Well worth the sacrifice.

This past weekend was spent in my ancestral home with my family. This is not meant as a metaphor or clever play on words, it is literal. Over the weekend my parents and I crammed ourselves into the Sebring and made our way to Jasper, Georgia for my Grandaddy's 80th birthday. We were able to enjoy good food, good company, and most importantly the company of possible the greatest man that I have ever known...

...my Grandaddy. Born in 1928, he has graced this earth for 80 years and my life for 27 of those. I have never met a man more giving, or forgiving than him.

In addition to seeing him I was also able to visit with the entire Wade clan. A feat that does not happen very often, the last time occurring 7 years ago when my brother got married. It was wonderful having everyone together for this wonderful occasion, we laughed, watched football, and were able to catch up on the lives of those we hold most dear.

The weekend was best summed up by a DVD that my brother put together and that you can view at his blog, just follow the link on mine if you are interested.

This weekend was special for me in that I gave up the chance to be in 1776 at my local community theater. It's second weekend of the run was this past weekend. It is a show that I have dreamed of being able to be apart of for a long time.

Looking back I wouldn't have traded this weekend for anything.

'Til we meet again

Paul

Give credit where credit is due. Part Deaux

Congratulations to Senator Barack Obama who is now the first American of African descent to be elected to the presidency.

I wish him the best and hope he will lead with common sense and wisdom.

And I hope he is able to come through on all the promises he made during this campaign.

But don't blame me if I don't hold my breath.

Til' we meet again.

Paul

Convoluted Movie Trivia Returns.

We're back. Hope you enjoy.

1. Jerry Macquire meets Ra's Al Ghul.

2. Leonidas marries the Merovingian sister.

3. Roy Hobbs double crosses Ghandi.

4. El Mariachi is hired to kill Austin Powers.

5. Captain Picard rides a worm.

6. Peter Venkman stalks Mr. Holland.

7. Ray Zalinski plays a hit man.

8. Mrs. Doubtfire goes insane.

9. Forrest Gump goes to the moon.

10. Banky Edwards is killed by a shit weasel.

Good Luck.

Til' we meet again

Paul

My head hurts.

We'll start this post with a question.

What is this?

If you said a dog, you are incorrect. This is a picture of a dog. Semantics you say? You would be correct. Which brings me to the point of this post. How did we as a people go from using images like the one above to share ideas to the written word? As you can see the above image is clearly an image of a Golden Retriever which is a breed of dog. It is easy to make the connection. But now consider the word DOG. Think about how incredible it is to think that we can go from this.

To this, D-O-G, and you still understand what it is that I am talking about.

Just something to think about.

Til' we meet again

Paul

Your lack of pants disturbs me.

I have a new catchphrase. It is derived from an interview that Mark Hamill, aka Luke Skywalker, gave during the filming of the Empire of Dreams documentary found on the special features disk of the Star Wars DVD's.

It goes something like this. "...of all the things to worry about...the Wookie has no pants." This quote is in direct correlation to a memory of some memos that he saw while filming Star Wars, in which the executives at 20th Century Fox were expressing their concern about the fact that Chewbacca was essentially naked. He recalls that there were suggestions of putting the Wookie into various clothing including a deravation of Lederhosen and he states that he was amazed that with all the other problems that the shoot had encountered, they chose something as stupid as that to put in a memo.

It has got me thinking about the current economic crisis this country is going through, and what irrelevant things were on the national stage while we should have been focusing on this, because this is not anything that happened overnight. I have tabulated a list. Hope you enjoy.

1. Congressional hearings about steroid use in Baseball.

2. Lindsay, Britney, and Paris; need I say more.

3. Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction.

4. The bridge to nowhere.

5. Al Gore.

So sports fans look over these in light of the fact that we are sitting close to the edge of what could become the Second Great Depression and just remember. "...of all the things to worry about...the Wookie has no pants."

Til' we meet again.

