Buffman & Squeaky speak up! Movie review

Sometimes I have to remind Buffman & Squeaky that they are actually dogs, which sometimes is hard to do. Buffman has the look about him that is almost like, "well I will humor this old man one more time, but if he keeps it up I am going to bite his butt, big time!" While Squeaky is a little more forgiving and understanding she also has this, "well big boy look at me do this little twist thing around the room, and I'll run into the neighborhood anytime I want, so there!", attitude. While I would like to think I have the upper hand, I am not real sure, I did remind them that they have a triathlon named after them and if they get out of line I could change the name to Mike & Marti Triathlon in a New York minute(faster than a speeding bullet), if they don't bug off. At the end of all this discussion we embarked on some quality time, first a long hot shower for both of them, then to the grooming lady to have their nails trimmed. There is no grooming to a Boston Terrier, actually there is nothing to groom since their hair is short and they have no tail. Another characteristic of this species is their sense of urgency, they have two speeds, fast and faster. When I tell Buffman to jump in the tub for a shower, he jumps in the tub and stays there until done. While Squeaky is a little harder to get in the tub, she is very good about staying there and getting all clean. Then they are tigers when it comes to drying them off, it is growling and jumping to the utmost. When we left to go into to town to they both took their position on the passenger side and my hope was for some real quality time. While I sensed that Buffman had something on his mind, Squeaky just laid down and took a nap. Much to my surprise it all started to flow from the mouth of man's best friend and he expressed 10 of his pet peeves with humans(not necessarily Marti and I, but humans in general)and here is what came out: 1. Blaming your farts on me....not funny...not funny at all!!!(Squeaky woke up, looked around at me, sly grin on her face, and farted!!) 2. Yelling at me for barking. I'M A FRIGGIN' DOG, YOU IDIOT!(Squeaky woke up again, and barked!!) 3. Taking me for a walk/run, then not letting me check stuff out.(You know, sniff, sniff!) Exactly whose walk/run is this anyway? (Squeaky woke up again, and sniffed!) 4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose. Stop it! (Squeaky wakes up, again, and says, "I knew he was going to get you on that one!") 5. Any grooming that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.(Squeaky is wide awake and really into this now, she responds, "this Mary Kay pink ribbon stuff is not a good thing for the Buffman, I will tolerate it because I am female, but enough is enough, we love chewing on it!") 6. The slight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo Hoooooooo what a proud moment for the top of the food chain. Obviously you have issues!(Squeaky, hey dude this one really gets on my nerves, you know when you do the fake "favorite" toy toss into the bedroom, and I fake that I fell for it! You are a sucker for that fake!) 7. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back! Dude, I went in there with two big beautiful balls and came out with nothing, notta, zero!(Squeaky I gotcha on this one, I had nothing to snip but Dr. George did do something strange to me one time that keeps me from producing little Boston's!!) 8. Get upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet. Well it may seem that I have some issues on this, I don't, I just love to sniff. (Squeaky, I learned all I know on this issue from the Buffman, he is the oldest and it is all his fault!) 9. Dog sweater. Hello??? Haven't you noticed the fur? While we think it is cool that we have Buffman & Squeaky matching triathlon t-shirts, and we were the best dressed at the Cloudcroft, NM pet parade, let it rest for a while. We are a fashion plate in the Boston community, leave it be. (Squeaky, couldn't say it any better myself, that Tiger t-shirt you stuck on my in Cloudcroft took the cake!) 10. How you act disgusted when I lick myself. Look, we both know the truth. You're just jealous, because I can!(Squeaky, dum de dum dum, my favorite part of the day!!). Now smart guy, answer this question: "If you mated a Bulldog and a Shitzu, would it be called a Bullshit?" After arriving home B & S went to their respective parts of the back yard, and we were all happy! Very quality time!! Note: Many thanks to my friend Bill Bell who sent me the 10 peeves, and for B & S providing some additional insight.

