November Was Kickin' It

November has blown past me. Such is life when you are busy.

My son turned 19 years old on November 14th. Seems crazy that he is that old now.

We traveled to St. Augustine, Florida for Thanksgiving. Mrs. Leslie's mother lives there. I had never been, and really loved it. I love the ocean, but on top of that, there is so much to do. We toured the oldest house in America, went on historical, and Christmas lights tours. Took a boat tour around the harbor while drinking Heineken (too cool), visited Ripley's to see the weirdness of the world, had some good seafood, took in an art show, and went to the beach of course. I'll upload some of the pics I took later this week.

I like to have the Christmas trees up the day after Thanksgiving, but since Mrs. Leslie's son was arriving in town, and we wouldn't be home, we put them up crazy early. The neighbors probably thought we were nut jobs, but I could care less. :)

Small "Roll Tide" tree in the den...

Full size "sentimental" tree in the living room...

Football season is winding down. 'Bama finished with a respectable record, and will be going to a bowl game. My fantasy team has been less than dominant, but is still the front runner for the wild card spot in the playoffs.

Life is good, and I have nothing more than the standard complaints.

Birthday, Do I Have To?

I have another birthday coming tomorrow. I don't suppose I could refuse it, and just stop this aging process now? Oh well, it's all good. The past two have been birthday weekends. We started last night by going out with the peeps. Today is chili, football, cake and gifts. Tomorrow, plans with my better half. With fun like this, why would I even want to refuse it?

I already have my gift from Mrs. Leslie. I had been wishing for an easier way to watch stuff on Netflix instantly on the TV. I was able to hook the laptop to the TV via a S-Video cable, but it was a huge hassle, so I quit doing it. This Roku XDS Streaming Player 1080p connects to our wireless internet connection and lets us search and watch all the instant shows and movies. It also has Hulu, and other channels on it. Even has sports. I freakin' love it.

I also got this: Garmin nüvi 265W 4.3-Inch Widescreen Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator. It's super cool, but it won't get near the use of the Roku. It will, however, come in handy on our upcoming trip to St. Augustine. Since I am directionally challenged, this baby will make sure I never get lost again.

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween. Always have. Maybe it's because I have a fascination with the paranormal, or maybe it's because I like candy. Either way, I consider it fun.

When I was a kid I lived in the best Trick or Treating neighborhood ever. Eighty or so houses in a secluded subdivision. Every house contained at least two kids. Back then everything was safe. We didn't need parents to walk us around. I, being the oldest, took my three younger brothers and sister and hit the streets. Once around the subdivision was enough to supply you with candy for a week, but if you were feeling particularly greedy, you could always go again. After seeing hundreds of costumes, parents no longer knew Frankenstein from the Wolfman, and therefore you wouldn't be busted with the, "Haven't you been here already tonight?"

When I got too old to Trick or Treat, I got my kicks from being the one to hand out the candy. Of course once the teen years hit, it was all about getting into trouble. After that I had kids on my own, and the fun came from taking them out. Now they are way to old to Trick or Treat (currently in the teen, get in trouble phase).

Where does that leave me now?

I watch as many Halloween movies as I can cram into thirty days. This year I do believe I have beat my personal best. I've seen every version of Friday the 13th, every version of Halloween, and just about any other horror movie you can imagine. Not to mention countless hours of paranormal shows galore. My better half is sick of them, but has been extremely patient. She's good like that.

Our pumpkin is carved, and looks great. Tonight we will hand out candy, watch movies, and try to keep my kids out of trouble. It's certainly not the good times of the old days, but when you get older you need to make your own fun, and that's just what I'm doing this Halloween.

Halloween III - Season of the Witch

I was excited that AMC's Fright Fest was showing volumes 1-5 of the Halloween movies this week. I wondered if that was really going to include Halloween III, and then was disappointed to find out that indeed this gem was going to be shown.

In case you haven't had the honor of watching it, let me just save you the trouble of trying to choke yourself unconscious and tell you know that this is the WORST HORROR MOVIE OF ALL TIME.

It would probably be enough to just tell you that Michael Myers isn't even in this movie. Well, with the exception of a few seconds where some guys in a bar are watching the real Halloween movie on television. How do you make millions of dollars off of Halloween I & II, knowing full well that Michael Myers is the main attraction, and then follow it up with a sequel that doesn't even include him?!? It boggles the mind.

This is the actual Halloween III bad guy...

Pretty scary guy, right? Wrong. Really, Grandpa? This master of fright owns a company call Silver Shamrock that makes Halloween masks. When kids wear these masks on Halloween night and are exposed to a super annoying horrible music and video combo on TV, they turn into puddles of green ooze.

Of course there has to be someone to stop this sinister plot. Enter Chester the Molester and his Ho...

While he is somewhat concerned about his kids putting on the mask and turning to jello, he is WAY more concerned about getting in the pants of the young, hot thang by his side. Never mind the fact that she is young enough to be his daughter. Does he score? Hell yes. Where is his wife? Home watching the kids of course.


And just how are the kids doing?

"Holy s$#@! Get this freakin' thing off my head. I'm suffocating here! Where is Dad when I need him? Better not be with that skank again! Neeeed....Air....."


Of course Chester and his Ho drop some quarters (or something else metallic and cylindrical) on the head of the bad guys, and save the day...

When it ends you are left sitting there stunned that you made it through the whole movie. I, however, just crawled to the nearest corner and wept.