Dead Money

2008 USC Football Predictions

2007-08-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

Another year of Carolina football!

This year looks to feature some of the best talent and depth for the Gamecocks in year. But it's a tough road schedule. Hopefully we can pull off a few upsets this year!

9/1 - Louisiana-Lafayette - Win
9/8 - at Georgia - Lose
9/15 - SC State - Win
9/22 - at LSU - Lose
9/29 - Mississippi State - Win
10/4 - Kentucky - Win
10/13 - at UNC - Win
10/20 - Vanderbilt - Win
10/27 - at Tennessee - Win
11/3 - at Arkansas - Lose
11/10 - Florida - Lose
11/24 - Clemson - Win

8-4 - But hoping for another win or two in some upsets.

Review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

After being disappointed with the 4th movie, I somewhat reluctantly went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night.

And after finally rolling into bed after 3:00 am, I have no regrets!

Finally a director gives the fans the movie we've wanted. Yates does a great job including the little details, scenes and characters that make this book.

But let me say that I am a book purist. JK has written such a great saga, I feel a director needs a good reason to change her story. Changing the maze from a series of tests to a Venus Fly Trap like human devouring plant, for example, makes no sense! Or having Dumbledore assault Harry destroys the loving, caring character we know from the books.

The small changes in OoP movie never hurt the plot or went against the books. My only 2 complaints for this movie are pretty minor. First Dumbledore and Sirius Black refer to Voldemort as the "Dark Lord". That bothers me since only Death Eaters call him that. The other minor problem is the way in which Sirius dies. In the book he falls through the veil. However, in the movie we see Bellatrix cast the Avada Kadavra and then he falls through the veil. But it leaves no doubt about his fate!

But in this installment they got more right than wrong. So much of the dialogue seemed to be taken word for word from the text.

The new characters appear to have materialized from the books. Luna Lovegood is the perfect mix of a ethereal, strange, disturbed, and likable girl.

The first time you hear Umbridge cough you can't help but smile.

The scenes with DA training are incredible. And I actually enjoyed the movies interpretation better than how JK describes them!

And finally we get to see a battle! I waited years to see Yoda fight, and I held the same type of anticipation to see Dumbledore in action.

The battle between the Order and the Death Eaters was beautifully choreographed with great action, special affects, and drama. But I wanted more from the Dumbledore/Voldemort battle. While a great visual battle, I craved to see Dumbledore show his power so casually as he does in the books. In the books I love the way he is involved in a deathly battle but never raises his voice, loses control or struggles. Dumbledore continues, in the books, to stay calm and infuriate Voldemort with his tone. Michael Gambin again fails to grasp the true character of Dumbledore. And as you leave that final scene you feel as if Dumbledore lost the fight and barely survived.

Overall it is a breath of fresh air after the travesty of the fourth movie! This was made with the fans in mind. Thanks Yates for remembering us!

On the cusp of greatness

2006-11-04T20:03:00.000-08:00

What a season it has been so far this year for USC. Although we don't have as many W's as we'd like, this season shows us much about the future of Gamecock Football.

We've played several Top 20 teams and been in contention in the 4th Quarter against all of them. That is a major change for football in Columbia!

Watching Spurrier make adjustments during the game is incredible! He doesn't hesitate to make major changes at any point in a game. That type of coaching has kept South Carolina close in many ball games--and win several as well.

Another thing that we as Gamecocks are already taking for granted is the Spurrier wins when he is supposed to. How soon we all forget the feeling of loosing to East Carolina, Citadel, Central Florida, etc. While we've only had 2 major upsets, no one has upset us! Again that is a major change for the Gamecocks!

Let's all hold our heads up high and be proud of our accomplishments this year, and look to the future!

SEC Championships are closer than we think!

USC Predictions

2006-08-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the official Gowder predication for the Gamecocks!

VS. Mississppi State - Win
VS. Georgia - Lose
VS. Wofford - Win
VS. Florida Atlantic - Win
VS. Auburn - Lose
VS. Kentucky - Win
VS. Vanderbilt - Win
VS. Tennessee - Win
VS. Arkansas - Win
VS. Florida - Lose
VS. Middle Tennessee State - Win
VS. Clemson - Win

That's a 9-3 season! 10-3 with a win in the bowl game!!

GO COCKS!

7th Son Podcast

2006-06-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

Da Vinci Code Review

2006-05-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

First I was surprised that most of the people in the theatre with us were 20-25ish age. I thought it would attract an older crowd.

Overall I really like the movie. It was a great reinformcement for the book. There are many small plot points left out, but it covers all of the major pieces of the book very well.

There were a few deviations from the plot of the book though. The most notable were Opus Dei's involvement and Langdon's knowledge of the Grail.

As for the change for Opus Dei, it worked for the movie. I personally like the books version, but for the movie it fit.

Langdon was the voice of opposition to Teabing, where in the book he helps Teabing with filling Sophie in on the Grail. I enjoyed, however, having someone question the theories Teabing raised.

The visual effects of the movie were a great addition to help explain the complex relationships of the symbols. Ron Howard did a wonderful job of adding visual explainations for the in depth historical and theological ideas of the book.

Overall I enjoyed the movie. For me it didn't have me on the edge of my seat like the book did. But that could be because I knew what was coming.

PowWowCast - Native American Pow Wow News » Blog Archive » Pow Wow Cast - Episode 1a

2006-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

The first episode of the PowWows.com podcast is now online!

PowWowCast - Native American Pow Wow News » Blog Archive » Pow Wow Cast - Episode 1a

Where's the ACC this March?

2006-03-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

Year after year all we hear around the southeast is how great the ACC is in basketball. So where's the proof?

If we look at this year, there are 2 SEC teams left in the NCAA and 1 SEC team left in the NIT (Go Cocks)! And no ACC teams in the Final 4 of either tournament.

So maybe I should look further back to find out how good the ACC is.

For the last 10 years there were 4 ACC teams in the championship game. The SEC had 5!

Hmm, still don't see how great they are.

Guess I need to look at all time stats.

North Carolina has 4 championships and Duke has 3! Wow 7, that's alot. But Kentucky has that same amount by themselves!

I'll try one more stat--overall tournament appearances!

UNC has 37! But Kentucky has 46!!

Ok, one more--tournament victories.

UNC 88, Duke 83, and Kentucky 96. Well, ok I found 1 category that they beat the SEC in!

