The Olympics Come To An End

Andi and I have watched every second that we can of the 20th Winter Olympics. Apparently, we were about the only ones, not a ton of Olympic spirit going around this year. But, we enjoyed the two weeks of coverage. The US came in 2nd place in the total number of medals won, just behind Germany. Apolo Ohno won gold last night in the 500m, which was great to see, he seems like a genuinely great guy. So, Andi and I will have to adjust to not coming home and turning on the Olympics, and I guess I will be waiting a couple more years to listen to her hum the Olympic theme every 20 seconds.

Listen to The Beast

You can listen to a clip of a sermon I preached from Romans 1:14-17 last Sunday by clicking below. My topic was Motivation That Lasts. In the clip, I am making the comparison between a family being motivated by The Magic Kingdom at Disney World, and although the experience was inclusive and we were all motivated by the park, we each experienced it differently based on our age. Remaining motivated for God has nothing to do with age.

Click Here To Listen.

John McEnroe Wins ATP Doubles Event

In what should be making front page news across the world, John McEnroe has won his 78th doubles title with partner Jonas Bjorkman at the SAP Open in San Jose, CA at the age of 47. Unless you are somewhat familiar with the tennis world, you can't begin to appreciate how incredible a feat that is. I am still in disbelief.

McEnroe, who is most famous for his wild temper and on-court antics, is not only a tennis legend, but also a cultural icon. But more importantly to me, this act of winning an ATP Tournament at the age of 47 shows that the sport just doesn't make 'em like they used to. I appreciate Andy Roddick as a great player. Topping the remaining top ten right now in the ATP World Rankings are: Federer, Nadal, Nalbandian, Ljubicic, Davydenko, Coria, Gaudio, Hewitt and Agassi. Chances are, you only know one those names, Agassi. Before I continue with my point, Federer really seems to be a player who could reach legendary status, he has proved himself literally unbeatable this last year. But what about the rest of the top 10? No one is going to remember these guys, save Agassi who is amazingly still in the top 10, proving my point for me. If you take 8 out of the current top ten players in the world and place them against the top players in the 70's and 80's at their prime, they would get beat in straight sets.

I don't want to take away from McEnroe's brilliance, he is still an amazing player. But the sport certainly needs a boost. We need the rivalry back. The Borg-Connors, Lendl-McEnroe, Becker-Edberg. It just isn't there anymore. We were excited last US Open to see Agassi make such an impressive run at the title. But the only time the tennis world gets excited is when old guys are making some kind of comeback. It will be interesting to see if Mac plays another ATP event anytime soon.

A sick Valentine's Day, it was perfect.

Andi and I were sick on Valentine's Day. We just felt terrible. Neither one of us could hardly stand up and we ended up sitting/laying on the couch all night watching the Olympics and taking turns telling the other how sorry we were that they felt bad. But here is the great thing: we had a terrific Valentine's Day. For us, it doesn't get much better than being close to one another on the couch, deciding whether to watch the next Olympic event or pop in "Any Old Port In The Storm" on DVD. All that matters is that we are close to each other. Period.

Sure, it would have been nice to have felt good and go out for a nice dinner and all that jazz. But you won't hear me complaining whenever I am "forced" to sit 2 inches from Andi all night on the couch, cuddling and watching TV. I hope next years Valentine's Day is that good.

Funny comment from Curious George blog

I was reading a blog on the topic of the attack on the Curious George movie, which is so stupid I won't waste my time writing about it. But, in the comments section of the blog I was reading, someone posted this as a response:

"It would have been okay if they updated it to "Bi-Curious George" Follow the life of a young monkey on his journey to find himself. The man in the Yellow hat could wear a pink cowboy hat and have a life partner named Gary. "

That's funny stuff.

Rupert Jee from David Letterman in olympics?

I do not mean any disrespect here, but I almost flipped out when I saw the China pairs figure skating competitors. The bronze medalist, Zhao Hongbo, looks identical to Rupert Jee, the owner of Hello Deli made famous by David Letterman. This isn't just similar looking, I am talking identical. Check it out.

Peter Sellers is Inspector Clouseau

I haven't even seen the movie yet, but I already know that throughout the entire film of The Pink Panther, I will be comparing Steve Martin to Peter Sellers. There is nothing I can do about it, no matter how hard I try. Sellers' portrayal of Inspector Clouseau is one of my all time favorite characters and is one of those things that will literally make me laugh out loud, even when I am by myself, when I think of a good scene from one of the movies.

Roger Ebert had the perfect quote from his review of the movie. I can't say it any better than this, so I will let him speak for me.

"But at every moment in the movie, I was aware that Peter Sellers was Clouseau, and Steve Martin was not. I hadn't realized how thoroughly Sellers and Edwards had colonized my memory. Despite Sean Connery I was able to accept the other James Bonds, just as I understand that different actors might play Hamlet. But there is only one Clouseau, and zat ees zat."

My thought at 1:08 am

Duran Duran rocks. Listen to Union of the Snake again. Good stuff.

MSN's Top 10 Slasher Films

Typically, these kinds of lists that are occasionally released concerning horror movies are terrible. However, the list of the top 10 slasher flicks from MSN is pretty good. You can read the article here.

I have seen all the films on the list, and the two that I have problems with are #9, Scream and #5, Cabin Fever.

The article mentions how Scream ushered in a disastrous era of poorly made, poorly acted, cheeseball horror films. . .which is true. But for me, Scream just didn't capture my interest. I think it was well made with a great catch at the beginning and a decent finale from a legendary director. But, I just couldn't make myself like it.

Cabin Fever just wasn't a good film. It is outshined by Wrong Turn, which was released a year later and House of 1000 Corpses which was also a year later. Besides, there is nothing really slasher about Cabin Fever. It is a virus-horror flick.

BUT. . .to the major credit of MSN, they have placed Funhouse at #3 on the list. One of these days, I will go into more detail on this film, but let's just briefly say that Funhouse has been one of The Beast's favorite picks for years, and it never gets the credit it deserves. I mean this picture has it all. . .atmosphere for days, great directing, genuine scares and that creepy feeling that makes you want to take a shower after you watch it. (a mark of a really great movie.) Where else can you have a person say "they wiggle and they dance" and make you feel creeped out?



Also on the list which brought a smile to my face is Black Christmas. Another forgotten gem that does it right.

Of course, the biggest thumbs up from The Beast is that Halloween is placed #1. Anyone who doesn't place Halloween at the top of the list has some serious horror movie issues. It almost isn't even fair to include it in the possible list of movies, it so clearly goes to #1.