2011 Movie Assessments

Since everybody puts out a top ten movie list around this time for the passing year, here we go.  This list was culled from only the movies I went to see. I know there are a bunch of great movies that I haven’t seen yet.  I’ve also included what I considered to be the worst movies of the year, good with the bad kind of thing. 

Top Ten for 2011

1.  Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – so tough to bring a great book to the screen, especially one that had already been done well – best movie of the year.  Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig nail their respective parts. 

2.  Midnight in Paris – Woody’s back!  Great movie where Woody Allen finally realizes we’re sick of his neurosis and gets the best performance of Owen Wilson’s career.

3.  Super 8 – nostalgic look back at the 1970’s, who thought that was possible!  This also has a very good, suspenseful sci fi plot.

4.  Insidious – I have not been this scared at a movie in a very long time and I see a lot of horror movies.  One of the greatest shock scenes in movie history with an unexpected dining room table guest – if you’ve seen it – you know what I’m talking about.

5.  Cedar Rapids – sweet story about lovable losers who stay true to themselves and each other.  A movie about insurance agents that actually works – yep!

6.  Larry Crowne – Tom Hanks getting back into his Terminal type persona making us all feel the pain of the recession with quiet dignity and comedic flair.

7.  Paul – I was so surprised by this movie.  Sci Fi geeks who run into an actual alien who is a foul mouthed, but lovable pervert.  Some great observations on life.

8.  Battle for L.A. – science fiction so well done, seen through the eyes of an infantry platoon (all right maybe I’m a little biased) fighting for their lives against aliens (real ones) in L.A.  They get the personal relationships perfect as well as the sense of duty.

9.  The Descendants – Clooney is so good in a very understated way as he deals with the wreckage left by a comatose wife.

10.  Hugo – who knew Scorsese had this type of heart.  A homage to movie lovers told through the eyes of a precocious orphan hiding out in a 1920’s Paris train station.

This list was tough to make up because there were so many other movies worth considering which surprised me because I thought this was kind of a down year in terms of quality.  The following movies made it to the final cut, in no particular order:

Honorable Mention:

Bridesmaids – so funny, best chick flick ever made.  I’d heard women had a sense of humor about themselves.

Capt America – so hokey it was fun.  Evans goes through an amazing transformation – I’m still trying to figure out how they made him so skinny in the beginning

Fast 5 – great action with a really tight plot – big surprise that this franchise could transcend but it does with this installment

Immortals – amazing special effects with a very engaging cast

Drive Angry – guilty pleasure movie, alright, really guilty pleasure but Cage breaking out of hell to save his granddaughter while pursued by a well mannered demon was great.

Source Code – lots of heart as a “dead” soldier goes through multiple incarnations of a bombing to send a message to his father and find true love

Lincoln Lawyer – Connelly finally makes it to the screen with a highly intelligent movie with McConaughey finally living up to his potential

J. Edgar – takes on one of the most important and intriguing figures of the 20^th century and DiCaprio is finally believable

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – so tough to bring home a beloved, yet complicated story but they succeed, this was the last cut from the top ten and I’m not even a big Potter fan.

Top Comedy (co-winners): 

Paul

Bridesmaids

Top Drama:

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Top Romance:

Larry Crowne

Top Action:

Mission Impossible:  Ghost Protocol – edge of your seat the whole way

Best Special Effects:

Source Code

Best Foreign Film

Trollhunter – documentary of the hunt for trolls in modern day Scandinavia, my wife actually believed it was real and couldn’t believe she hadn’t heard of these 100 foot giants before.

Worst Movies/ Biggest Disappointments

Drive – so, so bad, worst movie of the year, by far

Your Highness – McBride should stick to supporting roles, what were Portman and Franco thinking

Straw Dogs – sad effort on re-making Peckinpah’s classic

Red Riding Hood – some of worst acting, ever, Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons – worst actors ever

Conan the Barbarian – destruction of one of my favorite characters and movies ever, who knew Arnold was so good – this remake was a certified disaster

Three Musketeers – felt like asking for my money back after seeing this disaster, sad effort with this classic story

Harry Bosch – A Very Cool Dude

I just finished reading the latest Michael Connelly book, The Drop, where he returns to his hero Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch.  He’s one of my favorite characters, right up there with Jack Reacher and Lucas Davenport.  Bosch is a deeply flawed but totally admirable homicide detective in L.A.  He lives by a code where everyone counts or nobody counts.  He doesn’t always take the easy, politically correct way but is devoted to the truth.  That takes a very subtle kind of courage.  In this latest book, working out of the cold case unit, he is confronted by an old politically connected adversary who asks him to investigate the death of his son.  In addition, Harry is tracking down a serial killer from one of the cold cases.  Harry is faced with conflicting emotions as he deals with redefining some of his oldest personal relationships on his job, a screwed up partner, a potential love interest, and on top of all that playing single dad to a teenage daughter.  I did say admirable, right?  Harry is a lot of fun to follow around.  I can also understand why Hollywood has found it tough to make the Bosch series into a movie, such as they did (very well) with Connelly’s other main character Mickey Haller (Bosch’s secret half brother) in The Lincoln Lawyer.  It would be very difficult to understand Bosch’s complexities in the short time span cinema allows.   I finished this book in three days, reading whenever I had a free moment.  That’s what I do when I’m reading something I really like or a book, such as this one, in a series with a great hero/heroine.  My mother used to accuse me of “raping” books because I read them so fast.  The truth is that I enjoy the experience of reading so much that I find myself transported into the world of the book.  There are times when I actually can’t sleep because of where I left off reading.  I’ll sneak downstairs and read until I get to a point that will allow me to rest.  Whenever I’m asked about raising children I always say one of the most important things you should try to impart to them is a love of reading.  My basement is literally over run with thousands of old books that I haven’t been able to part with yet.  Whenever we packed up to move in the military there was always dozens of boxes devoted to just books.  That problem was alleviated earlier this year when my wife bought me a Kindle – which I enjoy immensely.  I still have to figure out what I’m going to do with all those books.  I feel I should pass them on so someone else could glean the same amount of pleasure that I did reading them but I may have run out of time in this new electronic reading age. 

