CCXXXIII

That's a pretty cool looking Roman numeral for 233 - the age of the United States today.

Happy 4^th of July, everyone!

Christmas 2008 style

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given..." -- Isaiah 9:6a KJV

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." -- Isaiah 7:14 KJV

In spite of all the consumerism surrounding Christmas these days, let's not forget the true reason for the season. Merry Christmas, everyone.

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As of today, I've officially entered the last six months of my thirties. Yay for me.

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So I'm sure you're all wondering what my Christmas was like, and what I did today. No? Well, I'm going to sum it up for you: Just about nothing.

I slept until about 8:00 and decided to finish off season two, disc five of Melrose Place before getting out of bed.

After a shower and breakfast, I played some Nintendo and read a few chapters of the book I was trying to finish before my brother came over at noon. We went over to visit with my younger sister and to see the house she's just moved into. We stayed for about an hour and then took off.

I went home to grab some lunch and look at the movie show times when my parents called. They were on the ship preparing for a three day mini cruise to the Bahamas, with my 91 year old grandmother and her friend. They're having fun, and my grandmother is doing relatively well for a nonagenarian. She even liked the Christmas present I sent with my parents for her.

After I ate, I read some more and got within a chapter of finishing the book before I headed out to the movies, where I saw a matinee showing of this movie, which was pretty good over all, though sad at the end. Perhaps I'll review it in detail once it hits DVD sometime in March or April, probably.

Since I had the book I was reading in my jacket pocket and only had a chapter to go, I decided to finish it in the parking lot of the movie theater, so that I could drop it in the library book slot on my way past. When I got home I called my ex to wish her, V and M a Merry Christmas and to confirm where and when I'll be picking the kiddoes up tomorrow evening.

After playing a few more games of Nintendo, I decided to sit and write this post for y'all.

As you can see, my Christmas has been a rather solitary one, unfortunately. Unlike last Christmas, which I spent in South Carolina, this has been quite a lonely day. I won't say depressing, but certainly not filled with the normal Christmas cheer. I enjoy my alone time but I tell you that it royally sucks to be single on a holiday such as this.

I hope you've had a blessed and truly Merry Christmas. God bless.

SNMR 5.28: The Nativity Story

The second SNMR feature for this weekend is "The Nativity Story"(2006, PG, 101 minutes), starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Ciaran Hinds and Alexander Siddig. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

PLOT SUMMARY: The year is 4 BC and children are being murdered in Bethlehem under the authority of King Herod. Specifically male children two years and younger, for according to the prophecy, a king will come out of Bethlehem ready to rule Israel.

Flash backwards one year to the tiny Galilean town of Nazareth, where a carpenter named Joseph has been pledged to marry a young girl named Mary. Mary has a visit from the angel Gabriel who announces that Mary, a virgin, will give birth to a son who will save his people from their sins. When Joseph learns of the pregnancy he vows to divorce her but relents when Gabriel visits him in a dream to reassure him that the child in Mary's womb is of the Holy Spirit. Several months later, Joseph must visit the town of his ancestors to register for Caesar's census. Joseph is of the house of David and must travel to the Judean city of Bethlehem more than 100 miles away.

Shortly after they arrive, Mary goes into labor. There is no suitable rooms available for them, so they set up in a grotto where Mary gives birth to a son.

MY OPINION: With movies like this, where the source material is so widely known and beloved by billions of people, variation from the central story is near to impossible. What this movie does well is flesh out the story of life in pre-first century Palestine and how difficult it must have been socially for newly betrothed Joesph and Mary, who is pregnant. They, by custom, are not supposed to start a family until after their first year of marriage. This film also does a good job of painting the historical perspective of the superstitious Herod and his uneasiness with Jewish prophecy.

One thing going for this film is that the two main leads look like they are middle eastern, unlike some other biblically-themed movies.

This is a good, solid film which won't wow you with special effects, yet will move you in subtly profound ways. It drags at times but is overall a very enjoyable 101 minutes of your life, should you choose to rent this movie.

