Movie Review

I have been toying with having a weekly (which I am sure will become a monthly or a "every so often after I see a movie" review of movies I have seen. Maybe I should limit it to a line or two and then a rating (1 - 5 stars or A - F). I'll have to see. I am not going to decide today, but don't be surprised if you see something in the future.

It is Baseball Season & I love my Mariner's. Play Ball!

So, I have been itching to go to a Mariner's game. It has only been pre-season, but ... you know. I miss having the season tickets with Bill. So, I was excited to hear that it was Ichiro Bobblehead night on Friday. I planned all week to go. No one wanted to go with me. I made subtle hints, actually asked people, and even begged a few. In the end, it was Melissa and I that went. That is okay. I didn't want to skew the luck that I was bringing to the game. If one of you unlucky people went, maybe they would have lost. Instead ... they won. All because of me and my luck.

Therefore, I am going to have to go to more games this season. I know Maria & family will be over so I can go with them. But, I'll have to find some new friends that are baseball friendly.

Junior (Ken Griffey, Jr) is back! They look like they can do some mild scoring. This might help them pull out a good run this year. They are starting well. Ichiro is back, although Kenji is out for a few weeks. Pitching, as always, seems to be the area to watch. It may not matter, with my luck, though. HaHa.

Well, that is it for this post. Go Mariners!

Are you feeling a bit wicked?

I was able to see the musical Wicked, again. This time I went to Portland with my friends Monica and Alison. Road Trip!

Well, it rained all of the way down, but Monica braved the roads and got us there and back safely. (Yes, I wasn't driving! Shocker!).

If you haven't seen the play wicked, it is a musical story of what happened before Dorothy gets to Oz. We all know what happens after she is there, but how do we get the witches? "Are they born wicked or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" asks Glinda. You get a chance to not only learn more about Oz, but you get to know the good and "wicked" witches while at Shiz University.

It is a fun, and yet deep, view of life. It brings all of the strings together to get us to Dorothy's visit. It has to be one of my more favorite musicals of all time. If you get a chance to see it, you should.

Great Strides against Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

My friend Boyce Campbell lost one of his sisters last year (Oct 2008) to Cystic Fibrosis (CF). He has another sister with CF, today (his sisters are in the picture posted, here). It is for these reasons that he has learned more about the disease that affects 30,000 adults and children in the US, today.

I am not only proud of Boyce for learning and helping, but he is taking more strides (great strides) to help educate people through awareness and raise money to find some cures.

I encourage anyone who wants to help fund a worthy cause to donate. You can do this on his webpage: http://www.cff.org/great_strides/dsp_donationPage.cfm?registeringwalkid=6264&idUser=295279.

Go get 'em, Boyce!

Strike 3 for General Moters (GM)

There is the old diddy about Baseball, Hot Dogs, Cheverolet, and Apple Pie. It is supposed be the "all American" thought. So, why not apply the fundamentals of baseball to General Moters, the maker of Cheverolet?

I recently listened to GM's new CEO, Fritz Henderson, on Meet the Press with David Gregory. David tried to talk about what went wrong at GM. CEO Henderson balked and changed the subject. Strike One. He asked what lessons could be learned for going forward. There are things that can be learned, but CEO Henderson wasn't going to talk about any of them. Strike Two. What about the future of GM? Gregory asked about what was instore for General Moters. Is it success, failure, bankruptcy, Government ownership ... Once again, Mr. Henderson refused to address any of these topics. He feels that GM will be what it will be. Strike Three.

When you are tossed some softballs and you strike out, it is one thing. It is completely another thing when you are watching 96 mph hard balls whiz by your face. However, on MTP, Gregorry was actually very nice. He set the ball on the Tee and asked Mr. Henderson to swing. Nothing. No hits. Nothing but air. And we wonder why GM is losing billions of dollars each year.

It isn't the workers' fault. It isn't the suppliers' fault. It is management's fault. When asked about his salary, Mr. Henderson quickly quipped that he was going to stick with the 20 or 30% decrease that he'd taken a few weeks before becoming CEO. How great! What is that amount, asked Gregory. $1.3 Million. As a non-CEO of the company, Henderson was making $1.3MM. Of course, that is down from his original salary (add another 30%). It is no wonder there is a big vaccuum in Detroit. This is major league salaries for tee ball league players!

No one is willing to make any concessions. Well, it is time that we stand up and refuse to bail out a dying company. If they can't compete on quality or price or even perception, they won't be successful. Why should we, as taxpayers, be the ones to pay for them to fail?

3 strikes equates to an out. Years of striking out means a big zero on the scoreboard. We've gone past 9 innings. It is time to focus on where we can be successful. Unfortunately for Fritz Henderson, General Motors, and the lot of the Detroit automakers, things are not in their favor. So, let's go pick up a game, eat a hot dog, and cheer for some winning teams.

I am a Susan Boyle-ite

I, like the rest of the world (at least those who have computers) was swept away by Susan Boyle on Britian's Got Talent.

It wasn't so much her singing, although it was fantastic. It was the fact that she was more than an underdog. She was someone who had no chance ... or at least that is what everyone thought until they heard her sing.

We are a fickle bunch, aren't we? But, even though we focus on looks, we are not too afraid or proud to admit we were wrong. So, I am proud of the thousands that have accepted Susan for the talent she has. I am also, of course, proud of Susan! You go, girl!

(See: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8ymn0_susan-boyle-on-britains-got-talent)

Kirby: Holiness not measured by hours spent in church
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_12115700

You have to love Robert Kirby. Well, I guess you don't have to love him, but I do. He takes a topic that is so taboo with the LDS Church Members and makes sense of it. In fact, he speaks the voice of the common man.

In this article, he argues that 3 hour church is not supposed to be the norm for everyone, everywhere. In fact, we should focus on the content, rather than counting the minutes for church to end. Could he be right? Not according to a few people I know. However, those few people are also the ones that make Church so unbearable. Hmmm. Maybe we are onto something.