Failure to Launch, and who are those guys?

We watched Failure to Launch and really enjoyed it. It's a better-than-average romantic comedy with a likable cast.



And the movie has its share of hotties. Matthew McConaughey, Bradley Cooper, and Justin Bartha are all easy on the eyes.

 

Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and who was that guy?

Ric and I have been enjoying Law & Order: Criminal Intent, watching seasons one through four via NetFlix and XBox Live. We are now on season five and watching an episode called Vacancy. And lo and behold, who is this actor named Desmond Harrington? He's been in Dragnet, Rescue Me and Dexter.

In this episode, he's playing a serial killer who is seriously disturbed. Still, how shallow am I that I'm focused more on the fact that the guy is a total cutie?

Star Wars Facebook

I stumbled across this today and I'm still laughing. So wrong. Thanks to Brian Murphy and CollegeHumor.com.

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Ricky Nelson? Seriously?

Ever read something that really catches you by surprise? I did. Today, in fact.

Eric Hilliard “Ricky” Nelson, later known as Rick Nelson (May 8, 1940 –December 31, 1985), was an American singer, musician, and Golden Globe-nominated actor. With more than 50 Hot 100 hits, Nelson was second only to Elvis Presley as the most popular rock and roll artist of the 1950s and 1960s.

I knew Ricky Nelson was successful, but I didn't know he was that popular in the 50's and 60's.

And you thought YOUR family was tough at Thanksgiving...

Courtesy of Back to San Diego

Happy Thanksgiving: OCD-Style
I'm not one to gossip, but I received this letter from a friend. She got it from her coworker, whose sister wrote it! (Seriously.)

Apparently, it takes a village to build a Thanksgiving feast...and as we know, every village needs a village leader (or village idiot, as the case may be).

I changed none of the wording except for the names (so they can't sue me when they read this).

Happy Thanksgiving!

---

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don't feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don't care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel - please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

This totally cracks me up. Can you imagine the tension at that house when someone brought the wrong thing?!

Thanksgiving. Thankful.

For all the great planning that has gone into our holidays, sometimes the best days are the ones that just happen. Years ago, it was a simple Christmas dinner with our friends, Brooks and Elizabeth. And now I have another to add to that list.

Ric and I opted to not have a formal dinner this year. Instead, we decided on a casual, "bring something to toss on grill" sort of meal. And it could not have been better. We still managed to have the Thanksgiving basics - turkey, pumpkin pie, yams, etc - but it wasn't the big dinner to-do that we have had in the past

This year, friends were the centerpiece. And it was a great reminder of the reason to give thanks. Ric and I have a wonderful life, our basic needs of food and shelter are always met, and we are surrounded by the love of dear friends. Those are the reasons I am grateful year after year.

Surprise

An unexpected lunch with my husband.

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

Thanks to my friend, Ski, for letting me know about this little bit of fantastic. Turn it up loud, select the HD option, and enjoy.

People Are Stupid.

 

Hard at work

Because the backyard doesn't take care of itself.

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Chaos Theory

Yeah, so it wasn't a great movie. But it wasn't bad. And of course, anything with Ryan Reynolds and Stuart Townsend is at least going to be easy on the eyes.

Here's the guys in the movie...



and here they are just looking pretty.

 

Writing? No. Relaxing? Yes.

I know, I know. I'm supposed to be writing my book, not playing around on my blog. So what? I've had a long busy week and right now, I don't want to think. I don't want to plan. I don't want to do anything except relax and enjoy the lazy afternoon.

First up? A movie in the home theater. I'm going to watch Chaos Theory. I don't know anything about it but I'm hoping it's worth the time.

Kellan Lutz - New Moon, indeed.

Damn. Not sure how I missed this picture, but I'm making up for it by posting it all by itself.

New Moon, Part Deux.

While the rest of the country debates the artistic merits of New Moon, I am focusing instead on what really is important about the film. Yes, it's all about the pretty boys and handsome hunks.

Of course, there's Robert Pattinson, shown here with an odd set of splotches on the photograph.



And there's Taylor Lautner, the jail bait turned super hottie.



But wait, there's more. There is the adorable Cam Gigandet.



And there's Kellan Lutz.



And of course, the Wolf Pack. For reasons I still don't understand, these guys spend most of the movie running around wearing only short pants.



And there you have it. Ignore everything else about the movie, just watch the hot guys, and you'll get through the two hours just fine. Oh, and to my straight guy friends, I say avoid this film at all costs. There's nothing here for you.

Stupid bacon.

I decided to cook breakfast this morning. Well, not really. I just wanted to cook bacon in the microwave. According to this, you should be able to cook crunchy, crispy bacon using the microwave, a plate and paper towels.

They lied. All I got was squishy, half-cooked bacon. So I quit. I walked out of the kitchen, leaving the whole thing to Ric to fix. When last I looked, he was prepping the fry pan. All is about to be right again in the world.

123 Days, 21 Hours, 22 Minutes

Some of you may know, some may not, but I made a big change in my life one hundred twenty-three days, twenty-one hours, twenty-two minutes ago. I decided I had wasted enough time doing something that just left me feeling unhappy and miserable. And quitting wasn’t easy. I tried to quit before, you know, but never really had much luck. I would be okay for a while, and then old habits would have me right back where I was.