*** out of *****

SNMR 5.27: "Scrooged"

For this week, we'll be reviewing two Christmas-y themed movies here at SNMR in the spirit of the holiday season. One movie tonight and one tomorrow night.

Therefore, tonight's first SNMR feature of the weekend is "Scrooged" (1988, PG-13, 100 minutes), starring Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carol Kane, Robert Mitchum, Alfre Woodard, John Forsythe and David Johansen. The film was directed by Richard Donner.

PLOT SUMMARY: Television executive Frank Cross (Murray) hates Christmas and everything to do with it. It's Christmas Eve and his network is performing a live version of 'A Christmas Carol'. It just so happens that Cross is visited by the ghost of his old business partner Lew (Forsythe) and three spirits, the ghosts of Christmas past (Johansen), present (Kane) and future. Through this redemptive process, Frank discovers his chance at living a meaningful life is not wasted.

MY OPINION: This offbeat take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" certainly has it's moments. Murray is excellent in the role of Scrooge. Karen Allen is very believable as his long lost love. Three actors steal the movie for me: David Johansen and Carol Kane as the ghosts of Christmas past and present. I also thought Bobcat Goldthwait was excellent in his limited scenes. The rest of the supporting cast are good as well, with a lot of cameos by other well known stars, such as '84 Olympic sweetheart Mary Lou Retton, Buddy Hackett, John Houseman and others.

It's hard for me to believe that this film was released 20 years ago. Even though it will never top more serious versions of this classic story, it's still a good rent or even to add to your DVD collection. I found my copy of this movie in the $5 DVD bin.

I would love to see this film re-released on DVD with some special features like interviews with the cast and their takes on the classic story and their roles in this version.

*** out of *****

SNMR 5.26: "Surviving Christmas"

Continuing with the month long Christmas theme, tonight's SNMR feature is "Surviving Christmas" (2004, PG-13, 91 minutes), starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate, Catherine O'Hara, Josh Zuckerman and Jennifer Morrison. The film was directed by Mike Mitchell.

PLOT SUMMARY: Rich executive Drew Latham (Affleck) doesn't like being alone at Christmas. When his girlfriend turns down an all expenses paid tropical vacation for the holiday, Drew faces the real and frightening possibility of spending Christmas alone. On the advice of a psychologist (cameo by Steven Root), Drew travels back to his childhood home to make peace with Christmas disappointments past and decides to make an offer the father of the family (Gandolfini) can't refuse, much to the chagrin of his wife (O'Hara) and daughter (Applegate). With one swift shovel-blow to the back of the head, the fun begins.

MY OPINION: For many folks, the title will win you over (or at least make you curious) as we all try to get through the holidays. I had never heard of this movie before and found it only because I was at the library scouting out anything resembling a Christmas movie to review in this column this month and for over there on BIG SCREEN. I liked this movie, even though I don't really consider it to be a Christmas movie. It's more like a movie that happens to take place at Christmas. There are spots in the film where I couldn't help but laugh [and laugh hard] and there are spots where it was all I could do not to groan and roll my eyes at the stupidity/tastelessness of it. What makes this movie better than you might think is the comedic performance of James Gandolfini. Yes, James Gandolfini. Ben Affleck has never been one of my favorite actors, but plays his hogh strung, obnoxious character very well. Does a movie like this need a sappy romantic relationship thread in the story? No. Yet we have one all the same. Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara are very funny actresses and have some good lines, given the material. I got some laughs out of this film so I say that it is a worthwhile rental-- if you can find it.

**½ out of *****

SNMR 5.25: "The Holiday"

Tonight's SNMR feature is "The Holiday" (2006, PG-13, 136 minutes), starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns and Rufus Sewell. The film was directed by Nancy Meyers.

