Goodbye Little Buddy.

Bun died around 10:00 last night, just as I was getting ready for work. He was just laying on the floor and I figured he wouldn't make it until morning. I petted him for a couple of minutes and then got ready for work. I heard a strange noise and after checking on him realized that what I heard was his last breath.

Bun came from a pet store in Rome. She Who Left In The Middle Of The Night wanted a rabbit. I wasn't enthused about it but agreed to get him. When she departed Bun stayed. He probably wouldn't have survived the trip and I didn't mind his being left behind. By then he had been growing on me.

I am not sure exactly what happened to him. He hadn't been real well for a few days but I never realized just how bad he was. His appetite dropped a little but not enough that I was concerned. I am going to miss him, but I won't be replacing him. I had decided some time ago that he would be the last pet that I would have. I buried him in a wooded area nearby. I took some pictures but the sky was overcast and they didn't turn out well. When I get better lighting I will take a few more pictures and post them here.

Rest in peace little buddy. You will be missed.

Shrek Forever After.

Tuesday I saw what is being billed as the final Shrek movie. It will probably be the last, but as Sean Connery found out, never say never. I enjoyed this more than the last one but it wasn't quite as goos as the first two. This time Shrek discovers that being a husband and dad is hard work. He wishes that he could be the ogre that he was for just one day. He is overheard by Rumplestiltskin who gives him the chance to do that. Of course Shrek doesn't read the fine print in the contract and then has to figure out how to break it. Because he signed the contract Fiona is leading a band of ogres against Rumplestiltskin, Puss has let himself go and has become a real fat cat, and donkey is as annoying as usual. The animation was as great as always and I had a good time, which is what I want when I go out. I saw it in 2D. I am not a big fan of 3D movies. IMDB rates it a 6.6, I gave it an 8.

Iron Man 2.

After I saw Iron Man I stated that it was my favorite super-hero movie. That lasted six weeks until The Dark Knight came out. Iron Man 2 is every bit as good as the original. I am not a big Iron Man comic book fan, I have read some but not much. That has not stopped me from enjoying the movies, but I did have to look a few things up to get a better understanding. The movie universe is much different from the comic book one as far as the characters go. Mickey Roarke was fun watching as Whiplash, even though I never heard him referred to by that name in the movie. The only similarities between him and the comic book version is by name, although they recently did do a story to establish him in the comic book universe. The same can be said for Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell. He is much younger and an American here. I am not complaining about the changes, just pointing them out.

I am not sure exactly why the change was made in the James Rhodes character, with Don Cheadle replacing Terrance Howard, but again it didn't effect the movie. Scarlett Johansson filled out the Black Widow role very nicely. (When do get a Black Widow movie?) Gwyneth Paltrow showed who the real power was in keeping Tony Stark in line. As far as Robert Downey, Jr, he is the perfect choice for Tony Stark. The action is what you would expect for a super-hero movie with great special effects.

The fights were good. My favorites were Mickey Roarke tearing up the race in Monaco and the Iron Man-War Machine slugfest in Tony's house. However, I did find one scene totally unbelievable. I can accept the armor, the whips that Mickey Roarke used, and the robotic soldiers that Iron Man fought. What I can't accept is the scene where Tony talks to Nick Fury. He is sitting inside a large donut on top of a donut shop. Fury calls up to him and he comes down and they have a conversation inside the shop. What I find totally unbelievable that there were no papparazzi anywhere around. Someone would have called about Iron Man in the donut and they would have been swarming the place. (grin)

As with most Marvel movies there is an added scene at the end of the movie. If you are planning on seeing it and don't want to know about it quit reading here.


Agent Colsen of S.H.I.E.L.D. had been with Tony. He leaves and tells Tony that he is going to New Mexico. At the end arrives and we see an archeological dig. As the camera pans we see Mjolner, Thor's hammer.

IMDB rates Iron Man 2 7.5. I rated it 9.

Anybody care to guess what I am doing today? I will tell you all about it Thursday because tomorrow I will tell you about Iron Man 2. My smile for today is from my inner Jack Benny. Matinees are back and it won't cost quite so much. I am getting ready to head for Dalton now. After all in addition to the movie I need my comic book fix. Someday soon I will post about the books I am currently buying. well, to steal a catch phrase, I'll see you at the movies.

Writers Block.

Last week was a bad week for my blog. Each day I started to post an entry and each day ended in failure. The words simply would not flow. It is not the first time that it has happened to me but I was puzzled by it. What I intended to post was something that should have been easily written but I just couldn't get it right. Tuesday's post was going to be a quick one detailing my plans for Tuesday night. I went to Dalton to pick up my comics and had to get to bed earlier than usual because I was going to see Iron Man 2. I tried several approaches but I wasn't happy with any of them so I quit.

Wednesday's post was going to be a review of Iron Man 2. Reviews are usually easy for me but once again I couldn't get it right. I found a picture of the poster to use, uploaded it into a blog post and started writing. After changing the opening sentence 5 times I decided to just leave it alone and write the review Thursday. To borrow a phrase from Herman's Hermits second verse, same as the first. That left Friday and of course we all know that third times a charm, right. Third verse, same as the first. It was very frustrating for me, especially coming on the heels of my little extended blogging break, which had been longer than I planned on.

Friday night at work I was pondering what was going on. One of the great things about doing my job as long as I have is I can put my body on automatic and let my mind wander. I still can get everything done that I need to. The main question to myself was, why are you not writing? I enjoy writing but lately I have found it hard to do. So what is the problem? I contemplated it for about half an hour when something happened.




I realized what the problem was. So what was it? I'll tell you about in a couple of weeks. When I post it you too will see the light.

I find a lot of my writing as therapy for me. I have mentioned before this blog has become much more personal than I ever thought it would. The post I am writing is one grand session for me. There are two reasons why I am delaying it. One is it is special for me and I don't want to rush it. I want to spend some extra time to make sure it says what I want it too. The second reason is timing and again, when you read it you will understand.

On my entry last Monday I mentioned being questioned by my manager as to whether or not a truck had arrived. I forgot to put the kicker into the story. The truck arrived five minutes after I asked about it.

Smile for today. VH1 has ran several series around the theme I Love The (fill in the decade) They go through each year and talk about the news, fads, movies, etc from each year. One of them involved the old commercial "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" This morning I took the advice of one of the comedians (I believe it was Donal Logue) and I bought them.

Sorry About That, Chief.

Is It Their Responsibility?

I enjoy reading restaurant reviews. Most of the restaurants I would never eat at, but I like reading about what they serve. Depending on the paper, some of the reviews are basically ads with no criticism involved. Others will point out all the flaws from the decor to the service. One writer who I like is John Kessler, who writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is no longer the restaurant reviewer, but now a food columnist. The other day he did a point/counter-point with a doctor who had written to him. You can read it here. The doctors contention is that the reviewer should be covering the menu from a health perspective, telling calorie counts and nutrition information about what is served. Kessler's counter to that is it is not the reviewers job to do that.

I side with Kessler on this. Last week I mentioned KFC's Double Down sandwich and how it is the purchasers responsibility for what they consume. The same goes for restaurant reviews. If you are concerned about nutrition it is your place to ask at the restaurant. The reviewer's job is to let you know what to expect, painting a broad picture of the establishment. If it peaks your interest and you want to know specifics, then place a call and find out. Putting all that into a review would make the review very boring.

I understand where the doctor is coming from, but once again it seems like he is advocating personal responsibility being placed in someone elses hands. I don't need someone else telling me what I should and should not do. I don't always make the responsible choice, but I live with the consequences of my actions. No one else is to blame. I don't want the responsibility for anyone else.

My smile for the day came from work on Friday night. The frozen foods and dairy truck was four hours late. I went to one of the managers and asked if they knew when the truck would arrive. I was asked, "Are you sure it's not here yet?" That is now the second stupidest thing that I have ever heard a manager say.