The back half of our vacation was about as "fun" as the first half...My father-in-law caught the stomach virus since we apparently brought it with us. My nasal passages went crazy from the dry weather because I forgot to bring the humidifier for my CPAP with me. And Malcolm got a bronchial infection. Add to that a 3 hour delay in our return trip red eye (for a dog without a seat and a mechanical problem) and this seems like the vacation from hell. Luckily, we have enough fun with the family when we visit to keep things from being as bad as I make them sound.
A quick kudos to Jet Blue for the way they handled the delay in our taking off. When we had to switch planes, the pilot helped Natasha & I gather Malcolm and all our stuff and carried the car seat off the plane.
Of course, now that we're back (and surprisingly with all the crap we ate, both Tash & I lost weight...me 8 pounds, her 10 pounds...now just gotta keep that rolling into the new year), we're trying to get Malcolm back on East Coast time...which has been HELL...
The first night back he slept at his grandparents house so we could sleep. He didn't get to bed until 10:30 and he slept in their bed. The next night we let him run his course and put him in his crib with loads of screaming and crying (something we haven't done in a few months). Tash went to bed and I was up doing some reading when all of a sudden it sounded like the screaming got louder...but not louder in volume, louder in proximity...and then I heard his doorknob turning...
The little bugger, who has spent months climbing EVERYTHING he can, finally climbed out of his CRIB!!! And he knows how to open the door as well...
Our lives as we knew them are over...but of course, they were over far before this event anyway...and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Of course, he also seems to have picked up on the fact that we had planned to wean him off the bottle upon returning from California as he now yells "Bottle" very loudly and can reach the rack on the counter where we keep them (we're trying to find a new place for them).
Anyway...it's the end of 2006 and I'm glad to see it go. While it wasn't a horrible year (meaning nothing truly horrible happened to us thankfully), it was a stressful and crazy year. We're hoping 2007 will be less so.
My annual list of the Best 25/Worst 5 films of the year is currently being put together, but like last year, you probably won't see it for about a month as I'm trying to fill in gaps where I can (Tash & I have a few date nights to go out and see things and we're working on catching up on important films via Netflix & PPV).
As of today I have seen 29 films that came out in 2006. Putting together my bottom 5 was pretty easy. Putting together a Top 10, let alone a Top 25 was really tough. We missed a lot...but we'll do our best to catch up.
Anyway...hope everyone has had a Happy Holiday season so far.
Have a Happy New Year.
Be seeing you in 2007.
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Sick on Vacation
I hate being sick. I hate being sick on vacation even more. I tend to get colds and such more often than I'd like, but they rarely get in my way of doing things. A bit rarer is getting something nastier...like a stomach bug. And so it is that we're on vacation for the holidays visiting my brother-in-law and his family when a few of us have been stricken with a stomach flu over the course of a few days. It started with Malcolm and then spread to my wife, my brother-in-law and myself. Not fun at all (although it was funny watching Malcolm in the midts of recovery come running into the kitchen, puke, slip on it, get up and keep running...all in one hysterical motion...of course, we had to stop him and wipe him down less he get puke all over the place).
While Natasha & Malcolm are doing much better, Ken & I are still in the tail end of this thing. I figure we should both be close to 100% by this evening as the vomitting and diahrreah have stopped (well...in my case the dry heaves and constipation). And the Fensters should be moving on to the second half of their trip up in Napa visiting Natasha's parents.
Anyway...up until the nastiness of the last two days, this has been a fun trip. Malcolm was very good on the airplane. Sure there was some fussiness here and there, but for the most part he handled the six hour flight well. It also helped that we were able to spread out across the entire back row as the plane was half empty.
The big thing we had planned on doing while here in Burbank was taking the kids to Disneyland. We had gone last year at this time, but Malcolm was only six months old and not displaying much interest in anything. This time was very different.
His favorite TV show right now is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a show designed for little kids as they learn problem solving. Most episodes feature Mickey and his friends (Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy and Pluto) as they try to solve some sort of problem (throwing a surprise party for Minnie, helping Daisy find her sheep). Unlike other shows Malcolm watches, this one he will drop everything for and come running if we put it on. He could be in another room and the minute he hears Mickey say "Hi everybody" he comes speeding to the TV. It rather funny as he tends to move faster than his body lets him at times.
