Actor Tribute - Who Can It Be?

For reasons that may become apparent as I write I have decided it is time for another tribute to an actor blog.  But lets change it up and see how many clues it takes to discover the one I am talking about.  So, this is a quiz.....your honesty is appreciated, cheaters may be challenged.

Years ago Andrew and I started watching the 007 movies from the beginning so he could see the development of special effects, story line and other theatrical advancements.  While I enjoyed it (the first movies almost felt like comedies) by the time we got toward the end I was bored with the project.
I say this because I would get bored if I saw everything in which my chosen actor has performed. And, no, this actor has never been James Bond.

I can't say I have seen all of his movies, or ever will.  My favorite types of movies don't include all that he has done.  But he likes variety.  He has been known to refuse jobs because he has already explored the character in other roles -- this may be the biggest clue for anyone familiar with  the work he has done.  As an 'all around' normal person he considers himself a regular guy who rides a motorcycle and shows up every now and then for a movie shoot.  (If you got the answer with this clue you get 10 points)

We have watched him as a scientist, an athlete, a police officer, a gamer, a killer and an alien.  He has been a gentle veteran and a very haughty Englishman.  His acting career has spanned more than 20 years, and I am sure he will continue another 20.  Names of his characters are fairly common - Paul, Kevin, Eddie, John, Jack.  Know who he is yet?  (7 points here)

More clues?  Let's talk about his co-stars:  Charleze Theron, Shia LaBeouf, Rachel Weisz, Cate Blanchett, Anthony Quinn, Sandra Bullock, Al Pachino -- these are just a few of the extremely well known  co-stars.  (5 points.....)

I have to assume that the majority of us movie buffs know who he is with what I have given as clues.  Before I give it away, let me revert back to my original premise which was the reason I have decided to write this tribute.  On my last blog the need for knitted together acreage to support the family so we can all live together came up in what I wrote and in the responses I got.  One of this actor's roles in his early to mid acting career has him on a vineyard, family all around, support and love with all actions and gestures. It frequently comes to my mind when I feel the desire for a family oasis. This is what we want, to be close enough visiting would just be a walk across the courtyard....but it doesn't have to include the vineyard -- just the wine.  (Not a great clue, but a clue, nonetheless -- 3 points)  The movie I am referring to here is spelled out with bold letters in this paragraph.....kind of an obscure movie, but I liked it anyhow.

This actor has never personally won the little golden man award.  But I think he deserves it.  And if you haven't figured out who I mean --- zero points, I just have one more word to say:
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                                                          Neo

All images are courtesy of Google Image search. 

Thank you for playing my silly game.  Who got it?

21st Century Family

In this day and age I am reminded of how much family needs each other.  The blogs I read are interesting and fun to follow.  Of course, like anyone else I love to have comments on my blogs.  For the most part it is family that comments.  I have several readers, but like me, they don't comment all that often.  So I was thinking about what lengths our family goes through to help each other out.

The common family dynamic is no longer two parents, two kids, one dog.  This would be an aberration.

Check this out:  for years Gramma Brown lived in a mother-in-law home next to Aunt Karen.  Now that Gramma is gone cousin Julie occupies that address, hopefully helping Aunt Karen out as she cares for her infirm husband, our Uncle Don.  Aunt Karen has been my ultimate example of selflessness....but even though she may growl about it now and then; it doesn't take away from her commitment as she in turn, took care of Gramma, Uncle Don as well as Julie.

Then there is my address, courtesy of Mom and Dad....I moved in several years ago and stayed so I would be available as they aged and needed more help.  Dad, of course, is gone now but Mom and I are going through the same scenario.  It has been a life saving location for me.

Or Dawn and Yo, who's house is definately a 'yours, mine, and our' locale, their main extention is Laura, a full time nurse who needs assistance raising her three kids, courtesy of Dawn and Yo.  At a point in time my son  also called their house home.  Dawn and Yo are like that.  If Darcie or Andrew had a say in it, they too would have been raised in that house by them.  Knowing this doesn't take away the love or the closeness Andrew, Darcie and I have.  If I had a choice I would be living with Dawn, too.

Which brings me to another example: Darcie with her little family is currently dwelling with her mother-in-law Angie.  In this case it is a mutual admiration society.  Darcie and Angie love each other and would be close friends even without Mondo or the kids in common.

Point is, our family never stops being our life.  We reach in deep and we make room for whatever is needed.  Lane and Jean do this with their kids....mostly against their will, I think, but they do it because they love their kids even when they don't like them.  In the last 10 years I think that at least 3 of their kids lived with them.  Help goes both ways in that situation.

People can seldom afford to live alone, at least in our family we would be happy with 10 acres and the agreement for everyone to dwell within.  Must focus on that, as I am not sure what my fate will be when Mom has gone.  In the meantime, I have my family.

Inspiration

I steal inspiration wherever I can...for my writing it may be incidental conversations I have with my customers; I tend to write down ideas that spring from these talks on my computer notepad.  I actually have a doodle notepad set up to copy and paste selected items.  This has a steady stream of things I have been pasting into it since I got this computer.  There are blogs I want to visit, articles I want to read,  web addresses containing information I pull for my blogging, or a list of things I don't want to forget.  But I seldom open it unless it is to add another item.  So as I read it some things amuse me, some things don't tickle anything in my memory.  Sometimes it is obvious what the point was.  Here is a short example of a section in my notepad:

check on 934 Whittier for aliens.....
concierge   keeper of the candles
oldest known animal was quahog  (clam)  405 yrs old; scientists had to kill it to determine its age.  freaking ironic!



With my painting I snip puzzles,  grab photos with beautiful scenes.  I study them.  Sometimes my very talented daughter will photo shop one of her images she snaps with her phone.  I use those as backgrounds on my computer;  this is an easy location for pulling inspiration.  But I wind up with so many folders to keep all of these because I am unorganized.  The clutter on my computer may be a reflection of my brain, echoing the way I live.  Here is a terrific example of her creativity, and it would make a marvelous painting:

What is lacking in this formula for creativity?  I know that it is me.  So many years of thinking about these things have carried over and all I do is think.  At times I believe I use other people to validate me, forgetting that the validations should come from within.  Painting is fun when I have someone else to paint with.  Otherwise I feel like I should be doing something else. Other times it really is my life getting in my way -- sadly nothing fun or exciting.  I haven't gone the the movies with my son in months;  my routine is work, store, home, watch the birds, sit with mom.  I don't even take care of home business.  My niece has created a routine of coming over and doing the heavy cleaning.  I allow guilt to creep in.  When that is there nothing is done.

So now that it is March 3 -- the days are ticking away -- I am going to teach this old dog a new trick.  I am going to commit to creativity, add some beauty to my life.  After all, the name of my blog was created to reflect painting water colors; the intention of the blog was to share to paintings I create.  So it is time to create, damn it!