New Years Eve Extravaganza

Well, everyone has been talking about this all month - Boxer's Blogger New Year's Party. I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work, but it starts Friday, December 31st at 12:00 AM EST and ends sometime on January 1st. There will probably be some 50 or so bloggers (by my count) in attendance and Troll , Moi and Intuitive Eggplant will be big time participants/hosts.

I figure that, being the party guy that I am, I should provide some entertainment. And what better game could there be than Homer the Flanders Killer. This is way easier than the Troll Barmaid Bottle Catch Game and I don't think there's any scoring involved (Edit: There is scoring - I got 268). It's just kill or be killed - by Flanders - who is unarmed - Edit: He actually can kill you in later rounds).

Anyway, the underlying theme of this Boxer Bloggapalooza is charity. To start the new year right (and so that I can feel good about something) I will donate 50 cents for every comment left on this post. The money will be donated to our local council of the Boy Scouts of America.

I'm using the autolaunch publish so that this can come up at 12:00AM EST on Friday, which is way past my bed time. Especially if I'm going to stay up late for New Years Eve. We're apparently hosting a "real" party at stately Kill manor - so I'm told. So I'll start cruising around Friday in between cooking and cleaning. I have a feeling this thing may be "ever evolving" and I may add some additional stuff to this post, so come early, come often.

So remember to have a good time, straighten up, fly right and have a Happy New Year!



Supplemental: Chickory Garland Thing

So as part of Chickory's New Years Eve Party Activity, she encouraged the artistically challenged to make some New Years Garland. I took a shot at it. I started gluing it to the string but it wasn't sticking. Then I realized I was using Blistex. Plan B called for tape and that sort of worked.

Here's the Kill Family Tree. We usually get the tree from the local little league, but they didn't sell this year. So the Mrs looked online and we found a farm 18 miles away where we could "cut our own". So we trekked out there only to discover they're brought in from Pennsylvania and that this was a tomato farm and not a tree farm. Still, it's a nice tree and the Mrs was happy with it.
Here's my lame-ass garland.
Do you detect a theme to my blog? Anyone get this?
Here's the traditional Kill Christmas Village assembled by the Pudge.
Here's my tribute to Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation.
That's all for now.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Foreign Actress

The Materfamilias of Movie Clip Wednesday, Boxer is now busying herself with hosting what promises to be the wackiest New Years Eve Party of the blogosphere. So it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is MCW, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE FOREIGN ACTRESS. After thinking (drinking?) on this, there is only one foreign actress that does it for me, that Mexican hottie - Salma Hayek. The role I really liked her in (and so did the Academy because she was nominated for Best Actress) was Frida Kahlo in 2002's Frida. The best part of the movie? This tango sequence with Ashley Judd. And who else could make a unibrow looped pigtail hair thingy look sexy?



The first role I ever remember seeing Salma in? Two words - Satanico Pandemonium! in 1996's From Dusk Till Dawn. Best dance sequence in a movie - EVER. I'll spare the woman folk that scene and instead show how Mistress Salma puts George Clooney in his place.

I think we're going to see some interesting choices over at the Madman's today - not to be missed.

Drive-by Holiday Spirit

Do you believe in Christmas?

Do you renounce the Grinch?

Do you renounce the Grinch's works?





“You must love this country more than I love a cold beer on a hot Christmas morning.” ~Homer Simpson

This is what I see happening at Boxer's New Years Party.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Christmas Movie

Boxer is now busying herself with hosting some kind of weird blogger New Years Eve Party. So it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is Movie Clip Wednesday, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE. A timely theme for sure and one that's been done before, but 'tis the season...

You can't think about traditional Christmas movies with naming those two Yuletide dynasties - It's a Wonderful Life and a Christmas Carol. So I chose a Christmas Carol. The version I like is more correctly called Scrooge. Made in 1951 and starring Alastair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge, this period piece of jolly old 19th century England absolutely screams Christmas at me every year.

