For Tully

Hesher

Venturing forth once again to see the films that most are unlikely to go see for themselves...

Hesher assembles five mismatched characters in the dark tale of a family trying to survive the grief of losing a wife and mother.
T.J (Devin Brochu) is the young son, about jr. high school age, dealing with his issues through a string of erratic behaviors, vandalism, ditching school, and getting his ass whipped by bullies, until he friends...

Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a greasy, long-haired wasted burn-out who's main interests are heavy metal, pornography, and blowing shit up. Not as much of a friend as a hanger-on, Hesher squats in the family's home threatening them if they make him leave, while finding ways to maximize whatever trouble T.J. is already wrapped up in.

Rainn Wilson plays T.J.'s pill popping dad, too obsessed with his own grief to see what is happening to his son while Granny Piper Laurie), old and weary, does the best she can to provide a home for them both and doesn't seem to mind Hesher hanging around. For all his outbursts and vulgarity, he's the only sign of life in the household.

T'J. becomes obsessed with Nicole, the checker at the local market, well played as a mousy, plain Jane with her own struggles by Natalie Portman. NO! I did not know Natalie was in this before I got to the theater. It's not my fault she's on a personal mission to appear in every damn release, week after week.
It's seems T.J. sees in Nicole the kind of affirmation he needs at this point, especially after her gutsy intervention saves him from another asswhipping from his favorite bully. She becomes the target of his affections, but these are the affections he hasn't yet the knowledge or understanding to act on.

It's a shitty subject upon which to tell a story though all of the performances are first rate. Alas, performances can only go so far and as a result the project is, for the most part, a dud, but it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Hesher that steals the show along with every scene he's in.

I dis-recommend this movie for all but the very few twisted minds who might appreciate it (Brian?). It's a limited release anyway, so it should be Netflix bait before long.

An interesting aside: the end of the movie takes place in a funeral home and as the action moved outdoors my jaw hit the floor... right there on the big screen is my neighborhood of youth, and the funeral home I passed by damn near every day since I lived literally right around the corner from it (less than 100 yards), along with the boulevard and railroad tracks that demarcated the 'other' side of town. So, yeah, wanna see where I'm from? (And where I paid final respects to countless others) There it is.

NOOOOOOOoooooooooooo......

I was pretty certain that Sarah Palin was not intending to run for the presidency, but now it appears that I may have been wrong.

I can't think of any other politician I'd least like to see or hear from for the next 18 months.

Somthing Is Bugging Me

They were at my neighbor's house yesterday. He called the death squad and it just chased them over to my house.
I've asked him to please get his animals out of my yard. If they're still there tomorrow, I will call my own death squad.


I just hope that they haven't nested in the attic. So far, it looks bee-free.

*Update: they are all gone, and I didn't even have to call the executioner.

Pies & Pints

I found a nice place in Seattle that offers some really solid grub: Pies & Pints, just north of the U District.

It's just as the name sounds, with the focus being pot pies and beer. They got other stuff too, but I didn't venture that far down the menu board.

We ordered up some pies and sides, and a pitcher of red ale from Odin's Brewing, a local producer. Seems most establishments in and around the region like to focus on the regional breweries. I like that idea myself, and wish it would catch on more in SoCal.

The pies are all hand made. I ordered the Steak and Potato with a side of mash. I found the crust nice and flaky, the beef was tender and seasoning in the gravy was about right for me (though my daughter bitched a little about it.) The mash was more along the line of what your mother would make at home (with real spuds) as opposed to typical restaurant quality (from flakes).And the wait staff (though not as heavily tatted (or as rough looking) as those gals(?) you'll find in Portland's breakfast joints) was friendly, attentive and knew their beers.

It's a hearty meal for about $15 per person and you'll enjoy the pub atmosphere. I went there twice in three days, it's that good.

Scenes From The Road

OK, the Rapture is officially over. Either I didn't make the cut, like the rest of you who are still able to read this, or this is Heaven, because we know that all a man really needs is Bible and a level of conceit to find the Truth (and make some money from the guillable faithful, if he's talented enough.)

On to the real news...
About the best thing that's happened around these parts is my triumphant return home from my triumphal visit to Seattle and the lands that lay between. I don't think I'll ever tire from that drive, though I could do without the Los Angeles-Sacramento portion of it, much of which now looks like this:

California's central valley was once among the world's leading producers of cotton. Last year, the Feds decided some pissy little mud minnow to the north needed more water for itself and placed a stop to water flowing south.

Today, instead of miles and miles of cotton farms, you can see miles and miles of this.

Ain't that special?

I always get a chuckle out of this sign. >>>



I love the smell of ag in the morning...
This is a wheat field somewhere near Los Banos, south of Sacramento. The sweet smell of fresh green farmland was one reason why I make this drive.








A big snow season has passed and Mount Shasta should be providing plenty of fresh water to the streams and rivers for a good while.








No bull, it's actually a bellowing cow sculptured from scrap metal. My favorite landmark, it looks almost real as you drive by at highway speeds, just a few miles north of Weed, at the base of Mt Shasta.
I'm no art aficianado, but this is art if you ask me.



Just south Oregon:


Seeing just a small fraction of the grandness of creation makes me realize just how insignificant I really am., and how much more awesome the Creator really is.

Waiting...

Still got a few more hours to pull off this Rapture thing. If I'm still here, I'll have some posts for the blogosphere in the morning.

Having A Mighty O

Remember the last time that I had ventured up here, and my disdain for the over-hyped and classless Voo Doo Donut of Portland? This time, I have found something truly worthy of the hype: Mighty O Donuts.

My daughter tells me that these were once featured in some FoodNetwork competition. I'm assuming that Mighty O won?

These really are that good. So good, you'll forget that they are also vegan and organic, using no eggs,dairy or animal products. If a baker is going to go this route you can be sure that he's not using the commercial donut mix that 99.9% of donut shops use (even those that put Cocoa Pebbles on a cheap product and call it 'gourmet'.)

Be warned: quality does have it's price. These delectable rings of carbohydrated grease start at $1.20 (and rise from there), and the coffee is good, too.

After trying a few, my strongest advise is toward the Devil's food with fudge icing. But only get one. It's too rich to enjoy the second one.

Damn It To Hell

Ron Paul has announced that he is running for president again. Looks like I may have to register as a Republican.

Maybe I won't even bother with it, but before I think any further on that... next on the agenda, as in 'tonite', is a return to Seattle.
I'll try to get some blog posting done after I arrive, but action will still be on the slower side.

Islam Has Issues

My previous idea of a Muslim free airline may yet come to fruition if given time, but we'll have to settle for this lone act for passenger safety in the time being.

Two Muslim religious leaders were asked to leave a commercial airliner in Memphis - and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard.

hehehe... It get's better:

Ironically, the two men were headed to a North American Imams conference discussing Islamophobia or fears of Islam and discrimination against American Muslims.

True, Islamophobia is a valid concern for Muslims, while Muslims aboard aircraft are a valid concern for everybody else.

It's a problem, to be sure, but a problem that won't be going away anytime soon and it's best the Muslims just get used to it, for a while anyway.

Many people fear Islam in general because they are too stupid to know otherwise. Others are bigots. While still others are bigots making lots of money at it and doing as much to inflame the ignorance of others.

Being a Muslim in America is not always the easy road, but being an Imam is a balancing act. Doesn't matter how often a local Imam takes to the media to re-iterate his teachings of peace and tolerance when every few months we hear of another Islamist attack on civilians someplace that brings the Imam back to the fore to once again reiterate that he doesn't teach shit like that.

It's a fine line an Imam must walk. If he comes out and plainly proclaims "OSAMA IS THE DEVIL AND AN ENEMY OF ALLAH!" he's bound to draw the ire of the one whack job within a 50 mile radius who will blow his ass up next week for insulting Islam.

It's times like this I thank God that I'm not Muslim.

Taking A Cue...

... from Mr. Dilettante, with a slight twist:
Ask me a question. If I don't have an honest answer, I'll provide some bullshit instead.

Tactical Thinking

So, I guess we followed traditional Islamic protocols when handling Osama's body because???? Why? So the Islamies won't hate us anymore?

It's the wrong approach. We don't need them to like us. We need them to fear us.

They should have just fed Osama to the pigs, and posted video of it online so his homies can see what may happen to their bodies when the time comes. I think this would have a larger effect in dissuading future recruits to join their jihad.

And the virgin thing...

We can exploit that, too. Let them see what kind of women make it through adulthood and onward into Paradise with maiden head intact.

Odds are, al-Jihadi will need to drink plenty from those rivers of wine before he can get the job done... if you catch my drift.
And he'll have to do 72 of them, too.

The proper tactics, and we might win this thing yet.

Tidings

Osama Bin Laden is dead.