Sarah Palin for Republican VP – WTH?

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is no relation to Michael Palin of Monty Python fame, but wouldn’t that be the “funny as hell” icing on the cake! What a shocker of a running mate for McCain! McCain/Palin 2008. It has a nice ring to it.

I am not a politically active or opinionated person, as I pretty much believe that all politicians are fork tongued, double speaking…well, politicians. I vote every election, but I don’t get caught up in the partisan banter and mud slinging garbage that every election devolves into. They generally all make fools of themselves in the process anyway. But I just can’t resist watching what continues to be a historical election year. And to think that I thought that the last “chad counting” election would be hard to top. You just don’t have to be an avid fan or follower of politics to know when you are seeing something unique and strangely exciting happening. History has already been made in the Primaries and we are now guaranteed to have either our first female or black man in the White House, sort of. I know the VP doesn’t live in the White House, but you know what I mean.

Palin has very little political experience, and I have to admit that it is a little scary considering the thought of having someone so green sitting behind the helm of the Oval Office desk if the President died or was unable to serve. Then again, this woman may just be one ball-busting kind of gal that will turn Washington on its head and have it swooning in the gaze of her dark smoldering “hockey-mom” eyes right before she plants her ethical knee of justice squarely in the corrupt groin of modern politics. She ain’t hard on the eyes either, but that won’t be relevant when it comes to the task of dealing with foreign policy, an unpopular war, and a questionable economy.

I am now even more excited to see what happens. The feeding frenzy has begun and I hope Palin is prepared to handle the attack of a million hungry sharks in the Democratic party and the razor sharp words of a Democratic slanted media that are ready to shred her pretty little image apart. The game is on, and the question is will she blink? Will she break down and cry? or will she weather the fury storm and come out on top and have us all endeared to her charming smile?

Palin, I just hope you don’t have any skeletons in your closet; no drugs, no stripping, sex tapes, or nude photos buried in some obscure drawer somewhere just waiting for this moment in your life to suddenly surface. If you’re pure of heart, with a stiff back-bone, and are as hard-assed as some seem to think you are, then this ticket may just have a better than average chance of taking this race to the White House.

God Bless America!

The Rule Of Four is quite the bore

Published in 2004, The Rule of Four was written by childhood buddies, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. It is their first published book, therefore, I will start by fairly stating that the book is not horrible, and is far from the worst book I have ever read. Without doing any formal research, my psychic mind also tells me that Ian and Dustin are most likely a couple of Ivy League intellectuals that are completely disconnected from the rest of us idiots.

I have had this book for about 3 years now. I purchased it like I do most books, based on how interesting it sounds from the synopsis on the dust cover. Not exactly scientific, but it works for me. At the time, I was still high off the “Da Vinci Code” and desperately looking for another history/fiction thriller steeped in mysterious codes from the past. The Rule of Four seemed like it would hit the spot. The calculated release of this book while readers were still buzzed on Da Vinci Code was the only genius thing about the book.

Over the past few years I have attempted to read The Rule of Four on at least three occasions and each time I have put it down to read something more compelling. However, this last time I was determined to make myself read it cover to cover, all 368 pretentious pages of it.

The story basically follows four super smart college room mates in their senior year at Princeton as they navigate the evidently much sought after and deadly mysteries of an ancient and anonymously written book called the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. The four characters include the standard cast of characters that we all know and love including our main character, Tom as the somewhat normal guy with a haunted past; Paul, the brilliant but reclusive genius; Charlie, the athletic and brawny man’s man; and Gil, the charming, good-looking popular guy that everyone wants to be with. Basically, what you have here is the Ivy League A-Team.

The book is dreadfully boring in the beginning, but does have parts where it starts to get exciting. However, each time the book gets you going, it just derails back into boring dialogue about obscure historical figures, or Princeton history and tradition. In a nutshell, Paul and Tom are trying to decode a 500 year old book that apparently will reveal a map to a hidden treasure trove of lost art and historical artifacts that was stowed away by a rich Italian guy who feared that a powerful Bishop at the time was going to gather all the world’s great art and burn it. For ages scholars have been trying to decode the strange book that is written in multiple languages, is based on one long dream and seemingly makes no sense at all. But two Princeton seniors are on the verge of cracking the code that 500 years worth of scholars have not even come close to. All this sound confusing or unfamiliar? That’s because it is.

My main problem with the book is that it is written by scholars for scholars. The book is chock full of obscure historical references and people that I have never heard of. It is all done in the casual manner that almost assumes the reader is also a scholar and we are all familiar with obscure European history, and we are all willing to ditch our smoking hot girlfriend to spend time decoding a book. What the book does succeed in doing is alienating the reader, and when the reader feels alienated, the reader becomes bored and disinterested.

Take the “Da Vinci Code” or even the movie “National Treasure” for example. They are both stories, that are very loosely based around history. Granted, they could have tried to be a little more historically accurate, but the point is that the historical events and figures in these stories are ones that most people have heard of, therefore, we are drawn to it. The Rule of Four could have been better if it had been dumbed down a bit, but that would probably go against the writer’s principles and would have offended other scholars that loved the book.

