Finished the book "Natural Wonders of the World" It was an older book, written in the 80's - but how dated can a book about natural wonders be? I mean, does the Grand Canyon or the Great Western Erg in Algeria fall off a list like that? The book was published by Reader's Digest and was full of great color photos of hundreds of the most dramatic natural areas on the planet. It was a bit low on detail as each entry only contained two or three paragraphs, but as a survey course in breath-taking geography, it did a great job. It is a great book to learn about the geography of the planet from a non-US-centric point of view as it gives equal weight to little known - but none-less awesome natural areas outside of the United States.
- posted by Chris @ 8:54 PM

 
Hey gang.... had a pretty darn good weekend....

Saturday, Pennie and I went over to Mari & Chris' place to play Magic (yes, the geeky card game - hey, we enjoy it) It was a good outing as they are always great hosts. It was a fun break from the monotony of working all the time and always great to hang out with my baby.

Sunday, I watched the Cowboys play the Jets and yes, they won - but I still don't like Quincy Carter. After that, Pennie came over and we went out for ice cream at the Stone Cold Creamery in the Rice Village and then listed to a live band at the Baker St. Pub. Overall, it was a pretty fun evening as it was a nice cool night with a slight breeze. A beautiful girl, a cool night, some decent music... its pretty much as good as it gets. Oh yeah - and by the way - IT WAS ALL FREE!! Heheh, here he goes again... dropping lines about the Mystery Shopping he does... what can I say? I love it - FREE food - FREE outings - tons of fun... oh yeah AND I get paid. Click here to find out how!
- posted by Chris @ 10:13 PM

 
RANT TIME!

You want to know why the Muslims won't win in their quest to destroy the rest of us? According to Islam, humans are not supposed to associate with dogs. In the Koran they are given the same status as a pig and are only to be used for labor. In fact, if a muslim has to work with a dog, he must wear special clothes and bathe thoroughly afterwards. Any religion that says association with dogs is bad... is EVIL!!!

Don't get me wrong, I am all for freedom of religion - but to put down man's best friend like this is just wrong. Dogs have done more for the betterment of mankind than the Koran has.

Sorry, my friends the dogs can't blog so I felt I needed to defend them.

DOG POWER!!

Who would you rather hug?



- posted by Chris @ 2:23 PM

 
Ahh - busy busy busy. Just a quick break to blog. I filmed Scott Allen at Reliant Center yesterday. He was one of the speakers at the Networking at the Next Level seminar being put on by Freedom Builders - Texas. If you are at all interested in building your network of contacts and friends (and if you have any desires for advancement at all - you should be) you need to check out Freedom Builders. It is a great networking organization that isn't the usual bunch of folks sitting around pitching their wares and fighting to get a business card into your hand. They are a giving-centered organization that believes in order to achieve you must be willing to help others. It is a great organization that will do GREAT things for you in business and in your personal life.

Scott Allen is a speaker who specializes in how to network online. There are some amazing networking tools available online and Scott has carved out a niche as the leader in effective online networking. Heck, its how I met him!

Right after that, I met up with Pennie and we skee-daddled over to a meeting to discuss the upcoming Power Pedal 2003 at which we are having a USANA booth. It should be great fun and a TON of work. We are going to have 3-time Olympian Ruben Gonzalez with us as he is one of our newest USANA members and he has generously agreed to bring THE OLYMPIC TORCH to the event and allow people to be photographed with it. He is going to do great in his new life as a motivational speaker and in his role as a USANA superstar!
- posted by Chris @ 4:45 PM

 


Here you go - a new feature for the blog. A book review. As you can see, like the tickets when I do a movie review, I have a books logo for doing a book review. Do not expect to see NY Time bestselling fiction here. Do expect to see what I am currently reading. I tend to read about ten to twelve books at a time (counting the books on CD while driving) and I will only post here when I finish one. I will give a brief synopsis of the book - what I thought about the content and eventually some sort of rating system. You do not have to worry about spoilers as the books I tend to read lean more toward information than intricate storylines. When I do venture into fiction, I won't ruin the ending for you.

Lets start with the book I just finished. "The Mind: The Official Companion Volume to the Landmark PBS Television Series" by Richard M. Restak, M.D. (You may remember him from another title, "Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential" or the New York Times Bestseller, "The Brain.")

It was chock full of good information. The mind has always fascinated me (I minored in Psychology in college) and as such, I have always enjoyed learning more about how people think and why they do the things they do. (It doesn't hurt to know these things in business either) At times the book reads like a textbook with page after page of dry test results and data, but for the most part the book was entertaining as it informed. It is much more heady than the PBS series and is a great next step if you saw the series and want to know more. There is really nothing new or earthshattering in the book as it published in 1988, but still a good read.


