Well, Sunday was a recovery day after an all-day drench-fest at the Renassaince Festival. We had a great time though and I will put up some pics when I get a chance. Anyway, sitting around after the Cowboys lost (thanks Quincy) we watched the Joe Schmo marathon for a few episodes on SpikeTV. The former TNN changed its name once again - this time going for the "TV for Men" image.

Here is the synopsis of the Joe Schmo Show:

"Meet Matt Gould (a.k.a. Joe Schmo). Among the freaks and crazies competing in Joe Schmo’s staged reality show Lap of Luxury, Matt is the only, genuine player. The rest are fakes! A $100,000 grand prize is up for grabs. But can Matt win the swag without it costing him his mind?"

Swag? Do the folks at Spike TV even know what that is? Apparently not. (Stolen Without A Gun.)

In any event, at first the show is pretty hilarious when they cut back to the other guests at the mansion as they plan what outrageous situations they are going to put our unsuspecting Truman Show copycat. I have a theory though that I want to put out before the final 'reveal' this Tuesday night.

My theory is that either Joe Schmo (Matt) is in on the whole gag with the producers and it is in fact a big joke on the other actors who think Schmo is the dupe... OR perhaps everyone is in on the thing together and the audience will be made to be the dupe as we all fall for this preposterous notion that Schmo's kind-heartedness and emotional swings are real. Bottom line is that I think that Schmo is in on the whole gig.... I will tune in Tuesday to seee, so I guess the whole thing worked on me - haha.

Oh yeah, the game Sunday doesn't warrant much column space at all as I thought our defense did a good job, but our offense did not deliver. I see that Quincy Carter was exposed for the Tuna-snow-job that he is... even Parcells couldn't hide the fact that he was outclassed, outperformed and outtalented by the Buccaneers Sunday. Here is Quincy's rating...

RATING 3 dunce caps
mostly stupid all day
- posted by Chris @ 9:39 AM

 

RenFest!! It is that time of year again! It was again a really fun day. Our goal this time was to stay from the opening of the gate to the closing fireworks...

It all started innocently enough...



Here we are having our @sses inspected by one of the friendly wenches. It was determined that Chris (right) had 'no ass', Dave (middle) had was a 'tight ass' and I (left) was a 'smart ass.'

We then travelled to the rose garden...



Where I took this picture of some beautiful flowers.

And then the skies opened up and it proceeded to dump torrents of rain on us for the next several hours...



Jennifer and Pennie were determined to have fun no matter what.

After the rain let up a bit...



The KAI folks decided that a group wish was in order at the Cursing Pool... I'm not telling what the curse was...

Here us Dave panchoed up standing by the raging river that was dry earlier in the day...



After everyone else packed it in... we played a few hands of Magic waiting for the fireworks...



... which never came. We stayed until they shoved us out... another great adventure comes to a soggy conclusion.

Overall, it was a great day - great times - great friends - great weather... oh well, two out of three ain't bad!




- posted by Chris @ 9:31 PM

 

Pennie and I went to see Runaway Jury last week (I think) - time is just flying by right now as there is so much going on. It's odd - when there is a ton going on - the blog has nothing much to read, when I am a little more relaxed, there is much more ... kinda the opposite for folks reading, but oh well.

Anyway, Runaway Jury, based on the novel by John Grisham delivered as promised. While it was fomulaic, (as his books tend to be - with the exception of "A Painted House," which I think is his best and a must-read for Grisham fans) the movie was entertaining. John Cusack is a really good actor that I really never tire of and of course Gene Hackman is 'bullets' as usual. Another fine performance is turned in by Dustin Hoffman in a role that is almost overlooked in the promotion of the picture. It is a great follow-up role to his portrayal in Confidence. He shot those back to back and watching them back to back is a good lesson in character development for aspiring actors as the roles are so different. It also marked the second film in a row he has worked with Rachel Weisz, who is maturing as an actress herself. This one is worth the watch - especially if you are a Grisham fan. Enjoy!

RATING 8 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 2:03 PM

 

How bout those Cowboys?! A convincing victory over the Lions (not a stellar team, but these are the kind we tend to drop).
The big test will be next week against the defending Super Bowl champs - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers!

Quincy Carter earned his highest rating in his history as the Lions never rushed him into anything stupid.
RATING 2 Stars

had flashes of brilliance
- posted by Chris @ 4:52 PM

 

Well, Quentin Tarantino didn't let me down. I had feared that he would sell out like his buddy Robert Rodriguez, but Kill Bill was classic Tarantino. In fact, it was Tarantino at the next level. Kill Bill was a great movie!



