New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)

If this wonderful aster hasn't already started to bloom, it will start doing so soon! It will continue to bloom into early Fall.

The Rowes Wharf Bar (A brief bar review)

The Rowes Wharf bar, in the Boston Harbor hotel, has the best selection of Scotches in town! I discovered Glenfarclas here, a brand that I find is as good as my favorite: Jack Daniels. On those days, I feel like putting on a suit and relax over a Whiskey, I go here. Its a 10 minute walk from my house and is right on one of the docks at Rowes Wharf. What more can I say? The ambience and atmosphere simply suit my own tastes.

Memorable Scenes

Picture of the times

I've pretty much figured out that this is how I appear to women on first dates...Woof!

Prince of Persia - A brief movie preview

Jake on the sets of the movie in North Africa.

So...Jake Gyllenhaal will play the Persian Prince. Hey, at least it ain't Tobey Maguire or Orlando Bloom. Here is an article on this movie. Daniel Craig surprised everyone with Casino Royale. So I am gonna keep my thoughts to myself on this one. Jake is a great choice for a lot of roles. Anyone who has watched October Sky will know what I mean. However, this would be his first action outing -- that is, if you discount his other "action" outing, Brokeback Mountain.

The original game and its successors have always involved a lot of running, swimming, climbing, vaulting and solving of puzzles in addition to sword fights and archery. But the storyline in all these games has been mostly linear -- the new one coming out in Q4 2008 apparently will be an exception -- and simply about getting from one level to another until the Prince finally gets to rescue the Princess. So it should be interesting to see Gyllenhaal's performance in the stunt scenes and more importantly the adaptation of such a simple concept to the big screen. I certainly hope that the venerable game will not be marred by any possible fatuousness in this movie! Apparently the movie won't be out until 2009. That may be a good thing 'cause it likely won't compare well to The Dark Knight if released this year...or even next year, I guess.

Swords, Sandals and a Rock

Heh! Heh! One of my alltime favorite scenes. Its kinda funny if you think about it though. One of my recent posts involved wild Salmon. This one has a grizzly in it...

...a grizzly that ends up being a constellation!

Whoa!

Bodybuilders back in Louie's heydays can move pretty fast because they were also well-conditioned in addition to being strong. The sad thing about today's "bodybuilders" is that they take 3 steps and then start wheezing...

Y'know, it took me a while to realize that the soundtrack from the The Rock is awesome. But realize I did!

Clearly this is a much more heroic post than my last one...which was sweet enough to gag on.

Home Depot

Note: Home Depot isn't paying me to write this stuff.



I am not big on chain stores but I like Home Depot. The smell of freshly cut wood while casually walking down their various aisles makes me feel that all life is good. I have often stopped at the painting section and gone through a paint selector book for 15 minutes while trying not to catch the eye of a salesperson. I don't want to talk. I just want to take it all in. And all those bolts and screws of various sizes and shapes in their own boxes neatly stacked in those huge shelves...Ah! I simply relish the tools section even though I don't know one end of a spanner from the other. Oh, they take care of the afore-mentioned bolts, do they? I have nary a plant in my house. I have been meaning to get some for a few years now but continue slacking off. Maybe I will make a procurement from Home Depot's garden section next time. Maybe for once, I won't simply stare at those little stands of dainty books that read How to Build a Deck or 16 easy Projects You Can Do Yourself For Less Than $100. Maybe I will...go through them. By the way, all those rows and rows of cement bags. I tell ya. Heaven!

Any visit to Home Depot naturally has to culminate in the lighting aisles, by far my favorite area there. When my folks did a major renovation of their house many years ago, my only suggestions included a chandelier for the dining room and twin light fixtures for the front door. I couldn't be bothered with making suggestions for the rest of the house. The chandelier came from a specialist lighting company in Dorchester, where my Mom and I picked it out. But the front door fixtures, looking very Victorian, came from Home Depot...and I picked them up all on my own!

I never really buy anything at Home Depot. Still I like to stop in occasionally and waddle around.