I realize I’ve been remiss in posting lately, so allow me to fill you in on what’s been going on.

“Cheap Mexicans” – on Friday night we met our friends Tony & Kim & Natalie, at our local Los Bravos for some kidtastic dining entertainment.  Let me just tell you that unless you have kids, stay away from Los Bravos between 5pm and 9pm.  Consider yourself warned.  It’s like Chuck E. Cheese’s in there, without the animatronics rodent band and old video games with today’s prices (yeah, like I’m paying 50 cents for Galaga).  If you have kids, however, take em and let em get all over themselves at cheap mexican.  I’m rather partial to their Fish Tacos.

Tomato Sauce Making and Canning – I spent two weekends at the Marietta Farmer’s Market buying fresh vegetables and herbs.  I already posted about the first attempt.  On the second trip, I got up early and let Stephanie sleep in as I took the kids with me.  I didn’t let the twinkles run around on foot since the Market is on the edge of the square and they could easily get into trouble – they were confined to the Chariot.  That actually came in handy as I bought about 15lbs of tomatoes from Craig of Two Mule Farms.  Craig also tossed me an additional couple of pounds of tomatoes with bad spots gratis.  I scored a couple of ounces of just-picked basil and oregano from another vendor.  I say ounces, because I don’t know how much basil is in 3 zip-top sandwich bags, nor do I know how much oregano is in 3 zip-top sandwich bags.  I made two batches this time, one as a standard tomato sauce recipe, and the other as a fantastically spicy version that the kids will not be allowed to taste.  Oh wait a minute.  Never mind then, I suppose they might like it.  So I’ve only a crock-pot’s worth of spicy tomato sauce left to can and I’ll be done for a while.

The Rocker – Saturday night we were childless as we booked Karyn to babysit.  We had dinner at P.F. Chang’s and for some reason we decided not to have the Cool Lettuce Wraps as our entrees.  Mental note for next time: have the Cool Lettuce Wraps as entrees and enjoy.  You can’t beat ‘em.  We finished up the evening with a viewing of Rainn Wilson in The Rocker.  Some folks have compared this to a poor man’s School of Rock, but the storyline is much different, the characters are different, and the plot is different.  Sort of.  It was cute, enjoyable and we had a good time.

We wrapped up Sunday by doing a little canning, getting the dogs’ baths and pedicures, running errands with the kids and just generally taking a little bit of easy.  It was a little crazy as Karyn kept the kids up past bedtime on Saturday, which meant that they awoke quite early on Sunday.  Grrr.  Usually when this happens we have to give Devin an extra long nap in the morning rather than a short one in the afternoon.  While that means that we don’t get any time to do chores while both kids are sleeping, we do get some special two-on-one time with each child.  That’s actually pretty special because it doesn’t happen very often.  In this case, I had a daddy-daughter lunch with Maya, while Stephanie stayed home to do school work (yeah, seems like that never stops) and some father-son wander-around-the-electronics-store time with Devin.  Steph got to have some playtime fun with each as well – but she’ll have to fill in those details as I was busy with other things and didn’t witness it myself.  Then again, with the course load she has this semester I suspect it will be December before you see that post.  Don’t hold your breath…

I have pix to post at some point.  Perhaps tomorrow.

Oh, and one last thing.  Lately Devin has been talking up a storm.  Not all of it intelligible, but he has some good 6-7 word sentences with about 75% of the words being recognizable (at least by us).  Maya surprised me this weekend with a few words I didn’t know she learned: teapot, spacesuit, terrific, and… *ahem* asshole.  Yeah, sooner or later it was bound to happen – and it did.  I was getting her out of the car seat, and removing a toy from her kung-fu grip, and she said, “Hey, stop it, asshole!”  I didn’t bat an eye and continued and then she repeated it.  I just ignored her, but boy was I laughing inside.  Not that I want her to repeat that, but it was certainly worth a chuckle to hear that phrase out of my sweet, sweet treasure.  Let’s hope she doesn’t follow up something worthy of a Kevin Smith script.

Steph and I had a dinner + and movie last night, starting with food + libations at The Cheesecake Factory. That was an interesting meal, as the manager at the Factory was Steph's manager at Friday's in Ft. Myers some 12 years ago... small world, eh? So Hugh came by and we chatted for a bit. He is in interesting fellow, and we chatted about our favorite Caribbean things (he's from Barbados) like Carib beer and Bake & Shark in Trinidad.

The piece of the resistance was getting to see Indy IV on opening night - a real treat! It was a little bittersweet since one of my childhood heroes is pushing 70 and he's not buckling nearly as much swash as he used to, but he did pretty damn good for a geezer (sorry Dad). It was neat seeing some of the original characters either through reference or return, and it was an interesting switch replacing the Nazis with Soviet Union Russkies. The script did well to hint at some OSS work Indy did between the previous Indy flicks - all set in and around WWII. And, I'm interested with the Mutt Williams character - he could be a good choice to continue the franchise, if that's possible. I was wondering what supernatural relic would be the gretchen in this release, and it seemed a tad far-fetched at the time... but then I thought afterwards that previous gretchens were the Ark of the Covenant, the more esoteric Sankhara Stones, and finally the Holy Grail. So, really, how far-fetched is the crystal skull? Not much for this flick, and all the previous Indy films in which suspension of disbelief is a requirement. Here's hoping Indy V doesn't take 15 years...

Enjoy these!

Hey gang,

I'm in the process of uploading some new videos to my YouTube channel. You can view the channel by clicking here. You can subscribe to my channel if you want to keep tabs on my videos - but of course I'll post here whenever one of interest comes up!

We played a little of the Viva! album by Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra, and Devin seemed to really enjoy it.

I managed to get a couple of quick videos of Devin and Maya in playtime today - including Devin walking!

It's fun stuff:
Video Numero Uno:



Video Numero Dos:

Well I finally decided to get back onto Netflix. Partly because the company has decided to part with $75 a month to cover cell phones for employees that use their personal phone for business (I do), and partly because I recently renegotiated a $10 a month reduction in security system monitoring, and partly because I feel like I have more time to watch movies, and partly because I think that it will be nice for Steph and I to get some time together watching flix, since we like doing that.

I'll be adding a widget or two on the sidebar that shows what I'm currently watching, partly because I feel so open and partly because I think it's cool, and partly because I seem to be obsessing over the use of the word "partly".

On my last trip out to Frisco, I was travelling solo so I took in a few movies to pass the evenings. Here's a brief review on each:

• Transformers: Davis and I saw this on the second night it was out. Expectations were low considering Michael Bay directed this film and the writers on the previous Transformers: The Movie really pulled out all the stoppers (on the manure cart). So anyway, I wasn't expecting much. All I can say is wow. You can really tell the influence Spielberg had on this movie. It's like a well-crafted story - you are genuinely interested in the characters by the time the action starts. The plot builds and builds over time (2 hours and 20+ minutes), all the while keeping the Transformers a bit in the background until things blow up. I'm not going to to much into the story as I think you should see it. I'll say this: I like the lead character, and the supporting roles do a great job too. My only gripe is that the action scenes involving the Transformers are a bit muddled and hard to follow what's going on - e.g. an Autobot and a Decepticon are having a brawl and you really can't tell what's happening from all the blurred action until the dust settles. I guess it falls right in line with my gripes about CGI fight scenes. But either way, see this movie. Really. I'll definitely buy this on DVD when it's out. Or HD-DVD or Blu if I happen to have a method to play either, which I probably won't (but that's another post).
• Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - I wrote a bit about this previously. Synopsis: about what I expected. I haven't been really impressed with the F4 series; it seems a bit like a low-rent X-Men presumably because of lack of character development. Jessica Alba's Invisible Woman isn't really believable; but cute goes a long way I guess. The Jonny Storm and Thing interplay is humorous but seems stilted. Richard Reed is about as dorky as they come, which makes you wonder how Sue Storm fell in love with this guy. At any rate, the story is a little interesting what with the Silver Surfer and what-not. I was sort-of hoping that Galactus would've been a little more than a "cloud" but it was well done anyway. I'm disappointed that the writers couldn't delve a bit more deeply into the Marvel Universe to get another villain rather than rehashing Dr. Von Doom. I guess they needed to wrap up the story lines somehow...anyway, the ending was pretty cool. And Samuel L. Jackson did a nice voice over job as the Surfer. He reminds me of James Earl Jones' Darth Vader. I'll probably buy this on DVD when it hits the bargain/previously viewed bins.
• Spiderman 3 - I wrote a bit about this previously. Synopsis: better than I expected, for a third installment. A lot of plot line maneuvering going on in here, and not really for the best. Venom is introduced and is quite menacing - probably could've used a bit more of him and a little less of the Peter Parker Guilt Complex that's been going on for all 3 movies. Things bordered on campy when Peter donned the black suit, but I think it was all in fun. I'm wondering if any of the original cast (specifically Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst) will be returning for any future Spiderman movies. I'd be okay if neither did (ok, maybe Tobey could stay; I like his Peter Parker). I'll probably buy this on DVD when it hits the bargain/previously viewed bins.
• Epic Movie - I fell asleep about 15 minutes into this 24 hour ticket pay-per-view movie. I was so moved by it, I didn't watch it again. And by moved I mean not moved. Really. I wouldn't even waste bandwidth pirating this movie.

Yep, and yee-haw. I'm out here in Frisco, TX this week learnin' me the ropes about rustlin' and wranglin' code. Yeehaw! Actually, there's really nothing very Texas about Frisco, 'cepting maybe the wide open spaces that are all under construction. It seems that all that is Frisco is a large commercial space with a few roads - there is a large mall that appears to be surrounded by satellite malls and shopping centers, further surrounded by small moons of business parks. I really can't see that anybody actually lives here.

On the plus side, it's not swelteringly hot here. In fact, it's in the mid 80's, however, the 10-day forecast calls for rain every day. And me without an umbrella :/

But I have managed to take in a few movies: Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Spiderman 3. Tomorrow I might take in Die Hard 4, Ocean's 13 or perhaps Evan Almighty. I haven't decided yet. Too bad there isn't another flick from a Marvel franchise, or I could've seen a trifecta! Spidey 3 - better than expected. F4 - about as good as expected. A word to directors of future movies: lay off the fight scenes entirely scripted around computer generated effects. They look so fake. CG characters, ok, I'll buy that, but please, we don't need the camera to swoop in and out and around and over and under and through the entire scene... the mind just can't take it all in.

Well, I was supposed to be out in the OC for two weeks, but due to poor planning, my client had to push their production deployment until next weekend. So I basically spent the week on my thumbs... But, I did get an opportunity to take in a few movies this week:

Eragon - Boy, this movie could've been so much...more. If you saw the movie, that quote makes sense. But the truth is that while watching this movie, I felt like they took major parts of the movie and cut them out. The editing was horrible. If you're read any of the Inheritance series, you know that Christopher Paolini is a pretty good writer. I'd stick his work in the same arena as J.K. Rowling - mostly adolescent reading material and not the J.R.R. Tolkein wordfest. It's not overly complicated, but it's an interesting world that Paolini has created. The movie, however, tries to be the red-headed stepchild of Peter Jackson and a straight-to-video production crew. And it succeeds. Strangely, when I walked out of the theater, I noticed that the movie was only 1 hour and 39 minutes long - a short movie by today's standards. I had planned to take in The Good Shepherd, Apocalypto or Casino Royale, but all of those approached 3 hours in length - too late for me at the time. At any rate - wait for Eragon to come to video, and then put it on in the background while you're doing something else. Like reading the book. :)

Next up: Night at the Museum