Public Speaking

According to Seinfeld:

People's number-one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Now, this means to the average person, that if you have to go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.

I'm such a baby about public speaking. I was a nervous wreck this morning at church, and all I had to do was pray a couple times, make some announcments, and introduce the guest speaker. True, I didn't need to preach the message this time, but like most people, I absolutely detest standing up and speaking in front of anyone! Thank God that's over! I don't know how sales people, marketing folks, presenters, or professional speakers can stand up in front of people, day in and day out. I'd go totally bonkers.

A friend of mine recently asked about my least favorite college class. It was a tie between Hesselgrave's Sociology class, and that one business class I had to take with... some retired Army general (or something like that -- does anyone remember that guy?) But worse than both of those was Speech class in high school. God, I hated that class!

I've only really felt comfortable with public speaking in two cases (and neither one is really "public"): at work (when presenting code designs to the team), and during Bible Quizzing in high-school (when presenting my team's "contests").

So, does anyone have any horror stories about public speaking you want to share? Or if you're one of the lucky ones who actually enjoys public speaking, how do you do it? E-mail me at MervinBunter@comcast.net. I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Baby's Name, Hint #1

We think we've got the baby's name picked out. There's obviously still time to change our minds, but we're starting to get used to this one. Of course, as with Kathryn, we're going to try to keep it a secret until she's born.

But for my own entertainment, I wanted to give you a hint. Kristin said it's OK to give this first hint, but nothing is guaranteed after this one: at least one of the baby's names (first and/or middle) can be found in the Bible.

There. That should be just enough to drive my mom absolutely crazy. This is just a little payback for all the times she tortured Tracy and me with hints about our birthday/Christmas gifts when we were kids. (Love ya, Mom).

Home Alone, Night One

Well, Kristin and Kathryn are safely in Iowa for the weekend. Those of you who know me understand that whenever I'm home alone, I get freaked out by every little sound. I keep imagining that there's someone creeping around in the house. It doesn't help that Kristin packed up a bunch of boxes for me to take into storage tomorrow. I keep forgetting they're there. They've already startled me once, when I went out to the front room to investigate a "strange sound". The lights were off, and all I saw were these shadowy shapes on the floor. I'd just finished watching the new preview for "Lady in the Water" and in that instant I thought, "Zounds! Why are there three big, square-looking hellhounds sitting in our living room!" Of course, once I flipped the lights on, I was fine (and the "strange sound" was just the sound of my green hat falling off the shelf onto the floor). But I've got my trusty wooden Excalibur with me, so I'm sure I'll be able to deal with any heffalumps that come my way.

Which reminds me of our Great Household Defender. Because Kristin's allergic to almost every type of animal in the world, we can't have a watchdog. So we've got the next best thing: "Big Momma." Big Momma is a spider who lives outside our front door. For the last two or three summers, she's done an admirable job keeping most of the insects outside, where they belong. The first summer we were here, everytime we opened the front door, a handfull of bugs would fly inside. That doesn't happen now that Big Momma is on guard. We have an understanding with her. I don't destroy her webs, and she stays outside and guards the door.

Unfortunately, now that we're trying to sell the house, we need to relocate Big Momma. She likes to leave the remnants of her webs all over the place out there. And though we've become used to her, most people would probably be turned off by the sight of her handiwork. So I think I'm going to have to break our side of the bargain. I only hope she understands why I'm asking her to leave. The last thing I want is for Big Momma to get angry with me...

Lonely Weekend

Kristin and Kathryn are going to Iowa for Karin's (rather late) baby shower this weekend. I can't go because I'm on the docket for Sunday morning church service. Our pastor is on sabbatical, and our youth pastor is out of town, so I've gotta run the service. We have a guest speaker (so thankfully I don't have to preach again), but I still need to welcome everyone, pray for the service, make the announcements, introduce the guest speaker, etc.

