Favorite Sports Movie

I was on sabbatical, but this morning MSNBC had an article that I thought would make for fun holiday blogging fodder. This particular writter had his top 10 list of sports movies. Now, I know that you guys might have differing opinions, as I totally did not like some of his choices, but I had watched a few in my lifetime and thought that I would list a few of mine and then see what yours might be.

Remember the Titans: I know that is about a high school team, but it was one of the best movies I have ever seen and it was about football. The game shots were excellent. IT had Denzel in some of his best acting ever.

Rocky: The first one. It was the first of its kind and the fight scenes were very exciting. After that the character got annoying . The wife character was really annoying. I don't know if I will see the newest chapter when it comes out.

Major League: Funniest baseball movie ever! It was about a Cleveland team that sucked. Hmmmmmm. So many good actors in it and they were all younger. Charlie Sheen was at his best in that one as the "Wild Thing".

Field of Dreams: Not totally a sports movie, but a great movie that used baseball and kept baseball from being totally boring.

The Replacements: Funny stuff. Gene hackman, Keanu Reeves. Say what you will, I still have a thing for him and football was secondary.

There you have it. Now, I think I'll get a bag of peanuts and hot dog and coke for about 25 bucks.

Play Ball!!

Got Tagged?

Just a quickie, for fun, since the Drew tagged me on this book meme from Mixter.

Directions:

The book closest to me is one that has always been a favorite. I am not currently reading it, but when I cleaned off the shelf, above my desk, it was the only one that I left up there, for some reason.

Tuesdays with Morrie.

Turn to page 123 and read what sentences 5-7 have to say.

" It's all part of the same problem, Mitch," Morrie said. "We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives. I think we should talk about that."


Now, back to my sabbatical.

Holiday Sabatical

Wishing a most joyous holiday and New Year to all bloggers!! I am taking the next few weeks off to regroup and get some much needed R&R. As I have been somewhat cranky recently I think I need to step back, read some more, re-evaluate and then look at everything with a new face.

I hope you all enjoy your families & freinds. I will still be reading all of your great & often very funny blogs and throwing my hat into the ring once in awhile.

All the best to you all and to all ...... a good night!!

Gold Star

Got an 87% on the big test last night. 110 questions. Scenarios out the wazoo. Going back to old info to see what we can recall and have committed to memory. I am happy with that.

Postability

Can not post on you beta bloggers. Not having any problems with Esteban etc. Just those on Beta. So let me just say. Mixter, as usual, good stuff. Love the Holiday Greeting!! May use that. Funny stuff.

Drew, great sunrise. No words necessary for that.

The Home Stretch & Other Stuff

Here we are closing in on the end of the month. It seems like I just started this class and was terrified that I would not make it through. Now, I am amazed at what I know and what I am retaining. I just did not think I could do it. Tonight I am taking my last big unit test before the end of class practical. Tonight is 190 questions all about trauma and bone injuries. This is the easy stuff!! The end of the year practical test is Jan. 20th. Just about a month away. Then I just have to take the online test p[ortion, whenever I can scedule it and find a test site that I don't mind driving to, and it will be all about the waiting game for grades and then finding that job.

Monday night, while waiting for class to begin, I was talking with a guy in my class. he seems to be a bit older than me, professional guy, I thought he seemed smart. he has traveled much. We were talking about looking forward to break and I mentioned that I might like to read Barak Obamas first book and see what the hub-bub is about with this guy. He said something like," You better watch out. That guys middle name is Muhammad or something like that". The tone of voice was one of caution. I was surprised. I felt like he was saying that the book spouted some kind of inflamitory rhetoric. So, I came home and looked him up on the internet. His middle name is Hussein, but his father was from Kenya and mother American. No wayward or crazy radical leanings. I still plan to get it for myself, Christmas gifet, and read it. I am still not getting on the band wagon and rushing him in to office. He might be a refreshing voice, but one with little experience. Although, at times, one wonders what the difference?

Got two big boxes wrapped last night. After 2 rolls of paper and almost an entire roll of tape. I told you I was bad!! Thick corners. I did add some ribbon and make it all frilly & nice. Had a nice red wine whilst in the act of wrapping. It was fun. next weekend I plan to do the rest. Listen to my friends holiday cd and get a bottle or two of my fave red wines. Go to town!! Even though it is 0 outside and all the snow is gone and it is raining i starting to get really excited for the holiday. They gave me the 24th off at the coffee mega giant and we are closed on the 25th. Nice.

My girlfriend heard from her son in Iraq. He is right there in the heart of it all and I am happy for her every time that he calls home. each time I hear of more Marines killed I just hope & pray that I do not get a call from her. He just turned 21. Another server at her restaurant has a daughter in 1st grade and they are sending him cards and letters for Christmas.

Have any of you heard about the 4 year old in kindergarten that got sent home for sexual harassment? A teachers aid filed the complaint and alleged that when she hugged him he put his face across her breasts. I am not sure, but doesn't that happen sometimes when you hug a kid and you happen to be a woman with larger breasts? They said it was the youngest person ever charged. Well, duh. I don't remember what state, maybe Texas, but if any of you have heard about it maybe you might weigh in. At 4 thay can not even comprehend that action taken by the school. Tha father, on a radio show, said that the school officials would not even discuss this with him and just suspended the kid. Personall I think 4 year olds are too young anyway to be in school. We waited until our son was 6 as boys do tend to be more immature anyway. He probably was just acting like a typical 4 year old getting a hug. Whatever!!

