Movie Review - Pirates of the Caribbean

I have to admit I was disappointed with the new Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. It looked great, the acting was fine, and the fx spectacular. But the story was convulted and frequently bogged down. Plus, the movie clocked in at a whopping two and half hours. It just kept going and going and going. Pirates fell into the trap of most summer sequels...they tried to pack too much in to not enough time. It wasn't bad...just not near as good as the first.

Kick 'em all out!

Florida is experiencing its worst orange harvest in decades this season. That may not seem like much of a big deal to you and me. But the Orange industry is one of the linchpins to Florida's economic success. When the harvest suffers, billions of dollars and thousands of jobs are at risk.

The reason for this year's lousy harvest...drought?...hurricanes?...a mysterious fungii? None of the above. In actuality the orange groves have produced plenty of oranges this year...a bumper crop actually. However, there's not enough workers to harvest the crops. The oranges are literally rotting off the vine.

The reason there's not enough workers? Florida's protectionist legislature has enacted some of the harshest anti-immigration laws in the nation. There's not enough migrants legal or illegal to work the groves. So many illegal migrants have been forced out of Florida that this year's harvest is going to cost Florida and the United States billions.

The trickle-down effect will spread throughout America. Jobs will be lost. Prices will go up. And yet, there will be those in this mosaic of a nation who will continue to rally around the cause of kicking the Mexicans out. Short-sightedness is a characteristic of being an American I guess.

AP European History Conference

This past week I attended an AP European History conference at Texas Christian University. I will be teaching AP European History for the first time this upcoming school year. People may find the idea of a history conference extremely boring. But it is intellectually stimulating to be in an environment with so many people well-versed on a subject I find fascinating. By the end of the week my mind actually ached from all the thinking and analyzing of European matters since the Renaissance.

photo: This is the TCU Hornfrog next to the building where my conference was. No one seems to be able to tell me the difference between a hornfrog and a horned toad. We used to play with horned toads during recess when I was a kid in Woodward, Oklahoma.

World Cup Wrap-up

I was out of town during the final of the World Cup and have been off the computer much of the time since I've returned from vacation. But I could not resist finishing up some final thoughts on this year's Copa Mundial.

I was very happy to see France lose to Italy. I do think the Italians dive more than anyone save for the Portuguese. But I would have hated to see Le Bleus win the whole shabang. I was astounded by Zidane's now infamous headbutt. I've always respected Zizou but there is nothing that should cause you to lose your cool in such dramatic fashion...especially in the most watched sporting event of all time.

Zidane has played for the biggest teams (Juventus and Real Madrid) and on the biggest stages (winning the '98 Cup). He's a veteren pro. What he did was inexcusable especially if he was only responding to some trash talk about his sister. Trash talking goes on in every sport in every level from playground to the hallowed ground of Yankee Stadium. As France's best penalty taker he possibly cost them the game.

The biggest disappointments for me were the United States which should have beat Ghana and fared better against the Czechs. Brazil also was overconfident and arrogant. England should have played their game and not given way to Portugal in such a passive way.

But I am glad Italia won it. They should have won back in '94 on PK's against Brazil. Hopefully this makes up for it a bit.

The Tour de France

I haven't been able to catch the Tour on television due to the fact that we are proudly cable and dish free here at the White House. But I am thrilled to hear that Floyd Landis is about to win. The Euros must be freaking out. Another American!?! Even the athiestic French secularists must think the apocalypse is near. Of course now they will claim the tour was watered down because of the doping suspensions or some other lousy rationalization. And to be honest, despite admiring Lance Armstrong for his tenacity in beating cancer and winning an unprecedented seven tours, he still came off as arrogant. Floyd, with his arthritic hip and all, is admired by all the other tour riders for his humility. He's a real rider you can root for.

Flickr Photo Update

I have updated my flickr photo site with photos from our recent trip to the Lagenour and Crews family reunions in southern Indiana. They can be accessed here.

