No posting this weekend as things ended up being a bit of a blur, so we will start off with the Friday movies.

The two movies we saw were easily our favorites. Based on the description and the dress of the actors in the promotional still, I expected The Baxter to be British. Personally, I enjoy British comedy, but I was afraid that Nestina and her friend would hate it. As it turns out, the movie was actually American, and very funny. Typically, when the credits start to roll, most people get up to leave. Not this time; no one moved. It was like everyone was waiting for more. The best part was that there was more. After most of the credits rolled, the final scene (which was "awww" instead of "ha ha") is re-played from the point of view of a different character. Everyone walked out of the theater cracking up.

The second movie we saw was Grizzly Man. It was funny, sad, terrifying, awesome, and whatever other adjectives you can think of. The movie is based on video shot by Timothy Treadwell while he lived with grizzlies in Alaska. There isn't much I can say without giving too much away, but we were laughing most of the way through the movie, yet there are two thoughts always in the back of your mind: first, Treadwell and his girlfriend ended up being killed and eaten by a rogue grizzly, and second, that the funniest parts of the movie are the result of Treadwell essentially documenting his own slide into insanity.

Both of these are due for official theatrical release soon. If you want to really get the full impact, Grizzly Man needs to be seen on the big screen. Either one would be worth the money to see in the theater and to buy on DVD.

Saturday, Debbie was down state to pick up her nieces that stay with us for a week every summer. Nestina and I just hung out at the Alden Days festival for most of the afternoon. Debbie came home around 3 or 4PM with her nieces. The five of us swung through Kalkaska to pick up Nestina's friend (whom I had just dropped off that morning) on our way to the last graduation open house of 2005. We didn't stay very long, but we did get to talk to a lot of people that we haven't seen in a while. The next stop was back in Alden for a band that was playing at the Depot. We only stayed for one set, then headed home for the evening.

Sunday was the annual church picnic, so we didn't get home until around 4PM. We had a housefull, with the three of us, Debbie's two nieces, Nestina's friend, and Nestina's friend's boyfriend. Debbie cooked dinner for everyone, then Nestina and her entourage headed into Traverse City to watch Casablanca at the open space on West Bay. I guess these big blowup screens and after dark viewings are becoming the new big thing. I knew I had to get up for work in the morning, and we needed to get Debbie's nieces settled in, so the four of us stayed home and caught up on things.

From the net:

First up, this from Wiley and the Non-Sequitur. Given recent events in my life, it almost isn't funny.

And a little classic courtroom humor from Kip at A Stitch in Haste. It makes you wonder how much courtroom questioning is just pro forma. In spite of nasty comments I routinely make about lawyers here, the weeding out process pretty much guarantees the anyone passing the bar has at least above-average IQ. Some of these remind me of those times when I am driving to work and "wake up" in the parking lot with no idea how I got there or how many fudgies I ran over.

And still more evidence that the "law enforcement" industry is completely divorced from the real world. One marvels at the restraint in only issuing a ticket. I am shocked that this obviously dangerous 73-year-old terrorist wasn't tackled to the ground, handcuffed, then shot in the back of the head.

And from the pouring salt in wounds department, there has been a series of reports from the 2005 Creation Mega Conference over at Panda's Thumb. This is why I have no respect for Creation Science. If you want to believe that God poofed everything into existence 6,000 years ago, while making everything look like it is billions of years old, then OK, but stop talking about the scientific proof that this happened. You just make Christians, the Church, and ultimately God look stupid.

Anyway, here is the lineup:

Introduction
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six

The actual articles are fairly short. The comments are a lot of fun to read, but are very long and, without the background on the various personalities, not that easy to follow.

That's it; lunch is over and it's back to my exciting job.