Thoughts on the Life of Brian:

So as part of my movie club the latest choice is "The Life of Brian". What follows will be my feelings on the movie as I watch it.

The opening sequence shows us 3 wise men following yonder’s star to the birthplace of Christ. Mistakenly they happen upon a manger of the child Brian. They offer their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Pretty funny opening so far, however they film then moves into its title sequence which is Monty Python's signature animations accompanied by some goofy James Bond style theme song.

The opening of the film I must say had some promise, but moving forward it seemed to just trail downhill. Unlike "The Holy Grail" this film is failing miserably at keeping my attention. Some of the vocal trade backs are witty but not funny enough to hold a film together. The two rival anti-Roman factions have just been caught and Brian imprisoned. We shall see what happens next.

So Brian escapes and is now being hunted down by the 5th Legion. Wow this movie has taken an unwelcoming turn. I find myself struggling to continue this movie as Brian is preaching his wisdom in the marketplace. Somehow Brian has managed followers based on his parables. Huh? What in the bloody hell is going on here? And why has everyone removed 1 shoe in solidarity to Brian?

Ok, so I dosed off a couple times but never fell completely asleep. Brian was caught by the Romans and crucified. His followers saw it was martyrdom for the cause, Brian was completely against his death, and the other 139 criminals being hanged remind Brian to "Always look at the bright side of life."

While there were some funny parts to the film, I don't think this movie held up. The jokes were just alright but the writing wasn't enough to carry this one to the end. Not one I would recommend viewing. The song for the end credits is definitely catchy. It may only be the redeeming quality.

The Great Brett Favre Debacle

As another football season is about to begin I feel obligated to air out my feelings on the Brett Favre situation. Let me first preface this post by telling you all that I live in PIttsburgh, PA. Which under normal circumstances would make me a Pittsburgh Steeler fan. But, be things as they may, I am a Green Bay Packers fan. I wasn't always a supporter of the Pack, in fact I never really had a team. That was until Brett Favre came to Titletown, USA.

Regardless of what your feelings are now of the man, Brett Favre took the NFL by storm. His blend of natural ability to make plays and a cannon for an arm quickly lit up the stage. Brett was unpolished and ready to win. He played with an edge and was always looking for that golden opportunity to bring the fans to their feet. He was tough as nails and was unfazed by the elements. The Packers quickly rose from bargain basement to penthouse and were quickly leading the NFL.

Brett's take no prisoners attitude caught my eye and I was hooked. As I learned more about the organization I learned they are the only team to be owned by the fans and not some billionaire. Yes they have a managing committee that handle the football operations, but from time to time they do open up the opportunity to buy shares in the franchise. You get to travel to coveted Lambeau Field yearly for their owners conference, but that is about the extent of it right now. I do not own a share yet, but if they open it up again you can bet I will be first in line.

My wife and I got a chance to travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin a couple years ago and took in the majestic stadium and Hall of Fame underneath. I have to say it is like no other place in the world. The people are extremely nice. Even as I sat in the stands next to fans of the opposing team, there were no problems. Everyone got along and were there to enjoy the home of the Packers. I was completely taken aback by the experience. It felt like home. The stadium felt like a special place to be. Almost as if you could feel that aura around you of good. That you were among the few that got the chance to feel glory. And even though the Packers got pounded that day I will always remember how great it felt to stand in the hallway and look down at the bricks that every great Packer player crossed before heading into battle. I get choked up thinking back on it now. To me there is no greater franchise in sports than the Green Bay Packers. They are trailblazers. One of the first NFL franchises and winners of Super Bowl 1 and 2. The Super Bowl Trophy is named after their coach, Vince Lombardi, a pioneer in excellence. You didn't have to do everything, but what you did needed to be perfect.

Enough about the Pack lets get back to Brett. For 15 years was the face of the Packers. The team and the fans rose and fell with his accomplishments and flops. Fortunately for us Favre meant a lot of success to the team. With a Super Bowl Championship, Back to back Super Bowl appearances, and three NFL MVPs, Brett kept us all on cloud nine. Towards the end of Favre's days with the Packers he began to toy with the idea of retirement, a recurring theme that began to be a joke or nagging story for journalists. Favre would continue to come back. Then the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers would no doubt be the future of the organization but getting to the point where Favre would fade into the sunset and Rodgers would get to shine would be a tricky thing. As Favre continued to comeback management pushed more and more for him to retire. Eventually the situation would reach the point of no return. Aaron Rodgers only had one year remaining on his rookie contract and was beginning to vocalize his unhappiness with being the 2nd in command to Brett Favre. Favre still wanted to play. In fact, with a 13-3 record Brett lead the Packers to the NFC Championship.

After the 2007-2008 season management seemed to signal Favre it was time for Rodgers to take over. And in March a teary eyed Favre announced his retirement to the league. The news media had heard this statement before and as Rodgers took over rumors of Favre's return to football quickly clouded the airwaves. The problem was Favre was still under contract. He believed he could still play and wanted to be a starter. The Packers organization would not release Favre to any team that would play the Packers but wanted a good deal for him. Eventually Favre would play for the NY Jets for a season and be released.

So how did this make a Favre and Packers fan feel? I can tell you the first thing I did when it was announced Favre would be QB1 for the Jets was order his jersey. But that wouldn't deter me from the Pack. In fact the entire season I routed for both. With the NFL Sunday Ticket package from DirecTV I was able to follow both. Sadly, neither team performed well. Rodgers did shine in his role and until a torn biceps tendon week 12 Favre did too. Mad could describe the whole situation, but I think I was more disappointed. Not in the team, but that Favre would end up one of those guys traveling the league looking for work.

The problem with the entire thing was the media. A 24 hour media is an impossible media. You never get away from the news. The funny thing was the reporting was a complete he-said she-said scenario. The truth is that both parties had a valid argument. Favre still wanted to play. At the time he was perfectly healthy and never missed a game. He lead the Packers back to the promise land and was oh so close again. The Packers needed to think to the future. Rodgers was drafted for his skill and to be the heir to the throne of Titletown, USA. Sitting on the bench his final year would have led him to seek QB1 elsewhere. The team had to do what it did to secure the future. There was no way everyone could win here. Both sides lost; we all lost. The constant updates about nothing is what brought this circus to ahead. People got tire and wanted a resolution. I myself sat back and didn't worry. When there was real news, Favre or the Packers would announce it. And that is how i am dealing with the current situation.

Now Favre seems destined for the Minnesota Vikings. Favre appeared on Joe Buck live on HBO and explained exactly how I feel. He wants to play. He isn't going to go to the media until everything is ironed out and final. Until that time we should all relax. The day its announced I will again purchase the Favre jersey. My man-cave will always remain painted green and gold in honor of the Packers. When his career is over, Brett Favre will be remembered for what he did for Green Bay. Once a Packer, Always a Packer.

My Marley and Me Moment

I promised a friend I wouldn't post anything like this, but I just had to share. This is Espn. He is my 4yr old Rhodesian Ridgeback/Lab mix. He is trained; somewhat. There was a point in his life where Espn was a certified Therapy Dog. I used to take him to nearby senior centers to cheer up the patients. But scheduling conflicts have caused us to not have the time to do that anymore.

Espn is a very smart dog and somewhat OCD. He wont step on wet grass or leave the porch when the weather is bad. He holds it until he is about to blow then is forced to go off the porch. He wont roll over as he hates to be on his back. He is very tight to a schedule and demands his meals be dished out on time. Every evening at nine o'clock Espn gets an evening snack. As a point of regimen I like to make sure that the dogs sit or lay down prior to getting their snack. Well, last evening I retrieved the large Milkbone from the bin and brought Espn his treat. I gave him the sit command and he sat. Ok, nothing strange about that, he listened. Right?

Well, here is where the fun begins. I then gave the command "down" which signifies he is to lay down on the floor. Espn not only laid down, as she should, but he rolled onto his side and flapped all four of his legs in the air without rolling onto his back to show he was laying down, then barked as to say "See Mme! I listened!. Now Give the damn chew!"

My dog never fails in showing me he is one step ahead. Just a small tidbit of something different from what I will normally write about.

On the matter of Mr. Jackson

Being a child of the Michael Jackson era I guess it'd be ok to comment on his recent passing. For starters I'd have to say I wasn't surprised it happened. Especially considering the news that he was on some serious narcotics at the time.

