Just an all Around Good Day

Today, my good friend Lacey, her cousin Devlin, and I went on a little tour of Jackson. We started out at the Jackson Zoo. Now, I am usually opposed to going to zoos because I feel that it is cruel to keep wild animals in a confined space outside of their natural habitat. But I had heard that the zoo was refurbished recently and since Lacey had her heart set on going, I figured I might as well.

Let me just say it now... The Jackson Zoo SUCKS!!! It is just absolutely terrible. The place has fallen apart, the landscaping has overgrown, the pathways are in shambles, and the animals are rarely out. The only thing that was new and refurbished was an area they called a "learning center". But it was closed (go figure). It is all really sad though because I can remember a time when this zoo was pretty decent and at one time, this zoo was on par with many of the nation's top zoos. But now it's just an embarrassment to the City of Jackson. Unless there is some drastic change here, I will never go back and will never recommend it.

After that pathetic experience, we all went to the Renaissance to go look around at Barnes and Noble. I absolutely love this store. I have spent hours upon hours in this store, just going through books. It a great place for me to get out and escape for a while. While I was there today, I discovered the new Barnes and Noble Leather Bound Classics collection. They are really cool. They're a little pricey for a work that is in the public domain, but they are very nice looking hardback editions. I'm thinking about getting these later on for posterity sake. But I didn't buy one this trip. I ended up buying a copy of The Help. I'm glad I did, because it was the last hardback edition that Barnes and Noble had!

After we left Barnes and Nobel, we went over to Ichiban in Flowood. I was never really a fan of this place before today. I always thought of it as being too expensive with a limited selection. But today was great! There was a ton to chose from and it wasn't that expensive. Granted, it was a lunch buffet, but still it was good. So I guess from now on, I need to come here for lunch!

After stuffing ourselves, I took Lacey and Devlin on a driving tour of Downtown Jackson and showed them the Capitol, the Supreme Court building, the building I work in, and some other highlights. We ended up at the Old Capitol where we took a quick little tour since it was open.

The Old Capitol was once the state's history museum, but a few years ago they refurbished it to it's former self. They did a supurb job with it too. Back when it was the history museum, it was really bad. There were artifacts stuck everywhere. It was really over crowded and packed in. It looked a lot like an attic. But now it's back to it's original floor plan and is now set up like it once was when it was first built. There are also some exhibits about historic preservation, and the history of the building. It is really well done.

After that we headed home. Once I dropped them off, I went over too Grandma Virgie's house and vistited with her and Gina and talked for a while. Of course, since Gina and I are both now obsessed with The Help, we started talking about it. Once we found out that Grandma had not seen it yet, we immediately decided to go see it again. So that's what we did that night and yes, it was better the second time!

My Thoughts on "The Help"

Last night, I got the urge to go see a movie. I honestly did not care what I saw, I just wanted to get out of the house and see something. Since I was in Brookhaven, my options were limited. The only choices were Final Destination 5, Cowboys and Aliens, The Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and The Help. I had absolutely no desire to see Final Destination, and I had already seen Cowboys and Aliens (review coming soon). I called up my good friend Lacey and we agreed on seeing The Help.

To be honest, when I first walked into the theater, I was a skeptical. First of all, I absolutely hate the theater in Brookhaven. It's small, cramped, and always full of people. The seating isn't tiered, the walls are paper thin, and there are always teenagers walking the aisles. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the theater has upgraded to digital.

I was also skeptical of the film itself. It is set in Mississippi during the height of the Civil Rights era. In fact much of the movie was filmed in Greenwood and Downtown Jackson. Usually movies set in Mississippi are designed solely to make Mississippians look terrible and stupid (we can thank John Grisham for that). So, I just assumed that this would be one of these same ole movies that bring up the past without showing the progress we have made. Now don't get me wrong, there is plenty of that going on in this movie, but I feel like the film also portrayed Mississippi in a good light as well. I feel like it was a fair to the state and it's people.

All I'm going to say about this movie here is GO SEE IT NOW! I'm not going to give any spoilers out in this review because I WANT all of you to go see this movie. I would say that is probably one of the best movies I have ever seen. Great cinematography, good acting and awesome story. It's one of those movies that will make you bawl your eyes out one second then have you falling out of your chair laughing the next. In fact, there was one scene that had me laughing and crying at the same time. So definitely bring a tissue. This movie is definitely a must see for all.

5 stars!

Why a Fourth?

I'm sure you're all wanting to ask me, "Matt... why in the hell do you need a fourth blog?" Well, to be honest, I have no idea.

As of now, I have three other blogs. I have a Disney blog, a Political Ranting blog, and a personal fitness blog that is currently private. To me this set up makes sense as I basically have three different worlds that makes me me. Each one of these blogs represents the different parts of my personality. Sometimes they spill over into the other worlds, but typically I try to keep them separate.

But what about the other aspects of my life? There is a tons about me that is not limited to just three categories. Yes, Disney, Politics and the Quest to Get Fit make up the majority of my personality, but there is a part of me that does not fit in to these categories. So... to spare the readers of those blogs, I have decided to create this new place for me to ramble. I warn you... these posts will be very varied in content. You will probably begin to think that I have ADD or something. But that is the nature of this blog. This is a place for me to get things of my chest, tell my story and ramble about anything I want. Hopefully you will enjoy the ramblings!