The Rise of Skywalker, Cure Bowl, Long-Awaited Returns & My Whirlwind Christmas Vacation

After a week break, I have now returned and will be back on my regular schedule... or as some might say, “back on my BS”. From the 16th to the early morning of the 22nd, it was a dull stretch of time as mainly, I got prepared for my customary Christmas vacation; this time my parents & I would DRIVE to Kansas then Illinois before heading back to Florida, where I currently am now. It wasn't my decision to schedule it out that way but that is not a complaint, as I'll describe in a bit. Let me mention two things before the vacation:

Friday afternoon was me at The Rise of Skywalker. I am sure I have mentioned this before but as a kid I loved (honestly, I still love) the original movies; the prequel movies were not great although in hindsight at least they don't have some of the nonsense that I hate about Hollywood movies in general as of late, The Force Awakens and Rogue One were fun, The Last Jedi I now realize is pretty bad and Solo was amazingly meh. I was hoping Skywalker would be just OK and it was... although Star Wars should be better than just OK. When I saw it, I thought it was fine overall as while the first 90 or so minutes I had big problems with (including one of the things I hated the most about The Last Jedi, which was bad humor that made it feel like it was NOT Star Wars in any way) yet after that it mostly got serious and there were some entertaining moments. As I thought more about the movie in the hours and days having seeing it, though... the flaws became overwhelming and the whole experience did not seem as fine as they made many mistakes throughout the new trilogy, not to mention the obvious fact that before they made The Force Awakens, there was no clue as to how this new movie would end, which is just amazing to me. Eh... at least the original movies are still out there, AND I have nice copies of them before Lucas made all those awful changes to them.

Saturday I went to the soccer stadium in Orlando where their Major League Soccer team plays-finally it got a corporate name and it's Exploria Stadium-to see a college football bowl game between Georgia Southern and Liberty. The former uses an option offense, which can be fun to watch. The game started off slow but eventually became fun and Liberty won 23-16; it did not matter to me who won as I have no issue w/ either team. Oh, and as I found a cheap ticket, my seat was in the end zone... front row! That was pretty neat and I can't complain about there being occasional rain as it never became a deluge and the temperature was in the 70's. Plus, Georgia Southern is the eagles so they have a real life bird as a mascot and at one point a handler brought it right up to people in the front row so it was neat to see it so close. It is known as the Cure Bowl as the proceeds go to cancer research so I was happy to support such a cause.

Sunday the 22nd, the vacation began. We ended up in Conway, Arkansas-lunch was had at a Raising Cane's in Mississippi and even that has become a tradition... if only they had a location in Florida-and we ate at a place we only found out about recently: Colton's Steak House & Grill, a small chain that has various locations in a few states. If our orders would have been correct it'd have been better but the food itself tasted fine. As for the time spent in Kansas then Illinois, it was nice visiting both siblings; I'd rather say too little rather than too much... it was nice seeing them and all my little nephews; both sisters were hospitable hosts. For those reading this that know at least one of them, everyone in the family is doing fine. Dinner one night in Kansas was at a Kobe's and it's always nice eating at one of those restaurants; in general the weather was nice and I can't complain that it was unseasonably warm in those locations. Now, my time in Illinois was the first time I was there in a full decade; there was no time for me to sight-see or even drive around my old hometown of Belvidere. At least I saw parts of State Street and I was amused by what was different vs. what was the same as when I still lived up there. 

One day featured lunch from Portillo's (of course, it is a Portillo's so it was busy) and dinner was had at the Olympic Tavern, a place I somehow had never been to before. Good food was had at both. Who knows when in the future I'll be back in Illinois, this time on my own. People I know have families of their own so they are busy with that but I'd still like to see some sights and discover more of what has changed from “back in my day.” Anyhow, all the time on the road featured plenty of rain, and if not that, either dark roads in the night or dreary overcast skies. There is the Midwestern weather I know and “love”. I am glad to be back home as it was an exhausting trip. Now, I can't believe 2020 is right around the corner either and while nothing is on the agenda as of yet, here's to hoping that '20 overall is better than '19.

MP3 Players, FLAC Files, Black Christmas & Santa on a Flatbed Truck

Once again this was not too terribly exciting a week. I imagine people don't want to hear about me visiting a few local stores so I'll just mention that when I was at Lucky's Market one evening, I had dinner there along with purchasing several items; it was a sandwich I had. Thus, I will talk about one ordeal instead of getting into specifics on Monday through Thursday. I ended up getting a pair of new MP3 players... one for me and one for my mother. You see, she has an ancient iPhone Touch a few generations old that I am surprised still works. Unfortunately, because the songs on there were mostly burned on iTunes on an old computer she does not use anymore... when I tried to help her out by adding some Christmas CD's to the iPod Touch that were physically bought in a store that I had to rip on iTunes on a new computer... it would not accept that music because Apple in general is pretty terrible and I have thought that way of iTunes and their other products for YEARS now, despite the protests of many.

For the most part, you have to buy MP3 players online so I made that purchase; I won't get into why I need a new one. You could spend a LOT of money on one of those but instead I picked one at random which had a low price and a nice set of features. It has 32 GB of store and can accept up to 128 GB of a microSD card... it can record from other sources via an AUX chord, and can play a variety of file types, including a few lossless types. Thus, I was able to add a variety of different files I have in other places along with burning some CD's in the FLAC format... while that MP3 player will be listened via devices that are not top of the line in quality, I will still take advantage of being able to use FLAC files as they are quite superior to MP3 files. For my mom, I had to use a program to extract the iPod Touch music to the computer and then add them to her MP3 player. I have no idea how long they'll last as they are random products from a random Chinese company but there's been no problem with them.

To be specific, the reason why my mom needs to use an MP3 player is for her car because the CD player does not work properly anymore. Unfortunately, because of Apple being terrible, if you hook up the player to the car via USB, the data appears on the entertainment system and it does work... except that the old iPod songs are are all in one file while the new music just added does display properly and is properly separated. After Christmas I will have to get a USB to AUX connector as their vehicle does not have an AUX connection but what a rigmarole this entire things has been, all due to a lousy company that many people love and I am happy not to love.

Anyhow... Friday evening I went to Winter Garden Village and that experience was not out of the ordinary, except... on the road right by WGV, going the other way was a police escort, and they were accompanying... a Santa Claus in his sled which was actually on a flatbed trailer being towed by a big pickup truck!? A parade was not happening; I presume it was going from or to a parade, but Santa was waving to drivers... hopefully that distraction did not cause any accidents on this night. Sunday, the Chicago Bears losing to their rival Green Bay Packers... I only saw a few highlights of what sounded like a miserable game; rather, I was at a very busy Disney Springs to see a movie. I've viewed the original Black Christmas (from 1974) before and that is very good; even now it is intense and full of suspense. The 2006 remake I understand is bad but it has to be better than the new 2019 version. It is very “woke” and “SJW” and “feminist”, which was not the problem. The awful story, the lack of any scares and it terribly delivering its message in the most ham-fisted heavy-handed manner... that was the problem. And the explanation for what's going on is SO preposterous that ruins any point the movie tried to make. Of course, something starring young adult women and the director/writers also being young women probably will work better for that audience... then again, maybe not as most people are ripping it to shreds and I imagine even young women will think it is poorly made & the message is laid on way too thick.

