District 9 - see it

This movie was not at all what I was expecting. The trailer (below) is misleading, it even includes a scene that distills one of the major thematic elements, however it is not present in the movie to my recollection. I went in expecting a humans vs aliens typical movie a la Independence Day or the like. While content along these lines is certainly present (don't worry there are plenty of things exploding) - District 9 takes an interesting twist on things. I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone interested in seeing it, but the aliens are essentially refugees on Earth and this movie covers a time when humankind has decided that the aliens must move to a new refugee camp.

Since their time on Earth the aliens have gained some rights and this movie seems to be an abstraction of early rights movements / political struggles similar to what we see today or from recent history... except with Aliens.

In the end, I like the movie quite a lot - however I don't believe that the trailers really do justice to the major thematic elements that are at play in this movie.

Be forewarned: This movie is violently bloody and gruesome at many points.

A small victory over an ironing board

Just in case I haven't made it perfectly clear, I have a love affair with paint and a hatred for honey oak. When we bought our home, I never noticed the huge monstosity that is our ironing board built into the wall in the hallway. If it was behind closed doors in the laundry room, I would have probably let it go, but it is the first thing you see when you walk up the stairs. How did I miss it? I have absolutely no idea. Daniel still claims that he doesn't ever notice it, but it is been driving me crazy. What to do? I rummaged around in the attic (approx temp: boiling) and managed to find a gallon of paint that looked like it matched the trim and doors in our house. It was 4 years old and had been probably frozen and boiled through 4 years of winters and summers, so using it was out. I trekked over to ACE hardware (my store-of-choice for cabinet/wood paint) and had them mix up a quart. I think it is a lot less noticable now, and Daniel still claims that he doesn't notice it. At least it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb anymore.. Before/After:

ironingboard_before

ironingboard_after

No thank you...

surprise

Have you ever been to one of those stores where they flag you down JUST before leaving so that they can 'check' your receipt? Those that I'm aware of are Sam's Club, Costco, and Fry's.

I HATE this. (hate it enough for bold, caps, AND underline!)

I'm not really sure what bothers me most about this. Since when is it alright to presume that every one of your customers is attempting to steal from you? Why not just ask me as I enter the store "Do you plan to steal from us today?" People probably wouldn't like that very much. I find the same to be true of the dude standing at the exit asking for my receipt and wanting to look through my bag. If you think I stole something you best DETAIN me and stop insulting me.

The other issue that I have with this whole thing is that it is a complete waste of time.  I get to wait for the mom with 3 kids screaming and crying attempting to find the receipt she was handed 38 seconds ago but had to put away so she could... oh I don't know, CARRY THE CRAP SHE JUST BOUGHT.

Long ago I decided how to deal with this, I would simply fail to comply with their request. Here is how it goes:

Creepy guy with highlighter: "Your receipt please" Me: "No" [keeps walking]

This is extremely effective as they aren't allowed to touch you in any way or risk being charge with assault. Jordan actually worked somewhere that said if she saw someone stealing she had to be 100% positive the item was on their person otherwise, attempting to detain them would mean her job. Gotta love it.

This actually pains my wife each time it occurs. The shear social awakwardness of the situation makes her love me a little less each time. So in an attempt to placate her, I've now switched to "No thank you" as if this gentlemen armed with a highlighter was politely offering a service, I politely refuse. This is actually far funnier for me because it left the guy we walked past today TOTALLY speechless with his mouth hanging open.

Thanks for the laughs today highlighter guy, your face was priceless.