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?