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Trying to join the real world of blogging... Now this is real and I am commited to my writing.

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The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is a great film, go see it. Now, with that being said, this movie is probably not best for younger children so parents please use your discretion. This is a comic book movie for adults. It is a movie for those of us who have lived with Batman for at least fifteen to twenty years. Funny but it is not even really a comic book movie.

I walked out of the theater two and a half hours after this movie started. I turned to my friend and fellow nerd Jay and the first words from my mouth were, “That was a really great crime drama!” Honestly, even if there were no batman character, this would still have been an incredible movie. Every major character was used, and had something integral to do with the plot moving forward. And move forward it did, as I never once found myself wishing they would get on with it.

No, this is not the Batman from the comic books. It isn’t even the same Batman we saw last time from Batman Begins, This was a newly motivated and very personal look at a character that is real. It is about a person who lives in a world just like ours. It just so happens to be based on a comic book character many people have read about for years. Christian Bale does an outstanding job playing the title and dual role of Bruce Wayne Billionaire and the Batman nighttime vigilante. Bale plays it as three roles actually. Bruce the public persona, Bruce the real man, and the Batman, and all three get about equal screen time.

Maggie Gyllenhaal picks up for Katie Holmes as Rachael Dawes the assistant district attorney. The character certainly had much more to do and say in this sequel as apposed to the damsel in distress from the last picture. Maggie plays the role with much more confidence than Katie did and thus I enjoyed the performance tenfold. Rounding out the good guys supporting cast are insanely talented actors Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain and Gary Oldman.

I have said this for the last couple of years but I love anything Aaron Eckhart is in. He continues my little man crush by delivering what is perhaps one of my favorite performances thus far in his career. Harvey Dent, the man who will become Two-Face is such a great character but only if portrayed correctly. If played incorrectly you get a silly cartoon of a villain with no other motivation other than “Oh look he was scarred down half his face.” In this movie you get a realistic look at the horrors of falling off the deep end. Having it all at your fingers then losing it and trying to lay blame. Aaron never once let go believing in this performance one hundred and ten percent.

And then there was Heath. Heath Ledgers’ performance of the Joker could not have been done by any other actor. This version of the character made me a little sad and you couldn’t help but love him. The Joker has been portrayed many ways in film, television and in print but this was such a fresh and perfect picture of a man who is a product of the times we live in. I identified with Joker because I grew up back in those pre-grunge, pre-goth, pre-emo days when kids started to dress differently to express who they were. Heath’s Joker was just like some one I would’ve hung out with in high school but before he took a dive off the deep end of morality. I felt bad for him and never once hated him.

The Dark Knight will probably go down as a great example of how to do a big budget comic book movie. Just like The Incredible Hulk and Ironman, comic book movies are here to stay. Great acting and heart for the performances will keep at least me in my seat until the next picture debut. Now I am just waiting patiently for Star Trek.

Tags: The Dark Knight

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The Summer of Hell

Johnny Glenn Adkins, 58, of Owensboro died Friday, April 13, 2007, at Owensboro Medical Health System. He was born Aug. 20, 1948, in Daviess County to the late Eugene and Richie Adkins. He was raised as a member of Green Brier Baptist Church and was a plant operator at Yager Materials, where he had been employed for 27 years. He enjoyed UK basketball and the Western channel. He was a good man who loved his Lord and his family. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Larry Adkins in March 1986.
He is survived by his wife, Ellie Brown Adkins; a son, Matthew Glenn Adkins and a daughter, Amanda Lee Adkins, both of Owensboro; two brothers, Delmar (Donnita) Adkins of Livia and Doug (Dana) Adkins of Wichita, Kan.; his mother-in-law, Geneva Brown of Owensboro; a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Leon and Linda Ambs of Panther; and several nieces and nephews.
Services are at 10 a.m. Friday at James H. Davis Funeral Home chapel in Owensboro. Burial will follow in Green Brier Baptist Church Cemetery in Daviess County. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday and after 9 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to the Johnny Adkins Memorial Fund, 2029 Little Stream Road, Owensboro, KY 42303. Online messages of condolence may be made at http://www.davisfuneralhome.com/.

