Avengers (extras) Assemble!

I woke early this morning, to attend the casting call for extras in the new Avengers movie to be filmed in downtown Cleveland in August.  Since I missed the call yesterday, this was the last chance.  The only request was to dress in business attire.  So I went with by recently pressed black suit, and bold blue dress shirt with a colorful tie, and my black patent leather shoes.

 I arrived early for the 10:00AM start (I thought), arriving at the hotel before 9:30AM, but should have known when I was already re-directed out into another business parking lot, that I was going to be far back in line.  At the time I had no idea how far back in line.

But everyone was in good spirits, despite the high temps, beating Sun, and hot pavement.  Much talk about movies, and in particular superhero movies, kept things lively.  About halfway though the waiting line, the hotel staff sent out some employees with a cart of cool waters for $2.00.  They radioed back that they needed more.

Finally at about 12:45PM my group of 30 was allowed in the hotel.  We filled out an easy application sheet requesting only the most basic of contact information (blue sheets for boys, pink for girls!), age, height, etc.  Then they had everyone line up, take a number (mine was in the 2200's, and I think they started the morning at 0001!), and two at a time they snapped our photos.  Then I was done.  This part of the process only required about ten minutes.  I was back in my car by 1:10PM. 

Whether or not I actually get called, it was just fun to see the process, and have tried out.

McDoogle

Book Review: A Farewell to Arms

A story about love and war. Or the senselessness of war… and love. As at the end the main character Lieutenant Fred Henry loses both.

I’ve always heard rave reviews of Hemingway’s writing, and decided I would try to squeeze one of his novels into my reading list if I could find one. Eventually I found ‘A Farewell to Arms’. I was surprised to discover this book was first published in 1929, thinking Hemingway was more a contemporary, maybe just a generation older. However the paperback edition I found was even older than me, published in 1955 (only 35 cents cover price).

I researched a bit and this story really is a reflection of Ernest Hemingway’s experiences from World War I. Like the main character, he was an ambulance driver in the Italian army. He was seriously wounded in the legs, received medals, and while recovering a few months in a field hospital fell in love with a lovely nurse.

The story varies (I think) a bit from there, as a retreat, the loss of his ambulances, almost being shot for being at by the Italians during the retreat for being an officer, he gives up on the war, after only escaping during a moment of confusion by diving into the river.

It was interesting to read about all of the soldiers together talking about wishing the war was over, and debating the merits of just giving up to end it all. It was refreshing to see that even in WWI there was opposition to war and other than the leaders no one wanted to be there.

The narrative style was very interesting. At one point I noticed that I was reading a paragraph where at least five people were talking, yet I could make sense of it all and knew exactly who was saying what. I’m sure if I’d written a paragraph like that someone would crit that I’d lost my point of view. Also a lot of short sharp to the point sentences in dialogs.

I’m glad I read this book, and will be on the lookout for more Hemingway’s - even though I‘ve heard there‘s not much chance they are going to be any more cheerful.

Grade: C+

McDoogle

Your challenge:  Sneak behind enemy lines.  Defuse a bomb.  Return to home base via the sea.

Paine Falls Photos

Now available for your viewing pleasure:  Our trip to Paine Falls.  A new slideshow has been added. 

These photos were taken on a sunny Sunday in October a few years ago.  I loved the tall trees looking upward, and all of the fall colors. 

Hope you enjoy them too!

McDoogle

Movie Review: Green Lantern

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon as I paid for our tickets to 'Green Lantern'.  I was expected it to be a little more for the 3D showing, but $10.25 per ticket?  For the matinee?!    That said, if you're going to shell out a few extra bucks for a movie, Green Lantern is an excellent environment for 3D.  Space scenes, fighter jets, and a large space villain.  Also, I thought the Guardians of Oa, looked realistic is 3D.  In the closing credits, as the galaxy was spinning behind the credits, I really did feel a little dizzy.

Acting wise, I've never liked Ryan Reynolds in anything he's even been in (2 Guys, A Girl, and A Pizza, etc.).  Always seemed like a real hack of a cornball.  But, surprisingly, he really did a decent job as Hal Jordan.  Fearless and cocky when necessary, yet authentically humble at the right times.  Reynolds made a believer out of me - good choice for GL!

