Here and There Blog

I feel as if I have spent the last 5 months chasing winter. I like the sun, I like heat, I'm even happy in a too hot Arizona desert. But the last round of trips seems as if I am constantly catapulted into winter somewhere. This time it's Vancouver, Canada and with no snow or wind chill it's as mild of a 35F as one could hope for. But it's still winter. I'm here for a couple of weeks and I expect to see the run of rain, fog, cold, and even "less cold" conditions. Luckily I'm here for work and inside mostly but it's still cold. Next week I'll have time off and hope to get some photos of something besides boring office buildings. If you're in a sunny, warm place - Enjoy!

Amsterdam - January 19, 2013. First - it's cold. Really cold. 25f with a wind chill that feels like 11f. But I'm here and have to get out so it's time to layer up and celebrate National Tulip Day , or at least pretend to. Today kicks off Tulip season in Holland and you can get free tulips in Dam Square. Or not. Instead I wandered about, drank coffee and later beer, some wonderful dark beer brewed locally. The canal photo doesn't show it well but that's snow on top of the boats.  Anne Frank statue with tulips. Jopen Extra Stout brewed in nearby Haarlem.

Back in Amsterdam in the winter and a fun way to keep warm is to take the Heineken Experience tour.  For 18 euro you take the interactive tour and get to sample the beer. Fun, about 45 minutes if you rush 60 if you take your time. In Part of the tour is the appreciation ceremony. Hold your beer up to the light and look at the bubbles rise. Fresh beer is the best beer.  I'm sitting on a beer keg but you sure can't tell.

A new micro-brewery near home is always worth a trip especially when dark beer is involved! Six different brews were on tap ranging from a nut brown ale, to pale ale, stouts, and an apricot saison. Something for everyone. The tasting room has a standard bar, several kegs, and a wall  railing that is designed to hold taster size glasses. It's large enough for groups without getting too crowded. If you want to check it out, go to: http://ripcurrentbrewing.com/home/

Sunday morning around 10 am. Nearly empty parking lot, only a few people exercising, sun....what a great place to be!  Lined up and waiting, but for what?

I loved The Hobbit in the standard 2D format and had misgivings about ruining the experience by watching the HDR version. Not many people have had nice things to say about the look of the new technology but in fear of losing my fan card, I had to go experience this myself. So rather than revisit The Hobbit , this is what I felt watching the HDR 3D version. People have complained that this format looks "too real." I couldn't understand that since no one gave a description. What I noticed was that in 2D, I felt like I was in the world of Middle Earth. In HDR 3D, I felt like I was on the movie set, watching the actors, with the stage props around me and a painting as the backdrop. Sort of like the giant back drops at Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm. HDR is not forgiving for any flaws in movie making. 3D has never hurt my eyes but it took 2 hours to adjust and my eyes did hurt. Once I got dizzy as a shot panned over the dwarves crossing a bridge. Sometimes the scen...

Disaster movie theme continues with The Impossible , the story of one family caught in the 2004 Thailand tsunami. Based on the real experience of a family separated when the water swept over their resort, The Impossible brings us into the hotel, onto the beach, and swept in the aftermath of loss, injury, and the struggle to cope with a natural disaster. The film does it well because I never want to experience a tsunami first hand. The story focus is on the mother, Maria, and the oldest son, Lucas, while they are separated from Maria's husband and other two boys. What was important in the hours before the tsunami, becomes forgotten as Maria and Lucas try and stay together as the water takes them away and injures their bodies in the process. The two characters go through so much, that it's hard to comprehend that this all happened in real life, in a short time period. We see the wreckage, the survivors, many still in bathing suits and bloody from their injuries, the overwor...

This was one that I didn't have on my radar but a friend wanted to see it, so last night I found myself in 3D glasses, without a clue as to what I was watching. All I knew about Life of Pi was that there was a shipwreck, a tiger, a man, and a lifeboat. So if like me, you've never read the book, here's the synopsis. Life of Pi is really about a three segments in a man's life. We start our meeting with older Pi telling his story to a journalist. Then we go back in time to Pi's boyhood in India and what he was like, the influences around him, and his father's zoo. Later in the story we meet teenage Pi, falling in love and then his family's decision to sell the zoo and move to Canada. Boat trip, boat wreck, Pi finds himself stranded at sea. For a two hour movie this was slow paced and at times too slow. The imagery was beautiful with the ocean, the sky, the dreams of someone trying not to lose his mind. The 3D enhanced this and this is one of the better 3D ...

Today's exercise was out in Mission Trails Park. It wasn't too hot so a one hour hike up and down the hills was a perfect way to work off brunch. I hadn't been out here in a while and the maintained trail area is extensive with enough levels of challenge to suit all people and dogs. The river run-off made this stream a bit deep to cross unless you wanted to swim. I wish I lived closer, this was a great work-out and fun!