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.

The Hunger Games & Happy 17th Birthday to Caleb

Today my family and I went to see The Hunger Games. It was my 14th "new" movie of the year. I had never been more excited to watch a movie since I was 10 years old and wanted to watch Star Wars. We even bought advance tickets to watch the movie.

Before I continue...I want to wish Caleb, my son, a Happy 17th Birthday! I remember the day he was born. He had a very fuzzy head and the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen on a baby. I had a baby boy. Even though he is all grown up, I still love that kid! I know he is smarter than me and can't wait to see what he can do for the world. I am very proud to call him my son! Happy Birthday Caleb. I love you.

Now, back to the Hunger games review. The movie was worth the wait. It was fantastic. I'm trying to figure out just where to rank it in my top 100 movies of all-time. The movie was very moving and I either cried or came close to crying several times. My heart broke when Katniss volunteered to take her sister's place at the Reaping (seen in the trailers, so no spoiler here) and my heart pounded as the Hunger Games started. I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire movie. The acting was great. Jennifer Lawrence should get another Academy Award nomination for best Actress. Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci should all get Supporting Actor nominations as well. The musical score was great. The cinematography was great. The costumes and art designs were great. All of which means the directing was also great. This movie better at least have several Academy Award nominations coming to it.

If you have read the books, you will notice several differences; however, I think the director and screenwriters stayed very true to the books; much like in the Harry Potter series and unlike the movies Eragon and the Percy Jackson movie. I can't wait for the other two books to be turned into movies as well.

Spending Some Time With My Bride: First Bed and Breakfast of 2012

Jamie and I finally worked in some time alone this year, thanks to Groupon. We stayed a night at the Hattie Mae Inn in Ft. Worth. As part of the deal from Groupon, we got the Romance Package (which included a bottle of wine and some chocolate covered strawberries) and one night in the Oriental Oasis Room, all for a very reasonable price. (It would have been cool if it was snowing as it is in the picture.)

When we arrived at our B&B we were greeted by the owner's cat, Fred, who walked us to the front door.  After checking in and getting a brief tour, we left the Inn to purchase advance tickets to watch The Hunger Games, which we plan on watching as a family on Caleb;s birthday (the 24th). We used two free tickets from Rave Cinemas, that I won by entering a contest sponsored by the Coffee News.

After that we tried to find an On the Border restaurant to eat at, but road construction in the area made it difficult to find. We ended up eating a place called Buttons. It was a little pricey; however, the food was very delicious. After Buttons, we went back to the Inn and enjoyed our chocolate covered strawberries and a glass of the wine.

Our delicious breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon and some little fried pancakes. Juice and coffee of course came with the meal. While eating our breakfast we talked to Trish, the lady who made breakfast and cleans the Inn, who told us about the "ghost" stories the Inn has and showed us the bullet hole in the side of the house, where the original owner of the home was shot and killed during a robbery. We did not experience any ghostly activities during our stay.

We had a great time!

New Movies of 2012

As I have mentioned in earlier blogs, Jamie (my beautiful bride) and I are trying to keep up the number of movies we have seen for the first time ever, during 2012. It can be on DVD, TV or at the Theaters. So far I have seen 13 new movies this year. They are:

1. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows -- Which I blogged about here.
2. A Hard Days Night 
3. Help! -- Both Beatles movies I blogged about here
4. Super 8 -- Which I blogged about here.
5. The Smurfs -- Which I blogged about here. (One of the dumbest movies I have ever seen.)
6. Red Riding Hood -- a very interesting take on the fairy tale. I enjoyed it.
7. The Help -- One of the best movies I have ever seen. Currently #23 of my Favorite 100 movies ever.
8. Cowboys and Aliens -- Good but not great! I did like the way the intertwined the classic Western with Science Fiction. Still could have been better.
9. Superman/Batman: Apocalypse -- good movie
10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- good movie; I like how it set up the "original" Planet of the Apes movie.
11. Batman: Year One -- very dark reboot of the Batman animated series. Detective Gordon is a real bad-ass in the movie. Loved it. Not for younger kids though.
12. Get Low -- really good movie, just didn't make my top 100.
13. Source Code -- Very interesting movie. One of those "makes you wonder" movies.

Upcoming movies I plan to see soon: The Lincoln Lawyer, and (Steven Speilberg's first movie) Duel are both on their way from Netflix. We are going to buy advance tickets to see The Hunger Games tomorrow. My family also really wants to watch Dr. Suess's The Lorax, so I have a feeling we might try to work that into the budget very soon as well.

