Life Was A Song....

I do not cry for my Grandfather...as I am certain that he is already watching over his family from above. I do not cry because he drank, laughed, and sang until the end...which is all he ever wanted to do. I cry for those of us that are left here trying to figure out how to fill the gap that he left behind. He is the only person that I have ever met who lived and loved his life completely and did so on his own terms. I cannot put into words how dearly I loved him and how much I will miss him.

Blogging will be sporadic as I will be going home at some point in the next few days.

Into The Light

So as much as I bitched about Crabby....clearly I cared for the damn cat because I have been a mess over putting her down all day. I didn't really think that the vet was going to tell to me that it was time to put her down. I was fully prepared for them to tell me that we could up her meds or something else outrageously expensive. In turn I would cave in spite of the shocking price tag and we would get at least another month of Crabby's presence. I immediately started to cry when the vet told me that nothing could save my evil bitch of a cat.

As evil as she was...she had her moments. I have fond memories of her trying to be nice and maybe that is what I will miss the most. Those rare moments when it wasn't blatantly obvious that she was the spawn of Satan...rare though they were made all of the other evil stuff worth it.

As the vet left the room to let me say goodbye, I couldn't help but smile through my tears as I picked her up and in true Crabby fashion she bitched slapped me. So I held her paws so she couldn't repeat the attack and held my poor skinny cat and cried. Then Elizabeth told me that it was time for Crabby to go into the light. The fact that Elizabeth saw that made me see that it was in fact time.

So tonight I say my goodbyes to the cat that I swore at on a daily basis. Evil as she was...I loved her.

Watch That 1st Step Mr. Luthor...Its A Doozy!

So this is a couple of days late but better than never right? I am seriously behind on my TIVO.

As a series-long fan of Smallville I have to say that the show has had its up and downs. In fact, there has been more than one occasion in which I was ready to stop watching. One of the story lines that really drove me crazy was when Martha Kent started falling for Lionel Luthor. It seemed highly unbelievable and downright disrespectful to the memory of Jonathan Kent. To make things even more annoying was the fact that Clark began to trust to Lionel. After all of the evil shit that he did...why on earth would Clark trust him? I wasn't buying it.

Knowing that the show was coming to an end...I decided to stick it out. There were too many questions that needed answers. Would Lana finally get killed off for good? How would Chloe make her exit? What evil deed would Lex commit in order to fully emerge into the ruthless villain that we all know and love? You get the idea. So in spite of my increasingly cynical view of the show...I continued to watch. If nothing else...the occasional appearance of Oliver McQueen and Clark without a shirt was enough to get through the less than plausible story lines.

In spite of my better judgement...I couldn't help but want to believe that Lionel really did have Clark's best interests at heart. In fact...the more evil that Lex became the more I wanted Lionel to be good. Lionel seemed to be the father figure that Clark desperately needed. I believed that in spite of all of the double talk and secrets that Jor-El had chosen the right man to look out for his son.

I was buying it until the whole "Veristas" storyline began to unveil. Are we really supposed to believe that Lionel, Virgil Swan, The McQueens, and ___ (too lazy to care about the 4th member of the secret society) knew that a "traveler" was coming? If so...why is this the first time that we heard about it in seven seasons? I'm calling bullshit. Regardless of the fact that I don't believe it nor saw it coming...there is one thing that I definitely didn't see coming...and that was the way that the show killed off Lionel. In spite of the fact that I had spent this afternoon in an amazingly great mood...I was bumming hard as the show started with Lex murdering Lionel. As the show progressed...it became clear that Lionel died protecting Clark's secret.

That is the funny thing about secrets. Most of them are so insignificant that it really doesn't matters if they are kept. But every now and then...a secret comes along that is worth everything to protect. In fact...I can only think of one that I would make every sacrifice to protect. (Of course my life isn't nearly as exciting as the folks on Smallville.) Strange as it might sound...sometimes it doesn't matter what the consequences are...it is worth everything to protect that secret. To have someone trust you completely is worth everything..and when that person makes you believe and feel something extraordinary...it makes it all the more easy to be loyal...and the feeling of protectiveness all the stronger.

