Of Avatar and Movie Theaters

If you haven't seen the movie Avatar, I might mention things that could be considered spoilers. I'm not going to give away the plot or the ending or anything, but I do talk about stuff from the film. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last weekend we went and saw Avatar. We saw it in 2D. Some people have looked down on us because of that, but that doesn't bother me. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, the special effects, and the story. Teresa did too, so it was good all around. We had our reasons for seeing it in the boring mundane way we've been watching movies all of our lives. Teresa was concerned that she would get a headache. I was concerned that 3D ticket prices were 150% higher than normal prices. In the end, I'm happy we made the decision we did. We may decide that we want to go back and see it in 3D eventually, and if it gives us headaches, we at least don't have to be worried about closing our eyes and missing some of the story or something.

We went to a new movie theater. We don't go to the movies that often, but up until now we'd been going to a theater near the mall in Asheville. It's an older theater I think, with just the regular seating that is on a ramp from the front to the back of the theater. On our trip back from South Carolina for Christmas we passed through Hendersonville on I-26 which is just south of Asheville. They have a large theater there called the Regal Biltmore Cinema 15. We decided that would be where we saw Avatar and that's what we did. This place was very big, very nice, and had very large screens and stadium style seating. In fact, the place is so nice that their small popcorn costs a whole six dollars. I didn't bother to see what the large cost. We used a Fandango gift card to get the tickets (thanks mom!) and when we got there, we saw there was a Coldstone ice cream place in the same place the theater was. So we're determined to go back for a movie and for ice cream when the weather gets warmer.

I liked Avatar because the world was amazing, and the story was easy to follow. We watched Transformers 2 at home the other night, and after a while I gave up trying to follow the plot and just tried to enjoy the robot battles. I have a feeling that's what the writers and director did too. Haha, I know, Transformers was out like a bazillion years ago and I'm behind the times. But you should already know that because I said we watched Avatar in 2D.

Right, back to the more recent movie. It was great. The crazy cool world of Pandora where everything has an outlet for you to plug your hair into. Animals who you can share a brain with. I don't think I've ever seen a movie where they brought an imaginary world to life as well as they did in this movie. Lord of the Rings is close, but this was slightly different because it was not from a book. In fact, it's so real to some people, that it causes them to be depressed because they realize they can never actually go there. If you don't believe me, check out this article from CNN that a friend on Facebook shared with me.

As I said before, the story was very easy to follow. I've heard some say that the simple story has played a part in how this movie has appealed so well to a world wide audience. I've also heard that the plot of this movie is eerily similar to the plot of Disney's Pocahontas. Granted, Disney's story isn't necessarily original either. I saw this on Failblog. I got a chuckle out of it.


see more Epic Fails

One thing about the movie that had me wondering a little bit was why the only human presences on Pandora were a money hungry corporation, and a bunch of scientists. I feel like there should have been some form of political organization there doing more diplomatic work. We didn't get a whole lot of background on what the state of Earth is in 2154. At one point they mention that it's devoid of life or something due to the ravages of the human race, but it wasn't really explained if anyone was still living there, or if humans were just spread out across the universe now. Teresa and I are also trying to figure out the timeline of things. How long had it been between the time that the main character's brother had died and when he got to Pandora? He had been in cryo for over five years just to get there, so have they been waiting for someone to pilot his avatar for over five years? And if that's the case, why are they in such a hurry to bulldoze the planet once he does get there? Seems like something doesn't line up.

Maybe if I see it in 3D, I'll get it.

Oh Ten

Happy New Year everyone!

In 2010 I hope to do everything I wanted to do but didn't do in 2009. Is that a good one? Meh. I'm not really one for new years resolutions. Being active and losing weight would be nice. I consistently tell myself to get back to the Forza routine that Teresa bought for me years ago. It's exercise with a sword. I mean if you're going to do exercise, getting to exercise with a sword is pretty awesome. It for sure beats exercise with a mat, or a ball, or weights. Am I right? Yes.

Resolutions aside, I am looking forward to a lot of stuff in 2010. I turn 29 this year, which means that 2010 will be where I spend the majority of the last year of my own personal third decade. Exciting! And also a little scary. I'm don't feel old, but I don't feel like I'm a kid anymore. Some of you who are aware of my gaming hobbies might beg to differ.

Speaking of gaming, there are a few awesome titles coming out in 2010. Top of the list is Final Fantasy XIII. Number 12 came out in late 2006, so it's been a long wait for this one. Also, 12 was on the PS2, so 13 will be the first Final Fantasy on the latest edition of consoles. Namely the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Which of course means that in order to play it, I will have to acquire one of the aforementioned systems. My brother-in-law might sell me his old 360 at a bargain price which would be great. There are a few games already out on the 360 that I'd like to try as well. I've sort of debated between PS3 and 360, but the only real advantage of the PS3 is theya include blu-ray player, and I don't think my current TV even handles the resolution a blu-ray would put out, which makes it kind of pointless now. I figure by the time I get a TV that's good for it, blu-ray players will be even cheaper than they are now, and they aren't that bad now.

