The Pink Floyd Experience

We went to The Pink Floyd Experience at The Center For Performing Arts at Governors State University in University Park. We almost didn't go because of the Turnabout Dance. We didn't want to miss the boy's pictures before the dance. We ended up getting home before both of the boys. The performance was excellent and the venue was very intimate. I have a new appreciation for Pink Floyd and their music. This group of musicians travels all over the United States putting on this show. We were in the balcony next to some of the speakers and the sound was excellent. They played all the ir most popular songs.

Turnabout Dance

The boys both went to their high school Turnabout Dance. We went to two different houses for pre-dance pictures. My youngest son with a group of his friends from football and my oldest son was asked by one of his friends and actually went with two girls and a bunch of his track/cross country friends. They both had a great time.
We actually beat them home after our Pink Floyd Experience concert.

Proviso West Track Meet

We went to my oldest son't track meet at Proviso West in Hillside.

Irish Chicago Screening

We went to the screening of the WTTW documentary "Irish Chicago" at the Irish Heritage Center in Chicago. We almost didn't go because of the rainy weather. We got to watch the 4 part documentary before it was shown on TV and afterwards they had a question and answer session with the producer, Dan Andries. It was very interesting.

Nuclear Jellyfish

I finished reading "Nuclear Jellyfish" by Tim Dorsey.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Just when you thought it was safe to go online Serge has returned! That loveable collector of trivia, souvenirs, and murder methods is back with a new A‑Tour of Florida. And this time he's out to set the record straight! Serge is upset that his beloved state isn't getting its proper recognition, so he signs on with the big Internet travel services. But his new employers aren't exactly sure they want to send their customers to Serge's favorite haunts—nor do they want to provide tips on how to keep from getting killed on vacation. Serge couldn't disagree more, and he sets up his own wildcat site, hyper‑blogging his way down the coast with his perpetually hammered sidekick, Coleman. Unfortunately Serge's Web presence catches the attention of his nemesis, Agent Mahoney, and the chase is on. Meanwhile, professional robbery crews have begun targeting trade show exhibitors, who may or may not be what they seem. Bodies begin piling up, which is less than usual for the locale—except this time it involves rare postcards. Serge has had enough! He's forced into the only logical course of action—go shopping at the Home Depot. And this only raises more questions: Who is tutoring strippers through the community college? What sparked the grudge match between coin and stamp enthusiasts? How'd the astronaut in diapers get involved? Why does Serge have to stop at the NASCAR superstore? Where did all these diamonds come from? And does Lynyrd Skynyrd hold the key to everything? It all starts with a tragic tattoo parlor mishap and soon nobody is safe, especially the person on the Robert De Niro stool, because, after all, Serge has to sit there or what's the point of life? But wait! You say you want more? Serge says, You got it! Guns, drugs, bloody crime scenes, historically relevant sex, library quiet time, glow‑in‑the dark deformities, hotel drink coupons, a naked woman in a shark cage, and John Travolta.

Dead Man Walking

I watched the DVD "Dead Man Walking."

Synopsis

A caring nun (Susan Sarandon) receives a desperate letter from a death row inmate (Sean Penn) trying to find help to avoid execution for murder. Over the course of the time to the convict's death, the nun begins to show empathy, not only with the pathetic man, but also with the victims and their families. In the end, that nun must decide how she will deal with the paradox of caring for that condemned man while understanding the heinousness of his crimes.

The Playboys

We watched the DVD "The Playboys."

Synopsis

A young woman, Tara Maguire (Robin Wright) scandalizes her provincial Irish village in the year 1957 by having a baby out of a wedlock, and refusing to name the father. She has a rare beauty and every man in town desires her, especially Sergeant Hegarty (Albert Finney). The arrival of a dramatic troupe stirs things up even more, especially when she falls in love with one of the dramatic troup "Playboys", Tom Casey (Aidan Quinn).

Home Track Meet

We went to my oldest son's track meet. He ran the 800 and came in first in his heat with a time of 2:20. He just recovered from the flu and only ran once all week before the meet. He still beat everyone he ran against. I was a timer for the whole meet so I had a finish line view of all the races. Our team won the meet.

