PCR past banners Now in our sixth calendar year
PCR #286  (Vol. 6, No. 37)  This edition is for the week of September 12--18, 2005.

LA FLORIDIANA
Current Events From The World of "La Floridiana"
 by William Moriaty
THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW
"Lord of War"
 by Mike Smith
COUCH POTATO CONFESSIONS
Couch Potato Fall TV Preview
 by Vinnie Blesi
ODDSERVATIONS
U2 is Once Again Amongst the Dregs....So the Box Office is Dead, Huh?
 by Andy Lalino
CREATURE'S CORNER
Hurricane Katrina....Mother Nature...."The Brothers Grimm"
 by John Lewis
MATT'S RAIL
When Real Life and the Web Collide....Masters of Horror Poll....Birthday Home Boy....Bushwhaking....Laura Bush "Disgusted" at Criticism of "W"
 by Matt Drinnenberg
MIKE'S RANT
Don't Forget To Donate....Not A Long Time Enough....Time For Sports....Andrew, Don't Read This....It's A Conspiracy....Movie Notes....A Great One Gone....Jaws: The Story, Part 33
 by Mike Smith
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Creature's Corner

Good Evening:
Well the "Boss" wasn't the only one to get sick around here. Last week I ended up in bed half the week with a terrible cold that just drained me big time. The buzzards that live in the gnarled trees around the "Castle" circled incessently but I kept flailing my arms around to show them I was not quite out for the count. After a couple days they moved back to the trees again. I'm still a little down but feeling much better now.

Hurricane Katrina
During my time of laying around I got to watch lots of news about Hurricane Katrina. What a terrible tragedy, and over such a wide area. It's no wonder it was difficult to get things under control the first couple days. We're talking wide expanses of massive destruction. I'll never forget watching the weather and the guys bragging how the storm was downgraded from a Cat 5 to a 4. That really is not the smart thing to do. They make it seem like everything's not going to be as bad and then it turned out to be worse than they thought. Hey guys, let me clue you in on something...Mother Nature can be quite vicious and really mess up your day. A good rule of thumb is to always expect the worst. That way if it's not so bad then everything will be easier to deal with.

It seemed like nobody was willing to cry wolf for fear of ridicule if things didn't turn out that bad. Well now you know (hindsight is always 20/20) cry wolf earlier and get the hell out of Dodge. And quit the sniveling about who's right and wrong. In case nobody has ever said anything to any of the Whiners out there; Thats Kindergarten crap. People need help and all the idiots do is get out their "Blame-Throwers" and start shooting each other. GROW UP!!!

Mother Nature
Anyway, back to Mother Nature (we ain't lettin' her off the hook just yet). She has been doing some pretty intersesting things around my neighborhood. I think I've mentioned before (probably too much, sorry ) about the animals that live here around the "Castle" but lately I've noticed some interesting changes in the lineup. In years past the Mediterranean Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus turcicus) had a thriving colony living around the house. Now they are all but gone at this point having been replaced by that most notorious of he-she's the Indo-Pacific Gecko (H. garnoti). These parthenogenic cuties used to hang around the porchlight singly or at the most an adult and one or two little clones that inevitably disappear. Now I can go out and see up to 3-4 animals in a very small area and still find some babies. This species is proliferating rapidly. Now I have even more competition for the bugs (sorry, all insects, not just Hemipterids) that hang out by the porch light (or is that dashboard light, I don't know) in the form of those dastardly stowaways from the Carribbean; The Cuban Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei sagrei). These little diurnal monsters are now hanging around the porchlights just after dark to get in on the feeding action. So Mother Nature continues to manipulate things all around us. Remember; "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!" ( add lightning bolt here. Remember that commercial?)

"The Brothers Grimm"
Okay, now that I've bored you to tears let me tell you about a movie I saw; "THE BROTHER'S GRIMM." It's a light-hearted look at how the brothers came up with their wild ideas which were later used to create some of the world's best loved (if not the scariest) Children's stories. Director Terry Gilliam (I saw him win a lifetime achievment award when I attended a ceremony in his honor at the Director's Guild) pulled off another great movie. Monty Python, Time Bandits, etc., etc. and now the Brother's Grimm. It reminded me a little of "Van Helsing" but it managed to keep it's own footing. The cast of this movie, which included; Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Monica Bellucci, Johnathan Price, and Lena Headey all performed admirably and made the movie fun to watch. If you get a chance go out and see this one. It's worth spending an afternoon watching. I give it a solid TWO SCREAMS on the Creature Scale.

Anyway, I've got to be going. I'll see you in seven. Have a Great Week! C-Ya!!!

The "Creature"  The Creature from Clearwater


"Creature's Corner" is ©2005 by John Lewis.  Webpage design and all graphics herein are creations of Nolan B. Canova.  All contents of Nolan's Pop Culture Review are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.