Weekend Update
Hello gentle readers.
This is likely to be one of my shorter Weekend Updates, primarily because I did not do very much this weekend. Life is like that sometimes.
The Big Guy made it into my office for lunch on Friday with almost no complications. We did have one small momentary driving distress when he missed the entrance to the building parking structure. This was understandable since the place is mostly torn up with construction. He has not been here before. We were able to overcome the difficulty.
I took the Big Guy and his friend Mark to lunch at a place next door to the office. It is called The Cellar. The Big Guy said it had a very English pub sort of vibe to it. Lunch was nice; I had a club sandwich, Mark had a patty melt I think, and the Big Guy had uncharacteristic chicken teriyaki sandwich.
After lunch, I took them on a tour of the office. It is a small office space so it was a short tour. Then, they departed for Amoeba Music and obscure CDs and DVDs.
Vivian, the office assistant, was speaking with me afterwards. We were talking about going to see the new Rob Zombie film, THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, that opens next weekend. She wants to go see it and I thought that was really great. I don’t know of too many women who would want to see the film, given the violence and barrels of fake blood that are splattered around.
Vivian also commented that she didn’t realize how much shorter the Princess is then the Big Guy. I said the Princess wasn’t short; the Big Guy was just really tall.
As many of you know, I am a big science fiction fan so I was in sci-fi heaven Friday when Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis had their season premieres. I tired to stay up for the premiere of Battlestar Galactica but it was too late for me. I will wait for the reruns later on to catch Battlestar.
I think I like the new cast members and the plot changes in the Stargate series. I will reserve judgment until after I have the initial episodes completed so I can understand the changes better.
Saturday was a day for DVDs and Tommy’s Original Hamburgers.
I don’t buy any DVDs between the middle of April and Father’s Day. I do this to make it easier for the Princess and Big Guy to find something to give me. It makes it easier for them since they have a list of DVDs that I want and they can go pick from that. Although the list, the AFI 100 Greatest Films, is getting smaller with time, there are about twenty or some films on the list.
When the AFI list is exhausted, I will have the New York Times 1000 Greatest Films list to work. If I was really ambitious, I would update the missing NYT 1000 with the DVDs that I have now. I have a couple of hundred DVDs and most are what you would call classic films.
My goal is to build a massive collection of DVDs so that I will have something to watch in my retirement. I’m betting that television will not suddenly and permanently improve in the near future.
The Big Guy and I stopped at Tommy’s for lunch. This was logical because it was on the way to DVD Planet.com, our favorite DVD store.
We both ordered a Mega Combo meal for lunch. The Mega Combo is a triple chili cheeseburger, chili cheese fries, and a mammoth drink. It is so good that words can not truly describe the eating enjoyment. I should point out that I do this about three or four times a year so I do not truly over indulge all of the time.
I was surprised that I was not feeling bloated and blah after the meal.
The Big Guy picked up a couple of DVDs while I picked up a dozen or so. One of the DVDs is a boxed set of Hiroshi Inagaki’s THE SAMURAI TRILOGY staring Toshiro Mifune. I have become a large fan of the classic samurai films like THE SEVEN SAMURAI, RAN, and THRONE OF BLOOD.
I do have one complaint about buying DVDs. Some companies put their products in a nice package with no plastic wrapping. This forces the retailer to put the price sticker on the outer packaging that I through away because I can’t take the price sticker off without ruining the outer packaging. I threw four packages away when I got home yesterday and that really bothers me. I don’t see why if they can cramp four or five films on to one DVD that they can’t find a packaging process that does not result in a tossing of the box.
After dinner, I watched The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin. It was Episode 76. It was really interesting last night. There was no battle but the drama level increased just the same.
Yi Soon-Shin has defied the King’s order to attack the main Japanese fleet that is at anchor in Pusan. The decision to delay the attack is very sound. The Korean fleet, undefeated in 12 battles would be outnumbered substantially; Yi has about 50 warships while the Japanese have 400 of all types.
You don’t have to be Admiral Nelson to know that these are really long odds. Besides, attacking in a harbor shifts the advantage to the defender, unless, of course, you are French admiral. Inside the harbor, Yi’s fleet would lose its strategic advantages completely.
