Movie Friday

Here are the movies opening today. Last week the number one box office draw was "Borat" staring Sacha Baron Cohen. My opinion: The trailer for this"mocumentary" looked so stupid it wasn't even funny. Oh well. I guess there's no accounting for taste. The dumb thing will probably end up winning Best Pic at the Oscars.

New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Stranger Than Fiction
Brainy Will Ferrell plays an IRS agent who discovers he's a novelist's character and his time might be short.
Shut Up and Sing
Documentary follows the Dixie Chicks in the aftermath of Natalie Maines' infamous anti-Bush remark in London.
A Good Year
Russell Crowe inherits a French vineyard, but there may be questions as to who its rightful owner is.
The Bridesmaid
Beautiful, damaged people hint at unspeakable things in director Claude Chabrol’s subtle French thriller.
Color of the Cross
Some call it controversial, but it simply states the possibility that Christ was a man of color.
Copying Beethoven
Factually liberal tale of Ludwig van Beethoven falls flat when the music's not playing.
Harsh Times
Christian Bale plays a cop with a quick trigger finger in this gritty amble through the rough side of L.A.
The Return
Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as a woman drawn to the scene of a 15-year-old murder. This film was not screened in advance for critics.

Near the end of another week

Man is it weird not to look outside and see the car in the driveway. Of course we are still getting used to having a driveway, but that's another story. We had to take Sandy to an appointment, so we had to rely on Mary's Taxi Service... We are lucky to have a church full of people who are willing to help us get around, but this really sucks not being able to jump in the car and go where we want or need to. I made the comment of possible walking to a couple of places, but hoo boy, you would have thought I had suggested I was going to jump off the roof of the tallest building in downtown Dallas. Talk about a major W.G.

Oh well, the truth be told, I can't make the walks I used to be able to make any more. The old body ain't what it used to be that's for damn sure. The bottom line is, tomorrow, we gotta start looking for a car seriously. ( As opposed to humorously!)

We took a quick look at Carmax.com today, interesting. We can possible keep our payments down to $120 bucks, if we get a loan for 6 years. Well, we have to start somewhere.

Tomorrows Blog: The Great Car Hunt begins!!!

Ford Crown Victoria "Vickie" Bacon 1989 - 2006

Our car, affectionately known as "Vickie" (Hey she was a Ford Crown Victoria, what would you call her Fred?) has gone to that Great Car Lot in the Sky. Okay she went to the Auto Bone-yard! Sheesh. Let me grieve in peace will ya? Any way, the guy I talked to on the phone came through, and we were able to get her sold and towed. Now comes the fun part.

Now we get to either:

A. Hope and pray somebody at our church will have a car we can work a deal out with them for or:

B. Go the used car route. Fortunately we should be able to get an auto loan. The bitch is gonna be trying to figure out how much we can spend a month on a car loan. Not a lot of fun. We are looking into something economical, and something that has an Automatic (Non- negotiable) and A/C (Also Non-negotiable!)

We will find something. I know we will and soon. The funny thing is how well I am handling this. I don't know if it's grace on my part or what, but ( and this sounds a little arrogant maybe) but I am kind of proud of how well I am handling it.

Anyway I will keep a running story up here of the search for the car.

Broken Car Part Deaux

I missed blogging yesterday, dealing with Vickie. I called our mechanic, and told him what happened, and he feels that the engine has seized. Oh well, as they say on Earth, C'est La Vie ( Kirk to Kruge in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) So i started looking for a car salvage place that could come and pick up the car and buy it off of us for salvage.

I found a place, hemmed and hawed over price, and then the guy said bring it in. Obviously, he didn't understand the part where I told him the engine had seized. I guess I wasn't talking to a rocket scientist, but you would think a guy that runs a salvage yard would have understood that a seized engine wasn't going any where!

I found another place. The first guy takes our number, and says he has to have the boss call us. Time goes by. More time goes by. And then after even more time went by, I called back. I got the boss on the phone, we hemmed and hawed, and agreed on $100.00. He said he would call me back after he checked with his tow truck driver. After calling back another couple of times, I gave up on him. The last time I talked to him, he got pissy with me.

