"The Dude ABIDEs..."

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1,004 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 SHONE   193 WL

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ TRAIL          3 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ABIDE

WordleBot

Skill 85/99

Luck 61/99

Streak 755

The Coen Brothers served me well this morning.  Guess #1 revealed only E as the last letter and Guess #2 provided A & I (both out of position).  My first thought was to try moving those two letters to positions 2 & 3 — but the first words that came to mind either couldn’t be the solution based on eliminated letters (like RAISE) or were previously used (MAIZE).  Then I began to look at words starting with A — and ABIDE immediately leapt out at me.  I quickly played it as Guess #3 and watched all the letters turn green.  I didn’t know until later that it had been a coin flip between ABIDE and WAIVE.  I tied The Bot and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.7).  My current Under Par streak is now 5 days.

I’ve still not received any feedback from the WordleBot Police regarding the theft of my correct data for Game #999 on March 14.  I solved in 2 guesses - but WordleBot now shows my score as 3.  It appears I will need to reach out via other means to The Powers That Be. 

Take care and stay safe.

LOCAL Hero

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 998 3/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜    193 WL

⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜        5 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 60/99

Streak 749

My strong play continues since returning from vacation toward the end of last month — and the weather has been unusually warm (for the most part) as well.  Let the good times roll, I say.

Guess #1 provided only the O (out of position) and nearly 200 remaining solutions.  But Guess #2 showed me that O was Letter 2 - and gave me two more letters, L (out of position) and A (in position, as Letter 4).  My thorough Wordle record-keeping served me in good stead, as my play from Game #829 (LOYAL on 9/26/2023) showed that only 5 solutions remained — and 2 of those were previously used.  I had even included a note to try LOCAL as Guess #3.  Viewing myself as a credible source of information, I played LOCAL and watched all the letters turn green.  I’ve been Under Par 8 out of the last 9 days, beat The Bot (3 vs 4), and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 4.0).  Hope you're having a wonderful day. 

And you need to watch a great movie, check out "Local Hero."

Take care and stay safe.

(Humble) Bragging

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 993 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨   496 WL

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨   10 (6) WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

WordleBot

Skill 81/99

Luck 53/99

Streak 744

Since returning home from Hawaii during the last week of February, my posting of feedback in the Wordle forum has been poor.  I don’t know whether to attribute this lapse to being busier at work, attempting to get my sleep schedule back on-track (maybe DST will help beginning this weekend), a push to finish my annual goal of viewing all the Best Picture nominees prior to the Oscars (also this weekend — and only “Poor Things” remains.  Tickets purchased for tomorrow) — or maybe I’m just lazy.  I even neglected to humble-brag about reaching my milestone of two years without losing a game (Notice how I’ve cleverly worked the bragging in right here anyway.  It happened on Feb. 24 — Game #980, PIPER — a day that will live in infamy, I suspect, based on the NYT avg of 5.2 in that game)!  But enough stalling — let’s talk about today.

Guess #1 provided only the E (out of position) and almost 500 remaining solutions.  But Guess #2 gave me three more letters, R, A & L (all also out of position).  My meticulous Wordle record-keeping (some might use the term “anal”) served me in good stead, however.  My play from Game #816 (CLEAR on 9/13/2023) showed that only 6 solutions remained — and even included a note to try EARLY as Guess #3.  Eager to follow my own previous advice, I played it and watched all the letters turn green.  I was Under Par for a fourth straight day, tied The Bot, and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.6). 

Hope you're having a great day.

Take care and stay safe.

On The VERGE

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 960 4/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 SHONE   193 WL

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ TRAIL          8 WL

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 MERGE       1 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 VERGE

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 41/99

Streak 711

Oh, so we’re back to the old “Guess #1 matches the E & Guess #2 gives you a single Yellow letter” deal, is that it?  

Today, Guess #1 was E as Letter 5 and Guess #2 was R someplace else.  But detailed record-keeping provided guidance from Game #795 (VERVE on 8/23/2023), so I knew The Bot’s favorite in that scenario was MERGE (which had *not* been a previous solution) and I used it for Guess #3.  It wasn’t the solution  — but I could see that I was on the VERGE of victory.  I changed an M to a V and watched all the letters turn green.  I tied The Bot but bested to the (current) NYT avg (4 vs. 4.8).  

Saw “The Zone Of Interest” in my quest to see all the Best Picture nominees again this year, before the Oscar telecast.  A disturbing film (as it should be, given the subject matter) but very well-done. 

And Rie (aka The Girl aka My Daughter -- remembering to blog in code takes a lot of effort) went with me to church yesterday morning!  So I call that a good day.

Take care and stay safe.

STILL Making A Plan for the 2024 Oscars

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 948 3/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ SHONE   107 WL

⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨 PLAIT         2 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 STILL

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 59/99

Streak 699

This morning, Guess #1 yielded only S as the first letter — but I used The Bot’s favorite in that scenario (PLAIT) as Guess #2.  This hit the jackpot, matching the P, I & T (all out of position).  The Bot later claimed there were 2 solutions remaining (STILL or SILTY), but my thinking was:  SILTY?  Really?!  Since P wasn’t Letter 2, it seemed most likely to me that T *was* — and that I was Letter 3.  In any case, it STILL seems obvious to me that SILTY is a second-rate word.  With STI— accounted for, a double L ending seemed the way to go for Guess #3.  I typed it in and was delighted to watch all the letters turn green.  I bested The Bot (3 vs 4 — how are you feeling about TRACE *now*, eh, Bottie?) and the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.6).  But most significantly — The Magic Number to reach 700 consecutive wins has been reduced to ONE.  I’m looking forward to Wednesday morning — and will likely need to fight a strong temptation to play at midnight.  In fact, by the time that you read this, I will know whether or not the milestone has been reached. 

