Last Day

For Rodney's last day at the Tribune, we bought him a pinata. Look carefully at the front of the pinata and you can see what we taped to it.

New job

Well, I'm making a big change. Tomorrow I'm starting a new job!

Friday was my last day at the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. I got a job as "senior communications writer" at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona. It's a small (but growing!) graduate school that offers degrees in five areas - nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, osteopathic medicine and physical therapy.

So no more newspapers for me after 10 years in the business. Esther will still be at the Tribune, so I won't lose touch with everyone there. But I decided to make a career change. I hope this will open doors and provide new opportunities.

I'm a bit nervous since it's less than 12 hours away from my first day at work.
I will have a lot to absorb in a short amount of time - new computer system, lots of new people to meet, and job duties that are different than what I'm used to. But I'm also excited. I'll let you all know how it goes.

If you want to check out my new workplace, visit www.westernu.edu

Have a good week everyone!

Disneyland Brick

Well folks, Greg & I finally purchased a brick at Disneyland. We figured we were there enough and thought it would be nice for us and our friends and family to see a name they knew. So, around mid Novemeber our brick with our names will be out there in the center between the two parks. When we get the exact location we will let everyone know so you can look for it. We are excited! It's something we should've done a couple years ago, but never got around to. We actually checked on it back in May at the cousin challenge and if we had done it then it would've been done and we could've seen it when we go AGAIN in October. We have one more trip planned for the year. :-)

Random music question

This is VERY random, but the movie "Shall We Dance?" w/ J Lo and Richard Gere was on the other day and in it was a song by Peter Gabriel called "The Book of Love." (Check out the soundtrack on iTunes if you want a sample). Anyway, I was going to try to download it, but it is only available if you buy the entire album. Since I don't want to pay $11 for one song, I am looking for alternatives if possible, so if any of you happen to have it in your iPods or know where I can buy or "find" ;o) the single, please let me know. Thanks. BTW, if you get a chance, try to check out the song, it's kind of romantic and sappy, but oh well...

JT

p.s. - tell Mell we've found the female alternative to her favorite beach musician, Jack Johnson. Her name is Colbie Caillat (Cal-ay) and she had a free single download last week. I saw her on Leno a month or two ago and I guess she was the most popular unsigned (at the time) artist on MySpace. Anyway, looks like she got a record deal and if you like the Norah Jones, Jewel, Michael Buble', Jack Johnson crowd, you might like her...

Fantasy Football

Hi All,

I think we tried to get people into fantasy football last year without much success. Just wondering if anyone is interested this year. I think it would be another good way to keep in touch and hey...it's football. If people are interested but don't know how to play, don't let it stop you, we can post the rules here. As an added bonus...looks like there are some really good 49ers to pick up this year (sorry Rod about Eric Johnson).

Brian

World of WarCraft

Just wondering if any of you played? My character is Raguo on the Hyjal server. If you do play, maybe on a different server, let me know....

More movie reviews

Hi All,

Long time reader, first time poster...

Brandee and I have also been going to the movies a lot this summer. We haven't seen Oceans 13 or Die Hard yet, but I thought I'd give some of my opinions on the movies so far:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - I think this is my favorite movie of the summer so far (still holding out for Bourne Ultimatum and Hot Rod). I read all the books after I saw the first 3 HP movies and before the fourth and up to this point, wished I had seen all the movies before the books, because I've found the movies (although awesome) have left some cool stuff out from the books. Order of the Phoenix, the book, was good but I thought to make the movie they were definitely going to need to cut a lot out. I think they did a great job of editing the book and the special effects were great.
Grade: A, good film adaptation, another HP hit

Transformers - Like Rod, super-Transformer fan. Unfortunately, my favorites were Bumblebee and Soundwave, so I was a little dissapointed in their new bodies (at least I think that was Soundwave). I saw this opening day as a company outing from eBay. If/when you see the movie, you'll understand why eBay was so quick to rent out a couple theaters. Anyway, I thought this was a really good movie and even better if you weren't that into Transformers in the 80's. Pretty typical action/sci-fi movie. Amazing special effects, world-saving heroes, and a story line that is a lot better if you don't think about it. One thing that irrated me a little was that when the Autobots and Decepticons were in robot form, they basically all looked the same (especially Megatron and Starscream). I never knew who was fighting.
Grade: B+, action, robots, nostalgia