Movie review: "The Pursuit of Happyness" *****, Starring Will Smith & Son, great true story, well done, great acting by Mr. Smith and his son. Movie that brings out the emotion of despair, but has the ultimate feel good at the end. This is the truly a movie worth seeing.

greerman

Mike Greer to Seoul Korea, Wildcat football over, Birthday over, Movie review

As has been said by some famous person over the years, all good things must come to an end, at some point. Such was the great football season of 2006 for the Littlefield Wildcats. The game was a very hard fought game and everything you would expect out of two finalists for the State Championship. They both deserved to be there and I feel, without going into much detail, that the best overall team won that night. With the score of 32-14 it would sound like a mini-runaway, but it really was not. The last touchdown for Tatum came in the closing seconds and the rest of game was a test of two offenses, while contrasting in personality, to see who could put more scores on the board. The defenses also seemed to come out of their shell and exhibited some fine plays. Tatum had won the state championship the previous year, so they came into the game with championship poise and confidence. While the Littlefield tradition centers around winning and being in the playoffs, starting in 1936, they had not be in a state finals playoff game since 1982. While they had made other advances in the playoffs this was their first "big" one in 24 years. With nearly 10,000 in attendance it was great high school football. Now back to the drawing boards for 2007.

The December 16th birthday gig is also over, and thank goodness. If I have to answer the question, "how does it feel to be 68," one more time I think I will blow my lid. The answer is of course, I don't feel any different than a week ago, but I do feel different than when I was 18, 28, 38, 48, and even 58. So, there you have it folks, then on to magical 69 and then to 70. Just can't wait for the questions on that one.

Got news Sunday that son Mike Greer(please, not a junior) will take his new United States Diplomatic post in Seoul, Korea. His is currently in Frankfurt, Germany. After some extensive language training he will move his family(wife, 3 kids) and take his new post in 2008. This guy is also a Major in the US Army active reserves and has served a tour in Iraq and Bosnia. We discussed how many dips he will get on retirements and it is nearly as many as former President(the elder)George H.W. Bush. One thing I know is that the USA is in good hands with this diplomat, and the good news is that he didn't learn his diplomacy from me. He is the real deal!! We are very proud of him.

Movie review: Eragon" ***, if you like stories about flying dragons and people who ride them, you will enjoy this film. Well done with some good actors, good story and if you like this kind of movie you will probably rate it a little higher. Nothing offensive, kids might like it better than adults, even though it is an adult movie, I think.

Greerman

Birthday time, Movie Reviews, Wildcat football, No Bush stuff!

Tomorrow is a big day in the lives of some. For those born on December 16th it is their birthday. While the celebration for this day is simply called "birthday" I am thinking it should be called something else, like maybe "a celebration of life" or if you are deceased others could remember your "celebration of life" and have a big party to celebrate, or we could add another national holiday to the already 38 total and celebrate every day of the year. So much for that and on to some real serious stuff. Some famous people born on December 16th include, but are not limited to the following: Ludwig van Beethoven, music composer, Margaret Mead, famous anthropologist, Steve Locke, famous, long time Executive Director of USA Triathlon, well known for his many finishes at Ironman, Kona and for leaving the Federation with a $2 million rainy day fund(it must be raining a lot in Colorado Springs since they are spending it all, editors comment), Judy Hunter, my long time friend and loyal employee of Texas Tech University( you know where the Knight guy hangs out nowadays), and last but not least Mike Greer, jack of all trades and master of none, born in a humble surrounding in Chanute, Kansas, then after 3 months of boredom in that setting, was moved to West Texas to gain his wit, intelligence and ability to piss people off in a New York minute. The good thing about December 16th is that it is not too close to Christmas, so you still get gifts on both days. I had a cousin that was born on December 25th, what a bummer! The bad thing I have noticed about the birthday this year is that I am older than I have ever been, and it seems to be getting worse. Yesterday some ask what it feels like to be 68 and I quickly remarked, beg your pardon I am not 68 yet but will be in a few days. I will tell you then how it feels. Then I got to thinking about that question and it prompted some thoughts. Look around your surroundings right now as you read this and see how many things, no matter what they are, i.e. computer, phone, books, etc., around you are 68 years old. My research tells me there will be very few things that old around you and if they are they have probly been worked on and repaired in some way. For example, if your automobile happens to be 68 years old it would have required some major repairs over the years. Your home, if 68 years old, would have to be in that same category. My point here is that if we can get to this great age without major repairs we are either just lucky, or have taken care of ourselves over the years or maybe a combination of both. My dad had major repairs by the time he was 65 and then lived until 79, but if he had taken better care of himself he would still be alive today. He treated himself like his automobile, if the engine went bad he just took it to a mechanic and replaced the engine. So, if he ate bad, didn't exercise and had heart trouble he just went to the cardiologist and had by-pass surgery. My goal has always been to prevent this type of thing, so diet, and exercise has always helped me overcome the sometime ventures into partaking of adult beverages and dancing until the wee hours. Again, trying to do this in moderation and still have a little fun without wrecking my good health. Since I have always been blessed, it always prompts me to just have the attitude that when my EKG or PSA test is normal I think, "so? That is what I expect it to say!" While this may be somewhat arrogant, I just feel that way. Now if and when the reports are ever different I would just dig deep inside and face whatever music is being played. Tough talk for someone who has never had to face that kind of stuff. I had a friend recently who was diagnosed with a serious cancer, but he acted like it was nothing, did the therapy and is now cancer free. He set a good example I would follow. My philosophy of life has always been, if I have good health I have wealth, and I am sticking to it!! Happy birthday to all you 12.16 people, let's have some fun!

