From the "loved it 20 yrs ago, but . . . " files: I watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 last night and yowsas it was bad. Not as bad as the movie they mocked, but not that far off. Dated references, predictable jokes, bad skits, and an air of sadness & depression. Oh, wait, that last bit was me, as I mourned the ruination of yet another fond memory. RIP once beloved show, RIP.

Tic Tac Anyone?

 

My father-in-law stepped up & took the kids to their dance photos, waited there for the 2 hrs it took & drove them home - all not only solo but in a happy, Grandfather-y mood. He saved our butt big time, and I am grateful.

Sadly, while YaYa was OK, Junie spit on him & said she hated him, Smiley wouldn't listen & ran away from him, & LuLu vomited all over his car. Welcome to my world sir, welcome to my world.

Girl Scout Cookie Booth

 

FAVOR: my van won't be out of the shop until 6, & Lisa and the kids have to to be in Brookfield by 4:15 (mandatory photos for the kids dance recital). Can anyone provide 5/6th's of this clan a lift? I can pay for gas, no problem.

Cropsey

Last night we watched 'Cropsey', a documentary about a convicted child abductor/suspected killer who terrorized Staten Island in the '80's. The doc explores the role the local 'Cropsey' urban legend may have played in molding the public's idea of an 'ideal' suspect, and hints that it may have helped convict a man w/out adequate evidence. An entertaining documentary.

The kids are home from school for some teacher thingamabob, our van is in the shop until this afternoon, and Harry and the Henderson's is streaming on the TV via Netflix. Like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Goonies, Batteries Not Included, Howard the Duck and Space Camp, we'll have to add this to our list of the kids '80's faves.

Mixed compliment of the morn - in a conversation w/ my mechanic he suggested a prob might me caused by a fuel filter. "Naw, I just had that replaced," I said. "Unless XY scammed me." Mechanic: "Dan, I know you don't get this, but you're a scary looking dude. If he doesn't know you, the last thing a guy would want to do is piss you off."

Visiting the Chief

YaYa and her friend Anna hanging with the Fire Chief

 The 'new' Johnny Cash CD [demos, home recordings, radio performances] is wickedly good. I'd tell you the name of the album but it's in the CD player as I write this . . .

Geraldine Ferraro

 Geraldine Ferraro, the former US Congresswoman and 1984 VP candidate, has passed away. She was 75. RIP

 First of three cookie booths this weekend went well! Want cookies? We'll be at the pick n save on whitnall tomorrow 1-5. - Lisa

Some Reviews

If you read reviews on Doctor Who fan sites, "The Curse of Fenric" is remarkably credited as the 'best of the McCoy era' and 'excellent writing'.

Well, it doesn't take much of to be the best of Mr. McCoy's reign as the Doctor, and IMHO most of the reviews contain more plot and characterization than this clunker. It's WWII England. There's an Enigma machine, a paltry six man Italian invasion force, a Viking curse, a bitter old spinster, a nutty British officer, some sea monsters and chess sets.

McCoy is far, far more obnoxious as the Doctor than I recall, and Ace bored me to tears as his companion. Did I mention the special effects probably cost less than the tuna casserole I'm muching between paragraphs?

It is, in the words of Shakespeare, a turd of a story. Yeech.

Due Date failed to my hopes of a Road Trip/Hangover-esque comedy, but it had some moments. It could have used a good edit, if you ask me - chop out that Mexico bit and the story becomes much stronger. It was an OK way to waste a couple hours, but I wouldn't watch it again.

Rollercoaster is a '70's disaster flick about a domestic terrorist targeting amusement parks. I love the decade of my birth, so by default this earns one star; it earns two more by being a fun, rather coherent thriller. I do wish they'd spent a little time finding some rationale for the bomber. I didn't need to like him or even sympathize with the guy, but I'd have liked at least a teensy bit of an explanation.

Extra fun/brownie points: identify a very young Helen Hunt and Steve Guttenberg in bit parts. I don't think Guttenberg was even credited on screen.

SPOILER: there was no reason to bring the protaganist's family to the park at the end, not if they were just going to be sent home without incident. Why introduce them to the scene if not to add tension to the climax?

 Let me know if I'm being presumptious here, but if someone said to you "check yo self before you wreck yo self, 'cuz shotgun bullets are bad for your health" - wouldn't you feel an obligation to tell them shotguns don't shoot bullets? I know I'd value the constructive criticism, and I'm sure they would too.

This is fodder for a future blog post about my 'favorite things'. It's a canvas book cover identical to one I got for my bday in '09. Dorky as it is, it is one of my 5 favorite gifts ever.

Elizabeth Taylor

Unconfirmed reports this morning that Elizabeth Taylor has died. .. .if so, RIP

Kick Ass

 Ha! Lisa thought she'd hate it, but she liked "Kick Ass" so much she made sure I paused it whenever she had to leave the room. Great movie, great fun, great fight scenes, great rental.

it's an all time low...i liked the movie "kick ass" and it had super heros in it! - Lisa

 Went to gs center to get more cookies for a cookie booth this weekend, I need to go back again because they were out of Carmel delights, ugh. If anyone wants to go with or needs something, let me know. Either going this afternoon or tomorrow. - Lisa

 THE SLAPCZYNSKI KIDS WERE ON TIME...whooooo hoooo! - Lisa

 A full afternoon sadly awaits. Meanwhile we finished watchin "The Duchess". Lisa loved it. I enjoyed it, but in the end felt it was just an (interesting) tale of a poor little rich girl. It is 18th century England, and you are richer than Trump X 30. Be grateful you aren't one of the teeming masses covered in lice & suffering from scurvy.

 "The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation." - Sen. Barack Obama December 20, 2007.

The Conversation

 I just finished watching Coppola's "The Conversation" on good ol' fashioned DVD. It's a great cast and I loved the twist at the end, but all in all I thought it was overlong and a little slow.

 We're watching the season premiere of DWTS, and have just received a text saying that Jonathon Knight is in the audience . . .

 PopEater is reporting that CBS wants Charlie Sheen back on "Two and a Half Men", going so far as to have the network honchos personally take up peace talks between Sheen and show creator Chuck Lorre.

 Get ready for a firestorm. Der Spiegel has obtained more than 4000 photos taken by a rogue group of US Soldiers now on trial for murdering civilians in Afghanistan. The group took trophy photos w/ their alleged victims and now face the death penalty for drug use, murder, sadistic behavior, the mutilation of corpses for 'trophies', etc. The newspaper is publishing only 3 of the pics at this time . . .