Sorry to keep you in suspense - but I don't want ANY Wordle spoilers here.  I know that has happened on the NYT comments section in the past - but it won't happen here.

Nominations for the 2024 Academy Awards were announced yesterday morning -- and I got some work to do.  Those of you that know me (and if you're reading my blog, you probably do), know that part of my prep work for the Oscars each year is to see as many of the Best Picture nominees as possible.  Since nominations in this category have expanded beyond five films, it has become more difficult - but I normally don't miss more than one or two, even with a full slate of 10 films.

The good news this year is:  I've already seen half of the nominated films -

• American Fiction
• Barbie
• The Holdovers
• Maestro
• Oppenheimer

That means I still need to see:

• Anatomy Of A Fall
• Killers Of The Flower Moon
• Past Lives
• Poor Things
• The Zone Of Interest

Some of these have only recent come to theaters in my part of the world, so hopefully I will be able to see them on the big screen, as their creators intended (and I prefer).  I don't know that I will have time to do full fledged reviews of all these movies in the blog - but I will try to work out a few sentences about each to aid me in my Oscar handicapping.

I will say this:  Of the five Best Picture nominees I've seen so far, the one I'd most like to see again (at this moment) is "American Fiction."  It was hilarious and moving and smart - and I don't think Jeffrey Wright has ever given a bad performance (at least, I haven't seen one).

Anyway, that's a lot of information for one day.  Hope you have a good one - day, that is.

Take care and stay safe.

Fizzy Lifting Drinks

Yesterday's Wordle solution was STOLE.  And that word always seems to remind me of this scene from the original Willy Wonka.  

For more Wordle nerdihood, I refer you to my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments yesterday.

Wordle 943 3/6

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩 SHONE   12 WL
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨 KEMPT     3 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 STOLE

WordleBot
Skill 91/99
Luck 61/99
Streak 694

Plenty of luck & knowledge imparted through nerdy record-keeping got me back under par this morning.  I knew from Game #917 (SLOPE on 12/23/2023) that there were really only seven words remaining after Guess #1 (adjusting for previous solutions).  I had made a note to myself in December to try KEMPT next, to ensure only 1 solution would remain.  And so it came to pass, as I matched T (out of position) on Guess #2.  Since SMOTE and STOKE couldn’t be the solution, I typed in STOLE and watched all the letters go green.  I tied The Bot (whose favorite Guess #2 went from LIONS to LOINS today; such a fickle fan of an AI) and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs. 3.4).  The Magic Number is 6 to reach 700 consecutive wins. 

In other news, a good friend - unable to understand why I hadn't yet watched "Breaking Bad" - loaned me his Bluray set of the complete series, as an encouragement to enter Walter White's world.  I finished Season One last night and proceeded immediately into Season Two.  A favorite moment so far is the scene of Walter's family staging an intervention (in Season One) and the "Talking Pillow."

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Take care and stay safe.

Jim Styro's COVID-19 Update - Easter Sunday Edition, 2020-04-12

Oh man - I have so much to tell you...and so much time available to tell it.

Actually, that may be more true for you than it is for me.  It seems that I am an "essential employee" - or, at least, I am able to do whatever it is that I do from home.  So my schedule has not been adjusted much - at least not during U.S. business hours.

I had every intention of sneaking in a blog post last week on Palm Sunday.  But I decided that I would only post if I had completed ANY of my annual reviews beforehand.  As you can see, that motivational technique was...ineffectual.

Motivation - Round #2 was based on the same restriction (no blogging until the review were fully complete - since the deadline was midnight tonight, Easter Sunday) - but with much better results.  I actually finished and posted all the reviews last night, so I was able to sleep with a sense of accomplishment.

But now I'm starting to get ahead of myself.  Let's go back in time and review Weeks 3 and 4 of the New Normal -

• Family photos - The Girl (my daughter) and her husband, Derrick, are currently residing with my bride (The Middle Aged Woman) and I.  The Boy (my son) is living in our previous residence in Redford, MI.  Two Fridays back now, The Boy came over for dinner and we watched Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time...in Hollywood".  But before the movie, I wanted to get a family photo that would reflect appropriate physical distancing in these harrowing times.  Below is the youngest to oldest version (Boy, Girl, Derrick, MAW, me) 

• I found out during Week 3 that Jackson Browne tested positive for COVID-19 - but based on this article from the LA Times, he should be fully recovered by now.  [If the link doesn't work, I can send a PDF of article - just leave a request in the Comments.]
• Exercise update:  Until the weather turned cold and damp this past Thursday and Friday, I have been on an eight-day exercise streak (4/1-4/8) - either walking 2 miles or doing the equivalent of 12-14 miles on my recumbent stationary bike.  Started what I hope will be a new streak on Saturday walking with MAW.  And today I did double duty - did 14 miles on the recumbent bike this morning before church and walked 2 miles before dinner this evening.

