365 | Peaches Prattlings

{July 27, 2013} The Wolverine

As promised, my review of The Wolverine that we went to see last night.

Tonight, DCM and I went to see The Wolverine, the next installment in the X-Men/Wolverine series.

The story line…Logan is summoned to Japan by someone from his past, (not a spoiler alert, it’s in the previews) who wants to thank him for saving his life, to say goodbye and who offers him the opportunity to become mortal.

We first find Logan living in a makeshift shelter in the mountains, when Yukio found him and takes him to Japan to meet the man he saved. There he meets Mariko, the master’s granddaughter, can you feel the sparks? And the doctor helping Master Yashida. Shortly after Logan gets there, Master Yashida dies and at the funeral is where all the action starts and I’m not really sure it ever stops.

The movie has it all; girl comes looking for boy, they fly to Japan. Boy cleans up, yum, and meets master, he says thank you and I can take all your worries away. Master dies and at the funeral, boy sees things that make him suspicious and saves other girls life. This goes on for most of the movie, Logan saving Mariko.

There are ninjas, a viper mutant, a clairvoyant, an Asian wanna be Hawkeye mobsters, dirty monks, corrupt politicians, swords and a samurai, a REALLY BIG samurai, could you want for anything else? Don’t forget the looks and great one liners, so Logan.

The movie has a lot of movement and action, may have lasted a skosh too long, but that’s ok, it was The Wolverine/ Hugh Jackman, it’s ok. It was hard to see Logan slow down and get injured, but that was in the script (and the previews), it’s also easy to wonder if he has stock in the white tank top business, but that’s Logan…jeans, white tank top, brown coat with fur trim.

As you’re watching, there are a few times you say to yourself, “really?”, and of course, one time I said that, DCM said, there is this, that, this, that in the movie and you’re bothered by that? but those are the things we love about movies. There are some great driving scenes, I said to DCM, “I want to drive that fast”, he said “You do”, “yes, but I don’t want to get caught!” ( by the way…July 20,2014 if I am a very good and careful driver and don’t get any tickets, all points will come off my driving record! Go me!)

The end of the movie, I questioned a little, but the very end, I really questioned, DCM and I looked at each other and said, huh? Really? It was like bam, bam, bam, flatline. I’ll let you tell me what you thought about the very end of the movie (before the credits).

Now, since its a Marvel movie, you know you have to stay through the credits, right? Be sure you stay.

Ok, now that I’ve told you about the movie, the biggest “What?” Stan Lee was not in the movie? Ok, kids, earmuffs… WTF? He was an executive producer on the film, but, in his past Marvel movies, he takes a page from Alfred Hitchcock’s playbook, he appears somewhere in the movie, didn’t happen in this one, I was left feeling bereft and adrift. Not to worry friends, I’m still going to add this movie to the collection!

Be on the lookout for a future post, I’m going to show you all the places that Stan Lee makes guest appearances. I’m looking forward to that one!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430132/?ref_=sr_1q

{July 26, 2013} More tomorrow

This doesn’t happen very often, but…I am too tired to write and I’m not sure what will end up in the posting if I continue.

I did do 4 miles today, ok, 3.98 and it felt great! For dinner, we had pasta; DCM had meatballs with his and I sautéed some spinach with butter and garlic, wow, it was awesome!

I’m off to dreamland and I will talk to you tomorrow!

{July 26, 2013} Carl Hiaasen

I like almost everything I’ve ready by Carl Hiaasen.

I just finished Double Whammy and I really enjoyed it. It was about bass fishing, not something I have ever been in to, but at the heart of it, competition fixing and cheating, murder, religion, scandal, land robber barons and revenge, what more could you want?

There’s a character that you meet in several of his books, Skink, and you find out how he was injured in this book, something that is prevalent in future issues. Part of the story takes place in the south and there is rampant racism, which is slightly unsettling, but it works in the story, if that makes sense.

The first book I read of his was Skinny Dip, this turned me in to a fan, it was about a girl who was dealt a bad hand and came back with gusto and a vengeance, funny and smart and a good revenge story with a happy ending, yeah! Once I started laughing, I don’t think I stopped.