So...anyway...imagine the look on his face when he gets to see these folks up close and personal. Unfortunately, while I was watching him through the camera lens trying to get a shot of him as he saw Minnie for the first time, there were too many things blocking the camera's view. But I got to see his mouth open in surprise and delight even if the camera didn't.
He had a lot of fun that day in the park, even if he got quite shy and a bit afraid when he finally met Mickey (we got a picture of him, Tash & Mickey). He even got to go on his first ride and didn't really freak out about it (it was the Monsters Inc. ride and though he's never seen the film, he seemed to enjoy the scenery until the rooms with all the doors in them...that freaked him out).
Anyway...that's all for today. Back to resting for tomorrow's drive to Napa.
Be seeing you.
While Natasha & Malcolm are doing much better, Ken & I are still in the tail end of this thing. I figure we should both be close to 100% by this evening as the vomitting and diahrreah have stopped (well...in my case the dry heaves and constipation). And the Fensters should be moving on to the second half of their trip up in Napa visiting Natasha's parents.
Anyway...up until the nastiness of the last two days, this has been a fun trip. Malcolm was very good on the airplane. Sure there was some fussiness here and there, but for the most part he handled the six hour flight well. It also helped that we were able to spread out across the entire back row as the plane was half empty.
The big thing we had planned on doing while here in Burbank was taking the kids to Disneyland. We had gone last year at this time, but Malcolm was only six months old and not displaying much interest in anything. This time was very different.
His favorite TV show right now is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a show designed for little kids as they learn problem solving. Most episodes feature Mickey and his friends (Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy and Pluto) as they try to solve some sort of problem (throwing a surprise party for Minnie, helping Daisy find her sheep). Unlike other shows Malcolm watches, this one he will drop everything for and come running if we put it on. He could be in another room and the minute he hears Mickey say "Hi everybody" he comes speeding to the TV. It rather funny as he tends to move faster than his body lets him at times.
So...anyway...imagine the look on his face when he gets to see these folks up close and personal. Unfortunately, while I was watching him through the camera lens trying to get a shot of him as he saw Minnie for the first time, there were too many things blocking the camera's view. But I got to see his mouth open in surprise and delight even if the camera didn't.
He had a lot of fun that day in the park, even if he got quite shy and a bit afraid when he finally met Mickey (we got a picture of him, Tash & Mickey). He even got to go on his first ride and didn't really freak out about it (it was the Monsters Inc. ride and though he's never seen the film, he seemed to enjoy the scenery until the rooms with all the doors in them...that freaked him out).
Anyway...that's all for today. Back to resting for tomorrow's drive to Napa.
Be seeing you.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Catch Up Reviews Again
It's been a bit crazy of late and now that we're on vacation in California for the holidays, I thought I'd do some quick catch-up on movies we've had a chance to see but have not had a chance to review (yet again)
The DaVinci Code -- I don't get the appeal. Maybe the book is much better, but this was long and predictable...two things I hate when it comes to movies. While I do admit to having some fun watching it (mostly making fun of it), it really wasn't worth seeing in the theaters and I'm glad I didn't.
Lucky Number Slevin -- This film falls into the same category as films like and The Usual Suspects and Pulp Fiction. Unlike those films, however, this one plays itself like one big joke that you're in on from the beginning. While a bit more fun than it should have been, mainly because of the amazing cast, its just a piece of fluff that doesn't tread any new ground. At least it keeps moving along in spite of the obviousness of where it is headed.
The Break Up -- Now that Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston have actually broken up, does this movie matter any more? It's cute, but not by much. If you like romantic comedies that don't really wind up being romantic comedies in the end, you won't be too offended by this film. The DVD extras do present some deleted scenes and an alternate ending that would have made the film have a bit more bite to both the romance and the comedy. Why they were dropped is anyone's guess.
American Dreamz -- I may have already reviewed this one (can't remember), but this odd satire of politics and media was probably a great idea on paper (the U.S. President becomes a judge on an American Idol-like show and becomes the target of assassins) but the actual film is a big mess that is barely held together by a strong cast.
Stranger Than Fiction -- Reeks of being an independant film that somehow attracted a big name cast. This odd little film is about a man who hears a voice narrating his life and then discovers he's a character in a book where the author is going to kill him off. But it is wonderfully done. From the script to the acting, this film is not as comical as the commercials may lead you to believe, but it is wonderfully quirky and one of the best films of 2006.