Anyway, because my family will be gone, I'm going to call upon my friends to help me avoid going stir crazy. I'd love to see you guys this weekend <hint, hint>! But I DO plan to see Superman again, this time at the IMAX 3-D, so if you want to join me, give me a call.

McHenry Downtown Theater

Some of the best things about our little town of McHenry are the local businesses. And if you've never experienced the McHenry Downtown Theater, you're missing one of the quaintest little theaters in the suburbs.

As I already mentioned, Randy, Bill, and I saw "Superman Returns" at the McHenry Downtown last night. I promised to talk a bit more about the theater itself, because I just love the "feeling" of the place. It's hidden right in the middle of downtown McHenry, just off the Fox River. It's a tiny, two-screen classic theater.

It re-opened in 2004 (I think) under new management. Because it was a cute local place, we started attending as often as we could. The prices are incredibly reasonable (for adults: $3.00 matinee, $5.00 evening). They offer free refils on all sizes of popcorn and drinks. They'll even fetch it for you, so you don't need to get up and miss the movie.

We eventually became acquainted with the manager there (a man named Scott, who looks a bit like a jovial Lex Luthor). He's a very friendly guy, who obviously has a great love of movies and of movie theaters. They have an Oscar Party every year. Last year, Scott started showing classic movies at midnight the first Friday night of every month. He started with The Godfather, and he said that he wasn't sure anyone would show up. Randy and I were the first customers that night. Eventually 20 other people joined us, and the Midnight Classics have continue to this day (he's showing "Raiders of the Lost Ark" next, on July 7th).

Last night was another fantastic experience. Because it's such a cute little place, there was quite the party atmosphere. Scott met us at the door and told us some good news: they'd recently purchased the McHenry Drive-In (another piece of local cinema history)! Somehow we started talking about visiting the projection room, and Scott offered to give us the tour after the movie.

Right before the movie started, the local manager (not Scott) came in and made a few announcements (the refill policy, and that he hoped we would enjoy the movie). Then, as they always do, he started the "trivia" contest. Basically they come up with three questions about the upcoming movie, and whoever answers correctly wins something (often candy from the concession stand). This time the three questions were, obviously, about Superman. I answered a question about: "Superman recently starred alongside which famous comedian in a series of commercials for American Express?" For my correct answer (Seinfeld), I won a copy of the original "Superman: The Movie" DVD! Hurray! (I gave it to the family behind us, since I already own it).

After the movie, Scott took us up to see the projection room. He talked about the process required to splice the film together from the reels the studio sends him. And he explained the process used to determine which previews to put before which movies... basically, he just decides, unless the studio gives explicit instructions. It helps that he's a geek at heart, because he decided to show us the new Spiderman 3 preview. He also gave us a glipse at the precarious walkway on the roof (required to change the marque). Then he talked about the new McHenry Riverwalk renovations, and how it will affect the theater. There are going to be some big changes around there in the next few years.

Going to the McHenry Downtown is about more than just seeing a great movie; it's a whole movie-going experience. Again, if you haven't been there, you're missing a fantastic time!

Superman Returns!

I saw "Superman Returns" last night with Randy and Bill at the McHenry Downtown Theater (more about the theater experience later). For now, I wanted to give my review of the film. I won't reveal any plot points which aren't already in the trailers, so if you've seen the previews, you won't get any more spoilers.

"Superman Returns" is fantastic, but sometimes a bit too slow. I loved all of the character interactions, but they did make the film drag a bit (especially near the end). I enjoyed all of the action scenes (e.g., the airplane rescue), but I'll admit that I'm a sucker for the scenes with Superman and Lois. The fact that Lois has a fiance adds a ton of extra character development opportunities for Superman.