Photo: Me and Ryan Springer at the White Castle in Bloomington, Indiana. There are no White Castle's anywhere near Forney...I haven't seen any in Texas although I've heard there are some...so this was a special treat. Love those mini onion burgers!

I haven't stopped blogging!

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged...not that anyone noticed. But my computer has been disconnected as we redo our home office. We're converting the guestroom into a nursery. So my study has to also become a place where the occassional guest can stay. As a result we've re-floored and repainted and are re-arranging things in there. The computer had to be unplugged. Finally we had use of it and the computer is temporarily on our dining room table. Stuff is everywhere...it is utter chaos until we get this office finished. I hate painting. Flooring is easy when someone else is doing the work!

photo: hummingbirds on the porch at the Lagenour's in Dubois County, IN

Fireants!

I hate the fireants! Finally we got some much needed rain on the Fourth of July yesterday. It rained walruses and clams! I didn't mind many of the firework shows being dampened. We're under drought conditions and my lawn needs the rain. However, I wake up this morning, go outside and there they are...the fire ant mounds. Five mounds in my front yard alone. I despise these little buggers.

I had never heard of fire ants until I moved to Texas nine years ago. Then I was told you better watch out for them. They're ants that bite AND sting. Lovely. I guess they have migrated from Mexico. The only good thing is that they have killed off most of the scorpions that used to roam these parts.

But I spend half my summer days attacking these mounds and when you accidently step in one of their areas...they bite fast and often. So after I sign off here...guess what I'm doing? That's right...death to the ants!

Movie Pick - Nacho Libre!

Somehow I was able to convince Kimberly to see Nacho Libre. Great flick! Weird as all get out...but what else would you expect? And it had a good message. All the guy wanted to do was to take the orphans on a real field trip.

Our Anniversary

Since Kimberly is expecting we decided not to travel anywhere this summer for our anniversary besides Oklahoma and Indiana. So we decided to pretend we were tourists in Dallas for the day. We decided to check out some attractions we hadn't seen before. So here's what we did...

We shopped at the original Neiman Marcus in downtown.

We went to Thanksgiving Square and visited the unique prayer tower in downtown.

We toured the Trammel-Crow Asian Art Collection.

We ate lunch at Cafe Brazil.

We went to the Magnolia Theater in the West Village and watched the new Andy Garcia/Bill Murray movie The Lost City about the fall of Havana to Castro.

Then we had a light dinner at Souper Salad! since Kimberly wanted something light.

Then we went home since all the walking was wearing Kimberly out. It was a nice way to celebrate our anniversary and anyone who comes to Dallas should check out some of those attractions that don't get as much attention as others.

Final Thoughts on the NBA Finals

Don't worry, this has not intentionally become a sports themed blog. There's just a lot going on with the World Cup and the NBA Finals. Boom! As I write this Portugal has just scored a goal against Mexico.

I may have to stop watching sports altogether if my blood pressure continues to rise after watching corrupt officials in both the NBA and FIFA. Dwayne Wade drew a foul anytime he touched the ball and what about that mysterious no-call on his blatant back court violation right before he charged for the winning basket in Game 5? There are so many instances to mention I won't waste my time since they won't make a whit of difference.

But more than the refs the Mavs have themselves to blame for an enormous meltdown. Nowitski disappeared when needed most. He was solid...but legends are more than solid...they're clutch and he showed no guts during clutch time. Jason Terry was clutch. Josh Howard was lunch. And I believe Mark Cuban has every right to defend his team without being fined by the totalitarian NBA.

Mexico is getting jobbed. They just got called for a penalty in the box that was totally un-called for. Portugal is lining up for the free kick...boom...goal. Portugal is up 2-0. The Tri-Colores is getting hosed. And I was rooting for Portugal.

One last thing before I close this post...Dwayne Wade is a shiester, a baby, and a fraud. He flops on the ground more than Vlade Divac ever did. The refs fall for it every time. He gets more calls than Shaq or Jordan ever did.

