Movies/TV

The Mist

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“You got that kid killed, and I got his f***ing blood on me!” – David Drayton

Synopses

David Drayton, a commercial artist is painting in his home one night in the middle of a violent thunderstorm. He leaves to take shelter with his family in the basement only to awake the next morning to find his art studio and the painting he was working on has bee completely destroyed. While surveying the damage outside he also learns his boathouse has been crushed by a neighbors tree. As he goes to exchange insurance information with him he learns his neighbor, Brent Norton he learns a tree also fell on his property and crushed his car.

The two of them, along with David’s five-year-old son Billy head into to town to get supplies and resources while the power is down. On the way there they pass several military vehicles speeding down the highway. Once they arrive at the store a strange mist starts to engulf everything outside. A local named Dan Miller comes running, in front of the mist bleeding from the nose saying “something is in the mist.”

Jeff’s Review

Based on a 1980 novella by Stephen King, the Mist might be the most frightening film based on King’s work. It was directed and written by Frank Darabont who also adapted King’s the Shawshank Redemption and the Green Mile. Both of those movies are numbers one and two on my all time favorite movie list. So I had very high expectations about this movie beforehand.

I had never read the book so I came to the story fresh with no preconceived notions of what to expect.  Sometimes it hurts when you know the story from a book seeing the movie. I probably would have enjoyed “I am Legend” better if I did not view the movie wanting to see Richard Matheson’s vampire novel on screen.

So coming in blind, what I saw shocked and scared me. Darabont succeeds in making a very terrifying monster movie. And yet at the same time, an interesting movie about people’s natural reaction to fear.

Having seen the movie, I did go out and read the book and the film was fairly faithful to the original story, changing a few things for dramatic and storytelling purposes. One major change was the ending of the movie. It is completely different then what King penned in his novella. Darabont wasn’t sure if King would like it or not and was apprehensive about showing it to him, but to his delight King loved it. King went as far as saying:

“Frank wrote a new ending I love. It is the most shocking ending ever. There should be a law passed stating that anybody who reveals the last five minutes of this film should be hung from their neck until dead.”

I, of course, will obey Mr. King and just say after viewing the movie’s ending it literally left me speechless.  It is something you did not see coming and will make you think for a long time to come about what you would do if ever faced with a similar situation.

Cast

  • Thomas Jane as David Drayton
  • Marcia Gay Harden as Mrs. Carmody
  • Laurie Holden as Amanda Dumfries
  • Andre Braugher as Brent Norton
  • Toby Jones as Ollie Weeks
  • William Sadler as Jim Grondin
  • Jeffrey DeMunn as Dan Miller
  • Frances Sternhagen as Irene
  • Alexa Davalos as Sally
  • Nathan Gamble as Billy Drayton

The cast did a magnificent job. Thomas Jane is remarkable as a David Drayton and he almost did not get the role, as the studio did not want him at first. Luckily for us, everything got straightened out.  I was also really happy to see Jeffrey DeMunn as he is one of my favorite actors. He has been in a number of Stephen King movies, including Shawshank and Green Mile. But m favorite role of his was in King’s miniseries, “Storm of the Century.” His role here in the Mist was small, but he was brilliant every moment he was on camera.

Suggestions and Ratings

The movie is rated R for violence, terror, gore, and language. At just over two hours long this movie is a perfect movie to watch with all the lights off and a big bag of popcorn on your lap. Seriously, you are doing yourself a disservice if you watch this movie with the lights on. So turn them off and prepare yourself for a terrifying night! Four out of four stars.

Movies/TV

Semi-Pro

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A good comedy is hard to achieve. For every Tommy Boy, there are a dozen Good Luck Chucks. Will Ferrell, however, has seemed to find a niche with the genre. His latest film is no different, by the end of the movie my stomach was actually hurting from laughing.