I’m no idiot, but I’m definitely no scholar either. I read the book, found it to be very pretentious and boring…but not terrible. Somewhere in all the scholarly minutiae was a good story that just got lost by a couple of virgin writers that needed to show off how smart they are. On a scale of 1 to 10, The only Rule of Four is a Four.

Movie Review – Star Wars – The Clone Wars

Went and saw The Clone Wars movie last weekend. Let me preface this by stating that I am a huge Star Wars fan. I have seen every one of the Star Wars Movie episodes multiple times; and I own them all on DVD, so that I may continue to add to the insane number of times I have seen each of them.

I love them all…some better than others, but I have truly enjoyed every single one of them. It is important to note, though, that I am a Star Wars fan and NOT a Star Wars nerd. Therefore, I do not study or speak any of the alien languages in the movies; I do not dress up like my favorite SW character on Halloween; I do not own a Star Wars T-shirt, pajamas, or underwear; I do not have a collectible Light Saber; I do not have a shrine in my home to George Lucas, nor do I know where he lives; and I do not belong to any clubs or associations related to Star Wars…oh, and I have not read any of the books. Bottom line is I have watched the movies since I was a kid, loved them all and have introduced my own children to them.

Enter the most recent addition “The Clone Wars” which is set sometime between the 2nd and 3rd Episodes which was “The Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith“. I am going to be very honest here…The first thing I noticed as this movie began is that the animation was not the rich vibrant animation that I expected and am accustomed to seeing in major motion pictures that I pay $8.00 or more per person to see. What I saw in this film was the stiff unnatural human movement that I am accustomed to seeing in made for TV animation.

The movie does start with some decent action sequences, and moves into what is a pretty mundane plot. the characters are pretty boring and the Hutt kid is reminiscent of some big mutant booger or grotesque Pokemon creature or something. Truth is, about 30 minutes into the movie…I fell asleep. Honest to God, I passed smooth out and for the rest of the movie, I only caught occasional sections of the movie as one of my kids would nudge me awake to catch another 5 to 10 minutes before the boredom would lull me back into a more compelling world of sleep. I have not walked out of or fallen asleep in a movie theater since the movie Dune in 1984.

Therefore, I can not truly give a full and accurate review of the movie due to the fact that I was not conscious for the majority of the movie, which should tell you something. In retrospect, I wish that I had waited for this one to come to DVD or cable, because my limited perception now is that this was a made for TV animation that was mistakenly thrown on a big screen. It was an animated film that I had high hopes for, so I took the chance, rolled the dice on the Lucas magic…and got let down. While it was a sleepy disappointment for me, my kids did watch the whole movie and thoroughly enjoyed it, which is really all that matters in the end anyway. They thoroughly enjoyed Zoom as well, which is another story.

That is just my opinion, and I am sticking with it.

The Birth of Spitzit, Reviewing The World as I See It

This is only the beginning, so in this first post let me take a moment to lay down a few ground rules and facts. First, I am not a professional critic. I am Me, an Everyman like yourself who has an opinion on just about anything and everything that I am tired of keeping to myself.

Therefore, I have selected this blog as the venue to vent my unconventional reviews on all that I see and experience and to all that care to listen. I am not educated in every topic, I am by no means an expert in every category, but that doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to sound off on it either. My intent will never be to sway the readers opinion, but rather just to state my own. The reality is…

• I know an entertaining movie when I see one, regardless of how impossible or ridiculous the storyline may be. I take movies in the context of which I believe the movie is intended to be taken. No more and no less.
• I love to read , but if a book doesn’t grab me in the 1st 10 to 20 pages chances are I will put it down and never finish it. I will still offer a review on it though to the extent that the book was so boring I put it down forever. Maybe the last 350 pages were great, I will never know.
• Love all genres of music and I will review music based on how it makes me feel. Music should evoke some kind of emotion in a person and I will try to be as descriptive as possible. Very opinionated topic, looking forward to feedback in this area.
• When it comes to food, I will try just about anything once. It either taste good or it doesn’t. Presentation is for “foodies”, but flavor is what I consider most important. I have eaten a lot of expensive food that look pretty on the plate and taste like bland crap on the palate. I’ll let you know, but keep in mind most of my food experiences will be in the Dallas area where I do most of my dining.

I will also let you in on reviews in the areas of service I experience in various places. One very important note is that my reviews will coincide with my experience. For example, not every book I read is a new release. In fact, it may be ten or more years old before I read it. Not every movie I watch is a new release either. I may wait for it to come out on DVD or even cable before I watch it. Therefore, my reviews may sometimes be associated with dated material. That doesn’t mean it isn’t compelling though. If there is something you really think I need to review immediately, then let me know and if I get enough requests, I will check it out.

Enough said for now, so let the reviews begin!