Stupid me! I just finished watching a video of animal rights protestors interrupting people’s everyday lives while chanting and carrying signs. Unfortunately my son was sitting right next to me (we were laughing), and now he’s adopted the tactic, i.e. chanting endlessly to get what he wants. It won’t work for him either.

The story I’m referring to involves some new radical animal rights group based (wait for it), out of California. I won’t mention their name so as not to give them any more notoriety, (not that my little bit would really help, but I’m desperate for a way to lash out at these people). The group is employing a new tactic, holding impromptu funerals for frozen foods in the meat and deli aisle of local grocery stores. Yeah, you… you read that correctly. And here’s another sad fact: they’re proud of themselves; so much so in fact, that they’ve posted the videos on you tube. While watching I experienced a whole range of emotions, none of which were the ones intended by the group by the way. At first I simply laughed, and I laughed hard. And then my son laughed. I then I blurted out what idiots these people were which required me to explain to my six year old why they were idiots, and that took a while because frankly, my list was pretty long.

But then my mood went from being amused to exasperated when I watched the preachy sanctimony on display in those vids. I was virtually overcome with the desire to throw some of the vegan’s precious vegetables at them. (Actually I love vegetables as well so… maybe some canned foods would be better). Fortunately I guess, none of the shoppers actually responded that way. The poor store owners, whose day was being thoughtlessly interrupted, tried to get the wack… uh protesters out of the building. Most just laughed and tried to go about their business. But then I had another thought. What are these deranged demagogues going to do when they realize that no one’s listening?

Well, in the meantime I plan to celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way this year. The bodies of the dead, (namely turkey, ham and whatever else), will be purchased from a local establishment which trades in the frozen bodies of dead animals. On returning home they will be partially cremated, just until golden brown and still juicy. At which time family and friends will gather to sacrifice by consuming the perfectly seasoned flesh, while enjoying violent a spectacle which will be broadcast on nationwide television. My Thanksgiving Day turkey will be survived by the left overs in my refrigerator.

The first time I took my son to the movies was an amazing experience. We went and saw Despicable Me 2, on a Saturday afternoon. He sat, glued to his seat through the entire movie and laughed. It was the greatest kind of laugh too; the one that makes every parent laugh along even if the jokes are old. It was like an injection of pure childish joy. Well a couple of days ago I wrote about my two movie weekend, starting with my screening of interstellar. On Sunday afternoon (after the Cowboy’s game of course), I took my son and nephews to the latest Disney hit entitled “Big Hero Six” hoping for a similar experience. I think the boys enjoyed the feature but for myself, well, I was a touch let down.

“BH6” is set in a fictional city which combines the cultures of the American Pacific coast and a Japanese technology firm. The movie opens with robot prodigy Hiro Hamata participating in the seedy side of technological society by betting on robot gladiators in dark alleys, (not unlike cock fighting I guess). For whatever reason this activity is illegal, and when Hiro’s older brother attempts to drag him out of trouble they are both arrested. The incident becomes an opportunity for Hiro when his older brother hoping to offer Him some direction, brings Hiro to the technical college he attends and introduces him to his latest project Baymax, an inflatable robotic doctor. After being initially unimpressed, Hiro is persuaded to enter a tech convention in order to win admission to the college. The story takes a twist when disaster strikes the convention, and Hiro (along with Baymax of course), sets out to right all wrongs.

I won’t continue to describe the story line, so as not to ruin it for readers who’ve not seen the movie. I will say it was a bit long for a children’s movie. There was nothing inappropriate about BH6, which I really appreciated. Not that I expected it but you never can tell these days. On the other hand it wasn’t a great movie. It was just ok. With the exception of Baymax of course the characters just didn’t seem as memorable as other Disney or Pixar films. The story line seemed a bit ad-libbed, with new elements added late in the film. I could almost hear the writers trying to concoct a reason for the story’s central surprise plot point.

I don’t know exactly what I was expecting from Big Hero 6, but I guess I expected more humor and less drama. I was a bit disappointed in how serious the story line was. It was more of a superhero adventure than comedic fun; which is why I have always preferred Warner Bros. to Disney. To me a great cartoon is one in which someone is hit in the face with a frying pan to classical music, rather than singing to a maiden on a flying carpet. What I really wanted from Big Hero 6 was something closer to Despicable Me, humor and adventure together. What I got wasn’t terrible, it was just alright. And while I think the kids had fun, I wasn’t the same memorable moment this time around. That’s ok though, maybe next time.

