I Suck At Wipeout

What began as a day with no plans quickly turned into family day on Saturday. After running a few errands in the late morning and early afternoon, Karen's family came over for a little visit.

In particular, Karen's parents' friend (Maryann) was meeting them for dinner. As Maryann had never met our baby daughter (Briana), she asked to stop by after dinner. Likewise, it has been a while since she saw my niece (Kaleigh) and nephew (PJ). Thus, Karen's mother organized a little get together at our place so that Maryann could see everyone after dinner.

Since Karen's parents and Maryann were going out for dinner, we decided to have dinner with my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) and Kaleigh and PJ while we waited. Janine was kind enough to pick up pizza from Sal's pizza on her way over. Needless to say, the pizza was good.

Anyway, my favorite niece and nephew were all wound up. Apparently, they are big fans of Zhu Zhu pets. Me? Not so much. If Zhu Zhu pets are still around when Briana is older... she is not getting one. (Of course, she's not getting anything under my tyrannical rule.)

Regardless, Kaleigh and PJ played with their Zhu Zhu pets for quite a while. When they were done playing with them, we decided to watch some family television. Apparently, there is a program on Disney that only shows clips of Wipeout for kids. Upon seeing the commercial, PJ was so excited that he exclaimed he loved Wipeout.

Now, I suck at Wipeout. As it turned out, Karen and I happened to have some episodes of Wipeout on our DVR. So we decided to watch a full episode of the show. Needless to say, watching it with PJ and Kaleigh was a riot. They were glued to the show.

And in typical kid fashion, they were like "I can do that!" Interestingly enough, there are times when I think to myself "I can do that" while watching the show as well. Anyway, PJ and Kaleigh were enthralled with the show. It was funny just watching how into the show they really were.

Needless to say, it was good to see Maryann and everyone. After everyone had left, I decided to unwind a little by watching a movie. That movie: Black Rain from 1989.

(The video below is a trailer for Black Rain.)


For anyone curious, the movie (directed by Ridley Scott) is about two New York cops (played by Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia) who apprehend a Yakuza member. They consequently have to escort the Yakuza member back to Japan, where he escapes from their custody. Thus, they attempt to recapture him. And the hilarity ensues... just kidding.

Actually, the movie was typical of the time... with its protagonist (Michael Douglas) and his long flowing locks. The music was pure cheese... as were the action sequences. But at the time, I'm sure it was the rave. After all, the movie did get nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing.

Interestingly enough, I had never seen the movie... up until Saturday. I remember the previews for it growing up, mostly because I thought that the scene where the Yakuza guy riding on the motorcycle with his sword scraping against the ground causing sparks to fly was pretty cool. (Hey, I was young at the time...)

Needless to say, the movie was okay. Dated, but okay. And for anyone curious, the actor who played the Yakuza member was the model for the main character in the video game Onimusha 2. (In real life, he passed away from cancer shortly after Black Rain.)