I recently finished Star Island, loved this one! The main character was spirited and fun and when she got in trouble, Skink to the rescue, I loved him in the book! I was glad to share it with the guy in the seat next to me on one of my recent flights, we talked about Carl Hiaasen for about 30 minutes!

Right now, I am in the middle of Nature Girl and I’m struggling. Granted, of the books I have read, none had two story completely different story lines, they may intersect at some point, but I’m not seeing it right now, but I’m hopeful. I also want to see how Honey is going to exact her revenge, so I’m going to keep going. (It also only cost $2, so I’m not too upset!)

And, for a point of reference, he also wrote the book that was made into the movie Striptease, with Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds. (Carl Hiassen was one of the screenwriters as well)

If you’re looking for a good time (most of the time!), mystery and laughter (how often can go say that about a mystery?) then I recommend Carl Hiassen!

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{July 24, 2013} Girls night!

Yesterday, I was invited to my first GNO in Colorado! That’s Girls Night Out for those of you not in the know!

JS, PS’s wife, good friends of DCM’s, invited me to go to a painting class, at Posh Splat, in a few weeks for a girls night out! http://www.poshsplat.com/

This is something that CKM and I used to do a bunch, we had so much fun! We’d get some snacks and drinks, go to the class and have a blast! We tried, but unfortunately, we couldn’t get a group together for it, we found that people weren’t sure if they could do it, but what we liked is that it’s almost like paint by numbers! They instruct and show you what to do step by step, or should I say, brushstroke by brushstroke.

We had a great time, had something to show off and something for the walls (so excited about that prospect for the apartment!).

The picture is of the very first painting we did, mine is on the right and CKM’s is in the left.

Since I’m still getting to know Colorado and haven’t met a lot of people yet, this is going to be great and I’m really excited that I was included.

{July 24, 2013} Today I saw a Thing!

Today I saw one of my favorite cars…a VW Thing!

I was at a light with the top down on the beetle bug, radio cranked, rocking to a classic Michael Jackson tune, what could be better?

I look across the way and I see a white VW thing, yeah! I love these vehicles, they are so cool! It’s a convertible, dune buggy, wagon all rolled into one.

As I drove by, I gave the driver a hang loose (I learned that in Hawaii when I was there a few years ago) and he waved.

I got on the highway, big smile on my face, dancing in my seat along with the radio, what could be better?

https://www.google.com/search?q=vw+thing&client=safari&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=VmTvUYLyJ-W4yAHa1YHABw&ved=0CDAQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=672

{July 23, 2013} R.I.P.D.

After I finished work I called DCM and asked if he wanted to celebrate, he had a great day at work, solved a tough problem. I’ll take care of everything!

So, after I ordered pizza from Abo’s Pizza, yum, http://abospizza.com/, I order tickets to see R.I.P.D. We were set, DCM would just need to get home. So, since I had some time, I decided it was time to get outside and go for a walk, remember my post from Friday?

It was about 3:45 and out the door I went. On the way downstairs, I met a girl coming upstairs who told me it was hot out, not so bad in the shade. She was not lying! I did have trouble finding shade though. Off I went, took a tour, not sure where I was going, but what I love? There are sidewalks and paths everywhere! Even in between some of the houses, there are paths towards the paths in the fields behind the neighborhoods!

Well, I gave it my best effort, walked the hills, the neighborhood and when I looked at the weather app on my phone, it said 94degrees, but feels like 85, nope, felt like 94! I gave Mother Nature 2.13 miles and I was done!

On the way back to the apartment, I saw Muskego and Jason, he’s getting so big! The dog silly! Back to the apartment, 2nd shower of the day, DCM got home shortly after that, then…ding dong, pizza!

We chilled and then headed to the movie theater, 3rd movie date in 4 days! I. A lucky girl!

R.I.P.D. was funny! There was humor, good guys, bad cops, “dead-o’s”, surprise bad guys and Kevin Bacon. There you go.

Kidding!

R.I.P.D. is the Rest In Peace Department, everyone is dead, I hope you figured that out. The cops were all alive at one point, the best at what they do and their job is to catch the dead-o’s, those who have passed on but refuse to leave the earth.

