July Happenings

This would have been a typical photo for Zzakk's Garage.




If you're seeing a new header on top, this is where I got it:
A Beautiful Mess was at Luensmann's Ice House in New Berlin last week. Great show, nice post-rain clouds and puddles.
Another phone-cam pic.
I'm getting lazy, and actually look forward to our next free phone upgrade as much for the camera as anything else. They are getting better all the time, and you can't beat the convenience.



Here's A Milestone For You

You would have to know me pretty well to get the significance.
It's HUGE.
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I Went To The Movies!

One day in the middle of living life I suddenly realized it had been over a dozen years since I had stepped foot in a theater. Years later at a party someone was yapping about films and asked me what I had seen last, and the shocked reaction was kinda fun.
Then it got past 20 years and I thought maybe a quarter century was a good place to finally give in and end the run. It wasn't fair to Sylvia, cutting out a way to spend time together.

Problem was, I had decided that it would have to be a very special movie to get me to put up with all the downsides I remembered from my youth, and NOTHING looked good enough to be worthy. Came close to choosing that Dukes Of Hazzard remake with Johnny Knoxville and Jessica Simpson just for the irony and shock value, but I was quickly getting good results with my friends just from threatening such an act.

And before you know it we're talking 28 years.
Last time I went to the movies was in 1984, and it was freaking Purple Rain at Ingram Park Mall.
How do you beat that for a story you're going to have to tell a LOT?

Ted

Maybe it was subliminal since that's my Dad's name, but seriously the first full-length feature film by Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane that's full of F-bombs and bong-hits sounded like a resolution that'll crack me up while helping my street cred.
The very early "restricted" trailers a few months ago had convinced me within seconds, so I made it known expecting to get held to my promise this time.
We went to Santikos Silverado tonight, and it was freakin' awesome.

More leg-room, unsticky floors, reclining chairs, great sound, and flawless digital projection?
Nobody trying to stab me afterwards?
I was more impressed than I thought I would be by the theater experience.

Obviously it hasn't escaped my attention over the years that the tech has gone WAY up, but as someone who's been away forever I have to admit that the overall experience was much better than expected. Part of that falls on the shoulders of our fellow audience members, who didn't suck at all. And the movie was hilarious. I'm really glad I saw this before it trickled-down to my usual free or $4 pawnshop system.

Just in case you missed the 1970s and '80s, we used to smoke up a storm and drink as many snuck-in beers as possible back then. Bottles rolling down the slope...