Five White Spiral Button Staplers

*'Avatar': The highest grossing movie ever in the history of ever. I really had no great urge to see this movie. But, the Boss kinda wanted to see it, so we rented it over the weekend. It was very pretty. Cameron has mastered some incredible new SFX techniques. And that's about all I can say about the movie. I found myself checking the clock more than once, wondering when it was going to be over. I almost want my $5 back. The whole thing reminded me of a final project in art class where you had to include certain techniques into your work in order to get all the available points. In this case, those things would be glowing things, flying things, and blue people things. And boy were those things substituted in mass quantities in place of plot and character development. I was also disappointed when the death of the head military guy reminded me of a very similar scene in 'Apocalypse Now'. But that scene was better.

*Quote of the week: "I will trade grace for pleasure."

*Tried out the recumbent bike, and I'm not sure that I like it. It's got a small front wheel, so it steers like a chopper. Real floppy and short. The handlebars kinda remind me of the old ape hangers we used to have as kids, too. Plus the thing has a huge wheelbase and thus a huge turning radius. I don't think I had the seat the right distance from the pedals, either. The geometry of the position in which you sit is great for my neck, but the bike itself doesn't seem to be well suited for city sidewalks, curbs, and the like. Maybe if I was doing distance roadwork, but right now, it doesn't seem to fit my riding style. Not that I'm jumping out of helicopters onto mountains with my bike, but I'm not exactly delicate with it, and I do have occasional outbursts of stupidity when faced with hills, fields, holes, and puddles. What I may have to do is head over to DeKalb Cycle and see if they have something that's a middle ground between a cruiser and a mountain bike. Or see if I can get a riser for the handlebars on the bike I have. And maybe some riding gloves. Tired of having my fingers go numb all the time. But, if I get the handlebars moved up, that might take care of that problem.

*I always thought groups like the Elks and the Shriners were odd little remnants from another era. I mean really, when the Masons are holding open membership drives, how strong can the market for fraternal organizations be? But, the retro side of me kinda likes the notion of fezzes, secret handshakes, and bowling shirts. To that end, I have begun looking into becoming a member of a fraternal organization.

*This seemed to be the month that Kane Co Flea Market woke up for the season. There were a lot more dealers than at the last show, but even then it wasn't completely full. Was still a lot of stuff to see, but the only tiki score came from my usual dealer. Didn't even pick up any LPs this time around.

*'Defendor': This was a film I had been interested in a while ago, and then forgot about. When I saw it at the video store, it made my short list. From the previews, I was expecting something along the lines of maybe 'Mystery Men', but hopefully not 'Blankman'. But, once again, Woody Harrelson yanked the rug out from under my ideas of what the movie would be. At the end of the movie, I found myself left with a lingering sadness. It was much the same feeling I had after watching 'Being There' with Peter Sellers. Still, it was a good movie.

*'Pirate Radio': This was a movie the Boss was more interested in than I was. It wasn't bad. It just didn't feel like it was all that bound together. Felt more like an hour and a half of little comedy bits all stitched together. If I want that, I can watch reruns of WKRP. Then on one had you had Kenneth Brannagh doing what seemed to be an impersonation of John Cleese, and on the other was Phillip Seymour Hoffman channeling John Goodman. Just plain weird. All in all, it was OK, but 'Pump Up the Volume' was a much better movie about pirate radio.

*I am really on the fence about whether or not I really want to do any gardening this year. My first inclination is to say no. I'd rather spend the time in the studio. But, I had never quite gotten the beds that I had made into any real self sustaining state. So, right now, large sections of the front look like crap. Gracie has demolished the ground along the fence line, so I don't even know if I could successfully put in my morning glories this year. I'm thinking that I should just be looking to get perennials established in all the blank spots in the front just so I don't have to worry about it anymore. Guess I'll be planting those daises the Boss wanted after all.

*I need to rake the back yard. Don't really want to, but you can only reduce sticks so much by using the lawn mower to chew them up.

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