The Return of Adam Sandler

If you like really good, side splitting comedies, and you have considered that Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen were dependable comedy staples, you’ve been sadly disappointed of late - unless, of course, you believe that formula, safe, but vulgar comedies are great and funny art. If you have followed any of my previous recent reviews of these two actors, you would know, I don’t.

Funny People is a return of sorts to a better written, better conceived comedy that, like any good comedy, has its comedy foundation planted in the concrete footers of realty. Oddly, the realty of this film is somewhat eclectic, but more believable in concept than any of either actors most recent vehicles.

That Concept: Cast... Read More

Incumbent Senator Marc Basnight has a challenger for the seat he has held since 1984. Enter 4 term Beaufort County Commissioner Hood Richardson, who has long given voice to the unwavering conservative Resistance in eastern North Carolina for nearly 14 years, as his deceptively energetic Republican challenger. Commissioner Richardson is scheduled to meet with the State's leading Republicans in Raleigh on Wednesday, February 17, 2010, to engage their support.

Senator Marc Basnight has long been regarded as eastern North Carolina’s greatest advocate for bringing taxpayer’s money back to eastern North Carolina to fund his pet projects, and the pet projects of his political supporters as well. The Senator’s political revo... Read More

Going green is likely the last thing on the minds of those living in lower-income households. A family with an income at 200 percent below the federal poverty guidelines is understandably more concerned with paying the bills, than reducing their carbon footprint.

Thanks to the expansion of the Weatherization Assistance Program, administered through North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services Office of Economic Opportunity, lower-income households can go green and save green simultaneously.

Through this program, the homes of qualifying families are upgraded with better sealing and insulation, a water-heater tank wrap and/or other general weatherization measures to become more energy efficient. Each home is audited and diagnos... Read More

The Democratic "leaders" in Congress and the General Assembly assure them things are fine. "The recession is over," they crow. "The president's plan has brought hundreds of thousands of new jobs," etc, etc, etc. Each statement a bigger lie than the one before. Meanwhile citizens of North Carolina can't find work and are struggling to survive. Increasingly it becomes more difficult to pay for food, utilities, the mortgage and needs for the kids.

The debt bubble is strangling each of us in a tightening economic noose that drives free men and women to their knees. Our jobs have been sacrificed on an altar of globalization created and sustained by men like Price, Watt, Butterfield, and Kissell. Their answer alway... Read More

What is Normal? And Where Do I Run To It?

Yes, it is a Syndrome, and it influences what passes for art in our world growing smaller. You might ask: What is the "Rachel Getting Married" Syndrome? Well it is complicated, and it will need more time than I have at this sitting to develop what will be an ongoing thesis. I will, however, find the time to expound on the subject, but I honestly believe it may be deeper than the “Rabbit Hole” from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” so please be patient.

First, let us begin with the picture, "Rachel Getting Married." It was abysmal as entertainment and really taught us very little about real, normal lives. If the movie spoke to your inner s... Read More

Walt Disney Adventures: Part I, Animal Kingdom

Whether one loads up the family into the minivan and heads down Interstate 95, or they pile into the SUV and head down Interstate 75 to the sunshine state of Florida, what they have in common is that they're heading south ... deep south: where the air is hot, the men well fed and the women are better looking. Where the hordes often congregate is Central Florida, and there are advantages. Advantages such as: Interstate 75 and Interstate 95 converge at Orlando, the accommodations are plentiful, and there is much to do for energetic folks.

In and around the Orlando area, there is a plethora of theme parks; most notable among them are Sea World, Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, and D... Read More

I had just made my way topside onto the weather deck of a sixty-five foot harbor tug. It was a blustery, chilly, late-March day. My shipmates and I rigged the ship for sea as my Commanding Officer stormed fore to aft, barking orders and cursing at us. I could feel the deck vibrating beneath my boots as the ship’s diesel engine began to rumble. I grabbed hold of the vessel’s forward mooring line, called out to the pier to disconnect all lines and heaved around as ordered. The ship’s whistle let out a booming, prolonged blast, reverberating throughout the harbor as it steamed away from its berth. I was underway on my maiden voyage aboard my first assigned unit, United States Coast Guard Cutter Chock. Our mission: Trav... Read More