Set in the 1970’s, Ferrell plays Jackie Moon the artist behind the popular song “Love Me Sexy.” Instead of pursuing his singing career, he instead buys the Tropics, a struggling American Basketball Association team. He moves them to the nontropical city of Flint, Michigan, and names himself head coach, head promoter, and star player.

The Tropics are a fun team, who love the game despite their losing record. With a handful of dedicated fans, the team’s limbers by night after night getting the job done. Things change when news comes that the ABA would be closing it’s doors and merging with the NBA. Jackie Moon is excited at the thought of his team playing with the “big boys.”

A league-wide coaches meeting is called with the commissioner where it is learned only four certain teams would be merging. When Jackie Moon objects they agree to allow the top four teams at the end of the season to move to the NBA.

With the Tropics new goal of fourth place set, they trade their washing machine for a ringer to help the team play fundamental basketball.  Woody Harrelson plays Monix, a guy with a drinking problem who has an ABA championship ring to back him up.

Ferrell’s supporting cast is outstanding, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Andre Benjamin as Clarence “Coffee” Black. He has played a number of supporting roles in the past, but his work in Semi-Pro really stands out. He has the talent to be a major star in Hollywood for many years to come.

Kent Alterman, the freshman director behind Semi-Pro also worked with Ferrell as the Executive Producer of Elf. He did an excellent job of not letting the movie get to heavy. I was worried about this when I learned he was a producer of the horrible film “Balls of Fury.”

Alterman when doing press interviews for the movie was asked about the film having a dramatic side, as well as comedy, said,

“Rest easy once you spend ten minutes with the movie you will know we have no illusions of grandeur. We don’t take ourselves seriously and we hope the audience enjoys the movie for what it is a comedy with the attention of making you have a good time.”

And trust me, a good time you will have. The movie makes you laugh! In fact, it has the same envious problem as the Borat movie. I laughed so much I felt as if I missed other jokes! I plan on seeing this movie again once it is released in theaters because it was that good. Will Ferrell scores a monster slam dunk with this film. Let’s get tropical.  Three out of Four Stars.

One side note, I have really enjoyed all of the promotion they have put into the film. For example, Will Ferrell did a Sports Illustrated swimsuit photo spread as Jackie Moon with Heidi Klum. During the super bowl, the also did a number very funny Old Spice commercials.  Just search youtube.com for “Semi-Pro” and you will find many of them.

Movies/TV

Juno

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Toward the end of 2007, I started to hear the buzz about a movie called Juno, it wasn’t in a lot of theaters and in very few cities, but it sounded like a movie I would want to see. So after putting my detective shoes on, I got a copy of the movie and was amazed at the depth, warmth, and humor this movie throws your way in 96 minutes.

Juno, without a doubt, was the best movie of 2007! Everything from the acting, writing, soundtrack, the pieces of the puzzle come together and fit wonderfully! Young actress Ellen Page steals the show with her incredible acting abilities. This young woman was nominated for an Oscar for her portal of Juno, and I was shocked when she didn’t win. And with a supporting cast including of Michael Cera, Allison Janney, Jennifer Gardner and Jason Bateman you are sure to have a good time!

But the star of this film is Juno, from the moment you see her on the screen, she wins you over. At the young age of 16, she becomes pregnant and is faced with the ultimate question, of whether or not to keep the baby.  She calls a local abortion mill to make an appointment, however, when she gets there, she sees a friend from school protesting. After a small conversation, Juno heads into the mill. As she goes toward the door, her friend makes a plea to keep the baby, and yells out to Juno, that her baby has fingernails! As Juno is waiting for the abortionist, she notices the fingernails of everyone around her and finally understands she must have the baby.

Obviously realizing she can’t raise a baby, she looks in the local paper for couples wanting to adopt. She comes across a picture of what looks like the perfect couple and decides to give them a call.

The rest of the film unfolds like a beautiful piece of music. It’s often cliché for a critic to call a movie, an emotional rollercoaster, but this is the essence of one. You are guaranteed to laugh, cry, be upset and angry with all the twists and turns this movie will throw at you! Four out of four stars.

