ZOMGWTF

Red Brenden, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Getting The MRI itself was uneventful. I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic is all I'll say. My doctor's office called this morning and the doc must have seen something in the MRI because I'm being referred to a specialist. A specialist of what, I neglected to ask. I also neglected to ask for a hint of what the doctor discovered.

The specialist's receptionist called after lunch, and I'm scheduled for an appointment August 18th and the specialist is A FREAKING SPINE SURGEON. I finally asked some questions but his receptionist was clueless. I called back to my doctor's and he and his nurse are gone for the day so I have to call back tomorrow morning.

You know, my seemingly constant medical problems had me believing I'm some kind of hypochondriac. But wtf am I supposed to think now?

In other nicer news, Brenden washed the dishes last night. He was pretending to be Spongebob working at the Krusty Krab (Brenden likes to cook and makes some good scrambled eggs, too). Every once in a while he would walk over to me (I was sitting at the table reading my Kindle) so that I would have to say "Get back to work, Spongebob! Yer losin me money, Spongebob! Think about the customers, Spongebob!" in my best Mr. Krab's voice. He thought it was great fun. Me, too, arrr.

Randomized Post

Brenden Zoe and Jayne, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I definitely think my pinched nerve is getting better. I woke up Friday and noticed my arms didn't feel like they were falling off. Waking up is always when the pain is at its worst and I think it's because I try to sleep on my belly so my arms are under my pillow. But anyways they ached and were annoying but I wasn't whimpering like a kicked puppy. I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow, anyway. I wonder if that vertabrae I broke when I was 15 is involved.

Even though I have given up skydiving and I don't really miss it, I am totally envious of my husband. One of the fun things about skydiving is finding different types of aircraft to jump out of. In my illustrious career I've jumped out of King Airs, Queen Airs, Twin Otters, Super Twin Otters, CASAs, Skyvans, Caravans, Cessna 172s, a Cessna 195 (with a radial engine! that was so kewl!) and fleets of Cessna 182s. I've jumped out of Bell and Sikorsky helicopters and on two memorable occasions hot air balloons.

But I, and the vast, VAST majority of skydivers have never jumped out of dirigables. Yes, my darling husband was down in L.A. (Lower Alabama) jumping out of a BLIMP! And to put salt on the wound he got paid for it! Most of the time you have to pay through the nose to jump out of something exotic like that. It's pretty nifty, he was a stunt double / camera man for a commercial for a Casino down there somewhere. Photos I hope (plus a link to the commercial, eventually) soon come.

Brenden is taking advantage of my disability - Sunday I took him to the local Dairy Queen to play in their enclosed play area. He and whatever kid available were having a terrific time, but after 2 1/2 hours my butt was getting sore so I told him we were leaving. To my embarrasment he fought like hell with me. Disgusted, I gathered everything and headed for the car. My intent was to put everything I could in the car so I could have 2 arms available. I was going to go back and throw him over my shoulder if I could (and whack his bottom good if I couldn't). But instead I turn around and a nice lady was leading him out of the store and he ran to me crying his head off! I was so embarrassed - he thought I was leaving him! Maybe I should have explained to him what I was going to do.

Instead of spanking him I gave him a hug and told him I would never leave him somewhere like that. Sheesh, I felt like such a shmuck. Still, it got him out of the play area...

Speaking of Brenden, I love that he will play with anyone, no matter the age, sex, race, whatever. I so hope he maintains that and doesn't let peer pressure convince him that girls have cooties or people with better suntans are inferior to his pink butt. So I love how much he loves Dora the Explorer. Never mind that she (and Diego, and Handy Manny, whom he likes as well) are hispanic, but one of his heroes is a girl! Well he of course is in awe of Sandy the Squirrel (he thinks I was named after her), but he really enjoys Dora. I hate the commercials I've seen for toys like Dora's make-up kit and Dora's kitchen. They don't need to make her more appealing to girls like that. The only thing I can see that doing is alienating the boy fans she has. Boo!

Guess What?

chickenbutt, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Nerve is still pinched; I haven't done much the last week but pop pills and complain so I'll limit the complaining.

The doc has ordered the MRI; I don't know when it will be scheduled because the insurance company has to okay it first.

Doctor's Visit

IMG_3024, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

The doc ordered some x-rays, and said "Yep, you have a pinched nerve in your neck."

