toddcarruth.com

“Marry an outdoors woman. Then if you throw her out into the yard on a cold night, she can still survive.”

- W.C. Fields

Ah yes, my little chickedee. I bet half of you reading this have no idea who W. C. Fields is/was.  Feel free to click on the link above to find out more.

Something about yesterday’s wind blowing thru just made it so freaking cold.  I had to run out to get a key made during my lunch hour and it started to hail on me as I walked into Wal-Mart.  I don’t like Wal-Mart and yesterday’s experience didn’t change my opinion.  After I aimlessly wandered back and forth around Customer Service for 30 seconds, I was finally directed to the auto section. I guess you do need a key to start most cars and so I walked the 6 miles thru assorted dishes and toys and stereo cabinets and women’s clothes to the auto department/oil change area.  I see the sign for keys to be made.  So far so good. I even see a NASCAR branded blank key that I could have made into my very own racecar home key for only $5! Yee haw!

Only one problem.  Nobody behind the counter.  One customer was already waiting.  Maybe it was their lunch break?  I watched myself on the flat screen monitor hanging above my head and resolved to double my efforts to go on a diet.  Was my backside really that big? Must be an optical illusion.  As I waited for 5 more minutes, 2 more customers walked up and proceeded to wait with me.  I imagined walking behind the counter and picking up the intercom phone and shouting “Code 9 Code 9  Assistance needed  in the auto department STAT!”  And then I remembered that I hated Wal-Mart and there was a Home Depot about a 1/2 mile a way and why am I even in this store?

Went to HD. Got the key made in the same amount of time that I wasted at Wal-Mart.  Sometimes I am not a smart man, Jenny.

And no I don’t think you should throw a woman out on a cold night.  At least wait until it’s above freezing.*

*No hate mail, please. You do know I’m kidding, right?

Everybody ready to get back to work? Not me. But then again I did do some work over the holidays so it’s not like I got a giant 2 week break like some people.  All right, so this week’s pick is probably my favorite movie from the past summer:  IRONMAN!

SHORT PLOT SYNOPSIS: Wealthy industrialist /genius  weapon’s inventor, Tony Stark, played by Robert Downy Jr.,  gets captured in the Middle East after showing his recent weapon and is forced to “build” a weapon for his captors. He instead builds a robot suit that runs on a small reactor housed in his chest, that keeps metal shrapnel  from killing him.  He heads back home after his original suit is destroyed and refines his idea and in the guise of  Iron Man, he tries to fight those who use his weapons for evil, etc, etc.  Big showdown at the end where Stark fights his business partner,  Obadiah Stane (really? Who names their kid, Obadiah? Was he called Obie growing up?). Stane reverse engineers the old suit (found in the desert)  to create a monsterish version of Iron Man.

OVERALL: Funny, crisp, smart, great special effects.  A very good comic book movie.  I only have one complaint.  In the film, we see Tony Stark learn over a period of days, even weeks, how to use the suit properly-how to fly and fight with some skill.  In the final combat scene, Tony is fighting Obadiah, who somehow has mastered HIS suit in a matter of minutes and has no problem throwing a punch or flying to great heights without any training.  Maybe his suit has an autopilot?

RENT IT?: Oh yeah, you betcha.  Honestly, though, if you wanted to see this movie, you saw it at the theater, right? You probably own it.