Students of Tarantino will appreciate all the subtle things in the film - others will find them silly or overdone. Kaboom Cereal is classic. The soundtrack once again was perfect and the dialogue was spot-on. The Nancy Sinatra cover of the classic Sonny & Cher song "Bang, Bang" couldn't have fit better if it had been written specifically for the film. Kudos for his knowledge of music as well as film. The story is clever and the acting is excellent. Best of all - the direction not only stays out of the way of the film, but actually enhances the story. The sets were awesome. I really loved the juxtaposition of the dance floor enclosing a Japanese tranquility rock garden. The violence will be regarded by some as too much - but watch again and see what it is he actually shows and what is implied. Much like the "Stuck in the Middle With You" scene in Reservoir Dogs - he implies a lot more than he shows. Don't get me wrong - he showed a lot of violence, but it fits perfectly with the mood of the film and advances the story.

This film is the ultimate in giving kudos to other films and the whole martial arts genre...
Beware: Below are some spoilers - if you haven't seen it, you might want to wait to read it.

• How many of you noticed Godzilla in it? Watch it again with all your senses
  tuned in. Listen up for the giant lizard's trademark roar when Uma does a
  backflip in the "House Of Blue Leaves" scene! There are also some
  short Godzilla monster screams inserted just before this.


• The yellow suit that Uma Thurman wears is a tribute to the yellow suit worn by Bruce
  Lee in Game of Death


• The Deadly Viper Assassin Squad is an homage to the the Venoms - a group
  of martial arts actors in such films as the Five Deadly Venoms and Return
  of the Five Deadly Venoms


• Gordon Liu portrays the bodyguard of O-Ren Ishi (Lucy Liu) a double tribute
  - one to the man himself as he was one of the greatest martial arts actors,
  and secondly by wearing a mask like Kato from The Green Hornet.


• Sonny Chiba stars in the film as Hattori Hanzo, pissed-off sushi chef by
  day, retired bad-ass samurai swordsmith by night - another cameo by a famous
  martial arts actor. Check him out in the Street Fighter films.


• Also featured in the "House Of Blue Leaves" scene is a beautiful
  sequence where Uma takes on the Crazy 88 in silhouette against a blue background.
  Anyone who's seen Samurai Fiction will agree this scene looks strikingly familiar
  to the Samurai Fiction poster art and opening sequence, with a blue background
  instead of red. Just before this sequence in "Kill Bill" is a very
  quick bit where Uma slices a guy across the mouth...remind anyone else of
  Kakihara from Ichi The Killer?


• Perhaps the most striking of all the references in "Kill Bill"
  are the liberal imitations of the 1973 Japanese film Lady Snowblood. The story
  centers around a female child whose mother dies in jail, who then goes on
  to receive martial arts training to avenge her mother's death. Replete with
  blood sprays a plenty, titled chapters, a wide variety of musical styles,
  and even some animated sequences, the similarities are far too many to go
  into. But suffice it to say that Lady Snowblood seems to have been Tarantino's
  primary influence for "Kill Bill".


• Another Bruce Lee reference: House Of Blue Leaves fight scene where the
  Bride is on the floor slicing off legs is dead on to nunchaku scene in Fist
  Of Fury right down to looking back and seeing groaning victims (even though
  the Bride has a fight with O-Ren Ishii before going back to look at her handiwork).


• While Uma is riding the motorcycle across the bridge in Japan, the night
  lights are green while the Green Hornet music is playing.


• Another TV theme is the theme to "Ironside". The theme is particularly interesting in that the series
  featured Raymond Burr ("Perry Mason") as a retired police commissioner who, as the victim of a sniper
  attack, was paralyzed from the waist down. There is definitely a connection, with "The Bride" initially being similarly affected.


• The music from Five Fingers Of Death (AKA "King Boxer") plays
  all through this film.


• The Sheriff (Michael Parks) drives up to the wedding massacre with a line
  of sunglasses on his dashboard--a definite homage to H. B. "Toby"
  Halicki and "Gone In 60 Seconds".


• Another name that crops up in the film is the name Vernita Green is using
  in her current life: Jeannie Bell. In real life, Jeannie Bell was a former
  Playboy Playmate who appeared in several blaxploitation films in the 70s including
  "Black Gunn", "Three The Hard Way", and had the starring
  role as a kick-ass karate instructor looking for her brother's killer in TNT
  Jackson.


