Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Well, gentle readers, if nothing else, I managed to upset my sleeping patterns over the long weekend with three mornings in a row where I did not have to get up at any special time.
On Saturday, I woke up for about an hour or so around 2:30 AM. I went back to sleep and the next time I checked the clock was 7:30 AM. Friday was much the same; I woke up at 6:30 AM. Maybe my body was really tired and needed the long rest periods.
Oh well, I have Monday to look forward to and getting up at 6:00 AM.
Burp
Thanksgiving Day dinner went very well. It should have gone well after I spent almost twelve hours cooking and cleaning and serving.
The turkey was a nice golden brown and very moist. It will be gone by Monday at the latest I think. The stuffing was better than usual this time around. I think the stuffing was better because I added more turkey broth than the recipe called for. I also added a little more ginger, basil, thyme, parsley, and cilantro than I usually do. I did forget to put the poultry seasoning on the turkey before I put it in the cooking bag; this was the first time that I have done this in years.
My candied yams or sweet potatos were very good. The extra time I spent cooking them earlier than normal helped them absorb the brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Of course, Doug is not a candied yams eater at all. His mother and I do enjoy the candied yams.
I finished my dinner with mince pie. I am the only one in the family who eats mince pie at Thanksgiving. One of the nice things about this fact is I can eat the pie right out of the pan and no one will get upset with me. This is both convenient for me and I don’t get a plate dirty just for a snack.
University of Utah Football
Our Utes are playing in a post-season football game again this year. So far, the Utes are one of three Mountain West Conference teams to have accepted bowl bids. The others are Texas Christian University and Brigham Young University, odd that the other two teams so far are both church affiliated schools.
Utah is playing December 29th in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco. No opponent has been named as yet. It was supposed to be the sixth ranked school in the Pacific 10 Conference and only five school are eligible for a bowl bid so our Utes will be playing an at large school from somewhere.
Oooops.
Better make that four Mountain West teams.
Colorado State will play Navy in San Diego. Navy will probably be the home town favorite since the city is the major West Coast surface ship home port of the United States Navy as well as the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and just up the Interstate at Camp Pendleton.
Movies
I did see a lot of films this weekend. I had a lot of time on my hands.
ZATHURA was the first film I saw in a sort of double feature. I had to pay for each film separately but saw back to back. Zathura was an interesting science fiction film. It was written by the same author of JUMANJI only I think it will do better since it is aimed at a more targeted audience.
The film revolves around an old board game that the two feuding brothers must overcome their dislike for each other and play and win to save themselves and their teenage sister. They have to continue until the end of the game. Each turn produces a new challenge or opportunity. The film has a small cast of young and unknown actors except for an extended cameo by Tim Robbins as a divorced father of the three children.
The only interesting characters are the Zorgons who like and act like a cross between the Three Stooges and the Alien. I think there should have been more of them in the film but that is only me.
The second film in the sort of double feature was JARHEAD. The film is based on a young man’s service in the Marine Corps during the first Iraqi war. I really enjoyed this film because it seemed to catch the essence of the Marine Corps and its espirit de corps that the other services sometimes lack.
We join the film as the recruit is still at the Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego and then follow him to Camp Pendleton where he becomes a sniper. Being a sniper in the Marine Corps is about the highest one can go in the rifleman hierarchy. The Marine Corps is built around the marine and his rifle. Marksmanship is expected and if you are among the very best, you can become part of a sniper team –one shooter and one spotter.
About half of the film takes place in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Mostly, the Marines are sitting and waiting for something to happen and allow them to enter combat. When the big push against the Iraqis comes, they are left behind because they are mostly walking while the war is moving on a highly mechanized pace.
In the end, they never have a chance to fire a shot in anger. The only time they fire a shot is when the armistice is signed and fighting ends. First one marine fires a shot and then he is joined by everyone else. One of the nice ending plot points is a reveal of what happened to the young Marines after they came back to the States.
Saturday was HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. I have seen the other three films and have them on DVD. This is the next installment of the series and the first one to be rated PG-13 in the United States. I think the PG-13 rating makes a great deal of sense in the plot of the film. It seems unlikely that you can go deeper into the magical world of Hogwarts without going towards the Dark Side and a more mature or adult story line.
The plot line seemed a bit strange with the introduction of an almost new cast of young magicians that is built around the Triwizard Tournament. I think it worked well and allowed for the best use of CGI special effects. The snake was particularly interesting.
I am told the plot follows the book well. I can’t say that it does since I have not read any of the books. I suppose I may one day but now right now.
The film did an excellent job of capturing the teenage anxiety about dating in general and the almost manifest fear of dancing in young men.
I can remember being forced to go to dance class when I was young. My brother had to go as well as so it was not like we were alone and surrounded by a bunch of young women who wanted to dance. I think we both hated dance class and tired our best to get out of going. That was usually to no avail.
It will be interesting to see how the following films deal with the principle characters as they mature emotionally and sexually. They are changing and the plot lines will, I would think, have to change and adapt with them.
The fourth film I saw this weekend was CAPOTE on Sunday. The film is a semi-biographical story of Truman Capote’s life during the period where he wrote In Cold Blood.
Capote is not an easy character to like. He is vain, self important, arrogant, self destructive, and often times without honor. I did not care for the story at all. It seemed as if the film was saying it was fine to be an alcoholic and lie in order to achieve your goals.
Perhaps the only reason to see the film is to see Philip Seymour Hoffman play Truman Capote. I have generally liked Hoffman’s acting work and this is probably his best film work ever.
Odds and Ends
I finished reading the book on the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. The book is based on the European survivors’ diaries and records so this presents a more limited view of the siege. It would have been a more balanced book if it has been able to include the Chinese views. Unfortunately, the Chinese records were largely destroyed or lost in the days following the lifting of the siege of the foreign legations in Peking [Beijing].
Sharon
Sharon called while I was out on Sunday catching CAPOTE. I would have called her back when I got home but she said she was going to be in and out all day. I decided to call her in the evening when it was more likely that she would be at home.
That was my long and uneventful weekend gentle readers. I hope you had a good weekend as well.
Be well and stay happy.
Well, gentle readers, if nothing else, I managed to upset my sleeping patterns over the long weekend with three mornings in a row where I did not have to get up at any special time.
On Saturday, I woke up for about an hour or so around 2:30 AM. I went back to sleep and the next time I checked the clock was 7:30 AM. Friday was much the same; I woke up at 6:30 AM. Maybe my body was really tired and needed the long rest periods.
Oh well, I have Monday to look forward to and getting up at 6:00 AM.
Burp
Thanksgiving Day dinner went very well. It should have gone well after I spent almost twelve hours cooking and cleaning and serving.
The turkey was a nice golden brown and very moist. It will be gone by Monday at the latest I think. The stuffing was better than usual this time around. I think the stuffing was better because I added more turkey broth than the recipe called for. I also added a little more ginger, basil, thyme, parsley, and cilantro than I usually do. I did forget to put the poultry seasoning on the turkey before I put it in the cooking bag; this was the first time that I have done this in years.
My candied yams or sweet potatos were very good. The extra time I spent cooking them earlier than normal helped them absorb the brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon. Of course, Doug is not a candied yams eater at all. His mother and I do enjoy the candied yams.
I finished my dinner with mince pie. I am the only one in the family who eats mince pie at Thanksgiving. One of the nice things about this fact is I can eat the pie right out of the pan and no one will get upset with me. This is both convenient for me and I don’t get a plate dirty just for a snack.
University of Utah Football
Our Utes are playing in a post-season football game again this year. So far, the Utes are one of three Mountain West Conference teams to have accepted bowl bids. The others are Texas Christian University and Brigham Young University, odd that the other two teams so far are both church affiliated schools.
Utah is playing December 29th in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco. No opponent has been named as yet. It was supposed to be the sixth ranked school in the Pacific 10 Conference and only five school are eligible for a bowl bid so our Utes will be playing an at large school from somewhere.
Oooops.
Better make that four Mountain West teams.
Colorado State will play Navy in San Diego. Navy will probably be the home town favorite since the city is the major West Coast surface ship home port of the United States Navy as well as the United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and just up the Interstate at Camp Pendleton.
Movies
I did see a lot of films this weekend. I had a lot of time on my hands.
ZATHURA was the first film I saw in a sort of double feature. I had to pay for each film separately but saw back to back. Zathura was an interesting science fiction film. It was written by the same author of JUMANJI only I think it will do better since it is aimed at a more targeted audience.
The film revolves around an old board game that the two feuding brothers must overcome their dislike for each other and play and win to save themselves and their teenage sister. They have to continue until the end of the game. Each turn produces a new challenge or opportunity. The film has a small cast of young and unknown actors except for an extended cameo by Tim Robbins as a divorced father of the three children.
The only interesting characters are the Zorgons who like and act like a cross between the Three Stooges and the Alien. I think there should have been more of them in the film but that is only me.
The second film in the sort of double feature was JARHEAD. The film is based on a young man’s service in the Marine Corps during the first Iraqi war. I really enjoyed this film because it seemed to catch the essence of the Marine Corps and its espirit de corps that the other services sometimes lack.
We join the film as the recruit is still at the Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego and then follow him to Camp Pendleton where he becomes a sniper. Being a sniper in the Marine Corps is about the highest one can go in the rifleman hierarchy. The Marine Corps is built around the marine and his rifle. Marksmanship is expected and if you are among the very best, you can become part of a sniper team –one shooter and one spotter.
About half of the film takes place in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Mostly, the Marines are sitting and waiting for something to happen and allow them to enter combat. When the big push against the Iraqis comes, they are left behind because they are mostly walking while the war is moving on a highly mechanized pace.
In the end, they never have a chance to fire a shot in anger. The only time they fire a shot is when the armistice is signed and fighting ends. First one marine fires a shot and then he is joined by everyone else. One of the nice ending plot points is a reveal of what happened to the young Marines after they came back to the States.
Saturday was HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. I have seen the other three films and have them on DVD. This is the next installment of the series and the first one to be rated PG-13 in the United States. I think the PG-13 rating makes a great deal of sense in the plot of the film. It seems unlikely that you can go deeper into the magical world of Hogwarts without going towards the Dark Side and a more mature or adult story line.
The plot line seemed a bit strange with the introduction of an almost new cast of young magicians that is built around the Triwizard Tournament. I think it worked well and allowed for the best use of CGI special effects. The snake was particularly interesting.
I am told the plot follows the book well. I can’t say that it does since I have not read any of the books. I suppose I may one day but now right now.
The film did an excellent job of capturing the teenage anxiety about dating in general and the almost manifest fear of dancing in young men.
I can remember being forced to go to dance class when I was young. My brother had to go as well as so it was not like we were alone and surrounded by a bunch of young women who wanted to dance. I think we both hated dance class and tired our best to get out of going. That was usually to no avail.
It will be interesting to see how the following films deal with the principle characters as they mature emotionally and sexually. They are changing and the plot lines will, I would think, have to change and adapt with them.
The fourth film I saw this weekend was CAPOTE on Sunday. The film is a semi-biographical story of Truman Capote’s life during the period where he wrote In Cold Blood.
Capote is not an easy character to like. He is vain, self important, arrogant, self destructive, and often times without honor. I did not care for the story at all. It seemed as if the film was saying it was fine to be an alcoholic and lie in order to achieve your goals.
Perhaps the only reason to see the film is to see Philip Seymour Hoffman play Truman Capote. I have generally liked Hoffman’s acting work and this is probably his best film work ever.
Odds and Ends
I finished reading the book on the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. The book is based on the European survivors’ diaries and records so this presents a more limited view of the siege. It would have been a more balanced book if it has been able to include the Chinese views. Unfortunately, the Chinese records were largely destroyed or lost in the days following the lifting of the siege of the foreign legations in Peking [Beijing].
Sharon
Sharon called while I was out on Sunday catching CAPOTE. I would have called her back when I got home but she said she was going to be in and out all day. I decided to call her in the evening when it was more likely that she would be at home.
That was my long and uneventful weekend gentle readers. I hope you had a good weekend as well.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 8:59 PM
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