Darn You Denver Broncos!

Darn you to heck anyhow!!!

I hate it when my sports teams, and me by extension, are made to be a laughing stock. That is what I have been faced with these past 2 days since my Denver Broncos lost to that team of convicted felons known as the Oakland Raiders by a 59-14 margin. The Raiders are the most despised of teams to a Denver Broncos fan, so to lose like that was sickening. I actually had to turn football off on Sunday. I skipped Sunday and Monday night football and all the highlight shows. I just couldn't bear it.

Then today, my boss made a joke at my expense related to the Denver Broncos. It was a very clever, well conceived joke, but I'm not used to this. Also, Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio were having fun at the Broncos expense. It's all foreign to me.

I started following the Broncos in 1986, and they have been competitive almost every year in that 24 year stretch. This team may not win 5 games this year, and that's hard to take, and even harder when it makes your team the butt of every one's jokes. Ugh, it's going to be a long season.

Movie Review: "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

I've had "Prince of Persia" sitting there, waiting to be watched for about a week now. Netflix was guesstimating that I was going to rate it 3.8 stars, and as it turns out, that's just about right. What I found was a good movie that was almost great.

"Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan. He is the youngest of the 3 princes of the Persian empire. After Dastan leads an assault on a supposed traitorous city, he meets Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), finds a mystical dagger that allows him to turn back time and the adventure begins. The plot takes several twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat. But, then it all wrapped up a little too nicely...and I really like nice wrap-ups, but this was a stretch.

Overall, the action is great, the story is good and Jake Gyllenhaal didn't bug me like I feared he would. I think a lot of people will really like this, but I also believe that there will be some, like me, who thinks it all ended a little too easily.

Book Review: "The Lost Hero"

I think Rick Riordan might be my favorite author. First he wrote the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, which were 5 fantastic books. Then he got started on "The Kane Chronicles", which I thoroughly enjoyed. And now, he's giving us a sequel to the Percy Jackson series, "The Heroes of Olympus." I just completed it's first book, "The Lost Hero."

"The Lost Hero" is different from the Percy Jackson books in that it is told from a 3rd person point of view, and centers around 3 new heroes...Jason, Piper and Leo. This story takes place about 1 year after "The Last Olympian" (the final book in the Percy Jackson series), and things are amiss all around. First, Jason shows up at Camp Half-Blood, and is pretty sure he doesn't belong there, but he is also suffering from amnesia so he doesn't know why. Piper and Leo have memories of Jason that may or may not be real. It turns out, all 3 are demigods...children of the Greek gods. Oh, and one hero of Camp Half-Blood has gone missing (I bet you can't guess who that is).

I loved this book...couldn't put it down. I read it's 557 pages in about 4 sittings. The 3rd person point of view didn't bother me at all, and I liked that Riordan continually switches the focus between Jason, Piper and Leo. All 3 characters are great and mold well with the carry-over characters from the Percy Jackson series. I did miss some of the old characters, but I think all of my old favorites will gain more prominent roles and the series progresses. There's also the suspense of not knowing where the lost hero is and the worry over that throughout the book that kept me turning pages. Just a top notch story.

But, I will issue a warning, there is quite the cliffhanger at the end, so if you don't like cliffhangers, wait for the 2nd book to be released next fall. The title of the next book will be "Son of Neptune"...hmmm, wonder who that could be?

Liberal Translator

I read a blog on MSNBC today that has given me a great opportunity to use my Liberal Translator. The blog discusses the current Democratic campaign strategy of urging people not to vote with their emotions, specifically anger. Very interesting tact for a party that relies on emotion, not logic, to get their people elected. But, that's a topic for another blog.

So, here's how this works...I find things that liberals say in the media and then I translate it to tell you what the liberal really means.

First, this quote from former President Bill Clinton:

"People are angry," former President Bill Clinton said yesterday at a campaign event for Washington state incumbent Sen. Patty Murray. "But when you make a decision when you're mad about anything, not just politics -- there's an 80 percent chance you make a mistake."

Translation - you little people seem really ticked off, so rather than exercise your Constitutionally guaranteed right to vote, just stay home.

