-
maryblocksma.com
The Author’s Guild has put up a site for my mom, maryblocksma.com. This is a nice complement to her own publishing site, beaverislandarts.com.
-
Beware Travelocity/Continental
These guys sold my mom a non-refundable ticket to Brussels that looked fine at first glance. Upon closer examination she saw that they had her landing at JFK airport in New York, then leaving for Brussels from Newark! Their customer service offers no apologies or alternatives – it’s make or break. Her only option is…
-
Movie: Texasville
Expecting a sequel to The Last Picture Show, I was taken aback by the weird, slapstick, soap operatic opening scenes of this movie. Then it just keeps going! It’s almost an anti-quel rather than a sequel. Peter Bogdanovich is definitely making fun of himself here, and the chaos is truly hard to follow. But with…
-
Movie: Fresh
One of my favorite movies. Fresh is a smart kid in the Chicago projects who is wrapped up in the drug trade. His relationship with his wino father, and eventually his survival, are expressed in his developing chess skills. With first-rate acting, writing, soundtrack by Stewart Copeland, and many places I remember well in Chicago,…
-
Movie: Little Voice
This movie showcases the impressive Jane Horrocks impersonating show tune stars. Michael Caine and other cast do some very amusing acting too. But the movie never really gets past the feeling of being an artifice for the actors to strut their stuff, and the perfomances are much less moving for it. IMDB
-
Movie: 32 Short Films about Glenn Gould
All I knew about Glen Gould to start with was that he was a Canadian pianist. The short films seem a bit artsy and disjointed at first, but coalesce into a progressive series of statements on Glen Gould’s life. Nearly all of them incorporate amazing music, mostly piano music. One gathers that Glen Gould gave…
-
First Virus of the Year
Ann has caught some kind of virus, has a sore throat, and is losing her voice, so we say goodbye to our friends and head for beds and movies.
-
New Year’s Eve
This evening our group site is much more animated. We have a potluck, with addictive barbecue chips from John, crab dip from Oscar, brats and kielbasa from Mary and Clint, Ann’s buffalo stuffing, apple pie from Ingrid, chocolate chunk cookies from Karen, with wine, beer, and champagne from all directions. Matty and Ann, who we…
-
Indian Cove, Joshua Tree
Karen and her friend John have joined us at Indian Cove group site #9. We don’t know what the crowds will be like, so we just head to see what climbs are available. To my surprise Driving Limitations, 5.8 **, is free on the Billboard Buttress. This has one set of pretty hard slab moves…
-
Blue Cut Loop Hike, Day 2
Pushawalla Canyon to Pinyon Well Parking Area 10 mi :: 5 hr :: 1870 ft The night doesn’t provide any rain to test our new tent, but it is comfortable and the double doors are great. Today Ann’s navigation instincts are correct, and we pass a wash I think might the right one. We do…