We're out of soap?

2011-03-03T17:57:00.001-08:00

Near the end, Clive James said we should read books that make us want to deface them. Underline, scribble notes in the margin, etc. This is one of those books. And now thanks to this book I've got a list of fifty or so authors to discover.

Near the end of the book, he demolished a belief I held dear about five years ago. Recently I'd sensed that it was a self serving and shabby belief. I'm in his debt for putting into words why.

The kids liked it. I was glad it was over.

What I saw and read the last couple of weeks

2011-02-24T18:38:00.000-08:00

Melissa is pregnant. This will be child number 5. Now when I tell people they either look with pity, horror (let your wife rest, please), or pleasant and polite incomprehension.
Good heavens do I love Dr. Who. Eli has been writing Dr. Who scripts during the week for us to film over the weekend. Since it is a British show he puts in a lot of references to tea. He assured me the actors and actresses would just be drinking water.

Keaton's favorite apparently. I don't agree but it wasn't that bad.
Soon to be a Daniel Radcliff movie. It will be quite good.
What a good biography. What a sympathetic portrait. It wouldn't have been easy to live with the man, but it would have been rewarding.

I'm a huge Dr. Who fanatic.

What I saw and read last week

2011-02-10T17:27:00.000-08:00

I remember being surprised that Charlton Heston was so good as the Player King in Hamlet. And he's really good as Marc Antony. Jason Robards is stiff.
When William Goldman was a boy he had horrible night terrors. He constantly yelled out for his mom. One night, after yelling for help, his mom threw a candle, a candle holder and a box of matches at the wall over his head. He was six or so.
I read this in bits and pieces over the last year.
Disturbing stuff. Read three quarters of it about a year ago. Picked it up this Tuesday and finished it.

Also, nice interview about The Book of Mormon musical. Warning, I think there is some profanity, but I liked the story of how they researched. I like these guys. www.aintitcool.com/node/48344

The past week

2011-02-03T19:09:00.000-08:00

I also read another book but didn't care for it and won't mention it. I don't want to hurt the author's feelings in case he Google alerts.

It was an interesting story but the characters would not stop bantering and this author can not write banter. If you were talking to his characters in a party you'd be force to fake laugh every few minutes. That's fine at a party but this was novel length and it wore me down.

Also the characters kept laughing at what the other was saying. I don't know why but it was really off putting.

We were doing family scripture study the other night and talking about Solomon and the two mothers. I suggested that if Solomon really wanted to be fair, he should let one mother do the cutting and the other choose which side she wants. My children were horrified and explained several times that that wasn't a nice way to do it. I felt really bad. I should have held my tongue.

What I saw and read last week

2011-01-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

Alane Ferguson did an author skype visit for us tonight. She was fantastic. The teens really liked her.

Film I saw and books I read last week

2011-01-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

What I watched and read last week

2011-01-13T16:23:00.001-08:00

I loved this movie. The version of Julius Caesar was fantastic. It made me realize why people would put up with Orson Welles. Just to be a part of the play. Great movie.

What I read and saw last week

2011-01-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

Movies I watched in December

2010-12-30T17:35:00.000-08:00

Books I read in December

2010-12-30T16:40:00.001-08:00

My Favorite Books of 2010

2010-12-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

Sounds dry, but it isn't. Not at all. Made me appreciate and return to Henry V my least favorite Shakespeare play.

Powerful stuff. I've never liked verse novels before, but I"ll read anything Williams writes. Turns out I love this one. I'll have to read Ellen Hopkins now.

True story about a tiger who drags a mattress outside of a hunter's cabin, sits on it and waits for him. Tigers are scary.

I'm hoping for twenty more years of reading Hitchens. May he survive his cancer of the oesophagus.
Used a story from this for the opening of my church talk. When sugar was first introduced to the new world, only the rich could afford it. Consequently only the rich had black teeth. So the poor artificially colored theirs.

Took me awhile to get into it but the ending is top notch.
This is kind of a cheat since I read it ten years ago. This time it felt different. Back then it was a slog. Now it is one of my favorite books. I didn't realize Jane Austin was so funny. Next year I will read all five of her other books.
Now my favorite Shakespeare comedy. Unless you consider Henry the IV a comedy, in which case it is my second favorite.

Wonderful.

This should be a classic and talked about at least as much as One Flew Over the CooCoo's Nest. But until I saw the trailer to the new movie I didn't even know it was a book. What other masterpieces have I never heard of?

Top Ten Movies of the year pre-2009

2009-12-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

Do you remember that moment in the Simpsons when the comic book guy walks down the street, reading a book and muttering, "Aqua-Man, you can not marry a woman without gills. You are from two different worlds." Then he looks up and sees he is about to get hit by a nuclear weapon and says, "I've wasted my life."

I thought it would be fun to keep a journal of all the movies I saw this year, and it was fun, till the year came to an end and I noticed that I watched a little over (I shouldn't be admitting this in a public forum) 170 movies. "I've wasted my life."

In my defense, I'd like to point out that we didn't have any tv, except for a dvd player, so I didn't watch any TV. (Except for Generation Kill, Flight of the Conchords season 2, and the 2nd through 5th series of The Office. Good heavens do I love the Office.) But 170 movies is way too many. My goal for the next year is to see only 50 - 70 movies. That's one a week. Some weeks I'll watch two.

Here are my favorite ten movies that I saw in 2009 that are pre-2009

Seven Chances (1925)
The Buster Keaton silent film where he has to get married by seven o'clock that night or miss out on a seven million dollar inheritance. Funny and gentle for the first two thirds. The last two thirds are deliriously insane. Keaton is chased by thousands of brides and accidentally starts an avalanche. One of my favorite silent comic moments of all time. I showed it to my in-laws and they loved it. So did my seven and four year old.

Act of Violence (1948)
A war hero is stalked by someone from his platoon (Robert Ryan), who knows the hero wasn't a hero, but got a people in the platoon killed. Really tense and powerful. Do not ever, under any circumstance, do anything to make Robert Ryan angry.

Troll 2 (1990)
You know how two negatives make a positive? With Troll 2, a bad script, stilted acting, bizarre direction somehow make two hours of awesome. This isn't one of those movies that is so bad it is good. No. This is movie is Good with a capital 'G.' Please watch this movie. You will not regret it. Filmed in Utah.

Night of the Demon (1957)
I hadn't heard of this movie a year ago, but it might now be my favorite horror film. It's about a guy who tries to expose a fake devil worshiper / magician. But it turns out the magician is able to sick a demon on him. It is really cool and beautiful.

Gimme Shelter (1970)
Documentary about Altamont Rolling Stones concert. The one where they hired the Hell's Angels to do security and then gave them lots of free beer. And then lots of bad things happen. Really intense.

Sergeant York (1941)
Gary Cooper rules.

Dear Zachary (2008)
Documentary that makes you cry and cry and cry. I don't want to say anything more. If you are going to see it, know as little about it as possible. (Warning, some swearing, but under the circumstances it is understandable.)

I Am a Fugitive of a Chain Gang (1932)
I didn't expect this one to hit me like a brick, but it is incredibly powerful. Maybe the most moving last line of a movie ever. It's about a fugitive of a chain gang. I like a title that tells me what I'm getting. Do you hear that Twilight? Why didn't you name yourself I'm a Vampire that Sparkles.

Ball of Fire (1941)
Gary Cooper rules. Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where Snow White is a gangster's girlfriend, the seven dwarfs are seven professors and the witch is the gangster. It makes the top ten for the scene where the only professor that had ever been married (his wife had died very young) gives Gary Cooper pre-wedding advice. I will steal that speech when I have to talk to my son before his wedding night.

His Girl Friday (1940)
Cary Grant was best when playing a stinker. In this movie he is a wonderful stinker. I watched it twice this year. Very, very funny.

Movies I saw that came out in 2009

2009-12-22T17:04:00.000-08:00

My three favorite films that came out this past year were children's films. That never happens. Usually I love Pixar and hate every other film aimed for children. (Except an occasional Peter Pan and Babe 2: Pig in the City.)