• The shots of Daryl Hannah walking down the hospital corridor with a big
  purse are right out of the beginning of Hitchcock's "Marnie" with
  Tippi Hedren.


• The movie "They Call Her One Eye" (aka: "Thriller") is a Swedish film about a girl
  whose life is ruined--her "pimp" even goes so far as to remove one of her eyes (a la Daryl Hannah)
  before she studies to seek revenge on them all. Tarantino mentions this as one of his favorite films,
  and it shows in Kill Bill.


• Hannah, in the nurse's uniform, is whistling the score to Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill", and
  the film's score eventually accompanies her, referencing the evil Michael Caine nurse at the end of
  De Palma's movie. In the same scene, there was a split screen, which De Palma frequently employed in
  his films, including, of course, "Dressed to Kill".


• Of course, you can't overlook the obvious ones too. The film opened just like a Shaw Brother's
  production and the Charlie Brown waiter in the House of Blue Leaves.


• Lastly, notice the Red Apple cigarettes ad - Tarantino's tribue to... well, himself. The ad is a recurring
  one seen in Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and From Dusk till Dawn. Oh yeah, and they are on
  the counter in his vignette from Four Rooms.
  

There are tons more....

My first ten star rating!!

RATING 10 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 6:47 PM

 
New York Yankees Win Game Seven in 11th Inning!!!


Was that the greatest ALCS (American League Championship Series) EVER? I think so! It had the most drama ever in a series. It had harsh words. It had fists thrown. It had hit batters. It had two of the greatest pitchers of all time facing each other not once, but twice (Clemens and Martinez.) It had them both pitching one amazing game and both pitching one horrible game. It had the series tied twice 2-2 and 3-3. It had the Yankees down 4-0 in game seven and coming back to tie it up 5-5. It had the final game of the series go into extra innings. It had the greatest closer of all time (Mariano Rivera) going three full innings (the longest he has gone since becoming the closer.) It had him pitching three shutout innings. It had Bret Boone announcing in the booth watching brother. Aaron Boone hitting a walk-off home run to end it in the 11th inning. (Only the 5th postseason game in history to end on a homerun.)


Giambi hitting one of his two homers to keep the game close


Aaron Boone hit the walk-off home run to end the series and advance the Yankees to another World Series!

For at least one more year... The Curse of the Bambino LIVES!!!

both the Red Sox and the Cubs led and were five outs away from going to the World Series and both choked...
- posted by Chris @ 11:30 PM

 
Added blog dated 10-10-03 Play "Always... Patsy Cline" at Stages Theatre with Pennie & Jennifer
- posted by Chris @ 11:09 PM

 

What is the third leading cause of death in the US?


Legal Medication!! Hard to believe, huh?


We live in an overmedicated society that has been told the solution to every problem or ailment is another pill. As a result, people are dying at record rates of complications, side effects and interactions related to prescribed medications.
What did people do about heartburn before Prilosec? Maybe ate a vegetable and laid off the Mexican food or chili-cheese dogs? Heartburn is NOT a disease - it is your body telling you, "HEY IDIOT! YOU ARE KILLING ME OVER HERE!!"
Taking pain medication because your back hurts? Maybe if you got off the couch and got some exercise, you would lose the gut, which is the single largest cause of back pain. Again, pain is not a disease to be treated - it is a sign that you need to fix something!
What about vicodin, zoloft, prosac, praxil etc? Come on, is there THAT much depression? These are the hottest drugs going. Why is it that the United States leads the world in depression cases? Could it be because we have the most ads on TV telling us we are depressed?

Okay, lets talk about the real cases of depression - not just the ones where impressionable people were convinced to be depressed. What are the causes and cures? Causes - again, that idiot box that spends all day telling you how terrible your life is by showing how great others lives are. TV shows that solve all the world's problems in a half hour and the credits roll to the laugh track. How bout the fact that you are sitting watching others be successful instead of out there making your own life better. What about the treatment? Again, the idiot-box would have you believe that you pop a pill to return to normal and your life will consist of moonlit walks on the beach and a picnic in a field of flowers (as long as you bring your claritin). Patients have been treated with excellent results (better than cure rates with medication) using EXERCISE!! HOLY TOLEDO!!! Can you imagine that? The endorphins released when exercising CURE depression!!!

