Dog Days of Summer

I was very busy yesterday and hence, the lateness of this blog. The week in review....

HOT, HOT, HOT
Someone mentioned in class a few weeks ago about global warming and how short our winters have been. I guffawed. It is always hot in summer. Always has been. Always will be. I pointed out that this year it snowed for Thanksgiving and Easter this year. How is that a short winter? People laughed, but I don't know if they get my point. People are very short-sighted when it comes to political issues like global warming, just popping off stuff without really thinking about it. The summers are not getting hotter; last year we cracked 90 only once that I can remember. (There I go popping off, but hey, it is my blog). In fact it was one of the mildest in recent memory. The two years before that we had water advisories and drought. And on the winters, this year had a bunch of snow days, yet the one before that was relatively mild. Anyway, I'll get off my high horse now (geez it's a long way down).

Preseason NFL--- and I find that I really don't care much any more. I'm really looking forward to UK football, but the pros have left me with a feeling of...um...so what.

Last week, I had a nervous breakdown, owing to the lack of insurance, however, my wife gave me great encouragement and I really feel the blessings God has granted us with. He's taken care of us in the past, and there is no reason to believe that he won't in the future. It may not take the form we would like, but we must have faith that things will turn out as they should.

Saw a few still shots of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, for the upcoming Marvel Comics movie Iron Man and I am really excited. In my opinion, the more superhero movies the better. I really can't wait till they show a Captain America movie. The old ones were fun but very low budget and I would be very interested in a modern retelling.

Yesterday I took Evan (Ellice's youngest brother) to take his driving test and he passed. It was close but he did it. Now the quest for finding a reliable used car begins...

I am instituting some new stuff to my weekly reviews. I will also be reviewing DVDs that we watched that week (DVD), books I've read that week (book), any shows that stand out (TV) and the usual films.

Flash Gordon (TV)
I've been anticipating this since I saw the commercial a few months ago on scifi channel. Or maybe it was an article on yahoo, or IMDB or something. I've been playing the "Flash" theme song recorded by Queen some 27 years ago over and over in my head in anticipation. The hour and a half premier was Friday night. Now coming in as a replacement for Stargate SG-1 is no small task so there will be a ton of pressure on the fledgeling show, but I think it may have a chance. Now when you see it, try not to think of the 1980s movie with 80s hair, bright colors and iconic Max Von Sydow as Ming (which I loved by the way). This rendition harkens to the old 1930s serial days, the 50s TV series and the comic. And most importantly it is fun. I'll be eager to see if this show lives up to its potential as the actors still need time to grow into their roles. As for the pilot, it was a nice adventure with a ton of potential, and bears watching. **1/2

Stardust
To borrow a phrase from other reviews, "Simply magical." This charming adventure feels like a Grim's fairy tale come to life. This movie on a deeper level is about thresholds. When you breach the Wall between England and Stormhold, you are not only bridging the gap between the ordinary world and a magical one, but also the boundary between mediocrity and significance, adolescence and adulthood and all of those wonderful metaphors. But most of all, the film is a joy to watch. The performances as you would expect from such a cast are magnificent and the plot is a graceful arc. The graphics are, as usual these days, extraordinary. From the previews you get the feeling that the 'Star' (Claire Danes) is a flat character, but she most definitely is not: this is a welcome surprise. I might go watch this one again in theaters. ****

Daredevil (DVD)
I've heard some bad things about this movie, from movie critics and friends, but I love it. I've seen it maybe four times or more. I was excited to hear they may make a sequel, but I was sad to see that those rumors were four years old, and Ben Affleck refuses to reprise the role, saying it was a source of humiliation. Go figure, I thought the movie was great. The soundtrack was killer, the visuals were extremely appropriate; I got a real feel of Hell's Kitchen. Unfortunately, no plans are in the works for a sequel. ***1/2

Chronicles of Amber: The Sign of the Unicorn (Book) by Roger Zelazny
This review is book 3 in the middle of a series. This series chronicles the tales of the fantastical Court of Amber.

One of Corwin's brothers is dead, and he wants to find out what happened, without the blame falling on himself. I found the book interesting but heavy, heavy on exposition. It was all storytelling, first from Random, then Corwin. A brief rescue of Brand and...you guessed it...another story. It did however, fill in a lot of the holes left in the first two books, namely, the number of siblings and their birth order. **1/2