Friday Movies.. The Guardian (PG-13); Wide release
After losing his crew in a fatal crash, legendary Rescue Swimmer, Ben Randall, is sent to teach at A School, an elite training program for Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers. Wrestling with the loss of his crew members, he throws himself into teaching, turning the program upside down with his unorthodox training methods. While there, he encounters a young, cocky swim champ, Jake Fischer, who is driven to be the best. During training, Randall helps mold Jake's character, combining his raw talent with the heart and dedication required of a Rescue Swimmer. Upon graduation, Jake follows Randall to Kodiak, Alaska, where they face the inherent dangers of the Bering Sea. In his initial solo rescue, Jake learns firsthand from Randall, the true meaning of heroism and sacrifice, echoing the Swimmer's motto--So Others May Live!

Open Season (PG); Wide release
A 900-pound domesticated grizzly bear named Boog, with no survival skills, has his perfect world turned upside-down when he meets Elliot, a scrawny, fast-talking wild mule deer. When Elliot convinces Boog to desert his idyllic existence living in a garage decked out with all the comforts of home, and try the wild life, things quickly spiral out of control. With open season upon them, and the hunters arriving in force, Elliot must help Boog get in touch with his inner grizzly to unite the woodland creatures and take the forest back!


School for Scoundrels (PG-13); Wide release
A down-on-his-luck meter reader enrolls in a confidence-building class so he can win the love of his dream girl. The class turns out to be something quite different once it becomes clear to the young man that his professor has set his sights on the same woman.

Facing the Giants (PG); Limited release
A Christian high school football coach uses his undying faith to battle the giants of fear and failure. In six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never led his Shiloh Eagles to a winning season. After learning that he and his wife Brooke face infertility, Grant discovers that a group of fathers are secretly organizing to have him dismissed as head coach. Devastated by his circumstances, he cries out to God in desperation. When Grant receives a message from an unexpected visitor, he searches for a stronger purpose for his football team. He dares to challenge his players to believe God for the impossible on and off the field. When faced with unbelievable odds, the Eagles must step up to their greatest test of strength and courage. What transpires is a dynamic story of the fight between faith and fear. "Facing the Giants" is a powerful experience for the whole family inspiring viewers to live with faith, hope, and love.

Renaissance (R); Limited release
In 2054, Paris is a labyrinth where all movement is monitored and recorded. Cut off from the world for its own protection, the city has nonetheless continued to expand. Now, 21st century skyscrapers overlay centuries-old architectural masterpieces. And below street level, a sophisticated network of streamlined plazas push up against the city's ancient, deteriorating tunnel systems. Casting a shadow over everything is the city's largest company, Avalon, which insinuates itself into every aspect of contemporary life to sell its primary export--eternal youth and beauty. When 22-year-old Ilona (Romola Garai), one of Avalon's most promising scientists, is abruptly kidnapped, Avaloncalls on Barthélémy Karas, a Paris cop with a hard-fought reputation for finding anyone, no matterwhat sacrifices he has to make along the way. As the trail gets hot, Karas senses he's not the only one looking for the beautiful enigma, and every witness he digs up seems to turn up dead. To find Ilona and unlock the secrets of her disappearance, Karas must plunge deep into the parallel worlds of corporate espionage, organized crime and genetic research where the truth imprisons whoever finds it first and miracles can either save the world, or end it.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon (PG-13); Limited release
Before Iraq, before the Bush Administration, before the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, and Pearl Jam there was John Lennon, the celebrated musical artist who used his fame and his fortune to protest the Vietnam War and advocate for world peace. 1966-1976 was one of the most fractious periods of American history, dominated by the Vietnam War; the rise of antiwar, civil rights, New Left and other political movements challenging the status quo; the Nixon presidency; revelations of government deception, surveillance and harassment; and Watergate. A large and diverse array of the era's notable figures, men and women, bear immediate and authoritative witness to specific events as well as to the prevailing climate. Among them: African-American political activists Angela Davis and Bobby Seale; journalists Carl Bernstein and Walter Cronkite; Nixon Administration officials G. Gordon Liddy and John Dean; Vietnam veteran and antiwar activist Ron Kovic; the eminent American historian/novelist Gore Vidal; former New York Governor Mario Cuomo; and three-term Senator and Democratic Presidential candidate George McGovern. Tracing Lennon's metamorphosis from lovable "Moptop" to anti-war activist to inspirational icon, the true story of how and why the U.S. government tried to silence him is revealed.



Coming Attractions-
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (PG); Wide release; opens 10/6

The Departed (R); Wide release; opens 10/6

Employee of the Month (PG-13); Wide release; opens 10/6

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (R); Wide release; opens 10/6  ¶ 9/29/2006 10:40:00 AM 0 comments

  What Starts with F and ends with K A little humour for a bad week....



A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?" Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"
Ms. Brooks had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office. While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed. Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"
Harry: "9."

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"
Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd
grader should know.

The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade." Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions." The principal and Harry both agreed.

Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"
Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"
The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!
Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"
Harry: "Pants."

Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval,
delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"
Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and
sticky?"
The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop
the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting
down and a dog does on three legs?"
Harry: "Shake hands."
The principal was trembling.

Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that
means a lot of heat and excitement?"
Harry: "Firetruck."
The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong...  ¶ 9/28/2006 08:35:00 AM 0 comments

  What Starts with F and ends with K A little humour for a bad week....



A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?" Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"
Ms. Brooks had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office. While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed. Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"
Harry: "9."

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"
Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd
grader should know.

The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade." Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions." The principal and Harry both agreed.

Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"
Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"
The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!
Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"
Harry: "Pants."

Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval,
delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"
Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and
sticky?"
The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop
the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting
down and a dog does on three legs?"
Harry: "Shake hands."
The principal was trembling.

Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that
means a lot of heat and excitement?"
Harry: "Firetruck."
The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong...  ¶ 9/28/2006 08:34:00 AM 1 comments

  Sweet Surrender This is for someone who has started to spend more time talking to me and hanging out, someone who helped me get through a recent anniversary without me feeling much in the way of pain anymore. For him, there is only the future stretching out before with infinite possibilities. Only Time can tell the truth of what will come.




Sweet Surrender
it doesn't mean much
it doesn't mean anything at all
the life I've left behind me
is a cold room
I've crossed the last line
from where I can't return
where every step I took in faith
betrayed me
and led me from my home

and sweet
sweet surrender
is all that I have to give

you take me in
no questions asked
you strip away the ugliness
that surrounds me
are you an angel
am I already that gone
I only hope
that I won't disappoint you
when I'm down here
on my knees

and sweet
sweet
sweet surrender
is all that I have to give

sweet
sweet
sweet surrender
is all that I have to give

and I don't understand
by the touch of your hand
I would be the one to fall

I miss the little things
oh I miss everything

it doesn't mean much
it doesn't mean anything at all
the life I left behind me
is a cold room  ¶ 9/18/2006 11:20:00 AM 0 comments

  A new week Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities.
~Aldous Huxley

Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.
~Aristotle

Courage is the greatest of all the virtues. Because if you haven't courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others.
~Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English Author

When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.
~Helen Keller

The hero is the one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.
~Felix Adler

It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.
~Hunter S. Thompson

Decide on what you think is right, and stick to it.
~George Eliot (1819-1880) English Novelist

A word to the wise is infuriating.
~Hunter S. Thompson

First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.
~Epictetus (55-135 AD) Greek Philosopher

Genius might be the ability to say a profound thing in a simple way.
~Charles Bukowski

The work an unknown good man has done is like a vein of water flowing hidden underground, secretly making the ground green.
~Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) Scottish Writer

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are... Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
~Mary Jean Iron

You gotta dance like no one is watching. Work like you dont need the money. And love like you've never been hurt before.

It is a new week and hopefully the start of yet another new beginning. Spent the weekend with a friend of mine from Raleigh and my ex's dog. Was good to see my 'son', but it is nice that it was only a couple of days...my place is too small for a dog and two adults! LOL Plus he did not seem happy that someone else was in my bed instead of him. Oh well.

It is time to get my priorities straight again and start seeing what I can do to get it all lined up the way I want.

Oh...and please help me meet my goal of $500 this year for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk! You don't have to give much...$5 or $10 if you can't give more. It is much appreciated!!

  ¶ 9/18/2006 10:21:00 AM 0 comments

  I need your help.... Hello!

This year, I'll be taking part in JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes, along with one-half million other walkers across the country, as we try to reach our goal of raising $90 million. My personal goal this year is $500.

Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, is a devastating disease that affects millions of people a large and growing percentage of them children.

There is some good news, though. For the first time, scientists are predicting that we CAN expect to see a cure well within our lifetime!

Now, more than ever, you can make a crucial difference. Won't you please give to JDRF as generously as possible? Together, we can make the cure a reality!

Thank you,

Aiden Ian D. Marsh

Please visit my Walk Web page if you would like to donate online or see how close I am to reaching my personal goal:

http://walk.jdrf.org/walker.cfm?id=86418385  ¶ 9/13/2006 11:32:00 AM 0 comments

  A Poem for Today... TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-911)

Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat"

They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."

Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."

From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
trust us sir, we've passed that test."

"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores

A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand plus that day

"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not"

The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"

Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must

Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone
"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"

So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."

Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On Iwo Jima back in '45

The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."

"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.

All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.

With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven

Author UNKNOWN  ¶ 9/11/2006 11:10:00 AM 0 comments

  Upcoming event 9/12 in NYC


Website: http://www.cablepositive.org  ¶ 9/05/2006 09:51:00 AM 0 comments

  This Week's Movie Releases Crank (R); Wide release
Chev Chelios is about to begin his morning with an unexpected wake-up call. Groggy, practically unable to move and with a heart that's barely beating, he hears the voice of thug Ricky Verona, who reveals Chev has been poisoned in his sleep and only has an hour to live. As it turns out, Chev is a hit man who freelances for a major West Coast syndicate. A run of the mill job the night before instead went awry: he let his target slip away in an effort to quit professional killing and start a new life with his girlfriend Eve. Now, Chev must keep moving to stay alive: the only way to prolong the poison from stopping his heart is to keep his adrenaline flowing. As the clock ticks, Chelios cuts a swath through the streets of Los Angeles, wreaking havoc on those who dare stand in his way. He must rescue Eve from danger, stay two steps ahead of his nemeses and search for an antidote to save his own life.

