- It is amazing how much fun a small boy can have with a garden hose and an adjustable nozzle.
- 12 to 15 100+ pound trunk sections of a maple tree, lifted up on to the bed of the truck, then lifted again to stack in the truck, then lifted again to stack at Little Bear and Girlie Bear’s grandmother’s house, makes for a pretty significant drain on my “you aren’t as young as you think you are” reserves.
- Quote of the day – “Are you really strong or just incredibly stubborn?”
- Boo got a nature lesson today when he got to observe a colony of large, black ants move all of the eggs in their nest after I uncovered it by moving the piece of wood on top of it.
- He kept looking for the queen, or as he put it “The big fat one that lays the eggs”
- We put together our camping menu for this weekend.
- I hope the kids like peanut butter and jelly, because that will be at least one meal a day.
- If I were a real man, I’d be cooking a pork shoulder for barbecue either over the fire or in a dutch oven. Since I’m not, we’ll be taking along a crockpot.
- I know, “camping”. Actually, this is more “refugee camping”. Think “Claude W. Griswold” rather than “Daniel Boone”.
- BTW, I’m proud to say that a lot of the menu planning revolved around what we needed to rotate out of the pantry. For instance, my children are going to be introduced to SPAM and eggs this weekend.
- Apparently, spray-in bed liners for pickups are made only with the finest Swiss polymers and are applied by nubile young women who have been trained by Shaolin monks in the gentle, but violent, art of spraying rubber onto a truck bed.
- $550? Are you bloody kidding me?
Thoughts on the Day
Posted by daddybear71 on June 16, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/16/thoughts-on-the-day-241/
Movie Quotes – Day 167
There may be honor among thieves, but there’s none in politicians. — Lawrence of Arabia
There are very few politicians I trust, and they’re usually the ones that haven’t been doing it for very long and don’t seem to have ambitions to longevity in their position or elevation to something else. One election cycle, they can be the white knight, trying to burn down the rotting hulk of established regimes, and the next, they’re part of the regime. It seems that the longer they hold onto power, then the more power holds onto them.
What we need are people who want to serve, but not to be served. People who feel a duty to the nation, not a will to power. Where we can find people like this, who are willing to put themselves and their families through the meat grinder of an election, is the real question.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 16, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/16/movie-quotes-day-167/
Movie Review – How To Train Your Dragon 2
Since it’s hot, muggy, and Father’s Day, I decided today was a good day to go watch a family movie, and this one hit it out of the park.
How To Train Your Dragon 2, the sequel to the 2010 hit, picks up about five years after the original. Dragons have been fully integrated into the Viking society of Burk, and all of the teenage heroes of the first film are now on the cusp of adulthood, complete with romance and fitting themselves into adult roles. While exploring, Toothless and Hiccup learn of an evil warrior who enslaves dragons, and the story follow on from there. (Sorry for the crappy synopsis. I’m trying to not give too many spoilers, because I want y’all to enjoy this movie as much as I did)
The story is very well paced and written. There were very few places where it slowed down, and those were done for excellent reasons. Having all of the original voice actors back to make the sequel helped to create a continuity that is missing from a lot of second efforts. Since I have a six year old son, I’ve seen a lot of the TV cartoons based on the first movie, which fill in holes from the intervening five years in the story, but this didn’t make things boring to me and Boo, and you can enjoy and understand the movie even if you haven’t seen the TV show. Boo sat quietly for the entire movie, and I never felt bored at all.
The animation was outstanding, leaving the first movie far behind. Because all of the characters have aged, the makers were able to update their animation a bit, making them some of the most detailed animated humans I’ve ever seen. The backgrounds and creature animation are almost lifelike in a lot of ways.
The theme of the first movie revolves around the first steps a child takes into adolescence, and this movie continues that with adolescents taking their first steps into adulthood. It’s done at a level that people of all ages can understand, so it’s kind of thick in places, but it’s done very well for the most part.
The music in the movie was similar to that of the first, but had a little more ‘poppy’ feel to it in places. I found that a bit distracting, but not so much that I fell out of the movie.
I definitely recommend this movie, either as a matinee with the kids or as a date night with your sweetheart. We will definitely be purchasing it when it comes out on DVD.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/15/movie-review-how-to-train-your-dragon-2/
Coming Soon
Here is what was advertised at the movies today:
Home – A cuddly-looking purple alien race takes over the world, and a plucky young girl pairs up with an alien outcast to try to find harmony between humanity and the conquerors. Looks kind of annoying, but might give this one a shot at a matinee or DVD rental.
The BoxTrolls – A human orphan raised by cute creatures of the night takes on an evil human villain and figures out his humanity. Probably pass, because I’ve seen this movie the last 15 times it was made.
Earth to Echo – A group of young boys and girls follow a map sent to their cell phones to find an alien probe and try to safeguard the cute robot in it from evil adults. Think ET with the cinematography of an iPhone. Since I don’t like the idea of being motion sick while watching a sicky-sweet ripoff of a movie I didn’t like in the first place, I’ll pass.
