The Post with my Weekend
Sort of a blah weekend. Mostly because I'm totally lame but so be it.

Friday night was 80's night so I headed out there after hitting the gym. Not as much fun as most nights but that's my won fault. Had a good time screwing around with people at the table. We had the greatest air band ever going.

Then the sadness kicked in. As I've said before- the being single and alone doesn't really bother me 95% of the time. But when that 5% hits- it hits hard. Think of what it would feel like to be hit by a truck and then multiply it by one million.

Basically it leaves me feeling this deep sadness and I kind of zone out into my own little world. And yes the irony is- once you zone out you're not really helping yourself. It's a vicious circle. So this all meant I didn't really do much dancing (other than occasionally goofing around at the table) and I kind of really gave up hope in the last hour of the night. A lot of that had to do with the fact that I was hanging by myself at the table at that point, but that was for various reasons. Next month I'll be more of a dancing fool as I've got to showcase my moves.

There were other reasons I wasn't in the mood to go dance and hang around but they are largely inconsequential to anyone but myself.

Stopped at Wal-Mart and then got home and drank a few more beers while feeling sorry for myself before crashing out at 4 on my floor. Normally this action would happen on Valentine's Day where the tradition is normally sitting with a pizza, a six pack, and watching a movie silently wondering why I've let myself go another year without finding someone.

So anyway- Friday night was sort of a downer.

Saturday I got up around 8:30 and did some things at home before heading to the sale. I hung around at the auction for a little with dad and my uncle and then went in and got my fruit. Went home then and ate lunch and the plan was to change the oil in my car quick and then take a nap before the concert Saturday night.

The quick oil change turned into a 2 hour standoff with the vehicle. When I changed the oil filter the last time I either over-tightened it, or it got on slightly crooked. That meant this time it was a bitch to get off. I locked the filter wrech on it and tried to crank it loose. The filter just sort of collapsed on itself which meant the wrench didn't fit anymore. So I had to try every other form of filter wrench we had but none of those worked. Finally I had to go with the channel locks to get the damn thing off. By the time I finally got done with that there was no chance of napping, showering, and eating dinner. That meant I was still going on little sleep from the night before.

Went to the concert with my friends and it was a pretty decent show although Trace Adkins sounded a little off for large portions of the show. Craig Morgan was really good and only had one little hiccup at the end with his guitar not working properly. Jason Michael Carroll was great and he has a really bright future if country radio sticks with him.

Saturday being Valentine's Day and all had me a little bummed out becasue you see people coupled up everywhere and you want that so badly. But I had the music so I was able to distract myself for most of the night.

Sunday I did my teaching gig and then went out on my job. Covered ~7.1 miles and it took 96 minutes which really isn't all that great. I just had no spring in my legs as I got into the last half of the course. Like zero. In fact my right quad felt like it was burning up, so that made it hard to keep any kind of sustained pace. Either way it's still some decent exercise and with my Zune the time flies by.

Came home and watched the Flyers game then finally got about an hour nap.

Watched some stuff on FOX last ngiht and then crashed into bed and am now here at work trying to fend off thoughts of this past weekend and look ahead to the new day.
Not working so far.
- posted by Brian @ 2/16/2009 12:16:00 PM

 
The Post with a review of The Uninvited
When you're a big horror movie fan like myself you get used to seeing the warning signs. As pictures get written about and discussed in the year before they come out these warning signs pop up. The most common ones are.

1.) Remake

2.) American version of a J-Horror film (J-Horror refers to a Japanese horror movie)

3.) Film will be rated PG-13 to garner a larger audience.

So when I started reading about an American remake of the J-Horror film, "A Tale of Two Sisters," that was going to be rated PG-13, I let out the same sound Homer Simpson would if he found out there were no more donuts, "OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH." What was even more depressing to me was, I know my penchant for horror films and even the ones that look the worst I will end up seeing. It's like that whole look away from a car crash thing times a billion. I know it will probably be bad, but I have to see it. Through this, I've learned to latch onto little things I like, but overall you are basically seeing bad movies with a kernel of a good thought. So would The Uninvited be any different?

The best answer is: sort of.

