As I posted about two days ago, there was a huge tornado outbreak across southeastern Virginia on Monday. Colonial Heights, although faced with an estimated $2 million in damage, faired much better than Suffolk, with $18 million in damage. The Colonial Heights tornado was confirmed by the National Weather Service as an F1 with winds of up to 112 MPH (The “F” stands for the Fujita Scale, which rates tornadoes on a scale of F0-F6) and the Suffolk tornadoes were mostly F3 intensity, with winds up to 206 MPH. The devastation was widespread down there, but remarkably no one was killed (I reported on Monday that one person was killed, but later found out, along with the news sources, that the death was unrelated to the tornado).

Now I don’t believe things can be cursed, but the Colonial Heights Wal-Mart sure has some bad luck. It’s now a Sam’s Club, but so many things happened to it as a Wal-Mart it’s almost inconceivable. There’s a theory that the place is cursed because someone was killed there in the Garden Center shortly after the place opened in late 1989 or early 1990. Shortly after, the Garden Center was flattened by either downdraft winds from a severe thunderstorm or a weak tornado. In 1993, Virginia’s most intense tornado to date (still), an F4 with winds up to 260 MPH, ripped through the store, killing two employees and a customer. Monday, the F1 tornado took the exact same directional path, 400 feet from the former Wal-Mart (now Sam’s Club). I don’t think there was any major damage to the Sam’s Club, but what is it about that store and Dimmock Square that so many tornadoes have come through? The place is a freaking tornado magnet!

Like I said, I don’t believe in curses, but check out fellow blogger Carrie had to say about the place even before Monday’s events. This is baffling to me. It’s so crazy this place could be hit by tornadoes three times when Virginia barely has measurable tornadoes, much less catastrophic ones like this.

The Curse Of The Original Southpark Wal-Mart

It was a really big deal when the Southpark Mall opened in my hometown. The land on which the mall was being built was privately owned and barren, save for a lawnmower store (guised as a shack), a few swampy plants and maybe a farm animal or two. I have vague memories of my father telling me that the landowner also had a snake farm on this property, but that seems too exotic for Small Town, Virginia. Then again, a snake farm is just the type of feature my small town would boast.

It was highly rumored (amongst the kids at my elementary school) to be the biggest mall in Virginia and possibly even the country. I should say that this is a one story mall with only 4 “major” stores: Dillard’s, Hechts, Sears and JC Penney’s. We even didn’t get a Gap, a mall staple, until 2001 years ago, and it went out of business and in its place a store called Man Alive opened. (ManAlive sells spiky high heeled sneakers and oversized “Lets Get Crunk” t-shirts and is just down the way from the kiosk that sells confederate flag and NASCAR paraphernalia.)

The mall opening was a huge event. There was a search light, balloons, free Chick-Fil-A samples and human mannequins. HumanMannequins! They posed, perfectly still, wearing parachute pants, ruffled skirts and 1988’s finest double breasted suits, for hours on end. The next day in class, no one was talking about the actual mall or the many stores contained within. We were all arguing about whether or not the human mannequins ever blinked. I don’t think they did.

Shortly after the mall opened, they built the World’s Busiest Wal-Mart adjacent to the mall (At least it was rumored to be The World’s Busiest Wal-Mart amongst the kids at my middle school). This meant we didn’t have to travel to the Bradlees in a next town over to get our B-B guns and Fisherprice record players. Unfortunately, this Wal-Mart was cursed.

In either 1989 or 1990, a man walked into the Wal-Mart and shot and killed his ex-wife, a Wal-Mart Employee, in the Garden Section. This was a really big deal because a) a man walked into the Wal-Mart and shot his ex-wife to death in the Garden Section and b) this was only the second or third murder that my home town had ever experienced. The third or fourth happened on Mall property as well. Everyone (my classmates) was talking about the Wal-Mart Garden Center ghost. I shuddered every time I drove by Wal-Mart or drank a Sam’s Choice Cola. But time passed and the Wal-Mart became busier than ever.

Shortly after that fatal shooting, in May 1990, a terrible storm brewed over the Wal-Mart, damaging the very Garden Section where that poor ex-wife was murdered. There was a continuing debate at CHHS as to whether or not it was a tornado or just a very bad storm, but it was confirmed to be an F2 tornado. Thankfully only minor injuries were sustained. Wal-Mart employees worked overtime to cover the gaping roof with a tarp and clean up all the stray kiddy pools and terra cotta shards. Within days, the Wal-Mart was back in business. But that wasn’t the end of it. Bad things come in threes.

