Yup… the big guy’s right, I’m a huge Tolkien fan. Currently watching the theatrical version of Return of the King again. I’ll probably post another review either here or at Scary Spasms, where I posted a review after the films came out.

I’ll second agreement with Mr. Du Toit’s rant on LotR. The blonde princess was way hotter. I’m not a big Liv Tyler fan. I look at her, and I see her dad. Although I like Aerosmith, Stephen Tyler is just freaky looking.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is a big Lord of the Rings fan. He has read the books. He has seen the movies. He loves it. (Although, perhaps not as much as the AirMarshal.) That said, your Maximum Leader also has sense of humour. He was over on Kim Du Toit’s site (looking for more skin and gun pics) and found Kim’s rant on “The Return of the King.”

Your Maximum Leader admits. He laughed a little bit reading it. And your Maximum Leader agrees with Kim on one point. If he was Aragorn, he would have gone after lusty blonde princess…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader’s hockey team could snag the best prospectout there. Really, it could happen.

But then again, the world could end tomorrow…

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader wants to congratulate Kilgore.

Your Maximum Leader will take a raincheck on the Glenfiddich on the rocks.

Carry on.

My wife and I have Verizon cell phones, largely because her father has been a Verizon employee. In general, I have been less than pleased with service… until I compare what we get with what friends with other providers get. I think my anticipated standards for how good cell phones should be are higher than industry standards. Based on comparison with friends on Sprint, AT&T and NexTel, Verizon is either as good or better than what they get. Fine.

But one thing consistantly pisses me off. I have an LG-4400 phone, which I like quite a bit. But the software on the phone has some serious bugs related to voicemail. So I’m on my office phone, when my wife calls me on cell. I can’t answer, so I note that she’s left me a voice mail, and wait until I finish business on the office phone. Then I try to call voice mail from the cell phone. It keeps kicking me out of my voice mail menu to tell me that one new voice mail has arrived. Duh. I’m trying to check the damn voice mail, but I freaking can’t because the freaking service keeps interupting my call to my mail box.

I know it’s just a software bug, but it pisses me off.

Update from your Maximum Leader: Your Maximum Leader uses Cingular and likes it…

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader would like to note that now the lovely Annika has taken the quiz that was posted here earlier in the week. Wanna know how she answered the questions? Read annika’s responses.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader seconds the AirMarshal’s Kim Possible post. He has, on more than one occasion, found himself watching Kim Possible late at night while channel surfing. And the Villainettes were fast asleep.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is on a roll with all these single link blog entries. (Is it reallyjust a feeble attempt to break the 1000 post barrier by July?) Anyho… Your Maximum Leader would pay good money to have someone (and by that he means a real “someone” - like an elected official, or famous writer) give this speech at a college commencement.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader loves modest proposals. They are always a fun read. So in that vein your Maximum Leader commends to you the lastes from Conrad. The Gweilo Diaries: A New North Korean Export (or, Poontang from Pyongyang) Enjoy.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was going to comment on the Gore speech of yesterday. But instead, your Maximum Leader refers you to Skippy. (His post of May 26th. The one with the photo of Gore doing his best Howard Dean impression.) Skippy is, as usual, brilliant!

Carry on.

So Al Gore gave a speech yesterday blasting Bush. Ok, fine. Despite the fact that I agree with a lot of what Gore said, I still think he’s a Schmuck. Want to know something, Al? The biggest reason you aren’t President is that you were too freaking stupid to campaign in your “Home State”, or to enlist Bill’s help to win Arkansas. When Fred Thomas is working his ass off to win Tennessee for Bush, and you don’t even bother to show up, you don’t deserve to win the election.

As my daughter might say “Gore - Moore… it’s a rhyming word!”

Michael Moore won the Palm D’Or at Cannes. Oooh big surprise. As the Americans are getting booed off the court at Roland Garros by an extremely anti-American crowd, Moore winning  film award at Cannes is about as shocking as a Republican wearing a tie.

For the record, I despise Michael Moore. I don’t find him entertaining in the least. He furthers his blatant political agenda with half truths and inuendos and when he’s called to account for distortions, he reverts to the “Hey, it’s not the news, it’s only entertainment” defense. (I call this the “Rush Limbaugh” defense.)

So NPR did a special on Moore on Tuesday I believe during the afternoon rush hour. Not sure if it’s the right link I found, but it’s still appropriate. Anyway, the film critic reporting from Cannes described Michael Moore as some sort of hero to the French. God, if they think the best we have to offer is Jerry Lewis and Michael More? ugh.

In any event, The film critic (possibly Ken Turan) stated that Moore is viewed as a hero in europe, as the only American to “tell it like it is”, and speak the truth. This bothered the critic (good for him) who called Moore to task on his skewed, political view of the world, and his distortion of facts. The critic cited Bowling for Columbine as a film he didn’t like, that he felt was inappropriately labeled a documentary, and was more properly labeled propaganda.

Anyway, the critic closed out his report by describing an exchange between a French reporter and Michael Moore. I tried to google for the transcript but couldn’t find it. In essence, Moore railed against the “ban” on his film in the US. The reporter asked him if he thought the film would ever be seen in the US. More paused and said “of course it will” quietly. The French seemed to think that it was a governmental ban, and not a corporate decision to not distribute a hot potato.

Oh well.

PS. There is one Michael Moore film I really love. Canadian Bacon. In no way is it a great film, it’s a great late night cable comedy. I good $0.99 rental. A fun and stupid little movie. Much like Killer Klowns from Outer Space. I remember seeing “Killer Klowns” on cable one weekend, when MaxLeader came down to Blacksburg to see a football game. Watched it on cable after the game.

Any of the parents out there watch this? My daugter loves it. Gotta say, I enjoy Kim Possible too.

yup

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader read this Reuter’s piece: Researcher Dies After Accidental Ebola Jab, and remembered why he didn’t go into medicine.

Well… The real reason was that he doesn’t like helping people enough to do it full time, or even part time. He prefers being Maximum Leader.

Carry on.

If the Maximum Leader will be so kind as to insert the pics I sent him, here are some pictures from my land.

Pic 66670006: A view of the lower pasture. You can see the divisions; this three acre field is divided into ten smaller paddocks by wire.

Pic 66670007: A close up view of Bonnie and her boys. Bonnie is tipping the scales at 520 pounds these days - she’ll be ready to breed when she makes it to 700 - about three months from now. Bonnie is the brown and white Ayrshire in the foreground. A Holstein steer is standing slightly behind her - he is black with white markings. The angus cross is in the far background - he is all black.

Pic 66670025: Sunrise at Sweet Seasons Farm. This is how I start my day. My father and I built the barn you see out of a torn-down house. In the foreground is another of our scrap creations: the chicken tractor. If you look closely, you can see a couple of guineas sitting on top of the tractor.

Update from your Maximum Leader: Pics uploaded to site and links active. Sorry it took a while. Your Maximum Leader is spending more time away from a computer lately.

I have never understood why the Maximum Leader is so obsessed with Deuteronomy.

Update from your Maximum Leader: Because it is filled with such great laws that’s why. Really! Try Deuteronomy 22:5. “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.” Or Deut 22:10. “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.” Or Deut 23:17. “There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.” And the ever popular Deut 2721. “Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

To that your Maximum Leader says, “Amen.”