I have eaten like a hog. I have skipped my workouts. I have slept, seen movies and sat around. It felt darn good. But now it's time to get serious again. Fortunately it appears that the amounts I thought I was eating were just baseline with what my body could handle. So I'm doing ok (running like a madman at racquetball on Friday probably didn't hurt either).
Tuesday 5/30/2006 weigh-in: 299.8 lbs.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Over The Hedge
Funny, funny, funny.
Not a laugh riot from the very beginning, but it builds on you. By the end I was really cracking up. The weird thing about it was it kind of didn't feel like a kids movie. The "intended violence" in it seemed a little intense. At one point in the movie (you'll know which one if you see it) a little girl stood up and said "Teddy bear!" in something of a concerned voice. It just seemed like they could have made a few changes to it that wouldn't have made it so intense for little kids and it really wouldn't have concerned the adults at all. I'll let you know which category I fall in to when I figure it out.
All that said, the last third of the movie is really worth it. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a while.
Just remember, don't over-caffinate the Hammy.
Not a laugh riot from the very beginning, but it builds on you. By the end I was really cracking up. The weird thing about it was it kind of didn't feel like a kids movie. The "intended violence" in it seemed a little intense. At one point in the movie (you'll know which one if you see it) a little girl stood up and said "Teddy bear!" in something of a concerned voice. It just seemed like they could have made a few changes to it that wouldn't have made it so intense for little kids and it really wouldn't have concerned the adults at all. I'll let you know which category I fall in to when I figure it out.
All that said, the last third of the movie is really worth it. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a while.
Just remember, don't over-caffinate the Hammy.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
X-Men: The Last Stand
I have seen, I have enjoyed.
Ok, I'm going to go into some bits and pieces of the movie here so if you haven't seen it yet I'd just skip on over this entry. If you have seen it let me know what you think. With that in mind......
I went into this one with all of the spoilers in mind. I've read most of the previews and they've been negative for the most part. If you're going to see it I would go in with the mantra I had, "The movie is not the comic.....The movie is not the comic." Once I got that going through my head I really enjoyed myself. Now then about the movie...
Cyclops got a raw deal. Out pretty early. But as Bill and I discussed after the movie, no body, not necessarily dead. And the whining I've heard on this has driven me nuts. Characters like this (yes, even "important ones") come and go in the comics. They disappear for a while (like Cyclops did at the end of the Phoenix Saga) and they come back later. Hell, Jean Grey has died and lived so many times it's become something of an inside joke for comic fans. So just relax.
I do like this "realistic" view of the team. It actually one of the reasons I buy into the whole Phoenix as a schizo representation of Jean as opposed to the cosmic entity it was in the comics. I mean really, do you think they were going to introduce the Shi'ar Empire for the third movie? I don't even think they'll do it if they make a new trilogy. This verision is very earth bound and earth centered. Problems just don't have that cosmic feel to them yet. I did like the image they gave her as everything was consumed around her. She was one scary redhead.
And when Wolverine killed her in the end was anyone else thinking of the ending to "Spiderman vs Wolverine"? It was one of my favorite books when I was a kid and the imagery just seems to be in inspiration. It was also kind of cool to see the Ultimate Wolverine imagery of his flesh being ripped/burned away and growing back. They don't play that up as much in the 616 universe as they do in the Ultimate universe.
I really loved Kelsey Grammer as the Beast. I thought he pulled him off very well with the intellectual sound yet the animalistic look. Only once did I ever think, "Fraiser?" And come on, they even slipped in "Oh my stars and garters." Cool.
Kitty Pride looked age appropriate at the beginning of her run with the team. I thought that was cool. I was kind of dissappointed that they went with the whole love triangle story with Iceman and Rogue. She really needs to be with Colossus (or to quote Wolverine in Whedon's AX-M run, "It's about time").
Speaking of Iceman.......HE PUT ON THE ICE ARMOR. I damn near pee'd my pants when I saw that. Just a cool touch.
Overall I thought it was a good story. It's funny that while the comics are really in a deconstructive storytelling mode, the movie tried to cram as much as it could in the time it had. If anything that would be my gripe with it....it felt too short. I would have loved for this story to be longer, but maybe there's hope for that second trilogy. Anybody else see it? What'd you think?
Ok, I'm going to go into some bits and pieces of the movie here so if you haven't seen it yet I'd just skip on over this entry. If you have seen it let me know what you think. With that in mind......
