Hobbits and Pipe Smoking

After some time he felt for his pipe. It was not broken, and that was something. Then he felt for his pouch, and there was some tobacco in it, and that was something more. Then he felt for matches and he could not find any at all, and that shattered his hopes completely.

J.R.R. Tokien - "The Hobbit"

Have a pint and listen to some U2...

Take a moment and listen to some U2...

Breathe is written by U2 and is from the album No Line on the Horizon.

16th of June, nine-oh-five, door bell rings

Man at the door says if I want to stay alive a bit longer

There’s a few things I need you to know

Three

Coming from a long line of

Traveling sales people on my mother’s side

I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo

So why would I invite a complete stranger into my home

Would you

These days are better than that

These days are better than that

Every day I die again, and again I’m reborn

Every day I have to find the courage

To walk out into the street

With arms out

Got a love you can’t defeat

Neither down nor out

There’s nothing you have that I need

I can breathe

Breathe now

16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up

And I’m coming down with some new Asian virus

Ju Ju man, Ju Ju man

Doc says you’re fine, or dying

Please

Nine-oh-nine, St. John Divine on the line, my pulse is fine

But I’m running down the road like loose electricity

While the band in my head plays a striptease

The roar that lies on the other side of silence

The forest fire that is fear so deny it

Walk out into the street

Sing your heart out

The people we meet

Will not be drowned out

There’s nothing you have that I need

I can breathe

Breathe now

Yeah, yeah

We are people borne of sound

The songs are in our eyes

Gonna wear them like a crown

Walk out, into the sunburst street

Sing your heart out, sing my heart out

I’ve found grace inside a sound

I found grace, it’s all that I found

And I can breathe

Breathe now 

The Altar Call - Greatest Hits

I found this at fellow blogger Eric Carpenter's website, A Pilgrim's Progress.

My personal favorite: C'Mon (The Extended Remix).

Got my geek on today...

Taking a break from any kind of serious thought...

Well... I just returned from the new Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds and wanted to share my thoughts.

First of all, I must admit, this was my favorite comic book hero growing up.  Most kids liked Superman, Batman, or Spiderman.  Me...  I had to be the odd kid out.  Green Lantern.  And I really have no idea what drew me to him than any of those other superheroes from the comics.  I guess I thought having a green power ring that could make me fly and make all kinds of cool gadgets sounded appealing...  *shrugs shoulders*  So I am gonna be a bit biased in my review.

So, anyways... I just got back from the movie and I wanted to give my review of it.  In a word... Entertaining.  Very entertaining.  It was everything I thought a Green Lantern movie could be.  This movie would have been bad just a decade ago.  But the advances in CGI technology was required for a movie such as this.  Don't get me wrong... it could have been much better, but it was very good when compared to comic book movie genre.  It is no Iron Man or the Dark Knight, but it was better than the recent restart of Superman, and the earlier Batman movies with Michael Keaton, etc.  The movie was built well, but  as many comic book movie types, there is only but so much time to create a storyline, develop characters, and put in some great CGI effects and fight scenes.  It's a balancing act, and Green Lantern did well enough.  Hopefully, it will do well enough in the box office to support a sequel.  But I'm not holding my breath.

For a couple of reasons. 

First, as I said before, most have heard of Spiderman, Superman, or Batman... but not too many have heard of Green Lantern.  He's not an icon by any stretch of the imagination.  So I can't imagine too many casual movie-goers making it a priority to check out this film.  It will be a movie skipped my the overall mainstream movie going audience.  It will appeal mainly to the geek/ nerd types, like myself.

Secondly, while the movie is very good and entertaining, I am not sure it will have the kind of appeal in which those that will watch it will be talking about "how great the movie was, and you've just gotta see it."  There is nothing classic about the film.  Just a good summer action superhero flick.  There will be the GL geeks (like me) who see it a couple of times, but I generally don't think there will a mass of people checking out the film.

Now to list some of the pros and cons.

The pros:
Ryan Reynolds performs well.  He does a very good job pulling off the role of Hal Jordan.  The character is developed well as far as their was time to give it justice.

Peter Sarsgaard was his typical brilliant self.  He did an incredible job as Hector Hammond.  I wish they could have given him even more screen time.  The movie developed his story fairly well, but they could/ should have done even more...  Due to forcing a larger picture into the story and having to create an entire background for Green Lantern, his character/ story was limited.

Mark Strong was the perfect choice as Sinestro.  He did an amazing job.  But his role was even more limited.  (Slight spoiler alert coming--)  The movie ended in such a way that if there is a sequel, Sinestro will play a much larger role.  And that is the central part of the Green Lantern story that this movie was trying to build up to.  If there is enough commercial success, I think a sequel will be infinitely better due to Mark Strong playing Sinestro.  Again... great casting choice to use the talents of Mark Strong for Sinestro.

