Rescue Me Season One

With a little free time on our hands at the end of the day my wife have decided to watch Rescue Me. This will be a long term project I think as there are six seasons to watch but it gives a little quiet time at the end of the evening. And something that we can share and talk about.

Last night we watched the first episode. It was very well done. I thought the end scene in which Tommy ( played by Denis Leary) is walking and you see two victims of fires he long remembers that he was unable to save as well as four friends who died on 9/11.

I have for various moments especially in season 2 and 3 watched a bit of this show and no it can be good. I am looking forward to beginning to end.

Toy Story Three

We do not go to the movies often. Yesterday, however, faced with a rainy day my wife, daughter and I went to see the newest Toy Story. My daughter is 11 now but was still excited to see the movie.

It was great. Maybe it is just that the characters are like old friends but Tim Allen and Tom Hanks make Buzz and Woody feel more fleshed out than live action characters we have seen.

An added twist in the movie is when Buzz gets put into Spanish mode and needs subtitles, a funny but intelligent nod to the millions of Hispanic children.

The movie delivers one hundred percent. The end of the movie is bittersweet, and can be emotional for some. It was for my daughter. As the lights came up she was sobbing and said she just could not stop. I loved her more than ever seeing her have such a big heart. It was a moment we will never forget. Thanks Pixar

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers/ Mojo

We purchased tickets for Tom Petty's upcoming summer tour a couple of months ago. Today I received a link to download this, the bands new album. Modern technology at work.

Much of the presale publicity has been about this album being much blusier than past albums. In fact Petty himself says much of his past music has been about getting to the chorus.

This album is different. Listening to it just once thus far I would pick First Flash of Freedom, Something Good Coming, Don't Pull Me Over and, US 41 as notable. But the truth is Petty's voice is like an old friend. It is always welcome.

I am sure many of these songs will be in my head through the summer, I do hope however that only a few are at the concert. Too many classics I need to hear as well.

Hoosiers

My son had mentioned to me several times that he had heard much about the movie Hoosiers but had never seen it. So last night we, all of us which is even rarer, sat down and watched Hoosiers.

It is a great sports movie. Gene Hackman is one of the great underrated actors and Dennis Hopper in his memorable Shooter role has us all wanting to run one around the picket fence.

They still won. The interim coach is still very unlikeable and I can still watch the movie with a smile next year again.

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

In reviewing books to be released this year I noted that the third and final book of Edmund Morris's trio of Roosevelt books is due out in the fall. I decided that the time would be now to get going on reading about the life of this President. This the first in the set is a great book. Taking us from Roosevelt's birth and rise until he hears the news of McKinley's death and his impending taking of the highest office we learn much about Roosevelt.

What stands out is his incredible bravery, ethical behavior and steadfast honor. Roosevelt grew as he got older and was even as a Republican perhaps one of the few who understood that while he disagreed with the populist rage of the times that perhaps the best way to deal with it would be for the Republican party to address the issues being raised. Today's parties could all learn something from him. This increasingly open minded, ethical man has to be considered as the first modern President and one of the greatest this country ever had.

I look forward to Volume !! immensely.

Alice in Wonderland

We rented this movie at the Redbox last weekend for my daughter. My wife and I watched it with her. It was odd. I am sure that it was popular and I just might be old fashioned but I had some simplistic complaints. Often the speaking seemed low and unintelligible, it was not 3d at our house thought I could see where the 3d rushes were.

The woman playing Alice did a very good job, some of the visuals were good with her getting bigger and smaller. My daughter enjoyed it, she is a an easy audience. I do not think she loved it.

A little dark for me. I would give this movie a low rating

Megyn Kelly

Is their a worse news anchor than this person. She is on Fox News during the day in thier " hard news unbiased " segment of their programming. That said she is one of the shrillest, dumbest commentators I have ever seen. At least Hannity and that ilk are not pretending to be unbiased. Her questions usually in the form of an are you kidding me preface are ill thought out and while surely her producers decide the guests this show is the most biased thing on the air. Perhaps it is because she continues Fox's habit of putting attractive women on the air who have no ability beyond their looks but this woman joins the Hall of Shame

Friday Night Lights

Well we are three episodes into this years installment of Friday Night Lights and still I find it to easily be the best show on television. From it's opening sequence with the pictures of the Texas heat to the well defined and wonderful characters of the Taylor's this is a show too many people are missing.

We are promised one more season after this but this year has much to give us. Coach Taylor now trying to build up the East Dillon team after losing his own team in a coup led by a young quarterback's father. Needless to say father did not like Coach. Perhaps the most interesting character this year is that of Buddy the longtime booster who finds what the boosters did to the coach and are doing to his wife the Principal to be something he cannot stomach. His path to helping Coach Taylor in East Dillon is an interesting one indeed.

In short great show. Thanks to NBC to finding a way to keep it on televison despite it's lack of ratings

The Great Upheaval by Jay Winik

I tend to read several books at once, this is why I seem to be finishing a few books in rapid succession. This book by Jay Winik is a wonderful book. Telling the tale of Russia under Catherine the Great, America as the Presidency takes hold and the fall of Louis XVI and the coming French Revolution and other events in the window from 1788 to 1800 this book is a wonder.

Weaving biographies of Robiespierre, Danton and LouisXVI in France, to Catherine the Great's rise and rule in Russia and the founding fathers in America this book teaches us much. It was not an easy read. At times it made me reread a page to make sure I grasped the magnitude of what I was reading.

The chapters bringing the monarchy to a close in France ending with the beheading of the King and Queen were moving to the point of leaving me upset and frustrated that they did not escape.

The book was draining. Like all good history it was easy to forget you knew the outcome.

This book would get my highest rating. Wonderful

Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides

This is a great book. It tells the story of James Earl Ray and the events leading up to and after the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. The story focuses on both individuals and the events leading up to the death. Ray is a compelling figure, compelling in that there was nothing remarkable about him in anyway. He was a petty criminal, a drifter who killed one of the great leaders of the twentieth century.

Sides is a great storyteller. First hearing about this book from Don Imus on his morning radio show Imus raved " that even knowing the truth about how it ends one wondered if Ray was going to get away." He almost did.

Portrayals of figures in the event from Coretta Scott King, Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson( who comes off very badly indeed), J Edgar Hoover, to Ramsey Clark and LBJ add light to the history of this event.

This book enlightens in many ways not the least of which is the maddening thought that one person, one person of no great drive or ambition can change the course of history.