Life At Random - Kite Edition

Ben is going through a "kite phase" right now. He really seems to enjoy it. It all started when the kids and I went to fly kites with my parents when they were here a few weeks back. Last Monday night was our last soccer practice, and I got all the boys a Spider-Man kite, so now Ben is having fun with 2 kites. Megan enjoys it as well, and she's pretty good at it actually. She likes to hold the kite and watch the princesses fly around. Anyway, it's a fun activity we can all do together at the park.

The Blue Rockets - Game 10

Last night was Ben's second-to-last baseball game. He had a good time, but I think he's ready for it to be over with. He's slowly losing interest in it I think. He likes hanging out with his friends, and of course he likes the snacks, but I think his interest in the game is waning (along with the rest of America.) HA HA!
Anyway, with all these baseball games Megan has made a new friend, a 4 year old girl who plays with her every game now. Last night was also our turn to bring snacks...a big deal for Ben and how he's seen by the others. I don't know how it is in other areas around the country, but here...all game-day snacks consist of "Capri-Sun," and some kind of snack. We've seen everything from Little Debbie Zebra Cakes and Swiss Rolls, to crackers, to cookies, to you name it. Someday I'm going to laugh when somebody around here brings celery and carrot sticks. I can just imagine the look on the kids faces.

School Field Day

The day after Ben's class party was the school-wide "Field Day." Now when I was a kid I couldn't stand field day. You spent all day running races and participating in contests for 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place ribbons. Somehow I always missed out on the "place" ribbons and instead came home with a handful of those dreadful "honorable mention" ribbons. Anyway, times have indeed changed since then.
Ben's field day is all about activities and games that you do with the entire class. It's not about competition but more just playing around and burning off some energy. I tell you what, I like Ben's version of field day a lot better than mine. He and his friends all had a blast. Bouncy slides? Really? They get bouncy slides these days? Where was my bouncy slide at my field day? (Sigh...)

Ben's Class Party

Monday Ben's class held their "End of Year" class party. The kids went outside and played games, ate some tasty snacks, and enjoyed some ice cream courtesy of the neighborhood ice cream truck. Ben and his friends all had a blast.

Happy 12th Anniversary!

Last night Jenny and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. My parents stayed with the kids while we went out. We've always joked how in Midland there are no "nice" restaurants. I guess what I mean by that is there are no places for that "special occasion." Unless you belong to the country club your best bets are places like Ruby Tuesday. I know that sounds like a joke, but I'm actually more right than you know. Anyway, Dow recently helped fund a renovation of a Courtyard Marriott, and basically took it over. It's now a "Dow Hotel" for visiting employees and such, and out by the street they put in 3 "nice" restaurants. One is a French Bistro, one is an upscale bar, and one is an upscale restaurant. So since we were celebrating a special occasion we decided to try the "nice" restaurant. This was one of those places where the menu is very upscale. Jenny had the duck, which was served like a steak, and I had the Bison steak that was so tender I could cut it with my fork. The whole dinner was really nice and made the evening extra special. The staff even gave us a card wishing us a happy anniversary. Wow! And in Midland no less. What are the odds?

At The Movies

LEGION - This is one of those "biblical prophecy/armageddon" type of movies. God is angry and decides to wipe out everyone like he did in the days of the great flood. The angel Michael (played by Paul Bettany) disagrees with God's extermination plan and flies down to Earth to save mankind from God's wrath. Michael travels to a roadside diner in the middle of "nowhere" California to protect an unborn baby (the next "chosen one") from hordes of demons. The first two-thirds of the movie are actually somewhat entertaining. It has this whole "Stephen King" vibe to it that really grabbed me at first. But by the time the 3rd act rolls around the whole thing unravels of course and gets kind of ridiculous. Overall I'd say it wasn't bad for a rental. I'm just glad I didn't spend good money on it at the theater.

SHERLOCK HOLMES - In this film Robert Downey Jr. takes off his Iron Man suit and grabs his detective hat to play the role of Sherlock Holmes in this "energized" version of the classic story. Directed by Guy Ritchie ("Snatch") the film has a stylized look and feel to it that will rub many people the wrong way. Believe me, this is not your placid/stuffy Sherlock. This detective boxes and leaps out windows and dishes out kung fu. The objective here is to kick start a new series of films, but I'm just not sure about the execution here. While Downey Jr. and Jude Law are great as Holmes and Watson the story here is very convoluted and hard to follow, and then of course there's the visual style again. While I would say I am a Holmes fan I admit I'm open to a re-imagining of the character. However, in this case it just didn't work for me.

PUBLIC ENEMIES - Written and directed by Michael Mann, this is the story of the hunt for John Dillinger in the 1930's. Starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale the movie has a strong cast. Mann is one of my favorite directors so I obviously had high expectations for this one. However, this movie just didn't work for me...and frankly it's hard for me to pinpoint why exactly. It might have been the primary focus on Dillinger and his girlfriend, as opposed to Dillinger versus the people who eventually brought him down. Also, Mann is the best at filming a street shootout (look at the movie "Heat.") Yet for some reason in this movie there was a surprising lack of action and gunfights. Overall this film disappointed me.

YEAR ONE - Michael Cera and Jack Black star as prehistoric hunters who find themselves at the birth of civilization. I think the only time I laughed at this one was in the first 10-15 minutes. There are some cameos here that are pretty funny (like with Cain and Abel, and Abraham and Issac). However, the film gets bland very quickly and loses its potential. Not very good.

THE SPIRIT - TERRIBLE MOVIE! Need I go on? Maybe. Directed by Frank Millier (the creator of "300" and "Sin City") this is the re-imagining of the comic character from the golden age of comics known as The Spirit. The film definitely tries to look nostalgic and noir-like, and ultimately succeeds in its appearance. I mean really...it's a beautiful movie to look at. However, pictures alone seldom tell the whole story. The script is incredibly bad, and just when this film should be taking itself seriously, instead it's odd and quirky and even makes fun of itself. You're not sure whether to laugh at it or with it. I couldn't tell if it was action or a comedy. Overall this is a BAD movie.

PANDORUM - Man...this is ANOTHER bad movie I've seen recently. Set in the future two astronauts wake up and find themselves on board a spaceship heading to a distant planet. Also on board the ship are pods filled with humans who will "repopulate" the species on the new planet. Mixed in with these humans are humanoid creatures who have mutated and have started feeding on the humans on board the ship...thus threatening to wipe out mankind forever. This is the classic case of a film getting way too full of itself. It's way too top heavy with plot points and there are way too many storylines going on here. Plus, the final payoff at the end leaves much to be desired. Like I said...bad movie.