Life At Random

Here are some random pictures of the kids being kids. Enjoy.

No Training Wheels...(For Now)

Yesterday I took Ben's training wheels off of his bike. So now we're practicing riding his bike with no training wheels. He's still very shaky, but he's eager and willing to learn and practice. So we'll keep at it for a while and see how things develop.

Birthday Party

Yesterday Ben went to a birthday party for his friend Kelvyn. The two are really good friends at school, and are also in the same Sunday School class. Ben had a good time playing at Kelvyn's house and eating tasty snacks.

At The Movies

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Well...our wait was finally over. We finally were able to catch this one. It hardly stayed long enough at our theater for us to go see it, and then we had to wait of course for the DVD to come out. Anyway, I would say we liked this one, but I don't think we loved it like lots of other people did. It's a good film, and worthy of its nomination for best film but I don't think it deserved to win. The style and look of the film is very interesting, and the use of the energetic music keeps you engaged in the story. But if you ask me BENJAMIN BUTTON was a more complete film and I still feel that was the film that should have won best picture. Still though I recommend Slumdog to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Good film.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE - Here we have the first "prequel" to the existing franchise of X-MEN movies. In this one we see the origin of Logan as "Wolverine" (played by Hugh Jackman.) The background story isn't quite as interesting as the character himself (an immortal who has claws made out of a kind of steel material.) Jackman always plays Wolverine well, and the first two X-MEN movies in particular are excellent. However, this installment doesn't quite measure up to the better X-MEN movies, but is however better than X-MEN 3. So I guess in a nutshell I thought this one was about what I expected...an entertaining action movie with little substance. After the emergence of the DARK KNIGHT and IRON MAN last year the bar has been raised for super hero movies, and this one here doesn't quite measure up. Still though it's a fun movie.

YES MAN - Jim Carrey plays Carl...a man who decides to say "Yes" to every question he is asked. As he answers yes repeatedly to everything he finds new and interesting opportunities pop up before him. Situations that he would never have found himself in before he was a "Yes Man." There's some simple laughs here as you might expect, and the story is rather similar to Carrey's 1997 film LIAR LIAR. But unlike LIAR LIAR the story here never takes a depressing turn and instead always stays light and upbeat. This is definitely one of those films that is good for a rental and a bucket of popcorn. Not much to think about here...so just kick up your feet and chill out.

VICKEY CRISTINA BARCELONA - Here we have Woody Allen's latest film..."Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Shot on location in Spain, we follow the story of two female American tourists who get wrapped up in a love triangle with a local artist. To further complicate the story the love triangle soon becomes a square...with a 4th love interest entering the picture. The story is well written of course, and the characters are your typical Allen characters (young and old bohemians all searching for love.) I haven't really cared for Allen's recent "european" movies (MATCH POINT, SCOOP, CASSANDRA'S DREAM) but I would say this 4th one is the best of the group. Worth checking out for any Allen fan.

BODY OF LIES - This is the story of two CIA agents with two different agendas both fighting the war on terroism. The acting is pretty good here, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe playing the leads...and the directing is pretty strong thanks to the talented Ridley Scott. So overall I'm surprised to say this is a very average film. The story is rather dull and very confusing, as the two agents try to manipulate each other for their own purposes. I even had the feeling I had seen this movie before. It's has a very similar look and feel to the 2001 film SPY GAME starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. If you're interested in this kind of movie, might I recommend SPY GAME over BODY OF LIES. Much better film.

30 ROCK: SEASON 1 - Jenny and I have always been interested in this series, but we had never taken the time to try it out. So we decided to check out the first season. For those of you who don't know, "30 ROCK" is about a ficticious late night comedy show, similar to Saturday Night Live. There's good writing here, good acting, and overall the show is well done. However, I have to admit I didn't really care for it. I laugh because I don't really know why. Jenny liked it more than I did, but I admit it's a good show. It just didn't connect with me I guess. I have never been a fan of the show "SCRUBS," and "30 ROCK" has a very similar feel in my opinion, so maybe that's the reason I feel the way I do.

THE VISITOR - Thomas McCarthy (THE STATION AGENT) wrote and directed this excellent film. I'm actually surprised that I liked this film as much as I did. I thought it would be pretentious and preachy, but it's not. This is the story of Walter who is a lonely university professor making a presentation to some colleagues in New York City. He has a chance meeting with an immigrant couple, and they all form a friendship despite their many differences. As the story develops Walter's friends have Visa problems with the government and are being threatened deportation. Walter then finds himself in the center of the conflict as he tries to keep his friends from leaving the country. Like I said, I thought this would be a preachy film about the government's immigration issues, but it's really not. The story is wonderfully told and the acting is first rate. This is a very interesting, yet simple film. Highly recommended.

HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY - (sigh) Why did I bother watching this? I actually remember kind of enjoying the first one. Not that the first one was good or anything, but it had a fun "goofiness" to it. This one however was just awful. As I watched this I thought to myself now that Guillermo del Toro (the director) has had some success and recognition (Pan's Labyrinth) the studio here probably gave him unlimited control and money so he could do whatever he wanted. The result is this messy gumbo of a film. Terrible.