I think that Clark saved Lionel by giving him that rare something to believe in. He realized that there was something great in life once he learned Clark's secret. There is something validating and addicting about being around a great man and I think that Clark was the only man that Lionel ever met that was greater than him. In the end...the desire to protect that great man was stronger than the desire to save himself. Of course...it is fiction so it isn't that amazing but the idea is. If one meets someone that great who can provoke those kind of emotions...wouldn't it be worth the risk?

So yeah...the bottom line is that in the end...I believe that Lionel was a redeemed man. I even teared up at the end of the episode when Clark threw a handful of dirt on Lionel's cast. (Every reminiscent of when Jonathan died.) Now that he is gone I realize that Lionel had become one of my favorite characters on the show. He was one of the good guys and he will be missed.

I tried to cheer myself up with some ice cream. Though it made me smile...it didn't have the effect that I had hoped for. No matter how hard Fred Meyer's brand tries...it is not the same as Ben & Jerry's.

Au Revoir Brett Favre

Well it is final. One of the greatest athletes ever is officially retiring from the greatest sport in the world.

I am a little bummed but not too much and that is surprising. I mean, Brett is by far one of the best to ever play the game and I should be bummed that I will never again get to the see legend play. But I am not crushed. Oh well.

It is not like the league is going to be hurting for quarterback entertainment. I still have Peyton Manning to adore, Eli Manning to be fascinated by, Tony Romo to laugh at, Tom Brady to despise while secretly feeling sorry for (it is not easy to be controlled by pure evil), and Donovan McNabb to hate with the same intensity as I hate A-Rod. So I am pretty well set for quarterback entertainment for the upcoming season.

I think that we all took Brett for granted. I mean, he has been on top of the sport for years and we all just got used to it. He was consistently good and so he wasn't anything special. It is kind of sad actually....considering that the records that he set are pretty damn awesome. But short of the Cheese Heads, I don't know if any other football fans are saddened by this announcement.

I hope that we see Brett again, be it as a coach or commentator (seems that they will hire anyone these days) or even on Dancing With the Stars. Brett is the model "Good Ole Boy" and I hope that he enjoys the retirement that he has most definitely earned.

--And because I cannot resist pointing it out...today Brett was quoted saying " To go the Superbowl and lose would almost be worse than anything else. Anything less than a Superbowl win would be unsuccessful." I point this out because this was one of two reasons that I didn't want the Packers to go to the Superbowl back in February. I knew that Brett would have been haunted by a lose in the big game. So to all the haters who gave me shit about that statement back then...well you know...

http://thegeekthatismillie.blogspot.com/2008/01/not-total-loss.html

We'll Miss You Brett...it just might take a few years for us to realize it!

Heath Ledger 1979 - 2008

So there are a few downsides to being a pop culture fanatic...and the biggest one is that it creates a false feeling of a relationship with the members of the pop culture community. I am not so crazy that I actually believe that I have any real connection with celebrities...but on the other hand...their presence is often more reliable than people in real life. The characters they play are always available to make you laugh or cry. They can bring you a brief sense of happiness that is sometimes hard to come by. (Surprise Texting/emails aside of course, which never fail to make me smile.) My point is that when you are borderline obsessed with pop culture like I am...it makes it all the more difficult to hear when someone from the crowd passes away.

I was bummed when I heard about Brad Renfro...but boy does this one hurt. Not to knock Brad Renfro...as I was crushing hard on him after his portrayal of Michael in Sleepers. But he pretty much disappeared and therefore victim of out of sight...out of mind.

Heath Ledger was has always been one of my favorites. Even his bad movies weren't really that bad. Oh how I crushed on him after seeing him in 10 Things I Hate About You. He was awesome in The Patriot. (Not to be confused with the Patriots who suck. More on them and their evil rise to power tomorrow.) A Knights Tale was okay but still not bad. I didn't actually see Lords of Dogtown but at some point I might as I heard it was pretty good. I don't really remember him from Monster's Ball but that isn't his fault...as I tried to block out most of that movie. He was excellent in The Order, which is saying something considering that the movie itself was pretty lousy. And of course we all know that he was damn near perfect in Casanova and Brokeback Mountain.

My only real point of tonight's posting is to say that it is truly sad that Heath has passed away at such a young age. I wanted to say this before the official COD is released because I don't want think about that...as any actor will tell you that they want to be remember for their craft and not their death. His death is tragic for a number of reasons....and he will be missed.