Cataclysm, the next expansion to World of Warcraft will be released sometime this year. No one knows when for certain, but my guess is somewhere between August and November. Teresa and I are both excited for this one, though we're a bit worried that the new game may require an upgrade in computers. Sigh. I must be really behind the times if all the games I want to play require me to get new hardware just to play them. I'd say more about the game, but I'll save that for my WoW related blog, so I won't bore you if it's not your thing. You're welcome.

Oh! Chuck comes back on TV this year. And LOST! That will be exciting. Last season of the show. All our questions will be answered! Actually, probably not. But hopefully the big ones will be. I look forward to exchanging goofy theories with my mother over what the heck is going on on that island. Wait, the island's gone? Blown up? Disappeared? Well, shoot. Hopefully Teresa and I can finish our viewing of Star Trek: TNG. We finally decided to settle down and watch season 6 after having the first 3 discs for a couple months... only to discover that two of the discs were broken before we opened them. Grr. To make matters worse, when we requested replacements, they put them at a low spot on our movie queue, and we got some other replacement movies instead. Oh well. At least Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an awesome movie. That last sentence was sarcasm, you know, in case you didn't get that.

I got a new job in 2009, back in April after we moved to NC. It has been a real challenge and a lot different from any job I've had. I think overall it's a bit more stressful, but more rewarding in the job experience I'm getting. I like the shop, I like the people, and I don't mind the work. Now that I've got eight months under my belt, I'm looking forward to actually making some changes and being a bit more assertive. It's a management position, so I think it's time I lead instead of just worked. Mike Hayes, if you're reading this, I'm thinking about everything we learned in that class, as well as the organizational behavior private study we did. +1 for using my education. Woot!

I haven't asked Hannah what she expects from the new year yet. I'm not sure if she knows it's a new year though. She slept through the ball drop last night. She probably resolves to steal more food of the counters and table, and to bark more when she hears mysterious noises outside. Good resolutions for a three year old dog. But if I see her on the counter, I'm going to yell at her. It's just how it works.

Teresa is still looking for work, and I hope she finds something she really likes. We're still enjoying the new house, and hopefully this year we'll get a fence put up in the back yard so we can go out there and play with Hannah. Which, come to think of it, might be another resolution of Hannah's. Get humans to play with me in the backyard more.

Okay, so that's what I know about, but I'm sure 2010 will bring a lot of things that I don't yet know about. Hopefully more good things than bad. And hopefully flying cars.

In the Mountains

Friday, it started to snow.

I left for work because I had a lot to do, and I didn't really think I would have much trouble getting home. I could always leave early if I got my stuff done. Got there just fine and then the reports started coming in.

For those of you that don't have an idea of where I live and work, let me paint a picture. We live in Swannanoa, which is between Asheville (the "big" city) and Black Mountain, which is not a mountain, nor is there a mountain nearby called Black Mountain that I am aware of. It's just the name of the town. All of these towns are situated in a mountain range, such that you have to take the interstate up the side of the mountain to get to them. We're about 2200 feet above sea level.

At the bottom of the Mountain, East of us, is Old Fort. And beyond that a few more miles is Marion, where I work, about 1000 feet above seal level, so from home to work and back every day I have a bit of a hill to climb. The interstate has a 55mph speed limit for cars and a 35mph limit for trucks because there's quite a bit of semi traffic up and down the mountain. There are areas on the East bound side for trucks to run into if their breaks go out. So this gives you an idea that even in good weather it's a somewhat dangerous stretch of 5 miles or so that goes up the mountain side. Now imagine it covered with snow.

I do not have any issues with snowy weather and driving. I learned to drive in Alaska, where it was fairly common to drive in the snow for a good portion of the year. I've driven in Boston, though I prefer not to, in bad weather. I wasn't worried about my ability to drive home. What I should have been more concerned about was everyone else's ability.

So I get to the point at work where I think I'm ready to leave, about 2:30 PM. Then we get a phone call and surprise surprise I have to cut a last minute check to move some product. I get out the door about 2:45 PM, and on the road. It's been snowing fairly steadily since eight that morning. The roads are covered in snow, so I'm driving pretty slow and make it to the interstate just fine. Interstate traffic is about 40mph in a 70mph zone, which I'm okay with because that's about how fast I can go and still feel like I have control over the car. In fact, let me share with you my snow driving tips.

