Quick update: I watched Garfield last night. Puss N' Boots from Shrek 2 remains my favorite CGI kitty. Garfield the kitty was too unrealistic. All the other animals were just CGI'd to make them talk. I really liked Nermal, the doofus siamese. You would think a big fat kitty voiced by Bill Murray would be worth it but they should have found a real kitty to play Garfield.

And as for Shrek 2, which I saw when I was in California, it wasn't as good as the 1st but it was still worth watching especially because of Antonio Banderas' kitty. I can't recall the last time I saw a movie where the kitty was a good guy and the dog got squished. In all fairness, the little doggie wasn't evil or anything, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I am definitely more of a cat person than a dog person, but I don't dislike dogs. Except big ones that try to intimidate you. And little yappy ones. Bleah. Cats just kind of give you the stinkeye if you intrude on their territory. Oh, sure, they're insufferable if they go into heat - that's what the veterinarian is for. But anyway, where was I?

I really like Shrek and its sequel because more kid movies need to emphasize the ideas to not judge people by their looks, and that only beautiful people can find true happiness is a crock. And farting in mud puddles is perfectly socially acceptable and a lot more fun if you do it with your spouse.

My brother sent me this link to the Team America lyrics. Not safe for work, ya know.

Here is my latest review. I wish I could have done better; I was somewhat rushed. I'm doing some Kiera Knightley movie next.

I bow to Nancy's superior pregnancy wisdom and I have invested in lemon. It is mighty tasty in the Twining's English Breakfast decaffinated tea I bought for work. The flax sounds like a splendid idea, too; especially since I'm afraid to take fish oil for omega3 fatty acids and flax has some.

Speaking of pregnancy wisdom, I have become morbidly aware of just how little I know about babies, children, pregnancy, etc. It was just something I never cared about. I grouped that into the same category as weddings and marriage; many young girls and women tend to fantasize and plan out their weddings; I never gave it any thought until it was about to happen and then I would have been more than happy to go elope just to get it over with. The damn ceremony didn't mean much to me. It did to Jon, so we got married skydiving. Which was cool but I was still damn nervous.

Now I might be a parent and I have no idea what that truly entails. The nice thing is being a parent is an almost universal experience therefore plenty of information exists. Way too much, in fact. Now I have to try to sort through it all and figure out what makes sense and what sounds like bullshit.

Congrats to the Red Sox for winning the World Series. The team did a great job of settling down, whupping up on the Yankees, and just playing good, solid baseball. I watched game 7 of the NLCS and remembered how much I had liked baseball back in the day.

Way back in 1990, the Braves sucked. Dale Murphy still played for them, but he was at the end of his career. I went and saw a ballgame at Fulton County and fell in love with live baseball. I knew the game sort-of; I used to watch the tape delays of the Braves in the early 80's on WTGS late night because that was the only thing that was on and I was a chronic night owl. My favorite player was Phil Niekro, a sleepy looking knuckleball pitcher. He was long gone from the game by the time I got interested in baseball again, so I had to pick a new favorite so I settled on John Smoltz. Don't ask me why, I just did. Tom Glavine was a close 2nd.

Anyway, the Braves didn't lose 100 games in 1990 but they came close. Boy they sucked. September of that year I got called up to active duty so I missed the rest of that lousy season at Fort Riley, Kansas. My sister, who had become a fan during that period as well, called me up one day and asked me if I wanted to buy weekend season tickets. I said sure, why not; they were not that expensive at the time, plus I knew I would be spending that much time at the ballpark anyway.

I felt like I had jumped on a bandwagon 40 minutes before everyone else! I recall driving home in my tired little Pinto from Kansas in early April 1991; I remember hearing a game pitched by Steve Avery on WSB as I neared Atlanta. I really enjoyed the 91 season, except that for the 1st half Smoltz couldn't pitch. he went something like 2 -11. Fortunately he turned around in the 2nd half and ended up something like 14 -12 and was a huge reason for what success they had during the post-season games.

