Nothing's Going To Ever Keep You Down

Jared and Mike, sorry for the three week absence. If other people pulled up this site in the past three weeks A) I'm sorry, B) I'm impressed, and C) thanks. Ok, so some of you may know this, but I'm willing to bet most of you don't. I have a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. I'm not kidding. For like three years, I was all about it. Not to the point where I'm wearing the uniform to school or learning japanese, but more like going three nights a week to class and then going to tournaments every three weeks. Yeah, I've got trophies for this. Big ones.
Here's the thing, I'm staying up in Park City tonight with my parents and watching The Karate Kid II. Ok, for starters, if you want to watch an awesomely bad movie, put this one in and watch the middle 45 mintues. Priceless. To whet the appetite, although is is set in Okinawa, everyone speaks only english, the signs are all in english as well as japanese and the martial arts dojo is filled only by white guys. Needless to say, I was laughing while remembering how cool I thought the whole things was. In particular, I remember thinking the girl Daniel went after was hot.
She's not. At all. Really, I'm borderline embarrassed by thinking that. It's up there with how I would foolishly bet against the Yankees making the playoffs every year. (This season is the first since coming home from the mission that I haven't made some sort of wager on this. I know way too much about baseball to be betting against the Yankees.)
AMC, in all their wisdom decides to go ahead a roll Karate Kid I right after II finished. About five minutes in, my mom, who had watched the better part of II with me, asked if that was what started my martial arts kick. Honestly, I'm pretty sure it was. That's right, a movie led me to dedicate three of my formative years to something I had no business starting in the first place. It might be the most manipulated I've ever been by any media. I loved Rocky IV, but never went into the ring. I can quote the better part of Sandlot blind, but never... ok, I so love baseball, but that was before any movie.
Also, how hot was Elisabeth Shue in that movie? No really? Watch it. She was on point. A little thick, but nothing bad at all. I would go for that in a heart beat.
Now here's what I really wanted to get to-- how come she never comes up in any timeless hottie conversation? Name me one movie that she wasn't looking good in? I'll wait. I've got the time. She always looked good. I thought maybe she didn't for a second, but then was blown away by her in "Cocktail". (Catch this one on TV. I'll just say that.) Just stunning. If it wasn't going to be 2:30 when this one ends, I would start scanning channels to see if I could find The Saint, or Adventure in Babysitting.
So yeah, give it up for Elisabeth Shue, the hottie that seems attainable. (Oh and by the way, she was 21 and Daniel-San was 23 when they made Karate Kid I. They were supposed to be anywhere between sophomores and seniors in high school. Word.)