Dunkirk

 

 

We saw a “new” movie tonight instead of a movie shot 50 years ago starring an imaginary spy. Dunkirk was real. It really happened in 1940. It showed real people fighting a real war. It showed war—the fear, grit, dirt, noise, and elation in the pure cold light of day. Somehow, after seeing the battles and hearing the guns from so many war movies, we still fight wars. When will we learn? Can we learn?

 

 

The movie intertwines 3 smaller stories of three Spitfire pilots, the crew of one small ship trying to save the stranded soldiers on the beach; and a few of the stranded soldiers. The three stories can stand alone, but together, they make the movie stronger. The music is tense, the dialog is sparse, with all the action happening in about a day. 

 

 

Did I like the movie? Yes I did. Did I enjoy the movie? No I did not. But this is not a movie to enjoy. It’s a movie about war and war is not enjoyable.

 

 

 

The DVD comes with 2 discs. The second disc has many “special features” most of which are down right boring. I thought many of the vignettes were “inside baseball” of interest only to folks who want to know all the minutia  that went into the making of the movie. Given that, there were 3 little gems...the interviews with some survivors of Dunkirk; how the thousands of uniforms were made; and how they created the crowds on the beach.  If you buy the DVD, think seriously of not looking at the second disc.

BaseCamp

Today I looked at the newest trailer Airstream is making. It’s an attractive 16 foot unit called ‘The Base Camp.’ It’s 7 feet wide, and tall enough for anyone under 6’4” to stand up straight. Before I go any farther, this is an expensive unit...just shy of $40K. So while it’s called a base camp, it’s the high end base camp.

 It has some nifty features, like 2 doors, one on the side, and one in the back. It’s good to have an escape hatch.

The only sink is clever. During the day, when it is not in use, it’s covered

But, when you need to use the sink, lift the cover, pull the faucet up, and it’s a functioning stainless steel sink. Note, this is the ONLY sink in the rig...there is not one in the bathroom.  

There’s a tiny 2 burner stove, built into the counter with a similar cover, and under the stove is a 4 cubic foot refrigerator with freezer compartment.  

To the left of the freezer there’s some storage and to the right is tiny microwave with some storage built under it.   

There are  shiny black doors hiding the cubby-holes that are the only hidden storage in the rig. Touch them once and they open, touch them again and they close. Can you imagine all the fingerprints these doors can collect in the course of a day?

Turn around, and you see the seating/dining area. There are two sofas on one each side of the rig with a place to put in a table. At night, the table and sofas make into a full sized bed.    

I’m not sure how comfortable it would be to sleep on the seams...maybe you can scrunch over to the wall side of the RV and get a more comfy place to stretch out. If you look at the back you can see the inside view of the back door.     

This is the view from the living room, looking toward the kitchen. There is a wet bathroom (that means if you use the shower, the toilet will get wet...not ideal) that was planned correctly...the toilet paper holder has a cover on it so it won’t get wet!    

To an RVer, this picture makes sense...to other folks, it’s a small toilet, with an overhead shower. This is not a bathroom for a “thinker” as it’s just too congested.

The RV is cute, but it has some major problems. There is very little inside storage and no outside storage. There’s no place for hanging clothes. There are a few baskets where you can place a few folded clothes, but not too many. It’s made for weekends and not too much more. It does have two tents that can be attached to the passenger side and the back which will give you more living room. As it’s set up right now there’s not a lot of space inside for more than one person. If you are a person who likes to go out on weekends for a get-a-way...this is a pretty good unit. It is not for the type of camping we do. I cannot imagine myself living in this RV for 2 months at a time.

 

For Your Eyes Only

Another Bond story was in the DVD last night. Since the storm the local TV stations are not working well. And we don’t have the satellite dish working right now either…so it’s DVDs or reading. DVDs seem to be winning. 

