Long Weekend Plans

I haven't had a good three-day weekend in forever, so I'm looking forward to some time off. Of course, it seems like every minute of the weekend is booked solid, so it'll be no rest for the weary, but that's cool. Here's the schedule for the weekend, starting when I get off today at noon (or earlier, since none of my bosses are here).

FRIDAY
3:30 Taking Abby to her first movie ever: Madagascar
6:00 dropping the kids off at the pool (er, I mean, my parents house)
6:02 Hauling butt up to Biola to try and get to the school of ed/rosemead graduations before the read off Cyndi and Chris' names.
8:00ish Dinner with Cyndi's fam-damily. Haven't been to Bobby McGee's in a while, can't wait!
10:00ish Pick up the kids and head home

SATURDAY -
All-Day: Shop and get ready for Couples Bunco/Poker party
Time Permitting: Work on putting Eliptical machine together. I bought it for Melissa for Christmas. I finally got it out of the box on Monday night.
7:00 Couples Bunco/Poker Party.

SUNDAY
10:15 Church
Afternoon: Rest, Relax, Work on Eliptical machine and other honey-dos
5:30 Church - The Gathering at Woodbridge Community Church. I haven't been to WCC, other than for Mark's wedding, since 2002. I've only been a few times since my sophomore year in college. I was there from age 0-18 at least twice a week. It was my second home growing up. I'm looking forward to going!

MONDAY -
No official plans yet, but weather permitting (read: Not too hot) we might go to the Beach or Sea World or some other big fun event.

Bo Bice: American Idol?

After a very weak performance night on part one of the American Idol season finale, I think Bo's chances of winning have slimmed down. Neither performer really stole the show last night, thanks largely to two CRAP songs that were written for the finale. Carrie was better able to put a country flair on them, than Bo was able to put a southern-rock flair on them. Bo hit a grand slam with his third song "Vehicle" and Carrie was lackluster in her take on Independence Day, a song I love and a song she nailed the first night.

The clincher, I fear, is the simple fact that Simon told her she "did enough to win it" last night, and the legions of red-state voters will lean her way. Bo will get the blue state vote for the most part, but I fear Carrie will win and it won't be as close as everyone assumes.

Don't get me wrong, I love Carrie and I think she is the perfect mold for an American Idol, and will be a HUGE country music star. I just LOVE Bo and want to see the southern rocker win this show, just to see to see it turn the audition process on it's ear for the next season.

They said last night that the vote was a 2% difference between them last night, meaning 51%-49% of those not voting for Vonzel. I figure Bo had the lead a week ago, but Vonzel's votes will mostly stay with the fairer gender and last night will swing some other votes her way. I figure it will be a larger margin in favor of Carrie, say near 55/45.

Interestingly, this will be the first time I am rooting for the loser. I wanted Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia to win, and they did.

Movie Season is Upon Us

It used to be that Memorial Weekend kicked-off the summer movie season, but this year we get an extra jump on things tonight at midnight. So here is my list of the top-15 most anticipated movies for 2005 (after Ep. III tonight).

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (7/15)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11/18)
3. Fun with Dick and Jane (12/21)
4. Winter Passing (TBA)
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (12/9)
6. The Longest Yard (5/27)
7. War of the Worlds (6/29)
8. Jarhead (11/4)
9. King Kong (12/14)
10. Batman Begins (6/15)
11. The Corpse Bride (9/23) - Why is this movie being dumped in September, instead of right before Halloween?
12. Walk the Line (10/18)
13. Wallace and Gromit (10/7)
14. Madagascar (5/27)
15. The Fantastic Four (7/8)

The End

On Wednesday night, Melissa and I will be heading to the Corona Crossings Regal to see Revenge of the Sith, keeping my streak alive of midnight showings. Back in the Biola days, we camped with all the table-nine Star Wars nerds for the rereleases and for Episode I in the middle of Finals week. Episode II was a last-minute decision and we ended up seeing it at the Ghetto Main Place 5. Now, we have one last chance to pretend we're young and irresponsible on Wednesday. Might be the last midnight showing I ever do. I've only done it one other time, for Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow.

Hutchins Drool!

So every season, The Hutchins, Fords and Askew's do a Survivor Pool. With five players left in the game, the last Hutchins hope was eliminated which leaves:

Moe: 2
Mark: 2
Nick: 1

Interestingly, the Askew's have the three women and T-Boy has the two dudes.

Go Katie (my last hope, above), Caryn or Jen!