Mission: Impossible-Fallout, AMC Stubs A-List & Blair: Duck Whisperer

I have to start this off by mentioning... there were some not so great moments this past week as various people I know have had issues with their health. I'll be super-vague here but something suddenly happened to someone I know in Florida (I feel awful for them and their immediate family, as I've known them for years and just saw them a few weeks ago) and there is a friend of the family who has had cancer for awhile and things took a turn there; I also have sympathy for one of my parents there due to the circumstances.

Last Monday I ended up at Walt Disney World, Hollywood Studios in particular. I walked around the new Toy Story Land and of course the theme was done well by Disney. I went on a few rides but I'll mention one moment that not only shocked me but even an employee there. I was sitting on a ledge eating a funnel cake and drinking a root beer float; both were good. What turned out to be a mama duck came up right to me, looking for crumbs. As the food was messy... I was by a pond that had several ducks so this wasn't so unexpected. What WAS a surprise happened a few minutes later. That duck returned... with half a dozen ducklings and they all were right by me looking for food yet never went after my plate, plastic cup nor even touched me... yet they were all so close and I couldn't believe it. Apparently I am Doctor Doolittle and never realized it until now. It was a very nice moment that I especially appreciated during the more stressful moments of the preceding week.

Tuesday I went to Steak N Shake with someone; that went fine, as it usually does. I had a Frosted Flakes shake and yes, it was pretty good. Wednesday I did nothing but Thursday I returned to Disney Springs, this time to see Mission: Impossible-Fallout. I've watched the previous five movies before and some I am not a fan of, but the 4 & 5 were very good and there was very lofty praise for this sixth installment. Earlier in the month I signed up for AMC Stubs A-List, something I can use at AMC Theatres. I never signed up for MoviePass due to a variety of reasons and well, they are knocking on heaven's door now as the business model never sounded like it could work and clearly, it did not work. I know people who did use it a lot and it is bad for them that they'll now have to do something else or actually have to pay full price like most people do for a ticket.

Anyhow, AMC has had a Stubs reward program for a few years now and they recently added A-List to that. I signed up because besides priority lines and eventual discounts at concessions, you pay 20 bucks a month and you can see up to 3 movies a week; importantly for me, unless it's a special one time screening like a Fathom Event, all tickets are available for selection, including 3D and IMAX. It has more than paid for itself already and I know it will help me save money in the future even if I don't go as often as I have these past few weeks. As for Fallout... it was tremendous. Some parts of the story could be nitpicked but the action was so spectacular and done exactly the way I wanted it to (as in, like how Hollywood used to do it way back when), that shone over any flaws. Friday was boring, except that online I got to talk to someone I know who I haven't spoken to in any form in many, many years.

The weekend was rather nondescript, which was fine by me. The only thing of note was me getting a shower curtain liner; really. It was needed as the one I had became pretty gross. Yesterday, several pro wrestlers passing away was definitely sad for me, as a pro wrestling fan. When I return next Monday, hopefully there aren't as many sad moments.

Unfriended: Dark Web, Crispy Pretzel Chicken Fries & The Equalizer

Here's what I've done in the past week. Needless to say, it was far less exciting than the week before that, where I had an insane 24 hour period... between attending a wrestling show and seeing plenty of people for the first time in years (and the action included people being tossed into palm trees) and attending a comic con after not having a lot of sleep and swooning over a celebrity... I do feel wistful that it will be a LONG time before I can have such a crazy and memorable weekend again. Still, I won't feel down about it and instead I'll be happy that it happened. Sunday was more eventful than expected but more on that later.

