Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Message 407

Yesterday I returned to the usual Monday routine of having lunch in Nealon Park with Vanessa and the kids. In the evening I picked up Maureen and her 18-year old visitor from England and went to San Mateo to have ribs with Vanessa and the kids. Julian is back from New York, but is still working long hours. Today is the day they have to turn in the proposal though, so he is almost finished with the panic mode.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie He's Just Not That into You. It is supposed to be a comedy and has a good cast but it portrays both men and women in a very unsympathetic light. I give it 2.5 stars.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Message 406

Yesterday we were still in the heat wave, so I stayed in my condo and watched the commentary on The Sand Pebbles. In the evening I watched Poirot on Masterpiece Mystery on PBS.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Message 405

Yesterday I read all of this week's The Economist, which means that I pretty much stayed in my condo and tried to avoid the heat wave we are in now. My only outing was to go to Draggers to buy some coconut cake. I went to the couples club dinner at the Wilson's last night. It was an outside Luau and Ginny had requested that I bring something pineapple or coconut. I found Mango ice cream at Safeway, but I had to go to Draggers to find frozen coconut cake. There were only nine of us for the dinner, and I was not sure one small cake would be enough, so I bought two. It turned out that one was enough, so Ginny insisted that I take the second on home with me unopened. It has now joined the large selection of frozen deserts in my freezer. I have to rely on Joshua to help me eat them. He is the only one who seems to enjoy a little desert besides me.

I already have a load of wash started, so when it finishes washing I will get it out into the sun to dry.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Message 404

Yesterday was a quiet day at home. I finished reading last week's Economist and read this week's Science. In the evening after the Friday PBS shows, I watched a DVD of the movie The Sand Pebbles. It has been over forty years since I saw it in the theater and I had forgotten a lot of it. It is quite an epic picture. I give it four stars. I am waiting for a call from Helen and Jim to give me a call to join them at Starbucks.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Message 403

Yesterday was Joshua's birthday. My youngest child is now 32 years old! Time is accelerating! We went to the Dutch Goose for burgers. It was very crowded for some reason, but we decided to stay even though we had to wait half an hour for our burgers. We could not figure out why a Thursday night should be so busy. It was so noisy that it was hard to talk, but I did learn that Josh is getting a bonus this year at work.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Rendition. It had an outstanding cast and was very realistic, but it was disturbing to watch, mostly I suppose because it is so painful to face how terrible our government policy has been. I give it four stars. I would give it three stars because it is not very entertaining, but I do not think it fair to penalize it for illustrating an unpleasant truth.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Message 402

After another good night's sleep I feel like I am back to my regular self. I had a nice visit with Annie yesterday at my condo while Vanessa took Beech to his anger management therapy. When that was over Beech visited me while Annie went with Vanessa. What a delight he was. He colored some pictures to give to his dad while I watched The News Hour. He was very interested in learning who were the good guys and who were the bad guys in the coverage of Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I also discovered that he likes pears. I keep quart jars of pears and peaches in my refrigerator. He first requested some peaches, then changed his mind to pears. He eventually ate about half of one jar. He said his dad was not a fruit man, but he was. I said that I was a fruit man too, so he might have gotten that from me.

I then went to dinner at Gombei, a local Japanese restaurant. They go there regularly, but I only go when they invite me to go with them. I always get the pork cutlet dinner, which is very good. When I find something good I stick with it.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Stop Loss, which is a disturbing story about soldiers who are forced into multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was very realistic and reminded me a lot of Generation Kill, which was also a reenactment of a true story. I give Stop Loss 3 stars.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Message 401

I am back in my usual routine now, so I am sending this message in the morning. Susan and Julian will not be back home until tomorrow, but Caroline and Ellie are now with Linda and Walt, and Beech will be back in school today. He should have gone back on Monday, but he did not want to miss the fun of the chance to spend time with Caroline and Ellie. I am in the process of doing laundry and putting my condo back together after Beech and Ellie took it apart. I have not even watched a DVD for the past three nights.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Message 400

