Monthly Classic Movie Review

I didn't do a review for January(oops!) so I'll do two this time. February's review will be the next post.

A member of the Francis Ford Coppola family is a musician, and has composed many a film soundtrack. His name is Carmine Coppola. The work he did on The Black Stallion, 1979, is absolutely compelling and as beautiful as the movie itself. The music accompanying the final credits of the film might well be the most beautiful film music ever created. Stunning in its warmth and beauty. Everything about this film screams beauty, from its exotic locations in the Mediterannean, to its characters, to the heart-pumping horse race that brings the film to a climax. It is the inspiring story of a small boy and a wild Arabian stallion that form a lasting friendship. A tragic cruise ship accident kills the boy's father and leaves him floating in the sea, yet the Arabian stallion escapes the wreck, swims by and Alec clutches on, eventually finding the shore. Alec soon realizes that he is alone. The island is deserted, and rescue seems impossible. He finds the black stallion or "the Black" trotting around, and lures him in with some seaweed. The scene is amazing to watch, as the stallion is wary of this human, yet is very hungry, so the food he offers is very tempting. The director of photography is Caleb Deschanel, who is well known for his work on The Right Stuff, The Natural, and The Passion of the Christ. The look of this film is gorgeous.

There's a scene where Alec wakes up on the beach to find a Cobra staring him in the eyes, poised to strike. The Black comes to the rescue and stomps the cobra, making it one flat pancake. There were REAL snakes in those scenes! According to a website detailing the production, a few cobras were flown in from Milan. The fact that cobras could move twice as fast as any human in the sands of the beach ought to up your fear of snakes a little more. Yikes! There are other exciting scenes throughout to keep the tension going. There is a good balance between tense and relaxed. The overall tempo of the film is on the slow side. One of the best qualities of the film is how it allows you to just sit back and enjoy the scenery.
The film however ends on a high note, and the final horse race gets your blood pumping and will make you jump up and cheer!

Another highlight is that during the race, the camera is so close to Alec and the other jockeys, you'll feel you are riding along with them! You feel the power and speed of these horses, and you'll want to climb up on the horse and shoot away! Thrilling stuff.

A Case for Chiropractic

Tired of paying the high costs of drugs and medicines? Tired of living with the after effects and numerous downsides associated with drug perscriptions? Why not turn to Gonstead Chiropractic?

The cost of one Gonstead appointment is 1/3 the cost of a single drug perscription, without ANY of the harmful side effects. No Gonstead Chiropractor will ever have to give you a laundry list of possible side effects from his adjustment. So many times did I see a person walk out of Sam's Club with a $100 bottle of prescription drugs, it angered me. It only costs about $150 for the necessary X-Rays you get with your first Chiropractic appointment and subsequent adjustments only cost around $35. Gonstead Chiropractic is very simple. The human body has an innate and incredible ability to heal itself, yet when nerve interferences block the system, and it doesn't function as it should, we become less able to heal, and problems occur. A Gonstead Chiropractor uses a simple device to locate the interferences or "Subluxations" along the spine, then uses movement to determine how the nerve is being blocked, and uses a quick, precise adjustment to correct the vertebra's position. This only takes a matter of minutes, and allows the nervous system to function properly, allowing the body to perform its healing actions without complications.

I know what you're saying. "But my back doesn't hurt, my problem is acid reflux. Why should I get my back adjusted?"
Simple. Every function of the human body is controlled by the nervous system. Proper spinal alignment is crucial for a healthy body. This goes for any ailment. Put it this way, if Gonstead Chiropractic can help a person plagued with Multiple Sclerosis, and it has, then it can certainly tackle any problem you may have!! Why not give it a try? All you have to lose are those high priced perscriptions and harmful side effects.

This article exposes some of the bad business associated with the pharmacutical community. It is an insightful read.
http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1799

Samuel

Samuel
Originally uploaded by Kodiak.

My Sister Julie's secondborn. Looks just like his Dad and Mom. What are the odds?

Austin

Austin
Originally uploaded by Kodiak.

My sister Amy's firstborn. Looks just like his Dad and Mom. What are the odds?

The Red Light District

Do you ever have one of those mornings where every stoplight stays red for twice its normal running time?

It's like they all know you are in a hurry.

Some filthy punk in the city's department of transportation is sitting there at a terminal rubbing his hands together saying "Hmmm, whom shall I hold back today? How about EVERYONE? MWAHA HA HA HA HAAAA!!!!!"

Part of the problem is that Dallas has 10 million too many people in it!! I kid you not! I'm not exaggerating! I'm for real!!
They are everywhere!

I know what you're thinking...


"This guy complains a lot."

Oh Homer, where art Thou?