A deadly partnership has developed between the pharmaceutical companies, doctors, and the FDA. If a doctor prescribes it, then it must be the right thing to do, right? BULL! It is ridiculous if you stop to think about it. I have known my share of drunks, crooks and outright scoundrels with the title of doctor - they are not the gods that their professions and the drug companies would have you believe.

Ask yourself this? If you are healthy does the doctor make money? Why is everyone skeptical of the honesty of their auto mechanic, yet treat a doctor's word as gospel? The mechanics do not have multi-trillion dollar pharmaceutical companies running PR and ad campaigns for them.

Doctors used to be around for triage - they were there to treat acute trauma... now they are filthy dope pushers.

Take a look at all of your medications and really research what they are curing. Chances are you can fix it yourself with a lifestyle or diet change. Learn about the healthy lifestyles that will allow you to avoid needing most medications in the first place.
- posted by Chris @ 10:07 PM

 
Hey, ever wonder what happened to Sinead O'Conner ?

Me neither - hahaha


- posted by Chris @ 1:27 PM

 
Well Quincy Carter did his best to screw things up for the Cowboys. Ok, I take it back - this wasn't his best effort to screw things up - he has done a much more complete job in the past. My QC rating for the game puts him at two dunce caps... that means he still made some stupid moves, but he wasn't too terrible

RATING 2 dunce caps

For the record... here is how the rating system stacks up

perfect game - Hall of Fame performance
career game, full of highlights
solid performance - superstar's average game
had flashes of brilliance
decent outing- nothing embarassing
NOTHING - average game expected of NFL QB
almost average - but minor screwups
some bonehead plays
mostly stupid all day
he is not long for the NFL
my dead grandmother could have done better

The good news for the Cowboys is that they went up against a good defense and managed to score despite Galloway's fumble-fingers act for most of the first half. The running game looked shaky at first, but Hambrick got his thing going in the second half when the Eagle's D loosened up on the inside. The defense for the Boys again did a good job despite a couple bonehead mistakes. Overall, it was a good victory. Now, they are 4-1 for the first time since 1995 (when they won a SuperBowl.) It would be too cool to see something like the Cowboys and Titans in the SuperBowl - especially since the bowl is here in Houston this year... but I am not going to hold my breath until Carter is replaced by Peyton Manning or he has another 10 games playing consistantly well.
- posted by Chris @ 4:33 PM

 
The Bosox are SCUM!! I know it is fashionable to hate the Yankees, but come on. Pedro Martinez hits a batter, the umps do nothing. Pedro says he is throwing for the Yankee heads and the umps do nothing. Clemens throws a high pitch (NOT INSIDE) to Ramirez and he charges the mound with bat in hand and the umps do nothing. Pedro Martinez throws 72-yr old Zimmer to the ground and the umps do nothing...

Major League Baseball may want the matchup of the Red Sox and Cubs because of the history of being the two biggest losers in professional sports - but sorry - the Red Sox are going to remain the biggest losers both in record and in class. Pedro is a punk - he could be one of the greatest pitchers of all time, but he is a no-class punk.

Here is the brave Martinez knocking a 72-yr old with a plate in his head to the ground... what class...


Oh yeah and lets not forget the Boston grounds keeper who jumped into the bullpen to fight the Yankees... do they teach Bostonians to kick puppies too?

- posted by Chris @ 6:44 PM

 

Pennie, Jennifer and I took in the play, "Always... Patsy Cline" at Stages Theatre. I highly recommend the show as it is a romping, stomping, boot-scooting good time. If you get a chance, go by and see the play - you will be glad you did!



What a deal - a great play and two hot brunettes!!!
- posted by Chris @ 11:00 PM

 
Added blog dated 10-04-03 Saturday on the Riverwalk in San Antonio
Added blog dated 10-05-03 morning in San Antonio with the trolley driver
Added blog dated 10-05-03 after the game in San Antonio on the Riverwalk
- posted by Chris @ 4:52 PM

 
In all my blogging, I have tended to focus on the side things of life. I mention a business here and there because they are hobbies - much like all the posts about movies. I realized recently that what I haven't mentioned at all is REAL business! The REAL business that I am in is computer services. My best friend Davad Sneed and I run a company called Technical Services Consulting (TSC.) It is a full-service technology company that helps our clients get the most out of their computers.