Movie reviews: "Borat" **, This guy Sacha Baron Cohen(the star of the movie) has figured out a way to present trash on the screen and make money out of it), this movie has some real humor, some sick humor, some gross scenes(one of the most gross scenes I have ever seen in a movie), some kind of story, some kind of satire, but generally not totally awful, but on the other hand I would say, go at your own risk. It got two stars simply because they had the guts to film it. "Blood Diamond," *****, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounson, a very well done "cause" movie, a true story about the exploitation of the African black population relative to the mining of diamonds and the black market for selling them. The cause is to expose the black marketing that is going on, but also to point out how the young black boys are taken hostage and made to fight for the rebels of the country. Kind of like a Boy Scout troop, against their will and taught to fire automatic weapons and kill people on the spot. I would point out that these rebels are also black, so it is black people taking black kids hostage and making them fight for them. They are taken from their families and now total over 200,000. What the hell we can do about it, I don't know, since the Bushman has all of our military and dollars tied up in Iraq with the thought(okay I am giving him a compliment here)of making them Christians, with a democratic government. We just don't have the time to straighten the world out, they are going to have to take responsibility here and do something for themselves, enough said!! "Impressionist", *****, No longer in the movie houses, that I know of, but in the hotel movie choices. We watched this while staying in a LaQuinta, in Abilene, Texas last weekend. With Ed Norton starring, this is a great movie, well done, and it has a great ending. Find out how to watch it, it is great. "The Horse Whisperer,"*****, very seldom do I have three, five stars in a row, but even though this movie is a few years old, I have seen it about 3 times. It seems to get even greater each time I watch it. Robert Redford is great and the story is even greater. Probably on Directv Channels or on DVD. Next on my movie agenda: "Apocalypto" and "The Holiday." See you at the movies!!

For the past 4 weeks I have been consumed with my old high school football team. It is West Texas football at its' best. The Wildcats are in the State Championship playoff game and will play for the Championship on Saturday, December 16th(bong!! is this going to be a birthday to remember or not??) This is a very good team, and the Littlefield Wildcats have been going into the playoffs since 1936, while winning State along the way, and other various Championships. During my tenure we won the quarter final and regional championships. While we didn't go all the way, we were a very good team and have helped build the winning legacy of this small town(6500 population). I will report back after the game this weekend.

