Sometimes they beach themselves when they're sad.

(Not pictured- Soaked through Costco tighty whities. Thanks, Moda. If you had sound-o-vision, you'd probably have heard me snoring.)

Memorial Day weekend 2009. (The remaining pics may be found on Frassbook, for the curious)

You have no idea how much I was looking forward to it. Really. The hours FLEW by on Friday and it was all I could do not to sprint out of the office to the LRT. We started the weekend fairly easy. We grilled a bit. Watched "Frost/Nixon" (excellent, btw) and made vows to take it relatively easy. Outside of a party for Moda's cast in South Mpls, and a boat trip on Memorial Day proper, it was ease...jogging...cleaning...gardening. Easy.

Well it turned out that I found someone at the party that grew up in the small (tiny) hometown we'd frequent where my gramma lived down in IA. When I heard it mentioned, my jaw dropped and we started drinking more beers, nibbling more lamb bites, and frassin' about who we knew. It was surreal. And I didn't end up getting home until the wee, weeeeee hours. And I still had to get up and make us a Memorial Day breakfast and hop down to Boom Island marina relatively early. Needless to say, our 8 am wake up call was marred with my feeling groggy and tired as all heck.

And then...we start cocktailing.

So D and KT were ready. Really ready. They had two coolers full of food and libations, a grill, a full tank of gas, and a day of fun in the sun planned. I had brought four beers that I figured would take us through the day but ooooohhh no. By the time we docked at the island, we had out pre-made gin and vodka martinis with stuffed olives, champagne, beer, and mojito's. I was having a GREAT old time scampering around barefoot when I took a fallen tree up over a pond that had formed when the river was higher. Long story short, I grabbed a dry branch which snapped and I took a header into the festering moat. Fully clothed. With wallet and cell phone deep in my buttoned pockets.

Winner.

I was lucky that it was about 5.5 feet deep. I was lucky a dead and bloated beaver didn't break my fall. I was unlucky that my phone is ruined. And that I spent several hours in my tightie whities sobering up on a blanket while my clothes...kinda...dried out. I'm just glad KT was a witness otherwise it'd have been chalked upto "Oh..dummy. You were buzzed and trying to play Spider Man you dope!" Swear. I had it under control. It was like in a movie. Except I lounged in my underpants for several hours afterward. And there were no leeches, thankfully, ala' "Stand by Me".

Wooooooooo...

7 hours, a mild case of sun stroke and exhaustion later it was all I could do to get showered and snuggle in to watch a little "Choke" before sleep took over. Getting up this morning was an epic, EPIC struggle. And I felt like a$$ all day at the office. The gut rot of mixing. I deserved it. I did. No one to blame but myself. And my healthy pre-summer lifestyle took the bench while I did the famous Baby P debauch routine.

Sigh. Hope y'all had good ones, kids. I don't get a three day weekend now until September. Frass.

Summah Lovin....

Is here. Truly. And I have high hopes that this summer will be a grand summer. The familiar feeling that starts off with plastic peeled off of the windows and allows a cleansing breeze to waft through your home. Some things that have got me positively glowing for this summer will comprise the bulleted content of today's blog. So read on, and let's start our summer off right:

The mower is out and has been tuned. Already I've had two epic mows, and already I need to fill the gas can to power me through the remainder of the summer. Edging has been made, and the impervious weed barrier underneath the cedar chips has failed in the sense that it is more creeping Charlie than mulch. My new lilacs, planted in 2005/06 are still budding. A good sign indeed. Outside of napalm, a good creeping Charlie remedy would be appreciated. The ginormous boxelder tree in my backyard is dropping whirligigs by the ton, and I've made a careful note to keep the herb pots cleared lest they get choked out MMA style like the cilantro and mint of 2008. I've sprayed weed killer, ant killer, and have been brewing ideas from other gardens I've spied on my daily jogs.