Not sure if everyone else comes to the same conclusion, but to me looks like the SEC is just as good if not better than the ACC!

Listen to the new Podcast

2006-03-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

PowWowCast - Native American Pow Wow News

NativeGatherings.com

2006-03-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

Native Gatherings

The new Native American online calendar!

What a difference a year makes

2006-02-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

This is Brooke a year ago!

And this is Brooke now:

Great Christmas Present

2006-01-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

Player Bio: Pat Summitt :: Women's Basketball

One of my presents this year was a ticket to watch the Lady Vols play the USC Gamecocks. And while I'm an Alumni and fan of USC, Pat Smmitt is one of my heros.

I've wanted to see her coach a game for a long time. She's an amazing coach and leader!

And this was my first time seeing a game against a team ranked #1 at the time!

Thanks Kelli, great present!!

MyTribalSpace.com

2005-12-28T07:01:00.000-08:00

MyTribalSpace.com

Check out the new site! The All Native MySpace.

Within the first 2 weeks of the site, there are over 200 members!

Maybe I Can Save You Some Time

2005-12-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

If you were considering staring the new Inheritance trilogy by Christopher Paolini, don't! I have some DVD's you can borrow to watch - it will be the same thing!

After hearing alot of hype about the new trilogy I decided to give it a try. The first book took me a long time to get into. The characters lack depth. They are all stern and serious with no humor. It made me miss the comic relief of Doby or Jar Jar Binks!

But by the middle of the first book I was enjoying the story. I wanted to know what was going to happen to these characters. And so I bought the second book.

Then almost at the end I figured it out! I did like this story! In fact I love this story!!

Let me see if I can briefly summarize it for you.

Eragon is an orphan living far from any major cities. He doesn't know anything about his parents, but lives with his uncle. Then one day he finds a rock that turns out to be a dragon egg. The dragon hatches for him, and Eragon becomes a dragon rider.

The riders are an ancient ban that keep peace over the world. But they were destroyed by an evil overlord and his sidekick. King Galbatorix and Morzan team up and kill the other riders and form the Empire (starting to catch on yet?).

So Eragon is the last hope for the world. A old, storyteller in his village helps Eragon learn about magic and being a rider. Braum had hid in the village waiting for Eragon. The Empire learns that Eragon has the dragon and sends troops after him. The two escape but the Empire destory his home and kill his uncle.

During Eragon's first journey away from home Braum is killed. But he instructs Eragon to go vist the elfs in a far off land. There he can complete his training. Before his death Braum gives Eragon a sword called Zaroc.

There are of course lots of battles and twists along the way, but Eragon finds another old rider that has been in hiding from the Empire. But Eragon sees a vision of his friends in danger and has to leave before his training is complete.

During this battle he flys to join, Eragon learns that his father is none other than Morzan. The rider that helped Gallbatorix destroy the riders! And Zaroc is his father's sword!

Wow that is an incredible story! No wonder I got hooked!

It's just a rip off of Star Wars without the great storytelling of Lucas!

So save yourself some time and money! Watch the Star Wars DVD's.

Help a crippled child!

2005-12-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Kelli, Brooke and I rode in the Sumter Christmas Parade with the Jamil Jets.

The Shriners do amazing work! They work tirelessly to raise money for the Shriner Hospitals across the country. Every child that is admitted to hospital recives treatment for free!

In this age of rising healthcare costs, the Shriners maintain a network of hospitals that operate with no cost to thier patients! That's a modern miracle!

Riding with them Sunday, I felt really proud of the work my parents have done over the years! In fact my dad was wearing a new medal showing that he's raised over $20,000 himself!

If you know a Shriner, tell them thanks for the work they do!

For more infomation about the hospitals, visit:

http://www.shrinershq.org/hospitals/geninfo.html

Can this really happen in SC?

2005-12-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

AP Wire | 12/01/2005 | Florence considers banning smoking in restaurants

It took us 2 days in Hawaii to realize that all the resturants were non smoking! It was so nice not to have the smell of second hand smoke ruining a good meal!

But I never thought it could even be considered in SC.

Let's all cross our fingers!

Create your own map!

2005-11-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

YourGMap

Great service!!

The Hype, The Anticipation, The Disappointment

2005-11-18T08:54:00.000-08:00

J.K. Rowling is among the greatest storytellers. Her stories involve endless layers of character relationships, plot twists, and foreshadowing. I've read or listen to each of her books at least 3 times, and each time I find something new--another character trait, a new sub-plot, or a new clue.

Is it too much to ask that some of that be transferred to the movies?

With each new book the story becomes more complicated (and the books longer). But yet the movies are getting shorter and shorter. From the 309 page Sorcerer's Stone we saw a 152 minute film. Now with Goblet of Fire's 734 pages we were shown just 157 minutes, with over 10 minutes of ending credits.

Goblet of Fire is by far my favorite book. The story just has unending action and drama from the Quidditch World Cup to the return of He Who Must Not Be Named. And then it has the best plot twists with Rita Skeeter being an animagus, Hargid being a Giant, Moody being Barty Crouch, Junior, Dumbledore fighting with Fudge. Wow, at least the audience of the movie at least get to see the Moody twist. The others just fell on the editing room floor.

I know you can't include everything on screen, but at least hit the major plot points! Take a page from Peter Jackson and release a 3 hour movie followed by 4+ hour DVD's.

This is the greatest literary series ever, and the movies are turning out to be just average Hollywood flicks.

Here's a list of things left out of the movie:
-Molly Weasley
-The Dursley's
-Winkie
-Dobby
-Bellatrix Lestrange (my favorite villain)
-Hagrid being half Giant
-Rita Skeeter being an animagus
-The parting of the ways with Dumbledore and Fudge
-SPEW
-The actual Quidditch World Cup Match
-The death of Barty Crouch Junior
-The story of how Wormtail found Voldemort

Now how about some things that were wrong in the movie.

Where is the smooth, calm, fatherly, wise Dumbledore? The Dumbledore in Goblet of Fire looks like a hobo with his shaggy hair and dirty, grungy robes. And he acts like a mad dictator toward the students. Dumbledore physically shakes Harry and demands he answer whether or not Harry submitted his name to the Goblet. This is totally out of character for Dumbledore! In Book 6 Dumbledore restrains Umbridge from touching one of his students, but all the time remains calm! Then in several scenes Dumbledore is shown screaming at the school!