Oh, and I had to view it in the Dine-In section of the AMC. That is where you order then eat food while watching the film. I had only been there once before, and dessert was the only grub I had as it was late at night. I received what I ordered in maybe 5 minutes and tasted as “good” as something which either was heated in the microwave or was under heating lamps. This was unfortunate; the Cinepolis that does this gimmick and any Studio Movie Grill offer much better food. Anyhow, I actually won't post anything new here until likely the end of the very year, because... reasons. I'll explain it when I return in about two weeks or so. I will have plenty to discuss.

The One Time I Saw Two 80's Christmas Classics Theatrically

I'll be real here: in the preceding week I only had two interesting days of note. As I know people won't care too much to hear about me visiting local stores such as Lucky's Market or Walmart... or how I did not watch the Chicago Bears game. Instead, let me discuss last Friday and last Sunday. I also won't carp about the traffic I experienced in the past week, whether it be in town or the times I went into Orlando or the suburbs.

Friday, I went to the AMC at Disney Springs, where there was no issues with power outages and I viewed... National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Of course I've seen that a few times before but the last viewing was several years in Kansas while I was on a literal Christmas vacation and it was on a cable channel so it was a TV edit where some of the best lines of dialogue were taken out. Thankfully the movie is still very good, along with being very funny and having many unforgettable moments. Also while I was at Disney Springs, I had dinner at Splitsville, a place which does not have the cheapest food but at least it is very tasty; in addition, I just about laughed when I was in the Columbia Sportswear store & saw that they had special Star Wars jackets which are standard light jackets (I know as they had those elsewhere) w/ a symbol on them, and the price was TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS. I've had a fleece jacket from them for years and it's done the job admirably, but the cost of those Star Wars jackets are preposterous.

Sunday, I returned to Pointe Orlando. First, I ate at the B.B. King Blues Club, as I had only been there twice before, and that was years ago. Their food and drink are still good, thankfully. I had to leave before their house band starting playing-they were warming up as I had my dinner-and then I went to the nearby Regal Cinemas, which was the main attraction for the day. For the second time ever, I had a 4DX experience; that is a gimmick where the seats move around & there are various effects, such as water-which can be turned off by pressing a button on the seat-wind, scents, puffs of air, etc. The first time was It and last night was... Gremlins. Yes, during the evening they showed that 1984 film and while a few times the seats slowly moved for no real reason, otherwise it went about how you'd expect... the scene where Billy's mom fights against several gremlins was of course the wildest moment for effects. The movie is still wacky (after all, the title creatures watch Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs in a cinema, and they get drunk in a bar) yet it's fun and the on-screen magic is still magical 35 years later. The sequel I also enjoy, for entirely different reasons as that is rather weird.

When I return next Monday... who knows what I'll be discussing.

The Irishman, Thanksgiving, Flash Drives, Discount Stores & Knives Out

The preceding week was more low-key than expected; that still worked out fine for me as I was being old & sensible. Monday I did make the drive and see a special movie that is now on Netflix but wasn't at the time: The Irishman. I think that some Martin Scorsese movies are great and Goodfellas is one of my favorites in general, so I figured this was worth of seeing theatrically as I had the opportunity to. Thankfully, the movie was tremendous and I loved seeing Joe Pesci on the big screen again after all this time. Even the length of 3 ½ hours wasn't a negative for me. The drive back there and back was mostly fine... I did happen to find out that later in the week, there was a fatal two car accident on a rural road I had to use on Monday; I have no idea how it occurred at that intersection as I know it's in the middle of nowhere and visibility should not have been an issue. “Typical Florida” is what I'll say.

Tuesday through Thursday the only activity of note is Thanksgiving dinner, where it was had w/ my parents and my aunt (along with her little dog) stopped by; in addition, on her iPad she had a Skype chat w/ my cousin and I saw part of the conversation. It was a nice day and a nice meal; furthermore, the Bears won their Thanksgiving Day game... albeit, what little I paid attention to it, it was bowling shoe ugly and they barely beat a Detroit Lions team which had a neophyte quarterback,  at least when it comes to the NFL. As for Black Friday, I had to find something else to do as the auto show on Thanksgiving weekend got moved to September, as I mentioned (and attended) at the time. I had ideas... but decided to be conservative and help out my parents. Their printer needed ink so I went to Staples & made that purchase; I got myself a flash drive-I have a few-for personal use. I also purchased a few items at Big Lots & stopped at a Checkers for dinner as the last time I ate there was years ago.

Saturday I did nothing but Sunday was eventful. I finally went & saw Knives Out; due to my schedule it had to be at the same AMC (in Altamonte Springs) where I was unable to see an early screening of the movie due to a power outage. Why, that couldn't happen again, right? As for the movie, a few times I wasn't sure about it and it did subvert my expectations, but unlike w/ The Last Jedi it wasn't in dumb ways that made zero logical sense and completely broke the story. It was a movie I did enjoy and it was a relief that an afternoon wasn't wasted w/ this. After the movie ended, the restroom was visited, as customary... then the power went out. No, I am not joking around. Backup power came on after a few seconds so I could use the bathroom then leave without having to use my phone for light but if this has happened during the movie... “irate” would be an understatement. This time, when I say I won't be back there for a long while, I mean it; the actual reasons for this happening two weekends in a row is irrelevant.

After that I stopped at a Dollar General for a few more items, then stopped at a Dairy Queen as visits to there are also rare... it wasn't the best DQ I've ever visited but alas... when I return next Monday, I have a few plans on my agenda. 

Chronic Tacos, IT'SUGAR, More Power Outages & Handbooks for the Recently Deceased

Monday I did not do anything of note; Tuesday was different. I finally tried out a location in Dr. Phillips I had known of for awhile now: Chronic Tacos. It's from California (naturally) and the name does make me giggle. The food did thankfully taste fine; in the same shopping plaza was a Tropical Smoothie Cafe so I moseyed on over there and I realized it must be a company policy to not have enough employees on duty at one time. Except for that, it was nice to have a drink along with a snickderdoodle cookie. On the way back I stopped at a Trader Joe's as my last visit to one was months ago-naturally, the place hadn't changed one bit. While in there I saw a young lady with a purse... I wasn't able to compliment her on it but I imagine others have marked out over her “Handbook for the Recently Deceased” purse; it's a nice Beetlejuice reference.

Thursday, me and someone else went out for dinner and as they hadn't been to the new Sunset Walk area of Kissimmee, that is where they went. They also hadn't been to a Ford's Garage before so that was the location for dinner. That went fine, along with me stopping in an IT'SUGAR store for a few minutes to look around, note that some of their items could charitably be called “expensive”, and still purchase a few fairly-priced treats. Friday... it was why I did nothing during the weekend. No, Friday was not a disaster and in fact I had a nice dinner. It was just that my plans after that were changed due to circumstances beyond my control. I'll explain that in a bit.

