Cloudy Atlas Along A Mad River

Take a Chance - Go See It!

Sandy has departed the realm and we are left to pick up the pieces.  This is much easier here in Massachusetts than the New York and New Jersey where the scenes are heartbreaking.  I know I am just one of many that wished the MTV Jersey Shore characters would suffer some sort of apocalyptic fate but this was a little overboard.  My fellow roothugger did finally make it home, to a powerless house in snowbound West Virginia.  I’m sure this adventure has provided substantial fodder for a future tall tale.  My own daughter was dealing with a 3 hour commute to work via 3 different buses in New York City because the subways weren’t up yet.  I had it easy – still more guilt.

Yesterday was a day to catch up in the office from my extended Florida adventure.  Instead of diving into the work piled up in my in box I was called upon to attend several meetings with outside agencies and wrestle with a phone holder (more on that later).  These were important meetings but in the case of one, a public meeting with the state transportation secretary, mind numbingly tedious.  It was a case of death by power point slides, something I recalled less than fondly from my days in the Pentagon.  I’m glad to see bureaucrats have not changed. 

I was “rescued” from this meeting to attend yet another meeting, this time with lawyers preparing for an arbitration hearing with the union on Friday.  I was the lead investigator in the case being arbitrated so I was rewarded with a three hour meeting with the company barristers.  This ran later in the day and caused me to be late coming home.  My wife was calling but I generally refuse to answer cell phones in the car, which she knows but still persisted in calling no less than four times.  She’s relentless, one of the things I love about her.

She was calling because we had our weekly date night scheduled and went to see Cloud Atlas, a movie I was really looking forward to.  I know it has had some terrible reviews but I ended up loving it.  It is one of those movies you have to see on the big screen because of its epic scope.  It’s long and I was cringing after the first hour (listening to my wife’s exasperated groans) because it is so confusing as the plot jumps back and forth in time over 500 years.  The stories are intertwined and actors play multiple parts, even across gender lines. It all eventually makes sense and I appreciated the message of enduring love.  The best thing about this movie is that the filmmakers took chances and I love it when that happens.  It was also a lot of fun trying to spot the actors in their different roles.  Hanks and Berry are fantastic, as always (I swear I’d watch a movie with Hanks reading the phone book).  Doona Bae, a Korean actress, was fantastic in multiple roles as well.  While many people (like my wife) will condemn this movie – I loved it.

While in Florida I finished the latest John Sandford book, Mad River, which continues the story of Minnesota police investigator Virgil Flowers.   I’ve written before about how much I enjoy Sandford’s books, starting with his Lucas Davenport adventures a couple decades ago.  Sandford has wisely realized Davenport was about played out and has started this new series with the totally lovable Flowers character who works for Davenport as his key investigator.  In this book Flowers is trying to catch a trio of young Minnesotans who are on a Capotesque killing spree.  As with all Sandford’s work there is a lot of detailed background and realistic action, a great read.  Thank you Mr. Sandford for making that middle seat on the flight down to Florida almost bearable.

Finally, I did have a minor wrestling match with a new carrying case for my I-phone.  I broke mine last week and the secretary purchased a new one.  Apparently she thought I needed a sturdier one due to my tendency to break them.  She handed me the box with the new one and I spent the next forty five minutes trying to figure out how to open the device.  It would have helped to have the instructions but they were sealed inside the device.  I was reluctant to use my normal “brute force and ignorance” approach due to the aforementioned tendency to break things.  I eventually reached in, folded the instructions and forced them out through a side aperture.  The instructions pointed out the tearing apart approach would work.  It turned out so bulky that I told the secretary to get me one of the old types and torture someone else with this new one.

Another Great Adventure with Virgil

Yesterday's Torture Session

Better Picture of What Sandy did to Front Yard Foliage

Yesterday's Torture Device - Don't be Deceived by Its Innocent Appearnace