Message 516

Yesterday I watched the 49ers lose to Houston. They were 21 points behind at the half , and they finally got their act together and came close, but by then it was too late. In the afternoon I watched the Sharks beat Philadelphia in a very good game. It seems they are learning how to play consistently at a high level. In the evening I watched PBS.

Message 515

Yesterday I was not able to join Helen and Jim for coffee as usual because I went with Maureen and a couple of her friends to see the Charlie Rose roundtable discussion at Stanford. It was fun to see Charlie do his thing in person. The six people in the discussion included some I had seen before, and they were mostly Stanford people. They talked about the economic recovery, and most of what they said I have heard before. In the afternoon Joshua came over and watched the Sharks game with me. They beat Atlanta 4-3. Josh went to Santa Cruz for a concert in the evening.

Last night I went with Larry and Judi to see a late show at the movies. It was a BBC film with an all British cast that I did not know. The title is An Education. The story is about coming of age and loss of innocence for a young girl who plans to go to Oxford. I thought it was very well done and had an upbeat ending. I give it five stars.

Message 514

After the Friday PBS shows yesterday I watched a DVD of the movie Adventureland. It is about college kids working a summer job at an amusement park. It is mostly lame, but the people are mostly good hearted, and things eventually work out. I give it three stars.

Message 513

Yesterday afternoon I picked up Beech at school and took him to his Kung Fu class. Afterward we went next door for pizza as usual. Julian and Vanessa drove to Blue Lake Springs with the kids last night to spend three nights at Maureen's place. They will be the only ones there, so they will be able to enjoy a quiet weekend.

Last night I watched a DVD of the movie Grey Gardens. It is based on the true story of a mother and her daughter who were relatives of Jackie Kennedy. It was strangely reminiscent of the previous night's movie A Handful of Dust. One was about degenerate British upper classes 1n the 1930s and the other was about degenerate American rich people in the 1950s. Although both were very well made and very well staged and acted, both were downers. It disturbs me to watch people so captures by their delusions. I give them both 3.4 stars.

Message 512

I just got back from having breakfast at Heidi's Pies. Maureen was able to join Vanessa and me this morning. We took Annie to her daycare place so we could eat in peace. Vanessa had to leave early so she could help at Beech's school with an art program.

In the evening yesterday I watched a DVD of the movie A Handful of Dust. It was made in 1988 based on an Evelyn Waugh novel. It was beautifully filmed in color, mostly in England but some in Brazil. It portray upper class British life and manners in the 1930s. The actions of the people are so absurd that it is hard for me to imagine that the people were really like that, but I expect that they were.They make such a mess of their lives that you have to pity them, but it is also disgusting that when they have it all they do not make anything of themselves. It had a great cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas and Alec Guinness and Judy Dench in small roles. I give it 3.4 stars.

Message 511

Yesterday I decided not to watch a movie and instead watched Nova, Warplane, and Frontline shows on PBS. I am especially glad I watched Frontline because I had never heard of Brooksley Born. She graduated first in her class from Stanford Law School in the 60s and was later a successful lawyer and a friend of Hilary Clinton. She was appointed by Bill to be the head of the commodities trading regulatory commission where she foresaw the economic problems we are now going through. She tried to regulate derivatives but was attacked by Greenspan, Summers, and the head of the SEC (whoever he was at the time), and eventually resigned because she was prevented from doing her job.

Message 510

Yesterday I worked some more on my memoirs. In the late afternoon I watched the Sharks beat the New York Rangers 7-3. After spotting the Rangers a 0-2 lead, the Sharks came alive and dominated the game. It is strange how they keep doing this. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie That Hamilton Woman. It is an old black and white film that is essentially used as propaganda in World War 2. It is the true story of the relationship of Lady Hamilton (played by Vivien Leigh) with the British Naval hero Lord Nelson (played by Lawrence Olivier). I give it 3.5 stars.

This morning I took Amelia to see Larry Morrill for her braces. Melanie had some oral surgery done to free up one of her teeth so it can grow into its proper place as being pulled by a new golden chain. I also had an estimate this morning to replace my awning over my big balcony.