Now that's old

A month or two ago (was it all the way back in July?) I went to theaters and watched Die Hard or Live Free (the fourth movie in the Die Hard franchise) despite the fact that I'd not seen any of the previous films.  I enjoyed the movie.  I recently procured the earlier movies and right now I'm watching the first.  I think it was made in the late eighties--obvious from the clothes, music, etc...  But here is the best indicator.  The movie is set in Southern California, never a region of low prices.  I was just watching a scene when I realized that there was a gas station sign in focus.  Here is what it said:
Regular .74 9/10

Yeah, not 3.74, or even 1.74, but 74 cents per gallon!  Now that's old!!

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Stardust

Well I went to watch Stardust this evening (Monday night).  It was very enjoyable, for a movie.  I'm sorry, I'm too much of a reader.  The movie was great, I'll freely admit that.  Some of the changes made for a great movie.  But I'm too much of a book person not to be disappointed at how the scriptwriters thought they had to spell things out so plainly (when they were simply implied in the book) and create dramatic tension not present in the book.  *shrugs*  I'm not at all objective, so I might be overlooking how these changes made it a better movie, but I can't help but compare it to the book.  Again, great movie, but as always (though I'm still looking), better book.  ;-)

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Touring the Creation Museum

I keep forgetting that different sites are separate. I have posted quite a few pictures of the Creation Museum on my Facebook account, but of course those are not accessible here. Therefore I'll provide y'all with the links to the albums below. Enjoy!

Creation Museum grounds
Creation Museum interior (i.e. limited walk-through--I want to bring out some big things as well as some that are overlooked, without spoiling the entire experience)

~Matt

PS If you want really good pictures check out the ones that my nephew Chris took on his walk-through (though he didn't get to see everything).

Bourne

Tonight I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum with a friend from work (Adam).  It was an interesting movie.  The shaky camera was back, but for some reason it didn't bother me as much as it did in Supremacy.

Yes, Tish was right, the fight scene was awesome.  I did wonder something though, would she have loved the movie as much if Bourne had been driving (and then wrecked) a Ford pick-up instead of a police cruiser.  Hmmm...;-)

This is a movie trilogy that I have enjoyed, and I'll put it on my shelf next to Jurassic Park.  It was something else where the books and movies were both good, but completely different.  Not only did the movies ignore the central premise of the books, but really these three movies (named for the three books) take place over the course of time covered in the first book.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

More picture options

Okay, this shot might look a bit distorted because I had to stretch it for some reason. Blogger didn't like the size. This is a panorama shot that I took with my camera. It isn't brand new any more, but I'm still playing around with some of the features. I think I'm going to try to head into work early tomorrow morning with a tripod and capture some panoramic shots of the grounds. Hopefully I can beat the early guests--it is only a Monday after all.

This is my nephew Ryan, and I think he is playing a game on his Wii, though he might just be watching television, I don't remember positively.

~Matt

One Week Late

Yes, I have just finished re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  It is the only one of the books that I've only read once, and it again was a thrilling experience.  Now without further ado I am off to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows while burning plenty of midnight oil!!

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Ireland Queries

Yeah, I'm just home from the bar.  I think it was the first time I'd actually stepped foot in a bar.  But let me explain first.

Several of my co-workers from the Cincinnati Museum Center get together each Tuesday at a Cincinnati bar called Molly Malone's.  This is Trivia Night.  I couldn't participate for the longest time because I worked evenings and on the very rare instance I had Tuesday off I was either busy or didn't really want to go anywhere.  Now I just have Bible Study every other Tuesday, so I decided that I would finally attend when I can.  It was great fun, and I think that our team tied for fourth place.

Do you know the only winner of the Triple Crown with the name of a US city in its name?  I did.  This horse was the last living Triple Crown winner until it died a couple of years ago.  Seattle Slew.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Outage

If you read this blog and also post at the Section 77 Annex then please know that your browser isn't malfunctioning.  Dusty, who graciously hosts the Annex is having some difficulties with his hosting company and as a result things are down right now.  I'll mention something here when I know that things are back up an running--either that or you can keep checking the URL to see if the site is operational.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

On Target

I am currently meeting my goals, okay not all of them, but one in particular I have met thus far.  I started re-reading the Harry Potter series two days ago after work.  That first evening I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  Yesterday I finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Finally a minute ago I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  Now after this point the books are a bit bigger, so I'm not planning to finish them in one night.  The only problem is that I'm afraid that I might finish before I can get my hands on book seven.

