I started to write a reflection of 2007 but my mind wasn't in the spirit. Instead, I think it's best to leave 2007 with this photo which sums up the year. Thanks Uncle Robert for sending this over!
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Charlie Wilson's War
The timing of the release of Charlie Wilson’s War could not have been better for the movie. Political events are such that for the first time in many years, people in the audience could pretend to understand the movie. The movie tells the story of Charlie Wilson and the role that he played in the Russian/Afghan war of the 80’s. Most people are there for Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and not a lesson in history. This was the first time in a theater I have heard so much talking as friends had to provide mini-history lessons to each other. This sadly is because Pakistan figures prominently in the movie and a single reference is made to Benazir Bhutto’s father which confused the audience. But, it made people happy that they even knew the name as when Rudy Giuliani’s name was mentioned a few times. The movie is guaranteed to do well because the audience felt they got it. There are two stories going on in Charlie Wilson’s War . The lead story is that about the man, what he did, and how he d...
The Water Horse
A movie about a baby Nessie looks fun enough and should be cute, right? Not so if you’re in the theater for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. I think this is billed as a family film but it’s more of a dark tale of WWII, sadness, and a million reasons why wild animals never make good pets. The premise is easy enough, a small boy finds an object that is really an egg and a creature is hatched who later becomes the Nessie of today’s legend. Capering cuteness is what the movie has for maybe two minutes and the remaining 2 hours (give or take) are about a boy who’s waiting for his father to return from the war. The movie is set in Scotland and filmed in New Zealand but pretty views are rare and we are exposed to the bleakness of life in 1942 Scotland. The story is told by an old man in a pub to a young tourist couple and we have the obligatory flashbacks to this setting off and on. The military officers while British and there to protect are while not quite mean, well they’re mean. Th...
I've been home for a one full week and made the best of it! 3 movies, 2 pubs, seeing lots of friends and familiy, and I even took time off work! This week went by the fastest of any week in the past year! It looks like I have a brief travel reprieve for the new year as the Mexico City trip is probably going to be delayed so I'll have a bonus weekend at home! And this was a school free week which made it that much better!
Sweeney Todd
Having never seen the play, I can only look at Sweeney Todd on its own merit. After watching the movie, I have the underlying feeling that this production is best set on stage rather than film. Expectations are always high for a Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration and perhaps I went into the theater with this attitude and I found the movie slow paced and lackluster at times. Sweeney is a dark comedy murder, meat pies, and music all come together in laughter or at least a small smile. With Alan Rickman as the bad guy, there should have been some saving grace to Sweeney but it mostly falls flat. When the cockroaches are funnier than the characters, well, that should never happen. What I liked: There were moments where I sort of laughed, Scabbers had the best role, the look of Fleet Street was visually great, and I mostly liked the story. Not liked: Slow paced, unresolved storylines for minor characters, the feeling that something was missing.
I Am Legend
I Am Legend with Will Smith, a dog, and a virus that mutates people into zombie-types is overall a pretty fun movie. Good, but not great since you have to overlook the fact that some of the key plot sequences are set-up by smart people doing a dumb out of character move. Once past that, the movie moves at a fast pace, tells the story of a cancer-curing drug turning deadly, and all hope and humanity lost. Perfect stuff for a holiday weekend! Will Smith is almost always perfect in this type of role. In Legend , he's a research doctor who is determined to find a cure. Isolated for three years he's losing his grip on reality and clings to his dog, the only remaining companion in his life. The zombies are not the walking dead but created by the mutation of a vaccine and the virus mutates to travel by air or by blood (if bitten). 90% of the population is gone but 10% have natural immunity. One can only suppose they are all on another continent. The suspense factor is high, the gore ...
National Treasure (2)
I went into National Treasure hoping for a fun movie where I didn't have to think. The story was simple, Nicholas Cage solves a puzzle and finds treasure where many before have failed. Got it. Sadly, the mindless romp was a never ending series of implausible events each unfolding in a more mis -managed fashion than the previous caper. I can go with a lot if the fantasy world is set-up correctly but some things cannot be ignored. The lead characters are certainly likable and enjoyable to watch as they interact with one another. Jon Voight takes a turn as Cage's treasure hunter father and he does his role well. Other people are merely tokens who take turns either trying to kill Cage or entice him into helping solve a puzzle and set history right. Helen Mirren has a few brief scenes where she entirely steals the show and makes you wish you were watching Helen Mirren save the day instead of Nicholas Cage but I digress. Okay, I'll go with breaking into Buckingham Palace a...
Yuma is back in my life for a weekend. Aussie Mac has returned to the states so I'm off to visit her for the usual Aussie wine and Yuma life at the movies. Today's list is hectic but I'm sure I can cram it all in starting the a much needed oil change for the car before I drive to Yuma, followed by packing, banking, grocery store (I had popcorn for diner last night), lunch in OB with Ms. Kitty and family, and then the power drive through the desert! It seems easier in my mind than it looks on paper!