• This Week(s) in Video Conferencing:  Had a bunch more video conferences during the past two weeks - for church, with friends, and with family.  My single biggest video partner has been my Dad as I helped get him get prepared to join the on-line worship at my church for Palm Sunday (he joined us again for Easter this morning), use Google Hangouts for video calls, and play the World Golf Tour (computer golf) with me on-line.  And just today, I was able to show my Mom how to receive a call from me in Google Hangouts on her computer.  I am clearly ON FIRE providing tech support to retirees.
• This Week in Entertainment:  No Redbox rentals the past couple weekends - but I did watch -
• Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (mentioned above; apart from about 3 minutes of completely over-the-top violence, this is arguably his best movie)
• Yesterday (if you love the Beatles, I highly recommend this flick)  The basic premise is: what if there is only one musician left on earth that remembers the Beatles' songs?  A world in which that band never existed.  A great "wish fulfillment" scene toward the end of the movie is almost worth the price of admission (I mean, rental).
• Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (for Kevin Smith fans only.  I'm glad I watched it.)
• Finished making CD for my Mom with selections from the Purdue University Choir and Varsity Glee Club (with appearances from the Morehouse College Glee Club as well).
• Al Kaline:  Where have you gone, Albert William?  A sad day in the midst of many such.  One of the greatest players that I can say I saw live and in-person.  May be THE greatest.
• Michigan - Top 5 with a bullet:  There are some contests that you just don't want to win.  One of those is - State with the most COVID-19 cases and/or deaths.  It seems unlikely that we will shoot past NewYork or New Orleans (in deaths per 100K population) - but it seems like we are solidly in the Top 5 - and moving up.
• Braving Costco (or "The return of toilet paper and donuts"):  For a solid month or more, I have been unable to purchase toilet paper from my usual toilet paper vendor, Costco.  But this past Wednesday, I made a trip in the mid-afternoon and was able to sip from the sweet cup of victory.  Even better, I cruised by my favorite donut shop (which had been closed previously due to the governor's Stay At Home order) and found they have reopened.  (On a person note, I have always felt that donut-making was an essential job.  Without certain things, life just isn't worth living.)  Needless to say, the transaction was conducted at a distance (yelling my donut selections into the store) and I tipped big. 

I was going to post a picture that I call "The Easter Without Pants" - but I chickened out.  It's probably all for the best.  I will post another "Family Portrait in the Era of Physical Distancing" instead.

Hope you are staying home and staying safe.  Happy Easter!

Take care.

RTT: Limping towards Blogoversary

• As of next week, I will have been doing this for a year. And when I say "doing this", I mean "having a blog" rather than "writing a blog"- cause my track record on the latter has been pretty weak since October*.



• My dad has lung cancer. (If you read the Middle-Aged Woman, you probably know that already.) To be more precise (or maybe the word is "optimistic"), my dad HAD lung cancer - but the surgeons removed it - along with half of his left lung and some lymph nodes. (Hopefully Dad will cut me some slack on this egregious HIPAA violation...) He was released from the hospital yesterday - the fifth day following surgery! That was good news - but rather a surprise, since he thought he would be in the hospital for a week to ten days. I am expecting to visit him in Dayton again this coming weekend - if the Lord's willing and the creek don't rise.



• I had every intention of completing my mini-reviews of the last three films viewed as part of The Plan (The Blind Side, Avatar, and The Last Station - which were all good, by the way) but as more time has passed since the Oscar telecast, I wonder if anyone is still interested. I may do it for my own strange reasons, of course - but my motivation has not been good lately.



• I bought a large TV last week. (If you read the MAW, you know that already too.) I really do owe debt of gratitude to Larry at OneCall for his consideration regarding the purchase. Amazon advertised an incorrect price for the TV - and I was the only person on the planet to place an order for that item during the few minutes that the erroneous pricing was in place. Larry and OneCall could have decided to nix the sale - but they decided to honor the advertised price despite the error. Once I take delivery on the set, I plan to do a more lengthy writeup on both the TV and OneCall to point out the excellent service they provided me - despite selling the TV at a loss.



• As a result of buying the new TV and a Blu-Ray player to go with it, I'm planning to give my Roku player to my dad so he can stream Netflix movies and my Major League Baseball subscription to his TV. My Blu-Ray is able to stream Netflix, so I shouldn't need the Roku anymore.



• I was the master of ceremonies at a fund-raiser on Sunday for the Joy-Southfield Community Development Corporation, an organization spearheaded by my church (Second Grace United Methodist) not quite 10 years ago. One of the major initiatives of the JSCDC was establishment of a free health clinic that was originally housed in our church and later moved to a new building constructed across the street. It was a wonderful occasion - and appropriate that our event should take place that Congress finally enacted comprehensive health care legislation. Plus I bought a nice bracelet for my wife at the silent auction.



• Did I mention that my TV is currently in Fridley, Minnesota?

Take care.


PS: Go visit Keely at the Un-Mom willya?!



Please? Come on - do it for me. Do it for Keely!

* I should probably go all the way back to August. But I did hit (low) double-digits for my posts in October.

The Plan: Four down...three more to go

The Plan: I have decided to see these seven films before the Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday night, March 7 -

☑ An Education [I saw this one on 2/21- click the link for my review]

☐ Avatar

☐ The Blind Side

☑ Crazy Heart [I saw this one on 2/20- click the link for my review]

☐ District 9

☑ The Hurt Locker [I saw this one on 2/26- click the link for my review]

☐ The Last Station


Last night, I saw...

