In 3D Where Available...

On the heels of my 3D Avatar experience I've already started craving to see another 3D movie. I've seen them before, but on vacation of course where it was usually also in IMAX. But for the most part those were documentarian in nature or thrill ride-ish. Avatar however was a movie, with plot, and effects, and things that blow-up too. The movie was enhanced by being shown in 3D. It wasn't just thrown together and some effects inserted for folks to gawk at. The added dimension was thoroughly embraced... and I for one enjoyed and appreciated it! Anyway, I've digressed... I started looking around for other 3D movies on the horizon for the coming year. I stumbled across http://www.3dmovielist.com/list.html, which provided a number of other links which to visit for specifics about each of the movies I've listed below:

http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/ We saw the trailer for this one on the beginning of Avatar, and everyone expressed interest in coming back for it. Clearly the family is on board with my 3D fascination.

http://www.thehotticket.net/kennychesney/ Oh yeah, this goes without saying that at the very least Big Red and I will definitely be going to see. Hell, we might even be in the footage for all I know!

http://www.shrek.com/ Well duh, of course...

http://disney.go.com/toystory/ And uhhhh, ditto!

http://www.despicable.me/ This one, I don't know, we aren't exactly members of Steve Carell's fan club.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/tron/ I may have to see this one by myself... this is all uber geek for the rest of the cheer_dad clan. But the original movie was strewn with effects and you know a new one would be as well. Also, many a quarter was sacrificed to the almighty Tron arcade game back in the day! If I'm really quiet, I think I can still hear the music blaring from the machine's speakers! Oh wait maybe that's my tinitis acting up again.

But I've found something new (to me) to hold my attention for a while, at least until someone installs a 3D IMAX theater somewhere close to home! : )

Fear not this momentary fascination will not erase my love (or hate) of poker! Nor will it skew the focus of the blog. Game on! There will continue to appear all manner of pokery goodness!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Avatar

The family and I just got back from watching Avatar. If you haven't seen it yet, what're you waiting for?!? Run, don't walk! The movie was absolutely amazing. The effects, scenery, plot, cgi, it was all amazing. Also, if you do decide to go, please see it in a theater which offers it in 3D! You'll thank me. I was really blown away by this movie, and so was the rest of my family. We talked about it all the way home from Athens, this evening. Kudos to James Cameron on an epic vision realized!

Really why are you still reading my crummy blog, go see Avatar already!

Regards,

cheer_dad

Survive...the cheer_dad story

In the movie they one day make about my life... Jim Morrison's ominously haunting voice will most assuredly belt out "No One Here Gets Out Alive" on the Soundtrack. This week though, being nearly over, I may actually have a shot at it in the short term. Survival, congratulations kid ya made it! The workday is nearly over for the day. Only Friday remains, and hey due to this weekend's Parkersburg Homecoming celebration, the Bureau will dismiss employees early. No, most certainly not out of the kindness of their hearts. The city just needs all the parking that we government workers occupy. So, I only gotta survive for 5 hours tomorrow, then I'm home free! Of course I have to wonder what an Eagles drawing night just might do to my withered battle-worn body tonight. Hey, lighten up folks, I'm taking the boy child to football practice and doing all the Super Dad things first. As always, family first. But after that, Miller Time is an option!

Tomorrow night we have the Eagles Poker Tournament as well, starting at 7:00pm on the dot---ish. 25 dolla, make u holla... Last time we had 47 people. We'd love to break the record, and pack the joint, so please by all means come one, come all. Registration begins at 6:00. If you're new to the club... just ask for JR (a.k.a. Uncle June, or el presidente) or me, cheer_dad. You really don't wanna know my "a.k.a's" then all the mystery and flare would disappear. The blog would dry up, poker would die, dogs would sleep with cats, anarchy would ensue... and then I ask you what would become of the movie of my life. Stay tuned for the future, I'm planning some really cool moments in my future to help pick up the pace in the plot thus far, which admittedly has been a little ho-hum.

Regards,

cheer_dad

Bowling continues

No basketball today for the little dude, but instead there's the City Bowling Tournament this afternoon. Cole already did his league bowling this morning. With an ever-increasing average of 72, he bowled 3 games for a 95, 105, and 124! He's on fire today. Hopefully the trend continues on through the tournament. He's all about the trophy bling! : )

We watched a couple of movies last night, here at the house. Grudge 3 was first of the double feature. Actually a pretty good movie, and had the added bonus of making Big Red scream several times, much to the enjoyment of Whit and I. I think we jumped more because of her than the movie. But we all liked it. Then, we followed that up with Liam Neeson in Taken, which was EXCELLENT. I see what they meant by great action. As he said in the trailer previews, "specific set of skills" INDEED! I recommend them both to you all. I'm still not clear on why the film industry opts to release a film overseas long before they release it in the U.S. Just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. It appears that the movie was released elsewhere in the world months ago.