Best films I saw were Coraline, Where the Wild Things Are and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Here are all the films from 2009 I saw this year.

Movies I loved unreservedly and would love to see again:

A Christmas Carol: The 3D was spectacular. Not sure if I'd like it in 2D

Coraline: Really unnerving children's movie.

Drag Me to Hell: I was so right about this one.

Fantastic Mr. Fox : So scared I'd hate it. Very relieved when I laughed all the way through.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I don't like the Harry Potter movies, but I'm a sucker for camera shots from the viewpoint of malevolent witches going through the streets of London. I wish more movies had them. This is best Harry Potter movie yet.

Inglorious Basterds

Up - Pixar has only made two films that I don't care for. First ten minutes are the best things Pixar has done.

Where the Wild Things Are: My favorite movie of the year. The first fifteen minutes hit me hard. The soundtrack is great.

Movies I really, really, really liked but don't care if I see again:
Extract - Best acted movie of the year. Everyone knocked it out of the park.

Observe and Report - Boy this was dark and funny and touching.

Star Trek - I hate Star Trek but I really liked this.

Knowing - I don't care what anyone says. I thought it was good. I had it playing at the library and the last fifteen minutes everyone in the teen room stopped what they were doing and gathered around the TV. It was a nice moment.

Paranormal Review: Too scary to see again. Or to boring because I know where all the scares are. Either way, it was good to see once.

Movies I loved mostly but had parts that I hated:
500 Days of Summers:
This feels unfair because I loved this movie, far more than I disliked it. I really only disliked the scene when they embarrass each other by shouting obscenities in the park. (So what? I'm a prude). The scene made me cringe and made me like the characters less. The rest of the movie was outstanding, but it took awhile for me to like the characters again.

Movies I feel nothing about:
The Hangover: So-so.

17 Again: It seems like I should have hated this more. I didn't find it funny but I was touched in parts.

Zombieland: It seems like I should have liked this movie more. I'm not sure why I didn't.

Funny People: I liked what it was doing and I liked the acting and the story. I don't know. I liked it without feeling strongly about it.

Movies I mildly didn't like:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs : Why do animated films think I want to see a joke every 4 seconds? I don't. I want a story thrillingly told. The Life of the Party is always a bore. Don't try to be the life of the party anymore animated films. (I blame Robin Williams in Aladin.) No more joke a minute cartoons, please.

Bruno: I loved this film when I saw it. I laughed a lot and thought it had important things to say. But the review in The New Yorker was such a good take down of the movie, that it flipped me from enjoying to mildly not liking. (Does that make me easily swayed or is the reviewer in The New Yorker that good a writer. Probably both.) The best paragraph in the review is :

Brüno” ends appallingly, with a musical montage of Sting, Bono, Elton John, and other well-meaners assisting mein Host in a sing-along. Here’s the deal, apparently: if celebrities aren’t famous enough for your liking (Ron Paul, Paula Abdul), or seem insufficiently schooled in irony, you make vicious sport of them, but if they’re A-listers, insanely keen to be in on the joke, they can join your congregation. Would Baron Cohen dare to adopt a fresh disguise and trap Sting in some outlandish folly, or is he now too close a friend? To scour the world for little people you can taunt, and then pal up with the hip and rich: that is not an advisable path for any comic to pursue, let alone one as sharp and mercurial as Baron Cohen.

Here is the complete review http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/07/20/090720crci_cinema_lane?printable=true

Monsters vs. Aliens: See comment about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

Movies I didn't like:

Friday the 13th: It gave me a headache. Forgot I'd seen it till I made this list.

Paper Heart: I would have loved it when I was 23. I can understand why others would love it.

Movies I wanted to like but found disappointing:

Jennifer's Body - A horror film by the writer of Juno? I was so excited.

The Invention of Lying: Biggest disappointment of the year. I love Ricky Gervais. Love, love, love him. But this movie just did not work. At all. Except for one hilarious scene where Gervais makes up 10 commandments. I wasn't offended by the religion bashing. That was the funniest stuff in the movie. Everything else was bleh.

Deborah

2009-10-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

Deborah came up to me with the birthday card her grandparents sent to her. I'd already read the card which said in red pencil,

Dear Deborah,
Happy 4th Birthday.
Love Grma & Grndpa

She asked if I wanted her to read it to me. I said, sure.

She said, very solemnly,

Dear Deborah,
Ha! Ha! Ha!
You can't go to school.
Love Grma & Grndpa

I don't know which I find more funny, that she thinks it's within the realm of possibility that Grma and Grndpa would write a letter simply to tell her she can't go to school. She didn't' appear to be joking.* Even though she knew the letter didn't say that, since Melissa had already read it to her, it appears she thought I might believe it.

Or that her grandparents would write out Ha! Ha! Ha! first. Probably the three 'Ha's'. There is something so wonderfully malicious about them.

For the record, her Grandparents are wonderful and they would never send a letter like that to a 4 year old child. And the letters they've sent to me and Melissa have been quite constructive in tone and rarely mocking. For instance, we got a letter on my birthday that said:

Dear Melissa and Bryan
Ha! Ha! Ha!
You can't afford to go to San Diego this month.
Love Mom and Dad

Which I took as a letter of encouragement to keep paying off the student loans. The laughter was a sympathetic, been-there, done-that sort of laughter.

*Deborah's jokes usually end with something like, "And then the refrigerator falls on your head" or "and then the bees land on your head" apropos of nothing. If there is a connection between her set-up and her punch-line, I've yet to discern it. (And yet her jokes still make me laugh. I suspect she's a comic genius.)

It's not a mid-life crisis

2009-10-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

I am not going through a mid-life crisis, although I'll forgive you for thinking so. I don't think mid-life crisis' are this mild and this un-life-shattering.

But lately I've wanted to re-evaluate my life, see where I'm going right and see where I'm going wrong. And correct it.

A couple of recent incidences have brought this on.

Last month, a guy I know died in a bicycle accident. He had three children, the youngest barely three months old. He only two years older than me.

It was startling and tragic and not unusual. Accidents happen. But I wonder how often they happen to great men. This guy was probably in the top 10% of people in the world. A contributor to society. And I suppose the top 10% get in 10% of the accidents. And the dregs of society, the bottom 10% probably get in 10% of the accidents. So 80% of the accidents involve people who are not too good and not too bad. And it is tragic and you hate to think of it happening, but it is what it is. But when someone who is, say, 95% good dies in an accident, it feels a bit more shocking.

And it was shocking. I wouldn't call him a friend, but we were friendly. He was an acquaintance that I admired. And he was a universally admired in Yuma. The funeral procession was led by the teen bike club that he helped found.

And of course, it made me consider my life and my wife and children.

Just a few weeks after that, a 35 year old childhood friend was called to be the Bishop of his ward. It was very surprising, non-surprising news. Non-surprising because he is a great, tender guy. The kind of guy you'd want as a bishop.

And yet surprising because I've never thought of Bishops as "great guys." Great Men, yes, but not great guys. Bishops and Great Men are older than me. 'Great Guys' and Elder's Quorum presidents are my age and younger. And when somebody I grew up with goes from Great Guy to Great Man, it means I should at least start thinking about becoming a Great Man myself.

By Great Man I don't mean Bishop. Heaven forbid. I wouldn't wish that on Kim Jong Ill. But I'd like to be a serious, good, kind man.

I know I'm not a horrible person. I won't spend the next few blog posts beating up on myself. But every once in a while I get itching for a mild course correction.

Last time I had one of those, I ended up in Great Britain.

These are the subjects I plan on discussing.

Politics
Family
Religion
Career
Goals

Dust Storm in Sydney

2009-09-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

1. These pictures of a dust storm in Sydney are beautiful. http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/09/dust_storm_in_australia.html

Newberry Neil Gaiman/ The Chosen One

2009-07-25T12:41:00.001-07:00

1. It turns out Neil Gaiman didn't win the Newberry this year. http://jameskennedy.com/2009/07/13/i-win-the-newbery/ I couldn't watch the videos on my computer but the transcript of James Kennedy's speech was great.