Wow...Mexico is self-destructing...they just got a yellow card for slamming their cleats in the thigh of one of the Portuguese. I need to stop watching sports. Whoa!...Mexico just scored on a corner kick...in the 29th minute. 2-1. Maybe there's hope. I guess I'll keep watching.

Royals beat Astros?!?

Did I just read that right? Did the Royals win their interleague series against the Astros? Did they actually win two of three games on the road against mighty Houston? Man...Astro fans better hope they get Clemens on the mound fast.

The Beautiful Game

I have many friends here in America who simply don't get soccer. They think its boring. That it's for kids. But football, called the Beautiful Game around the world, is finally coming into its own here in the U.S.A.

I read an article in Sunday's Dallas Morning News about how soccer is becoming the favored sport for Gen-X intellectuals...how America is finally grasping the great game.

Baseball is becoming too corrupted by steroids, HGH, and economic inequality to keep my interest. Soccer stirs national and provincal passions like no other sport except maybe college football. The fans are the most intense and have the most fun in the stands than any other sport.

But for simple minded Americans its about points on the scoreboard. Most Americans don't like ties or 1-nil games. But America's tie yesterday against Italy was as thrilling as a victory in most other sports. We tied Italy...one of the great powers in the soccer world...even though we were a man down due to a red card! The stands were packed with spirited Americans which show that the U.S. is finally coming around.

Attendance is up for our domestic league MLS. Most teams either have a soccer specific stadium or are in the planning stages for building one. In ten years MLS will supplant the NHL as the fourth major league in the U.S. if not sooner.

Soccer is not simply about the score. It's about ball movement and anticipation and the experience in the stands. It's about tactics and artistry. And soccer looks accessible to everyone. You don't have to be a freak of nature to play soccer. You don't have to be 7 feet tall or 300 pounds to get on the pitch. And you can play soccer anywhere anytime with just about anything resembling a sphere.

And every nation on earth plays soccer. When I was in Spain one of the great icebreakers in conversation was about soccer. It didn't matter that I was from the United States. We all could talk about Ronaldo or how Real Madrid was Satan's personal team.

So keep your eye on the television this Thursday. If the Yanks beat Ghana and Italy beats the Czech Republic we move on to the round of sixteen. Go Yanks!

Game 5

Stackhouse getting suspended for a hard foul against Shaq?...a complete fraud. This is one of the worst decisions ever made by the NBA. Even Shaq acknowledged this was an acceptable foul. The officiating crew saw it as nothing more than a flagrant one. Why does the NBA want the Heat to win so badly? Cuban has every right to go ballistic on this one.

Either two things will happen in game 5. Either the Mavs will continue to self-destruct and get demolished. Or, they will see this as an 'us-against-the-world' situation and rally like never before. They have even moved to another hotel to regain their focus.

The Digital Age

Well we finally entered the digital age this week. We broke down and purchased a digital camera. We figured with a kid coming around we better spend our money now before we're totally poor...plus we assume we'll be taking lots of pictures.

Kimberly wanted a super sub-compact that could fit in her purse. I wanted a bulky SLR. So we compromised on a super-zoom. We got a Kodak Z650 that has 6.1 Megapixels and 10X optical zoom and 5X digital zoom. It was both reasonable in price, small in size and has a bunch of features that Consumer Reports says is the best buy for the money.

We're still figuring it out but at least we have joined the modern world.

El Copa Mundial

The World Cup is here. The biggest tournament in the world starts today. Unfortunately most Americans are completely ignorant of this great festival. It's one of the few athletic venues where the U.S. are underdogs. This is great because since the end of the Cold War we've been seen as the big bad bullies on the athletic stage. Remember Charles Barkley elbowing that poor Angolan at the Barcelona Olympics? Well if you miss the days of 1980's Miracle on Ice, 1972 Silver Medalists in Basketball, and the good old days of the U.S. having to overcome adversity in sports...check out the World Cup. I love it. I predict the U.S. will make the quarterfinals and Brazil will win the whole thing. If the U.S. doesn't win I'm rooting for England to win their first cup since 1966.

