unforgivable

***King Kong Spoilers***

I should have known. Peter Jackson. Lord of the Rings. Hated em. King Kong. Wanted to like it. Disappointed.
Actually, there were spots that I really enjoyed, probably a majority of the film, but there were spots that were, well, unforgivable. The bug hole. Those that have seen it know what I'm talking about. Totally unneccessary, ridiculous and very disgusting. I would rather have spent 5 more minutes staring at Naomi Watts staring at a green screen, uh, I uh, mean a giant ape, than going through the bug hole. I hope when Peter Jackson dies it is at the hands of some giant insect or spider or something. Yeah, that would make me 'feel' better.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Clan Carter!

Slingbox

Slingbox.
Ok, this is very cool. Slingbox is a device that allows you to broadcast over the net to ANY connected PC whatever is coming through your Satellite/Cable/TiVo pipe in your house. The possibilities are mind boggling. It is a little pricey but I still want one!

Good Grief

I keep getting reminded over and over how our world is changing. Going to Hell to be more specific.
I was watching TV with Shelby last night. Charlie Browns Christmas was on. This was a show I grew up watching every year. It felt great to sit and watch it with my own daughter. I had forgotten some details about this show. Like when Linus is quoting scripture from the bible! I was shocked. I don't think I ever consciously noticed that before. What was even more shocking to me was that I was shocked. There is no way that anything being produced currently circa 2005 would ever include something like this. Any hint of religion has either been sanitized out or, thanks to South Park, it has been vulgarized to the point of being way over the top offensive. I ask myself, why don't we just get it over with and rename CHRISTmas 'Winter festival'. Because I'm just not seeing a whole lot of CHRIST anywhere. Not in the mall, not on TV. Luckily I still have Christmas music. A good portion of what is still being broadcast is refers to what we are really supposed to be celebrating. So, in good ol Charlie Brown tradition I'll end with, "Good grief, where is the CHRIST in Christmas?!?"

Narnia

Thanks to Raq we scored free tickets to see Narnia this afternoon. We've been planning a family trip to see this film for over a week now. It was excellent. I think I actually enjoyed it more than the book that I recently read. I especially enjoyed this film knowing that C.S. Lewis had written it intentionally with very strong Christian symbolism. I enjoyed watching my daughter be visibly moved when Aslan was killed. She was also thrilled that Peter was riding on a unicorn one of her latest loves. The unicorn, not Peter.
Anyway, I think this could have been one of my all time favorite stories and films if it hadn't been for the dreaded 'fantasy factor'. Yes, some people just can't leave well enough alone and have to put weirded out non-human characters in their stories. It really really bothers me. Even the animals talking didn't bother me so much. I kinda liked mom and pop beaver, they were cool.

Rumbi!

I have a new favorite place for take out food. Rumbi Island Grill. They have a new sandwich, the Luau Pork sandwich. It is awesome. Of course a visit to Rumbi can't be missed without a cup of their pina colada cooler. Oh wow is it good. I just had to share.
Oh, and I just read more about the franchise and guess who created it? The guy who created Zuka juice that subsequently merged with Jamba juice. I liked Zuka better btw. I haven't even tried one of their rice bowls or salads yet. They all look yummy and they offer a yummy brown rice that is oh so healthy. Oh, and the Beach Club sandwich is to die for. They serve the sandwiches with tortilla chips with an oh so lite hint of lime. Yeah, it's good stuff. I would love it if Mr. Guadspot opened up the first franchise in LA! That would be too cool. Hey, I can dream, it's Christmas time.

pandora

Ok, this is cool. You need to check out Pandora .
If you listen to internet radio at all you should definitely check this out. It is a music service, a free music service, that allows you to create your very own personalized radio station. You give it an example of a song or artist you like and it creates a radio station that plays songs that are similar to your tastes. I tried it by typing in 'Jingle Bells' and I got a very cool Holiday stream of music. There were many many songs that I am not currently hearing on the radio or in my iTunes holiday list.
I am so glad I stumbled upon this and I hope you enjoy it too.

Raq's Nazi Cookie Party

My sis 'Raq' had a holiday cookie exchange last Saturday. Since DW (Dear Wife) was busy working I decided to take on the baking of the Seven dozen cookies for the exchange. After being 'denied' once by the cookie nazi for the first recipe idea I had proposed I settled on a new creation. Yeah, that's right. I can't just whip up some sugar cookies and throw them at the party and forget about it, I had to try and win the job of Martha Stewart's Apprentice. So, this is what I came up with. ChocoNog Sugar cookies. They are egg nog sugar cookies dipped in Ghirardelli chocolate. I found a simple egg nog sugar cookie recipe and adjusted it a bit and then added the chocolate coating. If you want my adapted recipe you can get it HERE.
So, why did I call it the 'nazi cookie party'? Well, Raq sent out an invite and some 'rules'. My favorite was the last. "IF you abide by all of these rules you 'may' be invited again next year." Reminds me of the infamous Seinfeld Soup Nazi, "NO SOUP FOR YOU! ONE YEAR!" So, Raq's version would be, "NO COOKIES FOR YOU! ONE YEAR!"
Anyway, DW went off to the exchange with 'my' cookies, (I wasn't invited, I guess it was a girl thing) and she returned with 7 dozen yummy holiday cookies. Very nice.

Eagle Part II

I should have posted this a few days ago with the Eagle information. As part of the Eagle Scout Committee I was assigned the task of putting together the slide show to present pics of the three boys receiving their Eagle awards that night. It's a little big, 38mb, but if you really want to see it it's worth it. It was fun to produce it. Please note that the boys each chose the music that accompanies their section themselves.
Click on the pic above to download and watch the movie.
Enjoy!