The Christmas Recap

Another Christmas season has come to a close. I didn't travel this year - for the first time in several years - and that had some interesting consequences.

First, I didn't feel like I needed to have a deadline. Since I didn't have to have all my gifts purchased in time to get on a plane or to ship them somewhere, I was running behind in that department.  Same with the Christmas cards -- I'm sure many of mine did not arrive at their intended destinations until a day or two after Christmas.  So if you were one of those recipients, I apologize.

Second, it was much more hectic to be in town for Christmas than to be elsewhere.  Since the very nature of traveling requires commitment to one location, it makes it easy to decline other invitations with a simple, "I would love to, but I'll be out of town."   Which is not to say that I didn't enjoy all the adventures and company, but it did add a level of management and administration which is simply absent when you are away.

Third, it was nice to have a place to go home to.  In a funny way, I think it made it feel a little less festive; there was less of a "to-do," since I just went home again afterwards, but it is always nice to sleep in my own bed.

I did still manage to squeeze in some of the annual holiday festivities I enjoy.  S and I went to see the 442's Holiday Spectacular hosted at Wash U.  I also watched some of my favorite Christmas movies: Little Women, Love Actually, and It's a Wonderful Life.

And there were cookies!  Sugar cookies (special thanks to K for help with the icing), molasses cookies, Santa snacks (special thanks to E for help with the baking), cinnamon stars....  I think I'm forgetting some, but no matter.  Lots of cookies!

I also got to have dinner with my long-lost friend M and her husband T, who were visiting from the DC area, so that was a special treat.

Everyone has now gone back home and the season is winding down, but it was great to see you all!  Thanks to everyone for coming!

Happy Birthday to Me!

The Woman in Black -- Take 2

I love short books. Much like I love short films.  Perhaps this says something about my attention span, and not the quality of the short books or movies versus the long ones.

Moving right along...

I finished up The Woman in Black one day just as I was getting to work.  I had about ten pages to go, so rather than reading emails while I drank my first cup of coffee and ate my bowl of oatmeal, I finished my book.  And it ends - I don't think it's a spoiler to say - abruptly.  But it accomplished its purpose in being a page-turning spooky fall read, and I was glad to have read it.

Me being the Anglophile I am, I especially liked the tone and pacing of the writing, which was so very British.  Plus, the description of the choking smog in London and the damp, coastal fog that sweeps in off the ocean and envelops the seaside towns.

Merry Christmas!

What I Watched -- The Gnomist

As you know, I love short films.  I managed to get to one SLIFF screening this year before leaving town for vacation, and it was the doc shorts.  They were terrible!  Not a good one in the bunch (although I had the start time wrong and missed the first two).

This little doc short, The Gnomist, is a breath of fresh air.  I heard about it a while back on an episode of To the Best of Our Knowledge, and finally got around to watching it.  It's a sweet, heartwarming tale that just might wash away a bit of the cynicism that has been coating me so thickly lately.

The Emerald Mile -- Take 2

It took me forever to read this book.  However, one should not infer anything about the quality of the book from the length of time it took me to read it. In fact, when I first posted about it, I was struggling between reading the book and fulfilling the obligations in my life.  Unfortunately for the book, life won out.

Finally, I got time to get through it compliments of my recent bouts with insomnia.  Silver lining.

I was surprised by how little of the book is actually about the dory trip itself.  The title, the subtitle, and the cover photo all indicate that the speed run through the Canyon is the story.  It's certainly the heart of the story, but there's more to it than that.

The book starts with a long history of the Canyon's geology, which includes several wonderful passages describing the majesty of the place.  It then moves into a description of Canyon hydrology, specifically as it relates to the relatively recent damming of the Colorado River, the changes that has caused, and the many problems it has created.  Only then, several hundred pages in, do we meet our heroes and hear the tale of their wild ride.

I'll say again that the quality of this book is completely independent of the time it took me to read it.  Don't hold my delays against it; it's certainly worth a read.  I've even read a few other (shorter) things written by the same author since I finished it -- including a piece he wrote for Outside Magazine, "They Call Me Groover Boy."

What I really liked about The Emerald Mile is that, each time I got to a new section -- Canyon history, faults of the dam, the dory trip -- I was excited to get back to that part of the story.  Together they are braided together to tell a compelling tale.

Goals -- (Nearly) End-of-Year Report

Garden: a qualified success!  It was small, but turned out some good tomatoes, loads of cucumbers, and herbs galore (which made for some delicious muddled cocktails).  The Japanese beetles that so plagued the canna plants and my one basil plant during the summer disappeared into the fall.

The only thing that didn't work out were the peppers.  The plants were stunted all season and produced no fruit.  They finally started to grow and even produce a few small peppers -- in October!  Then they froze.  Apparently they're confused about the calendar.

Those two little spruce trees that managed to survive much of the summer were the victims of a lack of watering when I was out of town, and they didn't make it either.  No worries about them though, they were just a fun project.

Gym: yesterday S and I put our bikes back on the trainers for the first time, so we may get around to making some progress where the gym is concerned.  His current project is redoing one of the bathrooms.  However, a basement bathroom is going to go in next to the gym, and I think a few of the parts and pieces that come out of the master bathroom are going to be repurposed in the basement bathroom, so hopefully the bathroom work will spill over to gym work as well.

We did pick up a small section of one of those rubber-puzzle-piece floors when a friend of S's left town, and finally laying that down is an easy fix that I can make.

