Mystic River

Beth and I saw Mystic River today. I am still feeling the tension created toward the end of the movie. That feeling that we can foresee something tragic about to happen and sit helplessly while it unfolds. That violence can't be rethought, retracted, or undone. That often in hindsight perspective is altered in ways that cause regret; intractable, irrepairable harm.
I am sorry to hear that Sam is struggling. He is a "good dog" in ways that only a dog can be. My best wishes to Sam's recovery.
Rob that struck me also about Spellbound. Those things said without question. Those "truths" that go unexamined.

"The absolute value of love makes life worth while, and so makes Man's strange and difficult situation acceptable."
- Arnold Toynbee

yes, thank you mel gibson

the contraversy, and fanaticism that has been brought out in americans by this movie is...interesting. i hear that it is indeed very graphic, and bloody. but there are at least three or four films at the blockbuster i work at which tell the story of jesus' crucifixion. i wonder why this one warrants such strong (often fallacious) arguments on both sides of the issue, while these others, some made in the last five years, have slipped under the radar. i'll probably not see the new one, at least not on the big screen. i don't think there are any new discoveries revealed in the film, are there?

i was really sad to see sam struggling this afternoon. i fed the dogs, and he really didn't seem comfortable. he's the best dog ever, and he and i have many fond memories shared.

tomorrow is my twin cousins' birthday bash. just kidding. but that is so cool how they have the same birthday, even though three (i think) years apart.

going back a few posts, i thought the diversity was the star of the movie spellbound. listening to the rancher who employed angela's father say that "not all mexicans are reliable, but i guess there are a few mixed up in there," was really striking to me, and hearing the indian kid and his father who lived in san clemente rip through that list of words for hours was amazing. i cried when the boy from (i think it was missouri) was eliminated, and his younger brother proclaimed without irony "he's still a champ in my eyes." my brothers are both champs.

Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.
-Albert Einstein

The Passion of the Christ

I saw the Passion on Wednesday in the afternoon. I was really moved by the LOVE that Jesus had for each one of us that kept HIM on track with the plan for our redemption. It was only His great PASSION for us, even before we were born, that gave HIM the power to tolerate that treatment without just calling it all off.

Thank you JESUS for your great love.

Doris

Plans for the birthday guys

Our plan for gifts for Timothy and Daniel includes taking them to the Emerald Nuts Quality of Life Expo that is part of the XIX Los Angeles Marathon and the Acura LA Bike Tour and allowing them to purchase something within a pre-determined price range. The Emerald Nuts Quality of Life Expo has vendors from bicycling shops, athletic shoe manufacturers and lots of cool stuff. I think American Honda will have cars there--and if they want to apply our $20 to the purchase of a car, I will help them drive it home.

Time for Lunch

Maybe it's those photos of the Weber Grill Restaurant, but now I'm hungry. Anyway, thought I'd check in before I break for lunch here in the home office suites of Peterson & Peterson. Samson is improving. I'm impressed and encouraged. Thanks for all your expressed empathy. The picture of Briana excavating her nose is CUTE. Beth - had to laugh at the "psycho parents" comment. A universal truth in education. I'm going to see "The Passion of the Christ" tomorrow night. Peer pressure from the grass roots publicity efforts finds me swimming along with the church crowd. Curious to hear public response and to see if ticket sales keep up with opening day results. Nervous about the brutality. May have to come home and watch Sound of Music before falling asleep to calm down. Looking forward to a low-key Academy Awards party on Sunday night (not at our house, though, since Glen will be gone). Won't get to see Mystic River by then, I don't think. So my sentimental selections are: Best Movie - Lord of the Rings, Best Actor - Johnny Depp, Best Actress - Diane Keaton, and that's it so far. Don't know if they are worthy...just picked what I like. Happy Billy Crystal is hosting. That and playing fashion critic are my favorite parts. I laugh everytime someone says in pre-game interviews--- "...and who are you wearing?" I think that's the line. Maybe it's what are you wearing? Whatever --- it's meaningless and fun.