Continuing with this more violent Hogwarts, Snape is shown abusing Harry and Ron by slapping them with his hand and books.

The very first scene of the movie told me that JK was not very involved in the production. As Frank Bryce approaches Voldemort, Barty Crouch Jr. kneels before him and calls him Voldemort! First what is Barty Crouch Jr. doing in this scene! Why does he need to be there? And then to address him by his name? The Death Eaters are scared of the name and will barely make eye contact. Let alone address him so casually.

Then we reach the climax of the movie--the maze. I was looking forward to seeing Harry battle against the giant spider, the blast ended screwts, and the Sphinx. But the movie's maze didn't have any magical creatures or enchantments. It was little more than a foot race to the Tri-Wizard Cup.

On the positive side, the graveyard scene lived up to the hype. In fact that scene almost makes the rest of the film tolerable. Ray Fienes is a great villain! Volemort's return was one of the best scenes of the series.

With just 3 movies to go I hope JK decides to become more involved in the movie production! Otherwise we're likely to see the longest book reduced to an hour long TV movie of the week.

Where are tommorrow's musicians?

2005-11-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Tom Brokaw named the men and women of the WWII era the "Greatest Generation" because of thier morals, dedication, and character. Watching the Elton John concert Wednesday I realize they also produced a generation of great performers.

Looking at today's music "stars", where are the musicians? Sure Brittany Spears is great to look at, and "Opps I did it again" has a good beat. But Brittany, Beyonce, Christina, and other just can't match the musical genius of Elton John, Billy Joel, and Ray Charles.

And then where are the great bands of the future? The Rolling Stones, KISS, Areosmith will there be anyone to follow up on this generation of muscians?

South Carolina enters AP poll at No. 19

2005-11-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

SI.com - NCAA Football - South Carolina enters AP poll at No. 19 - Sunday November 13, 2005 1:25PM

We did it! The Gamecocks are for real!

In just 10 games Spurrier's affect is already being seen. The team and the fans believe we can win against anyone!

As the clock ticked down to 0:00, the feeling in Williams Brice was amazing. Over 80,000 fans felt the relief from past seasons of unfulfilled greatness. Now we can truly celebrate!

It's a great time to be a Gamecock!!!

Great time to be a Gamecock!

2005-10-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

SI.com - College Football - TOP 25 Scoreboards

How 'bout them Cocks!!

The Spurrier era has begun!!

USC beats Tennesse in Knoxville 16-15!!!!!

Video iPod - TV Shows NOT Movies

2005-10-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

Apple - iPod

The new iPod was released today! I've had my iPod Photo for less than a year and am wanting the new one!!

Everyone was expecting a video iPod, and that's what we got. But I like many others was thinking about how they could do movies on it. And I wasn't real excited about watching movies on an iPod. I don't have the much time when I'm using the iPod and the screen is too small for that.

But Apple was smarter than that! They are putting music videos and tv shows on iTunes for download to the iPod. Now that I would watch! Catch up on an episode I miss or watch the past season! Great idea!!

Hmm wonder how much I can sell my iPod for on Ebay??

9 Years Ago

2005-10-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 9 years!

Nine years ago I had the great fortune to marry Kelli, and it has been a wonderful journey!

I can hardly wait to see what the next 9 will bring us. We are very blessed.

Below are some of photos of us.

2005-09-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

Castle decorated for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of Disneyland

2005-09-20T17:05:00.001-07:00

Kelli and Minnie - Disney MGM Studios

2005-09-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Main Street USA - Magic Kingdom

Our Trip to Disney

2005-09-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

No matter how many times we visit Walt Disney World, the magic of Disney is always overwhelming.

This was our first extended stay on property. We stayed in our popup at Fort Wilderness. The campground is beautiful.

The campsites were very private and clean. I hadn't had to back into a space in awhile so I was a little concerned. But the loops are layed out very well. I was able to pull straight back into the site. The comfort stations are incredible. These are the cleanest bath houses we've ever seen. We didn't even setup our camper's shower. And they are air conditioned!! We don't see that a lot in campgrounds.

Our first night at WDW we joined in with a campfire sing a long at Fort Wilderness. While Chip and Dale walked through the crowd, a singer had everyone singing with her. We both felt like we were back at summer camp singing songs! Afterwards we walked down to the marina to watch the boat parade. Then went back to the camper to enjoy Kelli's birthday cake.

Saturday we spent the entire day in Magic Kingdom. We left the camper at 7:00 am and didn't return until after 10:00 pm. It was a full day of Disney fun.

The day started with the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. This is a 4-5 hour tour of the Magic Kingdom and some backstage areas. I've heard lots of people say that backstage tours take the magic out of Disney. I disagree! Seeing the effort and care that Disney puts into their parks is incredible and only makes me appreciate it more.

Our lunch on the tour is a great example of the pride Disney takes in everything they do. During lunch our tour guide Matthew took a break to eat. While in the restaurant another guide was there to help us. He arrived before us to set the tables, get the lunches ready, and then answer questions we might have. Although we weren't his group, he treated us like he had been with us from the beginning. I was very impressed with his attitude. He took time to answer everyone's questions and made sure we had what we needed for lunch. As he talked it came out that he has been doing the tours for years. He actually reviewed Matthew during his training. He even told us about some of the celebrities he's taken around Magic Kingdom. I was impressed that the senior tour guide took enough pride in his work to do everything the best he could.

After the tour, we hit all of our favorites rides including Space Mountain, Snow White, It's a Small World, etc. We finally were able to ride Pooh's ride. On all of our previous visits the wait was over an hour with no Fastpasses!

That evening we watched the SpectraMagic parade and the Wishes Night Time Spectacular. They were great. But I prefer Electric Night Parade and the fireworks show during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

After a long, hard, and very hot day, we finally made it back to Fort Wilderness. Kelli had a present waiting for her! Mickey left her a card with a personalized note and signed photo. And we took advantage of one of the best benefits at the campground--24 hour pool!!

With a long day we decided to sleep in a little late on Sunday. We awoke to rising temperatures in our camper! The entire campground lost power sometime in the early morning hours!! So we got moving and headed out for Disney's MGM Studios as quick as we could.

Within minutes of entering the park we were bombarded by Disney characters. They were everywhere!! And as we made our way through the park we continued to see them throughout! This was by far the best place to visit with the characters!

The first attraction we visited was the Lights, Motor, Action Extreme Stunt Show. Wow!!! Great show!! This is a must see on any Disney trip.

But our favorite thing during the weekend (besides the tour) was the Stars and Motor Cars Parade. This parade is one long line of Disney Characters from Lilo and Stich to Luke Skywalker (not really a Disney character) to the Power Rangers, to Mickey and Minnie. The characters were all close enough to make eye contact and those walking stopped at all the young kids. We both got excited thinking about seeing Brooke at her first parade in a few years!!

We ended the night at Fantasmic. This is an awesome show that combines live action, video, fireworks, and more.

It was a great trip!! Disney is a fantastic way to celebrate a birthday. Everywhere we went I made sure Kelli had a birthday button. And dozens of castmembers stopped to wish her a Happy Birthday including several during the Stars and Motor Cars parade.

We can't wait to take Brooke on her first Disney trip!! We're already planning it--December 2009!!!

View the photos from our trip:
Disney Photo Album

Brooke's first steps in the arena

2005-09-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

I've been working to learn more about PhotoShop. Here is a pop out I did of Brooke's special at the AICA Pow Wow back in June.

2005 National Museum of the American Indian Pow Wow

2005-09-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

Last month I attended the NMAI Pow Wow in Washington DC. I was able to visit the dance on Saturday to shoot some photos and video for PowWows.com.

I want to first thank the committeee. They were great to work with. And they put on a wonderful event. The dancers and singers I talked to were all very happy with the weekend. I hope the museum can find a way to do this more often!

I've published my photos and videos to PowWows.com. You can view them here:

http://www.powwows.com/galleries/showgallery.php

I've posted 2 here on the blog. One is of a Southern Buckskin dancers. The other is a panoramic of Grand Entry Saturday evening.

Hope you enjoy!!

2005-09-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

2005 National Musuem of the American Indian National Pow Wow

2005-09-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

2005 National Musuem of the American Indian National Pow Wow

Weekend of Moral Victories

2005-09-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

It was a weekend of moral victories for me!

First USC played pretty well in their game against Georgia. I expected a blowout. My score prediction was 45-10. I was elated to be wrong on this one! We were able to compete with a top 10 team. And a couple of less mistakes by us and we win the game!!

At the same time I played in a poker tournament. I helped host a 13 person tournament for Joe Davis's wedding. It was the worse night of cards I've ever seen. I played for over 2 hours before I won a pot. My best pocket pair all night was 5's. And I won a nice sized pot with them--hitting trips on the turn. The only "premium hand" I had all night was AK. And it was unsuited!! A jack came on the flop, and I had a pretty good read that my oppenent had a jack. He confirmed it after I laid down big slick. Most of the night I was looking at 23, 42, 52, 93, etc. But with all those bad cards I was able to finish in 6th-1 out of the money. Not bad for a night of bad cards. I was happy with my discipline not to get impatient and chase flops!

USC's Season

2005-08-30T06:17:00.000-07:00

Just so I can say I told you so, here are my predictions for the upcoming season!

UCF vs. USC -- W
USC vs. Georgia -- L
Alabama vs. USC -- L
Troy vs. USC -- W
USC vs. Auburn -- L
Kentucky vs. USC -- W
Vanderbilt vs. USC -- W
USC vs. Tennessee -- L
USC vs. Arkansas -- W
Florida vs. USC -- W
Clemson vs. USC -- W

7 - 4! And that's right, I'm predicting a Florida win!! Meyers might be the savior of Florida, but not this year!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2005-08-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Before posting this, I've waited until everyone I knew finished the book so that I didn't spoil it for them. Now I can scream Dumbledore is dead!! And the Half Blood Prince, Snape, killed him. But he isn't really dead...

I enjoyed reading this adventure much more than Book 5. I'm still undecided about whether it is better than Book 4, my favorite.

So here were my predictions about Book 6 let's see how I did:
http://paulg116.blogspot.com/2005/07/unfogging-future.html

The trio was much happier in this book. There were also some great quidditch matches, but still no award of the House Cup.

Ron and Hermonie didn't quite get together, but we got pretty close. And Harry did find a love interest! I predicted that they would start included Neville or Ginny. Well I was kinda right!!

Dumbledore and Harry did spend time together in private lessons, but not for what I thought! I missed the other deaths, but did get the big one right, unfortunately.

And my next two predictions were just way off!

I was close on the OWL's. I forgot about Herbology!

Not too bad overall!!

Now on to what will happen now!

First Dumbledore is NOT dead! I just can't believe that the greatest wizard of all time was killed without a fight. I believe that the chapter on Felix Felictis was an illusion to what Dumbledore is doing. He is removing Harry's safety net so that Harry will carry on alone, as he knows Harry must. Dumbledore himself said he could fake death. Like his phoenix Fawkes, Dumbledore will rise again!

R.A.B has to be Regulus Black. With all the talk about Regulus being the Half Blood Prince, I was constantly looking for references about him. So I immediately thought of him when I saw the initials. Of course he would have had to have help to get the locket. How about Kreacher? He would be the perfect companion on a mission like that. With Harry now his master, Harry will be able to learn more about Regulus and his destruction of a horcrux.

But there are still more to find. Dumbledore believes there are 6 more. We know of the diary, the locket, and the ring. That leaves 3. The cup of Hufflepuff is a good bet. The other 2 are unknown. I'm guessing that 1 is an item in the Room or Requirement. When Harry enters it to store his potion book there are hundreds of items including a bloody axe. An axe of Ravenclaw??

The last one I believe is Harry's scar. When I first heard this theory I didn't believe it could be possible. Harry would have to kill himself to get rid of it?? That wouldn't work because Voldemort would still be alive. But after more reading, I believe this is the last horcrux.

We know that Voldemort planned to make his last one with the death of the Potters. But he was not able to complete the spell. I believe that it did go into Harry's scar. In the first book there is a discussion about removing his scar. But Dumbledore says that he wouldn't do that because scars are helpful! That tells me that not only is the scar important (which we already know from Book 5), but that it could be removed with out killing Harry.

JK has said in her interview with Mugglenet that she has written her last quidditch match. So will they all return to school? I just don't believe that Harry has enough knowledge to go out on his own yet. He still lacks the ability to do non verbal spells. He also doesn't have his aperation license. He needs more education. Book 7 will have him returning to school for at least a portion of the year.