President Bush simply amazes me, now he is going to established another committee on the war in Iraq and supposingly will even listen to them. In the meantime our troops are getting killed daily for no reason. Marti has a nephew going back for the second time and my son will probably return for a second term(we of course are hoping that this does not happen). This madness has got to stop!!

greerman

Standing in line, part II, Bush/Willie Wonka, Movie review

December 4, 2006 was a big day for me! It offered me the opportunity to make some racial demographic observations, and also take care of my most recent speeding ticket, before a warrant was to be issued for my arrest. While I was very guilty of speeding(I was in a hurry to get to some meaningless place, the grocery store) I elected to take care of my problem by enrolling in a defensive driving school. The last time I did this was when my daughter was going to Texas Tech and we both got a ticket at the same time and both became honor graduates of the defensive driving school. A nice father and daughter night out, with lots of bonding. What this does for you is allow you to pay double for the fine, pay for the defensive driving class, and then have it off your record. One good thing happened on this in that a good friend of mine owns one of these schools, so I helped a friend's business and he made sure I passed. This little maneuver gained me an additional 60 days on taking care of the defensive driving and presenting the results to the Municipal Court. WOW, did you just get that, THE MUNICIPAL COURT. Well, this was not my first visit to this kangaroo setup, but I hope it is my last. When I entered the door I noticed a line, not just a line, but a long line. As I took my place at the end of the line I counted the people ahead of me and there were 32 sad souls ahead. I also noticed that no one had a smile on their face, no one seemed happy they were there and now I know how it must feel to enter the first day of prison or at least county jail. It was quite, reverent, and somewhat depressing. But, since I was there and couldn't come back the next day(remember the warrant I mentioned above)I had to take care of my business. I then decided that I would take a demographic survey and see how it compared against the actual race demographics of Lubbock. Here goes: 47% were white, Caucasian(or whatever we are called nowadays), 38% were Hispanic, 13% were black, and .03% were oriental. The interesting thing about this is that these numbers are nearly right on to the actual numbers I have seen on the percentage breakdown for racial demographics in Lubbock. Since this only took me about 15 minutes to take this survey I then explored the idea that the city police must have some kind of quota on issuing tickets, or was this just a coincidence? Let's assume they do have a quota and they leave the building every day knowing that they must catch so many of each demographic, to really do their job. Well on my payment day to the ole Municipal Court they certainly hit it on the head. My next project while in line was to make note of the many signs on the wall and how significant they must be or how they illustrate what kind of place I am hanging out in, with no choice unless to never speed again. I noticed that all of the signs on the wall were first of all, no no signs, with no yes, yes signs. Everything was directed to what you couldn't do while in the court area, i.e. "No profanity or abusive language will be allowed in the Court area, you will be removed if you violate this," "No Cell Phones allowed, they should be turned off immediately upon arriving in the Court," "All minor alcohol violators will report directly to the judge, down the hall," "Be Patient-Expect delays in processing your ticket, since we have a new computer system and we are still learning," "Don't place food, drink or children on the counter,"(funny thing is the counter was only 4" wide, how could you put a kid on this size counter?) One other fine point I noticed was that they had 5 service windows(with steel bars) and only two people manning them. Then one went on a 15 minute break, as the line waited patiently while they ate their donuts, cookies, crackers and root beer. At this point I have been in line for 57 minutes, not saying a word, when the young lady in front of me said something like, "how fast were you going?" What a strange way to break the ice after I had been standing behind her for nearly an hour? But, I bit on the question and said, 42 in a 35, what about you? Turns out she had been real bad, she had a 68 in a 55 AND a 55 in a 45, yes folks, two tickets. She claimed that they were the first tickets she had ever had in her life(she was probably 20) and she got them within a week of each other. Then I told her my sad story that when I was 14 and had just got my license I got a ticket, I didn't mention the fact that that would have been 53 years ago. So, after the two sad stories we were getting close to our curtain call to one of the two windows. I mentioned to her that when you talk while standing in line the time goes by faster and here we are waiting until we are nearly called to get chummy. She then got the tag, and then shortly after I received the "next" call for me to face the music. My final time in line was 1 hour and 7 minutes. I then hit my stop watch to see how long it took me to take care of business and get the hell out of there. While I figured about 1 minute to clear it, the lady found a problem in my paper work and had to go to her supervisor to get a reading on my stuff. She returned, everything was okay and I was out of there in 4 minutes and 59 seconds. The bottom line on all this trivia is why not take advantage of that time that seems to be lost and create some useless piece of work to jabber about on my blog site. Also, it would lead me to explore further the racial demographic approach of our police force.