Which brings me to my favorite part of the new movie: Lois' family (her fiance Richard, and their son Jason). It would have been very easy (as in most "love triangle" stories) to make Richard a "bad guy". But they never give us that option. Richard is a fantastic person. He's a great fiance, and a fantastic father. I was impressed that he never resorts to petty jealousy. It's obvious that he's struggling to deal with Superman's return to Lois' life, but he always trusts her enough to let her decide how to handle it. In other words, he's not a possessive jerk. He's such a nice guy that I found myself hoping that Lois would stick with Richard, despite Superman's return.

And her son, Jason, plays the "cute kid" perfectly. He was never so cute that you wanted to slap him, but he's still a kid at heart. I enjoyed all of his scenes immensely.

The music was perfect. Ottman took just enough music from John Williams to make it familiar, but not so much that it felt rehashed. The Kent Farm theme, the Love theme, the Krypton theme, and (of course) the Superman theme are all woven throughout the movie in just the right amounts. Almost every main theme makes a reappearance, except for the old Luthor theme (which was too comic for this more serious Lex). Instead, Ottman wrote a darker theme for Lex, involving a lot of snappy percussion and dissonant brass.

I strongly recommend "Superman Returns", but expect some downtime (especially at the end).

An Evening With Kathryn

I love driving anywhere with Kathryn. She's always great entertainment, even just sitting in the backseat. Today, driving back and forth from Spring Hill Mall, we played: Pirates, I Spy, "Rock, Paper, Scissors" (not as hard to play while driving as you might imagine).

And some strange kind of drama involving her play kitchen utensils: Forky Fork, Spoonie Spoon, Sarah Spatula, and The Sun/Nightstar (a pizza cutter which looks like a small sun with a handle). I keep telling her that Nightstar sounds like a superhero name, but she doesn't believe me.

Oh, and we also discussed which was faster: a cheetah, or a car. Because I'm too analytical, I first had to clarify whether we were talking about the maximum speed for both, or if we were comparing the cheetah's top speed with the car's more usual 40 mph. Fortunately, because Kathryn's also too analytical, she actually kept up with the discussion. We finally agreed that a car can move faster than a cheetah, but that a cheetah can run faster than an average car driving in the city. And we briefly considered Mommy's NASCAR cars... and decided that they were way too fast for a cheetah!

Finally, she decided that her "imaginary sister" was going to be start repeating everything Kathryn said. I finally had to put a stop to it when she said, "Daddy, tell my sister to stop repeating me!" Then, in a higher voice, "Daddy, tell my sister to stop repeating me!" I didn't think we'd have to deal with sibling conflict until she actually had a sibling! I guess I was wrong!

A Trip to the Mall With Kathryn

Tonight Kristin has a Women's Ministry meeting thing, so Kathryn and I have the evening to ourselves. I'm thinking about taking her down to Spring Hill Mall for a bit. She likes the new fountains they've installed in the center of the mall, and we've got some shopping to do anyway. (Mommy's birthday is coming up...!) We'll see what Kathryn decides to pick out for Mommy. The shopping process alone should be a delight to observe!

A Trip to Joliet

Today was my cousin Ali's high-school graduation party, so Kathryn and I drove down to Joliet for the afternoon. It was nice to see everyone, but I wish Mom and Frank could have been there (they're in Jersey for about another week). Kathryn played Bean Bag Toss with my cousin Megan and Brad, and she had a blast! It'll be really cool to see her as the flower-girl at their wedding in a couple weeks.

And since we were going to be in town, we had dinner with Dad. I was very proud to see him eating a simple Chef's Salad, in keeping with his diet. (Love ya, Dad!) Then we drove back home for Kathryn's bedtime. All-in-all, a very satisfying day.

After-Work Volleyball Picnic

One of my co-workers (a fellow named Ray) decided to plan an after-work volleyball picnic outside our workplace tonight. Ostensibly, this picnic was to celebrate the anniversary of my heart operation, but that was just an excuse to have a get-together. Ray called it: The Annual "We're Glad Howkster's Not Dead" Picnic. Not many of our team members came, since many of them had weekend plans. But since our families were invited, we had enough people. It was nice to spend some time reconnecting with all the families. After everyone had their fill of food, we moved over to the sand volleyball court for some fun. In hindsight, playing immediately after eating was not very wise, but we still had a great time! There was a lot of good-natured ribbing (mostly involving our inadequate volleyball skills). It's a great place to work, and we've got a fantastic group of people on our team.

More movie music

Well, the soundtrack for the new Superman movie was released on iTunes yesterday. As many of you know, the music can either make or break a movie for me. John Williams is not doing the music for this Superman movie. But I am happy to report that the new composer (John Ottman) has kept many of his themes intact, while adding enough new music to keep it sounding fresh. One of the big problems with the music in Superman 2, 3, and 4 was that they just jammed Williams' original score all over the place, even if it didn't fit. This music sounds great for the new movie.

Unfortunately, I'm falling headlong into the classic trap of expecting too much from a movie. I'll have to read some really negative reviews to bring my expectations down to a reasonable level before opening night (June 27 at 10:00 p.m.) Kristin has graciously allowed me to go (probably with Randy) on opening night. We'll see if Bryan Singer can pull off yet another great superhero movie.

Corpse Bride

I received "Tim Burton's: Corpse Bride" from Blockbuster. I like a few of his movies (especially Big Fish, Batman, and to a lesser extent, Willy Wonka and Sleepy Hollow). But I hated his Planet of the Apes, and I never watched Bettlejuice, Nightmare Before Christmas, or Edward Scissorhands. Anyway, we'll see what happens with Corpse Bride tonight -- I'm a little leery of it.

I had a chance to have lunch with Christy today. Most of the time I just go somewhere quiet to read, but today it was really nice to be able to catch up with what she's doing.

And... hurray! Bill and Jen are back from vacation! I'm sure they're pretty bummed about it, but I'm glad to have them back. As long as Bill avoided dropping another camera, they should have some really great pictures! (Just kidding, Bill!)

Movies and The 4400

Mervin here to weigh in on the two biggest movie releases so far this summer: X-Men 3 and Cars. First, I thought X-Men 3 was the worst of the three, but still entertaining. The action was top-notch, and the special effects were brilliant. But I felt that the movie tried too hard to outdo itself. Like Star Trek: Generations, X-Men 3 tries to improve its mediocre story by killing off as many characters as it can. But even with all that, it was still a fun summer movie.

Cars was another elegent Pixar movie. It was funny and interesting (if a bit too cute at times). I'd have to put it in the lower half of my Pixar list, but definitely not their worst movie. The animated short (One Man Band) was hysterical! I haven't enjoyed a short so much since "For the Birds". Here's how my Pixar list stands today:

1. Incredibles
2. Toy Story
3. Toy Story 2
4. Monsters
5. Cars
6. Finding Nemo
7. A Bug's Life

Finally, the new season of The 4400 started last week. Tonights episode was another great hour of television. If you like science-fiction, The 4400 is probably the best sci-fi out there now. If you want to jump into the story, you can catch up here. It's well worth it! If you have any questions, just ask. For those who don't get USA, I'll have the first three episodes on DVD next week. If you want to borrow them, just ask (but Jeff and Christy have first dibs).

Happy Fathers' Day

I wanted to wish a Happy Fathers' Day to all you fathers, but especially to my Dad and to my brother-in-law Travis (who's celebrating his first Fathers' Day with his son Samuel).

I received some really nice gifts today. First, Kristin gave me two t-shirts (one for me, and one for Kathryn). They're both very cute!

And then Kathryn went back to her room and came back with a little package. Inside was a finger-painted card, and a square ceramic tile. On the tile was painted, "Father's Day 2006" and "Kathryn 4 years", along with Kathryn's handprint. It's really cute, and as it turns out, Kristin was just as surprised as I was! Last Sunday, when Jessica came over to babysit, Jessica brought a bunch of crafts materials from home (she calls it her "Babysitting Activity Box"). Apparently, she and Kathryn made my Fathers' Day gift that night! Jessica is the best baby-sitter in the history of the world! Kathryn not only kept it a secret from me, but she didn't even tell Kristin, so it was a very successful surprise.

