Sometimes I just stumble across fun little facts and/or tidbits. When that happens, they will wind up duly noted in this category.
Harry Blivins, at 37, is an industrious guy. Harry is a supervisor with Tampa Downtown Partnership’s Clean team. This is Tampa initiative to keep the downtown clean. Harry also has a lawn service he operates on the side. Unfortunately, he got a little over-ambitious in his efforts to keep Tampa clean.
Read moreI know, I have not been posting much lately. Once again, work has been extremely busy with some travel thrown in for good measure. Since my work involves a lot of writing, by the time I have time to write here, I’m just too wrung out to carry on. I do have some things percolating in my mind that I want to get set down here, so I’ll to get more posted this evening, and I do owe you a few movie reviews. I guess the biggest story though is my first trip outside the U.S. You got it, I’m 49, and just now have crossed the border. I went to Toronto on business, and must say, I was impressed with the little I got to experience of the city. As is so often the case though, air travel chaos accompanied me as I headed home last Wednesday (and then into Thursday).
Read moreJerry, a junkyard worker, attempts to sabotage a power plant that he believes is melting his brain. But when his plan goes awry, the magnetic field that he creates accidentally erases all of the videotapes in a local video store where his best friend Mike works. Fearing that the mishap will cost Mike his job, the two friends team up to keep the store’s only loyal customer – a little old lady with a tenuous grasp on reality – from realizing what has happened by recreating and re-filming every movie that she decides to rent. From “Back to the Future,” to “Robocop,” to “Rush Hour,” to “The Lion King,” Jerry and Mike become the biggest stars in their neighborhood by starring in the biggest movies ever made.
Read moreThe most recent book I’m “listening to” from my Audible.com subscription is David Sedaris’ When You Are Engulfed in Flames. It’s a collection of essays on the banalities of life. I was listening to one of his essays this past week during a drive to St. Pete, and it stirred up some strong memories about one of the best places I lived for some years. In his essay, Sedaris talks about an experience he had living in a rooming house in Chapel Hill, NC when he was between attending school. This reminded me of living in Gray Court Apartments in Winston-Salem, NC.
Read moreThere are heroes… there are superheroes… and then there’s Hancock. With great power comes great responsibility — everyone knows that — everyone, that is, but Hancock. Edgy, conflicted, sarcastic, and misunderstood, Hancock’s well-intentioned heroics might get the job done and save countless lives, but always seem to leave jaw-dropping damage in their wake. The public has finally had enough — as grateful as they are to have their local hero, the good citizens of Los Angeles are wondering what they ever did to deserve this guy. Hancock isn’t the kind of man who cares what other people think — until the day that he saves the life of PR executive Ray Embrey, and the sardonic superhero begins to realize that he may have a vulnerable side after all. Facing that will be Hancock’s greatest challenge yet — and a task that may prove impossible as Ray’s wife, Mary, insists that he’s a lost cause.
Read more