NOTE: I won't be back until New Year's Day. I'll be out of town for Christmas. I can't believe 2017 is almost over with, although good riddance, really.
Yeah, I'll get into The Last Jedi (no spoilers, I promise) a little later. Monday through Wednesday were pretty boring for me; I mean, the “highlight” of that time period was going to the local Kmart; talk about a depressing place to visit. The entire chain is not long for the world which is regrettable as many times when I was a kid I was taken to the local Kmart in town and most of us have been there on plenty of occasions. That store in my city is never busy & the prices are not great but their movie selection has plenty of cheap oddities and sometimes a decent deal. I could carp about how the lady at the checkout needed help with the giftcard I got but I don't want to be rude.
Thursday, I ended up in Orlando for something and after I was done with that, I returned to the place known as BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse. I hadn't been there in awhile and they do make good food... and drink. Friday, I returned to Orlando for something else and after that was Star Wars: The Last Jedi. I have not delved into the Extended Universe of the franchise so I am not a superfan but the original trilogy I saw often and loved as a kid... and still do. The prequels, those were pretty bad. I rate The Force Awakens and Rogue One high, despite both being flawed. I was hoping I would love this too, even after hearing that some hated the film. I knew it was “different” from the usual Star Wars so what I saw wasn't quite so unexpected. Regrettably, my opinion is not hatred; “disappointment” is a better term.
I'll avoid any spoiler talk from those that haven't seen it yet; I'll be real vague. I had problems with the story; there were some plot holes and stupid moments but what ruined things for me was an increase of a certain element which was present in the other movies but was way stronger and more prevalent here; not only was it not needed at all, it was not even done that well. Most people had issues with other things but that was what put a bad taste in my mouth. At least the sold out screening I was at turned out fine and did not have the unforgettable moment of the first time I saw The Force Awakens: some guy had what I presume was a seizure during the opening crawl and as the movie was stopped, he freaked the F out as they tried to get him on the stretcher and out in an ambulance. What an awkward 10 to 15 minutes that was. Anyhow, if you want more details about it, if you so desire you can look at this review I did at: https://letterboxd.com/blairrussell/film/star-wars-the-last-jedi/
Saturday I thought about doing something but instead I stayed home and did nothing. Friday was a poor day even before I saw The Last Jedi (as typical, it was people acting stupid which was a big reason why) and I felt real tired so relaxing was the better alternative. In addition, traffic this month has been absolutely brutal. I've seen the aftermath of two wrecks and there have been many who have been driving recklessly. Sunday, all I did was go to Target and that went as expected. From the last time, I never mentioned that I did not see the Chicago Bears actually dominate an opponent (in recent years this is a rare phenomenon) as they dismantled the Cincinnati Bengals. Nor did I watch their game this past weekend when they were their usual selves and lost to the Detroit Lions.
The rest of the year I don't have much planned aside from the trip out of state. When I am back two weeks from now hopefully I'll only have good things to discuss.
Monday, December 18, 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Glory Days Grill, Gourmet Soda & My (Non) Relative Kurt
The preceding week only had a few highlights but that's alright. Monday the 4th was dull so I'll skip ahead to Tuesday the 5th. I went to the local Walmart to pick up a few random items. That went as expected so let me get to Wednesday. I hadn't been to the Lakeside Village outdoor mall in Lakeland in at least half a year, so that's where I went. I went to a few stores and purchased a few items (such as gourmet soda & candy from the Rocket Fizz store) and I then ate at a sports bar in the area I had never been to before: Glory Days Grill. They are mainly a Mid-Atlantic chain which does have a few locations in Florida. They are a standard sports bar, which worked for me as the place was fine and I wish I would have tried them out sooner.