Unwatchable - The National Basketball Association

Where Have you Gone, Sam Jones?

The NBA started back up and I have to ask the question, “Who cares?”   This league has descended rapidly over the past decade to a point where I would rather watch anything else.  The league fell for marketing almost exclusively to a demographic that will eventually lead to the league’s demise and I for one will say good riddance.  Basketball is a beautiful game when played as intended as a team game with all five players working together.  You can still see this in college basketball and I love watching those games.  The NBA has turned into what we used to call “street ball” where whoever gets the ball shoots, with minimal passing, and no team defense.  There is so much “profiling” where players taunt or try to intimidate other players that sportsmanship has been eradicated.  The NFL early on figured out that allowing this type behavior would hurt the league and aggressively moved to eliminate it.  That league is flourishing now because it appeals to a broad section of society with admirable behavior rewarded and aberrant types marginalized.   The NBA sold its soul when it allowed the superstars to dictate how the game would be played.  It made a rapist, Kobe Bryant, its marquee player and celebrated him.  This reached its nadir with the decision show featuring Lebron James, which elevated self-indulgence to historic heights.  The game is now thuggish and seems to cater to the worst elements of society.  Referees call the game differently for the superstars, routinely allowing carries, palming the ball, and travelling.  This didn’t happen suddenly but it’s something that really bugs me.  One of the most memorable experiences of my life occurred when I actually got to sit on the Celtics bench between Sam Jones and Bill Russell.  The Celtics were reining world champs and would tour New England towns during the preseason for practice scrimmages.  They came to my home town and my dad took me to the game.  All my friends were showing off some of the autographs they got.  I didn’t want an autograph but I did want to shake hands with Sam Jones whom I idolized.  Near the end of the game I walked over to the Celtics bench during a time out and asked Sam for a handshake.  He quickly did that and then told me to sit down next to him on the bench.  Bill Russell the player coach at the time and another idol of mine, sat on the other side and we watched the last 90 seconds of the scrimmage game together.  I got up dazed and walked back to my father with all my friends looking at me.  That was such a special moment and did more to make me an NBA fan than anything else possibly could have.  Today I feel betrayed when I look in on the game, I think Sam probably does too. 

