Public Enemies Time Change

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NOTE: TIME CHANGE from 7:30 to 7:15 (WEDNESDAY). Due to the length of movie (2:17 minutes) East Gate changed the starting time of Public Enemies to 7:15. The Buses will still load at 6:00 and leave Columbus by 6:15. No exceptions.

NOTE: If you are going to the movie to see yourself OR people you know. Bring eye drops because you will not be able to blink. I have heard that almost all of the scenes shot in Columbus are in the movie. HOWEVER, they are broken up into little 1 second shots.

As one person told me it's a wild ride and while the TIME if the movie seems long you will not move the entire time. It seems short and as he said "It is better then I expected".

The one BIG worry I have is Pizza Shak. As I went to the place yesterday to solidify their donations of ten 20inch pizzas' there was a sign on the door. Close until further notice for maintenance and repair. WHAT????? GULP!!!! I called and the message said opening again Tuesday. CROSS YOUR FINGERS**.

Note - crossing your fingers was originally used when a suspected witch crossed your path, you could make a cross shortcut by crossing your index and second finger or the index fingers of both hands. This would provide protection and ward off the evil influence.

NOTE - Pizza Shak contains no witches!!

ON a side note Day One is going out of their way to help. They normally close at 9:00 but told us to call them as we leave Madison so they can pop the bread sticks into the oven and be super fresh as we arrive in Columbus.

Check out or buy a Wisconsin State Journal today!!

BIG STORY "Columbus resident Rod Melotte is so excited to see “Public Enemies” that he may levitate from his seat in the theater during the film."

I HATE that when that happens!!!! I can never tell if it is the 70's coming back to bite me in the ass again or if it's for real this time.

Long wait for 'Public Enemies' nearly over; film set to open here By TOM ALESIA

We are doing the movie Wednesday night - not Tuesday as many people think - WEDNESDAY!! We're not worthy of a TUESDAY screening.

Geez - the counter is down to ONE!!! remember when it was over 400? time flies!!

got an email from Roger Ebert . com

Check out Roger Eberts Review of PE (no mention of me LOL)
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Speaking of Netflix and Valkyrie - I hope that since I rated the movie 5 out of 5 stars it does not think I LOVE Tom Cruise. He was pretty good in the movie and I have renewed respect for him . . . . until he weirds out on me again.
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Random photo of the day - took it going to the final PEC-Premier meeting (YEA BABY - my camera is back). You know - the Columbus Fire Department is just SICK** with fire trucks.

Sick = Very good, excellent, awesome.

When I was a kid I wanted to grow up to BE a fire truck!! I was twisted way back then.

Random photo of Columbus

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I received a rather cryptic email from Littleton Colorado saying they can not wait to see Columbus in the movie. They grew up in our town and moved away in 1976 two years after graduating from C-bus High (this is a problem with Columbus - I'll speak of this on another day).

In the last year I've gotten many emails from former residents saying hi and talking about how they miss Columbus. Makes me happy I moved here and I can understand why people feel the need to make contact with Columbus again. Once you see the rest of the world you will see how Columbus is a relaxing, pretty little town with very friendly people.

I loved living in Madison for 20+ years but Columbus feels more like a home.

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HEY - did you guys hear Micheal Jackson died? I WISH they would cover this more on TV.

400,000 HITS!!! The boredom that is sweeping the world is amazing.

Have a great COLD Tuesday!

WOW - I also see that article is in the Portage Daily Register and the Beaver Dam Daily Citizen.

Rod

Monday Morning Haziness

This is where I get used to going to bed at midnight and waking at 8:00. AHHHH vacation.

Bits of info and news - - - - - -

I hope you all have a chance to check out Jenny and Josh's new blog Caring 4 Caydence.

From Laurie up dare in Oshkosh.

Oshkosh is off and running with PE events. The Museum kicked off its PE Exhibit with a sneak peak Friday night. It has something for everyone. Lots of photo displays (including a few non-Oshkosh photos with Columbus); Tommy gun shooting gallery; you can rob and bank and visit a jail cell; view memorabilia from the era and end your tour with a visit to the Speakeasy for a non-alcoholic drink. And on Saturday we were privileged to have Midwest Motorized Bandits perform a bank robbery re-enactments at the Museum. They were truly spectacular.
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BRRRRRRR - IT'S TOO COLD!! Why even have summer if it's going to be below 85!!

I WOULD have flower/garden photos but my camera was in the shop all weekend getting it's sensor cleaned.

WHO KNEW GLOBE THISTLE'S WOULD GET SO BIG. I have maybe 30 death star globes about to emerge.

Also - MILK WEED is slightly invasive. I guess it must have spread seeds. On the bright note I counted 6 Monarch caterpillars on the Milk Weed.

We watched Valkyrie last night and in a lot of ways it was like Public Enemies. Same basic time period and they were happy to get many vehicles and planes from that era, most are owned by collectors. The look and feel is the same as Michale Mann has for PE which many Imdb people whine about. They seem to think people were black and white and grainey back then.

When you lived in that time you did not see black and white, you saw tones of colors, not an old film look. The movie was shot mostly on locations like PE and most were in the actual spot where events happened.

Being a WWII history buff this untold true story on how a large group of Germain people inside the Army were anti-Hitler and how they ALMOST took over the government is amazing and sad. It was the last of 15 attempted Hitler failed murders.

One of the reason the Allies won the war was that Hitler kept killing all the smart Generals other bright people thinking they were against him. Over 30,000 were executed for treason over the last 2 or 3 years. Netflix said I would love the movie (4 of 5 stars) and were right on.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - WOW - second biggest opening in history with a gargantuan $201.2M in its first five days. The only film to beat it was The Dark Knight with $203.8M.

Public Enemies has gotten favorable press as 70% of the reviewers have given it a thumbs up! Of course 20% of the reviewers gave Transformers the thumbs up so take it with a grain of salt. 97% give UP the thumbs up (which if you are in Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq and Thailand you would not want to give anybody the thumbs up).

So have a great COLD day.

Man I am so sick of Micheal Jackson garbage on TV.

Rod

Public Enemies Review plus - Closing in on 400,000

So Micheal Jackson passed away. hmmmm The real Micheal Jackson died years ago. That is all I'm going to say on the subject.

Bad luck for Farrah Fawcett who also passed away but seems to be on page two. I have to think that for most males in the world that are in their 40s and 50s the death of Farrah means a LOT more then MJ.
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New subject.

HEY - you people with gardens - are they really getting ready to POP soon? I have a globe thistle that is getting ready to pop it's death star globes. AWESOME!! It's amazing what warm weather will do isn't it. I was going to take a photo of my gardens but my camera is getting it's sensor cleaned. I took a photo and saw Lawrence of Arabia tramping across it.

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I hope everyone saw Johnny Depp on Lettermen last night - EXCELLENT interview. As Lettermen said- you get you moneys worth out of muzzle flashes.





I talked to a woman that saw the movie last Thursday and she said she got motion sickness in the beginning. Lots of hand held HD cameras and motion. Just a warning to all of you that MIGHT be prone to motion sickness.

Speaking of interviews. I was interviewed by the Wisconsin State Journal yesterday. A rather long one and I tell ya. Great questions. The guy knew what he was doing. (not that I'm trying to insult previous interviewers).

Be looking for a big article on June 30th I believe in the WSJ.

I have not seen The Isthmus (paper edition) yet but I MIGHT have an article in it this week.

I believe tickets are now sold out for the Columbus Premier.

I didn't blog yesterday . . .busy . . . but I was looking at my hit counter and realized that it's going to be close on if I can get to 400,000 hits by Premier day. Weekends are always slow. Of course take the hits away that my mom gives me and it goes down to 128,000.


Graham Man saw the movie in Minneapolis last night - quick review.

Where to start… Oh she made it (his 1933 Graham Sedan)!!!!! I counted 5 individual shots of the Graham. One front shot as the 1933 Buick pulls away from the Racine bank robbery with the Lost lady (Emilie de Ravin) and 4 shot of the car during the Sioux Falls robbery. The top of my 1929 Graham Paige even made it during the Madison filming! And almost all the Madison background car engine noise is my 29 Graham!

Now… RENT COLLATERAL THIS WEEK!!!!!! Michael Mann is like your first cup of coffee; you will most likely not like your first taste, if you don’t understand his filming technique/style you will be distracted during the first half of the movie. I say this because I accidentally rented it myself; I just wanted to see his style. Oh it was the best Tom Cruse film I have seen in a long time anyway. I think this is more important than reading the book, although knowing the book would be helpful.

I tried to remove myself from bias, but I would still give the movie 4 out of 5 stars. Michael Mann could not have done a better job; I did not see a single thing that could be removed. I could tell where he wanted more time to develop the story but at 2 hours and 20 min, bring comfortable shoes and clothing, spend the money for popcorn and a drink and go to the bathroom before you sit down, it is a long movie but the time goes too fast.

The entire movie is there, with most of the missing scenes cut up and reused as little shots inserted, except the Columbus bank robbery outside shots, Mann just did not have the time to develop another bank robbery. If you were in the movie or looking for a friend expect not to blink for the entire movie. I found the 6 shots of my cars but the grand total time they are on the screen is probably less the 3 seconds, the movie moves that fast!

Thanks Scott!

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Golf today and and my buddy comes up from MadCity tomorrow. We're planting some gift perennials . . . somewhere.

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Last night was homebrew club night and I have to laugh. It's held in a liqueur store in Sun Prairie and once we got done with club business we started sampling home brews. Probably about 6 different ones. Not little sips.

Then the store owner says "I have 8 beers I need opinions on, would you guys like to sample them and give me a thumbs up/down?" Well YEA. "Except we only have 15 minutes to closing.

So we were power sampling and I commented that I was thinking my taste buds MIGHT be getting a little compromised with 16 different styles within a half hour. NOT that I was complaining. Just trying to help, that's all.

If there are any people that would love to sample homebrew and are thinking for brewing the last Thursday of every month we have a meeting. Its a fun friendly and slighty drunk group!!

Join us.

A JOKE!

On my 50th birthday, I got a gift certificate from my wife.

The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation who was rumored to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction.


After being persuaded, I drove to the reservation, handed my ticket to the medicine man and wondered what would happen next.

The old man slowly, methodically produced a potion, handed it to me, and with a grip on my shoulder, warned, "This is powerful medicine and it must be respected. You take only a teaspoonful and then say '1-2-3.' When you do that, you will become more manly than you have ever been in your life and you can perform as long as you want."

I was encouraged. As I walked away, I turned and asked, "How do I stop the medicine from working?"

"Your partner must say '1-2-3-4,' he responded.

"But when she does, the medicine will not work again until the next full moon."

I was very eager to see if it worked so I went home, showered, shaved, took a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited my wife to join me in the bedroom. When she came in, I took off my clothes and said, "1-2-3!"

Immediately, I was the manliest of men. My wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes. And then she asked, "What was the 1-2-3 for?"


And that, boys and girls, is why we should never end our sentences with a preposition!


ONE COULD END UP WITH A DANGLING PARTICIPLE!!


Have a weekend
Rod

Johnny Depp I Presume?

First thing I have to do is say Hi to my Chilean friend Cecilia who was kind enough to email me last night.

Gracias por usted las observaciones buenas, los aprecio y espero que usted tenga un día maravilloso.

For those that only know one language I just said "You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday"

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I was told a story a few days ago involving our hero Mr. Depp and his entourage. I have not triple checked the facts to confirm so if something is slightly askew . . . deal with it as best you can.
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When Public Enemies and company were filming up in Little Bo Wisconsin an acquaintance of mine was bar tending up in a little bar not faw from the afore mentioned filming site.

It was late and she was cleaning up and getting ready to close for the night when two black Escalades pulled up outside the bar. CRAP!!! DAMN IT! I want to go home. She smiled politely as the strangers entered and looked around and then to her surprise Johnny Depp walks in.

WOW - Didn't see THAT coming. What do I do what do I do who do I call.

They sat down and ordered beer and she decided the best thing to do was remain calm and not call ANYBODY. Be cool!

They sat around drinking beer, playing the video games and relaxing and she said she could see them sort of watching her out of the corner of there eyes.

All went well and after a while they got up to leave and thanked her and she received a HUGE tip.
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In a interview Johnny said he really liked filming in the Mid West because when someone saw him then would smile, nod and leave him along. This coincides with what I saw in Columbus. When he would come out to shake hands and hug there would be a hush and everybody was very courteous and respectful. Of course when he moved on down the line the girls would be squealing under their breaths with "oh my god oh my god oh my god" type blathering but they would do it quietly, almost in a whisper.
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Be careful driving 151 today. LOST of concrete exploding from the heat. The temp at my weather station reached 99.5 at 3:24 yesterday afternoon. Bring on the 74 degree Dew Point and the heat index was 111. SWEET!!!
I just found out that a coworker had a half gallon of milk explode in their car. They forgot to take it out of the car yesterday.
"Americans are crazy about their weather". I have read this in numerous places. People in other countries are not that "into" weather. I have to think it's the size of our country and the amount of data we can obtain. There are so may unique features that cause weather to change that it's fascinating.

