More than just a game

When people hear the word fall they think of the leaves changing colors, or maybe the weather getting cooler.  They think of school starting and new seasons of their favorite shows. One word comes to my mind when I hear fall, and that is football. 

Watching football isn't just watching a sport, at least not for me.  I have very fond memories of watching games with my family, especially my dad and my grandpa. My dad, my brother, and I would go over to my grandpa's on game day.  We'd order large pizzas and down cans of soda as we watched our favorite teams battle it out.  It was bonding time.  I bonded with them in other ways too, but watching football is still my favorite.  The crazy screaming at the T.V., combined with the standing ovations as one player completes a pass or scores a touchdown, made each Sunday memorable.  It was always a joy watching them react to each play of every game. After the game we'd go outside and play in the yard, pretending to be our favorite players.  Something as simple as playing catch could make us laugh and shout and go crazy.  

I know too many useless facts about football. But it's always fun to talk about how players have improved and how you think your team will do this year.  Yes there's always bragging rights and the gloating of hardcore fans, but there's also something that happens internally.  I love my dad and my grandpa so much.  I will always have these crazy memories to remind me of time spent together with them.  

So you kinda get an idea of where my mind is at currently.  I'm stoked for this season.  Whether it's college or the NFL playing, I'll be rooting my team on with my brother, dad, and grandpa screaming along with me.  It's almost here! 

Paradise

Getting engaged last summer was one awesome/crazy experience.  You're suddenly the center of attention. Everyone wants to know how it happened. Your family congratulates you effusively. Lots of hugs and kisses and "aww" moments come your way, every day.  One of the biggest things that comes to mind is......the honeymoon.  The big trip.  An exotic getaway with your new spouse.  After months of discussing, we came to a decision. Cancun, Mexico would be our destination for a week.  We were elated and couldn't wait for next summer.  After a year of school and wedding shoots, our time had finally come.  On May 23rd we embarked on our trip to paradise.  Now this week is supposed to be absolutely perfect right? Well it didn't start out that way.  On our flight to Dallas, we encountered a storm.  Not a metaphor. An actual storm with lightning and strong winds and unforgiving hail.  We reached the tarmac at the airport and we suddenly found ourselves in the back of a long line of planes.  There were at least a dozen of them ahead of us. One of those "oh crap" moments you see in movies. The planes were being inspected because of the storm. So we waited on the plane for over an hour. The thought of missing our next flight became reality very quickly. After a long grueling wait at the airport, getting new tickets, and locating our luggage, we headed to a hotel.  My mom saved the day. We were able to find a nice hotel near the airport.  My mom's friend works in the hotel business and got us a room. Well not just a room. A suite.  So the day ended well. We got chicken and hamburgers.  And to top it off....my Mavs won in overtime. : ) The next day we arrived! We were finally there.  The ride to our resort was quite entertaining.  Resorts consumed the streets.  The size of them was just unbelievable.  You couldn't help but just stare in awe. Our resort was at the very end of the peninsula.  Before we knew it we were in our room. We had a sweet balcony that overlooked the beach. You just stare out the window and all you see is the ocean and hundreds of resorts along the sand. Every morning I would sit at our table on the balcony and just look at the ocean.  There's nothing like it. Our week consisted of swimming with dolphins, ordering room service (averaged four calls a day), tanning, and hanging out on the beach.  The weather was perfect.  It never exceeded 85 degrees. Swimming with dolphins was awesome. Seeing Caitlin just light up when she played with them was pretty cool to watch. The dolphins were so smart and obeyed every command the trainer gave them.  They danced for us and made hilarious noises in response to our splashing. Having them push you with their noses was the coolest thing ever.  You feel like you're flying for a good 8 seconds. By far the best week I've ever had.  Experiencing that place just makes me want to work hard and make money so I can go back and do it all over again.  It's the perfect getaway.  If you ever get the chance someday, I highly recommend going there.  Great location with incredible service and enough activities to keep you busy all week.

- Boz 

Summer 2011 Flicks

I'm an avid movie fan.  I could watch movies all day.  When Caitlin and I started dating we'd watch movies like every night. The fun part was figuring out who had seen more movies. I had finally met my match.

My favorite time of the year is summer.  The primary reason, other than being free from school, is the plethora of movies showing during those few months. I love talking about movies. It's interesting to hear why people love certain movies and why they dislike others. Since this summer is just about over, I would like to share with you some of my favorite movies that I've seen recently, and some that missed the mark for me.

1. Thor

          Iron Man. The Dark Knight. Batman Begins.  It's hard to measure up to these superhero movies.  They've really set the bar high and have reached the upper echelon of superhero movies.  So coming into this movie you can't help but compare it with those three.  I was just looking to be entertained.  I had just finished my last final earlier that day.  I was done for the summer and wanting to celebrate.  So I went and saw it with my friends.  Through all the action and special effects, there was a good interesting story being told.  When the movie ended I looked to my friend next to me and we simultaneously said "good." The film had a good blend of action, storytelling, and humor.  Chris Hemsworth (Thor) does a great job playing the god of thunder.  He had a lot of pressure coming into this after what Robert Downey Jr did with Iron Man.  But he handled it well and gave a solid performance and made you root for him.   Natalie Portman played the typical damsel in distress. And it even had Anthony Hopkins, one of my all time favorites, as Thor's father.  A solid cast with cool special effects and a story that keeps you intrigued made this a good movie that I highly recommend.  It's no Dark Knight, but it's vastly better than movies like Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and Spider-man 3.

2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

          Two weeks ago Caitlin and I started watching the Harry Potter films.  We were curious and wanted to know what was the big deal with these movies.  So we watched them.  And we loved them.  Now it was time to see the final movie.  The one that broke all these box office records and drew massive crowds of wannabe wizards. And we were even lucky to sit in a teenaged filled theater for two and a half hours.  Oh the joy.  I managed to block them out and enjoy this amazing film.  I was ready, especially after the last two, to see the final battle.  All the emotion of the last two had me wanting revenge and satisfaction.  The movie delivered on so many levels.  I was suddenly a Harry Potter enthusiast.  I caught myself chatting about each character and muttering spells.  The actors were at the top of their game.  Alan Rickman (Snape) and Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort)  were my favorites.  Each one was cunning and outstanding in their finest hour.   This was by far my favorite movie of the summer.  I know now why so many people around the world love these movies.  I can't wait to show these movies to my kids someday and tell them of the cultural impact they had.  Even if you're not much for fantasy movies, these movies provide enough humor and drama to draw you in.  I will definitely be buying this one once it comes out on DVD.

3.  Green Lantern

          During the summer there's bound to be some movies that just don't strike the right chord.  Green Lantern was one of them.  Let me start off by saying that I'm a Ryan Reynolds fan.  He's funny and smart and has that personality that audiences seem to be attracted to.  So when I heard he was going to be Green Lantern I was intrigued.  Then I found out Martin Campbell would be directing.  Mr. Campbell directed Goldeneye, The Mask of Zorro, and Casino Royale.  He's one of my favorites.  So this had lots of potential going into it.  Then came opening night.  I saw it with my wife and our friends.  The movie itself is very fantasy driven.  I knew it was going to be going into it but it just didn't quite sink in. Thor was very much a fantasy, but it balanced that with what was going on on Earth really well. Green Lantern didn't.  Ryan was himself.  He was witty and crazy and amusing, just like his other characters.  But the chemistry with him and Blake Lively just wasn't there.  Robert Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow had great chemistry and humor with one another in the Iron Man films.  It just felt extra fake when Ryan and Blake talked.  Just not a good script at all. And then there's the villain.  Probably the worst villain ever in superhero movie history. Now some may say Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was. It was indeed a monstrosity. But he was also freaking hilarious and made that movie an entertaining comedy instead of just being a crappy superhero movie.  This Green Lantern villain wasn't funny nor was good at being bad.  The action was ok and was sort of cool to watch.  But it just didn't look right in some parts.  The film felt like it was 30 min long.  When it ended I actually thought to myself how could they have made that. I thought surely I must have dreamt all that.  So they made a bad film. Who hasn't? Ryan is still a good actor and Martin is still a good director.  But they'll always have this movie haunting them.  Many fans and critics chastised it.  I can think of a lot of films that are worse than it but it did leave an unpleasant taste in my mouth.  My wife and some of my friends enjoyed it so it wasn't like everyone hated it.  Just didn't hit the right spot withe me like Thor and Iron Man did.

Thank you guys for reading.  Like I said, I love movies.  I'll be talking about movies a lot in my future posts.  Hope you all have a good rest of the week! See ya next time.


- Boz

Intro

Greetings. I've decided to try this out.  I'll be sharing some of my thoughts about life, movies, music, history, and some random things that I find interesting. Starting tomorrow I'll be posting more. Hope you guys enjoy!