Cleaning Day

I was planning to take Kathryn out somewhere today, but yesterday she still had a bit of a cold. So instead today became a "Cleaning Day". We rented a little storage place to hold some of our stuff while we're trying to sell the house. So today Kathryn separated her stuffed animals into "those that stay" and "those that go into storage". Judging from her cries of anguish, it was a difficult process. Kristin kept herself busy with laundry: washing, drying, folding, repeat. I decided to tackle both bathrooms, top to bottom (including the shower stall, which we'd been using as Holiday Decoration Storage).

For those of you who don't know, when I decide to clean something, I've gotta get into a mental state like the karate guys before they break the bricks. So I popped the iPod into my pocket, slapped some headphones on my head, and got down to business. I told myself that I would "reward" myself with a nice lunch after I finished both bathrooms. I fully expected Kathryn and Kristin to have their own lunch at the normal time. But Kathryn wanted to wait to "have lunch with Daddy." I'm loved!

So after I finished, we went out for a late lunch. She wanted to play "Pirates" on the way. That basically means that she tells me, "Set course for <wherever>, First Mate Daddy," to which I'm supposed to reply "Aye aye, Cap'n Kathryn." When we finally get where we're going, she yells, "Land ho!"

New Baby Howk

As many of you already know, according to the ultrasound technician, our new baby (due on October 23) is a girl. Of course, this prediction isn't 100% certain, but that's what we've been told. Kristin and I have been tossing names around at each other, but we have yet to come up with anything definite. We're not sure yet if we're going to reveal the name before the baby's born anyway (unless one of us slips up), so you'll all just have to be patient. :-)

I've only caught myself talking to the baby once (and that was only after a friend asked me if I was "the type to talk to (the) little baby before she is born"). I'm not sure why we haven't talked to this baby as much as we did to Kathryn. Perhaps, before Kathryn was born, our life was much simpler. Maybe we unconsciously believe that having this second child won't be as "life-changing" as having Kathryn. Of course, it's been said that the second child is often a bigger adjustment than the first child. Who knows? Maybe we'll start talking to her more frequently as the due date approaches.

Superman Returns clips

I am so going to love this movie! And it's coming out in less than two weeks. I just found eleven clips online. Really cool stuff in there! I can't really pick a favorite, but this one is fun:

Time to try adding some pictures

Tonight I have two pictures to attempt to post. The first is backstage at Kathryn's 1st dance recital a few weeks ago. The second is a picture of the edifice Kathryn constructed so she could reach something on the upper shelf of her dresser. We've strongly warned her against such construction in the future... but the engineer in me can't help but be impressed, since it is remarkably stable.

Giving up the pacifier

Our friends are preparing their son, Nathan, for the day when he will need to give up his pacifier. I told Kathryn about this, and I asked her if she had any advice for Nathan. This is what she had to say:

You know, I was sad too when I had to give up my pacifier, until I knew that I didn’t need to worry about it – because I knew that I didn’t need it anymore, because I am a big girl now. As you grow up, you don’t need to worry. And try not to ask for your pacifier as much as I did when I was little.

Congratulations on becoming a big boy Nathan!

Poor kid!

Kathryn is so doomed. Tonight at the dinner table I said something about the new PC Gamer magazine. Kathryn decided to chime in with, "Daddy, you're a PC Gamer, because you play PC games. And, guess what: I'm a PC gamer too!" She went on to list several of her favorite computer games (e.g., The Princess and the Pauper, Swan Lake, and Rapunzel) finishing triumphantly with, "...and those are all PC games!" While I'm happy that she's learning a lot with these games, and that she sees it as a way to connect with her Daddy, I wonder if I'm setting her up for future "geekdom". :-)