Wednesday, July 06, 2005
An exhausting weekend
I am still pretty tired from this past weekend's activities. On Friday night, the VOLConWife and I caught the late show of "Batman Begins" at Regal's new Pinnacle 18 multiplex in Turkey Creek. It was easily the best movie I have viewed this year (others receiving high marks include "Collateral," "Phantom of the Opera," "Sin City," and "Hitch"). As Betsy Pickle (one of my favorite movie critics) notes, Christian Bale was made for this part. (Has anyone seen or heard from Betsy? She hasn't blogged in several weeks.) I rarely rave about movies - that's the former-movie critic in me coming out - but there is little wrong with this movie. Excellent acting (Bale, Liam Neeson. Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman make up for the dreadful Katie Holmes) , plot and character development, a thought-provoking storyline, and dialogue that only has one or two moments of cheesiness (if you need a definition, see the other Batman movies) carry this film. My only complaint would be the couple of instances where the plot doesn't jive with the other films and the general Batman story (i.e. - Jack Napier, aka "The Joker," killed Bruce Wayne's parents, not some thug). But, admittedly, that is being nitpicky...
Saturday brought an all-day trip to the Tri-Cities for a family outing, including tennis in the heat of the day and a BBQ at Bays Mountain in Kingsport. Sunday was spent in church, doing household chores, and shopping. On Monday, I took the VOLConWife to Atlanta for our annual trip to see her beloved Atlanta Braves play at Turner Field. I objected none, though, because my lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs, were in town to put the beatdown on those Tomahawk Choppers. Alas, no one informed my Cubbies of this plan, and they were shutout, 4-0. However, the free Braves caps, postgame fireworks, and excellent food at Jocks & Jills before the game more than made up for my team's miserable performance and the ignorant Braves fans that sat behind us. (An aside that will get me in trouble- I have attended baseball games - majors, minors, college - all over the country, and no fans are as clueless about the game of baseball than Braves fans. I should clarify that - Braves fans in Atlanta are clueless. Braves fans that live away from "The Ted" seem to know more about the game. In any case, I keep telling my wife that she knows too much to be a Braves fan, but she's sticking with her team.) We highly recommend Jocks & Jills; they even have several pieces of UT memorabilia signed by Peyton Manning, Phil Fulmer, Pat Summitt, and Peerless Price amongst their impressive decor.
All in all, a fantastic weekend. I just wish I was a bit younger so that I wouldn't be reminded of it until midweek.
Saturday brought an all-day trip to the Tri-Cities for a family outing, including tennis in the heat of the day and a BBQ at Bays Mountain in Kingsport. Sunday was spent in church, doing household chores, and shopping. On Monday, I took the VOLConWife to Atlanta for our annual trip to see her beloved Atlanta Braves play at Turner Field. I objected none, though, because my lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs, were in town to put the beatdown on those Tomahawk Choppers. Alas, no one informed my Cubbies of this plan, and they were shutout, 4-0. However, the free Braves caps, postgame fireworks, and excellent food at Jocks & Jills before the game more than made up for my team's miserable performance and the ignorant Braves fans that sat behind us. (An aside that will get me in trouble- I have attended baseball games - majors, minors, college - all over the country, and no fans are as clueless about the game of baseball than Braves fans. I should clarify that - Braves fans in Atlanta are clueless. Braves fans that live away from "The Ted" seem to know more about the game. In any case, I keep telling my wife that she knows too much to be a Braves fan, but she's sticking with her team.) We highly recommend Jocks & Jills; they even have several pieces of UT memorabilia signed by Peyton Manning, Phil Fulmer, Pat Summitt, and Peerless Price amongst their impressive decor.
All in all, a fantastic weekend. I just wish I was a bit younger so that I wouldn't be reminded of it until midweek.
Permalink posted by Rob Huddleston @ 4:34 AM 