For Your Eyes Only might be the only movie we’ve seen recently that has a relatively good story line. Of course it’s bad guys against good guys (it’s a Bond movie…that’s what it has to be) but the writers found a plot! Then they put in some really good chase scenes that were fun to watch.  James (Roger Moore) is tasked with finding a highly important piece of electronic tracking equipment that sank when the ship it was on collided with an old WWII mine. Kaboom! He chases all over the world for the equipment, finally finding it on mountaintop monastery in Greece….where … and I’ll stop there. The ski chase is excellent as is the chase down a narrow mountain road in a Citreon 2cv and the underwater chase is pretty good too. It was a good romp in the world of James Bond. As always, it’s fun to look at the IMDb of the stars. The film was made in 1981, so the pretty young women (Carole Bouquet and Lynn-Holly Johnson) are in their 60s now. And, they are still good looking ladies. Thing is, I don’t know of any other work they have done…but they are still in the industry. The movie was a money-maker for the studio unlike Moonraker which we saw a few nights ago. *cover courtesy of “Rotten Tomatoes” 

Tel Kitchen (aka The Plastic Bag Tel)

  In California plastic bags are not available at grocery stores, come to think of it, paper bags are not either. Every time you shop at a grocery store you need to bring your own bag or be forced to buy an "approved" bag for a dime or a quarter or even a dollar. Well, I’ve saved plastic bags for years which I re-use for groceries or garbage or storage or whatever. No bag gets thrown away without a second use or in some cases three or more.    Given that, I have a stash of plastic bags stuffed into a "bag holder" I crocheted years ago. Every time I take out an old plastic bag, I look at the ads on it. I have blue bags from Walmart (these are really old). I have bags from stores that are no longer in business. I have bags from Canada, Hawaii, Wyoming and Texas.  Sometimes they have receipts in them from a long ago past. They are fun to look at as then I remember what I was doing at the time and a smile appears on my face. The bag holder is a tel of our life during the last 10 or 15 years.   Someday in the future, archeologists will dig thru our ancient cities and find plastic bag hoarders. If they are smart,  they might be able to learn a little bit about the culture when plastic bags were common. 

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

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We are viewing old movies on our soujourn at the lake this winter. Tonight we saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes. It was a delightful yet perfectly forgettable movie. The original story was written by Ian Fleming of James Bond fame, and the screenplay was written by Roald Dahl of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory fame (among other books). The movie has “good” bones as it were.

 

In 1968, this musical piece of fluff was even nominated for an Academy Award for best song. When I taught elementary school, my students loved the movie and I read the book to them (which had a slightly different story line). I had a Matchstick model of the car in my classroom and the kids would put their names on a list in order to have it on their desk for 30 minutes a day when we had a special reading and writing time. When they played with the flying car, they would sing the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang song. The little car had very fragile wings and the kids were very careful that they did not break them. For some strange reason, the wings never broke.

 

Fast forward to 2018, a full 50 years later. The song is not memorable. The story is not either, but it is good plain fun. It is a romp in the world of imagination and song. I completely enjoyed it, laughing at times and smiling the rest of the time. After the darkness of Blade Runner, 2049 and my disappointment in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, CCBB was the pick-me-up movie I needed to see. 

*Courtesy of Wikipedia...thank you!

That Stuff Falling From the Sky is Rain

The weather guessers had it right...we had one heck of a storm last night...and it looks like more is coming. 

Before the storm on December 30, the entrance to Harvey’s Cove looked like this...

 

The morning after the storm, on January 9, 2018, Harvey’s Cove looked like this:

Can you see a difference between the two pictures. The water level has come up a bit...

and when the run-off is complete it might rise some more. 

In the meantime, there’s some damage at the park.

A big tree succumbed to the wind and rain...and there are others. 

It’s a sad reminder that nothing lasts forever!

 

Blade Runner 2049

*

 

Tonight we saw Blade Runner 2049. The movie is a sequel to Blade Runner made in 1982. Both movies are directed by Ridley Scott and star Harrison Ford.

 

*

BR-I takes place in 2019 in a dystopian Los Angeles. I did not like that movie at all as it was too dark and grim. But, the other DrC is a science fiction buff and he liked the movie, so I’ve seen it several times as we have it on DVD (and VCR). We also own the video game. While that does not make me an expert in the Blade Runner World,  it gave me the basic background that I needed to understand BR-II.

 

BR-II starts 30 years after the first one ended and the world is more bleak and dystopian (if that is possible). The sets are grimy with everything worn out, rusted, and used. The smoggy air is thick enough to cut. Worms are farmed for protein. Where hi tech is used, it’s relatively “shiny.” The storyline is basic...cop needs to find someone...he finds the person...the person gets an answer to an old question. If I tell you more, it will be a spoiler...and I don’t want to spoil the experience.