Paul

My thoughts exactly.

A transcendental Experience.

One of the coolest things for a person to experience is the feeling of stepping outside oneself in a purely transcendental moment.

As of today it has happened to me twice, and fittingly with both of my great loves. The first time was my senior year in high school. It was one of the last baseball games of that season. We were getting killed by a team that we had never lost too in 4 years of games. Needless to say it was not a fun day, but about the 5th or 6th inning I was coming to bat for the 3rd time that game and I suddenly knew that I was going to hit a home run. I can't explain it but I truly knew balls to bones that I would be going yard on the very first pitch of that at bat. Sure enough the first pitch I crushed the ball about 360 feet over the center field fence and rounded the bases.

The funny thing is that it was almost like I was watching myself do it. It was unbelievable, and a feeling that I never thought that I would have again.

Then this past Thursday came along. As many 0f you may know I am currently involved in my second great love, a theatrical endeavor known as Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. While on stage last week, I was reciting my lines when I realized that I was consciously aware of how natural they sounded. It was like my brain had split into two camps. The side that needed to focus on my lines was parked in auto-pilot allowing my analytical side to evaluate my performance. It was scary cool. Again the only way that I can describe it was like stepping out of myself to watch my performance from the audience as an audience member.

If you have never felt this sensation I highly recommend it. There is nothing out there as far as sensation goes to compare.

Til' we meet again

Paul.

Give credit where credit is due.

Let me start off by saying that I do not like Barack Obama. I don't trust his politics, and I think that if elected president, he would be a very bad commander-in-chief for this country.

That being said I also think that everyone should step back and acknowledge the incredible achievement of the senator from Illinois.

Going into this election season it was pretty clear that one way or the other history would be made. On one side we had Senator Hillary Clinton, the first woman to have a serious shot at the office of the Presidency. On the other side there was Mr. Obama. The only thing that was not clear was what that history would be. Well last night it became official. Senator Obama has become the first black presidential candidate from one of the two major political parties.

This is in a country where just 40 years ago blacks could not eat in the same restaurants, use the same bathrooms, or drink from the same water fountains as whites in a large section of the country. Where a 150 years ago they were still enslaved in that same section of the country.

Many people, both black and white, never thought that they would see this day. Well ladies and gentleman it has arrived. And before we get back to the partisan bickering I think we should all look at what this means for our country, how far we have come, and where we are destined to go in the future.

So to Senator Obama I say congratulations.

But I still won't be voting for you.

Til' we meet again.

Paul

Stop Hatin'

As just about everyone who does not live in a cave with no contact to the outside world knows, the Olympics started this past weekend. And as always it has been full of exciting moments like the American win over France in the 4x100 Freestyle relay, or Micheal Phelps quest to become the most decorated Olympian of the modern era. It is a time for people from all countries to stand united behind their national athletes and cheer them on to victory.

But this time is also riddled with those people who either don't get the Olympics or just don't like them for various reasons, and they are always trying to kill the fever that accompanies these games.

I heard a local radio personality downplaying the significance of the Olympics because of how much money is spent to put them on and how that money could be better utilized helping people in the various countries that participate. And while that is true, it overlooks an essential truth that we are privy to every two years.

The Olympics show us the world as it should be not as it is.

What do I mean by that statement? The answer is quite simple.

World peace is on display at these games. They show us that it is not only attainable but that it is really not that hard to find.

Think about it for a second. Here are a collection of some of the worlds most bitter rivals. America vs. China, England vs. France, Georgia vs. Russia, etc.....

We get to see everyone strut around and beat the hell out of the competition. It's like war. Except nobody has do die. Don't you see. For one shining moment every 2 years we forget about what one country did to another, or why this countries ideology is worse than ours, and solve our problems on the field of competition. And in the end hopefully there is no question about who is better on that date. The scoreboard tells all. China had the better Women's Gymnastics team. The U.S. has the better swimmers in the 4x200 Freestyle relay. There is no room for argument.

And if you can't understand that, then I've got nothing for you. Just do me a favor. Don't try to kill my love for these games.

Til' we meet again

Paul

Rest in Peace...and thank you.

Skip Caray "The Voice of the Braves"

08/12/1939-08/03/2008

Is this Heaven? No it's Georgia.

This is were I spent the 4th of July Weekend.

Be glad you didn't go to school with them.

As many of you know I am occasionally taken with strange thoughts running through my head. This weekend proved to be a unique experience in that phenomenon. As I was watching the conclusion to the Discovery Channel Mini-Series "When We Left Earth", which is about the history of the NASA and the Space Program, and the thinking about my 10 year class reunion, which is next year, I thought to myself about how much it would have sucked to be in the same class as some of the pioneers of this Program.

So this post is dedicated to those men and women, and for those of you who don't know here are the names and accomplishments of the special fraternity of those who were the firsts.

1.) Alan Shepherd- First American In Space.
2.) John Glenn- First Man to Orbit the Earth.
3.) Ed White- First American to Walk In Space.
4.)Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders- First Men to Orbit the Moon
5.) Neil Armstrong- First Man to Walk on the Moon.
6.) John Young and Robert Crippen- First Men to Fly the Space Shuttle in Orbit
7.) Sally Ride- First American Woman in Space.

How would you like to go to their class reunions?

Til we meet again

Paul

A great weekend of Sport.

Hello there all of my faithful blog readers. Today I write to you about this weekends magical, nay almost mystical adventures of the sporting kind. By far one of the greatest weekends of sport that I have ever seen.

It all started on Saturday evening with an amazing round of golf by this man right here........

Two incredible eagle putts on the 13th and 18th holes of the U.S. Open put him in the lead going into the final 18 holes on Sunday, all while playing with a knee problem that would put any mortal golfer on the sidelines.


Next came the opening round of the College World Series with my beloved #8 ranked University of Georgia Bulldogs, taking on the #1 ranked Miami Hurricanes.

In a game that was a nail biter until the very end my Bulldogs upset the #1 ranked team in the country due to some timely hitting and some even more timely errors on the part of the canes. It made me very happy.

Then came Father's day Sunday. I got up wished my dad a happy father's day, ate some breakfast, and watched as Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally win a NASCAR race after 76 tries.

It was at Michigan which is normally a pretty boring race, but this year turned out to be pretty interesting. What made it even more special was the knowledge that my big brother was there to see it. He is a huge Dale Jr. fan.

Finally the creme de la creme. It was time for Tiger to work his magic again. After an absolutely atrocious round of golf, by his standards, he found himself on the 18th green needing to sink a birdie putt to force an 18 hole playoff against Rocco Mediate today. The putt was about an 8 footer with a slight drop to the left. Not a particularly difficult putt for a man with Tiger's skill but clearly not a gimme. It was at this moment that I realized that Tiger Woods does not need the help of the Golfing gods in his rounds, HE IS ONE!

Needless to say he nailed it!

Well that's it for this post. I hope those of you who read it enjoy it as much as I enjoyed watching the things that inspired it.

Til we meet again,

Paul

A long time in coming.

So yesterday I sat down and watched 3 movies that I have not seen in over 10 years. Now this may surprise you but I am referring to the Star Wars Trilogy. How is this possible you ask, since most of you know that I watch those movies at least twice a year. Well that is true and yet not. I say this because the movies that I have been watching these past 10 years or so are not the Star Wars Trilogy, but the Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition.

It was incredible. My new lady friend, (you know who you are), that I have been spending a great deal of time lately, brought over the DVD's that were released a few years ago that have both the Special Editions and the original theatrical cuts over, and we spent the whole afternoon watching them.

While doing so I had and epiphany. These movies are perfect just the way they are. Sure most of the extras in the Special Editions are cool but not necessary at all, and some of those extras (i.e. the lame ass musical number in ROTJ) are a blight upon movies that did not need these things.