How do we do that? Well, primarily by keeping them running. No technology is useful if it doesn't work and our primary goal is keeping the customers' equipment up and running. When a client has a computer issue, a service call is made and their problems are solved. Dave is in charge of the operations and I run the back end accounting and marketing. We outsource some of the work to subs that we have worked with for years and can trust. In addition to the repair and maintenance, we can do everything from cabling for networks and phones to setting up the entire network - server and all. We offer consulting services for our clients to assist them in choosing the right technology and to make sure the transistion will be as smooth as possible.

We have a steady customer base of clients that have been with us for a long time. They stay with us because at the end of the day, we really do care about their issues. We do not just punch a clock and forget about them. They know more than anything they can count on Dave as he is the face they see most often. Our practice grows steadily and slowly because we are not interested in growth for the sake of growth alone. (Been there - done that) Instead, we are interested in adding quality clients who can benefit from our services.

At times it seems from reading these posts, all I do or all I care about are these side things like mystery shopping, filmmaking, movies, etc. That couldn't be farther from the truth. The bottom line is that I just have an active home life. I don't watch much TV, I don't sleep much, my hobbies are these side things. Some people are bowlers, some people watch a lot of TV, some people are serial entrepreneurs that must keep balls juggling to feel alive... that is me. No matter where the other ventures lead, TSC - its future incarnations, or at the very least - Dave, will always be a huge part of that adventure. You are given one or two REALLY good friends in your lifetime and when you find one you need to hold on.

I am not saying any of this because Dave occassionally reads the blog - he already knows where he stands. I am saying it more because I have a lot of readers who don't know where he stands and might not even know he exists. They need to know that everything I do exists 'because' of friends like Dave and if there is one lesson hidden among all these mindless rambling posts - it is probably best stated by a poem I wrote a long time ago:

Friends are FOREVER,
A bond that NEVER breaks.
CARE and UNDERSTANDING,
Are what a FRIENDSHIP makes.


Friends are ETERNAL,
They LAST through thick and thin.
They LOVE you just for who you are,
And not for where you've been.


Written 1974 - Age 10

Hey, I know it is a little dorky and a lot mushy - but I was TEN YEARS OLD!

Another poet set his take on the subject to music and it is one of my favorite songs...

"I ain't lived forever but I've lived enough
And I've learned to be gentle and I've learned to be tough
I've found only two things that last to the end
One is your heroes the others your friends

Your heroes will help you find good in yourself
Your friends won't forsake you for somebody else.
They'll both stand beside you through thick and through thin
And that's how it goes with heroes and friends "

Heroes and Friends - Randy Travis
- posted by Chris @ 10:32 AM

 


I went to see Secondhand Lions yesterday in Victoria with my brother, Tim and nephew, Blake (you may know him as Scooter.) In a nutshell, it was a great movie! I expected it to be a decent little film that I would catch on DVD and chuckle a litte bit, but it turned into a non-stop, laugh-out-loud gem. The cornerstone of the film was Robert Duvall as (you guessed it) a crotchety old man with a heart of gold. His brother, played by Michael Caine (who did a fine job with a Texas accent) was the perfect sidekick.

When you look at it - a movie set in Texas, starring two grumpy old men, with five dogs, who shoot at travelling salesman can't miss.

I am back up to neutral on my Haley Joel Osmont rating as I really get tired of the tears in every movie, but he did a good job in this one. I did however keep expecting him to say, "I see old people"

Writer/director Tim McCanlies has once again captured Texas in this film as he did in Dancer, Texas Pop. 81 - which was also written and directed by him.


RATING 9 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 9:07 AM

 


Okay, I have been wanting to see the movie Identity and finally saw it on DVD tonight. It started out fresh and original as the cuts and storytelling during the setup was cool. It quickly settled into a typical slasher film. Without going into any spoilers, let me say that the characters in the film are all stuck at this hotel in the middle of nowhere... and they are all very bad stereotypes. The edgy cop, the snobby actress, among others... the setups for the murders are nearly as transparent as the characters. I mean, I really like most of the actors - John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes (who I loved as the character Elton in an episode of one of my all-time favorite TV shows that didn't last - The Marshall starring Jeff Fahey) and John C. McGinley. Talk about a great cast... oh well.

James Mangold directed the film, you might remember a couple of his other works, Girl, Interrupted and Copland - both of which were better and both of which he also wrote. Perhaps he puts more passion into his own tales, perhaps he just didn't see the vision of writer Michael Cooney - or more likely - perhaps Cooney is a hack writer as his credits suggest.

