They Went Through An Awful Lot of Trouble To Kill Winona Ryder

Currently Reading: Our Man In Havana by Graham Greene

I'm sure we've all seen the new Star Trek film by now so I'm not really worried about giving away any spoilers at this point. If you haven't seen it, you probably have no intention of seeing it anyway right? So no worries there. That being said, here's my take on the film . . .

The title says it all. They went through an AWFUL lot of trouble just to kill Winona Ryder. I'm not what you'd call a fan of hers. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a Winona HATER but something about that woman just strikes me wrong. On the whole, I can only think of a few movies of hers that I actually liked and in all those cases it had nothing to do with her.

So, on with the Trek. Crazy Romulan ends up going back in time to get revenge on Spock. Not a bad premise for a film. Lots of possibilities there. We've got a new Trek family building up here and, as an added bit of genius, an entirely different time-line to mess with they don't have to worry about upsetting the Trekies.

In this film, Winona plays Spock's mother. Wouldn't have been my first choice but then who really cares right? I mean, she's not a major character or anything and really only shows up a few times in previous Trek outings to mess with Spock and to remind us that he's half human. So no big deal about the casting. I figured I'd just ignore it. I mean hey, who knows, maybe she'll do ok right? But as the plot progresses, I started to think the writers had it in for her.

Ok, Romulan shows up, sticks a big tube into the center of the Vulcan homeworld and starts his machine that creates the mini-black hole in the center of the planet which will make the whole planet implode. Pretty cool actually. Great special effect too. Naturally everyone ON the planet is going to die, including Spock's mom, Winona Ryder. YAY! But wait, a simple, off-camera death isn't good enough. No, they have to send her and several of the Vulcan elders to some secret cave where all these Vulcan relics are being kept.

Enter the Enterprise! Spock and company beam down to the planet in order to save some of these relics so that Vulcan culture can be preserved blah blah blah and wow, what a coincidence, Spock's parents are there. That's just super! Winona is SAVED! Or is she? With the planet imploding around them and things generally going all to hell, they lock onto the coordinates to beam everyone onboard. But wait! What's that happening under Winona's feet? Oh NO! The ledge is collapsing! And . . . wait for it . . . POOF! Winona falls into the gaping chasm thus throwing off the transporting sequence and she dies.

So, in order to kill her off, they don't just shoot her with something or blow her up in a building or even a starship. No, they have to implode an entire PLANET just to get rid of her. But they've got an eye on her, lest she sneak out and somehow survive. Taking refuge in a cave, dodging bolders and stuff falling all over the place, I mean they're TRYING to kill her and still, she won't die. But undaunted, they wait until the last minute before the teleport and BAM that's when they get her.

Just seems like they went through an awful lot of trouble, that's all I'm saying.

Work, Work, Work

Just Finished Reading: The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

Well it's been quite an eventful week. No, I take that back. It hasn't been eventful so much as just plain busy.

Last week, I was at the clinic, shaving away, when the clinic manager asked me if I was able to work a few extra days this week. Sure, no problem. She comes back and asks me if I'd be able to go full time after Memorial Day. Sure, no problem. There are a couple of days I'll need off due to prior commitments but that's all. Then Monday happened.

Now, I wasn't supposed to work this Monday. I was supposed to come in Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and then work the last week of May. That was the original plan. Unfortunately, the other groomer had a plan of her own. She came in Monday having decided that she wasn't going to work at the clinic anymore. In fact, she wasn't even going to work that DAY. She gathered up her stuff and left. Just like that.

This sent them scrambling a bit at the clinic. We had a full schedule and several of the dogs had already arrived. Further, she took with her the ratty cork board from the door to the grooming room (to which we pin the 5 x 8 index cards recording the dog's grooming history), the chair we sit in (also pretty beaten up) and the little two drawer, plastic cabinet thing that I rest my equipment tray on.

I get a call, I think it was around 8:30 asking if I could come in all week instead of just Tuesday. Well sure, I hadn't made any plans other than the usual chores around the apartment. I didn't know the other groomer had quit at that point. Tara, the vet tech, explained it all to me when I arrived. I didn't know about the missing chair, etc. until I made it back to the grooming room.

Needless to say we were a little miffed about that. I mean, it's damned rude to quit like that. Bad enough she didn't give any notice but to just walk out at the start of an extremely busy week not knowing or caring if anyone could fill in, that's just really unprofessional and petty. I don't know what she was thinking or even IF she was thinking. Obviously she didn't need the money she was making at the clinic, nor did she need to use them as a reference. Ah well, that's her problem, not mine.

So here I am, finally at the end of the week and let me tell you, it's been a VERY busy week. Wednesday was my slow day, 7 dogs. Problem there was they were all difficult in one way or another. Some just wouldn't stand still. Others were severely matted. I ended up taking at least an hour per dog, usually more. Very slow. Seemed like I was spinning my wheels all day. Today, on the other hand, 7 dogs, 2 cats. Finished half an hour earlier than I did Wednesday and didn't feel rushed at all. They were all very well-behaved and there weren't any major problems with any of them. Naturally the cats took a little longer. You know how most cats just LOVE being bathed in strange rooms where there are lots of loud noises, especially when those rooms smell like dog.

Needless to say I've been a bit tired at the end of the day and not really in the mood to do much more than sit here reading the news or maybe playing a little Warcraft (though I haven't spent much time in game either -- no energy). Mostly I've just been resting up to get ready for the next day.

Fortunately Saturday begins a 3-day weekend! WOO HOO! I'm going to need that extra day to catch up on the things I haven't had time/energy to do! But you know, Angel, the clinic manager said something the other day that put everything in perspective. Yeah, we may have to stay late to take care of all these pets. Yeah it may be tiring and we may be working a little harder this week because of the holiday. But at least we're working. We've got a job and a paycheck, unlike a lot of other people these days.

Random Stuff

Just Finished Reading: Wolves Eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith

I've been posting a lot of video lately (when I post that is). I was just reviewing my last few entries and they're all about video clips I've seen online somewhere. Usually I like to stick in pictures. Blog entries tend to be a little dull when it's just text so I throw in some visuals.

Going to the doctor June 1 to have an endoscopy. I'm less than thrilled by the prospect. They're going to knock me out and stick a camera down my throat to find out what's causing the acid reflux I've been having. You see, I was treated for acid reflux last fall and while I was on the medication everything was great. Problem is, it came back a few months later and that's not supposed to happen.

CC is back, by the way. She'd been in Manila for just shy of a month. Again, I was less than thrilled (that she was away, not that she's back, I'm TOTALLY thrilled she's back). We're thinking of going on a cruise, probably to Nassau. I'll keep you posted.

With CC gone I didn't really do anything worth mentioning, which is why there haven't been any exciting blog entries. I can't promise that's going to change in the near future but if we DO go on vacation, that'll be something.

It's been gray here for a long time. Today is the first day we've really had any decent sun in a while. Got me feeling all BLAH and my mind is wandering from topic to topic. Ah well, I need to post entries like this from time to time. Sort of like spring cleaning of the brain.

Next time, a less blah entry!

Modern Day Samurai

This video is REALLY cool. It runs a little long (about 8 minutes) but it's pretty amazing. If you ever doubted the legends about what samurai could do, this might convince you.

Modern Samurai - Isao Machii

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Facebook Etiquette

Currently Reading: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Now, I know there are a lot of you out there who are still trying to get the hang of the whole Facebook thing. It's really not all that complicated and you can have a lot of fun keeping in touch with friends and family. However, there are a few rules you should follow. Watch this short video and pay attention. There may be a quiz afterward!

Facebook - Dos and Don'ts

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