Inception, what a trippy movie.

It has been a very long time since I have done a blog about a movie but I liked this one so much I thought I would do one.  Inception is a pretty original idea, mostly.  Taking control of a shared dream to steal corporate ideas or in this case to plant an idea. 

It is almost like a bunch of movies cut up into one.  City of Lost Children, The Matrix, Dark City with a little Mission Impossible thrown in for good measure.  Let me just say I am not a huge Leonardo DeCaprio fan, strike that, I do not like him at all, but he did an alright job in this film.  The special effects did carry the movie and most every question was answered which is pretty good.

I didn't figure out the ending until about 30 minutes in, which for me is a good thing because I can usually tell how something ends 5 minutes into the film.  there are some twists and turns along the way that might have made me doubt what I thought the end to be but I was pretty much dead on. 

Am I ever going to get to the plot or anything here?  Okay, fine.  It is about controlling dreams, creating the places and keeping the dreams from falling apart too soon.  It would seem that the more control you put in the dream the faster it falls apart.  Follow me?  Well let me add that this is about controlling nested drams.  Dreams within dreams.

The further the dream is nested the longer the time seems in the dreams, which I thought was kind of groovy.  Whereas your main dram was like an hour to every 5 minutes of dream, deeper nested dreams could last what seems like decades.  This would have been nice if it was real when I went to school.  I could have learned everything I needed to know in one night and tested out of everything.  Oh well, I guess that is why they call it fiction.

It was a good movie overall but be sure to pay close attention or you may find yourself lost pretty fast and you may stay lost.  Have I lost you with my review?  Sorry about that.  Watch it for yourself and see what you think.

Holy movie selections bat-person!

I am not sure how I made it as long as I did without an iPhone but I did.  I am not sure how I made it as long as I did without Netflix but I did.  I am not sure how I made it so long without the Netflix iPhone App but I did.  Now I am not sure if I could live without it!  Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration but really, I love it!

It sometimes amazes me how far technology has come in a matter of 10 years.  In 2000 the average hard drive size in a laptop was 10 gig.  My iPhone has 32 gig and eeighs about 8 pounds less and does 100 times as many things including play down-streamed movies.  My first laptop could not play anything more than an animated gif and that sometimes froze up the computer.

Recently we got Netflix for the house.  We signed up for the free trial- it is only like $10 a month after the trial.  It is really cool to have a DVD shipped to you and not have to worry with going to the video store and paying $3 a pop for DVD rentals.  After you get 4 DVDs in the mail you've paid for the monthly fee just in DVD rentals.  But wait, there's more, much more.

You can watch movies on your laptop.  You can watch movies through your PS3 or Wii.  You can watch movies through devices that stream to your TV or you can watch movies on your iPhone.  Seriously, the amount of options for watching movies is staggering.  Especially when you think of how much you are paying for what you are getting.  We are going to cancel our premium movie channels on our Direct TV and save $44 a month.

I imagine Netflix isn't for everyone.  The movie selection isn't great when it comes to downloads and sometimes it is a month or two before new releases are added to the DVD selection but you are never without something to watch.  They have tons of genres and sub-genres that make it easy to find something entertaining.  I know I can find something to watch for 1/4 what I pay to the movie channels on TV.

I am a sucker for Christmas, I always have been.  I have always been more the giving type.  I don't really even like getting Christmas gifts anymore.  I am always just happy seeing the look on my daughter's, nieces' and nephews' faces.  To me, that is Christmas.

I come from a very non-traditional family, but it seems like we always had Christmas traditions.  We always have had Christmas eve just for the family and Christmas day was for friends and such.  It is really great to be able to have friends that have no family or family that is too far to visit come spend Christmas day enjoying food and fun.  I look forward to that every year.

What do you do for Christmas?

Volunteer Police Department Mascot.

I have a plan for dear Penelope.  She is going to be the only car in the "All City Volunteer Police Department."  You see, Nash was a provider of police cars in the late 40's and early 50's and Penelope just happens to fall into that category.  She wasn't a police car but she has the style of one.

I have owned many cars that were used as police cars including a 1979 LTD, a 1978 Dodge Aspen, my 1966 Ford Fairlane and now Penelope.  I am not sure why I have owned so many cars that were used for police departments but it does not really matter, Penelope is going to be the first one I dress up like a police car.

The above image shows what she might look like.  Just remember though, nothing will be shiny on my car, no sir!  It is flat black and flat white and gray for Penelope.  I just love the look of flat colors and rust.  It must be a Rockabilly thing. This is just the way of things for me.  So, now I am on the look out for vintage police car accessories.  Know anyone that might have some?

What the Hell is Twitter's #FF all about?

What the Hell is Twitter's #FF all about?

If you just started a Twitter account you may have noticed all the #FF last Friday. You may be wondering what this is all about. I wrote a little bit about Hash Tags in general last week and this is just a specific type of Hash Tag that has gained popularity Twitter-wide over the last couple of years. 

In an effort for friends to recomend other friends a hashtag was started to help organize the posts into a usable searchable database.  It is a great way to make new friends and get more followers. It is like a word of mouth endorsement from a friend. 

#FF used to be  #FollowFriday but fitting in more than a couple of friends in the 140 character limit caused it to be shortened.   Use #FF anywhere in your message and all the @tweeple listed will go into the database. For fun you can type #FF into the Search Twitter page and see just how many people are using it!

This is a simple way that Twitter users have made it easier to share their friends with their other friends.  Get creative with it if you want.  It can be a lot of fun.

Dimond Mining in Arkansas Fun For The Whole Family

Diamonds found in the United States

Where do diamonds come from?  From a jewelry store is probably the answer most people would say.  Diamonds come from deep within the earth.  I won't give you a lesson on how they get to the surface or anything, you can look that up later.  What I will say is that there is one place in the United States that you can actually go and mine diamonds for yourself!  That is right, there is a diamond mine that is open to the public.

When you think of diamonds you think probably think of engagement rings or anniversary jewelry.  You probably did not realize that diamonds can be quite beautiful in the rough.  The image on this page is of uncut rough diamonds.  Not a thing has been done to them at all.

Back to diamonds in the United States.  Diamonds have been found in many states but they were more than likely moved by glaciers or rivers.  There are only two known diamond bearing areas in the US.  One is a privately owned mine on the Colorado/Wyoming Border.  The other is in Arkansas.  It is located near Hot Springs at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

That is right, it is not only open to the public it is owned by the state of Arkansas as a state park!  For just a under $10 a day you can mine for genuine diamonds.  There is also camping on site and plenty of camp grounds in the area.  Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond mine open to the public in the world.

Some people may think this is a hoax and that they salt the field with diamonds, but let me just clear this up for you, they do not.  I personally have found eight diamonds from the park.  The diamonds can be found on the surface but for a serious effort a little digging may be necessary.  Check out the park and plan your next family vacation.

Want to learn more?  Visit http://diamondsinar.com/ where my friend has literally written the book on Diamonds in Arkansas.  He also has created a really great DVD with the history of Diamonds in Arkansas as well as a handy "How to" guide for finding diamonds at the State Park.

Sometimes Naughty IS Nice, Just Ask Santa!

Click on the image to go to the shop

Sometimes it pays off to be naughty.  The naughty list isn't always about being bad.  This card design shows that.  Click on the image to go to the shop and see what else is in there.  Yes, I will probably add a few more cards.  I really dig creating them.

This is how you get people to donate to the poor!

Click the image to visit the shop.

By now you have probably figured out that I have a thing for old retro Pin Up anything!  I love all the old Pin Up models and everything that they did.  I used this old design to create yet another Christmas Card.  One of these days someone might actually buy one of my cards.

Have A Happy Christmas Retro Pin Up Greeting Card

Click the image to visit the shop

I was not around in the 50's but I sure do appreciate the time period.  Maybe I appreciate it a little more than most people.  I would give up computers and cable TV to go back and live in the 50's.  Maybe I would feel differently had I lived back then but I doubt it.  The Greeting Card above was inspired by a time gone by.  Click on the image if you would like to buy one or 10 or 20.

I used to own a company called Rockabilly Tees.  I guess that I still own the business but I used to have the screen printing company that went with it.  The economy caused me to not make it worth while to continue screen printing.  I have moved most all of my designs over to CafePress.  Perhaps one day, when the economy is better I will get back into screen printing.

1951 Nash Ambassador Custom Lead Sled?

Penelope - 1951 Nash Ambassador Custom

Yes, here we are again talking about Penelope, a 1951 Nash Ambassador Custom that I saved from the crusher.  I love this car, strike that, I Lurve this car.  While most rat rod enthusiasts enjoy the 30's and 40's there has to be something said for the 50's.  Big fins, nice curves and well, a whole lot of car!  Penelope is over 17 1/2 feet long!

This beauty came with an inline 6 cylinder, 235 c.i.d., engine, which is great if you live in the flatlands.  I, however, live in the Ozark Mountains.  (Before you start, yes, the Ozark Mountains are more like foothills but they are far from being flat.) So, my plans are to put in a Ford 289 or 302 or maybe even a 390.  I will more than likely go with a C6 Transmission and a heavy duty Ford rear end.  Why Ford? Because I like Ford, nuff said.

Penelope does not need to be chopped, her lines are quite perfect as it is, but her stance will end up being much lower than it was originally.  I will have to put in new floor boards, and by new I mean welded in old street signs.  I am going to have to rewire the entire car, too.  I may end up adding a few modern things like power steering and an A/C if I can find something that would fit right.   It is going to take a while but the journey is a big part of the adventure.

Twitter's Hash Tags Explained

Ahh, Twitter, how I love you so!  You bring me joy every day, but especially on #FF or #FollowFriday  Hash Tags make things so easy!

It is now time to familiarize yourself with hashtag commands, so that you only broadcast a message out to the people you want to receive it, those being the members of your hashtag group. Here’s a quick rundown of the more useful ones:

1. Follow #tag - (example: follow #tip) - lets you follow all updates tagged with #tip. 

2. Follow username#tag - subscribe to all updates from a certain person that are sent to a group. (Example: Follow @EricTheBastard#tip will give you every post by @EricTheBastard sent to the #tip group)

3. #tag message - Send a message or question to the group. (Example: #tip Don't set up an automated message with a web address in it.)

4. #tag !message - Send a message only to people who are subscribed to updates from #tag. (Example: #tip !How many tips have you retweeted me  today?) 

5. Leave #tag - Unsubscribe from the group. If your friends are subscribed to this group as well, you’ll still get messages from them that include updates for the group. (Example: leave #tip will unsubscribe you from the Tips group, but you’ll still get messages from your friend whenever send a message to #tip).

6. Remove #tag Unsubscribe from the group and from friend messages that include this tag.

Visit hashtag.org for more information

New Christmas Ornament!

Click On The Image To Go To The Shop

This fun Retro Ornament is sure to make the Christmas tree better this year!  There are other items in the shop with this Rockabilly design.  Have a look and let me know what you think about them.  Remember your hard earned dollars make my Christmas a good one!

Ornament of the Day!

Click On The Picture To See The Shop

This is a Rockabilly Christmas Ornament that I designed.  There are several other cool products in the shop with this Skull & Crossbones with a Santa hat.  Click on the image and take a look at all the stuff.  Comments?