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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Message 377

Yesterday I read about half of The Economist. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie The Limey. I give it three stars. It had a lot of style and was an experiment in non-linear storytelling with lots of flashbacks and flashforwards, so it is sometimes hard to figure out who and where and when and why your are watching. It is basically a gangster revenge movie, but the story is revealed slowly as different layers are revealed. If you are cleaver enough by the end you understand what it is trying to say. The special features are plentiful and useful in understanding it. Commentaries by the writer, director, and actors are all interesting, but it requires a lot of watching to go through it all, and at the end you have to wonder if it was worth it. I say just barely, maybe.