After 6 weeks of being left alone and free to grow away, I've put a halt to the jungle in the backyard. Once the weeds start getting close to me in height then something is out of control. The recent rain made the soil perfect for the purge and many spiders went running. I probably should have worn gloves but I stopped after I saw the big spider. The children next door are in shock to see me again. They were starting to think the yard was part of their own, and I startled one of them this morning as I was taking out the trash. He ran. It's now nearly 4:30 and he hasn't had his crying meltdown for the day but maybe I missed it. After bouncing back a few balls they seem to have quieted down and are rounded up indoors. It's a good thing Christmas is on a Tuesday because the excitement is starting to build already. Who are these good people sending Christmas cards? I managed to get three off and was done with it. I guess I'm back to New Year's cards once again. Som...
I have a two week reprieve before I hit the road again. The last 9 days were unexpected and I've logged in 7 hotel nights for meetings and business since I've been home from Samoa. Today, is the official two week point of staying more or less put in one place. My personal goal is to make sure I get out and see people, go to movies, and remember what it is like to live in a house. I have to keep reminding myself that tomorrow is trash day. My poor camera finally quit on me. I can't take a picture, a movie or even get it to turn on. I'm glad I downloaded all the photos a few weeks ago so nothing was lost. Best Buy here I come! School has wrapped for the year as well. 3 classes down and 7 to go in 2008!
Sometimes the best meals in the world are at the corner Mexican restaurant in your neighborhood. For the past 6 weeks I have had gourmet meals, cruise meals, Samoan, Australian, and New Zealand meals but nothing was as good as the two cheese enchiladas, beans, and guacamole last night at Nati's in OB. Yum! The dinner was in honor of Ms. Kitty's birthday and we all left rolling out of there and happy. Well back to Monday for another crazy workweek and probably crazy drivers as we get into the last week before Christmas.
What a long week! Sometimes work is like being sucked into a vortex where you're not aware of anything else in the world until you emerge. I thought this past week was going to be a nice and easy catch-up week after being gone for so long but no such luck. Instead it turned into four hotel nights and 14 hour days with meetings and events and actual work in between . Now it's a wonderful Saturday and I have two papers to write. The cycle doesn't seem to end. I am ready for Christmas for a valid day off from everything. I still exist but I sense next week is about to be a repeat of the past week. 2:50 pm. One paper done and one to go! I find myself staring at the computer screen with no words forming so it's time for a distraction. Laundry? TV? Beer? Maybe all three!
Snow on the mountains outside of the city. Who knew? If I only needed a reminder that I'm not in Samoa it's the view of snow covered mountains from Carlsbad. But then, this isn't a sight that's normally seen around here so now I'm in reverse culture shock. Last night's cold and rain brought the snow levels closer and more plentiful than I ever remember seeing in my life. Snow-capped hills are not the normal sight as I drive down the road. Getting over the shock of the snow is almost easier than remembering how to drive above 25 mph. In Samoa the speed limit tops out at 25 and is often 15 in places. My life for two weeks revolved driving slow along a 5 mile stretch of road from the hotel to work and back. It's nice not to have to watch geckos run around the room and to know that there will be no mosquitos lurking outside my door. For such a laid back place, this was one of my tougher assignments as 12-14 hour days were the norm and the breaks few and far b...
Samoans can eat! We opened the restaurant at 10:00 am and tried to keep it a secret opening to prevent record crowds. It didn't work. As soon as the first two customers were fed some sort of mental telepathy went out and near record sales were on the way. Now for the most part, one customer represents one burger, sides, and drink. Here once customer equals two or three burgers, plus a side and a drink. Then they came back and repeated. Just insane! It's nice to know that we have a hit on our hands.
After a week of work, we're ready to open the restaurant on Monday. Last night's adventure was having the car break down in the rain on the way home from work. People in Samoa help each other out when needed. The family whose house we broke down in front of invited us in (we declined) and then they watched out for us until the two truck arrived. A couple of guys pulled over and offered us help and a ride. We had known all week this would happen as the power steering on the van was getting worse each day. Now we have a replacement car and as we drove it to the hotel last night we arrived home with smoking brakes. I guess that car is getting returned and we'll try again.
My life revolves around one stretch of road from the hotel to work. Not much happens so when hotel kitty makes an appearance it's always a fun time. There are numerous stray cats and dogs that wander the island. The humane society does a round up for three weeks each year and spays and neuters all strays to reduce the population. I am told that the program is working and there are less homeless animals than five years ago before the program was started.
It turns out what I thought was a rainstorm was much worse. Since we didn't know better, we thought the street flooding and the runoff plus the waterfalls were normal. The local paper ran a story about how bad this last storm was and schools had to close early. Now this being Samoa, many of the schools are not inside but outside buildings that resemble a family picnic structure more than a school. Today the mosquitoes were out in full force and additional geckos are stalking my room. One is enough unless they are going to get busy eating bugs.
The lagoon water is warm the pool water is cold. To get to this beach you have to walk through sharp sand due to broken shells, wander through the fields of beach hermit crabs, and try to elude mosquitos. I never see or feel the mosquitos but my legs and arms are showing the evidence. Today I'm buying some deet!
