Night of the Living Dead

So I've been on a Horror kick since Halloween. I love a good zombie movie and the other night I decided to go back to the beginning and watch some classics.

Everyone seems to agree that this 1968 classic is the birth of the modern zombie. I think the film's enjoyability has lasted very well over the years. Sure, it's slower and has a lot less action in it, but it has a great plot and it holds you as you wonder what will happen to the group barricaded in a farmhouse.

The movie is light on zombie slaying, but does provide some, and even an awkward feeding frenzy (though that scene probably went a long way in making zombies as scary as they are today). But it does establish the flesh eating and need to destroy the brain to take them down. The question of whether to run or hide is a central plot point.

I had a big surprise thinking about the issue of race as I watched. I didn't expect to see a black man yelling "I'm the boss here" to a group of white people in '68. Of course the final scene was probably an answer to that, but still, interesting to see that dynamic in horror flick.

I'll give Night of the Living Dead a B+

On Courage, Fear, and Faith

My family moved to this great little town at the end of the road; Homer, Alaska. I got a great job teaching here, and we really love it. Everything was going fine until I got a letter informing me that I wouldn't have a job next year. I got freaked out and then all the teachers pointed out that this is normal for the district. So I applied and tried not to be too nervous. Well then the district budget got cut by $4.2 million and they put an indefinite freeze on all hiring. Now I am actively looking for work all over.
I am trying not to be afraid. I am a talented person and I have always landed on my feet. Even more than that I am a good man and I believe that the Lord will provide. It is hard some days to keep that faith up while I am uncertain about what is going to happen. Especially consider that I am the sole bread-winner in our family.
A old idea has arisen again. I am starting to think about owning my own business more so than I ever have before. I, for years, have played with the notion of opening my own game store. I like playing board games, card games, and those nerdy miniatures games. I've been to lots of stores that are a hang out for gamers and I am thinking about creating a place like that somewhere on the Kenai Peninsula.
That brings back the big fear factor though. Do I want to take the risk financially? Can I be successful. Do I have the courage it takes to make a go at it? I am researching now; trying to learn everything I can to help me make that judgement. I am thinking that I need to teach for a while in the mean time. I know that it will take some time before the store would bring in enough to so support the family.
But that is the big question I face myself with today. Is it courageous? Is it the right time? Am I just afraid? Time will tell, and so will I when I get this all figured out.

Joy: Lasting Happiness

My wife and I canceled our Satellite TV some years ago and have never missed it. In fact I sit here now wondering how I ever had time to sit around and watch it in the first place. Don't get me wrong we do have a television that is on frequently. Probably too frequently! But by only being able to watch videos we own, borrow, or of course our Netflix, we limit our intake some.

Anyway, my post this week is inspired by a Disney movie that is truly adored by my three year old Bear (my wife and I use psuedonyms for our children in public online discussions, we have chosen animals for them). Bear has been running around the house talking about black dudes and how they are trying to get him. I wondered where this was coming from and of course racial issues came to mind (but I didn't think that was it). Then he talked abutr their hands being dangerous, and that's when I realized he was thinking about the TV bad guys in Bolt. They wear all black suits and black helmets, and have these gloves that seem to have tazers built into them. The cutest part of the whole thing is Bear runs around screaming "Watch OUT! They have Lectrically hands!!!"

Electricity can be a hard word to pronounce after all. I just wanted to revel in this time that he will grow out of all too soon. And to share something that my father-in-law said around a campfire once. "Nothing in life will make you happier than being with your kids."

Thanks for stopping by again. This post is almost more for me to preserve a memory than for you, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Spend some good time with your family and you'll not regret it.

Fate conspired

So I make a goal to write a weekly blog and you may have noticed that it's been a month since my last post. I was really serious about doing this too. Then my computer froze... and crashed... hard. We got the disc to reformat the hard drive, only it didn't work. So we called the company and they shipped us the right disc. We got it working for a few days, and it crashed again. Harder! So we got online and ordered a new computer.

It arrived today and seems to be working great. So I am back. This week's gonna be a bit of a cop-out. Only sort of though. You've got to see this video if you haven't already. It's OK GO meets Rube Goldberg meets totally awesome!

Post #1 - On blogging

So my wife and I have this goal to become writers. This is not a new desire, I've always loved writing and the idea of getting paid to do it. I've just never written anything over twenty pages... At least not anything that anyone would ever want to read, let alone pay for.

Nope this blog came about as part of that discussion. If I can write a weekly column then perhaps someday I can write even more (not exactly a radical idea), or even approach some local newspapers some day and see if they like what I've been writing. So, if you're an editor and you're reading this to check me out, then enjoy. No, really PLEASE ENJOY!!!

Ok, no more begging. I think that maybe I have been over thinking this whole writing thing. This came to me while I was perusing the new book section of the local library. I found a New Times best-seller called The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. Not to belittle Mr. Brooks in any way, but, if he is making money doing that. I think I could be too. In fact he inspired me to give it a shot and write a zombie book. But I can't give any details because Mr. Brooks might stumble across this blog somehow and steal my idea! Yes, I know how ridiculous that is, but I like to think there are more than three of you reading this.

So if you haven't quit reading yet (good sign) then you are probably wondering what the heck this blog is going to be about. Well, that was the other thing that inspired this blog: How I met my wife. That may sound confusing but see the real story is boring, so I make up a new one any time anyone asks (the rule is that I'm not allowed to tell the same story twice or come up with ideas beforehand). We're up to 20 or 30 stories now and someone on Facebook just commented on how clever I am to create such crazy/funny stories. Well if I do have all this creative juices flowing I want to squeeze them into something at least semi-productive.

So that's it. To recap: New blog, gets me writing, hopefully make money, and it should be fun/funny to read. Oh and feedback is very welcome, especially if you read the entire post.

Hello, is anyone still there?