Friday I had dinner at a Joe's Crab Shack; besides not having eaten there in months, it's been too long since I've had any shrimp, so that is what I did. No complaints with the meal, the drink or the mostly older music I heard while I was there. I then got on I-4 (where the traffic was far less heinous than I expected for an early Friday evening) and ended up at the AMC in Altamonte Springs, the site of my disastrous Joker screening experience. Now, I think it'll be awhile before I am there again. You see, I was gonna attend an early screening of Knives Out; yes, this is despite the director bearing at least some responsibility for The Last Jedi not feeling like a Star Wars movie... or being a good movie in general. The cast being tremendous was enough for me to give it a shot; unfortunately, when I got there I discovered the screening was outright canceled, due to a power outage! Thank goodness it was at an AMC so the A-List app was used and the only issue with me not seeing it last night is that sometime in the next few weeks I'll have to see the movie when I have free time and the inkling to check it out one day. Not that I was delighted with these circumstances, or how aggravating the traffic was driving back home and how I may have encountered an impaired driver or two.

As previously referred to, the weekend I did nothing. I saw nothing of the Chicago Bears game, where they barely (or maybe it should be bearly) beat a terrible New York Giants team. Thanksgiving, the entire nation-and me at times-will have to witness Chicago play against another bad squad in the Detroit Lions; I know for a fact that will be a contest which will NOT be aesthetically pleasing by any measure. When I return next Monday I'll mention that and other activities.

Midway, Pepsi Spire, Raspberry Magic, Walmart Drama & November Rain

The first event I'll mention is that real early Tuesday morning I had to make... yet another airport run. At least it was Orlando International so the drive wasn't as long, but even at that hour the airport is chaotic and everyone drives like they are clueless, in a variety of different ways. It was also foggy for part of the drive there and back. Tuesday night I streamed the 1976 movie Midway, w/ an all-star cast. That was a first time watch and it was entertaining. That was done because Wednesday night I saw the 2019 Midway, which wasn't as good yet because 2019 has been a terrible year for movies overall and the new Midway did not make me mad, I'll be kind and say it was fine. '76 is better overall and is focused on the commanders, while '19 is more about individual soldiers & their heroics.

The rest of the week wasn't that exciting, except for what happened on Friday night... which caused me to do nothing during the weekend except for one moment I'll mention at the end. Thus, I will mention a few random things first. The movie theatre I saw Midway at required a little bit of a drive and I hadn't been there in a few years. Well, it's completely remodeled and it does look nice, which I imagine you have to do in order to compete as a small independent chain. They had something I did not even know was a thing: Pepsi Spire. It's their version of Coca-Cola Freestyle; I wish it was in more locations as its main gimmick is adding a few different flavors to their regular sodas... thus that is how I was able to have a Mist Twist with cherry and vanilla. Before then I had a gas station dinner and it went about as “well” as expected... my error. Also, a few days this past week it rained, so it was appropriate that one time I heard November rain on the radio. The Orlando radio stations... all of them are terrible overall and their variety is quite limited in scope, so I try not to listen to them. The only thing of note is when one does a Friday night 90's deal as not only is it nostalgia, but the music sounds great compared to the Autotuned tripe we get now.

Anyhow... Friday night, things did not turn out well. I went to a Walmart (I know, some will say that this was my big mistake) to pick up a few items. I attempted to pay for it with a Walmart gift card I got the previous time I was in the store. I use the card to purchase items in the store and to fill up at their gas stations, whether it be Murphy USA or their proprietary branded gas. I say attempted as the woman at the cash register was dumb and couldn't get it to work despite multiple different attempts. I realized I have seen like 10 different ways that those cards have been scanned-including me having to swipe them at the credit card machine-but this clown couldn't have called over someone with a higher IQ to try and do it right. I couldn't raise a stink about it as people were behind me in line and I couldn't say with 100% accuracy the card actually had cash on it (it's Walmart so the cashier from the previous occasion might have screwed up putting money on it) so I just paid via credit card instead. Of course, I then went to the gas pumps to fill up... the card did have 100 bucks on it and that person was a blithering idiot. Figures.

Should people be surprised that I would be happy to stay in for the weekend to avoid the traffic and running into incompetents like that? The only thing I did was on Saturday, where I got dinner from Wawa; that went fine and I saw that the Freestyle machines had a limited edition “Raspberry Magic” flavor for Coca-Cola. I couldn't tell you how it differed from regular raspberry... at least it was decent and I'll have to try the Sprite Vanilla Frost. As for the Bears game against the LA Rams... it was not watched by me and that was the right decision as they lost 17-7 and I would have received more entertainment from watching paint dry for three hours straight.

Nothing's on the agenda for the upcoming week... yet.

Parasite, Earl of Sandwich, Cajun Food & Mountain Dew Merry Mash-Up

This week wasn't too terribly exciting overall, although it did have some moments. Monday I did nothing but Tuesday, that was a positive day. I was at Disney Springs (even with the weather turning into light rain) to see a movie and to have dinner. The movie was Parasite, from South Korea and director Bong Joon-ho; hardcore movie fans will know him for such things as Snowpiercer (which rubbed me the wrong way), The Host-which was pretty cool-and some pictures which I shamefully haven't seen yet, but he's been highly regarded for years now. Many other places before the United States got it so on certain sites and forums there has been plenty of hype for it. Finally, on this day I saw Parasite, and thought of it as tremendous. It's not entirely mainstream yet that is fine by my standards. It blends together a few different genres as a rich family and poor family are followed; the latter grifts the former because they are fed up with poverty, but of course things go wrong. It may be my movie of 2019, as a matter of fact. There are various movies from South Korea I've seen over the years and many were worthwhile, w/ some of them being great; this has to be the best one I've seen.

Dinner was had at Earl of Sandwich, as I hadn't been there in many months. That went fine and I got the amusement of seeing some people not understand the different way you order food there (the meal is ordered at one spot, and no matter if you order any sides or drinks at the second spot, that is where you pay for it all) despite a huge sign hanging up above the first spot explaining the process. Believe it or not, nothing interesting happened between Tuesday and Sunday, unless people want to hear about such things as trips to Walmart (I purchased the returning Mountain Dew Merry Mash-Up, which is a nice limited edition cranberry/pomegranate drink), idiots creeping along on rural roads, or getting a meal at Zaxby's. Thus, let me skip ahead to Sunday, where the Chicago Bears were not watched as I did not expect them to defeat the Detroit Lions and well... Chicago actually won, albeit barely defeating a Lions team that at the last minute had to start a mediocre backup quarterback.

