Movie Review: War of the Worlds

"War of the Worlds" is a movie that I've put off watching for a long time. I'm not really a big Tom Cruise fan, and I hadn't heard very many good tings about this movie. However, my Netflix Queue needed to be reorganized, and this one ended up near the top.

"War of the Worlds" has a lot of really good aspects to it. Obviously, it's based on a classic story, so that makes it intriguing. I thought it was a lot like "Signs", which was the M. Knight Shyamalan film with Mel Brooks made back in 2002. Except, "War of the Worlds" was better in a lot of ways. The suspense was more palpable, and the characters were actually very good.

However, "War of the Worlds" only merits 3 stars. I found it a little disjointed. This is one case where a movie should have been longer to fill in some of the holes. I also felt that it ended too happily...which is a rarity for me. I typically like happy endings, but given everything that happened in the movie, I felt it should have had a slightly darker ending. Though, I've never read the book, so maybe Spielberg and company were very true to the book.

"War of the Worlds" is good for 2 hours of entertainment. It's not great, but it's not bad either.

The Master of Diplomacy

This week, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a visit to Washington DC, his first official visit with President Obama. Prime Minister Brown presented President Obama with 3 gifts (apparently gift giving is traditional at these things).

1) A pen holder made from the oak timber of HMS Gannet, a Navy vessel that served on anti-slavery missions off Africa.
2) A framed commissioning paper for the HMS Resolute, a Royal Navy ship that came to symbolize British-American goodwill when it was rescued by the U.S. from icebergs and given to Queen Victoria. The President's Desk is made from the wood of this ship.
3) Martin Gilbert's seven-volume biography of Winston Churchill, whose World War II partnership with President Franklin Roosevelt symbolized the U.S.-British alliance.

Some very well thought out gifts of historical significance to say the least. What did Mr. Obama give Gordon Brown? A box set of 25 DVD's of Classic American Films...a neat gift, but nothing when compared to the gifts given by the British. The British Media, who was clamoring for Obama to be President is now miffed at the treatment Mr. Brown received in Washington. I guess Obama broke traditional protocol on press conferences and such as well.

This latest "snub" of sorts came on the heels of Obama returning a bust of Winston Churchill given to the US by the British shortly after September 11th. President Bush had this bust proudly displayed in the Oval Office. Apparently President Obama didn't want it anywhere in the White House or even in Washington DC. This really irritated the British.

As I recall, President Obama said during the election, that he was going to repair the image of the U.S. around the world, because Obama had so much diplomatic experience. Wait, he didn't have any diplomatic experience. But, he speaks well, so obviously he could repair our image...the image that was supposedly so tainted over the last 8 years. For a guy who claimed he could fix our "damaged" image, he seems to be having a lot of trouble just keeping the friends we have. The British have been our best ally for a long time, and Obama appears to be taking them for granted (at the very least).

A Master of Diplomacy indeed!

Why Ruin a Good Thing?

This, my 100th blog, was inspired by the commenter known as "Anonymous". Yes, "Anonymous" is not anonymous to me.

Here in the state of Iowa, our Democratic Legislature has embarked on a mission to destroy our state's role in the Presidential Election. The geniuses running Des Moines have somehow convinced themselves that it's a good idea to tie our electoral votes to the national popular vote, rather than the actual will of Iowans. So, for example, if in 2012 Iowans vote for Obama, but say, Sarah Palin wins the national popular vote, Iowa's electoral votes would go to Palin. Why would they do this one might ask? Well, I can only conclude that they are trying to ensure that we don't get a repeat of 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to George W. Bush. But, as I just showed above, this could easily backfire in the Republicans direction.

Oh, and it's not just Iowa. There are several other states trying to do this as well.

So, why change? The electoral college has worked just fine for the past 2 centuries. I believe there have only been 2 times when the winner of the popular vote lost the electoral college. Twice out of all the Presidential elections...seems like throwing the baby out with the bath water to me.

But, there has been a long history of changing things that worked, just to change them. Here's just a few examples:

1) New Formula Coke. That change made no sense, and lasted about 14 minutes.
2) The Masters. Yes, this is a golf one...just bear with me. The tournament has lost it's excitement since they Tiger proofed the course. There used to be the chance for a Sunday run, now it's like a US Open.
3) The Mortgage System. For years, we had a good system that worked. Home ownership was not easy, but when attained, something to be proud of. The Congress and the Banks dorked with it, and look what we have now!
4) The BCS deciding college football. It ruined the traditional bowls, and the national champion still isn't clear to anyone.
5) Kirstie Alley replaces Shelley Long on Cheers...oh wait, that was a good change. Sometimes change is ok.

Anyway, you get the point. Sometimes there's no need to change a good thing. Look at Matlock...he wore the same Gray Suit every case, and he won all the time.

Well, that's my 100th blog...as rambling as always!

Support our Scouts

On Saturday, my son David received his Wolf Badge in Cub Scouts. The Wolf Badge is the 3rd major badge a Cub Scout can receive. Last year he earned his Bobcat and Tiger badges. Next year, David will be a Bear Cub, followed by 2 years of Weblos, then, on to Boy Scouts, we hope. It goes without saying how proud both Amanda and I were on Saturday night. David has worked really hard, but he's still having fun, which is important.

Scouting is really a great thing! I can only speak for Cub/Boy Scouts because I was in both of those, and I never had a sister to find out what Girl Scouts is all about. Some of my best memories are from Scouting events. Camp outs, Scout Jamboree, and Den meetings with people I still consider friends today. Unfortunately, I didn't stick with it through Eagle Scout, and today I find myself wishing I had. But, even with that regret, I can still say Scouting was a great time for me, and I hope I am helping to make it a great time for my son.

That's my 2 cents on Scouting. I know it gets a bad rap in the drive-by media because it's a faith based group, among other reasons. But, from a first hand perspective as both a participant and now a father watching his son participate, I can tell you that the things Scouting teaches these kids are valuable, and lessons these boys will keep with them the rest of their life. So, next time you see a Cub Scout out selling popcorn, maybe think about buying some, or at least asking them what they are doing in Scouts....they'll probably be excited to tell you.

A Childhood Hero does Good

Growing up, my biggest sports hero was John Elway. Elway was the QB of the Denver Broncos during their best seasons, and he was my favorite player. He is still my favorite player, although the hero status has dimmed somewhat with age and wisdom on my part.

Then today, I saw this story from Rick Reilly. This reminds me of why John Elway is and always will be my favorite player, and one of the few professional athletes who can occasionally live up to hero status.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3930609

Obama should take a Day Off

The DOW plunged another 300 points today, meaning it ended well below 7000. For those of us who are watching our 401k's plummet, we're wondering, when is something going to happen to turn this around?

Meanwhile, President Obama decided today was the day to announce a new Health and Human Services nominee and a new plan to completely change our health care system. I'm no economist, so I have no idea if this announcement is what caused the plunge. What I do know is that there seems to be a pattern since Obama became President where he addresses the media and makes an announcement of some sort. The announcement is then followed by plummet in the stock market.

Again, I'm not an economist, so I really have no idea if these occurrences are related or not. But, I think it's enough of a coincidence, that maybe President Obama should take a day off and we can see what the markets do when Obama doesn't make a new announcement. It can't hurt, can it?