How doth my garden grow? Well, thank you. The garlic bulbs were bigger than my tulips in the front planters (RIP, btw) and we had milk jugs protecting the hydroponic tomatoes Moda was gifted at work. A trip to the Mill City and Lyndale Farmers markets yielded the following bounty:4 more heirloom tomato plants
cucumbers
zucchini
jalapeno
hot banana peppers
another hot pepper
3 varieties of sweet bell pepper
oregano

...To name a few.

We have an abundance of mint, and while our purple basil is a little mealy we have regular and Thai basil to make up for it. Otherwise a healthy dose of Osmacote has started us on our way. I have my planters planted for pretty decoration. Some of my annuals are returning. (Asiatic Lillies, wtf?!? You were dead to me!) And we've only had a few mishaps with bun-buns and squirrels. (The fencing went up a week or so after our first planting. Thankfully, I had enough left over to cover the remaining expansion. I just wish that I had put in asparagus in 2007 like I'd planned)

Getting up in my grill- It's been fired up almost every weekend these last few weeks. Asian turkey burgers, chicken feta spinach brats, chicky boobs, asparagus, and summer vegetables have all tasted the fiery tongue of the Char-Master. I have a ginormous frozen salmon plank from my parents that's fixing for a night to share with buddies...(And fresh potted rosemary. Swoon!)

Spring cleaning- I've scoured my house from top to bottom, getting the dust bunnies from under chairs, vacuuming vents, bleaching the bathroom, and generally making sure corn isn't growing under my bed or behind the couch. Since it's completion last year, my front porch was the lowest cleaning priority, but upon sweeping up massive piles of dirt (where did YOU come from when no one has walked in the back corner since October?) and using the hardwood sweeper to finish the job, we had our first breakfast on the porch with the windows thrown open.

The first a/c running of 2009. I hadn't noticed it, but I guess we had a few uncomfortable nights. Good thing I tuned the a/c and that my roommate was home more than I was to fire it up. Only an hour or two, but the house cooled of spectacularly for a wonderful night of rest.

Sweaters have been stored, as have the heavy winter coats. Shorts now adorn their former closet space. I've also been donning more short sleeved work shirts. Pip.


Lastly, heart health- After crashing at home when my shift ends, I've been able to muster enough energy to go on daily epic jogs. It's been hard. In spite of stretching my buns off, taking a day off to go on a 2 hour walkabout in lieu of jogging (wound up near HWY 280 from my house) and a few days off here and there I'm still a sore pampy. My goal is simple- Get a size down in my jeans so I have more short options and obtain more visible definition by mid-to-late June. (A Memorial Day weekend set back, to be blogged about later, will explain my shortcomings.)

I look forward to more summery-vibed blogs going forward. Mill City bike trips for momo's, Farmer's Market brat-fueled shopping, future garden bounty, river boat trips with DeeG and DeeB's, bonfires, nights whiling away on the front porch, and discovering more of MN's epic trail hiking system have all found their way on to my radar.

Yee Haw. Bring it, summer.

On the other hand...let's Trek.

A whim.

Moda had rehearsal. She'd stated vehemently she'd not want to see it. Vehemently. (For the record...I wasn't vehement when I said I'd rather see "Wolfie" than "The Soloist"...I was just buzzed)

So.

When I get back from a Monday jog...mowing the lawn...weeding...cleaning and dusting the house...canvassing...I'm ready to shower and go to bed...and I see one...ONE person's FB status saying they would be at my neighborhood art-house theatre seeing "The Trek"

Well F#ck.

So I went.


This will be shorter than the previous review, promise.

I grew up, not only on the Wars that were in the Stars, but the Trek.
We watched the cartoon.
We had phase...

F#ck that.

It was great. I don't think I've grinned like an idiot from ear to ear at a movie in a long time. He did it right. Folks are saying "Bond" and "Batman" are in the same league, I'm gonna argue differently-

Bond was great. Really great. And it made one of the best thriller spy films to date.
Batman 1 and 2 the same. I mean, we were at the same theater and my girlfriend and roommate were crying. At a SUPERHERO movie. Good stuff.

