Did you get pinched today?

Happy Saint Patrick's day!!  Above is a picture of  Saint Patrick.  Saint Patrick is generally recognized as the patron Saint of Ireland.  It was widely believed that he drove snakes out of Ireland, but that has since been proven untrue.

The leprechaun usually makes an appearance on this day.  The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes.

The Blarney stone has become a fixture of Irish lore.  According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab (great eloquence of skill at flattery).  The stone itself was set into a tower of the Blarney castle in 1446.  The term Blarney has come to mean clever, flattering or coaxing talk.

Although it may seem simple enough to kiss a stone, but kissing the Blarney stone is not as simple as you might imagine.  Instead of trying to describe it in written word, I thought I would post a youtube video to better capture the act.

The three leafed shamrock is a staple on St. Patty's day as well.  It's significance is rooted in Christianity.The leaves represent the Holy Trinity.

Last but certainly not least, the most important thing about Saint Patrick's Day is that it is my Dad's birthday.   Happy Birthday, Dad!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Pinching was started by school children who thought it would be fun to do as a joke.  The joke caught on and has found its place in today's celebration.  

If you are not wearing green consider yourself pinched!!

Big O'Daddy

You are late. Late for a very important date!

Sorry.  I couldn't resist this header after my rant about oversleeping due to Daylight Savings Time.

The men (Joseph and James), Frannie, and myself, went to see Alice in Wonderland on Saturday.  We all went in with not the highest of expectations and came out being glad we went.  Our thought was that James would enjoy it, but were afraid that Joseph might not.  Our fears were rooted in a 13 year old young man, possibly being a little too old for this movie.  I will say that he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Frannie explained to us that although it was about Alice in Wonderland, more of the story in this movie

came from Lewis Carroll's, Through the Looking Glass.  That was cool to learn, but it didn't matter to us.  We just enjoyed the movie.  The consensus amongst us was that Johnny Depp was great, but the Cheshire Cat owned us.

We all gave it two thumbs up.  We each agree that we would enjoy seeing it again.  I can tell you that the next time we see it will be when it comes out on DVD.

After yesterday's rant, I thought I would use this little guy's image to warn the reader that I am about to jump up on my soapbox.  Sorry.  Hang in there.  

One of my favorite things in the world to do is go to the movies.  I have enjoyed it since I was a youngster.  That being said, I should known better through a lifetime of experience, but I still cannot stand the cost of the refreshments in the movie house.

Although I shouldn't buy popcorn and cokes at the movie house, I do it anyway.  We set the precedent years ago and just haven't ever stopped.  We do draw the line at the candy, nachos and hot dogs.  Guess what.  The movie house tricked me.  They saw that I would buy popcorn, so they now have special popcorns.  Saturday , they had "Limited time only" Alice in Wonderland popcorn.  A popcorn dunked in a blue cotton candy flavored coating.  A must have for any seven year old kid.  Yes, James it is popcorn, but it is also candy.  But Dad, it is only for a limited time.  Yes, James, that is right, but don't you realize that it will be the same popcorn just a different name when the next movie comes out?  Sometimes, you have to let a seven year old be a seven year old.  I relented.  James got the popcorn and we got our regular two cokes and large popcorn to share amongst ourselves.  $22.50 later, we were entering the movie house to sate our hunger for popcorn and a good movie.

I almost forgot the movie was in 3D.  I think that the 3D movie has come an incredibly long way from when I was a kid.  The movie is highly enjoyable in 3D.  I even like the fact that you get effects that are not just in place to scare you.  The last few that I have seen have caught me off guard once or twice when I wasn't expecting it.  Each time, I have moved to one side or the other to avoid something coming at me.  The biggest thing for me and 3D is that after the novelty, I can take it or leave it.  Unfortunately, I don't get a choice anymore.   Just about every movie geared toward the younger audience has a 3D format these days.  The biggest problem for me is that each person in my party is subject to a $2.50 surcharge for the cost of the special projector.  That was a total of $10.00 extra for my little group.

With tickets being matinee priced at $7.00 plus the surcharge, the total after all fees was $38.00.

No wonder these movies are setting all time record sales.  With surcharges and the like, the movies continue to find ways to make more money off its patrons.  

When I was younger, the movies I liked, I might go see more than once.  With today's prices, I guess the movie house is trying to get as much as they can, because they figure that might be their only chance to get someone's money.

At the end of the day, we had spent $60.50.  The cost may have been steep and might give me pause the next time I think about going.  I realize the time spent together with my Mom and my boys was priceless.

Until the next time the lights go down,

Big Daddy Ebert