I'm Back......

A lot has happened since I last visited the Blog. I've been spending the night aboard ship in San Francisco Bay with a bunch of 10 year olds and their psycho parents and in between doing about 3 full-time jobs.....

I'm sorry to hear about Sam, and I want to reassure his parents that it is NOT the Pupcorn. I can emphathize with the changes that age brings to health and bodily functions.

Yes, Rob is indeed an nice guy.

Beth

Timothy's list??

Does Timothy have a list?

Spellbound

Just watched Spellbound. Noticed the wide variety of families that these eight kids came from. How the different kids where invested for different reasons. Will watch it again. I would love to have the time to interview all of those kids now. Maybe there is a documentary in that.

Daniel's Birthday?

Would he like J. S. Bach "The French Suites" Keith Jarrett on the Harpsicord or Deitri Shostakovich "24 Preludes and Fugues op. 87" Keith Jarrett on the Piano???

Risk

Posting a picture of a kid with her finger in her nose is taking the risk of offending others. If this picture is offensive please let me know and i will change it to one of her with her head on Beth's shoulder.

There are rules

Glen your point was well taken.
Here is a picture of Brianna picking her nose, not thumbing her nose at the rules, but digging away.

Weber Grill Restaurant in Chicago

What could be better than a restaurant that cooks meat on giant Weber Grills indoors in the middle of Chicago? I can't think of anything better than Weber Grill Restaurant in Chicago.


These images are from their website and are hosted there. Therefore, when they change it, the images will disappear.

There's gotta be a rule

Editing of posts should be minimal. Restricted only to the cleaning up of typos and clarifying a few things. But to reduce the whole post from 3 paragraphs to one is so sad. It will be more fun if people take some risks here. So long as it isn't me! [Steve knows who I'm talking about.]

I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out how to upload an image or two using the 10 mgs of "free" space that earthlink provides for my monthly subscription fee.

Ok, maybe it was only a few minutes. I will try again soon.

get well to samson

Glad to hear that there are treatments for Samson. Here's to his improved health and vitality. Looks like Beth and I are in for the Mexico weekend. Working out the pragmatics. Cindi makes Colonial Williamsburg sound enticing even in "winter",,, burrrrr. You know Beth and I, it doesn't take much to entice us to travel.

Samson's Diagnosis

I made a trip to the vet yesterday. Samson had a scary wheezy breathing spell in the night, and I was concerned. It sounded like human asthma. He honked/coughed/gagged/breathed hard off and on all day. If you've been around him in the last year, you've probably noticed how he sounds when he is excited. Well, it seems worse, so we went to the Dr.

$202 later, we had a bunch of interesting information, several beautiful pictures of Sam on the inside (X-rays), and a bottle of magic juice, 4 oz. of which have to be squirted in his mouth three times of day. (Are you kidding?! Getting ear drops in Ashley's ear was bad enough! I have resorted to soaking a couple dog biscuits with the potion, having had no success with the doggy rodeo wrestling to wedge a squirt tube thing in his mouth!). Anyway, you'll be interested in knowing that in addition to airway disease (bronchitis) and allergies, he has a collapsing trachea. Who knew?! Yes, his air way is constricted halfway down...behind his chest bone. And it's very wide below that from the lungs trying to get the air out --- blowing. It's a genetic thing. He'll be 13 in August, so life is getting more complicated. I started the juice last night. He is doing better and is resting/sleeping easier when he needs to, so that is comforting. And Ashley scores a biscuit, too, everytime she's around for medicine time. I would have been a pushover as a parent.