Then on the other side of the Christmas genre we have the comedies. A Christmas Story use to be my favorite but the USA channel killed it for me by running it continuosly for days. Hard to believe that Peter Billingsly (Ralphie) is almost 40. And you all know one of my other favorites is Bad Santa, so I won't go into that. But because it's the holiday season, I'm going to drag out another Chevy Chase movie (I did Caddyshack a few weeks ago) that I think is hysterical. 1989's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I saw this in the theater and never laughed so hard at a Christmas movie (not even Bad Santa). And anyone who's ever ventured into the world of exterior illumination will really appreciate this scene (a little long - sorry):

So go on over to the Madman's and see if there's a little something under his tree for you. So Merry Christmas to all.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Most Overrated Movie

Boxer continues tormenting her dogs and has apparently started hanging around dumpsters (weird, huh). But it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is Movie Clip Wednesday, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is MOST OVERRATED MOVIE. This was actually easy for me to pick because I've discussed this at length with friends (not on this blog) that I never understood the appeal of this movie.

I will back-track a second and say that my very first thought on this theme was Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. I like Kubrick. Full Metal Jacket is one of my favorites. But this...the monolith, HAL, monkeys, something wonderful, blah, blah, blah. I didn't get it and could never sit through the whole thing. It was SO BORING. But this wasn't the movie I picked.

The movie I picked is 1983's Scarface. As of this writing, this is IMDB's #157 most popular movie. And if you ask any gangsta rapper (and we all know a few, right?) they'll tell you it's their all-time favorite movie. Al Pacino, Frank Logia and F. Murray Abraham as Cuban/Central American drug lords - Really? The accents are horrible and the dialogue atrocious. Oliver Stone wrote this thing and Brian DePalma directed it. The only redeeming scene in this movie is - the shower scene (and I'm not talking about Dressed to Kill either - also Brian DePalma). So here you go:

So this is another theme that will not be real pleasant to watch, but go see what else is going on at the Madman's anyway.

Early Christmas Present

You all may remember a contest that Chickory had and that I, unbelievably - WON. Here were my prize choices. Anyway, I get home last night and there on the front step was this (soon to be cherished) work of art. The Mrs immediately put it on display at the edge of the family hearth.



Thank you Chickory. I know so few artists and it is truly an honor to receive personalized artwork. Merry Christmas to you and your family from the Buzzkills.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Police/Detective Movie

Boxer continues her hiatus and disturbing penchant for taking pictures of dogs wearing hats. But it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is Movie Clip Wednesday, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE POLICE/DETECTIVE MOVIE. Well, for those who know me. the obvious choice is 1971's Dirty Harry and it's sequels. I think this is the definitive detective movie. Harry Callahan lives on the edge on the law and tracks down the bad guys even with all the liberal red tape he's forced to deal with. To hell with Miranda and coddling criminals, Harry gets the job done and is the coolest human being on the planet. It's hard to believe that Frank Sinatra was actually the first choice over Clint Eastwood for this role. However, I know the Madman and Karl both have an affinity for Clint, so I decided not to go the Dirty Harry route.

Instead, I've gone to the other end of the police movie spectrum for one of the funniest cop movies ever made - Police Academy. Alright, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do that to everyone. But the police comedy I did choose was 2001's Broken Lizard's Super Troopers. Admittedly, this is a guy's movie. And it's way funnier than the trailer movie clip that I have here (pickins' were slim on youtube) . It's about a bunch of Highway Patrolmen in Vermont (played by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe) and the wacky stuff they do. What makes it funnier is their captain. The captain is suppose to be the voice of reason, the disciplinarian. This captain (played by Brian Cox - Hannibal Lecter in the film, Manhunter) is just an older version of these nutjob cops. It's worth a watch if you've never seen it.

If you like a good pistol whipping, bad wardrobes and cheesy mustaches, then head on over to the Madman's and stakeout his blog (see what I did there with all the police references?).

Remembering Pearl Harbor - December 7, 1941

Sleepy morning sunlight
Flash, Smoke, Shrapnel - some gave all
Arizona Stands

Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

Moi asked me for the stuffing recipe that I featured in my Thanksgiving Nightmare Family Get-together. I forget where I got it from, so I'm posting it here. It includes changes I made to the original, so I guess it's now (technically) my recipe. The original called for 1 cup of chicken stock, but I ended up going with about 4 cups because I like very moist stuffing - so use your judgement. I also used more pair, apple and onion then called for too because that's how I roll.
Enjoy.


