Message 689

Yesterday I finished reading the book My Stroke of Insight, A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor. It was a quick read, and it had a lot of good ideas in it about how the brain works and how you can tune into your right brain at will to feel happy and at peace. After a long life, I was pleased to read about many of the things I have learned to do myself. In the late afternoon I went to San Mateo for our traditional family dinner. In the evening I watched the Sharks blow another hard fought game to Colorado when Dan Boyle put one in his own net in overtime to lose 0-1. How strange can things get? After the game I watched the start of a new two-part series on PBS about Jamaica and England during and after World War 2. After that I read some more of The Economist and turned in early.

Message 688

Yesterday I started working on my memoirs again for the first time in weeks, but my computer monitor went out (even though it is a CRT), so I had to replace it with the other CRT monitor that Josh gave me from his work. While I was at it I tried to set up Skype for which Bill gave the camera to me when they were all here recently. The camera that Bill gave me and the microphone that Jason gave me all work fine, but no one was home in Houston when I tried to test the system out. Instead of returning to my memoirs (I am in Texas now in the summer between college and graduate school), I read more than half of the book Liz gave me titled My Stroke of Insight.

In the evening I also watched a DVD of the movie Yes. It starred Joan Allen, who is a favorite of mine, but it was a strange movie with all the dialog in poetry. It was like watching a modern attempt to write like Shakespear. In addition to dealing with interpersonal relations, class and religious differences, England, Ireland, America, and Lebanon, it also tried to show how the conflict between the West and the Muslin world can be resolved by love. It was somewhat interesting because it was so different, but it was pretty boring for the most part, so I give it only 2.8 stars.

Message 687

I just got back from Starbucks with Helen and Jim and Joan and David. Last night Joshua came over and watched the Sharks play the second game of their Stanley Cup series with Colorado. What a game! The Sharks fell behind within the first minute again, and then tied the game five times before going into overtime and winning. The series is now 1-1. It was heartening to see the Sharks had enough grit to hang on and win in another very hard-fought game.

Message 686

Yesterday I had breakfast at Heidi's Pies with Reggie, Vanessa, Annie, and Maureen. I finished reading The Economist and Science from last week. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Talk of Angels. It was a movie about the start of the Spanish Civil War, and I had the feeling I had seen it before but I could not remember it for sure. It was well done, but I did not care much for it, so I give it only three stars.

I also finished reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons, a book Marty recommended to me after we both read another of his books titled The Terror, which I liked a lot. Hyperion was also the title of a poem by John Keats and this book made a lot of references to him. It was modeled on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but it was mainly a science-fiction/ fantasy-fiction work that mostly did not hang together too well, perhaps because it has a sequel that I have not read.
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Message 681

I forgot to mention in yesterday's message that I started taking Zithromax Wednesday at 5 PM for my sinus infection. I am already feeling much better. In the afternoon I packed and got ready to fly to Phoenix to meet Liz and go to Tucson for Laurie's (Sally's sister) son Matt. Because I will be away, I will not send out messages on Saturday or Sunday. Last night I watched the Sharks beat Vancouver 4-2. They were ahead 4-0 in the third period when a whole lot of fights broke out so at one point the Sharks had six players in the penalty box. The resulting 5-on-3 and 4-on-3 power-plays allowed the Canucks to score a couple of goals, but the Sharks won anyway. Joshua did not show up, but he called later and said he had had to work late.

Message 684

Yesterday I resumed my usual Tuesday routine of picking Beech up at school at noon and taking him to lunch. He now prefers to go to Subway where he is known by the workers behind the counter. After we ate I declined to stop at another store and buy him a toy, but took him home where we read part of one of his new Dr. Seuss books. He is making progress on his reading, but he seems mostly to want to work it out for himself instead of having me help him. After he tired of reading, we played some of his new Wii games.

In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Whip It. Ellen Page plays a seventeen-year old school girl who sneaks out to become a Roller-Derby star. The skating was new and interesting to me, but the plot was pretty simplistic and formulaic, so I only give it three stars.

Message 685

Yesterday I went out to dinner at Gombei (my favorite Japanese restaurant) with Larry and Judi. I got back just in time to watch the Sharks play Colorado in the first game of their Stanley Cup series. It was a fast and hard-fought game. Colorado went ahead 0-1 in the second period, the Sharks tied it in the third period, and Colorado scored the winning goal to win 1-2 with 49 seconds left in the game. Joshua was at the game, so I am sure he was disappointed.

I also watched a DVD of the movie Lady Jane, another story about the succession to Henry the 8th for the throne of England. The film was released in 1986, and Helena Bonham Carter must have been a teenager. She looked like the 15-year-old girl she was playing. I had not previously known about the nine days that Jane Grey reigned before she and her teenaged husband were beheaded, but I thought it was a good story and very well done. I give it 4.5 stars.