Instead, I went to several different places, including the Mall at Millenia-where among other things, I saw a feral cat roaming the crowded parking lot-and Rocket Fizz in Winter Park, where I picked up both food & drink. In between that was a stop at a place new to me: Tibby's New Orleans Kitchen. A few days previous I chatted with someone I know from Louisiana & the conversation turned to food. It made me realize that Cajun food isn't in my wheelhouse so I should try one of those places. The Tibby's in Winter Park is not in the largest space yet while busy was not overly crowded and the theme was executed well, whether it was all the murals or the New Orleans soundtrack. I had the Shrimp Creole; even with me wanting a little more shrimp, I cannot grouse about the meal overall... or the giant goblet of Abita Beer I had. It is always nice for me to try out new experiences & discuss them here.

There may be no new experiences in the upcoming week... but I should have a little more to talk about.

Doctor Sleep, Terminator: Dark Fate, Coca-Cola Cinnamon & Pumpkin Spiced Madness

Let me catch up and start this off by talking about Friday, October 25th. On that day, I went with someone to the local brewery in town, Suncreek Brewery. It opened earlier in the year but on this day I finally tried them out. The food did taste fine although I was tremendously turned off by one thing: someone thought it was a good idea to have not only loud music, but different loud music playing loudly at the same time. Such things give me a headache and it may be a long while before I return there, despite the extra special bitter beer I had being alright.

Sunday, I had free time so I went to a Total Wine & More to purchase some alcohol, specifically pumpkin-flavored beer; amazingly that location did not have much in that category, but I got what I could. I then tried some place for the first time ever: Tropical Smoothie Cafe. There I got a pumpkin-flavored beverage, along with a sandwich and both were good. The food took some time... it's not the fault of the employees as there was only 2 of them and it was preposterous there wasn't more.

Wednesday, I went and saw Doctor Sleep; for those wondering how this happened when it's not going to be officially released in the United States until this upcoming Friday, the Fandango website presented an early screening of the movie on 400 screens across the country and as The Shining is a tremendous movie, I was hoping I would enjoy its sequel... and I did. It's not legendary like Kubrick's movie, but I wasn't expecting it to be and plus, talk about unfair expectations. All I'll say is that while the movie is highly dependent on The Shining, the movie does its own thing and isn't a rehash... I wish I could say the same thing about Terminator: Dark Fate but I can't; more on that in a bit. 

The only things I'll mention before I get to yesterday's activities: I say Pumpkin Spiced Madness mainly because it's a cool phrase, although it can be used to describe some of the traffic I experienced as of late. Friday, I did go to a Target and among other things, I discovered there was a new Coke product, Coca-Cola Cinnamon. The taste was exactly what you'd expect... which is not a bad thing. As for yesterday, I went and saw Terminator: Dark Fate. The first two in the series have always been incredible, and that can be confirmed by me as I've revisited both in the past year or so. I haven't even checked out all of the sequels, as after Judgment Day many people don't like any of them. Dark Fate, I did not have the highest of hopes based on the trailers, although to me many trailers these days aren't great as they don't always accurately show a movie so it's difficult to judge if a film will be any good. Personally, I thought Dark Fate was pretty bad. Part of it is modern Hollywood tropes that are present which I am sick and tired of... but besides that, the story is SO stale as it's the same old BS again and really, it is a crappy version of T2.

Speaking of crappy, I have not watched the Chicago Bears as of late; from all accounts they looked atrocious against both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles; I was happy not to bother with that nonsense. When I return on Veteran's Day, I won't discuss viewing their next game vs. the Detroit Lions (as I suspect that will be yet another losing effort) but other things will occur and hopefully the week won't include any bad moments.

Joker, Pollo Tropical, Power Outages & The Worst Day Ever?

I will be doing something different; nothing is planned for the rest of the week and as I did something highly out of character on Tuesday due to me losing my cool, I might as well post this a few days early and I'll just go back to a regular posting schedule when I return on Monday, November 4^th.

OK, it is hyperbole to state that Tuesday the 22^nd was the worst day I've ever had, as in the past I've been in a car accident and some things have happened which I've never mentioned in public. However, Tuesday was the worst day I've had in a long while and as there's a lot to say, I'll begin by stating why that was so horrid; it includes me having to do something very uncharacteristic and something that will shock those who know me well. I finally went and saw Joker; superhero movies usually aren't my bag (so is comic book movies in general) but I am familiar with the character from what I've seen both as a child and adult & it mimicking the style of such things as Taxi Driver did interest me.

Traffic there and back was of course bad yet bad things happened throughout the day. For the first time I tried food at Pollo Tropical... and realized I'll never visit the location in Altamonte Springs again as that was a disorganized cluster**** where the food took way too long to make and the staff was full of buffoons. At least the food did taste fine. Now, the movie itself. I was NOT a fan of it at all; blasphemy to many but it was like an idiot trying to do Taxi Driver, the attempts to tie it in with Batman ruined the story and the main plot that resulted in the “shocking” climax... it was so devoid of logic and common sense, I totally rejected the movie and its “edgelord” attitude. I felt this way even before a bad incident happened in the auditorium where I got mad and actually YELLED at people while the movie was playing!

Bad audience experiences have happened to everything but thankfully only a few have been notably terrible; well, this was the worst I've ever experienced. A group of cretins were acting stupid and I never heard anyone tell them to shut their mouths. For some reason, they loudly left the auditorium but did not exit through the door; rather, they were in the hallway by the door where everyone could still hear them loudly talk and as no one was doing anything about it, I actually flipped out and for the first time ever, boldly confronted them. Like I said, actions like this are just things that I do not do; however, I was already rather peeved (to say the least) by a bad movie so I let them know they were being A-holes and among my quotes was, “Do you even care that everyone else can hear you LOUDLY talking?”

Of course, their response was “hurr... durrr...” (I am paraphrasing here) and they mouthed off to me. Regrettably, I could not bow up to them and further this situation; they looked and acted like ogres and as no one was beside me-whether I knew them or not-and they looked exactly like the type who would finish confrontations via physical violence... for the sake of my personal safety, I had to walk away. Naturally they did not leave right after that, and the only explanation I have as to why they did not leave right away: their IQ's had to be in the 80 to 85 range! Throughout the entire time they were in the auditorium, they proudly displayed their lack of intelligence and common sense. For hours afterward, I was full of adrenaline, not to mention the general feeling of anger over such a thing happening.

The cherry on top of the feces sundae that was Tuesday: the day ended when the power went out at home... for FOUR hours. That was simply a brilliant capper to a day I'll be happy to forget. When I do return on Monday, November 4^th... I will talk about what I just finished doing today, which (unfortunately) is another negative experience. However, I don't want Halloween time to be a bitter experience so with any luck, I will also be sharing positive experiences.

Rugby World Cup, .38 Special, Disney Skyliner & Pitiful Football

Monday through Wednesday I really did nothing of note; henceforth, let me talk about some sports that are considered niche in the United States but I have viewed in the past few weeks. Late last month was the Grand Final in the Australian Football League; yeah, I still once in awhile see Australian Rules Football. In hindsight, I am not surprised that Richmond defeated Greater Western Sydney in a massacre (114 to 25) yet I did hope for something more competitive. During this past week I saw a replay of the National Rugby League Grand Final (also in Australia) and it was rugby league; Sydney Roosters defeated Canberra 14-8; while low-scoring, at least it was more competitive. Finally, this month I have seen a few rugby union (they are big differences between that and rugby league... it'd take paragraphs to try and explain to someone who don't know) games as the Rugby World Cup is currently happening in Japan. That huge typhoon canceled a few games but much more importantly, not too many lives were lost and the person I know who actually lives in Japan is fine.

Thursday was definitely the most interesting/exciting day for me. I returned to Disney, Epcot in particular. It was nice to experience the Food & Wine Festival again and eat dinner there, but the big draw for me was the new Disney Skyliner gondolas. They opened late last month and not even a week into operation, the whole thing broke down and people were stranded for a few hours; there's not a good look for Disney. Thankfully there were no issues while I was on them. From the Epcot station I went to the end of that line at the Caribbean Beach resort. I then transferred to the line that took you to the Art of Animation and Pop Century Resort; I hadn't been there in ages but both have tremendous theming so it was nice to walk around there for a bit. Back at Epcot, the band performing on this night was .38 Special; I am not sure how cool it makes me to admit I happily listened to all their songs in that 35 minute set, but I'll admit it anyhow.

The rest of the week, the only noteworthy event was picking someone up from the Sanford Airport. After Saturday it should be awhile before I make another airport run. Due to traffic and other factors, I was happy to lay low and relax. The Chicago Bears game against the New Orleans Saints game was on locally so I... well, did not watch all of it; instead I saw small bits and pieces, which was enough for me. The Saints won 36-25, but note that until late the score was 36-10 and the Bears were totally humbled. After what happened last Monday night where the Green Bay Packers won a game against the Lions after some atrocious refereeing, it sort of is a relief that Chicago will be mediocre at best this season as that will make it easier to ignore the NFL in general and not have to watch the New England Patriots (probably) win it all yet again. I'll have better things to do with my time instead.

Next Monday, I am expecting to write about more events as the upcoming week should be at least a little livelier... that's the plan, at least.

The Thing, War, Gemini Man, 4D Experiences & HFR 3D+

The main aspect of the preceding week: viewing some movies theatrically. Monday evening, I went to CityWalk at Universal Studios; it was at the Cinemark, which was an AMC Theatres until September of last year. It largely looked the same as before although the auditoriums were remodeled and now have the “luxury recliners” that have been in vogue for a few years now, and in general are very nice. This Halloween season they have had “Fright Nights”, which is showings of old horror movies; if only 1985's Fright Night would have been one of them. Anyhow, it is a nice lineup of such classics as The Exorcist, Psycho and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Well, on this night I saw The Thing theatrically. I am talking about the movie from John Carpenter starring my (non) relative Kurt Russell. It's a tremendous movie so I was happy to see it that way and plenty of people were in the auditorium; thankfully there were no issues or bad/rude behavior.

Tuesday I did nothing but Wednesday was one of those days which wasn't good overall but did have one positive stretch. I went and saw another movie, this time one from India. Indian movies aren't hard to see in Florida, but picking one is the thing... the fact that all of them are over 2 hours long is the big thing. However, I heard that War was an insane action film in the best of ways, so even though it was 156 minutes in length I went and took a chance on it. Well, it was gleefully absurd so it was a good time... even if there was a screaming child in the audience and the auditorium was freezing cold... I suppose it was at times a 4D experience as part of the movie takes place in the Arctic Circle; but, freezing cold would have been better for The Thing screening. Anyhow, the traffic there and back was full of A-holes behind the wheel and my dinner wasn't as good as expected so other than the movie I'd rather forget about Wednesday.

Oh yeah, I should mention that War was about a super Indian agent who has to go against his mentor after he seemingly went rogue. The movie was amazingly homoerotic, to be perfectly frank here. Thursday I went and saw another movie about a great agent: Gemini Man. For a nerd like me the big draw was not director Ang Lee or even star Will Smith but rather the unique way the movie was shot: a higher than usual frame rate. I could write paragraphs about the whole process but I imagine many don't particularly care plus there are sites which can explain it better than me... the picture is for certain clearer, although the action does move differently so I know people whose brain just rejects high frame rate and it does not work for them. I imagine that is a big problem to HFR becoming a common thing. Anyhow, I saw it in HFR 3D+ (simply, that format in 3D) and on a Dolby Cinema screen, which was huge and had dual laser projection.

The movie itself, it was more about its appearance and the digital creation that was Young Will Smith rather than its story and dialogue, which typically was either OK or pretty bad. That digital creation usually looked fine, although the one time it was fully lit, its appearance was shockingly awful. If you can see it in HFR 3D+, do so: that picture blew me away due to its clarity and it was the best 3D I've ever seen. Aside from that Gemini Man is a rather generic movie which kind of wastes its unique clone premise. I saw this at Disney Springs so Thursday night when I wasn't at the movie I walked around the area, and enjoyed it dressed up for the fall season.

Friday through Sunday the only things I did was either go into town for food or relax at home. One night was Domino's Pizza, because there was a coupon in the mail for a large pizza and bread bites; to be frank, it was a deal which was more about quantity than quality. The next time, I'll talk about the sporting event I saw some games of on TV as of late... and other things, which are not set in stone as of now.

Pretzel Bacon King, Dollar General Market, Airport Treks & Sizzling Hot Takes

I have to start this out by talking about the weekend first, for an important reason. Saturday's plans went by the wayside, although it may be for the better considering that I left the house at Sunday morning at 3 AM (!) to drop someone off at the airport in Sanford. More on that in a bit. There was a local pro wrestling show right in the city I live in; it was only about a 15 minute drive to the building so it sounded like a nice deal; besides, I was invited on Facebook to attend. Well... back in the day when I used to go to these sorts of shows all the time, events starting late were unfortunately commonplace. Times are different now, I have far less tolerance for such things as the doors not even being open at 8PM when the show was supposed to start at 8PM... and I did not know anyone else in the crowd milling about outside, so... I left and went home, which at least was a short drive.

I know people will get mad at this but I have to be transparent here. Hopefully it won't be like what happened around 5 years ago or so, when another event did the same thing and was going to start real late so I just left... I got called either a liar or incompetent by someone who claimed “Why no, the show did not start that late!”, which was patently false. Pro wrestling these days... it has devolved for a variety of reasons so that's why I don't watch modern wrestling at all as how it used to be done was MUCH more entertaining. Anyhow, the trip to the airport went fine and on the way back I stopped at a Denny's, which was less zany than expected for the wee hours of Saturday night. Sunday I did not watch the Chicago Bears game that was in London. Now, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is brand new and looks nice at least from description and photos, but I am glad I did not bother due to the now-common unwatchability of the National Football League (this includes an atrocious call, and it went in favor of the Bears and I can admit it was hot garbage) & oh yeah, somehow Chicago lost to the much inferior Oakland Raiders.

