Stateless

I used to look forward to the state of the union address each year. I know that sounds weird but I honestly believe in this country and no matter who the president is I usually found a way to listen in to hear what the commander in chief had in the way of vision. Last night I blew it off completely. I’ve given up on this president. He’s smart enough to “get it” but has chosen not to. A clear rebuke was issued to his policies in the most recent congressional elections but he continued last night with the same divisive mantra that’s marked his presidency.  At least that’s what even supportive news analysts are saying in the summaries I’ve been reading. No olive branch – no real effort at bi-partisanship – no attempt to be presidential. This was an opportunity to put the country’s expressed needs ahead of securing his legacy but ego was more important than the people’s business. I’m glad I missed it.

I chose instead to see another movie (gasp!). Blackhat is the latest from Michael Mann and stars Thor himself as a computer nerd – bit of a stretch there. The plot has a computer genius cyber attacking both the Chinese and US. They form a joint investigation team led by Thor’s college roommate from China. They have to get Thor out of prison to help out and some very intelligent, if at times confusing, sleuthing ensues. They shoehorn in a love story that doesn’t make sense at the time but indicates there may be hope for Sino-American relations after all. Thor does get to bash people around with some tables which was more believable than his keyboard stroking.

I liked the movie but I thought they waited way too long to reveal the evil mastermind. Thor cuts a swath through a myriad of henchmen before we ever meet the bad guy directing them and then he’s barely developed character wise. This hurts a plot centered around the confrontation between he and the good guys. Mann does his usual extremely competent job of getting a stellar cast to shine and delivers some real shocking moments in the final third. Well worth the watch, a solid if not spectacular effort.

I came home to see the final season premiere of Justified – one of my true guilty pleasures. This last season, based on an Elmore Leonard story (can’t get enough of that), promises to be a lot darker than earlier ones. Marshall Raylon Givens is still kicking asses and taking names in rural Kentucky but the lovably idiotic bad guys are not doing well. I know they have to wind up the action but it’s sad to see some of the comedic villains falling by the wayside – including one very shocking moment last night.

Birthday Boy Opening His Presents Yesterday

Finally a big birthday party down in Panama yesterday where my father in law celebrated his 87^th birthday. The first order of business was a trip to the town square to play dominoes with his buddies and receive their congratulations. He was fretting about his outfit for the entire day before. My wife and her siblings made the day as special as they could for him. I was able to get my daughter in a shared phone call with her “abuelo” but my son proved elusive until after the birthday boy hit the sack. I lucked out though and had a nice conversation with my son which combined with the earlier conversations with my daughter and wife kind of made my day.

With His Bride

And His Kids - My Wife Photobombing From rear