Theresa posted a video of JJ’s response to the aforementioned Bloo video. It can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeqclCMgX-k

As luck would have it, JJ’s first TV addiction was Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Foster’s is a cartoon on Cartoon Network about a boy, his imaginary friend named Bloo & a slew of other imaginary friends. The show was created by Craig McCracken of PowerPuff Girls fame. (If you dont know what the Powerpuff Girls are, I pity you.)

JJ dances to the theme song of the show, and when Foster’s is on, all bets are off of him doing anything else.

Well - last week, Foster’s Season 1 finally came out on DVD. In perusing the bonus features of the dvd, we found the following video which sent JJ into riotous laughter & dances. I think we played it for about 20 straight minutes for him, making for a very happy child.

Adobe is finally accepting pre-orders for their CS3 suites.  Since I owned the Macromedia Studio 8 bundle, I got a sweet deal on the Adobe CS3 Web Premium package which includes Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator & Dreamweaver, as well as a pile of other programs.  The four programs listed are really the key for me though as it is rare that I go a day without using two of the four programs.

Rhino Records is FINALLY re-releasing The Traveling Wilburys Vol 1 & Vol 3 on CD with extra tracks & a bonus DVD.  This is about 15 years overdue.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Wilburys, it was perhaps the one of the greatest collections of talent ever in a single band:

• Bob Dylan
• Tom Petty
• Roy Orbison
• George Harrison
• Jeff Lynne

Their most popular song was probably “End of the Line” which most everyone has heard.  I will definitely be among first in line to get this.

Friday started off well enough.  The project that I am on this month required onsite work for the majority of the day.  With things wrapping up earlier than expected, I was home by four.

Friday marked the fifth anniversary for Theresa and I.  Brandi watched JJ for us, as we had dinner at Melisse in Santa Monica.  It was amazing.  We opted for the tasting menu with paired wines which is a 4 course meal plus a large selection of cheeses from the cheese cart.  Ordering different items, we tasted 8 items from the menu.  The cost of the meal was high but worth every penny to mark such a special occasion.  Should any of you choose to go there, be warned that this is a 3-3.5 hour meal, but one you will not be able to stop talking about.

Through a strange series of coincidences, Greg & Jenny offered to watch JJ for us on Saturday night.  I had been chomping at the bit to see 300 since about two years ago when they announced it was being made into a motion picture.  First because its my favorite Frank Miller comic.  Second because Zach Snyder of “Dawn of the Dead” remake fame was directing, and third because this particular battle has always fascinated me.

The film met and exceeded every one of my expectations.  The films visual style is stunning truly bringing the comic to life.  For anyone who has not seen it, there is a collection of film to comic page comparisons which will help to demonstrate it.  The film itself can be best be summed up as “carnal,”  not in the sense of disturbing violence, but more in the sense of the emotions of the characters & the emotions evoked from the audience.  Snyder brings out the deepest emotional impact of love, honor & self-sacrifice.

On a more historical note — the initial wave of the attack that the Spartans face demonstrates how the Spartan army really battled.  They won battles by trampling their enemies into submission.  More often than not their enemies were defeated when the front line of the Spartans were pushed over the front line of the enemy.  Said enemy was then stepped upon by every line of the Spartan phalanx as they marched forward.  The Spartan slaves followed behind picking off the enemies who managed to survive with short swords & spears.
Sunday was nice & quiet.  Theresa worked on school work, I did a crossword puzzle & played with JJ who was in one of his more pleasant moods.

I am becoming more & more convinced that the word “compact” is French for “SUV Park here”

Late February and March have been busy.  I can’t talk about what I am working on, but this month proves to be summarily full of work.

Since I cannot talk about work, I thought I would share a fun fact with you all.

Carrots do not actually improve eyesight.  The origin of this “fact” can be cited back to British Intelligence and World War 2.  During WWII, Britain developed cutting edge radar technology allowing them to pinpoint enemy aircrafts before they reached the English Channel.  They were extremely worried about Germany discovering this new technology.  To cover over the whole thing, they created a story around the idea that carrots were helping to improve the eyesight of the personnel manning the defenses.