Old Dogs

I have never been a George Romero fan - never even watched "Night of the Living Dead" all the way through. I never saw "Halloween," "Nightmare on Elm Street," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," or ANY of the standard genre classics. Just not a "zombie" kind of guy. At least not until now.

A month or so ago - based on some reviews I read - I recorded "Zombieland" on Tivo. To be sure, "Zombieland" is NOT really a scary film. It's a black comedy, dressed in gore, driven by actors like Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg (the star of "The Social Network"), and Abigail Breslin. I've always liked Harrelson, especially in "No Country for Old Men." Eisenberg, while accomplished, is pretty new to me. Emma Stone is also new to me, but pretty well-known to an earlier generation. I thought "Little Miss Sunshine" was fantastic, made complete by its star, Breslin.

Anyway, "Zombieland" was awesome; just the kind of humor I like. So, based on that, and because AMC has popped out some fantastic original series lately (including one of Linda and my favorites, "Mad Men," and "Rubicon" - not Linda's style but definitely mine), I recorded the first three episodes of "The Walking Dead."

The premise - the world ravaged by a zombie epidemic - is pretty stock, as is the survivalist storyline at its core; but it's fast paced, has so far developed some interesting characters, and of course, is visually stunning with special effects gore. This is definitely NOT Linda's cup of Sleepytime. I'll be watching it alone -during the day - after I wake up and while she's still at work.



So I'm a fan. Can an old dog really develop a new taste, or is the first sign of dementia a departure from old TV viewing habits? Please add your comments below!

One of "The Walking Dead"

Photography and my Canon EOS-7D

If I am credited with any creativity whatsoever, I probably best express it in photography. My dad got me interested when I was a kid, because he was a newspaperman and early on, took his own photos to accompany the stories he'd write for the small Florida newspapers that employed him. He appreciated the value of a few measured words and a good picture to go with them, explaining perhaps, why he later became a copy editor. Maybe that's where my "minimalist" tendencies come from. "Never use ten words to express what you can adequately state in five." Same goes with pictures. Thanks, Dad. I miss you.

I took the picture below during our August 2010 visit with Missy in Las Vegas. It's in the Valley of Fire State Park, located on a road that goes north from the Interpretive Center, past "Mouse's Sink," to an overlook which we never even got to. If anyone actually reads this blog, give me a good title for it and I'll edit this post with whatever you come up with.

It's one of my favorites, gleaned from over several hundred I took during that week.

I bought my Canon EOS-7D a little over a year ago and, combined with the glass attached to it (Canon's 24-105mm f4 "L series" with IS) I appreciate its raw capabilities. I learn something cool about it everytime I use it, basically because it can do pretty much anything (including HD video). Great camera. I highly recommend it for those who have either signficant photography experience or lots of time to learn its functions. (I have some time).

Here's another from our Las Vegas trip, taken the same day as the above, but a little further down the road and later in the day, after we visited Lake Mead.

Creepy. I call it "The Mummy's Scream."

See any resemblance?

REFLECTIONS: The season's first fire

Last Saturday night, Linda cooked an awesome dinner of chili and rice, and we headed outside to the patio. I fired up the chimenea and together we enjoyed mid-50 degree temperatures, the great food, the warming fire, and the company of O'Ryan, our 12 year old Golden Retriever. We reflected on the very unusual year that we've had and are thankful for good health and especially for each other. We hope the rest of the year is "uneventful..."

This is our favorite time of year and we've already decided it's the holidays, kicked off by last weekend's visit to EPCOT's Food and Wine Festival, with my mom. We had a great time and she did, too. In early December, we're taking mom (and Lauren, who missed out on our family trip to Nevada in August) to New York City. We are looking forward to seeing the Rockettes (got our tix already), the Tree in Rockefeller Center, Grimaldi's Pizza (and eating a ton of other good NY style fare), Macy's, etc. We've done this trip a couple times before and it's starting to become "traditional" for us. Anyone know a good show for us to catch?