Marty Sugar

Yeah, SHUT UP LITTLE MAN takes a very dark and dreary turn and everyone involved stops looking funny and just comes off as awful and sad and...yeah. I tried to listen to the actual clips after watching the documentary, and couldn't. It wasn't funny anymore.

I watched MOON the other night. Sam Rockwell is great; but I think the movie tried a little hard in parts to be sneaky/smart after the big reveal, but overall I felt it was really good. The damn emoticons on the Spacey-voiced "GERTY" were fucking creepy.

Zoe and I watched THE ZOOKEEPER last night. Lots of fun. Joe Rogan, whom I despise, was very entertaining. Sylvester Stallone was an admirable lion, but I kept thinking Hulk Hogan would've been better. Just picture it...

Concussion saga continues. Physically, mentally, emotionally...I'm doing much better. Financially, not at all. EI has been dicking around for 10 weeks after the fact and still not paid me: turns out my friend "who knows all about this" completely shit the bed and screwed me so royally I won't see a penny. I'm worse off financially right now, than I was a year ago when my ex threw me out of the house with nothing. And said "friend" is now feigning innocence like he never gave this great advice in the first place. If it wasn't for two little girls, I'd be in jail right now and said friend would be in pieces on the sidewalk.

I know Halloween is over, but I had a bunch of horror movies on my Netflix "list" so I was just kinda killing time last night because I couldn't sleep...and holy shit, did I love LET ME IN. The American version; and I'm sure the Scandinavian (?) original is better, but whatever... ...what an amazing piece of work. As a story of vampires (that don't glow and fucking act like pussies), as a story of standing up to shitty bullies when you're a kid...shit, as a Shakespearean love story. So good. Enjoyed almost every minute of it. Conversely, THE REEF is a piece of shit. 47 minutes to see a shark fin? 55 minutes for the shark to interact with our hapless crew...and with the shittiest FX ever, at that? And that horrible woman leaving her ex-boyfriend to die, right after telling him she loves him? Barf. Worst. Shark. Movie. Ever. Which covers A LOT of ground.

I came home in the blackest of moods, MADCAP, and this post just brought a ray of sunshine in. Many thanks, sir.

My youngest was very "anti-learning" until this year. She dragged her ass (pun intended?) when it came to potty training, and in preschool when she realized the ABC's was a learning tool? She magically forgot how the song went. Suddenly, she's in Grade One with a very talented teacher and she is reading at an amazing rate and really taking a shine to school. It's been an amazing change.

I've learned with two girls that you simply CANNOT force potty-training. Every kid will figure it out at their own pace. And it's not just for potty-training: learning to read, write, tying shoes, et cetera...you have to let go of your expectations and realize this unique little individual is in the driver's seat, not you.

Thank to everyone that took part, and for Fowler for running this again. Kudos!

Although I'm disappointed that anger towards Wal-Mart killed my mini "War Of The Worlds" Zombie Flu gimmick on the FUCK YOU! page, the good news is that both Tegan and I survived a pretty horrible stomach bug. Plus, hey, I dropped 12 pounds in the process: it's all in my new weight-loss program that will be going to market in a few weeks.

wrong thread...oops

A big EFF YOU to stomach bugs. This was my first Halloween alone with the girls, and I have been stoked for tonight for MONTHS. We were going to go to Lazer Bowling, and then canvas the neighborhood for candy. But then Tegan (my youngest) got this horrible stomach virus and couldn't keep anything down. So I sent Zoe to school and off to trick-or-treat with a friend; stayed home from work to care for my little girl. Tegan couldn't keep anything down all day...not even water. While wiping her face she accidentally bit me... Long story short, these dudes in fatigues are putting up plastic all around the apartment building. Meanwhile, I am so fucking hungry for brai...pizza. Totally pizza. Weird typo.