The Braves went to the World Series that year, losing in Game 7 to the Minnesota Twins. I recall watching that game then going into my room and crying for a couple of hours. I had a lot of emotional investment in that season and I think I was crying as much because it was over than because they had lost. The Braves have been in the hunt every season since; and I'm always disappointed when they lose, but I'm not going to whine about it. Braves fans are spoiled and they don't remember what it's like to be total losers (that's because most of them weren't fans before 1991). They have won 1 World Series in that time span, and that's better than many teams in recent history.

So I tip my imaginary cap to the long suffering Boston fans - patience is indeed a virtue. Now maybe in my lifetime I'll get to see the Cubs win a World Series (preferably by beating the Yankees).

My next movie review should be posted soon. I'll link as soon as it is.

Giving up caffeine is tough. I'm not feeling any headaches or anything; I'm just sleepy and desperate to stay awake.

My biggest worry right now is still of course miscarriage; I take solace in that I'm healthy (discounting allergies and athsma) and in relatively good shape; and each passing day lessens the chance. My second biggest worry is birth defects. Everything I have read scares me poopless - I wish I were poopless, but I'll talk about that later. Friend and sometimes pilot Dan's wife just had a baby and she's 42. I had forgotten that. Their baby is healthy. I'm glad there's so much information available about late pregnancies.

Speaking of poop, the prenatal vitamins have a lot of iron in them and they bind me up tighter than cold gravy on a dinner plate. The solution is of course Metamucil (the harsher laxatives are contraindicated), but that means I poop all the time. If I stop taking it I get bloaty and poop small rocks. There is no middle ground.

I have an amusing anniversary coming up: Last year on October 31st I fell in lust with Damian Lewis: and before you ask, of course the name 'Damian' will in no way be considered for my child. 1), I can't imagine anything more creepy than naming your kid after some twinkie* actor, and 2) since most Americans think the name 'Damian' means 'son of Satan' I just couldn't do that to a child.

Anyway, last year on Halloween** I rented Dreamcatcher and the rest is history; but I think I must have set some kind of personal record for longest continuous crush. Oh, sure, I had a thing for Harrison Ford (and Mel Gibson) for the longest time, it just wasn't continuous. I always had 1 or 2 other actors on the side. Now true, I have cheated on Damian with Eric Bana, but Eric was there first and I never forgot him.

Damian has been in a slew of projects recently, mainly for British television or independent movies. The Toronto and New York film festivals have come and gone, and I have had to endure other fans' breathless accounts of meeting him and how sweet he is and how nice he smells and the fact that he is quite liberal with the hugs. And I'm not talking about an across the shoulder brief squeezy fake hug, I'm talking about a bear grip feel-my-boobies full bore hug with a smooch.

Damian is in an upcoming British movie that might actually get a domestic release: Chromophobia, written and directed by Martha Fiennes, who is indeed Ralph and Joseph's sister. Talented family. The cast is fascinating - including her sib Ralph Fiennes (two listees! woo-hoo!), Ben Chaplin, Penelope Cruz, and Kristen Scott-Thomas (who went on record recently stating that Damian Lewis is a fantastic kisser and why are all these women driving me insane???). Not sure what the movie is about except he plays a corrupt lawyer married to Scott-Thomas and his family is coming apart at the seams.

So happy anniversary Damian, from your imaginary stalker. Here's hoping someone offers you a part in an American movie that a) has a budget of more than $300K, b) is not based on a Stephen King novel, and c) does not star Jennifer Lopez. Although with c) I must admit I'm still anticipating that movie (An Unfinished Life, should they ever release it) just so I can watch you smack her around. I kid - I don't hate J-Lo; bashing her is just a fashionable thing to do.

*Footnote: all actors are twinkies. I am not singling out my beloved.

**Footnote2: Last Halloween Jon and I were vacationing in St. John, USVI. If I actually manage to have this baby, I can't wait to introduce him/her to my favorite place on earth. Of course I'm going to wait until he/she would appreciate it...

One last note: Nancy - that is a fantastic defense! I shall exploit it to the fullest. Besides, I have the feeling that I won't be faking it if I start crying in the court room...

In response to Helly's reminder of the orange goo served to her as a child: have no fear! My mom used to serve that to us, as well. While I don't think it traumatized me as much, there was a reason I preferred grape juice for so long. Once I discovered OJ in a carton, I never thought about drinking the frozen concentrate stuff again.