I went into this one with all of the spoilers in mind. I've read most of the previews and they've been negative for the most part. If you're going to see it I would go in with the mantra I had, "The movie is not the comic.....The movie is not the comic." Once I got that going through my head I really enjoyed myself. Now then about the movie...
Cyclops got a raw deal. Out pretty early. But as Bill and I discussed after the movie, no body, not necessarily dead. And the whining I've heard on this has driven me nuts. Characters like this (yes, even "important ones") come and go in the comics. They disappear for a while (like Cyclops did at the end of the Phoenix Saga) and they come back later. Hell, Jean Grey has died and lived so many times it's become something of an inside joke for comic fans. So just relax.
I do like this "realistic" view of the team. It actually one of the reasons I buy into the whole Phoenix as a schizo representation of Jean as opposed to the cosmic entity it was in the comics. I mean really, do you think they were going to introduce the Shi'ar Empire for the third movie? I don't even think they'll do it if they make a new trilogy. This verision is very earth bound and earth centered. Problems just don't have that cosmic feel to them yet. I did like the image they gave her as everything was consumed around her. She was one scary redhead.
And when Wolverine killed her in the end was anyone else thinking of the ending to "Spiderman vs Wolverine"? It was one of my favorite books when I was a kid and the imagery just seems to be in inspiration. It was also kind of cool to see the Ultimate Wolverine imagery of his flesh being ripped/burned away and growing back. They don't play that up as much in the 616 universe as they do in the Ultimate universe.
I really loved Kelsey Grammer as the Beast. I thought he pulled him off very well with the intellectual sound yet the animalistic look. Only once did I ever think, "Fraiser?" And come on, they even slipped in "Oh my stars and garters." Cool.
Kitty Pride looked age appropriate at the beginning of her run with the team. I thought that was cool. I was kind of dissappointed that they went with the whole love triangle story with Iceman and Rogue. She really needs to be with Colossus (or to quote Wolverine in Whedon's AX-M run, "It's about time").
Speaking of Iceman.......HE PUT ON THE ICE ARMOR. I damn near pee'd my pants when I saw that. Just a cool touch.
Overall I thought it was a good story. It's funny that while the comics are really in a deconstructive storytelling mode, the movie tried to cram as much as it could in the time it had. If anything that would be my gripe with it....it felt too short. I would have loved for this story to be longer, but maybe there's hope for that second trilogy. Anybody else see it? What'd you think?
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Tired
This has been an exhausting week so far. I've passed over the humps I needed to get to, but I'm pretty worn out now. Mentally exhausted. I have the following prayer requests. I will be sharing these with our small group, but I thought I'd share them with extended family as well:
1. Pray for Julie's Aunt Pat and Julie's family. The cancer seems to be progressing steadily but we're still at a phase where she could go on for six days or six months... No one really knows.
2. Pray for Julie. She's entering the final year of her residency and this is where the work really gets going. Decisions over the future and uncertainty are harder on her than they are for me. Just pray for her in this decision making time.
3. Pray for me in relation to Julie's decisions. Along with that there will be decisions and work to be done on the condo. I know it seems like a year is a long time, but it really will go by quick. I just want to get stuff done this summer so I'm not rushing over the winter and spring.
4. Pray for me. It's been a long week. A couple of work projects are nearly completed, but the work at the end is always harder than the work you put into getting it going. My fuse is shorter, I can tell by the colorful vocabulary I'm redeveloping. I'll have to discipline myself out of it again. It'll help to just get out this weekend and goof off. You can pray for wonderfully constructive goofing off time. Racquetball is always a great way to start the weekend and work off some of the physical energy/frustration you've stored up during the week.
Hope all is well with everyone else.
1. Pray for Julie's Aunt Pat and Julie's family. The cancer seems to be progressing steadily but we're still at a phase where she could go on for six days or six months... No one really knows.
2. Pray for Julie. She's entering the final year of her residency and this is where the work really gets going. Decisions over the future and uncertainty are harder on her than they are for me. Just pray for her in this decision making time.
3. Pray for me in relation to Julie's decisions. Along with that there will be decisions and work to be done on the condo. I know it seems like a year is a long time, but it really will go by quick. I just want to get stuff done this summer so I'm not rushing over the winter and spring.
4. Pray for me. It's been a long week. A couple of work projects are nearly completed, but the work at the end is always harder than the work you put into getting it going. My fuse is shorter, I can tell by the colorful vocabulary I'm redeveloping. I'll have to discipline myself out of it again. It'll help to just get out this weekend and goof off. You can pray for wonderfully constructive goofing off time. Racquetball is always a great way to start the weekend and work off some of the physical energy/frustration you've stored up during the week.
