Recovering from the Weekend

I suppose that most Americans would look at the title and assume copious amounts of partying and alcohol were involved, but since I am a devout Latter-day Saint the latter is not possible. The former can happen, but in this case did not. Still, after two weeks of being ill with a virus on top of my normal CFS, it was a bit more strenuous than normal.

It started with a normal D&D session that got very loopy and not due to the story. When a group of friends have not been together for several weeks, it is very hard to get them to focus on gameplay. At least that is been my experience and it was particularly chaotic this time around.

Stayed over at a friend’s house and went in with his carpool to church, so that meant being there three hours before sacrament meeting started. A light snow had deposited enough flakes to be slippery, so we shoveled the walks. Normally, that would be too draining for me, but the snow was so light it was more like scraping the walks.

However, I am feeling it today. The pain is not muscular, because there was nothing to lift. But when I get too tired and the weather changes, it becomes a double whammy of pain in the joints and back. A rough night led to sleeping in and I am still a little fuzzy headed.

Still, it was worth it.

I see Rush Limbaugh has lost seven sponsors over his extremely foolish insults toward the female students that the Democrats setup to cause a big ruckus. Rush fell for obvious bait and I am continually amazed at how naïve conservatives are in regards to the Left’s tactics. The whole contraception controversy has been a very carefully calculated and laid out plan between the Democrats and the media to divert attention from the economy by reigniting the culture wars. Both Santorum and Limbaugh have shown themselves to be rather stupid in doing exactly what the Left wanted them to do.

It is only the beginning of what I predict will be the dirtiest and ugliest election season since Abraham Lincoln was elected. The political Right have no clue just how bad it is going to get and have busied themselves with self destructive internecine warfare, much to the media’s glee. The phrase “Stuck on stupid” keeps coming to mind.Failing to keep the eye on the ball due to ego is not forgivable.

With global freight shipping declining, durable goods orders down, and inventories growing, the real story will be the economic collapse happening. The media will avoid that as long as possible to keep Obama in power, but I think things will hit a critical point before the election. The fact he has told the House and Senate Democrats there will be no money coming from him and his PACs is a big warning sign that there are money problems. They act surprised by it, but it has been clear that the only person Barack cares about is Barack for a very long time now.

Over in Russia, Putin has shown how it is done with massive fraud and a lot of media blitzing. Reports from observers indicate it was not a fair election, but does anyone really expect it to be overturned? At the rate things are going, America will end up like this.

At least I will have a distraction for awhile. Mass Effect 3 unlocks around midnight and I am eager to see how the trilogy ends. Forget Star Wars and Star Trek, the Mass Effect universe is the most exciting science fiction setting currently out there. The ability to turn a game into something more akin to being inside an epic film or novel series has been the great achievement of the franchise.

I had better get to work on another review before I start playing, or there will not be one posted any time soon!

Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996) Review

aka Attack of the Legion.

Everyone’s favorite fire breathing and flying turtle returns for the second chapter of the 1990’s revamp. When an alien menace threatens Japan, the Earth’s guardian gets his scaly hide kicked repeatedly by a superior foe. Brutal fights, massive destruction, and science fiction horror show this series is not aimed at little kids anymore. UPDATED for making of extras.

Gamera was always something of a joke to me while I was growing up. Of course I was a dedicated and loyal Godzilla fan, so a giant turtle that flew by spinning was sure to be a target of my disdain. It did not help that the movies were aimed at very little kids who could cheer him on in fights and revive him by doing so. It was not mere corn, it was buttered corn with sugar sprinkled on it. I prefer salt, thank you very much.

So when I declare the trilogy begun with Gamera: Guardian of the Universe contains the best kaiju (giant monster) films to ever come out of Japan, please note that there is no sarcasm involved. Gamera 2: Advent of Legion manages to do the impossible and that is to turn the ridiculous ideas of the original films into something cleverly entertaining. Attention to detail, character development, and excellent pacing are to be found in abundance. It is almost enough to convince you that a turtle can fly.

Like this post or the monster gets it!

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

In Memoriam: Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

This was a shocker to read this morning. Breitbart had done a lot of good in getting the conservative message out there and especially in giving the libertarians and conservatives in Hollywood a place to voice their views. Like a shooting star, he blazed brightly and all too briefly.

My prayers and condolences go out to his family, friends, and coworkers.

Keeping Focused

Last night I spent thirty minutes in misery when one of my contact lenses slipped and wedged itself in a place under the eyeball where it did not belong. Why thirty minutes? Because I was stuck riding shotgun in an old pickup truck bouncing along an isolated road during a rain storm with nowhere well lit to stop. It was a good thing I was not driving, because double vision does not begin to explain how bad my ability to focus was.

One of the problems facing any fledgling political movement is failing to maintain a tight focus on the message they wish to send. All too often, causes expand to cover too many things and large fractures become inevitable within the group once that occurs. I watched that happen with the Reform Party back in the 1990’s.

So it was interesting to hear what was going on with one of the local Tea Party chapters down in Decorah, Iowa. My father asked to distribute some FairTax information at their meeting last night and so off we trundled to it. They are aligned with the Tea Party Patriots organization and the gist of the message was about staying focused on smaller government and fiscal responsibility. That was nice to hear, since all too often intensity and resources get frittered away by expansion of unnecessary issues.

At the meeting was a Republican candidate for Iowa House District 55, Michael Klimesh. He’s a former mayor from Spillville and had run in the old district in 2010. The focus of his message was smaller government and encouraging small business development. Being at loggerheads with the state party should make things interesting for his race.

Unexpectedly, my dad got a chance to speak on the FairTax and that went very well. Six of nine people still at the meeting had heard of it, which is a lot better than I have seen before. The questions were all good ones too.

Something fascinating thing to me was the beginnings of Occupiers and Tea Partiers working together in Northeast Iowa. I had quite a cordial discussion with one attendee who has come over from the OWS movement to also participate in Tea Party activities. Some of the Occupiers have discovered there is common ground in regards to government corruption and have begun exploring what we have to say.

I suspect that more liberals have become disenchanted and disillusioned with their champions since Obama took office. While we on the political right are used to distrusting and disparaging our own leaders, there has been more blind faith on the other side. With rampant corruption becoming more obvious, some eyes are opening and questions being asked.

Where it all will end up, I do not know, but I find it quite intriguing. The people have begun to lose faith in our government in larger numbers and that should worry Washington, D.C. a great deal, but they are awfully insulated in the Beltway.

I am happy to report that Mabe’s Pizza still makes great pizza. My family spent a lot of time there back in the 70’s, so I have a lot of fond memories.

An old friend of Don Flatten’s was there, so that added a another nostalgic moment to the night. I can tell I am getting old from all the reminiscing about people who have passed away. It was nice to get out and talk to people again, the last two weeks of being ill has been more than a little annoying. If I only had the health to match my spirit!

Oh and that contact lens? It fell out of my eye as soon as I walked in a convenience store and into my hand. I was able to get it back in and finally focus again.

Regime Change Brings Nuclear Change to Korea?

Well, this is unexpected, but welcome news – IF North Korea holds up their end of the bargain. Color me skeptical, but this kind of announcement has happened time and time again, only for the dictatorship in Pyongyang to renege on their promises and through inspectors out.

At least we will find out if the new regime is any different than its predecessors.

Health 2-26-2012

Another day of feeling rotten, this time with a mild headache as the bug will not let go completely. The only reason it is mild is because I am avoiding all intense stimuli and cannot handle even light classical music without throbbing beginning. That meant a lot of down time today. Quite a pity, for it was a beautiful sabbath day outside.

While fuzzy headed, I hope my planning is not. Losing weight is a priority, but being bumped up to the top. A perpetually whining lower back needs the load off and I will also be pursuing stretching exercises with an eye towards something more complicated as an immediate relief. I would like to do something like tai chi or yoga, but do not have the room for it. More research is needed.

Kimi ni Todoke Ep. 2: Seat Shuffling

While discovering she is not completely alone in the first episode, Sawako finds her status with her peers to be unchanged. Summer vacation has passed and the second year of high school brings a change of seating to the class. What should be a mundane event becomes something truly moving and marks the real beginning of Sawako’s quest to break free from the chains of her loneliness.

In manga and anime, there is a genre called “slice of life” that is more popular with the female fans in Japan. Rather than having a tightly plotted storyline, a more episodic format of following every day life is featured. Kimi ni Todoke is often classified in that genre and borders on being that, but there is an over all plot to it, albeit one that very slowly unwinds. If there was ever a story that relished the journey, it would be this one. Fortunately for us, it does so beautifully.

A gloomy gray sky spitting rain opens the second episode as we see Sawako Kuronama find an abandoned puppy in a cardboard box. Being pure of heart, she leaves her umbrella behind to protect the very hostile pup. Paying no mind to the falling rain, she is soaked thoroughly by the time she gets to school. Which, of course, makes her look even more like the villainess Sadako from Ringu!