Message 697

I just received an email from Netflix asking me to review the movie Taking Chance, and I realize I forgot to mention in Sunday's message that I had watched the DVD. It is a very well done film based on a true story about a Marine Colonel, played by Kevin Bacon, who volunteers to escort the body of a 21-year old who was killed in Iraq and whose name was Chance Phillips, home to his family in a small town in Wyoming. I did not expect much from the movie, so I was surprised by how good it was. It reminded me some of the Japanese movie Departures because it dealt with the ritual and respect with which the military carries out the duty of returning the dead to their family for burial. I give it four stars.

Yesterday I finished reading The Economist and in the evening Joshua came over and watched 24 with me. I was amazed to learn that there are still five more episodes left in this season. It seems like it is longer than usual, but I must confess that I have forgotten what time it was when it started.

Message 696

Yesterday I inadvertently sent this out before it was finished, so I am adding to it now.

Yesterday I finished reading The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game, by Michael Lewis. It is a wonderful book, and written by the best non-fiction writer of our time. It was compelling reading and full of brilliantly interesting and inspiring characters. It is as much about the game of football as it is about the people in the story. It has a lot of stuff about Bill Walsh that I did not know in spite of my following him closely when he took the 49ers through their glory years. The author had many hours of interviews with all the people in the book, including Bill Walsh, and many other coaches, players, scouts, and agents, both for the college and professional game.

In the late afternoon I went to San Mateo for the usual family dinner. This time we went to a Mexican restaurant and I had fish tacos for the first time. They were quite good. Afterward we had ice-cream at McDonalds. In the evening I read some more of The Economist and watched the second part of Small Island on Masterpiece Theater on PBS.

Message 695

Yesterday I did my grocery shopping and started reading The Economist. In the evening Joshua brought in Mexican food and watched the Sharks game with me. They beat Colorado 5-2 to win the series 4-2. The last two goals were empty netters, so the game was closer than the score indicates. Their next opponent in the Stanly Cup series is not yet determined, so they will have a few days off to rest up. I hope they can sustain their level of play for the rest of the series. I then turned in early (before midnight) for a change.

Message 694

Last night I went to see the movie La Mission with Larry. Judi is out of town at a meeting. I did not care much for the movie, although it was well made. It dealt with Latino culture and especially their intolerance of gays, but it was too strange and heavy for my taste, so I give it only 2.7 stars. After the movie I read some more of The Blind Side and watched Charlie Rose.

Message 693

Yesterday I had breakfast at Heidi's Pies with Vanessa and Reggie. I worked some more on my memoirs and in the evening I watched the Sharks win their game against Colorado 5-0. Three of their goals were scored by rookies that were brought up from the farm team for the last few weeks of the season. Another goal was scored by Joe Pavelski, and the last one was scored by Patrick Marleau, their regular season leading scorer. Joshua joined me at the start of the second period when the score was still 0-0. He had been skiing all day, so we were both thrilled with the outcome. The Sharks finally came alive, or rather Colorado's team was not able to continue playing above their heads, and the Sharks emerged as the champions they really are. Anyway, it was great to see them return to form.

Yesterday I also read some more of The Blind Side. It is so good that I stayed up reading until 3:30 AM, and I am now about half way through it. When I finish it I will watch the movie too.

Message 692

Yesterday I finished reading Science, worked some more on my memoirs, and started reading The Blind Side. In the evening I watched a DVD of the movie Brothers. It is a remake of a Danish movie about soldiers in Afghanistan and problems with PTSD when they come home. It was kind of a downer and not much fun to watch, so I give it only 3 stars. Charlie Rose had another good program in his series on the brain.

Message 691

Yesterday I worked some more on my memoirs and finished reading The Economist. At noon I picked Beech up at school and took him to lunch. We were headed for Subway, but when we passed McDonalds he changed his mind and we went there. Afterward we went home and I helped him with his homework until Vanessa and Annie got back from Little Wonders.

In the evening I watched the Sharks game. This time they scored the first goal for a change, and it was scored by Dan Boyle, which helped make up for his scoring the losing goal in the previous game. Joshua showed up by the second period in time to see Colorado tie the game. It eventually went into overtime, for the third game in a row, but this time Joe Pavelski scored the winning goal half way through the first overtime period to win the game 2-1. The series is now tied 2-2, so the Sharks need to win two out of three games now to save themselves from further humiliation and move on to the next series.