Poor Sammy. But alas, he's his lovable self. Quite a trooper. The science of it all fascinated me. I enjoyed looking at the x-rays. I saw his bones (of course)...neck, head, and ribs. His very healthy heart. His narrowing trachea with pupcorn stuck in it (just kidding, Aunt Beth). And his lungs. No mass. No cancer. Thankfully. And if the medicine (it's new medicine --- just developed) doesn't work, he can get a stint put in (just like for heart problems). We'll be keeping our jobs to pay for his pharmaceutical habits. Because we love him. His head is on my lap as I write. Bless his paws. These dogs are great company with Glen traveling more. It's great to have Rob around, too. He's a "nice guy." (Just had to throw that in to prove I read past blogs, too.)

Weekend Sigh of Relief

I just caught up on my blog reading. It's enjoyable to read everyone's comments. Glen, I'm in for the Mexico weekend. I know you know that, but I just wanted to confirm. Sounds fun.

Is anyone interested in Colonial Williamsburg some Christmas? I'd really like to do that. I know it's not everyone's thing, but I love the time period and the area. I noticed that our timeshare exchange group has availablity there in December. This may or may not be the year, but with the timeshare, we could get housing for a group. Ahhhh. Christmas dinner at Kings Arms Tavern.

Valentine's Day was fun here. We celebrated at home, as is our tradition, on Friday night. We cooked dinner, as is our tradition. I took care of appetizer, bread, and made a salad...greens, feta cheese, dried cranberries, glazed walnuts, and rasberry vinagrette dressing --- one of my favorite salads (and homemade dressing...adapted the recipe from Houston Chronicle), and dessert (which had to wait). Glen made delicious salmon and filet mignon, plus a pile of broccoli. We didn't have dessert until Monday night! Too full on Friday.

I'm working on a well-informed position with conscience and compassion about the whole gay-marriage issue. Want more than a shallow opinion, since I think it is complicated. Preparing an articulate response to the contraversy. I'm digging in the Bible, too, to see what's true. I here some Bible comments made out of context to defend both sides, so I want to look for myself.

And hooray --- it's the weekend. Glen returns tonight from Chicago. That's a great thing.

September trip

Glen,

i saw your thoughts on the bike ride in Mexico. I'm with Steve about the ride but would enjoy a family get together in some nice place.

Mom

san francisco without fog

Beth and I had a great time in SF, the City by the Bay. Saw Noises Off and had dinner in Fishermans' Wharf. Had time to roam the streets both by the Wharf and Union Square. Saw some wonderful art. I wouldn't recommend the Hilton as we could hear the conversations of our neighbors and the foot stomps of those above us. I didn't take many pictures. Was to busy having fun.



An electic streetcar in the Wharf area.

So, What category are you?

Steve, I guess that puts you in the: "For those who like to see the sites and and just hang out--you can do just that" category. That sounds great.

We can also do the birthday cake thing there!!!

For those who want to ride, more information is at the Ensenda Rosarito web site.

FrIDay tHee 13th

I have clients who will not come to my office on a Friday the Thriteenth. I had one client who post-poned his surgery because of that date. I only notice the date because Kyle was born on a Friday the Thirteenth. Hope all enjoy their valentine's weekend. The September trip sounds fun Glen. There are a couple of people that have birthdays in that month. We will look at the pragmatics and get back to you. I don't think I could sit on a bike let alone ride one more than a few feet. I am already more than middle-aged and balding.

word

i also saw that this morning on the bbc website. i was under the impression that i'd be a middle-aged bald guy by the time they released that. conveniently enough, it comes out a week before my birthday...

DVD release announced

Did someone mention this?

Great Failure

In cleaning out my office at JSi if found so many interesting things. This quote was on a scrap of paper in my desk:

"Success comes from experience; experience comes from failure. Eleanor Roosevelt said: 'We need to learn from the mistakes of others because we don't have time to make them all ourselves.'"

greatfailure.com

September 25 in Mexico

Here is an idea: September 25 is a 50 mile "fun ride" from Rosarito Beach to Ensenada in Baja Califonia Norte, Mexico. How about if we all meet there for the weekend. For those who like to ride bicycles--bring your bikes and ride. For those who like to see the sites and and just hang out--you can do just that. We could get a couple of hotel rooms or a suite somewhere. If anyone expresses an interest, I would be happy to make the arrangements. There is plenty of bottled water and other pure beverages and safe food there!

