Ghosts, Bad Days, and a Chick Flick

It's been awhile since I've posted.  I've been busy, and mostly I've been lazy.  Slacker!  I've had a terrible day at work, so I want no gumption from my inner voice.  I've had enough irritation today.  What?  Like I'd ever irritate you?  Too late.  Anyway, today sucked.  Yesterday sucked.  Tomorrow is going to suck.  I'm slowly sloughing my way through hoping to take a vacation once the Legislative Session ends in April.  Hopefully I'll start to have some good days before then.

But, enough of that depressing stuff!  Let's discuss a few interesting things that have happened lately that aren't totally negative.

I refuse to let my recent bad days at work beat me down!  Or so I say...

First, I've been harassed by a ghost.  What?  A ghost?!?  Yeah.  This weekend, on Sunday, I was playing some video games (NCAA Football 11).  After whipping up on the computer for an hour or so, I decided to end my game and watch some television before the return of The Walking Dead.  So, when I turned my television from my XBox to cable, I got a 'No Signal' message.  "What the..." was my reaction, and I checked to see if my cable had a problem.  It appeared to be ok.  Then I checked the connections.  They appeared to be ok.  Then I turned off my tv and cable box.  No luck.  Then I noticed that my stereo had the time as 12:31, when it was closer to 6.  Which seems like there was a power issue.  But, neither my television, nor my XBox ever went out.

Playing tricks is my favorite pastime.

Strange, huh?  Yeah.  Well, it gets stranger!  I reset the time (and stations and alarm) on my stereo and rescanned for the cable channel on my tv (so it would recognize my cable).  Problem solved, right?  Well, not so much.  Monday morning, I awoke naturally at about 6:12.  Ok?  Well, my alarm was set to go off at about 5:43.  There I was, in my bed, wondering why my alarm didn't go off.  I made sure I had turned it on (I did) and that I had set it correctly (it was).  I went to work, and then to a Caps game (shocker, we didn't win) and rechecked my alarm to make sure it was set, then went to bed.  Tuesday morning, I wake up at about 5:58.

Now, I know something isn't correct.  Once again, I check and recheck everything.  It all looks just as I set it two days prior.  The time, volume, station, and alarm information is all as I'd set it.  Yet, for some reason, it wasn't working.  Then I noticed something odd.  The AM/PM indicator wasn't what it should be.  You idiot, you just set it wrong.  No, I set it correctly, and it didn't exactly go off in the PM either.  All I could figure was that some mischievous ghost decided to mess with me.  Thankfully, my internal clock is still finely tuned enough to get up before I become late for work.  Well, for a few weeks, anyway.  Then the evil time thieves steal it again.

EAR WORM ALERT!

And for those readers of mine who, do to the personification of evil that is Apple, here is the link.

Would You Rather: Give out good advice or receive good advice?

Now, since I've just infected you with a decidedly unmanly earworm, let me continue the wussification of this blog post by admitting, sadly, that I have now seen one of the Twilight movies.  And I had a good time.  My friend WilyGuy (from ItsMynd) 's wife texted about thirty times on Saturday about coming over and watching Breaking Dawn part 1, and finally, after promises of beer and pizza, I relented.  Several other people came over, all of them of the fairer sex, and WilyGuy and his sons also watched.  Having never read any of the books and never seeing any of the movies, I had no real clue what was going on.  Which probably made it better, as my witty comments certainly entertained at least as much as the film.  For example, did you know that the vampires in that series are faster than the Flash, can read minds, and can be seen in mirrors?  Basically, it was Stephanie Meyer making them Supermen who occasionally drink blood.  And the werewolves were all Native Americans and Shark Boy.  The story made no sense, the acting was not great, and the special effects (especially the wolves) were lacking.  But, I still enjoyed myself.  And not just because of the Guinness Black Lager, which was delicious.  Now, anybody want to take my man card can come and try, and that most certainly includes the emo vampires and wussy werewolves in that movie!

My Top Ten Favorite Action Movies, because I am, after all, a man, in no order:

1. Predator - I can't say enough about how good this movie is.  The special effects were great, especially for the pre-CGI era, and the action sequences were fantastic.  Plus, it was extraordinarily quoatable. 
2. Total Recall - Another great Schwarzenegger action flick from my childhood that has stood up remarkably well.  The action sequences are top notch, and the story, based on Phillip K. Dick's We Can Remember It For You Wholesale, is actually very intriguing.
3. Commando - Let's be honest, few did action movies as well as the Governator, especially in the 80's to early 90's.  Commando was no exception.  Great quotes, an awesome shopping trip, and some fantastic action scenes pace this movie.  And a very early Alyssa Milano.
4. The Fugitive - Harrison Ford, in a great movie version of the 60's television show, never stopping to find the one armed man who killed his wife and framed him for the murder.  And Tommy Lee Jones.  Awesome!
5. Under Siege - Yes, there was a time when Steven Segal wasn't pretending to be a sheriff.  It was when he was kickin' ass on a battleship.  Throw in Gary Busey and you have the makings of a thrill filled good time.  And hello, Tommy Lee Jones!
6. Braveheart - Mel Gibson might be crazy today, but in the 80's and 90's, he was only crazy in how many great movies he made.  None were better than Braveheart, where he took on the English as Scottish hero William Wallace.  The battle scenes were epic in scope, and the story was amazing (and I realize it wasn't historically accurate).
7. Invasion U.S.A. -  Chuck Norris.  Terrorists.  Nearly constant action.  Yup, it's got it all!  And if you doubt that, he'll hit you with so many rights that you'll beg for a left.
8. RoboCop - A cyborg cop who battles murderers and corruption in Old Detroit?  Sign me up!  Peter Weller was never better than as Murphy/RoboCop, and has Red from That 70's Show ever been eviler?
9. Die Hard - Bruce Willis taking on thieves pretending to be terrorists in the Nakatomi Tower, with Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber, was nothing if not full of awesome.  Yeah, FULL OF AWESOME!
10. Gladiator - A Spanish Roman General is betrayed, and forced to fight as a gladiator in order to get his revenge.  Or, Russell Crowe kicking ass and taking names trying to kill Joaquin Phoenix for murdering his wife and children with Caesar haircuts.  Amazingly beautiful and epically fun.

Just to make you laugh (and no, this isn't me):

This blog was written while listening to Fuel, Volbeat, Sick Puppies, and Skillet.