Spring approaches.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
AppleTV Frustrates Me, Movies and My Social Life
First of all. The visual piece because every post has to have a photo. Tatum and Uncle Jim with JP Patches. If you grew up in Seattle in the 60's, you know who he is.
It's another beautiful day in Seattle. Sunny with a high temp in the 50's.
Last night I decided to do my laundry and watch Moneyball on AppleTV. "Doing laundry on Saturday night?", you might ask with eyebrows raised. Well, it happens. One's social life ebbs and flows. Mine is ebbing right now. But, I digress. So, I was watching Moneyball and at 59:37 minutes into the movie, I get the scrolling circle of "oh, crap, it's buffering and AppleTV can buffer for what seems like a long time". Then, I get message that says Moneyball will be ready in 3 hours and 29 minutes. Whatever!
I switched to an episode of MI-5 while I was folding my laundry. Then watched Saturday Night Live through Weekend Update. I think the quality of Saturday Night Live is also ebbing. Just like my social life. Although, there was a bit on Downton Abbey which was funny.
I finished Moneyball this morning. It's a great movie. Jonah Hill is wonderful in it. Of course, Brad Pitt is impeccable. I think that he has his star thing under control while Clooney doesn't. Anyway, here are my current rankings for Oscar nominated movies. I have created some new categories:
"Okay films but never should have been nominated, but they don't ask me"
"I didn't see these movies and don't plan to"
"YOU SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE"
Films that were nominated for best picture. My Rankings
1. "Hugo"- See comments in last post.
2. "The Tree of Life" - See comments in last post.
2. "The Help" - See comments in last post.
3. "Midnight in Paris" - See comments in last post.
4. "Moneyball" - Nice film. Jonah Hill rocks. Brad Pitt is great.
"Okay films but never should have been nominated, but they don't ask me"
"The Descendants" - See comments in last post.
"The Artist" - See comments in last post.
"I didn't see these movies and don't plan to"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" - see comments in last post.
"War Horse" - see comments in last post.
YOU SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE
"Melancholia" - Obliteratingly great. Should have been nominated.
"We Were Here" - For those who don't remember the 80's, had their head in the sand, or it was just too painful, a moving account of what AIDS did to my contemporaries. The movie was a reminder to me to be thankful for each day.
"Bridesmaids" - I do think women can be raunchier than men. Delightfully so.
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Wonderful period piece. Intelligent.
It's Superbowl Sunday. I am going to watch the game with friends. Two of them who aren't football fans but love to entertain. Madonna better be good. TMZ is already slamming her and she hasn't performed yet.
Enjoy the hype. See you 'round the pool.
It's another beautiful day in Seattle. Sunny with a high temp in the 50's.
Last night I decided to do my laundry and watch Moneyball on AppleTV. "Doing laundry on Saturday night?", you might ask with eyebrows raised. Well, it happens. One's social life ebbs and flows. Mine is ebbing right now. But, I digress. So, I was watching Moneyball and at 59:37 minutes into the movie, I get the scrolling circle of "oh, crap, it's buffering and AppleTV can buffer for what seems like a long time". Then, I get message that says Moneyball will be ready in 3 hours and 29 minutes. Whatever!
I switched to an episode of MI-5 while I was folding my laundry. Then watched Saturday Night Live through Weekend Update. I think the quality of Saturday Night Live is also ebbing. Just like my social life. Although, there was a bit on Downton Abbey which was funny.
I finished Moneyball this morning. It's a great movie. Jonah Hill is wonderful in it. Of course, Brad Pitt is impeccable. I think that he has his star thing under control while Clooney doesn't. Anyway, here are my current rankings for Oscar nominated movies. I have created some new categories:
"Okay films but never should have been nominated, but they don't ask me"
"I didn't see these movies and don't plan to"
"YOU SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE"
Films that were nominated for best picture. My Rankings
1. "Hugo"- See comments in last post.
2. "The Tree of Life" - See comments in last post.
2. "The Help" - See comments in last post.
3. "Midnight in Paris" - See comments in last post.
4. "Moneyball" - Nice film. Jonah Hill rocks. Brad Pitt is great.
"Okay films but never should have been nominated, but they don't ask me"
"The Descendants" - See comments in last post.
"The Artist" - See comments in last post.
"I didn't see these movies and don't plan to"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" - see comments in last post.
"War Horse" - see comments in last post.
YOU SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE
"Melancholia" - Obliteratingly great. Should have been nominated.
"We Were Here" - For those who don't remember the 80's, had their head in the sand, or it was just too painful, a moving account of what AIDS did to my contemporaries. The movie was a reminder to me to be thankful for each day.
"Bridesmaids" - I do think women can be raunchier than men. Delightfully so.
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - Wonderful period piece. Intelligent.
It's Superbowl Sunday. I am going to watch the game with friends. Two of them who aren't football fans but love to entertain. Madonna better be good. TMZ is already slamming her and she hasn't performed yet.
Enjoy the hype. See you 'round the pool.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Did Facebook Kill the Blog?
I was thinking that maybe Facebook has killed the blog. FB is certainly more real time and connects people in a much more collaborative and conversational fashion. I mentioned it to Jill and she opined that a blog still has a use when you want to discuss something at length. I see the point. So, I am not going to shut down WarroadRoots. And, the subject of this post is Best Picture nominations.
