What Do Moms REALLY Want for Mother’s Day?

What do hard-working, sometimes unappreciated moms really want this Mother's Day? Is it flowers or jewelry? Dads, you might be surprised by what we really want.

I admit it. As the mother of two busy and very active teenagers in Johns Creek, I’m especially excited about Mother’s Day this year, but not for the usual reasons. I’m excited because this is one day of the year when us hard-working, sometimes unappreciated mothers are thrown a morsel of thanks for all we do throughout the year. So, what do we really want on Mother’s Day in recognition for our endless contributions to keep our families running smoothly 24/7/365? Do we want flowers? Do we want expensive jewelry? What do we want? Husbands listen up. We want nothing. To be exact, we want time to do nothing. We want a time out from our daily grind to recharge our batteries so that we can be dragon slayers, protectors, cabbies, homework helpers…

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Creekside Journal

The Probing

A “personal banker” can take the role a little TOO serious.

It was one of those warm, pleasant nights in Johns Creek this week and I was puffing on a very nice Avo Uvezian out on the deck. Charlie was grumbling a bit more than usual despite his favorite pacifier – a large Milkbone dog treat.  I knew what he was irritated about.  His visit to the vet for a check-up this week was of the unfavorable “probing” nature. “Felt like a victim of an alien abduction,” he snarled. “I know,” I responded. “How, Dude,” he asked indignantly.  “How could you possibly know?” “I had to visit the bank this week,” I replied.  “They needed to ‘update’ my info.” “Didn’t see the fun in that visit, did ya’?” “Didn’t see the need for the visit – or the questions,” I answered.  I had gone in when someone had, apparently, …

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Movie Review: 'The Avengers' is AMAZING!

A superhero all-star movie featuring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Hulk makes a smash in theaters this weekend.

The summer movie season starts early, and this could be the biggest movie of the year. It is one of the most entertaining comic book blockbusters ever made – Marvel's "The Avengers." Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man; Captain America is Chris Evans; Thor is Chris Hemsworth, and The Hulk is Mark Ruffalo. The team is assembled thanks to Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury character. They need to stop a diabolical bad guy who, you guessed it, wants to rule the world. But they spend nearly as much time battling each other as they do battling evil. What's great about this film is the sense of humor it has without disrespecting the characters or the fans who have been waiting forever for this superhero mash-up. All the main characters get plenty of screen…

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Eagles Rock Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

The rock legends open a successful two-concert visit to Alpharetta four years after they helped open the venue.

The Eagles opened Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in May 2008 as the first rock act on the stage. On Wednesday, May 2, they returned in the Alpharetta venue's fifth season. The Eagles have been around 35 more years than the amphitheater, and their 40 years performing was a topic for the band members the few times they spoke. Had the house lights been turned on, they would have realized that most of the crowd actually was born more than 40 years ago. So many of us were sporting white hair–and it wasn't a fashion statement. Ticketmaster lists the Friday, May 4 Eagles concert at Verizon as sold out, but ticket resellers do have tickets, such as the 68 listed on StubHub this morning. "It's hard to believe that it is 40 years ago this spring that…

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Movie Review: 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits'

A ship full of bumbling pirates take us on a 3D Claymation animation trip worth the voyage.

A below average pirate captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) seeks to win the elusive "Pirate of the Year" award, but faces some strong competition in "The Pirates! Band of Misfits." From the folks who brought us Wallace and Gromit, the story is feather-light but strong enough to introduce the characters and establish their conflicts, which are pretty predictable. It's more of a comedy than an adventure, appealing to both children and adults. Such a film should be a crowd pleaser at the box office. Audiences love pirate movies. Toss in some quirky characters – like a twisted Queen Victoria and Charles Darwin – and you have an evolutionary success. The film is an enjoyable 90 minutes. The voice casting was mostly on merit and not on stunt casting…

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POLL: Are Kids Getting Priced Out of Sports?

A NY Times article explores the era of the $250 (or more) baseball bat.

