Memorial Weekend

We start the beginning of summer by removing the winter cover from the backyard pool. Its always a joyous event unless you remove the cover to expose the stagnant water and it is as dark as a cup of java. Thank God we had some milk left over.

After a few days of vacuuming the pool without being able to see the bottom, we dump in 8 gallons of liquid chlorine and decide to head to Dr. O's for one of their signature barbecues. We are picked up my Billy's landlords in their shiny new Pissat and Billy is left behind. ( The PenTac mover could have accommodated the lung but I think Billy would have gotten car sick.) But I digress.

Billy's landlord has been labeled at Wally the Weaver by my second wife and the DOT went to a lot of expense installing warning strips along Hiway 151 so that he can make it home safely. Click this link in the Urban Dictionary.


With Wally at the wheel we do make it to the O Ranch inspite of a few outbursts from the back seat navigators. ( Evidently they were not aware that my BlackBerry had a Garmin Nav application which directed us to the front door.

We were met in the drive way by the lanky head of the household, Craig...a tall Swede whose long arms allow him to build storage high in the garage. He actually has to special order all of his shirts because the stores in Iowa don't stock his size. He says the stores in Minnesota are a better option due to their Nordic population. You would think that he would use those long arms to help his wife dig out the Grey Goose so that we could satisfy our thirsts. But no.......... the height challenged lady is required to precariously climb a chair and with the help of a wire coat hanger, retrieve the "see through" beverage along with the single malt scotch which would be needed for after dinner sipping with our cigars.

You see the reason we were invited to dinner in the first place is because we were the intermediaries in the recent purchase of their Winnnebago Motorhome. You could say we were there for the Fore Play so it was only natural that we should be there for the consummation of the deal. You see the Dr. and her husband have carefully calculated the the remaining time left on this earth and plan to spend their last dollar on the day they will enter the state supported (Thanks to Obama) retirement home. Could an MGB be far behind?

Their barbecues are a smorgasbord of entrees which would put most restaurants to shame. After a tour of Dr. O's walkin closet ( actually a requirement if you want to find the loo) the after dinner conversation turned to solving lots of problems.

We were also treated to a great impersonation of a signature walk that went so fast my camera was not able to record. Actually confidentiality requirements forbid me to disclose anything else.

As always, the 8 passenger hottub was a welcome close to an enchanted evening. Again my camera was confiscated at the the entrance to their deck...so use your imagination here.

The much bigger question is who is Dave?

New Drug Just out.......

16 to Life ...the Trailer

This could be the next big hit. Read press release below:





Iowa Financed/Iowa Made film "16 to Life" breaks festival records at MethodFest in Los Angeles
Emmy nominated director, Okoboji, Iowa born Becky Smith's first feature film "16 to Life" broke festival attendance records at MethodFest in Los Angeles last weekend. Financed in Iowa, Filmed in Iowa, includes sultry screen legend Theresa Russell.



Iowa financed, Iowa filmed "16 to Life"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 31, 2009 – Emmy nominated director and Okoboji, Iowa native, Becky Smith's first feature film "16 to Life" broke festival attendance records at MethodFest Film Festival in Los Angeles last weekend. Financed in Iowa, filmed entirely on location in Iowa, and loaded with both Hollywood and Iowa actors, including sultry screen legend, Iowa born Theresa Russell, teen actors Hallee Hirsh, Mandy Musgrave and Shiloh Fernandez, and "Nash Bridges" veteran, Jaime Gomez, plus Iowa actors Ryan Gourley, Brendan Dunphy, Steward Hayden Butler and Rachel Salowitz, the romantic comedy was the buzz of the festival.

"16 to Life" was shot entirely on location in beautiful McGregor, Marquette and Stone City, Iowa. Film writer/director Becky Smith worked closely with the Iowa Film Office to find financing and production crew locally. "Tom Wheeler at the Iowa Film Office was a big reason this film got made," Smith says. "He was passionate about the project, and passionate about making an Iowa production possible." Executive Producer, Terry Trimpe is from Eastern Iowa, and worked with Smith from the start of the project.

Smith grew up in Okoboji, and attended film school at Stanford University in California. She has directed series and pilots for NBC, ABC Family, PBS, BRAVO, and numerous other networks, and was nominated for an Emmy for "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" in 2005. Her girls' basketball documentary "In The Game" premiered nationally on PBS FRONTLINE and won the award for best television documentary by Women in Radio and Film.

Method Fest director, Don Franken said, "Method Fest's Saturday night premiere of Emmy nominated writer/director Becky Smith's romantic comedy "16 to Life" had an ecstatic audience and several not so ecstatic fans who couldn't get in to see the film. Theater management was sighted grinning from ear to ear.

"We had to turn over 50 people away for our sold-out screening of "16 to Life" on Saturday. We could have sold 100 more tickets for the film. So much energy. The buzz screening of the festival thus far and the first "sold out" screening in MethodFest history," said Franken.

Writer/Director Becky Smith says, " 16 to Life" got the kind of reception you dream about as a filmmaker. "Possibly my best moment was when a young woman came up to me after the festival screening and said 'This is now my favorite movie!' "

A few distribution executives were spied in the back rows of the theatre, equally charmed as the rest of the audience.

"16 to Life" is a romantic comedy of small town misfits. Kate, a rural American teen, is turning 16 and has never been kissed. Kate is obsessed with books on eclectic subjects, currently the Cultural Revolution in China. Kate's angst about sexual inexperience and guilt will drive a comic quest for love and understanding on a birthday to end all birthdays. Before the clock strikes midnight, Kate and her best friend Darby will discover more about love than most 16 year-olds can imagine. And Kate will learn what a 16-year old American girl has in common with a 16-year-old Chinese girl half a world, and a cultural revolution away. Trailer and website: http://www.16tolifethemovie.org

# # #

About Becky Smith and Waterdog Films - Waterdog Films is the production moniker of Emmy nominated writer/director Becky Smith. Smith was nominated in 2004 for an Emmy in directing (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), the same year the show won an Emmy, and has directed numerous series and pilots for networks including MTV, MTV2, NBC, Fox, Disney Channel, PBS, Fuse and ABC Family. Her documentary onTitle IX, “In the Game,” received numerous awards, including Best Television Documentary of the Year from Women in Radio and Television.

Smith is a Professor in the UCLA School of Theatre, Film & Digital Media. She received her Masters degree in film from Stanford University.. She is an alumna of the American Film Institute's Directing

Chippendales

My Friend Sherry, the soon to be toothless wonder, sent me this underground video which I had long ago forgotten about.

What can I say?

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The Colonel Surfaces

Colonel Sanders pulled from river after 24 years
Statue taken from KFC by crazed Japanese baseball fans after 1985 win


A Colonel Sanders statue which was found in a river is pictured in Osaka, western Japan, on Tuesday night. The statue was pulled from the river, 24 years after being tossed in by crazed baseball fans.



TOKYO - He was covered in mud when pulled from the river, and had lost both legs and hands, not to mention his glasses. But Colonel Sanders still had his trademark smile, 24 years later.

A statue of the KFC mascot has been found in a river in Osaka, a city official said Wednesday, nearly a quarter century after being tossed in by crazed baseball fans who felt the image of restaurant founder Harland Sanders resembled a key team member.

"He was apparently found standing upright, which is fitting, because although he was a nice man he could also be very strict and demanding," said Sumeo Yokakawa, a spokeswoman at the chain's Tokyo headquarters.
She said the statue was taken from a nearby KFC restaurant and tossed in the river as part of a celebration by baseball fans in 1985, the year Osaka's baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, won the national championship.

Local fans thought the Colonel bore a resemblance to Randy Bass, a bearded power hitter and first baseman from the U.S. who played for the team at the time.



Colonel Sanders rises from watery grave
March 11: Divers searching for World War II bombs in Japan discover a statue of the KFC icon.


Fans often jump into the murky river to celebrate the team's successes, but there has been little to celebrate in recent years. Many fans feel the team has been plagued by the "curse of Colonel Sanders" since his effigy was submerged in 1985.

It has failed to win a national championship since, although it did win its division in 2003.

The upper half of the statue was found Tuesday in Osaka's Dotonburi River during construction work to build a new walkway, according to city official Hideo Yuko. His legs and right hand were found Wednesday morning.

Colonel in police custody
The colonel will be kept in police custody for the time being, but Yokakawa said KFC is considering donating him to the home stadium of the Tigers in Osaka. The store where he originally stood has since closed.

The KFC chain currently operates about 1,160 restaurants in Japan, and has about 1,000 Colonel Sanders statues in the country.

Osaka, Japan's second-largest city after Tokyo, is located about 260 miles (420 kilometers) west of the capital.