Last Monday itself was not exciting at all... except when I posted that photo of me with Rachael Leigh Cook on Facebook; many people liked it. I rarely post photos on my Facebook account & I'll presume many (especially those around my age) thought something similar to, “Holy bleep! Blair is posing with the girl from She's All That!” Holy bleep indeed, I can't believe it happened either. Besides the fact that I've always found her to be rather attractive-and she still is, especially in person-her being very nice and is also pretty humorous on Twitter & Instagram... greatly appealing to me. There are plenty of pretty celebrities who for whatever reasons I find to be annoying or worse... I wrote about this at the time but in 2012 I tagged her in a tweet after mentioning I had seen one of her movies and she replied & thanked me.

Tuesday the highlight was me getting food from Chipotle and Wednesday was yet another airport run. That hopefully will be the last one I'll be doing for awhile; on the way there I stopped and had lunch at a Burger King, where I tried their crispy pretzel chicken fries. It sounded a little unusual yet was actually not bad. Thursday, I did go out and see a film. I saw the first Unfriended on the big screen and it was something I did dig; the movie was pretty polarizing as a lot of it was gimmick and the people you follow are ridiculously awful teenagers. Well, I am happy seeing awful teens being killed (and Old Man me doesn't get teenagers these days anyhow) so while absolutely ridiculous, I don't regret seeing the movie.

I can say that Unfriended: Dark Web was just as fun for me as the original. The people you follow are a lot more likable (they are young adults) and in comparison, the plot was not as far-fetched. The crowd I saw it with were fans and much to my relief they were far better than the awful audience I had to deal with recently. Friday and Sunday I did nothing at all and Saturday the “highlight” was me going to Walmart for a few items. As that was a normal trip with no calamities or interesting anecdotes, I'll close this out by mentioning something I have brought up before: you won't see me watching Shark Week. There are plenty of reasons for me to think it is garbage; I hear a lot of what they show is obviously staged & phony in some way... Sunday afternoon I saw proof of it for myself. I ended up seeing the ending of a show the Discovery Channel was replaying from a few years ago, about a “mega shark.” The conclusion of course had the titular mega shark show up... but it was OBVIOUSLY CGI, and bad computer graphics at that. My intelligence was insulted. From an ad I know one of the shows this year will be “Naked and Afraid of Sharks”... why are they naked?!

Also on Sunday afternoon, problems began with the air conditioning. I tried my best to fix it but of course most of that is way above my capabilities so that'll be left to the experts. Them possibly not coming until tomorrow is no fun but I understand. It was very fortunate the problems only began after the rain started and it was never unbearably hot inside; it rained until late in the evening. Still, I thought it best if I got out of the house. Thus, my activities for the evening were to see The Equalizer for the first time then watch the sequel on the big screen. I now know the first is a little better (where the final act takes place: hilarious) but both are pretty entertaining and it was great seeing Denzel Washington wreck a bunch of dudes and plenty of violent deaths. I was fine on the rainy drive to and from the cineplex; many weren't. Wrecks were common, and I know me complaining about Florida drivers is a tired trope but they really did not help themselves last night; I saw a lot of carnage.

Hopefully I'll have a cooler upcoming week.

Skyscraper, Reunion Wrestling Shows & A Special Celebrity Encounter

This weekend I had, it really was one for the ages, even if it did not turn out quite as expected. Monday night, I went to Disney Springs as I hadn't been there in awhile. I walked around to see what was new, and it was largely the same as usual. I did go into the section of the remodeled World of Disney that is open, and it definitely is different from the old store. I also had a drink in a new restaurant/bar known as Enzo's Hideaway. It is modeled after a speakeasy and as you'd expect for Disney, the theming was done quite well; it was nice to visit once. Tuesday, the only thing I did was literally Wednesday morning... I had to make another airport run! I dropped off someone in Sanford and that went fine. Thursday, I went and saw Skyscraper; from the trailers I suspected the movie would be highly silly but hopefully at least provide enough entertainment. Well, it is highly silly and thankfully I was entertained. Friday I did nothing and that is OK because of all I would be doing during the weekend.