 

The movie has been out for a couple months, but we were unable to see it while we were cruising. I’m not sure how much longer it will be playing as the audience in the theater was pretty light. If you have seen BR-I, the movie will make sense. If you have not seen it, there will be a lot of loose ends to weave together in order for the movie to make sense. If you are fan of the Phillip Dick book, Blade Runner, and you’ve seen the first movie and you’ve played the various Blade Runner video games that are out there, the movie is a must see. If you are like me...not a fan, but a hanger-on, you might find the movie too long, the plot line too shallow and the view of the future too grim.

*Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.

The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi*

We saw the 8th episode of the triple trilogy Star Wars this afternoon—Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As with so many movies that have multiple “episodes,” the first episode is usually the best one. I think that is the case with Star Wars—The Last Jedi. The movie is not terrible, it just could be so much more. There’s one more episode to go, and I will see it since I’ve seen the rest of them...but that does not mean I give this movie the “stamp of approval.” 

 

I’ll start out with the good. Star War movies always have an interesting cast of creatures and non-human characters. The Last Jedi has many: The Porg is a bird-like creature with big sad ”puppy dog” eyes that is cute beyond cute. Snoke is the maximum bad guy of the First Order and he’s just plain ugly with rotten teeth and sinews for skin. His appearance shouts EVIL-BAD-NASTY-MEAN...you get the idea. There are fetching Fathiers that run fast like horses, and Vulptices (singular: vulptex) crystalline fox-like critters with excellent senses of smell and sight. The little round droid, BB-8, returns just as lovable as it was in episode 7. These characters are good additions to Star Wars panaply.

John Williams has again created a musical score that works with the movie. The special effects are also first class.  But then, we have learned that a Star Wars movie has to have good music and effects.     

If you are reading this carefully, you might note that I’ve not said anything about the story. That’s one of the “Bads.” The story is the Resistance fighting the First Order with the First Order winning. The First Order is filled to the brim with predictable “bad” guys while the Resistance is filled with “good” guys...also predictable. No new ground is covered with this plot line, yet old ground has been lost never to be seen again. Luke is gone, Leia is gone...and we are left with two newbies: Rey (good guy) and Kylo Ren (bad guy) to fight another day.

The flashbacks through time and space get confusing and sometimes I was left to wonder what really happened there as parts of the story are just plain missing. Why is the story so shallow? 

So I like some of the creatures but I did not like the story. If you are a Star Wars fan, you need to see the movie. If you are new to the saga, wait for it to be released at RedBox.

*Picture courtesy of http://www.starwars.com/films/star-wars-episode-viii-the-last-jedi    

Christmastime in Solvang

Christmas in Solvang. The tree of lights in the tiny town square is perfect.

Moonraker

Sometime ago we bought the boxed set of all of the James Bond movies. We’ve seen all the Sean Connery Bond movies and now we’re working on the rest. Tonight we saw Moonraker with Roger Moore as James. 

 

It’s a set of action sequences in search of a plot. That’s not exactly right...there is a plot, but it’s weak, very weak. Meet one bad guy with the improbable name of Drax (now you know that might be short for Dracula ... but if not, it sounds evil from the start). Drax is a crazy multibillionaire who is making space shuttles among other things...and he has a plan to annihilate the people on our little blue planet and create a super race of perfect people to repopulate it. Of course we don’t find that out till the very end. In the meantime Bond is chasing around the world trying to find out what Drax is up to. 

 

We have the requisite chase scene thru the canals in Venice with vaporettos and gondolas. Then there’s the confusion of Carnival in Rio with a chase and fight on a funicular hanging over the bay by Sugar Loaf. Don’t forget the jungle chase that has James gliding over Iguasu Falls and the bad guy rocketing his boat over the falls.  Finally the ultimate scene of all...the space battle between the good guys (that’s the US) and the bad guys (Drax’s army). The good guys win...and the film ends with Bond and his lady floating in space...doing only what James Bond does so well.

 

The story is bad. Roger Moore’s acting is bad. The gadgets are good. The chases are good if not predictable. I found myself laughing out loud as it was just too preposterous to do anything else. Watch the movie for a good laugh. Don’t watch it for it’s excellence (or lack thereof) of plot.

Movies are time capsules showing off what is important for the time they were made. In 1979, when Moonraker was filmed, the US was working on the Space Shuttle program. The first shuttle, the Enterprise, had been built in 1976, but the program was not fully operational until 1981. Creating a James Bond story around this cutting technology was perfect. Putting the story in interesting and exotic locations was expected...and are there better locations than Venice, Rio, The Amazon and Space. It’s too bad that the writers did not create a good plot to tell the story.

