Weekend in Sports

Yep, that's 7 in a row and 55 total

First of all, Tiger won the Buick Invitational. He overtook and/or stayed out of reach of a few "young guns" who had one or fewer tour wins. Everyone talked about the great opportunity it was to be playing or competing closely with Tiger. One commentator's response to this attitude was this: "It's (playing with Tiger) like singing along at a Stones concert. You feel like you're part of it, but no one else notices." Also, until I read about Andrew Buckle's Sunday behavior, I didn't realize that smoking was permitted on tour. Maybe I've just been living under a rock. That or they never televise such things...

Secondly, Roger Federer won the Australian Open. I'm not really a fan of his, but I can certainly appreciate his talent. I like Roddick, more so now that Agassi is gone. Much to my dismay, I forgot to watch the Federer vs. Roddick match after work on Thursday. After learning of the 4-6, 0-6, 2-6 loss suffered by Andy, I figured maybe it was better that I hadn't seen it.

An evening well-spent: V for Outstanding

V for Vendetta

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you, and you may call me V."
-V’s introduction to Evey


I feel that I can hardly do any justice to this film. However, I’d just like to say that it was amazing. With monologues like the one above, the creativeness and way with words of the writer virtually demand respect and surely spark my envy. V for Vendetta has it all: replete with drama, action, suspense, and hints of romance and comedy. Shakespeare is worked into the dialogue, and the caliber of original writing is, as already mentioned, superb. Thanks to the Wachowski brothers, there are definite hints of the Matrix in the stylized action scenes. These scenes are not the foundation on which the movie is built but rather a complement to the already solid plot. Another Matrix tie-in would be Hugo Weaving. On this occasion, though, he is not the rigid Agent Smith but the vindictive anarchist, V. His face is never seen, but the voice is unmistakable, despite being more emotive than his prior character, Smith. There is even a scene which is reminiscent of sped-up chase sequences from Benny Hill and the Keystone Kops. This is a short-lived glimpse at humor in a movie based upon the uprising of a people against tyranny while being lead by a vigilante donning a Fawkes mask.

I’ll leave you with this poem based on the Gunpowder Plot, a key part of the history involved in film’s story line.

Remember, remember
the 5th of November,
the gunpowder, treason and plot;
I know of no reason
why the gunpowder treason
should ever be forgot.

DrMLKJr Day, Strip Malls, and my car.

Let’s take a journey…shall we? This account is a factual review of my holiday weekend. I’ll choose to focus much more so on the holiday than the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday were very typical. Activities included going to the mall, watching TV, attending church, cooking, eating, and sleeping.


Yesterday, as many of you know, was recognized as a holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The gov had the day off. …but not me. That is to say, I wasn’t at work, but it certainly was no vacation. The bird, in all of her glory, needed a water pump. It’s a time consuming repair, but it’s mostly covered under the warranty. I figured my day off would be the ideal time to have this done, thus resulting in the least inconvenience. Ha! There’s a strip mall a mile from the shop. I thought I could kill a few hours there until I was “go for launch”. I was dropped off at a coffee shop at about 8:45 am. There, as I nursed my beverage for the next 30 minutes, I read part of the Cliff’s Notes for All the King’s Men. Not much can be said for the plot, as my brief time committed to the subject was merely enough to be introduced to the main characters and the setting. I replaced the pamphlet taken from the bookshelf and made my way down the side walk. I took note of movie show times and continued forth to Circuit City. However, CC doesn’t open until 10 and it was still a half hour until then. I went to the neighboring grocery store and read magazines until I was assured that I would be granted access to CC. As per usual, I bought nothing. I stuck to meandering and looking at things of interest for about an hour. At this point I revisited the AMC theatre for the 11:20 showing of The Pursuit of Happyness.

It’s the predictable, heart-warming, inspirational, pursue your dreams, rags to riches story that I suspected, but it did burn up nearly 2 hours for less than the price of a rental at Blockbuster. Following that, about an hour was devoted to ambling through TJMaxx, talking on the phone with my girlfriend, and negotiating and setting up future service with Comcast. Why you say?

…duh. My 2:30 lunchtime was spent at Applebee’s where I can now say with conviction, “Don’t order the blackened Tilapia sandwich.” I generally like the seasoning/cooking style associated with “blackened”, but that generalization failed this go-round. (I could make a much better tuna sandwich at home.) I then returned to the CC and further perused everything from my first trip. There are only so many times you want to play the motocross-esque demo on PS3 or the same 4 holes on Tiger Woods 07 for XBOX 360. This amusement fatigue also extends to looking at TVs, radar detectors, notebook computers, CDs, DVDs, and the Bose surround sound station. I then proceeded to Lowe’s for the remaining hour of my day. I am not yet excitable by carpet swatches or bathroom fixtures. Thus, it was quite boring. Exhaustion took over, and I sat down until it was time to get a ride back to the shop. An employee picked me up at 6ish. What a wonderful way to spend 10 hours on a holiday. Aren’t you jealous?

Despite the time I was able to pass by drafting this at work, I'm tired now. Good bye.

The Holiday Report

What to do in Eastern New Los Santa Harrisontonburgvillefieldcesteria...

Harrisburg… can it be, this is the city which I see?

I spent the past week and a half in and around the not-so-blooming metropoleis of Allentown and Harrisburg PA. It was filled with the usual holiday hecticness that comes from visiting a familiar area for a brief time. There were people to visit, Church services to attend, parties at which to make an appearance, and quality time to spend with those to whom I am closest. Failing to make the to-do list was watching the Strawberry drop at Strawberry Square in downtown H-burg.

A few things of note:

• Ice skating isn’t what it used to be. When you are 9 years old and all you want to do is weave between adults doing Mach 1 in an endless oval, the 2 hours allotted for public-skate is barely enough. However, at the feeble age of 23, I find that the activity is more a romantic setting for conversation, a mild challenge, some physical activity, and an opportunity to get cold and thirsty. After an hour of this, you and your date will have a tired right leg (assuming the typical counter-clockwise loop) and the desire to go elsewhere to sit down and warm up. May I suggest skiing or, if you must, snowboarding. Albeit not as economical, the lifts provide some repose for chit chat and more exhilaration exists during the descent. If weather and/ or location decrease the feasibility of said activity, I can’t help you. Or maybe I’m just tired of thinking about it…

• Thing of note #2 – I have no idea what it was.

• Here’s an impromptu #3 – Rocky MMMCXCVII or something like that was ok. I liked the first 4. The latest, not greatest, had one major problem. I couldn’t look at Rocky as a character. I could not see him as the portrayal of a retired boxer turned restaurateur. I saw the man on the screen as Sylvester Stallone, dressed down and with an accent that is not quite his own. It was mildly interesting with a feel-good conclusion.
  

Upon my return to Cleveland, I found that I would have an extra day of vacation. The gov was in mourning on the day of its recently deceased 38th President, Gerald Ford. That’s not super exciting, just worthy of rubbing in everyone’s face.