Traditional Bread Stuffing with Herbs


Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Oven Temp: 325

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) margarine, substitute butter
• 5 large celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon(s) fresh thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) pepper
• 3 teaspoon(s) fresh sage
• 4 cups chicken stock (don't add all at once - save some for last)
• 2 loaf(s) (16 ounces each) sliced firm white bread , lightly toasted and cut into 1/2-inch cubes or 1 bag of Arnold Stuffing
• 1/2 cup(s) loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 1 apple, diced (peel left on)
• 1 pear, diced (peel left on)
________________________________________
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In 12-inch skillet, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add celery, onion, apple and pear and cook 15 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in thyme, salt, pepper, sage, chicken stock (to taste); remove skillet from heat.
3. Place bread cubes in very large bowl. Add celery mixture and parsley; toss to mix well.
4. Spoon stuffing into 13-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish (or stuff turkey); cover with foil and bake 40 minutes or until heated through.

ThanksGiving Aftermath

Guess what? The Mrs actually took some Thanksgiving pictures this year. So I thought I'd share some of them being that I talked about this event in various people's comment sections. We had 26 people this year (down from a high of 34). To accommodate everyone, I rent tables, chairs and linens and I did up a plan view in AutoCAD to make sure everything fit. The dining room table will hold 8 plus 2 buffet tables on either side.

I added two 8-foot tables and extended them into the living room. I can seat 20 here and the other 6 (kids) at the kitchen table.

Here are some of the cheesy decorations we have in the house. This actually came from the Mrs' parents.

Here's the turkey (all 28 pounds) brined and stuffed.

Me and the boy stuffing and putting sage butter under the skin.

I went with a traditional white bread stuffing with apples and pears. This was a keeper.

Here's the dessert table in the living room. The pies (apple, pumpkin and pecan) eventually went on a 3-tier pie rack and there were some cupcakes and cookies brought by an in-law..

The turkey fresh out of the oven (after 6 hours cooking) with the cheese cloth removed. I use maple syrup, butter and chicken stock to keep the cheese cloth wet. The turkey was so big it overlapped the roasting pan and a lot of syrup dripped in the oven. Good thing the oven is self-cleaning.

The turkey on the cutting board. I carve it in the kitchen and put it in chafing dishes. We don't have room (and I don't have the patience) for traditional table-side carving.

And here's the feast at the main buffet. (From back to front) Turkey, stuffing, port wine demiglace gravy (bought at the meat market), garlic and chive mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (made by my sister-in-law), corn and string bean casserole (made by the Mrs' sister). There was also rolls, corn bread, olives, cranberry sauce on the other table.
And there you go - until next year.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Movie You Hated the First Time You Saw it But Liked it Later

Boxer is too pre-occupied with setting Thanksgiving decorations adrift to resume hostest duties. But it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is Movie Clip Wednesday, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is MOVIES YOU HATED THE FIRST TIME AROUND BUT LIKED IT LATER. Just when I thought the Madman was done with long, wordy themes - Bwahahaha. This is actually a good theme because I really had to think on this. And luckily the Madman gave me enough time this week.

I think I mentioned before that a movie I absolutely didn't like the first time I saw it was Natural Born Killers. I found all of the goofy imagery annoying...at first. But I watched it again years later and liked it much better (more better?). The random imagery was part of the social commentary on the media. I get that now. Juliette Lewis and Woody Harrelson gave really good performances.

So after much thought, I remember a movie that confused me because I wasn't sure of the time period in which the movie took place. It was sort of the 1940s but the music was 1980s and some of the characters didn't make sense to me. I'm talking about 1984's Streets of Fire. The McCoy character (Amy Madigan) being a soldier (presumably WWII), the Winchester rifles and the 1980s fashion worn by Billy Fish (Rick Moranis) and the Sorels didn't make sense to me when contrasted with the 40s Wild One biker attire. I did some research and realized that it was more of a past/present/future kind of tribute to Rock and Roll and that it was a make-believe place.

I suspended my desire to make sense of the timeline and watched the movie again. Then I saw a basic rescue story with bad-ass bikers, guns and descent music (Ry Cooder and the Blasters). Willem Dafoe is sickeningly white in color as the bad guy Raven Shaddock and Michael Paré plays a good, smarter-then-he-looks hero. And it's got a final fight scene with sledgehammers. How could you not like that?

If you want to see more movies that grow on you, then head on over to the Madman 's.