And now this quote from our current President, Barack Obama:

"Part of the reason that our politics seems so tough right now, and facts and science and argument do not seem to be winning the day all the time, is because we're hard-wired not to always think clearly when we're scared," Obama told Democratic donors at a fundraiser in Massachusetts last week. "And the country is scared."

Translation - I'm so much smarter than all of you pathetic uneducated slobs. I'm so smart that there is no way you weak minded fools can possibly understand the genius of my policies. In fact, the depth of my brain power has so astonished your feeble minds, that the only way you can respond to it is with fear. And it is that fear that blinds you to my brilliance.

And then finally this, from Professor Eric Herzik of the Department of Political Science at the University of Nevada Reno. Professor Herzik is discussing the Harry Reid/Sharron Angle race. Senator Reid has repeatedly categorized Angle's views as "extreme". Professor Herzik said the following when discussing the message of a recent Harry Reid ad:

"You're mad at Obama. So you're going to let Sharron Angle be your senator? You may be angry about the economy, but the alternative is not a good alternative" for many voters in the state who think that Angle is "just too crazy."

Translation - Anyone who disagrees with a Democratic policy is crazy and doesn't know what is good for them. Trust us, we know what's best for you, even if you disagree with us.

That's all I have tonight folks. Hopefully we'll get some more opportunities for me to use this translation skill I have in the near future.

Mmmm....Chicken

I've always been a fan of fried chicken. When I was a kid we used to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken when it was still called Kentucky Fried Chicken. Eventually we decided that was too greasy and switched to our local grocery store for our fried chicken. When I was in high school I worked at Hardee's when it had fried chicken. That was good fried chicken. I actually got really good at making it. In fact one of my best days of work at Hardee's was when we were providing supper to the fire fighters who were battling a forest fire in the Black Hills. I made over 500 pieces of fried chicken that day.

So, where am I going with all of this. Well, I've been craving fried chicken lately, but our local grocery store makes terrible fried chicken, and KFC is still really greasy. Today my 7 year old and I went to Culver's for lunch. My dad had told me that Culver's fried chicken was outstanding, and he wasn't exaggerating. The chicken was so juicy and the breading was good but not overwhelming. Ok, and here's the most amazing thing, the mashed potatoes had lumps in it...so it wasn't a mashed potatoes mix. Or Culver's has found a mix that leaves lumps to make you think it's real. Anyway, they were really good too.

I think I have a new favorite fried chicken. I already have probably eaten more Culver's food than I should have in my life, and this just gives me another reason to visit on of my favorite chain restaurants.

Movie Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Well, tonight I finally took the plunge and saw a movie in 3D. Ok, I've seen 3D movies at Disney World and a few other places, but this was my first full length feature in 3D. I had heard that "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" was even better than "Avatar" in 3D, but I can't say for sure because I am still boycotting "Avatar".

First off, the movie. "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" was actually a really good movie. I'd give it a solid 4 stars, and my son might tell you it's a 5 star movie. The story moves pretty fast, and centers around young Soren, a barn owl who escapes captivity and searches out the legendary Guardians of Ga'Hoole to stop the evil owls who captured him in the first place. Along the way, Soren grows up and becomes the kind of owl he always dreamt about being. There are a couple of comic relief owls inserted as well, so it made for a good movie.

The 3D was really cool. It was like looking through a window, rather than having random things fly out at you. I eventually forgot I was wearing the glasses and just enjoyed the show. I'm not sure I'd like to see everything in 3D, but it really worked for this movie. Two thumbs up for the 3D.

I'm not sure how much longer the 3D theaters will be showing "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole", as our theater only has 2 showings left, but if you get a chance and you don't mind forking out the extra money, it's worth seeing this one in a 3D theater.

Movie Review: The Losers

Netflix was predicting 3.5 stars for me on "The Losers" and they finally missed badly on a prediction. This one is a 2 star movie. Maybe the fact that my wife and kids have been rating movies now that we can stream Netflix on the Wii is finally screwing up my predictions.

"The Losers" was a poor attempt at an A-Team style movie. But when compared with this summer's "A-Team", it lacked action, and tried way to hard to have a plot that just wasn't that good. The acting was terrible as well. The only redeeming factor for me was Chris Evans' character...he played his typical, funny, wise-cracking character.

I'd suggest skipping this one and watching "A-Team" instead.