The Bonkers Lincoln Lawyer

Tab and I dove into The Lincoln Lawyer last night on Hulu. We figured Matthew McConaughey + courtroom drama = win, right?

In the far off land of Los Angeles, Matthew McConaughey is defense lawyer Mick Haller. Mick has figured out a scheme most Angelenos would balk at in an instant, he works out of his Lincoln. Mobile, free from having to pay property taxes or outrageous SoCal real estate costs, Mick is the man. Until one day, Reese Witherspoon’s ex-husband, Ryan “Pretty Boy” Phillippe, hires Mick. Turns out the rich white dude Ryan is playing (Louis Roulet) has been accused of beating up/trying to rape a woman and kill her. BUT SHE LIVED!

A bunch of other stuff happens. Ryan (playing Louis) turns out to be evil. SPOILER! McConaughey, being the top dog that he is, plays the game and brings him down. Also, JUSTICE!

The biggest crime in The Lincoln Lawyer isn’t the films plot but the way it hands out small amounts of screen time to amazing actors. I’m still trying to figure out why Bryan Cranston is in this movie. And what about William H. Macy? And future Aunt May (Marisa Tomei)?

I was good with the movie up until it’s 11th hour super conspiracy theory reveal and biker beat up. But the smoggy Los Angeles landscape made me miss my home state. Take a deep breath… cough, cough, cough. Ah, asthma.

Final Note: Someone please tell Matthew to stop pointing with his middle finger? It’s rude.

THE END

What’s your favorite McConaughey courtroom drama?

Settling in with SteamWorld Dig

Picked up developer Image & Form Games SteamWorld Dig last night for the 3DS– I figured why not, the 3DS sits on my nightstand collecting dust. I love the compact design of the system versus the Switch, especially for nighttime/in bed play–. Spent a whole $2.91 for the game on sale too.

I fell in love with SteamWorld Dig 2, on the Switch, sometime last year. Echoes of the Atari classic Dig Dug are strong with this game series. Minus the violent blowing creatures up with an air hose…

I love Digs core gameplay loop:

  • Head down to the mines.
  • Dig mine shafts in a way that allow traversal and ease of harvesting minerals.
  • Dig deep. Fill your bags with as many minerals as you can carry.
  • Once your bags are full, head back to town and cash-in said minerals for money which equals upgrades. Who doesn’t want bigger bags and a stronger pick?

In the small bit I played last night, I can see the influence Dig 1 had on Dig 2 (no duh, right). Fun to see where characters got their start; relaxing to settle into that familiar mining loop. Definitely check this series out if you haven’t had a chance. I am also thinking about picking up SteamWorld Heist on the Switch (on sale right now for $4.99).

What do you think of the SteamWorld series? Have you had a chance to play?

Adoption Update – Level One A

I was telling Tabitha last night that if adoption were a video game, we have finally reached the first level. The tutorial and character creation process were the initial first steps:

  • PRIDE Training (40 hours of state-mandated classes)
  • FBI Database Fingerprinting
  • Fire Inspection
  • Health Inspection
  • Home Study

With our home study approved, we are now certified by the State of Texas to adopt. We can now put in interest requests through the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE); we can also now go to meet up events (where you can interact with kids available for adoption) as well as have our caseworker alert us to children available for adoption who are not listed online.

The adoption process is weird. A mixture of buying a home and speed dating. Level One A, of the adoption game, looks like:

  • Looking through pictures of children in an online database
  • Going to a meet up event
  • Our caseworker notifying us of a potential match

After initial inquiries are made, which includes our caseworker “selling” another caseworker on our family via telephone conference (home buying), we then enter the speed dating phase. Level One B includes:

  • Our family driving to whichever region the potential child is located in and then going on a day outing with the child.
  • The following weekend, a follow up over night visit (probably in a hotel room, especially if the child lives out of town) with the child.
  • The following weekend after that, a day trip/overnight visit again?
  • Eventually these visits shift from being on neutral ground to the child coming to our house.

The biggest hurdle of Level One A is going to be finding a match. We have to agree on the match; our caseworker has to agree on the match. Already, we are learning that:

  • It’s good to have a caseworker who says no and is looking out for our family (versus just trying to place a child and move on).
  • That descriptions of children, on TARE, do not include all the details. Sometimes even surprising our caseworker…
  • That there are not a lot of younger kids (ages 7 and younger) up for adoption online.

Bottom Line: We know that God has a child in mind for us. We just have to wait, trust, and talk, as a family, through the adoption process.

I’ll keep y’all updated. Maybe not so much in this Level One A stage… but more IF we make it to Level One B. Prayers are appreciated.

Bryan

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