RE-Cycle: A Trilogy.....of sorts.

WHOA! Busy weekend!
Let's catch up!
Sunday was a regular pack 'em up and ship 'em out day! Sent four to new homes, and one was a triple "Ten Minute Rule!" Had just put together a sweet Giant Simple Cruiser the night before, yellow of all colors, and did not have huge hopes for such a quick turnover. Yellow is not a popular bicycle color. BUT, when I had put it out Saturday, had a young lady come in five minuets after eyeing it. Not having the cash on hand, she stated she'd be in on Sunday to pick it up. Sunday came, another gent, first thing, checked it out, and was sold, but would be back the next day to pick it up. Five minuets later, a couple came in (with three AWESOME trades, to boot) and snagged it up! Never ceases to amaze me, when folks come back in a day or too later to pick up a bike they looked at before, only to find it no longer here, and they are surprised. I mean, ten minuet rule folks "If I'm lyin'....I'm dyin'!" Even my own father, who was present during the whole transaction, had thought I was kidding about the rule!
Now as mentioned on Sunday, 'twas a day of cleaning! yay. So nothing new was built (nor any repairs done *sad face*) as we REALLY needed to get things organized again. I know I talk about many a cleaning day, but you'd be surprised just how trashed this place can get, being up to our elbows in parts and debris. Plus, we had the mess in the back...
Sunday afternoon was capped off with a visit from the aforementioned grandparents, and we hung out chatting for the afternoon and they treated to a Pizza dinner (which I'm betting they regret as when they asked should they order one or two, I had to sheepishly respond with "four". Growing kids and all that) then, after their departure we chilled for the evening, which brings us to...."MOVIE REVIEWS!!!!"
OK, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, "Previews lie, and reviews are less then truthful"! Our examples.
First. "Dumb and Dumber 2" I have been looking forward to seeing this film from the moment I heard filming had started, as the original is one of my all time favorites! I had planned on seeing it in the theatres, but as fate would have it, waited until it came out for rent. In retrospect, sadly, I'm glad I saved myself $28.00! Now, in all fairness, we DID NOT watch it all the way through. When sitting down perusing Amazon Prime for a film to watch, Angi and I both had our minds set on different ones we wanted to watch, but she selflessly allowed me to choose. About twenty minuets into the film I sighed and said "Let's watch yours instead!"
This movie (although out of loyalty I WILL finish watching it and let you know if it got any better) is proof positive that you CAN NOT catch lightning in a bottle twice! The original was pure comedic gold. Effortlessly and with tremendous skill skating the very razors edge of "Stupid funny, and just plain stupid". Then they came out with "Dumb and Dumberer" which was quickly (in my mind) filed under "That NEVER happened!" (right next to "Superman Returns") But this new adventure of "Harry and Lloyd" takes a nose dive OFF the razor's edge, PLUNGES into FULL stupidity and splashes around, soaking it all into it's every pore! It had one good laugh at the very beginning of the film, but then just went down hill....FAST! It's highly contrived, borrowing heavily from the original with water downed, bastardized variations of the original gags, and even Carey and Daniels seemed so.....forced. This was more a paycheck, and nothing else, which is sad, as Jim Carey really needed a hit, in an attempt to revitalize his standing in Hollywood. Now, it seems more a Swan Song. I REALLY wanted to enjoy it...maybe it ends well?
ANYWHO, Angi's choice was "John Wick". Simply put, a really good, sticking to safe formula, Revenge Movie. This one ranks right up their with other such classic's as Mel Gibson's "Payback" and the visually unique "Sin City". The premise (SPOILER ALERTS) is Keanu Reeves title character...
(Let me pause here, for a moment, and just say a few things about Mr. Reeves. He's not the greatest actor in the world, but given the right vehicle, he can REALLY shine! I liked him in "Constantine" all the Matrix trilogy, even his more recent panned films "Man of Tai Chi" and "47 Ronin" showed a range (and I LOVE him as a bad guy!) and he is really growing into those kind of roles. (and let's face it "Bill and Ted" NEVER get old!))
...is a retired hit man, a very GOOD hit man (as one character states "Do you know the Boogeyman? John Wick is the man you hire to KILL the Boogeyman") who left the life for the love of a woman. She regrettably develops an aggressive cancer and dies. As a parting gift she sends him a puppy to "have something to love" as a way to heal. Later that same day, he crosses paths with the son of a Russian mob boss who covets John's Classic Mustang. Later that night, they break into his house, beat him, kill his dog and steal his car.
....that's all it takes.
Stricken with grief (and not so subtle imagery exemplifies his loss) he sets out to seek revenge.
Then the body count quickly rises, and the remainder of the film is a kinetic rush, sprinkled with some very morose "dark humor" but not so much so as to distract from the course of the film. Definitely worth a heavy popcorn night!
(jumping around a bit....keep up)
Monday came, and Angi and I, in a VERY rare moment of "playing hooky" took the morning to go and do our monthly food shopping, having Elijah come and open up, and Kaleb to sit with the kiddos. Yes, normally that would have been in reverse, but Kaleb is on restrictions for a couple days, so as an added bonus "deal with your siblings!" HAHA!!
Then Angi, sensing my antsyness , told me "Go, get to the shop" once all the food was put up. Once here, and caught up (but 'twas a quiet morning) I hit the rebuilds toot sweet! And pounded out three new gems! A reliable A to B MTB, a much needed ladies hybrid AND a REALLY nice vintage Schwinn Voyager, converted into a Fixie with a rear flip hub! And this is a NEW set of wheels! Well...new by about six months. I built this ride, special order for a gent, who unfortunately, recently had an accident (in a car, NOT on the bike) and could no longer ride.
At the end of the night I went home and was treated to Angi's MAGNIFICENT interpretation of Chicken Catchatory (don't ask me to spell it....Spell check can't even figure it out!)
Once all the "nite, nite" chores were finished, we chilled while trying to figure out what to do for the evening. Yesterday was our 23rd anniversary, but as we spent our allotment on Saturday, it was a quiet evening! We settled on the old stand by, a movie, and were flipping through the selections, and I spied "Hercules". Now, of course, anything with Dwayne Johnson seems to always be "thumbs down" by critics, but I was in the mood for eye candy, and figuring it would be a lot of monsters and fantasy, put in my bid. Angela agreed, with a shrug and we were both duelly impressed. (SPOILER ALERT!!!) This is a retelling of the myth of Hercules (lot of that going around lately...) or more so, epitomizing the idea that reality can quickly morph into legend, given the right PR and "Spin Doctors". Was Hercules the bastard son of Zeus, or just a really big, strong guy who did some big deeds (with the help of his Posse')? the question is never truly answered, but that's the point. It's not the myth that's important, rather the man. All in all, a real fun movie sprinkled with some great one liners and tongue and cheek humor!
OK, now on to today!
Getting right back on new builds! YAY! We keep accumulating more and more, and before we get nagged about the pile building up outside, I'm going to jump on it!
(he says after typing for an hour....)
See ya soon!