An interesting article was in the Lubbock AJ today about our President George W. Bush, you know that one who is going to make JB look so good. Well it seems that Dubja invited some kids to the White House for some Christmas stuff. As part of the program for the kids they did a showing of "Willie Wonka." In the photos the president looked confused, until one of the 6 year old guests explained to him what was going on. Oh well, he loses Rummy one week, then the new Secretary of Defense, William Gates says,"what we are doing in Iraq is not working!" I guess that gives him room to be confused.

Move review:"Tenacious D In: Pick of Destiny," This movie is so bad I do not even give it one star. Black is terrible and his side kick is worse, the story is stupid, the acting is stupid, the whole thing truly sucks!! I only stayed through the whole thing because I had gone to "Sideways," last year and nearly left in the first 20 minutes, and it turned out very good. So, I thought this might do the same thing. No way. PLEASE DO NOT GO SEE THIS TRASH!!! Even the good popcorn tasted bad!! This is so bad I was surprised that the screen didn't melt.

Off to see my old high school play a very important football game this weekend. If they win they advance to the State Finals. A BIG DEAL IN WEST TEXAS!!!

greerman

Couldn't resist this one, Bush at work!

As we all know President Bush is on a globe trotting venture, "en route to crucial talks," as the newspaper describes it. WOW!, crucial talks, this should be very amazing and amusing. During the article I picked up some more Bushisms that will go into the archives of this "go figure" presidency. For example, the article says, "when Bush meets with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Amman, Jordan, the president will want to hear the Iraqi leader's suggestions for curbing the bloodshed and for what the United States can do to help, White House officials said." Greerman comments-can you really believe this? The war has been going on longer than WWII, we have spent over $300 billion, we have close to 3000 dead American soldiers, we have thousands wounded, the Iraqi's are killing each other on a daily basis due to religious differences and our President is asking for "suggestions." I think we need more than suggestions, I think we need to say, "hey bubs" get your act together, take care of your country, and we pack our bags and get the hell out of Dodge. Of course the President is putting the typical political spin on it that we have had to endure for the past 4 years of the so-called war. Bush further commented, and you have to love this, while "warning" Iran and Syria not to "meddle" in Iraq. But then he said that, if Iraq wants to reach out and talk to Syria and Iran, "the Iraqi government is a sovereign government capable of handling its own foreign policies and is in the process of doing so." Greermen-what a bunch of bulls...t! He warns other country's about meddling, he should know as the Chief Meddler of the free world. This statement also epitomizes what he doesn't know about the wonderful, fun filled country, when he says, "the Iraqi government is a sovereign government capable of handling its own foreign policies and is in the process of doing so." What a joke, all they know how to do is build home made bombs and blow each other up in the name of Allah! In the same article Bush says, "There's one thing I'm not going to do: I'm not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete." Greerman-Mr. President let me refresh your memory of a few years ago when you made the infamous statement while standing on a US Navy warship with a big sign and s..t eating smirk grin, that said, "Mission Accomplished" while referring to the war in Iraq. Again foot in mouth disease is a bad thing!!

Sorry readers for getting so damn serious on Friday, but I have had it with this guy. Last night I read about William Henry Harrison and his short tenure as President of the USA. While it only lasted a few months, he would have been a very good president, but never had a chance. He has the distinction of giving the longest inaugural address when he was sworn in, 1 hour and 40 minutes, in cold weather, no coat or hat, caught a cold and died a few months later. I guess the Bushman learned a lesson, since he wore a top coat at his inaugural. I just wish Bush would read the same books I read about the Presidents of the past. I know he could pick up some pointers that might help him, otherwise he has got to re-invent the wheel and it is turning out to be square. Duh, even the cavemen realized "round" was the way to go.

Movie review: "Deja Vu"-*****, Denzel Washington at his best, great story, original presentation, enjoyable, surprise ending, intriguing, not predictable, great supporting cast. Must see!

Off to do a legal mediation,

greerman