Friday, April 29th, 2005 - I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie, "George A Romero's Land of the Dead" today and it looks...interesting. I'm a fan of "all things dead," so to speak, including Romero's three previous films, 28 Days Later, the Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead remakes and even the Return of the Living Dead series.

I have to say, though...based on allusions made in the trailer, the concept of "smart zombies" is much more troubling to me than the "fast zombies" introduced in recent "walking dead" films. As such, I'm going to try not to get TOO excited about this bad boy because it could very well violate the sanctity of the entire genre.. Then again, I'll probably be first in line at the theater on opening night, regardless. You can expect a full review...

As an aside, I stumbled upon this nifty How To Survive A Zombie Attack article. Funny, funny stuff... =) Check it out. It's worth a laugh (or three).

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, April 27th, 2005 - It's really hard to believe that it's been a year since my mother died. Yesterday marked the anniversary. I trekked up to Adams, WI yesterday to meet with my stepfather, grandmother, brother and two of my sisters. We had lunch and then went to the cemetery to visit mom.

The day was pretty shitty, weather wise, like most Wisconsin spring days...cold and rainy. Interestingly enough, as soon as we arrived at the grave site and got out of our cars, the sun came out and it warmed up about ten degrees. If I were a more spiritual person, I might take that to mean "Mom knows we're here." I'm not a spiritual person...but I'd like to think that she knew anyway. =)

I love you, mom. And I miss you.

Monday, April 25th, 2005 - Another year, another bunch of head scratching regarding the 2005 NFL Draft. Overall, I don't think it was a HORRIBLE draft for my beloved Green Bay Packers, but here are some thoughts on the recent Saturday/Sunday fiasco...

In the first round, the Packers had little choice but to take QB Aaron Rodgers from California. I remember thinking he was cocky about Cal as a football program, constantly complaining about their national ranking during his senior season. Needless to say, I don't think much of cocky people in general. Falling to #24, though, seems to have upped his humility level. He says he doesn't mind playing backup to Favre. His only beef, I think, will be that his two top jersey choices (#4 and #8) are gone. He's being stuck with Lynn Dickey's old number 12.

Ultimately, I think it's a good pick based on how far he dropped, but it begs the question...who is going to be the odd man out this year? If they cut Craig Nall, they've basically wasted three years of development time on him. If they cut J.T. O'Sullivan, they basically invalidate a good portion of the Mike McKenzie trade. If they keep four QBs on the roster, they're sacrificing depth elsewhere. Then again, this is the Brain Trust that carried two freakin' PUNTERS on their active roster in 2004. I guess a 4th QB wouldn't be the end of the world. If I were Ted Thompson, I'd start shopping Nall and/or O'Sullivan around for draft picks next year. Both are playing under 1 year deals.

To address the secondary, the Packers decided to pick up S/CB Nick Collins (2nd), S Marviel Underwood (4th), CB Micheal Hawkins (5th) and S Kurt Campbell (7th). Collins looks solid and could very well be a starter this year, though he played for a small, no-name school and scored practically "brain dead" on the NFL's Wonderlic test. Underwood was a stretch. Hawkins is pure potential...4.3 speed and very little football experience (he didn't start playing until he was a junior in high school). I don't know anything about Campbell, but taking him in the 7th round doesn't bode well for him making the team.

C/G Junius Coston (5th) and G Will Whitticker (7th) seem adequate offensive line prospects. I'm guessing Coston will make the team and Whitticker will end up being the next Bill Ferrario (remember him?). I'm pegging WW as a practice squad guy this year.

I scratched my head about the two Wide Receiver picks... Terrence Murphy (2nd) and Craig Bragg (6th) are both speedy receivers with punt and kickoff return abilities. I think that's a good thing, since the Packers' return game has sucked for years. With doubts about Robert Ferguson's recovery from last year's neck injury and Javon Walker threatening to hold out for a new contract, suddenly the picks made more sense. I personally would have taken Florida's ILB Channing Crowder with the Murphy pick, but what the hell do I know? Jury's out...

To bolster the front four, Green Bay drafted DE Brady Poppinga (4th) and DE/DT Mike Montgomery (6th). Poppinga intrigues me because of his age (25), maturity and life experience as a world traveler. I think he has a good shot of making the team...likely as a linebacker. Montgomery was a late bloomer, but also looks pretty solid. My only problem with him is that the Packers traded their original 6th round pick to the Raiders who took DT Antaaj Hawthorne from Wisconsin. Hawthorne was projected as a first rounder, then a second rounder, but his stock plummeted after he tested positive for Marijuana at the combine. The Raiders got a STEAL with Hawthorne, whom I'm almost positive will have a far better NFL career than Montgomery will. A real head scratcher here...

Well, there you have it... My two (or five) cents. The Bears and Vikings both had great drafts this year. The Lions seemed to do okay. The days of the Black & Blue Division are coming back. It's going to be a dog fight this year and I'll bet the division champ has a 9-7 record. I guess we'll find out soon...but not soon enough! Start the season already! =)

Saturday, April 16th, 2005 - I posted a new article in the Musings Section called "Chick Flicks: A Man's Guide To Watching Movies With Your Better Half." It pays to be prepared, men. =)

My Movie Quotes page was feeling lonely, so I posted a list of favorite Historical and Literary Quotes as well. More insight into my twisted mind, I guess?