I grew up on Jackson's music. As much as anyone I'd say I WAS a fan. Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad had an absolute impact on my life. More recently I came to appreciate the younger Jackson 5 material. As a point of reference I believe the early days to be his best work. Ill Be There may possibly crack my top 10 favorite songs. Jackson moved with precision and sang like an angel. He lived full of hope and wished the best on mankind. But like all those the begin witth nothing and become everything, his dark side caused his fall from grace.

If it is ok to point out the evils in Elvis and others blazing before him, Jackson must be remembered for his full body of work; his music, the allegations and his behaviors. The allegations of molestation can not go away. Although he settled outside of court for a lump sum we must believe there was a reason to settle. To me the family helped Michael save face. By settling out of court everything didn't need to be public record. And even if the criminal court didn't find him guilty there wouldve been an additional civil suit to discuss which would more than likely given the family the money anyway. And although there hadn't been any other fullproof witnesses there had been plenty of speculation to cause concern. Not to mention his own admission that it was ok for any child to share the same bed as him. Huh?

As of late Michael has been more of a shadow of his "King of Pop" self. He was scheduling and preparing for another tour, although this seemed more of a tour of monetary necessity than a tour for the music. I will always enjoy his music and won't forget his impact. As with all who have passed we should remember the good in each of them. I won't say I will miss him because to me he's been gone for a long time. I will however say I thank and appreciate him for the joy he gave the world. RIP

Cap and Trade or Tax and Take

I have recently had a back and forth with a friend of mine about the beauties of "Cap and Trade". I, as a conservative, am against any new type of tax. Any tax for that matter. Especially those that are going to be a detriment to the city and state that I live in.

I do not support the idea of global warming. Never have, never will. And this was before I began educating myself on the matter. The earth just isn't getting hotter. It isn't. We have four seasons in the area of the United States where I live and we always have. Sometimes our winters are mild and other times they aren't. We break records for heat and other years we don't. Currently its been a mild summer. Although this past winter and the few before have gotten progressively colder. I guess that is why we are now straying from calling it global warming to calling it "Climate Change". Well no shit, the climate does change. We go from winter to spring to summer and fall. Always has.

Anyway lets now focus on Cap and Trade. So what the government wants to do is tax any company emitting carbon dioxide. Have them pay to waste and force environmental restrictions on them so that we will all have a higher quality of air to breathe. Couple of major problems that I see in this environmental hoax.

If we stop emitting all forms of CO2 wont plants die? And don't plants use the CO2 and sunlight to photosynthesize, thus releasing oxygen into the air? Isn't that the very clean oxygen that is sustaining our lives? And if the plants die don't we lose that oxygen and die ourselves? So by enforcing "Cap and Trade" aren't we in turn killing ourselves?

Now I live in a state that has a large economy based on the use of coal and natural gas. If we tax the crap out of these plants won't they shut down? Or will they have to raise the costs of these services to balance out their profits? I am not the brightest man but I do know companies aren't in business to lose money. Does your mom and pop diner charge for food or do they give it away? So how do these companies offset taxes? They raise costs to the consumer. Now the government is saying that is only $172 per year. which amounts to a little over $10 per month. Bullshit. Some research groups are saying this tax can increase consumer costs by up to $500 per year. The government has never estimated anything right. Every project ever done comes in late and over budget and we are expected to believe it is only going to be a measly $10 per month? Obama himself before getting elected stated that increasing taxes on CO2 emitting companies will cause the costs of these services to skyrocket. And now they are trying to spin it so we accept the increase.

Here is the bottom line on this "Cap and Trade" issue. The government wants to tax us all into bankruptcy so that they can control us. Government by its very nature is controlling. We set up our checks and balances to avoid this type of control and we need to keep it separated and in check. Taxes only stunt growth and reduce prosperity. And when governments can't think of any other ways to grow the economy they tax more. So if "Cap and Trade" only takes $10 a month this year in five it will take $50 and continue to increase. Once government has a foothold on an industry they run it into the ground and destroy all the positives that industry could have been.

Think of the families devastated by the high cost increases of these taxes. Think of the jobs lost due to plan cuts to pay for the taxes they have to compensate for. This is just another scheme to get more of our money so the government can misappropriate the funds on reelection campaigns.

And before you begin to think I am a total earth destroyer I do believe in conservation. I don't think we just need to burn for the sake of making a product cheaper. I think we should have higher emission standards. But not at the high cost to the taxpayer that gets hit on both ends. Tax us in our paychecks, then tax us with the utility bills, and then tax us at the register. Its just not fair.