It’s tough to make such a big change in my life. And it isn’t something that I can do without telling my friends. I mean, everyone is going to notice eventually, right? So, here it is, the big announcement. Prepare to be shocked.

More than four months ago I decided enough was enough, I needed to get my act together, and I had to leave behind my self-destructive behavior. Yep, it’s true… I quit biting my nails. How cool is that? As you can imagine, I’m feeling pretty proud of myself. No longer do I have to worry that someone is staring at my fingernails and wondering if I was attacked by rabid badger. My nails look great, my hands look better, and I feel a sense of accomplishment for successfully modifying my behavior. Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Oh, and I quit drinking alcohol last July 19th, too. Guess it was a big day for me all the way around.

Bad pun, coming up.

Funniest new word for H1N1 virus? Hamthrax.

New Moon, Blue Moon

Saw New Moon. Free. Thursday night. Before the midnight first showing. Thank you, Best Buy Silver Rewards.

The sound was terrible. Like a small plane was buzzing the theater... the entire movie. Walked away with a free pass to see another movie. Thank you, AMC Mission Valley.

The movie? Meh. Two long hours of celibate angst, shirtless tan hunks, and a so-pale-he's-see-through Edward and a slow shot of his pelvic bones. Hot? In a broody cut myself to feel something sort of way. But he and Bella haven't been happy in four hours of movies. Why are they together?

Slow moving story with cut-out characters and run-of-the-mill actors. Skip this at the theater and rent it when you're already in a mood.

Test email to blog

So, did it work?

Unrelenting Venting

I worry.

I worry that if I'm silent, my friends will be concerned at my change in behavior.

I worry that if I act like everything is fine, my friends will see through me.

I worry that if I talk about what is bothering me, my friends will feel responsible for helping me.

I worry that if I don't talk about what is bothering me, I'll miss out on good advice and much needed perspective.

I worry that if don't deal with the little things, they will seem to grow to big things and overwhelm me.

I worry that venting like this in an electronic fashion obligates my friends to respond.

I worry that such obligations quickly breed resentment and disapproval.

I worry that all this worrying is bad for me.

There and Back Again

I'm testing out the WordPress/Facebook link, which is supposed to allow me to post something here at Facebook and have it appear on my blog.

Let's see if it works.

That Kind of Guy.

Yep, I'm ready to link this blog to my Facebook account. I realize that doing so means every post will show up there, but so be it. I mean, what's the point of a blogging if I don't encourage people to read what I write?

So, welcome to That Kind of Guy.

New Right-Wing Craze Prays that Obama's "Days Be Few"

The newest far-right craze is an anti-Obama slogan that is making its way onto t-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, and even teddy bears: “Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8,” which reads, “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” The meme is also taking off on Twitter, with conservatives calling it “hilarious.” Commentators have noted that it’s unclear whether the intent is to hope for an end to Obama’s time in office — or an end to his life. But a look at the lines in the rest of the psalm hint at the latter:

Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
Let the extortioner catch all that he hath; and let the strangers spoil his labor.
Let there be none to extend mercy unto him: neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the LORD; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be before the LORD continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Diana Butler Bass at Beliefnet explains that Psalm 109 is one of the “imprecatory” prayers, “a lament in the form of petition to destroy one’s enemies.” While perhaps intended to be a joke, she notes that the psalm actually “entreats God to destroy the president”:

It is the personal prayer of an individual, someone who has been dealt an injustice by another–and usually more powerful–person. The words of Psalm 109 are those of deep agony, the longings of a victim for retribution and justice. This psalm is considered one of the most difficult of all the psalms–full of violent images of vengeance and death.

Quite a few of the “Pray for Obama” items are being sold at CafePress.com, although many of them have been taken off of the site (here’s a cached version of some of them). Cafe Press representative Margene H. told ThinkProgress that while the site took down some of the “Pray for Obama” items today, it is now in the process of reinstating them:

We initially pulled the Psalm 109:8 content from our products today because broader media dialog indicated that these designs potentially suggested violence towards the president. Based on current public discourse and further review of the actual content, we have determined that it is fair political commentary and we are in the process of reinstating this merchandise. As with all of our content, these designs will continue to be reviewed and if at any time their meaning is construed as advocating violence we will revisit our decision.

On Tuesday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow spoke with “Patience With God” author Frank Schaeffer, who said that while the psalm was “frightening” in a secular context, it’s even “more threatening” in a biblical context.

(This courtesy of Think Progress.)

 

And people wonder why others criticize the Right Wing and so-called Christians. It's truly shameful.

Focus, John. Focus.

Work is only getting busier. Life is getting more stressful. And the days are getting darker, earlier. And these three things are joining forces to make me crazy. And they're THISCLOSE to succeeding.

So, I need a strategy to get myself back on track. And I think I have it. It's all about focus and small steps, little victories, that keep me going.

Stay tuned. I think I might be on to something here.

What is a Veteran?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a vet just by looking.

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".


Father Denis Edward O'Brien/USMC