When a friend says to you, “I’m getting married.” You say, “Congratulations!” But when a friend says to you, “I’m getting married… in St. John.” You say, “See you there!” I hopped a couple of flights, leaving Madison at 6am to Chicago, then on to San Juan and finally to St. Thomas… and then, a taxi ride across St. Thomas eventually got me to the ferry terminal, which then connected me to St. John after a 20 minute boat ride. I arrived by 8pm… a long day of travel to not change continents in my opinion, but worth it nonetheless.

Now, this was the wedding of Pamela Stewart and Darnell Davis. My friend Jerry Davis (no relation to the groom) was on his was the next day, along with my lovely guest Melissa… but for the first night, it was Pam, Pam’s friends and family, and Ray. Would this be good times? Would coming to a wedding 14 hours away on a remote island in the Caribbean with a bunch of strangers be a bust or a blast? I can’t quite put my finger on the timing… but it was either as I was taking a bite of the well-prepared steak with all my new weekend compadres, or maybe it was later when the bartender said “Sorry Mr. Berglund, but now we’re out of Tangueray,” that I knew good times were guaranteed.

Day two… whoa… is this what St. John looks like during the day? I utilized the Starwood hotels Platinum status to change rooms from a “Pool View” to the “Ocean View.” This postcard, I mean picture, is from my balcony. It had been six years since I was last in the Caribbean, and if I exclude money, time, and focus as factors, I’m not really sure why it took me so long to get back. Either way, it took me only a few minutes to get myself back into shape for public display, and get out into that water.

The rest of the cast showed up throughout the day, while Adria and I took advantage of the beach. By the time the evening came, I was in no shape to rally… so it was an early night. Saturday… wedding day… and, snorkel day! The majority of the gang went over to Jake’s for breakfast. In the month October, Madison is cold, but St. John is hot. ¡Hace calor, mami! Those not required to prep for the wedding, grabbed our snorkel gear and hopped into one of the islands many open air taxis (aka Pickup trucks with benches in the back… notsosafe.com). We were off to Trunk Bay for some relaxing in the sun, checking out the coral and swimming with the fishes. It was a perfect day, as I’m sure many of them are down there… but after being in the water for a few hours, and taking a long touring taxi ride around the island… it was time to have the lovely couple get married.

At around 6:00pm as the sun was setting, Pam and Darnell got hitched amongst a group of about 20 family and friends. It was a simple and elegant ceremony, and being there meant a lot to me and to all of us as witnesses. We followed up with a tasty dinner outside, a little music, a few drinks, all topped off with some time in the pool. Great day, great wedding.

Sunday had a few people leaving, and then Monday the rest of us. A ferry ride back to St. Thomas, a deck of cards and game of spades in the terminal… then I was off… to Sweden.

Summer is definitely over. It was below 40 degrees the other night, and the wind has basically taken all of the leaves off of the trees. Damn. The onset of fall however, also means that I’ve been here for almost a year. Yep, Madison, WI… one year. Before I reminisce too much on my October 12th arrival anniversary, I’m going to give a quick update on what the last month and a half of the summer has been all about.

First and foremost, work. Secondly, fun. From experience, I know this is the wrong order of priorities, and the cold wind today was a swift reminder that I could have probably squeezed a bit more out of the summer than I managed to. C’est la vie… there’s always next year.

So, on that fun front, what’s that all about? Well, that generally means golf… a lot of it. I played some mean golf (for me) in the month of August. A couple of attempts at eagle puts, two birdies in a row at The Oaks, and a score of 102 at The Meadows of Sixmile Creek. That 102 was in fact the final round of the year for me, which is a shame… since I did have the “break 100” in the plans for this season, but it just didn’t come together.

What else? Well, there’s a few things you need to do in Madison during the summer. First off, you’ve got to try out the “Taste Of Madison.” I admit, I was skeptical that a ‘couple of restaurants’ could offer a ‘bit of food’ for people walking around… all the while in my head I’m thinking “glorified carnival food.” I will also admit, that I was wrong. I was starving when I arrived, and within 25 feet of the first row of booths that outlined the entire capital, I was devouring my third food sample (a pork asado burrito… thing). More than 200,000 people attended the event, and I ate for at least 4 or 5 of them. It was ridiculous, and I’m already thinking about how to better tactically approach “the Taste” next year.