Terry, our Pastor, had a neighbor that had sold a car like that, he finally was able to find the info, I called them and we have an agreement to deal with the car today. Hopefully it's still in the Blockbuster lot. More news when it becomes less available!

Broken Car

This will be a short blog entry, as we have storms around the area. What a day. Our car broke down today, after leaving a meeting at church. The strange thing is that in the past, when things like this have happened to me, I get very upset, rant and rave, and generally blister paint. Today, when Vickie ( We have a Ford Crown Vic, so we have dubbed her "Vickie") started making funny noises, clanking and clattering, I didn't even swear. I am strangely not really upset about it. It is going to be an inconvenience, we have to determiner if the car is fixable or not, and if not we will likely have to get a car loan. We wanted to get a new car, as Vickie doesn't have A/C. We wanted to get a couple of other bills caught up first though, but alas it may not be.
Is this grace? I wonder. The fact that I am handling this better than I normally do makes me wonder. Have I tamed my temper? Or is this a fluke.

Stay tuned.

Friday Movies

I missed yesterday. What the heck, there are only two of us reading this anyway!

Here are todays' opening movies:

New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Borat
Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakhstan TV journalist's trip across America would be offensive if it wasn't so funny.
Flushed Away
Animated tale is a bit rushed and contrived as a pampered pet rat scrambles to survive in the sewers.
Babel
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu tries too hard in this gorgeous yet scattered tale of disconnection.
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
Third installment in the Santa series is a cheesy, no-laugh dud as Jack Frost tries to usurp St. Nick.
American Hardcore
Enthusiastic documentary is all over the map as it celebrates the loud, rude bands of the Reagan era.
Paradise, Texas
An actor (Timothy Bottoms) returns to his Texas hometown in this stirring family film.
The Great Warming
Alanis Morisette and Keanu Reeves narrate this documentary that offers no solutions to global warming.

Short, sweet and to the point!

Here it is Wednesday. Lost day. We now have learned that Ben supposedly has a tumor on his spine, and wants Jack to operate on him. Juliette, managed to let Jack know that Ben is a liar, and that it would be best for him to let Ben die on the table and no one would know... I don't trust or believe either of them. So much for lost today. O yeah, Locke, and some others found that someone was watching them from another station when they went to the Pearl station. The plot thickens. We also saw the critter again, and know no more than before!

We are getting closer to the end of the week, and having money again. Hopefully all of our money will actually be usable by us and not a bank. At least we have changed banks, so we will soon see. The day after tomorrow we will see that is.

As I said in the title, short sweet and to the point. Okay nothing really sweet about this post.. SO I lied!

Halloween: History (As Promised)

History of Halloween, like any other festival's history is inspired through traditions that have transpired through ages from one generation to another. We follow them mostly as did our dads and grandpas. And as this process goes on, much of their originality get distorted with newer additions and alterations. It happens so gradually, spanning over so many ages, that we hardly come to know about these distortions. At one point of time it leaves us puzzled, with its multicolored faces. Digging into its history helps sieve out the facts from the fantasies which caught us unaware. Yet, doubts still lurk deep in our soul, especially when the reality differs from what has taken a deep seated root into our beliefs. The history of Halloween Day, as culled from the net, is being depicted here in this light. This is to help out those who are interested in washing off the superficial hues to reach the core and know things as they truly are. 'Trick or treat' may be an innocent fun to relish on the Halloween Day. But just think about a bunch of frightening fantasies and the scary stories featuring ghosts, witches, monsters, evils, elves and animal sacrifices associated with it. They are no more innocent. Are these stories a myth or there is a blend of some reality? Come and plunge into the halloween history to unfurl yourself the age-old veil of mysticism draped around it.

