Message 324

Yesterday I kept my usual Tuesday routine with Beech and McDonalds (he quit on Burger King again) and gymnastics. In the evening Joshua came over and watched the Sharks game with me. It was a terrible game. The Sharks never came to life. They finally won the game 1-0 when Joe Pavelski made his goal in the shootout. After the game I finished The Economist and started reading Terror, a book Marty recommended which is a historical novel about the ill-fated Franklin expedition in the Arctic.

Message 323

Yesterday was Caroline's birthday, and I was planning to drive down and take her the envelope I have had ready for her for the past week, but when I called Jason was home taking care of Susan who was sick, and Caroline was home from school with head lice. Jason persuaded me I should wait for a better day. I had lunch at Starbucks with Vanessa, Maureen, and the kids. Beech did not want to go to school yesterday because his main friend there for the afternoon session was out sick, so I took him to the McDonalds in Redwood City with the playground. He did not want to go in the playground, nor did he want to eat his meal, but he was glad to get the toy that came with The Happy Meal. I took the meal home with him so he and Annie could eat it for dinner. He fell asleep on the drive home, so I drove slowly so Vanessa would have a little more respite before he arrived.

I continued reading The Economist and I watched The News Hour etc. on PBS. In the evening, Joshua came over and watched 24 with me. He brought Pat and Natalie with him too, because Pat has been staying with him while he sorts out a squabble he is having with his sister and her husband who are also staying with his mother. I was glad to finally meet Natalie.

Message 322

Yesterday morning I went to an early movie with Helen and Jim. They had free tickets, and asked if I would like to go too. We saw Sunshine Cleaning. Aside from Alan Arkin, I was not familiar with any of the actors, but they were very good. I give it four stars. It dealt with a bizarre subject, but was done very well. I was especially impressed by the actress Amy Adams.

In the late afternoon Joshua brought in takeout from Boston Market and watched the Sharks game with me. They beat the Ducks on their home ice, the same team that had beat them the night before in the Shark Tank. Again I was glad to see Cheechoo score the winning goal.

I the evening I watched part 2 of Little Dorrit on PBS.

Message 321

Yesterday afternoon I started reading The Economist, and in the evening I watched the Sharks lose to the Anaheim Ducks 2-5. The Sharks were not on their game, and the Ducks were. This game was one of only four all season that the Sharks have lost in regulation time. They play again today, so maybe the Sharks will do better this time.

After the game, I read some more of The Economist, and watched the news. I was tired, so I went to bed at midnight, which is early for me.

Message 320

Yesterday after watching the Friday night PBS shows, I watched a DVD of the movie The Enemy Below. It is an old movie about anti submarine warfare in World War 2 that I have not seen for a long time. It is a classic with Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens. I give it 5 stars.

This morning instead of going to Starbucks, I am meeting Joan and Dave at Helen and Jim's place for breakfast and to show them my DVD of My Life in 35mm slides. The wanted to see pictures of Alaska, and Helen and Jim have a new 52-inch TV that will make for better viewing than my small TVs. I will only show my first couple of parts that have Greenland and Alaska.

Message 319

Tomorrow is Vanessa's birthday, so we had an adult breakfast at Heidi's Pies. Beech was in school and Annie was at daycare, which is her usual Friday routine. It was nice to have a leisurely meal, and for a change Vanessa actually ate hers.

Last night I watched the Sharks beat Edmonton 2-1. It looks now like they will have the most points of any team in the NHL, and so will have the home ice advantage all the way through the Stanley Cup playoffs, if they make it that far.

After the hockey game I watched a DVD of the movie An American Crime. It was a very disturbing movie based on the trial transcript of an actual crime in Indiana in the late sixties. It was about degenerate Christian white trash neglecting, torturing, and eventually killing, a young girl. Ellen Page plays the victim. Maybe it was her first movie, because she must have been only about thirteen years old. I only give it three stars in spite of the fact that it was very powerful and realistic so I don't really recommend that you watch it..

Message 318

I just got back from my usual Thursday routine of Heidi's Pies and the library story time with Annie. Julian will not be home until Saturday afternoon, so I went early to help Vanessa get the kids ready to go out. They were both real good this morning, so everything went well.

Yesterday Comcast finally helped me get my converter boxes working for my two TVs. They shipped them to me a couple of weeks ago, and I did everything the directions said, but they would not work properly. Finally they got their act together, and although I did everything the same as before, with their representative observing I got them to work just fine. It is a relief to have that over with.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie W., an Oliver Stone movie that is one of his best. I give it 5 stars. It has a terrific cast that do fantastic jobs playing the real characters in Bush's inner circle. It is all based on available public information, and I expect that republicans will have a hard time objecting to it, even though I expect they will not like it. It was a downer for me to watch the mistakes that our country tolerated to allow this shameful period to transpire. I thought it was great to have Bob Dylan's "With God on Our Side" play during the end credits.