Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Stuff and Nonsense

Well the days have been crazy lately.  I have had few posts. Last week I drove about 1,300 miles from Tuesday Morning to Saturday morning and did not leave the state.

One thing that is starting to bug me though is that communication is getting worse in the settings that I find myself in.  

Just today I emailed someone about and incident and said, " Mr. X is irritated."  The response was, "Don't say irritated that might alarm someone who reads the email!  Use another word,"

I was stumped!


I had a conversation today with a lady who took issue with an editorial in the local paper. The editorial gave a list of items to consider when voting and one was. "Vote like a Christian!"


The lady is Jewish!


The political landscape is as usual: BAD!

Then there were the people that have expressed that they hope the hurricane would hit New Orleans BECAUSE we need the rain (meaning that maybe the rain would move our way).

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

A man walks in to a church.......

Note To my fellow Church Members: This may violate my pledge to not talk about my church. I do not apologize for this.


One of the things I like the least happened tonight when politics came to church.  A Member of our church told a joke tonight:   He starts by asking: " Do you believe that a Democrat can be conservative?"
Many in the room said yes.  

"Do you believe that a Republican can be liberal?"  Again several said yes.
He says:  "Do you know that conservatives are said to be on the right?" yes  "And that liberals are said to be on the left?" yes  "Well let's read Ecclesiastes 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."  

He then laughed and said, "You decide where you are!"

I laughed till I cried.  Well, actually I just cried on the inside.

Then we had a class about the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5: 46  "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

I may be the only one in that room that saw an inconsistency, but I could be wrong since I'm just a fool anyhow!



Saturday, August 11, 2012

Ole Leo Tolstoy was no dummy!

In his "The Gospel in Brief" he sums up life like this:

Man must serve the Source of all human life. This is the will of the Father,

Service of the Will of the Father of Life is life-giving. And therefore, it is not necessary to life that each man should satisfy his own will.

This present life in time is the food for the true life. And therefore, the true life is outside time; it is the present.

Time is an illusion of life; the life of the past and the future clouds men from the true life of the present.

One must destroy the deception arising from the past and future, the life in time.

The true life is THAT now present to us and manifesting itself in love.

He who lives by love now, in the present, becomes at one with the Father.

DEEP THOUGHTS

Bourne world

I love the Bourne Movies even though they have nothing to do with the books of the same names.


I guess Matt Damon was too busy for this one so instead they added another guy in the same mold.
Jeremy Renner WILL hold your attention in "Bourne Legacy".  Get it?  He is Legacy. He belongs!  While they talk about Jason Bourne all through the story, and they wonder where he is, but they have their hands full with this OTHER agent (Aaron).
The pace is as fast as the others and the chase scenes are wild and lengthy, but this is the type of movie that keeps you on edge.

If you like the other Bourne movies, this is for you. If not, don't bother.

Summer Fun.  I give it **3/4 stars.  2012 Movie # 30!  I am betting on a future movie that includes both guys!

I am actually ahead of last year, but not trying too! 

Thursday, August 9, 2012

August 9

This is the birthday of our first born, Heather.  She would be 39 today!

Hope Springs

Note:  As I have said many times, there are movies that not everyone gets.

We have been looking forward to "Hope Springs" with Merle Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carell.  If you read reviews, check the age of the reviewers, the guy for the Oklahoman must be young for he found it boring.  This would not be a movie for the young. This is PG55+.  It is for the "Marigold Hotel" movie goers.

Two older people have been married 31 years. He takes the marriage for granted and is un-everything. He come home eats, falls a sleep while watching Golf Channel, and goes to bed.  No touching, talking, or relating. She misses their past life, even though that one wasn't much.

They go to couples counseling in Maine. That's all you need to know except:

There is a great director making it, but topped by ALL World actors: Meryl and Tommy Lee. Throw in Steve Carell and a great cast of cameos.  Mix with Coldwater Creek, Barnes & Noble, etc. and there it is.  A Very Very Good Story that is REAL LIFE.  There are no aspects of Hollywood in this.

IT is also another cautionary tale.  It could be you. I saw some of ME!  People my age won't dismiss this.

I give it **** stars. If I was 30, I would give it *1/2


2012 Movie #29

Friday, August 3, 2012

Total Recall, the remake

I had to see "Total Recall" because I remember the first version with Arnold and Sharon Stone.  This movie started like the first, but quickly departed into a very different story.  Colin Farrell looks way different in this (younger and slimmer) and of course way different than Arnold.  It is good science fiction fun.  In this still another version of the future world where things have gone crazy, only Great Britain and Australia are inhabitable.

It did make me want to revisit the first version though. Great effects, Imaginative use of elevators and tunnels!


**stars, 2012 Movie 28

Savages

I was in the city Thursday Night so I went to a movie. I chose one that my wife would not like and saw "Savages".  It is a story about two best friends (one a botanist and the other an ex-Navy Seal) who are in business together and just happen to share a girl-friend (its California!).  Their business is WEED!
The movie is about a Mexican Drug Cartel that decides to take over their happy little business.
The Movie is rated "R" for violence (savage violence).  Thank goodness that much worst stuff was either implied or they showed the before and after but not the "during". Let's just say they liked chain saws!  The acting was great with John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Benico Del Toro and others. Oliver Stone directs so it was not going to be normal.  The movie even has two different endings!

It is "R" but they cursed less than "The Watch" and though the trailer implied much sex, that was implied also. What it had was violence. The "I can't watch this " type.

The story though was summer escapist, revenge.

I give it 2-3/4 stars, 2012 Movie # 27

I can't make this stuff up!

My boss called yesterday and asked for my help finding a national architectural firm to joint venture for a large speciality project in our state.  As he described it I immediately thought of "HOK" (the nation's largest firm) who happened to do a lot of these projects.  So he leaves a message with me today that says that he did contact "KO Architects" and made a deal with them.  I'm thinking "Oh Crap! That is not who I said!"  So I look on line and sure enough this firm in Iowa does the kind of projects we need help with.

But Wait! There's more!

Come to find out This firm tried for the Master Plan of this SAME project, but were turned down because they did not have a local firm with them!

How crazy is that!