Messgae 591

I had a quiet day at home yesterday,and I walked up to Starbucks in the late morning to enjoy a coffee with Vanessa and Annie. I also enjoyed the hot tub at sundown. After the regular Friday PBS shows ended, I watched a DVD of the movie The Bucket List. It barely deserves the three stars I have decided to give it.

Message 590

If any of you did not receive and would like to have a copy of the disk that Chris recently sent out with the pictures of the Basler reunions from Fenwick 2003 through Sandbridge 2009, please let me know and I will get a copy to you.

Yesterday afternoon I picked Beech up at school and took him to Kung Fu and then pizza. This time he pulled three stuffed animals from the crane machine spending only four dollars. He is getting quite skilled at it now. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie The Double Life of Veronique. It is another Kieslowski film, written and directed by the same Polish guy who did The French color trilogy (Blue, White, and Red). He is also the guy who wrote the script for the German movie Heaven, shot in Italy, that I praised a few months ago. It is an extremely ambiguous, enigmatic, and thought provoking film, with a terrific use of music, color, lighting, framing, sex, spirituality, and symbolism to convey its impact. I give it five stars.

Message 589

I just got back from Heidi's Pies. Vanessa and I had a good breakfast and had a chance to reconnect with a lot of the people that we see there regularly. We may start taking Annie with us again if we can get her to agree to stay ay the table. Last night Josh brought in pizza and watched the Sharks game with me. They beat St. Louis 2-1 in overtime, but because the Blues were missing two of their best players it was not a very good showing by the Sharks. After the game, I watched a DVD of the movie The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. It was based on a book by a good writer, but it was not a very appealing story, so I give it only 2.8 stars.

Message 588

I just got back from PAMF where I had to have blood drawn for tests related to my upcoming doctor's appointment. I went there yesterday morning too thinking I that I would get two birds with one stone, but I had forgotten that I had to be fasting for 12 hours, so I only refilled my antibiotic prescription. Last night I watched a DVD of the Danish movie After The Wedding. It was a nuisance to have to read the subtitles, but I thought it was very well done. The cast were all unknown to me, but they were beautiful people and played their parts well. It was partly shot in India, but mostly it was in Denmark. It deals with relationships and death and generally big subjects. I give it five stars.

Message 587

Last night Josh was stuck at work , so I watched the Sharks game by myself. It is just as well that he missed seeing it. LA beat them 2-6. It was just one of those games where nothing goes right. After the game I watched a DVD of the movie Lilya 4-Ever. It is a Swedish movie about children in Russia and their grim lives. It is about as dark as you can get with no hopeful elements. I give it 2.9 stars.

Message 586

Yesterday I watched three NFL games. Beech came over and watched the end of the 49ers game and most of the Denver Kansas City game with me. The 49ers won, which gives some hope for next year. In the evening I took Beech home and joined in the regular Sunday family dinner. While there I watched the Jets beat the Bengals. Julian has a great HD TV which is perfect for football games. After dinner I came home and watched a Masterpiece Theater production about a British family on a Greek island before World War 2. It was either a remake or a re-run of an old show, because I had seen parts of it before, but it was pleasant viewing anyway.

I read some of The Economist before turning in. Vanessa called this morning and had to cancel our picnic with Annie in the park today because Annie has the flu an is vomiting. I hope I don't get it.

Message 585

It did not rain yesterday, so I was able to enjoy a nice soak in the hot tub.In the evening Joshua brought over burgers and fries from The Dutch Goose and watched the hockey game with me. The Sharks beat Edmonton 4-1, as they should have considering that Edmonton is having a bad year and their two best players are out injured. After the game I watched a DVD of the French movie Nathalie. French people are beautiful and stylish, but they have strange ideas and attitudes sometimes. There is not much action, and there are a lot of subtitles to read, but I give the movie three stars.