“Give me back my friend, you giant sphincter!” Evolution

I had the best weekend I’ve had all year!

Friday our buddy DaveGrips came over and we hung out, watched TV etc. It was a new episode of Farscape!!! Damn, I dig that show! The convention is coming up in Spetember and I’m thinking that we’ll be geeks and go. I know – we’re already geeks.

Saturday Blixx and I were supposed to spend all day at the Laundromat, but we opted to sleep in, eat steak and eggs for breakfast, take a long shower then nap. We spent all day in bed and it was WONDERFUL. (Read between the lines here people! Woo Hoo!) We roused ourselves (pun intended) around 5 and went to the mall for a bit. I didn’t have much luck there, but Blixx picked up some new shorts and a cool new kite at the Discovery Store. He also picked up a sonic bug repellant thingie. After shopping, we headed to the Movie Theater.

Ah, Tomb Raider. Run Lara run! Were the effects good? YES. Was it the greatest movie ever? NO, sadly it wasn’t. The script was actually pretty good, allowing us to get some character development and all that jazz. The sets and scenery were beautiful. They apparently went to Indonesia and Iceland for filming and it was breathtaking. I never really got that hook from the movie that inspires you to cheer on the main character. It was missing something, but it was very very close. I won’t even talk about the shitass ending. UG! It’s like the writers took a break and let their 6-year-old kid’s write those last few minutes. Overall, I rate this movie a 7 ½, loosing points for the ending, but gaining points for the eye candy.

After a quick pee break, we snuck into see Evolution. Certainly not up for any awards, I still couldn’t seem to stop laughing out loud. David Duchovny was hysterical in that he was still Moulder in so many ways, yet in such a goofy way. The plot is that Duchovny and Orlando Jones’s characters go to investigate a meteor strike in the desert. They find single celled organisms that are rapidly evolving in order to take over the earth. Oh yeah, there are plot holes. The love story between Duchovny and Julianne Moore is done in such a tongue in cheek way that it’s almost refreshing. The aliens all seem to have flatulence issues. But the giant blue monkeys are cool and there’s enough going on to keep you interested. This movie is no Ghostbusters, but it’s still an enjoyable romp and fun for the whole family. I give this movie an 8.

Sunday rolled around and we slept in, which I haven’t done in ages. I immediately picked up the second of the Anne Bishop books and finished it. Paperback tossed on table, picked up third book and jumped right in. I haven’t been this into a book (let alone 3 of them) in quite some time. I’ve even got Blixx reading them too. I thought the whole Satan and Hell thing would get his interest. During this reading period, we had a huge thunder and lightening storm. The thunder set off car alarms it was so deafening! The rain pounded down and the wind whipped – it was a beautiful site to see. Anyway, my nose was in the book until around 2pm when Blixx lovingly pointed out that we did in fact have to leave the house and perhaps I should look into a shower and some pants. We went over to DaveGrips house for a father’s day BBQ. His family was there, as well as his wife’s, but it’s really V that we all go over there to see. I haven’t seen her since Memorial Day and I think she’s grown at least 3 inches since then. She’s also gained a few pounds, as I found out when she climbed into my arms and gave me a rib-breaking hug. I was quite flattered – shed been clinging to her mother and hadn’t wanted to go to anyone else, until I came in. He He – she likes me. It’s still pouring out, by the way. So, we scarfed down some burgers and presented our gift to Dave. We got him a battery operated great white shark to play with in his pool. You’ve never met a bigger fan of the movie Jaws, so he’s pretty psyched. I’ll have to let you know what V thinks of a shark in her pool.