Everwood, Colorado

Alright, I'm man enough to admit it...I'm ticked off that the new CW network is not renewing the show 'Everwood.' Everwood was not as salacious as One Tree Hill or the O.C.. But it was the best written and most realistic show on television. Everything was fantastic about this show. And the series finale was one of the best finales I've seen especially compared to the super lame closing curtain of Alias. Everwood's characters seemed real...a tribute to fine acting and writing. The CW is bringing back the ludicrous 7th Heaven back but they can't bring Everwood back? I'm boycotting the new CW. Everwood's four years were a great ride and I don't usually miss shows once their gone. But Everwood will be missed.

MAVS Mania!

I began rooting for the Dallas Mavericks when I moved to the Dallas area in 1997. They were horrible back then. The Mavs best player was a guy named Samaki Walker...unless you were a Shawn Bradley fan. They had just jettisoned Jason Kidd, Jamal and Jackson and were bottom feeders. But I rooted for them anyway because I was without NBA allegiance.

My favorite team, the Kansas City Kings, had ditched KC for Sacramento in 1985. I still hate the Kings for that. KC's last season theme song in 1985 was 'Jump' by Van Halen. When I hear that song today I still get a little ticked at the guys who owned the Kings at the time. They promised 'yes, we're from Sactown...but we'll never move this franchise.' A year later...Boom...they're gone. They took my two favorite players LaSalle Thompson and Reggie Theueus with them.

So my NBA allegiance wandered aimlessly like a 14th-century Japanese Samurai Ronin. I watched with interest as Jordan took the Bulls to the heights of glory. I was intrigued by Shaq and Penny in Orlando. I dug Zo and LJ in Charlotte. But I could not root for any team. I couldn't root for any team because I like to have some connection with the teams I root for...usually a provincal tie.

So when I moved to DFW I clicked and dragged the Dallas Stars and the Mavericks into my support file. The Stars were an easy addition. They were winners. They won the Stanley Cup in 1999...two years after I started rooting for them. The Mavericks on the other hand were a joke. But I was without team...and they needed all the fans they could get.

It was at Reunion Arena with the Mavs playing the Pacers when I asked my future father-in-law permission to marry his daughter. The Mavs have had a special place in my heart ever since. So I am estatic that the Mavs are in the NBA Finals for the first time. I am a "Nowitness." I look forward to the Big German shutting down the Diesel. If only Shawn Bradley was still on the roster it would be so much sweeter. GO MAVS!!!

photo: That's the Mavs sign I have staked in my front yard...taken with my new digital camera.

My Favorite Month

The month of March used to be my favorite month because my birthday fell right in the middle of it. Nowadays, I have to go with June as my favorite month. First, my anniversary is June 20th. But secondly, June is the first full month of summer vacation. Even in July you know that school is right around the corner. Plus, I usually have an AP Conference to attend in July. But June...it's all about summer. Lazy hazy days of sleeping in and goofing off. Of course, right now I'm busy doing all sorts of errands and chores as any good husband of a pregnant wife would do. But June...what I really need is a hammock to wile this month...my favorite month...away...

Are You Kidding Me?

Okay, I begrudingly admit I watched the first season of American Idol. I even watched bits and pieces of the second season. But from what I've seen of this year's edition that just wrapped...I just gotta ask...what is wrong with America? Taylor Hicks...American Idol? Are you kidding me? This guy's a joke. He sings off-key, jumps around like an idiot, and whoops like a pregnant hyena. This is your American Idol?

The guy might be acceptable for a church special in Terrell, Texas but America's Pop Idol? C'MON! America is stupid. Just look at the books on the bestsellers list. Just look at the songs at the top of the pop charts. Go to Wal*Mart any day of the week. And now...look at our American Idol. What is wrong with our country?!?