Feel Good Link
From time to time, we all can use some stroking, just be careful to use
this link in moderation!
thanks Susan!
Horror Film Fest: Se7en
It’s Monday night in the week long Halloween Horror Film Fest, and tonight’s scary movie is Se7en. The film stars Morgan Freeman as an experienced homicide detective who is about to retire, and Brad Pitt as his young replacement. Their jobs are to overlap for seven days, during which Freeman will show Pitt the rope. Kevin Spacey plays the psycho who will make it a disturbing seven days, and Gwyneth Paltrow as Pitt’s wife.
The shocking truth is, I fell asleep about halfway through. I just can’t stay up as late as I used too. But hey, I’ve seen the movie before so I can review it anyway.
So what does this scary killer do? He is making examples of people he finds guilty of breaking one of the seven deadly sins, and always in a manner suited to the sin. Victim by victim, a new grusome death illustrates another sin; gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, envy, and finally in a real twist, wrath.
Unlike your typical psycho-killer horror movie, where the killer is endowed with some sort of super-natural power that keeps them coming back (Michael Myers, Jason, Freddy, etc…), the scenario in Se7en is even scarier, because it’s more believable. Like Dr. Lecter and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs, or Kathy Bates in Misery, this killer is so scary because he’s so human. A seriously screwed in the head human, and not a supernatural monster. When this movie is over, you have to deal with the fact that people this messed up really exist in the world.
If you’re watching the DVD, be sure to check out the special features, especially the storyboards of an alternate ending that I think might have been even better than the excellent one in the movie. Regardless, this is a first-rate suspense movie and Casey gives it two thumbs, WAY up.
further reading: The Seven Deadly Sins on Wikipedia
What’s the Difference Between Iraq and Vietnam?
An Amazing Failure, Even for Bush
During his four year term as our court appointed President, George Bush has provided all too frequent examples of his incompetence; from turning record surpluses into record deficits, to starting wars with countries based on non-existent threats.
But today’s news that 380 tons of powerful explosives have gone missing from a weapons depot in Iraq is a startling blunder even for Bush. How much is 380 tons? On a radio report tonight I learned that it would fill 40 truck loads to move 380 tons of explosives! One pound of such an explosive can bring down an airliner, and we’ve given away 40 truckloads of the stuff.
George Bush led us to war against a nation to hunt for weapons and terrorists that were not there. And now that we are there, we’ve opened the door to the terrorists who weren’t there to begin with, and let them help themselves to the explosives that they’ll be using to kill American soldiers and civilians for years to come.
We shouldn’t be discussing another 4 years in the White House for Bush, we should be discussing the length of his prison term for gross incompetence. And they impeached Clinton over a blow job. Mind boggling.
Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq
New York Times, 10/25/04
Tons of Iraq explosives missing
CNN.com, 10/25/04
How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to replace a lightbulb?
The Answer is TEN:
1. one to deny that a lightbulb needs to be changed,
2. one to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the lightbulb needs to be
changed,
3. one to blame Clinton for burning out the lightbulb,
4. one to tell the nations of the world that they are either for changing
the lightbulb or for darkness,
5. one to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Haliburton for the new
lightbulb,
6. one to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a
step ladder under the banner “Lightbulb Change Accomplished”,
7. one administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in
detail how Bush was literally “in the dark”,
8. one to viciously smear #7,
9. one surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had
a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along,
10. and finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between
screwing a lightbulb and screwing the country.
thanks to sis for sharing this joke
Horror Film Fest: Sleepy Hollow
The first movie of our Halloween Film Festival is Sleepy Hollow, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci. I’ve always enjoyed Tim Burton’s movies. He has a real flair for the creepy and so ‘Sleepy Hollow’ was a good pick for kicking off this Halloween week film fest.
From the start you know this movie’s going to be cool, with a constant grey and foreboding atmosphere and some quick gruesome deaths. Really a great start. Unlike the clumsy schoolteacher from the Disney version of this tale, Johnny Depp’s Ichabod Crane is a New York City homicide detective who gets himself in trouble at work with his insistence that science can help solve crimes. He’s kind of a colonial-era forebearer to William Patterson’s character Gil Grissom on C.S.I.
So Icahabod the skeptical detective is sent to the boonies to investigate a spate of recent beheadings. Much darkness, blood and special effects laden mayhem ensues, and it is good. Two items muddy the story; Ichabod’s flashbacks that slowly reveal some black magic in his own past, and the way too complicated ‘it would have all worked if not for you meddling kids’ ending.
But there’s enough blood and gore to overcome these story faults. And in a role that didn’t require any time wasted on learning lines, Christopher Walken makes a very scary horseman.
On the Casey movie rating scale, I give it one thumb up. Not WAY up, just up.
further reading: Sleepy Hollow from Wikipedia
The Halloween Horror Film Festival
Sure, like most folks I’m pre-occupied by the coming election. But Halloween is just a week away as well, and as you can see by my pumpkin carving that I’ve got the spirit. To get still further into the mood, I’ve decided I’ll watch a different horror movie every night during the week leading up to Halloween, and offer my review here. After all, my review category is pretty thin. Stay tuned.
So, What’s On Your Pumpkin?
Books for Soldiers
This strikes me as a particularly worthy cause. For all of the Americans serving in harms way, the brief distraction that some good reading can offer must be a particularly welcome escape. It doesn’t even need to be a new book, a hand-me-down will do. I’ll post an update later with any news on my success at finding a match between a book in my library and a soldier I’ll gladly pass it on to.http://booksforsoldiers.com
Michael Casey (1850/Limerick, IRE – 1898/Chicago, IL)
Birth: 1850 Annagh, Parish Murroe, Co. Limerick, Ire
Death: 19 Jun 1898 Chicago, IL
Burial: 21 Jun 1898 Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, IL
Occupation: Porter, Teamster
Father: Michael CASEY (ca1816-1882)
Mother: Margaret RYAN
Michael was one of ten Children of Michael Casey, Sr. and his two marriages (Margaret Ryan & Catherine “Kate” Ryan). From his funeral notice in the Chicago Daily News, I found the names of each of his nine siblings:
Casey , Michael, June 19, 1898, aged 44 yrs., at resid., 244 1/2 S. Sangamon, husband of Mary, nee McGinney, brother of Patrick, William, John, Edward, Thomas, Hanna, Maggie, Kate and the late Timothy Casey , native of Anna, Parish Murroe, Co. Limerick. Funeral from St. Patrick’s Church to Calvary
Spouses
1: Mary GEARY/GUIRY
Birth: 1856 Feenagh Parish, Limerick, Ire
Death: 11 Mar 1885 Chicago, IL
Burial: 20 Mar 1885 Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, IL
Father: GEARY
Marriage: bef 1881
Children: UNNAMED (<1881-1881)
John A. (1882-1953)
Mamie (1883-1884)
Michael (1884-1884)
2: Mary MCGIFFNEY
Birth: 1861 Jackson County, IA
Death: 9 Mar 1939 Dubuque, IA
Burial: Mount Olivet Cemetery, Dubuque, IA
Father: W. M. MCGIFFNEY (1824-)
Mother: Ellen (1825-)
Marriage: 14 Nov 1889 Chicago, IL
Children: Margaret (1892-2009)
William Joseph (1894-1966)
Patrick M. (1897-1952)
Sources
1. 1910 Census.
2. John F. Casey – Phone Call, 4/11/03, Chris Casey, added the Limerick detail.
3. Casey, John – Birth Certificate..
4. Casey, Michael – Chicago Daily News Funeral Notice, 6/19/1898, Ancestry.com.
5. Limerick Archives & Limerick Ancestry, 7/8/2003.
6. Calvary Catholic Cemetery – Michael Casey Plot, Photocopy of two plot cards, Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Evanston, IL, Lot 21, Block 14, Section N.
7. Casey, Michael – Cook County Death Certificate, 3168.
8. FamilySearch International Genealogical Index v5.0, http://familysearch.org, John Casey record – Source to Chicago Birth Certificates 1878-1922.
9. Casey, Mary – Funeral Notices, Chicago Daily News, Chicago, March 1885, copy of text from Ancestry.com.
10. Casey, Mary – Death Certificate, 3/11/1885, Cook County, IL, 58793, photocopy.
11. John F. Casey – Phone Call, 4/11/03, Chris Casey.
12. Sheehan, Margaret – Telephone Interview, 12/31/2003, Chris Casey.
13. Obituary – Mrs. Mary Casey Paul, Dubuque, IA, 3/9/1939, Photocopy.
14. Marriage License – Michael Casey & Mary McGinney, 11/14/1889, Chicago, Cook County, IL, 146194, Photocopy from Microfilm.
Care to dig deeper? Explore the Casey/Geltmaker family tree online.
If you have any information about Michael Casey or believe that you may be connected to my tree in any way, I would be very glad to hear from you! Please send me an email to: chris@casey.com