Wreck-It-Ralph, Birthday, Quiet Man, Pam Grier is well liked

I should probably have something smarter to say, as I haven't really posted much on the usual topics the past several days.

On Saturday evening I wasn't feeling up to snuff, so we watched the Disney film Wreck-It-Ralph, which turned out to be a pretty good flick.  While the themes and story are going to hold up, I am concerned that the trappings of the nostalgia and with the concept of a modern game (or kids paying to play games at an arcade at all) it'll fall into Oliver and Co. territory for Disney, a sort of dated product of its time.  Still, at this time, it was a really fun movie that, even if the kids don't quite get all the gags, they can stick with what's offered up on a story and emotional level.  The "over their heads" bits seemed mostly winky stuff towards 80's video games, much as the Toy Story movies might reference a toy from a Gen X'er's youth.  Heck, one of the credit songs is performed by Pac-Man Fever maestros Buckner and Garcia.

Today was my brother's 40th, and we spent most of the day out at my folks' place with a wide variety of characters.  I saw people I hadn't seen in years, including the children I had never met of several of Jason's pals.  Some of those kids are kind of not so little anymore.  Time flies, man.

Your St. Patrick's Day Dose of Good Cheer: Jennifer Connelly

Well, I probably should have held off on posting pics of Maureen O'Hara til today, but I didn't.  So, we're going for something a bit modern for this column.

I believe Connelly is as much of an American mutt as most of us are, but the name Connelly is Irish, right?  Wikipedia says she's at least part Irish, so we're running with it.

Any excuse to post pics of Jennifer Connelly is a good excuse.

My Brother Turns 40

Today is my brother's 40th birthday.

This is a bit of a milestone for the family, I think.  The elder son hits that magical four-oh number.  Odd when I think on his birthday and can recall the elementary school birthdays with some clarity.  I even remember him getting a Beach Boys album when he was 6 or 7.  I guess as long as you keep showing up, they keep giving you birthdays, and that means cake, and who can argue with that incentive?

Still, 40 gives me a moment of pause as I also recall my mother turning 40 and what a to-do that was around the house.  I don't think we think of 40 in the same terms today - 40 is the new 30 or whatever - and it's all what you make of it.  And I think he's done okay for himself.  Especially since he got his hair cut in 1995.

Here's to my brother, who has blazed the birthday trail for the Steans Bros.  No matter how hard I try to catch up, he's always a couple years ahead of me, and watching him degenerate let's me know what's coming.

You can't ask for a better brother.  Well, short of getting, like, an awesome robot who shoots lasers out of his face, but I'll take this one.

He's a hell of a guy, and, as it turns out, is not afraid to take the same picture with Amy in multiple locations.

Really, if they don't make this a thing, I'll be disappointed.

And here's a more recent photo of the man rocking the house back in January with his bandmates of the past 14 years, The Mono Ensemble.

oh, Carousel Lounge, don't ever change...

And , of course, here's a pic from the pages of the Statesman as my bro works with a client of the Veteran's Court from our own Travis County.

You can really see the magnificence of the beard.

Happy birthday, man.  You're doing good.

It's His Day

Well, I'm Back from Spring

I drove to Spring, TX yesterday and am back.

This was the aforementioned Drama Club Reunion, sort-of.  Folks who did plays and musicals between 1993 and almost 2000 showed.

It was great to see everyone, and we'll need to do it again.

You guys don't really know these people, so I'll keep it short.

Here's Jared, my director, V (I will never call her "Margaret"), a woman I never identified, and a guy we used to call "Trucker".  It's a long story.

Nathan and Weston.

Meredith, Jared and Julie.

People are doing really well.  Or they're at least smart enough to lie about doing really well.

But the traffic in Spring at 5:00 on a Friday is crazy insane.

Your Daily Dose of Good Cheer: Monroe

Your Daily Dose of Good Cheer: Kate

Everyone relax. I'm back. Til Tomorrow.

I'm back from Baltimore.

You know, for a town that I think of as being pretty sketchy, I walked around last night in the touristy area after 10:00 PM, and it was actually really nice.  Found an area with a strip of local bars and went in with some A-level beer snobs to try some locals.  Discovered there's something called "sour beer".  As I asked them:  How is it I've lived on this Earth for 37 years and nobody ever mentioned sour beer to me before?

I didn't love it, it was fine, but... seriously, I feel let down by humanity.

The meeting was interesting, but I wouldn't describe it as "fun".  Dinner and then the bar was all right, but maybe less the governance talks regarding a semi-formal open source organization.  Still, I felt like I learned a lot, and that's always a good thing.

Tomorrow I pack it up and head to Spring, TX for roughly 24 hours of seeing former high school classmates at the conspicuously-named-but-no-turns-out-there's-no innuendo-there-after-all, "Bareback Bar".

Ah, Spring, Texas.  You never stop giving who you are, and I wouldn't want it otherwise.

Your Daily Dose of Good Cheer: Audrey

Your Daily Dose of Good Cheer: Stanwyck