Ratatouille - OK, so I'm a little biased towards Disney and especially Pixar. Pixar movies have been tops on my list every time they come out and Ratatouille is another hit. I think this is the first time I didn't really recognize many of the voices (you'd think Janeane Garofalo's voice would be distinct, but add a French accent and she totally fooled me). It's a great story and has lots of laughs. No need to talk about the animation, you've seen it before and it's better again. Brandee and I always try to rank the Pixars after a new one is release and I think my list is now: Toy Story, TS 2, Incredibles, Ratatouille, Cars, Monsters Inc. Finding Nemo, Bugs Life. But that's not to put any of them down, they're all awesome and anything after Toy Story 1 & 2 can switch daily.
Grade: A, Pixar, fun, Will Arnet

Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer- I actually liked the first one better. I was really hoping for something special given that growing up the Thing and Silver Surfer were 2 of my favorite superheroes (OK, i thought the Thing was named Rockman, but still, he's rock!). Anyway, if I had fallen asleep during the movie, I don't think I would have missed much. The Silver Surfer was pretty cool as far as effects go, so if you just like effects, I guess it's worth it.
Grade: C-, ummm...Jessica Alba with burnt looking hair?

Shrek 3 - First previews looked horrible, second preview looked pretty good, movie...not too bad. I've liked both the first 2 movies a lot, and pretty much went in hoping this movie didn't bomb. With that expectation, I really liked movie. It definitely wasn't as good as the first two, but it didn't put them to shame either. The story was interesting and Donkey and Puss in Boots were funny. Not really much else to say.
Grade B+, favorite guest cameo: John Krasinski (Jim from The Office)

The other two 3rd movies in the series, Pirates and Spiderman have been out for a while and I'm tired of typing. I'd say both are good enough to continue possible conclude (who knows) their respective series'. Neither as good as their sucessors. Both will make the DVD library and get B's.

What I'm Doing This Summer

As some of you know, I got assigned to the major metropolitan area of Waterford, CA for the Sheriff's Department. There I supervise seven deputy sheriff's, two legal clerks and a zoning officer. Mayberry is a more suitable name. Buuuuuut, included in this assignment is supervising the two reservoirs we are responsible for and the two off road parks. My staff for that includes four Sheriff Deputies. Now come the cool part. I get to drive a brand new 4X4 pickup as my take home car.

We also have two dual-sport motorcycles to cruise around the parks on. We have three more on order so all the parks guys and I have their own bike. I just ordered four quad ATVs and we just took delivery of two of the five jet skis for our reservoirs.This is in addition to the two boats we have per reservoir. Today, I spent the day passing the word on boating safety with little paper reminders so people can donate to our boating fund. We've had to deal with a rash of personal watercraft crashes that have run from paint chips to a guys getting his leg amputated. So, we have taken a zero tolerance policy on the water.

All of this is in addition to being the team leader of the Underwater Recovery Team, which has kept me on my toes also. It's also made me famous locally as one reporter from the Modesto Bee seems to be fond of my name, since he is always asking for me.

All of my people are great, hard working, no nonsense people. I really enjoy this assignment and it is rivaling my time in the dope unit as the best assignment. The best part is, since I've been in this assignment, I've put about 40 bucks in gas in my personal truck. That's been since we've been to Disneyland. So on the weekends, pop a brew and think of me, your cousin, making the waterways of Stanislaus County safe. ;)

Summer Movies

Rodney and I are going to review some of the movies we've seen this summer. We'll be rating movies on a star scale. 1 star is awful and 5 stars is AMAZING.

Ratatouille
Esther - **** - Pixar did it again. I had so much fun with this movie, and I came out very hungry for French food. The story was sweet and the animation was amazing. The plot had all the emotional highs and lows that I've come to expect from Pixar movies. The animators were able to make the rats look fuzzy and the food look scrumptious. One of the major action scenes in the sewer was so much fun because the water was so realistic! I can't give this movie 5 stars, because it didn't completely "wow" me as other Pixar movies have in the past (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Toy Story 2), but it came pretty darn close.

Rod - **** - I agree that the movie wasn't Pixar's best (for me, that's Toy Story 2), but anything by Pixar is better than most other movies by other studios. I also think the animation is stellar. And if rats turn you off, don't worry (much). You will root for the main character, Remy, as much as you do Nemo, Scully and Buzz. Warning: There are a few scenes of swarming rats that might make you a bit squeamish. But overall, there's plenty of fun, laughs and great food. Plus some lessons about following your heart (and art) mixed in.

Transformers
Rod - *** 1/2 - Full disclosure: I was a huge Transformers fan in the '80s. So I'm completely biased about this film. I really enjoyed it. It was like spending time with old friends...friends who happened to get a $100+ million CGI makeover in the last 20 years. The best part about this movie is it gives you a sense of scale. When the Transformers move and fight and knock each other around, you feel their power and heft. My main complaint sounds strange - I think there wasn't enough character development of the Transformers. You are introduced to the Autobots (the good guys) and learn their names, but you don't really know anything about them. In my 12-year-old mind they all had distinct personalities and roles. Here they are almost interchangeable, especially the Decepticons (the bad guys). So my recommendation for the inevitable sequel: more robots, less humans! And, like most of these summer movies, they should hire a better editor. Almost all of these summer movies could stand 20-30 minutes of trimming.

Esther - ***1/3 - I don't remember watching the Transformers cartoons, but I think I had some knock-off toys. The first two-thirds of this movie was great. The story was entertaining and funny, and the Transformers looked very realistic. The action sequences were quick and smooth, and it didn't feel like cgi. The romantic thread between the two main characters was mostly believable, with a few cheesy moments. My main complaint is that the ending didn't make sense. It just seemed too simple. Overall, I had a great time with this movie. It also helped that we saw it in Westwood, and the audience cheered for just about everything.

Live Free or Die Hard
Rod - *** 1/2 - For anyone who has seen and enjoyed the other Die Hard movies, the best part of this movie will be seeing Bruce Willis as John McClane. He slips back into this role easily, and you will forget there has been a long gap between III and IV. The action is great and fun to watch. But I think the biggest strength of the first movie (he's believable as an ordinary guy in a confined space, fighting the bad guys alone) is this movie's biggest weakness. As Live Free progresses, it becomes more outlandish and less believable. But suspend your disbelief and you will have a good time.

Esther - **** - I love the Die Hard series, and this movie was like visiting an old friend. What I learned from this movie is that nerds are cool. They can do anything with a cell phone and satellite/internet connection. They can even be taught John Mclane survival skills. I was thoroughly entertained and also in disbelief throughout the movie. The stunts were impressive but totally unbelievable. The things the nerds can do with computers are equally impressive and equally unbelievable. The movie was a little long, but I didn't mind.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Rod - ** - I didn't see the first movie, so I came in with no expectations. The interaction between the four main characters was fun, but they didn't use their powers enough and there wasn't enough action. I've already forgotten a lot of what happened in this movie. The Silver Surfer is done well, but he was never a favorite of mine during my comic collecting years.

Ocean's 13
Esther - *** - I thought Ocean's 11 was a huge success. All-star cast, great story, great writing, great direction, great editing. Ocean's 12 was a free pay-day for the actors. Ocean's 13 is somewhere in the middle. I think the movie people really tried to make up for Ocean's 12 and got about 60% there. The story was better, and I didn't feel cheated like I did in the second movie. However, I didn't feel any sense of urgency because I never thought Ocean's gang would fail in this caper. This movie is like Sprite: it's fun, fizzy, effervescent and forgettable.

