The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The good I'm referring to is a movie... Reno 911 Miami. Harry and I saw it this weekend and it was hilarious! A lot of the usual Reno 911 humor, and even an appearance from Reno's favorite street roller (not walker since he is on roller skates) Terry. Here are a few of my favorite scenes from the movie...

This would be where the "ugly" tag comes into play.
The image from the back was even worse, I was crying laughing!
Wiegle was wearing granny panties and a white bra under her bathing suit.

Oh yes, they came across this on the beach. The deputies tried to push it into the ocean again when Junior falls into the whale.
Spoiler Alert:
They blow up the whale to remove the carcass, I had to look away because I was gagging.

Harry and I give this movie 2 big thumbs up. It's not one of those "make you think movies", in fact, your IQ might actually go down after watching it, but it's all in good fun.

On a related, but unrelated, note, THE BAD...
I stayed up to watch Saturday Night Live and was so disappointed. It was AWFUL! They had such a great host, Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from The Office), but the writing was horrific. He is such a great actor; he can really make just about anything funny, but even he couldn't save SNL. What a shame.

Sorry to disappoint you, Best Buy

The Sony KD-32FS170 (In the eyes of Best Buy, at least)

In A/V news, our TV is broken. As it is only 2 years old and was a gift to begin with, we thought it best to try to get it repaired rather than buying a new one. After all, aside from the fact that it won't turn on, it's a very nice TV. While I was explaining our reasoning for taking it to a TV repair place (yes, they do still exist. and this one has a particularly smoky air to it.) to my coworker, I decided to pull up the Best Buy website to illustrate how expensive it would be to replace it with an equal (or better?) model.

It was at this time that I came across the most condescending product description ever. For the next model up from ours, the widescreen HD version, they recommend that you "Enjoy thrilling, edge-of-your seat movies and crystal-clear, high-definition television on this HDTV that features numerous picture enhancement technologies for a breathtaking cinematic experience." Sounds nice...surely our TV must be suitable for similar viewing, albeit at a somewhat lower resolution, right? Wrong. According to Best Buy, the best our TV can offer is for us to "Enjoy reruns of old sitcoms on this 32" TV that features a WEGA Engine for stunning picture quality from all of your favorite programs." Thanks a lot. Hey, maybe if you get a chance later you can send the Geek Squad over to critique my wardrobe too. "Are those jeans the sandblasted vintage wash? That is SO 2006!" Well, I'd love to write more, but Leave it to Beaver comes on in 10 minutes. I better go adjust the rabbit ears.

Needle in a Haystack... errr, Esophagus

Tonight there was excitement in the Thompson home, topped off with a trip to the emergency room... the pet emergency room. I have been working on making pillows and was closing up the bottom when Joey realized he was hungry. To solve this problem he decided to feast on the needle and thread. When I looked over at him sitting on the floor chewing, I simply thought I could pull the thread out of his mouth. This is when I noticed that the needle was missing.

I promptly informed Harry of the problem and told him to get the car so we could go to the ER. Once we arrived at the ER (me in my black cashmere sweater COVERED with orange cat hair) Joey was taken to get x-rays. When we got the x-rays back we could clearly see the needle lodged in his throat. Two things were positive about this, first of all the needle went down eye first so the pointy side wasn't going in first. The second positive was it was stuck in his throat and the vet was able to do a "needle extraction" without surgery (FYI, the cost of a needle extraction is $30). He had punctured his esophagus but a coating medicine and an antibiotic should keep him from getting sick.

We were unable to get the x-ray (or more like we were unwilling to pay for another copy of it) but I found this picture online that is very similar to Joey's x-ray.

This x-ray doesn't show this cat's whole body, but Harry thought the amount of food in Joey's belly was hilarious (the boy loves to eat).

Joey is now home safe and sound with us (he does owe us $255 for his emergency vet bill) but we will just put it on his tab. He is still very much drugged and has fallen over multiple times. He should be up and around acting normal in no time. In the meantime, he's enjoying spacing out and listening to his favorite Neil Young song, "The Needle and the Damage Done".

Joey when we arrived home from the ER. His bandage covers his drug injection point.

"Drugged" Joey sitting on the railing. He had just fallen off the railing prior to this picture being taken.

Follow-Up on PSYCHO!!

This is a direct quote taken from CNN.com...

Scandal sparks NASA review

NASA will begin a review of its psychological screening for astronauts, NASA said Wednesday -- a day after astronaut Lisa Nowak was charged with attempting to murder a love rival. Meanwhile, Nowak was having a medical evaluation, which would also include a psychological evaluation, NASA said.

hmmmmm... do you think NASA is reading 17th Most Popular for tips? Maybe I should give up teaching and start working for NASA; at least I'm more stable than some of it's current employees.

PSYCHO!!

I'm sure everybody has heard of this story by now... the married astronaut that drove from Houston to Orlando, wearing adult diapers (to cut down on unnecessary stops), to kidnap and apparently kill her "co-workers" girlfriend. Obviously this astronaut, mother of 3, had a little somethin-somethin going on with her "co-worker" in space and she is now jealous of his girlfriend.

"psyco" Lisa Nowak on the right, the man she loved Oefelein, and the victim Shipman

There is SO much wrong with this story I don't even know where to begin... but here it goes.

First, she is already a wife and a mother. What the hell is she thinking??? She would have left her her husband and children alone to go and do, who knows what, to this woman.

Second, what is going on in space? These 2 astronauts, the best of the best, are having an affair in space! That is NOT what my tax money is paying for. Get up there, study what you need to study, and get back without any funny business.

Third, adult diapers? Who in their right mind wears adult diapers in the car, unless necessary. I'm sorry, but the bathroom is not an "unnecessary stop". This nut job would rather sit in her own filth than get out of the car for, what, 3 minutes.

Forth, did you hear what she had with her??? Pepper spray, a wig, a plastic bag containing a carbon dioxide-powered BB pistol, a tan trench coat, a new steel mallet, a new folding knife with a 4-inch blade, 4 feet of rubber tubing, several large plastic garbage bags, $600 in cash, half dozen latex gloves, MapQuest directions from Houston to Orlando International Airport, e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein, the already mentioned diapers, and a letter indicating how much psycho loved Oefelein. It doesn't take a ROCKET SCIENTIST (pun intended) to figure out what she had planned. I really think the only thing missing was a "how to kill her" and a "how to get rid of the body" book; and she claims all she wants to do is talk.

I think NASA really needs to step up their psychological screening because this lady is CRAZY!

Oh no, not the "bo-bo"!

While surfing the internet this evening, I came across this picture of a she-goblin that you may know better by the name Fantasia Barrino. While it has no relevance to anything really, it is funny looking, and a nice reminder of why I stopped watching American Idol (although to be honest, it was touch and go before her). I could go on, but considering her illiteracy, continuing with the written word seems like a waste of time.

P.S. I feel obliged (I know, fancy word, huh Fantasia?) to state that my brother & sister-in-law were fans of Fantasia. Shame on you!

I Love Snow!!

Yes... it is SNOWING!!! It looks absolutely beautiful outside this morning. I got up at my usual 5:40 this morning, took a shower, and began getting ready for school when I saw on the news that school was canceled with no optional teacher workday. I was a little disappointed because my CMS promised 5:30am phone call to notify me of a cancellation was late... it came in at 6:15. This means that I am now too awake to go back to sleep (for now) but I'm o.k. with that. Now I get to enjoy the beautiful morning. I have taken a few pictures to show you the snow in North Carolina.

The view from our front porch at 6:30am.

Our peach tree right outside the kitchen door looking at the field across the street.

The backyard and our beautiful pergola.

The view from our front porch once the sun came up.

Victoria Bay Drive right next to the house going back to the pool.

The backyard in the daylight.

This weather makes me realize just how much I miss snow. I guess I am a northern girl at heart. I have even been out and about already this morning... I made a 7:15 grocery run to get a croissant and a latte (despite the news telling me to STAY OFF THE ROADS!!). Freezing rain is forecast for later today so my snow will probably melt and I guess there is even a chance I may be out of school tomorrow. Oh well, I'll enjoy my day looking at the snow.

PS... the local news has preempted the "Today" show because of the winter weather; so that means nothing but hour after hour of traffic and weather reporting.