Mary Louise Parker is the captain and she’s great in the role, very dry, but really funny, Jeff Bridges is Roy, the crusty old timer, Ryan Reynolds is the angry/confused new recruit…after he died and went up, he had a choice, serve on the R.I.P.D. For 100 years or go…

They have special weapons to go after the dead-o’s, although they try to capture them instead of eliminate them. The catch, go figure, they don’t look like themselves as they did when they were alive, Jeff Bridges is a 5’8″ blond bombshell, fully stacked, so to speak who can stop traffic, played by Marissa Miller, armed with a hair dryer. Ryan Reynols’ “avatar” is played by James Wong, an old Chinese dude, armed with a banana! Ok, so who else thinks of David Lo Pan in Big Trouble in Little China when they hear or see James Hong?

Does any of this sound like Men In Black? Yeah, that’s what we were thinking while we were watching, but we still enjoyed it.

If you’re looking for a good time with some good one liners, creative dead-o’s, explosions, true love, mystery and some “they didn’t see that coming?” and won’t get caught up by not understanding half of what Jeff Bridges character is saying, you’ll enjoy it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790736/?ref_=sr_1

{July 22, 2013} Despicable Me 2

Wee ooh wee ooh wee ooh (if you saw the movie, that will be really funny!)

I loved the original Despicable Me and I had a feeling that I would love this movie as well. The first movie had a happy ending, bottom line, family is everyone, this movie had a happy ending as well, go figure and to quote Dr. Nefario, “You can build a rocket, steal the moon, rob a bank, but you don’t mess with my family!”

In this movie, Gru was retired from the villain business, he was devoted to his girls, a dedicated dad, you see that right from the start. The girls want him to be happy, to “get out there” and date, not one of Gru’s strong points. It’s really cute how they go about trying to get him on a dating site.

Gru is recruited by the AVL, the Anti Violence League to help save the world, the girls are so excited! Along with that recruitment, comes a partner, Lucy, who is a great challenge to Gru, in that she matches him in a bit of deviousness and enthusiasm. Can you guess what happens?

There were a lot of laughs, hard not to, adventures, drama, no nail biting, jams and jellies, minions, teenage love, angst and heartache, daughters who dote on Gru heights, submarines, a cheesy music video by the minions, Agnes who wants to make toast, rockets with dynamite and a shark attached heading for a volcano, what could be better.

Ok, what’s with the shark? Is that like the three sea shells in Demolition Man?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1690953/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

{July 20, 2013} Red 2

Last night we went to see Red 2 and we loved it.

My dad was right, it’s even funnier if you’ve seen the first one, but you didn’t need to see it to enjoy this one. I know, you’re shocked, I went to a movie and didn’t blog about it the same night! I promised to tell you about the Firefly 5k yesterday and I did that and here we are.

DCM and I were very excited about Red 2, we’ve been waiting for it, almost as soon as the first one ended, so excited when we found out it was in the works!

The cast was incredible, Bruce Willis, John Malcovich, Mary Louise Parker, Helen Mirren and Brian Cox were all back la la la LOVE Helen Mirren in this role! Missed Morgan Freeman. There were some new additions that made the movie: Catherine Zeta Jones, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Byung-hun Lee, (As soon as i saw him, I immediately said I need to call SDL!) and David Thewlis, to name a few.

There were car chases, intrigue, theft, escape, firepower, things blowing up, guns, planes, bombs, shootings, fighting, knives, bad one liners, good dialog, bad dialog with a little love and romance thrown in, could you ask for more?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821694/?ref_=sr_1

{July 19, 2013} Firefly 5k

As I was run/walking the Firefly 5k tonight in Denver, I was thinking about my post and what I was going to say.

I was also thinking that if I could dictate successfully while running, it would make life so easy! The ideas would be there instead me trying to remember!

I was thinking do I write about something else about myself, do people really need to hear something else about me, shouldn’t I write about something more important or different, (I have to stop saying something!)? But then I thought…why not? It’s my blog and people who know me like to keep up with what I’m doing, know what’s happening with me, so there you go.

