We were tasked with having to babysit our nephew, Noah, this weekend. Unfortunately, both Thor, the god of thunder and Elisabeth Shue were busy and couldn't help us. Too bad too, because she made babysitting look fun. Just kidding.
On to our weekend with Noah. We had a lot of fun and Noah had a great time hanging out with us.
Our first adventure was on Friday afternoon at the Upland Lemon Festival. We started by wandering around and getting snacks and Noah was having fun looking at the booths and various crafts that were situated.
After a couple of hours at the festival, we headed home for some yummy dinner that Anna had partially prepared, which included pasta and homemade sauce. Noah fed and changed, we got him ready for bed and got him to sleep. Thus ended our first day.
The next day was a long one that offered a lot of fun, but it was definitely a long day. And for two people that are dealing with a little boy for the first time, it got us very tired. But there was a softball game, lunch, a baseball game and even visiting with Grandma. However, Noah was exhausted and fell asleep before Gma's. The second day ended with more dinner and off to bed - which got hard because of
the fireworks at Quakes stadium. Luckily Noah did not wake up.
Onto our third day....
First things first, Joanna had to sing at church, so Noah and I hung out watching Finding Nemo (which he loves) and Alice in Wonderland. When Joanna got back, we hung out and played around the house. Eventually, Noah fell asleep and actually napped for almost three hours. This was good because Joanna and I were also tired so we took a nap for about an hour.
When he woke up, Joanna and I decided to go on some errands (something that we had actually put off) and packed Noah up again. We headed to stein mart for a birthday gift and the Target, which Noah was very happy about.
Target finished, we headed home and got Noah prepared for his parents to come home. While we waited, we played and ran around the house. Nick and Anna came and Noah was actually a little hesitant when he saw them, which was a little funny but he got back to loving them naturally.
All in all, we had a great weekend with Noah and we realized that we were pretty good at taking care of a little boy. Now, in a few years, if we have a baby, then we'll be ready to roll.
It's just too bad Elisabeth Shue wasn't around.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Kick Ass Kicked Ass
Okay, before I go any further, I must say something:
This movie, despite it being a good one, is not for the faint of heart. Even I have to admit that I had to turn my head at one point because I could simply anticipate what was about to happen to a bad guy. This movie is not for children regardless of the "Comic Book" concept.
There.
Now, as long as the adults are left, I shall continue with the blog.
I had the opportunity to see this film because my wife was going to be with a friend for a few hours and so I took advantage and saw a movie that she would never in her life even think about seeing. I got my ticket, my soda and my popcorn and sat down in a surprisingly empty theater (granted there were two other guys a few rows behind me, but that's it). Though admittedly, I was in Pasadena, at an "Art House" Theater, which could have had something to do with it.
I'll tell you now that there COULD be spoilers ahead. Just a warning. You could stop reading now if you want or keep reading in case you've seen the movie or just don't care about whatever I happen to write since you probably wouldn't see the movie anyway. You're choice.
Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
Okay. Back to the movie.
Kick Ass is like a lot of other typical super hero genre films - nerdy or lonely guy suddenly decides that he wants to help others and becomes a hero (in our hero's case, not a very good one). However, this is not a stereotypical super hero movie.
When you see a standard superhero film, they seem to always have a superpower. Kick Ass/Dave does not. He's a semi good kid, though he does tend to think about sex a lot - which is natural for a boy his age. But then he simply makes the choice to be someone different and tries to make a name for himself. He tries to stop some people from committing a crime and gets himself nearly killed in the process.
In time, however, Kick Ass gets back on his feet and begins to confront petty criminals and starts to actually help people. However, even he realizes that he's gotten himself into a bad situation when he tries to help the girl that he really likes with a former guy friend that has been harassing her. When things turn ugly, Kick Ass isn't able to be the super hero that he wants and almost gets killed only to be saved by Hit Girl.
Who's Hit Girl? If you've seen the commercials, then you know it's a little girl with a potty mouth and a penchant for shooting criminals. Obviously, I'm not going to give things away, but based on the trailers, you've pretty much figured all of this out.
Hit Girl and her Big Daddy are an interesting pair. He's trying to be a good father, and I can't fault him for that. Yes, I don't think that I would ever train my daughter to be a mass murderer or use the language that she uses, especially at such a young age, but I understand his need to keep his daughter occupied with something, and for him, it's violence. And really, it's more like hyper violence.
Yes, people die. People get hurt. Good guys, bad guys, no one is safe and no one cares. Their character arcs make them exactly who they are, good or bad and that's what makes this film so good - the characters. They know who they are and what they need to do to make things right.
Roger Ebert (God Bless Him), in all his wisdom, somehow called this film "Morally Reprehensible".
I admire Roger Ebert and his opinion, but this is a movie. A movie that implies that there are consequences for everything that everyone does in life. Yes, it is hyper violent and hyper vulgar, but sometimes so is life. Look at images from the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan or anywhere else. Those images can be just as disturbing as some of the images in this film.
Anyways...if you want to see the film, see it. You'll get a good two hour piece of entertainment. Please don't take the kids. They are already desensitized to the violence in the world because of video games, books, PG-13 movies and even the general news of the day. I liked it and I would recommend it to anyone who can actually separate reality and fiction. And who can stand hyper violence and a kid using harsher language than a sailor. And if you don't see the movie for any reason, that's okay too. Everyone's allowed an opinion.
Until next time.