I'm still playing catch-up from last week. Next week is going to be fun; not only do I have a doc's appointment on Tuesday I have the court date for the ticket Thursday. I really don't want to fight it but on the other hand $130 for missing the entrance to a restaurant is ridiculous.

Holy poop what a long week! I have to keep this short for now; first off I want to say thank you for everyone's congratulations on the bun in my oven. I am feeling fine, except for some fatigue and the occasional bout of nausea. And sore boobies. I'm so happy my boss is being very supportive. Plus, he told me about other women who work here who have stay at home husbands.

Sonoma was work for the most part so I'll refrain from recapping that trip except to say it was nice to have Jon with me. I probably would have been very depressed had he not been there. We ate out one night at an interesting restaurant named "Tex Wasabi's" which was a mixture of sushi and barbeque. I ate sushi, I am ashamed to say. But it was so tasty! I swear I won't do it again until after this is all said and done.

We saw Team America:World Police which was absolutely hysterical. I'm sorry it hasn't done too well at the box office; I guess I'm not the only one who gets the heebie jeebies when she sees marionettes. But still, you will believe a puppet can puke!

And I bet you are wondering how I could have ignored a movie like Shaun of the Dead. I thought I would have to wait for DVD to see it, but Jon wanted to see it too. Yay! A romantic comedy with flesh-eating zombies! Loser Shaun has a dead end (ha!) job and lives with his deadbeat (ha!) best friend, Ed. His girlfriend dumps him for being in a rut. He's in such a rut it takes him and Ed a long time to realize that London's been overrun with zombies. He for once decides to take action so he rounds up his ex and his mum and several assorted zombie lunches and they hole up in his favorite pub. It was very sweet. And grisly.

We also watched Wrong Turn, a fairly standard people get stranded in the woods and get terrorized by backwoods rednecks. Obviously inspired by that Season 4 ep of The X-Files, "Home", it featured some of the most inbred humans ever. I'll give the scriptwriter credit for trying to make the victims more sympathetic than they usually are in stupid movies like this one. I'll also give them points for not having a stupid twist ending.

I am enjoying Nancy's recounting of her little precious child's terrorist activities cute antics in restaurants. I'm really wondering what I'm getting myself into. On the flight to Oakland, a couple had a 2 year old with them that cried most of the way there. I was very impressed they didn't throttle their child. Remind me to bring a sackfull of earplugs to pass out if I ever travel by plane with a young child.

No updates most likely for the next week; I'm going to Sonoma, California on a business trip.

I'd like to take this moment to whine mightily about all the things I can't eat, drink, or do. Thank goodness reading isn't bad for pregnancy or I would have gone insane (or more insane than I all ready am) this weekend.

It has come to my attention that a skydiver or two I know has surfed into my little blog. Everything I have written I wrote with the knowledge that anyone could read it and I have no problem with any one reading this - even the ugly shit. Welcome to my solipsistic little corner of the web/universe.

Things are finally calming down about my pregnancy a little; so far today no crying jags so maybe I'm getting a grip on everything. Thanks to everyone for their congrats/support when I broke the news; we haven't told people at the drop zone but I'm sure the cat will be completely out of the bag by this weekend, especially since I'm not skydiving. No big deal.

Jon is being wonderfully supportive. He's still in shock too, but we've started making tentative plans for the future. So far things will pretty much stay the same; I will work and he'll take care of the kid during the weekdays and that will switch during the weekends. He's planning to sell his jeep and getting something more functional, like a mini-van (*Snerk!*). We're also thinking about selling the Cessna to free up more money. No exotic vacations for us for a while. Not that I care. Yet.

My big job right now is to quit caffeine, or to get it to trace amounts. That will be hard. Giving up alcohol is going to be easy; it wasn't something I took every day. I do have a 5-6 cup a day habit w/ coffee, though. I'm only drinking 2 cups a day now but I want to go ahead and stop completely.

Apparently, there is a physiological reason for my mood swings and depression for the last 3 weeks (though I'm certain some of it was from circumstances): I'm pregnant.