I came to the realization that the reason that I fell in love with these movies in the first place is a reason that I do not believe Mr. Lucas has ever even considered. That reason is that the human imagination is capable of creating a greater landscape than anything that can be put onto canvas, celluloid, or any other medium of art that we know. I didn't need to see the whole of Mos Eisley in A New Hope to know that it was there. I did not need to see the dewbacks move and make noises to know that they were alive. My imagination took the basic format that Lucas gave me and filled in the rest of the areas that I could not see.

It was truly a remarkable experience because in a way I was seeing these movies for the first time again, a feat that is considerable because of the sheer number of times that I have seen them both altered and unaltered.

So does this mean that I will never watch the Special Editions again. No I still enjoy them, but it does mean that the first chance I get I will be buying those other editions and when presented with my first choice I will probably watch them as they were when first released.

Anyway this is a pretty stupid post but, it is what is on my mind right now so I hope it wasn't boring at least.

Til we meet again,

Paul

It's been a while.

Well it's been sometime since I last put word to blog and brought you some of the totally inane and stupid thoughts that are running through my mind...........Sorry for those of you who hoped I had given it up you will have to suffer some more.......MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!





Anyway I thought I'd take this moment to give you my take on something else that has not been with us for a while.......and by that of course I mean.........

Yes after 19 years the man in the hat returned to the big screen. (Stop reading now if you have not seen the movie and are planning to. Unless you don't mind spoilers.)

Overall I enjoyed the movie very much. It was fun, exciting, funny, and for the most part captured the spirit of what Indiana Jones movies are all about.

However, there were a few things about this movie that I really could have done without. So without further ado I present you with the "Cringe Moments" of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Cringe moment #1- The atomic bomb.

Now while the special effects were cool in this sequence and the science of leads abililty to shield a human from the radiation that an atomic bomb creates is accurate, this movie makes one teeny tiny oversight.

THERE IS NOT A REFRIGERATOR THAT HAS EVER BEEN CREATED THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE BLAST AND SHOCKWAVE OF A NUCLEAR EXPLOSION!!!!!

Sorry about that. So anyway our hero after escaping from the Soviets at the begining of the movie find himself at a nuclear testing facility at the time that a test of an atomic bomb is taking place. To save himself he hides in a lead lined refrigerator and manages to ride out the explosion and subsequent shockwave with only a few bumps and bruises to show for it.

Cringe Moment #2- The Shia/Tarzan moment

He freakin' swings on vines with a bunch of monkeys following him. While a nice homage to Tarzan not really necessary for the story.

Cringe Moment #3- The alien angle

Now while for another movie the whole alien/inter-dimensional being storyline would work fantastically, in an Indiana Jones movie it only works well. See in my opinion one of the best things about the other three movies is that for all the fantastic supernatural things that happen, there is no scientific explanation of why. The only thing we are left with is the idea that there are somethings that have no scientific explanation and can only be followed by faith.

To actually state in the movie that the whole basis for a religion is because of alien influence is, again in my humble opinion, not faithful to one of the major themes of the whole series.

Cringe Moment #4- The hidden natives

I have my brother to thank for getting me to think of this one, but the temple where the climax of the movie takes place is located in a lost civilization that has not been visited by outsiders for hundreds of years. Yet when our heros make there way through a pyramid on their way to it there are natives that just happen to be hiding in nooks and crannies just waiting for outsiders to pass by so they can kill them.

Cringe Moment #5- The flying saucer

Again a cool special effect but very cliche and not needed. Since the aliens were supposedly form another dimesion and not another planet it would have been just as easy to make the temple dissapear through a portal instead of having a giant flying saucer come up out of the ground and fly away.

Well that's it. Again the movie as a whole is extremely enjoyable and let's face it, it ain't everyday that an Indiana Jones movie comes out. So go see it and enjoy. I look forward to discussing it with you.

'Til we meet again

Paul

I guess I get to live......

I was listening to the radio the other day and the portion of the show I tuned into was dealing with the various conspiracy theories that are prevalent in the world today. Included of course were the old standbys of the Kennedy assassination, and moon landing as well as the newer ones of 9/11 and TWA flight 1800.

At one point as the the discussion was on the New World Order theory a caller got on the line and said asked the host a question that I had never heard in relation to this particular theory. He asked what color the numbers on the back of the hosts Social Security Card were. When the host said "Black" the caller then said "Well you get to live."

Apparently, as the caller explained, one facet of the NWO theory is that anyone who has Red numbers on the back of their Social Security Card is set to be sent to a Concentration Camp and executed when the NWO takes control.

Now I don't put much stock in conspiracy theories but I would be lying if i told you I was not curious about the numbers on the back of my SSC, one reason being that I was not aware that there were numbers there. And I found black numbers on the back of my card.

I guess I can breathe a little easier.

Til we meet again,

Paul

I've just had an apostrophe! I think you mean an epiphany.

In case you haven't noticed how strange me and my family are here is a little insight into our psyche. I realized today that when the unfortunate time comes that my father and mother are no longer with us, my brother, my sister, and myself will not be fighting over the usual things that siblings tend to fight over at that time. (i.e. money, cars, televisions and the like.) No instead the one thing that will more than likely cause us strife, especially in mine and my brothers case, is my father's book collection. We are going to go crazy at that time trying to decide who gets what. I am not looking forward to it.


Til we meet again,

Paul
Bonus points to the person who can guess the movie that this post title refers to.

A little bit of my childhood

Does anybody else remember the old read along adventure books back from the early 1980's? I just came upon an article on the internet about the Indiana Jones ones, and it brought back some very happy memories for me. Back when I was a litte boy, (yes I was little at one time) I used to spend hours on end at my Nana and Grandaddy's house litsening to those tapes and reading along with the books. Reading over the article I remembered that among the rather decent library of books that my granparents had were Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Temple of Doom. Also among those books were Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi along with many Disney and I belive Muppett stories. I trace my love of reading to these adventures more than any other reason for it. I cherish those memories and hope that one day I can provide them to my children as well.

What kind of beer are you?

You are Guinness. You are brooding, bitter, and often in a dark, pensive mood. You are an intellectual and a dreamer, but your passion and emotions can sometimes get the better of you.

www.brainfall.com

For those of you who wonder why....

...I do theater. Here is the answer.

Any Questions?

My 4

4 jobs I have had in my life:

1. Dishwasher
2. Grocery Bagger
3. Pool Boy
4. Customer Service Phone Rep

Four movies I would watch over and over (or have watched over and over):

1. Star Wars (That's no moon, it's a space station!)
2. 300 (Tonight we dine in hell!!!!)
3. The Neverending Story (Falkor kicks ass!)
4. The Princess Bride (I'm on the Brute squad...You are the Brute squad!)

Four places I have lived:

1. Orlando, Fl,
2. Grand Rapids, MI
3. Tampa, FL
4. Stone Mountain, GA

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. Jericho
2. Criminal Minds
3. Bones
4. House

Four places I have been:
1. Hawaii
2. Las Vegas
3. California (it was only a layover on my way to Hawaii but it still counts.)
4. Nashville

Four people who email (or call) me regularly (in no particular order):

1. George Dwyer (he's a crazy mofo)
2. J9 (she's my ex-wife, theatrically speaking of course)
3. G (he is my counterpart of German heritage)
4. Dwight (he's my brother and takes that role very seriously)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Fried Chicken
2. Pulled Pork Barbecue sandwich (especially the ones from Leroy Selmon's)
3. My mamma's Meatloaf (no one else's though)
4. My grandmother's peach cobbler (not likely to ever taste it again though as she passed away two years ago.)

