Week Sixteen Of The YPEL

Well week 16 has come and gone and the standings are closer than ever. Yes the standings are closer than Dom DeLuise is to the free all you can eat buffet.

Week 16 had All Ahead Full and the Highlanders go 11-5,
The Ambush and Sweet Chlorine go 10-6,
And the GTT and the Mama Pigs go 6-10 and 5-11 in that order.

And those results have compacted the standings;

In first is the Ambush at 162-78 with a one game lead on...
All Ahead Full at 161-79 with a one game lead on...
The Highlanders at 160-80 with an eight game lead on...
Sweet Chlorine at 152-88 with an insurmountable (25 game) lead on...
The Mama Pigs at 127-113 with a mathematically eliminated (22 game) lead on...
The Golden Trailer Trash at 105-135 (better luck next season Fill).

So one more week till the playoffs. And your picks this week are VERY crucial to your standings. Have fun.

Woody's Movie Review 37

Today we have some interesting movies so let's get started.

First is the movie "Lady Killers" starring Tom Hanks. Hanks plays the leader of a group of four men who are trying to rob a riverboat casino. To do this they must be in the house of an elderly woman who grows more suspicious with their hi-jinks as time goes by. Then when the end is in sight things take several turns for the worse. All in all very entertaining, 4 penguins.

I also saw "The Maiden Heist" starring Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman and William H Macy. These three play security guards at a museum. When they learn the museum is shipping some of their favorite pieces to Europe they do the natural thing. They decide to steal them and replace them with fakes. All does not go according to plan but it does get some good laughs. 4 penguins.

Next we have "Monsters Vs Aliens". Though it was funny in some parts I was expecting more. 3 penguins.

Lastly is "The Taking of Pelham 123" starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta. I have seen the original and it was better. This time out the effects were better and the story was pretty much the same. However I thought the ending was not good at all. 3 penguins.

Week Fifteen Of The YPEL

Week fifteen was average, so average that 4 teams tied with identical 9-7 records.

They were;
All Ahead Full, the Ambush, the Highlanders and the GTT.

The Mama Pigs did slightly better at 10-5,
And Sweet Chlorine was slightly worse at 8-8.

As for season totals not much has changed.
At 152-72 is the Ambush,
At 150-74 is All Ahead Full,
At 149-75 is the Highlanders,
At 142-82 is Sweet Chlorine,
At 122-102 is the Mama Pigs,
And at 99-125 is the GTT.

Merry Christmas to everyone from the Commissioner and his entire staff.

Shopping, Seniors And Santa

Well unless you live in a cave or are in Mexico on vacation you know we got a lot of snow recently. Friday night I went to bed and the streets were clear not a flurry or flake in sight. But on Saturday morning the word was out it was going to be a snow flake reunion and everyone was invited. By the time it was done they were packed in 14" deep. Well I got up on Saturday did some laundry got dressed cleaned off my Jeep and headed out. I was going to meet freinds to shop for a retirement home. We decided to do that instead of having a secret Santa exchange, I guess I'll have to wait one more year for that Cledus T Judd CD. Anyway I arrived at my friend Ang's house and when I asked if we were still going shopping she replied in a nice way, NO! I said "Hey I have 4 wheel drive." And she became a little more willing. When I called the third member of our shopping tour de force, Kim and asked her why she wasn't there yet she asked "Are you insane?!" Well after a little convincing Ang & I headed off to Ephrata. We picked up Kim and headed for K-Mart. We found some good bargains even though we forgot the condoms. In this retirement home there is 1 man and 21 women, I;m just saying. We then went to Dollar Tree and I found out that they are the upper crust of dollar stores. We made out pretty good there too. We needed some poinsettias so we headed for Esbenshade's and the Christmas miracle part of our story. When we arrived the place was closed. I saw that the door to the wholesale dept was open and ran in to check it out. After pouring on the charm, showing a nice smile and assuring the lady these flowers would not end up on the black market she let us in. Now by let us in I mean they let us into the greenhouse, alone, to pick out our poinsettias. Well we grabbed 22 nice flowers, and said a quick prayer for the one that Kim killed. We checked out and were on our way. The trip back to Kim's was made a little difficult by the windows being fogged up. Ang said either my defogger sucks or she is full of hot air. Seeing as how I only had the center console between us I said no comment. Although if you know Ang I'll let you be the judge. We got back and put the gifts in bags with tissue paper, and then had lunch. I found out some things at lunch; 1)Yogurt is not cheese, 2)Cream cheese is cheese, 3)England was cancelled for a while, 4)Though that last one may have been Christmas was canceled for a while in England & 5)Spray cheese is not in the top 5 cheeses in the US though we all feel it should be. Well I took Ang home then after shoveling myself a space at my house relaxed inside.