2. I finally read The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams, (You'll remember that I told you it was coming out a couple of months ago.)

No wonder it has gotten the blurbs it did. It is fantastic. By far, Carol's best. Even Melissa who is adverse to reading or watching anything on plural marriage, and who read the jacket and said, "I think I'll skip this one," then read the first page and said, "hm, yeah, not my cup of tea," then preceded to read it in one night and wanted to talk and talk and talk about it.

The protagonist and her boyfriend will break your heart. I won't say anything more.

It's A Boy

2009-06-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Christopher Ray was born June 4th. He weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces. 21 inches long. He shares a birthday with Angelina Jolie, King George the third and my co-worker Maria Mendez. He is already sleeping through the night. We couldn't be happier.

I've got bad news . . .

2009-06-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

. . . for those who are eagerly awaiting the next instalment of my New York trip. Melissa went into labor at 3:00 am. Went out to the front room and read the Ensign till 7 am. Then woke us all up to get Eli ready for school. The contractions are 6 minutes apart. Soon we'll go to the hospital. (Melissa doesn't want to spend 10 hours in the hospital. So she is waiting till she feels ready.)

Earlier today I told Deborah that mom was going to labor. She patiently told me that she was not either. She's going to the hospital.

Friday in New York

2009-06-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

1. I look like Screech from Saved by the Bell. That is my cross to bear. Not unbearable but if I had my druthers I'd rather look like Zach or the guy with the mullet. Or even Jesse, I suppose. More on that later.

2. Stopped at a nice breakfast restaurant and had a steaming cup of cream of wheat. Temperature 68 degrees. (Weather, not my breakfast which burnt my tongue.)

3. The conference itself seemed very crowded. I heard it was much smaller than last year, but it didn't feel like it.

4. People see my name tag, which says I'm from Yuma, Arizona, and ask if I'm glad to be out of the heat. Each time I say yes and laugh a little too loudly. Each time they look a little uncomfortable.

5. When Neil Gaiman signed his new children's book, I said, "Thank you so much" in a very earnest way. I wasn't just thanking him for the children's book (Crazy Hair. Very funny.) I was thanking him for American Gods, Anansi Boy, Sandman, The Graveyard Book and the new Coraline movie. He said, "You are so very welcome." I know this isn't an interesting story but it was one of the highlights of my trip.

6. Stood in line for Scott Westerfield's new book with a young, hip twentysomething lady, talked a lot about Neil Gaiman and other things. She was wearing a hot pink baseball cap. Listen to me 13 year olds, get on the ground floor, start wearing 80's fashion. I think it will be the next big thing.

7. At 5 I walked to 42nd street. A guy selling tickets to a comedy show. 40 dollars, but he could get them to me for 20. Starring Dustin Diamond who played Screech on Saved by the Bell. No thanks, I said.

8. Bought tickets for 39 Steps, I had three hours to wait till it started. Another guy on the corner shouting out that he had tickets to Screech, pointed to me and said, "Hey you look like . . ."
"Dustin Diamond?" I said.
"Yeah," he said. "That's funny. You should totally buy tickets." But I have a rule to never buy anything from a salesman who tells me I look like Screech.

9. Since I had a couple of hours I took in a screening of Drag Me to Hell. Awesome. I don't want to brag, but I really called it, don't you think? . . . You all saw it, right?

10. When I left the theater a big black man looked at me. I smiled. He looked at me again as if he knew me, pointed, and then waved me over. "Hey are you Screech?"
"No," I said.
"You look just like him."
"I've been told."
"He's playing here tonight."
"I heard that."
He paused and said, "I don't think you should go to it. People will probably harass you."
"That's probably true. I'll skip it."

11. 39 Steps was good. Really good. Not amazing good but a fun time. A little too long and the teenagers beside me laughed a little too loud. (What are they on vacation from Yuma?) Perhaps a full review in a few days.

12. Went to the hotel and watched the Spenser Tracey version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Very disturbing for a movie from 1941.

Thursday - The Flight

2009-06-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

1. Why do they sell Playboys and Penthouses at the airport bookstores? Does anyone actually read those on the plane? I read Rolling Stone on the flight from Yuma to LA and was embarrassed that my seatmates might accidentally see some of the salacious pictures. I can't imagine having the guts to read a Penthouse. Maybe they are for the pilots.

2. I think my flight attendant from Yuma to LA was Mormon. She spoke in the sing song that Relief Society Presidents used to have in the eighties. When it was time to descend she said, "I have very exciting news." I was charmed. Good job United, usually your flight attendants seem overwork and harried.

3. I took the subway from the airport to the hotel in order to save money. I ended up saving only 7 dollars. I should have taken the shuttle.

4. While brushing my teeth I looked out the bathroom window and saw the bottom half of the Empire State Building, half a block away.

5. In New York, steam really does come out of the grates. I thought that was only in Martin Scorsese movies.

6. I fell asleep at 1:30 am after watching Bill Maher and a few other things. I was still on Yuma time. I would be for the next four days.

24 hours to go

2009-05-27T08:09:00.001-07:00

Well, it is 8:08 and in 24 hours I will be getting off the plane in Los Angeles. It will still be two hours before I crack open the Empire Magazine. To tide me over I will read a scary Bentley Little book.

Flying Out to New York This Week

2009-05-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

Got my Empire Magazine twentieth anniversary edition guest edited by Steven Spielberg to read on the flight and I've washed all my knee length shorts. So I'm more than ready. Now I just need to wait the two whole days before I fly out.

The doctor recently said the baby probably wouldn't be born for another couple of weeks. So, knock on wood, I won't be in New York during the birth.

My flight leaves Thursday 6:30 am. I layover in Los Angeles and arrive at New York at 8 pm. I return home Monday at 1:30 pm.

New Library Opens Tomorrow Night

2009-05-20T21:14:00.001-07:00

More about that later. I might be doing a fifteen hour day tomorrow.

A message from Deborah

2009-05-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Deborah decided she wanted to do a blog post also. I will be typing for her. I will also write what ever she tells me to. (Warning, she has a surreal sense of humor.) (When there is random letters it is because she wanted to type for a bit.)

Deborah: I love myself. bbbbbbbdhros. I'm going to clean up toys. ninnl. I'm going to go hug my mommy. I'm going to go jump in the laundry basket. I'm going to go jump into the computer. I'm going to go jump in the chair and hide. I'm going to jump in the fan.

A message from Eli

2009-05-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

I promised Eli that I would let him write a blog post. I thought that meant that I would type. But no. He wanted to type.

So here we go.

im in my house playing tag with deborah it is fun .do you have fun playing tag i have fun. did you no that i went to the beach and the waves chast me and my dad. it got me. i did this By my self thank you grama and grampa summers and routson. :) (Bryan here. He asked if he could put on a smiley face moticon. I wonder where he found out about them.)

Twilight/ World's best visual illusions/ Twilight

2009-05-14T17:09:00.000-07:00

1. This is a wonderful Twilight themed WikiAnswers exchange. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_vampires_skin_realy_sparkle_in_the_sunlight

Question: Does vampire skin really sparkle in the sunlight?
Answer: Unfortunately, vampires don't really exist.

2. Please, please, please take a moment to look at the three best visual illusions of the year. The winner is a doozy. http://www.aip.org/isns/reports/2009/051309visualillusion.html

3. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n06/turn03_.html I enjoyed this essay on Twilight.

Pixar movies in the order of how much I like them

2009-05-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

1. Ratatouille
2. Toy Story
3. Monsters, Inc.
4. The Incredibles
5. Finding Nemo
6. Wall-E
7. Cars
8. Toy Story 2
9. A Bug's Life

I love 1-7 and I am lukewarm about 8 and 9.
I don't know why I'm not crazy about Toy Story 2. It seems to be everybody elses favorite. It doesn't do it for me. I can't wait to find out where Up falls in the list. (I think Incredibles might have been higher except for the fact that I've seen it so dog-on many times. I've worn that movie out.)

Baby Monster/ Paleface

2009-05-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

1. New favorite game at the Summer's is Baby Monster. It's when I chase Eli and Deborah around the house, while holding Robin in front of me, Robin growling like an ostrich.

2. Watched Paleface, a Buster Keaton short, yesterday. Probably too racially insensitive to show at the library but it had a jaw dropping stunt - Buster Keaton rolls down a hill like Princess Buttercup in Princess Bride. Only, instead of a lot of edits and cuts, it is one shot. He starts at the top of the hill and we watch him go to the bottom. The camera is forever away and Buster Keaton, who is just a tiny speck, rolls and bounces down the hill.

Camp out/ Dead catfish

2009-05-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

1. Took Eli on the father son campout. It was too hot to make a fire, so we sat around an empty fire pit. One of the fathers caught a huge scorpion and put it in a bucket. Eli and I did a little fishing but we didn't catch anything. But they were biting. They bit the worm off the hook 12 times. I think I'm putting the worm on the hook wrong.

2. Around the corner, half a block from our house is a giant dead catfish on the sidewalk. It has been sitting there for 4 days. I wonder why nobody has complained. Probably because it is too hot to walk, so nobody is on the sidewalk, nobody has smelled it and the only people that see it are in air-conditioned cars. It's easy to forget about till you drive by it again. And again. And again. I should call someone.

Why I want to see Drag Me to Heck/ campout/ food art

2009-05-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

1. In a comment thread yesterday my friend Ben wrote:

"So you have talked about this movie so much I went and watched the trailer. I'm just wondering why you want to see it soooo bad. I mean it doesn't look any different than any other scary movie. Are you joking when you say you want to see it so bad?"

No, I am not joking. Drag Me to Hell is the movie event of the year for me. (Besides Pixar's Up. Which I want to see almost as much.) Here are the reasons:

a) Sam Raimi is directing. He directed the Spiderman movies, which I like a lot. But even more exciting, he directed Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Two horror movies that I love. They are the perfect mix of funny and scary. Especially Evil Dead 2. If it's ever on TV, I watch till the end. I can't help it. (I was slow in my appreciation. The first time I saw Evil Dead 2 I thought it was just okay, but I kept thinking of parts and the next time I saw it I was hooked.)

b) A lot of horror fans were very worried that Drag Me to Hell was rated PG-13 and thus lame. They like their horror rated R. But when it played at the South by Southwest film festival, the fans thought it was amazing. The right mixture of scares and roller coaster ride. So even though it is PG-13 it is still loved by grizzled horror film fans.

c) It's PG-13 so I can screen it at the library next Halloween.

2. Tonight is the ward father and son campout. I don't think I will be able to sleep because Yuma is so dang hot. Will bring a flashlight and a book. I couldn't sleep last night in my house with a fan and air conditioning - had to watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers at 1 am.

3) Of this food art,
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/04/pasta-monster-and-other-strange-food.html
my favorite is the eggs http://nocturnalmoth.deviantart.com/gallery/#EGGS-and-PILLS .
But all the pictures are good.

Will Drag Me to Hell be the greatest movie of all time? Or just 2009?

2009-05-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

1. Only 23 more days till Drag Me to Hell.

I'm excited about a few other things this month. Only 15 days till the new library opens. Exciting because when the library opens it means only 8 more days till Drag Me to Hell.
And only 22 more days till I fly to New York which means one more day till Drag Me to Hell.

Tonight I'm going to make myself a Drag Me to Hell advent calendar. I will post pictures later this week.

I'm scared the baby will be born on the day I'm supposed to go see Drag Me to Hell. What will I choose? The hospital or the theater? Melissa and I probably could have planned the timing of this child better.

2. Postscript to the list about Melissa. Melissa, when I gave her the list after church, made some compelling arguments.

a) You, (meaning me, Bryan), eat plenty of chocolate chips, since every time you pass the freezer you get a hand full. (She's right, I probably shouldn't complain about a lack of chocolate chips in my life.)

b) Liver tastes soft and squishy and weird. (I can't argue with her. Liver is real soft and squishy. (So is dove by the way.) We just disagree on whether that is a good thing.)

c) Scary movies are scary and I (meaning Melissa) don't like being scared for free. Why pay someone to scare me? (Again, hard to argue with. I hate being scared in real life also.)

Book Expo of America/ Three un-interesting things

2009-05-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

1. This will be my second year at Book Expo of America. Last year I was there for six hours and got to meet Paul Feig and see, from a distance of twelve feet, John Hodgeman and Alec Baldwin. I also got about 150 advanced reader copies of books.

This year I will be there for three days (still missing Chuck Klosterman and Stephen Tyler - AAARGH) and will have to ship whatever goodies I can't fit into my suitcase. And at Book Expo of America there are a lot of goodies.

There will also be a lot of interesting interviews and panels and celeberaties. Do you guys remember Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly screaming at each other on C-Span four or five years ago? That was a Book Expo of America panel.

The advanced reader copies I want the most are the sequel to The Hunger Games, the new Richard Russo book, the new AJ Jacobs book and Terry Teachout's biography of Louis Armstrong.

2. Here are three things about my family that aren't interesting to anyone but myself and even I have nothing to add by way of comment and yet I want people to know about them.

a) We have a hummingbird feeder. And lots of hummingbirds.
b) We went swimming at the Colorado River yesterday. Eli stepped on a bee.
c) Tile floors are real slippery when wet and also hurt when you fall on them.

Eli and school/ wife / Swine Flu in Yuma

2009-05-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

1. Eli hates school. I can tell because Sunday night he becomes tense. I know that feeling. The gloom that descends before a week of work. (I don't have it with this job, but I've had it with other jobs and with certain school years.)

2. Yesterday in priesthood they asked us to write down what we wished our wives did better or things we don't like about our wives. The goal of the lesson was to help us realize how petty our dissatisfactions are. But I stand by my three.

a) When she makes chocolate chip cookies, she only puts in a half a bag of chocolate chips. She likes more of a cookie taste. Where as I like more of a chocolate chip taste.

b) She doesn't like liver so we never have it for dinner.

c) She doesn't like scary movies so I either have to go see Drag Me to Hell alone or hope that Kyle, Nathan or Clin move to Yuma before May 29th.

I don't think I'm being unreasonable. Melissa, the ball's in your court.

3. One confirmed case of Swine Flu in Yuma but the authorities are refusing to give the name, age, address and telephone number of the sick person.

One more Swine Flu post/ Neverending Story/ Scorpions/ Drag Me to Hell

2009-05-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

1. It's a bummer of a time to feel any aches, pains or flu symptoms. For instance, I ate a bagel the other day that made me feel a bit icky, and all I could think was, hm, I've got the swine flu real bad.

A few people we know have had the flu this week. Normally when you get the flu, you just think, "Ah well, I'll be better in a couple of days." Not this week though. The Swine Flu makes being sick even less fun.

2. Went to Melissa's doctor this morning for the pregnancy. Signs on all the doors said that if you have flu symptoms feel free to reschedule. I kind of wish we could put up signs like that at the library. "Sneezing people will be asked to leave." A lot of sneezing, coughing people go to the library.

3. I swear I don't think much about the Swine Flu. Nope, not at all. I'm not worried. Just making conversation.

4. I've been half watching Neverending Story with the kids. It still kind of works for me. I just watched the Rock Eater cry and danged if I wasn't a little touched. It's not a great movie but it's a pretty good one. I think I'm going to watch Teen Wolf maybe that holds up also.

5. The rumor is that the workers keep finding scorpions in the boxes of books being stored for the new Yuma library. I don't know if I believe it, but it keeps my mind off the swine flu.

6. It is May, so the countdown for Drag Me to Hell officially begins. May 29th. This is the movie I want to see most this year. Unfortunately I'll be in New York and I can't justify going to see a movie I could see in Yuma. I just hope Our Town is as good.

Swine Flu - Day 4 of the madness

2009-05-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

My motto has always been, "Always err on the side of not worrying enough." It has served me well, which is why I'm not worried about the swine flu. 99.9 percent of everything is never as bad as we think it will be. Even the Spanish Flu only had a mortality rate of 2.5% percent. 2.5 is not that shabby. (Sure that's 50 million people but still . . .)

Swine Flu/ Dorky Glasses/ Neverending Story/ Go away

2009-04-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

1. It's been 30 hours since I've heard an update on the swine flu. Don't know if we've had any in Yuma, Arizona, yet. I was about to research but, weirdly, I've lost all interest. (I'm still using a lot of hand sanitizer though.)

2. I got new glasses yesterday. I think they look great and so do my kids and Melissa, but I came to work today and nobody mentioned them. Except one guy who said I looked studious and another guy who asked what was up with the new glasses? I said, "Yeah . . I bought them." After an awkward pause he said, "See you around Bryan."

So I wondered if I was wrong about the glasses, but at a store today I caught my reflection in another car window and I looked really rad.

But maybe I'm one of those dorks who thinks he look awesome. For instance there was an issue of Library Today (name of magazine changed to protect the subject) where they talked about amazing teen librarians and one of them was a twenty-something with a nice smile who had on a tie and a vest but no shirt. My thought was, "What a dork, but I bet he thinks he looks cool. Will he be embarrassed by this picture some day?"

Am I like that guy only with new dorky glasses? Probably.

3. Watched the opening credits of Neverending Story earlier today. When I was a kid, my siblings and I would grab our dog's ears and flap them while singing the theme song. No doubt, if I ever get a dog, I'll do the same thing. (I'll watch the whole movie tomorrow. I wonder if it holds up.)

4. Every morning when I get out of the car, Deborah, age 3, shouts, "Go away, wicked wolf," and then laughs and laughs.

update (plus another update)

2009-04-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

Swine flu has been confirmed in Arizona in Maricopa County which borders the east side of Yuma County. I'm surrounded. Pray for me.

Update: May 3rd. when I wrote this I was trying to sound more worried than I am. My real feeling about the swine flu is that like 99.9% of everything, it will never be as bad as we think it will be so it is not worth worrying about.

My motto is "Always err on the side of not worrying enough."

Barry White/ New York/ Imperial County/ hand sanitizer

2009-04-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

1. I came into the office today with a low, sexy Barry White voice. Lydia and Jerry, my office mates said it sounded like I had the swine flu and requested I go home. I don't get it. Is Barry White's voice not sexy anymore?

2. In less than a month I'll be in New York City. I've wanted to visit there since I was 13. In about three weeks I'll be in San Diego. I love San Diego.

3. Last I heard, the swine flu hasn't made it to Arizona yet, but it has made it to Imperial County, Ca. I live three miles from the Imperial County border. So I'm avoiding all residents of Imperial County who talk like Barry White.

4. The library hand sanitizer smells really good. Like cinnamon. But I can only smell it if my hands are over my nose. How do they expect us to get any work done?

Glucose Test/ Stephen Tyler/ T-Rex clap/ Deadly Pandemics

2009-04-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

1. "If you're ever shot or stabbed you won't have to worry about bleeding to death," a nurse said to me after milking my finger in order to get a drop of blood for my glucose test. They had to prick three of my fingers.

2. At the Book Expo of America opening gala, Stephen Tyler from Aerosmith and some guy from the E-Street band will be interviewed by one of my favorite authors, Chuck Klosterman. I would be very excited except that I won't land in New York until a half hour after the opening gala is over.

3. If you are ever a Den Chief for a cub scout pack and you have to do one of those corny claps, I came up with a good one for our dinosaur themed pack meeting. A T-Rex clap. Have the audience put their hands up like a T-rex, close to their chest and try to clap. The hands can't connect. It got a good laugh.

4. 5 deadliest pandemics in history.
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/27/5-deadliest-pandemics-in-history/ (I thought of doing a Swine-Flu Clap at the pack meeting last night but didn't. Bad taste.)

Sleeping in Airports part 2

2009-04-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

I'm no expert at Sleeping in Airports but I fancy myself an informed amateur. So if you plan on sleeping in an airport, here is my advice.

1. Don't sleep in an airport if you can help it. You will not sleep well and you will start (or end) your trip very tired. Don't get me wrong, sleeping in airports is fun. But it's the miserable kind of fun that only feels satisfying because you are saving so much money.

It took me half a day to get to London and I was only traveling because Melissa was nice enough to let me visit places for the weekend. (I'd leave Friday afternoon and get back Sunday night.) So I would leave as late as I could the night before my plane left, usually 5:30 pm, getting into London at 10-12 pm. It was too expensive to get a hotel and too late to stay with relatives.

2. If you must sleep in an airport, bring a book. Don't bring Finnegan's Wake. Bring Nelson Demille. You will be awake more than you are asleep. You want the kind of book that would keep you awake in normal circumstances. Some people bring movies, but I don't know, if I'm tired, I can't concentrate on a movie. And I'm scared I'm going to lose or break the laptop. With a book, as soon as I'm done, I leave it on a bench for the next traveler.

3. Look for a crowd to sleep with. I feel much more secure when I'm sleeping with a bunch of other travelers. When I sleep alone, I'm afraid of cut throats and purse snatchers. Finding a crowd at the London Stansted is easy, since the place is teeming with sleeping people. The problem will be finding a bare spot of tile.

Gatwick was tougher. I moved from two different sleeping spots before I found a crowd sleeping outside of the shops. Then I slept like a baby.

I never did find a crowd at Heathrow. And I slept horribly.

4. Bring fruit and nuts. Airport stores close early and you will be hungry.

5. If you are in the Wolverhampton railway station at 2 in the morning and the next train to Aberstwyth doesn't leave till 6:35 am and it is bitterly cold, the best place to sleep is in one of the the elevators. They are outside the locked building and even though they aren't heated, you won't feel the wind. I read all of Louis Theroux's The Call of the Weird in that elevator. I didn't sleep till I got on the train the next morning. It was a pleasant night.

Sick/ Sleeping in Airports

2009-04-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

1. I got a horrible cold last night. I'll only be working half the day. My co-worker is just getting over it. She's had it for a week.

2. This is my new favorite website. http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ . It is a review and guide for sleeping in airports. I've slept in the Los Angeles, London - Heathrow, London- Gatwick and London - Stansted airports. My favorite is Stansted since there were so many other people sleeping. It had a real camping-out feel. All the chairs were taken so I had to sleep on the floor with my backpack as a pillow.

Gatwick was nice also, they kept the lights low. I wasn't crazy about Heathrow since I couldn't find chairs without armrests, I only got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep, but I had a great Nelson Demille book, Wild Fire to read.

I wish I'd known about this website so I could find the comfortable areas. I might be spending the night in Chicago O'hare airport later this year and you bet I'll study up.

La Jolla beach, New York Book Expo

2009-04-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

1. I've been neglecting the blog recently. That will end tonight. Till I get tired of blogging, I'll be blogging 5 times a week.

2. We went to the beach for the first time in a long time. Eli was nervous but he got over that quickly. Deborah was nervous the whole time. Robin was not nervous except briefly when a surprise 2 inch wave, knocked her on her back and submerged her. But Robin is pretty good natured and I picked her up awful fast and she shook it off like a champ.

We found an excellent Mexican restaurant right next to the San Diego Temple. I had a Carne Asada and Shrimp burrito.

3. I'll be in New York City for the Book Expo of America. While there I'll get an advanced copy of the sequel to Hunger Games, Richard Russo's new book and AJ Jacobs new book about being a guinee pig.

If I see any plays, I'll probably see 39 Steps and Our Town.

Carol Lynch Williams' new book

2009-03-31T16:50:00.001-07:00

My favorite college teacher Carol Lynch Williams has a new book out in May. Any new Carol Lynch Williams book is a reason to rejoice but this one is especially exciting. The book has garnered an impressive list of blurbs including Meg "Princess Diaries" Cabot and Gregory "Wicked" Maguire. http://us.macmillan.com/thechosenone

I'm especially excited because the book sounds suspenseful. Carol normally writes funny and sweet slice of life type books but she also writes excellent suspense. My favorite thing she's ever written is an unpublished novel (I'm embarrassed I can't remember the name, I read it about 5 years ago) that takes place in one evening and is a real lean, tense piece of work. I'm surprised it hasn't been published and I hope it is soon.

And yes, I am bragging that I've read an unpublished Carol Lynch Williams novel.

I think all eight of the readers of this blog should purchase The Chosen One when it comes out.

Stanley Fish

2009-03-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

Stanley Fish's new article is excellent. http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/

What if Frank Miller wrote Peanuts

2009-03-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.cinematical.com/photos/frank-millers-charlie-brown/1419750/

kids in car seats

2009-03-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

http://meganmcardle.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/03/the_search_for_blame.php

Certainly read this link. If you then decide to go onto the wonderful newspaper article prepare for a tough read. I'm going to ask Melissa to read it tonight. (PS. Megan Mcardle is one of my favorite bloggers.)

Newspapers/ Stanley Fish/ Pinewood Derby

2009-03-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

1. Time has a list of the ten US newspapers in most danger http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1883785,00.html

2. Stanley Fish has an excellent blog at the NY Times website. Here is a list of his top ten American movies. http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/the-10-best-american-movies/
All of his posts are just as good.

3. Eli and I made our first pinewood derby car. We got 4th place in the Tiger Cub Category. Woohoo. I wish that there had been a 5th Tiger cub competing and he had made a slower car. But 4th place isn't too shabby.

The Bible and stuff

2009-03-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

1. Excellent and interesting article about why everyone should read the Bible, cover to cover. I'm going to pick up his book, sounds funny and informative.
http://www.slate.com/id/2212616/

2. Our first batch of winter visitors have gone home. I can feel a difference in the library. A smidgen less busy.

3. I walked to work at 6am. The sun wasn't up but it was too hot. This doesn't bode well.

4. The Book Expo of America will be in New York City till 2012. I'm a little disappointed because it was originally scheduled in Washington DC 2010 (I could stay with my brother) and Las Vegas 2011 ( I could drive there.)

5. I've been made the cub master for my son's Tiger Cub. From what I gather it is a ceremonial position. Once a month I hand out belt loops and badges. I ask people to give a watermelon applause. That sort of thing.

Mermaid Tails, Old Power Stations, Hitchens and Totten

2009-02-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

1. Weta, who did the special effects for Lord of the Rings, is a great company. Pixar great. This is a quick read but absolutely worth it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4839818/Disabled-woman-given-mermaid-tail-to-help-her-swim.html

2. Cool pictures of old power stations. The one in Sweden is top notch. http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/02/epic-abandoned-substations-and-power.html

3. Christopher Hitchens, Michael Totten and Johnathan Foreman got attacked in Libya. Michael Totten's write-up is superb.
http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/02/christopher-hit.php

Bollywood Beatles Number

2009-02-23T16:00:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5ky5ClIjL8 This reminds me of church dances.

Neat house for sale on ebay

2009-02-19T18:17:00.000-08:00

17,000 square foot house built into a cave for sale on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330306913609

Life Plans

2009-02-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

1. We have three student loans. We've now paid off the first loan of 9,000. We plan to have the rest paid off by the end of 2010. Then we will live abroad again. I kind of want to live in a third world country but Melissa doesn't. We're in the middle of negotiations. But we'd both like another experience in a foreign country.

2. This is a list of the things I'm excited for this year.

a) Our fourth child. We are waiting till he or she is born to find out the gender.
b) I will be going to New York City for the first time to attend Book Expo of America (for the second time)
c) We plan on at least one Southern California vacation.
d) Our 10th anniversary.
e) A full year of doing a film series. I'm hoping to do an all day Halloween film festival.
f) The brand new main library opens in May.

3. This may not be my favorite year ever, (it would be hard to top the year in Wales) but it's shaping up to be a good one.

25 things about Wm. Shakespeare

2009-02-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

Good Heavens did this make me laugh. Warning, some blue language. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=401633472

Eli

2009-02-02T15:56:00.001-08:00

Yesterday while I washed dishes, Eli wrapped himself in white paper and came up to me and told me he was an angel with a message. That I would soon be in Heaven.
"But I'd miss Eli,"I said.
"Don't worry," he said, "He's already here."
"Oh," I said, not sure how to respond. "I'll be glad to see him again."
Then he said, "Well, now we're in Heaven."
"It's beautiful," I said.
Then after a long pause he said, "It's about time for mom to remarry. Don't you think?"

John Updike/elections in Iraq/ baffling foreign movie posters

2009-01-31T08:43:00.000-08:00

1. To my shame, I've never read a John Updike book. I've read a lot of his magazine pieces. I will miss them. Here is one of his poems from an upcoming collection.

It came to me the other day:
Were I to die, no one would say,
“Oh, what a shame! So young, so full
Of promise — depths unplumbable!”

Instead, a shrug and tearless eyes
Will greet my overdue demise;
The wide response will be, I know,
“I thought he died a while ago.”

For life’s a shabby subterfuge,
And death is real, and dark, and huge.
The shock of it will register
Nowhere but where it will occur.
— JOHN UPDIKE
This poem is taken from John Updike’s forthcoming collection, “Endpoint and Other Poems.”

2. Here is a good article about what yesterday's Iraqi election could mean. When I was in Erbil, Iraq, the local librarian really recommended I read Ralph Peters. Since then I always do.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01302009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/iraqs_next_test_152618.htm

3. Forgive the occasional blue word and blue picture. This is pretty funny. http://www.cracked.com/article_16990_lost-in-translation-20-baffling-foreign-movie-posters.html

I've updated books read

2009-01-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

1. Sorry I've been gone for so long. Work has been busy since the winter visitors have arrived.

2. One of my goals is to read a book a week this year. Since I've started working at the library my reading time has decreased.

3. They pick up the garbage twice a week in Yuma - probably because it gets so hot in the summer.

Israel-Gaza war

2009-01-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

Here is my favorite article so far about the current Israel-Gaza war. It's by Daniel Finkelstein.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/daniel_finkelstein/article5461544.ece

Number pad / famous authors who can't spell

2009-01-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

1. I realize this isn't an interesting or insightful point but most people use the number keys on the right side of a keyboard instead of using the number keys above the letter keys.

At my job, I help a lot of people use the Internet and the majority use the numbers on the right hand side.

I can't give a good reason why I find that strange but I do.

2. Flannery O'Conner and F. Scott Fitzgerald couldn't spell. At all.
http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/2008/12/dumber_and_dumber.html

Why Worry? will make you laugh; Safety Last will make you scream

2008-12-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

I had one of the best nights of movie watching yesterday. We watched Why Worry? Harold Lloyds best movie. There was loud, belly laughter. Then we watched Safety Last - the movie where Harold Lloyd is hanging from a clock. There were as many screams as there were laughs. That is one seriously intense movie. We were exhausted. Seriously exhausted. Safety Last has more thrills than perhaps any other movie I know. It was too intense for one of my sisters in law. She didn't care for it much.

Tonight we are going to watch Destry Rides Again.

I forgot my anniversary yesterday

2008-12-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

. . . luckily Melissa forgot also. Weirdly enough, it was our most fun anniversary yet. The in-laws were in town so there was a lot of board games played. 9 years married. And we are happier now than we have ever been. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer to be living in Aberystwyth, but Robin is a delight and we are renting a nice house and Melissa has never looked better and Eli loves the same kinds of movies I love.

2. Dave Barry has his year in review. Funny stuff.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121901343.html

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a touching photo from a Christian church in Basra, Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Christmas/ss/events/lf/122308christmas/im:/081225/481/217e7512202747df86732087d4a9ebf1/

We are halfway moved

2008-12-24T14:00:00.000-08:00

Thankfully Melissa feels better. Those were a rough four days for her. She was so hungry but couldn't eat a thing.

We moved half of the apartment this morning. We had to stop because there is a leak in our gas tank. Friday we'll take the car in and finish moving Friday and Saturday night.

Merry Christmas everyone.

We're moving this week

2008-12-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

We are moving this week. And Melissa got the stomach flu. (I think she ate a spoiled piece of bacon so she wouldn't have to help pack. When I suggested that, the thought of spoiled bacon made her throw up.)

The bummer thing is, normally when we movie, I get all testy and short, and am able to blow off steam by being kind of a jerk. But I don't feel good snapping at my pregnant sick wife. So I don't.

Well played Melissa. Well played.

Excellent Malcolm Gladwell essay on education

2008-12-18T17:14:00.000-08:00

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=all

Mom should enjoy this.

Underground city in Turkey, Mathmatical equation for procrastination

2008-12-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

1. http://www.rincondelmisterio.com/derinkuyu-la-misteriosa-ciudad-subterranea-de-turquia/en/ You don't want to miss these pictures. If I had six months, I'd move to Turkey and travel. That country is amazing.

2. Mathmatical equation for procrastination http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/3660232/Academics-invent-a-mathematical-equation-for-why-people-procrastinate.html

Merry Christmas Everybody

2008-12-15T14:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niIJ9Yb-xwQ&feature=related

As promised, here is my other favorite Christmas song. It is ubiquitous in Great Britain.

Fairy Tale in New York

2008-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

1. My favorite Christmas song of all time. They play it on British radio. A pretty, sweet and sad duet. The singers seem to love each other except for one verse when they become painfully (and bizarrely) viscous with each other. I like to sing the duet with Melissa because her voice is so pretty - she always refuses to sing the third verse though (you'll know why when you hear it.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjEIP6otc4Y&feature=related

2. Sorry about the light posting. I have tons of excuses, but no good ones. This next week I start posting daily again.

Divorce widget

2008-12-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

1. Find out how likely you are to get a divorce. 12% of the people in my demographic have already divorced and 8% more are likely to in the next five years. http://www.divorce360.com/content/divorcecalcresults.aspx

sorry about the light posting

2008-12-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

1. On Thanksgiving Day, Deborah ran into a cactus.
2. The other night, while doing splits with the missionaries, I ran over a pit bull. The pit bull was fine. No worse for the wear.

After 14 months deployment, a soldier greats his dogs

2008-11-24T14:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=147_1223108811

New Pixar Trailer

2008-11-20T13:16:00.001-08:00

Just noticed this today. Apparently it's been out for a week or so.
http://moviegoings.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/new-trailer-for-pixars-up/

Chuck Klosterman reviews Chinese Democracy

2008-11-20T11:28:00.001-08:00

I love Chuck Klosterman. I used to love Guns and Roses. This is like my dream review.
http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/chuck_klosterman_reviews

Marty McFly goes back to the eighties to make sure his parents fall in love

2008-11-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

http://rossdouthat.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/11/time_passes.php

Nashville

2008-11-13T18:38:00.001-08:00

Beautiful city. I was downtown. Spent an evening walking in and out of country and blues bars. My favorite was the B.B King place.

New Camille Paglia article

2008-11-12T13:24:00.001-08:00

http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/11/12/palin/

election / Nashville / weather / Ender in Exile

2008-11-05T13:12:00.001-08:00

1. This was the most fun election I can remember. May they all be that exciting. Congratulations to Barack Obama. Also, it was nice knowing the results by 9:00 pm so I could go to bed early.

2. I'm heading to Nashville, TN tomorrow for a conference. I'll try to post daily but it might be fitful. Also, at a local theater they are screening a 70 mm copy of Spartacus.

3. It finally got cold at nights. Right now it is 76 degrees out. This is why I like Yuma.

4. Our library accidentally put Ender in Exile on the shelves a week before it is released. I've got one of the copies in my office.

Halloween in Yuma

2008-11-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

Two things that make Yuma different than Portland on Halloween

1. The heat. We didn't bring any water. And our costumes were too heavy.

2. Very few houses actually gave candy. Probably one out of every five houses in the neighborhood we went to. We did a lot of walking for very little candy.

Good knock-knock joke

2008-11-01T11:05:00.000-07:00

One of the teens at the library told me this:

Knock Knock

Who's there?

9/11.

9/11 who?

You said you'd never forget.

Detention center - new baby

2008-10-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

1. I brought a book on panda bears to the detention center today. Nobody wanted to read it, but it got a good laugh. They are starting to like me.

2. Melissa and I are expecting our fourth child. Sometime around June, I think.

I'm going to run a marathon and learn how to post pictures on my blog

2008-10-27T16:36:00.000-07:00

All right. Here is the picture. From now on, this blog is going to have lots and lots of pictures. This is the movie I'll be screening at the library this weekend.Last week I screened this

An eerie little movie, about zombies rising from the Great Salt Lake and dancing in the Saltair pavilion. I loved it. The teen sitting next to me said it was the most boring movie ever.

Now, I'll get busy running a marathon. My first act will be to eat some raisins and vanilla flavored yogurt. Then a wheat bagel.

I love Alec Baldwin

2008-10-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

They savaged him on Team America but I don't care. I really think he is the best actor of his generation.

I especially like his most recent blog post about working with Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. He is a classy individual.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alec-baldwin/palin-on-isnli-what-did-y_b_136186.html

Did you know that he offered to voice his character on Team America? I wish the South Park guys had let him.

William Carlos Williams was a bad roommate

2008-10-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.yankeepotroast.org/archives/2008/09/william_carlos.html

Whoops

2008-10-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

Thought I'd written a post yesterday, but it didn't go through. Perhaps I didn't hit send. I don't know. So today's post will have to do for yesterday and today. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Vern is the best writer on the internet. Lots of cussing though, so be careful. www.geocities.com/outlawvern . Today he wrote an excellent review of 1401.

Imagine the worst smell in the world

2008-10-10T15:41:00.001-07:00

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/9949

My current obsession

2008-10-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

is finding dvd sales on Amazon.com that I can show at the library. I just bought a set of 14 Alfred Hitchcock movies for 50 dollars. That's like 3.50 a movie or something. Next month I'm going to show Rear Window along with Duck Soup, The Band Wagon and Winchester 73. I can't wait. This weekend Melissa and I start work on the poster.

Tomorrow we watch Wait Until Dark. I hope there is a big turn out.

I can't say I 'love' my job. But I absolutely 'love' parts of it. And I tolerate the other stuff.

Eli is scared I'm going to lose my job

2008-10-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

We haven't discussed unemployment with our children but yesterday Eli asked if I was going to get fired. Perhaps he'd heard stuff on the news or maybe kids at school were talking. I don't know.
"I don't think so," I said.
He scrunched up his forehead in thought and said, "Don't drop any books."

My friend explains the economic crisis

2008-10-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

My friend, Brett Myers, is a professor at Purdue, has a PHD in Finance and is generally one of the smartest guys I know. Recently I asked him what was happening with the crisis. He explained it so even an economic dolt like myself could understand. No doubt someday he will publish an easy and fun to read book on finance and make a tidy sum.

With his permission, here is the e-mail he sent. Just remember, I published him first.

The financial crisis we are currently in is the result of several things:

a) People borrowed more than they could afford, and banks were willing to lend to people who not qualified. Further, banks did a lot of 100% financing.
b) These loans were packaged into bonds (called mortgage backed securities, MBS) and sold to banks, investment funds, pension funds, etc.
c) A lot of people thought they were safe investments and they sold for a high price. By "safe" I mean that most people don't default on their home loans and when they do, the lender can posess the house and sell it and get all its money back so investors didn't think they had much to worry about.
d) People *did* start to default on their homes. Further, they did so when home prices were falling dramatically. So many of these MBS securities were hit by high default rates and lower than expected recovery rates (because home values had fallen and many people didn't have much equity in their house so the lenders got hit with the full loss).
e) In all, MBS lost around 10-20% of their value (guessing here). This is not so bad.
f) However, many banks and MBS owners used leverage with their MBS positions. For example, I might have borrowed money 10:1 to buy "safe" MBS securities, or used $10 worth of MBS securities as collateral for $100 in loans (i.e., leverage), so losses were not small, but very large. Investment banks are sometimes levered 30:1 so they are particularly screwed.
g) this is like putting $10,000 down on a $100,000 house. You have a 10:1 loan, or are levered 10:1. If the house falls in value to $80,000, the house itself had a -20% return. However, you invested $10,000 in home equity, but now have -$10,000 in equity so you lost -200%.
h) So basically, banks lost a ton of money because they were being a little risky with debt.

So whose to blame?

a) Homeowners for borrowing too much
b) Lenders for lending too much
c) Traders and investment bankers for being greedy
d) Unfortunate chance; home values fell.
e) Ratings agencies that rated MBS as safe.

Take away any of the above ingredients and things would have been a lot better. Right now the govt is contemplating buying all the bad MBS so banks can get these questionable securities off their balance sheets. This is important because if banks don't trust the collateral each has, or if banks don't meet certain capital requirements, lending comes to a halt and that will screw basically everybody from farmers to doctors to engineers. Everyone can be screwed. I don't think this is the most likely outcome, but an uncomfortably high possibility.

A new Camille Paglia column

2008-10-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Every third column she answers readers questions. A couple of Mormons wrote in.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/10/08/palin/

Eli and all the cigarette tar in his lungs

2008-10-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

1. I started the movie program with I Walked With a Zombie. I probably should have chosen something more crowd pleasing and a little less high brow. But it went pretty good. I liked it. All the middle school aged children walked out.

2. Eli is terrified by cigarette smoke. He's been learning about it in school. Last Thursday, he walked out of school with his chin on his chest. He sat in the front seat trying not to cry. It took him several seconds to compose himself to tell me what was the problem.

It turns out the other day he'd walked near a smoker and some of the smoke got in his mouth. His lungs were now full of black stuff.

I tenderly explained to him that smoking is not all that bad. That is a message I never thought I'd have to teach my son. But there you go - he's learned it. Cigarette smoke is not that bad for you.

Paul Newman RIP

2008-09-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

I was going to screen classic comedies at the library in November but I think I'll screen Paul Newman films instead. Which 5 should I show? Do I dare show my two favorite Paul Newman films - Slapshot and Nobody's Fool? I probably won't, but I'd like to.

Paul Newman post-Butch Cassidy, was the greatest screen actor of all time. Never a phony moment.

At one point Newman and Robert Redford were supposed to do an adaption of A Walk in the Woods. That is a movie I'd love to have seen.

Nothing happened in Mexico

2008-09-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

They cleaned my teeth real good. They didn't cover me with a blanket while doing x-rays. (Blankets are for wussies.) The dentist was real excited about the state of my teeth. Apparently, I have the teeth of a fifteen year old. He was very effusive.
I left feeling like a million bucks or like I'd just gone to EFY or something.

I didn't have any fish tacos but in a week or two when Melissa gets her teeth cleaned, you bet I'll eat out.

Dentist in Mexico

2008-09-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I go to Algadones, Mexico for a dentist's visit. I might buy a fish taco. Originally I thought it would make a good blog post, but, now that I've thought about it, I don't think it will. A huge percentage of Yumonians get their teeth done in Mexico and none of them have funny stories. So don't get your hopes up for a funny, dentistry in another country.

Perception Test

2008-09-23T16:05:00.001-07:00

Watch this three minute video and do everything the professor tells you to do. Very interesting. Then tell me how it went in the talk backs. Don't worry. No ghoul is going to shriek at you. It's just really, really interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wixoAdLR83w

Pub Quiz

2008-09-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

I prepared 30 questions but only had time to ask 16

1. Who are your senators?
2. How old does a person need to be to run for president – 25,30,35,40
3. Can a plant get sunburnt?
4. What month does the Supreme Court begin its session?
5. Who coined the term “wall of separation” referring to the relationship of government and religion?
6. In the TV show The Office what character loves beats, bears and Battle Star Gallactica?
7. Who is your representative?
8. The 18th amendment, which is called prohibition, prohibited what?
9. The difference between a man’s tears and a woman’s tears are a) the salt content is higher or b) the tears are one half degree Celsius cooler?
10. Is it the Supreme Court or Congress that ultimately determines what rights are protected by the 1st amendment?
11. Does someone have the legal right to shout fire in a crowded arena as a prank?
12. What songs opened and closed High School Musical 2?
13. What president often had to shave twice a day?
14. This amendment is engraved in the headquarters of the National Rifle Association?
15. What is the only Simpson’s character to be drawn with 5 fingers?
16. When you turn eighteen will you register to vote?

Below are the answers.

1. John McCain and Jon Kyle (for Arizona)
2. 35
3. yes
4. October (nobody got this right.)
5. Thomas Jefferson. (Most teams thought it was John Adams, which means he is a much more famous founding father now than he was when I was in high school. Must be the HBO movie.)
6. Dwight Schrute. (Not a lot of teams knew this. Shame on them.)
7. Raul M. Grijalva (only for Yuma County)
8. Alcohol (everybody knew this one.)
9. B. (most people got it wrong.)
10. Supreme Court
11. No (everybody got this right.)
12. What Time is It?” and “All For 1”
13. Richard Nixon. (One of Judy’s old boyfriends, the one who took me to see Poltergeist 2, told me this. I haven’t bothered to check since then. I hope he is right.)
14. 2nd
15. God (Two teams knew this. The same two teams who knew about Dwight Shrute.)
16. Yes. (This was on the honor system. I hope they follow through with it.)

There were eighteen points possible. Two teams got 16 points. So this was the tie breaker.

In Abbot and Costello Meets Frankenstein there are 4 monsters. Name them.
Frankenstein, the Werewolf, Dracula and the Invisible Man. (One team got the first three and guessed Igor for the last. The other team said Frankenstein, zombies, Dracula and the Mummy.)

Tomorrow I'll post the entire quiz

2008-09-19T10:01:00.001-07:00

Pub Quiz

2008-09-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a citizenship day party for the teens. 60 teens showed up. I did a British Pub Quiz. It went very well.

Here are a few of the questions:
Who are your state senators?
How old do you have to be to run for president?
Who is the only character in the Simpsons with five fingers?
What is the first and last song in High School Musical 3?
What is the amendment engraved on the wall of the National Rifle Association?

My favorite Coen brother movies in order

2008-09-16T16:11:00.001-07:00

1. The Big Lebowski
2. Miller's Crossing
3. Fargo
4. Raising Arizona
5. No Country For Old Men
6. O Brother Where Art Thou?
7. Blood Simple
8. The Hudsucker Proxy
9. Burn After Reading
10. Barton Fink
11. The Man Who Wasn't There
12. The Ladykillers
13. Intolerable Cruelty

1-4 I absolutely love and will watch again and again.
5- 9 I like an awful lot and will rewatch occasionally. Lot of good stuff. The movies aren't perfect but who cares.
10-13 I like sort of but don't have a desire to see again.

My children

2008-09-16T16:11:00.000-07:00

Eli, just like myself, doesn't talk about things that bother or embarrass him. He'd rather play his cards close to the chest. Even when it bothers him a lot. He mentions things obliquely and then sometimes after gentle questioning will he come out with the whole story. I think he's going to be an inward teenager.

Deborah, on the other hand, talks about every injustice she suffers for several hours. She is an open book.

Robin likes to climb up on the dinner table and dance.

Here is the list of October films

2008-09-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

I Walked With A Zombie (1943) See this strange, strange story of a woman whose lure set brother against brother; whose love caused hate – and whose beauty bowed to the will of an evil spell in whose power we must refuse to believe – EVEN IF IT’S TRUE!

Wait Until Dark (1967) Audrey Hepburn in the role you’re going to remember, whenever you’re alone.

Carnival of Souls (1962) She Escaped Death. Now It Wants Her Back!

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: (1948) Jeepers! The creepers are after Bud and Lou!

UPDATE:
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein will be a double feature with Bing Crosby's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.