Geneva Mae Brown died Saturday, May 5, 2007, at Owensboro Medical Health System. She was born on Aug. 3, 1922, in Owensboro. She was a homemaker and had worked as a rivetter at Servel in Evansville during World War II. She was a member of Walnut Memorial Baptist Church and enjoyed spending time with her family and enjoyed flowers, gardening and she loved her cats. She was preceded in death by her husband, Ira Thomas Brown, in 1951; her mother, Stella Lee Allen; her stepfather, Ben W. Allen; a sister, Margaret Ruth Wigginton; and a son-in-law, Johnny Glenn Adkins.
Survivors include two daughters: Linda and her husband Leon Ambs of Panther and Ellie Adkins of Owensboro; four grandchildren, Kimberly and her husband, Nathan Isbell, Matthew Adkins, Jimmy and his wife, Jenn Ambs and Amanda Adkins; and a great-grandchild, Kyla Isbell.
Services are at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Haley-McGinnis Funeral Home chapel, with the Rev. Jeff Hendricks officiating. Burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and after 8 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Geneva Brown Memorial Fund. Envelopes are available at the funeral home. Online condolences may be left at http://www.haleymcginnis.com/.

Ellie Brown Adkins, 58, of Owensboro went to be with her Lord on July 3, 2007, and joined her husband of 37 years, Johnny Glenn Adkins, who died April 13, 2007. She was born on March 16, 1949, in Evansville to the late Ira Thomas and Geneva Tipmore Brown. She had been employed as an insurance specialist for River Valley Behavioral Health. She was a member of New Covenant Church. She loved her family, playing piano and guitar and worshiping her Lord.
She is survived by a son, Matthew G. Adkins of Owensboro; a daughter, Amanda Lee Adkins of Owensboro; a sister, Linda (Leon) Ambs of Utica; a niece, Kim (Nathan) Isbell of Owensboro; a nephew Jimmy (Jenn) Ambs of Lexington; and a great niece, Kyla Isbell.
Services are at 10 a.m. Saturday at James H. Davis Funeral Home chapel in Owensboro. Burial will follow in Rosehill Cemetery in Owensboro. Visitation is from 5 to 8 p.m. today and after 9 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to the Ellie Adkins Memorial Fund, 2029 Little Stream Run, Owensboro, KY 42303. Online messages of condolence may be made at www.davisfuneralhome.com.

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Matt's melanoma story

In late April 2005 I had a mole on my back that had been bothering me for some time. I had ignored it long enough and went in to have it removed. I didnt really expect anything because I had several small skin tags removed from my neck in 98. No big deal right? A week or so later I received a call from my dermatologist the mole was positive for melanoma cancer and I needed to see a surgical oncologist right away. Louisville as it turns out has a cancer center at U of L and Dr. McMasters is a melanoma specialist.

Learning I had cancer was very difficult for me. I lived in a state of denial for several weeks, and once it set in I became very depressed. In May I had my first surgery. A WLE (wide local excision) basically the doctors cut a 6 millimeter tumor out of my back. Then a SNB (sentinel node biopsy) procedure that pulled out four main lymph nodes under my right arm. Nuclear medicine injected into my tumor showed the path of the cancer spreading. Of four nodes removed, one was positive for melanoma. This confirmed my cancer as stage three.

A few weeks later and several trips to Louisville, I was told I needed another surgery. This time a LND (lymph node dissection) would be performed. This procedure removes all the lymph nodes in a particular area. I had been having trouble making trips to Louisville, taking time off and having someone drive me because I was to upset to drive home. So I decided if anything else would be done it would have to be done here. Luckily for me a new cancer center was being built right her in good old Owensboro.

My new surgical oncologist is Dr. Mullins who is one of the coolest people I had ever had the pleasure of knowing. He performed my LND with no complications and in the middle of two emergency surgeries from car crash survivors. He was very busy that day. Twenty-two nodes were removed and all came back clear. These results were something none of us expected. I thank god and the millions of prayers I got from my coworkers and friends in the community churches.

Now I am clear, a PET scan showed no signs disease. I have decided not to have the interferon therapy. The cost is so much and the side effects are too great to endure at this time. I would just like to continue working and enjoying life. I am also trying to change my diet and exercise habits, by actually having a diet and exercising (ha-ha). The hardest part however is quitting smoking. Sometimes I do great and sometimes I just want a cigarette. If I can make the ten year timeline with no re-occurrence I am clinically cured! This is now something I will have to keep an eye on for the rest of my life, and take special precautions but it will not beat me. I can now call myself a cancer survivor.

I am fair skinned and have reddish hair but never was overly exposed to the sun and still was caught by this beast called Melanoma. If you have moles that are discolored, raised, or have a pearl like sheen to them please have them looked into.
If you would like to know more about melanoma and its warriors please visit http://www.mpip.org/

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