My period was late by 4-5 days, which in itself is no big deal; I've had an odd menstural cycle my whole life. When I got off the pill about 2 years ago, however, I was fairly regular. But anyway, for some reason on Monday morning I started to obsess over it. It got to the point where I left work, went to Wal-mart to pick up a pregnancy test kit (a 3-pack; I was figuring I'd need them eventually in the future), got home, peed on the strip, and watched in numb shock as the 2nd line turned pink.

I burst out crying; my thinking ranged over a bunch of things and finally I got enough control to call Jon and tell him. He promised to come home as soon as he finished his errands; in the meantime I called my OB/GYN's office to make an appointment for them to test me. When Jon got home I did another pee test - positive again. We talked about it some but for the most part we were in a state of shock.

When I woke up in the morning I used the last test to make sure I hadn't been dreaming the whole thing. Yesterday afternoon I had my pee tested and blood drawn at the doc's office and they confirmed it. My blood is also being tested for HIV and a bunch of other fun diseases. I had a short talk w/a very busy OB/GYN nurse and was given a buttload of literature to peruse. She also calculated my preliminary due date, which is June 7th. I thought it was odd that she calculated in from the first day of my last period, which was somewhere between the 1st and 7th of September. Apparently that's standard practice. So while I am in the 5th week of my pregnancy, I conceived on either the 12th of September or the 21st. What? Was that TMI? Too bad.

What to Expect When Expecting is an informative book. I carefully read the first sections and skimmed the rest. I was prepared to give up beer; I'm bummed about the (raw) sushi and coffee. Today I'm going out at lunchtime to buy a folic acid supplement as well as stock up on Tylenol and Metamucil. I'll have to eventually modify my exercise routine but for the most part I can continue. Obviously I can't start any calorie restrictive diets. Matter of fact everything I read recommends eating 300 calories over maintenence (which puts me at about 2100 a day).

Of course, the big deal with me is skydiving. Will I give that up, and when? I think I'll give it up now.

When I was crying and thinking Monday, my strongest feelings were of that I really want this kid. I'm worried about problems that can arise since I'm so old (I'm buoyed by knowing Nancy isn't much younger than me and Anthony is quite healthy and normal). This thought might be irrational, but this feels like this is my only shot and I don't want to mess it up. Before, if something happened to me while skydiving, oh well oops. I could get messed up but a broken bone or two is survivable. Now I have to think about a pregnant me in a cast or two. Ugh, no thanks. Not to mention I could hurt or lose the baby.

Last night I had nightmares about miscarriages. Sheesh, isn't it a little early to start with this?

Oh, yeah; I called mom and dad, and Andrea and Edward. Both parents are delighted, as are my sibs. They all threaten to spoil him/her rotten. I'm glad both mom and dad remarried, that means more grandparents for the kid! Jon called his mom and she started crying. Jon's father is dead and she hasn't remarried.

So anyway, my blog will probably get kind of obsessive here in the next 9 months. I am relieved to know that my odd reactions to things lately have a reason; it makes it easier for me to handle. Okay, 'odd' is an understatement. As I told someone last night, I have been acting 'thermonuclear bugfuck crazy' lately.

And it's just beginning!

Not much of an update today. Jon and I watched Kate & Leopold last night; with Meg Ryan and that Australian guy with the huge ackman ($.50 to Nancy). It was cute.

That's it.

What an odd weekend.

Friday night I went out with my husband and 6 male skydivers; one of them works for a Japanese car company and was enthusiastically telling us about prostitution in Japan. Being the only woman in the group I felt a little out of place. We ended up in this club that had a blues rock trio playing. They were energetic and competent. I spent some time dancing with my husband; the beer helped, but what helped most was when I stopped thinking about being self-concious and thought about the fact that I was with Jon.

But then an altercation broke out: where there are more than 2 skydivers there is a video camera; the guy filming got into a minor argument with a man who didn't want to be filmed. He smoothed it over; he wasn't looking for a fight. Unfortunately another skydiver was; under the guise of 'backing (skydiver A) up', he started insulting the other man even though the other man and skydiver A had ironed out their misunderstanding. What ended up happening is skydiver A grabbed skydiver B; the bouncer grabbed skydiver A in a headlock and ran him outside.

