Blogging From The In-Laws: Day 9 (Recap)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
I got a chance to go see The Life Aquatic with my brother-in-law yesterday. We both found it to be highly entertaining, although you may have to be a bit of a fan of Wes Anderson's other works (Rushmore, Bottle Rocket, and The Royal Tennenbaums) or at least have a dry sense of humor in order to enjoy it fully. The language is also a bit rougher around the edges, so if your stomach turns at more than a few F-bombs, I'd avoid it.

The entire cast turns in quirky performances but I felt that Willem Dafoe stole the show with his portrayal of the Belafonte's German engineer, Klaus. I won't ruin the movie by attempting to describe it, but I must say that the best scene, in my not-so-humble opinion, involves the storming of an abandoned 4 star hotel on a remote Pacific island.

All-in-all, I'd give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Blogging From The In-Laws: Day 8 (Recap)

An Endorsement
If you're ever in Longview, TX, stop by Bodacious BBQ. The sauce is good, if a bit sweet, but their meat is superior to most other places I've been. I've a sneaking suspicion it has to do with the quality of the wood they use in the smoking...

A Review
I received Mario Power Tennis from my wife for Christmas and got a chance to play it quite a bit with my brother-in-law. It's quite entertaining and the graphics do a wonderful job of conveying a playful atmosphere. However, the control scheme is needlessly complex, so much so that I was practically yearning for the simpler days of on-court action as presented in the superlative Sega Sports Tennis. Instead of assigning drop and lob shots to the X and Y buttons, the game instead forces you to tap B-then-A or A-then-B (respectively) to make these shots. Also, in the higher level tournaments, the AI players are extremely difficult, almost to the point of "cheating" ala Super Mario Kart.

Still, 'tis an eminently entertaining game and I can't wait to try it out with four players. It should make a great "party" game.

A Non-Endorsement
Two words: Hobby. Lobby. (But wait, it gets worse!)

Combine them with: Shopping.

And finally: After. Christmas. Sale.

*shudder*

Button Maker

This one's for Brad, since Blogger seems to have b0rked my attempt to post the link over at his site:

Button Maker.

Yeeehaw.

Blogging From The In-Laws: Days 6 & 7

I think I've eaten more food in the past two days than a small east African nation. We're currently stationed at my wife's grandmother's house and, in the grand tradition of Southern grandmothers, she always puts out quite a spread.

While the cheese spreads on crouton-esque bread is bad enough (in a caloric, not gustatory fashion, mind you), they're far exceeded by the white chocolate-covered popcorn, fudge, and chocolate chip cookies which carry a deliciously deadly payload of Snickers at their centers.

Ugh. I couldn't eat anover boit. I moit frow up.

Just Testing

We're testing here to see if this works...