Note: Some of us are going on the April 17 ride and it is looks like some kind of guys thing. So the September date might be better for a family outing.

My next work travels

These are my next travel dates:

Chicago: February 17-20
Pennsylvania: February 27-March 3
Miami: the week of March 22 (exact dates not yet determined)

Too Travel

south america, europe, england, what a traveling bunch. that means pictures!!! everyone bring those cameras and remember you can post to the blog from internet cafes. beth and i will be in san francisco for valentines day, then in early april will travel to new orleans. six years ago i had no interest in traveling anywhere. i was more interested in having a home large enough to house anyone who wanted to visit. very much like the home in tuscany, from a movie i can't remember the title to, that that had multiple visitors. it may be that i want both now. i enjoy the long dinner, with interesting conversations, and the feelings that come with being immersed in conversations that make you forget time. i am learning from each trip what it is like to travel again. when to look through the lenses of a camera and when to just be with out working at being some place. i am glad that beth and i both like to wander, discovering as we go along what is there rather than looking for what should be there. i appreciate that when we can do that. to all of the travelers and travelers to be, please share your experiences here, it will be appreciated.

To Rob, the Nice Guy

I also prefer calling you a nice guy. In fact, that is what I do call you. That is obviously what you are! I was carried away by the fact that I actually stayed awake for a whole movie. I rarely do that at home or in the theatre. I think I was struck by the fact that I did not find any character in lit that I identified with, but the situation they were in, alone, in a strange placed that "should" have been exciting, all expectation with no payoff...I don't know. I really like Secondhand Lions which we watched last night. I cried when one of the old guys was threatening suicide, too close to home right now. After all, as they say in the movie, "What do you want me to do, die of old age?" and my answer is yes. We should all be able to do that...

i prefer "nice guy" to "simple-minded"

besides, what's so good about having a complicated mind? our president doesn't even say "nuclear" right. anyways, i'm going to carolina in my mind this summer. it's gonna be awesome. while i'm there i'll probably watch the tour de france zoom by, and run with the bulls...in jacksonville. i'm hoping i can afford this trip. actually, i saw a flyer at school for a three day trip to costa rica in july to study spanish. three days sounds brief, but that's just how i'd prefer it. in rebuttle to beth's attack of my l i t opinion, i'd like to reiterate that i thought it was "nice," (see below) just that the climax at the end wouldn't be worth it to most. personally, i liked sofia coppola's film "the virgin suicides" better. there's some tweaked out relationships in that movie too, just like the uncommon one in l i t. the assertion that i am simple minded is quite falacious and irrelevant. er....irrelevent. irelevent. whatever. ah, forget all the fiction nonsense, spellbound was the best movie. ever. in the history of...my life. wait, that disney movie about v.d. i saw in my sociology class was pretty good. but that wasn't maid during my lifetime. i digress. keep it real everybody.
anyonebutbush '04
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Tour de Summer

Glen & I are planning a trip to Europe this July, pending frequent flyer miles. A friend of ours is returning to the Netherlands for her sister's wedding, so we can bunk there and tour a little with a native. That's what pushed us forward, beyond just expressing interest in a visit somewhere other than Mexico. Although, I am grieving the fact that I may not snorkel in tropical water this summer.

We are thinking about visiting London (and a shire around Oxford and a literary quest to where J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis hung out), Paris (working at being in a town as the Tour de France zooms by...it begins on July 3rd in a small town, Liege, northeast of Paris...closer to the Netherlands, actually), and zipping by train for a day trip to Prague, as well. I want to get backpacks (for ease of travel and mobility...not for trekking Everest) and train from place to place, taking city busy tours. Then we'll come home to rest. I'm excited, but holding my breath because costs seem prohibitive at this point in the planning. Just gotta sell a few more photo albums and stickers!