On Sunday I met Ang and Dave and we headed up to Ephrata. Although not right away sometimes starting my Jeep is a two person operation. We got to Kim's loaded up the gifts and tried to leave. Again I had trouble starting my Jeep. And I gave up I told them go ahead I have to get this fixed, as I said that I turned the key it started and off we went. On the way we decided that for some women tarantulas are a deterrent to relationships. We also decided that for all men cat strollers offer the same deterrent. We arrived at Cornwall Manor and delivered gifts to the delight of the residents. Though some were dreaming they were delighted. Then we went to Red Robbin for dinner and Ang finally decide to call Jacqui. The 5 of us went to Christmas Candy Lane looking forward to a good time. But that plan was put on hold when Jacqui's Mini (Mobile If Not Inclement weather) got stuck in the parking lot. Ten minutes, 4 wet gloves and three of Kim's teeth later the car was free. We got inside and had a lot of fun at the Claw, the Bumper Cars, seeing Reindeer, the Pirate Ship, drinking hot chocolate (for pushing a car) and of course the Merry Go Round. Am I forgetting anything...Oh yeah; THE TRAIN! Last year we had the Turnpike ride that you DO NOT want to miss. This year was the Train. We rode the train 3 times. Was it that exciting? Not really. But on the first ride I noticed a figure of a woman in white lights with an out of place red light on her breast. I mentioned this to the group and they said there is no way that was true. So we rode it again. Now Ang decided there had to be a wager on this. I said I was so confident that if I was wrong I would sit through "The Sound of Music". They lept at the chance and agreed without knowing my movie. Well when we got to the lady in almost all white Ang was strangely silent. I could tell she was trying to come up with some explanation but maybe the cold had slowed her down a bit. Kim just said "Yup it's on her boob". Even though Rudolph hiding in her jacket or a red tipped ski pole sound good. Then we rode the train again this time trying to capture the woman on film. No luck though. Well we finished up and headed home. Well we did, Jacqui may still be in the parking lot. So thanks to Kim, Ang, Dave, Jacqui, Cornwall Manor, Kim's Grandma, K-Mart featuring Michael, Dollar Tree, Esbenshade, Red Robin and Hershey Park for a wonderful 2 days. Oh and of course God for the great layer of snow. Now I just have one question what am I going to have the girls watch for my movie? Any suggestions?

Week Fourteen Of The YPEL

Well week fourteen has come and gone and the standings are tighter than "Fat Jack's" belt on Thanksgiving.

This weeks results;
The Highlanders and Sweet Chlorine both had 12-4 weeks (the commissioner's office has started a nepotism investigation).
The Ambush went 11-5,
All Ahead Full had an OK week at 8-8,
The Mama Pigs hang in with 7-9,
And the GTT oh my 4-12.

So the season standings have...
The Ambush back in first at 143-65
All Ahead Full in second at 141-67
The Highlanders in third at 140-68
Sweet Chlorine in fourth at 134-74
Then there is a 22 win gap to the Mama Pigs in fifth at 112-96
And of course the GTT at 90-118

Three more weeks and a very close race.

Weird News

Here are something I found in the local paper.

1) There is a man on trial in Florida for breaking into a house wearing a gas mask; stabbing two people, killing one of them. His lawyer has asked for a makeup artist to cover up the man's neo-nazi tattoos because they may cause the jury to think ill of him. "Never mind that murder/attempted murder thing it is his tattoos that freak me out!" Of course the kicker is that he can't afford to pay for the makeup artist so the state is shelling out $150.00 a day for the service.

2) Some guy wrote a letter to the editor titled "More violence in Lancaster County". He states that there was a killing that happened in the country and the picture was on the front page of the paper. I didn't remember that so I read on. Apparently this guy's heart was on full bleed for a deer. I say boo-hoo (heavy sarcasm intended).

3) A small article told how many members of certain companies received large bonuses in 2008. Between JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lych & Co., Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. there were 4,131 bonuses. Each bonus was at least 1 million dollars. Total bonuses $4,131,000,000 (that's billion with a "B"). I hope those guys all get coal this year.

4) Lastly a nice story especially in light of #3. It seems that the Salvation Army held a raffle to raise funds. Among the options for the grand prize was a $10,000 gift card to Lowes. When the man who won was informed of his good fortune he had one reply. "Take it back." The gift card was returned and the salvation Army got a $10,000 donation. As an added note the man asked to be anonymous. Kind of makes you feel good that there are good people out there. And turning down 10K makes you an awesome person in my book.

Wreaths Across America 2009

This past weekend I went to Washington DC / Arlington National Cemetery to participate in Wreaths Across America. This is my third year doing so. Wreaths Across America is an organization that places wreaths on veterans graves around the Christmas season. This happens across the country and around the world. 15,000 wreaths were placed at Arlington and estimates of 300,000 wreaths total. It is an honor and a privilege to participate. I will get back to that a little later.

