The Trouble With Money

In case you've been hiding under a rock lately, American International Group or AIG, has fallen on some hard times. Last September the government acquired a nearly 80% stake in the company with an $85 Billion (Yes, that's a B as in billion) bailout. How does this financial giant spend its money? By paying out $165 Million in bonuses. 

The official story is that the bonuses were promised out prior to the bailout and that AIG is contractually obligated to cover the bonuses.

Here's the problem I have with that. What company in their right mind offers employees a bonus for nearly tanking the company? No wonder they needed to be bailed out. I understand that if the employees met their personal goals that they should be given their bonuses accordingly. However, why did the management set the goals so low that bonuses could be paid out and the company could still go under? If you have any business dealings with AIG, I implore you to switch over to a new company. There's one certain way to make the bleeding stop, and that's to let the company die.

Who watched the Watchmen?

I first read The Watchmen back in the 80's and loved it. I couldn't believe that a comic book could seem so real and plausible. Everything in the novel seemed so gritty and real compared to the "regular" comics I was reading at the time. Rorschach made Wolverine seem tame. These guys seemed to be what the heroes would actually be like if they were real. The Watchmen changed the way I read comics. It opened my eyes to the world of "grown up" comics. To say that I've wanted to see this movie made for the past 20 some odd years is no exaggeration. After the first Batman movie (The one with Michael Keaton.) I thought that surely someone (I was hoping Tim Burton) would do the same thing for The Watchmen. Amy and I went to see it tonight. I had read the reviews, and was expecting to be disappointed. Honestly, I thought they did a great job. The movie is very faithful to the intent of the source material. Just about the only thing I would have changed was the thirty year old woman sitting behind us who giggled every time Dr. Manhattan showed of his man parts. Be warned, there's spoilers ahead, but here's what I liked most about the film:

1. The Effects - The special effects are awesome. There was a lot of attention to detail in this movie, and it shows.
2. The Ending - I never really liked the whole giant squid thing, and never understood why Dr. Manhattan, who had just re-discovered the joy of humanity would simply leave. The new ending tidied things up nicely.
3. The Soundtrack - They did a great job on this one. I'll have to pick up a copy on iTunes.
4. Casting - With the exception of Ozymandias, whom I felt appeared a little frail and effeminate, I felt that the cast did a superb part portraying their characters. The comedian looked like he should Rorschach looked and sounded like he should. Dan and Laurie looked the parts. I feel that you would have been very hard pressed to cast this movie any better. I probably would have chosen Captain Awesome for the part of Ozy, but in the action scenes the current actor was very believable.
5. The Sex - Not so much the sex, but the fact that they didn't feel the need to dumb down the adult nature of the story. Although, I do have to confess a new appreciation for Malin Ackerman. I'll even forgive her for being Canadian. :)

That being said, there were a few things I missed:

1. The Secondary Characters - The graphic novel did a great job introducing a slew of background characters who, although they did nothing to enhance the actual story line, did provide a sense of humanity to the deaths in the novel.
2. The Addictions - Laurie seemed to be a bit more flawed and real when she was struggling with her nicotine addiction. Also, it made the excuse for turning on the flame throwers in the Owl Ship a little more plausible. By taking away the nicotine addiction, it just makes her seem careless, or stupid.
3. The Tropical Forest in the Snow - I liked the forest in Karnak. It really showed the type of excess Ozymandias reveled in. I also liked the way he killed his assistants by callously opening the windows to let them freeze.

Despite the fact that I loved the movie, I hope there aren't a lot of parents who bring the kids to see this because, "It looks like it's a comic book."

Waxing Cheese

I'm spending the day in Rexburg Idaho waxing cheese for the US Cheese Championship.  It's cold here at 29 degrees and the wind is blowing in from the east. We're expecting snow showers today and tomorrow, so we'll see how the weather holds up.
http://www.uschampioncheese.org/

Swimming

I took Elizabeth swimming today. We had a blast. The pool was much warmer than the other day when David and I went.