2013 -- The Lists

Not going to say much! Just list on ya, if that's ok!

Here is a list of all the movies that I saw for the first time ever in 2013!

Saw in Theaters = *

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey *

The Way

 The Perfect Cappuccino

 Ocean’s Twelve

 Brave

 Bernie

 Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

 Superman vs. The Elite

 Red Tails

Oz the Great and Powerful * (Drive-In Movie)

 Dr. Who: The Movie (TV)

Wreck-It Ralph

 Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

 Jeff, Who Lives at HomeStar Trek Into Darkness *

 Epic *

 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1

 Now You See Me * 

Safe House

Ponyo

 Spirited Away

 For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada

 Monsters University *

 Man of Steel *

 Despicable Me 2 *

 Ocean’s 13

 Man on a Ledge

 Turbo * 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

 Snow White and the Huntsman

 Men in Black 3

 Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and The Era of Predatory Lenders

 Total Recall (2012)

 Trouble With the Curve

Hotel Transylvania

Thor: The Dark World *

 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire *

 LEGO Batman: The Movie - D.C. Super Heroes Unite

 Rise of the Guardians

 Looper

 The Great Gatsby (2013)

Silver Linings Playbook

 Here is a list of the books I read in 2013

  1.      Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead – Brene Brown, Ph.D., LMSW (started in 2012, finished in 2013)

2.      Junie B., First Grader: Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten (and Other Thankful Stuff) – Barbara Park

3.       Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

4.       Ghost in the Fog: The Untold Story of Alaska’s WWII Invasion – Samantha Seiple

5.       We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball – Kadir Nelson

6.      Mysteries and Legends of Montana: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained -  Edward Lawrence

7.      Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

8.      The Crimes of Jack the Ripper: The White Chapel Murders Re-Examined – Paul Roland

9.      Star Trek, Section 13: Cloak – S.D. Perry

10.  The Believing Brain: From Ghost and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies – How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them As Truths – Michael Shermer

11.  Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

12.  The Noticer – Andy Andrews

13.  Decision Points – George W. Bush

14.  Witch & Wizard – James Patterson & Gabrielle Charbonnet

15.  I Need Your Love – Is that True?: How to Stop Seeking Love, Approval, and Appreciation and Start Finding Them Instead – Byron Katie

16.  All The Best, George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings – George Bush (G.H.W. Bush)

17.  Dr. Who: Apollo 23 – Justin Richards

18.  Miracle Man: Nolan Ryan – The Autobiography – Nolan Ryan and Jerry Jenkins

19.  Night – Elie Wiesel

20.  I Know This Much Is True – Wally Lamb

21.  A Pirate Looks at Fifty – Jimmy Buffett

22.  Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card

23.  The Secret of Terror Castle (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

24.  The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

25.  The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

26.  The Mystery of the Green Ghost (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

27.  A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive – Dave Pelzer

28.  The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

29.  The Fault in Our Stars – John Green

30.  The Secret of Skeleton Island (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

31.  There’s a Hair in My Dirt: A Worm’s Story – Gary Larson

32.  The Mystery of the Fiery Eye (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

33.  The Mystery of the Silver Spider (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

34.  The Mystery of the Screaming Clock (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

35.  Paper Towns - John Green

36.  The Mystery of the Moaning Cave (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

37.  The Mystery of the Talking Skull (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Robert Arthur

38.  Divergent – Veronica Roth

39.  Taming a Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons From Napoleon Dynamite – Jeff  Dunn & Adam Palmer

40.  The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

41.  The Secret of the Crooked Cat (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

42.  The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Nick West

43.  The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M.V. Carey

44.  The Mystery of the Nervous Lion (A Three Investigators Mystery) – Nick West

45.  The Mystery of the Singing Serpent (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M.V. Carey

46.  Bossypants – Tina Fey

47.  The Mystery of the Shrinking House (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

48.  The Secret of Phantom Lake (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

49.  The Mystery of Monster Mountain (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M.V. Carey

50.  The Secret of the Haunted Mirror (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M. V. Carey

51.  The Mystery of the Dead Man’s Riddle (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

52.  The Mystery of the Invisible Dog (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M.V. Carey

53.  The Mystery of Death Trap Mine (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M.V. Carey

54.  Looking For Alaska – John Green

55.  The Mystery of the Dancing Devil (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

56.  The Mystery of the Headless Horse (A Three Investigators Mystery) – William Arden

57.  The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself – Michael A. Singer

58.  The Mystery of the Magic Circle (A Three Investigators Mystery) – M.V. Carey

59.  Great Battles: Decisive Conflicts That Have Shaped History – Christer Jorgensen, General Editor

60.  Two-Minute Mysteries Collection – Donald J. Sobol

61.  The Mystery of the Deadly Double (A Three Investigators Mystery – William Arden

Over a Year Later -- What is Going On?

