My Name is Inigo Montoya...

I got up this late morning (due to a great evening of playing cards) and turned on the TV. A couple of great movies were on at the same time (thanks TiVo!): The Princess Bride (1987)(with a young Fred Savage and Cary Elwes; who knew Andre the Giant could act) , and Footloose (1984) (with a young Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, and, yes, even Sarah Jessica Parker had a role).

How come there haven't been any movies like these in years? Have we become a society that doesn't need to see good win over evil without the bombs, the guns and the violence.

Ren McCormack in Footloose over came evil with a senior prom and some great dance moves.

And sure there may be some violence in The Princess Bride, but it is a fairy tale type of story about "Twwoo Wove" overcoming all odds...the great dueler, the brawn of a giant, the brains of a genius ("inconceivable"), the Fire Swamp with its popping fire balls, the quick sand traps and the large rat-like rodents, then of course...the Pit of Despair. When did we lose these great stories and why can't we go back to simpler times?

Are there any present day movies (within the last 5 years) that have these values and teaches the morals these movies to? Please remind me of them, recommend them and help me to see we aren't a bunch of violent heathens.

...you killed my father. Prepare to die.

Urban Legends, Myths and Truths

Alright. Is anyone sick of getting emails saying that is that time of year to look at Mars as it will be the closest to earth that it has been in 100,000 years or ever will be again? Or that next Friday is boycot Exxon/Mobil gas? Or that little Matty is doing a school project to find out how many people have the same name. Well I for one am getting sick of it. None of these are real and the way I know is because before I sign any petition or dance with the devil by the pale moonlight I go to www.snopes.com.

Snopes is a website devoted to debunking, proving or just laughing about email pranks and scams. You can go to their front page and search any keyword and it usually will come back with choices including what you are looking for.

For example, I just searched "iceberg" because I have gotten a picture a couple times of an iceberg - above and below the surface of the water. Well, I hate to tell you, but that is a 'composite of 4 different pictures' (see this). It makes the term "can't believe everything you see" come to life!

So visit with snopes before you believe what was sent to you and before forward it on to others.

Along these same lines is a fun television show on the Discovery Channel called MythBusters. This is a fun show about busting or proving myths and urban legends. One of my favorite episodes is when Adam gets his tongue pierced in the name of science. (Alright, it was gross to watch). They were trying to see whether people with tongue piercings were more likely to get hit by lightening. Very interesting stuff! And it is educational too...who knew learning could be funny.

And anytime Buster the crash-test-dummy gets used is usually amusing.

The show is on quite often...check the schedule for a date/time you can catch.