Vanished -- Finishing off with a TV review today...this show started airing on FOX this fall when the new season began. Seven episodes aired in a Monday night timeslot before the show got removed for the Baseball playoffs and then another two aired for November sweeps before FOX pulled the plug entirely. The four remaining episodes of the ordered 13 were streamed online over a four week period. While watching the final episodes was a bit of a pain at times (small screen, frozen streams, glitches and other such crap), it was nice of FOX to at least give "fans" a glimpse of episodes that would have remained unseen in previous seasons. So...did the show get the chance to wrap up the storyline of the kidnapped wife of a prominent Senator? Sort of. While the show did have the balls to kill off the lead character after 7 episodes, they didn't have the time to put together a plausible end that wrapped up everything. We got to see the Sentor's wife escape and rejoin a prior love with whom she had a child. But why she was kidnapped and exactly by whom will forever remain a mystery. It made me long for the days when a network cancelled a show and you never heard from it again. I'll let you know how a few other shows that wrapped up their short seasons via online streaming fared once I get around to them.
Well...I'll post again in a few days with a blog about our trip to California and how we've discovered that Malcolm may be allergic to holidays (since he's thrown up on at least three of them...Halloween, Thanksgiving and Chanukah).
Be seeing you.
The DaVinci Code -- I don't get the appeal. Maybe the book is much better, but this was long and predictable...two things I hate when it comes to movies. While I do admit to having some fun watching it (mostly making fun of it), it really wasn't worth seeing in the theaters and I'm glad I didn't.
Lucky Number Slevin -- This film falls into the same category as films like and The Usual Suspects and Pulp Fiction. Unlike those films, however, this one plays itself like one big joke that you're in on from the beginning. While a bit more fun than it should have been, mainly because of the amazing cast, its just a piece of fluff that doesn't tread any new ground. At least it keeps moving along in spite of the obviousness of where it is headed.
The Break Up -- Now that Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston have actually broken up, does this movie matter any more? It's cute, but not by much. If you like romantic comedies that don't really wind up being romantic comedies in the end, you won't be too offended by this film. The DVD extras do present some deleted scenes and an alternate ending that would have made the film have a bit more bite to both the romance and the comedy. Why they were dropped is anyone's guess.
American Dreamz -- I may have already reviewed this one (can't remember), but this odd satire of politics and media was probably a great idea on paper (the U.S. President becomes a judge on an American Idol-like show and becomes the target of assassins) but the actual film is a big mess that is barely held together by a strong cast.
Stranger Than Fiction -- Reeks of being an independant film that somehow attracted a big name cast. This odd little film is about a man who hears a voice narrating his life and then discovers he's a character in a book where the author is going to kill him off. But it is wonderfully done. From the script to the acting, this film is not as comical as the commercials may lead you to believe, but it is wonderfully quirky and one of the best films of 2006.
Vanished -- Finishing off with a TV review today...this show started airing on FOX this fall when the new season began. Seven episodes aired in a Monday night timeslot before the show got removed for the Baseball playoffs and then another two aired for November sweeps before FOX pulled the plug entirely. The four remaining episodes of the ordered 13 were streamed online over a four week period. While watching the final episodes was a bit of a pain at times (small screen, frozen streams, glitches and other such crap), it was nice of FOX to at least give "fans" a glimpse of episodes that would have remained unseen in previous seasons. So...did the show get the chance to wrap up the storyline of the kidnapped wife of a prominent Senator? Sort of. While the show did have the balls to kill off the lead character after 7 episodes, they didn't have the time to put together a plausible end that wrapped up everything. We got to see the Sentor's wife escape and rejoin a prior love with whom she had a child. But why she was kidnapped and exactly by whom will forever remain a mystery. It made me long for the days when a network cancelled a show and you never heard from it again. I'll let you know how a few other shows that wrapped up their short seasons via online streaming fared once I get around to them.
Well...I'll post again in a few days with a blog about our trip to California and how we've discovered that Malcolm may be allergic to holidays (since he's thrown up on at least three of them...Halloween, Thanksgiving and Chanukah).
Be seeing you.
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