- posted by Chris @ 11:03 AM

 

Today, I watched the movie Confidence. It is one that I have been wanting to see for quite some time. It didn't really do much at the box office, but I think it was because the there were a bunch of blockbusters out at that time. Aside from the occasional jumpy cut for the sake of being fast-paced, it was a pretty good story. The dialogue ranged from really entertaining and sharp to silly and uninspired. Overall, I really enjoyed the movie and would recommend it. Edward Burns did a fine job as Jake Vig. The names were a bit silly Jake Vig, Lilly Finn - but a good film. Oh yeah, Dustin Hoffman was great as "the King."




RATING 6 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 9:07 PM

 
We had a great USANA meeting last night. We talked about the upcoming Power Pedal where we will be having a USANA booth. Ruben Gonzalez is going to be there and bring the OLYMPIC TORCH!! It should be a great event for spreading information about our USANA businesses and for seeing some world class cycling.
- posted by Chris @ 4:46 PM

 
Things have been extremely busy as usual. We have some great stuff going on in USANA and I am really looking forward to tonight's Health & Freedom meeting. 3-time Olympian Ruben Gonzalez will be in attendance tonight as we work on building his organization. I may have mentioned before that Ruben is a motivational keynote speaker now as the Salt Lake Olympics was his last of three. He is a great speaker that is sure to go far with his straight-shooting and inspirational message.

Well Hurricane Isabel is battering the East Coast right now - hopefully Julie (my sister) and her family are weathering it well. (pun intended) According to The Weather Channel, the brunt of it is just now hitting.

We are into the playoffs in the BigDog Basketball League. It is our fourth season and the matchups as we start the second round are sure to create some exciting games. The BBL is an online simulation league. Participants (GM's) submit lineups, make trades, spend team money (fake) and generally do what they can to create a strong franchise. A computer game - Fast Break Basketball is used to simulate the games and the results are posted to the BBL website. It is great fun and the BBL has been voted as the BEST DAMN SIM LEAGUE PERIOD!

- posted by Chris @ 10:20 AM

 
Oh yeah - did I mention?

Quincy Carter SUCKS!!! He is the lamest excuse for a professional quarterback I have ever seen!

Go Cowboys! Billy Cundiff is the SHIZNITTY!!!!
And that was NOT a 'coming out' game by Quincy. They won - but it was despite his terrible play. Sure he had 300 yards, but any scrub can get 300 if he throws for three and half quarters. Look at his QB rating from the game - 77 - OUCH! Cundiff saved QC and now it just puts off replacing him. Overall, the win was good, but it is bad news because morons like Madden rail on about how good Carter is...
- posted by Chris @ 10:59 PM

 
Hey gang, I am starting the BigDog Radio Station back up again. I will be doing a show most nights at 9:30 pm CST. Tune in and listen - it will be a strange mix of talk show, movie review, daily wrapup and general mayhem. Sometimes, I will probably not make it on, but I will try to teach Brian how to put something on that lets people know we are not live.

The link is... HERE

I hope it will stay the same, it should be fine... and I will put it on my home page when I have everything working good.
- posted by Chris @ 5:54 PM

 


Once Upon a Time In Mexico is more like Once Upon a Bad Night on the Toilet After Mexican Food... I am a big fan of Robert Rodriguez films, but he really dropped the ball on this one. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he made the Spy Kids movies, figuring he needed the cash to set himself up after struggling to make it as a director. Okay, he has his money - he can go back to making decent films any time now.

Johnny Depp was added to an already great lineup of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Cheech Marin in what is supposed to be either a sequel or prequel to Desperado, (It was hard to tell which) but even that didn't help. Rodriguez who made his mark as an indie filmmaker has gone Hollywood as he has abandoned everything that made his films great in favor of copying every Tinseltown formula out there. As you know - cable stunts are all the rage since Crouching Tiger.. and Robby puts in his share of cable stunts which do not even look that great, and do NOTHING to assist in the storytelling. Rodriguez has joined the hacks of the world that show up to collect the big payday... and I don't have a problem with that - he has the right to sell out - but be warned, his sell-out film is crapola! I only hope that Tarantino's new film staring Uma Thurman, Kill Bill isn't Hollywood garbage too - we need one good indie filmmaker out there.

Overall this ones "poop on a stick" at best... doesn't even warrant including a picture.

RATING 4 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 5:05 PM

 

Pennie and I watched Catch Me If You Can tonight...

Titanic sealed the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio was not a very good actor. Don't get me wrong, I thought Titanic was decent, but I had high hopes for him as an actor after a great performance in The Basketball Diaries, and I thought he was horrible in Titanic, and I don't even want to talk about The Beach. The only reason I wanted to see this movie was that the story intrigued me. What I realized as I was watching this, is that after this and Gangs of New York, Leo seems to have focused, and that he can act again!!! As for the movie itself, it's wonderful. It's funny, it has a fresh approach to filmmaking - well at least it seems fresh in this age of special effects and computer enhancement driven films - it's called STORY TELLING! Frank Abagnale Jr's life of crime is a good story and I think that Steven Spielberg has turned in his best directorial work in quite some time. The pacing is like an action film, as it moves flawlessly through over 100 scene and wardrobe changes, but it is always the story that keeps you glued.This film should land as a case study in good direction at film schools. Watch the scene in the hotel hallway where he picks up Jennifer Garner as a former Seventeen cover model. Not the conversation - before that... the shot when he walks to his room. Good stuff - all you reel students.