This is the latest I have ever gotten off my daily message. I just got back from spending the day with Vanessa and the four kids (Caroline, Ellie, Beech, and Annie). Last night Jason joined us all at Ten Fu for dinner. Vanessa had all four kids stay the night with her. This morning I went up and took the kids to McDonalds for breakfast. We then spent several hours with the kids playing around the house, and especially playing a slip and slide water game called shark bite in the back yard. Vanessa had a pizza delivered for lunch. About 4 PM we drove over to Half Moon Bay for an ice cream. When we got back Vanessa took Beech to his first basketball class. I took Annie over to Maureen's and then to Caroline and Ellie to stay at Linda and Walt's for the next two nights. I am looking forward to a quiet

Monday, June 22, 2009

Message 399

Yesterday afternoon I drove Beech down to Los Gatos to pick up Ellie so she and Beech could have an overnight with me. Susan and the twins have gone on a rafting trip down the American River with their church group. Jason gets to stay home and work. I picked up Carolyn too so she could stay overnight with Vanessa and Vanessa, Julian and Annie. We all went out to dinner at Taxi in San Mateo. Julian had to leave early this morning for New York. Beech and Ellie finally went to sleep at my condo a little after 9 PM. This morning they woke me up at 6:30 AM, so they each got at least nine hours of sleep They want me to take them to McDonald's for breakfast, but they are playing for now, so I am getting this message off before we go.

Last night I watched Masterpiece Mystery on PBS while the kids slept. Afterward I read some of the Economist.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Message 398

Yesterday I had my usual Saturday at Starbucks and Safeway. Vanessa, Same, Beech, and Annie went to Los Altos and had lunch with Jason, Susan, and the girls. Joshua brought in some fast food for dinner. We ate while watching the Giants game on TV. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Miracle at St. Anna. It is a World War 2 movie directed by Spike Lee. It is based on a novel about black soldiers fighting in Italy. I do not think it is historically accurate, but as with most Spike Lee movies it is well done. I give it four stars.

This morning I took Maureen and Sam to Vanessa's house to have a Father's Day breakfast with the kids. Julian is still out of town, but he is due home this afternoon. The food was very elaborate and delicious, and Vanessa showered me with lots of Father's Day gifts, all of which I can eat or drink.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Message 397

Yesterday I finished my CIA history book. Even though I had read a lot about the CIA before I learned a lot of things that were new to me. It is incredible how many strange and misguided people were allowed to make so many mistakes for so long. It was about eight hundred pages, so I can now get back to other things.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Cadillac Records. It is based on the true story of the people like Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Chuck Berry who started the crossover of black music in Chicago that led to Rock 'n Roll. I give it three stars.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Message 396

Yesterday afternoon I read more of the CIA history and watched The News Hour on PBS. What is happening in Iran is very interesting. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie The Departed. It had an amazing cast, about three times the number of major stars that you usually see in a movie. It was a reasonably well done crime thriller too, so I give it four stars.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Message 395

I just got back from Heidi's Pies. Because Beech is out of school now, our Thursday schedule has changed. Beech and I and Sam, who is the 18-year old son of a friend of Maureen's who arrived at SFO last night from England, went to Heidi's Pies while Vanessa and Annie went to Annie's playgroup.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Out of Sight. It has a great cast and is based on an Elmore Leonard book. Like all Elmore Leonard stories, people's behavior is borderline strange, almost bizarre sometimes. There is a lot of violence in the movie, but it is basically

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Message 394

Yesterday was a nice day but I stayed in my condo all day reading the CIA history and watching The News Hour etc. on PBS. It is very interesting to see what is happening in Iran. Maybe it is time for a change there too.

Last night Joshua brought in pizza for our dinner. He, like Julian has been working long hours on a big project that is nearing its end. He is not yet working weekends though. He stayed and watched Frontline with me to follow the story of Bank of America and its merger with Merrill Lynch. He went back to his lab afterwards to finish another screening.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Message 393

Yesterday I had another quiet day in the condo reading the CIA history. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie True Romance. It was a thriller comedy with a lot of violence, but mostly only bad people get killed and it has a happy ending, so I give it four stars. It has a terrific cast, and was written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott.