PLOT SUMMARY: Iris (Winslet) is in love with a man (Sewell) who is about to marry another woman. Across the globe, Amanda (Diaz), realizes the man she lives with (Burns) has been unfaithful. Two women who have never met and live 6,000 miles apart, find themselves in the exact same place. They meet online at a home exchange website and impulsively switch homes for the Christmas holiday. Iris moves into Amanda's L.A. house in sunny California as Amanda arrives in the snow covered English countryside. Shortly after arriving at their destinations, both women find the last thing either wants or expects: a new romance. Amanda is charmed by Iris' handsome brother Graham (Law) and Iris, with inspiration provided by legendary screenwriter Arthur (Wallach), mends her heart when she meets film composer Miles (Black).

MY THOUGHTS: This is a totally believable, charming tale about two women who switch homes for the holidays and find romance in their new surroundings. The script is well written and has nice flow to it, though is a bit long at 2 hours 16 minutes. Winslet and Law are brilliant in their roles as brother and sister. Diaz's character is quite annoying, due to her snobbish Hollywood surroundings. I've never been a Jack Black fan and he is horribly miscast in a non-funny role. Wallach is excellent as the old guard writer of a bygone Hollywood era. Director Meyers also wrote the story and knows exactly what she wants from each scene. The making of documentary is well done. This is a good clean film.

*** out of *****

Independence Day

With the weather here in this part of the country being cool and overcast with some light rain today, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to see the fireworks with V and M tonight.

Sure it's the 232^nd birthday of the United States - that little thing we call Independence Day. And what fun would this holiday be with out fireworks? Then I decided that we should go, since the last time I watched fireworks was with V and M - in 2005 and they were really looking forward to going with me.

The fireworks in Nashua began at 21:00 at Holman Stadium. We had to park about a mile away since the main parking lot and all of the streets close to the stadium were full. It took us about 30 minutes to walk to and from the stadium, which was actually fine, since it was good exercise and it did not rain the whole evening.

The fireworks actually lasted for a full 30 minutes and were excellent. Lots of bright colors and lots of loud noise. I was worried that we wouldn't get good seats on the lawn surrounding the stadium but we actually managed to find great seats. So good in fact that the fireworks were going off literally above our heads. We managed to have some of the firework debris/ashes land on our blanket and in our hair.


The pictures here are not from the fireworks display we saw tonight but rather just some random pictures I found when I googled images of fireworks tonight for this post.

I hope you all had a wonderful 4^th of July celebration, where ever you are.

===

Today is also Aphelion, which is when the Earth is as far away from the sun as it will get this year, a distance of 94,513,190 miles.

Biggest Hallmark holiday going

Poking around the web this morning, I came across this article.

With less than a week before Valentine's Day, these kinds of articles will appear all over. A sampling of some of the over 600 comments left gave mixed reviews for the article.

Though I'm no expert, I would say that there's no set list of what to get or not get for your significant other on this "holiday". You know him/her best and what they like or don't like. I think what gifts you give or get from your partner will greatly depend on how long you've been together. You certainly aren't going to get someone you've just started dating the same thing as you would for a person you've been married to for 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50+ years.

Looks like I'll be flying solo once again this Valentine's Day. Believe it or not, I'm fine with that because I'm hopeful in the future and confident that my "valentine" is out there somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be in a relationship again. It will happen when the time is right.

Being someone's Valentine shouldn't be a one day deal, anyway. It's a 24/7/365¼ adventure that you share with your partner every day of your life together.

MMVIII

Out with the old and in with the new.

In years that is.

It's now officially 2008 in the Eastern Time Zone. The ball has dropped in New York City and Dick Clark sounds better this year than he did the last few years. How old is he? 80 something?

Many of you have brought in the New Year already, some of you have a few hours to go yet in 2007. Still I say, "Where has the time gone?"

Seems like we were hailing in 2007 only yesterday, yet it is now 2008.

I'll have more to say [look for updates in various colors] as the day progresses, but that will suffice for now, since I need to get some sleep.

Happy New Year, everyone.

[14:30] Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Well, I'd rather not let it snow again, {sigh} but since I wasn't consulted, I'll just have to deal with it. The weather gnomes are prognosticating a dusting to two inches for this area. With the way it's steadily coming down now, I'd say we're going to get more than they predicted today. The precipitation we got on Sunday night/Monday morning was less than expected and was actually a wet, heavy snow. What snow is falling now appears to be more of the dry, fluffy stuff.

I, of course, don't like snow or the cold weather so I've had my fill of both for this winter already. One snowfall per year is pretty much all I can handle, so spring can't come soon enough for me.

I don't recall the specific amount of snow the Boston area had in December, but I do know it was .2" less than the record snowfall amount, set in 1970.

I just got back from dropping off V and M in Nashua. K was supposed to go to her grandparents house today (and pick V and M up along the way) but with the weather/roads being so bad and her not feeling well necessitated a change of plans. I'll see them again on Friday night, as always.

[16:40] As it would turn out, the weather gnomes were right - the snow tapered off quickly and we only got about an inch. More wet, slushy stuff though. No fun to shovel and not enough to break out the snow thrower. Good thing I'm not a weather gnome, then.

New Year's Resolutions:

i. Adhere to my daily Bible reading program. To say that I slacked off tremendously in 2007 would be a gross understatement. Now, which translation to use...

ii. Write for at least 15 minutes every day. No matter if it's Blogger, or in a notebook, or elsewhere on the computer, write whatever comes to mind. I found a years worth of daily writing prompts from 2001 that I halfheartedly worked on seven years ago, so I'll work on those. That novel I want to write just isn't going to evolve onto the paper with out thought and effort on my part..

iii. Aside from i. above; set aside time to read something else every day. The Sports page in the Boston Globe doesn't count (though I will read that, too!). Before bed is probably the time I will do this.

iv. Be less obsessed about surfing the Internet. Wow, this one's going to be hard. It'll be like quitting smoking, I think. Lord knows I've got other stuff that I can do instead. Heck, maybe I'll even go to bed earlier...

v. Get my financial self in order. An uphill battle to be sure but one that can be accomplished, with effort and a lot of discipline.

I was going to add that I should resolve to lose weight and quit smoking, but since I don't need to do either of those things, I won't worry about them.

[22:44] And finally, two bad jokes to begin the new year...

Su Wong marries Lee Wong. The next year, the Wongs have a new baby. The nurse brings over a lovely, healthy, bouncy, baby boy

But definitely a Caucasian, WHITE baby boy. "Congratulations," says the nurse to the new parents. "Well Mr. Wong, what will you and Mrs. Wong name the baby?"

The puzzled father looks at his new baby boy and says,

"Well, two Wong's don't make a white, so I think we will name him..."


Are you ready for this???




Are you sure you are ready??



Well.... here it comes...




"Sum Ting Wong!!!"

and

What's Irish and stays outside all of the time?











(In your best Irish brogue:) Patty O'Furniture

Holiday vacation for SNMR

Yes, I'm taking another break from this column for the holidays. I'll have another review for you this Saturday, January 5^th.

Promise.

Merry Christmas

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family, friends or whomever you were with today.

Back to business as usual tomorrow.

CCXXXI

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat." --Theodore Roosevelt, 1910

Have a happy and safe 4th of July, everyone!

Father's Day

Father's Day is really no big deal to me, even though this is my 10th year as a dad. It's one of those "holidays" that I could just do without. I don't quite know why I'm so ambivalent about this day, but I am. Being a dad is one of the greatest gifts and responsibilities a man can have. I'm thankful to be a father and have two wonderful kids, of whom I would not trade a day to be without.

I'm also thankful for my dad, even though I don't always show it.

My parents took us to the Rainforest Cafe yesterday for Father's Day. My kids got me some movie passes, M gave me a booklet that he made in school this year - one page of printing samples for each month of the school year and V made me a hand drawn card that she made in school too. I think those handmade gifts are better than anything you could buy at a store, because they are made with love.