On a Saturday afternoon, in August 1993, a huge F4 tornado, (Virginia’s worst tornado, according to the 1994 High School yearbook), plowed through that Wal-Mart and put it on the national news for its casualties (three) and injuries (198). I derived a lot of pleasure from the attention I got when my friends found out my brother was in the mall when it happened and helped people out of the rubble. Plus, just moments before the twister touch-down, my father and I had just driven past the mall on I-95 on our way to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit my aunt. And my mother was on the turnpike bridge and was gusted into another lane, just missing the path of a Mack truck. The tornado nearly leveled the Wal-Mart– along with a MJDesigns craft store, a mattress warehouse and the tree where Pocahontas saved John Smith, to name a few.

And although the second and final tornado didn’t actually happen in the Garden Section, it did blow contents of the Garden Section all over the store and into some people’s heads. Cue Twilight music.

Officials finally accepted that the Wal-Mart was cursed, because they razed the original Wal-Mart and built a new, improved and blood-freeSuper Wal-Mart about a quarter of a mile away in the new Southpark Commons development area. The new Wal-Mart is just down the street from the World’s Largest Arby’s.

On Saturday night, I checked out the movie Prom Night. Let me just cut to the chase here. It was bloody awful. And no, I’m not turning British. I say that because it was both bloody (albeit fake) and awful. Brittany Snow stars as Donna, a contender for Prom Queen. We learn in the beginning of the film that one of her high school teachers became obsessed with her. He was fired after acting inappropriately and subsequently subject to a restraining order from her family. As a result, he killed her entire family as Donna watched in horror.

Flashing back to the present, her and her boyfriend Bobby (played by Scott Porter) descend on their prom at a historic local hotel, just as her aunt and uncle, with whom she now lives, find out that the killer has escaped from prison and is on the loose. As predictability would have it, he shows up at the hotel and, through a series of poorly-orchestrated scenes and events, systematically kills her friends as they go back to their rooms one by one for different reasons.

The plot is boring, stagnant, extremely predictable, and just overall terrible. The supposed gory stabbing scenes reminds me of the blatantly fake and outdated shower stabbing scene in the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic, Psycho. I’m telling you, it couldn’t have been made much worse. Honestly, I’d go so far as to say I’d be embarrassed to have had any part in this film.

Oh, and tell me this: What’s up with having older actors play teenagers? It’s not just in this movie, but it’s so obvious in this one. Brittany Snow is 22 years old, which isn’t extremely noticable, but come on, Scott Porter is 29 and it shows! That’s just another thing to add to the list of things that were fake or not believable in this film.

I also saw editing flaws. For example, there’s a scene where the couple is talking on the side of the dance floor (Side note: What’s up with the dance floor? It looks like something out of a ridiculously-overdone bubblegum-pop music video. Completely unrealistic) and as they’re chatting, the music cuts out and you hear nothing. Then it starts again once they walk back on the floor. I thought it was some weird technique, but no, it’s not.

There’s no plot in this movie, just people dying (in as many phony ways as possible). And I was even more surprised to learn that this is a remake of the 1980 film by the same name? Apparently it starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen. Interesting. From reading about it, it seems like a typical ’80s slasher film, but I bet it was better than this.

I found myself (as well as my friends and the rest of the audience) laughing through many of the supposedly scary parts. It was one of the most poorly-made movies I’ve ever seen, period. I wish I could somehow give it negative stars.

Overall Rating:

I went to see Baby Mama this past Friday. Tina Fey stars as a busy woman in her late thirties who has always put her career before her personal life. She suddenly comes to the realization one day that her biological clock is ticking and, after trying every other way, decides to have a baby through a surrogate mother.

The mother (played by Amy Poehler) is desperate for money and will do anything for the cash given to her for carrying the baby. There are several big plot twists that I’m tempted to share, but like I said, I’m not doing spoiler reviews anymore!

The plot line is funny and relatively easy to follow. The character development is strong as well. Steve Martin adds comic relief as well with his role as CEO of the organic foods company Fey works for.

If you’re up for a feel-good comedy, check this one out, but don’t expect a whole lot more.

Overall Rating:

Fifteen years ago, in 1993, a strong F4 (winds of up to 260 MPH) tornado touched down in Colonial Heights, destroying the Wal-Mart store and killing three people, before tearing through Petersburg’s historic district. Well today, history seems to have repeated itself. A moderate tornado touched down in the exact same shopping center (Dimmock Square, near Southpark Mall). Is that eerie or what? I was only five years old the first time it happened, but (strangely) vaguely remember seeing it on TV. The Dress Barn and Target stores suffered blown out windows and minor roof damage, but for the most part there was no extreme structural damage.

It was a different story in Suffolk this evening. The same line of storms marched eastward (and strengthened considerably as they did so) and proceeded to completely flatten a portion Suffolk’s historic district, then went through a golf course community and completely wiped large, substantial homes clean off their foundations to the point where all that was left was a concrete slab beneath. This part was especially eerie to me because the neighborhood looked very similar to mine (Wyndham) from the aerial shot.

Suffolk is completely devastated. It looks like an atomic bomb went off the way the homes literally exploded with the extreme winds. At the time I’m writing this, there has only been one person confirmed dead, but unfortunately, it would be miraculous if the death toll didn’t rise, by the looks of the flattened neighborhoods. Hopefully it won’t, though. Virginia is no stranger to tornadoes, but usually experiences much weaker ones than this. This was extremely rare. Keep your thoughts and prayers with the Hampton Roads community during the aftermath of this immense, widespread natural disaster.

I find all of this very interesting since most of you know how much I like weather and storms. I flipped through the local news channels and hooked up my Comcast digital box to my Mac to record everything as it happened. Here are some screenshots from the live broadcasts I recorded from NBC 12 (WWBT), 8 NEWS (WRIC), CBS 6 (WTVR), and WAVY 10 (WAVY) (NBC affiliate in Norfolk, via live streaming on-air web simulcast).

1993 archive video footage of the destruction of the Southpark Wal-Mart (WRIC)

Meteorologist Jim Duncan advises citizens to take shelter during a tornado warning (WWBT)

Aerial image of Dimmock Square Shopping Center (perimeter highlighted in yellow) and the adjacent Wal-Mart store (now a Sam’s Club) that were both hit by tornadoes that followed the exact same paths in 1993 and 2008 (Blackwood Development Corporation)

Cars were tossed like toys in the Dimmock Square Shopping Center parking lot, in front of Target (WWBT)

A house suffers extreme damage in Suffolk (WTVR)

A Suffolk antiques shop is cut in half with almost no visible damage from the front or rear façades, but obviously the historic building is a complete loss (WAVY)

 The owner of a car dealership snaps a picture through the front windows of his business as a huge tornado barrels through Suffolk (WAVY)

Quick Note: So I’ve decided I’m going to stop posting spoiler reviews. While I always got comments from people about how they appreciated me saving them nine dollars at the theater when the movie wasn’t all that good, I think I’m just going to stick to the synopsis and my overall take on the movies I see in the future. With that said, let’s get down to it!

I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall the other night. Honestly, it probably wouldn’t have been my top pick, but it was awesome.

Jason Segel plays an average guy who writes music for a CSI-type TV crime drama. His girlfriend of four years (played by Kristen Bell) is the star of the show. She meets a new man, a British rock star, and leaves him for the new guy. Brokenhearted, he decides to take a trip to Hawaii, where the couple just so happens to be vacationing. The plot focuses around the new people he meets on his trip and his ex’s ultimate decision to try and win him back.

The script and plot line in this movie are both incredible. The dialog is quick, punchy, and extremely witty. I laughed out loud through the whole thing. There was, however, a lot of unnecessary nudity. I’m not exactly preaching against it or anything, it’s just that there really wasn’t any need for it. It was almost as if it was thrown in without explanation. It just didn’t really fit in with the overall feel of the movie.

In summary, this was an overall excellent film. It has the perfect blend of comedy, romance, and drama that will satisfy most anyone’s tastes.

Overall Rating:

Have you ever stopped to think about how you got to where you are? I’m a firm believer that there are no coincidences in life whatsoever. The people we meet, the things that happen to us, the experiences we have, they all happen for a reason. They’re all part of God’s plan for our lives. But do you ever think about how many small things could have lead to big things in your life?

Most people never think about this, but the thought struck me today. Suppose you’re going down the road. You reach a stop sign. You can go left or right. Think about all of the different implications that could have. I’m just fabricating scenarios here, but if you turn left, you could end up going to a gas station and meet your future spouse. If you turn right, you might be in a car accident and die. It’s just so interesting how the smallest decisions that we don’t even process as even being decisive things can end up changing so much.

The decision to open your mouth and say something before you think could end up costing you your good name and reputation. Choosing to exchange small talk with the person behind you at Starbucks could lead to making a new friend, which in turn could lead to meeting other people, new opportunities, or even a different lifestyle.

Once again these are just random scenarios, but you get the idea. It’s just so amazing how the smallest of small decisions can change your life in such dramatic ways. Isn’t life funny?

I’ve been doing a whole lot of deep thinking lately, especially yesterday. I could write a full-fledged post on each topic, and I might do that with some of these at a later date, but I just wanted to share what’s been running through my head over the past week or so. These are all randomly-ordered questions, ponderings, discoveries, and thoughts I’ve had.

- You can’t change other people. You can only change yourself and be a positive example for others to follow.

- When you put God at the center of your life, everything else just falls into place exactly the way it’s supposed to.

- If you try to do too many things at once you won’t get anything done at all. Focusing on one thing will get you a lot farther.

- Why is it that practically everyone I know is in a relationship now, and all over the course of the past month?

- I’ll be getting to that point in a few years when everyone I know is starting to get married, and man, that seems unreal. When did I get to this age?

- I’ll be twenty in July? Twenty? Two decades down. Wow.

- I finally know exactly what I want and that I am once again ready to be in a relationship.

- Am I only good enough to talk to or does she (come on you didn’t think you were actually gonna get a name, did you?) actually want something more with me?

- Why am I always second best, and how do I change that?

- Sushi from the VCU Commons is great at the beginning of the week, but practically a biohazard by Friday.

- I need to nail down what I’m doing this Summer job-wise, and really soon.

- I need to decide on my major for sure by next Fall. Graphic Design, Mass Communications, Film, or Business?

- The old saying is absolutely right: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

- Running is a great stress reliever.

- Change is constant and life is fluid.

- There are two options: Get in the game or be left behind.

- I need to spend less money on eating out, and that would also help me with my goal of getting in shape.

- I’ve got an incredible group of friends who are more supportive, caring, and genuine than anyone else I’ve ever been around in my life.

- I need to stop making this list and go get ready to head to VCU for my second-to-the-last day of classes.

Glad I got all that out. I feel a lot better now! Comment and share your thoughts.

A friend of mine showed me this video clip yesterday and it was so incredibly powerful it brought me to tears. It literally sends chills down my spine. It’s amazingly impacting. Watch for yourself and see if it doesn’t do the same thing to you. It’s all about a girl’s struggle with so many things that took her away from the unwavering love of Jesus. She’s pushed down by so many negative influences, but in the end she realizes He is always there with open arms to take her back and make her new again. We’ve all done this and I have certainly done this myself, and it’s the most incredible feeling in the world to know that God is always there to catch you when you fall or go astray.

You can check out the video below. It’s done to the music of the Lifehouse song “Everything.” Please give it a watch. I promise it will be well worth your time.

So the release of Facebook Chat is all the buzz this morning, at least from what I can judge by the status updates of my friends. Apparently no one saw it coming. I’ve known about it for a couple of weeks, but didn’t think it would be released for a while.

This is bad news for people like me who are already borderline addicted to Facebook. It’s just like putting a six pack in front of an alcoholic. The temptation is just too great. The interesting thing to note, though, is that Facebook sees this as an AIM-killer. They think that by integrating a chat system into their already intricate social network, users will see it as a one-stop shop for social networking and instant messaging, putting AOL Instant Messenger on the back burner. I don’t know about that.

Personally, I’ve had an AIM screen name for almost ten years. Most people I know have had theirs for years and years, too. I don’t think you’re going to see an abandonment of any grand scale anytime soon, if ever. It’s not so much that people are loyal to products like AIM, it’s their familiarity factor and the average computer user’s resistance to dramatic change in the technology realm that will ultimately save AIM’s bottom line.

Then again, I don’t use the AIM client itself, but rather a Mac program called Adium. I’ve always been surprised that AIM allows other programs to use its network, because by doing so there’s no banner ad or anything like there is on the actual AIM program and consequently no money in the pockets of AOL. But of course I applaud them for having such an open source platform of sorts.

At any rate, it’s a nice new feature, but Facebook’s claim that it’ll take over AIM is about as threatening as Microsoft’s claim two years ago that the Zune would be an iPod killer. And we all know how that one turned out. I’m still laughing at you two years later, Bill Gates.

A big congratulations goes out to Ashley Crossman, winner of Miss Virginia 2008! She’s the sister of one of my friends at VCU, and I had the privilege of designing her an ad for inclusion in the pageant program and other uses. Many of her sponsors were local businesses in her hometown of Montross, Virginia and had no logos for use, so I designed the majority of them. It was a lot of fun creating this and working with her. She’s incredibly nice, very talented, and is beautiful on the inside as well as out. She’s extremely deserving of her win. Here’s the ad I created for her in preparation for the pageant: