What's happening

Methinks it's time for us to go back to posting maybe two or three times a week. Just a time and energy kind of thing.
Working more and more in hopes of getting the Kid's Play program off the ground before this fall no matter what may happen. I think the potential for it's success is bright and I hope to be able to add that shining jewel to my resume. Just entails a lot of work and i'm definitely putting in the hours at the coal mine which has led to some discussion of balance at home. Which is the eternal plight of the poor college students and to think I wouldn't say that we waste it on random things but rather will be paying the incoming debt (school loan, saving to buy a new car) it unfortunately means working to live. These next few months will be critical as we look to downsize to a one bedroom (we are paying about $100 for an extra room that we use as a storage closet) which means moving, apply for the FASFA for the next fall, and all the while try to squirrel away money little by little but in the end we are so fortunate to be blessed with so much.
Went and saw "Sherlock Holmes" for date night which led to another "Star Trek" where I found Brynn quietly nestled on my arm enjoying the movies they show in dreamland. As for the movie itself... it was ok. Enjoyable but one that you wait for the cheap theaters to pick it up which leads me to some sad news. For the time being the Joy Theater is out of commission which is a shame because the world is in need of more cheap theaters. It's hard to justify why going to the movie should cost $10 aside from the fact that theater owners need some dough to pay for their extravagant buildings. Now granted I dig the stadium seating and reclining seats but when given the choice I think I can bear the terror of sitting in an old padded seat to save seven bucks, sorry Regal. On the way into Cinemagic we ran into Katie coming out which was nice, funny how the city seems to stretch when your life runs out of time to do things. So Katie, you're so grown up now with your teaching job yet you will always be an old woman to me. IDWTTA.
The Cougars are 0-2 after a valiant performance that saw us give it away at the end 3-4 against Chaos Coed, the top team in our division. I believe it was a matter of our motors running out of gas. Luckily this week we get another shot at Umlauts who I think we can hang with and reclaim some Beaverton Stake pride.

Meh.

After many weeks, broken box office records, and testimonials from countless people including friends, family, and internet denizens we plunked down our fourteen dollars to put on some official Real 3D gear and walked into the theater to watch "Avatar", James Cameron's latest foray into billion dollar properties. After all the kissing up to this movie by the interwebs about the visual splendors contained within the world of Pandora as filmed by Cameron's lens I can safely say that I still feel 3D is a gimmick not ready for prime time. While admittedly it was very neat to see film portrayed in such a manner it never really blew me away, never making me feel like I did with the transition from VHS to DVD, of being on the cutting edge of a technological revolution. Obviously Cameron has pushed the envelope in terms of how cinema can be viewed and there will be a slew of imitators to follow, feeding upon table scraps from the box office king's table (look at the TV industry they're already gearing up to release an army of 3D sets to replace the flat screen Santa brought you for Christmas) and inevitably we will see this field mature into a watchable product. But if I had to do it again I wouldn't mind paying to see Avatar in 2D because it's strength lies in the characters and the actors behind them. Going in both Brynn and I knew the basic storyline which bears a striking resemblance to many stories of misunderstood "savages (who are barely even human)" being swept away in pursuit of the riches they either posses or are in the way of when one of the more "civilized" members gains insight to the inequality and travesty of the situation and determines to be an advocate and fight for the people with no voice. But the cast did a far more impressive job behind their Na'vi masks than we thought possible going into the movie, making the predictable story an easier pill to swallow and holding us in our seats long enough to see the closing credits thus limiting our claim to a refund (*cough* Star Trek on "IMAX" *cough*). Overall not worth the price of admission but definitely a movie you could take in on lazy afternoon.

PS If you look closely at the picture you'll notice old Cliffy has gone "Six Eyes"

Salem First Wednesday

Wandering the streets of Salem tonight for downtown's monthly First Wednesday celebration we learned a few things.

1. Art is crazy expensive... making us appreciators instead of owners.
2. Why buy it when you can make it yourself. In one of the stores they were selling fruit bowls made out of magazines, a short search on the Google Machina and we have the instructions to make our own set.
3. The hip hop gangsters need to get their act together when it comes to public performances. When you have a laptop, a soundboard, and some mikes you shouldn't spend an eternity setting up. We had time to stand and watch, peruse Borders, and complain as they weren't ready to go by the time we got kicked out of the mall (which closes at 8... what is the deal with that?)