Thursday through Saturday I did nothing at all. That was OK to me because I knew I would be going out on Sunday, despite what is considered by Florida standards to be chilly weather. Plus, I did not have to deal with Florida traffic, which is as terrible as ever. I'll mention one thing that exemplifies my point: on Wednesday I was headed to Lakeland and it required being on some rural roads. I was at the last stoplight I would be seeing for awhile and it's a typical 2 land road. Suddenly, a pickup is honking its horn repeatedly as it passes in the other lane and goes right through the red light. I doubt it was done because he had to attend to a serious emergency (and I don't mean “he has to sit on his toilet at home”) and instead I'll presume something like “he was high on meth at the time”; you can see why more and more I enjoy staying at home.
Anyhow, what I did on Sunday was make a pretty rare weekend appearance at a theme park. I went to Epcot to see what they do each holiday season, which is a Candlelight Processional. A celebrity narrator tells the story about the birth of Christ as there are lights and an ever-changing backdrop... oh and also a choir and orchestra. A few years ago I saw Sigourney Weaver do it and that was pretty awesome, but I could not turn down the chance to see Kurt Russell (no relation, unfortunately) as the narrator. While at Epcot I noticed they had some booths set up selling holiday-related food & drink; yes I did have some of that, which did include alcohol. Kurt as the narrator was great, but the orchestra and choir they have each year is always great. Thus, I had no problem with being in what was chilly weather by Central Florida standards.
When I return next Monday, it won't just be Star Wars: The Last Jedi that I'll be talking about (don't worry, no spoilers), but it will be a big topic of discussion.
Thursday through Saturday I did nothing at all. That was OK to me because I knew I would be going out on Sunday, despite what is considered by Florida standards to be chilly weather. Plus, I did not have to deal with Florida traffic, which is as terrible as ever. I'll mention one thing that exemplifies my point: on Wednesday I was headed to Lakeland and it required being on some rural roads. I was at the last stoplight I would be seeing for awhile and it's a typical 2 land road. Suddenly, a pickup is honking its horn repeatedly as it passes in the other lane and goes right through the red light. I doubt it was done because he had to attend to a serious emergency (and I don't mean “he has to sit on his toilet at home”) and instead I'll presume something like “he was high on meth at the time”; you can see why more and more I enjoy staying at home.
Anyhow, what I did on Sunday was make a pretty rare weekend appearance at a theme park. I went to Epcot to see what they do each holiday season, which is a Candlelight Processional. A celebrity narrator tells the story about the birth of Christ as there are lights and an ever-changing backdrop... oh and also a choir and orchestra. A few years ago I saw Sigourney Weaver do it and that was pretty awesome, but I could not turn down the chance to see Kurt Russell (no relation, unfortunately) as the narrator. While at Epcot I noticed they had some booths set up selling holiday-related food & drink; yes I did have some of that, which did include alcohol. Kurt as the narrator was great, but the orchestra and choir they have each year is always great. Thus, I had no problem with being in what was chilly weather by Central Florida standards.
When I return next Monday, it won't just be Star Wars: The Last Jedi that I'll be talking about (don't worry, no spoilers), but it will be a big topic of discussion.
Monday, December 4, 2017
Titanic, Coco, Stargazers, Supermoons & Annoying Snowmen
Here's what I've done in the preceding week. Monday and Tuesday I did nothing at all, which suited me fine. The only thing of note is something that happened with UPS which has happened to some people I know. UPS claimed they tried to make a delivery but were unsuccessful because no one was home... which was poppycock. Several items were ordered from Amazon, including something for a parent. The parent was not happy about this, even when the package finally was delivered the next evening.
Wednesday, I went and saw Coco. Shamefully, I haven't seen all of Pixar's movies, not by any means. I have no good explanation as all three Toy Story flicks and they are very good or better. At least I saw Coco and that is also very good; the 21 minute Frozen short that played beforehand that was originally made for television, not so much. The hatred many have for that snowman Olaf suddenly became obvious... I saw it at the new Dolby Cinema they have at AMC's Disney Springs location. Like the one in Altamonte Springs, it is very impressive both in sound and picture quality. When you have two laser projectors working in tandem, the image is worth paying the extra money for a ticket.
