MIdventure

Oops, what is this. I am writing a new blog entry. I checked and the last entry was over 5 month ago, so it's about time to update.
The title kinda gives it away, so the big news up front. My time here in Massachusetts is coming to an end. I am moving to Michigan, to Novi to be exact, which is just west of Detroit. The reason for the move is job related. I decided to make a more drastic move and leave Belcan after 10 years. With all the different positions I had, it certainly doesn't feel that long of a time, and I enjoyed most of it. But now it is time to look ahead to new MIdventures.
The move is already on the way, the mover are here today to pick up my stuff and I will be driving out there Saturday.
I know what you're thinking, my AAA membership is up to date and I have all VW dealers on the way on speed dial. Just in case.
So it's coming down to saying goodbye to the North Shore. I will miss the friends I made. Especially the volleyball group in Marblehead, the German meetup group in Cambridge, and my former coworkers. Overall a great bunch of people. I will miss being close to the ocean and living in an area that has a distinctive european flavor.
I won't miss the traffic or the Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

3:10 to Yuma

Usually, I am not a big fan of western movies, but '3:10 to Yuma' is an exception. The main story centers around the legendary outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) who is captured after him and his gang rob a coach and a poor rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who agrees to help get Wade to the prison train to Yuma. Crowe and Bale doing an excellent job playing these different characters and the interaction between the two is one of the highlights of the movie. There are also some nice side plots with Evans and his sons and his struggle to make it as a farmer.
Overall, a very good movie and will actually give it a rating of 4.

Food in a box

This weekend I went to one of these famous quirky food places that are famous around here. So, I hopped in the Schnitzelwagen and made my way to Essex to have dinner at Woodman's, and their award winning fried clams. It turns out that Woodman's is kind of a seafood fast food restaurant. Outside the restaurant they have lobsters on display. You can pick the one you like and they cook it right in front of you. During the summer people are lining the street for a block order their food. Inside, you go to the counter and order your food. They have steamed clams, lobster tail, haddock and other goodies and of course their famous fried clams. I ordered the clams which came with onion rings and fries. Once my number was up, I was handed a box loaded with a heap of fries, onion rings, and clams. The clams were actually really good and it was an enjoyable experience.
It reminded me of another unique place with a reputation for fried food. The Burger Barge in Peoria. I've only been there one, but it was certainly worth the trip. Where else can you buy a bucket of seafood and the 'Farm' burger? If you ever want your arteries clogged, this is the place to go.

Ginger Beer

During my vacation in NZ I acquired a taste for Ginger Beer. It's brewed from ginger roots with a tangy taste and the ability to calm my stomach. Here in the States I've only seen Ginger Ale, which doesn't really compare. So, I was quite surprised last week when I browsed the grocery store aisles and found ginger beer. Anticipating a trip back to memory lane I bought a six-pack and went home. What a disappointment! The stuff was way to sweet and when I checked the label, I found out that it was made from ginger juice, not roots. Too bad...... I guess, I'll have to keep on looking.

The summer her so far has been great. It's been warm, but not super hot. Boston is always a great place to go and there a a couple nice towns up the coast that are always worth visiting. Salem maintains its quirky character. Which other town would give out licenses for fortune tellers and psychics? Can't wait for Halloween, I hear it's a blast.

Latest Movie reviews:
Simpsons: I thought the Simpsons was a good movie. It was like a great episode from a couple of seasons ago when it still was funny. I actually had to laugh out loud a couple of times. The movie makes fun of others, themselves and does a good job keeping the story going. The plot is somewhat stupid, but hey it's the Simpsons, it doesn't have to make sense. A solid 3.5 out of 5.

Bourne Ultimatum: I am a fan of the Bourne series and this one was as good as the others. It starts out a bit slow, but picks up speed nicely and the more the movie progresses, the more we learn about Jason Bourne. The movie wraps up the story of Bourne quite nicely, but they left themselves a little back door in case they want to do a couple more. Good action and good acting, makes this a great movie. My rating: 4 out of 5.

NEWSFLASH

Today, President Bush in his infinite wisdom decided that the American justice system should not apply to his friends and he commuted 'Scooter' Libby's jail sentence. Just another brilliant move of this administration. Maybe Paris Hilton should have flirted with Dick Cheney and she would have been spared her days behind bars. I know, every president, Republican or Democrat, pardons his friends, but that still doesn't make it right. I know Libby was the scapegoat for this whole scandal and he probably knew that he wouldn't do any time. I am also sure he'll get his pardon on the last day of Bush's presidency.
Another proud moment of American politics. More to come, I am sure.

Safety First

In the state where potholes in the streets are plentiful and the drivers and pedestrians behave like they want to cash in on a life insurance policy, I was shocked to learn this week that my Schnitzelwagen is not safe. But from the beginning, since my Illinois car insurance ran out, I finally switched my car registration to a MA license plates. As part of the registration, I had seven days to get my car through a safety inspection. No problem, I thought, I drove right to a garage to get that safety sticker. The guy took a look at my car for 10 seconds and said:'Your windshield is cracked, which is a safety hazard in this state'. Wow, I had this crack in the bottom right corner of my windshield for a couple of years now and never a problem. But, I needed the safety check, so I had the windshield replaced and passed the check. I must admit, when I get into my car now, I feel a lot safer... Actually, these safety checks aren't bad, I've seen a lot less junkers on the streets than in Illinois, for example.

Movie Reviews:
I went to this little quaint theatre in Beverly the other day. I meet with other movie enthusiasts and we watched 'Islander'. It's a movie about a lobster fisherman who lives on an island of Maine. Slow movie, but good characters and interesting stories.


I also saw 'Once', another indie movie that plays in Ireland. The story revolves around a sing-song writer that plays the streets of Dublin and meets a girl that is interested in music herself. It has a lot of great music in it and the movie is beautiful written and played by the main characters. It reminded me of other movies, like 'The Commitments' or 'Trainspotting'
Excellent movie all around. Solid 4 out of 5.

Three times a charme

I was in the mood for some light entertainment, so I decided to see a
movie. There are three movies out there right now that were perfect for
that and coincidental, each of them is the third installation of a series. Of course I am talking about Pirates 3, Shrek
3 and Ocean thirteen. I decided to go for the Ocean's franchise,
because it got the best reviews of them and I really like heist movies.
I didn't expect much, considering the previous one, Ocean's twelve,
pretty much sucked. When I came out of the theatre, I felt the movie
was better than 'twelve' but felt short to the first one 'Ocean's eleven'.
It's a fast paced movie, a cool setting in Vegas and
some neat technical gadgets. And that's pretty much it. The story was
bouncing all over the place and there was no real twist, you couldn't
see coming from 10 miles away. The acting was good, but there wasn't
much of an interesting dialog going on, mainly because of quick cuts
between scenes.
Maybe it's because I've seen so many heist movies, that
I can anticipate the story too much to really get surprised. Here is a
tip to Hollywood, make a movie were the good guy doesn't get the gold,
to keep me guessing the next time.
Overall, a solid 3 movie.