Our Day Today
Posted on January 5, 2008 by Ching under Family, Food and Drink, Games, Life.
We decided to take the day off from working on the office. I was supposed to wake Brian up at eight or nine, but he was sound asleep so I didn’t get him up until eleven or noon or so. Anyway, that pretty much killed our morning.
We got up, showered together and decided that lunch at Olive Garden was in order. We were both really good during the week, bringing lunches to work and making dinner instead of eating out so we figured that we deserved a nice lunch date. I had recently watched Alton Brown making meatballs on the Food Channel so I was craving some spaghetti and meatballs (except I had to substitute spaghetti with capellini because I like the skinny noodles better). Brian decided to be adventurous. He tried the lasagna rollatini with chicken, a new special menu item. It was delicious! I think we will have to go again and just split that next time. The serving he received was enough to feed two people.
After our late lunch, we went to visit grandma and grandpa at Cherry Creek. We are donating some stuff from the office: our old dresser, TV, and VCR. The activities director was really thrilled to find out that we didn’t want any money for it. They’d been wanting a new TV for the activities room because the one they have is ancient. This one isn’t exactly new but if you’ve seen the one they currently have in there, it’s a huge improvement. Brian was scoping out where we would put the stuff. We are delivering the items tomorrow.
Anyway, we brought grandma and grandpa a tin of Godiva chocolate and toffee covered caramel popcorn and a case of Ferrero Rocher, grandma’s favorite chocolate candy. At Christmas we promised them that we would swing by and bring them some special munchies and finally had the opportunity. Grandma, grandpa, and their friend John were playing Phase 10 in the activity room when we got there.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at Tim’s where we met some of Tim’s coworkers: Errick (who is in the MBA program also), Chase and his wife Tiffany (who made this excellent chocolate cake), and Tim’s other coworker who is a transplant from California. She didn’t stay very long, though, so we didn’t have the opportunity to get to know her very well.
Chase and Tiffany brought their two-month old baby Titus. They were the next to leave and Errick left shortly after. Don, Sarah, and her husband Tony came too. The five of us were the last to leave. We left at the same time Sarah and Tony did. Don was still there and contemplating eating again as we were leaving.
It was an interesting afternoon/evening. Tim’s house is really nice. I think it is big for a single guy but it is in a great neighborhood (Chestnut Ridge, where Everett and a few of Brian’s other coworkers live also) so he could very easily raise a family in his new house. If anything, he can probably sell it in a few years for a very nice profit.
I tried several times to bring up playing a game. I wanted to play Catchphrase but Brian wouldn’t let me. Everyone was busy chatting and visiting, though, so maybe it wasn’t the right time. Once we get the house all sorted out (or after we move to the new place, wherever that might be) maybe we can have people over. Then they will have to play by my rules and we’ll play Catchphrase. LOL.
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Flash Gordon
Posted on January 5, 2008 by Brian under Reviews.
When this series started I had such high hopes for it. I am a big fan of the 1980’s Movie staring Staring Max Von Sydow as Ming the Merciless! Yes, it was a little campy, but what wasn’t back in the 80’s. The film captivated audiences then, and to this day the die hard fan boys like myself are still enthralled by its glitzy costumes and it obvious over acting! I myself went on the first day of the DVD release to buy a copy, and then forced my wife to watch it. I personally have watched the DVD 3 more times since (I’ve been busy or it would have been more). The series started on the Sci-fi channel in August of 2007 with hopes of competing with the likes of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica all Sci-fi series and all doing successful. The series premier was less than desirable and left viewers wondering what the writers were thinking. I told myself that I would give it the same chance that I gave Painkiller Jane (another flop that could have been better). I would watch the first season and then make a choice to continue on, sometimes the seasons are off to a slow start, take SG-1 for instance. They really didn’t start to fly till the middle of the first season. However, the more I watched the more painful it got. With cheap looking costumes and and a complete rewrite of the story line itself it didn’t resemble the Flash Gordon movie or the 1930’s TV show (or the less popular 1950’s TV series). 
The Ming played by Max Von Sydow was ruthless in a very classy, imperialistic almost elegant way. The Ming in the TV series played by John Ralston is almost Nazi like. He dictates over the planet with an unrelenting Iron fist, taking neither man, woman or child into consideration and claiming his actions as “For the good of the people!”. This last episode was a perfect example of the Nazi like stylization of the character. Forcing genetic purification and purging (killing) anyone with even a 1% abnormality in there blood. I think the Sci-fi channel went way off base with this series. It could have been so much better with the proper writing and the proper budgeting. I would have liked to seen something that would rival that of the Stargate Franchise in story and effects. I am going to give it a little more time to see if Sci-fi can pull this series out of the pit that it currently resides in. I will give you more of my views on this show as the series progresses.
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Stargate: The Ark of Truth
Posted on January 5, 2008 by Brian under Reviews.