Visual Haiku - Thanksgiving

Potatoes all peeled
Stuffin' made, turkey in the oven
Waiting for family

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Movie Clip Wednesday - Best Sports Movie

Boxer seems to be coming out of her funk and is actually participating in the magic she created. But it's the Milk River Madman that continues to take up the mantle that is Movie Clip Wednesday, the Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is BEST SPORTS MOVIE. I was just watching A League of Their Own, which is a great baseball movie and one of the few movies that makes me cry at the end (yeah, I said it). Caddyshack (which I did last week), North Dallas Forty, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Longest Yard, Eight Men Out, The Hustler, Major League and Bull Durham all come to mind. Interestingly, most of your great sports movies seem to be about baseball. But the sports movie I like the best is 1977's Slapshot. And it's because of three words - the Hanson Brothers. The frightening part is that all three of these guys were actual minor league hockey players and went back to hockey afterwards, even though they were offered (and turned down) a spin-off movie. Scary realism - these guys are covered in blood in almost every scene. Does it get any better than that? ...I think not.




This is the best line in the whole movie:

I'm looking forward to seeing the "jock" in everybody over at the Madman 's.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Worst Movie Sequel

Boxer is still lurking around her movie-themed Frankenstein's monster but not yet ready to resume holding the lightning rod. So, the Milk River Madman continues hosting the Movie Clip Wednesday Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is WORST MOVIE SEQUEL. Let's face it, with very few exceptions, the vast majority of sequels are pretty bad. Star Wars, The Terminator and The Godfather come to mind immediately as the best ones. And The Road Warrior is one of those even rarer sequels that was better than the original. The nature of the sequel is to cash in on a proven formula ... a magic that is rarely captured twice.

With so many bad sequels out there, the Madman had me scratching my head on this. But...I will have to go with 1988's Caddyshack 2. The only word to describe this sequel is - HORRENDOUS. The original Caddyshack is on my top 5 favorite comedies list with great performances from Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight and Bill Murray. One of the most quotable movies of all time. Then comes Caddyshack 2 with Jackie Mason, Robert Stack and Dan Aykroyd - Jesus H Christ did they make a mess of it! Jackie Mason and Dan Aykroyd are just completely unwatchable. I like Robert Stack but you can tell he wanted out and Randy Quaid basically played his Vacation based Eddy character (which was probably the best part of this movie). The only original main character to return was Chevy Chase and he really wasn't that funny in the original.

Not surprisingly, there aren't many clips available, but this one is bad enough:



The real problem with this theme is that we're all going to have to endure bad movie clips. I'm sure there will be plenty of them over at the Madman 's.

Movie Clip Wednesday - My First Date Movie

Boxer seems to be looking for all kinds of excuses for not to resuming her hostess duties. So, the Milk River Madman continues hosting the Movie Clip Wednesday Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is MY FIRST DATE MOVIE. This promises to be one of the more interesting and revealing MCW themes ever. Kudos to the Madman .

Well, I can remember the date and the girl - but the movie...I'm taking an educated guess. I am pretty sure it was 1975's Rocky Horror Picture Show. I think it was 1978 and the girl was a fiery redhead named Colleen. I've always had a thing for redheads (the Mrs is blond - allegedly). We were getting busy in the back row during the entire movie (end seats right against the wall) which is why I'm a little fuzzy on the actual movie. I know we went to this movie, I'm just not sure it was the first, but it'll have to do.

And this is my favorite scene and song from the Horror. I remember reading somewhere that Meatloaf was told when he sang this song to just get as many words in as he could - and he got them all. I also like the big spiral ramp set they used too.

I am giddy with excitement in anticipation of the stories we'll hear over at the Madman 's.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Best Coming of Age Movie

With Boxer showing that she has a pulse even though her first post in ages was in celebration of the Day of the Dead, she's still not quite ready to assume her hostess duties. So, the Milk River Madman continues hosting the Movie Clip Wednesday Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE COMING OF AGE MOVIE. There are only 2 movies that jump out as coming-of-age movies that really affected me while I was coming of age. The first was 1971's Summer of '42. I remember reading the book by Herman Raucher in eight grade (a friend loaned it to me) and this was pretty racy stuff. I then saw the film a couple of years later. Jennifer O'Neill was totally hot in this movie and she's the older woman seducing the naive teenage boy. Probably at the top of every boy's fantasy list. Unfortunately (as is the case lately) I couldn't find any decent clips. And I have a sneaking suspicion that Karl might go with this one.
So that leaves the only other movie that influenced me in my formative post-pubescent (that makes me sound like a girl, doesn't it?) years. And that movie would be - 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Who couldn't relate to the problems that high school kids like Rat and Brad have. And of course, the quintessential coming-of-age masturbation scene is the Phoebe Cates pool scene. You'd think as famous (or infamous) as this scene is, that it would be easy to find - NOT. After an hour of searching various sites (that I'm sure have infected my computer), this was the best I could do. And every time I hear the Cars' Moving in Stereo, this scene flashes before my eyes. It reeks havoc when I'm driving.



