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Fast Cars (again)

John — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:35:14 +0000

Good day folks. I had the opportunity to spend some time with my nephew this past Saturday. The event was the Boy Scouts of America North Georgia Region Finals for Pinewood Derby Cars held at the local Fairgrounds. I had a great time wandering round the grounds and just being a big kid. For the uninformed a Pinewood Derby car is a car that begins life as a small rectangular block of pine and can be puchased in a kit with wheels and axels. Add in the creativity and imagination of a youngster, a bit of adult guidance, a dash of sheer detemination and the results can be spectacular! These cars had already made it thru two rounds of competition, the contestants local pack and then regional area races. Those making it to this point could include themselves as one of the fastest 21 cars for a couple hundred miles in any direction, not a small feat. The cars were very well turned out and ran the range from a car made into a pencil on wheels to a space shuttle complete with deployed ‘chutes. They were all very fast and competitive and races were decided by fractions of a second.
Most scout troops have an open catagory for local races where other members of the family can build and race cars and generally be involved. Get involved! The affair at the fairgrounds also had booths set up by many of the different packs to illustrate what there members are up to and there are many fun activities that everyone can participate in. A big hand for all the participants at the races, great job fellows!
See ya

Speed Racer

John — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:10:41 +0000

Good Day, I finally got to see Speed Racer last night and it has gotten good to me. I was a fan of the original cartoon as a child and was looking forward to the movie, at the very least expecting the Wachowski Bros to visually stun me. Call me a peasant but the first 10-15 minutes just felt like waaaay too much info for my pea-pickin brain and I was ready to call it a day. Paused movie, caught breath, excused wife from accompaniment duties and retried. I’ve watched it three times at this point. The movie is visually stunning and once my mind adjusted to the pacing it was great. Fun elements from the original cartoon are all over this movie (Sparky’s reaction shots are classic stuff) right down to the closing wheel spin. I would venture a guess that a lot of people who anticipated enjoying this movie didn’t but if they would give it a second go they would find it to be massive fun. On the third viewing I was still picking up visuals that earlier I had missed completely, perhaps I’m just getting slow. Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci are wonderful as Speed and Trixie.
Why is it that a movie that you could barely sit through at the theatre can be so enjoyable at home? It’s not that hard to sit still for two hours, or is it?
See ya

Love is the Answer

John — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:19:34 +0000

We had Todd Rundgren here in town this past Friday at the Variety Playhouse and for me it was delightful. He mixed a great selection of past favorites with all of the tunes from his latest offering ARENA. Couldn’t help but notice that there were very few folks under 50, just sayin’… Only had one person yelling for Hello It’s Me all night. The show was tight and full of energy and ran 2 hours give or take a minute. The band was in fine form and brought me to tears by the time we got to the encore of Couldn’t I Just Tell You and Just One Victory with the whole affair turning into one big fat sing-along moment for the near-geriatric set. If Todd’s coming to a town near you I would highly recommend going. For more info on Todd and the tour visit Roger Linder’s Todd Rundgren Connection.
The Ernest T Band at the Dixie Tavern on April 24th, mark your calenders.
See ya