Now back to chronology: the preceding week had some different sorts of events, along with familiar ones. Monday, I went and got a haircut; I know I say this all the time but it was much-needed. Tuesday, I went to Lakeland to visit more than one place, although the one I'll mention is The Brass Tap, located at Lakeside Village. I've literally parked next to the place plenty of times yet this was my first time inside the joint. I've been to a Brass Tap in Orlando before so I knew what it was all about. I had craft beer as I saw parts of the baseball Wild Card game where Milwaukee blew it late and lost to the Washington Nationals. The one brew I'll bring up is the pale ale with the awkward name Toppling Goliath XHOPS-Onyx; Toppling Goliath is an Iowa brewery and that drink had a strong fruity taste although that was fine by me. Before that I stopped at a Dollar General Market, as I had never been to one before and it was literally on my way to Lakeland. It is a grocery store and a standard one, except that the prices are pretty good, although the selection is naturally not as great as in a Publix or Winn-Dixie. I was in the rural Polk City so no surprise at the sight of a teen girl (w/ her mom) walking around the store barefoot!

Wednesday I saw the other Wild Card game at home, where the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Oakland Athletics; I am glad they are doing well even if fans don't usually show up at Tropicana Field. Before that, I had the Pretzel Bacon King burger at Burger King. By modern BK standards that burger was fine, although the chain is not as good as they used to be, to be frank. They also had mozzarella sticks and yeah, don't get those as they are laughable compared to the ones you can find at many chain restaurants. In addition, a Mensa member ordered food after me at the counter and yet when order 90 was announced and the bag was on the counter, this jackass never looked at his receipt or even the receipt taped to the bag and instead start pawing in the bag before he realized his stupidity... Florida, everybody.

The only other event worth mentioning is that I actually had to make ANOTHER airport run, on Thursday; that was unexpected yet I was happy to do this task. When I return next Monday... I know that several theatrical films will be discussed.

Ad Astra, The Shining, Florida Tech Football & Unleaded 88

The previous week had some ups & downs but at least there were some cool experiences. Monday the 23rd I only partially paid attention as the Chicago Bears beat a bad inept team in the Washington Redskins. Tuesday, I went and saw Ad Astra, and on an IMAX screen. Remember, I still use the AMC A-List app and it is great being able to have IMAX and Dolby Cinema screenings covered in one flat monthly fee. I understand why the average movie fan wasn't necessarily blown away by the movie as it is methodically paced and is actually a personal story involving father and son. To me, I never found it boring like many apparently did and both the visuals and score were great, so no complaints from me and I am glad I saw it that way. Dinner was had at a nearby Backyard Burgers, a place which makes decent food and I should frequent more often. The next interesting day was Thursday, when I saw another movie on the big screen: The Shining.

This was actually the third time that was seen theatrically by me; this time it was “4K remastered”, as later in the year that will be released on 4K UHD, for those that are familiar with the format that is superior to Blu-ray. Yeah, it did look and sound great; it was a national release on that night and also tomorrow night, the 1st. It drew a large crowd to the Altamonte Springs AMC, and I think many enjoyed it... I've experienced negative reactions to other revival screenings of other Kubrick movies, as I've talked about in the past. I did not say anything when I overheard someone respond “it's alright” when a third person asked them what they thought of this first time experience for them. The Shining is pretty incredible so it is unfortunate they did not love it more; it will also be unfortunate if its sequel Doctor Sleep is not a good film. We'll find out in early November... it would be unfair to expect it to be a masterpiece like The Shining is, but if it's at least good then I will not be crestfallen.

I'll skip ahead to the weekend and that happened to be the most exciting time of the preceding week. Overall the weekend wasn't the best, although I'll still try to be positive about it. I mean, at least I got to go to Florida Tech in Melbourne to see them play a Division II football game against conference rivals West Georgia. They play in a high school stadium, but that sometimes happens in this level of college football. I was there once before (in 2014, where they lost to Delta State; that was only the second year Florida Tech football has been a thing) and I do wish that the experience at the stadium was more customer friendly, like making it clear where general parking was... or which sections constituted general admission seating, for that matter. 

All that said, I ignored the loud/dopey people at the game and Florida Tech easily beat West Georgia 44-10. I won't even get into the bad experience on the way to Melbourne where I honked at a reckless driver and they got mad because they were stupid... and figuratively tried to bow up to me but they were ignored by me. Also, after the game I got some food & drinks at the Cumberland Farms-never go to the one on 1000 W New Haven Avenue... instead, go to the one on 4440 W New Haven Avenue, take my word for it and I wish that chain had a location in my town like they used to. Before the game I stopped at a local gas station in Palm Bay and filled up the gas tank with Unleaded 88; believe it or not, E15 gasoline got rebranded under that new name. Sunday, I did not go out to see the Bears play against the Minnesota Vikings... I just didn't care to. Despite their QB getting hurt early, Chicago was still able to win 16-6. Another reason for me to stay in: I had laptop issues. It took some time but they were successfully fixed; in addition, I decided it made sense to get around to tasks I had been putting off for too long, such as defragmenting the hard drive.

When I return next week... I do have a few things on the agenda.

Rambo: Last Blood, Smash Mouth, Sam's Club & Unexpected Car Shows

Things happened this preceding week which were unexpected. I mean, Tuesday the 17^th I had nothing planned but due to circumstances I had free time so I returned to Walt Disney World, Epcot in particular. Their annual Food & Wine Festival began a few weeks ago and I fancied a look around to see what was new. Largely it's the same as usual; one obvious change (besides all the construction going on in the park, and their decision to take out the giant fountain: lame) was that the building in the Canada section of World Showcase that used to house the 360 degree short film... that is now being used as a center to purchase various varieties of cider, which I did have some. The band playing there on this day in 3 mini concerts a day was Smash Mouth. That made me feel old, as I remember when they were popular... in my high school days.

Wednesday I did nothing but Thursday I went with someone to a Sam's Club in Orlando. That went about the same as usual for my sojourns to that building... including erratic traffic there and back, unfortunately. Gas was also purchased using that person's Sam's card; on the way back dinner was at at an Ale House and that also went about the same as usual, with the food being fine. Friday was a different story. The plan before Tuesday night was for that day to have one thing for me to talk about... so imagine my surprise when on Tuesday night I saw a random yet ubiquitous Facebook advertisement which stated that the Central Florida International Auto Show-which I've gone to most years since 2005 or so, and always the day after Thanksgiving-is suddenly not during Thanksgiving weekend anymore but instead started... Friday, September the 20^th. I was blindsided as I had heard nothing about the change beforehand. I would have been rather unhappy if I did not discover this until after the fact... so once, a targeted Facebook ad was actually useful.

Thus, I went there one afternoon and naturally it wasn't as busy as it would be during an extended holiday weekend; I imagine there were reasons why this change was made... at least for me I did not mind having less people around as I looked at all the 2019 or 2020 models. One happy difference was that some manufacters made a rare appearance at this show, such as BMW, Mini, Jaguar, Land Rover, and... Aston Martin. AM has beautiful cars so it was tremendous getting to see them in person. I posted various photos from the event on my Instagram page, in case anyone was curious.

