Movie: No Country for Old Men

Thanksgiving weekend movie going was redeemed to a large degree (even more Sunday night with the first 3 episodes of HBO's Rome, though not enough to erase the void that is Margot at the Wedding) with the Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men. I enjoyed every minute of it right up until I couldn't believe it was over. Truth is, I got distracted a bit and didn't realize I was only sort of paying attention to the crucial wrap up. I suppose I was in the mood for a clean finish after Thursday's travesty of a movie, but as the subtitle says "There are no clean getaways." And of course that's not what the Coen brothers do. And they (don't) do it very well. Incredibly well done movie I imagine will win lots of awards, and one I'd like to see again on DVD. I'd watch again just to see Anton Shagur do his creepy thing.

4 stars

Movie: Margot at the Wedding

This is one of the 5 worst movies I've ever seen. Wanted to walk out. Let's see:

• Didn't like any of the characters except the teenage kid, and only a little
• Dialogue was forced and not funny - I've read better writing from high school kids
• Did I mention it's not funny? Or sad really. Or interesting.

Maybe that's just me. Josh and Tonya, you might like it.
-G
ps My mom hated it too.

Babe loses his head

George, A sad day indeed.

72 Hours in Las Vegas...

... while at blogworld & new media expo 2007.

• Saw a premier screening of The Kite Runner hosted by movie critic Michael Medved (whom I did not know is a uber-conservative) along with the main star of the movie, Khalid Abdulla. who plays Amir. Excellent book, excellent movie
• Went to the Barry Manilow store (Barry's singing at the Hilton)
  
• Went to the Star Trek Experience and had my picture taken with Quark, James T. Kirk, and a Gorn (anyone?)
  
• Got video interviewed by a former Playboy model (ain't Vegas classy?) now doing journalism for Raw Vegas TV for a video podcast. Did another video interview with some publishing/multilevel marketing guy. Can't wait for those to be posted on the interwebs. Not.
  
• Had a serious geek-fan moment when I met one of the best technical book authors ever, Harvey Deitel (big fan)
• Ran into an old author of mine, Brad Hill, from my ...For Dummies days who wrote such titles as The World Wide Web For Dummies and WebTV for Dummies for me. He now works at AOL on the east coast. Great to catch up.
  

TFGIF. More pics below.
-G

Fom the 25th floor

The Star Trek Experience

Me and James Tiberius

Move over Minnesota, Vermont is now #1

Minnesota is now the second healthiest state in the Union and California is right in the middle at #25.

Full article

>>>

Vermont ranked at the top, thanks to a dropping smoking rate, rising insured rate, and other factors. Eighty-six percent of children 19 months to 35 months old are fully immunized in the state, one of the best coverage rates in the nation.

The state also has low overall violent crime rates and a relatively low prevalence of infectious diseases, according to the report.

Minnesota, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Connecticut made up the rest of the top five.

At the bottom were Southeastern states including Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Mississippi ranked at the bottom, due in large part to high rates of child poverty and higher than average obesity rates.

Cool poster

Awesome documentary - The Endurance

For you folks up north who think you're toughing it in the cold winds of Minnesota (or Josh who needs his woobie soon as the sun goes down) check this documentary out. If you don't know the story of Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance, it's pretty amazing. Shackleton and his crew attempted to cross the Antarctic in 1914 just because it seemed like a good idea and their boat got frozen in with the ice floes not too far from the south pole. Then the boat got crushed by the ice floes after waiting a few months for it to unfreeze. Fantastic story.

4.5 stars!