It's strange to sit here...

with thunder and lightning all around and be writing a post instead of worrying about a lightning strike! I'm on the laptop, Dottie went to bed a bit ago, and I'm heading for the shower when the lightning slows a bit.

We did an "us" weekend, 2 movies in the theatre yesterday, then one last night off DVD after we got home. Today we slept late, stuck a turkey in the oven and went to another, then came home and ate and watched a second, then watched the 2nd episode of "3 Moons Over Milford".

The worst "discussions" of our 30 years have always been over gay rights and women's rights; the events of the last month have added a 3rd to that list. She of course, has no idea about my friend in Beirut and her family. She also thinks that as long as a single missle lands in Israel they have a right to target the entire population of a country instead of just the ones firing them...

Perhaps I've offended some of you as well over this last few weeks as well as my wife; if so I'm sorry for that.

Somehow the idea of "killing the patient to cure a boil" bothers me!

We saw Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" on Saturday. I had heard interviews last week with some of the people who were there, and they had good things to say about it. It was a good movie, well done. Apparently the events of last week made it poor timing for it's release, as people seem to be avoiding it. Maria Bello is always stunning, and it's really a very good ensemble.

That afternoon we finally got to "An Incovenient Truth". This one needs to be seen in all the schools when it hits DVD, and I hope it is. This might be one more time when the kids can help save the parents!

On the way home last night I stopped and rented "Brick". I had wanted to see it at the "art house" but it only stayed a week, and those are really hard to get to on my hours. I had read about it somewhere (USA Today, maybe) being a Raymond Chandler "Sam Spade" type of yarn, set in high school. It was, it was good, and has me digging for my copy of "The Maltese Falcon". Chandler and Hammett have been on my reading list for a long time, just to see how they compare to those old movies I love; sometime I'm going to have to get to them.

Today, after the turkey found it's way into the oven, we went to see "Prarie Home Companion". I love the radio show, my wife is bored by it, but I really wanted to see the movie, so we went. I liked it a lot, and love having faces to go with the voices I've treasured for so long now. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly slipping in as the cowboys didn't jar me as badly as I had feared, and Meryl Streep can sing! This may not be ranked with Altman's "MASH" but it's a really good movie! Dottie still doesn't care for the radio show, but laughed pretty hard during parts of the movie. I had hoped it might draw her into fandom, but no such luck.

We came home, I did chores while she made gravy, then we ate and watched "Failure To Launch", one we had missed in the theatres and had been looking forward to. We both enjoyed it very much, and the interviews with McConaughey and Bradshaw in the making of stuff are a riot!

Hope you all had nice weekends!


alan