I left Friday morning and got to my hotel. After I checked in I bundled up and went to the metro. After a short ride I arrived a short walk from the Smithsonian Museums. I decided to go into the Natural history museum this year. Although I think their math is quite a bit off, it was a nice museum. Apparently the earth is aging faster than I am. When I was in high school they said it was millions of years old, now it is billions. Maybe I have been out of high school too long. Anyway I got done there and took a stroll to the Air & Space museum and caught up with an old friend, LGM-30G. Though I call him Minuteman III. It is still odd to see my job in a museum. After some quality time with my fungicide treated cork buddy I headed back to the motel.

The next day I got up and enjoyed a complimentary breakfast of scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage gravy and OJ (orange juice not Simpson). I headed over to Arlington and there was a big crowd. We all gathered and listened to several speakers. Even the president did a fly over. Two speakers really stood out to me. The first was a Chaplain. Before he said a prayer he said "Join me in the privilege of prayer". How often do we take prayer for granted, but is a privilege. And those who now rest at Arlington are a big part of the reason we can pray. The second was the leader of the American Gold Star Mothers. If you don't know back in WWI people would hang a flag with a blue star on t to indicate a family member fighting in the war. If that service member was killed then the star was changed to gold. She spoke and said that part of grief is fear. Fear that her son will be forgotten. She said no amount of chiseled stone or dedicated benches could allay that fear. Then she got a little emotional and said that seeing all of the volunteers, probably about 8,000 this year, there to participate; she said that had put the fear to rest. Wow even I got a little choked up. Well once the speeches were done we set about our task. About 90 min later it was complete and Arlington looked awesome. They also had a separate ceremony and some boxes of wreaths at section 60. Section 60 is where the newest members of Arlington's family are laid to rest. Their families were given the chance to place wreaths in that section. I finished up and headed home. After feeling humble, somber, respectful, patriotic, sad, grateful, proud and privileged I drove off feeling honored and glad to be a small part in the day. I don't want to go any time soon but when my time comes, oh that I could be remembered in Arlington, and one day have someone lay a wreath for me.

Week Thirteen Of The YPEL

This was an interesting week as the standings continue to change.

Leading the pack was All Ahead Full with a 13-3 week,
Fighting for second was the Ambush, Sweet Chlorine and oh my goodness the GTT all with 11-5 weeks,
And in a 2 way battle at the bottom was the Highlanders and the Mama Pigs both with 9-7.

Now for the totals;
In first is All Ahead Full at 133-59,
In second is the Ambush at 132-60 (-1),
In third is the Highlanders at 128-64 (-5),
In fourth is Sweet Chlorine at 122-70 (-11),
In fifth is the Mam Pigs 105-87 (-28),
In sixth (where he is comfortable) is the GTT at 86-106 (-47).

There you have it, it is going to be an interesting 4 weeks.

Woody's Movie Review 36

OK time for another trip towards the silver screen.

First we have "The Chaos Experiment" starring Val Kilmer. Val Kilmer plays a man who believes the world will end in 2012. His theory is that (get ready) global warming will kill us all. To prove his point he lures 6 strangers to a sauna by way of telling them it is a dating service. Well they are locked in, and you can guess the rest. My rating is 1 penguin.

Speaking of 2012 I went to see "2012" starring John Cusack, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson. In this one the world is going to end because the Mayans forgot to update their calendar. Dang Mayans. Anyway it is the typical disaster flick, doom is coming so a plucky band of protagonists races to safety encountering danger and expensive special effects at every turn. I gave it 4 penguins for enjoyment but not believability.

While we are on the subject of disaster how about Gene Hackman in "The Poseidon Adventure". Luxury cruise liner rocked upside down by giant wave. Sorry folks no more shuffleboard. It gets 5 penguins. As does the sequel starring Telly "Kojack" Savalas.

Next we have one of my favorites "The Towering Inferno" starring Paul Newman and Steve McQueen. Sometimes you just shouldn't trust family when it comes to building a sky scraper. 5 penguins.

And lastly we have a movie that many "critics" hated but I thought was good. "The Postman" starring Kevin Costner. Disease has wiped out most of the population and while looking for food Costner stumbles on an old postman's uniform. So that's where they get the clever title. Anyway the con for food becomes a revolt against an evil horde. Why is it hordes are always evil? Anyway I give it 5 penguins.

Week Twelve Of The YPEL

Good week all around and a tie is broken.

First week 12;

The Ambush came in first with 13-3,
The Highlanders and All Ahead Full both had 12-4,
Sweet Chlorine had 10-6,
The GTT edged out the next competitor with a 9-7,
And the Mama Pigs went 8-8.

For the season;
The Ambush now in front at 121-55,
Closely following is All Ahead Full at 120-56,
Closely following is the Highlanders at 119-57,
Closely following is Sweet Chlorine at 111-65,
Then there is the Mama Pigs at 96-80,
And of course the GTT at 75-101.