Behind the name... Halloween, or the Hallow E'en as they call it in Ireland , means All Hallows Eve, or the night before the 'All Hallows', also called 'All Hallowmas', or 'All Saints', or 'All Souls' Day, observed on November 1. In old English the word 'Hallow' meant 'sanctify'. Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Lutherians used to observe All Hallows Day to honor all Saints in heaven, known or unknown. They used to consider it with all solemnity as one of the most significant observances of the Church year. And Catholics, all and sundry, was obliged to attend Mass. The Romans observed the holiday of Feralia, intended to give rest and peace to the departed. Participants made sacrifices in honor of the dead, offered up prayers for them, and made oblations to them. The festival was celebrated on February 21, the end of the Roman year. In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV introduced All Saints' Day to replace the pagan festival of the dead. It was observed on May 13. Later, Gregory III changed the date to November 1. The Greek Orthodox Church observes it on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Despite this connection with the Roman Church, the American version of Halloween Day celebration owes its origin to the ancient (pre-Christian) Druidic fire festival called "Samhain", celebrated by the Celts in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Samhain is pronounced "sow-in", with "sow" rhyming with cow. In Ireland the festival was known as Samhein, or La Samon, the Feast of the Sun. In Scotland, the celebration was known as Hallowe'en. In Welsh it's Nos Galen-gaeof (that is, the Night of the Winter Calends. According to the Irish English dictionary published by the Irish Texts Society: "Samhain, All Hallowtide, the feast of the dead in Pagan and Christian times, signalizing the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season, lasting till May, during which troops (esp. the Fiann) were quartered. Faeries were imagined as particularly active at this season. From it the half year is reckoned. also called Feile Moingfinne (Snow Goddess).(1) The Scottish Gaelis Dictionary defines it as "Hallowtide. The Feast of All Soula. Sam + Fuin = end of summer."(2) Contrary to the information published by many organizations, there is no archaeological or literary evidence to indicate that Samhain was a deity. The Celtic Gods of the dead were Gwynn ap Nudd for the British, and Arawn for the Welsh. The Irish did not have a "lord of death" as such. Thus most of the customs connected with the Day are remnants of the ancient religious beliefs and rituals, first of the Druids and then transcended amongst the Roman Christians who conquered them.

Halloween Eve

Tomorrow is Halloween! Vampires, devils, zombies, and other assorted scary creatures will be lurking. Ah, but let's leave Congress out of it!. No I am of course referring to the little creatures that will be going door to door demanding treasure, or at the very least, a handful of bubble gum and candy corn. What the hell, it could be worse. It could be The IRS or Mormons ringing your doorbells!

Halloween is an interesting holiday. Some celebrate it, some don't I have seen signs on doors that proclaim that they do not celebrate this evil, pagan festival. Well fooey on them. I am a Christian, and my church is one of the many that now offers a safe alternative called "Trunk or Treat. We decorate our cars, and hand out candy to the kids in our neighborhood near the church. We even give out prizes to the car with the best decorations. Last year 3rd place went to a car that was decorated with pumpkins. The Prize: A pumpkin intricately carved with "3RD Prize!

Tomorrow, I will post a history of Halloween, and how it is practiced around the world.

My Bad!

Okay, okay. I got the blasted time change thing all screwed up. It's in April that it's dark in the morning. Nobody's perfect.
The point is, I hate these Daylight Savings Time! Arizona and parts of Indiana don't change! Who came up with this Daylight Savings Time garbage anyway? I'm so glad you asked!

Reason for Daylight Saving Time:
To make better use of daylight.
Conserve energy
Saves lives because people travel home in the light which is safer.
Can prevent crime because people do their errands in the daylight which is safer.
Contrary to popular belief, it was not created for farmers nor does it benefit farmers.
History of Daylight Saving Time:
First thought of by Benjamin Franklin in his 1784 essay, "An Economical Project".
On March 19, 1918, an Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States was enacted. Daylight Saving Time was set to begin on March 31, 1918 until the end of World War I.
It was repealed in 1919.
President Roosevelt instituted year-round Daylight Saving Time during World War II. He called it War Time and it lasted from 1942 to 1945.
Daylight Saving Time was not a law after 1945 and some locations still used it, which created difficulties for scheduling.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 was signed by President Lyndon Johnson. It had Daylight Saving Time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. States that wanted to be exempt had to pass a State law to do so.
During the energy crisis in the 1970's, President Nixon signed into law, the Daylight Saving Time Energy Act of 1973. This extended Daylight Saving Time to longer periods in an effort to save energy.
In 1986 it was amended to start Daylight Saving Time on the first Sunday in April and kept it ending on the last Sunday in October.
April 2005 - Starting in April 2006 Indiana will join 47 other states in observing DST.
On August 8, 2005, President Bush signed an energy bill that increased Daylight Saving Time from the second Sunday in March, to the first Sunday in November. (see pros and cons below)
Places in the U.S. and it's Territories That Do Not Participate in Daylight Savings Time:
Hawaii
Most of the Eastern Time Zone portion of the State of Indiana (starting in 2006, Indiana will be observing DST)
The state of Arizona except for the Navajo Indian Reservation
American Samoa
Guam
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands

And if that isn't enough to confuse you, things are about to change!
Starting in 2007, the United States will have new dates for Daylight Saving Time. It will be:Daylight Saving Time begins on the second Sunday in March at 2 a.m. local time.It returns to standard time on the first Sunday in November at 2 a.m. local time.

Busy Saturday

We had a pretty busy day. Sandy was at an Orienteering Meet, and we managed to get the garage straightened out. Found some things that we wern't certain where they were, other than they might be in the garage. For example, the umbrellas.

We have already turned the clocks back and hour, and are getting ready to give it up. The clocks now say 11:00, but it is still really 12:00. I never understood the logic of daylight savings time. How the hell are we saving daylight? We now have to send our kids to school in the dark. It seems to me it would be better to leave things alone. Oh well mine to to reason why.

Well, here's hoping everyone had a nice Saturday.

Friday's Movies

This went well last week, so I am going to do it every week. Here is a list of movies coming out today:


New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Saw III
Sadistic serial killer Jigsaw is back to his old tricks, just in time for Halloween. This film was not screened in advance for critics.
Driving Lessons
Director Jeremy Brock based this poignant coming-of-age tale on his experiences as the son of a vicar.
13 (Tzameti)
Curiosity leads a roofer in France to a deadly game in this diabolical thriller.
Deliver Us From Evil
Documentary examines the Catholic Church's pedophile priest scandal with barely controlled outrage.
Running With Scissors
Disappointing adaptation of Augusten Burroughs searing memoir is glib and uneven.
Conversations With God
Adaptation of the best-seller focuses on the author's unusual life story and his perceptions of God as a result.
Catch a Fire
True story follows one man who was falsely accused and tortured during South Africa's apartheid era.
The Genius Club
A group of strangers tries to solve the world's problems in this ambitious but static and stultifying film.

Thursday

Well, here it is Thursday. I don't have a whole lot to say, but we are nearly at the end of the week. Today has been kind of a lazy day. Tomorrow, I will continue the new feature I started last week, and post the movie reviews for the movies that are coming out tomorrow.

There are a few movies coming out over the next few weeks that look interesting. One of them is Déjà Vu. Starring Denzel Washington, James Caviezel. and Val Kilmer. The story has to do with time travel. From the trailer I saw last night, it sounds interesting. Apparently, from what I recall of the trailer, there is a way discovered to go back in time 4 days. Washington plays an ATF agent who travels back in time to save a woman from being murdered, falling in love with her during the process. Kind of like the show, Seven Days.

Anyway, that's it for today.

Wednesday Thoughts

It is Wednesday, or as I used to say when I was in the workforce, hump day. (Get you mind out of the gutter!) It signifies the middle of the week. I did a little research and came up with the following:
here's a reference to hump day being used in a song lyric by J.J. Cale (song is called 'Friday'), dated 1979.
"Wednesday's hump day, hump day's Wednesday
Over the hump, the week's half-gone
If I had my pay on Wednesday I'd hang out, the hump day's gone"
Full lyrics at http://perso.magic.fr/aramis/five.htm#7

HUMP DAY -- "Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume 1, H-O" by J.E. Lighter, Random House, New York, 1994, has several slang uses of the word "hump" in print going back to the 1800s. "Over the hump," meaning beyond the midpoint or most difficult part was in print in 1914: "...Jackson & Hellyer, 'Vocab. 46: Hump...the half-way point in a prison sentence."
"Hump Day" -- ".the day that is at the midpoint in a given period of work; (often) Wednesday, the middle of the work week. Similarly, Hump Night. 1955 AS (American Speech) XXX 226: Hump Night.Wednesday night, which is over the hump of the week. (1977 Langone 'Life at Bottom,' 202: Some of the parties in midwinter, that's when you're over the hump. Hump Night, they called it, halfway home.') .ca 1965 in DARE (Dictionary of American Regional English): Hump day was used by counselors at summer camp to mean Wednesday."

