Monday, November 29, 2010

It's A Boy!

Title says it all.  Joanna and I found out last week we are going to have a son.  We aren't 100 percent sure about what the name will be just yet, but we are leaning toward Jackson for the first name.
Joanna said finding out the sex of the child has made her pregnancy much more real and she feels that calling the child "he" instead of "it" has been a great help also personalizing her pregnancy.  I'm just happy to have a boy.  I have always wanted a son ever since I was a little kid myself.  Of course, I can't imagine that I would love Emery any more even if she were a boy.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

This really shouldn't be posted until tomorrow, but I will be busy putting up our Christmas decorations and cleaning the house for the in-laws visit on Saturday.  So here it is now.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Christmas Came Early For Cook Household

My amazing mother took Joanna and me shopping last night for a new television and we got a 46-inch Samsung LCD that looks glorious in our living room. After making sure I had all the hookups right and wires in the correct spot we popped in a test movie to check out the quality. Of course it was a Bond movie and so the first thing to be tested on our new TV was Quantum of Solace.
While I am not one of those that wants my family’s focus to be set around a television set, this certainly is a great thing to have in the house and I can’t wait to get some movie watching going on it.
Another thank you goes out to my mom for the gift and letting us take it home early.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Garrett Top Gets First Win

The Jason Garrett experiment went very well for the Dallas Cowboys after his first week of head coaching.  While I don't necessarily think a dress code and being on time for meetings as Valley Ranch is the sole reason for the team's success, it certainly gives them more structure and discipline that was in existence under Wade Phillips.  I am just glad to see the Cowboys get back to winning and hopefully this sparks something in them that keeps going for the rest of the season.  Like I told Danny on Sunday, it is like a new eight-game season has begun and right now the Cowboys are 1-0.

Monday, November 08, 2010

Friday, November 05, 2010

Bond Series Back On Track

Anyone who knows me is aware of my affinity for film. And those who know that probably know my favorite series is the James Bond movies. It is a guilty pleasure of mine and the 22 films released through the Broccoli/Saltzman group are ones I can watch again and again. So I recently received some great news regarding the 007 series as it has recently been in limbo due to financial concerns for MGM.
Following a Manhattan federal bankruptcy court judge’s ruling yesterday, MGM 30 days to seek final approval of its reorganization plan. The former movie making giant has been the financier and distributor of the film series, despite EON Productions owning the rights.
The courtroom hearing scene comes a day after MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. According to a report from unofficial James Bond website mi6.co.uk, the company’s prepackaged plan proposes to eliminate $5 billion in debt by converting a loan through JPMorgan into the new stock in the reorganized company. Spyglass Entertainment chiefs will be overseeing MGM with a holding of less than 1% of the new company once it crawls out of its bankruptcy woes.
The good news for me in all of this is that the 23rd James Bond film is slated to open in November of 2012, with additional adventures for the English spy to continue every two years after that. I did not become a fan of the series until my senior year in high school, so I was not on the regular schedule of two years in between films like it was in the late 60s, 70s and early 80s.
Mi6.co.uk said, “Two potential suitors for Bond 23 financing and distribution are Paramount and Sony. Sony distributed the last two James Bond outings under the agreement reached when the company was part of the consortium that took over MGM in 2005. Sony have made it public that they would love to be involved again, but it looks like a bidding war between rival distributors will be taking place before Bond 23 is officially green-lit.”
Along with the Bond franchise, MGM’s assets include a half interest in “The Hobbit” films, its name and logo, the United Artists operations, and a library with more than 4,000 titles.
2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the EON Productions series of James Bond films.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Keep Your Heads Held High Metroplexians

As disappointing and gut-wrenching as it was to watch the Texas Rangers lose Game 5 of the World Series last night, it was still a fantastic season that had many firsts for the ball club.  Although the ultimate goal every season is to win a championship in whatever sport, I consider this year's Texas Ranger's season a success and can't wait for the developments with Cliff Lee's free agency and the other moves the Rangers will have to make in the offseason to keep this organization together.