YET - MOST people that read the weather forecasts every day don't have a clue what it means.

For instance. 30% chance of rain. In a survey it was found that MOST people think it means that in a given area 30% will receive rain or that it will rain for 30% of the day. Sadly the probability or precipitation has been around for 49 years now.

What it means is that if you stand in one spot all day. There is a 30% chance that you will get rained on.

But what is strange is that in the question "What does 30% chance of rain mean" people were confused. But when the question was switched to "What does 70% chance of no rain mean". They answered correctly.
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Last Wednesday I was driving home from golf and drove past a field of some grain. A photo flashed in my head and I made a mental note to watch this field for as I had a photo in my minds eye.

I have been watching for that particular grain all week and found a few places but they were just not right. Yesterday DJ and I happened to be in that area and I said I want to drive just a mile farther to check out something.

We drove up and I took the car off the road a little, jumped out and started to snap some photos.

Took about 10 minutes and I stopped when the sweat started to enter my eyes and I could no longer focus.

This should blow up pretty large if you want it as a background.

Have a beautiful sunny summer day.

OH - one small comment about yesterdays blog. DJ said "NOW who did you insult". Hey - I'm just being me! Things just come out and I tend to insult people. It's what I do best.

Oddly all my life some of my best friends are people I have insulted first. Look at HereNotThere. Now we're buddies!! I'm always insulting people. I think my dad had that problem also. It is a learned character flaw! But . . . is it a flaw? I believe it is more of an . . . opportunity!

Rod

A Letteman Moment! OOPS!!

Surrealism is my reality.
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So for some reason I decided to have another "Who the heck are you people" days because I'm getting close to 400,000 pages read. I took a peak around the world to see where people were reading this blog. I was wondering if the guy in Iran was reading but was not surprised that he was not in the last 200 people to log on.

I see my buddies in Sydney and Brisbane are tuned in and Edmonton and that unknown person that the map has off the coast of Nigeria (in the middle of the ocean) and Brazil along with Seoul S. Korea. Delhi (new? old? is there a New Delhi? I wish Columbus had a new deli) was reading and a howdy to all of the Europeans.

In case anybody is wondering this tiny blog from tiny Columbus Wisconsin still gets about 2000 Unique readers a week. More on weeks when something is happening with Public Enemies (2,648 last week with 3,801 pages read). Weird.
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There will be an advanced screening of PE at the Mall of America Thursday. I guess someone there has more pull in Minnesota (where nothing was filmed) then Wisconsin.

We are still looking for a Picture Car for a float for the 4th of July Parade.

I'll tell you one thing. While all this Public Enemies stuff is fun. There are going to be a lot of volunteers that will have their stress level relax a bit when all the events are over. Lots of people operating out of there comfort zone.

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I have a new article in The Isthmus

Columbus, Wisconsin picks up the pieces after Johnny Depp and Public Enemies and I have it on good authority that if you click the little red Recommend this article link somewhere in the world a toad will be kissed by another beautiful toad and the world will be a happier place.

Already there are 15 (actually 30) happy toads.
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My Lettermen moment.

I must apologize for some comments I made yesterday to professional photographers as a whole that I inadvertently slammed. (words just come out sometimes - I have no clue what my fingers are typing and I bore myself so much I don't reread).

When I said my photos were "better" (did I really say that?? I'll have to look) I was sort of just having fun - that's all. It's silly and I do apologize. However - OF COURSE I think my photos are better. Heck - I think some of my photos are better then Ansel Adams photos, but I should not say that on a public forum.

To the person in question - My comments were not aimed at anyone in particular. I was aiming at anybody with a bigger lens then I had. I did not know you were a professional photographer or I would have been more kind. Or at least more politically correct.

I will now take off my shoes because I really stepped in it this time!!

WITH THAT SAID - (I wrote this next part BEFORE I knew I had to apologize and NOT because I'm having to backtrack - wow - talk about trying to cover my ass LOL).

I've been thinking about the Columbus Carriage Classic and I think I'm going to pull it back in as far as aggressively selling photos. I believe that this year was sort of a practice run to see what was working and what was not and I KNOW I missed some amazing photos because I was inept and I'm not going to tell you what they were.

However - next year . . . . game on! (maybe . . . . I don't want to step on toes)

I'm still going to compile what I have onto a webpage and my goal this year is to make some postcards for the CCC.

I think I offer something different and bring something new to the table. Including my ability to actually SHRINK horses!

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

Surrealism is destructive,
but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.

Why is it when I look at this style of photo POSTCARD just into my mind. What is it with this look that screams postcard. I'm retreating into the future! Were old postcards colorized so their colors were more saturated?

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Note to self - the next time I go on a Expedition to Africa DO NOT eat the hairy caterpillar larva! Bad news!

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Speaking of weather - It's Lightning Safety Awareness Week. There will be a mock lightning watch at some point today so if you see me staring out the window for a half hour I'm just practicing being aware of lightning.

The odds of getting struck by lightning in the U.S. in any single year is 1 in 700,000. The odds of winning the Power ball is 1 in 195,249,054.

Therefore you would be REAL unlucky if you won the Powerball AND got hit by lightning. A 1 in 136,674,337,800,000 chance (I think that is in the trillion range).

SO - IF, you win Powerball I would not even worry about getting hit by lightning!
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Have a sweltering day.

Rod

Public Enemies Stuff

WELL - The new Johnny Depp movie is all over the USA Today and if you want to see some cool FIRST LOOK stuff check out the USA Today site.

Speaking of Public Enemies - The Fourth of July Parade is in desperate need of a Picture Car that wants to ride on a float. What car would not want to go on a ride on another vehicle. So give your Picture Car a treat. If you have such a car - give me a holler.

There have been lots of talk about the premier of Public Enemies some good some not so good. The one thing you should know is that Columbus did NOT hit the cutting room floor.

The town is mentioned in the credits and there are many scenes. HOWEVER - the exit of the bank robbery WAS cut. As for the reviews. On a personal level the only review I really listen to is Netflix. Seriously - Netflix is creepy good at telling me what I will and what I won't like.

I've rated 1054 movies that I have watched and it seems to have me dialed in. Many times I have rented a movie that TO ME looks great but Netflix says I will not like it. YUP - damn site was right!

It tells me that Public Enemies gets 4.2 out of 5 stars that I will like it. So I'M PUMPED. OH - for Jenny "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" got 3.1 out of 5 stars - it was about right!

SPREAD THE WORD - The movie time for the Columbus Premier is 7:15 and NOT 7:30. Bus will still load at 6:00 but for non-bus people be aware of the new time.

I also have word from people that seem to know a LOT that the Premier last Thursday and Friday might not have been the final cut. I have know idea on how Universal would handle the logistics but word is they are doing some more editing. Personally I can not see how this is possible.

BUS TICKETS. If you wanted a BUS Ticket from me and do not have it LET ME KNOW. OSH - yours are in the mail. I want to make sure I have everybody taken care of.

Whosit - you have 5 - this does not include Whosit Chelsea???? Just don't want to be redundant. There are about 30 NON-Bus tickets still available.
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OK - on another subject. You will be seeing photos of the Columbus Carriage Classic all of this week as I trudge through the 300+ photos I took. I still have 150 to go through.

I tried to give some 5x7s away but there is some photographer thing where professionals who make a living taking photos have first dibs on selling their . . . . "normal" photos that look . . . . . blah!!

I, on the other hand, offer something unique and I'll post them here and I'm creating a little Pirate website that hopefully, through word of mouth, will get to the CCC Contestants (also known as the CCCC) to take a peak.

The first photo I think is so funny. I love the kid in the back. "I CAN NOT BELIEVE I HAVE TO SPEND THE ENTIRE WEEKEND HERE. I WISH I HAVE MY iPHONE!"


If you have never been to the CCC you really should make a point next year (I'll remind you). The horses are beautiful. I swear they would look at me and step a little higher. Seriously they would round the corner and be staring right at me and almost pose.

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WHAT?? you can not listen to Serious XM on a Mac? Because it's a Windows only Media player?? I AM SHOCKED!!!

Ham and eggs...A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

Have a sticky day!! Cheers
Rod

Chicago Premier Night - Blog #2 today

Public Enemies Review from LIPS!

A short and quick review of Public Enemies from a team member that attended last night.

Now remember that this is from a person that has worked on the movie but as we all know - sometimes you are so close to something you never really see it so this was sort of the first time.
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The evening was fantastic a lot of great people and energy was in the air with anticipation. We had to wait in the will call line for about 30 mins. and about another 45 minutes before they would open the theaters, which was ok since we saw people we didn’t see for about a year.. The spectators to watch the red carpet was amazing. Just the stars walked the red carpet, but I really didn’t see that because the security guards kept trying to get us go inside. Finally saying they would take our tickets away.

They used two theaters. Around 7:30 MM, JD,MC & CB came into the theater. MM thanked everyone. MM & JD joked about singing a song together. The movie started at 7:33

Went directly into the movie 1933 and the prison scene. Now before anyone jumps down my throat, I am going to say things that other crew members I talked to at the party feel about the movie.

There was absolutely no character development. The beginning of the movie shot badly and you got the sense my god this is going to really suck. But thank god it got better. At times the camera work was great others it lacked something.

I thought CB did an outstanding job so did MC. This is not an academy award performance for JD. I think he has done better work. The love story between JD & MC was great and they both did a great job at that. We counted about 8-10 major scenes that were shot and not even used in the movie.

Little BO was real good but not great.

My mind is still fuzzy since I didn't get in till 3 am.

I am seeing the movie again tonight and I will looking at it in a whole new light. Last night you sat there anticipating the next scene. It was hard to look at the film as a general film going public. that is how I am going to view it tonight.

Feel free to ask questions as he/she/unknown (I believe it's a he but maybe I'll call him a she just to tweak her a little . . . . as I have done in the past ;-) will check for questions.

Here are some photos of the action.

The blog before the Review blog

Did you all see the HBO Public Enemies last night? A LOT of Columbus! They said the movie cost 80 mil?? Seems low but what do I know.


Here is the HBO FIRST LOOK Part 1
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HBO First Look Part 2
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Video of Johnny shaking hands to crazy people

Dillinger Then and Now

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Horse or dog - pick a side!!



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Well - I didn't get to go the the PE Premier and I didn't get picked for Survivor and now I see they have picked the next Real World Cancun. Seems like life is passing me by!

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Beer news.

I have a Belgian Strong Ale aging until the weather gets cold again. I bottled an American Red which I think is going to be REALLY REALLY good and I have a batch of One Putt Twelve bubbling away and an English ESB waiting to be bottled.

I think my next batched is going to be an Indian Brown and I'm going to attempt to caramelize some candi sugar. It'll be a hoppy brown with some kick.

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OK - here is my cheesy half assed stitched together photo from the deck this morning. When I was taking the photos I was not thinking of stitching them all together but then looking at the 3 shots this morning - WHY NOT.

I wish I would have thought of it WHEN I was taking the shots - BUT - fun with cameras.

This is the two storms that were south of Madison about 6:00 this morning from about 50 miles away.


Columbus received 0.98 inches of rain - many places received 2-5 inches.
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Any rose experts out there? What's up with the leaves. this is ALWAYS a problem.


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Lookin like a happy little Caydence.

I'll have more later - check back.

BTW - we're nearing 400,000 hits!!!

Rod

First photos from Chicago Premier

Just some photos of set up in Chicago.

Watch for Red Carpet Updates Today!!

Don't get me wrong - I am VERY VERY happy for the people that get to see the Chicago Premiers of Public Enemies today and tomorrow.

I'm hoping to be getting photo's and stories as they happen starting this afternoon from the Chicago Premier and a movie review later tonight. The first from the real deal movie.

However - and I have tried to put this emotion lower in my brain stem, trying to cover it with baseball thinking but it's always there lurking. I'm feeling slightly slighted by Universal City Studio.

Not that I expected anything as I did not start this blog for any other reason then to get news out to Columbus people about the movie. But then I heard a while back that New Line Cinema invited the "Snakes On The Plane" blogger (like me) to their premier. sigh, I would have liked that. I would have liked SOME recognition for writing about the movie for the last 491 days. Maybe a free poster? a key chain? a participation ribbon? I WAS MENTIONED BY NAME IN VANITY FAIR!!

"There’s a fellow named Rod Melotte in Columbus, Wisconsin, where they’re filming most of this week, who, I swear, has forsaken his day job to post around the clock."

O well. Such is life.

OH - watch for The Isthmus in the next few weeks - I'll have some words about the movie and Columbus in both the online version and the paper version.

Speaking to the Friday Premier - Graham Man (who was invited) is looking for others heading to Chicago from the Wisconsin area. Give him a shout out (ok - email him at graham_paige@hotmail.com if you are looking for a ride or whatever.

Also Nancy Osterhaus will be attending today's Premier and I believe it's her birthday???

A lot of people are whining about the "digital" thing about the movie. How it does not LOOK like the 1930s and all that crap.

Hello!!! In an interview with Micheal Mann he said that if you were in the 1930's Chicago and other places would not have had a "special" look. It would have been colorful and vibrant, like real life. So that was the look he want. REAL! Not 16mm Black and White LOL.

OH - the movie is 2 hours and 17 minutes ans because of that the Columbus Premier (which I will be attending (but taking tickets and working) will start at 7:15 and NOT 7:30 this means be there earlier and pass it on!!!

OK - enough Public Enemies makes me feel non-happy and that is wrong of me.

Seriously - I'm sorry, I'm sort of surprised I feel this way, where is this coming from anyway???? Is this triggering some latent memory from the past? Was I slighted in a kindergarten play or something and have been ignoring an emotion for this for 40 (or more) years? hmmmmm deep thoughts! I shall continue to ignore the emotion.
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I GOT CHILLS!!!



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Trevor Hoffman is human, and the Brewers still won. Now that THAT is out of the way maybe he can relax. I did read that the brewers are now 2-0 in 11 inning games that take over 4 hours and they win by a score of 9-8. Take it to the bank!!
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Pretty interesting what is happening in Iran. They have even killed protesters and it is bringing out more people. The internet has not been shut down but the government has made it into a crawl. Still Twitter is running because it uses less bandwidth.

No longer are only school and young adults protesting but now entire families and the work force are protesting.
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Keep tuned to the weather this afternoon - could get rocky.

===================================

OH - check out the yellow . . . . .flowers? that have popped up next to the mail box garden. Does anybody know what they are? I'm assuming a pretty weed of some sorts!

Sort of fuzzy - it was windy.


Have a great day and stay tuned for Red Carpet Premier Updates.

OH - one funny thing. a Photographer from US Magazine contacted us about The Public Enemies Columbus Premier . . .

Can you please credential me for your premier in Columbus?
Also, going on that day. Is there a red carpet and/or press line event?

I'm not sure there will be a press line event but I'm going to make sure I know who I'm wearing just in case.

Cheers Rod

The Apocalypse is Nigh

.
ONLY A FEW NON-BUS Tickets left for the Public Enemies Premier July 1st.





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I'm always quick to post my opinion on wrong doings of people that don't meet my standards and I always have an opinion on people I think are unworthy but sometimes I fail to give credit to people that I think are the unsung hero's of Columbus so I feel I must give credit where credit is do.

Two people that I believe are working feverishly behind the scenes that need some real time credit are Boyd Kraemer the City Administrator and Steve Sobiek the Economic Development/Energy Sustainability Director.

These two guys are really working their butts off trying to make Columbus a better place and doing so while dodging bullets from people that do not know a thing about how to properly run a city.

We all know that Columbus has this "green" thing going on and now some large companies are now singling (that word just does not look right) out Columbus just because of this.

On another front, how vibrant is the downtown area of C-bus? Depends on who you talk to. The businesses that are open and working on drawing in customers and have a good business plan and are open more then 2 days a week are doing a great! while the ones that are never open or open at random times complain that no one ever comes in so why stay open. hmmmm I wonder ???

Columbus is RIPE for thriving business. With major touristy highways going right down the middle I find it inconceivable that we can't make C-bus a "destination" and not a "drive through" town.

However - to quote Shakesphere "there is the rub* ". Do the people of Columbus want this? Boyd has his doubts.

Remember this shot of what The Boulevard was envisioned to look like?

Seems a lot of people gave him flak about it "It'll cost too much" "Why do we need that" "Where will I park my car now" and so forth. However they had no idea how much it would cost and no idea that the vision was to connect the Amtrak Station to downtown Columbus, which to ME, is a no brainer. Hello! Knock knock anyone home?

You have a MAJOR transportation hub three blocks from town and I bet 90% of the people don't have a clue downtown is a 3 minute walk from the station.

Yet - I believe Boyd is wrong. I think there are more people in Columbus that would like this idea IF, they even knew about it. My thinking is that many of the people complaining are, well . . . . . not the brightest bulbs on campus and I believe there are many BRIGHT ones out there that are silent.

So the question is - how do we mobilize them. How do we get them involved.

then another question is. What kind of stores do you want??? We could have 100% of the stores occupied by insurance, reality, and so forth, is that success?? Some towns like Fish Creek only want certain types of stores. Should we limit what we want and by doing so risk having open buildings? Should we take ANYBODY?

When Guy moved into this new store and opened YET ANOTHER Antique Store (which is doing VERY well) people in the downtown complained. They complain that the building is vacant and then they complain that it is not what THEY want! You see a problem
here?

But when the CDC wants to have a meeting and discuss WHAT the downtown business people want - no one shows up!

sigh

* the origin of rub comes from the ancient game of bowls (lawn bowling). A rub is a fault in the surface of the green that stops a bowl or diverts it from its intended direction.

===========================

Damn conservationists!!

The above butterfly is a Maculinea alcon and it died out in Britain 30 years ago.

Most thought it was from people collecting it for their butterfly collections (which seems silly) but now they have discovered the real reason. Conservation!

It seems conservationists in order to make the world a better place decided to let grass grow taller in the areas where the butterfly laid it's eggs. In doing so this led to the demise of little red ants, the same little red ants that the caterpillars ate. So - no food for the little caterpillars. Ergo, no butterfly's.

And while on an animal kick. It SEEMS that animal homosexuality is running rampant. YEA - DO NOT TELL Rush Limbaugh because he will blame Obama.

We all know that dolphins, penguins, fruit fly's and bonobo's were "liberal" but now it seems that fish and earthworms can form long term same-sex relationships also, at least according to Ecology and Evolution Journal.

They have also found that same sex relationships in animals actually make better parents then male-female ones.

I'm just saying perhaps everything we know is wrong.

Look at jogging. Remember when jogging was the huge rage? Everybody was jogging but then they started to say that jogging would wear out your knees and would be harmful over the years.

Well. 25 years later they find that long term joggers actually have stronger knees then non-joggers. There is no correlation between jogging and knee problems.
=====================

KURTH Friday night!!!!

OH - do not open anything sent by me on Facebook! I received an email from Facebook telling me my account had been hacked into and I should send them my SSN and all credit card numbers to make sure they also had not been stolen.

I actually did get an email and thought something was up when I noticed I had requested my password to be reset 4 times yesterday and I had not been on Facebook.

Be careful.

Rod

Bottle Bombs and Gas Puddles - Story Time

So DJ and I was sitting on the couch last night and she emails me an article about how the internet is making families have less face time together. I emailed her back saying that was ridicules.
----------------------------------

HEY - how about KURTH night Friday - weather should be great and we can meet outside - drink beer and soda and talk trash.
=======================

I have heard that all this week Entertainment Tonight is talking about Public Enemies.
also
HBO starts their FIRST LOOK series Thursday featuring Public Enemies. We ordered HBO for a month just for those 13 minutes! LOL
======================================

I erased most of today's Sarah Palin comment

She continues to prove she is exactly what I think she is. That woman just irritates the hell out of me. WHY is she not back in Alaska where she belongs.
=======================================

Meetings to think about
Public Enemies Premier - West James Gallery - Tonight 5:00 - I'll be a little late
Public Enemies July 25 Celebration - Wednesday 5:30 Julies Java - I will not be there - Golf Night.
CDA - Last night - I'll comment on that in a bit - MOST people would think the CDA meeting was the highlight of my night but it's what happened immediately before it that takes center stage.

Story #1

We were at the BP gas station getting $1.50 gas (Roundys discount card) and I'm putzing around trying to get my card to work and I hear splash splash splash. Some guy is emptying his coffee or coke or whatever on the ground.

So I'm answering all the stupid questions like "Do I want Credit or Debit" and my only options are YES/NO which really makes no sense, YES/NO TO WHICH ONE!! Then, do I want a freaking car wash, like it knows my car is dirty and I was waiting for the "Do you want to try our new Taco Grande today" but that splashing was still splashing and being somewhat irritated already when the screen said "PLEASE SEE CASHIER" I said "F U" and looked around at the splashing.

What I see is a big white pickup with the gas hose sticking out of it, obviously FULL because gas is just pouring out of the truck onto the ground. Probably a few gallons are spreading across the pavement. Having a somewhat brilliant mind I quickly deduce that this is the incorrect way to fill your truck and perhaps I can be of help out a bit.

I take matters into my own hands hoping the truck owner would not call the police for interfering and take the nozzle out of the truck and place it in it's cradle.

I decided I should probably tell somebody and since I need to SEE THE CASHIER anyway, I can kill two birds with one stone (not that I like to kill birds with any stones).

I enter the station and say "There is a truck that had gas pouring out of it, maybe two gallons because the auto shut off thingy did not work". The cashiers were all like giggley and really wow like that is really totally bad dude, suck. And we then stare at each other for a few seconds contemplating what we should say next as this is not what I expected and obviously I had thrown the two girls out of their comfort zone momentarily.

OK . . . that finished and there was nothing more I needed to do and they seemed to be somewhat fine with the situation as it was, I walked out and went to move my car out of the spreading puddle of gas.

Then I see a guy with a big bag of ARBY's approaching the truck with a big "?" above his head. AHH HAA! Mr. Brainiac decided to get some ARBY's and let his truck fill itself while he was inside the building not paying attention.

I commented that I thought his truck was full and I took the hose out when gas started to spew but he better put the cap on (I was not going to do EVERYTHING for him). He hd a big shit eating grin and asked if they were going to come out and I looked around and said "guess not".

I move the car - filled up and went in to pay as I got another, PLEASE SEE CASHIER and the the two cashiers were looking around slowly for something to put on the gas puddle. One was wondering if salt would be good because she found a bag of salt but the other one said probably not.

And I drove off into the sunset waiting for explosions, my mission completed.
====================================

Story #2

I participated in a home brew exchange a couple months ago. I ship a 6-pack of my great brew to a stranger and in return another stranger from the Home Brew forum ships a sixer to me.

His 6 sort of SUCKED and I had a few bottles laying around.

Last week I was doing some yard work and open the sliding door to the basement to get a shovel and smell beer. I close the door but have a big "?" above MY head because while I MAKE beer in the basement it does not SMELL like beer in the basement (more like hops).

So I walk back in and yup - smells like beer alright. But WHY.

I walk closer and see this.

One of their bottles that was sent to me still had active yeast (too much active yeast obviously) and blew the bottom inch off the bottle sending glass shards 7 feet in all directions.

This should NEVER happen if you are patient with your beer. They bottled it too soon.

BTW - here is what Grinders Island looks like in case you are looking for a tour.

=================

Story #3

Speaking of people in the service industry - you tell me what I should do in this situation and I hope Suz chimes in.

DJ and I are at Buffalo Wild Wings in Madison and are sitting outside. A waitress takes our order and a little while later a different server delivers our food.

First of all I have to get up and ask for napkins as we have none, then we have to ask for plasticware because DJ has a Buffalito.

Then we see that the waitress got DJ's order wrong as she did not want ANY sour cream and they thought she meant extra sour cream or something. It's hard to pick sour cream out of a Buffalito. But, it's only a small problem and DJ manages.

Then I've finished my drink because WINGS ARE HOT but there is no waitress. There are OTHER waiters but that are talking to their friends and never look our direction. Long story short - we NEVER EVER saw our waitress again. We wanted to leave but had no bill. I went in to get a bill and the guy said "did you have Angela" and I said I have no idea - we only saw our waitress once!!

SO.

No napkins
No plasticware
order was wrong
no free refills on drinks
no "is everything ok"
no bill
even OTHER wait staff paid zero attention to us.

What did we get?

A "Sorry guys" from the waitress when she was told we wanted our bill.

How much would you tip!
====================================

The Columbus Carriage Classic starts this weekend

Friday, June 19

1:00 - 4:00 pm - Town & Country Obstacle competition
5:00 - Welcome Dinner at the Pavilion - Public welcome

Saturday, June 20

8:30-11:30 – Pleasure Ring and Scurry Obstacle course
11:50 Picnic Class
12:30 Carriage Dog Class
12:30 - 3:30 Pleasure Ring competition
3:30 Dickason Drive starts from the park

Sunday, June 21 8:30-11:30 – Pleasure Ring competition
9:00-12:00- Progressive Cones obstacles
11:30- Concours d’Elegance
12:30- Father’s Day class
2:30- Best of Show
==============================


OH - the CDA meeting. Somethings were over my head but I was the MainStreet representative and did my best to look representativly. Also in attendance was Mr. Mayor who even though I have never actually met him seems nice enough and funny and seems open to what the CDA has to offer.

