I was driving along to work this morning when I noticed an odd site. A garbage truck with a huge American flag hanging off the back. It was a cloth flag and as dirty as you might expect a flag hanging on the back of a garbage truck to be. It just struck me as especially odd. I'm all in favor of the flag waving that's going on...more power too ya'll. I don't think ya have to be a flag waver to be patriotic at all, but that's just me.

I do know, however, that there are "proper" ways to display the flag. Recently, for instance, I learned that if the flag is to be flown at half staff and you have a flag that is stationary on a pole, you're to tie black ribbons to the top and bottom of the pole along side the flag, or top the flag pole with a black ribbon. I hadn't heard of that until last week. I did know, however, that the flag is never to be touching the ground as it would be a sign of disrespect. (Ya gotta know that millions of flags hit the ground over the past 200+ years and we're still in business, so ya gotta know there isn't any long term damage being done if the flag were to hit the dirt.) With all of that propriety that is afforded the flag, what are the rules with regards to flying it on the back of a garbage truck? My instincts say that it's wrong. But who am I to say that the garbage hauler's patriotism isn't proper??

I need to report a major accomplishment. Ok, you might not see it as such, but dammmit, I "captured" all 102 Charlie Browns in my Fat Chick Tours CharlieTown tour this year. YAY! Sooooo much better than last year's Snoopy run. Thanks to Peter for taking all the pics!! Without his assistance and friendship not to mention patience, I would have probably had thirteen pictures of rain soaked statues that wouldn't even be worthy of appearing on the site. Accomplishing simple goals such as this one is the purpose of life, right? ;-)

Two more Two-Second Movie Reviews:

• Hearts in Atlantis -- A gorgeous slice of life or "coming of age" film, but it unfortunately lacks the strength to enthrall us about the young lives. The acting is superb, but there are far too many questions left unanswered. If you're a fan of the Stephen King book on which this movie is based, I've been told you'll be sorely disappointed...for the rest of us it's an enjoyable two hours. B
• Startup.Com -- A documentary film about two high school buddies who, several years later, take a chance to start up a .com in the midst of the dot com feeding frenzy of IPOs and huge, charitable(?) donations from investment companies. It's fascinating to see how the two guys change during the short life of this project. They start out as naive young guys with seemingly very little knowledge of how to run a business but possess a lot of enthusiasm and end up as young guys with with the unfortunate knowlege of business failure and over stressed relationships. A-

Arab-Americans kicked off NWA flight because the other passengers were not willing to fly with them. Arrrrgh. This is the kind of thing that will divide this nation. The people unwilling to fly with the Arab Americans should have been put on alternate flights...not the people being discriminated against. Bad NWA, bad.

Gads, I know I'm probably going to get some right wing millitant American breathing down my neck for this, but wasn't President Bush's address to Congress a little bit too much like a high-school pep rally? Yeah, I understand that the statement--lengthy-clapping-pause--cheer thing is standard for the state of the union addresses, but this isn't a time for that, in my eyes. It's not a time to cheer, even if we're saying we're gonna "get 'em no matter what". That just made me sick.
The look on Tony Blair's eyes during the longwinded clapping sessions made it look as if he agreed with me. He looked bewildered at all the clapping, especially when his country was proclaimed as a "good friend". (I don't know him well enough...maybe that's a typical look?) He tried to sit down long before they stopped clapping. I think that was a sign that they should have cut it a bit shorter?!

Anyway, the clapping became as annoying as a laugh track on a sitcom. Once you're aware of it, you can't help but be annoyed. It just seemed to eliminate the seriousness of the situation. I'm sure the attempt was two fold...try to rally the sinking stockmarket into believing that the Union is a happy, healthy one and also to help assure the simple minded folks out there that the world isn't coming to an end even though we haven't "nuked the hell" out of them yet. Ughhhh. Unfortunately, for those who seek substance over cheerleading, it didn't work.

Oh, and who was doing the cat calls at Mayor Giuliani? It was like he was a woman crossing a construction site. Way wrong. I have complete respect for the guy. He's an amazing leader. He didn't deserve cat calls, however.

Maybe David Letterman should have delivered the speech that Dubya gave? Did ya see Dave's opening speech on his Monday show? It was moving, powerful stuff delivered with intensity and warmth....far more than I knew he had inside him.

One last complaint...I was watching CBS's coverage of the Presidential address. Why, why, why did they open the coverage with overly productioned graphics and music with a voice over that made it sound like it was the start of a fabulous movie? I know it's ratings month, but c'mon, this is a Presidential address regarding potential war moves for godsakes. Boooo for CBS. I turned it to ABC to view the address in an appropriate manner.

Two Two Second movie reviews...don't waste your time with those verbose reviews:

• The Glass House -- It could have been good...it could have been a fun thriller, but it wasn't. It was predictable and boring. C-
• Rockstar -- Mark Wahlberg's performance was the reason this movie really "made it" for me. He was compelling to watch, and no, it wasn't just his chest that was worth of viewing, although that didn't hurt. The film fell flat a few times during underdeveloped moments in the midst of the newfound star's career. Aside from that, the movie rocked. B+

I was in the office until 3:15 last night...fighting a cyber war against the virus "NIMDA". If you're out there with a Windows 2000 machine going unprotected, please make sure you protect yourself with a cyber-rubber. Information about NIMDA. Can I sleep yet? ZzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz

What day is today?? 9-11-2001. What do you call in an emergency in this country? 9-11. Coincidence? Not likely. Significant? I would bet on it.
It's a sad day. Just witnessing the tragedies through the television makes it seem surreal. A movie? Unfortunately not.
My heartfelt condolences to all of those immediately touched by this tragedy. For the rest of us, be safe out there.

I saw Moulin Rouge again this past weekend. Aaaaaahhhh...I love it even more the second time around. If you haven't caught it in the theaters yet, get out there quick! It's still hanging around the second string theaters. The one we went to was almost packed....with a normal movie at that place, we're usually one of two groups.

Round for a Reason -- Fat Chicks and Cars -- a new photo collection with me and my Bug. Slug Bug...no backs.

Two Two Second Movie Reviews:

• Jeepers Creepers -- It was a forgettable, kind-of-spooky movie full of lots of story holes and useless story filler. It started out spooky and a wee bit creepy, but fell flat on its behind. C-
• "O" -- Powerful movie...it's based upon Shakespeare's Othello, so I guess there would be no doubt of it's nature. I was only vaguely familiar with the Othello storyline, so most of what took place was a shock. (I know, I ought to read more...). The movie started a bit slow, but by about an hour into it, I was hooked and then blasted with the resulting outcome. Yeah, I cried, so sue me. ;-) Home town boy, Josh Hartnett, as well as the rest of the cast acted their butts off. Bravo! A solid A.

More Charlie Browns to view. Wheeee! I've got over half of them now. This coming weekend there's a "Block Head" party where I *should* be able to capture most of the remaining elusive Charlies.