Author: Nick Brobeck

What a Weekend!

Posted on by

Our four-day weekend was very eventful, to say the least.

Friday night, we went to the Plaza Theatre near Midtown to see a performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, called “Lips Down on Dixie”, that is unlike any you can experience in a lifetime.  The show is welcoming to LGBT people especially to give them a place to go and have a good time without the pressures of a club or bar.  Not only is the traditional heckling of the film going on during the film, but a variety of just wonderful people are up on stage in front of the screen performing the film as well in front of you.  There were also fun things before the movie to really get the crowd loose and turned on.  The hosts (named Nik [ironic, huh?] and Candace) had great chemistry.  It certainly is quite raucous and fun.  We had a great time and want to go be in that audience again.  If you’re ever in Atlanta and need something to do on a Friday night, go see this show, you’ll have a blast!

The highlight of Saturday was seeing my first soccer match in person.  This was an event I will cherish for a long time.  I said to myself, “I want to be a fan again!” after seeing Atlanta United FC in person.  I am rooting for them all the way.  Rain delayed the match a few minutes, but it didn’t hurt things.  I had such an awesome time.  I need more team colors before I go the next time. 🙂  They also beat Columbus Crew SC 3-1, in spectacular fashion.

Sunday, which was Father’s Day, we went to SunTrust Park, the new home of the Braves, to watch them take on the Miami Marlins.  The previous night, a friend of mine was there to watch them win in 10 innings on a walk-off hit.  They did it again on Sunday as well!  The experience was really mesmerizing.  I miss the Ted, but I think I will grow to like this place.

Let’s rewind a bit.  Thursday night as we were coming home from work to start packing, we noticed a very bad grinding noise coming from the car.  I determined very quickly that we were not going to drive the car all the way there and back.  I quickly got a reservation to rent a car from Enterprise the next morning and we drove that there and back.  It turned out to be the smartest move I could have made.

Monday, we took the car to the Hyundai dealership to have them look at it.  Turns out there was a lot going on in the front end and it was going to be well over $2,000 to repair it.  Given that the car is almost 10 years old, it would only be a matter of time before something else would probably go wrong with it as well.

As any smart person would probably deduce at this point, it was time to part ways with our car.  We surely hadn’t planned to do that.  I thank my lucky stars that we had a lot of money saved in the bank to where we were able to negotiate quickly, get a car loan and drive out in a new 2017 Hyundai Elantra in a matter of a few hours.  Check it out…

Pretty neat, huh?  While we weren’t planning on the prospect of having a car loan again so soon, everything will be OK.  It certainly beats sinking money into a car that was starting to slowly die a painful death.  I think, in the long run, that we did the absolute right thing in putting it out of its misery.

Note to self: Take more pictures!

We’re Back!

Posted on by

Me and my husband are back in Atlanta for 3 days.  After what happened the last time here, I surely think that we won’t see anymore Interstate bridges burning on live television.  The traffic, on the other hand, is just as bad as always.  But… that’s Atlanta for you!

If we move down here, that is what we will have to get used to.

I will be sure to blog about our exciting venture tomorrow, as we go to our first MLS game!  Atlanta United FC vs. Columbus Crew SC.

Sunday, Father’s Day, we’ll be at the new SunTrust Park for the last of a 3-Game series between the Braves and the Miami Marlins.  Hopefully nobody will fall and hit the dirt racing against the Freeze this time!

 

Untitled Post

Posted on by

I find myself thinking today that with all of the violence being committed in the world lately, what ever happened to being caring and compassionate?

As human beings, we are imperfect, fallible creatures.  We have our challenges, struggles, ups and downs.  But after it’s all over, we have to realize that we are all in this together and always will be.

It doesn’t matter whether or not you’re with one party or another, or who you prefer, or who you like or dislike.  We’re all human.

I would hope that people would stop and think about that before they even entertain the least thought about going out and harming other people.

I know I just said the other day that this blog is not political, and it isn’t.  This issue goes beyond politics.  It’s about people.  People like you and me who deserve to live in a world where we aren’t in fear of one another.

Sleep Test #2

Posted on by

One week ago from the time of this post, I had my second sleep study at UT Medical.  This test involved wearing the CPAP mask and figuring out what pressure would be ideal for me.

This means that I will be using the CPAP machine for sure to help with my sleep apnea.  I had the help of a prescribed generic tablet of Ambien this time.  The test started around 10:30pm, I fell asleep not long after.  Next thing I know, I wake up to go use the bathroom, and it’s just before 4:00am.  I slept almost all of that time on my back.  The amazing thing about that is that I haven’t slept on my back in years!  I usually fall asleep on my left side.  The problem has been that I eventually end up in a sitting position.  This has been going on for a good many years.

I’m glad I’ve been taking steps to combat this.  Now I’m just awaiting the analysis of this last study and when and where to get my machine.  I’m so looking foward to having a regular, restful night of sleep on a regular basis.

