Saw a couple of movies this week - here are some thoughts:

Clerks 2 - Super funny but super raunchy. This older lady sat near me at the beginning of the movie and I guessed she'd walk out in under 20 minutes. 14 minutes into the movie she left and never came back. There are some super funny scenes - the whole Lord of the Rings argument scene is pee in your pants funny. Equally funny is the pillowpants scene. The ending is really well done and kind of poetic.

Glory Road - I liked this movie and so did Kristin. I think this would be an excellent movie for upper elementary students to see how pervasive racsism was just 40 years ago and how a lot has changed.

The Greatest Game Ever Played - Another Disney sports movie, like Glory Road, that shows it doesn't matter what your background is, as long as you want to do something you can do it. It was a nice movie, would recommend it to anyone interested in sports/golf.

Made it back safe and sound from my long trip driving to CT and back. On my way home I went through NY State and found a town named after me. Unfortunately I didn't have time to stop and let them honor me. Maybe the next time.

Looks like we are going to be stuck in a heat wave for the next week or so. I spent most of today inside the air conditioned house, cleaning up gloves and getting them ready for resale. We found some good buys at Brimfield even though the dealer turnout was down (typical for July). I got most of them cleaned up and on the website already but still have a couple more to work on.

Nothing much at the flea market today. I got a Wilson Pro Model Billy Martin glove for 7 bucks that needs some TLC and a pretty cool bat. It is made by J.C. Vierck and Sons in Bruce, WI. The bat is 35 inches long and is marked "Williams Style."

As promised here is my music recommendations. These are the 2006 releases I've purchased so far - it's over halfway through the year so I guess this is a good time. Pretty much the purchases have broken themselves down into 2 catergories - excellent or just ok - and unfortunately most fall into the latter catergory. I had high expectations for many of these albums and they didn't deliver. There is still quite a stuff coming out soon that I'm excited about so hopefully they won't let me down. Anyway, the list:

EXCELLENT
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
Oh No! Oh My! - self-titled
The Elms - The Chess Hotel
Golden Smog - Another Fine Day (hasn't been released yet but I've had it for awhile)

JUST OK
Cracker - Greenland
Drive By Truckers - A Blessing and a Curse
Rhett Miller - The Believer
Grandaddy - Just Like the Fambly Cat
Minus 5 - self-titled
The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery
Pearl Jam - self-titled
Wolfmother - self-titled
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
Over the Hedge Soundtrack (I actually like all the Ben Folds songs on here - there just aren't enough!)

HAVEN'T SPENT ENOUGH TIME WITH BUT MOST LIKELY EXCELLENT
The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere