Mission Impossible

I used to love watching the Mission Impossible series of movies as they were clever, exciting, and thrilling. The viewer got caught up in the "impossible" nature of the task and the people who comprised the squad of doers. You never really knew what was going to happen--or how it would happen--until the end of the film.

Not so with Tom Cruise's kick-ass adventure Mission. The viewer is told he's clever, but he's not as he just goes straight-on at the stunts to carry the film. The latest MI is a long stream of Cruise doing his own stunts, ending with a heliocopter event that was so ridiculous as to be funny. There really was no story to the film, just the endless chase scenes where, again, Cruise did his own stunts. The viewers in my audience all said the same thing when "that" scene came on: oh, here's where he broke his ankle. Guess I wasn't the only one not caught up in the story!

I would give this film a C: nothing spectacular and really missing the essence of the "impossible" stories that used to be the foundation for the MI franchise. I'm sure it'll be box office gold as everyone goes to it expecting a clever, well-crafted "impossible" storyline. I wonder how many viewers will be honest and admit that this film missed the mark?

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Palm Springs sits in a basin between Mt. San Jacinto to the west and Mt. Gorgonio to the east. There is a natural funnel created between these two mountains that sends sheets of sand blowing every time we have wind, and it follows I-10 from west to east.  Today, the basin is shrouded in grey and black clouds of smoke due to a forest fire, The Cranston Fire, that is burning on the western side of Mt. San Jacinto and heading toward Hemet. We can see the deep red halo created by the flames along the top ridge of the mountains, but, so far, it has not climbed to the top and crested into the basin.

This fire was deliberately set by an arsonist who drove along the main thoroughfare through the small city of Idyllwild.  He lit flares and threw them out of his car window; thankfully, someone got a make/model and license plate and the man was found in Hemet, where he was arrested.  But he left behind a huge conflagration that is roaring out of control. If it summits and comes down the valley side of Mt. San Jacinto, it could easily destroy all of the population centers between the mountain and I-10 as there would be nothing to stop it. Palm Springs sits at the bottom of the mountain range, and it would not take much to drive a fire straight across the valley basin.

The wind is still blowing strongly, so everyone is hoping that the winds die down overnight and give fire-fighters a chance to get a hand on the fire.

Lousey Lasagne

You ever buy a product, prepare it according to package directions, then sit down to have your first bite and find out that it’s awful? That was my experience this evening with a Signature Select Six-Cheese Lasagne. The package bragged about the rich blend of six cheeses, complemented by a “Delicious Chunky Tomato and Red Bell Pepper Sauce,” but what I tasted was a pasty, gluey white “cheese” spread with overly-sweet tomato catsup.

To add insult to injury, I bought the Family Size/5 Servings size so there would be left-overs tomorrow – and all I want to do is trash the remainder as I did the piece I served myself for dinner. No way was I going to eat this crap, and it took only 2 bites to confirm that it was really an unpleasant dining experience.

Yep, I went to the website and detailed my complaint, but I’m sure that will fall on deaf ears. After all, they don’t intentionally make a poor product as they expect repeat consumers purchasing their various products to keep the cash flowing. But, I wonder, wouldn’t they realize how awful this product is if, say, someone took a serving of it and tasted it before sending it to the stores for consumers to buy?