One line from greatness

I took Sarah to see WALL-E today. I'm a pretty big fan of Pixar and have always looked forward to their releases. WALL-E was no different. Outside one line that was a very out-of-place political statement, I enjoyed it very much. Now, five years from now, no one will remember the significance of that comment...and so, I will buy the movie, I'm sure. The environmental undertones of the movie are there as a part of the story, but the movie doesn't get preachy or beat you over the head with them. The story of the robots is definately very entertaining, and reminded me lots of the akward stuff that happened early in my wife and I's relationship...which made it fun. Anyway, I recommend seeing it, but just felt like the one comment was so out of place, it jarred you out of the story.

4 Years ago

I married my love.

A special thanks and recommendation to Wood Photography.

My buddy and me

Obviously, Sarah was having a better time than I was.

Post surgery

Before:


After:

Operation Complete

I finally had my ACL reconstruction surgery. While painful, I feel like I'm making good progress. I can already do a straight leg lift and get a good 90 degrees flex (albeit with some pain). Pictures to come.

Tomorrow is the beginning.

I'm scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Hopefully, all will go well. I'll be posting pictures of my swollen, bruised leg soon. Should be good times.

Tossed dog resolution

I'm sure almost everyone has heard of or seen the video of a Marine Lance Corporal throwing a puppy into a rocky ravine. A friend of mine originally notified me of the story and I wanted to wait and see what the full story was. The case has been resolved: Marine expelled, another punished over puppy video

When going through training, Marine leadership makes it painfully clear that we must work hard to keep our reputations (or honor) clean. This Lance Corporal obviously didn't think things through and is now paying the consequences.

One side note, the AP apparently doesn't understand what non-judicial punishment (or NJP...or "office hours") is because they place it in quotes and don't explain. NJP is the lowest form of punitive judgment for Marines. It doesn't reach court martial level and does not move outside the Battalion, or sometimes the Company. Most likely, this Marine isn't a Lance Corporal (probably private) anymore and will have some fines or withheld pay in addition to his severance from the Corps. I'd have to check, but the type of discharge may be effected as well. At any rate, it highlights one of my biggest beefs with the mainstream media: when it comes to stories about the military, they have no clue.

Invasion of the Centipedes

We've had some crazy weather recently and it's had some weird side-effects. Namely a mass invasion of multi-legged monsters. It's almost surreal:



My apartment complex sprayed a month or two ago, so they die pretty quickly upon entering the house...but it's still disturbing finding the little buggers everywhere.

Realism can be found in the oddest places.

I was playing a game last night and was up a little later than normal (2300-ish). I will frequently have the TV on in the background (it's awefully quiet when I'm alone here). This time, I had SciFi on and a movie called Dog Soldiers came on. Not normally a horror movie fan, I wasn't paying real close attention, but some things caught my eye. In particular, the actions of the British Army actors weren't terribly far off from real-life. They were performing "cover and movement" fairly accurately. I stopped watching around midnight to go to bed, so I didn't finish the thing. I just find it amusing that a horror movie would actually have better accuracy than, say the final portions of Tears of the Sun...though, that movie has an excellent helio extract scene.

A sad day for our civilization.

Graphic visuals warning.


Wow.

To those that either just drove around or just stood there, I have this question: You souless, spineless people...how can you live with yourself?

Maintaing my bearing...

Iran is threatening to sue countries that it says have damaged its reputation...

Pfffffhahahahahahahahahaha *gasp* hahahahahahahahahaha. I can't breathe. Hahahahahahahahaha.

You can't damage what you don't have.

Review: Guests of the Ayatollah

I just finished Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden. This book covers the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis including most major events throughout the lead-up and gives a decent epilogue. If you're looking for a good storyteller, Bowden's writing is where it's at. His narrative keeps you engaged in the plight of those involved. I'm not a big fan of preachy or stilted material, so I was quite pleased to find that Bowden remained relatively neutral. He does give a general assessment at the end, but it still leaves you feeling that you can make up your own mind.

One thing that bothered me throughout was I continuously thought, "why did the military just do x" or "they could have just done y." Then Bowden explained. The military reacted to the failures of Operation Eagle Claw (the attempted rescue of the hostages) by adapting. The complex mission would now be far simpler to plan...even a junior officer has the basic information needed to know what equipment and planning would be necessary to attempt such a rescue attempt.

I felt the book also brought to the light several issues that are very important in present day. Mostly, they involve diplomacy. The greatest weakness in diplomacy is the "no." As long as someone continuously says no, talking will go nowhere. Taking action, whether force, the threat of force, or political pressure, is sometimes necessary.

In addition, the author's recent trips to the embassy grounds and modern Iran show the current state of affairs within the country. Perhaps Iran is ready for a new revolution?

I highly recommend this book as an insight into a dramatic and poorly understood moment in history.