This movie, despite it being a good one, is not for the faint of heart. Even I have to admit that I had to turn my head at one point because I could simply anticipate what was about to happen to a bad guy. This movie is not for children regardless of the "Comic Book" concept.
There.
Now, as long as the adults are left, I shall continue with the blog.
I had the opportunity to see this film because my wife was going to be with a friend for a few hours and so I took advantage and saw a movie that she would never in her life even think about seeing. I got my ticket, my soda and my popcorn and sat down in a surprisingly empty theater (granted there were two other guys a few rows behind me, but that's it). Though admittedly, I was in Pasadena, at an "Art House" Theater, which could have had something to do with it.
I'll tell you now that there COULD be spoilers ahead. Just a warning. You could stop reading now if you want or keep reading in case you've seen the movie or just don't care about whatever I happen to write since you probably wouldn't see the movie anyway. You're choice.
Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
Okay. Back to the movie.
Kick Ass is like a lot of other typical super hero genre films - nerdy or lonely guy suddenly decides that he wants to help others and becomes a hero (in our hero's case, not a very good one). However, this is not a stereotypical super hero movie.
When you see a standard superhero film, they seem to always have a superpower. Kick Ass/Dave does not. He's a semi good kid, though he does tend to think about sex a lot - which is natural for a boy his age. But then he simply makes the choice to be someone different and tries to make a name for himself. He tries to stop some people from committing a crime and gets himself nearly killed in the process.
In time, however, Kick Ass gets back on his feet and begins to confront petty criminals and starts to actually help people. However, even he realizes that he's gotten himself into a bad situation when he tries to help the girl that he really likes with a former guy friend that has been harassing her. When things turn ugly, Kick Ass isn't able to be the super hero that he wants and almost gets killed only to be saved by Hit Girl.
Who's Hit Girl? If you've seen the commercials, then you know it's a little girl with a potty mouth and a penchant for shooting criminals. Obviously, I'm not going to give things away, but based on the trailers, you've pretty much figured all of this out.
Hit Girl and her Big Daddy are an interesting pair. He's trying to be a good father, and I can't fault him for that. Yes, I don't think that I would ever train my daughter to be a mass murderer or use the language that she uses, especially at such a young age, but I understand his need to keep his daughter occupied with something, and for him, it's violence. And really, it's more like hyper violence.
Yes, people die. People get hurt. Good guys, bad guys, no one is safe and no one cares. Their character arcs make them exactly who they are, good or bad and that's what makes this film so good - the characters. They know who they are and what they need to do to make things right.
Roger Ebert (God Bless Him), in all his wisdom, somehow called this film "Morally Reprehensible".
I admire Roger Ebert and his opinion, but this is a movie. A movie that implies that there are consequences for everything that everyone does in life. Yes, it is hyper violent and hyper vulgar, but sometimes so is life. Look at images from the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan or anywhere else. Those images can be just as disturbing as some of the images in this film.
Anyways...if you want to see the film, see it. You'll get a good two hour piece of entertainment. Please don't take the kids. They are already desensitized to the violence in the world because of video games, books, PG-13 movies and even the general news of the day. I liked it and I would recommend it to anyone who can actually separate reality and fiction. And who can stand hyper violence and a kid using harsher language than a sailor. And if you don't see the movie for any reason, that's okay too. Everyone's allowed an opinion.
Until next time.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
I Know What You're Thinking.....
It's been a month and Chris has not blogged anything. He must be out of the country or on some secret mission that requires absolutely no contact with the outside world. Right? Or is is that you already know the truth that I am just a boring guy that can't think of enough things to blog about on a near daily basis? That must be it. And while today is most likely like all of those other days that passed since my previous entry, there are at least two things that I could talk about.
One - Baseball. As you may or may not know, it is my favorite sport. Yes, I am a Diamondbacks fan, naturally, but I am also a fan of baseball and enjoy reading, listening and talking about baseball in general. I wish I could say with great certainty tha the Diamondbacks had a chance to win it all this year, but I don't think that's possible. It'll be a miracle for them to finish fourth.
Two - College Basketball. I am a fan of the NCAA Tournament in general and love to choose my bracket (win or lose) and hope for a good Championship Game. Last night, that's what I got. Two great teams competed until literally the last second of the game. It was fun to watch and can't wait to see what Butler does next year since they will have several returning players. Duke may have won the championship, but Butler showed the rest of the country that even little teams with big heart could go a long way.
So, that's it for today's blog post. I'll try to be less boring so that you have something from me more than once a month. You never know, something could happen that could be very exciting. Or not.
Until next time.
One - Baseball. As you may or may not know, it is my favorite sport. Yes, I am a Diamondbacks fan, naturally, but I am also a fan of baseball and enjoy reading, listening and talking about baseball in general. I wish I could say with great certainty tha the Diamondbacks had a chance to win it all this year, but I don't think that's possible. It'll be a miracle for them to finish fourth.
Two - College Basketball. I am a fan of the NCAA Tournament in general and love to choose my bracket (win or lose) and hope for a good Championship Game. Last night, that's what I got. Two great teams competed until literally the last second of the game. It was fun to watch and can't wait to see what Butler does next year since they will have several returning players. Duke may have won the championship, but Butler showed the rest of the country that even little teams with big heart could go a long way.
So, that's it for today's blog post. I'll try to be less boring so that you have something from me more than once a month. You never know, something could happen that could be very exciting. Or not.
Until next time.
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