Saturday was my attending of a wrestling show; that is extremely rare in recent years. It was a reunion show of IPW, an old promotion which used to run years ago and was pretty wild; this event managed to be a fun show and the crowd was happy. Several of the wrestlers came out of retirement to compete at this event. I got to see plenty of people I hadn't interacted in person with in a number of years... it was from a few years to a very long time. I was glad I went to this show... even if it was held outdoors in a grass field outside of a bar. Not only was it in the 80's (yes, at night) but the humidity was like 95 percent. Everyone was bothered by the heat, including myself.

As enjoyable as Saturday was, for about a week and a half I had yesterday as a day which would be incredible. You see, randomly one night I looked at the website of a comic-con convention which would be held this past weekend. I looked at the guest list and when I saw Rachael Leigh Cook... the event became a must-attend for me. I'll just say she is someone who I think very highly of, both in terms of appearance and from me hearing that she is a very nice person. I've seen a number of her movies over the years; I realize I better explain to a lot of people how she hasn't received much media attention over the years because she did a lot of small independent movies and various TV shows; she is a mom to two young kids.

Anyhow, it was a typical con and had the typical items you'd expect there, although it was not as large as the Megacon I've talked about before. One thing I'll never forget is seeing a large MAN dressed as Snow White. As for me meeting Rachael, I'd like to say that things went exactly as I imagine it would, but... it's all on me. I'll just say I was full of anxiety and I have to be honest here even if won't paint me in the best light. There was a professional photo op involving her and that was another obvious thing I had to do. That happened and it was a very quick deal. She decided to do a pose w/ me where she put her arm on my shoulder, and I responded by putting my arm around her. The photo turned out well (it's now posted on social media) but a few minutes later, I wondered... oh shoot, should I have asked her first if it was OK for me to touch her. If I made her feel uncomfortable... I definitely wanted to briefly chat with her at her autograph table anyhow, but that was what the conversation was centered around.

I can say: she definitely is a nice, kind person and considering how in the past year or so there have been plenty of people in Hollywood who have proven to be rather lousy human beings-I was happy to talk to someone not like that. I won't go into specifics but everything turned out fine. I am not sure if she could make heads or tails of someone like me but no matter, I was very happy to have the opportunity to meet Rachael; she is more than just a (very) pretty face. This was a big deal for me so I cannot complain about what happened. Oh, and I did have a photo signed by her also. Someone I knew personally was at this con and I feel like a heel for not sticking around a few hours to see an event he invited me to... I was quite tired from the events of this weekend so I left and did some other things. The one I'll mention specifically is me going to an AMC Theatres I hadn't been to before; I won't go there again between a bad experience with their staff and a real bad audience experience... and this happened with a random French film (The Night Eats the World) which was actually fine; the movie was a different look at a zombie apocalypse as a random dude is followed and he is alone in an apartment complex and he thinks no one else is alive in Paris. I may have reacted differently if I hadn't had a day like Sunday already... I left immediately after the screening and went home.

It was a long day with some bad traffic (including someone in the other direction on a two lane road turning left right in front of me, necessitating me stomping on the brakes hard to avoid a nasty crash) and not everything went as I thought it would in my head... I can't complain as I was very happy meeting someone I never thought I would get to see in person and really, my having a weekend like this probably will never happen again. No way will the upcoming week be as eventful but I'll find something to do.

Sourdough King Burgers, Coco Rolls & Other Tasty Foods

As I suspected, the preceding week I had wasn't as thrilling as the week before that. In fact, I don't have much to talk about at all. When I return a week from today, I could be talking about a weekend out of this world. Last Monday I did end up at a Barnes & Noble. Not everything went to plan but the B&N was a highlight; I purchased two random items. Tuesday I did nothing and Wednesday I stayed in for the 4^th of July. As it ended up being a driving rainstorm around the time that the official fireworks at any location would happen, this was a good choice on my part. Besides, I'll still be a bitter old man here and note how “back in the day” the fireworks I saw (in a neighboring town to the one I lived in) as a kid have so many nostalgic memories and were generally great, the ones I see since I moved to Florida just aren't the same. Thursday was more interesting.

