Airport Delay Blues

We went to (are still in) Florida on vacation with Des's parents. We spent three days at Vero Beach, and three hours and counting at Orlando airport. Unfortunately, our plane is delayed from a 12:45 departure to 3:40 (Edit: Good news, the flight was moved up to 3:30!).

Other than Steve being annoying during the entire stay, we had a great time. Des developed a new appreciation for swimming in the ocean, as long as Steve carried her on his back over the area where all of the broken shells gather. We also went kayaking in a tandem boat in the Indian River Lagoon, where we saw a dolphin, s possible manatee, and flying fish (that liked Des's mom).

Besides writing out an itinerary of our trip, which would be boring, there's not too much more to say, so here's a list of things (besides being stuck in an airport for hours) which annoy us:

1. Most kids and parents in pubic.

2. Drivers who don't use their turn signals (sure, there may not be anyone behind you, but there is some other driver out there who could make their turn or go straight based on your direction).

3. Drivers who make a production out of turning or turn into the wrong lane (I swear there is a law that when you make a turn, you have to turn into the lane closest to you. No one follows this).

4. People who congregate at really inconvenient spots, like the bottom of an escalator or right inside a doorway.

5. People who drink white zinfindel.

6. When people take the stall right next to your's in a public restroom when there are plenty of other stalls empty and not next to anyone (also goes for seats at movie theaters).

7. Engine revving.

8. Sales clerks who ask what you're looking for in a store that only sells one thing (I'm talking to you, leather-face from Sunglass Hut).

9. Loud-talkers on planes. The person you're talking to is in the seat right next to you. There's no reason I should know about your aunt's medical history when I'm sitting four rows behind you. Plus, you laugh like a chimpanzee.

10. When people say "Bow-chicka-wow-wow" or whatever the hell that stupid crap is.

11. Soup slurppers and whistlers (oh wait, that's Steve).

12. Foot shufflers. What do you think your legs are for?

13. Internet ad companies that kick you off for no reason so you don't feel like blogging anymore.


There's more, but we're bored now. Feel free to add your own pet peeves in the comment section (The first genius to write "People who create lists" or "People who talk about what annoys them" will be #14 on our list).

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

SPOILER WARNING! Don't read if you haven't already seen the movie!

By popular demand, I'll now do a quick review of the latest installment of the Indiana Jones saga. This movie has received mixed reviews. The general film-going public and critics received it fairly positively, and its box office performance was more than respectable, but the internet community has been pretty hard on the further adventure of the rawest archaelogist ever.

I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but I see some validity in the gripes, if not in the ferocity in which they're voiced.

Many complaints started a few seconds into the movie when the CGI prairie dog emerged from the Paramount-logo-faded molehill. Is this a complaint against the concept or the use of CGI? I'm not sure, but I understood that the scene was a pre-emptive in-joke against many of the very fanboy types who now slag the film. As someone who eagerly awaited the film enough to follow the internet banter leading up to it, I know that the old logo-fades-into-a-mountain was one of the overly quoted must-haves for the movie, as if the film-makers didn't understand their own tradition.

Next, the setting: The 50's replace the 30's, and this is emphasized over and over again in the first part of the movie in ways that are much less subtle than in the previous films. Perhaps this was a little gratuitous, and in some ways detracts from the timelessness of the series, but at the same time, it serves the story in an important way.

As the climax of the introductory event displays very clearly, this is truly a new era. The supernatural powers of the Ark, the Shankara Stones, and the Grail are no longer relevant in a world where man has attained greater power through science in the form of a nuclear bomb. As Indy's unlikely escape from a test blast proves, this type of adventurer is out of place in this setting, and when he emerges from the lead lined fridge, he steps foot into a very unfamiliar territory.

The unfamiliar realm opens up even more when the finale leads Indy and his crew to come face to face with a very different kind of otherworldly power than he had faced before. The inclusion of an alien-based artifact was in many ways the logical next step for the film, from a thematic standpoint (escalation of technological power) and the mood of the movie (50's extraterrestrial fascination). Ultimately, I would have liked to see a little bit less of the alien, to leave a little more mystery, and the UFO could have looked a bit more organic, but otherwise I could handle the change in direction.

The often maligned Shia LeBoeuf performed well, with a great reaction line ("Oh, it's just a...thing) although his Tarzan scene is the only other place I wish the film-makers would have used a bit more discretion. However, Desiree's observation that since Mutt was Indy's son, swinging was in his blood, was enough for me to give the sequence a pass.

Yes, there were a few other instances of oversights in plot construction, but truly there were as many in the original trilogy as well. I won't list them here, but they are real. We accepted them then as a younger, less skeptical film audience, and there is no reason we can't accept them now in the name of harmless entertainment.

That being said, I rate this film about on par with Temple of Doom (they are the most similar in pacing and characterization) and therefore at the lower end of the Indiana Jones spectrum. However, still worthy to bear the name, and a lot of fun to watch if the audience takes themselves no more seriously than did the film-makers.

I Have a Culinary Boner

The Top Chef reunion show featured a shirt that Des will have to start wearing in the kitchen, courtesy of her fan favorite chef, Andrew the Spazz.

It was funny when Lisa mentioned that people were giving her dirty looks on the street. Probably nothing new, just the first she noticed it.

So there's going to be a teen top chef next. Not sure if I'll bother watching what happens for that. There's enough mac n' cheese and hot dogs in the grown-up version.

Says Des: "What are we going to do Wednesday nights now?"

Also, rumor has it that Top Chef 5 will be in New York. Hopefully rumor is wrong and Phila has a chance!

Off topic: Our tomatoes, by request.




Next time: I'll review Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, also by request.

"Don't take that squash away from me, and leave me with that broccoli..."

We grew broccoli! And we already harvested it! And ate it!


Here's the broccoli less than 2 weeks ago when we first noticed the head.


Watch it grow!






After we harvested it.



The final product - chicken and broccoli stir fry.

Bruno (we call him Broccoli sometimes)

We also have teeny tomatoes, strawberries, and bell peppers. Yum!