Happy 4th Birthday Girl Kitty

Happy 4th Birthday to our "Girl Kitty!" Ramey-Jem is her official name (at least on her tags). She was originally called Ramey by her previous owner, who had to give her up because she was moving. We (mainly me) added the Jem to her name after Jem Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird. We already had a cat named Scout, (also from to Kill a Mockingbird), so we just completed the set.

As we all know however, we hardly ever call cats by their real names and shortly after we got Ramey-Jem we started to call her "Boo-Boo Kitty" which eventually led to just calling her "Girl Kitty."

While trying to figure out how old our new kitty was, we knew the previous owner told us that Ramey's shots were due in September, which was two months before Scout's shots were due. So we figured Ramey-Jem was born sometime in March. So we (my daughter Rachel) got 31 little pieces of paper numbered 1-31 and set them out in front of the cat "to let girl kitty tell us when her birthday is." After sniffing around on the pieces of paper, Ramey-Jem picked the 7th, by biting it and carrying it off; so March 7th became "Girl Kitty's" birthday.

She is queen of the house. One meow, lets us know she needs something and if we don't respond right away, we get a loud chorus of meow's that lets us know she wants something "NOW." She's a diva I tell ya! She does reward us with a very loud purr, that melts your heart, when we do something she likes. We love her!

Who Would Jesus Vote For?

Who Would Jesus Vote For? This is a very well written article by Larry Alex Taunton published by in the Faith/Religion Section of CNN's webpage. Just thought I would share it with you, (if you click the link to read it). 

By the way, the image used, "How Would Jesus Vote", is an image used by the Church of God, who in no way sponsored, or are affiliated with, the article written above. 

Mouse in the House

We have a mouse in the house! If there is one, then there are others!

Shortly after I left for work this morning, I got a phone call from my wife, Jamie. She had seen a mouse in the kitchen. Our two watchful kitties saw it as well. While the cats kept an eye on the mouse, who was hiding under the dishwasher, my wife woke up our kids to give them a heads up about the mouse in the house. My daughter Rachel, who is also scared of mice, decided she was going to stay in her room all day and asked Jamie if she could make her a lunch so she wouldn't have to get out of her bedroom until I got home. My son Caleb was worried at all; he was just annoyed Jamie woke him up early. As my wife was about to make my daughter as sandwich, the mouse decided to make a mad dash from under our dishwasher towards the stove. Scout, our boy kitty, caught the mouse and proudly brought it to my wife, who screamed, startling the cat, who promptly dropped the mouse. The mouse then ran under our couch.

Needless to say the screaming got the kids up in a hurry. Caleb trying to help the kitties got a bucket to try and trap the mouse. At that point Rachel came up with the idea to spend the day doing their homeschooling from a local Starbucks and I could pick them up after my sub assignment was over. Caleb would have preferred to stay home, but he didn't want Rachel to be at Starbucks by herself. As they started to get ready, the mouse decided to make a run from the couch back into the kitchen. Our vigilant cats chased it down and Scout once again caught the mouse and started bringing it to Jamie. Of course she screamed again and the cat dropped the mouse and the mouse got away again. The kids quickly got dressed, packed up their laptops to do schoolwork and brought some books to take with them to Starbucks where they planned to spend the day. Jamie even gave them some money to eat the the Panda Express next door to Starbucks.

How do I know this story? While sitting at school I started getting text messages telling me what was going on. I called during a passing period between classes and got filled in on the rest of the story. (I hope I'm telling it correctly.) I called the kids at Starbucks during a break and told them I can come visit them during the conference/lunch period I had between 10:00 and 1:30. We decided that the kids would come back home to do their school work if; 1) I set some traps to catch the mice and 2) they could still eat at Panda Express for lunch. I agreed. So at 10:00 I left school to get the kids. I got them some lunch at Panda Express and took them home. We had 4 mouse traps at the house already; so I set the traps and went back to school.

Shortly after getting back to school I ate my lunch and got ready for the next class. As the next class started, the students were called to a special assembly over scheduling for next year and I was told I could go home if I wanted to. Since my daughter Rachel was already nervous about being in the house with the mouse, I decided I would go on home to help her feel better about the situation.

So traps are set, cats are on the prowl and hopefully we can eliminate our mouse problem very soon!

