Monday, June 30, 2008

Wall-E

This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. I keep half expecting Pixar to release something that does not stand up to the measurement of their catalog. This was not the one. With almost no true dialogue, Wall-E was already setting a fairly high mark to try to keep kids and adults engaged for the 100 minute running time. But what this movie came down to, at the core, was a story about the quest for companionship and someone to share your life with. As a testament to the animators skill, and the skill of Ben Burtt in creating life like sounds for the title character, this movie is a better love story than anything since Field of Dreams. Not only that, but Wall-E is also a broadside against several different areas of society today. From big box retailers, to crass consumerism, to 'social' networks and beyond, Wall-E holds up a mirror to our culture and doesn't skimp on the reflection. But that is all in the sub-text. The driving force of the movie is the relationship that one robot forms with another, and the lengths to which he will go to find that happiness and that joy that comes from sharing your life with someone else. Wall-E does all of this with precious little traditional dialogue and without the need for 'clever' catch phrases or juvenile humor. Wall-E is a great accomplishment for Pixar and Andrew Stanton, it tells a neat story and gives us great characters, all of this in a movie that is made for kids.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Best. Father's Day. EVER. Part II - The Pictures


The view from the KOMO Suite
The kids' teacher, Mrs. Rena Mincks, and the voice of the Mariners, Dave Neihaus
The kids posing with Dave Neihaus and the Washington Dairy Ambassador
The kids doing their cheer on the radio pre-game show with Shannon Drayer.
The Moose came by in the third inning and got crazy.

Zack, Max, and yours truly
Tycho and Olivia looking for Pokemon in the game program, they didn't find any.
We came, we saw, we acted cheesy.
What a day!

Special thanks to Mrs. Mincks and all the great kids in the class that came up with the winning cheer!



Sunday, June 15, 2008

Best. Fathers Day. EVER!

Background...Max's class entered a contest for the Washington State Dairy commission and the Seattle Mariners to create a cheer for the M's that included several dairy product mentions...Well, low and behold Max's class was selected as one of two winners! So we got to go to the Mariners game on Father's Day and sit in the KOMO luxury suite. Other than the result, the M's got swept over three games by the Washington Nationals, it was a great experience. The kids got to meet the voice of the Mariners, Dave Neihaus, the Mariner Moose, and do their winning cheer live on the radio during the pre-game show. All the kids had a great time and so did the parents.

Pictures and video will be posted later this week. Right now I am going to bed after driving 600 miles between last night and right now...