Episode 6: All Blogs go to Heaven.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Even though I spent 9 hours of mine in the movie house, the rest was pretty great. From what I can remember, Blackout Wednesday was a hit. Good friends, great cameos, and beer. Plenty of beer. If you didn’t go, I am mad at you…

Earlier on Wednesday, I went to go see The Muppets. I was incredibly satisfied. Jason Segel clearly has a reverence for these characters, and you can tell that this film was handled with care and love. My only complaint about the movie was the trailer for “Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: We’re Not Even Trying Anymore” Why is it, that every other Christmas, Fox feels the need to shit out another one of these abominations? Also, really David Cross? Jason Lee I can forgive, what with “My Name is Earl” being canceled, but you? You made a career as a comedian skewering this type of pop culture tripe and now here you are, back to round out the trilogy! What’s saddest about this whole thing is that it’s all but guaranteed to make over $100 million, and likely beat out Tintin---ok, you don’t know what Tintin is. It’s a motion capture film based on a popular book series directed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. “But Mike, this is a kiddie movie, it isn’t meant for you!” So is the Muppets, but that movie had an intelligence to it, and a heart. It didn’t derive all of its comedy from sarcastic little one liners. Go watch the eye rape of a trailer, which later becomes an ear rape once they start singing. I certainly don’t want to say that Alvin and the Chipmunks 3 is everything wrong with America, but it certainly not helping things.

Sigh, anyways, reflecting on this Thanksgiving, I, like hopefully all of you reading this, have a great deal to be thankful for. It’s far too easy to get caught up in the negativity in this world. We have a news media that essentially is fear based, government moves with the swift elegance of two monkeys humping a football, the economy is in the shitter, oh and war, let’s not forget about war. Jesus, I’ve painted myself into a corner here…

I believe that there still exists good in the world. The good outweighs the bad. We cannot allow the times that we live in to dictate who we are. As long as you have family and friends, and breath of air in your chest, you have something remarkable to be thankful for. I am thankful for that, and for Saranac Carmel Porter, and the Buffalo Sabres--even though they are all injured. No matter where you are in life, always remember, it could be worse, and more importantly, within you holds the potential to make yourself better.

The feedback I have been getting from you guys, mostly in person, has been great. Thank you, as long as I know you guys like this, I’ll keep it going. Honestly, I am having a hell of a lot of fun doing this. That said, I feel like I need to extend another thank you to Joy Roberts, as it was 80% her idea. If you are Black Friday shopping, good luck, and I could use an iPad.

Minch