District 9 - (Jim Styro's mini-review)

Whoa Nellie!

Director Neill Blomkamp's first feature film is a concoction that is part "prison break", part "man-on-the-run", part "bank heist", part "concentration camp" and part "documentary" sprinkled liberally over a bed of sci-fi (including homages from everything to David Cronenberg's The Fly to The Phantom Menace to Close Encounters of the Third Kind). It's got everything - plus the kitchen sink! All this with an underlying rumination on apartheid - to be more accurate, the question: If the creature is different enough from you, is it OK to treat him (her, it) like crap?

There's a lot going on in District 9, which is both a blessing and a curse. The film hurtles you directly into a world where mankind's first encounter with an alien race occurs in Johannesburg, South Africa - which gives a whole new meaning to the term "third world". The hectic nature of the movie's opening will be hard for some viewers to take in (I kept reminding myself that I was watching a film nominated for Best Picture) - but if you like a flick that is crammed full of ideas, you won't be disappointed. The "little green men" here (OK, they're really big ugly-looking bug-things) haven't come to be take over our planet - or be our friends - they just ran out of gas on their way home. And by the time we humans get around to cutting them out of their mothership, most of them are dead or dying. As a result, Soweto gets a new ghetto, this one filled with aliens, called "District 9".

I won't even attempt to outline the plot (beyond my helpful hints in the opening paragraph). This is a messy film - in every sense of the word. But once we get inside District 9, the action does begin to draw you in for a bumpy ride. The movie does have a number of gross-out moments - but the overall effect of District 9 is so unreal that, at times, it's like watching someone else playing Halo (or some other first-person shooter video game). And the movie features a good performance by Sharlto Copley as Wikus, who goes from being the bumbling husband of the boss' daughter put in charge of an operation beyond his abilities to a man desperately trying to retain/reclaim his humanity. He also gets style points for trying to imbue the word "f*ck" with the most dramatic impact since The Big Lebowski.

If you're a sci-fi fan, you're probably gratified that the Academy has recognized District 9 with a Best Picture nomination. I don't put it in the same level with the other nominees I have seen so far - but some of that is just a matter of taste, after all.

Take care.

The Plan: Three down...four more to go

"Previously on Speaking In CAPS..."

I have decided to see these seven films before the Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday night, March 7 -

☑ An Education [I saw this one on 2/21- click the link for my review]

☐ Avatar

☐ The Blind Side

☑ Crazy Heart [I saw this one on 2/20- click the link for my review]

☐ District 9

☐ The Hurt Locker

☐ The Last Station


Last Friday night, I saw...

The Hurt Locker - (Jim Styro's mini-review)

There are certain types of movies that I don't necessarily look forward to seeing: anything with scenes of extreme violence or gore, horror films, and (most) modern gangster or war films. I admit it - I'm squeamish. And I shy away from films where you can tell something bad is going to happen sooner or later (oftentimes the badness arrives early and often) and the only remaining questions are: when will it occur and how bad will it be?

But a Best Picture nomination still carries some weight with me (although not as much weight now that there are ten films nominated rather than five*), so I steeled myself in preparation for viewing The Hurt Locker, knowing that there would moments in the film that would be difficult for me to watch - but hoping that the film would be worth the trouble. As Don Henley once asked, "Are you with me so far?"

The Hurt Locker follows a three-man bomb disposal squad through the last month and a half of a year-long tour-of-duty in Iraq. Staff Sgt. James, the team leader, is a man who seems to know no fear. He works instinctively, with little regard for protocol - and loves his work in a way that even he does not understand. Sgt. Sanborn is a soldier of nearly equal experience - but he rankles at the unnecessary risks which his team leader seems to thrive upon. Specialist Eldridge is the youngest and most impressionable of the trio. Although he has known and worked with Sanborn longer, he is drawn to James' bravado and seeming invincibility. As their remaining days in Iraq dwindle down, the sense of tension mounts. How long will their luck hold out in the face of such carnage?

Director Kathryn Bigelow has crafted a film was doesn't seem crafted at all. Rather, it makes the viewer a participant and creates the sense of being present in the action, with the sense of danger and foreboding that are an everyday part of the team's work. While the movie certainly has a point of view, it does not have an overt agenda. It does not seem to judge the soldiers, the Iraqis, or even the conflict itself. The only objective is survival - in an environment that seems to make that objective an impossibility.

Although the performances in The Hurt Locker are uniformly excellent, the three leads (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) must carry the picture - and their work together makes us believe that these very different young men comprise a team so tight-knit that we civilians can scarcely comprehend the nature of their brotherhood. The film portrays a type of warfare unique to our present day, with three men going into battle seemingly (and, in some cases, quite literally) alone. The isolation of The Hurt Locker's action stands in stark contrast to what we would expect in a World War 2 or Vietnam era film, where these exploits would feature groups of 6, 10 or a dozen men. Here, the indelible image is of one soldier walking into certain danger with only a couple of other men to watch his back.

Although it seems ludicrous to me to call The Hurt Locker an "enjoyable" film - it is a memorable movie and one well worth seeing. I won't be surprised to look back and see that this film is viewed as the iconic portrayal of the Iraq war(s) [as some might say of Apocalypse Now and Vietnam, or Saving Private Ryan and World War 2]. It's strong stuff - so be prepared.

Take care.