What Is It?

As i was walking I came across this unusual stabile...or sculpture...or art installation. 

Actually there are three objects...in aqua, yellow and pink. They are made of powder coated steel rods. They seem to be identical. They could represent mountains or triangles or something else. Whatever they are, they are pleasing to look at.   

No matter the angle they seem to change shape and color.   

And when you look through the grids, a complex design greets you.  

For something so simple it is surprisingly complicated. Whatever it is, I do like it.

Somewhere in the Ford Galaxie

 

That’s a Ford Galaxie 500...I think she is a 1964 but I’m not positive. I even asked my car guy Earl and he had no idea. I searched online, and discovered the 1965 had vertical headlights and the 1963 had a different roof line. 

The huge taillights are iconic Ford in the sixties.

Fifty plus years ago, this was one speedy automobile with a 427 engine. Back in the days when gasoline was 30 cents a gallon, it did not matter if she only got 12 mpg or less. The idea was to go fast!

Thanks to my friend Pam, this car is a 1963 1/2. It came out mid-year! That’s why the roofline is different from the 1963 and the side panels are a bit different from the 1964. This baby falls in between! Thank you Pam!

 

The mid-year inclusion of the new 427-cu.in. powerhouses is what really sets collectors hearts on fire. With a 4.23 x 3.78-inch bore and stroke and an 11.5:1 compression ratio, a 427 equipped with a four-barrel thumps out 410hp and 476-lbs.ft. of torque (Q-code), while dual four-barrels result in a teeth-clenching 425hp and 480-lbs.ft. oftorque (R-code). This last example was installed in only 3,857 vehicles, according to Reynolds. 1963-1/2 Ford Galaxie 500XL Fastback from Hemmings Muscle Machines

May, 2007 

Happy New Year

It is 2018! May the year be PEACEFUL! I wish you health and happiness. 

At The Lake

We are back at the Lake for the Nth time, where N is a number somewhere in the teens. We have no real idea how long we’ve been coming to “The Lake” but it’s over 14 years. If you go back in this blog you will see pictures from 10 years ago taken at “The Lake.” You could say we like it here because we do!

There’s water in the lake this year. Last year the lake was at 7%, this year it’s closer to 40% full. That’s a HUGE difference. Southern California has had some rain, just not enough.           

This is the typical landscape ... very very dry. The grasses are beyond dry, and it’s the reason why there have been fires nearby. In a typical winter, this should be a green grassy area.

I love this picture. The area is called “Harvey’s Cove” named after a goose that lived here for many years. (The goose was named Harvey and sadly, he passed away 2 years ago) The area should be filled with water, but it’s dry with a small “swamp” at the neck of the cove. Maybe it will fill while we are here, if there is rain.

It’s good to be back at the lake.

 

 

Christmas Plus One

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. We did! We visited family, laughed, talked, had some fine food, and laughed and talked some more. A good time for everyone. 

Merry Christmas to Everyone and a Happy New Year Too!!!!

 

Bear

The little kitties were an inspiration...so tonight I designed a little bear.

He’s a tiny little thing...just what I needed! A perfect ornament for my Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Kitties

I saw these adorable kitties on Pinterest...but the pattern was in Russian! I enlarged the photo, counted the stitches and...

I made these “essense of kitty” mini-pillows. I think they are cute...hope my niece’s kittlies will like to play with them.

 

Sunset on a Cloudy Day

It was cloudy and gray today. The sun never even showed a ray of light! But I looked out the kitchen window as I was making dinner and saw this!

Isn’t this a spectacular sunset?

 

Finally

I started this blanket on the ship 3 different times. For some reason it would not come together. Finally, it’s done in time for Christmas. Do you know of a Christmas baby who needs a red baby blanket? If you do, let me know and I’ll send it to you.

Of course, it has teddy bears on it. This is the first time I made the blanket in red. In the past, I’ve used “baby” colors of pink, blue, white, yellow, lavender and mint. It’s good to break the mold every now and then.

The pictures were taken with my new Canon SX730HS camera. My old camera died and I replaced it with the newest equivalent camera by Canon. The times have changed. This camera has wifi and bluetooth, so I can transfer pictures directly to my iPad or computer without using any cables or removing an SD card. That makes life a bit easier. I’ll keep you posted on how well it works over the next few months.