Another good time? How about seeing only 1 of the 22 global Ironman Triathlon events start? There is no other way to describe than “Bad Ass.” Then you say, “Oh, come on, Ray… it’s just a race.” Well, I believe the exact calculation that I went through was: 2.4-mile Swim + 112-mile Bike + 26.2-mile run = Bad Ass. I got down to the Monona Terrace at about 6:45am, and immediately realized that this was a much bigger even than I had expected. There were 2,400 people in lake Monona behind the start line… Gatorade and other big name sponsors had huge booths and tents everywhere, and there were easily 15,000 to 20,000 people watching from the shoreline. It was nuts, and it was then that I started asking questions of “Okay, what exactly is this all about?” Turns out if you can Swim 2.4 miles, you’re in good shape. If you can ride a bike for 112 miles, you’ve just done something impressive… but if you can run a marathon after both of those… you’re an Ironman. Bad Ass.

One of the few reasons it’s okay for summer to end is that football begins. I think I speak for 99.5% of New England when I say that watching Tom Brady hit Benjamin Watson for two touchdown passes in the final 2:06 of the opening game of the NFL season against the Buffalo Bills to win 25-24, brought back everything that was missing from last season… and also, it blew my mind. (The other 0.5% of New England had turned it off, and are kicking themselves for it now). So, football, yes, I love it, and yes, I like seeing good teams play the sport. One of those teams, is the Green Bay Packers, and seeing them at the historic Lambeau Field is a mission of mine this season… mission: accomplished. On opening night, I headed up there (about 2.5 hours) to watch the Packers take on the Bears and win their opening night 21-15… a game which also contained a late touchdown pass with 1:11 left to clinch it. I had the opportunity to watch the whole thing from a suite above the stadium… and yes, the people in those boxes, are having a very good time.

Now… the “September Finale,” was really more of a “TEP Reunion,” which was really more of “Paul and Valerie’s Wedding,” but all three names (and more) could apply. I hopped a plane on Friday afternoon to Rochester, NY, met up with Nili P. Gold, and drove down to Canandaigua, NY’s Bristol Harbour Resort. (You can tell it’s nice due to the British spelling of Harbour). Rowell and I had rented out a 3-bedroom condo at the resort, and you can see the video below here of the view… yeah, that was nice. There, we met up with about 40 fraternity brothers of mine who were in town to see one of our own, Paul Grady, get married off to a lovely young lady by the name of Valerie Rogalia. It completely goes without saying that debauchery ensued with the crowd that was present, all during the night before, throughout the reception, and the late into the final night. The best thing about it for me however, was seeing a group of my closest friends that have gone deeper into the years of post-college life, and seeing how they’ve changed, matured, not-matured, made it through things, are going through things, and are all still alive (surprisingly enough). I look forward to another one of them working on another wedding in the near future, but hopefully not too near… I’m going to need some time to recover.



So there you have it… summer is over, but I enjoyed what I could get out of it. Stay tuned, it’s about to get a little ridiculous.

To spend a week in New Hampshire with the family is a rare occurrence these days. I did manage to pull it off though, as after the passing of anyone close, you often take a step back and think through what is important. I did, and I knew that sticking around for a week would be good for me, good for the family, and good for the fun.

I was working all week, and on and off calls, but I managed to get out and see New Hampshire a bit. The summer here is incredible, and I suppose that it’s not until you’ve seen the weather of the rest of the world and/or have seen just how lousy some places can be, that you finally get to appreciate what is like to be here. On Monday, after some morning calls… Mom and I headed up to the Grafton County Courthouse… yeehaw… and filed my grandfather’s will with the Probate court. I wasn’t all that familiar with Probate, except for the fact that “it takes forever,” as anyone would tell you. Basically, it means that you open up an account, put everything that he had in his own name into that account, pay his outstanding bills from that account, and then once everything has been settled, you close the account and ‘inherit’ what is left. Interesting, I suppose. So, once that was filed, we headed back to Lincoln, NH via Route 112. It’s a gorgeous ride, and when you’re coming down Kinsman Notch past the Lost River campground area, you are looking southeast across multiple mountain ranges, between Mt. Osceola and Mt. Tecumseh, with Mt. Passaconaway and Mt. Whiteface in the furthest background. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but it was a gorgeous view. (Here’s a map to give you an idea of the view… the start of the arrow is where I took the picture from).