* It just seems like a blatant move to get more people into the theaters. I mean, were there really twice as many amazingly excellent movies made this year than last year?

The Plan: Two down...five more to go

Let me explain. No...let me sum up:

I have decided to see these seven films before the Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday night, March 7 -

☐ An Education

☐ Avatar

☐ The Blind Side

☑ Crazy Heart [I saw this one Saturday night - click the link for my review]

☐ District 9

☐ The Hurt Locker

☐ The Last Station

Sunday night, I saw...

An Education - (Jim Styro's mini-review)

Do you ever have those moments when you feel that you are viewing life through a particular prism where all of the common elements in things stand out very distinctly and you see how everything seems interrelated - and its not because you're on drugs or anything - but the patterns in events and people and things just seem to blend together in a rich tapestry that seems utterly clear to you...?

Well, even if you don't - there are some common elements between the films Crazy Heart and An Education which, despite significant differences in setting, style and point of view, stand out clearly - especially when having watched the movies on back-to-back evenings. Chief among these is the notion of "Romance gone wrong" - the feeling that the relationship being portrayed cannot (perhaps, should not) last. In Crazy Heart, we see this played out primarily from the point of view of a 60+ year-old man; in An Education, our protagonist is a 16-year-old (soon to be 17) girl, Jenny. In Crazy Heart, the romantic relationship seems like it may be a last chance at redemption for our hero; in An Education, it is clearly a first love - with the potential to deliver Jenny from (what she views as) the stifling environs of 1961 Great Britain*.

The movie is filled with wonderful performances from Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams, Emma Thompson (in a small but important role) - to mention only a few - but most impressive is Carey Mulligan as Jenny. The success of the entire film rests on her ability to strike the right balance between the bliss of youthful naivete and the single-mindedness of an adolescent mind certain that she is not understood by those around her, that the future being planned for her is a trap. Her performance seems so natural that we are drawn on her emotional roller-coaster ride (or, should I say, helter skelter?). I found the movie quite moving - and this is due in large part to Mulligan's performance.

Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State & Kinsey), who plays David, the older man that wants to expose Jenny to the finer things in life, make an attractive couple - and the movie does a great job of capturing the look and feel of Britain and Europe in the early 60's - like Breakfast at Tiffany's set in London or Paris. But, like Crazy Heart, though you think you know where the film is going (and may even be right about its final destination) the path it takes will likely hold at least a few surprises.

I know it seems like I'm easy (though I'm not cheap) - but I have to say:
An Education is one class I think you'll be glad you sat through.

Take care.


* Setting the film in that year may have simply been staying true to the original article, written by Lynn Barber, upon which the film is based. But it seems entirely fitting - even necessary - that the story take place in a pre-Beatles England - before the Fab Four began to thaw Britain out of its post-World War 2 malaise - and give the Baby Boom its boom.

The Plan: One down...six more to go

To recap: Saturday morning, I decided that I would try to see the following seven films before the Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday night, March 7.

An Education
Avatar
The Blind Side
Crazy Heart
District 9
The Hurt Locker
The Last Station

Combining these with three previously-viewed films that have been nominated for Best Picture this year (A Serious Man, Up!, and Up in the Air) would give me a tally of having viewed:

8 of the 10 Best Picture nominees, and
3 of the 5 nominees in each acting category (except Best Supporting Actor)

[Side note: I wish I could find a way to see Invictus - but it's not playing in theaters anywhere I can find - and it's not out on DVD either.]

Why do you care about any of this? I don't know Because I've promised to feature mini-reviews of the movies after I see them. And you don't think I'm completely full of crap value my opinion.

Saturday night, I watched...

Crazy Heart (Jim Styro's mini-review)

I love seeing movies without having a lot of expectations. I'm almost always pleasantly surprised. Of course, I wasn't surprised by another Oscar-worthy performance by Jeff Bridges. He's become one of my favorite actors over the years - not only delivering wonderful and varied performances - but picking great movies in which to appear. And Maggie Gyllenhaal is no slouch either (I particularly loved her in Stranger Than Fiction).

Bridges plays an chain-smoking, alcoholic country singer/songwriter, "Bad" Blake, who is past his prime and headed for an early grave. While traveling from one sorry gig to another, he grants an interview to Jean (Gyllenhaal), whose youth and unpretentious beauty pierce through the haze of his dreary, booze-soaked existence. Against her better judgement, Jean starts to fall in love with Bad (which makes the thing sound more cliched than it is, IMO) and he begins to form a bond with both her and her pre-school-aged son. For me, the movie stirred up memories of another great little movie - Tender Mercies (which earned Robert Duvall - whose appearance in Crazy Heart is almost an homage to that earlier movie - a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor) which featured a similar cast of characters.

But, apart from a shared faith in human endurance, the similarity between the films does not run that deep. Although Bad and Jean genuinely care for each other, their relationship never feels quite right (as perhaps it should not). And Bad's nickname is well-earned - it is not clear until near the end of the film whether he can or will change his ways. Although the story feels familiar, the plot line and performances don't necessarily take you where you might expect them to go. Even so, it is a wonderful journey - with great music (Bridges sings and plays the material himself) and fine performances all around.

Crazy Heart is a film well worth seeing.

Take care.

"..it's all...part of The Plan"*

I wanted to be random today - I really did. But all I've got is The Plan. I decided I needed The Plan Friday night. Saturday morning, I began to craft the details. And I will soon reveal all to you, Gentle Reader.

The Academy Awards are on March 7 this year. There are 10 films nominated for Best Picture this year (I will rant about them expanding the field from 5 to 10 films another time - I need my beauty rest). The nominees are (in an order that will become clear momentarily):

• Up! (The last Pixar movie - I saw it soon after it was released)
  
  
• A Serious Man (The Coen Brothers latest. I saw it soon after it was released. It does for late 60s Hebrews what "Fargo" did for Minnesotans - kind of)
  
  
• Up in the Air (Jason Reitman's hot streak continues. George Clooney's too. A movie near and dear to many here in Detroit. I saw it - twice.)
  
  
• Avatar (James Cameron's latest epic. It's supposed to be more that just great special effects.)
  
  
• An Education (As of Saturday morning, I didn't know anything about this movie - except that it had been nominated for Best Picture)
  
  
• The Blind Side (As of Saturday morning, the only three things I knew about this movie were: it had been nominated for Best Picture, Sandra Bullock was in the movie, and it had something to do with football)
  
  
• District 9 (This is a sci-fi flick I've heard a little about. More importantly, I have the DVD in my possession courtesy of Netflix.)
  
  
• The Hurt Locker (This is a contemporary war flick that The Boy compared with Platoon. I expect to have the DVD in my possession later today - courtesy of Netflix.
  
  
• Precious (I don't know much about this film - other than the fact that it, too, has been nominated for Best Picture - and appears to star a large black woman. If the advertising is in any way accurate.)
  
  
• Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino's latest. Still trying to play violence for humor, from what I've heard. That rarely works on me.)

In addition to these Best Picture nominees, there are a couple of films (Crazy Heart and The Last Station) that feature more than one performance nominated for an Academy Award.

So I decided that I needed to see seven of the nine films above prior to Oscar Night (I know there are twelve films mentioned - but remember, I've already seen three of them). I further decided that - in protest of them expanding the Best Picture field to ten films, I would NOT try to see all the nominees in that category (Precious and Inglourious Basterds are out) - but I'm going to fill in with Crazy Heart and The Last Station so that I will be well-informed regarding the acting nominees.

This weekend, I began to put The Plan into action - and I will post brief (?) reviews of the films taken in on Saturday and Sunday...just a soon as I write them. Hopefully tomorrow.

Take care.


* R.I.P. Heath Ledger

Not yet in the groove

I'm telling myself I could have written a GREAT post tonight.

But I didn't. I watched The English Patient (Best Picture 1996) instead. A fine film.

I sometimes wonder about myself though. How is it that I enjoy The English Patient and The Big Lebowski?

I think I need to do a post on such (seeming) contradictions. Once I shake off this post-vacation malaise. Of course, that could take all week.

Wednesday's post will be a crap shoot in any case - 'cause we're going to see the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tomorrow. Perhaps a mini-Styro review.

With no spoilers.

Take care.

We're Back

The Middle-Aged Woman and I arrived home from Petoskey, MI on Friday night after a wonderful week there with Leslie and Larry - celebrating Independence Day, golfing, eating, talking, shopping. Mostly relaxing. MAW took the pictures - so check her blog for the visuals.

Today, I return to work and the normal routine, well-rested and ready-to-go. As soon as I'm done typing, I'm going to get in some exercise time to start the work week right. But first, a few random updates from the weekend.

- It was great to get back to martial arts class on Saturday morning. It felt good just to sweat (profusely), to see good friends I had missed, and have a leisurely lunch afterward.

- The opening performance of the Macbeth farce at the Motor City Youth Theater Saturday night was nerve-racking (for me - because I had missed the last week of rehearsal) but turned out well. Two good friends came for the show and were able to hang out afterward and visit with the MAW and me. It was nice.

- The weather was so nice Sunday, I asked The Boy if he wanted to go golfing. Although we golfed at the Twilight rate (which allows you to play as many holes as you want while the sun still shines), he wanted to stop after 11 holes. A surprise - but I don't think he was having fun (despite parring the last hole).

- Watched Vicky Christina Barcelona last night. It has its moments - but the whole thing doesn't really go anywhere, does it?

I plan to return to regular posting now that vacation time is over. Hope I've got something interesting to say.

Take care.

Personal best

My vacation started last Friday, June 26. In the six days since then, I have played a round of golf all but one day (Monday - my birthday - when we drove home from Greenbush to Redford). And on four of the five days I played, we shot a full 18 holes. So I've played 81 holes in the last week. I've never played golf five out of six days. I may never do it again. But it certainly raises the bar for future golf planning.

Tomorrow, we drive to Petoskey to spend the week with our good friends, Leslie and Larry, at their condo. Although I expect to do lots of different things over the next week, my one critical duty will be to provide suitable films to watch for periods of inclement weather or days when a quiet evening at the condo is desired. I always take way more video that could possibly be watched. It's my way of keeping options open.

Here's what will go in the movie bag:

Gran Torino - Clint Eastwood's latest, filmed (in part) around Metro Detroit where I abide. Of the four of us, only Larry has already seen it.

Ken Burns' documentaries, The Civil War & The War (WWII) - Leslie had been reading a novel set during the Civil War and desired additional background. Nobody's better at making history interesting than Burns.

Frost Nixon - Nominated for Best Picture last year with great performances from Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. I believe I'm the only one who's already seen it.