What happened to The Simpsons? I remember a time when an episode was all about Springfield elementary, or Krusty the Clown, or Homer's misadventures at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. This Sunday's episode was all about gay marriage. Boy, was it ever. It's like an episode of latter-day Ellen was pushing gay rights down our throats all over again. I don't so much like the new Homer Simpson. He has become much smarter and infinitely more crass. It used to be about Homer's stupidity, yet extreme likeability that we felt for him. Now he is an opinionated jerk. This episode he becomes an ordained Minister so he can marry all the new gay couples in town and make some serious dough. The episode is just as bad as the one where Ned Flanders loses his wife forever, and Homer secretly videotapes him doing every day stuff, including a censored full frontal shot of Ned in the shower, for a dating service. It pushed the boundaries of good taste so far I didn't feel I was watching an episode of my beloved Simpsons. I love the fact that this show has been on the air for so long, and has been consistently funny and endearing to me, but these new directions just hurt the underlying emotional attachment we all have to the Simpson family we grew to love. Since when is it all-encompassing and important for the Simpsons to be the show that pushes the limit all the time? Before all this envelope-pushing, I would laugh almost to tears at the Simpsons in each and every show. Nowadays, I laugh with a guilty conscience. This type of humor and boundary jumping is usually reserved for the late-night shows you watch when your parents have gone to bed. It's now front and center, prime time. The key to the Simpsons' longevity is its likeable characters and top-notch humor. The producers/writers/etc. are throwing it out the window in favor of pushing the limit. I am seeing an ever-fading light at the end of the Springfield tunnel. The end is coming quickly, unfortunately.


Sunday's episode news here(scroll down a little)

Quote of the Month

"I was raised Catholic. I went to Confession the other day. I said 'You first'."

--Dennis Miller
The Raw Feed
HBO Comedy Special


This guy is a friggin' genius. And he converted to Republican after the events of 9/11. Hey, two-for-one sale, pal.

150 days to go

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

July 16, 2005

6th book in 7 book series.

Visit the Official book site calendar here.

iPod A to Z

2,682 Songs.
7.7 days worth of continuous music.
16.07 Gigabytes.

Praise be to Apple!
Your loyal Fan.

Sick, man. Sick!

The flu sucks.

We had the bug flying 'round the office a week ago. I got the full force of it.

Let's look at the list of ailments, shall we?

1. Headache- I had a 3 day long headache.
2. Fever
3. Blocked nose- good luck breathing out of the shnoz
4. Cough
5. Dizziness- The world was going around, and around, and around, and around, and around...
6. All over ache- every part of my body was aching.

And on top of all that, I was visiting the folks in Oklahoma, supposed to be enjoying a nice weekend with the family. Ha.

Missing an entire week of work didn't help much, either.
Thank God it's over.

**cough cough**

Apples and Oranges

The comparisons between Macs and Windows PCs are endless. The naysayers on the PC side are relentless in their assault against Apple. Some go as far as to laugh and turn up their nose at Mac owners. Having used both PCs and Macs almost equally throughout my business and personal life, my Mac still takes the cake. Quite simply having the latest version of Apple's operating system: OSX Panther, which is eons ahead of any Windows OS, gives Mac an unsurmountable advantage over all other Personal Computers. With the next version of OSX on the horizon: "Tiger", Apple is set to leave Windows in the dust...Again! The new version of Windows coming soon: Longhorn, only NOW catches up to OSX's advances for Personal Computing. Panther beats XP completely in terms of ease of use, simplicity of design, beauty and elegance of the user interface, and most importantly, virus protection unheard of in the Windows world. Navigation in OSX far surpasses any Windows equivalent. If you want to find a file, it is much easier in Panther. You have several ways of accomplishing it, and you can find the way that suits your style, whether you are very efficient and quick, or very organized, it is just so easy to do.

Mac has just released another power seller: the Mac Mini. Click Me! I can't wait to own one!! Inside the almost non-existent enclosure, you get either a 1.25 or 1.42 GHz G4 processor, 256 Megs RAM(although I think 512 Megs is essential, even for non-power users), a combo CD Reader/Burner-DVD Reader, using only a little slot on the front of the unit, along with OSX Panther(alone worth the price of the computer, in my opinion) and iLife '05, Apple's little application suite that lets you browse and edit digital photos, create DVDs, listen to music, as well as create and edit your own movies using your camcorder. You can also compose music with GarageBand, an excellent program with real instrumental recordings that is so cool you'd have to hear it to believe it. And it's included!!! This application package is so amazing and advanced considering it comes free with the computer. You have to provide your own monitor/mouse/keyboard, but who nowadays doesn't have those things already? Besides, it doesn't cost that much to own these things anyway.
Now there are people out there crying that the Mac Mini still costs more than comparable Windows based PCs, but if you were to really equip them comparably, the Mac Mini wouldn't be all that expensive in the longrun, for what you get, plus the reliability of the OSX operating system and ease of use is a deciding factor. Just read this article here. I know, it's featured in a magazine that is biased towards Macs, but really, who do you think would create the best possible comparison for the sake of truth more than a Mac publication? After all, it's their job(and mine!) to convince the unbelievers the validity of their statements. They can wax poetic all day on the benefits of Mac ownership, but to truly convince the cynical Windows world, they had better deliver the goods. And they do.

What better way to settle into a new apartment than with a new toy! If I can manage to buy the Mac Mini, I'll be in hog heaven! I've always said that I'd own a Mac in a heartbeat if I could only afford it. Well now, my excuse just doesn't hold water anymore. Perfection can now be in the reach of the common man. Woo-hoo!!

In Transit

Kodiak shall move north!

Much closer to work, that is. Preston Road is such a bother to drive anyway. This new location allows me to cut off at least two thirds' time of my current drive to work. That makes me one happy camper! No more stopping at every little light on Preston and waiting an obscene amount of time for all those invisible cars in the opposing lanes, no more screaming at all the slow pokes who always choose the lane I'm driving in, no more excessive wear and tear to my car, no more 45 minute drivetimes. Plus I get lighted tennis courts, resort-style pools, and a fitness center! Pazaah!!

Good thing I have 2 months to get packed up, 'cause it'll take me that long to get all my crap together! Gosh, I got a lotta crap.