So what do you want to go see?

I am a really easy going guy and while I am not an optimist I can usually find the good in just about any movie or any actor. I can find at least one thing good about any movie I have seen.

Some movies make it really hard to do this (I am looking at you Cop Out) but a lot of it stems from who they got to act in the movie.

I try not to be too judgmental because everyone can have a good day or bad day and a good script or a bad one. In fact 2 categories I have , Meh and Like are pretty much the same thing just a slight variant.

This is just a small gathering of actors who I just happen to have strong enough feelings for to make note.
 
 Despise – These actors will cause me to actively avoid a movie.

I.E.  “I’d rather stay home and watch reruns of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers then see Knight and Day because that Diaz chick is in it”

• Mark Wahlberg
• Jack Black
• Jim Carrey
• Joaquin Phoenix
• Marlon Brando
• Megan Fox
• Cameron Diaz
• Hayden Christensen 
• James Franco
• Zach Galifianakis

Meh* –These actors I can go either way with. ..

I.E. “Well the premise sounds novel and it looks cool” Some of these have been on my "despise" list before but have redeemed themselves one way or another. Im looking at you Sean Penn.

• Kristen Stewart
• Hayden christensen
• Jack Nicholson
• Sean Penn
• Kevin Hart
• Russell Crowe
• Reese Witherspoon
• Leonardo DiCaprio

Like* – If they are in the movie and it sounds good well their involvement is an added bonus. This list would be the largest as most films fall into this category.

• Tom Cruise
• Mel Gibson
• Jennifer Aniston
• Brad Pitt
• Chris Pratt
• Nick Cage
• Sandra Bullock
• Jason Statham
• Bruce Campbell 
• Michael Fassbender

Adore – I will go see a movie just because they are in it. “Let’s go see that new Depp flick”

• Johnny Depp
• George Clooney
• Denzel Washington
• Cary Grant
• Tom Hanks
• Angelina Jolie
• Will Smith
• Liam Neeson
• Harrison Ford
• Hugh Jackman

Blood sucking vermin

I give up in trying to understand you people.

8ish years ago everyone was running around thinking about “CHANGE” and Barack Obama was elected into the White House not because he was the best candidate but because of his color.

It was novel, it was new and it was history making to think that a man of color could be elected to the highest office in the land.

I get it.

I thought it was cool too.

But then his administration began and people flipped out

“He’s horrible!” and “He is a socialist” and “He isn’t even American!” and “He isn’t even Christian!” was proclaimed throughout the land.

However, rather than oh, I don’t know, kick him out of office via the impeachment process,

What did the American populous do?

THEY REELECTED HIM!

Now contrary to what you might think this is not a post about bashing Obama.

My personal view is all politicians are vile and all politicians are liars.

Some get caught like Nixon and Clinton and some don’t like Bush and Reagan.

An honest man in the White House would not last a year. It’s just the system we built.

We vote for the person who sucks the least.

It’s like trying to pick which sword to be impaled with because no matter what you are still getting stabbed.

This is a post bashing the American people.

Right now Donald Trump is in the lead as the Republican candidate.

This dude has already shown that he is a lout, a cretin, a privileged oaf who has no business being in any position of power.

If he were a Walmart Manager no one would want to work for him and he has a chance of becoming president?

I am pretty sure that Hillary is going to make it into office this time because it would be novel and new and history making again.

I am just scared that Trump will get elected because it would be novel too.

I have never considered abandoning my country before until I heard he was the republican front runner.

Do it again

You know, there is the old cliché of the ancient old man lying on his bed.

He has the covers pulled up to his chin and a pained expression on his face

“Oh why!?” he laments

“If only I had it to do over again! I would give my very soul to have my life to do over again! I would do everything so differently!”

Not me though

While I made so many mistakes. Maybe I am not a complete failure but it is so close I can smell its fetid breath (smells like pastrami)

Nope I would not give my soul to do it over again

I don’t need to be there to witness my senior year of high school

Or the time I played the troll in the 3 Billy goats gruff in the 1^st grade

I don’t need to be there for my first kiss or to see Star Wars for the first time.

But I would give my very soul to do my kids life over again.

But to see my kids first step? Yeah in heartbeat.

To be able to read to them a bedtime story again or tickle them into submission?