Tuesday was much more focused on work, and was certainly a low-key day. It was again, absolutely gorgeous… and I stuck around my computer for most of the day, on and off calls. Wednesday, my dad took the day off, and we visited a good friend up on Ossipee Lake. We went out on to the boat, and cruised around the Lake. I had never been out on this lake before, but just like the rest of New Hampshire lakes… it was beautiful. We cruised out of Broad Bay and headed out into the big lake. It was another good view, but was quite hazy and humid on Wednesday. As we cruised up the east side of the lake, a bald eagle flew right over us and I took this picture here. Go, nature!

Thursday night, it was my time to take out the parents for a nice dinner. Enter, the Coe House. It’s a restaurant in one of the many old houses that exist around the Lake, but it’s recently come under new ownership, so we gave it a go. They had these butternut squash raviolis in this sage white sauce that I ordered for an appetizer… ridiculous, right… and so when mom and dad went salads for a second course, I ordered another round of the raviolis… worth it. More food, more drinks, more conversation… my dad put it best when he said on Saturday as I was leaving “I could have stayed there all night.”

On Friday, I took a bike ride with mom in the afternoon after work was done, and closed out the final evening by meeting up with old friends for a dinner and drinks. It’s a rare occurrence these days to spend so much time with the family, and I know I am fortunate.

My grandfather passed away last week. A shame, as he was the last of my grandparents, and now I’m one generation away from “the natural order of things.” My grandfather was a hero for the family. He was a world War II vet, a business owner a few times over, a pilot, and as native to New Hampshire as you could get. He had been ‘flying solo’ for the last few years, his aunt died in 1998, then his daughter (my aunt) died in 1999, his mother died later that same week (yeah, that was a tough week). Then in 2003 his wife died, and all that was left was my parents, my sister and I. So, he was sort of just rolling along, living in Lincoln, NH, and doing just fine with that. I saw him at Christmas, and he was looking older; still was a handsome guy, and had a vivacious spirit, but was looking just a bit older to me. Anyway, we all had a few drinks that night and as I told him "I'll see you later," he responded "Yeah, if I live that long." I said that I'd see him again, and sure enough, on the 4th of July weekend that I flew to New Hampshire for, my mom arranged for a family dinner to celebrate his 82nd birthday. We all headed up to Lincoln, and had dinner at the Indian Head Resort. I got him a card of a big-faced ridiculous looking cow and made a joke about living in Wisconsin inside it. The dinner and conversation was a great time, and we even took this picture here… as you can see, he was still lively and joking around. Less than four weeks later, he died. I was told on Tuesday morning while I was at work in Madison. My mom asked if I was going to make it back, because he was to be cremated, and I said, "Hold on that," and I flew back within 24 hours and was able to see him one last time. He looked peaceful, relaxed, and was as if he was just sleeping. It was a good thing for me, as I know he would have done the same.

So, in all, despite not wanting him to go and it being a sudden and sad thing, I feel like I saw him at the right times with the right people very recently. I will miss him though, because I wanted him to see what more came out of this life of mine... he was always so incredibly proud of my sister and I, and honestly I just wanted to keep showing off for someone who appreciated it so much. Now, there is an emptiness in the family, especially for my mom... but as I said, with only being one generation away, I guess it just means I'm not the kid anymore. I liked having a grandpa though... I liked it a lot.

His obituary reads:

William Henderson
Navy veteran

LINCOLN — William "Bill" James Frederick Henderson, 82, of Lincoln, died on July 28, 2009.

Born July 8, 1927 in Lincoln, he was the son of Edward William and Gladys Davis Henderson.

Bill served in the Navy from June 1945 to August 1949. He served on seven different vessels throughout his service, traveling throughout the Asia Pacific region during World War II. After serving his time in the Navy, Bill earned his bachelor's degree in history from the University of New Hampshire in 1953.

