Hancock---Movie, not Founding Father

I loved the first 45 minutes or so of this movie. The bum superhero getting a PR agent (Smith and Bateman are excellent in their roles)---good stuff. Then the plot takes a dive. (I know they had to bring on a bigger conflict to take the movie to a climax, but man, I wish they'd found another way.) To make a long story short, after what I would call an egregiously bad plot twist, the film pretty much loses most of its appeal. Still, I highly recommend the beginning. I think this movie was almost a classic.

Little Debbie's Cherry Cordials

I don't usually have much use for Little Debbie, other than an occasional Nutty Bar, but I'm addicted to these (so are Bennett and Laraine). Get while the getting is good, as they're only around near Valentine's Day.

Trader Joe's Freeze Dried Mangosteen

All you non-Utah residents with Trader Joe's nearby, get some of this stuff. My excellent sister-in-law sent me some (thanks, Deb). Loved it. I've never had a fresh mangosteen, but I thought this was some great stuff. Sweet flavor, melts in your mouth (well, it's freeze dried), with a weird, but I thought enjoyable, crunchy center. I hit up some California contacts (Brian and Karene) to send me some more, but all you other Utahns better find another source, since I don't think B&K are really wanting to go into the shipping business. I've also tried TJ's freeze dried strawberries (again, thanks, Deb), bananas, and mangoes. All yummy.

Dreyer's Peppermint Ice Cream with Hot Fudge

Okay, yummy. Thanks to Therese for introducing me to this. If you can get the Hershey's dark hot fudge, that's probably best, but any hot fudge will do. Unfortunately, Peppermint is a limited Christmas edition, but it's still around, so get some before it's gone.

Australia (Movie not continent)

Angie and I got to go see this movie free as a work function. The best word for this movie is ambitious. It actually was a lot of fun and we both enjoyed ourselves, but you couldn't help leaving with the feeling that that was a movie that was not nearly as good as it was trying to be. I suppose that a movie shouldn't be knocked for shooting high and only managing to be fun and entertaining, but it's hard not to notice when a film is trying to position itself as a great romantic epic in the tradition of "Gone With the Wind" and really only manages to be "Man from Snowy River." Still, I like "Man from Snowy River", and I liked "Australia." In the end, I give it a B. I also give it some extra points for ambition.

The River Walk in Zion National Park

How have I been to Zion National Park more times than I can count in the past thirty-one years and not walked this trail before? Weird. Anyway, I love the short trail by the tunnel (Zion Canyon Overlook?), but the River Walk may have passed it and become my favorite hike in Zion. For me, the River Walk is the perfect hike. It's not painful. It's a pleasant walk, but you can get some exercise on it. It's great for children---not too hard, great places to play by the river. Lastly, it's utterly beautiful.

Firefly and Serenity

Jennie and Jonathan got Dan and I into this series and movie created by Joss Whedon, and we were hooked. "Firefly" is a series Joss Whedon started that was tragically canceled after its first season. Serenity is the movie he made after the cancellation, I guess to take the story where it had been headed in the series. The genre is Sci-fi Western, which is fun. The major conflict is man vs. THE MAN, which is always relevant. What makes the show/movie great though is what generally makes a work of fiction great in my book, character and dialogue. I fell in love with the characters easily and quickly. The casting is fantastic. The dialogue is witty, and I often laugh out loud, but at the same time, the drama is also intense. The series is better than the movie, but I'm glad Whedon was able to make the movie, so that we could get an idea of the full vision. After finishing the series, I was seriously bummed that there was only one season made, but then, my experience with Whedon's "Buffy" and "Angel" has been that a Whedon series goes down hill after a couple of seasons, so maybe it's good that "Firefly" never got to go down hill. (Actually I had some issues with the two episodes before the last one, which was great, so maybe signs of the downward turn were already there---I'll console myself with that thought).