Mike's Corner

I saw a trailer for The Brothers Grimm this afternoon. This is going to be a very funny and entertaining movie. There is no official web site set up for the movie as of yet, but I provided a link to a site that has the trailer, as well as some info on the very much anticipated The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

If you want to see a cool website (a lot cooler than this one), click on over to the War of the Worlds. I provided a link to the left. I'm planning on seeing this Monday night with Shannon, and I'll be honest: it looks like an absolutely amazing film. I will be sure to write a review after I see it. I certainly hope it is as good as I've hyped it up to be.

Today, Ben Earnest turns 36. I'm driving down to Dothan with Shannon tomorrow to celebrate his birthday and the 4th with the rest of the family. I'll make sure that I pack my camera so I can get plenty of great pics. Stay tuned!

I am currently reading a fantastic book by John C. Maxwell titled The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. In case you are curious, I will go ahead and tell you what those qualities are (alphabetically), but you must read the book if you want to find out how to achieve each quality.

-Character: Be a piece of the Rock
-Charisma: The First Impression Can Seal the Deal
-Commitment: It Separates Doers from Dreamers
-Communication: Without It You Travel Alone
-Competence: If You Build It, They Will Come
-Courage: One Person with Courage Is a Majority
-Discernment: Put an End to Unsolved Mysteries
-Focus: The Sharper It Is, the Sharper You Are
-Generosity: Your Candle Loses Nothing When It Lights Another
-Initiative: You Won't Leave Home Without It
-Listening: To Connect with Their Hearts, Use Your Ears
-Passion: Take This Life and Love It
-Positive Attitude: If You Believe You Can, You Can
-Problem Solving: You Can't Let Your Problems Be a Problem
-Relationships: If You Get Along, They'll Get Along
-Responsibility: If You Won't Carry the Ball, You Can't Lead the Team
-Security: Competence Never Compensates for Insecurity
-Self-Discipline: The First Person You Lead Is You
-Servanthood: To Get Ahead, Put Others First
-Teachability: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning
-Vision: You Can Seize Only What You Can See

Upon moving to Austell, GA, I have found myself fearing about the unknown. What lies ahead for Mike Earnest? Only time will tell. But I must get out of my comfort zone. Here are a few of my favorite quotes on fear and the comfort zone.

"Fear is that little dark room where negatives are developed." -Michael Prichard

"Nothing is terrible except fear itself." -Francis Bacon

"Nothing is so much to be feared as fear." -Henry David Thoreau

"Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom." -Bertrand Russell

"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don't do that by sitting around wondering about yourself." -Katherine Hepburn

"If you want a place in the sun, you must leave the shade of the family tree." -Unknown

"Either this man is dead, or my watch has stopped." -Groucho Marx

"Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life." -Bertolt Brecht

"In the heating and air conditioning trade, the point on the thermostat in which neither heating or cooling must operate -around 72 degrees- is called the Comfort Zone. It's also known as the Dead Zone." -Peter McWilliams

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I love movies. So let me ramble on for a minute about my views on today's movies. Good movies, bad movies, dramas or comedies: I love them all. My favorite movies tend to be about people who actually lived, and their accomplishments. I get more out of movies such as Ghandi, Cinderella Man, Hotel Rwanda, Apollo 13, Coach Carter or Miracle than I ever could from Lord of the Rings, Speed, or How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Obviously, there are the movies that cheat a little, by putting fictional characters in real settings: Titanic, Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan, etc... I've read that we are witnessing a box office slump not seen since the mid-80's. That's partly due to big screen televisions, pay-per-view and video on demand. But it's mostly the fault of the movie makers. Quit putting out crap and we'll start coming back to the theatres. While movies remain a great source of entertainment, they have gotten more and more boring or absurd over the years. Whoever signed off on Harold and Kumar go to White Castle needs to be fired...Trump style. People want to be educated while being entertained. Even Batman Begins educates you on how Bruce Wayne became Batman. Master and Commander: Far Side of the World has even been used at management seminars by some companies. My advice to movie executives: Quit treating the viewers as dumb-asses, and they will come back for your $8.00 tickets, $6.00 popcorn and $4.00 drink. I'll get off my soap box now. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

As a going away present, Marc Tillis gave me a wonderful book titled The Meaning of Life, by Bradley Trevor Greive. It is a very short read, but very inspirational/motivational. Now I could sit here and tell you what the meaning of life is... but I'm not. Go and find out for yourself. Thanks, Marc, for the perfect gift.