I actually don't know if he saw anything at all in the x-rays; that's just what he told me.

He also said most cases clear up on their own. He prescribed me more painkillers and muscle relaxants plus a week's worth of my old friend Prednisone. If it doesn't clear up or at least start getting better in a week, then he'll recommend a specialist.

I slept better last night, so maybe it's getting better.

Another good post to ignore

A matter of perspective, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

So I think I have won Old Person's Disease Bingo. I think I won Saturay, when I started experiencing a little aching in my forearms. As the day wore on the ache spread to my shoulders, and I managed to sleep for a few hours but I woke up with my back and arms on fire.

I called Jon and asked him to come get me to take me to the hospital when it became apparent to me that the pain was not going to go away. Stacey watched Brenden for us and we went to Decatur hospital. It's a shorter trip to Hartselle's little ER but Decatur is better equipped. I had a hard time staying still in the car seat and that was an excruciating 15 minute drive.

We didn't have to wait long but the entire time I couldn't sit or lay down; I had to continually walk around with my arms crossed over my chest.

I'm having a tough time remembering everything, but the doc eventually ordered some shots for me including a muscle relaxant, a steroid, and "morphine". "Morphine" is in quotes because I'm convinced that there was nothing but water in that syringe. I paced for 20 minutes while the muscle relaxant did it's job. While I was far more relaxed about it, none of the pain went away so I complained but the doc waited another 20 minutes before he gave me something real.

I think I woke up long enough to say "Yep, that did the trick" and I vaguely remember the drive home.

So what the hell is going on? I think it's a pinched nerve in my back. The doc gave me prescriptions for a painkiller and a muscle relaxant, and I don't need them until I go to sleep and then I need them again when I wake up because of pain. The symptoms: burning pain up and down both arms, I can't extend my left arm all the way without more pain, numbness and tingling both forearms and hands, and a loss of strength in my left hand.

Bummer. I go see the doctor tomorrow. If I need another operation I'm going to scream.

Some cuteness for the weekend

More cuteness, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

That is all.
Eom.

Ignore this post and look at the fuzzy kittties

Snug and smug, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I'm tired today and desperately want coffee. I have not succumbed yet, however.

I'm sorry that XM and Sirius merged. I lost my favorite station, Fred, and 1st Wave is a poor substitute. The new stations all seem to have less variation. I try to listen to Lithium, for instance, the 90's station, but dammit, all they play is Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam. I know for a fact there were more than 3 popular bands from the 90's.

I'm listening to Octane as well. It's difficult for me to describe the music. Much of it is hard rock, I suppose, with some reminding me of what I would call progressive. Matter of fact I keep hearing music that reminds me strongly of old skool King Crimson, not that there's anything wrong with that. It keeps reminding me that I only have "Red" on CD. I need to get "Starless and Bible Black" and "In the Court of the Crimson King".

The band that reminds me strongest of King Crimson is Tool, only without all the frippery.

Sandy's Choice

IMG_3027, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Jon and Brenden traveled to South Carolina for Jon's brother's twin's christening. I stayed home and freed myself from the evil clutches of caffeine. I had to do it; I'm pretty sure caffeine is one of my triggers for migraines.

I'm pretty sure alcohol is one of my triggers, too. I couldn't bring myself to give up both of them, not at the same time, so I made what I thought would be an impossible choice - give up the beer of give up the coffee. May nobody reading this have to make such a horrible choice. It's not Sophie's Choice, but it's darn close.

It has been over 100 hours and I'm doing fine. I'm surprised; I'm sure I've been addicted to caffeine for the last 40 years. Maybe my body is just living of a large residual effect and I'm going to crash in 2010 sometime.

Jon and B had fun; Jon reports compared to other kids Brenden is an angel. *Heh!*

Speaking of angels our two new kitties are devil's spawn - especially Jayne. Now if you remember I picked out Zoe and B picked out Jayne. But Brenden prefers Zoe so now she's his kittie and I'm stuck with the cat they call Jayne.

Orange Noms

Orange Noms, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

I took Brenden to my mom's house this weekend (no photos - I forgot to pack the camera). Brenden has wanted to fish since we went there last time so Mom and Price rigged him up a very nice child-sized rod & reel. The reel is a fixed spool type, where you have to hold onto the line, flip the bail open, then let go as you cast. I had to look that up on Google. Google is my friend!