If you are a Stargate SG-1 fan (as I am) and felt that the final episode left more questions than answers. Well, never fear! The fine people in the Stargate franchise have decided to release a direct-to-DVD movie written by Robert C. Cooper called “Stargate: The Ark of Truth”. The movie went into production in April 2007 and will be released in the US on March 11, 2008. This movie will be what should have been the conclusion of Stargate SG-1’s Ori story arc, which began in “Avalon”. The Ori storyline was originally expected to continue into SG-1’s eleventh season, but the series was canceled by the Sci-Fi Channel in August 2006. Therefore, the movie’s storyline will pick up after “Unending”, the SG-1 series finale, but will take place before the fourth season of Stargate Atlantis. I had the pleasure to catch a screener of this DVD before it’s release and I have to tell you that I was impressed and felt a little more satisfied with the outcome of the story arc. The movie will cover SG-1’s attempt to recover the “Ark of Truth”, a piece of Alteran technology developed before the Ancients left for the Milky Way. In an attempt to prevent the Ori and their followers rising to power, the “Arc” was created to essentially “brainwash” individuals, for instance Priors, into believing whatever “truth” was programmed into the device. The Ancients’ non-interference policy and belief in free will resulted in the device never being used. Even though the gift of Ascension promised by Origin is a lie, the freedom to believe was something the Alterans ultimately decided they did not have the right to restrict. In the movie however, there is interference from an ascended being (as there always has been) to help guide the team in the right direction to find the “Arc”. However, they are not alone and the Ori’s army and legion’s of Priors are hot on their heals trying to get there hands on this piece of technology that they believe, will aid them in the effort to convert the universe to worship the Ori. This movie has all of the action and drama that you would expect from the TV series, so fans should not be disappointed. Look for this to hit the shelves in March of 08 and don’t be surprised if you see it still air on the Sci-Fi channel before the end of the year.
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Terminator 2: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Posted on January 5, 2008 by Brian under Reviews.
Recently, I was honored with a screening of the new “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” TV series that will air on Fox with a special two night premier on January 13 and 14. This small screen adaptation of the widely popular “Terminator” franchise fills in the gap between the 2nd and 3rd Terminator movies. It tells the story of Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her quest to stop Skynet and the destruction of humanity. While giving us a glimpse of the steps she takes to train John (Thomas Dekkerin) to be the leader of the resistance in the event that she fails. In this pilot episode, she is still running. Not content with the destruction of the man and the labs responsible for creating the machines. She is still haunted by a strong feeling that she will never be safe. Her fears are realized when a Terminator unit tries to kill John in his class room but is saved by a second Terminator unit named Cameron (Summer Glau) (a girl in his new school that he thought was interested in him for other reasons) who was sent to protect him. To top it all off, she is being perused by an FBI agent named James Ellison (Richard T. Jones). He is determined that Sarah is crazy, a threat to everyone and should be locked away for eternity. In the pilot you can see that Agent Ellison is beginning to realize that there are some things going on that he can not quite understand and is beginning to question weather Sarah is really crazy or in over her head. Originally, when I saw the previews for this series I was a little frightened that it might be cheesy and that the special effects would not translate well to the small screen. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of technical precision that was put into the make up and special effects. In one scene the Terminator unit that tries to kill John cuts his leg open to retrieve a gun hidden inside. The exposed endoskeleton that was shown was impressively detailed and didn’t look cheap at all. Other recent TV adaptations of films like “Flash Gordon” have been seriously lacking in not only the special effects department but in the writing as well, coming off very campy and almost child like in its approach. “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” is a good example of what movie adaptations should be like, allowing the writing and special effects to draw the viewers into the story instead of just simply relying on the popularity of the films to bring the viewers in. I think that if Fox keeps up this level of quality with the other episodes then they will be contenders with other Sci-Fi based series like “Heroes”, “The Bionic Woman” and “Stargate Atlantis”.
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Things To Do Before You Die
Posted on January 5, 2008 by Ching under Life, Sponsored Post.
I have a 43 things account in which I catalog the things I’ve done, am doing, and want to do someday. I recently found out that Cannady Girl has her own list on 43 things. I’m pretty sure everyone has a list. Whether they post it online and share it with the world or whether on paper in a top secret diary or whether just in their mind, everyone has a list of things to do before they die.
My list hasn’t been updated in a long time and consists of 32 things completed and 32 more things to do. My “maybe someday” list includes:
- Playing poker in Las Vegas
- Getting an MBA (I’m almost done with this one)
- Retiring young (working diligently on this one)
- Paying off my student loans (dreadful)
- Go hot air ballooning
- Publish my memoir
- Experience the Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Go parasailing (preferably someplace tropical)
- Travel to Europe
- Go skydiving
- And so on..
You get the picture. Well there’s one more thing I want to experience. I wanted to share it with you before adding it to my list. It is the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), also known as World Series of Rodeo or the Super Bowl of Rodeo. I’ve only seen this stuff on TV and from the comfort of my couch, it looks pretty exciting. Just imagine what it would be like to actually be there, in the stands!
For those of you who are not familiar with NFR, it is sponsored and organized by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). There are seven major events: bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, bull riding, barrel racing (an event exclusive to women). Now, there are many rodeos held throughout the nation but why settle for one of the smaller events. If I’m going to put something on my “maybe someday” list, it’s going to be the grand daddy of them all. I’m going to go check out the NFR.
National Final Rodeo tickets are not cheap by any means. This is the World Series of Rodeo after all. You’ll also need gambling money. Who doesn’t gamble when they’re in Vegas? And lodging money, and food money, and souvenir money, yadda yadda yadda… The trip can be pretty expensive, specially if there’s more than one of you going such as in our case (Brian and I go everywhere together). However, if you start saving today you’ll have more than enough for the event which will be held later this year, during the month of December. That’s our plan anyway.
So, what about you? What’s on your to do list?
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