WHERE MY DOGS AT???

I wanted to post some images of the dogs, they are so cute! Most of them are from rescue, but we got Ernie and Samantha from breeders. There is a total of 7 now, in order of appearance (and they do seem to appear out of thin air sometimes!!) the list goes........

JEREMY

The first of the Canine family members, this is definitly a person trapped in a dogs body! He is the eldest of the males and has the market on being"spoiled" cornered! When he wants something he mumbles what sounds like sentences to get your attention. Jeremy turns 13 years old this year, he has been with us since 1999.

SOPHIE

Quite possibly the best dog in the world, Sophie came after Jeremy to be his buddy. Little did the two of them know things would eventually become very crowded. We are not exactly sure of her age since she was a stray but we think she is somewhere around 12 years old at this time. She holds the title of "ALPHA", she gives the orders and everyone listens!

ERNIE

Ernie and I have shared a wonderful bond ever since I found him. He is my little shadow, following me everywhere I go and I am always happy to know he is close behind. He is my cuddle-bear and I always know he is ready for bed when he curls up next to my right side, takes a deep breath and looks at me to turn off the light. I miss him so much.

SAMANTHA

Don't let her size and adorable face fool you! This little bitch (and she can be in every sense of the word) is Sophies #2 Alpha. She bosses around the boys, Ben and myself included! Sammie is almost 7 years old now and as bossy as ever. We call her the little "Hellion" because she is always looking for trouble. I'd be lost with out her, she's really a little Angel!

SPIKE

I drove to Pennsylvania to adopt Spike after I saw him on http://www.petfinder.org/ . I ccouldn't have known what a good boy I was getting until later after he came home with me. Spike was badly abused/neglected and at first tried running away constantly. Once he got comfortable and knew we loved him, he just wants to play all the time.

DINO

Someone passing close to our house found Dino loose on the Street. He brought him to our neighbor, who assumed he was one of ours (logical assumption if you know us), which at the time he wasn't. We tried all the agencies in the area and no one claimed him so we kept him since he fit in so nicely anyway. He's always looking to play and he is the happiest little dog i've met.

HERMAN

Herman, or "Little Monkey Head" as he is called, is the latest addition to the family. He came shortly after I left for Baghdad. I finally got to meet him when I was on my first R&R and it was as if I had always known him. What a little cutie, a tiny guy that likes to play as big as the rest of the pack.

JIM & LORIS EXCELLENT AUSSIE POOL ADVENTURE!!!

Days off from the rigors of the SVFD are rare and valuable! Despite the fact that we were working a 12 hour day, we finished early and decided to take a trip to the pool at the Aussie compound. A well deserved break! The temperature here has been on the high side for this time
of year, probably around 90 this particular day. There is a constant cooling breeze coming off Victory Lake which is always nice when you are laying in the sun. Here are a few pictures of the trip.

Here are a couple of pics of the pool and the compound. It is a really nice set-up and once the weather gets nice it will be swarming with people looking for an escape! Like us!



















It is situated right across from a Heli-Pad, very cool to watch the Blackhawks come and go.




















Finally, a refreshing moment in the Middle East.





















Lori tends to be a little camera shy so I have to trick her into getting pictures.

She has a few alias' around the Firehouse, she's known as Mom, Linda Blair (of "The Exorcist"), Pussy Galore and plain old Ms. Jackson if you're NASTY!



















I don't remember putting this picture of Bo Derek from the movie "10" in my blog??????





















Here are my feet...........wait a minute.......those are Loris feet! Wow, we have the same shade of red toe nail polish and hairy hobbit feet! I never noticed that before!


Thats it for Jim & Loris excellent Aussie pool adventure, I hope you enjoyed it, I know we did! Next up in the near future................... Mikey Jones and Jim invade Camp Slayer, T-Wiggles and his sexploits at the Perfume Palace and Ace Ventura matches wits with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Rat! Don't miss it!

AROUND THE FOB

I really need to post a lot of pictures on here to give everyone an idea of what everyday life is about. Where we go. What we do. People I work with and meet. Where I live and other interesting tidbits. In case you don't know FOB stands for Forward Operating Base, this means there is always some secret squirrel stuff going on somewhere. A couple of warnings, no last names will be used if I post peoples pictures and there are some places and things we are forbidden to photograph. Mostly it will be a group of photographs under a caption like "A day at Al Faw Palace" or "Around the Firehouse". One section I do want to start with is.......

T-WALL ARTWORK

Since there are so many drab looking T-Walls around some of the units spruce them up with their shield or some other interesting stuff.

More to come....................

WHAT YOU WON'T SEE ON HGTV:

SCENES FROM A PSYCHOTIC DICTATORS HOME

As beautiful as many of the sights are at Al Faw Palace and the surrounding areas, one has to understand that many people were used, and suffered to make this place what it once was.....and what it still may be in the future. Here are some scenes from this magnificent building

A MOVIE JUNKIES' REVIEWS..........

Movie Junkie is a harsh title, but a fitting one for me. Even before coming to Baghdad I could be found at the local cinema on a thursday at midnight catching the early premier of the latest blockbuster to explode onto the big screens! Although I will freely admit I have been to all the early screenings of the Star Wars movies.....special editions included, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and all of my favorite Superheros' leaps to celluloid. I can assure you all I have yet to wield the armor of a Stormtrooper, bare the hairy feet of a Hobbit or don the skin tight latex of my favorite hero while waiting in line at the cinema. Thank God, huh? That latex image got me feeling woozy too, ugh! Speaking of Stormtrooper Armor, this is the funniest..... I'll put the Link in when I can, but go to youtube and search "star wars insult dog" and laugh your ass off.



Anyway, I've been watching a lot of movies lately, mostly on DVD, but I wanted to share some thoughts on them. Mostly I love the Action/Fantasy and SciFi genres, however I do loves me some indie filmmaking so there may be a few titles that are new to you. I will start with what I saw on my first R&R at the theaters.

JUNO

I loved this movie! Ellen Page and Michael Cera will probably be typecast for the rest of their acting careers but thats ok! I love their wit, timing and humor, this is Friends' Phoebe syndrome for these two actors. The magic of it is, whatever Lisa Kudrow is in, I will watch!

The story is simple. An unplanned teen pregnancy forces Juno, with the help of her best friend Leah, to seek out the future parents of her unborn child. Knowing that neither she, nor her boyfriend Bleeker, are ready for parenthood. Great cast, I absolutly love Allison Janney and she delivers as usual. Lots of excellent supporting cast. Great fun, definitly worthy of an Oscar nod

CLOVERFIELD

This must have been one of the most hyped movies I have ever followed on the internet, the viral campaign was very elaborate and, at times, fun to try to follow and figure out clues. It promised to be a ground-breaking cinematic experience. It was very good, done well, and it did take the whole "Blair Witch" thing to a more tolerable level. My only gripe was the monster. Not only was there not enough footage, but when there was it was not "cool" looking for the most part. Now, had this been a new Godzilla sequal like everyone was talking (and praying for) about, I think this movie would have increased it's appeal immensly! Even the newer, americanized, Matthew Broderick Godzilla would have been better. Although I did like the little mini-monsters running around exploding people, Godzilla would have made this a much more successful movie.....and a little bit of background, tension building music would have helped. Good none-the-less!

SUNSHINE

This movie, while visually stunning, is definitly for the more die-hard Sci-Fi fans. It takes place fifty years in the future and the sun is dying, going out. Earths survival hinges on the success of a ship that is built to help re-ignite the sun, the 2nd ship of its kind....the first dissappeared 7 years earlier without a trace. Until now. The crew picks up a SOS beacon from their predecessors and are forced to seek them out to complete their mission. A very somber pace, very similar to 2001: A Space Odessey, incredible visuals and very trance-like soundtrack. Michelle Yeoh, Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans lead the cast. You have got to love Michelle Yeoh, she is a wonderful actress and she can kick ass!

ROCKET SCIENCE

This was a great underdog movie with some truly off-the-wall characters! Hal, a high schooler, plagued with a severe stutter ( the scenes on the lunch line as he approaches the lunch lady practicing under his breath to say the word pizza over fish, you feel his frustration) suffers everyday in school. He is asked to join the debate team by the schools lead debater and object of his new-found crush, Ginny. Events lead to her stabbing him in the back followed by his master plan to get even with her by bringing her former debate partner out of retirement. I forgot his wierd friends name, when he goes over his house they spy on Ginny with binoculars, but man this kid is a bonified Rick-James-Super-Freak!! He is a riot and worth seeing the movie alone!

THE CELESTINE PROPHECY

Well, I knew of this book from years ago, written by James Redfield, discusses various psychological and Spiritual ideas which are rooted in many ancient Eastern Traditions. The main character of the novel undertakes a journey to find and understand a series of nine spiritual insights on an ancient manuscript in Peru. I have always wanted to read the book, still do actually. As for my review..........AAAAAAAHHHH!!! MY EYES, MY EYES!!!! AAAAHHH, MY EARS TOO!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!!! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME, AAAAAHHHH!!!! PLEASE, NO MORE, NO MORE....... Wow, this was one of the worst freakin movies I have ever seen. I got the feeling it was a lame attempt to jump on the coattails of "The Da Vinci Code", but it failed in a big way! Not one good aspect to the film, has to be one of the worst all time films. Sorry to whoever made it. I'm not even including the movie poster because thats what made me buy it! I'm such a sucker!

NO COUNRTY FOR OLD MEN

I really wanted to dislike this movie on some level but I couldn't justify a reason. There were some scenes, mostly in the end I was confused about, however, I was completly drawn into the movie so I got over it. This ultra-violent movie won the Best Picture nod this year which I found very surprising. Definitly worthy, I just always thought the Academy would lean tword less violence for a wider viewing audience. Javier Bardem plays one helluva psycho, this guy is out there with the pressurized tank, whatever that thing was?? I guess people are looking for new, exciting ways to kill on screen. A great movie for sure, but not sure this should have been the best movie pick. I am looking forward to reading the book actually, I have a feeling a lot was missed in translation from page-to-screen. Definitly worth seeing!

MARTIAN CHILD

This is a wonderful film about adoption, acceptance and recognizing family is what you make it. John & Joan Cusack, never to be missed along with Amanda Peete, round out the cast.

Cusak plays a widower that persues an adoption that he and his late wife had planned on prior to her passing. He connects with a boy who claims to be an Alien from Mars, shuns the sunlight and wears a utility belt weighed down with batteries so he will not float away (Mars' gravity is much stronger so on Earth he is very light). Being a Science Fiction writer and filmmaker, Cusack sees himself in this boy and they connect on a level only the two can share. Heart-warming with a message that needs to be told, this movie is a real tear-jerker.

What I'm waiting for?????

IRON MAN

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

SPEED RACER

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

SON OF RAMBOW

YOUNG@HEART

THE DARK KNIGHT

THE CLONE WARS

WALL*E

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL