A photoshop creation where I should have quit before I started.

I’ve eaten about 7 Chips Ahoy cookies today because I bought some whole milk at the store. What I like to do is stuff the whole cookie in my mouth, take a swig of milk, and it’s fantastically tasty. I don’t normally eat junk food but I’m making an exception because I hardly drank much alcohol this weekend (compared to last weekend) and didn’t get out of line. I exercised both days and will feel good starting the week. This was my intent.

I imagine most of you, ok none of you, read the other blog Sam has on his blogroll. It’s his friend from college and he writes more like an academic than a human being, but that’s coming from me, you can judge for yourself. He created a post that listed books that he’s read and recommended. In my sobriety, I decided to read one of the suggestions titled a Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (this got a please read this book).

It read it on my Kindle, so I’m not exactly certain how long it was, but I think I saw 617 pages online. Amount of pages means nothing because of font size but I started the book on Wednesday and finished it an hour ago. There were 9 chapters and I’d estimate each one took about and hour and half to finish. It’s about 12-15 hours of your time to read.

Before I go into the book, I haven’t read a fiction novel in quite some time. I’ve been bouncing between hobbies, TV series, and movies so reading was a welcomed change.

This guy was based off of Owen Meany. Know who?

My book review of A Prayer for Owen Meany is that it definitely elicits emotion. I found myself laughing at some absurdity of the characters, genuine laughter, and the end is a tear jerker even though you know what happens throughout. It was the right amount of religious talk combined with the current affairs of the Vietnam war not to put me off. I don’t mind reading opinions of religion and fate as long as it’s not forced down my throat. I was a big fan of the way “the shot” came together at the end. I’d give the book an 8/10 for its entertaining style throughout. Owen a 10/10 as a character.

As my title is plural, I also watched the Abyss on Brookes comment of, “you haven’t seen the Abyss?” Brookes and I have varying tastes on movies so I always like to see what he loves and then see if they fit my mold. Most often they don’t, but I think it’s more fun that way. Onward to the Abyss

Not a knock against the movie but one of my least favorite characters of all time is Gina from Scarface. How stupid can you be to let Tony stake your beauty salon? She was also Vincent’s GF in the Color of Money who I also wasn’t a fan of so I have notable disdain for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. She also annoyed me in The Abyss. Fortunately she was saved by Ed Harris who is a cool actor in general.

The Abyss is a movie about a psycho navy seal who is hell bent on rescuing, or setting off a nuclear war head, so the Russians can’t get it. This nuclear war head happened to be on a submarine that crashed, and I’m not sure here, by some magic. In order to get the war head from the submarine, the Navy had to aboard this gas drilling company’s rig deep in the ocean. Some stuff happens on the ship with people dying and the Seal getting increasingly nervous. Lindsey (Gina from Scarface) sees some more magic, then a bizarre battle of submarine controlled ships takes place, the war head floats to the bottom of some trench, Ed Harris becomes Jesus Christ and Saves Lindsey from certain death, and then Ed Harris breathes water in order to float to the bottom to disarm the warhead. A wildly odd happy ending occurs when the magic saves the day.

I read a bit about it and the footage they got and what they put the cast through was intense. The scenes were amazingly shot, especially the under water ones. James Cameron ahead of his time obviously. The ending was a bit hokey and that kind of ruined it for me. It was entertaining but nothing to write home about. Sorry Brookes. 6/10.

THE ABYSS, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Ed Harris, 1989, TM & (c) 20th Century Fox