Movies/TV

Shutter

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Shutter was almost universally trashed by critics and moviegoers alike. The movie is nothing more than a ghost story sat in Japan. The tension builds as Ben and Jane start to realize they are being haunted and followed by a ghostly image that appears in all their photos. Shutter is decently scary, however, the script could have used a few more rewrites. We have good actors in Joshua Jackson and Rachael Taylor but the characters are so one dimensional.

The film falls apart in the final acts where the standard ghost story cliches make their appearance. I saw the ending coming halfway through the movie and I was dreading it like a child dreads taking a bath. I so wanted something to happen to divert us from what was sure to be a dreadful final 10 minutes of the movie, but nothing happened.

This movie would have worked brilliantly as an hour-long X-Files episode, but it fails as an hour and a half major motion picture. One positive note was the cinematography. It was shot on location in Japan and that definitely gave the film an authentic and beautiful look.

The movie is rated PG-13 for intense terror, disturbing images, sexual content and language. I am giving it one and a half stars because despite it’s poor screenplay, the actors were good and there are enough scary moments not to make the film a total wash. It could have been so much better.

2/4 stars

 

Movies/TV

The Shawshank Redemption

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As any Stephen King fan knows, his books sometimes have trouble translating to film. King has even gone so far as to sue certain filmmakers after the fact because they made such horrible representation of his work. However, because Stephen King is such a brilliant writer when his films do succeed they are usually masterpieces.

Such is the case with the Shawshank Redemption. Frank Darabont took this short story about a man falsely imprisoned for murder and turned it into the greatest movie ever made!

Set in the late forties, Tim Robins plays, Andy Dufresne, a successful banker, who is tried and convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to two life terms in prison, without the possibility of parole. Once there he is confronted with the harsh reality, that will be his life from this day on.

He eventually meets a man named Red, played wonderfully by Morgan Freeman. Red is everyone’s go-to-guy, if there is something you want, he is the man who can get it for you. Andy asks Red if he could get him a rock hammer because Andy is making a chess board and would like the hammer to make the pieces.  And so begins one of the strongest friendships ever portrayed in the film. Robins and Freeman are such amazing actors, you feel as if each line of dialogue is being spoken directly to you.

Obviously, in a prison movie, you are bound to get themes like hope and freedom. But with the Shawshank Redemption, it is more than just clever storytelling.  You actually share the same hopefulness with Andy as he longs for his freedom once again.

As movies go, you don’t get better then the Shawshank Redemption! The only other movie that is in the same league is the Green Mile. Which also happens to be a Stephen King movie adapted for the screen, by Frank Darabont. As Andy says, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and good things never die.” Neither will the Shawshank Redemption. Four out of four stars.

Movies/TV

The Prince of Egypt

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“You who I called brother. How could you have come to hate me so? Is this what you wanted? Then let my heart be hardened and never mind how high the cost may grow. This will still be so. I will never let your people go.” – Pharaoh Ramesses II

An ambitious account of the life of Moses and the great Exodus. The Prince of Egypt was DreamWorks first full-length animated film and while based on the biblical story, the film does take many dramatic liberties. However, it still stays true to the book of Exodus. The filmmakers actually place a disclaimer up front which points the viewers to the Bible to find out what actually happened (which impressed me).

The film starts in the middle of the persecution of the Hebrew people by the King of Egypt. He has ordered the execution of the first born male child of all the Hebrew people. The Pharaoh was afraid that if the male numbers grew, one day they the slaves would have enough men to overpower him and flee for freedom.

Jochebed, a Hebrew woman is afraid for her new baby boy. With her daughter Miriam she sets her son afloat inside a whicker basket in the Nile river in hopes for a better life – free from the slaughter that would find him if he were to stay.

