Cast No Shadow

I think this song has to be one of the heaviest mainstream metal songs on the radio right now. I have to crank it whenever it comes on:

Started off the morning in Clearwater and had to survey in both Bartow and Lake Placid today. Hours of driving...made me thankful for the Sirius satellite radio. None of the Wal-Marts had anything interesting except the Lego Spongebob Build-A-Bob for $17. The Toys R Us in Lake Wales had a good find on the Simpsons Ironic Punishment box set on clearance (only $15!). Then after work, LauraAnne and I headed north a few miles up Highway 19 to, among other stores, Super Target. Though they didnt have any new basic figures, they had all their exclusives out, including the ARC-170 Fighter w/Clone Wars deco , ARC-170 Elite Squad, TIE Bomber , and the AT-RT Assault Squad . I had to pass on most of it, since I have to get all this stuff back to Colorado somehow. I did pick up the AT-RT squad; I havent opened it yet, but plan on doing so when I get back home. Yeah, its all repaints. I already have the Clone Commander and an orange AT-RT driver from the Order 66 pack. And...

LauraAnne, Dad, and I fished a little in Tampa Bay yesterday. The weather was gorgeous and we found a few fish....LA caught 8 or 9 including some nice trout, a couple ladyfish, and even a puffer fish. I got the same fish, plus a wonderful catfish. I know it was nothing too spectacular, but an afternoon on the ocean, plus a few fish, is nearly paradise. (You know, dear reader(s), you can comment....)

Following an afternoon of fishing and dinner by Westshore Pizza (Philly style), the family headed to the Muvico at Baywalk. The girls saw Fred Claus , a comedic, seasonal feel-good while the guys saw American Gangster . I didn't know exactly what to expect; I had seen some previews, but nothing stuck with me. It follows in the footsteps of the Academy winner The Departed in that it follows organized crime. I don't know if it qualifies as a "period piece" or not, being set in the early 70's, but it felt very authentic. We were thrown right into 1968. I don't like movies with too much exposition, though at times with one was a little frustrating in the beginning, keeping track of who people are and what they do. Very well acted by Denzel, though Russel Crowe's character was too similar to his other roles, mainly some ticks of Beautiful Mind and even a little Cinderella Man, too. We really cared about the characters, despite Frank trafficking hundreds ...

Downtown Winter Haven is attempting a revitalization. Though they still haven't figured out what to do with the historic theatre, the city has some nice art installations in Central Park:

MMMM......Two Thanksgivings. Ate with my mom last night: ham, sweet potatoes w/marshmallows, corn on the cob, rolls, green bean casserole, and mac & cheese with a nice bottle of Robert Mondavi Riesling. This afternoon in St Pete, we had turkey, gravy, stuffing, corn casserole, sweet potatoe souffle, rolls, deviled eggs, sweet tea, and green bean casserole. I'm going to put on a few pounds this trip to Florida... Four days after leaving our home in Colorado Springs, we made it to Florida for work. But the first day out, we got a call: Budget crisis. Stop working. So LauraAnne and I went on hiatus this week in Winter Haven. There's not a whole lot going on in Winter Haven these days....but we did go downtown. They've actually done some good work reinvigorating WH. There are a few boutique shops, and we ate lunch at Wiener Haven. I had perhaps one of the best out-of-Chicago Chicago Dogs around. LauraAnne had a great chili cheese dog. To top is all off, we h...

this is the last road trip...for 2007. left home yesterday and drove to Topeka, KS. kids, lock your car doors and hide your valuables in topeka. the Topeka Ramada even hands out little cards with your keys with such fun tips as "never leave your vehicle unattended while the ignition is on" and "use self-locking screws for attaching license plates." and they tell you that 22% of all property crime is breaking into cars. yikes! but they do have a great coffee shop downtown, where LA got one of the best Soy Chai Lattes with a Shot of Espresso. then drive drive drive to Paducah, KY . avis was kind enough to give us a Dodge Nitro for this trip. its got great get-up-and-go, plus satellite radio. but to top it all off, it has a normal AC plug, so we plugged in the laptop, hooked up the AUX audio, and watched movies in surround sound. today, i watched the Collector's Edition of The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly and boy is it worth the upgrade! there are several deleted...