rwren

More pix of the Penn.

July 12, 2005 rwrenLeave a comment

I thought I would share a few more of the pix we took during our vacation. The Canon A85 I bought earlier this year hasn’t disappointed me.

Vacations aren’t long enough

July 9, 2005November 13, 2024 rwrenLeave a comment

We returned from Enon Valley, PA yesterday, and stayed with our friends, Joe and Clarissa. who use to live down here in Mansfield for 2 years. We did so many things together like cookouts, swimming, etc. when they were here, so 5 days just isn’t long enough when you haven’t hung out for 4 years. We are planning to go back next summer if Troy Aikman is elected to the Hall of Fame. They only live a couple hours from there and we went to the HOF last time we visited.
This year we went to Niagra Falls for a day trip on Monday. It’s a cool town, and actually the first time we’ve ever been outside the USA.We rode the “Maid of the Mist” out to the falls, and it was so refreshing to get sprayed with a wall of white mist from the falls, especially since it was so humid that day.
I had hoped to post pix from their house, but their computer is pretty old and they still have dial up. One of the few things I missed this last week. Anyway, I think we have them talked into a new pc, broadband, and a digital camera.
Joe and Clarissa have a wonderful home on top of a hill in Enon Valley which is a little township of about 300-400 people. They built their home about 4 years ago on 5 acres.It was an awesome time of relaxing and doing nothing. Joe and I did play a round of golf one day while the girls and Gage went shopping. I came within a few feet of a hole in one.

The 3 shots above are as follows: left(looking back from the green to the tee box), center (my 1st shot in relation to the pin), right (sinking my birdie putt)
All in all, the trip was great and there’s much more to discuss that I will save for future posts. – rw

War of the Worlds……frighteningly entertaining

July 1, 2005 rwrenLeave a comment

This afternoon we saw the much hyped, and well deserved I might add, Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise soon to be mega blockbuster.

Spielberg who as a young filmmaker hung in the shadows of fellow prodigy George Lucas, proves once again that his one time inferiority to Lucas is completely a distant memory from a galaxy long long ago. Oh, no doubting the visionary technical mind of Lucas with his eye candy effects, but Spielberg once again flexes his diversified storytelling muscle to bring this summer’s movie going crowd a seat gripping thrill ride! You see, it’s not just about the special effects which are mind numbingly real and will cause your mouth to gape open with a “what the heck is that” expression. It’s also about his complete cinematic genius that brings together all of the superb ingredients of a great film, from the casting of Tom Cruise to the not quite cameo appearance of a brilliant Tim Robbins performance.
Without giving too much away, I like the pacing of the film which at times reminded me of his earlier Jurassic Park thrillers. (I didn’t expect to be creeped out as much as I was.) Cruise’s “daughter” played by Dakota Fanning stole the show much of the two hours and in the process resurrected the “scream” that highlighted the great horror films of the past. I would not classify this as a horror film, of course, but there were some horrifying images, especially in the manner in which earthlings are..never mind, won’t give too much more away. Unlike Madagascar, this is definitely worth a theatre trip, and would be worth a 2nd one for me. I wouldn’t call the Sci-fi images of this film “shocking” as Independence Day once achieved because the effects of today, and particularly from Spielberg’s Dreamworks lab, are of no great surprise, but this flick does have the perfect balance of technical wizardry, emotional highs and lows, and of course a tantalizing sub plot. As far as the ending? Go see the movie this weekend, and then we can talk more about it later. I give War of the Worlds, 4 1/2 notes out of 5.