Retail no-nos

Retail is hard business.  Especially these days as more and more folks shop online.  So, the one thing you don’t want to do is buy yourself a ton of bad publicity by treating the daughter of one of the most widely read blogs on the net badly when she goes to buy a coffee maker at your retail store.  More here.  I predict that within 24 hours the company will grovel in a major way to avoid any more bad publicity.

Your moment of after-Thanksgiving joy.

The funniest line ever delivered on TV is here.

Movie review: Pieces of April (2003)

Again, thanks to the modelwife’s Netflix account we have another movie review.  This is one that a fellow flight attendant recommended to her.

It is a chick flick, but I have to say, it was pretty good.  The film stars Katie Holmes (pre-Tom Cruise).  While it was critically acclaimed, it apparently saw only limited release and according to the info on the Internet, it only grossed about $2.5M in domestic box office.

The movie also features Oliver Platt and Patricia Clarkson.  She was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the movie.  It just shows how amy movies are released each year, that I had never heard of this movie prior to the modelwife getting it thru Netflix.

The movie itself is about an estranged eldest daughter who had a troubled childhood and is now living with her boyfriend in a small apartment in the city.  Her mom, with whom she had a bad relationship is dying of cancer, so she invites her suburban family to her apartment for Thanksgiving dinner.  Of course she has no clue how to cook the meal and her stove dies on the big day causing her to seek help from a series of neighbors.

It is an excellent movie.  It has some standard movie tropes, but also has some tropes that it stands on their heads.  The whole movie is only 80 minutes long and this is great.  The writer and director had enough confidence in his work that he didn’t feel the need to pad the movie to make it longer.  That was a great decision.  I wish more folks in Hollywood had that kind of confidence in their work, and we wouldn’t get so many of these  2 and 1/2 hour snoozefests that Hollywood has been producing.

I recommend this movie.  It is especially good this time of year.

Baby Blitz build

You can follow the “Baby Blitz” build of the Airfix  Spitfire PR XIX here.

Notes from the weekend

Just a few random notes from the weekend.

The leaves from the maple trees are FINALLY up.  Finally tally, about 15 bags of leaves.  The impeller on the Toro leave blower/vacuum broke again.  Second time in three years.  Luckily it didn’t happen until the I was at the very end.

Leaves

A tip.  If you decide to go rollerskating, don’t wait 30 years between attempts.  I have one word. SORE.

So far the fall has been on the mild side.  It was so mild Sunday morning that we got to take the modelchild to the park for some time on the swings and playset.  She rode her bike an generally just enjoyed being a child.

Modelchild

Finally had to replace my cellphone/PDA.  Got a Samsung Intrepid.  So far I am not in love.  We will see how it goes as I learn how to operate the thing.

November MMCL meeting

November meeting

The November MMCL meeting is in the books.  November is traditionally one of our more lightly attended.  This month was no exception.  There were 18 members in attendance.  

Dr. Terry Hill, our club president, presided over a short business meeting.

Dr. Hill

The 18 members who attended got very  lucky as we had one of the best raffles of the year.

Raffle

The highlight of the meeting was without a doubt the presentation by Bill on his experiences as a tank commander in Iraq in OIF.  As the members know, Bill recently discovered that he and his tank are featured on the box top photo of Dragon’s M1A2.  The membership was treated to a presentation of Bill’s wartime photos as well as a talk on what he experienced in Iraq.  MMCL has had several veterans speak to us over the years, and these presentations are routinely the most memorable meetings.  November 2009 was no exception.  Here are Rich, Koko and Uncle enjoying a lighter moment during the presentation.

Rich Uncle Koko

As usual, the monthly MMCL meeting was a great modeling experience.

Favorite quotes #4

“Politicians are worse than thieves. At least when thieves take your money, they don’t expect you to thank them for it.”–Walter Williams

Mont Blanc 149

Mont Blanc 149

I have a number of fountain pens.  I find I enjoy writing more when using a fountain pen.  My favorite pen, without a doubt is my Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149. (BTW the Mont Blanc website is technically very cool, but don’t go there on a dial up connection.)  There is nothing that writes like the Mont Blanc 149.  I’ve written the first draft of every major motion or brief I have ever done in longhand with my 149.  They aren’t cheap, but I sure as heck think mine is worth it. (Of course, I got mine as a gift)  Get one.  I recommend it.

A politician worth keeping

Apparently all pols aren’t spineless jellyfish.  The Mayor of London rescues a woman being assaulted. Story here. The two best parts of the story are that the rescued woman did not vote for the Mayor in the last election, and the Mayor’s office, when contacted, confirmed the story but said the Mayor would have no further comment.  Brave and modest!

Magazine review: Model Airplane International #50

This issue of MAI doesn’t contain a wealth of info for the 72nd scale modeler.  It does have a nice build of the Special Hobby Skua.  It also has a review/build of q CMR resin L-13 glider in 72nd scale.  It has a nice set of side view drawings of aircraft involved in the 1939 invasion of Poland.  Other than that there isn’t much for the 72nd scale modeler.  There are, of course, reviews of new 72nd scale kits and decal releases as well as a round up of aftermarket stuff, but nothing that just jumps out at you.