Is Snape evil? Book 7 confirmed all of my doubts. Snape has to be good. I know that he killed Dumbledore. That was either planned or intended. Not sure if it was pre-planned or if Dumbledore used legimens to tell him to do it at that moment. But Dumbledore intended that to happen!

I'm also now sure that Harry will survive the final encounter with Voldemort. For a long time I thought he would sacrifice himself in the end. In fact I think all 3 will survive!

Can't wait until the last book now! Just a little over 23 months to go!!

SI.com - More Sports - NCAA bans Indian mascots for postseason - Friday August 5, 2005 5:48PM

2005-08-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

SI.com - More Sports - NCAA bans Indian mascots for postseason - Friday August 5, 2005 5:48PM

Finally!!

Finally a major body is taking this issue as serious as Indian Country takes it!

I still have some doubt about the actual enforcement of this ruling. First, NCAA Division I football teams are except because they don't play in a tournament. So the NCAA wrote thier own loop hole to protect thier bowl merchandise revenue! Wow!! How can the NCAA expect schools to follow this rule with a stadium size hole in it.

In addition schools have the right to appeal. I'm hopeful that these appeals will be denied, but I realize that the NCAA is a business so who knows.

At least its a start.

Unfogging the Future

2005-07-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

With 9 days to go until Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I thought I would write out some of my predictions!

Overall I believe the book is going to be very similar to OoTP. Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are still young and going through the teenage years. They are going to have lots of mixed feelings and emotions will swing. But I think JK is going to return some fun to Hogwarts with a few great Quidditch matches and a tight house points race.

We are finally going to see Ron and Hermoine together. Harry will find him someone and the threesome will expand to a bigger group-probably to also include Ginny and Neville.

Dumbledore will spend alot of time with Harry giving him personal training. I believe the he will teach Harry the Avadar Kavadar curse or something similar.

Everyone is speculating about who will die in this book. I'm thinking she'll kill off a few characters. Lupin and Peter are very likely to die and thus ending the group of Mauraders. I also believe that one of the Weasley's will die, probably Percy. But the big death will be Dumbledore. Harry is going to loose his backup leaving him alone and exposed in Book 7. Dumbledore will sacrifice himself for Harry in this book. He'll leave a pensive or diary however to help Harry continue to train and prepare.

And then there is Snape! JK has said he isn't a vampire. But she uses words like bat to describe him in several places. Maybe one of his parents was a vampire?? I also think that Harry is going to have to save Snape's life. Voldemort will find out that Snape is really a spy and Harry will intervene. This will cause them to have a more friendly bond. In Book 7, Snape will be Harry's mentor and help him prepare for the final battle.

The cover art has caused everyone to try and guess what the ring and the handshake means. My theory is that the ring is the mark of someone in the Order of the Pheonix. The shape on it is the scar on Harry's head. The ring binds them all together and is used for them to communicate. The photo of the handshake is Harry being inducted into the Order.

Some of the un-answered questions from Book 5:

OWL Scores
Hermoine will get 7 OWL's while Ron and Harry will get 5--Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Charms. Hermoine will also pass Arthimenchy and History of Magic.

Who will be the Quidditch Captain?
Katie Bell

Who will be the new Minister of Magic?
Probably a new character

Who else will be on the team?
Collin and Dennis Creevy will be the new beaters or chasers!

Well I can't wait!! Just a few more days and we'll all know!

What An Ending!

2005-05-19T07:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the good fortune to see the end of the 20 year saga. And what an ending it was! For me this is the perfect closing to the story!

Two hours of almost non stop action! Can you keep count of the villains in this one? General grievous, Palpatine, Dooku, and...Anakin. And this one had more lightsaber battles than the original trilogy combined! Wow!!

Episode I and II left me feeling that Lucas had lost site of the story by creating plot holes big enough for the Falcon to fly through. He has done a great job tying up the loose ends. Some are tied off with a quick one liner, others are explained by unveiling just how evil and scheming the Sith is! There are still small holes left in the story such as why R2-D2 doesn't recognize Ben or why Ben doesn't recognize either droid. While his character development and plot progression pales to J.K Rowling, I'm feeling much more satisfied than after seeing Episode I.

Hayden Christensen still doesn't deliver an Oscar performance, but I did have empathy for Anakin. You can feel his mental and emotional struggles. Watching Episode IV now, I can picture Hayden under the mask. He has connected the character from the young boy on Tatooine to the evil Lord of Episode IV.

The biggest compliment I can give this movie is that it has solved my dilemma. I've debated on whether to show my daughter Brooke Episode IV first or Episode I. I now know. She will have to start with A New Hope. Revenge of the Sith is the ending of the saga!

And for the Jar Jar fans, he does poke his head in a couple of scenes...no lines though! With no cheesy dialogue like the Pod Race commentary, no Jar Jar moments, a great story, jaw dropping visuals, and a new caliber of action, this is the movie we've been waiting.

The end is near!

2005-05-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

After years of waiting, the Star Wars saga ends this week!

I'll be heading to the midnite showing of Episode III. Can't wait, but sad to see it end!

2005 Gathering of Nations

2005-05-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

Kelli and I had a great time at this year's Gathering of Nations! And beside staying 2 nights in a terrible hotel, we had no problems. Thanks to the GON Committee for thier hospitatilty!

Here are the photos and videos from the weekend:
http://www.powwows.com/galleries/showgallery.php?cat=562

How about them Cocks!

2005-04-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

USC Men's Basketball team wins the NIT!!

http://uscsports.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/033105aaa.html

Harry Potter Cover

2005-03-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

Irish Examiner> Breaking News> Sport

TheGowders.com - Our Online Photo Album - Home

2005-02-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

TheGowders.com - Our Online Photo Album - Home

Our new family website!

Great Prank!!

2005-02-09T06:34:00.000-08:00

Harvard University Says: WE SUCK

Awesome New Toy

2005-02-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

Sling Media

Watch YOUR TV, DVD, DVR, etc anywhere!

2005-01-26T12:56:00.000-08:00

Gotta love Bush's fiscal conservative spending!

2005-01-26T12:50:00.000-08:00

Now that's cold!

Mark Burnett has jumped the shark

2005-01-19T09:36:00.000-08:00

The Star Online Malaysia Entertainment: eCentral: News & Features

He's finally jumped over the line! A musical?

