DON'T LOOK AT ME, I'M HIDDEOUS!

First of all, I just found out that Vanessa hates that picture that I put up, so maybe this one will make up for it. You see, she loves the cats way more than me.

Now to the main course. Do you ever find yourself really enjoying movies or music that you would never tell anyone you like? Sure you have. These are the movies that come on when you're flipping through the channels and you stop, look around to make sure no one is there, and then shamefully enjoy for the next two hours. The only person I know who will come right out and say that he loves it is my father. He is the only man I know who will publically admit (and be proud of it) that he owns French Kiss and I.Q. I mean, I know Meg Ryann is hot and all, but come on. This man's courage has inspired me to share with you the films that only my wife knows I like. Pure Country. It has some of the worst acting I've ever seen but damn I love this movie. My all time favorite secret obsession, Working Girl. I will drop everything I am doing if that movie is on. Then there are some movies that you can't watch with anyone for a different reason. The unstoppable sobbing. I'll admit it, I cry at some movies. I'm actually a very emotional film watcher. The scene at the end of the first Godfather when Michael Corleone is participating in his nephews religous ceremony and he is saying how he renounces satan, but at the same time you see the hits that he had ordered. A tear comes to my eye. When Gandolf shows up with the first ray of sunlight, a tear comes to my eye. Great moments in movies can do this, but I am talking about the ugly cry. You know what I'm talking about. The two movies that I will absolutely not watch with anyone around are first, Steel Magnolias. I love this movie, but when Sally Fields is at her daughters funeral and she says that she should have gone first. I lose it. The worst though, is Terms of Endearment. Don't even get me started. When Deborah Winger dies and Shirley MacLaine stands up and says, "I didn't think it would be this hard." Well, you know.

I cannot believe I just said all of that. If you haven't seen any of the movies I just mentioned, you have got to see them. But make sure no one is around.

VANESSA'S BIRTHDAY

So today is Vanessa's birthday. As per her wishes, she got a small radio for the bathroom so that she can listen to her NPR in the mornings. She also got a rolling pin. Then for dinner, she was treated to the local Chick-fil-A. This is my wife. This is all she wanted from me for her birthday. And I know from past experiences, that when she says that that is all she wants, that is all she wants. Oh well. We are going to Charleston for a nice three day weekend in a few days, so maybe she will actually splurge a little.

I was reading Josh's 400th post today and he said he likes my blog. So I decided that I would post something. I don't do this very often because I can never think of anything to write about. My life is pretty boring. I get up at 5.00am. Go to work at seven. Get on the stage around nine. Go home around 5 or 6 or 7, and watch something. Maybe I need a new hobby. I love playing disc golf, but can only play every now and then due to the nearest course being an hour away. I watch alot of movies. Speaking of which, I watched Blazing Saddles today. I had never seen it before. That is probably one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. Stupidest, but funniest.

NPR has been great lately. I really love the pledge drives. This is what the woman said this morning, (and I'm paraphrasing) "How often do you hear someone say that they heard a great story on public radio? Without you're donations, those great, interesting stories won't be around." Are you kidding me? I like NPR, but I have to admit, it's rarely that interesting. I don't even know what it is that I like about it. Maybe it's the monotonous drone of the people or the sad wailing of the saxophone between stories. I just don't know.

Anyway, I'm ranting. George A. Romero's new zombie movie came out today on DVD. I'm really excited about it. I just haven't seen any really good movies in a while. Why don't they make good movies anymore. I don't even want to go to the theater anymore. What is happening to me. Maybe something good will come out closer to the end of the year. If anyone has seen anything good lately let me know. I'm going crazy here.

I heard Quentin has a new friend who is a girl. Or should I say GIRLFRIEND. OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I want to meet her, see if she is good enough for him.

Happy Father's Day

First of all, I want to say how grateful I am to have such a wonderful father. And on that note, I heard that Michael Jackson was acquitted this week. Good for him. All I've heard this week is people complaining that he should have been convicted and this and that. Well, you know what, shut up already. I don't know what Michael Jackson does in his free time and neither do most people. Did he really molest all of those children? I don't know. If he did I think it's horrible and disgusting but I don't know. I'm not going to sit here and wish horrible things on a man just because he is the person the media decided to put a negative spin on the month. He might have done it. It seems unlikely that so many people have accused him just to take advantage of a strange person who the American public are already against. But from what little coverage I saw of the trial, (I tried not to watch any) it didn't seem like the prosecution had much hard evidence. And that is what you need in the country. The jury has to be convinced beyond a resonable doubt and i guess the prosecution just couldn't get the job done. So good for Michael Jackson, he beat the system, and everyone needs to get over it because that is how our system works. If you don't like it, take a bigger part in your government and try to change it. But don't sit around and complain because everyone hates a whiner. If he is guilty, he will be judged by a much higher government than the California legal system. And that's all I've got to say about that.

I saw Batman Begins this week. I know that a lot of you out there aren't excited about this movie because Joel Schumaker had ruined the good name of Batman for a lot of people. But let me put it to you this way: Christopher Nolan, director. One of the smartest up and coming directors. This man is spectacular with character development the likes we haven't seen since John Ford. Christian Bale as the title character. My personal favorite actor is the past few years (i mean that by who I am into now, not all time favorite who will always be Paul Newman). Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe, and Liam Neeson as the villians. Michael Caine as Alfred. I'll say it again, Michael Caine as Alfred. Gary Oldman as Lt. Gordon.
I first learned who would be making this film about a year and a half ago, and as soon as I learned, I just knew that it would be fantastic. The writer is the guy who wrote the Blade movies, and I know that those movies are crap, but this is a guy who loves comic books and you can tell how hard he worked to get the movie right where all the others went wrong. It follows the comic beautifully of how Batman becomes Batman. I know it is a comic book movie, but it is the greatest comic book movie ever made. That is a fact. I know some of you will laugh when I say this, but this film deserves some Oscar nods. I don't think it will be nominated for picture because the snobs in the academy will only nominate dramas and movies with mentally retarded characters, but Bales deserves at least a nomination, as does special effects, sound, and cinematography. Go ahead and laugh that I'm talking about a comic book movie getting Oscar nominations, but when you see it, you'll understand.
A few months ago, Josh had a thing on his site where you could list your opinions on several different topics such as, Best Simpsons Episode, Best Adam Sandler Movie, and Best Ben Stiller movie. He had one titled Best Batman. I told everyone then that even though I hadn't seen it yet, I just knew that Christian Bale as Batman would be the best. Guess what? I was right.

Movie recommendation: Duh!!!
CD recommentation: "Get Behind Me Satan" by the White Stripes. They have taken their raw garage rock/blues sound and added a little country to it. It's mesmerizing. I guess that the work Jack White did with Loretta Lynn on her album (5 stars by Rolling Stone) last year has rubbed off on him.

10 THINGS TO DO IN ATHENS WHEN YOU'RE BORED

The answer is nothing. If you're married and don't drink, this town kind of sucks. This a town that bosts tee shirts which read, "Athens, A drinking town with a football problem." Don't even get me started on football season. I guess being from ACC country I just don't get the attraction to college football. But anyway, I've only got two more years. Then we're off to who knows where. At least it won't be Georgia. In other news, after almost three years of hard work with no recognition, I have decided to leave the giant corporation that is Lowes Home Improvement. I am moving on to a smaller operation called Dalton Carpet One. I'm very excited for a few reasons. First, it 9-6 Monday through Friday. Second, I'll be working in the warehouse so I won't have to deal with too many ignorant customers. Now that I will have the weekends off, hopefully my brothers can take time out of their busy schedules to come and visit.

My mother and law, Melinda, and her husband moved to Atlanta last summer so it's great that Vanessa has family near by. So for the next couple of weeks while the in-laws are gone somewhere, I don't know where, we get to keep one of her cats. That's right, I now have three cats in my apartment. It's not all bad though, the new cat won't come out from under the bed so I forget she's here most of the time.

I was reading in Newsweek the other day about the new pope, Benedict XVI. He seems like a pretty stand up guy except for one thing, Hitlers Youth. Now I'm sure that as a young teenager in Germany, it could be easy to get cought up in the politics of your homeland and doing what you think is right, but come on, Hitlers Youth.

I watched a movie the other night called The Motorcycle Diaries. It was a South American movie about some guy named Ernesto Guevera. So he and a friend take off on a trip around the continent on a motorcycle just to see the countries they have heard of but never seen. Along this journey, Ernesto and friend (I can't remember his name) see the troubles and segretation being brought upon the indeginous peoples. The movie did not go into his freedom fighting days and his work in Cuba and such, but it has a short epilogue which tells of his time in Cuba and it makes a point to say how he was assasinated in Bolivia with the help of the CIA. It was a very enlightening film, but I wonder just how bias it is being made is South America. Since it's really the first I've learned about Che, I just don't know. One sidenote though, the people is the movie were always drinking something called matte, at least I think that's how you spell it. I knew what it was because Quentin brought some back from Argentina.

Don't forget, Mother's Day is Sunday, May 8, and Quentin turns 24 on Thursday, May 5. If either one of you read this, I'm sorry, but your present is going to be late.

Movie Recommendation: The Last Waltz - Starring The Band. Their 1976 farewell concert filmed by Martin Scorcesse with interviews and tons of guests including: Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, and Joni Mitchell just to name a few. If you like rock and roll, you will love this.