I don't want to cut things any closer, because I don't want to overshoot the deadline either though.  It is a tough dilemma.  Right now I'm going to go start on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as a way of distracting myself from the problem, ;-).  But before I go I do want to leave you with the closing paragraphs from book three.  I love reading such quality humour. I  was laughing (or at least chuckling) out loud as I reread this passage.

"What's that?" [Uncle Vernon] snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still clutching in his hand.  "If it's another form for me to sign, you've got another--"

"It's not," said Harry cheerfully.  "It's a letter from my godfather."

"Godfather?" spluttered Uncle Vernon.  "You haven't got a godfather!"

"Yes, I have," said Harry brightly.  "He was my mum and dad's best friend.  He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run.  He likes to keep in touch with me though...keep up with my news...check if I'm happy...."

And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face, Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed these books.  Even when I'm re-reading them for the second time and I know everything major that happens, I'm still thoroughly enjoying the ride.  I'm not sure if I'll be able to say that all the way through Half-Blood Prince, but I'll try.  ;-)

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Um...wrong number?

I just received a strange phone call.  It was a collect call from the Kenton County Jail.  Now I don't know anyone likely to end up in jail who knows my house phone number so I thought it strange.  Then when it gave me the recorded part where the caller identifies himself it was a male voice saying "It's me."  Well I didn't recognize the voice and was sure it wasn't anybody I know then--anybody who might call me would surely use their name...  But strange.  I wonder who they were trying to call.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Political fun

I just caught the last few minutes of Sean Hannity's new show Hannity's America for the first time.  It was interesting, somewhat like listening to his radio show.  I enjoyed the time spent, I don't often have time to listen to good political radio or TV.  He had an excellent section on how wrong Rachel Carson was when she wrote Silent Spring and how many mistakes she made.  All those mistakes have cost the lives of countless people in Africa who have died of malaria after DDT was banned and mosquitoes proliferated.

Anyway, that isn't the best part of the evening.  I'm now watching the 1/2 Hour News Hour on the Fox News Channel.  It is hilarious!  If you've never watched it give it a try!  And if I'm the last person to start watching, then you didn't y'all tell me about it before this!

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Bible Study

I've not had the opportunity to attend a Bible Study or small group in quite some time because I've been so busy with unpredictable work schedules.  Last night several people from the Creation Museum were getting together for a Bible Study and I decided to attend.  It was great.  We started to go through Galatians, and will keep meeting every other week.  It was quite refreshing and a great experience.  I'll be definitely heading back in the weeks to come.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

No tags

I bought my annual Old Navy flag T-shirt a few days ago.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have embraced the "no tags" movement.  Okay, perhaps it isn't a movement, but it should be!  I remember seeing that Hanes was releasing T-shirts with printed tags a couple years ago.

For years I have cut tags off my shirts because I hate to feel them rubbing against my neck.  Finally I have a shirt where I don't have to do this!  :-)

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero

Johnny Mac

Someone from work told me that John MacArthur was preaching at her church.  As I haven't heard him preach in a couple years I decided to attend that service.  It was a powerful message from Second Corinthians about God being a reconciler.  2 Cor 5:21 is the heart and meat of the gospel: "He made Him who knew no sin sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

I didn't usually attend MacArthur's church when I was at Master's, but I heard him speak often.  Perhaps we heard other preaching so much I didn't appreciate it as much then.  The church I attend is great, but I miss the type of expository preaching that MacArthur does.  It was a very good sermon.  I even thought about talking to him afterwards.  He is apparently in the area for some sort of conference.  I thought about telling him that I graduated from Masters a couple years back and was now working at the Creation Museum.  Oh well, perhaps another time (whenever that might be ;-)).

It is interesting to see the church situation in the area.  Just as around Master's you could find faculty, staff, and students at many area churches of varying denominations so you can find Creation Museum and Answers in Genesis staff attending a variety of local churches.

~Matt

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"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -Cicero