The performance that really stood out was Peter Sarsgaard's performance as Hector Hammond.  Yes, he turned out to be a villain, but Saragaard, really had me pulling for the poor guy, to the bitter end.  Misunderstood genius.  A little off the norm, so not one of the 'in' crowd.  Not handsome, slightly hunch backed, but a decent guy trying to make something out of life's many lemons.  Just SO believable.  Excellent work Peter Sarsgaard!

None of the other performances really stood out.  Well, perhaps Mark Strong as Sinestro.  He did had a strong performance too as the GL who seemed to be the elder leader, and the strength and determination to never give in to fear of all of the GL's, standing up to the Guardians.

 

Story wise:  I did know the origins of Green Lantern, having collected his comics from as early on as issue #9.  The movie did an accurate and interesting portrayal of Hal Jordan becoming the next GL for Space Sector #2814 (of 3600).  I don't recall the villain Parallax.  The broken pillar in the sphere of Guardians was a nice effect to represent the wayward Oa Guardian.  I liked the story tying in Hal's indecisiveness and inexperience with being a Lantern, with evolving of the character Hector Hammond to evil, with the threat of Parallax to the whole earth.   I don't think the movie tried to pull off too much.  It seemed 'just right'.  And I loved Hal's solution in defeating Parallax.  Great creativity with his new skills as a GL, and nice effects too!  Liked it very much.

As we roll the credits, stay seated, and learn the secret of Sinestro.  I already known the secret having been a fan, as mentioned earlier in the classic Green Lantern #9.  But J was not aware of the storyline and was heard to exclaim: 'No!'.  Don't miss it.

My recommendation is to go and see Green Lantern.  And the extra $3.50 for the 3D is worth it in this case.

Grade: B+

McDoogle

Your Challenge:  Create your own power ring out of string, pop tops, egg shells, or orange peels.  Then use your will power to create a small poodle, and perhaps a can of Alpo.

Auburn: Home of the Cornfest!

My home town.  Known for... the Cornfest! 

I have finally figured out how to store some of my photos online in Albums.  So on my recent trip to Auburn, I snapped a few pictures of... well, corn!

And some old country roads, fields, grain elevators, railroads, and silos.

Look for the link to this photo album in My Photos

McDoogle

Book Review: Brisingr

Brisingr was this year's novel for the annual reading race with my nephew. He really enjoys this series. I was not enamored by this latest edition however.

 Intersting beginning and ending but the middle seemed long and really dragged. And in a novel of 748 pages. It's a very long middle. Paolini may have thought it gave more freedom for character developement to streach of the story and add a fourth novel to the series. But I think it really bogged down the storyline.

The first hundred pages may be the most interesting. Eragon, his blue dragon Saphira, and his cousin Roran make a rescue mission into Empire territory to save his fiancee Katrina.

In the last hundred pages I didn't find the battle for the city of Feinster which Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and the army of the Varden against the Empire, as I liked the concurrent battle taking place in the skies over the forest of Du Weldenvarden. In this battle, Eragon's half brother Murtagh and the new red dragon Thorn battle his mentor the elf Oromis and the golden dragon Gleadr. Oromis and Gleadr are the last of the surviving draginriders, unknown to all that they had actually survived King Galbatrox's attacks of all riders previously.

There is a lot of foreshadowing in this story which leads me to believe that Eragon is going to suffer a devastating defeat that will require him to flee to some mysterious 'hidden' place. Ultimately we all know Eragon will somehow defeat Galbatrox in the end. But the storylines also allude that while Eragon may win the battle, he will also be forced to leave the land of Alagaesia forever.

I found it frustrating how naive Eragon was made to be. In the battle with the Shade Ra'zor to free Katrina in the caves, Ra'zor realizes he is doomed and attempts to deal for his life with Eragon. Ra'zor reveals an Empire secret: "Galbatrox has almost found the name!" But Eragon, not sure what the name is, refuses to deal and kills Ra'zor anyway. Not only does Eragon not take this seriously, he doesn't even inform the Varden, who might realize what the secret means, and take appropiate action. Surely this is going to be a big mistake.

Also odd... on the way back from freeing Katrina, Eragon finds an abandoned elven outpost. Exploring the inside, not only does Eragon find many old books and scrolls. But he also finds a strange man named Tenga. Tenga is reseaching the scrolls looking for 'the answer' although he doesn't know 'the question'. Eragon assumes the old man is nuts and leaves him be. Also not informing anyone who might find this information useful. I'm Tenga will show up again in Book IV at some point.

