Rolling our way to happiness

I got tired of my wife and I starring at computer screens and commenting on Facebook posts or Yahoo web news. We started date night which consisted of a meal at home or out followed by a movie or a concert in the park during the summer. This was fun and lasted during the summer but when winters bitter chill returned our date nights faded. We needed something to occupy ourselves during the long winter nights and take your minds out of the gutter.

I searched the web and stumbled across a blog and the author of the article was writing about all the same things I was thinking. The title of the article is “How gaming saved our marriage”.You can find it here. He listed a variety of board games that he and his wife played and ranked both of their opinions on the games using a simple ranking. This interested me because Robin and I used to play all sorts of card games like Pokémon and Harry Potter back when we were dating. So after some reading I decided on a game called Ticket to Ride.

The game went over great and we slowly added more games to our collection. We don’t play as often as I would like but it is a step in the right direction. In the coming weeks, I plan to offer up reviews of games played and both of our opinions on said games. Some will be just my review since my wife hasn’t played all of the games I have but I do hope someday to get her to play.

I promise a new blog is coming soon.

This holiday I plan to post a few new blogs. My reviews of my new obsession, boardgames. I also plan on making posts about the films I am working on and the things that happen there.

I know Jason is the only person to read this so please wait Jay. New content soon.

My Review of Avatar or How to abuse blue natives for profit.

I finally joined the masses last week and watched the film Avatar. My father-in-law was shocked that my wife and I have never seen the film. He took us to see it last Monday and on the IMAX screen. I have to admit I never wanted to see the film Avatar. James Cameron and I have a love hate relationship, which means I love to hate his films. In my opinion, James Cameron does not know how to edit a film to make it interesting or to keep my attention.

The film Avatar was beautiful with all of the vivid colors and panoramic forest with odd creatures. On the other hand, the story failed to keep my interest and the luster of Pandora faded as the film dragged on. Avatar is a predictable movie with big hints that inform you of the story plot. For instance, there is a scene where Neytiri explains to James how he Grand Father brought the tribes together buy riding pterodactyl a like creature. Later in the film, Jake rides the creature and brings the tribes together to defend against the militant earth humanoids.

Anyone with a brain can see the films plot laid out in front of them and connect the plot points. I had the film figured out halfway through. The characters were transparent and reacted stereotypically to their counterpoints. A murderous marine colonel, a greedy corporate CEO and pacifist scientist are examples.

Avatar was also the first film I ever watched in IMAX. I found that after wearing the glasses for several hours, I had to remove the frames to rest my eyes. During the film, one of the lenses blacked out due to an issue with the right camera. It was a shock and I thought something was wrong with my eye until I looked at my wife and she too had removed her glasses. I doubt I would watch a film in IMAX since the monetary increase is not worth the 3d experience.

I am happy I did go to see Avatar on the big screen. The film will loose its luster on the small screen. Although, I do not understand the accolades and awards the film is receiving. Here is the film briefly: money hungry corporations with military support threaten the blue native’s sacred land.