Exhaustingly Fun Weekend

Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long post.  This past weekend was so much fun.  We picked up my daughter and son in law on Thursday night and we were joined by our son on Saturday morning.  The race to get ready for the holidays had been frantic and it was nice to sit back and enjoy the fruits all that labor and anticipation.  I’ve written before that I am an unabashed devotee of the Christmas holidays and sometimes I get too excited as nothing can possibly live up to my expectations.  I’ve learned that life and the traditions surrounding it evolve and that you have to accept these changes without losing sight of the ultimate goal.  On Friday we went to see the movie, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and it was so well done.  I loved the Stieg Larsson books and the Swedish movies made from them so I was leery of this big budget American effort going in.  The movie was faithful to Larsson’s plot but added some subtle touches that were ably carried out by the talented cast.  On Saturday we gathered at home to watch the Patriots’ game which was the usual feast and famine but luckily ending with a Patriots win.  My wife made a great dinner as we headed into Christmas Eve where my sister and her family joined us.  We turned the TV off and enjoyed each other’s company.  As the evening was winding down we all watched the movie Love Actually before retiring for the night.  My sister had to leave before dawn on Christmas because she had to work.  I was the first one up after that and walked around the house putting all the Christmas lights on and getting Buddy up to run around a little before the gift opening.  I was hoping he and my sister’s dog Bailey would exhaust each other prior the festivities.  I should have known better.  Buddy seems to possess a secret well of energy that he taps for special occasions such as this.  The family leaked downstairs singly and I was able to spend a few moments with each wishing them a merry Christmas – this is one of the finest parts of the day for me.  My brother in law returned from the sister delivery mission and we were ready for the gifts.  I love watching the people I love open gifts and react.  My wife has the best reactions because she wears her heart totally on her sleeve and the joy she receives each gift with is truly a spectator sport.  I usually have all my gifts unopened when everybody else finishes because of this.  Everyone was a little too generous this year and I have a bunch of new movies and a stack of puzzles, something I asked for, to tackle as well as an almost completely new wardrobe, courtesy of my wife.  My wife and daughter then prepared our traditional Christmas breakfast of mimosas and fried dough with a new addition of a sausage casserole that was a huge hit.  I also love the time after the dust settles as everyone moves through the quiet time, except for Buddy, before Christmas dinner in their own fashion with the new gifts.  We had a lot of fun video chatting with my wife’s family down in Panama.  I normally prepare the Christmas dinner and that is a story for another day.  I got a late start because of the breakfast and this year I was teaching my son how to prepare the turkey.  For that reason I was late getting the dinner on the table and was so exhausted by that point that I didn’t really enjoy it thoroughly.  I did enjoy the time with my son but felt I let him down by not getting it right this year.  My wife developed a bad head ache and was bed ridden for the rest of the day.  My sister returned from work and we launched into the Christmas night festivities which culminated with the arrival of my best friend.  We exchanged gifts with him and then settled down for the rest of the night.  My children adore this best friend and have always referred to him as uncle.  He revealed that another friend had spotted some hidden scenes in a favorite movie and we spent the rest of the evening tracking that down together.  It was a great time.  The day after Christmas the house started to empty.  We all went to see Mission Impossible which had predictably awesome action and interestingly the villain was the actor who had played the hero in the Swedish version of the Dragon Tattoo movies, tying the weekend movie experience together obliquely.  We drove my daughter and son in law down to Connecticut for their ride home to New York City.  It was so tough saying goodbye to them.  We passed by some horrendous traffic and I felt blessed that I no longer had to make those dreaded holiday drives back to wherever I was stationed at.  We continued our drive up to New Hampshire for another Christmas tradition, a get together at the aforementioned friend’s house.  This December 26 party used to be done at my mother’s house but moved to my friend‘s house when her health started to fade.  We’re now in the second decade there.  My children love going to this party which is something I marvel at.  For the most part it’s just a bunch of old farts like me sitting around, talking, reminiscing, and enjoying each other’s company.  My son brought his girlfriend this year and I’m sure she was bored out of her mind and wondering how the hell she ended up there.  This was however a real indication of how much he likes her because he was sharing something he really treasures.  We liked having her around because it made us all feel a little younger.  We enjoyed the subdued but important reconnection with old friends that the evening offered but had to agonize a little bit when we heard our daughter's ride back to NYC was stranded with a flat tire.  That resolved itself quickly, for us, I'm sure not for her.  Since I had to work today we drove back home last night after midnight.  More correctly, my wife drove us home due to a certain amount of beer consumed by one of us.  Today dawned too early but the warmth I feel from the time I spent with the people most important in the world to me made it all worthwhile.  Now to pay the credit card bills – off to work.

Christmas Movies

You all know that I am a complete movie nut and as well as a huge fan of Christmas.  Christmas is one of the most explored themes in cinema history and there are some very good movies as well as some of the all time worst movies ever made (Santa Claus versus the Martians – c’mon!).  Everyone has their own favorite because Christmas means different things to different people.  For me Christmas is about the love of family and being with the people you love.  It seems everyone puts out their own list so here goes mine.  If your movie is not on the list, don’t be offended – it’s my list:

The Holiday – great story where the two leads, Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, swap homes for the holidays and find love in their borrowed homes.  Anytime you can link a love story with Christmas you’re one target and they do it several levels here.

Christmas Vacation – funniest Christmas movie ever as Clark Griswold tries to capture the perfect Christmas in the face of a truly challenging family.  Some of the best satire about the over indulgence of Christmas and families but done with love and care.  The overall message is Christmas endures – even in the face of cousin Eddie.

Christmas Story – just a totally heartwarming story told from the point of view of a nine year old kid who is totally focused on his dream gift of a BB gun.  Darren MacGavin is awesome as the 1960s father stirring up the holiday storm in the house.  What kid doesn’t remember that one gift he just had to have.

Home Alone – I just love this movie about an abandoned kid who learns the importance of family while defending his home against some hapless thieves.  The scene of the scary neighbor reuniting with his estranged son at the end of the movie brings a tear to my eye every time I see it.

The Santa Clause – I was prepared to hate this movie when it first came out but it works because it deals with a father’s love and what Christmas should be about.  The Santa legend is one of the best things about growing up as a kid in America and this movie tells it with style and an abiding love.  Those holier than thou idiots who bemoan Santa’s existence are sad; it’s because you don’t believe and you’re poorer because of it.

Love Actually – the best Christmas movie ever made, my family watches it together every Christmas eve.  Eight different couples finding love over the holidays is a perfect combination of what Christmas is all about.  I wish the nude stand-ins were covered up a little more so this could be more of a family movie but I love that story line as well.  The Colin Firth storyline is similar to my own courtship of my wife.  I can see this movie a hundred times and still want more.

Well that’s my list.  I hope you all have the opportunity to spend the holidays with the people you love because that is more important than any gift.  It really is the best gift of all.  Share yourself with the people you love, reach out to the people that mean the most to you, let them know.  I’m heading home soon to do just that.  Merry Christmas to everyone!

