The Fountain - a movie review

The best part of seeing The Fountain was the $4.00 Pepsi fountain drink I bought. And I HATE Pepsi.

Casino Royale - a movie review

I just returned from the Shelbyville Great Escape Movie Theater after seeing what I believe to be the best of all the James Bond movies, Casino Royale. Based on the first Ian Fleming book published in 1953, this most recent Bond movie lets us in on the beginning of Bond's career as a 007 agent. This Bond is rougher than the James Bonds we've come to know over the past 40 years in films. Daniel Craig plays the lethal agent with the perfect blend of toughness and charm. He's a real man with real scars. The scrapes he finds himself in are much more believable than the sometimes laughable escapades of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan. His baby blue eyes can melt the heart of any woman, but they can stare down an evil nemesis, too.

I enjoyed the love story in Casino Royale. James Bond is usually on the fast track when it comes to women, but in this movie he is a one woman man. And the woman (Vesper Lynd, played by Eva Green) is not some bimbo "Bond girl." Vesper Lynd is a British Treasury official who spars easily with James and stands her ground when faced with several opportune romantic moments. Love indeed blossoms and is put to a weighty test.

Of some note: the opening sequence doesn't feature nude women in silouette as in previous Bond films. I definitely like this "non-womanizing" aspect of James Bond.

I must admit that I went to see Casino Royale with my heart firmly in the Pierce Brosnan camp, knowing that this unknown-to-me actor, Daniel Craig, could never fill the shoes that Pierce so suavely and handsomely did. But, I walked out of the theater realizing that Daniel Craig is the new and improved and much more real Bond than any before him. I hope he stays around for a whole new round of Bond thrillers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Adoption from China

The link above is on the Families With Children from China website. If you are wondering about the details of our long and arduous process, this link tells it all! Click on the title of this blog entry to go to the Frequently Asked Questions page, or enter this url: http://www.fwcc.org/FAQ.htm

Elianna Update #7

Our paperwork is almost complete! Rick's passport arrived in the mail yesterday. Mine should be here soon. Our employer letters are completed and notarized, our bank statement forms were signed by bank officials last week, and Rick's physical was done. We're waiting on Rick's final test results and my passport. Then our final home study visit will be conducted. Once the home study is complete, we'll be able to get our dossier finalized. The dossier will have to be authenticated, then it will be sent to China to wait to be logged in. If things go as planned, we'll expect a referral for Elianna sometime in Summer, 2008.

One roadblock: I have to redo my physical because it will expire before our dossier can be sent to China. We'll be cutting things close with our criminal background checks. Physicals and background checks expire after 6 months. Ours were done in June and July.