The Firefly 5k is a run that happens at night and in multiple cities around the country, not necessarily on the same night. (Would be cool though if they did) It’s an all ages run and there were all ages. It wasn’t the party that the Electric Run was, but it was still fun. It was fun seeing all the costumes and the glow in the dark accessories. Our race packet included a performance tshirt (men’s), our bib and two dayglo yellow bracelets with red blinking lights on them. While you’re running or walking, it was cool to look forward or back to see all the red lights, like looking at traffic on the road, it was very cool.

The run was at the Dicks Sporting Good Center in Denver, haven’t looked up what events happen there, but it looked like a field with grass on it, so could be football or futball. We did part of the run in the parking lot, then through the stadium, it was very cool. I like night races, especially in the summer, a little cooler temperature and it’s fun to see all the ideas, you should try one.

The other thing I realized while I was run/walking, is that I am grossly out of shape! Oh, I can walk and keep up, but it takes serious effort! And we know how I feel about my shadow!

There are two (three sort of) things that I count on when doing a 5k.

One, I finish under 45 minutes (you can normally count on me to complete a 5k in 41-43 minutes). Today, I came in just at 45 minutes, not bad for someone who hasn’t run in over a week!

Two, that someone can read my clever and funny shirt, should I choose to wear a funny and/or clever shirt (tonight I wore the one that says “When the zombies come, I’m tripping you!” on the back) and three (which could be part of two) is that there are people who are still behind me. Even when I did the half marathon, we ad 3:30 to finish, I came in 3:23 and there were still people coming in.

I could blame it on a lot of things. Maybe the fact that I’ve been up since 6am MT (I think I’ve acclimated to the time difference), it could be that I traveled from Atlanta today, a 3 hour flight and then almost 2 to get home. It could be the altitude, lets go with that one! it could be that I haven’t run or walked in over a week. Or it cold be that I’m seriously out of shape.

Whatever the reason, I did the most important thing, I finished (after showing up!), yes, I finished and that says more than anything! I may never be the fastest, but they will never say I didn’t try!

I do know that I am inspired to get it there and start walking again, and then running, I’ll get there! My goal…complete another half marathon, this time, run more of it, heck, even most of it! Who knows…wish me luck!

{July 19, 2013} Turbo

Today was a double wonderful whammy!

I got to see family and a great movie! It worked out perfectly that my meetings go moved to Wednesday-Thursday and I changed flights to Friday so I had an extra night in Atlanta and LK and two of the girls were available!

We were trying to figure out where to go dinner and then…lightbulb! Dinner and a movie! So, we met at Studio Movie Grill to go see Turbo! For those of you not in the know…Studio Movie Grill is a great place you can have dinner and watch a movie, what a novel concept!

Turbo was great! I don’t care who you are, how old or young you are, go see this! I loved it! It’s a little “Little Engine that Could”…if you believe it and you believe in yourself and that it is in you and you can do it, you can do it! Do not give up on your dreams, no matter what anyone else says or how they try to discourage you. When you believe in yourself, it’s catching, others will see in you even something that you don’t and will follow you, help you rise and realize your dream!

There will also be people who try to stop you, tell you your dreams are not good, stupid even, why don’t you just stay where it’s safe, don’t listen to them! Eventually, they will see how you shine and believe in yourself and don’t give up and then at that moment when it seems all hope is lost, there they are to lift you up!

Turbo is about a snail who dreams of more than the life/existence he has, he wants to be fast! He loves to watch car racing on TV! And one day, gets that dream! (Not a spoiler alert) he ends up in a street racing car and gets hit with some Nitro! Guess what happens!

His brother, Chet, doesn’t want anything to do with any of this, the crazy talk, the dreams, none of it. He wants his brother to come home and be an ordinary garden snail.

They end up in a run down shopping center and meet Tito and his older bother, Angelo. Interestingly enough, Angelo just wants Tito to give up his crazy dreams and work with him making tacos. See any correlations?

In the end, Turbo has a shot at the Indy 500, but not without the help of his friends…and eventually…. you guessed it, his brother.

There were some happy times, sad times, scary times, nail biting times, intense times and exciting times! The movie was animated, but you know it was written for adults.

Bottom line? Believe in yourself and don’t give up on your dreams, your friends and family with either support you or not, but you only have to believe in yourself and the rest will fall into place.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1860353/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

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