At First Sight

We watched the DVD "At First Sight."

Synopsis

Amy (Mira Sorvino) is an architect who works for perfection. She takes a vacation at a small town health spa where she meets Virgil (Val Kilmer) a blind masseur. She falls in love with him for the senses he loves that she takes for granted. They listen to the rain, make love, and then she does research on restoring sight he hasn't had since he was one year old. He joins her in New York and undergoes the treatment only to find that seeing doesn't mean comprehending what one sees. The difficult road to understanding the visual world tests their relationship. The strain is taken to the limits when Virgil begins to lose his sight once again.

Gone Tomorrow

I finished reading "Gone Tomorrow" by J.F. Kluge.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When George Canaris, a writing professor on the verge of forced retirement at a small college in Ohio, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, he is the first faculty member in half a century whose death merits an obituary in The New York Times. “A writer, a critic, a professor, a campus legend and a national figure, the very embodiment of the liberal arts,” says the paper. And a mystery. “Compared to Faulkner and Dos Passos at the start of his career,” the Times observed, “in the end he resembled Harper Lee.”With a book listed among the one hundred greatest novels of all time, decades now separating him from the hefty advance taken on his next book, The Beast, and not a page to show of it, Canaris is an enigma. Inevitably, speculation grows that the book was a myth, a lie, a joke. Upon his death, Mark May, a young English professor who barely knew him finds himself named as Canaris’s literary executor and begins a search through lives and letters that is at once gripping, hilarious, and affirming.

Best Man At Grass Creek

We watched the DVD "Best Man At Grass Creek."

Synopsis

Adam Lewis (John Newcombe) finds himself unexpectedly stood up at his own wedding. Now, three years later, Adam cannot attend a wedding without becoming ill to the dismay of his new girlfriend, Holly (Grace Phillips). Adam's job is on the line when he is unable to sell the comic strip, "Kreature Korner," to a single newspaper. At a lunch meeting, however, an insecure editor agrees to buy the strip on the condition that Adam serves as best man at his upcoming wedding. Despite the fact that he and Jimmy (John Hines) are strangers, and despite his aversion to weddings, Adam succumbs to the arrangement in order to save his job. When Adam and Holly arrive in the small farm town of Grass Creek, Indiana, they discover that Jimmy has told everyone that he and Adam were best friends and roommates in college. And not only is the wedding threatened by the bride's ex-boyfriend, Adam cannot escape the feeling that he is reliving his own nightmare. His wedding phobia begins to rub off on Jimmy, and soon, Adam finds himself responsible for frightening Jimmy away from the altar. Eventually, the events surrounding the wedding put Adam and Holly's relationship to the test.

Dr. Dolittle

I watched the movie "Dr. Dolittle"

Synopsis

Dr. John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) has the world in his hands: A beautiful wife (Kristin Wilson) at his side, two adorable daughters (Kyla Pratt and Raven Symone) and a career that could not go better. One night, he nearly runs over a dog with his car. The dog yells "bonehead" and disappears. From then on, his childhood ability is back: To communicate with animals. Unfortunately, the word of Dolittle's ability is spreading quickly. Soon, many animals from rat to horse flock to his place to get medical advice. But his colleagues suspect he's going mad, and as the clinic Dolittle used to work for is about to being taken over for a huge amount of money, many decisions have to be made. Believe him? Put him into a mental institution? Sell the clinic? But also his family is close to breaking apart. Until a circus tiger falls seriously ill.

Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanomo Bay

I watched the DVD "Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanomo Bay."