Skydiver A finally calmed down (especially when the cops arrived) but skydiver B insisted he had done no wrong. Jon practically threw this extremely drunk idiot in the van and we left. I have had enough of the police for one decade.

Saturday started rainy and remained that way all day. Suspecting foul weather, I started rereading The Stand for the umpity-umpth time. We all rented some movies - oh by the way, once everyone slept it off everything was hunky dory. Men are downright scary when they're angry (and drunk), but they seem to let things go quicker than women. I say 'seem to' but I wonder if that's real.

Oh, yeah; the movies: Walking Tall. It was eh. Along Came Polly. Less than eh, though I was shocked at how nice a body Hank Azaria has. He always came across to me as an ordinairy schlub. I'm fairly certain there was a 3rd movie but I can't remember what it was right now. Oh, yeah! Man on Fire with Denzel Washington. It was a remake of an obscure and mediocre Scott Glenn movie made in the mid-80's. It was the best movie I saw all weekend but I'm not sure I'm saying much. Depressing, too.

Sunday was a little better; we got two loads up for the whole day. Once I returned from retrieving a skydiver who landed out, I discovered that the woman I have been having problems with had finally returned. I was determined to keep from acting flaky and hostile and I think I succeeded. She brought a photo album with her which I flipped through. Some of the pictures of her with Jon gave me acid indigestion. So yeah, I still feel threatened. She's prettier than I am. We got along but I fought with depression (and boredom) all day.

We had one bit of excitement and I don't mean it in a good way; one of our pilots (and a skydiver and a friend) was flying into the airport (in a small rental plane) when he lost his engine. He radioed in for us to call the firetruck; for an instant we all thought he had to be joking. We all piled outside and watched him land gear up. Scared the crap out of all of us but he was okay.

Finished up Sunday by watching The Butterfly Effect which wasn't half bad. Depressing but not bad. I don't think Ashton Kutchner did a bad job. Why? Because I didn't spend the movie thinking that it was that guy from "That 70's Show". And, hey; haven't seen Eric Stoltz in forever. Where have you been?

Can you see the real me, can you?

Yet another uninteresting day yesterday. I did TiVo CSI:New York. I was amused to note they used another old Who song for its theme (Baba O'Reilly). I wanted to watch it because Gary Sinise is in it. It wasn't as good as the original CSI is. I'm living in a world where I think William Petersen is doing a better job than Gary Sinise. Ooookay.

I haven't seen CSI: Miami yet. Not big on David Caruso, red hair nonwithstanding. He looks like an evil Howdy Doody puppet. I realize that I consider "evil puppet" redundant. Any way, I wonder what Who song they are using? Won't Get Fooled Again? Squeeze Box? Boris the Spider? I'm thinking the best song would be The Real Me. Hm. I haven't heard Quadrophenia in a long time. I used to love the Who; I don't own anything of theirs on CD. I smell a trip to Best Buy in the future.

I just checked: CSI:Miami uses Won't Get Fooled Again. Okay, does that really make any sense? I realize it's more well known than The Real Me, but it makes no sense in context. Well, okay a little sense, as in 'you're covering up a murder; you can't fool me'. Who Are You is genius. Baba O'Reilly is at least melancholy, but it's completely nonsensical in context.

After about a month layoff, Jon and I have started to go to the gym again. Yes, I'm sore. Kind of you to ask.

I'll keep this post mercifully short; obviously I do not have anything compelling to talk about. I *did* get to watch part of the Braves/Astros game last night. How sad is that: I recognized more players on the Astros than I did the Braves. I'm always happy to see Jon Smoltz. And see - this is exactly why TiVo rules. I had the TV turned to the game when Jon (my Jon, not Mr. Smoltz, though I would have helped him had he asked) asked me to help him uninstall some of the most annoying spyware ever made. I heard a loud cheer from the TV, saw that the Braves had won, so I rewound to enjoy the home run. Go, Braves! Woo-hoo!

Oh yeah: here's my latest review. I have nothing in the queue right now.

"Rated R for graphic, crude, sexual humor; violent images and strong language all involving puppets." Does this line disturb you as much as it disturbs me? I am so looking forward to this movie as I'm a big Parker and Stone fan, but puppets, especially those modelled after the Thunderbird puppets, give me the heebie jeebies.

Yesterday I came home and Jon had cleaned the kitchen for me. How sweet is that? He also bought a hammock big enough for two people; after dinner we lay in it and watched the stars come out. It was very nice. The best season in Alabama is Fall; the days are still warm but the nights are crisp. Not so horribly cold they drive you indoors to willingly cook yourself over a space heater.

Not much else to report.

I was saddened to hear that Rodney Dangerfield went gentle into that good night. I must rewatch Back To School in his honor soon.

A stray skydiver and his girlfriend came over for dinner last night. I made Chinese food and we watched The Punisher. It was okay. I'm not sure whether I like a brunette Thomas Jane, but yow does he have a nice chest! Plus this movie beat the heck out of the Dolph Lundgren version. Recap: undercover officer is involved in a bust that gets a crime lord's (John Travolta) son killed. Crime lord has all of officer's family killed. And I mean the whole, extended family! Said officer is left for dead, but of course he's not, so he comes back and wreaks vengeance - I mean, punishment - on crime lord's business, friends, and family. It's based on a Marvel comic book but the plot reminded me in some ways of Mad Max. And it took a while for him to turn into the sadistic bastard I remembered him as.

I have to go on a business trip to California in a few weeks. Jon, bless him, is going with me. How cool is that?

Whoo. Long weekend. Saturday I did 6 skydives; Sunday I taught ground school and did 3 AFF skydives. I was exhausted when we finally returned home Sunday night.

My exhaustion did not prevent us from watching Eurotrip, which was too bad because it wasn't very good. There were plenty of boobies to distract Jon and the stray skydiver he brought home from the fact that it sucked. It had a few funny gags, including Matt Damon as a shorn, pierced and tattooed lead singer for a band. You're too cute to pass yourself off as a hardcore punk, you silly boy. Oh, yes. There was a scene at a nude beach with an incredible amount of male nudity. It was pretty hideous, though.

My mom and her husband dropped by Saturday afternoon. I went to dinner with them and they slept at our house. They were on their way to Mobile. I was glad to see them; I really don't get to see my parents very often any more.

Jon was in a bad mood on Sunday; I can't really blame him. He was drunk dialed by a skydiver Saturday night who didn't understand why Jon got upset because she was calling him from a drop zone whose owners we dislike. It boils down to the difference between customers and friends. Can you be friends with someone who is your customer? Most drop zone owners have the reputation of being pricks. Jon doesn't want to be a prick but that leaves him with the feeling of being betrayed by a friend when that person makes a decision based purely on money.

I have no real friends who are skydivers. (Yes, this is a shout-out, y'all). In many ways I'm glad. Don't get me wrong; I like a lot of them and we're friendly but at the end of the day they pay their bills and go home. Some of them I would go out of my way to help but that's because they have helped us with no expectation of compensation.

Anyway, speaking of Jon, things are a lot better between us. I have discovered just how clueless I am when it comes to relationships. I'm such a nerd I'm out hunting for other books to help. Loving someone else is apparently not an innate talent in me.

Since the presidential race is heating up because of the debates, I think it's time to discuss more in depth about the James Bond issue. Since Sony has bought MGM, one has to wonder what will become of 007. Despite a cameo by Madonna, Die Another Day did great business so Sony will not overlook MGM's #1 cash cow. Actually I guess that would be their only cash cow; one of the reasons they put themselves on the auction block.

So where is the Bond franchise right now? A script has been written; the screenwriters are saying they are focusing more on character and plot but I'll believe that when I see it. The studio wanted a new Bond pic in '05 but now it looks like it will be pushed to 2006. Pierce Brosnan says he hasn't been asked to repeat his role and everyone with an accent has rumors being bandied about including a short-lived one about my favorite flame-headed Brit. He laughed that rumor off, of course. He said there would never be a 'ginger Bond'. Too bad, I say, but on the other hand I don't want him to be Bond. I'd love for him to be a Bond villain, though.