Bill was the manager of several W.T. Grant stores throughout New England for 22 years, finally settling in Claremont. He then became the owner of the Western Auto store in the same community for several years. Additionally, Bill and his family operated the Frostop Dairy Bar in Newbury Harbor. Bill worked until his retirement as a correctional officer at the Sullivan County House of Corrections. During his retirement, he worked at Esersky's Hardware store in Claremont.

Bill was an enthusiast of aviation and experimental aircraft, owning a Piper Colt plane of his own. He began taking flying lessons in the late 1950s and continued flying until 2008. Bill was a member of the Airport Advisory Commission in Claremont during his residency there.

He was an active member of the American Legion Post 83 in Lincoln.

Bill is survived by his daughter, Grace Berglund and her husband Kenneth of Moultonborough; his grandson, Raymond Berglund of Madison, Wis.; his granddaughter, Kristen Menslage and her husband Keith of South Boston; his lifelong friend Barbara (Madden) Badasarian; and many cousins.

Bill was predeceased by his wife, Cynthia (Rynders) Henderson; and his daughter, Nancy Henderson.

Honestly, I think my grandfather was one of the most interesting men in the world. He didn’t speak much, but when he did, it was time to listen. He was laid to rest on a beautiful sunny day in the Riverside Cemetery in Lincoln, NH on August 1, 2009. The Navy color guard was on hand to present the flag to my mother, and the America Legion was there to fire a three-volley salute. As taps played, the White Mountains of New Hampshire towered in the background, a military helicopter flew around Coolidge Mountain, and a crowd of 70 or so people stood in silence to remember my grandfather. He is and will be missed.

Jerusalem… the capital of Israel… and the holy land of just about everyone on Earth. Greek Orthodox? This is your place. Muslim? You’ve got a reason to be here. Roman Catholic? Jewish? Come on down… we’ve got an altar for you! A trip to Jerusalem is worth a visit in your lifetime, and I managed to pull it off with a private tour guide a couple weeks back. I knew that it was a big deal to go, but had no idea really what it was all about.

I flew to Israel on Saturday afternoon from Madison, bouncing my way through Detroit and JFK on my way to Tel Aviv. I arrived about 2pm on Sunday and rented my Honda Civic and was off to Herzliya. It was my third time staying in this resort town, but my first in the summer, and you can see why these hotels are a destination by so many Israelis and international tourists. The Mediterranean, the sand, the people… incredible… take a look:



Needless to say, the week started off well and I was sure to enjoy my time with the team and with getting some tourist activities in on this third trip to Israel. The week included a number of operating reviews with the team for me to review all the hard work that’s gone into the tough first half of this year. It was great to see that the work that’s been done, but also to see all of the people of my business face to face and in their element… definitely a big reason why I work like I do.

What’s the next best thing to do besides meet your team at work 3,000 miles away? Leave work with them! That’s right… if I wanted to be in the office, I could have stayed in Madison. So, where did we go? Well, I headed up to Haifa for one day to have a meeting with the team in the north of the country, and also made it down for a meeting with Deloitte in the Azrieli towers in Tel Aviv… quite a view from the 42nd floor… and best of all, lunch with the team in the ancient town of Caesarea.

Caesarea is an ancient port city that was built up by the Romans in 63 BC, most specifically by King Herod. It consisted of a large palace that stretched out on a rock cropping into the ocean, had it’s own hippodrome for chariot racing, and hosted gladiator games every five years. The city continued to flourish in the Byzantine era, but was eventually abandoned after being sacked by the Baybars. Today, it is a common location for tourists to visit the ruins on land and dive amongst the roman columns in the small bay. (This paragraph brought to you by Wikipedia). The team and I however most enjoyed the restaurant that is amongst the ruins and right on the ocean for a great view, great breeze, and great food.

