This is fascinating to me... movie-makers will have to chose their villains carefully in the new information age.

MSNBC pointed out the Russian Communist party members are pretty ticked off about the latest Indiana Jones Movie. They provided a link, which I checked out, (and so far I don't seem to have the Department of Homeland Security knocking down my door.) The link is full of Russian and English conversation about how unfair it was to Russian Indiana Jones fans to vilify the Russians...many of the Russian fans grew up when Indiana Jones was a fighter of Nazis, something everyone could get behind. Here is the Link

I saw the movie, and I personally didn't think it was that bad. It is set in 1957, and makes many references to the Cold War. The Russians were treated as the enemy in the movie, but they were not depicted as inhumane. And Cate Blanchette was extremely charismatic as the Russian leader looking for the Crystal Skull.

For those of you that have seen this movie...what do you think?

Much of my family and several friends attended the first showing of the new Indiana Jones movie at East Valley 13 last night. The movie was really fun. Harrison Ford did a great job of reprising his role... he was as fun as always. Wise-cracking Indiana Jones, "making it up as he goes along."

My kids have convinced me that you have to go in costume to these big movie openings, and sure-enough, others were there in costume as well. Here are a few pictures of the event.




( CLICK HERE to see all the pictures )

It's becoming apparant that Mayor Keolker is trying to elbow Eric Temple, the owner of the Spirit of Washington dinner train, out of our town.

The mayor's grudge against Mr. Temple has evidenced itself in two episodes:

(1) Two years ago, Mr. Temple offered to put $200,000 of his own money into finishing our vacant Pavilion building downtown, to lease it from the city and manage it as a community event center. He proposed catering these Pavilion events with the same modern commercial kitchen he built for catering the dinner train, in the train depot he leases and beautifully maintains downtown. Council chose this offer over the mayor's plan, which was to bring in salvaged carrousel horses and create a permanent museum in the pavailion building. This plan would require a long term city subsidy as well as $250,000 in public start up costs. Mr. Temple's Spirit of Washington Event Center has been extremely successful, hosting nearly 200 events per year and giving the city over one hundered thousand in extra revenue each year.

(2) As the crowds and trees both grew at the adjacent outdoor Cinema at the Piazza, and the noise from Pavilion events and movies co-mingled, Mr. Temple offered to pay for hosting the Outdoor Cinema a few blocks up the street at a more spacious, grassy, and child-friendly Liberty Park location. Council readily endorsed this improvement, but the mayor hated the change and blamed Eric Temple for it. In her reaction, she upset many people, and attempted to start the ridiculous rumor that council wanted to end the farmers market forever--an outright lie.

Council has been trying to save the dinner train by challenging the closure of the eastside rail line. And we have been working to assure that in any case Mr. Temple will still have his train depot to cater his Event Center. I wish the Mayor would join us in these efforts.

Movies in the Park presents "Back to the Future," a funny and exciting film that was so successful it produced two blockbuster sequals. Bring your chairs, blankets, snacks and friends to this terrific FREE show. Saturday, at Liberty Park (next to the Library), at sundown. Major Funding provided by Spirit of Washington Dinner Train in cooperation with the City of Renton, Greater Renton Chamber of Commerce, Renton Visitor's Connection, Renton School District, and Renton Technical College.

(I have seen this movie countless times, and I intend to view it countless more times...it is so good. My wife and I first saw this movie in 1985, as a young couple without any children, at the Lewis and Clark Theater in Seatac. Today my now married daughter, the oldest of our five kids, is celebrating her 21st birthday! I probably will have to miss the screening of this film in the park because of her birthday activities, but tonight I will be thinking about this film and its various funny and touching lessons about the passage of time.)