Early Morning

I came into work this morning at 4a.m.  That’s when most of the drivers that work for me start coming in and today we bought them coffee and donuts.  It gives the managers a chance to thank them for their hard work and to wish them all a merry Christmas.  It was great for me because I was able to say hi to many of the old employees that I had not seen since I returned last month.  I’ve found as I get older that getting up in the morning is much easier; the Army helped a lot with that.  I stayed up until 11p.m. last night helping the wife stuff Christmas cards but I was still able to bounce out of bed at 3a.m. I use the term “bounce” in its most liberal sense.  At least I did not walk into any walls today.  The commute was also extremely cool, I saw only three cars for entire ten mile trip into work.  The funniest reaction was from my dog.  Usually he is bouncing up and down and begging to get out of his cage when I get up.  This morning he just looked up at me with a look like, “What the hell, why are you waking me up this early!”  He had a rough night as we had a series of thunder storms pass through and they totally freak him out.  He seemed really pleased when I left and turned the lights out.  The best part about today is that I pick up my daughter and son in law this evening and they’re with us through Christmas.  The great turkey hunt ended last night and the avian sacrifice to yuletide tradition is carefully awaiting it’s fate in the freezer.  Christmas spirit is starting to reach a fever pitch – could not be happier.

Challenge Day

Yesterday was one of those days you dread, that if you know what it is going to be like, you wouldn’t bother getting up.  I should have figured that out when I first got up and did what I do everyday – head downstairs to take the dog out.  For some reason I made the turn for the stairs about three feet short and walked directly into a wall.  Now it was pitch dark but this is still a turn I’ve made thousands of times without incident.  Of course walking into the wall generated its own repercussions in addition to a sore forehead. My wife woke from a dead sleep and rushed out thinking I had fallen down the stairs and the dog started barking maniacally.   My wife was a little less sympathetic to the cause of her early morning rise when I explained what happened.  The dog loved it because he got out of his cage a little earlier.  Things got worse at work where I was wrestling with the routing software our company uses.  I was really good at it when I last used it three years ago but again this is software and it was three years (and several other types of software I used daily in the interim) ago.  I finally made some headway with it, in time for a conference call with a French-Canadian expert who was about as sympathetic to my struggles as my wife been earlier.  In the end it all worked out but it was much tougher than it should have been.  When I finished this I rushed out of the office for the last purchase for my Christmas list – my wife’s “big” present.  I’m buying her an electronic gift that I had to wait to purchase because if I did it earlier she would know because of billing and other account changes.  I tracked the availability of the item at a local electronics store which said it was still available as I sailed out the door.  Of course when I got there I was told (the clerk actually laughed) that they had been sold out for over a week.  I grumbled something about updating their status and realizing they do it so you still come into the store.  I had him check availability at several other local stores without success.  I am frantic at this point and call my electronics gurus, my daughter and son in law.  Being the superb human beings they are, they tried to solve my problem and actually located the item I needed while struggling through New York City holiday shopping crowds (they are the best people in the world).  Unfortunately they could not purchase it due to account restrictions and I ended up buying the item on line so my wife gets an empty box (1-2 weeks delivery time) and a promise for her big gift but she’s still going to love it.  I’ve explained earlier how much I detest shopping in all its forms (except book stores) and this is yet another chapter in my sad history of shopping effectiveness.  My day was not yet complete as I had yet to fail in grocery shopping.  I’m in charge of preparing the Christmas dinner – big tradition in our house.  I went out yesterday in search of an appropriate sized turkey and after visiting eight different stores I was still empty handed.  The biggest bird I could find was 18 pounds, well short of the 21 pounds I will comprise down to from the optimal 25.  So today I’m heading out again in search of the elusive avian.  When I got home last evening I think my wife realized how frustrating my day had been and decided to forgo helping decorate the church and went out on a date night with me.  We saw the movie, Sherlock Holmes – Game of Shadows, which was pretty good if a little uneven in pacing.  As we left the theater I realized that as bad as my day had been, the evening with this woman had made up for all of it.  I’m glad I got up.  Now if I could just find a damned turkey!

Dangerous Times to be Laughing About

I’m seeing a lot of jokes being passed around on the internet about the sudden death of Kim Jong II, the leader of North Korea.  Most of these jokes center on his reported idiosyncrasies and the personality cult that both he and his father employed to run North Korea.  What people don’t seem to realize is that this portends a very dangerous time for the entire world – specifically because of that personality cult.  Even a casual student of geo-politics should be aware of what a special case this nuclear armed country is.  North Korea has been on a war footing for more than a half century – it is in effect an armed camp.  Even if North Korean military equipment is dated; numbers have a quality all of their own. Every resident is fanatically devoted to the leader; they are vigorously isolated from the rest of the world by their government.  They accept what their government puts out as the absolute truth.  The stories that we laugh at in the west, such as playing a round of golf with 5 holes in one, are accepted as gospel in North Korea.  Now their infallible leader is suddenly gone with only preliminary succession plans in place.  Kim Jong II’s third son, Kim Jong Eun, is in his late twenties and was only recently anointed as successor.  He will have to quickly establish control of the military which is central to control of the country.  The North Korean military is dedicated to one purpose, conquering South Korea, even to the point of using their nuclear arsenal.  Many senior officers in that military will now see an opportunity to pursue that heart felt goal.  Any attack on South Korea will quickly draw in both the U.S. and Japan, the latter serving as our strategic base.  China views this area as their backyard but more importantly well within their area of influence.  They have always resented the strong American presence in the area and would most certainly react to American military intervention.  You should refer to your history book to see what was happening at this time of the year in 1950 when a Chinese Army a million strong descended from the Yalu in the face of MacArthur’s arrogance.  One can only hope that the American and Chinese economies have become so interdependent that this will have a soothing effect on the most militant elements within each respective super-power.  While some of the stories I see are funny – everyone should be laughing nervously.  Do not make the mistake that the North Koreans will think or react as we would.  This is a very dangerous time and one hopes that the leadership of the countries involved is up to the tasks over the next year (great time for a U.S. presidential election!!)

Power of Demon Alcohol

Well the novacaine did eventually wear off.  The pain was bearable and I left work a little early to get ready for the office Christmas party.  My wife and I were about 10 minutes out from the house when she discovered that she had forgotten to put on her earrings.  Apparently this is a big deal even though you can’t see her ears behind her hair. She pleaded and we returned home for the elusive earrings.   We arrived late at the party but immediately felt welcomed back to a group we left three years ago as if we had never left.  After a few beers I discovered the pain had dulled into the deep background.  I attributed this beneficial effect to the beer and decided to have several more.  We had a great time and I even hijacked the majority of my wife’s chicken parmesan.   Today was another party as we headed down to Rhode Island for the birthday party of a good friend.  Once again the medicinal power of alcohol manifested itself and we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon with some old and new friends.  The crowd was an interesting mix of cultures:  Portuguese, Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Japanese, Greek, and Italian.  There was a bevy of kids running around at the same time the hosts were trying to trim their Christmas tree.  There was even a professional photographer who set up a mini studio in a room.  He was a friend of the host and we were ushered into the studio where the photographer picked up a musical instrument and started playing the love theme from the Godfather.  The term “surreal” leaped to the mind at this point.  He said he wanted to get us in the mood for a truly memorable photo, he was an interesting guy and I kind of liked his style.  He promised to have the photos ready for download tomorrow so I’ll let you be the judges then.  The pain is almost completely gone now – I look forward to the day I can chew on both sides of my mouth again. 

Canal Cruise

Okay, just got back to the office from the root canal procedure and everybody is asking me how I feel.  I am resisting going for the sympathy vote by telling the truth because I feel fine.  This is, of course, largely due to the fact that the novocain has not worn off yet.  I know this because I am slurring my words and only about half of the soda I am trying to drink is staying in my mouth before I swallow (hopefully none of my employees see the bib I’m wearing).  It wasn’t that bad an experience, if you discount the sound and vibration of the extended drilling, that is.  I really liked the people in this dental office and they had a great set up with a TV positioned right over the head of the patient.  I was watching an elephant being taken down by a bunch of lions while they (the hygienist not the lions) kept asking me questions about how much pain I was feeling.  The dentist was an Arab and I was feeling a little nervous that he might know I was a veteran and go all “jihad” on my teeth.  He turned out to be a great guy and one of the best dentists I’ve ever been around (I say that before the novacaine has worn off).  I hate it when you get a really attractive hygienist and they lean all over you during a procedure, especially an extended one like this one was.  It pushes professionalism to the limit, mine not hers.  As I was suspended with my feet in the air they rigged a plastic sheet around the offending tooth and really went to town.  It was kind of fascinating to watch the immense amount of work going on a few inches from your own nose while you are more or less a bystander.  There was an almost hypnotic dance between the doctor and hygienist as he was constantly changing implements and she always had the next one ready, even if only seconds had passed.  For them I, outside of the drill site, had ceased to exist.  I kind of liked that – focus on the problem – I’ll let you know if I have any concerns.  Let’s get this done as fast as possible.  The best news is there will be no restrictions on food or beverage consumption over the holidays!  Clear the decks (or deck the halls, whatever) for action – I am coming in hot!

Christmas Seasoning

We’re getting close to my favorite time of year.  I am an unabashed and unrepentant lover of Christmas time, in all of its glorious corniness.  I love Christmas carols, Christmas parties, but most of all Christmas Day.  I can remember Christmas as far back as the age of 3.  I still remember one special year in my early teens when I was overcome with Christmas spirit, feeling so good about the season and just general happiness that I wondered at myself.  This feeling lasted until well after Christmas and no, to all you cynics out there, the feelings were not chemically assisted.  Every year since then has been an attempt to recapture that feeling.  Most years I get it in bits and pieces, mostly associated with time I spend with my family and friends.  I served 27 years in the Army and made it home every year for Christmas for except for three years.  My wife and kids smile behind me, good naturedly, because they know how important Christmas is to me.  I know there are those raging elements or hipsters out there that bemoan what modern Christmas has evolved to.  Some say it overly commercialized or others not properly religious.  It seems there are always those elements in society – Grinches for lack of a better term.  These seem to be people so unhappy with their own lives that they target times or traditions that bring happiness to others for scorn.  I could not care less about these self-important gas bags.  There is nothing in life more enjoyable than being around people you love and actually taking some time out of the all too busy lives we all lead to just simply be together.  This actually caused some trouble a few years back in my marriage because my wife would each year state in October or so that she hated Christmas.  I know she did this as kind of a backhanded tribute to her older sister who tragically died at a young age of lung cancer.  For years afterwards my wife would feel guilty about feeling good about Christmas because she remembered how much her sister loved it.  I finally told her how much this bothered me and that her sister would be royally pissed off at her if she knew my wife was using her as an excuse to be miserable.  She’s been better the last couple of years and this year has actually thrown herself into a Christmas cookie baking frenzy.  I am extremely excited about next week when both my children, my sister’s family and some friends will join us for Christmas.  So to all of you out there that bad mouth Christmas – get a life; the rest of us already have one and we’re going to have the merriest Christmas of all in spite of you or more correctly in homage to the love we are blessed with of each other.  Merry Christmas!

