Injury Loves Company

Or is that misery?

Anywho, the week started with softball last Friday, where silly me agreed to play outfield for the men's team. I play a pretty fair pitcher and first baseman, but it ends there. Outfield is not my thang, as was evidenced when I attempted a hard throw into the infield and pulled/tore my groin muscle. (Don't know which yet, and won't know for some time). I sat out the rest of that game and iced the area in the time before the next two games (coed this time). Feeling somewhat better, I attempted to pitch, but the first batter hit it straight to me, an easily fielded ball that I could not bend over to get. Thus aggravating the injury I was done for the day, relegated to base coach for the evening.

So, armed with a pronounced limp and an inability to roll over, stand or sit without serious pain, I had friends over Saturday and King's Island on Sunday. Despite the injury, I hobbled around the park and had a good time, even with the Vortex being closed. The ensuing week involved a lot of school and Ellice's friend Melissa (a commenter on this blog) from Chicago coming down for the week. Unfortunately, I'm probably not as sociable as normal; thankfully she seems to understand. As you all know, I'm quite the socialite under normal circumstances (ahem).

Over the course of the week, my leg (and adjacent areas) have produced pronounced bruising and the pain and soreness has spread, so yesterday we went to the Instant Care Center, where the doc said crutches and physical therapy. Apparently, I've been pushing too hard by limping around, not giving anything a chance to heal. It's going to be a while until I'm fully mobile again, and longer until I'm 100%. God's way of saying, "Slow down" I suppose.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army
I enjoyed the first one quite a bit, and this one was fun too. The acting is the only downside, feeling stilted and forced, sometimes painfully. I guess it is hard to act in those costumes and all the cgi sets. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. The plot, action and visuals make up for a lot here. For sheer entertainment value, I'll give this one a fairly solid nod ***.

Dark Knight
Awful, truly awful. Awfully....GREAT!
This movie was an absolute tour de force, the best movie of the year, and one of the best of the decade. This one is up there with Braveheart, Gladiator, LotR, Star Wars and the like in my book. Not for the squeamish nor the timid. Everything about this movie is intense, including the graphic depiction of evil. The images in this film are very disturbing, the characterizations moreso. Extremely violent. The portrayals of all three main characters are so well done that those who usually pass on violent films may want to take a look at this film.

The story revolves around a battle between Batman and the Joker for Gotham's soul. Key to this iconic struggle, good doesn't always win; both the Joker and Batman claim victories in this one which I've always argued makes for a much deeper story. Nolan's Batman series has been a gritty realistic representation of how a real-life Batman might be, and I love it. Movies like this one don't come around all that often, and it is very sad that we won't get to see Ledger's masterpiece Joker ever again. This movie is going to break some box office records. ****