UPDATE: Sequel coming out on May 7, 2010. Everybody is on board with one exception. Terrence Howard plays Stark’s military pal and there were reports that the director was not happy with Howard’s acting as well as the studio wanting to cut his salary for the 2nd movie.  Don Cheadle is slated to play the role in Iron Man 2. Here is the wikipedia version of what happened:

In October 2008, The Hollywood Reporter stated Don Cheadle would replace Terrence Howard. The trade journal said that many reasons, including Howard’s salary, resulted in him dropping out.^[110] Howard, however, said, “There was no explanation [...] apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren’t worth the paper that they’re printed on, sometimes. Promises aren’t kept, and good faith negotiations aren’t always held up.”^[111] Entertainment Weekly later said Favreau had not enjoyed working with Howard, often reshooting and cutting his scenes; Howard’s publicist said he had a good experience playing the part, while Marvel chose not to comment. As Favreau and Theroux chose to minimize the role, Marvel came to Howard to discuss lowering his salary – Howard was the first actor cast in Iron Man and earned the largest salary of the cast. The publication stated they were unsure whether Howard’s representatives left the project first or if Marvel chose to stop negotiating.^[112] Theroux denied the part of the report stating “the role of War Machine was scaled back and then beefed up”.^[113] Cheadle only had a few hours to accept the role and did not even know what storyline Rhodes would undergo.^[114] He commented he is a comic book fan, but felt there are not enough black superheroes.^[115]

So did everybody survive their New Year’s Eve? I was so wiped out from my traffic/work/more traffic schedule that I didn’t even attempt to go out last night.  Although I did get woken?awakened? by fireworks just before midnight and so I waved goodbye to 2008 and watched the big celebration in Victory Park/AAC in downtown Dallas. Looked like fun. I may try to be there next year.  Maybe I can help host it with Gordo?

• The only thing I accomplished yesterday was a repair to the dog run gate where my two labs had gnawed thru one post and started to plan their escape.
• If they send out a firmware update on the Blackberry Storm, I may end up getting one in February when my Verizon contract is up. That thing looks so cool and I don’t want an iPhone.
• Actually, I just need a new iPod since my old one can’t seem to hardly hold a charge anymore.
• My mother is a shopping ninja. She can buy a 60 dollar golf shirt for $15 with all of the coupons that she carries.
• Check this out. My kids have an Xbox 360. It is attached to the internet. I have a Netflix  account. Now my kids can watch a movie that I set up in my Netflix queue instantly on the Xbox.  I think that’s cool.
• I plan on saving all of my receipts this year.  Think that will happen?
• I don’t care that much about the NFL playoffs if the Cowboys aren’t in it.
• Going to a Mav game this month.  Looking forward to it.
• Toying with the idea of trading in my Honda Element for a Honda Ridgeline.  I keep getting direct mail pieces saying they can lower my payments…hmm.

This week’s website to check out is a game from One More Level. com called meeblings.  Strange and addictive.

Friend of mine asked me the other day when do I find time to blog every day? I told him that I just made a committment to myself that I would put something out there every Monday-Friday and try to organize it in such a way that I thought would make sense and be fun at the same time.

So here’s a big thank you to everyone who’s passed by, commented on, skimmed thru and smirked at something they found on toddcarruth.com.

I resolve to post more media confessions and funnier inside stories and cooler pix and awesome(r) videos in 2009.

Oh and happy birthday to my buddy,  Chip.

2008-The Year of the Rick Roll.

“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.”

-Nietzsche

Actually, I conquered the idea that I could do 2 jobs and maintain a sense of sanity a long time ago.

1 day down.. 2 to go.

So how was your holiday? Mine was good- lots of family, lots o’ gifts  including a most excellent coat (thank you, Sis) and my boys had a good time which is what it’s all about.   The poll on the right side says that most of you were ready for the whole thing to be over with and I understand that although personally, I didn’t OD on the Christmas cheer this year.

I am doing the Fox thing, Mon-Wed, for Chip so it should be a long day today.  And I still have no idea what i am going to do for New Year’s Eve (if anything).  But enough small talk let’s get the Monday DVD Pick-Wanted.

