Meet Me In St. Louis

My family and I just got home from a 3 day weekend in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is one of my favorite major metropolitan areas, possibly my favorite. There's just so much to do, and it's relatively inexpensive to do it.

This is the first time we've taken our boys to St. Louis, so this was a very kid friendly trip. We stayed at a Drury Inn, near Forest Park. Forest Park is a huge inner city park on the west end of St. Louis. There are multiple attractions within Forest Park, including an Art Museum, History Museum and an Opera House, but the 2 attractions we hit were the St. Louis Science Center and the St. Louis Zoo.

The St. Louis Science Center is a free admission Science Center, and is connected via sky walk to the McDonnell Planetarium. There are tons of cool, hands-on exhibits, but the best for me was the dinosaur exhibit. They had 2 "life sized" robotic dinosaurs. A T-Rex stalking over a wounded Triceratops. You could spend hours if you tried to do everything at the Science Center. We spent about 2 hours there, hitting the highlights.

The St. Louis Zoo is awesome! It's every bit as cool as Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, and an easier walk. Also, it's free!!! We spent about 7 hours at the zoo...my older son is an animal nut. He spent an hour in the Insectarium. But, there were plenty of places to sit and rest if we got tired, and lots of different types of food to keep us energized. The highlight for me was the Asian Elephant exhibit. They had 5-6 females, a huge male (I've never seen such a big Asian Elephant), and 2 babies (ages 2 and 3). They were out and active when we went by. The last time we visited St. Louis was 10 years ago, and the exhibit wasn't done at that time, so it was neat to see it done.

As far as food goes, our hotel had a great, hot breakfast. If you ever get a chance to stay at a Drury Inn, take it...it was a very nice hotel. For dinner, the first night, we ate at a Steak and Shake. None of us had ever eaten there before. I know it's a chain, but it was really good. I liked the Steakburger, and the fries were delicious. I'm told the shakes were good too...I just had a Sprite.

The eating highlight was Bartolino's Restaurant, which was attached to the hotel. It's an Italian Place, but not a chain. I think there 2 or 3 in St. Louis, but that's it. The food was absolutely delicious, and there was plenty of it. My youngest son had a pizza, and it was one of the best pizzas I've ever tasted. I had a spaghetti with Italian Sausage. I was expecting Italian Sausage meatballs, but it was actually 2 full Italian Sausages...my mouth is watering now just thinking about it. Definitely a place to stop if you are in St. Louis.

Finally, this morning we went to Mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis. This was definitely the most ornate and beautiful church I've ever been in. Sadly, it was only 1/4 full or so. It's enormous, so the singing and everything echoed a lot, making it seem even more empty than it was. I enjoyed going to mass there, but it made me appreciate the smaller size and fuller pews of my local parish.

We had a great trip. I doubt it will be so long before we go back.

Movie Review: Gran Torino

I had "Gran Torino" at the top of my Netflix queue for nearly 2 months. I finally got it yesterday. This critically acclaimed Clint Eastwood film (he both directs and stars) is one that I really felt I had to see. I hadn't heard much bad about it, and I generally can still accept that Clint Eastwood can kick butt at 80 years old.

I liked this movie, and I can definitely see why the critics liked it. This isn't your typical Clint Eastwood movie. Sure, he's grumpy and doesn't show a whole lot of range in his acting, just like always. But, "Gran Torino" shows a more vulnerable Eastwood than I'm used to.

"Gran Torino" starts off with the newly widowed Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) being a grouch at his wife's funeral. It's obvious Walt doesn't get along with anyone....not his family and definitely not his Hmong Immigrant neighbors. But, when Walt comes to the aid of his neighbors who are being harassed by a local gang, an unlikely friendship is formed, as both parties have to overcome existing prejudices to develop their relationship.

For me, this is a 4 star movie. It's good, but not great. The acting isn't overwhelming, but that's not why we watch Clint Eastwood. I thought some of the plot was contrived, but not so much that it ruined the movie. I really liked the way this movie ended...I was wondering how it would end, and I was surprised. I think this is definitely a movie for Clint Eastwood fans. Also, if you like "critically acclaimed" movies, you'll like this.

There is a lot of language in this, though, so heed the R rating.

TV Series Review: Eureka, Season 3.0

"Eureka" is one of my favorite series. This Syfy (yes that's how they spell it now) channel series is quirky, comical, and has a little action/danger thrown in for good measure.

The premise of the series is, Eureka is a hub for the most brilliant minds in the world, and most of them work for Global Dynamics. However, these brilliant minds sometimes go too far and get into trouble. That's where Sheriff Jack Carter comes in. Carter is a former federal agent who was appointed Sheriff in season 1. While not as brilliant as the rest of the town, Carter uses common sense to solve the mysteries and save the day in just about every episode.

Season 3.0 is an 8 episode, half season that was on in the summer of 2008. I just finished the 2 DVD's last week. Season 3.0 sees Sheriff Jack Carter and his daughter, Zoe, become an even more integral part of the Eureka community, while Global Dynamics gets a new boss who is not all that she appears to be.