Craft table: I put this project on hold, since my desk (which is huge) is actually working pretty well as a sewing machine table for now.  I don't think this situation will last forever, and eventually I will want a real craft table, but for now, the bathroom is the construction priority.

Recipes: typewriter is in good working order, and I've taken one pass through my recipes and typed several of the ones I make most often.  It's a fun way to spend an hour or so, until my fingers start to get tired.  I also got a binder and put several of S's recipes in it, so he has a little collection as well.

Pictures: still nothing to report.  Maybe in 2017?

What I'm Reading Now -- The Woman in Black

Since the termination of my favorite book podcast, Books on the Nightstand, I have picked up on one of the ones they recommended at the end of their show. It's called Overdue.

The format is quite different: most episodes are about an hour, and each one is about a single book. The two guys who host it WILL spoil the ending, but they're pretty good about warning you when they're getting into major spoilers. I usually end up skipping about the last 1/3 of each podcast.

The podcasts are put out weekly, and back in October they did a bunch of scary books. One of the selections was The Woman in Black, by Susan Hill.

As a rule, I am not much of a thriller/horror fan. Just not my cup of tea. But since I've been up reading in the middle of the night lately, I am looking for reads that are less intellectual and more page-turner-y. I just don't have the brain capacity to read serious history or complex political analysis at 2:00 in the morning.

That's why The Woman in Black caught my attention. I'll let you know how my new genre goes.

What I Watched -- Happythankyoumoreplease

S and I stumbled upon Happythankyoumoreplease (trailer) while we were looking for Christmas movies to watch. It is certainly not a Christmas movie (although there is a passing mention to the holiday which you can hear in the trailer), it's pretty much standard rom-com fare.

It was written and directed by Josh Radnor, who also plays the lead character, Sam.  All the other characters are defined by their relationship to Sam or their relationship to knows Sam.  The two who matter most are Rasheen, a kid Sam picks up on the Subway after he gets separated from his adult (yes, it's as illegal as it sounds), and Mississippi (Kate Mara), Sam's love interest.

This is certainly Gen-whatever-we're-on stuff.  It's a lot of navel-gazing and self-affirmation.  It's a bit like watching an episode of Girls where the main character is a guy, who is funnier, more charming, and less off-putting than Lena Dunham.  It's like Josh was jealous of Lena's cute friends, so he wanted to put himself in the middle of the show.

Bottom line: despite that knock, it's a darn cute movie.  And it's nice to see Tony Hale play someone other than Buster Bluth.

Our Menu Options Have Changed

Here's a question: have you ever called an 800 number or help line of any kind and not heard the phrase, "Please listen carefully, our menu options have changed"?

Whose job is it to constantly change menus?  Is there someone who just regularly rearranges the options so as to make it impossible for a caller to short-circuit the monotony of the recorded voice?  Why is that necessary?

What I Read -- Sharp Objects

I have, of late, been rather unable to sleep. I blame my work.

Though I would much prefer it if I could just sleep through the night, if I had to identify the silver lining of this newfound insomnia, it would be the opportunity to read.

I used to read incessantly. Non-stop. I always had a book with me.  Until law school.  Since then, I have been too tired of reading - or just too tired - to read.

When one is awake at 2:00 a.m., however, with an essentially non-functional computer and a need to keep the noise level down, there are few options. When one also happens to have a large backlog of unread books, the primary option among them makes itself abundantly clear.

So it was that I started, and finished, Sharp Objects.  This is the second of Gillian Flynn's books that I've read.  As you may recall about Gone Girl, I was enthralled by the story, but hated the ending.  By comparison, I was a little bit less enthralled with this book, but was less disappointed by the ending.  In total, I'd say I preferred this one to Gone Girl.  But this one doesn't star Ben Affleck, so I think it's gotten significantly less attention.

If you have any interest in a quick read over the cold winter, this is a decent one, but consider yourself warned: it is extremely dark.

What I Read -- The Conscience of a Conservative

In spite of the recent election, I finally decided to pick up a book I've been meaning to read for a long time. Barry Goldwater's 1960 political treatise The Conscience of a Conservative, is a surprisingly easy read, and short.

The bulk of the theory is contained in the first two chapters of the book, and basically amounts to this: the federal government's job is to do as little as possible while maintaining order in society, because it's entry into spheres where it doesn't belong (1) mucks up the works, (2) steals power from state and local governments more properly suited to address most issues, and (3) destroys the essential, self-reliant nature of man.

The remainder of the book applies his theory to particular issues, all of which I read with interest until the final chapter: "The Soviet Menace."  I skipped that one.

On the whole, this was probably the most readable and understandable work of political theory I've ever read. It was a pleasure to pick up, and I wish I had done so sooner.

What I Watched -- Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

I have probably seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves at least a zillion times.  Maybe even a zillion and one.  Watching it is something I can do almost totally brainlessly, since I know the story so well.

But watching an old movie for the first time in a long time is always interesting, because some scenes are just as funny or poignant as they were before, and some are completely stale.  It has also been interesting to see what has happened to the various stars of the movie in the intervening 25 years.  The lovely (if somewhat helpless) Lady Marian, played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio, has gone on to do mostly small screen roles.  We all know where Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman have been, but who knew that  probably the most famous character Alan Rickman would ever play would come from a children's book?  Then there's Christian Slater, who had some pretty decent stuff through the rest of the 1990s, but then just seemed to disappear.  He's still working, but if you want to find him, you'll have to look for classics like Hot Tub Time Machine.