Hope all is well with everyone else.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Geek Heaven
As a serious comic book fan, I really believe that I am in geek heaven. This holiday weekend I am going to force myself out of the house to hit some movies. I must see X-Men: The Last Stand. I must see Over The Hedge. X-Men looks fun. I'm hearing mixed stuff on it but what little bits I have seen have made the inner fanboy drool. So the Fastball Special isn't 100% accurate. I'll live. I just need to see all the mutants going at it. Interesting twist on the story too. In the original Dark Phoenix saga it was Scott that couldn't kill Jean, now it looks like they're giving Wolverine that role. Over the Hedge just looks funny. If you can't appreciate the irony of William Shatner playing the possum....well.....I just can't explain it to you. And I just saw the international trailer for Superman Returns. Now admittedly I was not totally excited about the new Superman movie. I am now excited. Very excited. Check out these trailer links:
X-Men: The Last Stand
Over the Hedge
Superman Returns
Let the inner geek rejoice!!!
X-Men: The Last Stand
Over the Hedge
Superman Returns
Let the inner geek rejoice!!!
Ugh...what a weekend
Wow. It was fun, but busy. A wedding held in Grosse Pointe Woods with a reception in Sterling Heights kept us tied up all day Saturday. The residual sleep deprevation kept me lounging around on Sunday. Dinner with friends on Sunday night just put the perfect ending of a week of horrid eating habits. Not my best week. But hey, the Tigers & the Pistons won. Life can't be all bad.
Monday 5/22/2006 weigh-in: 300.2 lbs.
Monday 5/22/2006 weigh-in: 300.2 lbs.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Can we please just stone Pat Robertson now......?
....Please?
Maybe I'm just cranky because I left my office keys and palm pilot at home?
Maybe I'm just cranky because the Red Wings didn't seem to care and got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs?
Maybe I'm just cranky because the Pistons appear to be suffering from the same malaize in the second round of their playoffs?
But will someone please just shut Pat Robertson up? I see news stories like this and I really wonder why anyone listens to him. Gee.....he predicted storms against the US. It's not like the US Meteorological Service hasn't been predicting an upswing in storms for a year or so. He's also saying that "God told him" there may be a tsunami heading our way in the Pacific Northwest. Pat's not sure he heard God right. Maybe he ought to go ask Ms. Cleo for advice. Will somebody please ge the snake-oil salesman off of tv?!? It really feels like people like this are making a mockery of God. As though having a "personal relationship" with God is something akin to having an inside stock tip so you can make a little cash.
Bleeding idiot....
Maybe I'm just cranky because I left my office keys and palm pilot at home?
Maybe I'm just cranky because the Red Wings didn't seem to care and got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs?
Maybe I'm just cranky because the Pistons appear to be suffering from the same malaize in the second round of their playoffs?
But will someone please just shut Pat Robertson up? I see news stories like this and I really wonder why anyone listens to him. Gee.....he predicted storms against the US. It's not like the US Meteorological Service hasn't been predicting an upswing in storms for a year or so. He's also saying that "God told him" there may be a tsunami heading our way in the Pacific Northwest. Pat's not sure he heard God right. Maybe he ought to go ask Ms. Cleo for advice. Will somebody please ge the snake-oil salesman off of tv?!? It really feels like people like this are making a mockery of God. As though having a "personal relationship" with God is something akin to having an inside stock tip so you can make a little cash.
Bleeding idiot....
Monday, May 15, 2006
Another weekend gone....
Well, I've survived another weekend. I spent most of this weekend either moving, setting up or destroying. Friday I took apart the couch in the basement, dragged it up to the truck and dumped it in the back. Saturday was spent throwing out the couch, going to get the recliners from my folks and setting up the projector and screen in my basement. Sunday was spent enjoying the fruits of my labors.....every show feels like a movie experience now. It's very cool. Even Julie, who was initially skeptical of this purchase, is very impressed. And now she can watch Alias in supersize... ;)
The cats have acclimated to the recliners. As usual they assume these were brought in for them. I'm always moving cats out of my way to sit down, they get even by sitting on me. It's the great circle of warmth.
So with all the work I did this weekend, I also ate pretty heavy, so not much of a change this week, but it is going down.
Monday 5/15/2006 weigh-in: 298.8 lbs.
The cats have acclimated to the recliners. As usual they assume these were brought in for them. I'm always moving cats out of my way to sit down, they get even by sitting on me. It's the great circle of warmth.
So with all the work I did this weekend, I also ate pretty heavy, so not much of a change this week, but it is going down.
Monday 5/15/2006 weigh-in: 298.8 lbs.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Cute Boris stories
Ok, so I have to tell this story. Last night Julie and I were on the couch watching tv. After we had finished I got up to use the computer and Julie continued to sit there reading her book. As per usual, Boris seized upon the opportunity to move up to the "Head Cat" spot and sat down in my spot on the couch. Ok, nothing new there. At the time, we left the tv tuned to PBS and the Michigan Out-Of-Doors show was just coming on. Tonight's episode: Turkey hunting. I was sitting there minding my own business when I hear Julie whisper, "Jim, look at Boris." There, in my spot, was a cat who was totally transfixed. I've never actually seen any of the cats watch tv before, but Boris couldn't peel his eyes away. He was amazed and mystified. Somewhere in that little fuzzy brain of his you could just hear him saying "What is that bird doing in my house?!? Must attack!! Must think out plan!!! Must be sneaky!!!" Boris slinked off of the couch and slowly made his way up to the gobbling fowl on the screen. Coming at it from the side he inched forward, never taking his eyes off the bird. When he got to the screen he looked up, stretched out a paw and placed it on the screen. "Hmmm.....no bird" you could hear him say. Never one to give up, he jumped up on the speaker and peaked around the back of the tv looking for his prey. Frustrated he jumped back to the ground and sat in front of the tv pondering new ways he could get that rotten bird he could hear all around him.
At this point Julie and I were just cracking up. Poor Boris. He may be the King, but there's a reason why we're the dominant species.
Oh well, tomorrow we set up the projector. 80'' widescreen in high-def, here we come!!!! Boris may drool at the turkey, but Jim will be drooling at Star Wars!!!
At this point Julie and I were just cracking up. Poor Boris. He may be the King, but there's a reason why we're the dominant species.
Oh well, tomorrow we set up the projector. 80'' widescreen in high-def, here we come!!!! Boris may drool at the turkey, but Jim will be drooling at Star Wars!!!
Monday, May 08, 2006
Monday weigh-in
Hmmm....through no fault of my own I appear to have lost a pound this week. I had kind of a bad weekend just eating little junk the whole time. I must have offset that with the racquetball and the work I did around the house on Saturday. Oh well, time to refocus and not get lazy.
Official 5/8/2006 weight: 299.2 lbs.
Official 5/8/2006 weight: 299.2 lbs.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Happy Monday
Whew....another busy weekend over with. I'm happy to be at work.
I came to a realization a month or so ago that I have a little over a year until Bill's wedding. Coinciding with this realization, Julie and I recently had our pictures taken as part of a new church directory. Now I'm not really complaining about the pictures, I thought they were really good. But I couldn't help but look and say, "Who's the big guy?" Ok, so I'm acutely aware of my weight, but it takes on a new dimention when you can actually see yourself. So I'm moving back to the "eat better and get some exercise in" routine. I'd definitely like to get down again before we have photos for Bill's wedding. I won't go into all the boring details of the plan I'm putting together and how I'm going to accomplish this (maybe some other time. But I've been at it a few weeks and have actually lost 10 pounds, so I'm on the right track. Anyway, as part of my accountability I'm going to be posting my weight each week on here so I can see my progress in a "public" forum. I weigh myself each Monday at work, so if you don't see a post here, or I disappear and hide, send me a message and let me know so I stay accountable.
This week's magic weight: 300.2 lbs (yuk, but still better than it was)
I came to a realization a month or so ago that I have a little over a year until Bill's wedding. Coinciding with this realization, Julie and I recently had our pictures taken as part of a new church directory. Now I'm not really complaining about the pictures, I thought they were really good. But I couldn't help but look and say, "Who's the big guy?" Ok, so I'm acutely aware of my weight, but it takes on a new dimention when you can actually see yourself. So I'm moving back to the "eat better and get some exercise in" routine. I'd definitely like to get down again before we have photos for Bill's wedding. I won't go into all the boring details of the plan I'm putting together and how I'm going to accomplish this (maybe some other time. But I've been at it a few weeks and have actually lost 10 pounds, so I'm on the right track. Anyway, as part of my accountability I'm going to be posting my weight each week on here so I can see my progress in a "public" forum. I weigh myself each Monday at work, so if you don't see a post here, or I disappear and hide, send me a message and let me know so I stay accountable.
This week's magic weight: 300.2 lbs (yuk, but still better than it was)