Synopsis

New Jersey-based Harold Cho and Kumar Patel, after consuming 30 burgers and 4 large order of fries at White Castle, decide to travel to Amsterdam so that Harold can be near his sweetheart, Maria. At the airport, the duo meet with Kumar's ex-girlfriend, Vanessa, in the company of her fiancé, the highly connected, Colton. After an encounter with security personnel, both board the plane, and are soon apprehended by two of the three air marshals as Kumar was smoking pot using a home-made contraption. The plane is forced to return back and both are taken into custody by the Homeland Security. Amidst references to linkages between North Korea and Al Qaeda, they are told they are guilty and transported to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Barely an hour later, before Big Bob could make them eat his Cockmeat sandwich, both manage to escape, join hands with Cuban refugees and land back in the U.S.. They attend a bottomless party hosted by their friend, Raza Syed, and find the hiding place of Osama Bin Laden's beard. Raza lends them his convertible and they decide to travel to Texas, meet with Colton, who will use his connections to set matters right. On the way there they end up in Alabama, have an encounter with highly educated but much misunderstood African-Americans; meet with a hunter and his gorgeous spouse (who is also his sister), but flee after an encounter with the couple's mentally and physically challenged son, Cyrus, confined in the basement. They end up partying with the Ku Klux Klan but flee after their masks are ripped off and they are mistaken for 'Mexicans', while their respective parents are being interrogated by Homeland Security, and their accents referred to as an unknown dialect. After an eventful journey with Neil Patrick Harris, and a stop-in at a whorehouse, they manage to reach Colton's place, and he, in turn, promises to take care of them. Instead he turns them over to Homeland Security. While airborne, both manage to escape via parachute and land, much to their horror and disbelief, in the living-room of President George W. Bush. Looks like the duo's fate has been sealed and they are in store for more surprises than they had ever hoped for.

Crashing

I watched the DVD "Crashing."

Synopsis

A writer suffering from a creative block stumbles into a situation most middle-aged man would envy. Richard McMurray (Campbell Scott) is a novelist who enjoyed overnight success with the publication of his first book, "The Trouble With Dick." Seven years later, Richard is working on his second novel but hates the story more with each passing day, while his marriage to a well-known actress is falling apart. Richard agrees to speak to the class of Diane (Alex Kingston), his former girlfriend who teaches a college literature course and inspired on of his novel's main characters. Spending the day with Diane is the last straw for Richard's wife, and she kicks him out of the house. During his lecture to the class, Richard comes clean about the sad state of his marriage and the fact he has no place to stay that night, and afterward one of the students, Kristin (Izabella Miko), offers Richard the use of the couch at her apartment. Jacqueline (Lizzy Caplan), Kristin's roommate, is agreeable to Richard's presence, and offers a deal - both Kristin and Jacqueline are aspiring writers, and in exchange for tutoring and "literary consultation," he's welcome to stay as long as he pleases. Before long, Richard's consultations with his new charges begin taking place in the bedroom, and Jacqueline informs him that she wants him to help her write a sexy novel that will help her become "the post-modern Jacqueline Suzanne." While Richard enjoys the ongoing ménage et trios at first, it doesn't take long for matters to become difficult and even dangerous.

Substance Of Fire

We watched the DVD "Substance Of Fire."

Synopsis

Isaac Geldhart (Ron Rifkin) is a Holocaust survivor who, overcome by grief at the recent death of his wife, seems determined to run his publishing firm into the ground by printing books that have no hope of financial success. His son Aaron (Tony Goldwyn) who also works at the company, grows frustrated with Isaac's emotional decline and attempts to take over the firm. The resulting crisis involves Isaac's other two children, his daughter Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and his dying son Martin. (Timothy Hutton)

Once Around

We watched the DVD "Once Around."

Synopsis

Renata Bella (Holly Hunter) feels like a failure at life and career. But when Renata attends a seminar on selling real estate, she finally finds True Love. Sam Sharpe (Richard Dreyfuss), while a top-notch, successful salesman, is much older than Renata. She is swept away by his excessively flamboyant style and irrepressible nature. The very traits she finds romantic, however, lead to repeated conflict with her family, especially her beloved father Joe (Danny Aiello), leaving Renata trapped in the middle.