This one...it made me smile. It made me remember how much fun it was when the Winnebago went from the Millennium Falcon to the Enterprise when we were all 11-13 and "Jedi" had been out of the theatres for years. When our dirtbikes led our "Away Team" missions. When I owned the patches for all of the Starfleet area's of office. (I probably still have "officer" and "science officer" patches somewhere)...heck I remembered my dad taking RSVP and I to the Camden theatre to see "The Motion Picture" and not getting it...at all.

I even cried a little during "Wrath of Khan". Of course, I cried during "Top Gun" 4 years later. A big exposed nerve, I am.

Did I have issues? Sure. I won't spoil'em, and they sure weren't part of the original canon, but they were never enough to take me away from the story. And the story, is what I think they got right.

If you're a "Trek" nerd, or are mildly familiar with the original series/movies you have no choice but to see it. If you've never seen a "Trek" film/show etc...don't worry. This is all the primer you'll need.

Wolferine...a review...

I feel bad for dumping stupid work malfeasance on the masses. Last weekend Moda and I met some buddies for mega-cheap HH at Stella's (Which, my fish loving buddies, should all hit. It ain't called the Oyster Orgy for nothing.) Afterwards, aglow with cheap oysters and 2-fers we wandered over to the Lagoon where I grumped Moda into seeing "Wolferine"...Why this popcorn flick was playing there, I don't know. That instinct should have trumped my inner nerd, but the wine made me bold. I demanded. And Moda, the champ, said "yes"...

I'm not gonna talk about the film too much. I wanna keep this short. I'm one of the few that likes certain movies that folks like to gang up and hate. Me? I find the LOVE. Star Wars prequels? F@ck you. There were lightsaber fights. If I had to wait until floppy Jar Jar left, fine. If I had to wade through the EMO acting stylings of Hayden Pantyterry then fine.

Then I realized the power of "3"- X3? out of the hands of Singer? It wasn't an abortion...it just was a muddled good idea. "Pirates"? Glut. Way. Too. Glut. "Blade 3"? Well...let's chalk "Wolverine" up to a case of Reynolds-itis.

I like Ryan Reynolds. He's a gen X Chevy Chase. Smart Ass. And he can be charming in the right vehicle. And for Deadpool? The Merc with a Mouth? Perfect.

Except...okay, here are my analogies:

"Wolvie" was like that kid in High School. Popular. With everyone. Easygoing. Athletic. Coulda probably gotten an athletic scholarship to...oh, maybe a Div 2 school. But they choose academia. And accepted a full-ride to, oh, Northwestern. Even after High School...and beyond...folks remember that kid fondly.

Except around 2nd semester, he agree's to go to a party. His buddies goad him into getting stoned. Pretty soon, their Saturdays revolve around the bong and "Real Genius" on DVD. This kid drops out after 2nd semester. Moves back home. He becomes..."The Case"...the one who shows up at home with 7-8 of his "buddies" back from 2-1's at Applebee's. He ends up working a dead-end job...all that hope and prospect...gone...Washed out.

See...I KNOW what they wanted to do with "Wolfie"...They just dissapointed the frack out of me. Washed it out with too many characters in the hope they'd appease hardcore nerds in order to be true to the source materieal. In fact, Wolfie was the least interesting character out there. I mean, they tried to establish a minimum of cannon in order to make this...but one of the earliest lines he spoke in the 1st movie when he was asked if his claws hurt to come out? He says "Every Time"...Well Mo-Fo made a point to pop out his claws every chance he got. Hurt...indeed.

That's not to say I didn't like it. There was a lot TO like, but I liked it because I knew what they were trying to do. I would have hated it as a newbie. I would have been confused. And what would have cut down on that confusion is by making this High School Hopeful's useless stoner buddies...I mean.. Wolfie's Weapon X cronies (Gambit, Deadpool, um...Gun-Guy...Black-Eyed Pea's Cowboy...Wannabe Fattie...) non-existent. For an origin story, it really made us try an look away from the facts.


And more blood. Weird, I know, but considering the two characters combating each other the whole movie have...um, claws? You'd think they'd make it a little bloodier. Heck, the first "X" had more bloodshed. This? Neutered.

Sad thing is...I'll probably still buy it an re-watch it. : (