Friday was the big day. At 9am, my tour guide Rami picked me up at the Daniel hotel, and we were off to the holy city of Jerusalem. We drove through the middle of the country, down a well-maintained and empty highway (Friday is the first day of the weekend there). Before we got into Jerusalem, just on the outskirts of the city, we went Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial of Israel (the top and exit of the building you can see here). It was quite an impressive site to see, and a very well laid out memorial. I was glad to have taken the time to see it, and despite really looking forward to getting into the Old City, it was well worth the couple morning hours. Further along the ride, Rami explained that David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, made a huge push for planting tress throughout Israel to ‘reclaim the land’ from the desert. Now, if you grew up in the middle of a forest in New Hampshire, you wouldn’t be impressed by the sparse forests in this arid land… but then when you enter into Jerusalem towards the Mount of Olives and look east into the West Bank and into Jordan, you realize that there is a major difference between Israel and the desert. I realized when I looked down on it, I had never seen the desert before, and despite it being for only a few seconds as we rounded the corner, it is an incredibly desolate and empty place… almost like another planet. That was fine with me though, because only a minute later, I was looking down from the Mount of Olives over the old city of Jerusalem. This was the view:



You don’t get many cities like Jerusalem… three major religions, declaring it the holiest site for their beliefs, all packed within a few hundred yards of each other. In the video above, I zoom in on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is the holiest site of the Christians, then just to the right of that is the golden topped Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site for Islam, which sits on the large flat area of the Temple Mount, the holiest site for Judaism. All packed in with each other, all best friends… yeah, not so much. Also in the video, you can see the many graves on the Mount of Olives. Why would they pack in right there on the hill? Well, as Rami explained, the sealed “Golden Gate” along the eastern wall of the Temple Mount will be opened up when the Messiah returns, the third temple will be built up, and the dead will be resurrected. Thus, the $250k or so he estimated it costs to be buried there among the other 150,000 people, is the price you pay to get a front row seat to all of this action. Wow. You can also ride this camel for about 20 shekel.

From the Mount of Olives, Rami and I drove down to just below the Temple Mount and parked there to enter the Old City at Zion Gate. The first thing we did was go to the tomb of David, located in a building below where supposedly the last supper took place. Now, you have to go with some imagination here, since many of these buildings have been destroyed, rebuilt, and obviously with the three religions having somewhat, shall we say differing ‘views,’ all claims of locations and events are disputed, but there is one thing for certain… lots of things have happened here over many many years.

We walked along the split between the Armenian quarter and the Jewish quarter to the ‘Cardo’, the colonnaded excavated main street from the Roman period of Jerusalem. It is full of shops and excavated old city walls from thousands of years ago. It honestly is very interesting to see how the modern shops are built right into the ruins. From there, we walked up through a covered market area, which was teeming with the Muslims who had just got out of their Friday prayers at the Mosque (Friday is the holy day for Muslims, Saturday for the Jews, and Sunday for the Christians), and it was a great site to see. People packed in, haggling back and forth, spices, knick-knacks, and everything in between being sold… simply awesome.

Rami and I emerged from the market to the courtyard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Why is this important? Well, Jesus was crucified on site where the Church was built, so that’s one reason. Another is that inside the church, there are altars and areas from nearly every sect of Christianity. With that said, the “status quo” arrangement of the ownership of the church and its common areas require that all of the religious communities are in agreement before any changes are made. This basically means that the place looks pretty beat up. In comparing it to a site such as St. Peter’s in Rome, the church is not beautifully ornate, but it is monumental to see. I walked all through the building for a while, and I’m always most impressed by ancient graffiti, such as these crosses drawn by the Crusaders of ~1100AD. The people that are kneeling down in the picture are touching the Anointing Stone, where Jesus’ body was prepared. Every one touches it, and some people kiss it… I didn’t kiss it.

We left there, grabbed a schwarma for lunch, and headed down the hill, through another section of the market, through the Muslim quarter, up to the entrance of the Jewish Quarter’s Western Wall. The Western Wall is also known as the Wailing Wall, as it is the holiest site for the Jewish faith, and many people come here to pray and… well… pray. Why a wall? Well, the wall was originally part of the Second Temple, which was destroyed in 70 when the Romans took over Judea. The Temple Mount, the area where the Second Temple was located (the flat area that was in the video above), was enlarged and in the late 600’s, the Muslims built the Dome of the Rock on the location. Therefore, the holiest location for Jews to this day is the remainder of the temple’s wall… the Western Wall.