My final thought is about the character called Sloan. This might turn into an intersting storyline. We'll see. Sloan is Katrina's father and was also captured, tortured and trapped in the same cave dungeons as Katrina. Eragon finds Sloan, but reports to Katrina and Roran that he didn't survive. Sloan is a bitter, and now blind, old man who blames Eragon for all of the ills of the current world. Once they are alone Eragon sets him free. But knowing that a blind old man could not survive long in the wilderness, Eragon installs a mental compass in Sloan, always pointing in the direction of the elven forest Du Weldenvarden, if Sloan chooses to follow that path, he may survive. Later, Eragon finds that Sloan has found the forest and survived, but he is still bitter and ungrateful. Will Sloan's make-up change in Book IV? Hopefully Paolini will make good use of this character.

If you are not a fan of the first 2 book in this series, I would not recommend Brisingr. But you you liked the story so far, I would endure the muddling middle of this book and hope the fourth and final of the series rewards us all for our patience as the original 'Eragon' did.

Grade: C-

McDoogle

Reading Race 2010

This year's book for the annual reading race between me and my nephew in Michigan is: Star Wars: 501st Imperial Commandoes by Karen Traviss.

This year's book selection was particulary difficult.  I thought that certainly by now the 3rd novel of the Eragon series (Brisinger) would be out in softcover, so I was disappoint that more than a year after it was published, it's still only out in hardback.

So, it was back to the drawing as last year's selection did not go over well.  I searched the whole bookstore.  And this one, caught my eye.  Star Wars!  Everyone loves Star Wars don't they.  I wasn't sure that it was about don't it looked interesting so I went with it.

We started racing last week.  The first thing I realized was that, there are an awful lot of Star Wars books already out there!  Some starting before Episode I, and some continuing after Episode VI, and many, many more in between.  This one is interesting because it takes place right after movie III, where Anakin has just assumed power as Darth Vader, and evil Palpitine has taken over leadership of the Empire.

The story has two main plots.  One, some of the rebels escaping to planet Maladore (really boring).  Second, the more interesting plotline follows the path of two clones in the Imperial Army assigned to the 501st Coomando Unit, Niner and Darman.  They had been fighting in the Rubpublic Army before the take-over, now it's become the Imperial Army.  So now where do their loyalites lie?  Do they continue fighting?  Or desert?  Escape to Maledore with their other family and friends?

What makes the book somewhat difficuly to follow is that the storylines of all the characters continue from a previous book Republic Commandoes: Code 66, in which they recieve the order (Code 66) to elimanate all of the Jedi.  It's apparent in that novel that in the insuing conflict Darman's fordidden love and wife who is a Jedi is killed in a final battle.  This tradegy consume's all of the players in this story, and not having read 'Code 66' it really seems to drag on too much.  Also, there is so much Star Wars jargon and slang, and difficult names for both people and planets, is difficult to read through at times, when she really stacks them up.  Coming in new to the arcing storyline, there are also too many characters to keep track of, and their relationships with each other - consfusing enough becuase so many of them are clones.  And Traviss doesn't help matters much by sometimes referring to the same character, by first name, sometimes by last name, other times by a nick name.

Currently I am on 220 out of 434 pages.  No word yet on how far my nephew is.  Or if he's already done...  I will give an update on the final results of the contest, and an updated book review in the Comments.

Until then...

Read, Dog Read!!

McDoogle

New Poll for 2010: Constellations!

What is your favorite Constellation? 

I have listed fourteen of my favorites to vote on.  If you are a little foggy on the names of some of the constellations, or remembering which are which, you can get some help by clicking: Here! 

I decided to go with an astronomy related poll this year, since in 2009, my interest in space was renewed.  We went to the MetroParks for several night lectures during the year and even saw on separate occasions, the rings of Saturn, and Jupiter.  On the night we observed Jupiter, four of it's moons were visible, and the telescope was so good, that I can even see some of the stripes on the planet.  It was pretty cool!

If you vote for 'Other', please leave a comment as to which constellation you like that is not on the list. Any comments on what constellations you like and why, would be greatly appreciated.  Plus then I'll tell you mine, and why...