The big news is that they want to get all the players to make a team to help the downtown. The big question is - do people want to make the downtown a GOTO place??. One idea was to have a survey to see what the people think, what do THEY want.

I'm a little against this. I do not feel the people that live in Columbus know what is best for Columbus. I feel the people that attend the meetings, think about the ramifications of decisions and think more about it are the ones that have the knowledge.

It's like a parent to child thing.

Anyway - they would like to get all the players into one committee. CDA reps, Council reps, Mainstreet and Chamber (who failed to have anyone show up to the meeting) and vested interested business owners. Together we can make things happen.

I'll have more on this as I understand it. I'm pumped though. I feel everything is goign the right direction.

that's it - STARTING to get long! :p

Have a day!!
Rod

Pleasure Ring competition? rating (R)

.

Good Monday morning blog world.

I had a meeting with Tom of Marquis Theater (wow, I have to learn to hold my PS3 controller more lightly when playing MLB 09 The Show) Saturday (hmmm maybe some Ibuprofane would be in order) and the Public Enemies Columbus Premier (I have not spelled ONE word correctly yet) is ramping up.

We will have the BEST theater in the building, biggest screen, best audio.

There are still non-bus tickets available - don't wait too long. A group of 22 is purchasing in the next few days and he said Marquis has been getting calls on buying tickets for our event.

The June 30th event on the West side has been getting only tepid response so far but OUR side of town is getting reporters looking for bus tickets to come with us. I have Picture Cars coming and it seems we are good to go.

It would be GREAT to have people dressed up in 30's clothes but please, check your tommy guns at the door.

--------------------------------------------------
Chicken meets Egg at a bar, they talk, one thing leads to another....they end up in bed. Chicken climbs aboard, takes about 5 minutes, then he climaxes. Then he gets off of the Egg and says

"Well, I guess that answers that question!"
----------------------------------------------------

I suppose now would be a bad time to visit Iran? Can you spell fraud? Seriously - the entire world knows it was a total sham on this one. Machrimajob (whatever) claims a land slide victory. hmmmmmmm!

reminds me of 2004 a little. But let's not bet political.

Speaking of the Republicans.

The CIA chief is saying former VP Cheney "is wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point." I have to agree. I've listened to one of his drole-like speeches and was thinking that is some countries he could be put in jail for his style of talk.

What is up with the Republicans anyway - it is sad watching them implode. I am all for a two party system. Although a REAL third Party would be nice - Sweden has The Pirate Party as their third party). I'm not anti-republicans at all - I am all for check and balances but holy moly - in a recent poll they asked people to name two republicans and the two people in the front running were Sarah Palin (God's gift to Letterman) and Rush Limbaugh.

Does the Republican Party REALLY want those two at the tip of the spear? Two buffoons leading the pack? It seems the Party is solidifying their neo-conservative base and growing smaller as they disenchant their . . . . . more sane following. Where have all the sane republicans gone.

sigh.

BUT - I degress - sorry - I got off on a tangent there (it was the Ibuprofen taking hold - OR - my new drug of choice - Omeprazole, man - that stuff kicks me in the ass!

(OK OK, it's Prilosec).

Speaking of Brett Favre (another famous Prilosec user) and his family (who have strangely reserved 25 hotel rooms in Green Bay the same weekend that Green Bay plays Minnesota . . . but he is still retired)

Here is a t-shirt that makes me LOL.


thanks Craig.
---------------------------

I got an invitation to go to Quiveys Grove Beer Fest again this year but last year I was dismayed that you only got to taste like 2 ounces at a time. In order to get a buzz on you had to drink 36 glasses of beer.

But this year do to complaints they are switching to a more liberal beer glass.

thanks again Craig.

==============================

Josh and Jenny and Caydie (sp? give an old man a break here with spelling) are all doing great. Caydence had her first real bath yesterday (after taking a nice poopy in the tub) and all tubes are out. She is been upgraded to a lower number in the baby ICU and is eating like she means it. All is well.

===============================

I'll have an order of battle for the Columbus Carriage Classic this week. Especially when I see there is a Carriage Dog Class AND a Pleasure Ring competition (I think I saw that movie!)

Big weekend in C-bus.

Have a nice Monday!

The Ultimate Adventure Cruise

In this issue

Tickets still available.
Largest traveling Dillinger display coming to Columbus?
Caydence
Iran
Pirates
Oshkosh
---------------------------

There are a LOT of non-bus tickets left for the Columbus Premier - check out Sharrow Drug and West James Gallery.

Next Thursday is the big FIRST REAL Premier in Chicago for the stars and mucky mucks and LIPS has told me he will have a review for us as he is attending. Friday is the Premier for reporters and news people. MAYBE Lips review will be the first published Final cut of Public Enemies available.

So make sure you stay tuned next week.
======
Mark Love from AZ is coming to Columbus HOPEFULLY. Mark owns the largest traveling Dillinger display in the country and has expressed interest in coming to Columbus for a few weeks in July. The problem is that staying in WI costs money and we are HOPING to have some of his expenses paid for by the city.

This would be a big tourist attraction and I'm hoping the City can help off set his costs.

I'll have more on this as I find out more.
===================================

First photos of Caydence


==========================

HAPPY DIGITAL RESOLUTION DAY!!!!!

====================================

Today is a sort of big day in the world - Iran elects a new President and we are all rooting for Mir Hossein Mousavi to beat hard liner and quack pot Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

====================================

DJ and I are looking itno this for our next vacation.

To The Point News


To The Point is excited to offer the ultimate adventure cruise along the pirate-infested coast of Somalia !

We board our luxury cruise ship in Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden near the entrance to the Red Sea, and disembark in Mombassa , Kenya seven adrenaline-charged days later.


Starting at $5,200 per-person (double occupancy, inside room) and $6,900 (veranda complete with bench rest), you'll relax like never before.

That's because you are welcome to bring your own arsenal with you. If you don't have your own weapons, you can rent them from our onboard Master Gunsmith. Enjoy reloading parties every afternoon with skeet and marksmanship competitions every night!