Surviving Survivor



Chuck Palahniuk - New to the Personal Pantheon of Authors

I just finished reading the book Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk.  About a month ago I mentioned to my daughter and son in law that I had demolished all the books from my favorite authors and I was looking for some new authors to add to my target list.  My son in law enthusiastically recommended Palahniuk and said I should start with Survivor.  My daughter was not overwhelmingly enthusiastic about this choice but she’s a huge Joan Didion fan and probably figured out this was not fertile ground for a recommendation to me.  I had heard of Palahniuk as the author of Fight Club which made a great movie; beloved by my daughter.  I also heard he was kind of weird and really pushed the envelope with some of his books.  I guess my daughter was trying to protect my gentle soul.  Anyhoo, I digress, I absolutely loved the book.  It is the only book I can recall reading in which all of the characters are totally without redeeming qualities.  There was literally no one in this book you could honestly root for and that was kind of neat.  You turn each page wondering what new depth the main character will immerse himself and those around him.  While he does this Palahniuk takes aim at some of my favorite targets within society – the cult of celebrity and extreme right wing religion.  Both of these are worthy of the destructive prose Palahniuk sends their way and as a reader I was amused that he was saying what a lot of us think but don’t say.  This was a great read and you feel almost, again almost, guilty about laughing at the depths sought out by the main characters because he is saying what most of us do secretly think about some of the pomposity of today’s society.  Guilty because he’s really poking fun at all of us and it’s deserved.  If you cannot laugh at yourself – you’re a lost soul.  I’m reading everything I can find of Palahniuk’s.  Thanks to my son in law, I knew you had great taste when you chose my daughter but now you have literary cred as well.

Dental Root Caused Analysis

I had a routine dental appointment this morning, just the semi-annual cleaning that was scheduled six months ago.  I swear that once something like that goes on your calendar it attracts other events.  The catalytic effect today attracted a staff meeting that I had to reschedule and two hearings with union officials that I had to rush back for.  It all made for an eventful high speed ride to the dentist’s office.  The whole time I was slightly altering the accepted speed limits I was asking myself why I was hurrying to such an unpleasant event.  Every other time I’ve gone to this dentist I end up waiting for at least 15 to 20 minutes, so today of course, I walk in three minutes late and have to face the castigating stare of the receptionist who informs me they have been waiting for me.  I “bite off” several rejoinders, remembering these people will shortly have me at their mercy.  (Editorial note:  the people in my dentist’s office are some of the nicest people in the world – I am expressing some artistic license).  I mention to the dental hygienist that I have been feeling some discomfort in one of my molars.  Several x-rays later, the hygienist tells me it looks great with no problems she can detect.  The dentist walks in, demonstrating why she gets the big bucks, and says probably the last thing you want to hear at that point, “I’ve got some bad news.”  I’m sure she’s not talking about the color of the examination room, which involves a truly unfortunate choice in colors.  I momentarily think about asking the hygienist to argue for my side but decide that is not a likely source of support.  Besides, the dentist has played this perfectly, she waited until I was lying in the chair with my feet elevated and head lowered for the hygienist to do her excavations.  She stands right above my head so I have to converse with her while looking up from a position with the top of my head in the vicinity of her upper thighs.  Not the strongest position to argue any point.  The dentist explains that I have a fairly serious infection inside my tooth that will require either an extraction or a root canal procedure.  She assures me this is very serious and should be taken care of within the next week.  She insists I am in more pain than I am admitting to and puts me on antibiotics and gives me a prescription for vicodin if the pain gets too bad (jeez – is it starting to hurt now?).  After consulting with the hygienist (I like her opinions better) I opt for the root canal which will happen on Friday, luckily the same day as the office Christmas party!  I have to admit that from the moment she told me about this I was calculating how to get this behind me before Christmas time because I did not want it impacting on my ability to enjoy the holiday (i.e. drink beer).  I think it is overwhelming evidence of how much I enjoy Christmas in that I briefly considered extraction versus root canal because that would reach terminus more quickly.   I would be more than willing to sacrifice some ivory for the sake of yuletide bliss.  At any rate, I hope you’re having a better day than I did.   

Quality of Friendship

This past weekend my wife and I headed up to New Hampshire to visit my home town.  My wife got to pursue her passion – shopping while I indulged in one of my favorite activities – drinking beer with a good friend.  I have very few friends that I consider “close”.  I have a great many people I consider friends but again, very few that I would classify as close friends.  In my military career, friends would come and go with the regularity of my change of duty station which forced me (and my family) to constantly meet and acquire new friends as we moved around the world.  One of the things I loved about the military was the camaraderie – the bond between soldiers that really goes beyond friendship.  When you train to fight and possibly die with the guy sitting next to you – bonds are formed.  These bonds are however by the very nature of the profession that creates them, short lived and constantly formed and re-formed.  I have hundreds of “friends” from my military career but only two or three that I stay in touch with and that contact is sporadic – nature of the beast – we have all moved on and are dealing with civilian life.  I think that is why I value the friendship of those “close” friends – all of whom date back to my life prior to the military.  I think as you go through life you end up getting defined by what you do for a living.  Having friends that knew you before all the trappings of life get hung on you is important.  I can just sit down with these close friends and pick up a conversation as though we saw each other every day despite the vagaries of life and physical distance that makes that impossible.  One of the great joys in my life is to spend an afternoon with this close friend, drinking beer in a hometown (that I love) bar.  I enjoy bantering with him about life in general, why tight pants work on some waitresses but not others, and other such lofty, cerebral discussions.  He’s even one of the two or three people that read this blog, so thanks for being such a great friend and for telling me when my verbal filter starts to fail (usually the 5 or 6 beer point).  The overweight waitresses in tight pants do not realize the debt they owe you.