RATING 4 out of 10

At least that is what the film wants you to think for most of it.... it is in the end that it becomes a really good story, really good direction, and a surprisingly good film! Turns out Cooney can write and Mangold can direct! :)

My real rating...
RATING 7 out of 10

How do you like that - a surprise ending to my movie rating!
- posted by Chris @ 9:51 PM

 
Well, the Houston Mayoral debates were tonight and here is my personal straw poll...

Sylvester Turner - the best public speaker, but getting really good as spin and comes across as a criminal. It is nice that he invented zero-based budgeting - haha He also appears to be some sort of superhero as he said he was the Crimefighter of the Year. The whole affair with his office and Bill White's office paying off some chick to muddy the ballot is just bad news. C-

Orlando Sanchez - probably worst public speaker, came across as the cleanest candidate although he sounds like another junket king like Mayor Brown. B+

Bill White - pretends to be an outsider, is about as 'inside' as you can get. Shifty eyes... :) Him and Sylvester were buddying up against Sanchez quite a bit, but Turner 'turned' on him at the end. He also tried to hide the fact that he is a political insider and plaintiff's attorney in bed with Enron and the Democratic party. Oh yeah, and a candidate for Mayor does not have to know what the current debt rating is. C-

None of them would give an exact answer to where they would put rail and none of them would talk about the real need of the city - lower taxes and lower waste and corruption.

Oh yeah - and I am not in the city limits so I don't get a vote anyway.... but being an American - I DO get an opinion.
- posted by Chris @ 7:20 PM

 
Okay, I discovered that I can go back in and post dates that have already passed so there will be blogs created from time to time that took place prior to your last reading.... in other words, some new stuff may be added in the middle of things you already read. I will try to post the dates of additions each time I post them.

Added blog dated 10-01-03
Added blog dated 10-05-03


- posted by Chris @ 11:51 AM

 

San Antonio!!!

Pennie and I had a great time in SA. The day started off with a trolley ride to Hemisfair Tower. The Trolley driver, Chris was a great host as we talked the entire time. He told us all about various aspects of San Antonio as well as his business plans. (I won't give them away just in case there are some potential competitors out there.) Needless to say however, he has a clear vision of where he is headed and I think he will get there.

We also talked about USANA and I think if he gets involved, he will do GREAT things. With his personality combined with the fact that he is a people-person, he cannot help but succeed. And just look at his current job - he meets hundreds of people a day! I look forward to helping him succeed in this business.



When he saw I was a shutterbug, he even suggested that I get behind the wheel of the trolley and get a photo... thanks again, Chris.



We were having such a good conversation that we almost drove right past Hemisfair Tower, but he dropped us off and we went to enjoy the view. This is from some of the dramatic water features that surround the tower.



Once up in the tower, I took this shot of Chris' trolley back at the station.... It is a long way down, but you can see the trolley there.



Here it is zoomed in a bit more...



While we were up there - a storm cloud rolled in and proceeded to rain below us.



I took a bunch more shots down around the waterfalls, but the light always seemed to be in the wrong place and most of the exposures didn't turn out that great. Pennie got this shot of a couple girls before taking a photo for their folks so they could all be in the picture.



We then went to Hooters to watch the Cowboys game. (See next post)]


- posted by Chris @ 1:06 PM

 

Okay - I will give QC that one... He still sucks, but he had an above average game Sunday

I will write, what I recently sent in an email to a friend that sums up Sunday's performance.

He is looking better.

I was watching the game and these are my exact words...

Halfway through the first quarter - "Damn, Quincy is looking pretty good so far!"
End of first quarter - "Wow, I am still impressed... no retarded moves"
Middle of second quarter - "This is by far the furthest into a game that I haven't been cussing him."
Halftime - "He is still rated positive for this game" (a first at half time)
Middle of the third - "Okay, well a couple stupid throws - he is at least even in my book. He is bound to screw it up and go negative before it is over"
End of the game. "I'll be damned if I don't have to give him his first positive rating ever! Only a couple screwups and a couple brilliant moves."

One of each came on one play - the juke move he did when two Cards were flying in on him that left them both tackling each other - AWESOME!! But then the adrenal must have screwed him up because that throw was terrible.