A Saturday Night Live DVD set just got released and it is the first 7 years. I am seriously thinking about getting it for us for Christmas. It is all the great stuff from the beginning. Excellent guest hosts and really good music. Richard Pryor is a host and he and John Beluhi do the Samuri Hotel and it is the first show where the samuri character is introduced. Classic stuff. It is 70 bucks though, so I will have to give that some thought, but it would be great to watch. I remember babysitting, when that show first came out, and wondering,"What the heck is this show?" I think I was about 12 or 13 at the time.

Well, coffee is about cold, dogs would like walked and I have to start with the flash cards.

An Angel

How evil are you?

Congratulations Truthiness!!

Congratulations go out to Steven Colbert, of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central, for his coining on the "word of the year". Truthiness. He and Jon Stewart really have a corner on the news market, as far as I am concerned. If we are going to laugh at those who think that they are the "real" news people because they are ridiculous, then we might as well watch those who give us the news and don't take themselves, or their hair, too seriously!!

26 Years

It has been 26 years and I have never forgotten where I was when I heard that John Lennon had been shot. I was living in Fort Worth, Texas. I had moved there shortly after high school to live with friends. I had wanted to be an actress and there was plenty of dinner theatre and community theatre. I was taking classes part time at University of Texas in Arligton and working as a singing waitress at night.

I had been asleep and my roommate was awake watching television. I just happened to wake up as the news was coming on and they made the announcement. It woke me right up. I had always been a Beatles fan, but Lennon had always been my favorite. "Hard Days Night" was a movie that I would watch over and over because I had such a huge crush on John. I hated Yoko Ono, not because she broke them up, allegedly, but because she was married to him!

It hit me quite hard. Being younger, I guess I would compare it to the way kids reacted to Kurt Cobains death, I jsut stopped listening to the albums and could not play them for a very long time. I was just stunned and very sad.

The Beatles usually evoke strong emotions from people; either love them or hate them. I am not so gung ho that I think they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I just happen to think that John did write some great lyrics and Paul wrote some great music and balads. In high school choir we always sang a few Beatles tunes. Never a big fan of the sappy love ballad, I always prefered the more political or thoughtful lyric. "Imagine" is one of my favorite albums to this day. I also love his Christmas song, "So This is Christmas...what have we done?"

I think I might ask Santa to leave the Imagine CD under the tree for me this year. Maybe the White Album too. I think that I have been very good this year.

Good v. Evil

If we believe, as Bill O'Reilly would have us believe, there are only two types of people in this world. The "Dark Side" and the "Good Side". As if it were as simple as the world of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. It might be in his action figure filled world, and it seems, his newest book as well.

His newest tome is one that states that there are only two divisions of people. "Secular progressives" and "Traditionalists". Mr. O'Reilly offends me often and in so many ways, but let me just enumerate a few. Especially as I am sipping a nice blend of red wines, Menage a Trois, a California Red Table Wine. A blend of Zin, Cab and Merlot. Since it is from California that probably puts me in the category of secular traditionalist right away!! I am also having some bbq chicken pizza with red onion. YUM!!

Anyway, back on track, I may consider myself a "progressive", but not radically so. I am liberal in many of my views, but I am also a christian person and therefore am offened by his notion that I am a secularist type. He asserts that to be progressive means that we have gloven hooves and horns!! For cryin' out loud. I am tired of being blamed for everything that is wrong with this country. Once againb, who made Mr. O'Reilly and his ilk the "moral gatekeepers" of society?

I agree that there is a culture war in this country, but not the way he sees it. College is becoming something only the elite can afford. The gap between the "haves" and " have nots" is getting widder and widder. Hasn't he read about the growing numbers of uninsured in this country? Not to mention the numbers that are losing their homes to sheriff sales? The middle classes can no longer even afford to own their own homes. That is a culture war. A "let them eat cake" society if you will.

He states, in his book, that "his side" believes that the United States was well founded by the founding fathers. I agree. I have no argument with the founding fathers or the way this country was founded. I love history and the history of this country. He makes it out to sound like there is a particular camp that would find fault with our very beginnings!! Granted, there are all kinds in this world, but I can not believe that he would find too many that would argue the merits of those who wrote and signed the Declaration of Independence.

He goes on to further discuss his degree and getting his masters. I am very happy that he was able to do so, but as I stated before college is becoming a thing that only those with the means can afford. When I graduated, in 1999, I was thrilled and now, 7 years later can not afford to even attempt to get my masters due to the high cost of college. To take one 3 hour course is about $1,000.00. I am STILL paying back my first education and I will probably only finish in time to TRY and send my son.

O'Reilly likes to talk as if he has his finger on the pulse of the people. In reality he likes to keep things stired up and stired up in a very negative way. It keeps his book selling and the ratings up on his show. Controversy is a seller!! People like to stop by and see what all the comotion is about. It is not something that he wrote for the betterment or improvement of humanity, but just something else to draw divisive lines and keep the societal groups seperated. He is a divider, not a uniter. He certainly belongs with the "decider".

The Debate Rages On.

It seems that before the Republicans pack up their belongings and clean out their desks they are going to schedule a vote on a fetal pain abortion bill. I am tired of this debate. Why do the Republicans feel that it is their job to legislate this issue and the gay marriage issue. Why are these two items the main stays of their platform? The fact that some of them will insist that under no circumstance should a woman be allowed to abort. Incest and rape included. They would actually insist that their own wife or daughter carry a child from a violent act? They would force her to endure 9 months of remembrances. To then do what with the child? Give it up for adoption? Do you think these guys would raise it in their upper class homes and neighborhoods? I think not.

There will always be scientists etc. that they will be able to find who can argue for both sides of this issue, so I do not even want to get into the science of it. I just want to be able to continue to have a choice.