 

Also, I'm hoping to update the links a bit, so there are a few more Astronomy sites to click on.

Enjoy, and keep watching the night sky!

McDoogle

Your Challenge:  The night sky photo contains a constellation.  Do you see it?  Can you tell which one it is???  It is in the list of constellations to vote on.  Bonus points to the person you figures it out first!

Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes

We went to see Sherlock Holmes on Christmas day, not realizing it was Opening Day. The theatre was packed. No wonder.

But I don't think anyone was disappointed. Sherlock Holmes was a great film. Not too cheesy. Not too corny. Not over the top in violence and unnecessary fight scenes.

The musical score for perfect for the setting and tone of this film.

I don't think it's a spoiler alert to say that the movie starts out with Sherlock outracing the police to the scene of a crime, to save a young lady from being an unwanted sacrifice for the evil villain Lord Blackwood. The staging of the opening appears as if Sherlock is on the run from the police and they are racing to capture him.

The villain is mysterious and appears to return from the dead to haunt Sherlock, Watson, and everyone else who caused him trouble while 'he was alive'. It becomes a bit of a magic vs. science theme, with Sherlock and Dr. Watson on the side of 1890's science.

The 1890's setting, played out with the London Bridge being built in the background and later in the foreground was excellent.

Robert Downey Jr was excellent portraying a more moody, gritty, not your Grandmother's kind of Sherlock Holmes. But more along the lines of what I thought Sir Conan Doyle intended with his character. Still amazingly intelligent, quick thinking, observant, and logical. This Holmes is also, moody, a fighter, and a bit smelly and unkempt - especially when bored and in-between cases.

Dr. Watson by Jude Law was also well done. Not the usual pastie we've grown accustomed by some who does have his own strength of convictions, is intelligent, and can stand up to Sherlock.

I was unfamiliar with the character of Irene Adler, having read one set of Sherlock Holmes stories previously in the 'Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes', but don't remember running into her character as the women who once bested Sherlock Holmes... twice! Irene was well played by Rachel McAdams.

The aforementioned villain is Lord Blackwood, played by Mark Strong. He was very believable, and had the right mixture of creepy and evil glint in his eye.

Of course, the real mastermind, Professor Moriarity.... we do not see! Not his face anyway. And of course he always gets away to test Sherlock Holmes again in future movies (sequels!).

I really enjoyed this movie.

Grade: A-

Wicked!

For a special present we went to see the Broadway production of 'Wicked' in Cleveland's theatre district, at majestic State Theatre of Playhouse Square. And 'Wicked' did not disappoint!

I had heard the music from the CD previously so I had the general gist of the storyline going in. But to see the production live was really quite a treat. Actors were great. The stages and costumes were amazing. And everything was a delightful tint of green.

At our performance, the role of Elphaba was played by the understudy Stephanie Torns. But she was perfect in the role. Very believable. And her interaction with Glinda was perfect and very natural, witty, humorous and well timed. As the scorned loner of Dear Old Shiz she portrayed a strong will in standing up for yourself in the light of adversity. She has a strength of conviction which continues throughout the story even standing up to the great Wizard of Oz himself, and his propaganda machine.

Of course my favorite songs are 'Popular' and 'Defying Gravity'. One surprise that I didn't pick up from listening to the CD was that while in Act I Elphaba sings 'I'm Not That Girl', in Act II it's Glinda sing the reprise.

A good time to mention Glinda. Played by Chandra Lee Schwartz was incredible. Such a bubble headed bleach blonde. Her portrayal was so funny and spot on. And yet, as the story progresses, Glinda grows into a mature responsible adult/witch herself. I wasn't expecting a story about the importance of friendship and yet Elphaba and Glinda despite all their differences and even their shared love for Fiyero, end as trusted friends.

I also enjoyed Randy Danson's Madame Morrible. And Ben Liebert played Boq well, but that character really turned out to be a superficial snot.

I did not care for the acting of Richard Kline as the Wizard. I don't think it had anything to do with the Wizard turning out to be a power hungry manipulator. I just didn't think he did a good job, and the performance was lack luster. Although I never cared for him much as Jack Tripper's neighbor Larry on Three's Company either.

Overall, it was a grande December Saturday afternoon, and I encourage everyone to catch 'Wicked' if you can. Even if you have to Defy Gravity!

McDoogle