Phoebe Cates Topless In Fast Times At Ridgemont High - Watch more Funny Videos

For more favorite coming of age movies go on over and see the Madman . With so many to choose from, I'm guessing he will get some real interesting clips.

Happy Halloween

Zombies Can't Dance...




...Or Can They?

Very crappy picture of The Pudge and his buddy working a neighborhood haunted house. This was the first year he didn't go Trick-or-Treating.

The tools of their trade.

Something for the Necrophiliacs out there - and you know who you are.

Ideas for Chickory - next year.

A Joke for the Madman

A friend sent me this joke and I immediately thought of the Milk River Madman because of his annual Lonely Bachelors and Oppressed Husbands trips with his friends. Enjoy




DEER CAMP

Four guys have been going to the same deer camp for many years. Two days before the group is to leave, Ron's wife puts her foot down and tells him he isn't going.

Ron's friends are very upset that he can't go, but what can they do.

Two days later the three get to the camping site only to find Ron sitting there with a tent set up, firewood gathered, and dinner cooking on the fire.

"Dang man, how long you been here, and how did you talk your wife into letting you go?"

"Well, I've been here since yesterday. Yesterday evening, I was sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes and said, 'Guess who?' I pulled her hands off, and she was wearing a brand new nightie. She took my hand and pulled me to our bedroom. The room had candles and rose petals all over. On the bed she had handcuffs, and ropes! She told me to tie and cuff her to the bed, and I did.

And then she said, "Do whatever you want."

So, Here I am.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Buddy Movie

With Boxer being gone for what - 5 years? the Milk River Madman continues hosting the Movie Clip Wednesday Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE BUDDY MOVIE. I like this theme because it is pretty broad (I meant wide in scope - not good-looking babe), promises to be funny as most buddies are and could include woman, animals and even machines as buddies (I hope someone does that take on the theme - I, of course, will not). I thought of two, relatively new buddy movies that didn't do all that well at the box office but that I think are hysterical. Interestingly, they both have the same, very popular co-star in them (which I talk about in a minute).

The first one is the Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly hoot - Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Ferrell and Reilly have paired in several movies, but this is by far their best. And Reilly is outstanding as Ferrell's racing sidekick who always lets him win. I believe I used this movie before, so I won't use it here.

And the one I've chosen is a little obscure but it's been running on HBO for the last couple of weeks and I think it's under-rated and extremely funny. It's 2008's Role Models starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott. What makes it funny (to me) is the way these two handle kids.

The common denominator in both movies is Jane Lynch. Talladega Nights was the first movie I ever saw her in. And in Role Models she plays a psycho head of a day care center (maybe the forerunner for her part in Glee?) and she plays well off of Rudd and Scott. The following clip is the best scene in the movie (sorry for the poor quality - it was taped off of a TV screen but all I could find).

It's a guy movie for sure with some crude comedy writing as evidenced in the following clip.




For more favorite buddy movies go on over and see the Madman . I guess we can consider him Boxer's funny, drunken, sidekick buddy. Nah, I was just kidding about the funny part.

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Foreign Actor

In light of the fact that we still have a Boxer's Rebellion still going on (I kid), our hostess is still unavailable to assume her duties (he said, "doody") . So Milk River Madman continues hosting the Movie Clip Wednesday Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme and tries to keep the clip or clips to around 3 minutes long. This week's theme is FAVORITE FOREIGN ACTOR. I immediately thought of British actors like Sean Connery, Kevin Branagh or Clive Owen, but that would be too easy. Then I thought about some European actors like Antonio Banderas or Javier Bardem. Good but not really favorites. Aussie Mel Gibson? Good movies but a total whack job (he's doing Hangover 2 for Christ sake).

No, my favorite "foreign" actor is on this side of the pond. And that would be Canadian - Mike Meyers. From Wayne's World to Austin Powers to Shrek, this guy makes me laugh. He'll probably never get an Academy Award, but he's one of the funniest film stars out there. And you could make an argument that Austin Powers makes him British, but that would be a stretch.