At The Movies - Ben Edition

MONSTERS VS ALIENS - Ben went to go see this with Jenny. He said he really liked it, and thought the blob (B.O.B.) was especially funny when he fell in love with some jello. However, he did also say that he doesn't want to rush back to the theater and see it again. Jenny said there were a few intense moments near the end (when a giant battle was going on). So as for me I still haven't seen this one yet. I guess I'll have to wait til the DVD comes out. By then I bet Ben won't mind seeing it again.

From The Shelf

TEAM OF RIVALS - "Team of Rivals" is a great book on the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and specifically his cabinet and the political circles that surrounded him during his presidency and the Civil War. I've always been a fan of Lincoln's life and presidency, so I really enjoyed this book. What Lincoln went through and had to put up with is amazing...even by today's standards. No president in United States history in my opinion had more on his plate than Lincoln.
The book goes into great detail about Lincoln's early political career in the state legislature in Illinois, and follows his political path all the way from the Lincoln / Douglas debates, to Washington D.C., and onto the White House. The book also does a great job of detailing the events that led up to the Civil War during Lincoln's early political days, and shows how the two (Lincoln and the War) were on a collision course long before the first shots were ever fired at Harper's Ferry.
As you might expect this is a rather slow read, but in the end it's very satisfying. My only criticism is the book only gives you the bullet points of the Civil War, and doesn't go into great detail over any single battle. Still though the book not only gives you great insight on the Lincoln presidency, but also provides you a better understanding of the Civil War, how it began, and how the Union prevailed. If the history books in school were half as good as "Team Of Rivals" our children would have a much better understanding of U.S. history.

P.S. - Another great book about Lincoln is "Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer." It's the story of the chase for John Wilkes Booth after he killed Lincoln. It's got to be one of the best history books I've ever read. Fascinating story.

Weekend Getaway - Detroit Style

Last weekend we all took a quick getaway down to Detroit for my birthday. We went to a few of the nicer malls down there, ate at some nice restaurants, and took the kids to the Detroit zoo. We pretty much did everything we can't do in Midland. Occasionally we do trips like this from time to time. Jenny and I grew up in the city as you all know, and once in a while we get claustrophobic here in our sleepy little town. So we make occasional trips down to Detroit (or Chicago) and remind ourselves what once was the norm in our lives. Also, we don't want our kids growing up without ever having ridden on an escalator. There's not one here in Midland, and we've heard of kids here in town who have never ridden one.
Anyway, we had a nice time. And despite what the news may say about Detroit, we didn't see a lot of signs of a recession going on (at least at the malls where we were at).
Here's some shots of us at the zoo.

Birthday Cake

Ben helped Jenny make me a birthday cake this year for my birthday. It was the best birthday cake I've ever had. We all enjoyed it.

Telly Award

I recently had a bit of good news regarding my side business..."Framework." I recently won a Telly Award for one of my Great Lakes Loons pieces from last season. The project that won is the open I produced for the Midwest League All-Star game that was held last year here in Midland. I'm pretty excited. I've won 3 other Telly Awards in the past, but this was my first under my company name. So it makes it extra special.
Here's the video.

Feeling Buggy!

I think it's fun to watch the kids interact with each other all the time, and I find it especially interesting when I see Ben introducing something to Megan for the first time. Megan up to this point has never been on one of Ben's "Bug Hunts." Today we took a walk after lunch, and as he usually does Ben was hunting around for bugs. Well...Ben found a "rolie-polie" bug crawling around on the ground. Rolie-polies are one of his favorite bugs, so he got to share the experience with Megan. Megan found the bug fascinating and even tried picking it up as well. So I guess that would suggest she's all geared up for a summer full of Ben's "Bug Hunts" in the backyard.

Flower Power!

Our tulips are just now starting to bloom. Today we had our first. Ben was pretty excited. He's been going around the yard examining all the buds for the past week to see which ones have bloomed yet. Finally our wait is over.
You might be thinking..."Wow! They're just now getting tulips?" Well...Jenny and I agree with you. I can't recall when we've had to wait this long for our tulips to bloom. My birthday is in 2 days, and they are usually all in full bloom by my birthday each year. So this is a little unusual. Anyway...it's nice to see flowers popping out finally.

Gone Fishing!

Ben and I went up to the nature center today for a fishing course. We got to tie our own lines and hooks, get worms for the hooks, and we of course got to sit by the water and fish for a while. This was Ben's first real fishing experience, and he had a great time. He did great with his casting, and he enjoyed being outside. We didn't catch anything, and eventually it started to rain...but we had a fun time. He had fun playing with the worm on the hook. He kept pretending to give it a kiss.

Signs Of Spring

One sign of spring around here is when we start eating meals and snacks outside. It's always a nice way to eat a meal, and the kids love it.

Take Ben To Work Day

Jenny took Ben up to work this past week for "Take your child to work day." Dow had a few activities going on for the kids. Ben got to have lunch with Jenny and hang out at her office for a few hours. He loved it.