It is also in the three leading performances, that the film is such a joy to watch. Leonardo DiCaprio very much suits the role of the conman Frank Abagnale and delivers a better performance than he does in Gangs of New York. Christopher Walken is also superbly witty as Abagnale's father - stealing every scene he comes near, and as FBI agent Hanratty, Tom Hanks is as brilliant as ever. This one is definitely worth the watching.
RATING 7 out of 10

LEONARDO DICAPRIO (left), who stars as Frank W. Abagnale, meets with the real FRANK W. ABAGNALE on the set

- posted by Chris @ 12:29 AM

 
I have to apologize to all the USANA folks tuning in to see what is going on at the Salt Lake convention - because I am not there! Yeah, at the 11th hour, as I was packing for the flight, a client called with a project that I couldn't turn down. We will have to all rely on Gail, Bill and Orval to bring back the information.
- posted by Chris @ 8:53 AM

 
Just a quick post to do some updates since I have been sorta lax lately. This pic is from the Alkek Velodrome about a week ago. Pennie and I went to watch the cycling. It was a pretty light turnout so it wasn't terribly exciting.... that is of course unless you count the large dark cloud looming in the background that inched closer until the rain started and the event was cancelled. I figured I would take the picture of Pennie with a huge dark cloud hanging over her head - you never know when it might come in handy. :)



Just this last Sunday, I went to visit Tom (my brother) in the pen. (I can just hear the gasps already - wow, he has a brother in prison!) Yes, Tom is one of my older brothers and he has made a few bad choices in his life - a couple of which were driving while intoxicated and blowing off his probation officer meetings. He is really a good guy and while he wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose, I do agree with the policy of cracking down hard on DWI's as they are a danger to innocent people. In any event, Pennie rode with me to Navasota to see Tom (the first time I have ever been to a prison - scary stuff!) but she had to wait outside of the place because she wasn't on the visitation list. After being thoroughly scared stiff by the guards warning that if I am taken hostage, I will not be coming out alive (not sure why it is important to tell people that), I got in to see him. Tom has a bad back so he got himself placed in what amounts to an old-folks home for prisoners - pretty smart move as it is not like the 'gladiator farms' where the young guys are kept. Overall, he seemed in really good spirits and once I got over the paranoia of the guards with the M-16s, it was not that bad. These prisoners are in wheelchairs and moving too slow to take me hostage. Tom was one of the few that really didn't look like he belonged there physically.

This is as close as they would let me get with the camera...

Anyway, pretty exciting stuff...

Well, tomorrow I leave for a week in Salt Lake City for the USANA International Convention. It is going to be non-stop activity as I put the schedule into my Palm Pilot and there is barely time to breathe. I look forward to blogging the days events if I am conscious.
- posted by Chris @ 11:45 AM

 


I watched Spike Jonze' film Adaptation with Pennie the other night and was pleasantly surprised.

Nicolas Cage did a great job playing both a neurotic veteran screenwriter and his oblivious twin brother who is just becoming one. Chris Cooper was exceptional as Laroche, the orchid thief that is the center of Meryl Streeps attention and eventually affection. The story is quirky, yet compelling. It takes a strange twisted turn in the end, but that is only to prove the point the film is succesfully attempting to make in its own convoluted way. I won't spoil the film for you by telling any of the twist and turns, but I will say that there is one impressive scene when Laroche is relaying a story to Streep's character over the phone - it was a great piece of filmmaking. Overall, the film was well worth the watching and if you like following twisting storyline that jump all over in time - this is a great piece for you.
RATING 7 out of 10

PS You probably knew that Nicolas is nephew to Francis Ford Coppola, but did you know that director, Spike Jonze is husband to Coppola's daughter, Sophia Coppola
Did you know that Jonze was the director for the "Buddy Holly" video by Weezer?
Well, how about the fact that he is heir to the Spiegel mail-order catalog fortune?
If you get a chance to check out Fatboy Slim's video "Praise You" you will see Spike in all his glory. Jonze is one of my favorite rising stars.
Oh yeah - and he acts, that's him on the far right in Three Kings.



- posted by Chris @ 10:20 PM

 

Pennie and I went to eat at the Texas Roadhouse tonight and you know what? It was DAMN GOOD! Yeah! I had a ribeye and she had a mushroom-covered chicken meal and we were both impressed. The steak was one of the best I have had in a long time and trust me - I know a good steak. The Capital Grille steak was better, but that meal also cost $150 !!! This one was nearly as good and we spent only $25 for both meals!! So, I guess at the end of the day, the question is... would I take one dinner for two at the Capital Grille or SIX dinners for two at the Texas Roadhouse... pack up the young'uns honey - we goin' to the roadhouse! :) Don't get me wrong - the CG is an AWESOME night out and if you want to do the town right - I mean go all out and dress to the nines - the whole bit... CG is THE spot!


- posted by Chris @ 10:13 PM