Four places I would like to be right now:
1. Anywhere but work
2. Scotland
3. At a baseball game
4. Playing Golf

Four things I am looking forward to this year:
1. 1776 (one of the musicals scheduled for next season)
2. Visiting my brother and sister (to bad I have to go to Michigan to do that)
3. Braves Baseball
4. The return of UGA football (only 6 months to go)

Four people who should post four things about them:
1. J9
2. Jennifer V.
3. Pete (i think he should start his own blog because I would like to know what goes on in his head)
4. George D. (same reason as above)

More Convoluted Movie Trivia!

I can't stop thinking them up. Here are some more. Enjoy.

1. Captain Picard kidnaps William Wallace.

2. El Mariachi dates Forrest Gump.

3. Dances with Wolves throws a perfect game.

4. Iceman hunts lions with the son of Spartacus.

5. Queen Amidala shaves her head.

6. G.I. Jane stops the Apocalypse.

7. Captain Hook goes to Vegas.

8. Billy Madison cooks food.

9. Magnum P.I. goes to Japan.

10. John McClane saves the world.

11. James Bond meets Blade.

12. Jason Bourne plays golf.

13. Alfred Pennyworth shoots Superman with a crossbow.

14. Jack Burton faces an Egyptian god.

15. The Terminator teaches kindergarten.

Some should be easy but hopefully there are a few tough ones here.

Til we meet again,

Paul

Convoluted movie trivia.

It's time to play a game. Here are the rules, I will describe a movie using references to other works the actors were in and it is your duty to guess the movie. For example "The flying nun picks cotton" means Places in the Heart, or "Han Solo goes Amish" means Witness. Hope you enjoy.

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi meets a giant.

2. Vito Corleone fights Sugar Ray Robinson.

3. Rocky sing county music.

3. Neo rides a bus.

4. Captain Jack dies in his sleep.

5. Ellen Ripley becomes first lady.

6. Peter Venkman plays golf.

7. Batman stays at home to watch the kids.

8. Gus McCrae preaches a sermon.

9. Miss Daisy meets aliens.

10. Thulsa Doom goes to a baseball game.

That's it for now hope these work your brain a little.

Til' we meet again,

Paul

If they rebooted the franchise. Part 1.

I was thinking the other day, the new trend in movies right now is to take movies that have had success in the past that have fallen on hard times and "Reboot" the franchise. Batman Begins, Superman Returns and Rob Zombies Halloween just to name a few. So I started to think about what movies I love that I would like to see rebooted and who I would cast in the roles. So occasionally I will be posting my ideas for reboots. Hope you enjoy and please feel free to join in.

Movie #1

Highlander:

This is one of my all time favorite movies. I love the original and the subsequent television series that followed. Unfortunately just about every one of the sequels has sucked hardcore. The only one that was and still is watchable is Endgame and that is only because of Adrian Paul, who is a far better actor and more believable Scotsman than Christopher Lambert. So if I were to remake this movie this is who I would use.

Connor MacLeod: Gerrard Butler: The guy is a phenomenal actor plus he is a full blooded Scot.

Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez: This is the role immortalized by Sean Connery. So when thinking of an actor who has not only the chops but the obvious sex appeal to follow that legend only one actor springs to mind. Antonio Banderas

The Kurgan: The main antagonist. This role was beautifully crafted by Clancy Brown. He has a very distinctive bass voice so the only man who could play this part in my mind in Tony Todd aka The Candyman.

Brenda Wyatt: This one was tough because the character of Brenda is one of the few that I have always felt was underdeveloped but I think I would have to pair Mr. Butler with his 300 co-star Lena Heady. She is not only beautiful but a very strong and talented actress.

Heather MacLeod: I believe that Kate Winslet would be a great Heather. Not only is she talented she has a certain gravitas about her that Heather would need to have.