After seeing that, we headed out of the city and back on the roads to the coast and up to Herzliya. In all, it was a great trip that I would not have likely had in my “must see” plans as a tourist, but again the job comes through with giving me these kinds of unique opportunities. Israel, come for the history, stay for the kebabs. (Or at least those free paper yamulkes they hand out at holy sites).

Happy Birthday Blog!

The Go There, Try That blog is now 3 years old as of today.

I am proud to have kept a personal record of the past three years. When I talk with my parents, and really anyone who has lived through their twenties, it becomes clear that this time in life moves quicker than anyone ever expects. Once you leave college, enter the work force, make your way through relationships and apartments, your memories begin to blend and mix together... and it becomes tough to keep the story straight. Now that the travel has slowed a bit, so has the posting... but it's part of the transition, I suppose. About two months ago, I considered 'retiring' the blog... closing it off with a final post and saying "Adios, Muchachos." I'd say the thought was brought on by a number of things; less travel, repetitive activities brought on by living in one small city, and my own general lack of interest in my own story. It's not the most uplifting thought, sure, but it's the reality of change. It's the reality that there are ups, and there are downs... but on average, life is certainly good. So as I continue to get used to the new 'average', I will continue going wherever and trying whatever to keep it interesting. Thanks for reading, it's been a pleasure writing.

-Ray

I received the inevitable “Ray Ray, where you been, man?” and I think it’s high time for a little update. The last time we talked I was coming home from a double serving of Sweden in two weeks… and mentioned I was going to go out to the islands. Well, went to the islands I did. Actually, just one island… that of Styrsö. I hopped in the Volvo, punched in the port of Saltholmen into the GPS, and I was off. Once I arrived, I bought my ticket for the ferry, got a “Guide To the Islands of the Southern Archipelago” pamphlet, hopped aboard the boat and was off. Now… what I learned that the locals do from the helpful ticket booth girl was that everyone waits until they get to Styrsö Tangen to get off, and then they walk across the island and take the Ferry back from Styrsö Bratten… duh.

Heading into the island, along with landing and seeing the people there, made me think of only one thing: Maine. If you’ve ever had the chance to go to the Maine coast, and take a ferry out to one of the islands (say Monhegan or Vinalhaven), then you would know exactly what it was like going out to the coastal islands of the Southeast coast of Sweden; rocky, sunny, breezy, salty, and everyone speaking a different language. It was exactly what the doctor ordered after a couple weeks of a lot of work.

The first thing I did when I got there was grab a bite to eat at the small café at Styrsö Tangen. One thing I’ve found that is very popular in the Gothenburg area is a “shrimp sandwich,” which consists of a flat piece of bread (like a pita), with some lettuce, sliced hardboiled eggs, an oversize dollop of mayo, and a huge pile of tiny shrimp. At the Gothia Towers, they call it a “king size,” at this café they called it a fjurgenkyurgenschmyurgenflyurgen. (That’s a lie). But, it was good nonetheless with a Litovel beer (a Czech Republic beer).

For the remainder of the day, I wandered all around the islands “roads”. There is no driving allowed on the island, and therefore the roads are more like wide walking paths with the occasional 3-wheel scooter that comes by. In all reality, I did nothing there all day, but I suppose that was the point. Thus, my trip to the “Island of the Southern Archipelago.” Good times.

While I’m at it, I have to point out one other observations of Sweden. There is this little “breath” that Swedish people do when they are listening to you talk, and once you notice that it’s happening, it’s hugely distracting. I liken it to the way my fellow Americans might say “mmhmm” while someone is explaining to something to them… but this breath that the Swedes do almost seems like they are in pain, got surprised by something, or are having a pulmonary issue. (This guy wrote an entire blogpost dedicated to it) It’s just one of those things… you gotta see it to believe it.