Vanessa called this morning and said she and the kids have been up at Blue Lake for the past few days. Everybody is having a great time. Julian has been working seven days a week writing a proposal for the Federal Reserve of New York, so he will need a vacation by the time we go to Sandbridge.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Message 392

Yesterday I had a quiet day. I did not leave my condo all day. I got a lot more of the CIA history read. I am more than half way through it now. In the evening I watched an old DVD movie from my collection. I had seen it before, but I had forgotten most of it. It is the Rob Reiner movie called the sure thing with John Cusack when he was seventeen years old. It is a light hearted comedy and fun to watch. I give it three stars.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Message 391

Today is my Boniva day, so I am in the process of waiting an hour before I eat or drink anything. Yesterday I finished reading The Economist, in addition to reading more of my CIA history book. Last night I watched a DVD of the movie High Plains Drifter. I had seen it before, but I had forgotten almost all of it except that it was worth watching. I have been watching a lot of Clint Eastwood lately, so I thought it worth visiting another his earlier movies. I give it three stars.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Message 390

This morning I went to Starbucks and did my Safeway shopping as usual on Saturday. Yesterday I went to dinner and a movie with the Morrills and the Ariagnos. We saw The Taking of Pelham 123. It was fast paced and was fun to watch. I give it three stars. I actually road the subway to Pelham once when Sarah Jane lived there.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Message 389

I am late getting this message out this morning because I went to PAMF to get my prescription filled, and when I got back I found a message from Helen and Jim that they are back from Seattle, so I joined them at Starbucks. Jodi's baby is named Emily, and she is doing well.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie The Morning After. It was a Sidney Lument melodrama made in 1986 staring Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, and Raul Julia. I give it three stars.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Message 388

I just got back from Heidi's Pies. Beech went with us today because his school is over for the summer. Afterward Beech and Annie came home with me to play for a while. Vanessa picked them up after lunch. They both like chicken pot pie.

Yesterday Melanie and Amelia graduated from eighth grade. Vanessa, Beech, Annie, and I went down for the ceremony, which was a big and long deal. There were 290 graduates, and there were lots of speeches and awards, and of course every name had to be read out loud as they received their diplomas, The weather was beautiful, but I got there too late to get a seat. I got tired so Beech, Ellie, Caroline (part way), and I left early and walked home. Caroline wanted to go a different way, so her mom and dad and Linda and Walt were upset when she ended up walking home the few blocks by herself. All of us plus a dozen or so friends came for a BBQ and swim party around Jason and Susan's pool in the evening. The food was good and everyone had a lot of fun, especially the kids. At the end there were at least a dozen kids in the hot tub together.

When I got home it was nearly 9:30 PM, so I read some more of my book about the CIA before I watched Charlie Rose.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Message 387

Yesterday I took Beech to lunch at Burger King and then to his gymnastics class. His usual teacher Phil was out sick, so he had teacher Nick as a substitute.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Gran Torino. It is nice to see Clint Eastwood making good movies. I give it three stars.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Message 386

Yesterday Vanessa and I went to Nealon Park with the kids. Beech's school is out for the summer, so we went a little later and stayed a little longer than in the past because Beech did not have to go to school in the afternoon which had been his previous schedule. Annie has the slap-cheek virus now so her face looks like she has a sunburn. Beech had it a couple of weeks ago, and now it is her turn. It does not make people very sick, and once the face turn red it is no longer contagious, so it is not an especially big deal. As usual Vanessa made a delicious lunch and I was the one who did most of the eating. Vanessa and Beech played soccer on the grass. There were some eleven year old boys playing there too, and one of them was nice enough to play with Beech for a while. Vanessa got pretty winded after a while and I tried to play with Beech some too. I said lets just practice kicking it to each other while we stand about ten yards apart. He refused and said no he wanted us to run and kick like he had been doing, so I said no I could not run. He then went back and dragged his mom out for another workout.