Once the Korean fleet is destroyed in Pusan Harbor, the war is lost and Korea becomes a fief of the Japanese shogun. Clearly, not the best of all possible outcomes.
Yi has refused two orders to attack. The government intends to replace him with lesser quality sailors. The regional military commander refused to remove Yi because he knows there is no one else who can successfully lead the Korean navy.
The overall command of the Navy is offered to a lesser commander. He refuses the order and leaves with his ships to join Yi.
The overall command of the Navy is offered to a third commander. This commander is the worst choice because he does not understand naval battle tactics and strategy. He only knows how to attack the enemy head-on. This is a sure tactic for defeat and massive loss of life.
His officers know this and they mutiny. They take their ships and sail off to join Yi because they know sailing under Yi’s command offers the best prospects of them coming home alive after the battle.
Absolutely fascinating, first, treason and then mutiny.
I had planned to the movies today. I had everything all planned out; I would see WEDDING CRASHERS first and then catch CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. I could get in and see the two films and be home in time for diner and The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin tonight.
Unfortunately, the local multiplex [Pacific Theater’s Beach Cities] screwed up with the film scheduling. They did not check to make sure the correct films were in the proper theater. By the time the manager figured things out, it was too late for me. I could see the first film sure enough but I would not be able to see the second film in time for my other plans.
The manager was a little miffed when I asked for my money back. She wanted to know why I was leaving. I don’t think she appreciated my pointing out her obvious management failures in front of some of her staff.
I did not care about her feelings. If she had done her job, things would have run properly. She had the last clear chance to avoid any trouble.
Besides, never, ever, ask a question that you don’t or may not want to hear the answer.
I had hoped for a nifty, climactic battle with The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin tonight but I was disappointed. It looks like I will have to wait until next weekend to see the outcome of the battle. The ending of tonight’s episode had the Korean fleet sailing down a narrow passage. The Japanese are expecting them and plan to bombard the Korean fleet from the high ground surrounding the channel.
Very nice cliff hanger there writers.
And, those, gentle readers, were the highpoints of my weekend. On balance, I consider the weekend to have been a success for me. I hope your weekend was a success as well.
Be well and stay happy.
This is likely to be one of my shorter Weekend Updates, primarily because I did not do very much this weekend. Life is like that sometimes.
The Big Guy made it into my office for lunch on Friday with almost no complications. We did have one small momentary driving distress when he missed the entrance to the building parking structure. This was understandable since the place is mostly torn up with construction. He has not been here before. We were able to overcome the difficulty.
I took the Big Guy and his friend Mark to lunch at a place next door to the office. It is called The Cellar. The Big Guy said it had a very English pub sort of vibe to it. Lunch was nice; I had a club sandwich, Mark had a patty melt I think, and the Big Guy had uncharacteristic chicken teriyaki sandwich.
After lunch, I took them on a tour of the office. It is a small office space so it was a short tour. Then, they departed for Amoeba Music and obscure CDs and DVDs.
Vivian, the office assistant, was speaking with me afterwards. We were talking about going to see the new Rob Zombie film, THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, that opens next weekend. She wants to go see it and I thought that was really great. I don’t know of too many women who would want to see the film, given the violence and barrels of fake blood that are splattered around.
Vivian also commented that she didn’t realize how much shorter the Princess is then the Big Guy. I said the Princess wasn’t short; the Big Guy was just really tall.
As many of you know, I am a big science fiction fan so I was in sci-fi heaven Friday when Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis had their season premieres. I tired to stay up for the premiere of Battlestar Galactica but it was too late for me. I will wait for the reruns later on to catch Battlestar.
I think I like the new cast members and the plot changes in the Stargate series. I will reserve judgment until after I have the initial episodes completed so I can understand the changes better.
Saturday was a day for DVDs and Tommy’s Original Hamburgers.
I don’t buy any DVDs between the middle of April and Father’s Day. I do this to make it easier for the Princess and Big Guy to find something to give me. It makes it easier for them since they have a list of DVDs that I want and they can go pick from that. Although the list, the AFI 100 Greatest Films, is getting smaller with time, there are about twenty or some films on the list.
When the AFI list is exhausted, I will have the New York Times 1000 Greatest Films list to work. If I was really ambitious, I would update the missing NYT 1000 with the DVDs that I have now. I have a couple of hundred DVDs and most are what you would call classic films.