They rigged it up to fish with a cork and bait, which means you cast it then you wait. Brenden wanted to cast and reel it in, cast and reel it in, etc. We went out on their boat, but it was so stifling hot we didn't stay long. Brenden kept busy for a good hour though. Me, I got heat exhaustion. Also I had to convince Brenden he did not want to keep a dead minnow and fortunately Price caught a catfish so B's attention was deflected enough that I threw the poor fish over with only a little whining from el jefe.

Sunday morning when it was still relatively cool, I set up my reel again with a dead minnow (they were all dead from the heat by then) and went about teaching Brenden how to cast properly. The rod & reel are perfect for a little guy - he got some good casts in, but getting him to let go of the line consistently so it would be thrown forward was tricky.

I finally noticed that something was on my line (fortunately Mom and Price have rod holders on their dock) so I reeled in a nice-sized catfish. Brenden was very excited about that. He totally loves the concept of fishing but he has the patience of a ferret on meth.

On our way home Brenden got bubblegum in his hair. We were pulled over on a service ramp on the highway and I was trying to use an ice pack to get the gum cold enough to get off his hair and poor Brenden was crying hysterically. I actually said "what in the world possessed you to put gum in your hair?"

Like I never did that when I was a kid.

That was our weekend.

65 Questions You’ve Probably Never Been Asked

Brenden and Zoe, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Via Helly's Hellhole

1. First thing you wash in the shower?
My hair.

2. What color is your favorite hoodie?
Grey.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?
Yes!

4. Do you plan outfits?
Sure. Blue jeans + clean shirt. That's planning, right?

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now?
Mellow. I've cut down on caffeine and I'm surprised at how much better I feel.

6. Whats the closest thing to you that’s red?
A book on XML.

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having?
Sigh. Flesh-eating zombies, blah de blah de blah.

8. Did you meet anybody new today?
No.

9. What are you craving right now?
St. John!

10. Do you floss?
No.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage?
Sauerkraut!

12. Are you emotional?
Not as much as most people.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000?
When I was a kid, sure.

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it?
I bite it.

15. Do you like your hair?
Not completely - it's do straight and fine I'd have to use krazy glue to put it up in any king of hair do.

16. Do you like yourself?
Not completely. We get along most of the time, but sometimes we get into some pretty viscious arguments.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush?
He likes barbeque, I like barbeque, why the heck not?

18. What are you listening to right now?
The hum coming from the server room.

19. Are your parents strict?
Nah.

20. Would you go sky diving?
I did it 1109 times until I got pregnant.

21. Do you like cottage cheese?
I eat it every day for breakfast. so that's a yes.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity?
No.

23. Do you rent movies often?
Not anymore. Used to do it constantly.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you’re in?
No.

25. How many countries have you visited?
I've visited Canada, Costa Rica, and England. Wait, I guess I visited the Bahamas, too; even though Disney owns the island. So that's 4.

26. Have you made a prank phone call?
No.

27. Ever been on a train?
Ever since my little guy got obsessed, I've been on several train rides in the last few years.

28. Brown or white eggs?
What's cheapest.

29. Do you have a cell-phone?
Yes.

30. Do you use chapstick?
In the winter.

31. Do you own a gun?
Firestar 9mm and a Mossberg security shotgun.

32. Can you use chopsticks?
Sort of.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight?
Brenden, Jayne, Zoe, and Big Fat Kitty.

34. Are you too forgiving?
I don't think so.

35. Ever been in love?
Yes.

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow?
Working at the drop zone.

37. Ever have cream puffs?
Yes.

38. Last time you cried?
The end of Battlestar Galactica.

39. What was the last question you asked?
"What version?"

40. Favorite time of the year?
Fall! I've said this before - Winter is cold and no fun because there's no snow. Spring in Alabama lasts 3 weeks and we live in mortal terror because the tornado warning sirens go off almost every day. Summer cranks up immediately and there is no letup. But falls are wonderful, cooler but not so cool you have to wear a coat.

41. Who did you last call?
Wal-Greens to get my migraine meds refilled.

42. Are you sarcastic?
I aim more for sardonic.

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect?
Unfortunately.

44. Ever walked into a wall?
Yes.

45. Favorite color?
Blue.

46. Have you ever slapped someone?
Yes. Let's not go into details.

47. Is your hair curly?
Straight.

48. What was the last CD you bought?
An actual, physical, CD? Hrm... I think it was something by Front Line Assembly.

49. Do looks matter?
Yes. I don't think I'm picky and considering my looks that would only be right.

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater?
I don't want to talk about that either.

51. Is your phone bill sky high?
No. I hate the thing hence don't use it that much.

52. Do you like your life right now?
Yes. Sometimes I feel the grind but more often and not I count myself as lucky.

53. Do you sleep with the TV on?
No.

54. Can you handle the truth?
I like to think I can.

55. Do you have good vision?
Hah. No.

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people?
I don't think I hate any one. I definitely dislike more than 3 people, but most people I just don't give a poop.

57. How often do you talk on the phone?
As little as possible.


58. The last person you held hands with?
Brenden! We were walking across the street to get the mail.


59. What are you wearing?
Blue Jeans + a skydiving tee-shirt I took from my husband.

60.What is your favorite animal?
Bengal Tiger. Pretty!

61. Where was your default picture taken?
At home.

62. Can you hula hoop?
Heck, no.

63. Do you have a job?
Yes.

64. What was the most recent thing you bought?
A pair of flip-flops for Brenden and some shorts for me.

65. Have you ever crawled through a window?
I used to do it all the time when I was a kid.

Around the pool

Around the pool 2, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

This photo shows where our vacation to Puerto Rico went. Ouch! It certainly looks a lot better, though.

we really do need to clean the junk out of the back yard, we know. It's a total mess! It's too freakin hot to do anything but swim. And the water was 89 degrees yesterday afternoon!

Jon and I decided not to put the hot tub back on the patio. We're going to pour our own concrete slab to the side and place it there. Yay, I get my window back! (It used to be right in front of that long window in the picture).

Put-upon kitty is put upon, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Random Bits

As I speak, the finishing touches are being applied to a large amount of concrete work being done around our pool. Photos soon come of where our Puerto Rico vacation went.

Big Fat Kitty, when he was a kitten, was very timid (still is actually) and he would never uses his claws. Jayne and Zoe are rambunctious kittens and I had forgotten what it was like to have a couple in the house (Vasquez was middle ground. She was playful, but she never went hog-wild, not like these two). All I can say is it's a good thing kittens are made out of rubber because they have been booted forcefully of our bed innumerable times since I adopted them. Some people might like to be woken up by having their fingers or toes nibbled on, but not me, Jon, or Brenden.

Some gaming philosophy: The appeal of Fallout 3 and similar games for me is the FRP (Fanstasy Role-Playing, and man do I ever hate that term. That sounds like games for perverts) aspect. Essentially your character progresses from a weakling to a badass, aquiring skills, money, weapons and armor and you also get to fight progressively badass opponents, too. But that's not the only appeal. In many of the games you deal with other characters with whom you can talk or trade. Some of them you can get 'quests' from (go get / do something and get X in return). Depending on your actions, you can gain fame (or infamy). Yes, you can kill these NPC (non-player characters), but there are consequences to your actions. Those are the games I love the most - your choices come down to ethical choices and they have a great influence on the gameplay.

I find it almost impossible to play a completely evil character. I have played the goodiest goody two-shoes to some pretty scuzzy 'I'm in it for the money' thieving assholes, but I can't bring myself to be something completely awful like a slaver. I can murder if the cause is just - there's one town in Fallout 3, Paradise Falls, that's a town full of slavers. I tried once to go there and just 'get along' but after watching a slaver kill a bartender for watering his drink down I pulled out my shotgun and went to town. On the entire town. They were all scum, good riddance. Well, I didn't kill the doctor. She didn't try to kill me so I cut her some slack and bought some stimpacks off of her.

Never bring a knife to a nuclear holocaust

Fallout 3 Poster, originally uploaded by wongjp.

I'm playing Fallout 3 for the 6th or 7th time. The game setting is post-nuclear war Washington DC, and even though many of the ruins / relics reflect 1950's sensibilities, it obviously happened in our future (2077) because cars and trucks have nuclear-powered engines. None of the vehicles run anymore - they just sit around in rusting junkheaps waiting for some unsuspecting idiot to put a bullet in their engine blocks...

The appeal of all 3 of Bethesda Softworks' RPG games - Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3, are huge gameworlds. Even though each time I play I follow the main quest, there are so many different places to go that each time the game is different. And those are the unmodded versions. When I was recuperating from my operation a while back I played the crap out of Oblivion, then went and downloaded the best mods I could find, and played the crap out of it again. I have yet to download any mods (other than 2 official add-ons) for Fallout 3.

Fallout 3 is special because there are no elves or dragons, but there are guns. .32 caliber pop pistols to Chinese Assault Rifles to Rocket Launchers and combat shotguns, frag grenades, pulse mines, and mini-nuke launchers, laser and phase rifles... (droool). Plus a giant freaking robot!

So anyway, last night I wander into a bombed out and (what I thought to be) abandoned Army weapons depot. A bunch of scumbag raiders open up on me from the ruins, so I run and duck behind a truck, like an idiot. I take out one or two of the bad guys then I hear a distinct "WHANG" which tells me someone's bullet has hit the truck's engine block. The truck's nuclear powered engine block. I run like mad, not even bothering to dodge bullets, until I can duck behind part of a building. All the while bullets are whining off the wall of my hiding place then I hear the "KABOOM!!!" of the engine going up. All of a sudden, there's silence.

I pop my head up, and I don't see any raiders, only the burning truck. I walk back to the fire, and I start laughing like a loon. There are raider parts scattered everywhere! Stupid jerks congregated near the truck to get a better line of sight on my position!

Cat fishing

IMG_2974, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Brenden had his 4-year checkup yesterday. Since I'm not an anti-vax idiot, Brenden got his shots. *6* shots. I had to hold my screaming kid down while he got 2 in each leg and one in each arm. Yeesh!

He spent the night running around the house trailing a measuring tape while Zoe and Jayne gave chase. Yes, by popular demand, his name is Jayne. The hero of Canton, the man cat they call Jayne! Thanks for getting that stuck in my head, Alan!

Birthday Boy

Messy Boy is Messy, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

So El Jefe turned 4 on Saturday. It's tough to believe 4 years have passed. He had a pool party Friday with the kids he spends weekdays with, then on Saturday Jon came home and we had a little private party which involved many toys. In the afternoon I took Brenden to the drop zone and he spent the night with his dad. Me I slept. I needed it because our new kittys are rambunctious and like to chew on feet poking out of the covers.

I still haven't named boy kitty but I'm leaning towards naming him Mal. I was going to name him Jayne, but I'm too damn tired of explaining why I would name a boy kitty Jayne.

New Kittehs

IMG_2975, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Here are our new family members. The black and white one in the foreground is my kitty, Zoe (pronounced Zo-ee). The grey kitty in the potty box is Player to be Named Later (so far). Brenden chose him out of the litter.

I asked B what he wanted to call the Kitty, and he said "CAT!". So we'll pick a name for him eventually.

Big Fat Kitty, who spent 8 years of his life terrorizing my kitty Vasquez, has discovered that payback is hell.

Right about now! Funk soul brother, check it out now!

BB and KC, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

Bits and Pieces

The last 3 songs that got stuck in my head:

1)Debaser (the Pixies)
2)The Rockefeller Skank (Fatboy Slim)
3)Sabotage (the Beastie Boys)

Brenden helped me qualify for my "Worst Mother" merit badge this weekend. When we went grocery shopping on Saturday, I ran over his leg with a loaded shopping cart. (Much crying, but he's fine). Then on Sunday we were outside enjoying the outdoors and he managed to let the lid to a grill slam down on his wrist. (Much crying, but he's fine). Then Sunday night he was playing a game on the Wii and he wanted my help with a tough part. I concentrated on the game so hard I never noticed that he placed a chair on the couch then stood up in the chair. He slipped and hit the floor face-first. He had a nice goose egg on his head and a small split lip. Much crying, but he's fine. Me, I suck.

We are getting 2 new kitties, eight weeks old, this week. I chose one, and I'm going to let Brenden choose the other. As for my kitty, I'm trying to decide on a name for her. Zoe is the frontrunner.

What To Do Next Time You're in Utah

P1040730, originally uploaded by Sandra Maynard.

What I'm Watching / Reading:

Jon took Brenden to the drop zone Sunday Night so I finally rented Tropic Thunder. I was laughing my ass off, which is a major accomplishment for any film if I'm watching it by myself. It's about the biggest group of pampered, insecure, prima-donna actors appearing in an overproduced, on-location Vietnam war movie that's about to get its plug pulled because it's way over budget. The director decides to get the movie filmed guerilla-style (or Blair Witch style if you please) by taking his actors deep in the Southeast Asia jungle and having them act it out while making it back to their camp. Things go bad fast.

It reminded me that Ben Stiller can have a very sharp eye for satire (he wrote it). Robert Downey Jr. stole the movie as an Australian method actor who goes a wee bit overboard with the method acting. Tom Cruise (!!!) is insane in this movie, too. Tropic Thunder did its very best to inflame and assure my worst prejudices and suspicions about Hollywood.

Hey, am I the only person who remembers that Downey got his start on Saturday Night Live? Then he was in Back to School, where he thought football was a neo-fascist metaphor for nuclear war. I always wanted to point out to him that football is a metaphor for conventional warfare, but that's not really important.

I've been reading John Scalzi's blog for a while, after being directed there by another blog to view a picture of a cat with bacon taped to it. I finally started reading one of his books over the holiday weekend, and I ripped right through Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades. I finished The Android's Dream this morning. His books are right up my alley: science fiction, war, adventure, sympathetic characters, and screamingly funny (and sad - I was boo-hooing at the end of Ghost Brigades). They're also zippy reads, which is a refreshing change from all the Dan Simmons and Neal Stephenson I've read lately.

Oh, speaking of cats, we may have a new family member in a week or so.

Canon Fodder

ST XI Kirk-Spock, originally uploaded by corrini.

So my brother and I were talking about movies on IM, and we were discussing the almost uniform hatred and disgust regarding Terminator Salvation. The big reason I wanted to see Star Trek over this movie was because the director of the Terminator movie also directed the Charlie's Angel's movies. And the writers wrote Catwoman.

It's funny how changes to stories can affect people differently. I had no problem with the changes to Star Trek and I loved the original series when I was a kid. There's a change to the canon of the Terminator universe in the new movie that really pisses me off so who knows when I'll get around to watching it on DVD.

Anyway, Ed pointed me towards Harry Knowle's review. Here's the opening salvo:

It is a very rare thing for a film to shit squarely on my open and unexpecting eyes to such a degree that absolute hatred and loathing festers out of my every pore… but McG managed to do it with TERMINATOR SALVATION..

We ended up discussing critics, and I mentioned my favorite, MaryAnn Johansen. She trashed Terminator Salvation, too. She and I have VERY similar tastes in movies so I have come to trust her judgements implicitly.

Then while talking with Ed for some reason I yet again mentioned Star Trek and how MaryAnn wrote an article about how everyone thinks that female fans of the Star Trek series all went for captain Kirk and how that is totally not true. Ed was surprised when I told him that (old Trek or new) chicks dig Spock. Why is this a surprise?

What I'm Watching:

eomer, originally uploaded by green_field_92.

Since everything I watch has been cancelled or is on hiatus* for the summer, this is the part of the year where I traditionally start watching movies. Since Jon was out of town I settled on a Lord of the Rings marathon on Sunday. I skipped The Fellowship of the Rings because I think I've watched that one twice as much as the other two put together.

I like the extended versions, but near the end of The Return of the King I remember yelling: "Will you get your hobbit butts up the mountain already?" Still I love those movies.

Saturday night I was surfing through downloadble Amazon titles (I prefer on-demand due to lack of time so we no longer use Netflix) looking for something different. I ended up with an low budget horror movie from New Zealand: The Irrefutable Truth About Demons. It was not good. That's not to say it wasn't entertaining - it had some good humor in it, some of it even intentional. It's about a guy (Karl Urban, in case you were wondering why I rented it in the first place) terrorized by a group of demon-worshippers who got their sense of fashion from watching old music videos (When will demon-worshippers learn: if you want to be super-creepy look conservative? Didn't they watch Rosemary's Baby?). The only other good thing about the movie is the ending was better than I expected. I was thinking I was going to get a downer Race With the Devil end but ended up with more of a Serpent and The Rainbow end only not as much special-effect cheese. I'm thinking that was a budget limitation more than a artistic decision.

*Cancelled: SCC. BOO! Renewed: Dollhouse. YAY!