I still say being a Bond baddie never hurt anyone's career. I mean being a Bond villain means you join the ranks of Donald Pleasance, Christopher Lee, Robert Shaw, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean, Robert Carlyle, Christopher Walken (yay!), Louis Jordan, Max Von Sydow, Joe Don Baker, and Robert Davi. And Telly Savalas. Okay, you might not know all of them but I do. Trust me, being a Bond villain does not look bad on a resume.

Now let's look at the Bonds: sure Sean Connery has had a career past Bond, but how long did it take for him to pull out of that shadow? He did Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. He did things, here and there, most notably Highlander but did not receive real stardom until The Untouchables in 1987. Remember his "patience is indeed a virtue" speech during the Oscars? He has a point.

Now what about George Lazenby's career? Roger Moore's? Timothy Dalton's? Actually, Pierce Brosnan has managed to have somewhat of a career outside of Bond (I loved Remington Steele, BTW).

So just about everyone with a British or Australian background is being considered. In the Australian world, despite Bana's vehement protest to the contrary, is still considered a frontrunner. I still think the idea sucks. However, he just signed on to a movie with Curtis Hanson (8 Mile,Wonderboys, and L.A. Confidential) about a poker player. He's also slated to be in Stephen Spielberg's Vengeance so when is he going to get a chance to be Bond in the next couple of years?

Also in the Australian arena is M.I.A. Guy Pearce, and Hugh Jackman. Jackman is probably the best choice out of that lot. He has that generic look down. In the British arena, you have everyone including Jude Law, Orlando Bloom, and Clive Owen. I've heard rumor of a Black James Bond, and if they are going that route I'd like to nominate Colin Salmon.

So anyways, rest assured a new Bond will be made. Whether Bond will be Black, redheaded, a chinese jet pilot; or the movie will actually have a plot, remains to be seen.

Jon and I watchedEternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind last night. In a nutshell, Jim Carrey is at the end of a relationship with Kate Winslet. He finds out that she has gotten her memories of him erased so he has the same procedure. The trouble is while he's getting it done, he's living in those memories and he realizes he doesn't want to lose them.

There's more to it than that; it's a Charlie Kaufman film so of course there's more. Both Jon and I really liked it. Carrey does a good job, and I'm not a big fan of his. Every one else in the cast; Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Winslet, and Elijah Wood, do good too. It's a romantic movie that has some nice, real things to say about relationships.

Day 7 we went back to Playa Ostional during the day to try to get photographs of turtles. Unlike the previous visit, turtles were few and far between but we did find some. We watched, and I talked with the guide, and eventually it started raining hard. We bought a bunch of beer in Ostional and drove back to the resort. On the way back, we found a local restaraunt (a soda), "Mundo Feliz" (Happy World). the menu was simple, pollo o pescado (chicken or fish). They didn't sell beer but they didn't mind us bringing our own in.

The food, besides fried chicken or fish, consisted of casados ('married', which is rice and beans), and a cole slaw with vinegar dressing (no mayo, thank goodness!). Mmm. Best food I had there.

Day 8 On the way to the airport, Jon got pulled over for speeding. A very nice policia named Jesus patiently explained to me that we could either pay $46 now or $60 at one of the National Banks. Ha! I forked over 40,000 Colones and he sent us on our way. Then it felt like we went through customs 8 times. To add injury to insult, The Stepford Wives was the movie on the flight back to Atlanta. Holy crap that movie reeked!

All in all Jon and I really enjoyed Costa Rica. Most of the people we dealt with were local folks who lived in small towns. Towns in Costa Rica seemed to consist of a well cared-for soccer field, which kind of is the town square. There would be a church nearby, then a school. You could always find a soda, plus a bar or two. I never felt like we were in danger; I suspect the only real crime out in the rural areas would by your typical crime of opportunity. Like I said, when I tried my horrid, pidgin spanish, the local people were very kind and patient with me. Also there were no bugs! Well a few sand fleas, but you would expect in the wet season for that to be a horrible problem but it wasn't! I guess that's why all the frogs and iguanas we saw were so fat and happy.