Have you bought a baseball glove for your Little Leaguer lately? Did you pay more than $100 for it? How about a $250 bat? Or maybe $299.99? That's the online price of one model at Dick's Sporting Goods. Meanwhile, Hibbett Sports, Johns Creek Patch's Readers' Choice winner for Best Sporting Goods Store, seems to have more affordable models, with the chain's website quoting $199.99 and even $34.99. A New York Times story headlined "Big Price Tags Attached to Even the Littlest Leagues," looks at the big business of equipping youngsters for participation in youth baseball and softball leagues, quoting those costs and more. "A batting helmet protects tiny heads for $39.99," the Times reports. "A pair of Nike Jordan Black Cat cleats will make …

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Creekside Journal

Spreading the Influence

What is your effect on society? It's a question that takes a lifetime to answer.

The guy that owns my favorite cigar shop in Johns Creek has a great “man cave” in the back; a room decorated with overstuffed leather chairs surrounded by a tasteful collection of art to enhance the cigar smoker motif – and a killer big screen TV. A few of us, his loyal clients, congregate from time to time to burn a few leaves and sort out the concerns of the day.  Yesterday we were discussing the passing of Mike Wallace and Dick Clark.  Someone mentioned that old adage that celebrities and other noteworthy people always pass in groups of three. I mentioned Levon Helms, drummer for The Band, who died Thursday. “And he’s the third,” I said. The words had barely cleared the rings of cigar smoke wafting through the room when we turned up the…

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Movie Review: 'The Lucky One' Full of Heart

Teen heartthrob Zac Efron breaks out in his first real adult role as a war veteran who has come home looking for love in a romantic melodrama that is worth the price of admission.

Zac Efron plays Logan, an Afghanistan war veteran on his third tour, who comes across a picture of a woman who inspires him to search for her, stateside, in "The Lucky One." His search lands him at a kennel in Louisiana owned by Beth (Taylor Schilling) and her grandmother, Ellie (Blythe Danner). He gets a job there and, over a period of time, settles in, still not telling anyone his real reason for being there. As you might imagine, sparks start to fly. "The Lucky One" is a Nicholas Sparks movie. He's good at this kind of thing, writing books that turned into movies like "Message in a Bottle," "Nights in Rodanthe" and "The Notebook." This film, in my opinion, is one of his better stories. And, with an attractive young cast, it should be …

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Movie Review: '3 Stooges' No Laughing Matter

'The Three Stooges' get a new look with some fresh new faces, and no one is laughing.

From the people who brought you "There's Something About Mary" and "Dumb & Dumber" comes the much anticipated movie about three morons in "The Three Stooges." It's Larry, Moe, and Curly 2.0. This time around Larry is played by Sean Hayes, Moe is Chris Diamantopoulos, and Curly is Will Sasso. The film is three episodes drawn into one 90-minute movie. The Stooges do what they can to try to save the orphanage they grew up in. This movie has been talked about for more than 10 years now and, sad to say, it's pretty anticlimactic. I was never a real big fan of the original Stooges, and it's pretty safe to say that these three were doing impressions rather than a performance. The eye-poking and slapping is so repetitive it's almost sad. This film…

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'American Reunion' is a Raunchy Romp of Laughs

Break out the pie, the American Pie, that is. Its been nearly a decade since we last heard from the crew that made amorous behavior toward pastries so popular. Now they are back for the reunion.

The kids are back, rediscovering their youth, now in their 30s in "American Reunion." This is the fourth installment of the "American Pie" franchise, featuring pastry lover Jim (Jason Biggs), nice guy Oz (Chris Klein), and party animal Stifler (Seann William Scott). Each character is dealing with some sort of midlife crisis and relationship problem that builds up to an actually funny comedic payoff in the end. The supporting cast of secondary characters helps this film bring humor to sexless marriages, rehashed high school flings and dead-end careers … or, as I like to say, comic gold. This may be the best film in the series since the original, which came out back in 1999. Serving as a reminder of lost youth, many of these characters work …

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