Rod - ** 1/2 - I agree that there was no sense of urgency. And it's also very forgettable. In fact, if we had reviewed this immediately after seeing the movie, I would have given it more stars, but by now (a month later) I don't remember anything about this movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean
Esther - *** - I was reminded a lot of the third installment in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy when I watched this movie. Overall, it was an OK movie, although it was quite long, went off on tangents and a little hokey at the end. But didn't everyone expect that? But as any third (and hopefully final) installment in a series, this movie provided closure (sort of). Johnny Depp, of course, is amazing, and the rest of the cast is about average. The real stand-out in this movie, I think, is Captain Barbossa. He really is the quintessential pirate.

Rod - ** 1/2 - Almost the same review as Ocean's 13. We watched Pirates 2 on DVD for the first time the day before going to the theater to watch 3. I can't really remember what happened in each movie. There are plot points that are introduced then discarded. I mentioned editing before. This entire series could have used major trimming. I guess, like my Transformers bias, I should say I'm not a huge fan of this series. Great set pieces, but I never really became attached to any characters. I still like the ride, though.

Final Thoughts
Esther - The hot LA summer is a perfect excuse for escaping into a movie theater. Here are all the other summer movies I want to see: Harry Potter, No Reservations, License to Wed, Now I Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3.

Rod - These summer movies have been fun to watch and easy to forget. I suppose that should be expected during this season. But don't let us have the final say. Share your thoughts about these movies and others you've seen this summer. And keep it up as more movies are released... perhaps we should have a special Harry Potter post, on the movie and the book.

Hi Cousins,
I have entered the 21st century and I can now officially blog! Great pictures Rod and exceptional commentary Esther....We are almost at the end of Gakko. Wow! Another year come and gone. With great leadership, the gakko went well this year.....we only had a few injuries and just one fire alarm! Not even the extreme HEAT could stop us....and our luxurious accommodations - 4 kids per air mattress couldn't be beat. There is always an open invitation to Gakko week - especially since it's not my house. The rest of our summer will be spent at music camp, sailing camp, basketball camp and a quick trip to Southern Cal....maybe even a day at Universal Studios.....and by the way, thanks Esther for Photo shopping us into the picture!!!

I made it in...

Ok, I have finally achieved a Disney milestone i didn't know if i would make...i have joined Ally as a cousin who has dined in Club 33 at Disneyland (if others of you have, I apologize and let us know!) I was in Anaheim for this year's annual athletic trainers convention and one of our medical vendors invited our staff to a dinner/reception in Club 33. My boss and other assistant made sure that everyone attending knew about our cousin challenge and my affection for all things Disney. i'll try to keep this short, but the invitation came with a ticket to the park and a map (like i needed it!) so our other assistant and i headed into the park around 8:30 pm for dinner (the others were there already). Once we got the the door and i wiped away a tear ;o), i knocked on the door. NO ANSWER! then i looked to the left and noticed a metal door that i pulled down and pushed the button. within seconds, the door opened and a young lady confirmed our party and let us in. the reception area is small and lead up to some stair that take you up to one of the two dining areas. imagine my surprise when she asked, "is one of you Jeff?" I said, uh, yeah, and she said she heard that i was a big fan and to let her know if she could answer any questions. my boss had obviously been there already!

we went upstairs to one of two dining rooms and sat down at one of the tables. the room was decorated with a bunch of memorabilia including photos, framed posters commemorating various milestones such as the opening of rides and Fantasmic, and mounted on the wall was the knife and serving utensil they were saving for Walt's 100th birthday (I guess they'll have to wait until they unfreeze him for that). Dinner was great (Salad, scallop risotto, filet mignon, and some kind of rich chocolate fudge dessert. - oh and lots of wine!).

After dinner and the usual testimonials and thanks, we went outside and watched a little of Fantasmic from the balcony. it was pretty fun to see from that vantage point. It was definitely a memory I won't soon forget! Hope you all are well. On another note, thank you all for your thoughts and support in the past few months with everything that was going on between Kristina and I. i have appreciated your love and support in helping get though this tough time.

jt