Another year so another Superbowl. People get all worked up over teams they spent the rest of the year hating, now it is their favorite team. I just don't get it. I plan to go to the movies that night.

I have been called a communist (actually, I'm just a moderate to liberal Republican), and elitist, a douchebag, an asshole and such, and frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

I used to watch the game like a good little boy, because that is what the mass marketers wanted. Then I stopped. I remember when I was in law school, I believe it was the Ravens/Giants Superbowl, and I skipped it. My brother and I went to the movies. Unfortunately we went to see The Pledge, a bigger pile of dogshit than the Superbowl was, but at least we did something different.

Look, this year it is New England and New York, my two least favorite teams. Why in the hell would I want to be tormented by such a game. I would just wish for a scoreless tie. How can I get excited by such unecessary mass hysteria. Yes, people go to other people's dwellings and eat the traditional wings and meatballs. I am not big into wings and prefer meatballs on my pasta. Oh well, there I am, an elitist snob.

I am sure that many of you don't get me. I can't say I care. Why should I conform to what society and the mass marketers want. I pay my taxes, I vote, and I write. I spend times with my friends at a nice dinner discussing the topics of the day, or about writing. If I watch football, it will be the Mighty U (Miami Hurricanes for you Big Ten supporters) in all their glory. They are at least entertaining.

So, the next day as you are hungover from too much beer talking about "the game," I may ask "what game" as I spent the evening watching a new Hammer classic starring the guy who played Harry Potter. I think it will be much more enjoyable than watching New England.

Is there anyone else out there who loves bad cinema? If so, then Troll 2 is the movie for you. I was introduced to this little gem by an ex-girlfriend of mine years ago. She gave it to me as a birthday gift. I love it.

This little treasure seems to contain the worst acting in the history of cinema. The lines are delivered poorly, and the facial expressions are either void or extremely bad. I can't say I care, it adds to the fun of things.

The story basically involves a family going on vacation. They exchange houses on vacation with a family from Nilbog (its Goblin spelled backwards). The daughter of the family appears to be in love with a guy who wants to spend all of his time with his friends and her family hates. The boyfriend and friends follow along to Nilbog in their r.v.

The family arrives at the house and there is a meal prepared for them. The young boy in the family gets a spirit visit from his late grandpa who happens to warn the kids not to let them eat dinner. Time is frozen for a moment and the kids gets up and pees on the food to prevent them from eating it. If they were to eat the food, they would become part vegetable, and goblins are vegetarians in the film.

One of the boyfriends friends find a girl being chased by goblins and they both end up becoming goblin food. The most ridiculous scene is when one of the friends in watching the r.v. and a hot lady comes up to him and starts to act sexy with an ear of corn. Popcorn erupts all over the place.

After some time of more bad acting and cheesiness, the family seems to escape the goblins and returns home. But is all well...you will have to watch it to find out.

I love horror movies. I am sure you know this if you read my blog.

This year saw the release of "The Devil Inside," a brilliant exorcist movie. While it has a bit of the Blair Witch/Paranormal Activity feel, it stands alone. There is a good story, strong characters, and an unhappy ending that leaves you thinking.

Soon, the new Underworld will open. While not horror in the traditional sense of the word, it is still a story of vampires and lycans, and who can turn that down. That and Kate Beckinsale looks stunning in the outfit.
I am excited about The Woman in Black. I know many want to see it since it is probably the first movie that Daniel Radcliffe has done since the Harry Potter series. I want to see it since it is a Hammer Production, and I love Hammer Horror, as well as it looks very creepy.

I don't know if Ghost Rider is considered a horror movie or not (maybe just seeing Nic Cage on screen is), but I plan to see it. Then there is The Raven, about Edgar Allen Poe, which looks fascinating. Horror or not, the idea of Poe helping to solve a crime towards the end of his life is fascinating.

The Cabin in the Woods comes out in April, and it looks interesting. I am not sure what to make of it, except Joss Whedon is behind it in some capacity, so it can't be too bad. Then there is House at the End of the Street, which I also hope to see. I don't know enough about it, but I love horror on the big screen.

Dark Shadows is one that I am really excited about. I have heard about Tim Burton andJohnny Depp working on this for years. I hope that they do it the justice it deserves. Warm Bodies sounds interesting, but I will wait to find out more. I am also excited about The Apparition.

I am sure as the year goes on, I will find out more about future releases. Some will definately be direct to video, and I love those movies, so I won't complain.

I hope that the movies will start to live up to the ones of the past. Horror has had a bit of a rough patch the past few years, but The Devil Inside gives me hope.

They should just start turning my screenplays out to movies:)

As we get older, we realize that our circle of friends looks much different now then it did a few years back. I am starting to see it more and more.

I have lost friends over the years, sometimes for good reason, other times just by losing touch (people move and such), and other times, I don't really know why.

