The Iraq war is now over, one million of us have served, 32,000 were wounded-in-action and over 4,400 gave their lives. Now is the time to remember those we’ve lost, respect those who’ve served and respond to the issues we’re facing on the homefront.

Sign our petition calling on the President, New York Mayor Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Menino, and Mayors and government officials nationwide to organize a National Day of Action to celebrate our nation’s new vets and connect them with resources. Instead of scattered local efforts throughout the year, we should all work together to honor our fellow vets on a coordinated day of action.

Some disagree that now is the time to celebrate our community. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said he doesn’t “think a parade is appropriate now.” If so, then he needs to tell us when. If a city can have a parade for its football team, it can have one for its Iraq Vets. And if our nation can afford two wars, it can afford two parades or more for vets of both wars.

Disney, originally uploaded by theSuperStar.

Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth – Blue Marble 2012, originally uploaded by NASA Goddard Photo and Video.

January 25, 2012

A ‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite – Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed ‘Suomi NPP’ on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin.

Suomi NPP is NASA’s next Earth-observing research satellite. It is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth.

Suomi NPP is carrying five instruments on board. The biggest and most important instrument is The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite or VIIRS.

To read more about NASA’s Suomi NPP go to: npp.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html

Gong Xi Fa Ca! That’s the traditional Chinese New Year greeting that means “wishing you prosperity” in Mandarin. The first day of the Chinese New Year – which begins at midnight on January 23, 2012 – is the most important of Chinese holidays, celebrated by billions in China, and by millions of ethnic Chinese around the world. It’s a celebration that lasts for 15 days, culminating with the Lantern Festival. Each year is associated with one of twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. For 2012, it’s the Year of the Dragon. source.

I didn’t have high hopes for this movie, but it turned out to be really good. A situation that is all too common for either our own family or someone we know.

Paul Giamatti headlines writer/director Tom McCarthy‘s comedy drama centering on a beleaguered attorney and part-time wrestling coach who schemes to keep his practice from going under by acting as the legal caretaker of an elderly client. Mike Flaherty (Giamatti) thinks he has discovered the perfect loophole to keep his practice in business. But his brilliant plan hits an unexpected hitch when his client’s troubled grandson shows up looking for a place to stay. With his home life in turmoil and both of his careers in jeopardy, Mike quickly realizes that he’ll have to get creative in order to find a way out of his current predicament. source.
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: August 23, 2011
Run Time: 106 minutes

This movie had a lot of cheesy lines, but I rented it for the Blu-Ray value and it really wasn’t there either. The aliens seemed primitive but had somewhat of a better technology like their UAVs but they had weak armor against 5.56mm from a M16? Just didn’t make sense. And of course, everyone knows you can’t win a war without the US Army.

For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world – Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world’s great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It’s up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they’ve ever encountered before. source.
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: June 14, 2011
Run Time: 116 minutes

I thought Ellen Fanning did a great job. The best thing about this movie was the intense train crash.

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined. source.
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
DVD Release Date: November 22, 2011
Run Time: 112 minutes

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and social activist who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. Inspired by advocates of nonviolence such as Mahatma Gandhi, King sought equality for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986. source.

The greatest civil rights advocate in our history.

At the White House Rose Garden on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honor King. Observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, it is called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Following President George H. W. Bush’s 1992 proclamation, the holiday is observed on the third Monday of January each year, near the time of King’s birthday. On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed in all fifty U.S. states. Arizona (1992), New Hampshire (1999) and Utah (2000) were the last three states to recognize the holiday. source.

This was a strange movie, I couldn’t turn it off, had to finish the movie. Another movie with Natalie Portman in the same week?

Loud music. Pornography. Burning **** to the ground. These are a few of Hesher’s favorite things. And they are what Hesher (Joseph Gordon Levitt) brings into the lives of TJ (Devin Brochu) and his father, Paul (Rainn Wilson) when he takes up residence in their garage uninvited. Grief-stricken by the loss of TJ’s mother in a car accident, Paul can’t muster the strength to evict the strange squatter, and soon the long-haired, tattooed Hesher becomes a fixture in the household. Like a force of nature, Hesher’s anarchy shakes the family out of their grief and helps them embrace life once more. source.
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: LIONSGATE
DVD Release Date: September 13, 2011
Run Time: 106 minutes

This wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I thought Thor’s friends sucked, they were useless and weak like the mortals. I liked Natalie Portman better as Queen Amidala.

The epic adventure Thor spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. As a result, Thor is banished to Earth where he is forced to live among humans. When the most dangerous villain of his world sends its darkest forces to invade Earth, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero. source.
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount Pictures
DVD Release Date: September 13, 2011
Run Time: 115 minutes