Swimming to Cambodia - Leslie and Larry weren't familiar with the late Spalding Gray (who the MAW and I love) - and their children are currently traveling in Thailand and...Cambodia.

Lonesome Dove - Larry mentioned he hadn't seen it. Most likely, too long to undertake - but you never know.

The Dark Knight - L&L haven't seen it. And they count on me for a good comic book movie now and again.

State and Main - A good comedy is always important to have ready. And I'm the only one who's seen this one.

Burn After Reading, Thank You For Smoking, Lars and The Real Girl - Three more comedies, because I'm the King of Video excess. Each of these has a different mix of funny and touching - with the Coens Brothers leaning more cerebral (as always) and Lars being on the opposite end of the spectrum.

The Times Of Harvey Milk - Because I haven't purchased Gus Van Sant's Milk yet. And that film owes a debt of gratitude to this earlier documentary.

The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen - Because I got the 20th Anniversary Edition for Father's Day (along with The Times of Harvey Milk).

A River Runs Through It - I love this movie. A great story of family.

Harvey - Perhaps my favorite move ever. A comedy - with heart.

Well, it's getting late - and I've got a big drive tomorrow. I hope to keep posting while we are out of town - but access to the Internet may be limited.
Keep a look-out for me. And I'll try my best to stay in touch.

Take care.

All About My Father's Day

I had a great Father's Day this year!

The day actually began on the way home from Music Night - the Middle-Aged Woman and I didn't get home until about 1 AM. Once home, I finished writing my Father's Day post about/to my Dad. Then I went to bed for a while.

Before leaving for church this morning, I remoted to my Dad's computer (I use the tool available at www.logmein.com) and left him an initial Father's Day greeting (which directed him to check out my blog post). I went to church alone (as usual), got my car washed afterward and headed home. At home, I recorded the audio accompaniment to Sunday's post.

[From the Editor: I must disgress for a moment here to ask some questions concerning THE AUDIO PORTION OF OUR PROGRAM - Does anybody listen to the posts? Or all you all just reading them? If you do like to listen to the posts, do you listen as you read - or primarily do only one or the other?

Did anyone not realize that I provide spoken versions of most posts? [The tool from Box.net that loads at the top of the page allows you to click on the MP3 filenames to listen.] Now that you know, do you think that you'll bother to listen?

I beg you - please let me know whether you find the audio posts cool or useless. They are enough work that - I need to know whether people feel they add something to the site - so I can summon the energy to keep making them available. And now, we return you to your regularly scheduled rant...]

At this point, it was around 2 PM and, having skipped breakfast, I was getting hungry. Snoplum had recently gotten out of the shower and asked if I could wait for her to finish getting beautiful (which she already was completely - but I told her I'd wait anyway). She chose that moment to present me with a few Father's Day gifts:

Thomas Keneally's Searching for Schindler (a memoir from 2007), the 20th Anniversary DVD of Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (this and The Fisher King are my favorite Gilliam films), and the 20th Anniversary DVD of The Times of Harvey Milk (which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1984; Gus Van Sant's latest film, Milk, with Sean Penn owes a great debt to this earlier documentary film). Did I mention that my wife has extremely good taste (and knows how to easily access my Wish List at Amazon).

She also gave me a wonderful Father's Day kiss - at which point I may have mentioned that I had a little something for her as well. This part of the day is a little fuzzy for me now; I must have blacked out due to lack of blood flow to the brain. Anyway, one thing lead to another, and the next thing I remember, I was getting dressed so we could get some lunch. The MAW and I had a fine meal at Panera and I called my Dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day when we returned home.

The kids got home later in the afternoon (The Girl, from work; The Boy, from visiting a friend) and presented me with a great card and some additional loot (golf balls and tees - which will come in handy beginning next week). We all went to dinner together and then saw the latest Pixar film, Up (which is very much worth seeing). We even picked up some donuts on the way home as a Father's Day dessert. It had been a while since we had spent that much time all together - and enjoyed each other's company with no bits of bickering or human drama.

It was really nice. I'll take another day just like that one anytime.

Take care.

By request: Oscar Meme

OK, I'm not sure I can live up to the hype - but here's my list of Best Picture nominated viewings:

1928- The Racket, 7th Heaven, Wings

1929- Alibi, In Old Arizona, The Broadway Melody, Hollywood Revue, The Patriot

1930- All Quiet on the Western Front, The Big House, Disraeli, The Divorcee, The Love Parade

1931- Cimarron, East Lynne, The Front Page, Skippy, Trader Horn

1932- Arrowsmith, Bad Girl, The Champ, Five Star Final, Grand Hotel, One Hour with You, Shanghai Express, The Smiling Lieutenant

1933- Cavalcade, A Farewell to Arms, 42nd Street, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Lady for a Day, Little Women, The Private Life of Henry VIII, She Done Him Wrong, Smilin' Through, State Fair

1934- The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Cleopatra, Flirtation Walk, The Gay Divorcee, Here Comes the Navy, The House of Rothschild, Imitation of Life, It Happened One Night, One Night of Love, The Thin Man, Viva Villa!, The White Parade

1935- Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer, Les Miserables, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mutiny on the Bounty, Naughty Marietta, Ruggles of Red Gap, Top Hat

1936- Anthony Adverse, Dodsworth, The Great Ziegfeld, Libeled Lady, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Romeo and Juliet, San Francisco, The Story of Louis Pasteur, A Tale of Two Cities, Three Smart Girls