Thursday, I did nothing of note but Friday was another interesting day; I went to the other Dolby Cinema at AMC (this one in Altamonte Springs) to see Titanic, which received a special release this week on only those screens. I know people will be shocked but I had never seen it before, despite being old enough at the time where I could have gone to seen it on the back screen back in December of 1997. I just wasn't interested as I preferred my James Cameron movies to be something like The Terminator, T2, or Aliens. 20 years later I realized this was the best time for me to watch. As for the film, the story isn't exactly original and I did roll my eyes at times at the cliches, the two leads were great on their own & w/ each other and the ship sinking was quite memorable, so it's not a movie I regret checking out, even if it was over 3 hours long. By the way, for some reason on Twitter my comments about Titanic got some traction, mainly from random people I did not know. Odd, but I appreciated the attention nonetheless.
Saturday night, I returned to Disney Springs. I walked around and sat at some places to see parts of the big college football games on TV. As I've mentioned before, the Cask & Larder Working Man's Porter (available at The Polite Pig) is well worth getting if you like the style. Also, for the first time I went in Stargazers, the open-air bar attached to Planet Hollywood. It's standard for an open-air bar at Disney. Some dumb people were around Disney Springs on this night but again that is standard. Sunday... you got it, I did not watch the Chicago Bears game. Even though they were playing another terrible team in the San Francisco 49ers I expected the Bears to lose in an atrocious game and well, I heard it was poor and Chicago did in fact lose. I am glad I did not waste my time. At least last night I got to see the Supermoon, which was an impressive sight.
When I return a week from today, I will have a few interesting things to discuss.
Wednesday, I went and saw Coco. Shamefully, I haven't seen all of Pixar's movies, not by any means. I have no good explanation as all three Toy Story flicks and they are very good or better. At least I saw Coco and that is also very good; the 21 minute Frozen short that played beforehand that was originally made for television, not so much. The hatred many have for that snowman Olaf suddenly became obvious... I saw it at the new Dolby Cinema they have at AMC's Disney Springs location. Like the one in Altamonte Springs, it is very impressive both in sound and picture quality. When you have two laser projectors working in tandem, the image is worth paying the extra money for a ticket.
Thursday, I did nothing of note but Friday was another interesting day; I went to the other Dolby Cinema at AMC (this one in Altamonte Springs) to see Titanic, which received a special release this week on only those screens. I know people will be shocked but I had never seen it before, despite being old enough at the time where I could have gone to seen it on the back screen back in December of 1997. I just wasn't interested as I preferred my James Cameron movies to be something like The Terminator, T2, or Aliens. 20 years later I realized this was the best time for me to watch. As for the film, the story isn't exactly original and I did roll my eyes at times at the cliches, the two leads were great on their own & w/ each other and the ship sinking was quite memorable, so it's not a movie I regret checking out, even if it was over 3 hours long. By the way, for some reason on Twitter my comments about Titanic got some traction, mainly from random people I did not know. Odd, but I appreciated the attention nonetheless.
Saturday night, I returned to Disney Springs. I walked around and sat at some places to see parts of the big college football games on TV. As I've mentioned before, the Cask & Larder Working Man's Porter (available at The Polite Pig) is well worth getting if you like the style. Also, for the first time I went in Stargazers, the open-air bar attached to Planet Hollywood. It's standard for an open-air bar at Disney. Some dumb people were around Disney Springs on this night but again that is standard. Sunday... you got it, I did not watch the Chicago Bears game. Even though they were playing another terrible team in the San Francisco 49ers I expected the Bears to lose in an atrocious game and well, I heard it was poor and Chicago did in fact lose. I am glad I did not waste my time. At least last night I got to see the Supermoon, which was an impressive sight.
When I return a week from today, I will have a few interesting things to discuss.
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