In the evening I did not have a new netflix, so I started reading a new book, Legacy of Ashes, which Chris had recommended to me. It is a history of the CIA and a National Book Award winner. It is quite compelling and told me a lot I did not know, even though I consider myself pretty informed on the CIA.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Message 385

Yesterday I finished reading the book The Tiger and the Hare. It is fiction set in Vietnam during 1962 and 1963, which are the years of the Tiger and the Hare according to the Vietnamese calendar. It ends after Diem and Kennedy are assassinated, after which things went downhill fast. The author is a woman who lives at Menlo Commons.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Kiss the Bride. It is a comedy about a gay man getting married to a woman. I do not usually like movies about gays, but this one had a light touch that made it passable. It give it three stars.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Message 384

Yesterday I finished reading The Economist. For lunch I had an open face tuna sandwich, which I do once or twice a month. I might do it more often if it were not for the mercury in tuna.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie In the Valley of Elah. It is based on a true story about soldiers coming back from Iraq with PTSD. It is also a murder mystery with a good cast including Tommy Lee Jones, Charlene Thereze (SP?), and Susan Sarandon. I give it three stars.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Message 383

I just got back from meeting Joan and Dave at Starbucks. Helen and Jim are still in Seattle. Afterward I did my weekly grocery shopping. Yesterday I had dinner at Julian and Vanessa's. Afterward I continued to read my book about Vietnam instead of watching a DVD. I expect today will be a quiet day at home.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Message 382

Yesterday I read more of my new book and in the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Requiem for a dream, which is a very disturbing movie that I am somewhat conflicted about rating. It has a good cast, although the only ones I was familiar with are Ellen Burstyn and Jennifer Connelly. In many ways it is boring because it depicts the ordinary events in the lives of people who are flawed and dysfunctional, but who also share the characteristics of all of us. They all get caught up in drug use, some legal and some illegal. As a result they all come to bad ends. I give it three stars because of it honesty and realism, but it can not be considered entertaining.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Message 381

I just got back from Heidi's Pies and the library with Vanessa and Annie. Yester afternoon I went to hear an author who lives at Menlo Commons read from her recent book. It sounded interesting, so I bought a copy from her and started reading it last night instead of watching a DVD. The book is titled The Tiger and the Hare because it is about Vietnam in the years 1962 and 1963. In the Vietnamese calendar the years are named for animals like the Chinese. I am only about a third of the way through the book, so I will keep you posted on what I think when I finish it.

Last night I went to El Cerrito's with Joshua for dinner. He says now that maybe he will skip going to Sandbridge this year.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Message 380

Yesterday I followed my usual Tuesday routine and picked Beech up at school and took him to McDonalds and Gymnastics. Afterward I did some babysitting for Beech and Annie at Nealon Park.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Sexy Beast. This was a crime caper movie of sorts. The only name I was familiar with was Ben Kingsley. The movie was mostly shot in Spain, and the pictures were great. It was not the usual thriller movie. A lot of it had to do with the cockney speaking patterns of the characters, and there were a lot of funny, almost slapstick scenes. I give it three stars.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Message 379

Yesterday morning I had lunch with Vanessa and the kids in Nealon Park, as has become our usual Monday routine. Again Annie mostly wanted to swing, but we did try the seesaw for a while.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Ripley's Game. John Malkovitch was the only person in the film that I was familiar with. It was beautifully photographed in Italy and Germany, and the performances were very good. I give it 3.9 stars because I was puzzeled about a number of things that I never quite grasped. Is this the same Ripley (derived from the same book) as the movie with Matt Damon (or was it Brad Pitt?) a few years ago. The Ripley in that movie was a smooth killer like the John Malkovitch character in this one. It annoyed me that the special features were not on this disk but had to be accessed over the internet in a way that I could never make work on my computer. In other words, this was basically a four star thriller, but I expect a little more before I will grant that rating.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Message 378

Yesterday I read some more of The Economist. In the middle of the day I babysat Beech and Annie for a while, and we all had a great time. They love to have races up and down the hall outside my front door. The neighbors are very indulgent and understanding.

Ginny and Jim are in town for a long weekend, and invited me to join them for burgers. It was good to see them and to see the twins and Jamie and Chelsea again. The are all doing well.