All I Want For Christmas...

It's not what I would have asked for, but hey, give the man credit for knowing what he wants. Check out what Roy Oswalt, pitcher for the Houston Astros and MS native, got for pitching his team into the world series...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2265422

Oompa-Loompas

I finally saw "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" the other day. How long from when it was in theatres has it been? And I finally saw it for the first time? Anyway, the point is that I finally saw the movie...

A couple of my friends had watched it before me, and all they had to say about it was, "It was good. But it was kinda weird." And they were right! I, however, think my definition of "weird" was more positive than my friends'. I really thought it was a delightful little movie. My appreciation for Johnny Depp continues to grow. I thought he did a great job of a nutso pirate captain in "Pirates of the Caribbean," and now he totally changes his face as Willy Wonka. I could hardly believe I was looking at Johnny Depp. (I think my favorite part of his look was the straight hair!) And if "froofy" is actually a word, I would use it to describe his character as Willy Wonka. He's off-the-wall as much as someone who has been excluded inside a chocolate factory for years. And the icing on the cake? His little laugh. It's kind of a mix of a "huh" and a "ha"...and is just perfectly silly.

And that's just it about "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"...it's perfectly silly. There are some nice little "moral to the stories" wrapped in there, but I liked the movie from its perfect silliness. Sometimes we just need to laugh and be goofy.

Was it weird? You bet. But, more importantly, it was silly and laughable and goofy. Good stuff, kids, good stuff.

Walk The Line

Dude, SEE IT!!!

I saw "Walk The Line" Saturday night and it exceeded expectations. (Oh, if you don't know what "Walk The Line" is, it's a movie on Johnny Cash.) As a story, it traces a major theme in Cash's life (drugs). As a social study, it traces the struggles Cash had in feeling accepted by his dad and the resulting effects. As a music documentary, it shows the world of touring musicians quite well. (Kinda scary, actually!) As actors, Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny Cash) and Reese Witherspoon (June Carter) give outstanding performances. (I mean, if I didn't know what Cash actually looked like I would have thought Phoenix WAS Cash!) As musicians, Phoenix and Witherspoon do the singing for the movie and do it incredibly. (Carter is easier to "copy," but for anyone to copy the baritone voice of Johnny Cash is exceptional.)

In summary...dude, SEE IT!!! It might be the best movie you see all year.

In Your Room

They say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. And I've heard that the eyes are the window to the soul. How about your room? I propose it is the picture of a person's life.

My room has always been messy. A t-shirt laying here and there, some shorts in the corner, my sleeping clothes by my bed. Then random piles of paper and mail with a toppled stack or two of books. Some CDs here, there and everywhere. I have a few framed pictures hung or on shelves and a few piles of of unsorted photographs. My bed? It's never made. And historically (since I moved out of my parents' house at least) I've generally had a trail or two of cleared space leading to the important places in my room...my bed, my stereo, my clean clothes, and maybe my computer. And speaking of my mom, she has always claimed she could find money "hidden" somewhere in my room...even still at their place, where I haven't lived for over ten years!

Say what you will about my room, but I generally know where things are located. For the most part, when I need something I know what stack it's located in and how deep it is. And also, I'm not shy about my room...I don't really care if you know how messy it is. The door is always open.

But I think my room gives you a snapshot of me. Not always clean or organized looking, but I generally know where the important stuff is. And while I may not invite you in, the door is always open and you are always welcome.

What does your room say about you?