[Note to Glen...OK, now I've blogged again. Can I return to the bedroom to sleep? Just kidding.]

My Movie Reviews...

We are also on a quest to see the "Best Picture" nominees. We still need to see "Mystic River." I think we've seen the rest. I think the Golden Globes have it right by splitting up genres. It's tough to critically evaluate comedy against drama, and same with the acting roles. I think Johnny Depp made that "Pirates" role so much more than it was, as opposed to Bill Murray's portrayal of LIT (since everyone refers to "Lord of the Rings"...LOTR). Evidently Sean Penn is the favored winner.

"Master & Commander" was a good story and I thought it was well crafted and a fascinating portrayal of the time period and military life at sea. Of course, Russell Crowe did well in the lead, but his character was not compelling to me. It did not engage me emotionally. I would see it again just to see the Galapogos Islands again.

Cindi's new ritual

In an effort to keep Ashley from having an "accident" where she sleeps in the laundry room, Cindi has been taking both Sam and Ashley out to the back yard just before bed where they respond to the command: "potty."

Then they all crash back into the house for their reward biscuits. It is fun to watch. They just finished while I blogged about it from the couch.

Bicycling

Daniel Wilson told me this morning that he will ride in the 10th Annual LA Bike Tour with me on Sunday, March 7, 2004 at 6 AM.

Rob and I went on a nice 26 mile ride on Saturday and was asking me how severe the hills are in the Rosarito to Ensenada Ride. So, I wonder if he is thinking of riding with us next time. That ride is on April 17 and is 50 miles. The hills, by-the-way, are steep and long. As steep as going up Turnbull Canyon Rd. and at least twice, maybe 3 times, as long. If you check out their website they give some details on the route and the steepness.

So far Rob is planning to go for the trip [hey Rob--ride too!] and David said he'd like to go and ride. Also my friend Ken Brown is going--he is already registered. And, Bob Mendoza from church is thinking about it.

Sunday night for blogging

I would like to add Kevin Costner to the list of actors who, if not playing himself, every role is the same character.

Gods Must be Crazy I is also one of my all time favorites. I don't know that the actors had a lot of depth or could play any other parts, but that was not the point with this very orignal film. GMBC II did not take the story any further, just an ill fated attempt to build a franchise from the success of #1.

Lost in Translation lost me, not because of its complex plot, but because it failed to move me emotionally to empathize with the characters. I was thinking that a better title for that film would be "Jet Lag."

Note to printers of images: the resolution of the posted version of the picture must be rather low. I hope that there were other forms of the picture from all those cameras in play that evening. If someone wants a higher resolution version of that, or any, photo let me know so I can email it to you.

Note to Cindi: Try to remember your user name and password so you can blog some of those great thoughts.

Bill Murray

I also wondered about the nomination for Bill Murray for his part in "Lost in Translation." He is one of those actors, like Clint Eastwood, who play himself in every role. Wish I could get a nomination for being authentic in my own life...

Beth

Mom

Hi, Mom,

I will send you the picture. I have two copies sitting on my desk right now.

Love, Beth

Other Movies

I still have not seen all the Academy Awards nominees. That is my goal betwen now and February 29. I will pass on "Cold Mountain" which was not nominated. Anyone else out there who has seen that movie? is it worth it? I am not a Nicole Kidman fan, so if it has to do with liking to see her, forget it...

Beth

To Rob, My Simple-Minded Son

Just wait until you are middle-aged. "Lost in Translation" will not be so "fuzzy."

Love,
Mom

P.S. Maybe what I am trying to say is lost in the translation...

cute as a button

I haven't seen a cute button either, but Brianna is cute. And, "the gods must be crazy" is one of my all time favorites. I am looking forward to seeing American Splendor, my catholic irish roots may be showing. look out when Weber is back.