The most common question I seem to get when I talk about my transatlantic travel is, “How long is that flight?” Well, to go to Sweden, it’s 3 legs… 1.5 hours from Madison to Detroit (or sometimes Minneapolis), 8.25 hours to Amsterdam (from either city really), and another 1.5 hours from Amsterdam up to Gothenburg… totaling 11.25 hours. Throw in about two hours per layover, and you’ve got a nice 15 to 16 hour travel time. With trips to Israel, it’s about 2.5 hours from Madison to Newark, and 9.5 hours from Newark to Tel Aviv. Throw in the two-hour layover in Newark and you’ve got a solid 14-15 hours. There, now that we’re comfortable that this travel leads to long days… one could now ask, “What do you do on these flights?” Well, with the advance of personal entertainment systems on the flights, I watch movies… and I’ve seen a lot of them in the last few weeks. Here’s my take on the movies that I’ve watched in only the last 2 weeks on a plane (in order from least favorite to… umm, favorite favorite… I guess):

Yes Man: Jim Carrey re-does “Liar Liar.” The movie is literally the exact same premise, except that instead of not being able to lie, he just can’t say no. Unless you’re on a plane, in an uncomfortable seat for 8 hours, I’d say stay away… but, if you happen to be in that very seat, and you want some mindless-yet-classic Jim Carrey… be my guest. Score: 3/10

Rocknrolla: Guy Ritchie re-does all Guy Ritchie films. Listen, much like the predictability of Jim Carrey from above, you get the same thing with Guy Ritchie’s films. The London gangster and drug addict underground, lots of (insert thing of value here, i.e. diamonds, real estate, etc.), and a grand scheme by all characters involved to screw each other over… where the last man standing is gloriously redeemed and somehow not in jail for life. Yet… sometimes that’s exactly what the doctor ordered… and Mr. Ritchie delivers, again. 5/10

Frost/Nixon: The most interesting thing about my generation and Nixon is that we know only two things about him… Vietnam and Watergate. Some of us who paid attention in US History may remember his visit to China, but I wouldn’t put money on it. I personally have never heard of the Nixon interviews, and therefore another biographical true story movie was in store… plus, I had watched nearly everything else. So, what do you get from this movie? No action, a bit of tense drama, but in the end… some historic facts and a portrait of an old man who has fallen from grace. You almost feel bad for the guy… but, then you remember Vietnam and Watergate and get over that pretty quickly. Score: 5/10

Milk: Sean Penn kissed a dude… I saw it. This movie would make a good number of people in the red states completely lose their minds… it does not hold back. It however is a great story of a very influential man, and Sean Penn (along with the cast around him), make you root for the other team more than the crowd at Tropicana field from 1996 to 2006. It’s inspiring, it’s factual, and it’s a very well-done movie… and a great biography… so give it a go. Score: 6/10

Revolutionary Road: LEO! *little girl scream*… yeah, so anyway, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are back at it again… except this is the part of their continuing Hollywood romance where they actually make it back from the Titanic, and get a job and have children, and realize how much life can actually suck. By the end of Revolutionary Road, you take a look at all the characters, reflect on yourself to see if you have any of their qualities, and swear to be a better person. You also say, “Man, that was heavy… I need to watch ‘Yes Man’.” Score: 6/10

Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood cracks me up in this movie. Racism, now that its been completely eradicated from the earth (please note the sarcasm), is rampant in this movie and gives the real life look at how many of our grandfathers (in the US) who fought in the Pacific think and sometimes still talk. It’s a pretty honest story overall, and brings up a number of cultural misunderstandings and differences that are good to face… plus, you’ll want to carry a gun and be very hungry for dim sum by the end. Score: 6/10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A story of a man, in reverse only physically, but very forward in mental development and learning from life’s lessons… definitely worth the watch. People had complained that it was a bit long… thank god, because I still watched two other movies on the same flight, so to me, it wasn’t long enough. For anyone thinking they’re going to get the romance/love story piece, just drop that from the beginning. This is a story about a man, from sunrise to sunset. Score: 8/10

The Wrestler: Story, gritty. Camera work, gritty. This movie, awesome. This movie could have been a documentary, and Mickey Rourke could have actually been a wrestler known as “The Ram.” The thing about it, is that this didn’t necessarily have to be a wrestler, but could have been many sports, where someone never lets go of being part of the action. You even get to follow the side story of Marisa Tomei’s character, all of which could also be a documentary. I’d recommend this one for most people, not all, because not everyone is gritty enough… some people are boring. Score: 9/10

So there you have it… my stab at being a movie critic… just my opinion, take it or leave it.