My goal is to build a massive collection of DVDs so that I will have something to watch in my retirement. I’m betting that television will not suddenly and permanently improve in the near future.
The Big Guy and I stopped at Tommy’s for lunch. This was logical because it was on the way to DVD Planet.com, our favorite DVD store.
We both ordered a Mega Combo meal for lunch. The Mega Combo is a triple chili cheeseburger, chili cheese fries, and a mammoth drink. It is so good that words can not truly describe the eating enjoyment. I should point out that I do this about three or four times a year so I do not truly over indulge all of the time.
I was surprised that I was not feeling bloated and blah after the meal.
The Big Guy picked up a couple of DVDs while I picked up a dozen or so. One of the DVDs is a boxed set of Hiroshi Inagaki’s THE SAMURAI TRILOGY staring Toshiro Mifune. I have become a large fan of the classic samurai films like THE SEVEN SAMURAI, RAN, and THRONE OF BLOOD.
I do have one complaint about buying DVDs. Some companies put their products in a nice package with no plastic wrapping. This forces the retailer to put the price sticker on the outer packaging that I through away because I can’t take the price sticker off without ruining the outer packaging. I threw four packages away when I got home yesterday and that really bothers me. I don’t see why if they can cramp four or five films on to one DVD that they can’t find a packaging process that does not result in a tossing of the box.
After dinner, I watched The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin. It was Episode 76. It was really interesting last night. There was no battle but the drama level increased just the same.
Yi Soon-Shin has defied the King’s order to attack the main Japanese fleet that is at anchor in Pusan. The decision to delay the attack is very sound. The Korean fleet, undefeated in 12 battles would be outnumbered substantially; Yi has about 50 warships while the Japanese have 400 of all types.
You don’t have to be Admiral Nelson to know that these are really long odds. Besides, attacking in a harbor shifts the advantage to the defender, unless, of course, you are French admiral. Inside the harbor, Yi’s fleet would lose its strategic advantages completely.
Once the Korean fleet is destroyed in Pusan Harbor, the war is lost and Korea becomes a fief of the Japanese shogun. Clearly, not the best of all possible outcomes.
Yi has refused two orders to attack. The government intends to replace him with lesser quality sailors. The regional military commander refused to remove Yi because he knows there is no one else who can successfully lead the Korean navy.
The overall command of the Navy is offered to a lesser commander. He refuses the order and leaves with his ships to join Yi.
The overall command of the Navy is offered to a third commander. This commander is the worst choice because he does not understand naval battle tactics and strategy. He only knows how to attack the enemy head-on. This is a sure tactic for defeat and massive loss of life.
His officers know this and they mutiny. They take their ships and sail off to join Yi because they know sailing under Yi’s command offers the best prospects of them coming home alive after the battle.
Absolutely fascinating, first, treason and then mutiny.
I had planned to the movies today. I had everything all planned out; I would see WEDDING CRASHERS first and then catch CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. I could get in and see the two films and be home in time for diner and The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin tonight.
Unfortunately, the local multiplex [Pacific Theater’s Beach Cities] screwed up with the film scheduling. They did not check to make sure the correct films were in the proper theater. By the time the manager figured things out, it was too late for me. I could see the first film sure enough but I would not be able to see the second film in time for my other plans.
The manager was a little miffed when I asked for my money back. She wanted to know why I was leaving. I don’t think she appreciated my pointing out her obvious management failures in front of some of her staff.
I did not care about her feelings. If she had done her job, things would have run properly. She had the last clear chance to avoid any trouble.
Besides, never, ever, ask a question that you don’t or may not want to hear the answer.
I had hoped for a nifty, climactic battle with The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin tonight but I was disappointed. It looks like I will have to wait until next weekend to see the outcome of the battle. The ending of tonight’s episode had the Korean fleet sailing down a narrow passage. The Japanese are expecting them and plan to bombard the Korean fleet from the high ground surrounding the channel.
Very nice cliff hanger there writers.
And, those, gentle readers, were the highpoints of my weekend. On balance, I consider the weekend to have been a success for me. I hope your weekend was a success as well.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 8:53 PM
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