Elm City Brewery, Keene, NH - Great Place to Spend an Afternoon Avoiding Shopping

Some Perspective Please

I know I’ve ranted about the state of the news industry before but I was again appalled today, this time by the local media.  We had a terrible tragedy yesterday here in Worcester where a brave fireman was killed going into a burning house to rescue a reportedly trapped resident.  When I woke up today the local newspaper did a great job of in depth reporting on the event.  They covered the actual fire, the code violations of the house involved, and even the problematic residents.  So I was actually angry when the lead stories on all the local broadcast media was about the Occupy Boston idiots losing a court battle.  I was actually mildly sympathetic when the Occupy movement first cranked up.  I understood their frustration with a financial system that had performed so poorly over the last few decades.  That sympathy eroded when the movement was hijacked by a fringe element of self entitled anarchists whose only platform seemed to be to tear down the system.  They didn’t want to pay their debts and wanted everything given to them because for no other reason than they wanted it.  American society was founded on and has thrived on a bedrock principle of the work ethic.  Work hard and with enough talent you can go far.  I know this dream is periodically battered by opportunists but historically we’ve always emerged.  I know it’s a flawed system but I’ve been all over the world and there is nothing even remotely better.  Europe is still afflicted with a class society that works but is a dead end for the aspirations of some of their most talented.  The Third World is still in the process of defining itself but most look to America, with all its flaws, as an example, not to tear down, but to emulate.  The news media let us down again today – those morons occupying Dewey Square were not worthy of mention in the same news as Firefighter Jon D. Davies.

Firefighter Jon D. Davies - R.I.P - Thank you for your Service

No No Gillette



Closest I'll Ever Get to Scoring Touchdown for the Patriots!

View from the Pat's Sideline

Visitor's Locker Room - Really Bare Bones

I’m just back from a two day business conference at Gillette Stadium, home of my favorite football team, the New England Patriots.  The conference was kind of boring but I did learn that the two currently most common, overused sayings in business are, “this is a game-changer” and “the elephant in the room”.   I did get a tour of the facility which was extremely cool.  They even let us into the visitor’s locker room which was very Spartan and according to the guide, purposely so.   All in all it was a great experience in this state of the art facility.  It did cause me to recall the last time I was actually in the stadium, and not fondly.  The Patriots are 18 and 1 over the last few years in home games played in December.  Guess which game I went to?  I arrived at my sister’s on Christmas leave from the military and my brother in law took both my son and I to the game.  It was ice cold out but we were both excited about seeing the Patriots, still basking in the glow of their first Super Bowl championship.  We took the train from Providence, RI because driving into and out of this stadium on game day is not for the faint of heart.  The train ride up was enjoyable and involved more than a couple adult beverages.  Our seats were in what is politely called, the nose bleed section, but we still had a great view of the game and were tremendously excited.  Then the game started, then stopped, started, then stopped, etc, etc.  Since this was an ESPN night game there were a lot of commercials and I learned this meant the referees stopped the game in its tracks so these commercials could air.  My brother in law pointed out a guy standing on the sidelines wearing loud orange sleeves.  Whenever this guy crossed his arms the refs would stop the game and everybody stood around waiting.  Now it was in the low 20’s Fahrenheit and the wind was really kicking so we came to dread the crossing of the sleeves.  We sat with frozen feet on ice cold concrete surrounded by increasingly drunk Pat’s fans while the Pats played terribly, when allowed to play by Mr. Orange Sleeves.  All of this occurred after a nine hour drive with the family to New England from Virginia.  By the third quarter I was ready to assassinate the commercial summoner.  We left half way through the fourth quarter and made our way back to the train to warm up a little bit.  We were early enough to get great seats near the front and the bathrooms.  Then I went in to use the bathroom and discovered all the toilets were full, literally overflowing.  We hastily reseated ourselves elsewhere, imagining what that car was going to be like when the train started moving, while I made for the nearest woodline to take care of business.  Talking about this with my brother in law, a sports guru, he smiled at my frustration and said the NFL game pace is totally at the mercy of television because of what they pay to broadcast the games.  These games are paced for the person watching the game at home, not for the fans in the stands, he said.  I swore to myself that I would never go to see a life NFL game again and I have been true to that pledge even with multiple offers of game tickets.  I really enjoy watching the games from home and I guess that is the way it is intended.  The trip to the stadium over the last couple of days was much more enjoyable because there wasn’t a game on.

