A Rogue One Post

     So I've seen Rogue One twice now and I feel pretty confident about where it ranks on my personal list of All-Time Star Wars movies.  First some thoughts though; I liked it, I really liked.  It was well paced, tight, fun, and it accomplished something that most "expanded universe"(in any form) entries failed to do; it carved out a nice little story within the Star Wars universe without trying to rewrite any of the mythos or character personalities. About the worse you could accuse it of was explaining why the Death Star had such an exploitable weakness that could cause it's full destruction.  And seriously, nobody is going to complain about that are they?  It was heavy in the cliches and I felt whatever was happening between Jyn and Cassian was a little forced but over all it was what I hope all other stand alone* Star Wars movies will be, an exciting yet unobtrusive ride through a galaxy far, far away.
And thank you Rogue One for not wasting Wen Jiang and the great Donnie Yen like another movie further down on the list wasted Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian.  Again, thank you!
So here is my updated list:

1. Star Wars(It was called Star Wars when I first saw it and I'm not changing now).  The original is still the best and is the only one of the films that can stand out both independently and within the series proper.

2. The Empire Strikes Back.  Considered by many to be the best it is a close second for me.  It has the classic lines, the dark atmosphere, the greatest WTF?!? moment in cinema history, and Darth Vader turning the bad-assery up to 11!  Beautiful, simply beautiful.

3. The Revenge of the Sith.  What the what?  A prequel?  Yes, yes it is.  I feel Revenge of the Sith gets an unfair reputation due the halo effect of the other two prequels.  But if you strip away stench of the severe suckiness of EP. 1 and the general mehness of Ep. 2 there lies a really good movie.

4. The Return of the Jedi.  Ewoks.  Ewoks just about ruined this whole movie for me.  How am I supposed to take the Empire serious when a bunch of Teddy Ruxpin's with stone weapons and sharpened sticks can take out an entire squadron? But it does have one my favorite scenes from any of the movies: the duel in the throne room.  That whole sequence with Luke, Vader, and the Emperor almost makes up for the Ewoks...almost.  No Ewoks, we cannot be friends.

5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  The feels about right although several subsequent home viewings might jump it past Jedi.

6. The Force Awakens.  The movie was heavy in nostalgia and promise but at the end of the day it was just a retelling of Star Wars.  I need more than that.  Hopefully we'll get to see Phasma, Finn, Kylo, Poe, and especially Rey in something original because they are some fascinating characters who deserve something better than a rehash.  And oh yeah, if you are going to have bad-ass Asian action stars in your movie they better be doing something bad-ass.  Comic fodder for the Black Beast of Argh just doesn't cut it.

7. Attack of the Clones. Meh.  That's really the only way you can describe it.  It had it's moments(almost all involving Obi-Wan) but the Anakin/Padme romance never kindled for us and the future Vader seemed like a future...nobody.  Meh.
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100. The Phantom Menace. One word, 5 syllables: midichlorians.  Thanks for ruining the magic for us George!  The film went downhill from there.


*stand alone- I guess technically it was also a prequel.

A Best Friend

On Saturday, Biscuit was her usual self albeit a little sluggish.
On Sunday, she only ate a partial helping of her food.
On Monday, she didn't eat at all.
On Tuesday, she still didn't eat at all
On Wednesday, her Vet didn't like the image on the x-ray.
On Thursday, she was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that had already spread to three of her organs and was shutting them down.
On Friday, I laid her to rest.

     That's it.  In less than a week my best friend went from a fun-loving, lil' dog to...a shell of herself.  She was at the point where all the vet said I could do was give her pain meds and try to feed her manually.  But all that was going to do was delay and I wasn't going to let her suffer and wilt to nothing just to keep me from having to grieve for her.  She spent one more night sleeping in my lap as I sat in my chair, her quietly sleeping while I sat up thinking about what had to be done the next day.  We walked one more time around her yard, letting her investigate every nook and cranny, every corner and smell, it was her private paradise.  She laid in her chair, on her blanket one more time, where she was most comfortable.

We drove to the Vet one more time...

     Biscuit isn't the first dog I've had to lay to rest and she will not be the last.  It doesn't get any easier though.  After every passing you remember the pain and heartbreak and you want to bond that much stronger with your new dog knowing, deep down, that one day it will end.  After every passing you want to cherish your new dog all that much more, vowing to never take them for granted because you know, deep down, it will not last forever.  That's why they never get any easier.  But we still need those friends in our lives.  We still need that unconditional love and companionship, someone to always be happy to see you walk through your door.  Those 5, 10, 15 maybe 20 years are worth all the grief we will go through later that in the backs of our minds we know is going to happen.  We know some day we might have to make that decision that all pet owners hope they never have to make but, deep down, know they will.  But we still need those friends in our lives.  It is all worth it.

     What made this passing even harder was that for the first time in my life, I was completely alone.  When I lived with my parents, all us kids had our own dog plus there were also "family dogs".  There was always more than one wagging tail to keep your spirits up.  When I finally moved out and was faced with the passing of my dog with me before Biscuit, my brother and his dog were staying with me.  So I still had someone to greet me at the door, tail wagging.  But now?  Nothing.  My house is empty and felt even emptier some how when I came home today.  It hit me hard again, really hard.  I had all weekend to grieve and thought I had most of the crying out of my system but that feeling when I walked through my door after work and nothing was one of the worse feelings I had felt in a very long time.

     Most of my dogs had always been the "free to a loving home" type but Biscuit was the first one that I had actually paid money for.  My maternal grandfather had a Beagle when I was growing up and he was the coolest lil' dog ever.  That dog was happy to see everybody, I mean everybody.  Worse guard dog ever but the best for a bunch of young grand kids wanting to play. I had a childhood fondness for Beagles so when word got to me through other people that they new a family who was selling Beagle pups I jumped at the opportunity.  Biscuit was the only one left, the runt who nobody wanted.  But I wanted her and she was happy to be wanted.  It was me and her vs. the world and that was how we liked it.  Both of us were the outsiders nobody wanted but we were happy.

     The void left by Biscuit both in my life and in my home has been very unsettling.  I miss my lil' one very, very much but the nothingness is driving me crazy.  The county animal shelter is down the street from where I work, maybe I'll stop by tomorrow.  I know the inevitable will happen but I still need that friend in my life.

Modesto Mail Thieves

     Here is video of some thieves stealing my parents mail today.  This isn't the first time it has happened.  They wait for the outgoing mail flag to be set then they strike.  The neighbors have talked about a locking community box but everybody argues about who's house to put it in front of.  Besides, those are just as rip-offed as anything anymore.

Part 1:

Part 2:

     Mail theft is so common in Modesto anymore the police don't even bother with it.  Fill out a report and if someone comes in and actually confesses on their on free will then they will make an arrest.

*sigh*