The movie starts with a party going on at the beach. Anna (Emily Browning) is making out with a guy who then tells her he has a condom. She gets unnerved by this and decides to leave. As she goes her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel) askes if everything is ok. Anna takes off through the woods and comes upon a clearing with 3 white trash bags sitting there. She goes to open one of them and the corpse of a red headed girl falls out. Anna pulls back from this and then the girl's head snaps around and she says something to Anna. She freaks out and runs home.

She gets there and hears the bell that her mother, who is terminally ill, rings when she need assistance. Anna is upset becasue her mom is not supposed to be along. She attends to her and then leaves the boathouse which bursts into flames. A piece of debris flies towards her and then she wakes up from her dream.

It turns out Anna has been in a mental hospital since the death of her mother ten months earlier, however her psychiatrist feels she is ready to go home. He also tells her she is making progress and to, "finish what she started." Before Anna leaves she is confronted by another patient who angrily says, "Now who will I tell my stories to."

Anna returns to her New England mansion along the shoreline. Her father (David Strathairn) welcomes her and introduces her to his new girlfriend Rachel (Elizabeth Banks). Anna is upset at this because Rachel was her mother's nurse. She then sees Alex playing at the restored boathouse so Anna runs out to greet her sister. Alex gets mad and asks why she never returned any of her letters or anything and Anna says she never got them. This causes Alex to go in and yell at her fatehr for never sending them. That night Anna hears her dad and Rachel having sex so she turns up her music and goes to sleep. In the middle of the night she is haunted by her burned mother's body crawling across the floor of her room before waking up.

The next day, Anna meets up with Matt and he tells her he saw what happened the night of the fire. However, Rachel shows up before he can say anything and sends him away from the house. Anna becomes convinced the fire that killed her mother was not an accident. The next day, her and Rachel head into town so Anna can try and get some information from Rachel. Rachel opens up about her former patients and says the only way she could get through it was by reminding herself they will be dead soon. She also shows Rachel a string of pearls she got as a gift from a former patient. At this point Anna sees the redhead girl from the trash bag along with two other young boys. They then flash away.

At the supermarket Anna sees Matt and they agree to meet that night at the rocks to discuss the night of the fire. Anna and Alex go to meet him but Matt never shows up so they head home. Later that night Matt sneaks in through Anna's window and apologizes for being late. They begin to kiss and Anna runs her hand down Matt's back when she feels his spine which is broken. She pulls away as he grabs her arms. She then wakes up and it is morning. Her and Alex find out Matt had fallen into the water and snapped his back leading to his death. Anna shows Alex the bruises on her arms from Matt and Alex says she is scared for both of them.

That night they begin a research session on Rachel to try and find out about her and see what she is hiding. Anna confronts Rachel about what they found but because of the dinner party they are having Rachel says, "if you say anything, I'll have you sent back to the mental hospital." Anna is taking out the trash when the red haired girl comes out from under the stove and says, "You're next." This ruins the dinner party.

The next day is Matt's funeral and Anna's dad is going out of town on something. At the funeral Anna follows the red haired girl to a grave site for three children who were violently killed by a nanny named, "Mildred Kemp," years ago who was a teenager and obsessed with the dad. She was never caught. Anna becomes convinced Rachel is Mildred under a new name. In the police story Anna sees the mother wearing the same pearl necklace as the one Rachel owns. Anna and Alex hatch a plan to steal the pearls from Rachel and go to the cops with the evidence to get her put away before she can kill them both.

Up to this point we are fine. This is a fairly suspensful film and much better than the standard PG-13 teen skewing fare that is out there. But then.....


THE TWIST

Oh god that twist. I don't think I'm really ruining anything by saying there is a twist ending to this film. A majority of horror films have them anymore, and they've become the norm. Some work, most don't. This one falls into the middle, but it ruins an otherwise pretty decent film.

The thing with the twist ending is there are trying to build the audience to see it a second time. When you spend 75 minutes invested in a film thinking one thing only to have the rug pulled out from under you, the natural reaction is seeing the film a second time to see if it makes sense. In this case there are cases where it makes sense. I don't really want to say to much so as not to ruin what that twist is for you. However, I'll say that there are a few instances where they did a great job of tying the twist back into the story.

On the other hand, there are a few glaring plot holes. At least one that is Grand Canyon sized. But again- I don't really want to ruin that.

(Ok one hint- pay attention to people's outfits. But that's all you get).

Like I said though, it takes away from a decent movie. It wasn't necessary to the film, and had they constructed a different plot of some sort they could've had a potentially great film on their hands.

What is also good about this film is the way it builds suspense. Too often these films are aimed at the young teen crowd and they go for easy scares. This film works for its terror and suspense. This is the kind of film where something evil knocks on the door and then waits for you to answer. See the real scares come from that suspenseful walk to the door. The door bursting open has that initial scare but it doesn't resonate. There are plenty of young teenage girls going to this film prepared to yell because they know they are supposed to that are going to be truly terrified by this film.

For the men in the crowd the directors do everything they can to have the two young leads in skiimpy clothing at every turn (and they are 20 and 23 so no worries). They also do great with their roles, as does Elizabeth Banks.

But damn that twist.

Too many writers and directors are obsessed with outsmarting their audience. Sometimes it's just best to tell a linear story that goes from point A to point B. The best horror films didn't need some gadget at the end- they were just scary. This film is a fine low rent version of those films until that twist where it becomes sort of groan inducing, and could potentially ruin the film for you.

Let's call it-------- C+
- posted by Brian @ 2/11/2009 02:07:00 PM

 
The Post with my weekend recap
Another weekend is in the books. This one was a little more boring than most. However, because I feel the need to do so- I will recap and get you updated on what I did to pass my time.

Friday night- because of how my schedule works out over the next few weeks- was movie night again for the second week in a row. Well, schedule and the money thing. I was trying to keep my costs a little lower than normal. First though I went into Target and grabbed some things and then into WaWa to get something to drink. Then I headed into the movies.

The first film I saw was The Uninvited which was an interesting theater experience. The place was packed and basically every seat was filled. In the theater it was mostly teenagers with some older people scattered throughout. It made for at least a fun atmosphere to watch a horror movie in. In fact, it's the best kind of experience to watch a horror movie in. Full theater, people who have a penchant for screaming, and some tension filled stuff. I'm going to reserve saying exactly how I feel about the movie because I think on Wednesday I'm going to bring back some reviews to help fill out entries. So that means Wednesday will be a review of The Uninvited where I will dish my thoughts on the film as a whole. In today's post we will just stuck with what I've said so far. Fun experience in the theaters and one I hope everyone gets to experience at some point in their life.

After that I got stuck going to He's Just Not That Into You which was really not that good. It's a hodge podge of sketches that are loosely pieced together and is trying for some kind of deep thought, that it just doesn't achieve. I'm thinking I might say more about this in the man's guide blog at some point this week. We'll see.

Saturday I got up and headed into the gym to get a workout in. Good day there. After that I headed into Wal-Mart to get my shopping done for the week. The parking lot was fairly empty for that time of day. Maybe it was the nice weather. Maybe it was the really nasty accident that occured on Route 100 shutting it down in both directions for a long long time.

Picked up all my stuff and then headed home to eat lunch. Ate lunch and then caught up on the last two epiosdes of Damages. I like the second season more than the first although the big twist in episode 4 was really sort of eye-rolling. I then read an article online about tv shows and their propensity to try and pull the rug out from people at every turn. Sometimes you just need to be straight-forward instead of trying to see if you can outsmart the audience. Then I did some things outside until dinner. After dinner I tried to watch that Meet the Spartans movie to see how bad it was. The thing is completely brutal. I got about 30 minutes into it and had to give up. It's just unfunny and completely hacky at spots. A college student with 5 grand and a video camera could make a better movie. I caught up on some epsiodes of Scrubs as well. Then I ended up going to bed. I was incredibly tired for some reason all afternoon on Saturday so the rest was welcome.

Sunday I went in and did my Sunday School stuff and then headed home. I ate a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich and then headed out for my run/jog/walk. Went up Hoffmansville to Passmore to Wilt to County Line to Oberholtzer to Hoffmansville and back home. It was about 5 miles (4.9 to be exact) and it took me a little over an hour (1:00:45 to be exact). Not a bad pace and easily something you can keep up over a longer haul. By longer haul I'm talking maybe like a 10K or a half marathon. Nothing over that as I have little to no interest in any of that. I assume I made some time up by going towards Boyertown on County Line Road. Going towards Hoffmansville is a steady uphill climb and gets hard until you finally his the downward slope. From where I got on it to where I turned off it, you're going mostly downhill which is nice. I think I lost some time though by going towards Route 100 on Hoffmansville for the ~ mile I was on it during the trip. The wind was blowing right in my face the whole time and that really does slow you down some. So I would assume it all evened out in the end. Next week I might try and add a little more distance to the course to see how long it takes me.