One of his more under-rated movies and where we first heard the beginnings of the voice that would be Shrek was 1993's So I Married an Axe Murderer. I love every scene that features Stuart MacKenzie. Here are 3 short clips.

The Pentavirate.

Head! Move!

We have a piper down!



For more favorite foreign actors (not actresses), go on over and see the Madman . He put the "grrrr" in swinger, baby! Yeah!

Movie Clip Wednesday - Favorite Disney Movie (Non-Animated)

I'm not even going to mention Boxer's situation and her hopeful return to host MCW (doh, I just did). So Milk River Madman continues hosting the Movie Clip Wednesday Meme where everyone picks a clip from their favorite movies based on a weekly theme. This week's theme is FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE (NON-ANIMATED). I looked up all the Disney movies ever made and there are hundreds of them. Sure a lot are animated but there were many I hadn't thought about since I was a kid and use to watch on the Wonderful World of Disney every week. And then there were all of the classics that we would see at the theater or drive in.

Some of the ones I really liked were Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which we saw in the family Rambler at the drive in. The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes which was one of the first Curt Russel movies I can remember. This was the first movie to use the word "Computer" in the title.

But I narrowed it down to two all-time favorites. Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a fascinating movie (to me) and I loved the scenes showing the inner workings of the Nautilus. I didn't choose this one because I'm reasonably certain Karl will do this (prove me wrong Karl). So that leaves 1960's Swiss Family Robinson. I love this movie because the ships, sea, tropical island and most of all - the tree house. I think this movie started my infatuation with tree houses. After this movie and when I was in my early teens, my friends and I built our first tree house with trap doors and rigging. In my late teens on my senior class trip to Disney World Orlando, I got to see the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and I'll bet I spent the better part of an hour in there. This inspired me to build this tree house many years later.

Unfortunately, the only video I could find under 10 minutes long is this scene where the boys fight the anaconda. I really wanted one of the tree house. That's James MacArthur (better known as Danno from Hawaii Five-O) as Fritz Robinson.


I'm hoping we see some of the more obscure Disney films this week at the Madman 's. Who cried when old yeller died?

The Big Anniversary

"A love story that begins in Ocean City and wends its way along the Jersey Shore through Sea Isle City, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May Court House, Wildwood, and romantic Cape May." (Words and music by Bud Nugent, 1960).

The Mrs and I just celebrated 20 years of marital bliss. The last few of which have been a little rough because of our jobs, schedules and the kids. We don't get a lot of alone time whether it be dinners or weekend getaways. And when I say WE I mean ME because apparently, US getting away is entirely up to me. She plans the family vacation and everything else is up to me. I don't do a very good job at this.

The 20th anniversary is the "china" anniversary. So I bought her an antique porcelain pitcher (circa. 1880), a framed print of some lilies and a multi-colored pearl necklace (that will go with everything - right?). It looked something like this:

Then I did the dinner on the deck during the week and planned to go to dinner at a local French Restaurant that weekend. She didn't like anything. She wanted something more special for a milestone anniversary. She reminded me that on our 10th anniversary we went on a cruise. I reminded her that she doesn't like cruises (but it was the best vacation I ever had - drunk the whole time, great food and no kids). So it went back and forth like that for a while.

She then suggested Rat's Restaurant, which is this season's Top Chef winner Kevin Sbraga's restaurant. It's part of a place called Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton NJ (about an hours drive). We've heard a lot about this place but have never been there. We would tour the grounds, have dinner and then do an overnight at a local hotel. I called for reservations and was informed there was a 2 week wait list. Scratch that idea for now - we will revisit this idea in the near future.

Then the Mrs suggested Cape May. Another place we've never been. Cape May is the oldest resort town in the US and is known for it's many Victorian houses and Bed and Breakfasts. With a little bit of web searching, we found a B&B in the historic district with rooms available and 1 block from the ocean. Done deal. And no kids because they were camping this weekend.

We leave Saturday morning and it takes about 1 1/2 hours to get there. It's off-season so traffic is light. In-season, this is probably a 3 hour drive. We have a couple of hours before check in, so we go to the Washington Street Mall for some shopping and end up having an alfresco lunch at the Ugly Mug.

Editor's note: We forgot to bring our camera. The Mrs bought a disposable but I still haven't seen the pictures. All of the photos below were stolen.

The ugly Mug was okay. I had a fried flounder sandwich and the Mrs had a chicken salad sandwich (I think). We wandered through many stores after.

