Gadget Charging Box & 4 Movies !

The weekend if over, once again, too quickly. Seems to be a pattern with that. The ground was too wet to mow Saturday at my parents, and it was a bit chilly until later in the day, so I decided to catch up on my DvR'd TV shows, and watch the pile of movies I had sitting in the living room calling my name. (dominic......watch us.......open another beer.....order pizza, don't bother cooking....)

Before we talk about them, I was checking around some of the blog sites I frequent and found a pretty cool idea for a gadget/electronics charging station. I meant to take pictures as I put this together, but spaced it until I was about halfway done. I was on the website Instructables, which I will add to the links here, and started looking around for other ideas. I stumbled on this blog called Two Loose Teeth, which I'm not sure what else the author writes about, but I may browse around later. I pretty much copied her idea here to create my charging station.

So here is what I did.
Supplies
1. Artsy box. On sale for $9
- Since I decided to do this Sunday, and needed craft stuff, I went into Jo Ann. Yes, it felt weird, being a dude, craft stores always make us feel like people are staring and questioning what we are doing there. Especially at this store, that specializes in sewing, but Hobby Lobby is closed Sundays!
2. 1 pkg small, 1 pkg large, brushed silver plastic Curtain Ring/Eyelets. $9, and $8
- Sorry, I searched all over the Jo Ann website, but can't find what exactly these are called. I looked in the store for what the blogsite I got the idea from used, but couldn't find them.
3. X-Acto or straight blade.
-I used my craftsman razorblade out of the toolbox
4. Clamps
-Already had these too. You'll want small ones.
5.Elmers Glue

How-To:
1.I used the small template guide that the eyelets came with and traced a hole on what would be the back, for the power cord.
2.On the opposite side, I made a second 'large' opening for gadgets with larger charging equipment. I then made four small holes with the other eyelet template.
3.Using the glue, I placed the eyelets on each side of these holes, clamping them down and letting them dry for a few minutes.

That's it, pretty simple. Don't make fun of the box I used, it was the most non-feminine one they had. I might give this one away as a gift, and look for a more manly pattern. I may see what other designs for this I can come up with, when time permits.


Ok, so here are pics of my finished product. (you can click the image for a close-up)

<--This would be the front. With three of the holes being used. You can always add more holes if needed.







Here is the back. Where the power cord sticks out ---------->

<---Here is a shot of the inside. Notice how the eyelets I used have a front/back piece, giving it a clean look. I plan on replacing the power strip in there with a surge protector of course.






Here is a closer shot of the front, I think I spaced out the holes pretty well, for not measuring ;-) ----->


<----Final shot, with a few gadgets plugged in. Phone, BT Headset, BT headphones. If this looks like something you'd want, but don't have the patience. I might be convinced to take orders. I'd have to charge for materials and time, sorry, I do way too many things for free lately. Ok, feel free to leave a comment and make fun of me for doing 'crafts' this weekend. I can take the grief. This project gives me a centralized spot to recharge the growing collection of gadgets I am addicted to. Let's talk movies.

In the Valley of Elah (dvd)
Trailer
IMDB.com

4.5 out of 5
Tommy Lee Jones .. Hank Deerfield
Charlize Theron ... Det. Emily Sanders
Jason Patric ... Lt. Kirklander
Susan Sarandon ... Joan Deerfield


This could have easily been a perfect score. Tommy Lee Jones delivers another great performance. Here is another actor I have really enjoyed his last few roles.

The story is about Tommy Lee's Army son, who goes missing. His unit returns from active duty in Iraq, and before he has even told his family he is home, he disappears. The Army calls Tommy Lee to notify him that their son will be marked AWOL, if he doesn't return to the base. This is news to them, since they didn't even know he was back in the states. He promptly drives to the base, being a former Military Policeman, and starts investigating on his own. Shortly after, his son's body is found, chopped up, and burned. While the local police, and the military argue over whose case it is, he decides to solve the case with or without their help.

I recommend this one, great movie.

Michael Clayton (dvd)
Trailer
IMDB.com

4.5 out of 5

Tom Wilkinson ... Arthur Edens
Michael O'Keefe ... Barry Grissom
Sydney Pollack ... Marty Bach
Tilda Swinton ... Karen Crowder
George Clooney ... Michael Clayton

Another one that could have been a perfect 5. I was not 100% sure what to expect from this movie, since the trailer didn't really give me a good idea.

Michael Clayton works for a law-firm sort of as, to use the term he did, a 'janitor'. He cleans up messes of high profile clients. When a senator gets a DUI, or a CEO is arrested with a hooker, etc.
He is called in for one of their own. Tom Wilkinson's character works for the same firm, and has spent 7+ years on the same case. A 3 billion dollar class action suit against their farming supplies client. He has a breakdown during a meeting, stripping down naked, on film, and pretty much losing it. Michael Clayton is called in to fix it. The story plays out with what big business is willing to do to cover up the truth.

I recommend this one as well.

Outlaw (dvd)
Trailer
IMDB.com

2 out of 5




Sean Bean ... Danny Bryant
Danny Dyer ... Gene Dekker
Rupert Friend ... Sandy Mardell
Sean Harris ... Simon Hillier
Lennie James ... Cedric Munroe
Bob Hoskins ... Walter Lewis

Well, they can't all be great. Even though the story was good, the acting was pretty good, and the script wasn't horrible, this scored low for one big reason. The camera work.

Some of you might know Sean Bean from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He played Boromir, remember, the one with the horn, and part of the 'fellowship'. Anyway, in this movie, he is returning from active military duty, only to find his wife has found other companionship, and his town is out of control. Innocent people are victims of brutal gangs, drugs are rampant, and the police is looking the other way. He enlists the help of three like minded people to take a stand. The reason I scored this so low, is anytime the scene wasn't a distance shot, it seemed like the camera-man had 10 too many coffees. If they were going for that effect, it was a bad decision. The camera was shaky, seemed to sway, and has at times hard to watch.

Only rent this one if you're cable TV is going to be out for the weekend and don't get motion sickness.


Lions for Lambs (dvd)
Trailer
IMDB.com

5 out of 5







Robert Redford ... Professor Stephen Malley
Meryl Streep ... Janine Roth
Tom Cruise ... Senator Jasper Irving
Michael Peña ... Ernest Rodriguez
Andrew Garfield ... Todd Hayes
Peter Berg ... Lt. Col. Falco
Derek Luke ... Lt. Arian Finch

Yep, this one was the winner for the weekend. Since Robert Redford directed it, I was not surprised. Redford is not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, or take a political stand, he is just telling a great story in this one.

The movie revolves around 3 stories intertwined. Redford plays a college professor trying to reach one of his students that shows promise. Tom Cruise plays a senator giving an exclusive interview to Meryl Streep. Finally Michael Pena and Derek Luke, play two best friends, ex students of Redford on a mission in Afghanistan. The Cruise/Streep portion, while part of the overall story is not as directly tied to the Professor/Student one. The one on one Redford has involves discussing his ex-students, and their decision to drop out of college to enlist. They discuss, and almost debate the ever present issue of 'are you part of the problem or the solution' to put it simply. The whole story takes place simultaneously over a 1-2 hour period. The two students, part of the new strategy Cruise is discussing are lost on a mission. Alone, together, injured their story plays out as a battle against time. Will rescue arrive before the enemy does?

Great movie, the scene where the mission goes wrong was very strong, and I recommend this one completely.

I will continue this tomorrow, with a review of Juno and The 10th Kingdom, which I also watched this weekend.

Sorry this was so long!

ciao!