Movie Apathy

Posted on by

Recently, someone asked if I was going to watch (insert name of film here).  It got me to thinking, “Why have I lost interest in movies lately?”   Honestly, I don’t know how I can answer that question.  To tell the truth (no pun intended) I’m just not that excited about a lot of stuff I see.  For example:

  • Does the world really need Tom Cruise in “The Mummy”?
  • Why did I like “Alien: Covenant” at first, then grow to dislike it somewhat afterwards?
  • Is “The Last Jedi” going to suck?
  • Why did people have such negative reactions to a good story like “Rogue One”?

I don’t know.  I guess my apathy level is just at 12 on a scale of 10 today.

Why I Don’t Get Political On My Blog

Posted on by

With all of the #ComeyDay stuff going on today, I feel that I need to put my thoughts down on why I don’t post about politics on my blog.

This isn’t to say that I’m not deeply concerned with what goes on in politics.  I do care in what goes on in the world around me.  I surely can’t escape hearing about it every day I’m at work and directing a newscast.

This blog has and always will be an escape.  An escape to the topics which interest me and only me.  You might find these topics either very interesting or very boring.  I don’t personally care.  I don’t play it up any more than that.  This is a place for my thought and my discoveries, and I feel like there are plenty of people out there to digest and have opinions about what goes on in politics already.

I am not an expert on government.  I am not a pundit.  So why talk about something that you have no confidence in discussing?  That’s all I am getting at.

If only certain people in the world could realize when they are wholly unqualified to talk about anything.

Hop on the Bandwagon!

Posted on by

I am confident in saying that I have never been a fan who jumps on the bandwagon.  I do tend to see it happen a lot.  I’m talking about those fans who start rooting for a team when, all of a sudden, they are in the spotlight playing on a sport’s biggest stage.  They can be very, very annoying, especially when one has been very devoted to a team’s cause throughout the course of a season.

What brought this thought on is, of course, the Nashville Predators winning the Western Conference in the NHL last night.  They are going to play in their first ever Stanley Cup Final in a few days.  I like hockey, I think it’s a great sport, and I’ll of course hope that they do well.   I’ve always liked them and always wanted to go to a game in Smashville (maybe one of these days.)

I’ve said in years past that I tend to just like watching a game, or a sport, from afar, not rooting for any team.  I’m starting to slowly change, with rooting for Atlanta United FC of Major League Soccer, in their inaugural season.  In fact, Greg and I are going to their game against the Columbus Crew on June 17th.  I am excited about that.

I’ve always been a closet Braves fan.  I guess I’ll be right at home if I get to move to Atlanta.

Never really cared for the Falcons or the Hawks.  (Apologies if that offends football or basketball fans, it’s just how I feel.)

To the original point:  I’d put myself in between a bandwagon fan and a true, loyal supporter.  I’d like to think I can root for any team that I choose to root for, but I recognize and respect someone else’s devotion that would far exceed anything I could ever contribute.

Know your place, sports fan!

 

First Thoughts on “Star Trek: Discovery”

Posted on by

It’s an exciting time of year if you’re a TV fan.  It’s what is called Upfronts.  What that means is that the networks, broadcast, cable and these days, streaming services as well, present their upcoming shows to woo advertisers to buy ads on their platforms in the coming season.  To me and many other persons across the vast audience, we get our first look at the shows that are coming up next season.  It’s the first chance to see something and say, “Oooo, I can’t wait for that!”

This season is exciting for one very big reason.  It’s the long awaited return of Star Trek to where it began:  television.  The first full fledged trailer for Star Trek: Discovery was put online this week.  You can watch it on YouTube:

Just in case you don’t know, the premiere of this show will air on CBS.  The rest of the 15 shows will be released weekly on CBS’ digital platform, CBS All Access.  It’s unusual for a highly sought after franchise like Trek to be distributed in such a manner.  Keep in mind it’s the brain trust of a major media conglomerate making what they believe is a smart move.  “Let’s use a very dependable name to further a venture that we have complete control over and can make the most money for ourselves on!”

Now, about that trailer itself.  It looks exciting!  When I was talking about this trailer with Greg, I was mentioning that I’m trying not to let Discovery fall into the trap of not looking like the original show did in the 1960s, even though it’s supposed to be set after the events of “The Cage” but before Kirk was in command of the Enterprise.  I guess we are supposed to believe that if we were to go forward 10 years from this (which is where this series is set) that the Enterprise would be the ship we saw in the 2009 Abrams film, just we won’t have all of the Kelvin timeline stuff.  At least, that’s what my suspension of disbelief will tell me.

OK, now that you’re properly confused…

I am so excited to see this show.  I couldn’t get into Enterprise when it debuted.  I tried to watch the premiere in 2001, and just couldn’t get into it.  I hope that doesn’t happen again.  I want to like a new Trek show so bad, but I’m trying not to put my ambitions and desires so far up that I will be disappointed easily.  It’s a common fan trap.