As for the rest of the cast it is really only small bit parts so they could be filled with just about anyone. One thing I would do however is write in an appearance for Duncan MacLeod so that Adrian Paul could have a cameo but that is just me.

Anyway I know that I am the biggest dork of all time but I don't care. This is what I've chosen to write about today. I hope you have enjoyed this post and there will be more to follow. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Til we meet again,

Paul

Words.

I consider myself somewhat of an amateur wordsmith and every now and then I wil read or hear a word that sticks out as a really cool one. So I am taking this opportunity to share some of those words that have struck me in my life. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do but if you don't I really could care less.

1. Nefarious- adjective
extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous: a nefarious plot.

2.Malevolent- adjective
a.
wishing evil or harm to another or others; showing ill will; ill-disposed; malicious: His failures made him malevolent toward those who were successful.
b.
evil; harmful; injurious: a malevolent inclination to destroy the happiness of others.
c.
Astrology. evil or malign in influence.

3. Puhlcritude- noun
physical beauty; comeliness.

4. Svelte- adjective, svelt·er, svelt·est.
a.
slender, esp. gracefully slender in figure; lithe.
b.
suave; blandly urbane.

5. Asinine-
a.
foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid: It is surprising that supposedly intelligent people can make such asinine statements.
b.
of or like an ass: asinine obstinacy; asinine features.

6. Gorked- See above.

That's all for now. I'll post more at a later time

Til' we meet again

Paul

Have you ever noticed.

What is with getting sick just a few days before you are set to do something important. As many of you know I am in the middle of a show right now called Veronica's Room. We opened last weekend to rave reviews and are set to close this weekend. This means that this weekend is important because we have to live up to the hype that has been generated by the newspaper review and word of mouth recomendations. So what happens to me 4 days before we are set to close out this show. I come down with a cold and a fever of 102 degrees. Not that I am really feeling it now as the fever has come down and steadied itself at 100 and is sure to start falling at anytime. But it really sucks when this happens. Not because of being sick, although it is not a pleasant experience. It's the uncertainty. Not knowing if you are going to kick it in time to be effective at whatever it is you have planned. And of course to top it all off I still have to go to work. Now some of you may say why not stay home. Well there are two very good reasons. The first is that I would have to give up a hell of a lot of overtime to stay home this week, and that is almost as undesirable as getting sick. The other is that, and my brother Dwight can help me out here, Wade's don't take sick days unless we are really, really sick. I am talking gutter crawling, comode hugging sick. Any way I just needed to vent a little as this situation just blows.


Til' we meet again,

Paul

Quotes

For this post I felt a little lazy so i decided to put together a compilation of some of my favorite quotes from history, movies and television. Hope you enjoy.

Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson:

I like liquor — its taste and its effects — and that is just the reason why I never drink it.

Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave.

Robert E. Lee:

It is well that war is so terrible — otherwise we should grow too fond of it.

True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels them — the desire to do right — is precisely the same.

So far from engaging in a war to perpetuate slavery, I am rejoiced that slavery is abolished. I believe it will be greatly for the interests of the South. So fully am I satisfied of this, as regards Virginia especially, that I would cheerfully have lost all I have lost by the war, and have suffered all I have suffered, to have this object attained.

Secondhand Lions:

I’m Hub McCann. I’ve fought in two world wars, and countless smaller ones on three continents. I’ve led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile and tribes of natives no white men had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, killed many men, and loved only one woman with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am.

Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things that a man needs to believe in the most: that people are basically good; that honor, courage, and virtue mean everything; that power and money, money and power mean nothing; that good always triumphs over evil; that love, true love, never dies... No matter if they're true or not, a man should believe in those things because those are the things worth believing in.

Albert Einstein:

A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.

Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.

George Washington:

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.

I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.

Criminal Minds:

G.K. Chesterton wrote: "Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be killed."

"Superman is, after all, an alien life form. He is simply the acceptable face of invading realities." Author Clive Barker

Mahatma Gandhi once said "All through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall, always."

Lonesome Dove:

The only healthy way to live as I see it is to learn to love the everyday little things. Like a sip of good whiskey on a cool evening, or a soft bed or a glass of buttermilk... or a fiesty gentleman such as myself. -Augustus Mcrae

It ain't dyin' I'm talkin' about, it's livin'!- Augustus Mcrae

Braveheart:

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

If I swear to him than all that I am is dead already.

In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God. Yes, Father? The Almighty says 'Don't change the subject, just answer the fucking question.'


William: You dropped your rock.
Hamish: Test of manhood.
William: You win.
Hamish: Call it a test of soldiery, then. The English won't let us train with weapons, so we train with stones.
William: Well, a test of a soldier is not in his arm, it's here [points to his head].
Hamish: No, it's here [points to his fist, then punches William]

Hamish: Where are you going?
William Wallace: I'm going to pick a fight.
Hamish: Well, looks like we didn't get dressed up for nothing.

Theater at its highest form.

Now you may be asking yourself why in the world do I have a picture of "The Ultimate Warrior" in a post about theater at its highest form? Well the answer is simple. In it own way professional wrestling is just that. Now think about it for a moment before you string me up and eviscerate me. Where else do you find men and women who spend years of there life devoted to the creation, cultivation, and execution of a character that in almost all cases is nothing like said person in real life. The answer is nowhere. Actors in the movies will only do it for maybe six months to a year at the most before they move on to the next project. Those on television may have several years with which to play with a character, and Broadway is very similar, but professional wrestlers don't. We know who Hulk Hogan is but not Terry Bollea. "The Rock" is "The Rock" but who is Dwayne Johnson? And what about men like "The Undertaker", can you even tell me what his real name is?

These men and women have so devoted themselves to these characters that they have become more than synonymous with the men and women themselves, they have become the men and women. And that my friends is the height of theater. Don't believe me then ask your self this question. When you look at this picture who do you see, Harrison Ford or Indiana Jones?

Think about that the next time your watching it on T.V.

Til' we meet again,

Paul

Read this book. DO IT NOW!!! Your ape overlords command you.

There are few contemperary stories that grip a reader on a truly
visceral level. This is one of them. I first had the pleasure of reading
this book about five years ago and, while I found it a difficult read at the time, it captivated me. This novel is one of the greatest achivements in the history of literature. It is compelling, funny, heartbreaking, exciting, and surprisingly educational.

I have just recently begun listening to this book on CD as I drive to and from work and even though I know the story as well as I know any other I am still riveted by the characters, plots, and subplots to the point that it is like I never read the book in the first place. Few books have that effect with me, and I know that I will be able to read this book forever and never lose that feeling.

It was kind of funny to learn that this book is the most recent addition to Oprah's book club. I find it funny because the book has been out for twenty years and found it's initial audience through word of mouth. In its initial run it was never a bestseller in the states but now because Oprah has read it, it suddenly finds itself in that position.

Now I don't trust Oprah any farther than I can throw her but I have to admit it gives me a sense of comfort to know that this book will now be enjoyed by millions of people who would probably never have even heard of it if not for the big O.

The best part is that after twenty years Mr. Follett has seen fit to publish a sequel called World Without End. I can't wait to read it.

Take it from me, if you want a classic story of love, loss, betrayal, murder, political intrigue, and historical accuracy, written at a level few have been able to accomplish since Shakespeare, pick this book up. You will soon be casting the movie in your head.

Til we meet again,

Paul.

P.S. For those of you who have already read this book how's this for a cast.
Tom Builder- Gerard Butler
Ellen- Kate Blanchett
Jack Jackson- Rupert Grint
Waleran Bigod- Christian Bale
Prior Philip- Ewan Mcgregor
Aliena- Emma Watson
William Hamleigh- Tom Felton (a.k.a Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter movies)
Alfred- James Mcavoy
Richard- Daniel Radcliffe