Vantage Point

I watched the DVD "Vantage Point"

Synopsis

President Ashton (William Hurt) is attending a global war on terror summit in Spain. Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) are two of the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him. This is the first action that Agent Barnes has been in since he took a bullet for President Ashton six-month earlier. We really dont know if Agent Barnes is up to the challenge of protecting the President. Shortly after President Ashton is escorted to the stage in the plaza by the Secret Service, he is shot twice by a rifle from a window and falls to the floor. The crowd is in shock and chaos breaks out all over, especially when bombs begin to explode. Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker) is an American video-taping the event to show to his children that he was actually there at this historic event. He believes that he has the picture of the man who shot the President. Agent Barnes sees the tape and has a clue to that person. Several different people witness the event, and only through their eyes do we see the truth behind the assassination attempt.

That Thing That You Do

We watched the DVD "That Thing That You Do."

Synopsis

Recounts a fable of a pop rock band formed a year after the Beatles took America by storm in early 1964. Jazz aficionado Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), unhappily toiling in the family appliance store, is recruited into the band the Oneders (later renamed the Wonders) after regular drummer Chad (Giovanni Ribisi) breaks his arm. After Guy injects a four/four rock beat into lead singer Jimmy's (Johnathan Schaech)ballad, the song's undeniable pop power flings the Wonders into a brief whirlwind of success, telling the one-hit wonder tale of many American bands who attempted to grab the brass ring of rock and roll in the wake of the British Invasion.

Margot At The Wedding

We watched the DVD "Margot At The Wedding."

Synopsis

A slice of family life: sisters, husbands, children, history, secrets, jealousies. Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her teen son, Claude (Zane Pais) travel from Manhattan to her family's Long Island home, occupied by sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Pauline's daughter (Flora Cross), and Malcolm (Jack Black), the slacker Pauline will marry outdoors that week under a tree neighbors want removed. Backbiting marks family discussion, particularly between the sisters and in Margot's cutting remarks to Claude. Pauline tells Margot a secret that Margot promptly tells Claude. Margot dislikes Malcolm and undermines him. She also has marital problems and a lover nearby. People are cruel, inside and outside their families. Is there a refuge for Margot or for Pauline?

Confessions Of A Shopaholic

We went to the advanced screening of "Confessions Of A Shopaholic" at Hollywood Blvd. Theatre.

Synposis

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a 25 year old who lives with her best friend Suze (Krysten Ritter) in Suze's flat (paying her friend rent that is well below market value), in a trendy part of town. Rebecca has a very boring job writing for a financial magazine. She has a shopping addiction and her crap job doesn't pay enough. Her bills are piling up, so she tries cutting back (complete fiasco), then she tries making more money (another fiasco). Eventually, Becky discovers a story that she is truly interested in. Exposing the story gets the attention of a colleague that she hasn't quite figured out yet. Some drama ensues as she snags the guy, and she attempts to pay off her ever-growing debt.

Around The World In 80 Days

I watched the DVD "Around The World In 80 Days."

Synopsis

This version of the classic novel set in 1872 focuses on Passepartout(Jackie Chan), a Chinese thief who steals a valuable jade Buddha and then seeks refuge in the traveling companionship of an eccentric London inventor and adventurer, Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan), who has taken on a bet with members of his gentlemens' club that he can make it around the world in a mere 80 days, using a variety of means of transportation, like boats, trains, balloons, elephants, etc. Along the way, Passepartout uses his amazing martial arts abilities to defend Fogg from the many dangers they face. One major threat to their adventure is a detective that's following them. Why? Just as Fogg and Passeportout left London, a major bank was robbed, with Fogg suspected of using the "around the world" trip as an excuse to escape. Their path from London and back includes stops in Paris, Turkey, India, China and USA.

Transporter 2

I watched the DVD "Transporter 2."

Synopsis

Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is the best in the business. The ex-Special Forces operative hires himself out as a mercenary "transporter" who moves goods--human or otherwise. Very simple, he delivers, no questions asked. Frank has relocated from the French Mediterranean to Miami, Florida, where as a favor to a friend, Frank is driving for the wealthy Billings family. There's very little that can surprise The Transporter, but young Jack Billings (Hunter Clary) has done just that; Frank has unexpectedly bonded with Jack, age 6, who he drives to and from school. But when Jack is kidnapped, Frank must use his battle-tested combat skills to retrieve the boy and thwart the kidnappers' master plan to release a virus that will kill anyone with whom it comes in contact.