Do everything you normally do, but slower and in smaller increments. Accelerate slower. Brake slower, and pump the breaks when you do. Give yourself a lot of room between you and the next car and think ahead a lot more than you normally would, such as putting on the breaks a long way before you actually reach the intersection. Keep the wheel straight and when you need to turn, or change lanes, do so by turning the wheel slowly until the car responds. The key is no sudden movements. No sudden braking, no sudden turning, no sudden accelerating. If you can do all that, you should be in good shape.

I get to Old Fort, which is where the interstate starts to head up the mountain. Traffic came to a stop. I couldn't see ahead of me to see what the hold up was. I should mention I had already seen several cars and a few trucks slid off the side of the road by this point. After about 30 minutes of going no where, I sort of get the idea I might be here awhile. I wish I knew if it was an accident, or just slow traffic or what, but I never did find out. Eventually we inched forward bit by bit. I started to see police cars and it looked like the police may have been directing traffic. I went about a mile in the span of a couple hours. A lot of trucks and cars were pulled over.

By this point it was dark, but I was finally moving. I went about another mile up the mountain... and hit another wall of traffic. I still don't know what's keeping us from moving, other than cars and trucks just not moving. Another hour or so goes by, and at long lost a snow plow chugs up the mountain on my right with a long trail of cars behind him. A nice man from the car in front of me advises me to back into the plowed lane instead of trying to pull forward over the snow, which I do, and it gets me in the lane just fine. I follow the snow plow at about 5mph up the mountain for the next 5 miles. So I guess it took me an hour.

I made one stupid driving mistake that night, and it's when I tried to pull into my driveway and got stuck. With the help of my Brother-in-law and his friend, we got the car back into the road, and finally just parked it on the side of the road in front of the house. Finally, at 8:45, I was home. A six hour drive to go 30 miles.

Anyway, that's my sad story. I think what I take from that is that there should be a law. A law that if you don't know how to drive in the snow, you are required to stay home. Then, the people that do know how can get where they need to go, and those that don't know how will be safe at home instead of strewn along the sides of the interstate up the mountain.

Now it's Saturday. We have probably a good 12 inches or so of snow on the ground. It's very pretty. But I hope you understand if I choose not to go out in it today. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment, as well as some long awaited ones of our Christmas Tree.

Holly Jolly in Black Mountain

I never did post last weekend about what Holly Jolly was. I put pictures up at my Facebook page though for those that are interested.

Essentially, the downtown area of Black Mountain is made for Tourists. There are about two blocks of stores and restaurants designed for people traveling through, visiting, and picking up the odd hand crafted item, antique, or doo dad. Pooky Bead shops as my Grandpa would call them.

Last Friday, Holly Jolly, consisted of the stores staying open later than usual and having various candies, appetizers, and drinks for the people browsing the stores. There was also a parade, and several places had live music. It was all pretty neat, and we had our fair share of cookies and candy.

So that's what Holly Jolly is. If you take a look at the pictures, you'll see there was a nice pottery exhibit, some of which you could buy. In the bottom of that building was a mosaic of tiles on a wall. The tiles were each done by different people, mostly children circa 1997-1998. What was significant about these tile mosaic was that one of the tiles had been painted by Teresa and her brother David. Teresa only vaguely remembered it, and one of the people that were visiting with her mom and dad found it. A quilted tile with the initials TE and DE in the corners. I had never known this existed, so it was really neat.

If you're ever in Black Mountain after Thanksgiving, be sure to stay up for Holly Jolly as you're sure to find something you'll want. Some of the pottery was very cool, and for sale, but in the end we decided on buying two art pieces at a local gallery. Small pictures to put up in the house. An early Christmas present for us, I suppose.

In other news, I'm still working on getting pictures up of the tree. There are some at Facebook, but I still need to get a better one with a real camera and put it up here. Maybe I'll get one of our family (Teresa, me, and Hannah) and put it here too. Then instead of a Christmas card, you can all have a Christmas blog.

Thanksgiving

Teresa and I stayed put in Swannanoa this year while her parents and her dad's family came to visit. It's the first Thanksgiving since we have been married that we've gotten to spend with her family. We only left Boston for one Thanksgiving while we lived there, and that was to go to Oregon to spend it with my family. So it was a nice change of pace.

What was even a further change if pace is that no one cooked while we were there. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel, and it was very good. I'd like to thank the Andersons. I don't know why your party of six didn't show up when called, but because of you, we only had to wait five minutes for a table instead the thirty-five we were told we would wait. Thank you, and I hope you got to eat eventually. They were having a special with turkey, ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie. It was yummy. It was served quick and hot and we didn't have to do any of the clean up!

Poor Hannah had to stay at home most of the day in the bedroom. We got her out for walks on occasion. I think she got some ham and turkey bits to make up for it. Speaking of, thank you to the Earleys who brought turkey and ham. It was delicious.