I was amused, especially after some recent travel, with the scene near the end where everyone is entering the castle grounds.  The guards standing at the gate repeatedly shout, "No blades, no bows!  Leave your weapons here."  It felt like a slightly more refined version of a TSA screening at the airport.

Bottom line: even if it's not as good as it once seemed, it's always fun to come back to an old favorite every now and then.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I Watched -- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I never read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but I did listen to the audiobook, which I'm totally counting as reading.  So I felt okay when it popped up in my Netflix queue to watch it.

Both the book and movie are based on the true story of a murder during one of Savannah's fanciest Christmas parties.  Kevin Spacey plays the party's host and accused murderer; John Cusack plays the journalist who just happened to be there to write a piece on the party, but stayed for the trial.  While nominally John Cusack is the main character, the one who is telling the story, Kevin Spacey steals the show -- as he so often does.  I particularly like him when he's playing a Southerner; it is a role that seems to fit him well.  Perhaps this is because I am so used to hearing him with a Southern accent on House of Cards.

When listening to the audio, which was some time ago, I recall being enthralled by the first half of the story -- getting to know the characters, the party, the murder -- but somewhat bored by the second half -- the trial.  The movie was more evenly weighted.  I was neither enthralled nor bored.

Bottom line: not great, but good enough.

Happy Halloween!

The News These Days

Take a look at a headline that came through on my email a few weeks ago:

Is this truly the best our newspapermen can do?  "The cold weather will make it more expensive to heat your house"?  And perhaps more importantly, how many of our tax dollars went to funding the study that issued that finding?

I'd like my money back.

SLSO Season -- Show #1

I picked up G's symphony tickets this year, and the first show of the season was this past weekend.  S and I were running right on time, which is to say that we sat down just as they dimmed the lights.

The first piece was Lutoslawski, Chain 3.  I was not a fan of this one at all.  It was loud and discordant and I had a difficult time following it.  If anyone can enlighten me as to what I should have gotten out of it, I would appreciate it.

The title piece was Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor.  It was a lovely piece, especially the first and third movements.  The loudness I mentioned in Chain isn't necessarily a bad thing in classical music, as long as there is some melody, and Dvorak managed to put those two pieces - volume and melody - together in a lovely way.

S and I headed for the Met Bar (which, I learned, was once installed at the Met in NYC -- hence the name) and scored one of the coveted tables overlooking the lobby, which allowed us a lovely 15 minutes to enjoy our drinks.

Post-intermission, Stravinsky's Petrushka ended the show.  I particularly liked the first movement, The Shrove-Tide Fair, but overall I very much enjoyed how well the music told the story of the poor, doomed Petruska, heartbroken over the princess and the moor.

At the end of the show, S was kind enough to help an elderly gentleman out to his car when his younger date was only interested in leaving him behind.  S's good Samaritanism scored us two free drink tickets for our next show -- everybody wins!

What I Watched -- Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.  I was a bit of a Nirvana fan in my pre-teen years, but I just listened to their music.  I never really followed or much cared about the personal histories or the band members or Kurt's odd relationship with Courtney Love.

This film really is a "montage"; it's comprised of film footage, interviews, artwork, song lyrics, cartoons, letters, home video, and more.  Visually, it was appealing.  The soundtrack is obviously comprised of Nirvana songs, and there is a song to parallel every part Kurt's life story.  I don't know his library well enough to know whether the timing of the writing of a particular song played corresponded with that portion of his personal history, but I would be interested to find out, if anyone knows.

Kurt was a severely messed up human being, in the way that many artists are.  They are smart and sensitive, and that often leads down a path of both creation and self-destruction.  And so with Kurt.  He was 27 when he took his own life.

Bottom line: if you have any interest at all in music history, Nirvana, or wacky documentaries, this is worth 90 minutes of your time.

Quote of the Day

In light of yesterday's lighthearted quote from Sliding Doors, and in view of all the recent news about the Trump Tape, the responsive hashtag #notokay, and my recent watching of The Fall, here's something to think about:

"Men are afraid that women will laugh at them.  Women are afraid that men will kill them."
  -- Margaret Atwood

This blog quotes a section of a responsive commentary, where the writer asks which of those things happens more often, implying that women have very little to fear.  I am 100% on board with the blogger's response: not every man feels the need to exert violence against women, but there isn't a single woman in the world who hasn't been afraid.

I would add that there's a scene in The Fall where Gillian Anderson's character misquotes this Atwood quote.  She says "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them.  Women are afraid that men will rape or kill them."  I think The Fall's version is more accurate.

Why is this our world?

Quote of the Day

"Gerry, I'm a woman.  We don't say what we want -- but we reserve the right to be pissed off if we don't get it.  That's what makes us so fascinating -- and not a little bit scary."
  -- Lydia to Gerry, Sliding Doors

The Fall

You may have noticed my recent Netflix-inspired spate of binge watching.  The latest selection is The Fall, starring Gillian Anderson as a detective trying to catch up with a serial killer.

It's gripping, mostly because Gillian Anderson is cool, collected, and phenomenal.  Otherwise, it's a pretty typical season-long crime procedural, which makes it more interesting than your typical Law and Order type episodic version.  So far, so good!

