Message 376

Yesterday I had a quiet day at home. In the evening I went to dinner at Sultanas with the Morrills and Ariagnos. We first tried to go to the movie in Redwood City, but they were sold out, so we went to San Mateo and saw Angels and Demons. It was a very fast paced and high energy movie based on the book by Dan Brown, and it features the same character as The Davinci Code played by Tom Hanks as the Harvard professor. I give it three stars. It kept my attention and was never boring. It was also fun to see so many of the sights of Rome as background.

Helen and Jim have gone to Seattle to be with Helen's daughter Jodi who is having a baby tomorrow. This baby will be Helen's first grandchild, not counting the boy named Ethan who is Jim's grandson.

Message 375

Yesterday I drove to Los Gatos to attend Ellie's graduation from pre-school. Afterward there was a very nice pot-luck dinner. Last night I watched some more of the commentary on Patton. Otherwise it was a pretty uneventful evening.

Message 374

This morning I followed the usual Thursday routine at Heidi's Pies and the San Mateo Library. Afterward I dropped Annie off at Maureen's house so she could take a nap. Vanessa has a construction working on her house making new closet space for Annie, and they are making enough noise to keep Annie from her regular nap. If she does not get this nap she becomes very difficult to be with.

Yester I watched Annie in the morning and Beech in the afternoon. Vanessa had to take Beech to the doctor for a strange allergy that makes his face red like a sunburn, except around the mouth and nose. Claritin helps a lot.

Las night I watched the commentary on Patton, which included several documentaries and discussions of the movie. It is an unusual movie that both portrayed history and made new history. Oliver Stone pointed out that Patton was Nixon's favorite movie which he watched multiple times in the White House, prompting Oliver Stone to suggest that it helped motivate Nixon to invade Cambodia. Sally and I joined the march in Washington when that happened. Anyway, I give Patton five stars. It is a very great movie. George C. Scott got the Oscar for his portrayal of Patton which was superb. The Oscar winning screenplay was by Francis Ford Coppola when he was young and before he became famous. Altogether, the film won seven Oscars, including best movie. Interestingly it was a favorite of both hawks and doves at the time of the war in Vietnam.

Message 373

Yesterday I picked Beech up at his school and took him to McDonald's for lunch and then to his gymnastics class. I the evening I finished reading the book Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, which was given to me by Andrea. She and Liz stayed with me while they were here for the Dermatology meeting in March. It was a very nice novel with a lot of historical information about what a circus was like in America in the depression. I remember going to a circus with my family in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when I was in the third or fourth grade, and the book brought back a lot of memories.

I also watched the movie Patton last night, but I have not finished watching the Special Features yet, so I will comment on it tomorrow.

Message 372

I just got back from PAMF where I had to refill my prescription for my antibiotic solution. Yesterday I had lunch with Josh at Chili's. In the late afternoon I had dinner with Julian and his family at their home. Julian grilled burgers and hot dogs on his patio. The weather was beautiful, and the food was delicious. Vanessa had even bought a pie. Also, there is good news. Vanessa and Annie are coming to Sandbridge this summer. Joshua is coming too, so we will all drive down from Dulles together on Saturday the 18th.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Thirteen. I had seen this in the theater with Sally before she died, and I was very impressed by it. However, when I watched Down in the Valley a few days ago, I noticed that Evan Rachel Wood stared along with Edward Norton, so I wanted to refresh my memory on her work in Thirteen. One thing that had impressed me when I saw the movie with Sally was that a thirteen-year old girl (Nikki Reed) had co-written the movie as well as playing one of the leading roles. The movie is very powerful, and as always Holly Hunter gives a brilliant performance. Even though the movie is painful to watch in many ways, it is so realistic and compelling that I have to give it five stars. Seeing the difficulties girls have at age thirteen in the movie makes me appreciate Melanie, Amelia, and Evelyn all the more because of what great kids the are in spite of having recently survived the ordeal of being thirteen years old.

Message 371

Because today is a holiday and most everyone gets off work, I had a chance to join Helen and Jim at Starbuck's this morning. Because I did not need to carry groceries home I walked there and back. It felt good to get the exercise. It has been a while since I last made that walk.

Yesterday I finished reading The Economist, and read a lot more in my book. In the evening I watched the movie Between Strangers. The cast and the photography were very good, but the story was lame so I give it 2.9 stars. In other words, it is really not worth watching in my opinion, but I suspect women may have a more charitable opinion of it.

Message 370

Yesterday I continued reading The Economist. In the evening Jason brought Ellie, Caroline, and her friend Amanda over for us all to go out to Ten Fu for dinner. After dinner we came back to my place and watched a movie Jason had brought called The Sixth Sense, with Bruce Willis. I usually like Bruce Willis films and expect them to be worth at least three stars, but in this case I give it only two stars. It is based on the premise that some live people can see and hear dead people, and it is never able to overcome the absurdity that this foundation brings to the plot.

Caroline and Amanda got bored with the movie and went into the other room to watch Spirit, the horse cartoon movie that they have seen numerous times before. All the girls ate several cookies, candies,and peanuts, drank chocolate milk and a soda, and ate apple pie, in spite of having eaten at Ten Fu. Caroline an Amanda are definitely growing fast, and Ellie too, although she did not eat anywhere near as much as the other two did. We all had a good time. It was great to see them.