Pacific Coast, here I come!

We leave for our Portland trip tomorrow. I'm nervous about leaving Max. One of my church friends has volunteered to watch him and I'm sure he'll be well taken care of. I'm worried he won't behave himself at her house, and that he'll think we abandoned him. Ah well, it's all part of having a dog and I'll just need to deal with it.

I'm really excited about the trip. I've been trying to decide what to do on the day that Chris is working and I'm leaning towards a trip to the coast. From what I've heard, it's another hour past Portland to get to the coast, but I think the kids won't mind the drive. Wouldn't it be cool if we saw sea lions? Besides, I've never been to the Pacific coast and this seems like the perfect chance. The funny thing is that when I was asking some local ladies which Oregon beach we should visit, they were shocked that I'd never been to the Pacific coast before. However, neither of them have been further west than North Dakota :) I tried to describe the beautiful beaches of Destin, Florida to them, but there's something lost in the translation. Really, you have to stand on the beach and behold the splendor for yourself to really comprehend how amazingly gorgeous it is.

I have a ten page paper due (write a collection development policy) on Sunday, but I want to finish it (and start it) today so it won't be hanging over my head while I vacation. So, I'm getting started on it right this moment...as soon as I check Facebook, Blackboard, read my Friends' list....you get the picture :)

For you doubters...you know who you are

My brother in law, Benji, had the awesome experience of attending the New Zealand premier of the new Star Trek film. He is in the film industry, and is someone whose movie opinion I greatly respect. Here's his email about the experience. There are no spoilers:

Well, I wasn't asked to sign any non-disclosures or anything so I
thought I'd go ahead and give my thoughts on the new Star Trek movie I
got to see last night. I'll keep it spoiler free as much as possible
since I feel so bad that you all have to wait another month to see it.
It was a red carpet event, with the leads, Chris Pine ( James T.
Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (Bones), and John Cho (Sulu)
all in attendance. They spoke to the audience before hand, Zachery
Quinto, who you might also recognize from the villain on Heroes, had
the witty comments with stuff like "I hope you get out of it what we
put into it, otherwise...what a waste of time.". Kurt Urban is a New
Zealander so he kind of spoke a lot on how good it was of paramount to
give also give the movie a NZ premiere, a country which usually has to
wait 6 months to get some titles in the theater from overseas. We
didn't stick around afterwards to try to get autographs or anything
though they did give us free bottled water and M&Ms to enjoy during
the show...

Anyway, the movie is good. It was definitely the most entertaining
Star Trek movie I've ever seen and I can see why people are calling
for sequels already. It could very well re-energize the franchise onto
more stuff. Spock is probably the most compelling character to me with
the strongest character arc. Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy is just
awesome. He plays the character better than his predecessor is some
ways. Winona Ryder is Spock's mom, which is a little wierd. James
Kirk fills the role of the rebel, rule-breaking youth always on the
verge of getting arrested or kicked out of the star fleet. It is kind
of funny to see him doing stuff like chatting up Uhara. I still think
Spock steals the spot light from Kirk quite a bit though.
The film is an action thriller through and through. Doesn't slow down
much. The tone doesn't stray too far from the Star Trek universe we
all know. And you will hear several familiar lines from various
characters, along the lines of "She can't take much more captain, I'm
giving it all she's got" while at the same time giving them a new edge
in believability, as though this was really the first time it was ever
said. Simon Peg by the way is a great Scotty. I wish there had been
more of him.

That's about all I have without giving away too much. I will say
lastly, they threw in a easy fix to cover up any incosistencies with
the history and timelines of the original Star Trek, that should keep
the purists at bay.