What I Watched -- Carol

S and I picked up Carol recently, and it succeeded in putting me to sleep.

After toting it around in my purse for a while and trying to decide whether to finish it, I figured that I might as well watch it, since I had already incurred the late fees from the library.

There are two things, right off the bat, that I love.  First, it's set in Manhattan.  Second, it's set in the 1950s, and I love the dress and manners of that era.  The sets are phenomenal.

Other than that, it is an odd movie. It's a lesbian love story between two very different characters, and is based on Patricia Highsmith's 1952 book, The Price of Salt.  Carol (Cate Blanchett) is an unhappy wife and mother of a small child; Therese (Rooney Mara) is a floundering early-twenty-something.  There are several long, slow shots of the actresses faces, and they are both wonderfully talented at expressing their emotions while saying nothing.

Bottom line: it's not exciting, but if you're not sleepy, it's worth watching to see these two lovely ladies do some wonderful acting.

What I Watched -- The Intern

S and I picked up The Intern at the library recently, mostly because both Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway do good work.

The movie won't win any awards, but it was a super cute story of two people who needed something.  They didn't find what they needed in each other, because neither of them were looking for another person.  But they helped each other to find that thing that they needed.  There really is no antagonist in the story, other than his and her own troubles.

Both actors performed as well as I expected.  Anne Hathaway was just the right amount uptight and fun, but Robert DeNiro stole the show with his adorable, traditional company man ways.

Bottom line: cute, if you want something like that.

What I Watched -- Sunset Boulevard

As I believe I have mentioned several times before, my knowledge of classic films is lacking. With C's help, and also occasional inspiration from Netflix, I'm slowly increasing my classic film repertoire.

Recently, Sunset Boulevard popped up in my queue, so I decided to give it a go.  One of the nice things about classic films, I have discovered, is that the plots tend to be fairly simple, so they're good to watch while you're doing other things.

This is the tale of an aged, once-famous actress, who refuses to believe or even acknowledge that her glamour days are behind her.  She catches a struggling writer in her web, by welcoming him in to her extravagant lifestyle in return for his assistance improving the screenplay she has attempted to write.  But once he's in, it becomes impossible for him to extricate himself.

Bottom line: worth seeing in light of my goal to improve my knowledge, but otherwise quite odd.

What I Watched -- Atonement

I watched Atonement recently.  I meant to read the book first, but, as my reading has been basically nil for the last several years, I gave up and decided to go for the movie instead.

I enjoyed it immensely.  I like the state of confusion that the viewer is in, right until the very end.  The start is simple enough.  We start with the wealthy Tallis family, which includes two girls (played by Kiera Knightley and Saoirse Ronan).  The younger of the two does something irrevocable relating to the love (James McEvoy) of the older one, and their relationship was severely damaged as a consequence.  

I don't want to say too much about it, for fear of giving something away, but most of the remainder of the movie is an analysis of events from different points of view, which is a film-making style that I just love.

The novel is by Ian McEwen, who is famous for his ability to both describe and evoke emotions, so now I'm really looking forward to the book, even though I know the end.

Bottom line: should have gotten to this one a lot sooner.

What I Watched -- The Power of One

I've seen The Power of One before, several times.  However, it has been years since the last time, so when S decided to watch it the other week, I sat down to watch it with him.

It is a thoughtful tale of a young boy named Peekay growing up in apartheid South Africa.  He learns the harsh realities of life, both as the oppressed and the oppressor. Much of his life's wisdom comes through an odd friendship with a German professor who is imprisoned for the duration of World War II. 

One of my favorite things about the movie is the music.  I love the rhythms and voices that are so evocative of Africa.

The movie is based on a book of the same name by Bryce Courtenay.

Bottom line: a good one to re-watch every few years.

Happy Birthday, S!

Juniper and the Fox

It seems that S and I cannot have a totally good evening out at the Fox.

Last year, S got us tickets to If/Then. I enjoyed the show more than he did, but it was not the best I had seen. However, we went to dinner and drinks beforehand at The Fountain on Locust, which I recall as being quite tasty - especially the drinks.

Last night, we went to dinner at Juniper before heading over to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at the Fox Theater.

Juniper is known for their cocktails, and we each tried a flight. For the most part, they were pretty bland. S's favorite was the Put It in Your Purse; I liked the Cat's Pajamas.  Otherwise, not much to write home about, and they pretty much forgot to serve us the last round in the flight, so we had to make quick work of them while we were on our way out the door to the show.

S got the BLT, which was the winner as food selections went.  The bread was fluffy and delicious, the dressing tangy, and the pork belly delectable.  I had the fried green tomatoes, which I generally love and am always excited to try. These were a disappointment. The breading was so crispy that I had trouble getting through it even with a steak knife, and overall there was very little flavor - not in the breading the tomatoes, or the sauce. I also got a side of mac and cheese, which was tasty enough - I ate it all - but not nearly as good as its counterpart at Salt + Smoke.

We snagged a decent parking space at the Fox and made it to our seats in the last few seconds before they shut off the house lights.  The show was cute, and we both laughed.  Nothing deep or meaningful, but it made for a lovely evening.

What I Watched -- Into the Wild

I had been meaning to watch Into the Wild for some time.  I read the book ages ago, I think back in high school, but that didn't have much to do with why I wanted to see the movie.