I seldom go to the movies these days. Rarer still do I go more than once in a single weekend. Last weekend was the first time I’ve done just that in the last twenty years or so, at least as far as I can remember. It happened that Saturday night I wanted to take in the new Christopher Nolan, science fiction, feature “Interstellar.” Upon learning of my intentions, my six year old son expressed his dismay at the fact that it was not suitable for him. Thus I found that I was duty bound to return to the theater the following afternoon to watch a more child centered film, namely “Big Hero 6.”

Interstellar is three hours of fun with relativity. It’s a visually amazing film, set somewhere in the near future on a dying Planet Earth. I will interject at this point, that the movie largely resists the temptation to push any kind of real political or environmental message, something I was a bit wary of going in. The setting is an ambiguous future, where life and technology are both old and new. One of the elements I appreciated is the combination of a world I recognized and identified with, along with inevitable scientific advances.

I won’t say too much about the Plot other than to reaffirm what readers probably already know. Astronaut turned farmer, Cooper, leaves behind his already fractured family, (particularly his brilliant daughter Murphy) and ventures into space and through a wormhole in search of a new planet for humanity to colonize. My favorite scene is one in which Cooper visits the “Eternal Now,” where he experiences all the moments of his daughter’s life simultaneously, while enjoying a cold beer with St. Augustine. (…Just kidding about the St. Augustine part).

As with any space and time movie, Interstellar has some holes, other than the black and worm variety. (I apologize for the incredibly nerdy pun. It was actually an accident… almost). For instance, neither the geopolitical state of the planet nor how the crisis on earth originated in the first place is ever explained. Of course if there’s anything George Lucas has to teach us it’s this: Don’t try to explain every little thing. Just ask the audience to accept the world you’ve created and tell your story. (I’m using Lucas as a negative example by the way). All that aside; Interstellar is a beautiful movie on a couple of levels. It’s well acted, and the cinematography alone is worth the price of admission. There are certainly questions I was left with by the end that I won’t divulge so as not to ruin the conclusion for readers who’ve not seen it. Don’t go if you prefer movies that wrap up neatly. My other complaint was the length. At almost three hours I was getting seriously antsy by the end. What can I say, I guess I’m just too old to sit still that long.

Overall I enjoyed the film, but confess that I will probably not completely grasp the entire plot until I’ve watched it again. But sitting through another three hours seems like an awfully big commitment at this point. I guess I’ll have to wait until it appears on HBO or Netflix. At least at home I can hit pause button from time to time.

Oh look the McRib is back! If anyone is in the mood for faux Barbeque ribs drenched in sauce McDonald’s is selling them again “for a limited time.” Now, I’m certainly not a food nazi, nor am I a McDonald’s hater but I am consistently amazed by the love people have for this particular sandwich. As a Texan who loves my states traditional fare (i.e. BBQ), I find any reference to this evil impersonation of my favorite cuisine to be absolute apostasy. When I looked up descriptions of the fast food product, (yes, sadly I did), the words “reformed pork” kept coming up. Uh… yeah ok, I’ll pass on even referring to those as “ribs.” Selling the McRib to Texans strikes me as being a bit like trying to sell Pabst Blue Ribbon in Germany or Ireland… It’s just embarrassing and you shouldn’t! Really its border line culturally insensitive to real barbeque states like ours. So come on Texas, let’s send a message! We’re better than this!

It still baffles me how 20 years later, you can make a Seinfeld reference in a group of people and somebody is likely to get it and maybe even quote the next line. Jerry Seinfeld’s web show “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” isn’t nearly of the same magnitude as the show about nothing but it’s definitely worth watching.

In each episode, Seinfeld picks up a fellow comedian in a random car as the two of them get coffee. The show is less like a talk show and more like what you might see if you were behind the scenes. In a way, it’s like being a fly on the wall listening to the two comedians’ conversation. Seinfeld has a background with several of the comedians as the two of them reminisce about the past and talk about the world of comedy.

The first episode of the fifth season is set to be aired Thursday, Nov. 6. This season features comedians such as Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, Fred Armisen, Miranda Sings, Bill Burr and Ali Wentworth.

Comedians who have joined Seinfeld include Michael Richards who played Kramer in the sitcom, Larry David, Howard Stern, Chris Rock,Jay Leno, David Letterman and many others.

The show can be found on its site and on Youtube.