...give something a big name that we can turn into a cool sounding acronym!

I was really confused this morning while watching the latest financial buzz on the internet. These news people were all talking about TARP, and I was thinking "we need more than a tarp to save us here, boys!!!" I soon realized that TARP isn't a rectangle piece of nylon or plastic. After doing a little research, I learned that TARP is the "Troubled Asset Relief Program." It's the big fancy name for the 700 billion financial rescue fund that we've all heard about in the news.

I guess we had to call it something other than "a terrifyingly huge amount of American tax dollars." Yes, "TARP" sounds better. A tarp protects things. Perhaps someone thought that the subliminal word association will help build up the nation's confidence.

What were they thinking? And who comes up with these big fancy names that need to be given cool sounding acronyms so that we can feel good about them? I wonder how much they get paid. What are my chances at getting a job in the CAN (Create A Name) field?

In this economy, I fear my chances aren't that good!

...be a bit disappointed in Twilight.

So, I got better and got to the movie theater. (Yea!) However, Twilight, was not all that I had hoped it would be. I'm not a movie critic, so I won't pretend to review it. I'll just share what I thought.

I know that you can't cram everything from the book into the movie. My issue isn't that something was left out. It's more the opposite. I think that they tried to do too much. By cramming so much in, a lot of the depth was lost. I think if they would have left out a few more details, then the movie might have been more cohesive. As it is, I would find the movie hard to follow if I hadn't read the book. That's a big thing for me. I think the movie should tell a good story even if it strays from the book.

That said, there were a lot of small things I did like. (If you haven't seen it yet, I might SPOIL a few things in this paragraph!) I liked that Stephanie Meyer pulled a Stan Lee...although she did so with a huge "I'm in a movie!" grin. Next time maybe she'll play it cool. It makes it more fun for us if it's not so obvious. What I was surprised at was the funny banter between Bella and her father. Before seeing the movie, I wasn't sure about Billy Burke for Charlie Swan. I really liked him in the movie. In fact, I liked all the casting. The actors were believable.

To sum up, there was good and bad. I think I'll wait until DVD on the next movie (I'm guessing there will be another). I will be re-reading the book now that I have new pictures in my head of what Forks really looks like. And my advice is 1) read the book before you see the movie and 2) don't go with high expectations. Remember that Twilight is first and foremost a good BOOK!

...miss Twilight's opening night!

'No Twilight tonight! I'm bummed because I'm sick. It's cold, and I don't want to make myself sicker by running out to see my movie. Blah! So, I'll sleep a lot and hope that I'll be up for catching the flick tomorrow. Edward waited the better part of a century for Bella, he can wait a while longer for me. Ha-ha! ;)

...goo!

I wanted to get James World of Goo, a WiiWare game, for his birthday. I knew that he would see it if I put it on the Wii. So, I had to be a little creative about how I went about giving him his present. I got a little gel icing and created, well, a world of goo:

Happy Birthday, James!

...catch a fallen star!

This morning I woke up to a beautiful Fall day. The temperature was warm enough that my jacket was all I needed. So, I wandered around our apartment complex enjoying the colorful trees. A glimmer of yellow caught my eye. As I got closer, I wondered at the sight. A star had fallen and landed right in front of me! I was able to "catch" it with my camera. I call this photo "Fall-en star."

...broadcast!

Well, that's what I was kind of going for with the new background. I don't have any news except for the new look. BTW, it's my dad's birthday today. Happy 76th, Dad!