13. Session 9 (2001) A guy's struggling asbestos company takes a ridiculous lowball bid to clean up an old mental asylum that's been abandoned for 15 years...but it is really empty? Not a lot of scares and chills in this one, as it slowly builds until a rushed finish. Some decent moments, but they tried so hard to be subtle that I think a lot of it gets lost in translation. I was really looking forward to the buildup, as it teased a really awesome payoff...but then it just got so rushed that I'm left asking what was the point? Good performances by all involved, but I just wasn't satisfied with how the story played out. GRADE: C 14. Quarantine 2: Terminal (2011) It tries to play off the last one, like it's happening almost at the same time. The concept of "domestic biological terrorism" is...I don't know, it doesn't seem like they really thought it through. It's like these scientists want to bring about a plague to end the world, and put all this effort into it, but put zero effort into the antidote that is supposed to save them while they cull the herd. That doesn't even make sense. The old doctor with Parkinsons was entertaining in his cameo, trying to get people's attention while shit is hitting the fan. Not horrible, but not something I'd ever need to watch again. GRADE: C- ** I fell grossly short of 31 movies this year. Being an adult sucks. **

Me, having been up for 31 of the past 33 hours (having worked 24 of them), running on nothing but coffee...but still found time to carve pumpkins at Tegan's school. Wouldn't have missed it for anything.

12. Apartment 143 (2012) A Spanish-produced take on the whole "Paranormal Activity" gimmick; while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it does have some really great jump-scares in it. Also, the reveal of who is possessed by spirits was really well done. I didn't like the actual finish, as it seemed trite, but this was a lot of fun and scared the piss out of me in several spots. GRADE: C+

Once Tegan was born and made sure I was anything but fertile. Two daughters is enough for any man to sanely handle.

At my wrestling show on Friday, a young kid pulled off a pretty nifty Papa Shango. The crew popped for it.

Ain't nobody got time for that...

The Subway I frequent is manned solely by younger people of Indian decent; it's downtown in a seedier part of Kelowna, and the young man working the counter totally stood up to a drunk and belligerent fella like a Champ yesterday. I was most impressed.

I was skinnier. Put some back on and slowly getting it back off. Same old... But thank you.

That Bryan promo was really well done...but I thought he wasn't a Professional Wrestler anymore? Or can he say it but the announcers cannot? I'm confused.

My favorite part of watching Q now, is that the mysterious "ritual killer" is the guy who fixes the Skittles leak in present(ish) day...

I had a stranger a few weeks ago tell me that "clearly my heart was in the right place" as far as being a Dad is concerned. Before my divorce, I was a lazy Dad: it's embarrassing but I admit it, and I've gone out of my way to change that. The night of my concussion, it's no secret that I could've died (I texted my ex at 4am asking her to tell my girls how much I loved them, as I was falling asleep...abandoned in my apartment), so I try to make every minute with them count. Thanks for the kind words, MADCAP, and keep up the good work. There are indeed a lot of shitty Dads out there (both married, divorced, or just the "baby-daddy" variety), but it's nice to know there's several solid ones inhabiting the DVDVR board.

Helping the girls carve pumpkins at my place tonight; Tegan was up first. Zoe took the pic for me. Yes, I know, wearing a shirt this orange during Pumpkin Carving Season is hazardous to one's health...

10. The Fly (1986) Jeff Goldblum is aces in this, and Geena Davis brings forth a solid effort, while John Getz is great as the smarmy ex-boyfriend; and in true David Cronenberg fashion there's a lot of weird-ass visuals and gross stuff to go around. The story is a little disjointed in parts, but has a pretty damn dramatic finish. GRADE: B+ 11. Would You Rather? (2012) A billion-dollar foundation hosts a dinner party to play the game "Would You Rather?" with dire and disturbing consequences. The entire cast is a Who's Who of "remember that person from that show?" and is surprisingly fun with some really creepy and tense bits. The actual ending is trite, and there were a few bits that got botched (one player has to slice his eyeball and they neither show it, nor does he really look any worse for wear), but it was a decent little film. GRADE: C