I wish there were poker for me to be reporting to you kiddies, but it just hasn't been in the cards for me lately. But... now it's time to head back to the bowling alley.

Regards,

cheer_dad

If "they" can't make it...and a weekend recap.

Well it looks like Pamela Anderson and her latest hubby Rick Salomon gave it their best shot, and fought the good fight but in the end, just couldn't make the marriage work. Irreconcilable differences is the verdict, after a whopping 2 months of marital bliss. If these two crazy kids can't make it work, then who the hell are we all kidding!!! Hot off the virtual presses comes this divorce shocker here: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20166765,00.html?xid=rss-topheadlines and don't forget the original announcement of the nuptials that brought the poker player and the bombshell together: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20151049,00.html. Recall at one point Pammy mentioned that she was getting married to Rick to pay off a poker debt! To coin a phrase... I guess he... errr... it wasn't that big! Keep in mind, that Led Zeppelin will later begin touring again, and with Ms. Anderson's penchant for rockers, well who the hell knows! Move along folks nothing more to see here.

In other news...NDPT #12 took place on Saturday, and Erik P walked away with the top spot. It was a little lighter turnout tournament, with only 20 (due to other holiday season commitments, but we all had a blast. Mike Robey showed up with all the makings of a holiday wassail, that was a big hit, and a big intoxicator!!! Good Stuff! Thanks Mike. That same night also brought another sight I won't soon forget...JJ and Chris B wrestling one another to the floor of my basement. Laura talked to me today, and implied I should probably have an inspector check the integrity of my home's foundation after that! And again... move along folks, nothing to see here!

I'm sick AGAIN, as most of you know, on round #3 of antibiotics for this friggin' season. WTF!!! This has to be one of the nastiest illnesses I have EVER had! I'm just wiped out from it. Despite it, I was able to seize a 3rd place finish at the tournament, which for this year, at my house, has been a phenomenon for me! Maybe my luck's turning... which would be great, since this Friday I'm headed over to the Yanok's year ender tournament! I'll start that one as the chip leader. I'd really like to finish up that way too! : ) And the NDPT $50 year ender will be December 29th, at 6:00. I sent out the tournament notice a few minutes ago, and already have around 15 sign-ups, so everyone better bring your A-Game.

Oh and Friday, recall that a collection of us were headed out for dinner and a movie. Dinner, was a few quick drinks at BW3's and a mad dash to the mall. We get there only to learn that the kids movie Alvin and the Chipmunks was Sold Out! AHHHHHHHHH! So we lost some of the collective on that point. Others opted for Enchanted instead. The adults went, as planned, to I Am Legend. I'll say it was good. It wasn't great, but Will Smith did pull of the lead character roll very well. I think he did a great job of showing the inner turmoil that "Neville" was going through as the so called "last man on Earth." The movie reached a point at which it made a departure from the story line that was in the book of the same name by Richard Matheson, but I won't say that it was necessarily a good or a bad thing. It was just different. I think I even heard Frank say that he liked the movie ending better. The special effects were good, and I gauge that by the fact that Big Red jumped out of her seat and screamed during one particularly tense scene in the movie. Smith's interaction with his dog and the mannequins throughout the movie was great, and really made the character's mindset come alive. I won't mention more about the movie, because I don't want to ruin it for anyone. I try NOT to do that. In short I liked it, and like some things that were in the book, that the movie skipped, but then again, I liked some things that the movie had that the book lacked. So take that for what it's worth.

Time to leave...long evening awaits. Big Red going to her mom's to help wrap presents, while I take Whitney and Cole to Whit's basketball game. Man I hope the coach doesn't pull his "shtuff" again. You may read about me in tomorrow's police report section if he does. At any rate, see you all real soon. OH, and one other tidbit...the Vegas countdown is now T Minus... 33 Days, 2 Hours, 17 Minutes! WaHoo!

Regards.

cheer_dad

Wheeling site follow up...and other plans

Hmmm, now I'm hopeful that the picture shown here, is actually the Wheeling Island website redesign... Now the bigger question, was it complete before? Were they still working on it? Or is this another friggin' site that the accursed PROXY servers are shredding before displaying?! Say it ain't so, Del!!! Frank have we merely been duped by surfing at work? OR...did your screenshot come from home? I'm still not really all that sold on the idea of the Ford F-150 dwarfing the rest of the home page... maybe a DODGE!!! : ) Blush, is that my hemi showing? Anyway, it is an improvement over what I was seeing earlier. If it was that way earlier today, I guess I'll look foolish again. But after 39 years on the planet, I've been getting used to it by now. I did browse through the rest of the site, and it is better looking than it used to be. It has a little more glitz, and some pictures, and I'm hoping they'll quickly fill in the "blanks" for the other table games as soon as they open on the 20th. BUT, keep in mind that up until this change the news posts on the website were usually at least a month old. Until some time passes, the jury will hold its verdict. Maybe, just maybe I spoke too soon. We shall see.

In other topics Big Red says this Friday night a "bunch" of us are going to dinner and a movie. Adults and children this go 'round. Quickie dinner after work, I'm guessing it'll be somewhere Mexican (think quick.) And then we'll all head to the mall, and the adults are going to indulge ourselves in I Am Legend, while the kids check out the new Alvin and the Chipmunks flick. I've got to confess, I will probably end up watching that one too, later, in disguise. I grew up with these rodents, and honestly the commercials look pretty funny. Now back to "Legend." I read the book by Richard Matheson at Frank's urging. It was short, and I enjoyed it...and I'm curious to see how HollyWeird will modify it to their liking. Nonetheless, the previews look good, and they may make an exciting, interesting film in their own right. Again, jury's still out. I'll let you know later, and this won't be an Ebert and Roper critique. I genuinely love movies...but I'm not all about the director/actor intention and vision. I EXPECT to be entertained. Get it done, and the popcorn better not be stale. End of story...

Regards,

cheer_dad

Time wasting and other anomolies

Today started off strangely. It's funny how an odd tangent of conversation sends the day careening of into the unknown. I was posting to the team that I think we have a server time synchronization problem. This sent us spiralling off at first, to where I later answered an email with a statement about wormholes. I later continued the comments in the face of other responses with a dissertation on them as one of the team put it. Lucky for me, someone else on the internet was available for plagiarism. See these links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/bormanis/page29.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/bormanis/page30.shtml

Enough about them...then and actually at the same time I gave the movie "Lucky You" a watch. Movie that includes poker, main character a poker player, still with a decent story line. I think I understand the downside of compulsive gambling now.. Sheesh! I'll end up watching it again when I can give it full attention. I'm only half absorbing a movie while I'm in here, it's honestly just background noise to me. It helps me to shut out the world around. It's especially good when I'm working on spreadsheets. Don't know why, helps me keep focus. Anyway the movie is good, and I highly recommend it to you all. I won't discuss it further than that, so as not to give it away and ruin your viewing pleasure.

I spent/wasted A LOT of time today, unfortunately reading up on LOST! The season finale was last night, and the writers DELIVERED. Great show guys, you knocked that one outa the PARK! Rather than me re-analyzing it all for you, let me just point you in the right direction. I love this site, and the screencaps are GREAT!

http://losteastereggs.blogspot.com/

I know it'll all come to an end one day, but the story is the thing. These guys are telling it well!

I know that will make very little sense but to anyone who hasn't watched the episode, but that scene I suspect will set off a series of events which we have not yet seen. But there was plenty there last night to fill in the 2-hours that it took. Ya gotta love this show. Okay I won't ruin it anymore. But man I wish you people would get as obsessed about this show as I am!

We have baseball tonight, then one more day of work, before my 4-day weekend. WAHOO! We're going to take the kids to see Pirates of the Caribbean, which I want to see too. We're supposed to go over to Casa de Wolfe on Friday, and then to the Jackson's on Saturday. Beyond that, who knows. Frank and Julie are hosting a card night in their new home. Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing it again, and just the simple getting together of friends!

Also, this week, since I've neglected the ole blog, I need to include the announcement of the arrival of Eric and Sabrina's new bundle of joy Kolsen! 6 lbs 8 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. Take a look at that handsome guy. Congratulations! Big Red and I will check in on you when you get settled back in at home. Too much OT, and baseball coaching this week to even break away to come see you at the hospital. If they'd only stay this way forever huh... well except for the dirty diapers and total lack of sleep for the parents!

Well I should get back to it, or at least pretend. Have a good one.

Regards,

cheer_dad

It ain't over til it's over!

We watched Rocky Balboa last night. (shhhhh, screener copy) It was a very good movie. I really enjoyed it. It was more about story and drama than ever before. Sure there were a few speeches along the way about bein' a man...and givin' it one last shot...but hey...it's a Rocky movie. I liked it, and that's good enough for me. As proof that Rocky still has an impact I offer up the fact that following this movie, my son went immediately to his room, changed into a muscle shirt, and put on his kiddie boxing gloves, and spent like the next hour or so jogging in place in front of the tv and shadow boxing. So the message is as powerful today as it always was. There's a lot of heart in the character of Rocky and it has shown through the generations, through to this final chapter of the saga.


One question though...when did they take down Rocky's statue from in front of the library?!
Hmmm. what's Google got to say...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/11/19/us/19rocky.html

Well now, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. And here I thought it had been there All Along!

Let's see what else...well nothing much really. I'm back at work, just watching the clock. ARGHHH!

And there is no poker content to this post at all, since I didn't play at all yesterday. I logged on at one point to UB, but sighed...and said to myself, I'm really not in the mood for this today. Now THAT is shocking! Maybe I'm coming down with something.

Well time to get back to it.

Regards,

cheer_dad