"Surrogates" the Movie

"Surrogates" is the new movie starring Bruce
Willis. It started today (Friday 9-25-09) and
my wife and I went to see it.
It is hard for me to dislike a Bruce Willis
movie and this one followed a similar path
for Bruce. He sheds the usual amount of
blood before prevailing in the end. This
futuristic setting has humans staying inside
and sending their surrogates out in the world
to do their business (and pleasures). Over
90 per cent of the world has surrogates but
there are pockets of humans that do not allow
surrogate robots in their neighborhoods. There
is a weapon that kills the robots and the operator
at the same time. Bruce is our boy trying to track
down the weapon...and the bad guys behind it.

Bruce's wife in the movie is played by Rosamund
Pike... one of my top five most beautiful women
in the world. She alone made the price of
admission worthwhile. Her character is the
survivor of an auto crash, while her surrogate is
the drop-dead beauty she is in real life.

The movie is rated PG13 and takes a little bit of
concentration to remember who is who...but it
is a good movie..

Junkers Ju 188 German Bomber

I have another model to show you...It is a
World War II Ju 188 Bomber... While not as
famous as the Stuka dive bomber, this one was
a high level bomber.
The Junkers Ju 188 was a twin-engine aircraft
used by the Luftwaffe as a bomber and as a
reconnaissance plane. The Ju 188 evolved from
the Ju 88. In the summer of 1943, the first Ju 188's were
delivered and entered service on bombing missions
against England. With a crew of four, the Ju 188 could
carry 4400 pounds of bombs, and had an effective
range of almost 1300 miles. Armament included one
20mm machine gun, a 151 mm cannon mounted in
the front canopy, two 13mm machine guns mounted
underneath, and two 7.9mm machine guns in the
vertical positions. Production of the bomber version
was stopped in early 1944 and only reconnaissance
versions were built until the end of the war.

The Sargeant

I have mentioned our two inside dogs a couple
of times on this blog... Today I will introduce you
to my big dog, who rules the outside and guards
our backyard..
We found 'Sarge' in a newspaper ad and fell
in love with him at first sight. He is a Yellow
Labrador, but that is not his color. He is more of
a champagne colored dog. Our youngest daughter
had just moved back to Texas from Virginia with
her one year old daughter, Lilly. Sarge and Lilly
have grown up together. From the backyard he
can recognize Lilly's voice inside the house and he
will whine and whimper until she comes outside to
tell him hello.
I have always been a terrier fan, so Sarge is my
first relationship with a bigger dog. He actually
scared me with the rapid growth of his puppyhood.
We got him when he was 8 weeks old and he weighed
about 9 pounds. The Sarge is now 5 years old and
tops the scale at 140 pounds. He reminds everyone
of a lion when he walks as his flanks shiver as he moves.
He may scare strangers and would-be intruders, but
he is actually very tame. I have no fear of allowing the
grandkids to go in the backyard as long as Sarge is
on-duty. When Lilly was small he would always position
his body to be between her and everyone else...obviously
in a protection stance.
Sarge shares the backyard with 'Emma",.. a boxer we
saved at a rescue mission. When they told us she would
be destroyed the next day, we had to come home with
her. She is 8 years old and is sweet as they come. Even
when snow does come to Texas, the two outside dogs
stay outside. We have a large doghouse for them, but
they prefer to sleep in the middle of the yard. Go figure!

1962 Corvette

I went to a motorcycle show yesterday, BUT
spotted this 1962 Chevrolet Corvette in the
garage being detailed. The Vette has only
36,000 miles on it. It brought back a lot of
memories for me.
I had a 1961 Corvette that my Dad bought
for me as incentive to go to college. The '61
was solid black and outwardly looked a lot
like this '62. Appearances were the only
similarity of these two models. The '61 had
a 283 engine, while the '62 came with a 327
cubic inch engine. My '61 had 2 4-barrel
carburetors and put out 275 horsepower.
It was a nice car for cruising the streets, but
it was by far NOT the fastest car in my car club
at the time. In 1962 the 'smallest' engine you
could get in the Corvette had a single 4-barrel
carburetor atop the 327 engine and it put out
250 horsepower.
Those were the days when 409 Chevrolets,
427 Fords, and 426 Hemi Dodges & Plymouths
ruled the streets...and Super Shell gasoline sold
for 31 cents a gallon... As I said, "the good
ol' days."

Jager Update

In an earlier blog entry I mentioned we have
a new grandson... Jager Bates. He was born
July 14, 2009 and just two weeks later had to
have surgery to repair a stomach muscle that
would not allow formula to reach its final
destination. He came through the procedure
like the champion he is. Since then he is
steadily gaining weight and doing great.
Here is a couple of photos of Jager...With
his granny (my wife) and our youngest
daughter, who is now a new aunt.

Battleship Texas

My wife is a sucker for ships....We once went all
the way to Nashville, Tennessee just to ride on
a stern-drive paddle-wheel boat. (I have to admit
the Marguritas tasted awfully good in the mist of
the paddle-wheel boat.. These photos were taken
on a visit to the Battleship Texas, which is
permanently moored at San Jacinto State Park just
east of Houston. The 'Texas' was the pride of the
U.S. Navy when she was commissioned in 1912.
The 'Texas' was the first ship to have anti-aircraft
guns, and also the first to have directional-assisted
firing of her sixteen inch guns. The 'Texas' fought
in both World Wars for America. During the invasion
of Normandy, the Texas fired salvos over the heads
of Americans soldiers as they headed for the beaches
of France. The Texas also fought in the Pacific campaign
after Germany surrendered. The Texas was a key
player in the U.S. invasion of Okinawa.
Today the 'ol girl is in retirement in Southeast Texas
and a lot of the ship is off-limits to visitors as it has
fallen into a state of disrepair. Some of the crew compartments
can be rented out to groups to spend the night. Boy Scouts,
athletic teams, and the like are always welcome. The 'Texas'
is within sight of the San Jacinto Monument,..where Santa Anna
surrended his Mexican army to the volunteer army of Sam
Houston...and Texas had won its independence!

Local Car Show

Usually when you go to a 'Car Show' in a
smaller town you find the display models
lacking somewhat.....BUT that was not
the case recently..
Denison had a car show that really
featured some nice models. Right off the
bat let me state that 1940 and 1941 model
Chevrolets have always been one of my
favorites..
It was those early model Chevys that
dominated this particular show. The bronze
one was really nice outside and inside. The
red 1939 Ford was also one that garnered
a lot of votes from the visiting crowd.
The final vote gave the winning ribbon to a
black 1938 Chevy from Plano. This car was
immaculate inside and out....and the owner
drove it to Denison for the show. No trailer
for this beauty.