I wasn't so interested in the speculation about what happened to Chris McCandless at the end as I was in the path he took to get where he ended up.  I knew from reading the book that he went on quite a journey before finding his way to Alaska, and I expected that there would be some lovely scenes in the movie -- which there were!  Some beautiful scenery shots of the west that make me want to head off on a road trip!

There was also some good music, written and performed by Pearl Jam.  I'm not a huge fan, but you may recall my concert-going experience several years ago, and I can now at least appreciate them.  They settled down a bit and did some quieter stuff for the movie, which was perfect for it.

Bottom line: A moderately entertaining, and fairly lovely, distraction, but not much more than that.

Sherlock

I ran out of Orange is the New Black, so now I've started on Sherlock as my next binge series.  I love Benedict Cumberbatch, especially his name (see here and here) and sense of humor.

So far, I am loving it, but it requires a bit more attention than Orange, which means there are fewer times that I can actually watch it.  However, my obsession is strong, so I'm sure I'll make it happen!

Stacked Burger Bar

S took his mom and me to dinner recently at Stacked Burger Bar in far south city recently.  I'd been wanting to go for a while, and was thrilled that he thought of it.

The Big Fat Greek Burger

(c) Sauce Magazine

I had the Big Fat Greek Burger and S got the Wet Nap.  We split them both, and they were both delicious.  Perhaps even more impressive, I saved some leftover fries, which are never very good the second time around, and they were!

As a bonus, on Monday nights, they have a buy one, get one half off burger deal, so that's the time to go.  A few local beers on tap, as well as tasty mac and cheese balls as a starter, and all together it made for a deliciously unhealthy meal.

What I Watched -- The Girl in the Book

I found The Girl in the Book on Netflix. I like Michael Nyqvist, who played the male lead in the Swedish versions of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies.

Apparently he likes movies about girls.  In the latter series, he was helping the girl; in this film, he's the predator.  (The audience figures that out pretty quickly, so I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying it.)  The film is set 15 years later, when he comes back into the girl's life, and she is forced to face her past.

Bottom line: predictable and boring.

Gloucester

I not-so-recently traveled to Gloucester, Massachusetts, for my friend L's bridal shower.  I had never been there before, but it was a cute little place.  The house we stayed at was a ways out of town, about a five minute walk from Wingaersheek Beach.  (And since the wedding is coming up, I figured it was about time I post these pics!)

 

I ventured into town on a couple of occasions - to get coffee, to find a gas station and liquor store, to pick someone up at the gas station. Most time was spent at the beach or beach house, so I can't say much about Gloucester proper except that it looked cute.

L's aunt is Italian, and there was no end of food and drink available to us for the weekend. It was incredible.

The beach had a long, shallow grade. If you were inclined to wade in cold ocean water (I was not), you could go quite far.  I did find that the consistency of the sand made a good surface for running on in the morning after the tide went out, but the gentle slope of the beach often meant that large pools of water were left behind as the tide ebbed. That's not a  great thing to come across in running shoes.  But the beach is private, only available for use by the people who are staying in the homes in that particular neighborhood, so I can forgive its shallowness in return for not being crowded.

I had the last flight home on Sunday, so I also had the pleasure of spending those additional hours with L and a couple of the attendees who were staying until Monday. We just relaxed at her aunt's (fabulous!) condo in the Charlestown area of Boston.  Then off the the airport after a great weekend.

Customer Satisfaction

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, owner of many popular brands of vehicles, including mine, has taken to titling their recall notices "Customer Satisfaction Notifications." 

For example, "You may find that it hinders your ability to drive the vehicle if electronic steering and braking systems fail.  To help you with this, your dealer can cut a hole in the floor of your vehicle and provide you with a very thick-soled pair of shoes that can assist you. Drag one foot to steer, two to brake. Simple -- primitive even -- and yours for the bargain price of $349.99!  We just want to make sure you're satisfied."

Orange is the New Black

I have recently been binge-watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix while doing semi-brainless stuff.  Since it's background noise, I'm only partially paying attention to it, but I am finding it quite enjoyable.

If I cared to pay more attention, I'm sure I could get into the deeper, more thought-provoking story lines, but for now it's just a fun distraction, and it serves its purpose.

What I Watched -- The Revenant

I grabbed a copy of The Revenant last week at the library.

I didn't remember much of the buzz about it from the time of its release, except that there was a lot of winter, Game of Thrones-style. That much was true. 

There was also a lot of communication by grunting, and a lot of unfortunate incidents involving animals. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I share that the main character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, is mauled by a bear near the beginning. That's what sets up the whole quest for revenge that he goes on later. While he's on his quest, there's a Star Wars-esque evening spent sleeping in site the now-empty gut cavity of a recently killed horse, and catching and eating raw fish like Gollum.  It ends with a very The Grey moment, sort of a breaking-the-fourth-wall reckoning with the main character.

Enough of the references to other movies, although it does seem to be a bit of a compilation.  This movie, standing on its own, was dark, depressing, and full of a bunch of guys who are a lot tougher than I would have been facing the same circumstances.

Bottom line: for a hot summer day, it's not a bad pick, but don't expect to be uplifted.

What I Watched -- The Big Short

I picked up The Big Short at the library last week.  I also grabbed The Fighter, but S had already seen it, so we only watched this one.