Miriam follows the basket until it arrives at of all places the palace of the King and Queen of Egypt. The Queen finds the baby and names him Moses. She adopts him as her own. The film cuts to twenty years later and we see Moses and his adopted brother Rameses playing and causing trouble. They are the Prices of Egypt and are having a grand time. One night, Moses runs into his slave sister Miriam. She confronts Moses and tells him that he is her brother. He is upset and angry at such an accusation, until she starts to sing a lullaby that he remembers.

Moses runs away in search for answers. The Pharaoh, tells Moses it’s the truth, but that matters not because he a Prince of Egypt now. He says not to feel upset, they were only Hebrew children that were killed. Moses is taken back at the callousness in his father’s voice.

This eventually leads to Moses running away and fleeing Egypt into the desert. Here is here’s the voice of God in the Burning Bush telling him to return to Egypt and free the slaves and lead them to freedom. When Moses does finally return to confront the king, he realizes the new Pharaoh is his brother Rameses!

The filmmakers had daunting task ahead of them when they set out to make this film. The story is cherished by billions of people. Christians, Jews and Muslims all hold this story is sacred. It was banned in several Arab countries and caused a lot of controversy at the time of it’s release. The film was all most universally praised but it still contains several very dark themes. The murder of children for instance is confronted head on in the film.

The story of Moses and the great Exodus comes alive in this animated film. It’s very close to a musical, but I don’t think it’s actually classified as one. The music in the film is remarkable is probably my favorite soundtrack of all time. This is a powerful and uplifting story that will show you how miracles can happen if you believe. The scenes of Moses parting the Red Sea are worth the price of admission alone.

Cast

  • Val Kilmer as Moses
  • Ralph Fiennes as Ramesses II
  • Patrick Stewart as Pharaoh Seti I
  • Michelle Pfeiffer as Zipporah
  • Helen Mirrem as Queen Tuya
  • Jeff Goldblum as Aaron
  • Sandra Bullock as Miriam
  • Danny Glover as Jethro
  • Steve Martin as Hotep
  • Martin Short as Huy
  • Ofra Haza as Yocheved

The cast is incredible. You can see from the names above, this is nothing but top notch talent. Jeff Goldbulm was great as Aaron, the brother of Moses. Val Kilmer, the voice of Moses was also the voice used for God. He was extremely reverent and there is nothing sacrilegious at all about his portal. Steve Martin and Martin Short steal many scenes in the film as the two head priests for the Pharaoh.

Ratings and Suggestions

The Prince of Egypt is rated PG for intense depiction of thematic elements. I would recommend this film for the whole family. Even with the darker themes in the movie, it’s nothing graphic and should not stop you from showing your younger children the movie. I strong recommend the film however to adults who want a fresh (or new even) perspective on the story. This is one amazing film, which I happy give four out of four stars.

Literature

A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson

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My Library, Book Reviews – 6AM Reviews

Title: A Stir of Echoes
Pages: 234
Author: Richard Matheson
Rating: 4/5 – A terrifying ghost story

One evening at a dinner party Tom Wallace is hypnotized by his wife’s brother. After which he gains some psychic abilities. He can read people’s mind and as the unfortunate experience of knowing what everyone is thinking. He is horrified at what is happening to him, but worst of all he keeps seeing something at night. He sees a spirit that won’t leave him alone. She has unfinished business in his house and needs Tom to help her find justice from the grave. You’ll never want to be hypnotized after reading this classic from the 1950’s!

Check back tomorrow morning, for another 6AM Review.

Literature

Stephen King’s “N.” (Graphic Novel)

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My Library, Book Reviews – 6AM Reviews

Title: Stephen King’s “N.” – Download the comics
Comics: Four in the Series
Author: Stephen King and Marc Guggenheim
Rating: 5/5 – Near Perfect

This graphic novel is based on Stephen King’s short story “N.” It can be found in his 2008 book, “Just After Sunset.”  Wikipedia describes the book as, “a woman named Sheila writes to her friend Charlie about her brother Johnny, a psychiatrist who recently committed suicide. Sheila suspects it was due to a patient Johnny referred to in his notes only as of the eponymous “N.”

