Here and There Blog

I'll admit to resisting seeing The Artist . A silent film about the silent film era didn't seem enticing at all. The decision was only made on this or something else and the something else was away while The Artist was at the secret theater. So in I went with a friend, on a Sunday night, to a theater of 6 people. In a silent film in an empty theater, even the audience is afraid to talk, cough, or even eat popcorn. You can't hide. So we watched. And it turned out to be a really good movie. Better than anything I've seen in a while. The story is cliche, rising young starlit, fading older silent film actor. Their paths meet at the transition of silent films to the era of the talking film. The story is shown in black & white, silent with music and subtitles. We roll in and out of their movies to the reality of their lives. Joyfulness and despair with always a connectivity between the two stars. Jean Dujardin is gathering awards as the leading man, George Valentin....

The search for new places to eat and drink led Mondo and I to The Hopping Pig in the Gaslamp. It's a small gastropub located close to Horton Plaza with a limited menu and an extended draft beer selection. The draft beer list features mostly San Diego area brews with some favorites and select craft brewery choices tossed in. Looks like a perfect place for Comic-Con gathering later this year! Cheers!  

Wrapping up it's world premiere tonight at the San Diego Repertory Theatre, A Hammer, A Bell And A Song to Sing showcases the music of political activist songwriters in the United States. 90 straight minutes of music with background images of key wars and protests the music of Pete Seeger is the main musical theme throughout the play. If you're like me, you know the songs but didn't realize who wrote them. (Oops!) The three man show stars Vaughn Armstrong, Dave Crossland and Jim Mooney as the activist voices throughout the years. They are enjoyable and fun and essentially performed a 90 minute concert without a break. I liked having a theatrical performance go non-stop like that without any break in the momentum. Tonight is the final night in San Diego and as of yesterday, a few seats remained. A Hammer, A Bell And A Song to Sing is an enjoyable evening at San Diego's Lyceum Stage Theater .  For more on Pete Seeger, check out his  fan appreciation page.

The Grey was the movie trailer that I rated on the Nielsen survey back in December. My response to the survey was it looked like it would be lame but I'd probably see it since it had Liam Neeson. Predictably, The Grey is a long romp through Alaska when all the elements want to kill you. The trailer depicted this almost as a man against wolf movie, with the wolves looking almost supernatural. Oh I wish. A werewolf movie would have been more entertaining. (Time to see the next Underworld) What we have instead is a few rough and gritty Alaska men surviving a plane crash only to find themselves struggling to stay alive in bitter cold, lack of food, and a pack of wolves that seem bent on revenge. We follow our small band as they fight more with each other and face really no good odds at all against the wolves. Short version, it's boring. I found myself looking at the snow and mentally shopping for a trip to the Russian winter. We stretched to make sure that our characters did i...

There's a regular routine when I return home from a long trip. Check for burglars, break-in's, and water pipe leaks. Upon return from Ecuador - check! All Clear. Next up, look for spiders. Okay there, they are all in the corners where they belong. No more than normal. Chec...what's this?  Take a closer look by the baseboards.  NOOOOOO!!! Termite pellets!! I have termites in the house! Who ya gonna call? Terminex. Full inspection, the attic has colonies.  Time to nuke. Below is the diagram of where they all are. Not amusing to realize that one DWT (drywood termite) nest is right over my bed. Ewww!  Well stay tuned for 10 days from now when the tent goes up.

It's rare that I see the run off water from the lagoon being low enough to cross without getting wet. Carlsbad has many small lagoons and this one runs into the ocean. I love how the hot weather continues!

 This is always worth coming home to after a long road trip!  Tamarack Surf Beach - January 25, 1:00 pm

Saturday night found us at Phileas Foggs for pub food and craft beer. It was a family Christmas dinner slightly delayed. I found this place on Taphunter San Diego. Simple, easy, not sure if would get me back since it's in Poway and slightly out of the way but if you are in the area worth it for the beer selection.  Mr. and Mrs. OB - Fish & Chips was the popular choice this night. Below Steve and Judy become adopted family for the night.  Homer - wow that beer went down fast!  And me - Cheers! Still here? Check it out at http://phileasfoggs.net/index.html

The critics have not been kind to Red Tails . True, the movie is all over the place with various B, C, and D plots that tell the story of the WWII Tuskegee pilots. The story works best when the camera is on the group of men stationed in Italy, hoping for the opportunity for combat fight in a segregated military world. When the plot is not focused on racism, the individual stories come out about motivation, struggle, camaraderie, and friendship. African American pilots have the same feelings and skills as their white counterparts. I thought Red Tails balanced out the struggles to face and deal with prejudice evenly with the story of the success of the Tuskegee airmen. If you are a fan of aerial combat, this movie has to be seen on the big screen. Watching this (even with CGI and models) made me amazed that people can fly and fight without everyone getting killed. The action sequences are great to watch and not overdone in the way of endless car chase sequences in many movies. The fig...

Located at the top of the 500 stairs is the Santo Domingo Church. It provides a great photo op to catch your breath after the climb. Inside, the sun gives light to the stained glass.     A departure from religious stained glass to highlight the importance of the River Guayas to Guayaquil

Walking along and up from the river Guayas in Guayaquil        

The Rotunda - San Martin and Bolivar. This monkey sculpture is in the middle of a road at the entrance to a tunnel. With zoom it looks more like a picture.  Same sculpture, backside, from the top of the hill.  The old clock  One of the many ships cruising the river

  This is the view at the bottom. You are looking up at Barrio Los Penas, an old neighborhood in Guayaquil. Hundreds of stairs are between you and the lighthouse at the top but you don't know that yet because you never learned how to count that high in Spanish. So you start up the stairs, thinking that it's only 150 steps. Along the street the houses have "before" photos, showing how run down the place had been and the restoration today. At the very top, something close to 500 steps later (150, 500, I got the hundred and the five part right. Just mis-placed a zero) you have the best view in Guayaquil! I suggest stopping half-way up for water and a rest to take in the river view.  Looking back down at the street.

Yay! I finally got to Parque Seminario also known as the Iguana Park in downtown Guayaquil. At first I was too busy looking around to realize that at my feet were dozens of iguanas. Families come here so the children can feed the iguanas and chase them. When an iguana has had enough, it runs up a tree or goes back inside the small fenced area. These two below were not in the mood for tourists.    This one was looking for food. Lettuce seemed to be the item of the day.    Maybe ready to deal with people again. I don't know why they don't run into the road. Must be Iguana evolution/Darwinism at work.

The sign on the front desk says it all. Ecuador has crickets. EVERYWHERE! And they don't look like this guy. You need an umbrella when the rain falls for more than just the rain.

It's all I got tonight. Work, leave work, go to hotel, it's dark. Work some more in room, go downstairs and join co-workers for a beer. Co-worker on left plotting travel changes. No bug drama today - always a bonus! Well, either that or I'm ignoring all crickets and mosquitoes and what evers. Cheers!

 Same hotel, street view instead of mountain view. Guess I got downgraded on this stay.  Waking up to car  horns blasting away

A remembrance/reflection statue  All walls are for political art  Window coverings  This must be an artist's house

Above: The gates that comprised part of the Peace Wall to keep people from venturing into rival neighborhoods. Below - the Albert Memorial Clock.  The River Lagan. Anyone who is a shipping line fan and/or Titanic fan - this is your area. A whole exhibit opens in April 2012 dedicated to the Titanic.  Below - the Parliament Building And I am sure this was significant about the Celtic cross (old, historical, etc...) but the bus was moving so fast that I was doing my best to get the camera to focus.