Oh yeah - we watched the game at Hooters in San Antonio... here I am with some friends... (I am sunburned from Saturday, not embarrassed - haha)


- posted by Chris @ 1:05 PM

 

After the game, we headed to the Riverwalk. We had been there on Saturday night, but most of the pictures were too dark so we decided to head back in the daylight to get a few shots.

Just after entering the Riverwalk, I spotted a duck preening itself just past a bridge and took this shot between two bridge supports.



It looks much better blown up at full resolution. I really like this shot I took a few minutes later of Pennie and the Riverwalk.



We also discovered that if you volunteer to take photos for people (so they can all be in the shot,) they are more than happy to do the same. This is actually inside the Hilton right on the river.



What would a trip to SA be without the Alamo? Here it is...



And what would a photo essay of any trip be without a local zealot. This guy was spouting on and on about some of the craziest stuff you can imagine. As I walked up he said, "You think you're a good ol' boy? You think you are in hell? You think this is hell?" Uh actually, no, no and no! Haha - crackpots make the world go round.



Despite the occasional nutcase - it was a great trip. We met some great people, had a lot of fun and oh yeah - IT WAS ALL TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!! Thanks to my USANA business!!
- posted by Chris @ 1:01 PM

 

Saturday, Pennie, Tatiana, Mike, Jaime, Ruben, Carlos and I worked a booth at the Power Pedal 2003 in Bryan, Texas and MAN, WAS IT HOT!! I got a good sunburn and the layout meant not much booth traffic. We decided that rather than sit there and bake, we would head to San Antonio and enjoy the weekend together. Our day had started at 4am as we packed and readied ourself for the Power Pedal and then drove to Bryan - so by the time we reached San Antonio, you would figure we would be ready to crash.

Oh no! Being the intrepid voyagers, we headed headed out to the Riverwalk, had a couple steaks on a balcony overlooking the water and muscled our way through the throngs of people enjoying the night. It was by far the most packed I have ever seen the place and we took a break to document our visit...


- posted by Chris @ 4:59 PM

 


Not sure if this qualifies as a movie. I guess as soon as find a logo for a DVD, I should break them out that way or possibly a logo for a documentary. Ah, what the heck - I will stick with the movie tickets for now.

Anyway, I watched a DVD that I checked out from the library while I worked yesterday called A Class Divided. It was the true story of a very controversial experiment carried out by a third grade teacher in the sixties and a follow-up with them as adults. A teach in a midwestern town, Jane Elliott told the third graders that there are biological differences between people with blue eyes and people with brown eyes. She told them that blue eyed people were smarter, listened better etc. while brown-eyes were more prone to violence, do worse on tests and were generally unclean and smelly. She drove it into these children's head throughout the day and took note of how the kids reacted. Brown eyes scored worse during testing than they had before they had the knowledge that they were dumb, blue eyes scored better. Brown eyes started fights, interrupted in class and generally caused trouble, while the blue eyes turned into good students.

The next day, she told the class, "I lied to you because I am blue eyed and didn't want you to know the truth." She explained that the exact opposite was true and then drove the new point of view into them all day. The exact same thing occured - blue eyes started fights, did poorly and were unruly, while brown eyes became good students.

The next day, she told them in fact that both days were a lie and that she was just seeing how they reacted to the information. She then had a discussion with the children about how they felt each day. The kids who were the "bad" kids each day said they felt powerless, they felt the need to fight back for being called stupid or smelly or whatever. The "good" kids said they felt like they were kings and felt like they shouldn't like the other kids.

The DVD also covers a reunion with the teacher and her 3rd grade class after they reached adulthood. They sat and discussed the ramifications of the experiment and told how they became sensitive to racism after that date and have continued to see people as people regardless of race, religion or other differences.

Some people have called it a "sick, twisted experiment" while others have called her work groundbreaking as she has moved forward in life to teach the same lessons to adults. Agree or disagree, it is an interesting social experiment and worth watching.
RATING 7 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 9:13 AM

 

Took a lunchtime bike ride at Bear Creek. I am going to try to do more of that - yeah, right! Anyway, it was a nice lunch and even with riding a quick ten miles and snapping a couple pictures, the whole thing still only took just over an hour including showering afterwords. I ate USANA bars while riding and drank water so I got a good little workout and didn't have to skip lunch.

I snapped a pic while riding just to see if I could do it without wrecking...



Then I saw this fella and remembered that Mike's wife, Julie love Longhorns, so I shot it quick to send to her.


- posted by Chris @ 11:42 PM