The graphic novel follows the story pretty close with amazing and terrifying images. You can buy physical hard copies at marvel.com for $4.00 each or you can download PDF versions of the comics here.

More information can be found: N. Is Here

Check back tomorrow morning, for another 6AM Review.

Politics

My chat with Keith Olbermann

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My conversation with Keith Olbermann via Twitter last night. He obviously has a real issue with Fox constantly beating him. Bill-O has been #1 for 115 months in a row. He’s naive if he doesn’t believe Liberals watch him for the same confirmation Conservatives get when they watch Fox. And yes, he does disagree with the White House from time to time. However, if he were honest he would have to admit that Bill O’Reilly often criticized President Bush as well.

Links 1 | Links 2 | Links 3 | Links 4 | Link 5 

Literature

The Man in the Black Suite: 4 Dark Tales

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My Library, Book Reviews – 6AM Reviews

Title: The Man in the Black Suite: 4 Dark Tales
Pages: Audiobook
Author: Stephen King
Rating: 3/5 – Good King, Not Great King

This audiobook features four stories from Stephen King’s “Everything’s Eventual.”

  1. The Man in the Black Suit, read by John Cullum. The story is one hour and seven minutes long. And is the weakest of the four tales.
  2. All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, read by Peter Gerety
  3. That Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French, read by Becky Ann Baker
  4. The Death of Jack Hamilton, read by Arliss Howard

My favorite of the four stories is the final one. Jack Hamilton is a member of the infamous John Dillinger gang. We follow his life and death is told to us by his friend Homer. Stephen King said he wrote the novella after six months of researching the actual events.

Check back tomorrow morning, for another 6AM Review.

Literature

32 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases

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The HELP! Educational Blog had a great list last year about “the 32 Most Commonly Misused Words and Phrases.” I had the article saved on my computer and wanted to link to it today. However, I just found out they are no longer online. Thankfully, I did save them:

1. Accept/Except- Although these two words sound alike (they’re homophones), they have two completely different meanings. “Accept” means to willingly receive something (accept a present.) “Except” means to exclude something (I’ll take all of the books except the one with the red cover.)

2. Affect/Effect- The way you “affect” someone can have an “effect” on them. “Affect” is usually a verb and “Effect” is a noun.

3. Alright- If you use “alright,” go to the chalkboard and write “Alright is not a word” 100 times.

4. Capital/Capitol- “Capitol” generally refers to an official building. “Capital” can mean the city which serves as a seat of government or money or property owned by a company. “Capital” can also mean “punishable by death.”

5. Complement/Compliment- I often must compliment my wife on how her love for cooking perfectly complements my love for grocery shopping.

6. Comprise/Compose- The article I’m composing comprises 32 parts.

7. Could Of- Of the 32 mistakes on this list, this is the one that bothers me most. It’s “could have” not
“could of.” When you hear people talking, they’re saying “could’ve.” Got it?

8. Desert/Dessert- A desert is a hot, dry patch of sand. Dessert, on the other hand, is the sweet, fatty substance you eat at the end of your meal.

9. Discreet/Discrete- We can break people into two discrete (separate) groups, the discreet (secretive) and indiscreet.

10. Emigrate/Immigrate- If I leave this country to move to Europe, the leaving is emigrating and the arriving is immigrating.

11. Elicit/Illicit- Some people post illicit things on message boards to elicit outrageous reactions from others.

12. Farther/Further- Farther is used for physical distance, whereas further means to a greater degree.

13. Fewer/Less- Use fewer when referring to something that can be counted one-by-one. Use less when it’s something that doesn’t lend itself to a simple numeric amount.

14. Flair/Flare- A flair is a talent, while a flare is a burst (of anger, fire, etc.)

15. i.e/e.g- I.e. is used to say “in other words.” E.g. is used in place of “for example.”