Of course, I’ll review each and every episode of Star Trek: Discovery here on my blog.

RIP To 2 Shows I Watched

Posted on by

The toughest part of watching a TV show religiously is when a show gets cancelled.  It’s become a thing that you have to get used to.  Two shows I loved were “The Real O’Neals” and “American Crime.”

Read: More shows got the axe at ABC too (article from A.V. Club)

O’Neals was a funny comedy centered around Kenny O’Neal, who is in a catholic family and in the pilot, comes out of the closet.  Hilarity ensued for two great seasons.  Unfortunately, this season, it was on against the hot drama, “This Is Us”,  and it got trounced week after week in the ratings.  I loved the cast of this show, especially Martha Plimpton as Eileen O’Neal, she has great comedic talent.

“American Crime” was a show that was too good to be on network television.  What John Ridley did with this show was nothing short of amazing.  Each season of this show was a new story with new characters, but with many of the same actors.  Regina King, Felicity Huffman, Timothy Hutton, they were all very dynamic on this show and showed a great range of flexibility in their acting range from year to year.  It’s a shame we won’t see what they can do with a Season Four.  Unless the show finds another home somewhere.  One can only dream.  (Hello Netflix, Hulu, or some other streaming service… are you listening????)

By the way, Connor Jessup is just sexy as hell.  There, I said it. 🙂

Shows get cancelled folks.  It’s nothing to lose sleep over, the world keeps turning on and great actors will find other jobs.  At least that’s what one would hope would happen!

The Force is With You, Knoxville

Posted on by

Today is May 4th, or has it come to be known in recent years, Star Wars Day.  Or, as you may have heard it said, “May the 4th Be With You.”

You can actually celebrate the first Star Wars movie twice this month, on the 4th, and especially on May 25th, with 2017 marking the 40th Anniversary of the original release of Star Wars in 1977.   This got me to thinking what theaters in the Knoxville area showed the film upon its initial release.

Before I go into that, I should point out a little background on the release of the film across the entire country.  According to in70mm.com Star Wars opened in 32 theaters on May 25th (which was on a Wednesday,) and by the first weekend, expanded to 43 theaters.  If you’re curious for more details, read this article from 2003 about the release of the movie.  There’s lots of great in depth info there.

The nearest theater to have the film upon release was the Showcase Cinemas in Louisville, KY.  As the film grew to more and more theaters, certainly word of mouth must have spread around.  As 20th Century-Fox made more prints of the film, it grew to more theaters.  A comprehensive list of when and where the film opened as it grew wider is in this very extensive and well researched 2015 article at The Digital Bits.  The first place in Tennessee to get the film was the Hermitage 4 theatre near Nashville on June 17th.  As a matter of fact, it was the grand opening of that theater.  What an time to open an new theater!  Check out this article from The Tennessean for more.

The film finally made it to Knoxville on July 15th at the Cedar Bluff Twin theatre.  If you’ll note on that list at the Bits, it got to the Tri-Cities before it got to Knoxville.  That certainly is interesting, but oh well.  Here is a gallery of some period advertisements from the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Star Wars also started running in Oak Ridge at the Ridge Theater.  It started there on July 29th and played there for 13 weeks.  It also played at the Lakemont Drive-In in Maryville starting on August 10th.  (As a side note, in research for this article, not long after Star Wars stopped playing at Lakemont, some rather seedy titles started to appear on its ads… go figure.)

Star Wars spend a mind boggling 21 weeks at the Cedar Bluff Twin.  It was then replaced with (as shown in the gallery above) another big winner of 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Fans of the sprawling epic needn’t have waited long to see it again, because it moved down Kingston Pike a bit and grew in epic scope and size, to the famed Capri-70 Theater, to be shown in the grand 70mm format!  (Note: I am taking liberty here in assuming that the film was shown in 70mm.  Since it’s a theater known for showing 70mm films, I think I can safely assume that it probably was 70mm… if anyone reading this happens to know, please do comment below and let me know!)

Article from the Knoxville News-Sentinel regarding the film moving theaters
Star Wars moves to the Capri 70, 12/16/77
The final day of Star Wars at the Capri 70, 3/16/78… 13 weeks later

If I were there, I probably would go watch it at least twice a week, just for the experience.  From my personal experience, seeing a 70mm film is just something to behold.  Star Wars played here for another 13 weeks, finally ending its run on March 16th, 1978.  It played for longer in bigger cities, but 34 consecutive weeks between two theaters is an impressive run.  Movies would certainly never be the same again.  Star Wars did appear again in Knoxville later in 1978, particularly at the then Cinema 6, which is known today as the Regal Downtown West 8 (and is one of my favorite theaters in the whole area!)

So, as we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of this great film, just think back to the first time you saw it.  Whether it was in 1977 or some time after, try and remember the magic of that film unreeling before your eyes for the very first time.  I guarantee you that neither you or I will ever have an experience quite like that ever again.

May the force be with you!