming quite the controversial film. Critics, fanboys, and casual fans alike seem to have VERY strong, crazed impassioned opinions when it comes to the finale of director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. Films today, especially the sequels and trilogies etc, have the increased ability to create 'superfans' that will staunchly defend... Continue Reading →
So many questions, so many possibilities, so so so many what ifs... What if Hillary, not Obama, had become president? What if Mitt Romney becomes president? What if Petyon Manning hadn't gotten injured? What if David Tyree dropped that pass? What if the South had prevailed? Oh man... What if George Costanza hadn't been bald?... Continue Reading →
Summertime, like childhood, is ever-fleeting. It is here one minute and gone the next. Summer brings with it the promise of sun to be soaked in, adventures to be had and memories to be created. As novelist Charles Bowden wrote, "summertime is always the best of what might be." Bowden's words resonate powerfully in the... Continue Reading →
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQOZHEYhVtU
Mindless fun. That is the best way I know to summarize the you-need-to-see-it film Tucker & Dale Vs Evil. With sincere apologies to Ghostbusters, Shaun of the Dead and Evil Dead 2, this is the best comedy horror film I have ever seen. Sure it grossed only $0.2 million in theaters but that just further proves how unknown and under appreciated it is... Without getting into specifics, the film revolves around two vacationing hillbillies who get involved in a deadly misunderstanding that is absolutely to die for (pun intended). I won't say anymore, since surprises make the world a better place, but trust me when I say go watch this now! I don't like promoting Netflix, since I'm annoyed at the increased prices and severely diminished film library, but it is available to watch instantly so go do it! Oh, if you don't want to take my word on it, just watch the trailer and decided for yourself AND/OR read the great reviews on Rotten Tomotoes! Happy watching!!!
"If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance." George Bernard Shaw
When you the hear the word 'family,' what is the first word that comes to your mind? Do you think sweet, happy thoughts that are caught up in a whirlwind of love, compassion, giving, trust, connection and general warmth OR, sadly, do you instantly cringe and spiral downward in a sea of regret, sadness, shame, loss, and the like...?
Having a family, especially one that loves and cares for you, is one of the biggest blessings anyone could ever AND you can get it by virtue of being born. Sure you can create your own family, physically, or you can create family atmospheres through friends, facebook, co-workers, church members etc. but you never choose your parents, siblings, cousins....unless you count marrying into a great family but that is cheating. To have a good family is to be lucky, plain and simple.
And yet, as Spiderman knows, "with great family, comes great responsibility." As with any type of love, how much you receive is how much you should return. Parents raise and care for you while family members check in on you, send birthday cards, help you get jobs....but do you return the favor? Will you build an attachment on your house and care for your parents? Will you use vacation days on reunions, weddings, funerals? Not always......
....which leads us to the regret and shame, the hiding from requests and questions, the "I'm too busy right now." For better or worse, family is a part of you and, of equal importance, you are part of family til death do you part. If you are lucky enough to be part good family, I implore you to fully participate and truly enjoy the blessing you have because you, and and anyone like you, don't know how fortunate you are 🙂
Exercise log:
7am - 5.1 mile run with the Rutts
Yesterday - SAVSL soccer game (lost 3-1, semis)
Tricky thing to compile right? It is easy to create a top website list as long as you cheat eliminate a few of the obvious social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Gmail (or whatever other e-mail you foolishly use). I also excluded Spotify since, once downloaded, doesn't function quite like a regular site... Continue Reading →
Baseball has been, and by title always will be, America's pastime. Even though other sports like football and (arguably) basketball have out-gained baseball in overall popularity, there is just something about the sport that always brings people back. The game itself is typically a slow, plodding sport where the majority of the players stand around... Continue Reading →
"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet." Edith Wharton
Everyone has that friend that owns a dog and swears that they are the cutest, most well-behaved creature that loves meeting new people and is just a bundle of joy. I have such a friend and let me tell you, that friend is wrong. The key word in all of this, as Edith Wharton says in the title quote, is 'my.' My dog, my heartbeat, my bundle....of lies!
A dog owner lives with and loves the dog and the dog reciprocates thereby preventing the from inner demon being observed. So called 'demon dogs' attack visitors, harass strangers, annoy neighbors and generally discourage friends from coming over to just hang out and relax. The biggest problem is that the bigger the inner demon, the bigger the love goggles worn by the owners. Trying to explain how much the dog seems to hate you is pointless. Owners always side with the dogs so they always win.Â
I should not that not every dog is a true demon dog. In the past I might have said such a thing but many of my dog-owning friends have changed proven otherwise so I'm not making a claim that all dogs are demons. I don't have kids so I can't make a great comparison here but I've been told that loving your own kids is very different than loving other kids - love apparently does conquer all....
Anyway, if you own a dog simply be aware that you might be ignorant in all of this so just be aware or be warned that you might have less visitors and it's not about you, it's about your demon. Sure you might think that your dog is not in this category, since many are not, but if you only see rainbows and kisses when you think about your dog, you are not seeing clearly and thus need to strong reevaluate...
Exercise log:
Rest day
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This heat is reaching absolutely ridiculous levels! I love living in Virginia but man have the overpowering temperatures drastically increased my desire to move up north sooner than planned. One can only assume that global warming, which isn't going anywhere, will make this summer's temps a trend but it sure isn't a good one. Regardless... Continue Reading →
Mikethatmiller 