I feel bad that I haven't put a picture of my best friend on here yet. If anyone has dirt on me, it's him. We met in 1989 through LXA at Samford and became instant buddies. He truly knows me better than I know myself, and he will be my best friend until the day I die. By the way, we're jumping out of a perfectly good airplane together on July 8th (this skydiving trip was a Father's Day present from Tracy), so that might be sooner than expected! If we should both survive, I'll have pictures.

Everyone in the Outback Family knows that it is going to happen. You can try your hardest to avoid it. You can plan. You can scheme. You can lie. You can even threaten. The fact of the matter is... you are screwed if you leave an Outback, especially if they don't want you to leave. This is my 10th Outback location to work in, so I've gotten really good at planning and scheming, and I can lie with the best of them. But even the most heartfelt of threats wasn't enough to prevent the doom that would occur at the end of my last day in Opelika, AL. I'm not sure what all was in the concoction that they poured on me, but it smelled worse that Brian Ballard's feet during Hell Week back in the old Lambda Chi Alpha days. Kudos to my Outbackers for finally getting me. Oh yeah, the lard underneath my door handles on the Accord was a nice touch. Thanks! On a good note, before my Outbackers doused me, we had cake (3 of them, actually) and ice cream, and they all pitched in to get me a $150.00 Gift Card from Best Buy. Not too shabby!

Shannon is one of the bravest people that I have ever met. Last night, she was subjected to 30 Outbackers interrogating her as if she were the unibomber. We started at Provino's at 7:00 with about 22 of my closest friends, which had to be intimidating. Two carafes later, we all headed to Bumpers. Things got a wee bit crazy.

Man, I've got some big ears. I never realized it until this photo. I should be able to pick up XM radio for free with these things. Thanks Dad. I really appreciate it...

I must have been in the bathroom when this photo was taken. Marc, watch those hands!!!

Marc

Alley Rally's are so much fun!!! 

Tammi and Elizabeth 

Kayla 

If only I were single! Would you just look at these two studs? They are definitely on the prowl in the Outback Hummer. Watch out ladies!

This is a great shot of everyone who helped us cook and serve at the Iron Bowl Tailgate Party last season.

Kurt and Bob Ornowski

Jessica and Kelly

Jay is not much of a drinker, so I was surprised to come home one night and find him in this state of affairs. The original plan was to watch The Terminal, a fantastic movie with Tom Hanks. After putting the kids to bed, I sat up with Nate and Brooke to view the film. What a wonderful movie Jay and Jess missed!

I don't know where you were last night at 8:00 PM, but I was glued to my television anticipating the first trailer for the upcoming Peter Jackson movie, King Kong. In case you missed it, you can go to the website located in my links. It looks awesome!!!

David Melton Earnest was born in 1907 to David and Callie Earnest, the 6th of 9 children. They were dirt poor. He remarked one time that he never saw a toothbrush until he left home. He married Beulah Pipkin in 1930 and worked in the vegetable fields of South Florida as a migrant worker for 25 cents a day. Toward the end of the depression, they had two boys, Lee and Ben, even though they couldn't afford to rent a house. During one period, they moved into a house on one of the lakes in Avon Park because it was empty, and during the depression, no one cared who owned a house if it was empty. After WWII, DM bought a bulldozer and spent the next 30 years in the business of land clearing. He used to kid that the initials DM stood for Dirt Mover. DM always had a good sense of humor and loved to laugh and joke with friends and family. He never missed a chance to pay a compliment and thank people for any small deed.

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." -Mother Teresa

Today is Sunday, and I cook for the Outbackers every Sunday. I decided to make some sort of chicken/rice/mushroom casserole. In case you ever need to cook for 30 people in 30 minutes, here's how. In a very large skillet, saute 2 cups of diced onions and 1 cup of chives in oil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 8 cups of medium mushrooms (quartered). Meanwhile, grill 10 8oz. chicken breasts for about 6 minutes (you don't want to cook it all the way through. Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces. Transfer veggies and chicken into a big pot. Add 4 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. Add 2 cups of white wine and 3 cups of water. Add 2 quarts of rice. Add 4 tablespoons of salt and 3 tablespoons of pepper. Add 1/4 cup of your favorite hot sauce. Stir it up! Let it all simmer for about 20 minutes, then let your friends enjoy. My Outbackers attacked it like a cloud of unfed Minnesota mosquitos on a bikini-clad Kirstie Alley. Eat up!!!