Dressing up for Halloween or picking out the right valentine for a school mate (Should we get Hello Kitty or Kim Possible?)

Big hugs and little kisses, scared cries and silly giggles, messy shirts and holding little hands

Oh hell yeah.

Please?

Age is just a number

I’ve been silent on here more and more. I don’t think I have lost my muse though, it’s just my brain is not working the way it should. You know how in your computer you have 2 kinds of memory? You have RAM and ROM.

ROM is for your programs. It is your hard drive that holds everything you save. It keeps the machine running.

RAM memory is the things you do when you use it. It is continually changing and updating to what you are currently using and erases everything when you power off.

Well in my brain computer it seems like everything is RAM. I can’t seem to make a memory.

My recall has gone from having an eidetic memory, to the point where I could walk into a memory and see everything in it. I have full recall of everything I ever watched. It was easy to recall this actor was in this movie with this person.

Now it is a struggle. I can’t even recall a movie I watched a couple months ago.

I think it was the ADD medicine I was on a couple of years ago. Scrambled my synapses.

Maybe it is onset Alzheimer’s even? There are times I seem to be able to get confused and I not know where I am on a drive I have made every day for the past 30 years.

I thinks its the continual stress from money woes that just wont go away.

Maybe I am just getting old.

Probably all 3.   um...4

The Last Time

Im not crying. YOURE crying.

Random synapse fire

Back when I was a kid on Halloween my dad would take the stereo speakers and hide them outside and we had this record of spooky sounds. I can still see the orange album cover with the haunted house and black cat on it. It had all kinds of ambience sounds with chains clanking and wind moaning and screams and groans. All the good stuff.

He would be sitting in his easy chair with his Budweiser in one hand watching TV when some poor unsuspecting toddler would waddle up to our door. Once he heard that tell-tale rap on the door he would spring up and drop the needle. Today’s kids probably wouldn’t even flinch but in 1978 seeing a miniature Darth Vader bolting for the sidewalk leaving a little trickle the force behind his was glorious.  Even preteen to teenage were not immune to the scares and screams my dad would inflict on them. He would always chuckle and open the door and give generous handfuls of candy to the survivors left standing.

I think seeing my dad enjoying himself and getting into the whole thing, this is probably where my enjoyment of Halloween came from.

My White Whale

When I was a boy of maybe 8 we went to Disneyland and when we were leaving my sister and I all got to get one item.

This was mine.

   I loved Herbie and this was so cool. It was die-cast metal and while heavy it rolled really swell. There was even a switch on the side that, when pressed, made Herbie separate into two pieces. Just like in the movie.

I played and played with this car. I'm pretty sure I even slept with it.

For not even two weeks.

  I had a friend named Chris from church. He lived with his Grandma and spoke really loud sometimes but he was my friend.

He came over once and we played with Herbie in my room for hours. Then when it was time for him to go he asked if he could borrow Herbie.

I was hesitant obviously, I mean, this was my Herbie we were talking about.

  Then I remembered he didn't have a lot himself. He was being raised by his Grandma and while we were by no means "rich" I had a lot more things then he did. I thought that it was a "good" thing to do, the church thing to do.

I made him promise to take good care of it and his face lit up and he promised.

The next day his grandmother brought it back over inside of paper-bag. She brought back this mangled ball of scarred metal wrapped in rubber bands.

Seems Chris had spent three hours the other night just rolling Herbie up and down the driveway and not necessarily using the wheels either.

My beautiful car was virtually unrecognizable.

They had tried to fix it with glue and rubber bands but it was pointless.

Herbie was dead.

They offered to replace him but as far as we knew they could only get him at Disneyland. I said it was OK and I understood that accidents happen.

This hurt more than I would let anyone know. 

 Oh we eventually went back to Disneyland a couple of years later and I went back to the same shop with some boyish notion that everything would be the same and I could just replace my Herbie.

 I left in tears with a "Big Al" patch.

I've been looking for Herbie on and off now for, oh some 35+ years. I see him occasionally on E-bay. He runs anywhere from 200 to 500 dollars.

Sometimes I find him but don't have the disposable income to get him and sometimes I have the disposable income but he is nowhere to be found.

This toy would not complete my life, I have 2 kids that do that.

If I ever were to get it I would probably just set it on a shelf.

But I would still have Herbie back and every time my eyes fell on his curved white hood the eight year old in me would smile.