It's been over a year since I last posted anything on this blog. Many things have happened since then.

My son, Caleb, has graduated from high school becoming part of the 1st ever graduating class of Lake Ridge High School (part of Mansfield ISD). He plans to attend the University of Texas of Arlington, pursuing a career in Linguistics.

My daughter, Rachel, is part of the percussion section in the Lake Ridge High School Eagle Band. (Obviously both my children returned to public schools the past school year.)

My wife, Jamie, is working hard to build up a private practice for her counseling career.

I am still looking for full-time employment as a teacher...still substituting for Mansfield ISD and working part time as a Barista at Starbucks. I am strongly considering switching career fields all together and going back to school, college or technical, to train for something that will help me find full time employment that I will enjoy doing.

I have read many new books and watched to many new movies. I will try to post again soon, no guarantees.

ME

Jimmy Buffett - Live in Concert!

Last night my beautiful, Jamie, and I went to see Jimmy Buffett live in concert!

I became a "Parrothead" in 1985 when I met my friend Curtis Campbell while attending Tyler Jr. College. I had heard of Jimmy Buffett before then, but never really listened to his music much. Now I own several of his albums and I have a "Jimmy Buffett" station on Pandora radio.

Since becoming a fan in college, I have always wanted to see Jimmy Buffett in concert. Now, almost 30 years later, I got my chance. Woooo!

When we arrived at the Gexa Energy Pavilion, located at the Texas State Fair Grounds, we found that the hard-core Parrotheads had already been camping (campers/tailgaters) in the parking lot waiting for the show. They had sand spread on the ground, their own blenders and bars set up to make margaritas, and many of them were already wasted before the show even started. Some were dressed as pirates. Some wore grass hula skirts. Many of them had "shark fin" hats on. I also saw a full body parrot suit and one guy dressed as a mermaid (or is it merman?)

While waiting for the concert to start, beach balls were flying through the air, and the margaritas and beer was a flowin'.

Of course Jimmy put on a great show! It was worth the price. Those true hard-core Parrotheads are something to watch!

What made the night even better was a text from my friend, Brent, who told me the Texas Rangers beat the Tigers 11-3! Go Rangers.

Texas Rangers Opening Day 2012

It's Baseball Time! The Texas Rangers opened their 40th Season in Texas today, verses the Chicago White Sox. The Rangers defeated the Sox 3-2.

Starter Colby Lewis struck out 9 in 6 innings. Alexi Orgando struck out the side in the 7th. Mike Adams pitched a scoreless 8th and Joe Nathan struck out the last batter to close out the 9th and earn his first save of the year!

Josh Hamilton drove in the first RBI of the season scoring Ian Kinsler (pictured), who got the first Ranger hit (a double), in the first inning. Ian Kinsler hit the Rangers first HR of the season in the 3rd and then Michael Young scored the game winning RBI by singling in Josh Hamilton in the 7th.

GO RANGERS!!!

Tornadoes Are Scary Things

Today several large tornadoes past through our part of Texas. Watching the video in the link, reminded me of how dangerous these storms can really be. We were safely south of this particular tornado. (The photo above shows a truck's trailer flying through the air. Click on link and watch video to see the entire clip.)

Movies 15, 16, and 17

Update on the new movies I have seen this year!

Movie 15 was The Lincoln Lawyer. An average lawyer movie, that was good, but didn't really impress me that much.

Movie 16 was Dr. Suess' the Lorax. I thought it was a good movie. Of course there were differences from the book, (A lot actually), but the  movie was still good.

Movie 17 was Black Swan -- A very bizarre, gross, sexual, dark, weird movie that I'm glad I watched but then again not so glad.
I may have some nightmares.