One thing that has always caused a drift is marriage. When friends get married, many times they move on. They do couple things, not things with single friends. Being one of the last of the single guys, it stings. Other times, as I mentioned, people move away. It is not always easy to keep in touch. Don't get me wrong, I have actually stayed friends with some of my friends who have moved, and when I went away to school and such, I did my best to stay in touch with people.

One friend I have lost touch with lately is unfortunate, but I figured it would come. He and his wife tried to have kids for years, and finally adopted. He is busy with his kid, and was only free for lunch, at a time when I am working. It is hard to meet up with people if your schedules don't meet up.

The truth is, I love my circle of friends now. I can't say that I can get them all together and mix and match. They have such different personalities, it could be nuts. Regardless, I am grateful for them.

I hope to move later this year, and in turn could lose many friends. I truly hope that I do not. Still, it happens. I guess with the internet, email, Skype, texting, Facebook, and other social media, maybe I won't.

I met with some friends over the weekend and we have decided to create our own you tube show. It is going to be based on our old experiences as ghost hunters back in the day.

There will be the traditional characters, played by the leads, and then there will be my character. I am a consultant who is sexually attracted to ghosts. I find it interesting how I always end up playing the strange roles.

I guess that people see my strange side, my eccentric side. I have been told by many that I am a bit eccentric. I don't always see it, but I guess it is true.

It comes back to what is normal? I may seem perfectly normal to myself, but not to others. Yes, I don't spend weekends watching sports, and I couldn't tell you anything about the stupid American Idol show. I haven't even seen Two and a Half Men since Charlie Sheen took off. I don't have opinions on celebrity marriages, babies, and such. I just don't care. Then again, I can tell you all about politics or my favorite scary movie.

I am really happy to be working on this project. I get to write for my friends, and act with them. It should be good times.

We all have our pet peeves, things that get on our nerves. For me, it is improper grammar. Don't get me wrong, I am not McGeorge Bundy, I am not an Ivy League elitist who went to the finest boarding schools and universities. I am a grandson of an immigrant, who was brought up to believe that speaking your language properly is extremely important.

Years ago when I did a bit of dating, I was driven nuts by girls who couldn't speak the language properly. When I started teaching college, I dated a lady quite a bit younger than myself. Her English was ridiculous, and somehow she graduated from college. I dealt with students who spoke in such a way that I was ready to pull out what little of my hair that I had left.

I remember one time that a student turned in an assignment to me that was written in texting language. Can you believe that, he turned in an assignment that was written in text?

Now I don't expect everyone to be perfect, I am far from it. Then again, I don't want you to axe me a question. I don't want to be axed. I really want to keep all of my body parts together. I don't expect you to say that you want to get you some of that. Hillbilly drives me nuts, I cringe anytime I hear it.

I am sure that I get on my friends nerves when I start to correct their speech, but then again, I spent around seven

Two years ago, I returned to Indiana from Central Florida. I had to get some closure from my past and learn to let go of things. Two years later, I can say that I have gotten the closure that I needed.

I have learned that we have to let go of the past. We cannot live in the past. I honestly spent much of my adult life holding on to my past and trying to get that feeling again.

Don't get me wrong, over the past couple of years I have had good things happen. First of all, I am an author, I am published. It is one of the most exciting things in my life, that and getting into law school.

The truth is though, that I am going to have to say goodbye to old friends. I don't plan to lose them as friends, but realistically, I am not sure how often I am going to see them again. This is hard, but it is reality, and as I said, I can't live in the past.

Regardless, for the next few months, I am going to try and enjoy myself and my birth state as much as possible. I have learned to let go...it is a lesson that I needed, and it was very important.

I don't know about you, but I find the holidays kind of depressing. I know that everyone around me is so excited about what is going on with them and their families, but for me, I get down.

When I was a kid, I loved the holidays. Sometimes I wonder why. As I got older, there always seemed to be some kind of family argument, which it seems my dad was behind. But when I was younger, I understand why. I would get presents, which at that time would consist of Star Wars figures and such.

My favorite Christmas memory is around second grade, or at least around that time. My grandfather, a miserable person at times to be around, was kept at hospital (I think mental) so it was just my grandma, mom, brother, and me. It was a great night, as we open gifts and celebrate on Christmas Eve night. I got a Hoth play set and lots of figures. My brother and myself had a great time.

I have fond memories of Christmas on the farm, and one while living in town in Avilla. Then the memories seem to run together. As I got older, it was always nice to be with family, but for whatever reason, I can't seem to keep them apart like those from my childhood.

After my grandma died, Christmas has been tougher. The year she died, we did our best to make things as pleasant as possible. We had two additions to the family, Sable and Terra, two beautiful black cats. I remember going to Florida on vacation after Christmas was over and had the best time that we could under the circumstance. We had some good ones, and tough ones after that. The bad one was the year of the ice storm. We finally got our power back on Christmas Eve, which was a great gift. It was the last one in Indiana. The past few have been in Florida, which are interesting.

