Some Things To Help Get You Through The Final Stretch Of Winter

It's been a long, LONG winter! But hang in there my friends 'cause spring is on it's way...really. Heck, the Dairy Queen across the street from where we live reopened yesterday, surely a good sign winter is coming to a close. To help you make it through these last few dreary days of the ol man winter, here's a few suggestions to raise your spirits.

DVD Must-Sees:

Rocket Science
This highly entertaining little movie came and went in the theaters with little or no fanfare and that's a great shame. It is easily one of the funniest, most original movies to come along in quite a while. If you love the endearing qualities of Juno, the quirkiness of Napoleon Dynamite and the unpredictable insanity of Wes Anderson movies-you'll thoroughly enjoy this underrated gem.

This is the feature debut of director Jeffrey Blitz (director of the Academy Award nominated documentary Spellbound), the movie tells the story of a teenager (Hal Hefner-played by newcomer Reece Daniel Thompson) who "...tackles the mysteries of life, love and public speaking..." It is superbly cast, beautifully written and flawlessly directed. You will be engrossed and entertained from beginning to end, the characters are original and unforgettable.


Lars And The Real Girl
Written by Six Feet Under scribe Nancy Oliver and directed by Craig Gillespie, the movie deals with a "lovable introvert(Lars-played by the superb Ryan Gosling) whose emotional baggage has kept him from fully embracing life. After years of almost solitude, he invites Bianca, a friend he met/bought on the Internet, to visit him." The premise is absurd and ridiculous, yet because of the superbly written script and perfect casting-will make you laugh and warm your heart all at once. Easily one of the best movies of 2007!



TV Worth Watching:
Rob & Big (MTV Tuesdays 9:30 CST)
Rob Dyrek is a professional skateboarder and Big Black-aka-Christopher Boykin is a professional bodyguard, the two met during a shoot for a skateboarding video and quickly became best friends. This reality based show revolves around that friendship and shows how two people who are seemingly opposite from each other-have developed such a close bond that at times you almost believe they could be actual boyfriends. Both guys are immediately endearing and likable, you kinda wish they could be your friends. There is nothing profound about the show, other than demonstrating the true bonds of friendship-yet you can't help but find yourself engrossed and highly entertained at their adventures and antics. It is hard to accurately describe and articulate what makes this show so damn addictive and enjoyable other than to say Rob and Big are truly a dynamic and interesting duo.

Jon & Kate + 8 (TLC Mondays 8:00 CST)
For those of us without kids and those of you frustrated with kids-this is the reality show for you. It deals with a young married couple(Jon & Kate) who through the use of fertility treatments ended up with both a set of twin girls (now aged 7) and then a set of sextuplets (3 boys & 3 girls now aged 3) and what their day to day life is like.

I know, sounds cutesy and boring-but it is such a wonderful escape from your everyday stress and bad days...really! The kids are absolutely adorable and the parents are about as "everyday" as parents can be. It is amazing to see just what it takes for these parents to raise this brood of small children day to day and how they all interact with one another...it is absolutely fascinating. Coming from a family of 9 kids myself (thankfully spaced apart in age to make it just a bit more tolerable and manageable), I have great empathy and absolute respect for these parents. Highly recommended for that warm fuzzy feeling we all like now and again.

Wii The Addiction:

I'm not even gonna go into why the Wii is the must have accessory in every household, if you don't know already-well, I'd just be wasting my breath.

For those of you 'in the know', here is my recommendation for the latest and greatest game and accessory; Wii Crossbow Zapper & Links Crossbow Training game (retails for about $19.99-24.99 for both the Crossbow Zapper controller and the game!)
The Crossbow Zapper accessory allows you to convert one of your controllers into an actual crossbow and the game(based on The Legend Of Zelda) affords you the opportunity to use the crossbow in a variety of different shooting games. It is addictive fun that will have you and your friends screaming and laughing together for hours.

Let me just qualify this by saying that I have never played Legend Of Zelda and am typically not into the whole fantasy shooting type games, but this is just shooting gallery kinda fun. It's easy to learn and understand-and easily the best game bargain for the price....I mean you get the controller adapter AND the game for around $20! Good times.