New movies out this week!


Toy Story 4

Well this is certainly NOT going to be a flop. This is going to be a gigantic hit, and seemingly everyone is excited to see this.  This franchise has an incredible universal appeal.  Everyone had, or has toys.  Everyone relates, and everyone loves the main characters.

There are some new characters here, and enough time has passed to make this fresh yet again.

Anna

If you watch this trailer, it may may become painfully clear to you, that you have seen this movie 100 times before in one way shape or form.

This will get lost in the shuffle.

Child's Play

Chucky  -   These kind of slasher movies always seem to find a nice opening weekend, and then comes the huge exhale.

The wave will come in, and then go out.....way out....

Social Media has made it fun to look back on Throwback Thursdays and see how we used to be.  It's maybe run its best race, but I think it is cool at times to look back and see a different version of ourselves.   And for some of us, as far back to when the earth was cooling.....

Studios Have Changed In 38 Years!

The changes in me, and my career have been many, and as I look back, it seems that was not me, but it was. And in essence, still is.

Seems Like Someone Else....Again Older Studio 1987

Because one of the best ways to learn why things are the way they are......is to remember why they were, the way they were.

Today....

Still not complaining, just commenting.   But I do miss the long shadows that the sun can cast. There just has not been much sun lately.  Have you found yourself, as I have found myself, in disbelief that it is late June?   It just hasn't felt very June-y.  And thinking back, it didn't feel very May-y either.  Or April-y. 

But it is, and we have to think that the best of Summer 2019 is still ahead. And I have tried to keep the perspective, that is it not yet summer.  It is still technically Spring.

Hang in there. Summer is coming.  

Summer Solstice - June 21 at 11:54 a.m.

This is getting a bit old.  I am not one to complain about much of anything, as it generally solves nothing, and I am a results guy.   But this rain is really getting a bit old.

I lived through a two and half year drought in Florida when I worked there and I swore then I would not ever go off about rain again. Droughts are terrible.  But this ain't real great either.  And being honest, droughts and flooding are about tied on the worse-meter

Rain can be frustrating, and the lack of outdoor stuff, and of course golf gets old, but this too will pass.  All I ask is this.  Can we just get back to a regular pattern.  Some sun, some warm, some rain

You know. The basics.

“It’s OK To Be Breathless….”

Being breathless or speechless is not always thought to be good, but I feel differently. Since being speechless generally is not a problem for me, (sheesh) let’s defend breathless instead.  There are times we feel breathless.  First, the literal form.  You’re working out, running, jogging, hiking, whatever, doing good for your body and health.  Being breathless is always tough to weather in those moments, but deep, hard to catch breaths eventually give way to far more gentle ones.  And then there’s the good feeling afterward that ensues from a good physical burn.

There’s also a more casual form, like rooting for your favorite team, good or bad.  The feeling when the Indians were on the verge of a World Series title in 2016, the Cavs winning it the same year, or the Browns leaving you breathless weekly, when we all wish NFL games were 59 minutes long and not 60.   The adrenaline that flows through you, the feeling that you are part of something communal.  And when it passes, you feel better knowing that you cared about something deeply enough to let it temporarily take over your body.  This is a good breathless as well.

Then there’s the kind of breathless only another breathing soul can provide.  I saw a social media post a couple weeks ago that stated something like, “The sight of him/her, still makes me breathless after a long time….” (paraphrasing).  And I thought, what a great way to feel and publicly state.  We all should be so fortunate to feel breathless in the presence of the one we hold close.  Is it a romantic synonym for being extremely happy?  Well of course.

But what on earth is wrong with that?  It tells you just how alive you really are, and confirms you are, where you are supposed to be in the world.  Those moments when you share the same air.

Breathe deeply.

Fair question. Was I ever this young?

Ran across this pic a while ago, and I think I was about 11 or so.  My sister took this pic for a senior photography class in high school.

Who that is in the background is a mystery, and so is why I was posing like the Sears catalogue kid.  Why was I wearing a collared shirt while playing football too?  Times have changed, and so have I too I guess.  And how is it this particular pic has survived all these years when others have not?  Maybe because it's my moms and sisters favorite.