Starring: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Efren Ramirez, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Jay Xcala

Crossover (PG-13); Wide release
Noah Cruise, a naturally talented basketball player, is determined to become a doctor using his basketball scholarship to attend UCLA pre-med, rather than succumbing to the lure of a former sports agent Vaughn, and his push for Noah to go for the NBA. Noah's best friend, Tech, the buddy that covered for him and did time for an assault charge, is also an outstanding basketball player, but has less lofty ambitions--he wants to get his GED and win an underground street ball game against an arrogant rival, Jewelz. Noah and Tech's lives drastically change when they both fall in love with two local girls, Vanessa Lilly and Eboni Jackson, and take a fateful trip out to L.A. together.

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Wesley Jonathan, Wayne Brady, Kristen Wilson, Eva Pigford

Trust the Man (R); Wide release
Rebecca, a successful actress and her Mr. Mom husband, Tom, have two kids, a virtually nonexistent sex life, and a marriage counselor who is too baffled by the pair to offer any real help. Rebecca's slacker younger brother, Tobey, has been dating the exasperated Elaine for eight years but can't seem to commit to getting married and having a family. The status quo is given a serious jolt, however, when Tom is drawn into an affair with a mother at his son's school and Elaine finally gives Tobey an ultimatum, sending him into a fling with a sexy (and married) former college flame. When the fates of both couples culminate a very public finale on the stage at Lincoln Center, both Rebecca and Elaine will have to decide--do they trust the man?

Starring: Julianne Moore, David Duchovny, Billy Crudup, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eva Mendes

The Wicker Man (PG-13); Wide release
Out patrolling a California highway, police officer Edward Malus stops a station wagon to return a little girl's lost doll. Moments later, a runaway truck slams into the station wagon, igniting it into a fiery wreck with the mother and child trapped inside. Edwards fails to save them before the car explodes--and then spends months of his life choking down pills to get the image of their faces out of his head. But Edward is about to get a second chance. A desperate letter from his former fiancée, Willow, arrives at his home with no postmark. Willow came into his life and left just as unexpectedly years before. But now, her daughter Rowan has gone missing, and Edward is the only person she trusts to help relocate her. She asks him to come to her home on a private island--Summersisle--a place with its own traditions where people observe a forgotten way of life. Edward seizes the opportunity to make his life right again, and soon finds himself on a seaplane bound for the islands of the Pacific Northwest. But nothing is what it seems on isolated Summersisle, where a culture, dominated by its matriarch Sister Summersisle, is bound together by arcane traditions and a pagan festival known as the Day of Death and Rebirth. The secretive people of Summersisle only ridicule his investigation, insisting that a child named Rowan never existed there--or if she ever did was no longer alive. But what Edward doesn't know is that Willow's plea for help has invited more into his life than a chance for redemption. In unraveling Summersisle's closely held secrets, Edward is drawn into a web of ancient traditions and murderous deceit, and each step he takes closer to the lost child brings him one step closer to the unspeakable. And one step closer to The Wicker Man.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Leelee Sobieski, Kate Beahan

Idiocracy (R); Limited release
An average guy volunteers to be the subject of a hibernation experiment that goes awry. He wakes up 500 years in the future, discovering that he's the smartest guy on the planet.

Starring: Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Sheperd, Sara Rue, Terry Crews

Lassie (PG); Limited release
Set in 1938, a loyal collie travels over 1,000 miles from northern Scotland to Yorkshire to return to her young friend. The dog, having been sold to a wealthy Duke because the boy's father was out of work, runs away and braves starvation and treacherous conditions to follow the pull of her heart toward the family who loves her.

Starring: Peter O'Toole, Samantha Morton, Peter Dinklage, John Lynch, Steve Pemberton

Looking for Kitty (R); Limited release
After hiring a down-and-out private investigator, an upstate New York, high school baseball coach ventures to Manhattan for the first time to track down his wife who ran away with a second rate rock star. Jack, the private investigator, and Abe, the coach, develop a close bond as they search for Abe's wife, while also confronting a series of unique and funny New York characters along the way. Their colorful companion is New York City, itself, which can be everything from a wintery afternoon to a friendly neighbor; a city buzzing with excitement, or echoing with loneliness. For Jack and Abe they must also face the conflict between their respective fears of future and the familiar life of loneliness.

Starring: Edward Burns, David Krumholtz, Connie Britton, Shari Albert, Craig Carlisle



Coming Attractions
-
The Covenant (PG-13); Wide release; opens 9/8 (so want to see this!)

Hollywoodland (R); Wide release; opens 9/8

The Protector (NR); Wide release; opens 9/8





Nature does not bestow virtue; to be good is an art.
-- Seneca

(movie review courtesy of Movietickets.com)  ¶ 9/01/2006 06:53:00 AM 0 comments