For those wondering- no I truly can't jog the whole 5 miles. For one, your lungs take a pounding outside- so all the indoor training I do doesn't prepare you for that. Secondly, I'm just looking to do some cardio stuff and not bust my balls in training for something. So basically here is how it goes. I jog for as long as I can until it feels like my legs are burning up. Then I do a cool down walk for ~.25 miles, then start up again. It's basically interval training outside which is doubly helped by the randomness of the terrain. The goal is to make the distances between jogging shrink. It doesn't happen quickly but it definitely happens. On the plus side I'm not stuck with the feeling of death in my lower body all day today or tomorrow. It's not perfect, but as my gym teacher buddy pointed out, "You're doing something. Your heart will thank you."

Got home and then drove the route to check the milage. Went inside then and grabbed a Propel and an orange to rehydrate. After that I pulled out the garden hose to try and wash as much salt off my car as I possibly could. Could only do so much because I wasn't going to wash it with rain expected this week. I also had to reattach my hoses so wiper fluid would come out the front. Basically the hose from the tank to the first connector was not hooked up. That meant that when I pushed the button it was just spraying the stuff under the hood. Not very helpful.

I then went back inside and watched some NBA stuff and then Friday Night Lights and Psych from the other night. I then watched some of the Grammy's and the FOX Animation block. I then crashed and went to bed because I was beat.

Now here I am writing this.
- posted by Brian @ 2/09/2009 02:09:00 PM

 
The Post with more about the 8 babies
I wrote Wednesday about my issues with the birth of the octuplets in California. Marie gave some feedback and I've seen some more stories on this issue since then. So that means I'm double dipping on the topic and going back into it so that means:

Why the Octuplet Births bother me: Part II- Electric Boogaloo

First off here is what Marie wrote that pertains to #3.

part of the problem is that depending on the exact procedure used, they cannot always tell how many eggs will drop and thus become fertilized. (if they used the treatment where they take meds to ovulate...i forget the name of it now).

when i took a class on women and healthcare in 2004 this was a big topic that i did a report on and it's sad to me that in almost 5 years, we have come no closer to regulating the number of embryos which can become fertilized and have not fixed the medicine so that less eggs will come out, etc. however, many patients figure that if it costs say 40K whether you have 1 or 6 eggs fertilized, and there is only a 15% chance of it working anyway, why not get the most bang for your buck.

Fair point on the regulations and everything. It's important to keep in mind this is a technology that is ~30 years old so there is still much more to be learned on the topic. Here's what I've learned in my reading over the years.

On average the proper procedure for someone who is under 35 is to inject 1-2 embryos. In an interview that aired in part this morning on the Today show the mother says she had 6 implanted. The chances that embryos split is very low according to most fertility researchers. Of course in her case (sarcasm) they did and she ended up with octuplets. I find this claim to be dubious.

The rate of success for fertility in someone of her age is ~30%. So basically she batted 100%, when the norm is considerably lower. I would suspect that in actuality she was implanted with more than 6 embryos, but that is probably information we will never be able to ascertain.

That all being said- I don't blame Ms. Suleman. It is well within her right to walk into a fertility clinic and ask for 6 or 8 embryos to be implanted in her. I've seen her taken a beating in the press and public from people who say she shouldn't have done this. Maybe she shouldn't have, but directing anger at her is crazy.

As I said, the normal procedure- the one outlined by the guidelines set by the U.S. fertility industry is for no more than 2 to be implanted. The woman herself claims six were implanted. How does that happen?

I'm not sure of a perfect analogy to this situation so let's try this one:

You go to a party with a friend and observe them getting totally hammered throughout the night to the point where they can barely form sentences or walk. You have possession of their car keys. They insist to you they are able to drive and try to badger you into giving them up. You know they have no business being behind the wheel of a car at this point.