7:00 am, American Samoa. The sweat is rolling down my face and I blog from my patio. The wireless signal doesn't pick-up in my nice air-conditioned room so here I suffer. I think all computer work will take place after sunset from now on. Such is island life. So begins the series of palm tree photos for the next two weeks!
1/2 of the day's travel is complete. I'm outside at Honolulu's wonderful airport where you can still be inside security but feel as if you are in Hawaii. The ocean beckons on one side and the mountains on the other. I wish the trip was stopping here for a few days. I'm in the mood for Maui Taco and there are no outlets at the airport. Two hours of the layover done, two & 1/2 more to go.
The turkey is digested and the bag is packed once again. Somehow my suitcase for a 2 week business trip to Samoa is about 30% lighter than my suitcase for a 2 week cruise. Amazing how that all works out! I've managed to complete my homework assignments for both this week and next so I'm in good shape for a while. So here it is another Saturday night that finds me at a LAX hotel contemplating the joy of the 4:30 am wake-up call and a 18 hour day of travel. Tidbits of today's news that interested me: Kuwait's government is giving the ministry wider authority to crack down on women working after 8:00 pm. Saudi Arabia women are protesting the lashing sentence of the woman who was raped. As a result, many women are starting to remove the veil that covers their eyes. This doesn't seem like much but it is. Lebanon has no president and the military tanks have rolled into the city to prevent the start of any violence that might lead to civil war. Malibu is burning down again...
The last morning/day of the trip! I'm at a netcafe right now checking things out and waiting for airport time. It's finally hot and sunny after weeks of cold weather. I am so happy to have been on land for 24 straight hours. Even the 14 hour flight home will be better than being at sea. I enjoyed parts of the cruise a lot but I could never recommend that trip to anyone but true ocean lovers who don't get seasick. Best ports were where I did the LOTR stuff. I'll post a few final photos this week once I'm home and organized.
Today we are "scenic cruising". This means there is a whole lot of water and then something will appear. The first scenic appearance (and so far the only one) was White Island. It's an active volcano that could erupt at any time. The main ven is below sea level but it is shielded from the water by high crater walls. Neat to look at but you can only stare at volcano steam for so long and then it's back to endless water.
Part of the Wellington LOTR tour was a stop to visit the cartographer for all the movies - Daniel Reeves. He was a great speaker and shared his story of how he came to work on the movies and showed us the evolution of all his lettering and maps. Below is the font guide to the different languages. He also gave each of us a card with our names in Elvish. Very cool.
Napier was a zombie port for us. Both LJ and I were drugged out on seasick meds and were trying to walk them out of our system. It didn't really work and we stumbled about the town like zombies. Napier is a pretty little seaside town and full of shops and restaurants but this is about all that we could manage.
One of the best eating moments is the midnight dessert buffet. This is the time for a free-for-all where you pile as much different desserts on your plate as possible. If you don't like the first one, then move on to the next one. I didn't care for the cream puff but the black forest cake was the best!
On some of the Trek cruises we have a PJ party. This was one of those years. Of course, no one really wants to be seen in their PJ's so we improvise to look like we really wear these outfits to sleep in. This year, we had our beer and found a fellow beer lover to share the Stout and Triple Malt with. All was fun and good.
Napier - After another rough night of gale force winds and 20 ft. waves, I am drugged out from all the seasick tablets once again. Both LJ and I, along with many others left dinner about 10 minutes into the seating. The sea was too much to take and rather than making a big mess on the table it was safer to retreat to the cabin. Ugh. I'm at the public library right now taking advantage of fast internet and will post some Wellington photos later. We're getting down to the wire now. Tomorrow is another dreaded sea day and then we finally get to Hobbiton for another LOTR tour. After that we dock in Auckland and return to Sydney before flying home on Monday. I have to say that I will hopefully never be on a cruise again with this many sea days. If so, I think I'll leave my suitcase on board and fly or drive to the next port!
To get to Edoras, we had to cross 3 streams. This one was the hardest due to the current and high winds. The plants in the front of this photo are bent to the right due to high winds. No one fell in the stream. Then we had the hill climb. These people aren't falling over due to the steepness of the hill but the fact that strong wind gusts were blowing them over.
After crossing the Tasman Sea and another bumpy night, we have arrived at the New Zealand coastline at last! Today we are cruising the Fjordland area and the first stop was in Milford Sound. There are waterfalls all along the fjords and if you look really, really hard, you can see two small ones in this photo. The area is dramatically beautiful in person but due to the clouds the photos don't convey this.
This is at Creative Paper in Burnie, Tasmania. The paper is made from recycled "Roo Poo" and while it takes a while to get over the squeamishness of handling the paper, the colors are brilliant and the paper is unique and not just in the poo way. Lisa is posing next to sculptures made out of "Roo Poo" and in the back there is random art.
Another sea day. The waters have been calm and no one is seasick today. If it wasn't for the Star Trek events, I'd be bored to tears. We've got Trek Trivia, Family Feud, Actor Entertainment, Behind the Scenes and more on the schedule. Combine that with the gym, eating, and port lectures, the day will be complete. I think the perfect cruise has zero sea days. This one has 5.