SO there you have it. Perhaps I will start a feature here of finding the origins of obscure phrases.

Vote Early, & Vote Often!

Sue and I have performed our civic duty!!! Whoo Hoo! We showed up at the Denton County Services Building this morning and voted. We have a Gubernatorial election this year, and also a whole bunch of judicial seats. One thing that kind of bothered me, was the fact that some races only had one choice. There is a certain party that I generally avoid voting for like the plague. This is on the internet, so I am gonna be a chicken and not state which one it is.... Ahh the hell with it! REPUBLICAN! Anyway, it torked me off that had no choice but to vote REPUBLICAN for some of those races! Oh well, crap, as they say, happens!

We showed up, and didn't even have to stand in line. We went to a little booth, and had an electronic device that was our ballot. (No hanging chads, thank God! Voting has certainly come a long way. Frankly I was glad to see that we didn't have to dip our fingers in purple ink!

Friends of ours, May and Earl work the election as volunteers. (Well, they get paid, so is that really volunteering???) Something we may look into the possibility of doing. It might be interesting, and could give us some ideas for writing. Or it could be boring as hell!

Several years ago in Arizona, I worked for a few days for the State on the Alternative Fuels Project they had. The State of Arizona, in their infinite wisdom, offered a monetary incentive for converting your car to run on alternative fuel. People went nuts thinking they would make a ton of money. I had to verify VIN Numbers, and other information for these. One thing I saw a lot of were car dealers who bought a bunch of cars, converted them, and got the money. Then they turned around and sold the cars at a steeper rate, because they were converted. Then the bottom dropped out. So many people applied for this incentive, that Arizona didn't have enough money in the budget to pay all these people. They had $2 Million available, and ended up something like $4 million in the hole to pay all these people. Of course if they had written the deal so Car Dealers were exempt, it might have been better. Hey what can I say. Tax dollars at rest!

Monday Musings

Monday is here, and I am trying to figure out what to write about. Actually, it's Monday afternoon, and I do have a project I need to work on. I am part of a Health and Wholeness Ministry at my church, and we are putting together a survey for our congregation. So that gives me something to work on today.

I have also started work on a short story, so that gives me something else to work on.

If that isn't enough, we need to continue working on the screenplay that we are working on. Unfortunately we are not working enough on it. SO here I go again, needing to kick myself in the butt to get writing. So at least I am working on the blog. That should get me kicked off for the day!
So to both of you that read this, Have a great day!

Wedding Bell Bliss!

Well, I can't really call this wedding bell blues. We had a wedding for the son of dear friends of ours. Mary and Earl. Their son David, married his fiancée~ Debbie. It was a very nice wedding. The Groom, and his groomsmen wore blue jeans, and a medium blue shirt, and cowboy hats. The Bride wore a lovely off white dress with a train, and a veil. (Fairly traditional. ) The bridesmaids wore cream. Actual colors they may be able to wear somewhere else! We read a Dear Abby the other day in which the bridesmaids had to wear a moss color. I am still attempting to picture that!

The reception was pretty nice. The weird part is Sandy cough the bouquet. Did we ever get teased about that!

Instead of rice, we tossed birdseed at the happy couple as they headed for the car. I guess the idea is that birds will eat rice, and then blow up. However, I just looked it up and the myth that birds will blow up by having the rice expand in their little birdie tummies...is completely bogus. Read this: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/birdrice.asp
One of the bridesmaids was telling me that this was absolutely true. I counted with,"If it's pigeons, Who cares?" I got a dirty look. SO I retreated behind a "Just kidding!!!!"

Anyway it was a lovely wedding and we wish David and Debbie well.

Have a happy week, every one!

Attack of the Killer Movie Spoofs

Last night we were treated? to a viewing of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. It was running on DirecTv Channel 101 last night, along with stuff like Toxic Avenger, and Class of Nuke Em' High. (The last 2 we Tivoed to watch later)

Sue and I were among the few people who had never seen AOTKT. We alternately laughed, chuckled and looked at each other in complete Whatdahell was that? One thing we noticed was there are several things going on in the background that you missed if you weren't paying attention.