I really enjoyed the 8 episodes, and look forward to season 3.5. For me, this is a 5 star show all around...it makes me laugh, and it provides some suspense. That's all I'm looking for in a TV show.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Something is in the air. Do you smell it? The sound of Brett Favre coming out of retirement, again. The sound of whistles, and pads smashing. It must be football time. All over the country, from the smallest high schools, to major universities, to the NFL, players are hitting the field getting ready for another season of America's Game.

Without a doubt, football is my favorite televised sport. And NFL football trumps major College football in my house, though I do like College Football. This upcoming season has me pondering a few questions as we head to the NFL season.

1 - Do Vikings fans feel a little bit dirty? I mean, the guy was with your arch rivals for 16 years, and now Brett Favre is your quarterback. I think I'd feel a little dirty.

2 - Will my beloved Denver Broncos win more than 4 games? My gut says no. Too many changes, not enough talent...it's going to be a long year for me.

3 - Will John Madden unretire to match Brett Favre's unretirement? For a certain Vikings fan I know, I hope not.

4 - Can Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals shock the world again and not only make the Super Bowl but win it? My gut says no again, but unless they are playing the Broncos, I'll be rooting for them.

5 - How long until Jay Cutler acts like a baby in Chicago? I think he'll make it, until he has a 3 Interception game and the Chicago media lets him have it. Then he'll see what a tough sports media town is like and wish he were still back in Denver.

6 - Will Tom Brady be back to his old self? Probably, and I think the Patriots will be as annoying as ever.

Finally, who will win the Super Bowl this year?
Here's my official prediction...the Superbowl will be the San Diego Chargers vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Eagles will win.

Actor, President, Prophet?

A friend sent me this clip today. It's about 10 minutes long, but it's all audio, so you can start it and then do other things while you listen. This is Ronald Reagan in 1961 making the case against Socialized Medicine. He sounds almost prophetic to what is going on today.

Reagan knew, as many of us know now, that Socialized Medicine is a great way to push Socialism on society. Socialists throughout history have said so. As Reagan says, health care for all is a hard thing to oppose, so it's the perfect way for those who want a Socialist society to get their foot in the door.

But, as we all know, Socialism has never worked, and never will work because it takes power from the masses and gives it to a few in government. Eventually, those few will become corrupt and the government will cease to function for the greater good. Humans, by our nature, are corrupt, and power given to certain people in a socialist society will eventually corrupt them, leading to an oppressed and miserable people. That's the history of our world.

I can't say it any better than our 40th President, please listen and enjoy. I wish we still had leaders on the Conservative side who could communicate like this.

Book Review: "Ranger's Apprentice #6"

I just finished book #6 in the "Ranger's Apprentice" series. This book is titled, "The Siege of Macindaw" and wraps up the 2 part series formed by books 5 and 6.

"The Siege of Macindaw" picks up immediately following the end of "The Sorcerer of the North", and manages to round out the story nicely. Book #6 is slower than the others in the beginning, but picks up pace quickly after 120 or so pages. I'm very glad I stuck with it, as I ended up enjoying this story very much.

This story wraps up Will's first major trial as a Ranger. Assisted by his best friend Horace, who has managed to make quite a name for himself as a Knight of the Kingdom, Will has to free his friend Alyss from the clutches of the misguided Sir Keren of Macindaw, restore the rightful leader to Castle Macindaw and stop an invasion from the North. And, he has to do all this with 30 men. A very intriguing story with a really solid ending. If you've read the other 5 "Ranger's Apprentice" books and liked them, then I think you'll like "The Siege of Macindaw".

I'm already anxious for book #7, which is already released in Australia. Not sure when it will be out in the US.

Move Over Ed Fiori

Ed Fiori, a journey-man PGA Tour player, used to be the only man to ever beat Tiger Woods when he held the outright 54 hole lead. And this was 13 years ago when Tiger Woods had his first ever 54 hole lead. Since then, he's never lost when holding the lead. He's only lost 2 times when tied for the lead.

I say "was", because today, at the 91st PGA Championship, another player tracked down and passed Tiger for the win. Who is this player? Maybe Phil Mickelson or Padraig Harrington? No, it is South Korea's Y.E. Yang, the 110th ranked player in the world. Yang shot a final round 70 (-2) to pass Tiger who shot a 75 (+3). Yang was 2 shots back going into the day, and ended up winning by 3.

In the long run, I think this is good for both Tiger and the PGA Tour. Tiger needed to get beat. His strategy this weekend was awful. He got the lead on Thursday, extended it to 4 on Friday, and then got really conservative in his play. Basically, he played like he believed the other players would just fold based on his presence. He shot 71-75 on the weekend, which won't get it done. He should get stronger from this...he now knows what it's like to "blow it", and I figure he won't like the feeling.

This is also good for the PGA Tour, because players now see that Tiger can be caught. It is very rare, but he's not unbeatable...only mostly unbeatable. Maybe now the bigger name players like Mickelson, Harrington, and others will see that he is human and play better when paired with Tiger.

No matter what happens, this was a historic day of golf. Y.E. Yang became the first Asian-born man to win a major. Eleven years ago Se Ri Pak became the first South Korean to win a women's major, and it spawned an entire generation of South Korean girls who wanted to become golfers. South Korean women now dominate the LPGA Tour. I'm not saying this will happen to the PGA Tour, but this will ultimately lead to a bigger Asian presence in men's golf, which is a good thing.