Annie – Really? No, seriously, someone spent millions of dollars to remake and reset a 1970’s cineturd? Albert Finney singing and dancing wasn’t bad enough, so now we have to be subjected to Jamie Foxx acting like a New York politician who is cashing in on the cute and rambunctious title character? At least Daddy Warbucks didn’t try to unseat FDR by pimping the little redhead out to the press. Pass, and since it’s a Christmas movie, I’m going to be inundated with advertisements for this abomination for six bloody months. Oh, frabulous joy!
Dolphin Tale 2 – A sequel to a movie I didn’t see, and I’m OK with that, because I won’t be seeing this one either. The dolphin with the prosthetic tail is depressed because it’s in an enclosed tank 24 hours a day, so the evil government inspector tells her keepers that they’ll have to either subject another dolphin to the same hellish experience or do something with the first dolphin. By something, I’m guessing he means euthenasia, which might be better than spending the rest of your life swimming in circles in the same featureless blue swimming pool, and you can’t send robodolphin out into the wild without expecting her to either drown, starve, or become Purina Shark Chow. So, after finding a baby dolphin who’s lost her mommy, the keepers argue over whether to let the two suffer together or separately. Since they tell us in the trailer that the younger dolphin is put in with the dolphin with the prosthetic, and nobody makes a movie about putting a dolphin to sleep, I’m guessing we all will learn a valuable lesson about family, responsibility, and love by watching two dolphins swim in circles together and slowly descend into madness over the next decade. Pass, and I will mock anyone who supports this kind of dreck by buying tickets or paying for a rental.
Seriously, Hollywood, if this is the best you can do for children’s movies this year, I’m going to introduce Boo to Bollywood and let him do dance numbers in the living room.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/15/coming-soon-13/
Today’s Earworm
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/15/todays-earworm-524/
Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there that step up and do their part.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/15/happy-fathers-day/
Movie Quotes – Day 166
Here are my terms: Goest thou to hell, and swiftly please, and there may Azmodaeus himself suckle from your diseased teat! — Dark Shadows
When beginning any negotiation, it’s always a good idea to lay out your requirements. There’s something to be said for honesty, clarity, and spitting in their eye.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 15, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/15/movie-quotes-day-166/
Thoughts on the Day
- Today there were no “No Shoot” hostage or innocent bystander targets, only collaborators who got what they deserved.
- Why is it that every time I go to the range I come away knowing that I need to go to the range more often?
- My instinct, after shooting all-steel handguns like the 1911 and Cz-82 for years, is to bring the gun up out of the holster with a bit of force. That lighter weight plastic fantastic just about flies up.
- I missed my support hand twice during the shoot today. Luckily I stopped pushing up with my strong hand before it went vertical.
- Time to practice my draw. Again.
- There were 98 shooters at the match today. When I first going last fall, there were about 50, and people were astonished. But remember, gun ownership is falling and the shooting sports are dying out.
- Boo tried his hand at putt-putt golf for the first time this morning. Apparently, a good time was had by all.
- Someone please tell me that there are golf scholarships to good schools.
- Many thanks to JayG and Weer’d Beard for giving me the name I used to describe the out-of-stater who was driving like a complete putz in front of me today – Masshole.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 14, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/14/thoughts-on-the-day-240/
This We’ll Defend
When someone wants to protest the government, whether we agree with them or not, this we’ll defend.
When a citizen wants to vote, no matter for whom or what, this we’ll defend.
When a mother wants to buy a gun to protect her children, this we’ll defend.
When someone wants to worship, or chooses not to, this we’ll defend.
When someone wants to write, or sing, or draw, or paint, or dance, whether it be for the joy of it or to send a message to the rest of us, this we’ll defend.
When our people want to live in peace, in security, in freedom, this we’ll defend.
Today is the 239th anniversary of the establishment of the United States Army. It’s been made up of larger than life heroes and ordinary folk. Our ranks have included Douglas MacArthur, Andrew Jackson, Audie Murphy, and Nathan Hale. They have also included the quiet men and women who go to do their duty and then come back to build up that which they have defended. Our places have names like Valley Forge, Omaha Beach, Pusan, Ia Drang, and Antietam. They also have names like Grafenwohr, Camp Red Cloud, Hood, Riley, Carson, and Lewis, and all the other cold, hot, dusty, wet, and whatever-else they-can-throw-at-us places around the world where quiet professionals train and prepare.
To my brothers and sisters around the world, I’ll be raising a toast tonight. If you can, please join me.
Rakkasan
Garryowen
Climb To Glory
Iron Soldiers!
Toujours Pret
Always Out Front
This We’ll Defend
Posted by daddybear71 on June 14, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/14/this-well-defend/
Movie Quotes – Day 165
There’s always a chance, Doctor, as long as one can think. — The Great Mouse Detective
Don’t lose your head. If you can keep thinking in a crisis, or when you’re tired, or when the world is just going out of its way to piss you off, you’re already ahead of almost everyone else. So long as you don’t let the lizard brain take over, you will always have a shot at success.
Posted by daddybear71 on June 14, 2014
https://daddybearsden.com/2014/06/14/movie-quotes-day-165/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 