Best Picture
"The Artist" - Nice film. Nice premise. Weak storyline. I wanted it to end before it did. Perhaps, a gimmick.
"The Descendants" - George, George, George. Over-hyped. Over-rated. Almost over Clooney. Nice movie, but does not belong is the category.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" - Haven't seen it. Won't see it. Just can't get past Tom Hanks.
"Hugo"- Movie making magic. Have to go with this for best picture.
"Midnight in Paris" - Great movie. Owen Wilson rose to the occasion.
"The Help" - What can be said? Every American should see it.
"Moneyball" - haven't seen it yet. Hope to.
"War Horse" - Won't see it. I really don't want to watch Horses get slaughtered in man's attempt to kill one another.
"The Tree of Life" - Ok, be prepared to work to watch it. It's like reading War and Peace which I have never finished. I did finish The Tree of Life while others walked out of it. See it.
So, Hugo is my pick. I haven't seen Moneyball, but I don't think it will match Hugo.
More picks later.
And here's a picture just to make the post visual.
Best Picture
"The Artist" - Nice film. Nice premise. Weak storyline. I wanted it to end before it did. Perhaps, a gimmick.
"The Descendants" - George, George, George. Over-hyped. Over-rated. Almost over Clooney. Nice movie, but does not belong is the category.
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" - Haven't seen it. Won't see it. Just can't get past Tom Hanks.
"Hugo"- Movie making magic. Have to go with this for best picture.
"Midnight in Paris" - Great movie. Owen Wilson rose to the occasion.
"The Help" - What can be said? Every American should see it.
"Moneyball" - haven't seen it yet. Hope to.
"War Horse" - Won't see it. I really don't want to watch Horses get slaughtered in man's attempt to kill one another.
"The Tree of Life" - Ok, be prepared to work to watch it. It's like reading War and Peace which I have never finished. I did finish The Tree of Life while others walked out of it. See it.
So, Hugo is my pick. I haven't seen Moneyball, but I don't think it will match Hugo.
More picks later.
And here's a picture just to make the post visual.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Seem like a long time
It has been a long time since I have posted. I started a new job four weeks ago with Providence Health & Services. A great and large organization - 55,000 employees. Yes, I am now working for nuns. I never thought I would work for a faith based organization. However, I am and it's proving to be very worthwhile and engaging.
I am working in Renton. After all these years, I have ended up working a few miles from where I grew up. Well, I am not sure how much I grew up there. I think most of the "growing up" occurred much later in life. Anyway...I went into work today as my area is extremely busy. This was the view out my window.
After 2 1/2 hours I decided to head home as I didn't want to get stuck at work. Here was the view out of my apartment window around 1:30 pm.
It's a winter wonderland out there. I think the temperature is dropping and so the city will probably shut down.
I was watching the Packers lose today. Condolences to my friends Shafel and Keven who are both from Wisconsin and big time cheeseheads. The San Francisco - New Orleans game yesterday was very exciting. I hope San Francisco beats the Giants
During the game I decided that homemade soup would hit the spot. I walked to the grocery store and bought the ingredients for Weekday Vegetable Soup. I have started cooking as it's less expensive than eating out and a lot healthier too. Anyway, my soup is simmering. Here's a photo of it.
And now for you Rod Stewart (when he was being authentic) fans
Movie Reviews
Since seeing The Girl with the (too long) Tatoo, I have seen
Sherlock Holmes. Well worth seeing. It was fun.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Excellent. Great period film. The critics sort of panned it. I thought it was brilliant and engrossing.
One more thing. The soup was delicious.
I am working in Renton. After all these years, I have ended up working a few miles from where I grew up. Well, I am not sure how much I grew up there. I think most of the "growing up" occurred much later in life. Anyway...I went into work today as my area is extremely busy. This was the view out my window.
After 2 1/2 hours I decided to head home as I didn't want to get stuck at work. Here was the view out of my apartment window around 1:30 pm.
It's a winter wonderland out there. I think the temperature is dropping and so the city will probably shut down.
I was watching the Packers lose today. Condolences to my friends Shafel and Keven who are both from Wisconsin and big time cheeseheads. The San Francisco - New Orleans game yesterday was very exciting. I hope San Francisco beats the Giants
During the game I decided that homemade soup would hit the spot. I walked to the grocery store and bought the ingredients for Weekday Vegetable Soup. I have started cooking as it's less expensive than eating out and a lot healthier too. Anyway, my soup is simmering. Here's a photo of it.
And now for you Rod Stewart (when he was being authentic) fans
Movie Reviews
Since seeing The Girl with the (too long) Tatoo, I have seen
Sherlock Holmes. Well worth seeing. It was fun.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Excellent. Great period film. The critics sort of panned it. I thought it was brilliant and engrossing.
One more thing. The soup was delicious.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
I saw The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo last night. Visually, it's vivid, to say the least. Gone is the grittiness of the original Swedish version. But, heh, film makers are entitled to their own point of view. The new version is extremely graphic so beware. The most stunning part of the movie is the opening credits set to The Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin as performed by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame. It's a long movie, but worth seeing.
***.25 out of 5.
Happy New Year
http://youtu.be/E7O-CfJohk8
***.25 out of 5.
Happy New Year
http://youtu.be/E7O-CfJohk8
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas Eve - Musical Candy
I am a little late to the party with the Black Keys. They're my new musical obsession. Here's a taste.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
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