By Friday night everyone was gone. There was a whirlwind of activity at the Black Mountain house as it was decided that the 45 year old living room rug had to go, and it was ripped up, revealing the hardwood floor beneath. Furniture was arranged and an oval rug placed in the center of the room. Then everyone went home to attend to whatever weekend plans they had. Teresa and I, not being sure of what we'd be doing that weekend had not made plans, so we settled in for a relaxing couple of days.

We went out and got a Christmas tree at Ingles, the grocery store. They only had a few, but they were all pretty good quality. I think this is the biggest tree we have ever gotten. It's almost 8 ft tall, and fairly bushy. Sunday night we decorated it, so now the house feels all festive for the holidays, which is a good thing. The tree is in the living room, right behind the front door, so if you're coming to our house, be sure not to open the door too wide. I'll get a picture up soon. I took some with my phone for my Facebook page, but they aren't great pictures.

Now it's back to work for three weeks, and then a week off for Christmas!

Carolina Renaissance Festival

Well, I said we'd do it and we did! Saturday, Teresa and I took off to Charlotte for the Carolina Renaissance Festival. We had the joy of meeting up with Beth and Jonathan, friends from college, and their two year old son, Julian, who we had never met and were thrilled to get the chance to see. We arrived at the fair grounds a little ahead of them, and went inside.

First of all, it was remarkably similar to the fair in Maryland. The buildings were the same, and the signs all looked familiar. Many of the souvenirs and other things were identical to ones found at the other fair. It makes sense when I think about it, that people who make and sell these things would find similar venues for them. The scale of the Carolina festival was a little smaller. There was still plenty to see and do, but you didn't have to walk quite as far to see and do it. We got there shortly after it opened so there weren't too many people at the festival yet.

Our friends showed up soon after we got there and we took our time going from place to place. It was really wonderful to see Julian rushing from place to place, and Jonathan following closely behind as they took in all the sights. We somehow ended up near a stage where they were doing a falconry show, which turned out to be really cool. The birds would fly out over the audience, really low, from perch to perch.
Teresa and I did not wear any renaissance clothing this time, but there were plenty of people that did. Sometimes it's hard to tell if they work at the festival or if they're just attending! After taking this next picture, the group of people started to do a dance. The formal kind you see in things like Pride and Prejudice.

Further on was a place where there were several Greyhounds just lounging about for people to come up and pet. I can't remember the name of the place now, nor what the dogs were there for, or where they came from, if they were rescued racers or what, but they were sweet dogs, and Teresa loved them.
We continued to take a look at everything as we made our way to the food area. I ended up with another turkey leg, and man, was that thing huge and tasty. Better than the one from Maryland for sure. I don't know what the difference was, but I know I liked it better. We found a play ground for the kids where we ate, and Julian played. After lunch we continued on down to the petting zoo where there were goats, a highland cow, and elephant and camel rides. Then it came time for the joust.

This was our knight. There were three in total, and two of them were heralded as being evil, and this one, ours, was the good one. He also looked very young. At a point in the show where our knight had won a skill trial, he was given a crown of flowers to give out to someone as princess of the joust, and he gave it to a little girl. One of the evil knights commended him... for picking a princess older than he was.

This joust was a bit different from the one Maryland. At that one, they competed for points and in the end, a winner was selected. At this joust, they did more play acting, falling off their horses and culminating in a challenge to a Joust to the Death, which was to happen at the next joust that day. It was entertaining, and I would have liked to see the next joust, but it was getting too late at that point. All the more reason to return!

On the way out of the park, we took the obligatory heads on picture, picture. Look at us! We're King and Queen!
But then there was one other thing near the exit to the park . The goose holding booth. For some reason, this was very cool. And all it is are some very well trained geese. And what they're trained to do is sit in your lap. I did it earlier in the day, and Teresa was a little bit timid. But by the end of the day, she was ready to hold a goose. This is Teresa and Mimi.
It was a great day, and I'd definitely do it again. It wasn't just the fair either, but the chance to see our friends again. Our friends who, it turns out, only live a couple hours a way, so we have no excuse for waiting another five years to see them again. The next festival in North Carolina is in April, but there may be one in Georgia before that. I'll have to start doing some more research!

Howl-a-Ween

I failed to post last week when we went to Howl-a-Ween in Black Mountain, so here's a quick post. Every year they do a dog costume contest and parade in Black Mountain where people dress up their dogs, or with their dogs and just have some fun. We tried to get Hannah into a Lobster costume... but she didn't want any part of that.

We still went, just to see all of the other dogs in their costumes. There were quite a few people, including a couple dressed as Batman and Batgirl, and their two dogs were Robin and Wonder Woman. There was a whippet or something dressed up like a giraffe, and one in a pink jacket of some sort. I'm not sure what it was. Below are a couple of our favorites.

Zorro!

Snow White

Sherlock Holmes, searching for clues...