To Glen, My Simple-Minded Brother

How could you possibly get lost in "Lost in Translation?" I used to think so highly of you and your intellect...It was, actually, a very slow starting movie. I myself wondered if I could stay awake during the slow unfolding of the story. (It is a well known fact that once the sun goes down, Beth is asleep.) I was fascinated with the characters in the movie and was very satisfied with some of the choices they made. Maybe being in the throes of my own midlife crisis made me sympathetic...

Signed,
Love my brother anyway...

Adding to the messages

I am assuming that this is the way to leave a message. I really like the family picture
that euther Glen or Cindi put or here. I would like a copy but didn't know how to
print it from here. Could someone let me know.

Thanks,

Mom, Gram, Doris

movie 2 cents

lost in translation was...nice, but ultimately, a lot to sit through for the fuzzy pay-off at the end. i still think american splendor was awesome, so nanner nanner glen. mystic river is my vote for most awesome movie last year. without lord of the rings money, and cgi, it tells a good story. it could be cited in an argument against capital punishment. it's my personal opinion that everyone should watch "the gods must be crazy" at least once a week. that way, if you are human, there's no way you'd consider hurting another human. perhaps that's a little dreaming. oh well, "we are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams." that brianna's cute as a button. can't say i've seen any cute buttons in my life, so let's say she's cuter than one. look out when we get kobe back.

The biscuit

We saw Seabiscuit last night. It is a good story with solid character development. Special effects, gratuitious violence and chase scenes has to be cut for a lack of time.

I got lost in Lost in Translation. People wondering around looking confused. Can someone explain why Bill Murray is nominated for an award on this one? Maybe if I had just seen it in the original language, I wouldn't have been so lost.

Movies

Beth, Kyle and I watched Lost in Translation last night. Beth and I both liked it, but for different reasons. I thought it captured what happens when people drift spiritually and emotionally. The characters were using this vague relationship to give direction or substance to their experience. Beth wants to see Mystic River next. We rented Jet Lag a couple of weeks ago. A movie similar in someways to Lost in Translation. A french movie focused on chance meeting and relationship confusion.

a word from the nerd

hey everyone. i think that just includes steve and glen right now, but hi if you're not one of them and you are reading this. this is more or less just a test to see how this is going to work. so far, so good. so....um.....seen any good movies lately........anyone? i will now attempt to upload a picture.

Nicely done

Way to go Steve!

Testing Picture Posting

This is Brianna eating her dinner.

web space

I am not using my web space at this time. I can set up that site so that anyone could ftp to it with the password. I will look up the address and find the password.

New Address

To remove the Christmas limitation to the blog. I have changed the url for our family blog.

Now I have to figure out how to let everyone know the new address.

A place to FTP the images

Since I no longer work at the same place, we may loose access to the server where I have the photographic images stored. Does anyone else have access to a server for that purpose? I think, if we are really clever, we could also ftp all of the content to another place so we would not have Blogger advertising at the top of the blog. Any suggestions?

hmm, one other thought is that I think we could pay a fee to blogger.com to upgrade the service to remove advertising and have storage space from images.

I will look into these. Let me know if any of you computer geeks have any ideas.

New Blog Title

I have taken the word "Yule" out of the title. This may help people know they can blog outside of the Christmas season. I will try to change the URL to be more season inclusive. I don't know it that kind of change is allowed. I will try to figure that out.

New uses for the blog

I think there should be more uses for this family blog. But that means people will have to blog!

A friend of mine who just went to work in Bangledesh has started this blog. I'd like to say that I got him started and coached him through his first posting of the images. --because I did do that!

I think we should keep up the postings. Especailly when something interesting happens. Like my work with MEDA was mentioned by some of our clients on KCET's "Life and Times" program last night. I don't know how long they leave it up there but today you can listen to the program on their web site: here.

what's up

just checking to see if anyone else checks the blog. is there more purpose than just at christmas?
take care
steve