The Annual Jack O' Lantern Contest

Most families have some sort of holiday tradition. Of course, some are more "normal" than others. Most families simply get together for dinner on Thanksgiving or Christmas but, no, that's too non-competitive for the Ray household. We hold the annual Jack O' Lantern carving contest to crown the Pumpkin King or Queen (Goddess according to my wife)!

Unfortunately for me, it's usual the latter. According to my better half, my attempt at a cannibalistic Jack O' Lantern this year looked more maternal than lethal. I should have given him some teeth. Oh well. I tried. She had a rougher time than usual choosing a different variety of pumpkin with a really tough exterior and very strange looking contents. With the stem portion actually being used as the "nose", the resulting carving looks almost feral. Personally, I would have still given her the win but I was awarded the championship by her co-workers so I'll proudly wear my crown until next October.

Now, I've got to get down to the pumpkin patch to wait for the Great Pumpkin!

Dennis Kucinich has seen a UFO

Asked about the statement by actress Shirley MacLaine that Kucinich had seen a UFO at her house, Kucinich said that he had. He quickly sought to clarify -- an "unidentified flying object" he said holding up his hand.

Obama did not take the bait when asked whether he thought there is life on other planets. "I believe there is life here on Earth," he said, turning his answer into a domestic policy statement.

My politics have changed a lot over the years so I just usually try to keep my mouth shut on most subjects otherwise I might be lynched or perhaps simply ostracized from deep southern society but I'm positive that most of the politicians in DC have seen a UFO... the inside of it... They have to be from some alien world to come up with that much nonsense.

Bushism of the Day

My hearts are with the Jeffcoats right now, that's what I'm thinking."—After meeting with California wildfire victims Kendra and Jay Jeffcoat, San Diego, Calif., Oct. 25, 2007

Follow the president's accidental wit and wisdom on Slate.com.

Get the Cake Fool!

My wife is a huge fan of classic movies so I've never seen so much B&W television since I was a kid watching 13 inches of CRT while still living with my parents. Of course, I had no idea that Star Trek was even filmed in color until much later but that's a different story. With my wife's affinity for fine films, AMC and TCM are two of her favorite channels.

She absolutely loves Alfred Hitchcock and wouldn’t miss Vertigo, Rebecca, or Rear Window but has no love whatsoever for The Birds, the movie of choice on the week leading up to All Hallows Eve. Horror films just aren’t her bag and even Hitchcock’s revolutionary idea of a horror movie with no real ending, weird electronic bird noise soundtrack, and interesting use of imagery won’t cut it.

Watching The Birds with her was like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The best comment of the evening came early in the movie when the kids birthday party is attacked by gulls to which my wife responded loudly, “Go get the cake fool! That looks like some good cake!”

Only my wife…

Scrat the Squirrel

Since it's been a few years since my daughter was a candidate for kid's movies and my wife usually enjoyed that bonding experience anyway, I wasn't exposed to the wonderful entertainment of the first Ice Age movie until the sequel hit the theaters. Per usual, the original was common fare on the tube with the sequel hitting the big screen. Vegging out on the couch one Saturday afternoon, I was wonderfully entertained by the actions of one prehistoric sabertooth squirrel!

Obviously, I'm not the only one. Some perusing around the internet provided many reviews of Ice Age: The Meltdown as mediocre except for the performance of said squirrel. I don't remember any reference to his name in either movie but apparently the ferocious rodent is named Scrat. I'm sure that I could have easily found that information by watching the credits and would have even found out that the sqeaks were courtesy of one Chris Wedge. The squirrel is great entertainment as he chases after an acorn through both flicks. Sounds simple, doesn't it? It's wonderful stuff! Just a squirrel working hard to get a nut! Rent both movies and check out the little guy! I'm an offical Scrat fan now and I even whipped up a custom Windows wallpaper in his honor. If you've got a widescreen laptop with the screen resolution of 1280x800 then download it here! http://myweb.pclnet.net/~iluvspam/images/ice_age_03_1280_800.jpg

The Road Not Taken

I'm sure that nearly everyone was exposed to Robert Frost's poetry in high school or college but this poem reads much differently after some "life experience". The poem was first published in 1916 in his collection "Mountain Interval". It is the first poem in the volume, and the first poem Frost had printed in italics. It's one of my favorites. Enjoy.

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Remember what John and Paul said.

Listening to my wife Sandi’s crazy quotes got me thinking about great movie quotes. We were watching “The Long Kiss Good Night” (1996) with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. This movie has some really memorable quotes but not particularly inspirational ones so here’s a few from the movie “Michael”, coincidentally also made in 1996 (good year for movies?). Remember that flick with John Travolta playing the arch angel Michael living on earth, chasing women, drinking beer, etc? Great movie! I love it and Phenomenon as well, possibly two of Travolta's best.

Michael: Remember what John and Paul said.
Frank Quinlan: The apostles?
Michael: No, the Beatles. All you need is love.

Michael: You gotta learn to laugh, it's the way to true love.

Michael: Hey, what's the opposite of white?
Frank Quinlan: Black.
Michael: No. Yolk.

Entertainment and great advice... How can you beat that?

Michael (1996)

Frank Quinlan and Huey Driscoll, two reporters from a Chicago-based tabloid, along with Dorothy Winters, an 'angel expert', are asked to travel to rural Iowa to investigate a claim from an old woman that she shares her house with a real, live archangel named Michael. Upon arrival, they see that her claims are true - but Michael is not what they expected: he smokes, drinks beer, has a very active libido and has a rather colourful vocabulary. In fact, they would never believe it were it not for the two feathery wings protruding from his back. Michael agrees to travel to Chicago with the threesome, but what they don't realise is that the journey they are about to undertake will change their lives forever.

Check out IMDB for more info on Michael and watch it if you get a chance. I think you'll enjoy it.