Seeing a pic like this reminds us on how long of a journey life really is.  That is me, but that's a few decades and life phases ago.

Do you have similar pics?

Life is great!

Last Friday I played in the Junior Achievement Golf Outing at the terrific Chenoweth Golf Course in Akron and it was a great time! 

I know, playing golf is fun, and spending the day with workmates on the course, eating good food and the rest of it doesn't sound like tough duty, and it's not. But there is something good about supporting people that are worth supporting and Junior Achievement is one of those groups.

Everyone made us feel so welcome, and the day was so great.  Feel free to support JA in the Akron area.  This outing has been going on a long time, and with good reason.

Good people!  Support Junior Acheivement!

“Rain all you want on my old house, as the roof is new”

It’s raining today on my old house, and I’m fine with it.  I have a new roof,  and the rain finds a place away from me and runs off like a snow melted stream in the Rockies.   I believe rain gets us all thinking.  At the place in life we all are, we have all been rained on a few times in one way or another.

I have been through many changes in my personal life over the past couple of years  Much like the rain, changes happened, and quite frankly, as many don’t embrace change, I am much better for it.  My health is very good, and my professional life is better than ever.  But the void that change can leave in ones personal existence sometimes is the toughest hurdle to clear.  Even with that said, I knew then, and know even more now, that all will be fine, and in fact better than before.  Maybe even better than I could have imagined before it clouded up.

But no matter what direction the rain came from, I was ready, and I am ready still.  I don’t want to be the one that scoffs at the rain, or runs from it.  Sure, storms can be challenging but they do end, and skies do clear to brilliant blue.  And when they do we can either look at it two ways,  One, is that everything is soaked and ruined.   Or that the rain was needed and much will grow strong and tall from it.

I choose the latter. 

New flicks out this week! 

Shaft (Preview)

Here comes another Shaft movie, and this one is bound to be a big hit with hardcore fans.  The original Shaft from the early 1970's was very different than the movies made since, but that's OK.   Things reinvent themselves, and this has into a "buddy" action series. Now we have three generations to deal with.

Samuel L. Jackson, and the original Shaft, Richard Roundtree lead a fun cast.

Men In Black: International  (Preview)

Being honest, I may be the wrong guy to ask about anything MIB. This is a continuation and/or reboot of the originals of course. It has been re-casted and made over, and that's fine too.  I am just not so sure there was enough material for sequels to the original (which I liked), and I am not sure there is enough new to support this.

Seems like the same gags, and jokes again, but I hope I am wrong. But as of this writing, I'm not buying it.

Late Night  (Preview)

Emma Thompson stars as a late night talk show host, who is seemingly out of ideas and is being cancelled.  So they try to breathe new life into the show by hiring a new, young writer played by Mindy Kaling.  This is a comedy, and my gut tells me all ends up well in this story, and knowing that today is OK. 

This could be really fun if done right

The Dead Don't Die (Preview)

This has a great cast and looks really funny, in this dark comedy and parody on the whole Zombie thing. Bill Murray leads this and being honest I am looking forward to seeing this.

Yesterday on the show we had a lot of fun with this.  Someone actually calculated that on Memorial Day itself, 818 hot dogs were eaten EVERY SECOND!  Got us thinking, about the big eaters in our lives. The three of us all love to eat. - And we don't run from that!

So we opened up our phone and text lines to tons responses that made us laugh. One guy ate 11 dogs at a Dollar Dog Night with the Tribe.  Another ate 38 pizza slices at a pizza buffet!  Still another 4 big plates of shrimp at an Asian joint.  And our biggest hero ate 8 steaks at a Ponderosa once!  AWESOME!

We LOVE when you call the show and chime in!   330-370-2000

And these guys went after this pizza at Mr G's!  - NICE!

I am a big eater, and yes, hot dogs are on my radar - sausage too!   I could knock down probably about 7 in 10 minutes.  

It's officially eating season.  So let's get on the grill!