Much to my dismay, we were about 45 seconds into it when he said, "I feel like I've seen this before..."  I thought I had struck out big time, picking out two movies he had already seen.  Then he went on to say, "...because it feels just like..."  He couldn't remember the name of the other movie he was thinking of, but I knew right away where he was going with it.  "The Wolf of Wall Street!"

And sure enough, it does have that feel to it.  There is a character who acts as a bit of a narrator, and talks directly to the camera.  There are other characters who directly address the viewer as well.  Especially in the beginning, there's a party-like atmosphere as the market goes crazy.

Then it takes a bit of a turn, and it differs from Wolf of Wall Street in that there are fewer drugs and less alcohol, and more analysis of the impending doom hiding in the rocketing financial sector.  The big names in the film all did a nice job.  Christian Bale is a disturbingly good disturbed guy.

Bottom line: pretty good, and definitely left me feeling (slightly) less disgusted than The Wolf did.

St. Louis Architecture

The Shell Oil Building

What I Watched -- Ghostbusters

It was time again to see a movie with my friend B; S came along this time too.  We always see a crashy-crashy-smashy-smashy movie, and based on the options available, we picked the new Ghostbusters movie.

It was amusing.  I like Kristen Wiig, and she was funny, even though she played the straight man.  I like Melissa McCarthy, and she was funny.  I know of Leslie Jones, but don't know her work, and I didn't know the other girl at all.  It turns out that the other girl is named Kate McKinnon, and she stole the show.  Her current regular gig is on SNL, so it's not surprising that she can hold her own with the comedians.

There were a million guest appearances by cast members of the original film.  It was a bit overdone, but still nice to know that they were involved, even the tiniest bit, in the making of the new movie.

Bottom line: entertaining for a couple of hours, but not particularly memorable.

St. Louis Architecture

A beautiful afternoon looking towards the City Museum.

The Myths of Rape

I don't often post serious news on my blog.  However, a Canadian judge recently issued a scathing opinion debunking the myths of rape and speaking out against the culture of victim-blaming.

The whole opinion can be found here.  It's long, but the last 10 pages are the focus; if you're so inclined, start at paragraph 483.

Nothing about this is ever a breath of fresh air, but it's nice to know that not all judges are like this one.

The Honorable Woman

I've started watching The Honorable Woman on Netflix recently.  It was a bit slow to get going, but now I'm hooked.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Nessa Stein, a member of the British House of Lords, a daughter of Istrael, and a lady with secrets who (so far) is trying to do the right thing in her personal life, and professionally trying to promote reconciliation between Israel and Palestine.  She and her brother Ephra inherited their father's company, which may not be quite what they -- or at least she -- thought it was.

Wilderness Lodge

S and I were recently invited by Uncle P to head down to Wilderness Lodge for a long weekend.  It was a bit rainy, but that didn't stop us from getting in a half-day float, nor from shuttling P and A on a half-day float of their own.

What the rain did do, which was nice, was allow plenty of time for naps, book reading, and game playing.  Ping pong and pool were the big winners where the games are concerned.  If I had thought about it ahead of time, I would have taken along one or two of my jigsaw puzzles.  There were a few at the lodge, but you never know whether or not they have all their pieces (in fact, it is unlikely that they do), and it's so frustrating to get the whole thing done only to find out that your masterpiece has a hole or two!

 Our final dinner

Special thanks to A for bringing down some coffee cakes, which made for an excellent afternoon snack!

Publico and Tony Desare

My friend T, whom I met on my Grand Canyon trip, came to town recently for dinner and a concert with S and me.

We met for eats at Publico, a tapas-style place in the Loop.  We had the half-chicken, an open-faced quesadilla, and the avocado arapes, as well as flan for dessert.  They were all tasty, but I will say that some of them (the chicken and the quesadilla) were difficult to divide between the three diners.  For a place that is designed for sharing, that should be thought through a little more thoroughly!  I had a couple of cocktails off their specialty menu as well, which were good but not the best I've had.

Then we were off to the Sheldon for the Tony Desare concert.  I didn't know much about him before I saw him on the Sheldon's concert calendar, but when the concert is titled, "From Sinatra to Prince," it gets my attention.  And that's really what the show was: a jazzy review of popular music from the 1920s to the present.  Tony plays the piano, and he was accompanied by a 7-string guitarist, as well as a stand-up bass player (apparently a local guy he met that day at the cabaret festival which brought him to town).  He has a lovely singing voice, as one would expect from such a character, and a corny and slightly geeky stage presence.  The show was a ton of fun, with a fair amount of audience interaction, and we all really enjoyed it.

Tony puts a lot of his stuff up on YouTube, in case you're interested.

Random Links

Cumberbunnies.  For real.

The trouble with dams.

Injuries of a different caliber.

Stop Grand Canyon development.

Dunkin' Donuts power rankings.

The Neil DeGrasse Tyson you didn't know.

Blog Changes

Yesterday, I was messing around on my Blogger site, and accidentally made some template changes to my blog.

I liked it the way it was before and really felt no compelling need to change it, but now that it's done I can't seem to figure out how to undo it, and it appears that the polka-dot pattern that I had before is no longer available.

So, as with all good things, they change.  I may continue to futz around with the design a bit until I'm satisfied with the new version, but fear not - the blog will go on!

And, a bit of excellent news: remember how I used to post my random links in the sidebar, rather than as blog posts in batches of six?  The sidebar (which I long ago gave up on) is working again!  So now -- except for tomorrow's post, which is already scheduled to publish -- you will find my Random Links to right!  Yay!

What I Watched -- My Dinner with Andre

My Dinner with Andre is one of those cult classic films that everyone knows about, but very few people have actually seen.  Until recently, I was one of those people.

The movie "stars," if you can call it that, Wally Shaun and Andre Gregory.  The whole film is the two of them having dinner and talking.  It's mostly Andre who does the talking, and it is mostly blather.  He talks fast, about obscure places he's been to try to cure this disease or experience that awakening.  Very professorial, navel-gazing type stuff.  There is an interesting bit at the end where Andre talks about really knowing yourself, examining your likes and dislikes, your motivations, and making sure you're not just an actor in your story, but that you're really living.  That part was worth listening to.

The whole thing is available here, if you want to check it out

Bottom line: other than the part about knowing yourself, it was mostly like listening to a spoiled rich kid try to make his less-wealthy friend feel bad about all the things he didn't get to do on his summer vacation.

Talk amongst yourselves; I'll give you a topic...

You get the unexpected opportunity to go back to sleep after an early-morning obligation is cancelled.  You can't fall asleep to save your life.

As soon as the alarm goes off, you drift off with no trouble, and oversleep by 45 minutes.

Discuss.

Edibles & Essentials

I met a couple of girlfriends at Edibles & Essentials recently for dinner.

It's a small place, with a small menu, but the cocktails were well-crafted, the food was tasty, and the shelves - though a bit sparsely stocked - were carefully curated.

First, the cocktails.  I had a maple old fashioned.  Or two.  Enough said about that.  There were also a jalapeno margarita and a rum-based cocktail on the menu, neither of which I tried.  The bottles behind the bar, though few, were quality.

We were there on a Monday, and they have a prix fixe option, which I took advantage of.  My selections were the wedge salad, pulled pork sandwich, and a homemade Moroccan snickerdoodle cookie.  Nothing absolutely killer, but all quite tasty.

The shelves and refrigerator cabinet contained a range from fresh local eggs to corkscrews.  The selections were not plentiful, but they were thoughtful without being snooty.  For example, the spice section had some hipster craft blends, but also Old Bay.

Here's to not taking yourself too seriously.

Shalimar the Clown

E came in town for our annual summer opera. Her pick was a world premier: Shalimar the Clown.

The thing about a world premiere is that you never know how the staging is going to work out.  In addition to that, this particular show is based on a Salman Rushdie book, which I had not read, so other than reading the synopsis (which, in fairness, is pretty comprehensive), I had no background for the show.

I thought they did a wonderful job.  It's a fairly classic tale of love and revenge.  What makes it interesting is that it's set in both Pakistan and Los Angeles.  There is a little bit of Hindu-Islam conflict at the beginning, but that quickly fades in favor of the tale of a scorned lover's revenge.

The big surprise to everyone, E and me included, was that Salman Rushdie appeared on stage at the end of the show, which closed to thunderous - and well-deserved - applause.

What I Watched -- Hello, My Name is Doris

S and I Redboxed Hello, My Name is Doris this past weekend.  It was slightly pathetic, and a little bit cute, and also weirdly inspiring.

The title character is played by Sally Field, who did a phenomenal job as a 60-something part-time hermit, 3/4-time hoarder who develops a crush on a much younger coworker, and decides to go for it after attending a self-help seminar.

**SPOILER ALERT**   Things end predictably, but Doris's brief crush inspires her to shake things up in her life a bit.

Other than Sally Field's performance, there isn't a whole lot to the movie.  The object of her crush, John, is played by Max Greenfield.  I know he's been in other things, but the only thing I know him from is New Girl.  His performance is fine, but his task in the movie was easy.

Bottom line: a light flick that you could fall asleep during and not miss much.

Goals -- Progress Update

Garden: Look, things are growing!

I got a late start due to my Grand Canyon trip, so I don't know how much harvest I'll get, but it's still fun to see things getting bigger.

In the raised bed are tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, basil, chives, lemon balm, and mint.  The mint is shortly going to get pulled out and put into its own pot, to keep it contained.  S sent me a picture the other day of some little tiny tomatoes, which I'll post soon.  Yay!

Planted around the outside of the garden I had two marigold plants and two lavender plants, to help keep the pests away.  Well, it turns out that one of the worst pests of all, Japanese beetles, are not the least bit put off my marigolds.  I have pulled so many of them off of one of my marigold plants -- but just the one; they have left the other one alone.  I am fighting to save one of the lavender plants, which ended up in sort of a soggy spot in the yard and was drowning.  I pulled it out and potted it, so it gets better drainage.  We'll see if it makes it.

I started two little spruce trees in pots early in the season.  One died from drought while I was gone, but two seem to be doing pretty well.

The canna plants out front are also being attacked by the Japanese beetles, so I have been dutifully killing the bugs and spraying the plants every chance I get.  S got me some organic, food-safe beetle spray, so I can use it on my veggie plants if needed.  They already did so much damage to one of my basil plants that I just pulled it out and tossed it.

There are also a few wildflowers popping up from all the seeds L planted in the cul de sac, but I still have to decide what to do along the front walk.  Maybe more canna plants in the spring, if I can get the beetles under control.

Gym: no progress.  I've been enjoying the out-of-doors!

Craft table: my original plan for a craft table I believe has changed a bit, but it's still in the air, so no news yet.