My Top 100 Favorite Movies of All Time (updated Feb. 26, 2012)

# 1. To Kill A Mockingbird
# 2. The Passion of the Christ
# 3. End of the Spear
# 4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
# 5. It’s a Wonderful Life
# 6. Star Wars (All Star Wars Movies)
# 7. Saving Private Ryan
# 8. Fireproof
# 9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Trilogy)
# 10. Regarding Henry
# 11. When a Man Loves a Woman
# 12. Les Miserables
# 13. The Story of Us
# 14. Mr. Holland’s Opus
# 15. The Shawshank Redemption
# 16. The Godfather (Trilogy)
# 17. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
# 18. Arsenic and Old Lace
# 19. 12 Angry Men
# 20. The Princess Bride
# 21. The Dark Knight
# 22. Up (animated)
# 23. The Help
# 24. I Robot
# 25. Secondhand Lions
# 26. Amistad
# 27. Primal Fear
# 28. A Few Good Men
# 29. The Hunt for Red October
# 30. Toy Story (Trilogy) (animated)
# 31. The Man From Snowy River
# 32. Amazing Grace
# 33. Steel Magnolias
# 34. Facing the Giants
# 35. How to Train Your Dragon (animated)
# 36. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (All Harry Potter Movies)
# 37. Jaws
# 38. Dances With Wolves
# 39. Mississippi Burning
# 40. The Silence of the Lambs
# 41. The Incredibles (animated)
# 42. Dave
# 43. Time Changer
# 44. Remember the Titans
# 45. Schindler’s List
# 46. Ghost Busters
# 47. Despicable Me (animated)
# 48. Apollo 13
# 49. A League of Their Own
# 50. Star Trek (2009)
# 51. Jurassic Park
# 52. Doc Hollywood
# 53. October Sky
# 54. Chicago
# 55. Rudy
# 56. Finding Nemo (animated)
# 57. Hotel Rwanda
# 58. My Cousin, Vinny
# 59. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
# 60. Glory
# 61. The Right Stuff
# 62. L.A. Confidential
# 63. Casino Royal (All James Bond Films)
# 64. The Prince of Egypt (animated)
# 65. Field of Dreams
# 66. Inception
# 67. Avatar
# 68. Monsters, Inc. (animated)
# 69. Gone With the Wind
# 70. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
# 71. Big Fish
# 72. Charade (1963)
# 73. Shall We Dance?
# 74. The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
# 75. The Alamo (2004)
# 76. A Walk to Remember
# 77. The Last Emperor
# 78. Parenthood
# 79. Chicken Little (animated)
# 80. Harvey
# 81. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
# 82. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
# 83. The Matrix
# 84. Sherlock Holmes
# 85. Dead Poets Society
# 86. The Rookie
# 87. Courageous
# 88. Eight Men Out
# 89. Life is Beautiful (La Vita e bella)
# 90. Fantasia
# 91. Easy A
# 92. The Last of the Mohicans
# 93. A Beautiful Mind
# 94. Halloween
# 95. March of the Penguins
# 96. The Nativity Story
# 97. Captain America: The First Avenger
# 98. Rain Man
# 99. Napoleon Dynamite
#100. Cars (animated)

Happy 45th Birthday To Me!

Today I celebrated my 45th Birthday! I didn't do anything terribly exciting; however, thanks to a special that Totino's Pizza is currently featuring, I got a free movie rental from redbox. Even though it is not considered a "manly" movie, I decided to rent the movie The Help. Turns out this is one of the best movies I have seen in a while. In fact I added it to my list of my favorite 100 movies of all time. It is getting harder to make that top 100 movie list. Only three movies I saw last year made the list. (I will post my updated list again tomorrow. My top 20 appear at the bottom of my blog.)

I have a few goals going into my 46th year of life; Getting out of debt is the number one goal. Another goal is to work full-time again, which will help with the debt goal. My son Caleb is going to be a Senior in High School next year, so helping him, and Rachel, who will be a Sophomore, prepare more for college will be high on my list. Getting him a decent used car for Caleb to drive is also on my list of things to do. As always, keeping in touch with Jamie and working on our marriage is very high on my list of priorities.

I Am Such a Geography Nerd

I have already indicated I am a political nerd, by posting about presidential candidates, in the past. Now I admit to being a geography nerd as well. I recently found a web-site that allows you to test your knowledge by naming all 195 independent countries of the world (196 if you count Taiwan, which is technically part of China). Can you Name the Countries of the World?

I recently tried my luck and I could name 179 countries without any assistance; although, it did not count several of my answers because I could not spell the name of the country correctly. Some of them are hard to spell. I didn't know I knew that many. The two newest recognized country on the planet are Kosovo and South Sudan, by the way.

There is also a link to name the 50 United States if you wish.