 

I did a lot of online research before buying this camera. After deciding that my iPhone camera was not enough, I looked at point and shoot, DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The latter two are “high end” and need different lenses and filters to make them work. I’ve had the high end cameras before and discovered they involve a lot of “stuff” that has to be easily accessed if you are going ot use the camera well. This is too bothersome for me at my stage in lilfe. So that left the Point and Shoot cameras. I narrowed the search to three compact super zoom cameras: a Sony, a Panasonic and a Canon. The first two had electronic view finders and I thought that would be as asset. Hands-on testing happened yesterday at Best Buy (one of my favorite stores). They did not have a Panasonic, but they had the Sony and the Canon. The Sony with the electronic view finder was on sale for $949 reduced from $999 and it had a $50 gift card! I looked at this camera very seriously...but the view finder was a joke! Instead of showing a clear view, it was blurry. The fellow who was showing me the cameras looked thru the view finder too and he agreed it was HORRIBLE! Then we both went thru the internal programming and could not find anything to make the view finder work better. It was clear at that point that I would buy the Canon. Since I’ve been using Canon cameras most of my life, I don’t need to learn any new procedures. It’s like picking up an old friend with some new bells and whistles. I’ll be showcasing pictures soon. So far, I like it. I think I made a good choice.

 

 

A Christmas Tree

We had great plans to get a Christmas Tree, but with recovering from the long cruise, we never got around to getting the tree. The problem was solved by taking the little tree that stays in a box inside the RV and moving it to the house. While not as big as we are used to in the house, it’s big on memories filled with love, joy and laughter from many years of celebrating Christmas “on the road again.” You can’t beat that!

Hooray for Presto!

One of my wedding presents “died” last week. The present was a Presto Pressure Cooker that has seen regular use for the past 40+ As you can see, one of the handles broke. Without 2 handles a pressure cooker is useless. 

 

The pot has seen a lot of wear and tear. It’s not pretty...and now it’s not useable. To that end, I replaced it a new Presto Pressure Cooker. I don’t know if I have another 40+ years of cooking in me, but based on past performance, I’m guessing the new pot will last that long. 

A Christmas Poem

This poem was sent to me by my good friend Ed. I thought it was worth a little space on my blog. Please enjoy!

 

 

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, 

HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE

 MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

 

 I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY 

WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN

THIS HOME DID LIVE.

 

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, 

A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, 

 NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, 

NOT EVEN A TREE.

 

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, 

JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, 

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES 

OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

 

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, 

AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT CAME 

THROUGH MY MIND.

 

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, 

IT WAS DARK AND DREARY, 

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, 

ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

 

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, 

SILENT, ALONE, 

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS 

ONE BEDROOM HOME.

 

 THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,

 THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,  

NOT HOW I PICTURED 

A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

 

WAS THIS THE HERO 

OF WHOM I'D JUST READ? 

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, 

THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

 

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES 

THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

 OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS 

WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

 

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, 

THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY, 

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE 

A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

 

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM 

EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR, 

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, 

LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

 

 I COULDN'T HELP WONDER 

HOW MANY LAY ALONE, 

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE 

IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

 

THE VERY THOUGHT 

BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE, 

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES 

AND STARTED TO CRY.

 

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED 

AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE, 

"SANTA DON'T CRY, 

THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

 

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, 

I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, 

MY LIFE IS MY GOD, 

MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

 

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER 

AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP, 

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, 

I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

 

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, 

SO SILENT AND STILL 

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED 

FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

 

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE 

ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT, 

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR 

SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

 

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, 

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, 

WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA, IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, 

ALL IS SECURE."

 

ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, 

AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

 "MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, 

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

 

This poem was written by a Marine. The following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

 

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and  dead! , who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

 

May God Bless You and Have A Great Day

 

 

2 pictures

I took this picture in Hobart, Tasmania. I was aiming at the seagull as he was landing on the pond, but sadly I missed that shot and this is what happened. I was disappointed and almost deleted the shot, but I noticed how evenly the ripples radiated away from the bird and thought that might work. Tonight I looked at the picture again, and discovered the lighting is perfect, the ripples and reflections are wonderful — this is a really good picture. In fact, I think it's a better picture than the one I thought I wanted.

 

This picture was taken today in northern Caifornia. It's autumn, and while the trees are dressed for fall, the colors are on the wain. There does not seem to be any new life...it's all dying. Then I see this patch of living, vibrant, color! Flowers are blooming! It's the last day of November and they are in full bloom like it's a spring day. What a joy that they can show off and brighten the day!