View from the Conference Window

Weekend Getaway

The Hot Chocolate Place

We spent the weekend up visiting my son in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and had a simply fantastic time.  He lives in a small apartment just steps away from the quaint center of this old New England port which has transformed itself into a social destination for the seacoast region.  We were within walking distance of the center of town with its collection of bars, shops, and scenery.  Friday night we ate a dinner prepared by our son’s fabulous girlfriend who lives a couple of streets away in another very interesting apartment.  The dinner was great and the company even better.  We then took a cold walk to downtown where they had found a place with a live band playing Latin music.  My son knows how much his mother loves to dance and she was genuinely touched that he took note of this place and then planned for us to go there.  The dance floor was packed but my wife was undaunted and soon had us dancing in the aisles between tables.  She also went over and introduced herself to the band – got their card in case of future gigs with her group of Latino friends.  My wife is the most gregarious person I have ever known.  Saturday, unfortunately our son had to work early in the morning so we just hung out at his place.  I even got to work on a puzzle, something I loved doing as a kid but hadn’t done in decades.  It’s a little tougher now, especially since I didn’t have my reading glasses with me.  Our son returned in time to take us out for lunch and then, joined by his girlfriend, we took a long walk around the picturesque port and scored some well received hot chocolate in the middle of the town.  We took in the annual town Christmas parade, which was great Americana and it seemed like the whole town turned out to enjoy the season.  The parade even included a bagpipe band, need I say more!?  Our son took us out for dinner to a renovated old world type restaurant called The Library.  I loved the décor which was all carved mahogany from the turn of the century.  This place had hosted presidents as far back as George Washington and just had a great ambiance. I had the best steak I have had in years; go to this place if you're ever in Portsmouth.  We ended this great evening in a wine bar which also served beer, thankfully.  Several groups of my son’s and girlfriend’s friends stopped by to join us. I really enjoyed talking with these young people and I was impressed by their maturity and common sense.  There was one who didn’t impress me, but he’s studying to be a lawyer, so it’s almost expected.  Good times thanks to the efforts and thought of my son and his girlfriend.  My wife and I were touched that they would devote so much time and effort to make us feel so special.  Yesterday Buddy returned home and promptly resumed his role in terrorizing the front yard squirrels.  One of those weekends you don’t want to end.

The Interior of the Library Restaurant - Right Where We were Sitting

I Miss My Dog

Buddy

We’re heading up to New Hampshire to spend the weekend with our son.  Unfortunately his apartment does not allow pets so we had to take Buddy down to Rhode Island last night to spend some time with my sister.  I had a business dinner last night so we didn’t even get on the road until well after eight.  I know I’ve written before about my love of dogs but it gets tougher every time I have to be away from him.  Interestingly last night it was obvious that my wife was having the same difficulty I was.  Since she retired she has come to appreciate what good company Buddy is around the house while I’m away at work.  He does this, as with most dogs, just by being there.  He was hurling himself at the door as we left and that felt almost like a betrayal on my part.  He loves being at my sister’s house where he is treated like royalty but we were leaving and he didn’t like that.  This morning as I went through my normal early morning routine there was a large part missing.  I didn’t have Buddy around to share my observations with or see him hurtling down the hill in his daily frantic, but always futile attack on the front yard squirrels when I went out to get the newspaper.  I miss him. 

Musical Eclecticism

Someday!!

I am very eclectic in my musical tastes, the rest of my family, especially my children, would label them as just plain weird.  This probably explains why whenever I am driving the car with my children they immediately seize control of the radio.   I was reminded early this morning when I got into the car to leave for work forgetting that I was playing the Bay City Rollers at maximum volume the night before when I drove back from the gym.  I’m sure my sleeping wife as well as the neighbors and any canine within a 1 mile radius appreciated the short excerpt of “Saturday Night” that came booming out.  It certainly ensured I was wide awake for the drive.  Anyways, I do have a very wide range of music types that I like, they are weird to a certain extent.  I know this because I can get very few people to listen to all of it with me without groaning.  The single most divisive type is bagpipe music …I … just….love…bagpipe music.  It really speaks to me on a certain level.  It even led me to claim I was Scottish when I was young, despite genealogical evidence to the contrary.  Eventually we did establish that I had about a quarter’s worth of Scottish blood, but it must be pretty dominant because bagpipe music just does it for me.  One of the most memorable nights in my life was in the 1980s in an Irish bar in Alexandria, Virginia with my sister and brother in law when a bagpipe band came in and played a couple of numbers, playing right next to where I was sitting.  I can remember my sister looking over and just knowing how happy I was at that moment.  One of my lifelong goals has been to go to a British military tattoo where I could hear a full band of bagpipers but I have never been able to convince anyone to go with me.  I think the next opportunity that comes up I’m just going to go by myself.  I also love hard rock, some country songs, oldies (50s and 60s), ballads, some folk music, salsa music (thanks to the wife for that), patriotic music, and in a huge surprise to any one that knows me, movie music.  About the only music I cannot stand is rap, which isn’t really music anyways.  I’ve often thought life would be much more interesting if we had a musical score to accompany every day life.  Music does inspire me; certain songs evoke memories, some with enough emotional power to bring tears to the eyes, such as the song I danced to with my daughter at her wedding.  I have used music throughout my life to psyche myself up – in college before water polo games I would play the theme from Jaws, in the military I would play the theme from Conan the Barbarian before big runs, and if you play a bagpipe rendition of Scotland the Brave I would be up for jus about anything.  I’ve accepted that my musical tastes are not even a minor tributary of the main stream, but I still love it, it’s more personal that way.  On my solitary drives I can still blast Springsteen followed by the Wake of the Edmund Fitzgerald and feel at peace.