No More Snow!!!

Well, it's snowing! I know that there's always a chance of snow in the Midwest this time of year, but we've had such beautiful weather lately that I had believed the snowy weather was done for the season. But, no such luck. We're in a winter storm warning and could get several inches by morning. I'm really ready for spring to get here and stay.

This is especially cruel because the weather has been so nice that I've played some golf, and gotten the bikes ready for riding season.

Enough of my whining. Hopefully this won't last long, and at least the kids got to go outside and play it in.

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

"Quantum of Solace" is the latest in a long line of James Bond movies, but only the 2nd since the "reboot" of the series with Daniel Craig playing 007. The first Bond movie starring Mr. Craig was "Casino Royale", which I really liked. However, "Quantum of Solace" didn't make the grade, so to speak, receiving only 3 stars. Keep in mind, almost every other Bond movie I've ever watched has gotten 4 stars.

For a long time today, I couldn't put my finger on what took "Quantum of Solace" down a notch. After all, it had plenty of good action. But, I think that ended up being part of the problem...lots of action, not a lot of plot development. For instance, I never developed a strong dislike for Dominic Greene (the villain). They just didn't spend enough time developing his character.

Then there was the fact that this movie started only a few hours after "Casino Royale" left off. This is not typical for a Bond movie...generally they can stand on their own. I watched "Casino Royale" quite a while ago, so it took me several minutes before I remembered enough to really follow what was going on.

Finally, I don't really like how Daniel Craig is portraying James Bond. Bond isn't supposed to be brooding. As a friend put it: "James Bond doesn't sulk!" I was a big fan of Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, so Craig has a lot to live up to.

A couple of other nits...Q isn't in the movie and there are no cool gadgets. Both staples of Bond films that I miss. Overall, it wasn't a waste of my time, but I don't care if I ever see it again.

The End of a Great Season

Sadly, this will be my last Jackrabbit update for a while. The season ended for the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Women's Basketball team tonight in a heartbreaker to Baylor, 60-58. I watched the end of it on ESPN2, and it was a tough way to lose. They were up early, Baylor chipped away and got the lead, then the Jacks tied it up with 7.8 seconds left, only to see Baylor make a shot with 0.5 seconds left. Baylor ended the season #5 in the polls and won the Big 12 Championship, so they're a pretty good team.

Still, it was a great season for the Jackrabbits. They won 32 games, won the Summit League title, made the NCAA Tournament in their first year of eligibility and won a tournament game. Because of the way college sports are set up, with major conferences (Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, ACC and SEC) spending the most money and getting the most top notch talent, smaller schools like South Dakota State can't really have a much better season than this one.

I'm sure the team is down after this heartbreaking loss, but hopefully they will look back on this season and be proud of what they accomplished. As an alumni and someone who lived in South Dakota for the first 22 years of my life, I'm proud of what they accomplished, and look forward to following them again next season.

Movie Review: High School Musical 3

I seriously considered whether or not I was going to review "High School Musical 3" on my blog. After all, I've said enough things on here to cost me "guy" points, that I didn't want to say anymore. But, I decided to go ahead with it anyway, even though I may face ridicule and scorn.

"High School Musical 3" is true to the form of the first 2 "High School Musical" films. No, it doesn't have the charm or the originality of the first one, but it's a good sequel, and a good ending to the series. At least it appears to be the end. You never know if Disney will ride this horse further. From a history perspective, I rated the original "High School Musical" 5 stars, while #2 got 4 stars. "High School Musical 3" also gets 4 stars.

Take those ratings with a grain of salt though. I've always been a big fan of musicals. And, I have to admit, I am a fan of Cheesy Feel Good Disney Movies, or CFGDM for short. I'm not really sure when my enjoyment of CFGDMs started...the first I recall is watching "The Rookie" in the late 1990's. I loved that movie. I continued watching CFGDMs, such as "Glory Road" and "Remember the Titans" when I could, and never thought I had a problem. That is, until I watched "Ice Princess" and "High School Musical" and really enjoyed both of them.

Here I was, a grown man, watching and enjoying CFGDMs obviously not targeted for my demographic...it was embarrassing. I tried to cover this up, by watching as many films with explosions as I could, but I always found myself checking to see what was on the Disney Channel, just in case a favorite CFGDM was on. Oh, the shame!

Then, a few weeks ago, I got to thinking...who cares if I like CFGDMs? "Ice Princess" is on Disney Channel, and darn it, I'm going to watch it, and I don't care what people think! There are worse things I could be doing. I think it was really that pivotal moment that made it ok for me to review movies like "High School Musical 3" and admit my enjoyment of CFGDMs.

Author's note: I Googled CFGDM and there were no hits. I also checked acronymfinder.com, and there was no CFGDM acronym. Therefore, I have officially created a new acronym. Cheesy Feel Good Disney Movie (CFGDM). As an engineer, I'm so proud.

South Dakota State 90 - TCU 55

The first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament was a good one for the Jackrabbits. Not only did they get their first tournament win at the Division 1 level, but they got it in their first game, and they tied the record for most 3 pointers in a tournament game with 16. A great start for the Jackrabbits, and a good day for the fans.

As the #7 seed in their region, this was likely the only game they'll be favored in. Unless something really strange happens, next up will be Baylor, who is the #2 seed in the region and one of the best teams in the country. Some of us believe the Jackrabbits are one of the better teams in the country, so hopefully it will be a good matchup.

The Jacks are now 32-2! No matter what happens next, this has been a great season.