This morning we decided to take in not one but two movies, Wall-E and Wanted.

 

We saw Wall-E first, knowing it was a Pixar movie I had high expectations and the movie did not disappoint at all. Wall-E was cute and quirky and his interactions with EVE were adorable. The movie moved quickly and pulled hard at my heart strings. One thing I found interesting was how little dialogue there was in the movie, the music in the movie conveyed so much and moved things along well. Fellow Mac heads who see the movie will be rewarded as we were with a little tip of the hat to Apple by Pixar.

Second up was Wanted, a very loose translation of the comic book of the same name. Tho it was not a faithful adaptation, it was interesting and moved quickly. The special effects were great as were Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. It felt very Fight Club meets the Matrix and I’d go see it again in a minute.

I give both of these movies 5 out of 5 stars, and I sit in awe of how many great movies there have been this summer season.

I heard this morning that George Carlin passed away. I’m very sad to hear this as he was not only one of my favorite comedians, but also a very important figure in my life, linked to a lot of memories. I remember the first time I ever heard George Carlin, I was eleven and a friend had a cassette tape of A Place for My Stuff. I listened intently as George made me laugh and made me think. From the funny fake commercials to the Interview with Jesus, I was completely hooked. I memorized the “A Place of My Stuff” bit and can still rattle off by memory “only the stuff you know you’re gonna need… Money, Keys, Comb, Wallet, Lighter, Hankie, Pen, Smokes, Rubber and Change”.

And through the years George Carlin has been a big part of other memories for me, it was one of the first things my father and I connected on, we were both fans and loved to watch him on HBO. I own just about all of his comedy albums, his books and even audio copies of his books, the man had a way of dissecting both word and our world that always made sense to me and made me laugh. Just a month or so ago, I was in a hotel room in Pittsburgh and flipping channels past HBO saw his latest comedy special “It’s Bad For Ya”, I of course stopped to watch and a boring, lonely evening in a hotel turned into a funny, enjoyable one.

I’ve never gotten to see George in concert and I never will. My hubby and I had made plans to try and catch his show in Atlantic City this July (it was very close to my birthday) but I guess it was not meant to be.

Thank you for the laughs and the memories George, you will be missed dearly.

[UPDATE: I just saw that HBO2 is playing 11 of George Carlin's HBO specials on Wednesday and Thursday night starting at 8pm each nite. [link]

Well today my family grew by one. My sister Rebecca gave birth to her second child and my first niece Taylor. She’s adorable and sweet. A good sized girl too 8lbs 1oz and 19 and 3/4″ long.

Her brother is a little bit jealous but I’ll make sure he gets plenty of my attention as well. My first picture of her…

Last Tuesday, on the last day of my mini vacation we decided to take care of the nasty business that is buying a new car. To be truthful it’s not the actual buying the car that’s the hard part, that goes pretty easy as as my friend is a car dealer, for me the hard part is choosing the car.

I’m a car guy, make no mistake about it, I am not a motor head, I’m not into engines or fixing them or anything like that but I love cars. Sports cars, exotics, sedans, coupes… I love them all and the prospect of a new car is like an endless buffet of food in front of me. That being said, I tend to be a practical car guy. I would love to own a 911 or an F430 or even an S-Class Mercedes, but I know those are all way out of my reach. These past few years (7 to be exact) I’ve found that as much as I love cars, I’ve found a marque that I like enough to show more than a little brand loyalty to. I’ve mentioned it before I’m sure but in case you don’t know… I’m a Volvo fan boy. I love Volvos. You’d think this fact would make choosing a car a bit easier however there isn’t a car in the current line up that I would not like to own. From the small and sporty C30 to the large and luxurious S80, I like them all. The only exception to this rule is the V70/XC70. I think they are very beautiful cars, but I’ve always had a thing about wagons, as much as I like the car… I just could not see myself driving one.

However…

This is my new ride. Yes it is in fact a 2008 Volvo XC70. Oyster Pearl is the color and it’s a damn nice looking car, but you might ask… “I thought you said you couldn’t see yourself driving a wagon” and you’d be right, but you know I’m a practical gomo and a good price and a car chock full of tech that I never even knew I needed won me over.

The car has All Wheel Drive, a semi automatic transmission, built in navigation system, Bluetooth hands-free system, and a killer 650W, 14 Speaker, Dolby Pro Logic Surround system with a 6 Disc Changer that plays MP3’s and WMAs, Sirius Satellite Radio and an iPod connection that lets you navigate the entire iPod, it’s very nice. The car also has some newer technologies that I didn’t realize would be so nice… like the BLIS (Blind Spot Information System). The car has a camera under each side view mirror that watches your blind spots and signals you if something there. It also has parking assist which is really nice since the car is bigger than I’m used to.

It might not have been the car I thought I wanted but it’s a sweet ride .