We then made the drive to Foxboro Stadium for the Dave Matthews Band concert. I can’t tell you much about the 45 minute ride, because I napped most of the way. I don’t know what hit me, but my body just shut down and out I went. I awoke to god-awful traffic, so I knew we were close. It’s still raining like a bastard out and I’m getting concerned that the concert will be cancelled, but we keep on plugging on. We had to park about a mile away from the stadium and walk in the rain. I was SOAKED even before we walked in the door, but Foxboro is an outdoor venue so there really wasn’t any place to hide. I’d worn the right gear (rain jacket, nylon pants & hat) but there were plenty of little chickies and jarheads out there unprepared for the weather. I wonder how many of them have colds right now? We traveled through the hoards of people and found our seats – then found better seats at the front of the section. We met a super nice group of people who’d driven down from Nova Scotia just for the show. Macy Gray was the opening act, but she didn’t play long due to the weather. I head ‘I Try” from under the cover of the stairs, where we huddled for a few minutes of dry to have a butt. She really didn’t sound all that good, to be honest with you. Our friends from Nova Scotia say she was OK, but not great the rest of her set. I’m not at all sad that we missed it.

So, it’s like 8:30 and it’s pouring cats and dogs and pigs and everything but the kitchen sink. Black clouds are on the horizon and there’s no indication that it’s ever going to end. Then, the stage crew comes out and gets the stage ready for DMB. It’s like a switch – off goes the rain! By 2 songs into the set the rain has stopped completely. 2 more songs later and the stars are out. It was magic! This was the best concert I’ve ever been to. It beats Blues Traveler at BC in 1997. The band was tight and the music just flowed over the crowd and took us all away. Truly and excellent show. DMB covered All Along the Watchtower for about 20 minutes and it was fabulous! Just as the stars came out, Blixx and I made a wish. I wished that they would play Blixx’s favorite song…don’t you know that in just that instant they break into Warehouse! Right on!

We found some kind souls who were in a sharing mindset, which is always key. I have to say that Five - O had a surprisingly strong presence at the show and we say two folks cuffed and stuffed while we were there. What ever happened to the good old days when you passed a J around and no one cared because you were all into the music, man? All the cops really harshed the mellow, but it was still a great place to be. The music was awesome and the company was stellar. After the show, we did the mile walk back to the car, which didn’t seem as long, perhaps because it wasn’t pouring. Blixx took the scenic route home, stopping to visit his hometown of Franklin and seeing where he used to live etc. Home and we both fell asleep on the couch until about 3 am then upstairs to pass out with a cat.

Lucky for me, I’d remembered to set my alarm for the morning. I awoke and crawled over to the phone. I dialed up my boss and gave an Academy Award winning performance explaining how I was taking a sick day. Right back to bed until around 10, then downstairs and back into my book. Blixx got up a little while later and I cooked him a yummy bacon egg sandwich. We cleaned up the house a little bit because our apartment building is for sale, so folks have been traipsing in and out every day or so. It really sucks that I can’t leave my dirty clothes all over the place, but I guess it’s a good influence to keep the house tidy all the time. We went to Toad’s house for a bit, then took a drive with him to meet Tadpole. Then over to DaveGrip’s to pick up Blixx’s kayak (in storage since Memorial Day – must go yak!) then out to Whitehall to catch the sunset. Oh, it was beautiful. I explored the shoreline for a while and saw all manner of birds, turtles and such. The light on the shore was breathtaking – all red and dappled. Toad met a girl out on the water – a fellow yacker, she says she comes to Whitehall all the time. I’m thinking that Toad will be out there every night now, but that’s just my prediction of the whole thing. The bug repellent thingie that Blixx bought only works if you sneek up on the offending mosquito and scare it to death. I think we'll bring it back to the store - if they ask why we're returning it, I certainly have several bites to offer as proof. As I type this, my legs are on fire and all I want to do is itch the skin right off them. Pretty picture, hu?

After kayaking we went to our favorite watering hole and had some burgers and beers. A pitcher of beer actually, and that was on top of the liquid refreshment we’d brought out on the water with us. I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but Blixx had a little too much to drink. He said something and slurred his words, so Toad and I immediately made fun of him. Not a good choice. I ended up unloading the boats with Toad – we dropped one too because I wasn’t ready to have that much weight in my hands. I drove home and it was pretty chilly in the car. It was midnight and I was beat and Blixx needed to talk and I blew him off and I’m sorry. I’M SORRY! I hope we’ll be able to hash this out tonight over dinner.

Other than the harsh ending (hmmm…a Tomb Raider parallel) this was an incredibly enjoyable weekend. Good food – good company – good ‘you know.’ I recommend it to everyone.

Into the future…