Your decision presents a moral question: Do you give the person their keys just because they ask for them- putting them and everyone else on the road at risk or do you keep the keys and make them stay where they are?

And you don't have an ethical or professional obligation on top of that.

People angry at the woman are being stupid. The doctors are the real issue here. A woman walked into their office and presumably asked for 6-10 embryos to be implanted into her which is well above the established guidelines. The doctor has a responsibility to talk her out of this, or not do the procedure. The doctor in this case performed the procedure knowing that it is not researched up to that point. He did it knowing there is a good chance he was putting the mother at risk. He did it knowing he was putting some of those potential children at risk. That is completely unacceptable from someone who takes a vow to act morally and ethically as it pertains to his profession.



The other issues of care, and money are secondary to me. There are also an entirely different debate. In those cases as well, had the doctor acted in the way he is supposed to she wouldn't be having all those kids.
- posted by Brian @ 2/06/2009 01:56:00 PM

 
The Post with me talking about the baby machine in California
The story about the lady in California who recently gave birth to 8 babies really bothers me on a lot of levels. Here they are on the bothersome scale:

1.) The lady already had 6 children and purposely got herself impregnated with 8. I don't have a problem with wanting to have a big family. In fact, if you can afford it and everything- more power to you. But this is a single mom who by her own admission doesn't make a whole lot of cash. What on Earth would prompt you then to have that many kids? I'm sure the kids will be loved. I don't know her but I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and assume she will take care of all the kids properly. But still, 14 is quite the burden and if you are unable to care for them the way you should you are cheating them out of a life. This bothers me maybe a 5 on the bothersome scale, but it leads to the next issue.

2.) There is a story out today that the mother is upset that gifts like diapers are not coming in. See this to me is in direct conflict with something I said in item 1. If you can afford to have all these babies then fine. This lady is unemployed and single- paid for in vitro fertilization- and now expects the rest of the country to shower her with gifts so she can get through the first few months, maybe years of life. Keep in mind, this is a country that is currently locked in a huge economic downturn and people barely have money for themselves- let alone being generous to their neighbors. The gall of this lady really bothers me if this story is true. This would rank about a 7 on the bothersome scale. However it gets worse.

3.) How are the doctors who performed this procedure allowed to keep their licenses and practices? For those that may not know exactly what the procedure entails- the doctor implants embryos into a woman to make her pregnant. A responsible physician would implant someone with one or maybe two kids (the big thing now for professional couples is to go through this route and have twins and then be done- odd behavior comes with having money) and then call it a day.

Besides the point of infertility treatment is to create a child. However, the child-to-be is not the fertility clinic's patient- the paretns are. The interest of the children deserves as much consideration as the wishes of the parents. However, the physician has to show a little bit more regard for their medical knowledge and look at things from that perspective. So when a single, unemployed woman in her early 30's with 6 kids comes in an asks for 8 embryos to be implanted into her the physician should've tried to talk her away from this request. A responsible physician would've done this becasue the female uterus is not equipped for eight occupants. The odds for each child to be born alive and healthy goes down as the number in the "cabin" goes up. Even when someone is pregnant with triplets there is extreme caution used to try and make sure the babies are all born healthy. Doctors even tell people there is a chance they will not all be born. Now take those triplets, add another set, and then add twins. If 3 makes for trouble- then 8 is getting even closer to a bad situation.

Now there may be a physician somewhere who is willing to be the rebel and go against the wisdom of his peers, but carrying more than a couple fetuses is dangerous to the pregnant woman, and the health of every child in there. This is where the ethical standard should kick in. Whoever performed this procedure purposely put the mother and 8 fetuses in inherent danger, probably so they could get some pub for their facility and hospital. That is just irresponsible, morally and ethically wrong. Doctors in the reproductive medicine field need to accept their ethical obligation to the interests and well-being of the children they create on the same level as the desires of the adults they serve.

This last one registers a 10 for me.
- posted by Brian @ 2/04/2009 09:23:00 AM

 
The Post with my Weekend story
Another weekend is in the books and one that was filled with movies, drinking, and partying. Lots of partying. Let's start at the beginning.

Friday night after work I headed to the movies and checked out Paul Blart: Mall Cop which is pretty good. It's not the funniest movie ever but it has some really good moments and is a pretty fast moving little flick. I've always been a big fan of Kevin James. The King of Queens was one of my favorite shows and I just like to support fat guys. Us people got to stick together. Theater was fairly full, and it was a good mix of all ages. For those who don't know Blart is a well-meaning guy who is on duty when criminals try to rob the mall where he works. He has to man up and save the day. It's goofy, but totally fun.

After that I jumped into The Reader and was the only one there. That of course makes it odd when you didn't buy a ticket. I think the projectionist was on to me but he let it go. I have to be more careful I suppose. The Reader is the movie that Kate Winslet is nominated for an Oscar for (I think). It's about a 15 year old boy who gets sick on his way home and gets help from a woman who is in her 30's. He is drawn to her and keeps finding reasons to go over there. Eventually they begin sleeping with each other before she just disappears one day. 8 years later he is in law school and his class is observing a trial where Nazi war criminals are being brought up on charges. She is one of them and he wrestles with his connection to her and the piece of information he has that could save her. It's a good story but nothing that feels Oscar worthy. It didn't feel like Kate did much of anything in it. I actually thought the young actor held the story together more and was better. It kind of has a weird story arc, but it does have copious amounts of Kate Winslet nudity which is becoming commonplace for her.

Saturday morning I woke up and did some thigns before heading to the gym. Got in about 20 minutes on the modified elliptical and then did 25 minutes of lifting. Went pretty good and the place wasn't really packed which was nice. I always laugh at the one guy who comes in and spends an hour talking to people and then does curls with like 15 lbs. He basically pays all that money per month to talk to people. Kinda sad.

I then headed to Zerns because I was looking for some things. Didn't find the wings I wanted but I did get some jalapeno cheddar beef sticks, and bought a basket of oranges which was pretty cheap. Stopped at Wal-Mart to do my shopping then and found the wings I was looking for. Watched some stuff and did some things around the house before eating dinner.

After dinner I headed over to my buddy's place to play poker with some people and drink a ton of beer. And accomplished both of those goals. Poker didn't go great. I finished 5th out of 7 people I think. I went all in with pocket Aces and the one guy just stayed in ridiculously long on a hand and sucked out a straight draw on the last card. Stupid. We discussed some wedding things and had a good night. We need to do more nights like that. Got home safe and sound then. I had a lot to drink but not enough as to where I was in no condition to drive. I've been in that scenario and this wasn't close to it. I got to bed around 2 and knew that alarm was ringing soon.

Got up around 7:30 to get ready to go in and do my Sunday School gig. Did that and then headed home and watched the end of Psych. I then put on my new cold weatehr gear and headed out for a nice jog in the cool, air. 3.7 miles and it took me about 53 minutes. Not a great time but it works for the first time outside in cold weather jogging in a long time. Cold weather gear worked great as well. Next time I'll just have to increase the distance some which shouldn't be hard to do. Also got to increase the amount of time in there that is actual jogging. Yesterday it was still some power walking involved in it because your lung capactiy only goes so far.

Came home then and prepared the wings for the party. I went with a recipe for Honey Nut Chicken wings which was pretty good but there are some things I could've done to make them turn out better. I know for next time. I think it would work well as a topping for just regular chicken breasts also. So could've been better but it was good enough. We had meatballs, there were tons of chips and dips, brownies and cream cheese cupcakes. Great stuff, and I ate well.

The game was kind of dull until the 4th quarter when it picked up some. The Steelers looked comfortable in the win and then Arizona switched to the no huddle offense and started having their way with the defense. I thought Arizona was going to pull the upset but then Big Ben did what he has become so good at. Leading his team at the end of the game on major drives. Became a really good game despite the chippiness of it all at the end. FWIW- I had a post written up picking the Steelers on Friday but Blogger wouldn't let me update all weekend. I'm taking the win and finishing my year at 158-109 which is a step down from last year. Also notable at the Super Bowl was the sheer awesomeness of the Bruce Springsteen halftime show. Great show by that crew. Non-fans around the country got sucked into it and were raving about how great it was.

Got home and watched some of The Office before I had to crash because I was so tired. What I saw was really funny and I can't wait to watch the whole epiosde later tonight.

Now I'm here at work, tired, and with the beginnings of a headache. Hooray for weekends
- posted by Brian @ 2/02/2009 09:03:00 AM