The only other event from the past week worth mentioning: going to see Rambo: Last Blood. I've viewed all the previous entries on multiple occasions in the past and all are enjoyable in their own ways... First Blood: Part Two is a lot of fun in being over the top 80's excess and grand action like how they used to make them. Last Blood, I understand the criticisms... I mean, it is a trashy exploitation movie and John Rambo here doesn't seem exactly like the character of old. That said, I saw it with a big crowd who loved what they were seeing and it did aid me in having a great time with the film. The third act: wow.

When I return next Monday, I do have a few ideas as to what I'll be discussing then.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture, IT: Chapter Two & Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge Chapter Two

Thankfully the preceding week wasn't too bad. The first interesting moment was on Tuesday when I had the chance to see IT: Chapter Two. It being almost 3 hours long did give me pause and I still think it shouldn't have been that length. Overall, the movie is fine; the first one is better but I am glad the sequel wasn't bad, which very well could have happened. It was viewed at Disney Springs so while I was there I also had some food; the highlight there was getting a churro from a new stand... yep it was pretty tasty and it comes in like 10 different flavors to boot.

Thursday I had free time so I went and renewed my annual pass at Walt Disney World; I won't toot my horn too loudly about that so instead I'll mention what I did after I renewed it at Hollywood Studios... I went in Hollywood Studios and I knew from the official Disney World app that the preceding week wasn't too busy there. I never thought that 2 weeks after opening, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge would only have an average attendance, to the point that the lines at the one ride in the land (Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run) would only be 35 to 45 minutes long and if you use the singer rider line the wait is a lot shorter. I mean, in a few hours I got to go on it three times and like the first time back in late August, it was tremendous being on an accurate mock-up of the ship that I have known for much of my life as I saw the original Star Wars films a decent amount of times since I was a kid. I understand not everyone loves the ride itself... I think it's neat and the interactive nature means that there's good reason to go on it multiple times. Turns out that fourth time was the charm in having me and five strangers do not terribly on the ride and get a score that was not poor. I went on a few other rides and it was good times.

Friday and Saturday I did nothing; as I had plans for Sunday this arrangement made sense for me. I went to the east side of Orlando to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture theatrically via Fathom Events. I know not many like it as it's weird and cerebral & tries to be like 2001; me, I never disliked the movie, and it was something I saw when I was a kid via VHS. It was neat experiencing it on the big screen because it has great visuals along with a tremendous soundtrack. After that I ate at a nearby Wahlburgers; I've never watched that phony “reality” TV show about the chain but I've eaten at the downtown Orlando location a few times, although the last occasion had to be several years ago. My time at their east Orlando restaurant went fine and they do make good food. Of course, the traffic on the 408 wasn't good and featured too many drivers driving too fast but unless it's late at night that is always the case. No, I did not watch the Chicago Bears game, even if they did beat the Denver Broncos. The Bears were real lucky to win the game and I discovered earlier today that they were aided by a horrible call. I am still totally “meh” on the National Football League and the whole Antonio Brown thing is yet another gigantic turn-off.

Anyhow, the upcoming week I do have a few plans in mind, including a movie I hope is a blast.

Mountain Dew VooDew, Mooyah, Root Beer Floats & Dorian Part II

Not that long ago I mentioned how I hoped to be more positive here in the future. Unfortunately, September hasn't gotten off to the best start; I'll avoid most of the reasons why, except that (as typical) it's too many little things happening in too short a timespan. I can say that the way this entire area in Florida reacted to Hurricane Dorian finally making its way to near the United States: just embarrassing. Talk about soiling themselves due to a dopey panic and way overreacting to nothing. Mail service was screwed up for two whole days, most places shut down (which did negatively impact me) and even Disney closed at 3PM. Ridiculous as the models made it clear by then that it was no threat at all to the area around Orlando. It briefly rained that afternoon and there was a small rainstorm late that night... the whole thing was so preposterous, this region soiling its diapers and freaking out over nothing, as if they have never dealt with any hurricanes before. I feel awful that Dorian destroyed The Bahamas but c'mon now.

What didn't help matters was that I ate at local restaurant Gator's Dockside-not my first choice, but it's a long story as to how I ended up there-and this was the first time I had an issue there. Some of the fellow customers were just gross people, the service wasn't too good and the food was more mediocre than usual. A shame, yet there is no shortage of places around here I can frequent again or try out for the first itme. Thursday was a very busy day... two airport runs! I dropped off someone in the wee hours of the morning, returned home for a bit then returned to pick up someone else from the same airport. Of course the traffic on both trips made me mad but at least on the way there I stopped at a Target to pick up a limited edition soda: Mountain Dew VooDew. It has the appropriate spooky labeling and has a mystery flavor gimmick. I will not reveal what the flavor is, BTW. Also, I had lunch at the Oviedo Mall, a place I rarely stop at due to distance and tolls. I had Mooyah, a burger joint. It was quite greasy yet tasted fine... although the greasiness may explain why it wasn't bad.

Thursday and Friday, I had to help someone with something... I won't get any less vague than that; I was happy to help them out but this did eat up some time. Thursday night I could have seen the opening of the NFL season with the Chicago Bears playing against their hated rivals the Green Bay Packers. I just decided not to pay too much attention and among other things, I was so tired that night that I dozed off for a bit. I've talked before about how due to dozens of reasons I don't really care about the NFL anymore compared to back in the day and this even applies now to the team I watched when I was a kid as I grew up in the northern part of Illinois. The game turned out to be an atrocious contest and in hindsight, I made the right decision in falling asleep and doing other things rather than focus on that nonsense.

The weekend, I was more than happy to stay in; thus, I will mention a recommendation for a frozen treat presumably many can find at their local grocery store. Barq's now has frozen root beer float pops and they are as good as they sound; at least I could end this on a positive note. The upcoming week, I do have some plans and the next time I write, the mood should hopefully be more cheery.

Dorian, The Matrix, Wayback Burgers & Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

The preceding week had its ups and downs. As for Hurricane Dorian, how slow that darn storm is... that is the most frustrating aspect of the storm. I'll be happy when it finally slingshots around Florida and misses it-I hope there are no more surprises with its path. Anyhow,  the first day of note last week was Tuesday; on that day I went to Mount Dora to a Walmart to eat at a Wayback Burgers... yes, it was located in the store itself. The drive there wasn't great: among the “highlights” was someone driving erratic-not to mention slow-on a two lane road, so I passed them when I could. Suddenly, he lost his mind and started tailgaiting me. Finally he turned off so no bad incidents occurred. Besides going to more than one store in Mount Dora, Wayback Burgers (they have locations across the country) makes fine greasy fast food. 