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, April 13th, 2005 - I added about 10 more quotes to my new Movie Quotes page. I never realized how many lines I seem to recite on a regular basis. *laughs* Typical "guy," I guess.

The job search continues. I started looking at State Jobs and you actually have to PAY to get the bulletin! They charge you $40.00 PLUS State Tax, County Tax and STADIUM Tax! How fucked up is that???? Yeah, that's what I thought...

The Milwaukee Brewers continue to play fairly well. They're 5-3 now and should probably be 7-1. Oh, well... I continue to be encouraged. They play 13 games in 13 days now, so that should give me a better idea of how the season is going to go.

Thanks for dropping by. Enjoy the weather!

Tuesday, April 12th, 2005 - I added a new page under Musings to list some of my all time favorite Movie Quotes. I'm sure there will be a lot more as they come to me...

I also updated my Writing page to include Rich Text Format downloads of the first 10 pages of my "Wayside" screenplay and the first 25 pages of my "Cold Front" screenplay.

Thanks for visiting.

Thursday, April 7th, 2005 - So how good was Sin City? Good enough for me to go see it again tonight. That's pretty rare for me these days...

Hell has officially frozen over. I actually added a Text Messaging Plan to my wireless phone package. I've been ripping on "texters" for some time now, but so many of my friends are sending me text messages these days, I can no longer resist. Especially not at ten cents a message. *laughs* Oh, well... I can add "cellular phone text messaging X words per minute" to my resume. =)

I found a copy of KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park on DVD on Ebay. Man, I forgot how truly awful this movie was. I'm sure it would be much cooler if I were stoned. A shame I'm 31 and know better.

If you are an professional sports fan, you might find this website interesting...WhatIfSports.com. They have a simulator that allows you to pit any professional team from any year against any other professional team from a different year, then simulates the game. If you want to pit the 1972 Dolphins against the 1985 Bears, go nuts! Fun stuff...

And speaking of professional sports, the Milwaukee Brewers have certainly started the year with a bang...albeit against the worst team in baseball. In their first two games, they outscored the pirates 19 - 4. That's pretty impressive. We'll see how they fare against the Cubbies this weekend. With Bud Selig gone and some actual TALENT on the roster this year, I may actually learn to appreciate baseball again. I've been warming up to it the past three years. Maybe this year I'll REALLY get into it.

Thanks for stopping by...

Monday, April 4th, 2005 - I went to see Sin City on Saturday with a friend of mine. I've never read the comics, so I went in with zero expectations. What can I say? I REALLY enjoyed it.

First of all, the cast is an A to Z "Who's Who" of Hollywood. Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Elijah Wood, Michael Clarke Duncan, Rutger Hauer, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Josh Hartnett...the list goes on and on. They came out in force for this one.

It's dark...gritty...funny...and most of all, ultra violent! I was surprised, actually, that they avoided an NC-17 with this one. I think it's mainly because of the style they used. A few strategic cuts and the use of negative imaging went a long way toward toning it down. Don't get me wrong, though. This is a brutal, brutal movie. There's no shortage of "skin" in it, either.

I'm not bad...I'm just drawn that way.

My only complaint is that after the first two vignettes and the first main story, the movie had nowhere to go but down. It was an hour into the film and if it would have ended there, I would have said "Best. Movie. Ever." As it was, it dragged a bit in the middle and toward the end...but only because the first hour was so flippin' cool. The narrative was a bit choppy, too. They were going for Pulp Fiction, but ended up closer to Kill Bill.

Overall, though, I really dug this movie. I think I'm going to go see it again in theaters and I'm definitely looking forward to its release on DVD. If you haven't already, go see Sin City.

Friday, April 1st, 2005 - I'd like to wish my ex wife, Michele, a very happy birthday. She's... somewhat older than thirty today. =)

I've decided to continue my efforts to quit drinking, though not be so public about it. I've gotten some letters that question my sanity regarding airing my dirty laundry in public. When I thought about it, I realized that I'm a very public person...maybe too much so. While I'm not ashamed of my problem, if anyone stumbles upon my website during my job search, I could cost myself a job. It could also adversely affect the company I co-founded. Besides all that, I also said some hurtful things about a person I care about. Those are now history as well...with my apologies.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I watched Alien Apocalypse on the Sci Fi channel last night. Wow... More cheese than a bag of Cheetos! Not as good as Mansquito, but still a lot of fun... I was jealous, though. Bruce Campbell got to make out with my woman, Renee O'Connor! Hard to believe it's been six years since I declared my undying love for her on my very first Geocities page. *laughs* It seemed like a good idea at the time...

Bruce Campbell...astronaut...a man barely alive...

On another "Sci Fi" note, I found this nifty page of Star Trek wallpapers that are worth checking out. I thought they were really cool...

Thanks for stopping by... Have a great weekend!

Archives:

March, 2005; Dec/Jan/Feb 04-05; November, 2004; October, 2004, September, 2004; August, 2004, July, 2004, June, 2004, May, 2004; April 2004; March 2004; February 2004; January 2004; December 2003; November 2003; October 2003; September 2003; August 2003; July 2003; June 2003; May 2003; April 2003; March 2003; February 2003;