But the best fun of all, of course, is Pirate Target Practice.

For the object of the cruise is to sail up and down the Somali Coast waiting to get hijacked by pirates. The weapons rental costs are as follows.

Rent a full auto M-16 for only $25/day with ammo attractively priced at $16 per 100 rounds of 5.56 armor-piercing:


On a budget? Rent a full-auto scope-mounted AK-47 for only $9/day with 7.62 ball ammo at $12 per 100 rounds:




Hello! Nothing gets a pirate's attention like a Barrett M-107 .50-cal sniper rifle; only $59/day with 25 rounds of armor-piercing ammo affordably priced at only $29.95.


Need a spotter? Our professional crew members can double as spotters for only $30/hour (spotting scope included, but gratuities are not.)





Want to make a real impact? Rent an RPG for only $175/day with three fragmentation rounds included!


Also included: Free complimentary night vision equipment - and throughout the night, coffee, pastries and snacks are always available on the main deck from 7pm until 6am.

Our deluxe package comes complete with gourmet meals and all rooms offer a mini-bar.

But that's not all! Twin mounted miniguns are available for rental at only $450.00 per 30 seconds of sustained fire!

We guarantee that you will experience at least two hijacking attempts by pirates or you'll receive an instant $1,000 refund upon arrival in Mombassa.

How can we make that guarantee? We operate at 5 knots just beyond 12 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia , thus in international waters where pirates have no rights whatever. In fact, we make three passes through the area's most treacherous waters to ensure maximum visibility by Somali "mother ships".

We repeat this for five days, making three complete passes past the entire Somali Coast . At night, the boat is fully lit and bottle rockets are shot every five minutes with loud disco music directionally beamed shoreside to attract maximum attention.

Testimonials from previous participants in the Somali Cruise:

"Six attacks in 4 days were more than I expected. I bagged three pirates, my wife nailed two, and my 12-year old son sank two boats with the mini-gun. This wonderful cruise was fun for the whole family" -- Fred D., Cincinnati , OH

"Pirates 0, Passengers 32! Well worth the trip! Can't recommend it highly enough!" -- Ben L., Bethesda , MD

"I haven't had this much fun since flying choppers in ' Nam . Don't worry about getting shot by pirates... they never even got close to the ship with the crap they shoot and their lousy aim... reminds me of a drunken juicer door-gunner we picked up from the motor pool in Phu Bai!" -- Dan J. - Denver , CO

Come on board and bag your own clutch of genuine Somali pirates! But cabin space is limited so you need to respond quickly. Reserve your package before May 31st and get a great bonus - 100 rounds of free tracer ammo in the caliber of your choice. So sign up for the Ultimate Somali Coast Adventure Cruise now!

=================================

Public Enemies Close in on Oshkosh Public Museum

The Oshkosh Public Museum ’s original exhibition, The Era of Public Enemies: A Wave of Crime in a Troubled Time, is slated to open on Saturday, June 27. The blockbuster exhibit, a clever combination of history and Hollywood , is on display until Sunday, October 18.

Oshkosh, WI – June 9, 2009 - This summer history and Hollywood merge when some of the most notorious gangsters of the 1930s take over the Oshkosh Public Museum in its summer exhibit, The Era of Public Enemies: A Wave of Crime in a Troubled Time. The exhibit opens Saturday, June 27, the week before the release of the highly anticipated Public Enemies movie, and runs through Sunday, October 18.

“ Oshkosh and surrounding communities are eagerly awaiting the release of the Public Enemies movie,” forecasts museum director Brad Larson. “The exhibit recreates the scene of the 30s and invites visitors to relive those few days of Hollywood in Oshkosh , while delving deeper into the history that mapped out the storyline of the movie.”

The Era of Public Enemies aims to educate visitors on the circumstances that led to the 1933-34 crime wave and inspired the filming of Public Enemies. A background of the Dust Bowl, Great Depression and the end of Prohibition set the stage for one of the most tumultuous economic and criminal times in American history. This interactive exhibit invites visitors to revisit the string of Midwest bank robberies that captivated America and experience the conditions and circumstances that led to the infamous crime wave and allure of gangsters.

Various settings throughout the exhibit create an immersive and authentic 1930s experience. Visitors can socialize in an Art Deco nightclub, complete with a vintage back bar from a local yacht club. In stark contrast to the uppity nightclub, a reproduction jail cell examines life behind bars and features a 200 pound steel door from an actual jail.

Interactive devices and repeater boxes bring back the sights and sounds of the era. Visitors can take a seat in a movie theater and watch reels of a John Dillinger biography or pick up a 1930s telephone and listen to one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s illustrious fireside chats.

Displays document the rise of the FBI and structured law enforcement as the feds attempted to take down American gangsters and the booming crime wave of the 1930s. Featured artifacts include historic items from the Oshkosh Police Department, a 1930s bullet proof vest and a collection of Junior G-Men toys.

The exhibit also explores the competitive edge that V-8 engines and powerful weaponry granted criminals. A collection of 1930s car paraphernalia and hood ornaments are on display, along with several gangster-era firearms, including a Thompson submachine gun and a Browning automatic rifle. Additionally, the exhibit features an Airsoft Tommy Gun shooting gallery where museum guests can experience the force behind firing the weapon.

Living historians will role play in the galleries and interact with museum visitors on select days throughout the exhibit. These actors will portray many different characters, including gangsters, FBI agents, bartenders and bank tellers.

A special community-curated section of the exhibit focuses on Wisconsin ’s 2008 filming of Public Enemies. Assorted movie props, pieces of set design and a slideshow of images illustrate what went on in front of and behind the cameras during the production of the summer blockbuster. Among featured movie props is the vintage fedora worn by Johnny Depp during filming.

And visitors won’t go home empty handed. Along with a deeper understanding of the social, economic and criminal aspects of the time, visitors can take home a copy of the Oshkosh Public Museum ’s reproduction newspaper, The Troubled Times, along with some “money” from the exhibit’s bank teller window. Museum guests also receive a complimentary copy of the Gangster Getaways tour guide and coupon booklet. This booklet explores the hangouts and haunts of gangsters throughout the state and reveals the secret deals of Wisconsin ’s most notorious visitor attractions.

The exhibit is scheduled to open with a bang on June 27 when gangster re-enactors and a vintage Packard car kick off the exhibit opening. This original exhibition is on display only at the Oshkosh Public Museum .

have a great weekend
Rod