Wednesday, I had more free time so I was gonna visit a Larry's Giant Subs that was located a little bit east of the Orlando International Airport... only to discover that location was out of business. Heck, if that place was closer to me I'd have been there more often. I instead went further south and returned to a place I went to once almost two years ago: a local restaurant known as Toasted, devoted to burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. Thankfully this time it was not freezing cold in there; my food was fine so the trip was salvaged. Real early Thursday morning (like, the 4 AM hour!) I was on Walt Disney World grounds, for the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Hollywood Studios. Thankfully, due to the random blog I found via a Google search, I got correct info on not only when the parking lots would open, but that this would open even earlier than its 6 AM announced time; by 5 I was waiting in line for its one open ride so far: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. 

I won't give anything away except that it was actually worth the long wait I had in line. All the stores they had in that section required you to wait in line so I did not do that... in the fall I'll return to check those out and further appreciate the nice job they did in creating that world; it looked tremendous aesthetically and I dug it as someone who watched the original movies my fair share of times as a kid. While this was a LONG day, that was the best way for me to experience all that right away without having to deal with even worse crowds. After that, things were quiet the rest of the week aside from Saturday. If you have a Dolby Cinema at AMC located nearby you (as I do) then The Matrix can be viewed there. Not only had that not been seen in many years, this was my first time experiencing it theatrically. I now fully appreciate that movie for its story, the big concepts it discovers, and yes its unforgettable action scenes. 

When I return next Monday, hopefully there are no hurricane horror stories to share.

Ready or Not, Seattle Mariners, California Rolls & Reprehensible Reprobates

Unfortunately, there are some negative moments from the preceding week. Monday the 19^th I did nothing but Tuesday was quite eventful, sometimes for the wrong reasons. On Tuesday I went and saw the Tampa Bay Rays play against the Seattle Mariners; I figured the attendance for the game would be minimal, and I was right. Attendance was announced as only 7,000 and change, but there clearly were less than that there. Talk about depressing, as Tampa actually has a nice record and could make the playoffs. If the owners of the team decide that they can never get a stadium in Tampa itself (the bugaboo they always bring up) and just decide “the hell with this area!” and move to Montreal or somewhere else... I'd be disappointed but I wouldn't blame them.

Before arriving at Tropicana Field I stopped at Grindhouse Video in Tampa to purchase random movies. I had dinner at the stadium, which was fine-enough, I suppose. The section I was in would have been fine... except for some of the other people! A large party was close by me-too close, as it turned out. The first two innings there were some incredibly loud boneheads; I don't mean they were loudly cheering on the team as of course that'd be fine with me. Rather, they just talked way too loud and the drivel they were spitting out: insipid does not even begin to describe it. They suddenly left and did not return, so I thought I was in the clear and I did not have to move somewhere else. Well, near the very end of the game, I realized through their actions and incredibly rude behavior which showed how inconsiderate they were as they obviously only thought about themselves and no one else... I realized they were all awful people-reprehensible reprobates, to use some alliteration. It would take way too long to explain what exactly happened and plus, it wasn't something said or done to me.

Oh yeah, I never talked about the game itself. It had some excitement but Tampa Bay lost 7-4 to an inferior team. Eh, it happens; don't tell that to those aforementioned reprobates, though. Between that and the long drive on this day, no wonder I am more content just staying in and not having to deal with other people! At least Wednesday and Thursday were uneventful, except for a trip to the local Carrabba's as I found a coupon for the place that gave a nice discount for me and the person I was with. Friday, I went and saw Ready or Not on the big screen; I did not even know about it until like two months ago when I started seeing unedited trailers for it before some movies I viewed theatrically. This has gotten a lot of high praise so that's why I saw it. It was more a “like” than “love” from me (as the movie has some dumb moments and things I wish would have done differently) yet at least it was fine and too many movies I saw on the big screen in 2019 were mediocre to bad.

The only thing I did this weekend was an airport trip... yes, again. I dropped someone off at the Sanford Airport and on the way back I stopped at the Denny's in Altamonte Springs. Not only did I hear a bunch of songs from the 70's to 90's, but a young lady was talking to what I presume was a boyfriend and what a conversation it was, mainly on her part. Aside from telling this guy about her past sexual conquests (no, really!) she mentioned that she was a sushi snob and complained about people who love California Rolls as she thinks it's disgusting so those that love them are n00bs, pretty much. What an amazing time there.

When I return on Labor Day, I know I will have some other experiences that will hopefully be amazing.

Cinebros, Walk-On's, Woodstock, Earth Fare & Apocalypse Now: Final Cut

I will start this off on a positive note by telling of my adventures one night. I went on a bit of a journey to see a random Chinese movie that was playing on the big screen; it was The Bravest, about firefighters dealing with a blaze at an oil refinery plant. It was about as silly and melodramatic as I expected, but I can say that China can make goofy blockbusters almost as well as Hollywood can these days. At least there were plenty of explosions/stuff blowing up, heroic sacrifices, and all the rest. Before that I went to two nearby places that are new to me. Dinner was at a joint known as Walk-On's Bistreaux & Bar. The name is accurate: it's a sports bar originally founded in Louisiana. Only some of the food is Cajun-flavored and I had the chicken tenders; a wise decision on my part as they were great. Pretty soon a location will open on I-Drive and that is a place I plan on frequenting. After that it was Earth Fare, a store that can be compared to a Whole Foods or Lucky's Market. Several items were purchased.

On another evening I went to a Bob Evans with someone; that was not out of the ordinary. Onto the big events of the preceding week. Thursday night I went to the Cinemark in Orlando (not at Universal Studios but the one by Bass Pro Shops) to see an old movie on the big screen. It was 1970's Woodstock, a documentary about the seminal event where many performances are seen and various people at the festival are interviewed. It was the Director's Cut, meaning it was 224 minutes long! It was something I've seen before and it is great as I love the music and it was tremendous seeing it in a big way. To be honest, a big reason why I chose that place to see it-it was on in a few other locations-was that this Cinemark had reclining leather seats and those are great for something so lengthy. Thank goodness for that and there being an intermission, which some modern movies should bring back.

Sunday was the last day of excitement, and it was another lengthy motion picture. This time it was Apocalypse Now: Final Cut. In my life I've seen the original version of that and the very long Apocalypse Now: Redux (202 minutes); this Final Cut was basically done to advertise that the films will later this month be released on 4K UHD, which also explains why it's being shown two days only on select IMAX screens. I thus was at the IMAX at Pointe Orlando, notable as a “real” old-school giant IMAX screen that is far bigger than what IMAX has meant in the past decade with the giant cash grab they made... not that I can really fault them for taking the money. I hadn't seen anything on that screen in a long while so seeing that it now has leather seats was a relief as The Final Cut was 183 minutes long.

Apocalypse Now is great, and that version is great. What a surreal nightmare of a journey the characters experience. Of course not everyone in the audience appreciated this opportunity... two young men I'll call “cinebros” left early to get drinks at a bar in the lobby (that was also new to me) and they did return... only to leave shortly thereafter, never to return. Not only was that dumb because I am sure those drinks were cheap and I know the tickets to the screening were at a typical not cheap IMAX pricing, but of course they left all their trash there for the poor staff to pick up afterwards. Figures.

When I return a week from today, I should have another interesting week while doing entirely different things.