The good thing about Florida is that when the holidays are over, you don't get the post holiday blues. In Indiana, it is cold and gray, and tough to keep a happy face. I suffer from depression in January and February in Indiana. I don't remember having that issue when I lived in Florida, since you could always go and visit mother ocean. Here, you go to bed and drink as much as possible.

I hope to one day have a family of my own to share the holidays with, to watch my child or children open gifts with anticipation on Christmas Eve night. I am a Christmas Eve person, the idea of getting up early in the morning for anything is not for me. I look forward to that one of these days.

I also look forward to getting past the post holiday blues.

As my favorite comic Dennis Miller used to say...I don't mean to get off on a rant...but...

It seems that we have lived our lives trying to conform to societal norms. Not me, at least not anymore. I don't see a reason to. Some see me as strange, others as eccentric, but most just see me as their friend.

Don't get me wrong, we all have to live by the social contract. There are certain things we must follow. We must follow all of the rules that have been passed so we don't go to jail or have other troubles. We follow the rules set forth by our church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or such. This is important to us. That is not what I am talking about.

I am talking about conformity, living like others expect you to. Basically, married with 2.5 kids, certain stock options, vacation at the same place every year, possibly a timeshare, Sundays watching football all day, Friday night dinners at some boring chain restaurant, golf on Saturdays. Look, for some that may make them happy, but I hate golf and football (okay, I guess I like minature golf), and vacation should be exciting.

We live our lives from day to day, unable to enjoy what is around us. I am not saying you all should just go backpack across the U.S., not buy a house and stay in an apartment, not have kids, or not watch football, just don't do it because that is what the commercials on television show you or what others expect of you. Do the things you want to do.

Many people find me a bit strange in the Midwest, maybe they would elsewhere. I can't say for sure. I like going to wineries over watching football, I prefer theatre and movies to any sporting event. I love to write, and have published a few books. I like to spend time getting to know other people, engage in conversation and such. I don't like to stand still for too long. I like to work and I like to play. Heck, I still have a collection of Star Wars toys.

Why do so many people do what others expect of them? I guess I used to do the same. Then I just changed, I don't remember when or why. I guess I embraced who I am, to some degree. Again as an author, I guess I don't always embrace myself and question myself often, but that is for another day. The point is, I can't just do what others expect me to do. I want a career, but I still want to explore my creative side, so I can do both. I don't want to be stuck in a rut.

Are you a mindless drone and do you want to snap out of it? First of all, sell that timeshare, you can only go to Panama City so many times in your life and not get bored. Explore the Pacific Northwest, the Southwest, New England, or if you can afford it, go overseas. Rather than Pizza Hut or Pappa John's, try a little mom and pop pizzeria, they are more fun. If you don't have a routing interest in the team playing that afternoon, get out of your seat and go to a museum or brewery on a Sunday. Don't go to Applebee's or TGI Fridays, set out and explore a local chain if you have to have a chain, or a little hidden treasure out of the way.

Again, as Miller used to say...th

When I was a child, I love watching the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show on Saturday mornings. I loved Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Pepe Le Pew, The Tasmanian Devil, and Speedy Gonzalez, to name a few. But there were things that I found frustrating, and that was the lack of success of Sylvester the Cat to land Tweety and the Coyote to finally catch the Roadrunner.

I used to want to make the famous cartoon when Sylvester finally got to eat that all important Tweetie sandwich, but then again, we don't really need a cartoon snuff film, now do we. I remember on the episode when Sylvester catches Tweetie and tries to make him into a sandwich, but Tweetie had taken the Dr. Jeckyl formula and turned into a creature, and even ate Sylvester at one point, before he got out.

I also recently watched a film on You Tube where Wile E. Coyote finally catches the Road Runner, only to become dejected with his life since there is nothing left to it. He got to eat it with his domestic partner, but then life gets dull for him. In the end, he takes his own life over it. It was very amusing.

The thing that was probably most frustrating was that Tweetie and the Road Runner were seen as the good guys, and Wile E. Coyote and Sylvester were seen as the bad guys. I have no problem with the Road Runner, he's just a speed junkie who loves to take part in a good chase. Tweetie was the one that drove me nuts. He would antagonize Sylvester, and you understand why Sylvester wanted to eat what little meat off of him that he could. You route for Sylvester, he's not really a bad guy, but a cool cat.

Funny that I don't feel the same way about the Speedy Gonzalez/Daffy Duck dynamic. Yes I like Daffy, but in the Speedy cartoons, Daffy becomes very unlikable. You find yourself routing against him. It gets to a point where you don't always like the normally lovable Daffy. By the end of the series, they finally are best of friends and the dynamic has changed by then. The point is, you don't really support Daffy in catching Speedy like you do Sylvester catching Tweetie.

Then again, Bugs Bunny antagonizes Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam, amongst others, but you always support him. Cool Cat drives Colonel Rimfire nuts, but you want Cool Cat to win out. They just are so much cooler, for lack of a better word, than Tweetie.

What do you think