President's Day at the Dallas Zoo

Today my family and I spent mos of our President's Day at the Dallas Zoo. They were having a special "Penguin Days" promotion going on (due to the colder weather), where admission was only $5.00 per person.

We saw plenty of snakes, lizards, alligators and frogs in the Reptile House, including one big albino gator. We also saw plenty of birds in the aviary exhibits; however, most of the other animals were being a little elusive. Although the weather was over 60 degrees, some of the animals were inside the closed off sections of their enclosures or were grouped together in the farthest corners of their enclosures. I am assuming this was their, or the zoo's, effort to keep the animals warm. We did get to see some elephants and plenty of giraffes, which are always cool to see, and we saw some very smelly warthogs. The big cats were hiding out or sitting in places that made them hard to see. We really wanted to see the cheetahs, lions and tigers, but all we got were glimpses of them. The gorillas (photo above) were mostly indoors; although we did see one gorilla sitting forlornly by himself on a stump. The chimps were the same way. The lemurs were hiding out, but the flamingos were out in their full pink glory. We did see two very curious meerkats who came very close to the edge of their exhibit. Somehow we missed the kangaroo area. The new Koala exhibit opens in the spring.

Today was still a fun day with the family and we hope to return in the summer, when maybe the animals will be more active.

Woo-Hoo! I'm Going to See Jimmy Buffett in Concert

I am so excited; I just purchased two tickets to go see Jimmy Buffett in concert. He will be in Dallas on April 19th.

I used to listen to Jimmy Buffett as a kid, but I really became a fan when I was attending Tyler Jr. College. A friend of mine was a real "Parrothead" (fans of Jimmy Buffett are called Parrotheads) and he listened to Jimmy Buffett all the time. Now, after all these years I finally get to go see him in concert. I will blog more about later, as the concert day approaches. Yea!!!!

Words With Friends and Other Stuff

Recently I finally decided to get in on the latest internet/online game app around; Words With Friends. Darn it, now I have 6 games going among family and friends. It is an online version of Scrabble and it is very fun and addictive. Since I do not have an I-Phone or an I-Pad, I have to play through my Facebook Account.

Other stuff: My wife and I do not like the new Starbucks Blonde Roast Coffee. We tried the Willow Blend and found it to be very weak and it just does not taste right. Sorry, Starbucks, nice try but as far as your coffees go; Blonde is not better.

Jamie and my, Mystery Dinner Date was fun. We hope to do this again sometimes, maybe with the entire family.

I also substituted to the first time with Mansfield ISD today. It was only a half-day assignment; however, it is work and hopefully it will lead to a full time job with the district soon.

Death at the Doo-Wop

Tonight my beautiful bride, Jamie, and I are going to a Murder Mystery Dinner. It's theme is "Death at the Doo-Wop"! It is being performed by The Murder Mystery Company in Dallas who will customize a Mystery Dinner for audiences across the United States. Here is there description of our dinner tonight: "Grab your Poodle Skirts and Horn Rimmed Glasses; the class of 1957 is having one killer Prom! Before the King and Queen can have their first dance, tragedy strikes! You'll play detective in this 'swell' interactive murder mystery dinner. Can you bring the true killer to justice before this Sock Hop Prom is ruined? Golly Gosh!"

All guest are encouraged to dress in 50's attire to promote the theme. Jamie and I went to a local Goodwill and a Salvation Army Store to look for anything that remotely looks like 50's clothing. What we found may not be exactly 50's; but it is close enough for us anyway.

Click here for the menu...MENU. I have a feeling we are going to really enjoy ourselves!

Why I think they are bad movies!

The movies I am about to blog about are on my list of my 20 Least Favorite Movies Ever (See bottom of Blog). Some of them I saw believing that they would be good movies; either based on recommendations of friends, or based on the trailers I saw on TV or as previews shown at the start of other movies I went to see; however, all of them turned out to be bad or at least inappropriate to watch. At least one of these movies I was "forced" to watch by my kids, who, when they were younger loved to watch movies like that. What is sad about me watching these movies, is that even though I realized these movies were bad or that I shouldn't be watching this kind of movie; I sat through the entire movie from start to finish. So here is my list of my 10 least favorite movies and why.

My #1 Least favorite movie is Me, Myself and Irene. It stars two of my favorite actors in what I think is their worst roles ever. The movie was full of very crude sexual humor, which I can't stand, vulgar sexual scenes (especially one with a dildo), and vulgar language. I was sick to my stomach over some of the scenes and I was hoping no one would see me watching a movie like this. The story line didn't even keep my interest. Sadly I kept thinking it's got to get better (after all it had Jim Carey and Rene Zellweger ) and I stayed until the bitter end. It did not get better it just got worse and worse and worse.

#2. Jaws: The Revenge (Jaws 4) -- Jaws 3-D was bad enough, I am not sure why I even wanted to watch a 4th Jaws movie. Maybe because they were back in the ocean, not an aquarium, or maybe I was just hoping it had to be better than Jaws 3-D. The main reason why I hate this movie is: SHARKS DON'T GROWL/ROAR or whatever that shark did in the movie. Bad story line, plus a gargling shark put a bad taste in my mouth for any future shark movies. Nothing can beat the original Jaws.

#3. The Late Great Planet Earth -- When I was barely a teenager, a friend of mine and I went to go see some movie one weekend. After we got there we decided to watch this movie instead. Big mistake. (not sure what the other movie was now). BIG mistake. This documentary movie is based upon some guys interpretation of various prophecies about the end of the world. All I remember was that I had trouble staying awake, it was boring and the narrator's voice was driving me crazy. It talked about how the Iranian Revolution was the spark that was going to end the world in a nuclear holocaust. Needless to say, we are all still here, although I barely made it out of the movie alive. If we were not relying on someone else for transportation, both me and my friend would have walked out, instead we sat through the entire 91 minutes, which seemed like 91 hours.

#4. Bolero -- Not sure where I watched this movie, but I am ashamed to have watched this movie. It is basically a porn movie. The story about how a girl wants to and finally looses her virginity was a snooze fest . I think the only reason I watched it was that I was just out of High School and wanted to see Bo Derek naked. Sadly I sat through a boringly long film waiting for what few nude scenes it did show and then I felt bad inside for watching it. I do not support Porn movies at all! They are degrading to women especially and it warps God's gift of sex between a husband and wife. What makes this movie even worse in my mind, was that it was directed by Bo Derek's husband. How can a husband let his wife be in a movie like this, much less direct it.

#5. Dragon Hunters -- My least favorite animated film of all time. Not only did my wife and I not like this movie, my kids hated it. They were the reason we watched it. The type of animation used was not my favorite kind of animation. That big dude with the little bitty legs gave me the creeps and I just couldn't watch the film. The story was boring and I was glad the movie was only 80 minutes long. Weird film, made in France! That's what was wrong with it! Ha!

#6. Halloween III: Season of the Witch -- Three words, No Michael Myers. I thought for sure they would work in Michael Myers somewhere. Nope! Just a conspiracy about some cursed/haunted/something Halloween masks designed to kill children. It was not even that suspenseful. Stupid plot + bad acting = bad movie. Nothing to do with the original Halloween movies (or those that came after) at all. Just a waste of money and a waste of time.

#7. Airplane II: The Sequel -- Sorry folks, but I am just not a fan of movies with lots of cliche, often sexual, puns with goofy story lines. The first Airplane was ok; but it was not that funny to me. When asked to watch the sequel, I reluctantly went. I am sorry I did. I laughed a couple of times; however, overall it just not my kind of movie and I wished I had stayed home to watched something on TV.

#8. Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams -- Another movie I watched because my kids wanted to watch it. I didn't like the first Spy Kids and I did't want to watch this one. It may be an great movie for kids, but the movie was just to unrealistic for my taste and just plain silly to me. At least I got to spend time with my kids, but I feel like I "Lost" money more than I gained any entertainment.

#9. Popeye -- It's a wonder I became a Robin Williams fan. This musical adaptation of the comic strip Popeye makes me sad I ever wasted money to watch it. It was bad, bad, bad. I like musicals, but I didn't think this movie was going to be a musical. Maybe I didn't watch the trailers close enough; but I thought it would be better than it was. Instead I got bad singing, bad acting, bad everything. Popeye will never be the same. What makes it worse was that Popeye was not one of my favorite cartoon characters anyway. I think I got out voted by my sister and my mother and was forced to watch it with them or stay home. Wrong choice on my part.

#10. Batman Forever -- The silliness of Batman's villains and his love interest in this movie, is what makes this movie so awful. I love Tommy Lee Jones as an actor; however, his portrayal of Two-Face in this movie is probably his worst performance as an actor. The silly laughing and the overly bright costumes made Two-Face more of clown than a super-villain. Once again, I like Jim Carey as an actor, but his portrayal of the Joker could have been so much more. I don't know if the director wanted to make a comedy or not, but that is how the movie looked to me. It was a bad comedy rather than a super hero movie. Nicole Kidman's performance in the movie was also one of her worst performances.

So there you have it!