It was an obvious spoof of the genre of low budget Sci-fi/horror films. What's interesting is that they filmed it on Kodak 5247 negative stock - very unusual for a low budget film at the time. Most low budget films were shot on positive stock. The quality of the negative is one reason why many people thought the film cost more to make than it did.

If you have never seen this movie, it starts out with a housewife being killed by regular sized tomatoes in her kitchen. The tomatoes grow throughout the film to about 4 to 5 feet around. The sound effects of the tomatoes as they advance is hilarious. There are a lot of lines that fall flat, but some of the dialog goes by, and you have to think: Did I just hear that? For example:

Dr. Nokitofa: Technically sir, tomatoes are fags.
Dr. Morrison: He means fruits.
General: You'd better bring a coat Mr. Richardson, there's a little Jap in the air.
Dr. Morrison: He means nip.

Then theres the bit where the Japanese scientist stands up and is pointing to a map explaining where the Killer tomatoes are at the moment, and as he goes to sit down, he knocks a picture of the USS Arizona into a fish tank...
The conference room they are in is so small the Generals and scientists have to literally crawl over the conference table to get into their seats... Like I said there are sight gags, and dialog thrown in that you can miss on a first viewing. We will likely have to get a copy of it on DVD to catch some of them.

What can I say, you have to like spoofs and you have to have seen a few of the low budget flick they are lampooning in this movie to get the humor in it.

Another Friday - Guess What, A New Feature!

Here we are. Another Friday has arrivved. It just seems that a week ago I was talking about Friday the 13th.

Actually, I was!!!

A new Feature to the Blog will be Movies coming out This Friday. I am going to try this and see if it works. If not, I guess I will be doing this manually next week.

From The Dallas Morning News:

New releases this week
Click on the film's title to read a full review.
Flags of Our Fathers
Smart, well-acted tale follows three Iwo Jima flag raisers whisked into a stateside war bond tour.
Marie Antoinette
Kirsten Dunst plays the monarch as a rich and spoiled heiress in this visually stunning film.
Flicka
Coming-of-age story of a girl trying to tame a wild mustang offers memorable acting and lush scenes.
The Nightmare Before Christmas 3-D
Thirteen years later, this classic not only stands up, it stands out thanks to its digital 3D transformation.
Little Children
An unhappily married mom (Kate Winslet) has an affair with a married stay-at-home dad (Patrick Wilson).
The Prestige
This tale of a blood feud between rival magicians (Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) is emotionally distant.
The Queen
Helen Mirren gives a precise performance as Queen Elizabeth II dealing with the death of Princess Diana.
Heading South
This piercing indictment of sex tourism makes its point without much screaming, hectoring or preening.

Has Fall fallen?

The temperatures here in North Texas seem to have finally decided to cool down. I was beginning to think that sumer was going to hold on to the year like it does in Arizona. Good old Phoenix. Where you have temperatures of over 100 degrees for 8 to 10 months out of the year. Where you walk outside and it feels like you have walked into an oven. Where if you hear somebody tell you "Well, at least it's a dry heat" You can respond, "Yeah, and so's a blast furnace!" while you cheerfully pummel them to within an inch of their lives!

Halloween is nearly upon us. Soon we will have the pitter patter of little feet, with their grubby little hands stretched out - Demanding sugar. Mass quantities of sugar. (OK so they refer to it as candy. But let's face it, it is pure sugar we are giving them. Frankly I used to have more fun doing some kind of a costume or make up job to answer the door to pass out the candy. One year I did a pretty good make up and costume as a werewolf, and hid in the buses with a chain around my neck, and jumped out and snarled. I remember scaring the crap out of a few mothers, while the kids just went Werewolf! Cool! (I am reasonably certain one lady needed a change of undies! (Ain't I a stinker!)

But if I remember I started this by mentioning Fall, didn't I? Man do I ever go off on a tangent!!! Anyway, the temperatures are getting cooler, the leaves are starting to change color. I love seeing the change of colors that fall brings. We didn't get that in Phoenix. The air is a little crisper, and it feels like the year is beginning to wind down. Soon, we will be able to get a fire going in the fireplace. Man I love this time of year.