16. Inflammable- Don’t let the prefix confuse you, if something is inflammable it can catch on fire.

17. It’s/Its- It’s= it is. Its=a possessive pronoun meaning of it or belonging to. Whatever you do, please don’t use its’.

18. Imply/Infer- A reader infers what an author implies. In other words, when you imply something, you hint at it. When you infer something, you draw a conclusion based on clues.

19. Literally- If you say “His head literally exploded because he was so mad!” then we should see brains splattered on the ceiling.

20. Lose/Loose- If your pants are too loose you may lose them. That would be almost as embarrassing as misusing these two words.

21. Moral/Morale- Morals are something you want to teach your kids. If your team’s morale is low, you need to do something to boost their confidence.

22. Percent/Percentage- The word “percent” should only be used when a specific number is given. “Percentage” is more of a general term.

23. Stationary/Stationery- You are stationary when you aren’t moving. Stationery is something you write on.

24. Then/Than- “Then” is another word for “after.” Incidentally, the word “then” makes for boring writing. “Than” is a comparative word (e.g. I am smarter than you).

25. There/Their/They’re- There are few things as frustrating as when I look at my students’ writing and they’re misusing these words in their writing.

26. Unique- Something can’t be “kind of unique” or even “very unique.” It’s either one-of-a-kind or it isn’t. There is no in between when it comes to unique.

27. Your/You’re- If I had a nickel for every time I saw this one… yeah, you know the rest. “Your” shows ownership and you’re is a contraction meaning “you are.” Get it right.

28. To/Too/Two- Two is a number. “To” is used in instances such as, “I am going to the store.” If you are supposed to use the word “too,” try inserting the word “extra” or “also.” If one of those fits, you need to also add the extra “o” to make “too.”

29. Lie/Lay- After you lay the books on the table, go lie down on the couch.

30. Sit/Set- Set your drink on the table and sit in your chair. Got it?

31. Whose/Who’s- Whose is the possessive form of who. Who’s is a contraction meaning “who is.”

32. Allude/Elude- When someone alludes to something in conversation (indirectly references), if you aren’t paying attention the meaning may elude you (escape you).

Miscellaneous

Back up your photos, easy as 3, 2, 1!

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How many pictures do you have on your computer? How important are they to you? Do you have them backed up? We live in a world of iPhones and digital cameras. The odds are great you have more photos on your computer than you do in photo albums at home.

How devastated would you be if your computer crashed and you lost them all? Your photos need to be safe and the only way to keep them secure is to have more than one copy! Here are some basic (and easy) steps you can take to guarantee your photos are secure when your computer (or phone) eventually fails.

I first heard about this backup philosophy on the Tech Guy show with Leo Laporte. It’s called, “3, 2, 1 Back Up.”  It breaks down like this:

  • You need 3 backup copies of every photo you own.
  • Of those three copies, you need 2 different kinds of storage devices.
  • And 1 of those storage devices needs to be off-site (out of your house).

Here are the three steps you can take in more detail. If you have any questions, please ask me!

You need at least 3 backup copies of every photo you own. – Let’s say you have 10,000 photos. The photos you have on your computer are your originals. This is your first copy. Now you need to back up these photos two more times with at least two different kinds of devices.

You need 2 different kinds of storage devices –  Your next two copies can be any of the following:

  1. DVD’s – Most DVD’s you can buy will give you a little under 5 GB of space to store your photos. Read some important advice on what to do after you burn them.
  2. SD Cards – You can get a 16 GB SD Card for as little as $30.00. A couple of these depending on the size of your photo collection should do the trick. Lock the card after you are finished by clicking the little lever on the side down (see picture).
  3. External Hard Drives – You should get an external hard drive as big as your entire computer hard drive. This way you can back up the entire computer and as well as your photos. If you have a Mac, use an external hard drive with Apple’s built-in Time Machine.
  4. Full Online Backups – There are a number of companies that will back up your entire computer via your internet connection. For a very low cost, these companions will securely upload your entire computer to their location and give you remote access to all of your personal data. I use Backblaze.com, it costs $5.00 a month. You can also try: Mozy, Carbonite, iDrive, or Cashplan.
  5. Online Storage – Here are websites that will give you a limited number of free storage:
  • Picasa – Google’s photo service will give you 1 GB of free space. You can also upgrade for more space at a decent price ($5.00 for 20 GB per year).
  • Drop Box – Dropbox gives you 2.50 GB of free storage. And lets you sync wonderfully between multiple computers, iPods, iPads, iPhones, Blackberry, etc.
  • Box.net – 1 GB of free storage.
  • Microsoft Sky Drive – They will give you 25 GB of free online storage.  This is a great deal, but you have to deal with the ugly Microsoft interface.
  • Flickr – A free Flickr account will give you 100MB worth of photos each calendar month. Or you can upgrade to a Flickr Pro account for around $25.00 a month for unlimited uploads of photos.
  • SmugMug – SmugMug is what professional photospheres use. You can try it free for two weeks, after that you can get an unlimited account for around $40.00 a year.
  • Backupify – Everyone should have a backupify account. They are free and will let you back up a number of services you already use! For 2 GB, they will back up your Picasa photos, Twitter updates, Gmail, Facebook account, and more!
  • Photo Printing Sites – You can use Shutterfly or Snapfish to store your photos! Creating these accounts are free and will allow you to upload all of your pictures at full quality! The only way to recover these photos after you upload them are to order the physical pictures from them for as low as $0.09 a picture.  I can’t recommend this enough. I use Shutterfly, and my sister uses Snapfish and we are both very happy with the service. If you allow them to, they will send you coupons in your email for free, or discounted pictures! Take advantage of this and finally start placing your digital photos into physical albums. HINTS: If you are on a Mac you can use iPhoto Uploaders for Shutterfly or Snapfish.

1 of those storage devices needs to be off-site. – It’s extremely important that one of your copies are somewhere other than your house. What if you have a catastrophic event at your home? A flood, fire, or theft could wipe out everything you have at one time! If one of your backup copies are offsite this gives you that added layer of protection everyone needs.  This can be accomplished one of a number of ways.

  1. Use one of the Full Online Backup services above like Backblaze.
  2. Burn your photos on DVDs and take them to your work. Or you can place them at a trusted friend or relatives house.

In summary, using the 3, 2, 1 back-up philosophy will keep your photos safe!

  • You need 3 backup copies of every photo you own.
  • Of those three copies, you need 2 different kinds of storage devices.
  • And 1 of those storage devices needs to be off-site (out of your house).

Let me tell you what I personally do and that may help you save your photos.

  • (3) I have more than three backups: (1) My photos in iPhoto. These are my originals. (2) All of my photos are backed-up via DVDs (3) My entire computer is backed up via Backblaze.com. (4) All of my photos are on Shutterfly.com
  • (2) The two different kinds of storage devices are (a) DVDs and (b) Shutterfly.
  • (1) My offsite copy is backblaze.com

Literature

The Killing of a President

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My Library, Book Reviews – 6AM Reviews

  • Title: The Killing of a President – Amazon
  • Pages: 233
  • Author: Robert Groden
  • Rating: 5/5 – Perfect

One of my high school teachers first showed me this book when we talked about the assassination in class. I ended up buying it the following week. It presents complete photographic evidence for those who believe President Kennedy was killed by more than one person.

Robert Groden makes a pretty convincing case for the multi-shooter theory. It shows frame by frame footage of the infamous Zapruder film. As well as dozens of photos from the actual autopsy which show what looks like different entry wounds on the President.

The book is strong enough to make anyone question the Warren Commission. I thought it was much better than the questionable Oliver Stone movie, “JFK” which also presented the same theory. This book, however, deals with facts, not innuendo, and that was something I appreciated.

Check back tomorrow morning, for another 6AM Review. 

Sports

Sports Loyalty

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“Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify. Because the players are always changing, the team can move to another city, you’re actually rooting for the clothes when you get right down to it. You know what I mean, you are standing and cheering and yelling for your clothes to beat the clothes from another city. Fans will be so in love with a player but if he goes to another team, they boo him. This is the same human being in a different shirt, they hate him now. Boo! Different shirt! Boo!” – Jerry Seinfeld, The Label Maker

This routine by Jerry Seinfeld has always stood out in my mind. My whole life I’ve been a die hard fan of the Detroit Tigers. It doesn’t matter who wears the Old English D if the player is a Tiger I root for them. Kenny Rogers, for example, was not a popular player when he was on the Texas Rangers. Most thought negatively when his name was mentioned, however when the game to the Tigers, he instantly became a hero to the city, (especially after his magical postseason in 2006).

It also brings up a separate question: When is it okay to boo your players or your team? If your loyalty belongs to the team and not the player, is it okay to boo an individual athlete when they screw up? I think so because, in this situation, they are personally disgracing the uniform they wear.

Jason Grilli is the perfect example. He was a horrible player, I knew for sure he would give up a lead whenever he came in the game to pitch. When the fans booed him, he got what he deserved. On a personal level, I never boo (except extreme cases, i.e. Grilli), because it’s because I’m too optimistic with the Tigers. I always feel the team can pull out of whatever funk they are in.

A Tigers Resume?

I got a nasty comment back on my old WordPress blog when I posted something about the 2006 Tigers. It called me something like a fake johnny-come-lately Detroit Tigers fan. He asked me to post where I was in 2003 (the year we lost 119 games). He also wanted to know my Tigers Resume, whatever that means. I’ve never thought about putting a “tigers resume” together, but I’ll bite on his stupid comment and give you my resume.

I have been a Tigers fan for as long I can remember. I still remember walking through the tunnel of Tiger Stadium when I was young and seeing the bright green grass shine off of the hot summer sun. Baseball has always been the sport of my heart and the Tigers have always been my team. I’ve held season tickets many times over, including 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003. I was one of the first fans ever to enter the gates of Comerica Park, we got there on opening day at 7am and were the first in line!

Favorite Players

  • Alan Trammell
  • Kirk Gibson
  • Mickey Tettleton
  • Travis Fryman
  • Bobby Higginson
  • Gabe Kapler
  • Brad Ausmus
  • Jose Macias
  • Gregg Jefferies
  • Dean Palmer
  • Todd Jones
  • Jeff Weaver
  • Brandon Inge
  • Justin Verlander
  • Ivan Rodriguez
  • Curtis Granderson
  • Kenny Rogers
  • Magglio Ordonez
  • Placido Polanco
  • Armando Galarraga
  • Austin Jackson

My sister and her boyfriend when we went to see the Tigers play the Cubbies in Chicago in 2000. We won the game that day and some drunk Cubs fan grabbed our Tigers flag right after I took this photo (yes, we got our flag back).

Books, Literature

What Dreams May Come

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My Library, Book Reviews – 6AM Reviews

  • Title: What Dreams May Come – B&N, Amazon, PBS, Google
  • Pages: 288
  • Author: Richard Matheson
  • Rating: 5/5 – Perfect

What Dreams May Come is one of my favorite books (one of my top five). When Chris Nielsen dies he has a hard time adjusting to his afterlife. His journey to Heaven and through Hell is something every reader should experience.

Matheson spent hours researching near-death experiences and includes all of his work in a detailed bibliography at the end of the book. While he says his book is fictional, he only means the characters and the plot. Everything else he believes is based on facts and hard evidence.

I was going through the death of a loved one when I first read this book, and it helped me beyond measure. Death is not the end, only a new beginning.

Check back tomorrow morning, for another 6AM Review. 

The work is mysterious and important.