Wow! The name fits!

2005-01-13T06:04:00.000-08:00

Insanity the Ride - Stratosphere Tower Las Vegas Casino and Hotel Thrill Ride

BCS - What a mess!

2005-01-02T10:57:00.000-08:00

The games aren't over, and it is already such as mess--Utah, Auburn, USC, Cal State...

Ok, how hard is it to have a 4 team playoff? Let 1 play 4, 2 play 3 in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. Then have a National Championship Game between the winners in one of the other bowls on a rotating basis.

Please NCAA get it done!

Predictions for 2005

2005-01-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of my predictions for the coming year. Remember you heard it here first!

Football
USC Football
8-3
2nd in the SEC East

Tennessee wins SEC Championship

Harry Potter
Book 6 is coming out in July and there are several questions to be answered.

JK has said another main character will die in this book. I'm predicting that 2 will meet thier end. First Albus Dumbledore will perish in an attempt to save others. This death gives Harry the example he needs to be willing to die for others in his fight against Voldemort. In addition it eliminates the possibility of Harry having a white knight to come and save him.

I also believe another student will be killed. The Death Eaters are going to do anything to get to Harry. During this chapter of the Harry Potter saga they will kill to try and draw Harry out. I'm guessing they'll attack several students. Neville Longbottom will be wounded in a fight, but will show great resolve standing up to them. But Hermonie will die in the attacks.

WSOP
This year's final event could have over 5,000 people. With that many people, the pros don't stand a chance. In fact, I'm predicting that not a single pro makes it to the final table.

PowWows.com Drum of the Year
This is our first year of doing Drum of the Year, where we'll track contest wins by drums. I'm going to predict that Southern Boys and Midnite Express will the Southern and Northern Drums of the Year for 2005.

Oscars
Best Movie - Sideways
Best Director - Scorese
Best Actor - Jamie Foxx
Best Actress - Hillary Swank

That's it for now. I'll try to come back later and do a few more!

Merry Christmas!

2005-01-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks Kelli!! She surprised the heck out of me this year.

Not only did she get me a new All-In-One Printer, but she also gave me a 40 GB Photo iPod!

Did you get tired of hearing me talk about it Kelli?? Anyway, it's great!

Already have over 2,200 songs on it!

Pre Order Today!

2004-12-21T14:02:00.000-08:00

No 3 Year Wait

2004-12-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

A date has been set!

Not soon enough, but it's coming!!

Please just forget the money and fix it!

2004-12-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

SI.com - NCAA Football - Bowl Schedule - 2004-05 - Sunday December 5, 2004 6:17PM

Again the BCS will fail to pick a real National Champion!

4 undefeated teams, only 2 get shots at the Championship?

Auburn goes undefeated in the toughest conference and wins the conference title game and doesn't get to play in the big game?

Utah, a non BCS team, gets invited to a BCS bowl?

Please just fix it!

The Best Just Get's Better!

2004-12-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

maXair, Thrill Rides, Inside The Park, Cedar Point

Cedar Point has the BEST coasters of any amusement park. They now have more thrill rides than any other park.

Cedar Point is the Ultimate Thrill Park!

Twas the Night Before Spurrier

2004-12-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

'Twas the night before Spurrier, and throughout the Southeast Every
creature sat silent, lest he 'waken the Beast. The "Beast" was
Carolina, who they all knew was dormant But whose rumblings were were
stirred by a Lispy Informant

"My offspring", he noted, "would have been a prime pick." "cause to
work with my boy has sure been a kick." "Since the the ultimate call
is not mine to make," "McGee's is the choice we'll all have to take.

"I aroused the true nature of the creature at hand"
"But I'll now pass my whistle to another good man."
At the news of this passing, many creatures were aghast, In the
knowledge that their days at the top would soon pass.

The Gators all trembled with jealousy and fright, While the hicks up
in Knoxville drew their sisters up tight. And the poor little
puppies, knew not what to do. So they ran 'round in circles and they
ate their own poo. The commodores and wildcats both wanted to matter,
but their weak little bluster was nothing but clatter.

Now those from The West weren't the least bit distraught, til after
awhile came a sobering thought, "In the past, when we've faced a
beast from the east, Carolina, it seemed, was one of the least."

Now Tigers are shaking and Pachyderms too, While Bulldogs and Rebels
have a case of the blues.
And the blind little piggies will root for a Nutt, Knowing Coach
Spurrier will soon kick their Butt.

Now, when the Ol' Ball Coach has feasted on these, He'll turn his
attention to an upstate disease.
He won't come by chimney, 'cause they most live in trailers And
stockin's are foreign to folks without tailors.

He'll give them their goodies in Ol' Billy Brice, And again for good
measure in Cowtown to be nice.
Since they'll have not a hearth, and their feet will be bare, He'll
hang half a hundred on their ass to be fair.

Said Merry Ol' Lou as he rode into the sunset, "May your tee shots be
straight and you irons well-met." "I'll follow the Gamecocks through
future success," "'Cause I know in my heart I gave it my best."

Go Cocks!

The difference is in the details

2004-11-26T20:33:00.000-08:00

SI.com - NCAA Football - Clemson tailback has no regrets about brawl - Thursday November 25, 2004 5:47PM

This is the difference between classy coaches like Holtz and Spurrier and parole officers like the Bowdens. Over the last few years both of the Bowdens have produce some of the biggest thugs in football.

This lack of remorse is just another sign of these coaches lack of displine. The Bowdens truly believe that the end justifies the means. They forget that these players are young students who are learning lessong that will impact thier character throughout life.

Just 1 Point

2004-11-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

SI.com - NCAA Football - Longhorns score one-point safety on rare play - Friday November 26, 2004 6:40PM
I had heard this was possible, but never heard the full explaination!

Look out Gators

2004-11-23T05:56:00.000-08:00

SI.com - NCAA Football - Spurrier to coach South Carolina - Monday November 22, 2004 7:05PM

Well it turns out to be true! We are replacing a legend for another legend.

Thanks Lou for rebuilding this program! And good luck to Steve. Hope you can take us to the next level!

Could it be true?

2004-11-10T14:04:00.000-08:00

ESPN.com - NCF - South Carolina measures Spurrier's interest

There have been rumors of this for 2 years. Is it really going to happen?

Dead Money: Welcome to the new ACC

2004-11-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

Dead Money: Welcome to the new ACC

Ok, so the sun does shine on a dog's butt every once in a while!

Episode III Trailer

2004-11-08T17:25:00.000-08:00

Star Wars: Welcome to the Official Site

It's finally here!

Can't wait to see Anakin turn into Vader!

Would someone please explain this to me?

2004-10-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

CNN.com - Bin Laden: Al Qaeda motivated to strike U.S. again - Oct 29, 2004

Let's throw out everything else-the economy, taxes, etc.

George W Bush has lost sight of the real threat. He has allowed the admitted master-mind of September 11th to live. And now he is openly threatening the US.

Bush has failed us!

I do have a conservative side!

2004-10-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

Paige Proposes Regulations to Enforce Boy Scouts of America Act

It's great to see that the Boy Scouts and other groups will be assured access to public schools. These facilities are for the public and should be able to be used by all groups.

The attempt to stop Scouts from using schools was a poor, backdoor trick to strong arm BSA into changing thier policy on gays. While I disagree with that policy, BSA has the right to set thier own membership standards.

Not Again!

2004-10-27T06:15:00.001-07:00

Tonight BBC TV to Reveal New Florida Vote Scandal
Republican "Caging List"

Looks like we are gearing up for another contravery in Florida!

Not Again!

2004-10-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight BBC TV to Reveal New Florida Vote Scandal
Republican "Caging List"

Looks like we are gearing up for another contravery in Florida!

PowWows.com New Front Page Design

2004-10-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

PowWows.com - Source for Native American Pow Wow Information

Check out our newly designed front page!

World Poker Tour - Poker Corner

2004-10-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

World Poker Tour - TV Show

Wow!

Watch the first episode of the Poker Corner by the WPT today and was very impressive.

It's hosted by Mike Sexton along with Annie Duke, Phil Helmuth, and Daniel Negreanu. Their commentary and insight allowed you to understand the plays from a Pro's perspective. And Phil actually kept his composure!

No Acceptable!

2004-10-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

The State 10/10/2004 A deflating defeat

I'm tired of this being acceptable. I want someone to be accountable for this!

After being favored by 17 points and having every commentator on talk radio guaranteeing a victory, we come out unemotional and give the game away.

Mostly I blame the coaches. The players did fail to execute a few key plays, but the coaching staff never put the team in a position to win this game. Unlike the Georgia game, where conservative play calling cost us the lead and the game, here conservative play calling allowed Ole Miss to grab an emotional edge. Because of this we've lost 2 games and almost lost a 3 (against Troy).

I heard several arguments on the radio after the game supporting the coaching staff. Things like:

"If anyone had told us we'd be 4-2 at the beginning of the season we would have been excited" or "Holtz is experienced and knows what his doing" or "We can't get any better the Lou".

No! I'm tired of accepting a loss like this. We should expect and demand more. I don't care how many games Holtz has coached, this loss is unacceptable.

Here are my main problems with the game and the coaching staff.

First, Holtz is one of THE best motivational speakers in the world. The entire first half our players played flat and with no emotion. There is no excuse for that!

Why does the quarterback have more rushing attempts than a Parade All American Running Back? We struggled to get a running game going all day. Why did we not use Demtris more?

With 7 seconds left in the half we go for a touchdown pass instead of kicking the fieldgoal. This miss by us gave Ole Miss a big lift going into the half, and took away all momentum we had built. I heard many people say that this is an easy call to sideline quaterback. Like in Poker, it's easy to say you should have played a hand after you throw away an 8-3 and the flop comes 8-8-3. But if you always make the right call, you'll come out ahead. If you take the risk and play it, there is a small chance you'll hit something big, but a large chance you won't. We didn't make the right call there and we paid for it.

In Lou's first few seasons (when we lost 22 in a row) discipline was key. If a player fumble or made a mistake in the game he was benched for at least a few plays if not the game. For the last few seasons the discipline and fundamentals of the team have declined. Saturday I saw people fumble and drop easy passes, only to return the next play and the next series. Where is this hard nose discipline of Holtz?

Late in the 4th quarter we continued to call quaterback run plays. This play had only worked once during the day and ate up precious seconds.

Again I heard arguments on the radio that the game hasn't passed Lou by. Well if it hasn't I want to see proof. We have yet to beat Florida or Tennessee under Holtz. We rarely beat teams when we are underdogs and we've given up several wins against teams we are favored against.

To me it is no longer acceptable, as a USC fan and alumni, I demand better!

Welcome to the new ACC

2004-10-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

SI.com - NCAA Football - Clemson Tigers vs. Virginia Cavaliers

We are finally seeing Clemson in its true light. They can no longer play a season full of Duke's and Furman's. With the new ACC everyone can see that Clemson is just another mediocre team and thier long fantasy of being a big time football program is over!

No WMD's

2004-10-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

CNN.com - Official: No WMD stockpiles in Iraq - Oct 6, 2004

No weapons of mass destruction, ability to produce weapons dimished because of sanctions, hmm so why did we go to war?

Looks like sanctions were working!

Hope is on the way!

The Friend's List

2004-10-05T07:03:00.000-07:00

The List from the Friends episode 3.05, The One with Frank Jr.

Just thought I should write this down somewhere in case I ever needed it!

National IDs for everybody?

2004-10-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

National IDs for everybody? | Perspectives | CNET News.com

Is this the start of Big Brother?

PowWows.com Photo Contest

2004-10-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

Photo Contest

Visit PowWows.com to vote in the Photo Contest.

Over 250 great Pow Wow photo's.

http://www.powwows.com/gathering/forumdisplay.php?f=48

Poker Chip Tricks

2004-09-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

Poker Chip Tricks

Great reference for learning Chip Tricks!

Flip 'em Flop 'em, Flop 'em Flip 'em

2004-09-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

So who's is really flip flopping?

Take a look at the following page, and decide for yourself.

http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/top10_flipflops/
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=118263
http://wampum.wabanaki.net/archives/000820.html

And that's just 3 from a quick Google search. There were dozens of other pages.

Now the Republicans have this on Kerry:
http://www.flippercam.com/

Besides the cheap, tacky pictures of dolphins, it's just 1 issue. So even if you think Kerry changed his stance on Iraq, it's just 1 issue compared to over 10 issues for Bush.

I hope American gets this right (I mean left) and votes this guy out of office!

MSNBC - Hamm Argues to Keep Gymnastics Gold

2004-09-28T05:53:00.000-07:00

MSNBC - Hamm Argues to Keep Gymnastics Gold

Why has this continued? Why have people allowed the Koreans to go around the rules?

The rule states that all protest must take place before they move to the next aperatus. They didn't protest in time, simple as that!

I can't believe this continues to be an issue. And it's crazy that there is no a possiblity that Hamm could loose the medal!

Martha tries to Survive

2004-09-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

Mark Burnett and Martha Stewart's company ink deal for future TV shows - Reality TV World - News, information, episode summaries, message boards, chat and games for unscripted television programs

Martha Stewart is apparently desperate to regain her image after prison. She now joins Jessica, the Osbournes, and Anna Nicole a the next reality tv star. The Queen of the Home now joins this royal family with the Prince of Darkness.

Kinda surprise at the lengths that Martha will go to regain her image. But as a reality fan, I'll probably watch.

Games are Everywhere

2004-09-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

You're In Control (Urine Control)-Videos

In the evolution of gaming, we should have seen this coming!

A few years ago we all spent hours playing solitaire on our Windows 3.1 machines, and thought we were power users. Then with Windows 95 the country became addicted to Freecell. Now games are everywhere--on the ipod, pda's, phones. Plus online games, portable game devices, game consoles and on and on.

Some ingenius developer has now taken it into the Restroom! No longer do we men have to aim at a cigarette but or a piece of gum-we can now play games while we do our business.

Can't wait to see these come to my area!

It all ends well...

2004-09-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well today started off pretty bad. PowWows.com was down and didn't know when or how it would come back, lots of users upset, several clients calling because of thier sites down.

But this evening turned things around!

First I found out that NetFlix now has a distribution center here in Columbia. So I can turn around a rental in 2 days.

Then PowWows.com came back up!

And to top off the night I placed first in our weekly Poker Tournament.

And I found out that a friend of mine is starting work here in the same department!

Not a bad day after all!

The Return of PowWows.com!

2004-09-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

Finally after almost 36 hours it's back up and running. That's the longest it's ever been offline!

The problem was a bug in the control panel software-Plesk.

Thought it might have been something I did! :)

Still down!

2004-09-22T05:39:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 24 hours now. PowWows.com is still down!

Being at the mercy of EV1 support is tough--just waiting for answers.

Withdrawals should kick in today. Hopefully it will be back up soon.

Drew Wins BB5

2004-09-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

CBS: Big Brother 5

In a surprisingly close vote Drew wins BB5--4-3!

When did the contestants on Reality TV become the morality police. It seems that in every show lately the casts decides the winner based on who's played honestly.

In Survivor it's Outwit, Outlast, Outplay, right?

In the first blockbuster Reality Show, Richard Hatch set the tone by lying, decieving, and winning the $$. After that contestants were free to play however needed to win. But somewhere along the way somebody decided against that.

The funny thing is that these same contestants play without honesty or intergrity for the entire show until they are booted off. They then sit on thier pedestal and judge others' play according to thier morality scale.

And when will the finalists step up and proclaim themselves as superior players? Someone please make the Richard Hatch speech. I'm begging someone to just stand up and say, hey I played all of you and put myself in a position to win, give me the money cause I earned it. Not this I want to be your friend junk!

Maybe this season's Survivor or Apprentice will finally get back to Hatch play!

Shots

2004-09-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

Being a dad is hard.

It's very hard, but not in the ways I expected. I anticipated having a hard time holding her, feeding her, changing her, etc. That hasn't been too bad, and I'm sometimes surprise at how natural it feels.

But today was hard. Watching her get 3 shots, and then seeing the pain in her face was difficult! Dad's just don't want to see thier little girls hurt!

2004-09-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Our first family picture.

Reality Campaigning

2004-09-21T09:47:00.000-07:00

For years we've had politicans promise us anything and everything to get elected. Here is South Carolina, we have a canidate that has gone beyond promises and has lost his grip on reality.

Demint proposes a national 23% sales tax
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/politics/9411748.htm

His plan call for doing away with the IRS and just having a flat sales tax. Now I'm like any other American, I don't want to pay taxes, but come on! Get rid of the IRS?? Is he insane?

First, to me, that's a crazy political move. Doing away with our current tax situation causes massive loss of jobs-CPA's, Tax Attorneys, etc. Corporations and individuals lose the incentive to give charitable contributions, so non-profit organizations will collapse.

In addition has he figured up what kind of cost 23% is?

I went to the grocery store last night for some odds and ends. I spent $33. So I paid about $1.50 in sales tax (5% in my county). With his plan I'd pay $7.50.

He claims he isn't raising taxes with this plan? I don't know about you but I don't pay that much in taxes to make up for this additional cost. Even if the numbers are close, let's talk real money.

I don't feel the money that comes out of my check each payday. I've never recieved that portion, so I've never missed it. I WILL miss $7.50 on a quick trip to the grocery store. Or the extra $80 for the washing machine we bought this weekend.

Oh and this is in addition to the state sales tax. So people in some states would be looking at a sales tax of over 30%.

Can he really think this will work?

I've got a bad feeling about this....

2004-09-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

Finally after years of waiting the Star Wars DVD set comes out!

I preordered my from Amazon.com months ago and I'm anxious to watch the movies with DVD quality picture and great sound.

But I've got a bad feeling about the editing that has gone on in the movies.

I was hoping that like some other DVD release, ET for example, that Lucas would release the re-touched movies along with the orginal theatrical releases. But we are left now with only the newly Lucasized movies.

For me Star Wars was the standard of Sci-Fi movies. Not because it had the best special effects, but because of the impact it had then and now. Star Wars set the bar for other movies to come. LOTR's, Matrix, Spiderman all would not be around without the first 3 Star Wars movies.

Editing them now is like going back and having an editor rework the New Testement. The legacy of Star Wars was that the movies changed how Sci-Fi movies were made. Now we'll never be able to watch exactly why.

And now that this wait is over, when is Seinfeld coming to DVD??

My Thoughts

2004-09-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well this is the start of my Blog--welcome!

Hope you enjoy it.

I'm interested to get started with this. Blogging has certainly been in the news alot lately. So I figured I might as well see what all the buzz is about.