Recipes: S ran my typewriter back by the shop, and I have typed a few more recipes since getting it back.  It seems to be in better repair, although I have to get better about actually using it.  Perhaps this weekend, since it's supposed to rain.

S found me a lovely cedar log that he is going to make me a recipe box out of, and it is currently drying out in the garage.

Pictures: still nothing.

Olive + Oak

S and I bagged our plan to go climbing one day last week in favor of dinner at Olive + Oak, one of the hip, new(ish) spots around town.

A caution: the restaurant is incredibly noisy.

A tip: it is on Lockwood in Webster Groves, which is a lovely place to sit at the sidewalk tables and watch the cyclists go by.

It was a bit warm to be outside on the evening we were there, but if the door was opened just right we got a nice blast of A/C that cooled us off. A spring or fall evening might be a better night to go.

As for the food: we started with the beef carpaccio, which was good, and it's a shame to say that the big takeaway from it was how good the bread was. It was brushed with olive oil and grilled. It had just the right amount of crunch - enough to give it texture, but not so much that it cut up the inside of your mouth the way day-old baguette does. It had a good, smoky flavor from the grill, but was not over-charred.

We mentioned to the server how much we liked it, so she brought out some of their regular bread and butter. It was rye bread, which I'm not normally a fan of, but this was pretty good. The butter was 1) soft, 2) very salty, and 3) herb-infused. In my book, that's a winner on all three counts. I might need to reconsider rye bread if it comes with delicious butter all the time.

We each had a pork sandwich as our main course; the menu was seafood and pork heavy.  I had the Hog, which it appears by looking at the menu now, changes periodically.  My version had slightly overcooked pork, which I overlooked in favor of the delicious fried green tomato that was on it also.  S got the Dip, but we both agreed that mine was tastier.

For dessert, we got vanilla ice cream over mascerated peaches, with ginger basil cookies. So wasn't a fan of the cookies, but I liked them and ate every last bit.

All in all, a win, if you can sit outside. I won't be going in the winter.

Happy 4th of July

A Midsummer Night's Dream

The annual Shakespeare Festival in the Park festival just wrapped up, and this year's selection was A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I'm fairly certain that this was the same play I saw at my very first Shakespeare in the Park, or at least one of my very early ones.

In fairness, my memories of that first one are vague, but I believe I liked the more recent one better - a little easier to follow, better acting.

I find it an interesting choice for a repeat performance though. It is not among my favorite of the Bard's plays; perhaps I am in the minority.  It is the source of many turns of phrase we know today, although that's true of much of his work. Specifically, however, it is the source of one of my favorite sentences Mr. Shakespeare penned: "Though she be but little, she is fierce."

So for that line alone, I appreciate the do-over.

Vino Volo

I was headed to Boston recently for the bridal shower of my good friend L, and I had a bit of time to kill in the East Terminal before my flight. I stopped in at Vino Volo, recently opened in St. Louis, to try out the newest addition to the airport food scene.

The bartender told me that the flights were 1/3 of a glass of wine each, so my three samples would be the equivalent of about a glass.  When I got my flight of wines, I thought, "Hmm, I guess they serve small glasses of wine."  But when I finished it I picked the one I liked the best and ordered a full glass of that.  Turns out the bartender was wrong -- the single glass is way bigger than the flight.  So, that's a friendly tip from me to you.

My snack was delicious.  I got the Burrata, which is a cheese very similar to fresh mozzarella, but a little bit softer.  It came with bread, shredded greens, roasted red peppers, and a balsamic reduction.  It was magnifico!

I learned a bit about Vino Volo as well. They are all in airports, except for one in Bethesda, Maryland.  Apparently the Bethesda location isn't doing too well, so maybe the airport concept is the way to go.

In sum, there are lots of better restaurants in the world, where you can get more for less, but as far as airport eateries go, it was a definite win.

What I Watched -- The Holiday

S and I watched The Holiday a while back.  It was a lazy evening and we felt like relaxing, and this movie is pretty cute.  It was right around the time we watched Man Up.  Apparently we were (and still are) on a rom-com kick!

In case you haven't heard, this is a "trading spaces" kind of story.  Cameron Diaz's character lives in LA and is extremely unhappy with life.  Kate Winslet's character lives outside London and is extremely unhappy with life.  They meet on a VRBO-type site and decide to swap houses.  Both fall madly in love with the other location, and one particular person there.

Bottom line: exactly what you'd expect.

Tip: Keep a weather eye out for Cameron Diaz's adorable white cable-knit sweater.  But don't hope to get one -- they're about $1,000.

Happy Father's Day!

What I Watched -- Martin's Boat

I recently returned from an amazing trip through the Grand Canyon.  More about that later.

While there, though, I learned must about Martin Litton.  He was an interesting guy, and revered in the Canyon as a champion for the preservation of natural places.

Among his other achievements, which were many, he pioneered the running of dories down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.  He passed away in 2014, and OARS/Grand Canyon Dories dedicated one of their hand-build dories in his honor.

She's named the Marble Canyon, which is a former proposed dam site on the river between Glen Canyon and the Hoover.  Litton fought hard against the building of the dam, and succeeded for the time being.  Surely, though, the issue will come up again.

Martin's Boat is a brief history of Martin's life and river running through the Canyon.  It's about 25 minutes long, and well worth the time if you have any interest in Canyon or boating  or natural history.

Bottom line: see prior sentence.