SHORT PLOT SYNOPSIS: Based on the poster, you would think this movie is all about Angelina Jolie and her elegant tattoos but our story is more focused on young Wesley Gibson working at his dead end job with an overbearing boss and a girlfriend who cheats on him with his best friend.  He also takes anti-anxiety medicine to combat panic attacks.  Turns out, he’s the son of long line of assassins that have special traits including the ability to see in super slo-mo  (He could be the perfect referee!) Gibson meets fellow assassin, Fox (Jolie) in this spectacular shootout in a drug store that ends up as an unbelievable car chase.  Fox tells him that his dad was killed by a rogue assassin and that Gibson is his next target.

He follows Angelina (who wouldn’t) to the “Fraternity” where there are no keg parties but they do have weavers who make nice shawls and occasionally spell out in thread the name of the next target for the assassins to kill in order to save the lives of countless others.  Yeah, it’s a little confusing.  Morgan Freeman is the head guy and we meet a few other members of the team. Gibson starts his training (use the force, Gibby) and learns how to control his panic attacks and “take back his life”.  There is a double cross and a few twists and turns at the end that I don’t want to ruin for you suffice to tell you that there is a train and bridge and things blow up real good.

OVERALL: I rented this movie for 1 reason only. I wanted to see some cool special effects/action sequences . And that’s what I got.  Really really cool stuff.  Car flipping over other car in slo-mo.  Guy jumping out of building and across the street into other building in slo-mo.  Angelina Jolie getting out of a pool with fake tattoos on her sitting muscle in slo-mo.  Seriously awesome stuff.   I don’t need F-bombs every few seconds or the gratuitous sex scene but that’s in there too.

RENT IT?: This is not a family film. This is not a date flick.  It’s a guy movie. Grab a few beers and a Slim Jim and enjoy the beauty of a slo-mo shoot out and the curving of bullets.

UPDATE: I wasn’t aware that the source material for this movie was a comic book.  A few reviewers have said that it strayed to far from the comic but for the most part, it was well received. According to Box Office Mojo, ‘Wanted’ debuted in 3,185 theaters and got $50,927,085 on its opening weekend, putting it at second place under ‘Wall-E’. The film made $134,327,125 domestically and has $207,430,122 so far from foreign theaters, putting its current worldwide total up to: $341,757,247.  No word on a sequel (or prequel) at this point in time.

So happy that I get to go outside on the coldest night in 2 years in Dallas Fort Worth and go to work.

Here’ s to not freezing on the way in.

PS: Monday DVD review returns next week with a look at “Wanted.”

Merry Christmas.  Refresh the page and check the top banner if you don’t see a little holiday cheer!

• Filling in for the Chipster on Fox 4 starting Monday.  I think that may be why I had a dream last night that I was doing traffic on the Radio for K104 and KLIF.  Timing is everything in Radio and I remember that K104 went late and KLIF went early and so in my dream  I was trying to finish up my report on K104 and after I did the traffic i couldn’t read the commercial and I was stumbling through it. I mean it was cringe-worthy emergency break type of stuff. I think I said the word hamburger for no reason. Thank goodness it was dream. 
• I just had 5 teenagers in my house shooting a PSA for a school project. It was actually kind of amazing to see how easily these kids just act and talk in front of the camera.
• I made pumpkin bread last night. 3 cups of sugar will make anything taste good.
• I had a chance to go to the Cowboy game this weekend and but I already made a commitment to go to a Christmas party with somebody.
• Finished my Christmas cards and they are going in the mail today.  Almost as good as last year’s.
• The Big Bang Theory is becoming one of the funniest shows on TV.
• Speaking of Cowboys (earlier), I made a comment last week about Tony Romo.  I hope to take back that comment in full and make a public apology as soon as the Cowboys win a playoff game again.
• I can’t believe gas is less than $1.50 a gallon.  Crazy. Of course my 401(k) is worth about $3000 less than it was a year ago.
• I have migrated most of my social habits to facebook as opposed to myspace for what’s it’s worth.

And this week’s website is an addicting game that’s kind of like Tetris but the goal is to buld a tower and the blocks get all wobbly and …well just play it for yourself.  99 Bricks.