Metallica '...And Justice For All'

I tried to get an update written last Thursday, but my computer wigged out on me and wouldn’t open the Word Program. My mustard seed brain couldn’t even figure out how to shut the damn thing off to reboot.

Did I use “reboot” properly?

I’m really not all that computer savvy even though I use them constantly throughout the day. I’m not even sure that I want to be all that savvy with them. My friend Jonathan Everett works as a computer technician and he hates them with almost a purple passion. And then there’s Jamey Kerr and Neil Matson who work here at Dick Broadcasting… They say things when working on those machines that I wouldn’t even repeat in front of my dead grandmother.

I tend to give up and cut the power when it won’t shutdown properly and then start it up again. Then the computer gives me crap about NOT shutting it down properly. That’s when I want to introduce it to one of the oldest weapons known to man, a big rock. Sometimes, I would like to go further back than medieval on its ass. I really want to go Neanderthal on that electronic brain’s hindquarters when its not acting the way I think it ought to.

Last time, I mentioned that I was going to tell you about the movie ‘The Island’ that I got from Netflix. It was interesting enough and it threw me for a loop because I don’t read the descriptions before watching. I just put them in and press play, baby. You see… I’m dangerous.

At first, I thought that a nuclear holocaust took place and there were only a handful of people left on earth. They live in an Orwellian type of place where Big Brother is even paying attention to the sodium in their urine. They have to watch their step and they really can’t fraternize with the opposite sex. The “police” keep them updated on their proximity and if they’re too close to each other, they must put some artificial sunshine between them.

Every day, there’s a lottery for the citizens of this place. The winner will be allowed to live the rest of their lives on an island that is heaven on earth. The island is the only place where they can run naked and frolic in the sunshine. It’s the last livable place on the planet after all of the junk that happened that isn’t explained to us, the viewers.

Well, it turned out that the place is like a giant chicken coop where cloned people reside and when it’s time, they win the lottery. Only, they don’t get to go to the island, nope… The clone’s body parts are harvested for the person that they’re cloned from. A giant corporation has dug themselves deep in the desert ground where they can keep the clones and take care of them. The corporation even calls them “product”. They are a business that caters to big time money clients and the government subsidizes them. They even have the President’s clone living there.

It’s an interesting film and makes some interesting points on cloning. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on the Netflix grading system even though as I write about it, I start to like it even more. I may just revisit Netflix and give it 4 out of 5 now.

The other titles that I watched over the weekend were ‘I (heart) Huckabees’ and ‘The Village’.

I used (heart) because I can’t put a heart symbol for love there. It’s because I’m not very computer savvy. But anyway… I really LOVED that movie. I gave it a full 5 out of 5 on Netflix.

Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, and Marky Mark are in it. Hoffman and Tomlin play married couples that are existential detectives. They help you figure out some of the meanings of things that happen in your life. It’s really weird and some people just don’t get or even want to get it. Judging from the subscriber feedback on Netflix, a lot of folks “don’t get” the film.

I found it engaging and quite funny at times.

I think ‘The Village’ has been around for a couple of years and I have managed to keep from finding out the “secret” at the end of the film.

It’s about a tiny group of settlers who have put up a border to keep out “those of which they do not speak of”. Those creatures come out from time to time to scare the living daylights out of the citizens of the village. There are stories about how some of the villagers have ventured out and never returned. Occasionally, they offer up sacrifices to the “others”. ‘The Village’ moves slowly along without really keeping you interested in what’s going on.

Now, I could tell you the secret, but I won’t. It’s an okay film and not bad if like them slow. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars on the Netflix grading system.

I also finished season 1 of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’. I wasn’t really that impressed with disc 1 or disc 2, but I managed to stick it out. The show is getting better for me and I’m going to keep on with the remaining six seasons.

How about them Redskins yesterday? Huh?

I walked into the Bo Jangles on Battleground this morning and I heard a woman say, “I knew that I would have to see someone wearing the Redskins today.”

“Yep! It was an ugly day for Cowboys fans.”

I enjoyed every minute of the game yesterday and it’s been a very long time since the ‘Skins swept the Dallas Cowboys in a season. Could the Redskins get to the playoffs?

We shall see.

A friend and me hit a new place to eat Saturday on New Garden Road. It’s the Phoenix Asian Cuisine place where they have a full bar. She goes there all the time and suggested the Beef and Broccoli because I’m not into the full on vegetable scene. It was damn-tastic! The broccoli was crisp and fresh even after stewing around with the beef that was lean and tasty.

Ummm-Hmmmm! I’ll be going back soon.

Well, that’s pretty much all from me today. I won’t be updating tomorrow but on Wednesday, I will tell you about the new ‘King Kong’ movie that’s currently in theaters. I also have to help my father change out a power outlet that has gone wacky in my bedroom. I would do it myself, but I’d be dead in only a few short minutes and the northwest side of Greensboro would be out of power for a few hours.

And since I like breathing and living topside, I will let my father take care of that business while I watch him do that voodoo that he do so well. I’m pretty useless whenever it comes to “handy” stuff.