We finally checked in to Beauclaire's Bed and Breakfast Inn on Ocean Street. This place was way better than we expected as you can see from the accompanying pictures. The house is over 120 years old and was built after the big fire of 1878. The owner's, Joe and Joanne (yeah, I know) have owned the place for 7 years and were very hospitable innkeepers.

This is the main living room and the fire place is pretty impressive.
We had our Sunday breakfast here in the dining room with formal place settings. Joanne served a fresh fruit plate with yogurt followed by a french toast casserole with sausage. It was quite good.

Our room was on the 2nd floor and you had to take these impressive stairs to get there.

When we arrived, Joanne said we would be staying in Nan and Opa's Room (Room 2). I asked if Nan and Opa would mind and she thought that was funny as hell. I'm so quick-witted. The room was very nice but the adjoining bathroom was pretty tight.

After we checked in and the Mrs had a quick nap, we donned our swimming attire and walked to the beach. It was a nice day although a little breezy and no crowds. We saw a pod of dolphins (maybe 30 or 40) about 100 yards out, which was pretty cool. We went back to the room, cleaned up and got ready to go to dinner.

Now, I will take credit for the restaurant. I did some research and found The Washington Inn to be one of the best restaurants in Cape May. And it's a good thing we made reservations or we would never have gotten in - and this was off-season. They even called me to confirm our reservation, so I know they were looking for tables.

The Inn was built in 1840 and has been beautifully renovated. When we arrived for our 7:30 reservation, we were seated almost immediately. Our server, Barbara, ran down all of the specials and some of the wines on a very extensive wine list. They serve "flights" of wines, which are 3 different 2 oz. glasses paired together by their sommelier. The Mrs had some Cabernets, one of which she liked so much we wrote it down - and I haven't seen it since. I just had water because I'm still not feeling all that well from the pneumonia.

We started with appetizers. The Mrs had the Washington Inn Crab Cake. Now, about the only seafood she'll eat is crab cake and shrimp, so she's kind of a connoisseur of crab cake. She declared this to be the best crab cake she ever had. I found this picture of the dish on The V.I.P. Table blog and this gentleman agrees.

I couldn't decide between the signature Lobster Bisque or the soup du jour Butternut Squash, so our resourceful server gave me a cup of each (not something they normally do). The bisque was good but the Butternut Squash was outstanding. Even the Mrs (who hates all things squash or pumpkin related) liked it.

For her entree, the Mrs ordered a Duck Breast with Cherry Jus (menu item). She said it was good but not the best duck she's ever had (oh, she's a connoisseur of duck too). It was served with polenta which she's not keen on. I had the Branzino special. It was served whole and stuffed with butter, dill, onion and lemon with roasted fennel and tomato, fingerling potatoes and green beans. This was one of the best fish dishes I've ever had. I never had branzino before (but I remembered it from an Iron Chef challenge) and it was fantastic. For dessert, the Mrs had an Apple Napoleon and I had a Raspberry Cheese Cake, both of which were excellent. The cheese cake reminded me of the fluffy cheese cake that my mother use to make. Different from the traditionally more dense New York style cheese cake.

Overall an outstanding meal, great (but a little slow) service and an overall great dining experience.

After dinner, I arranged for a horse drawn carriage ride through the historic district. This was really nice and gave us a real good idea of just how many restored houses and buildings there are here; several hundred I would guess. Our driver, Marlene, gave us a detailed history of the town and certain houses as we passed. She had only been in Cape May since the summer, so the tour hadn't gotten to stale for her.

We headed back to the Beauclaire and got out some champagne with cherry liqueur (the Mrs brought it from home) and sat on the front porch swing and watched the carriages go by. A very nice night. So much so that the Mrs wants this to be our anniversary tradition every year...crap.

We left in the morning after breakfast because the kids were coming back from camp and we had a load of stuff to do. But it was a nice get away and I think I was able to redeem myself - a little anyway.

Late Edition Pictures: The Mrs did get the pictures developed but I'm too lazy to go back and insert them into a seemingly endless story that took less than 24 hours in real time. Here are some of the around town sites.

Here's the Mrs checking out Beauclaire's Bed and Breakfast Inn.

Believe it or not, I'm looking at a pod of dolphins. I'm telling you they're out there.

The Mrs lounging in the sun as she frequently does.
Good bye from Cape May.