Thursday, I went to Lakeland... the outdoor mall they have there, in particular. It's the one I was at a few months ago but did not spend a lot of time at because I decided to attend a wrestling show that night because I randomly saw one of the wrestlers at a gas station. I visited a few of their stores and ate at a Beef O'Brady's Express, an offshoot of the Florida-based restaurant chain. Everything went fine there. Friday I did nothing but Saturday I got food from the local Burger King. I tried their new Sourdough King and that tasted good, at least far as modern Burger King food goes. On the way back I had a traffic issue.... yeah I haven't mentioned it in awhile but to flog the dead horse, Florida drivers are still bad. I honked at someone because they were speeding and it impeded me from getting in the proper lane to turn left. This guy suddenly started to bow up to me and it was like he wanted to chase me. Suddenly, he spotted a police car in the area and he drove away. To be honest, I probably saved that guy a ticket for speeding as I am sure the cop would have pulled him over.

Sunday was me going to Target. Nothing out of the ordinary happened there so let me mention a snack recommendation. I discovered Coco Rolls and they are rolled coconut wafers; they are pretty good whether you have the original or salted caramel.

Like I said I don't have much to talk about; I know that'll change come next Monday.

Coca Cola Georgia Peach, IHOP & Beer, Bacon & Fireworks

Yes I did have an eventful end of June. Last Monday I went into Orlando and that did not turn out as expected. I did not know until I reached O-Town that the main highway through the area (Interstate 4) was completely shut down as someone must have been dumb during construction they are doing on the road and ruptured a gas line. You can imagine how bad all the other roads in Orlando & the suburbs were due to this. All I wanted to do was purchase some items from the Safeway grocery store... at least I was still able to do this and due to the detours I ended up at a Whole Foods for the first time since Amazon bought them. That place isn't too different. As it was nearby, I had dinner at The Habit Burger Grill for the first time. The food did taste fine although them screwing up my order did not make me too happy.

Tuesday I went to Hurricane Grill & Wings w/ someone; after what seemed like a few years, construction on US Highway 27 south of where I live was finally completed, making it less of a hassle to visit places like Hurricane. Their food was good as usual. Wednesday I did nothing and Thursday I went and got a haircut... yes, it was much-needed. Friday, that was quite the day. Like I did in late May, I had to go to the Tampa area to pick someone up late at night. This time, I did something different to kill time. I went to a minor league baseball stadium to see a game; in particular it was the Dunedin Blue Jays hosting the Bradenton Marauders. People may doubt this but it wasn't until after I decided to go there that I found out they were doing a special promotion on this night: Beer, Bacon & Fireworks. As all three things are great, that piqued my interest. This event: if you paid a flat fee, not only did you get a ticket for the game (general admission), you also were able to walk around an area-part of which had a view of the field-and partake in both samples of beer and food which included bacon in some way. I did get my fill of both.

Dunedin ended up winning 11-1; I appreciated how the team waited to score most of its runs only after I had reached the front row seat I picked out. What I saw of the game, it was fun. Thankfully, despite some of those in attendance obviously being intoxicated, fan behavior was not as horrid as it could have been. After that I stopped at a Hooters (the very first one opened, as a matter of fact) to kill more time and consume a snack before I ended up at the airport. Needless to say, Friday was a swell time.

The weekend was more dull, although yesterday someone I know had a birthday; me and two others ended up at an IHOP. I'll still call it IHOP as the IHOB thing is just a publicity stunt (which has worked). The website URL has not changed and everything outside or inside the building aside from the menus say “IHOP”, so that is still their name. Anyhow, at least their food is still tasty. As an aside, this past week I had Coca Cola Georgia Peach; yep it is thirst-quenching. When I return a week from today, my agenda is not as filled but I should still have a good time or two.