The final positive that I will mention... the CGI effects to highlight Hal Jordan's power ring was done really well...  They created some wonderful effects for the ring to create.  Not a simple bat or sling shot.. but a scene where he creates a matchbox car race track with a spiral to stop a falling helicopter for one...  It was a well done scene...  Several other moments where the writers were fairly creative in finding unique ways of highlighting the power ring.  The movie didn't go over the top with the CGI.  The movie didn't try to make that the focus... they did try to create a story, and use the CGI to complement it... not make the CGI the story itself.  And that's a good thing.

The cons...

The lead actress, Blake Lively, was mediocre at best...  that may be in part due to having to focus the storyline elsewhere, and couldn't really develop her character...  but again, she filled the role of Carol Ferris (the love interest), but did nothing to create any kind of interest in the character.  The Carol Ferris character develops in the overall Green Lantern story, but the writers of the movie had to pick and choose....  They wisely chose Jordan, Hector Hammond, and to a small degree, Sinestro..  They bypassed Carol Ferris, and Blake Lively did nothing to help.

The second con, and probably the biggest disappointment, in my opinion, is the lack of Sinestro in the movie.  He played a fairly significant role, but would have loved to see his character developed even more.  He is the key antagonist to Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern story.  I am assuming the creators of the movie are hoping there is a sequel.  Sinestro will then play a key role, and with the leads being Mark Strong and Ryan Reynolds...  that film could be incredible.  Hopefully there will a second movie, and Sinestro

The final drawback to this movie is the soundtrack.  Very weak, in my opinion.  It certainly doesn't stand out, and in many ways, the soundtrack shouldn't stand out... but it should provide the empty space in which the movie can be accentuated...  If you haven't seen the movie Tron Legacy... you ought to.  This movie and the soundtrack meshed perfectly.  While it didn't get very good reviews from the mainstream critics, it was entertaining film.  My point in bringing it up is that the soundtrack really made the movie what it was.  It really enhanced the movie.  It drew you into the action sequences, it moved the 'slower' scenes, etc., it created the feeling that you were part of the movie, in a sense.  In contrast, the soundtrack to Green Lantern was completely unremarkable.  It did nothing for the movie...  If anything, it hurt the movie.  I only noticed

All in all, me being a Green Lantern fan, I would love to see a lot of people go check out the film.   It's a good enough story and is a really good introduction to who and what a Green Lantern is.  Ryan Reynolds is a fun actor to watch.  Quick witted and has really good timing...  He is perfectly cast as Hal Jordan.  Sarsgaard does an amazing job as Hector Hammond.  All in all, it's a fun, entertaining summer flick.  One that I would definitely recommend checking out.  (If only for selfish reasons, and hoping there is a sequel that has the potential of being a very, very good Green Lantern movie).

Star Wars and Footprints

This is absolutely terrific...

Found this great bit of humor from Mockingbird blog:

He's Drinking for Two Now

A little Irish tale...

Mike walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip out of each in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.

The bartender asks him, "You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it; it would taste better if you bought one at a time."

Mike replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in America, the other in Australia, and I'm here in Dublin. When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days when we drank together."

Mike becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way: He orders three pints and drinks them in turn.

One day, he comes in and orders only two pints. All the other regulars notice and fall silent.

When Mike comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, "Please let me offer my condolences on your great loss.

Mike looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eye and he laughs. "Oh, no," he says, "everyone's fine. I've just quit drinking."

Joel Osteen and Ham Sandwiches

Good ole Joel Osteen. Now I know he's preaching a false gospel. This video recently went fairly viral.





This video reminds me of a joke I once heard... Enjoy!

A priest and a rabbi are sitting next to each other on an airplane. After a while the priest turns to the rabbi and asks, "Is it still a requirement of your faith that you not eat pork?"

The rabbi responds, "Yes, that is still one of our beliefs."

The priest then asks, "Have you ever eaten pork?"

To which the rabbi replies, "Yes, on one occasion I did succumb To temptation and tasted a ham sandwich."

The priest nodded in understanding and went on with his reading. A while later, the rabbi spoke up and asked the priest, "Father, is it still a requirement of your church that you remain celibate?"

The priest replied, "Yes, that is still very much a part of our faith."

The rabbi then asked him, "Father, have you ever fallen to the temptations of the flesh?"

The priest replied, "Yes, rabbi, on one occasion I was weak and broke with my faith."

The rabbi nodded understandingly. He was silent for about five minutes, and then he said,

"Beats the hell out of a ham sandwich, doesn't it?"

In honor of Joel Osteen, I say we come up with a Pig and Shellfish Day! Eat up and be free! I love me some bacon and shrimp! Yum!

U2 from the Rose Bowl...

I have seen U2 on three tours. This show was incredible. I was able to see them on this tour in Raleigh and Atlanta. I have purchased the DVD of the Rose Bowl show. The following clip from that show is an example of why U2 is the BEST concert you will ever see.... Enjoy.

Undercover Jewel Karaoke

Thanks to my friend, Adam... He posted this at his blog.

Undercover Karaoke with Jewel from Jewel

Jewel is even cooler than before... Wonderful singer/ songwriter... seems to be a really cool person...