1937- The Awful Truth, Captains Courageous, Dead End, The Good Earth, In Old Chicago, The Life of Emile Zola, Lost Horizon, One Hundred Men and a Girl, Stage Door, A Star Is Born

1938- The Adventures of Robin Hood, Alexander's Ragtime Band, Boys Town, The Citadel, Four Daughters, Grand Illusion, Jezebel, Pygmalion, Test Pilot, You Can't Take It with You

1939- Gone With The Wind, Dark Victory, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights

1940- Rebecca, All This and Heaven Too, The Foreign Correspondent, The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, Kitty Foyle, The Letter, The Long Voyage Home, Our Town, The Philadelphia Story

1941- How Green Was My Valley, Blossom in the Dust, Citizen Kane, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Hold Back the Dawn, The Little Foxes, The Maltese Falcon, One Foot in Heaven, Sergeant York, Suspicion

1942- Mrs. Miniver , 49th Parallel, Kings Row, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Pied Piper, The Pride of the Yankees, Random Harvest, The Talk of the Town, Wake Island, Yankee Doodle Dandy

1943- Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Heaven Can Wait, The Human Comedy, In Which We Serve, Madame Curie, The More the Merrier, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Song of Bernadette, Watch on the Rhine

1944- Going My Way, Double Indemnity, Gaslight, Since You Went Away, Wilson

1945- The Lost Weekend, Anchors Aweigh, The Bells of St. Mary's, Mildred Pierce, Spellbound

1946- The Best Years of Our Lives, The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France (Henry V), It's a Wonderful Life, The Razor's Edge, The Yearling

1947- Gentleman's Agreement, The Bishop's Wife, Crossfire, Great Expectations, Miracle on 34th Street

1948- Hamlet, Johnny Belinda, The Red Shoes, The Snake Pit, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

1949- All the King's Men, Battleground, The Heiress, A Letter to Three Wives, Twelve O'Clock High

1950- All About Eve, Born Yesterday, Father of the Bride, King Solomon's Mines,
Sunset Blvd

1951- An American in Paris, Decision Before Dawn, A Place in the Sun*, Quo Vadis, A Streetcar Named Desire

1952- The Greatest Show on Earth, High Noon, Ivanhoe, Moulin Rouge, The Quiet Man

1953- From Here to Eternity, Julius Caesar, The Robe, Roman Holiday, Shane

1954- On the Waterfront, The Caine Mutiny, The Country Girl, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Three Coins in the Fountain

1955- Marty, Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing, Mister Roberts, Picnic, The Rose Tattoo

1956- Around the World in Eighty Days, Friendly Persuasion, Giant, The King and I, The Ten Commandments

1957- The Bridge on the River Kwai, 12 Angry Men, Peyton Place, Sayonara, Witness for the Prosecution

1958- Gigi, Auntie Mame, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Defiant Ones, Separate Tables

1959- Ben-Hur, Anatomy of a Murder, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Nun's Story, Room at the Top

1960- The Apartment, The Alamo, Elmer Gantry, Sons and Lovers, The Sundowners

1961- West Side Story, Fanny, The Guns of Navarone, The Hustler, Judgment at Nuremberg

1962- Lawrence of Arabia, The Longest Day, The Music Man, Mutiny on the Bounty, To Kill a Mockingbird

1963- Tom Jones, America, America, Cleopatra, How the West Was Won, Lilies of the Field

1964- My Fair Lady, Alexis Zorbas, Becket, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Mary Poppins

1965- The Sound of Music, Darling, Doctor Zhivago , Ship of Fools, A Thousand Clowns

1966- A Man for All Seasons, Alfie, The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, The Sand Pebbles, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1967- In the Heat of the Night, Bonnie and Clyde, Doctor Dolittle, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

1968- Oliver!, Funny Girl, The Lion in Winter, Rachel, Rachel, Romeo and Juliet

1969- Midnight Cowboy, Anne of the Thousand Days, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Hello, Dolly! , Z

1970- Patton, Airport, Five Easy Pieces, Love Story, MASH

1971- The French Connection, A Clockwork Orange, Fiddler on the Roof, The Last Picture Show, Nicholas and Alexandra

1972- The Godfather, Cabaret, Deliverance, Sounder, The Emigrants

1973- The Sting, American Graffiti, The Exorcist, A Touch of Class, Cries and Whispers

1974- The Godfather: Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation, Lenny, The Towering Inferno

1975- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Nashville

1976- Rocky, All The President's Men, Bound for Glory, Network, Taxi Driver

1977- Annie Hall, The Goodbye Girl, Julia, Star Wars, The Turning Point

1978- The Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight, An Unmarried Woman

1979- Kramer vs. Kramer, All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now, Breaking Away, Norma Rae

1980. Ordinary People, Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, Tess

1981. Chariots of Fire, Reds, Atlantic City, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark

1982. Gandhi, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Missing, Tootsie, The Verdict

1983. Terms of Endearment, The Big Chill, The Dresser, The Right Stuff, Tender Mercies

1984. Amadeus, The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart, A Soldier’s Story

1985. Out of Africa, The Color Purple, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Prizzi’s Honor, Witness

1986. Platoon, Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, A Room with a View

1987. The Last Emperor, Broadcast News, Fatal Attraction, Hope and Glory, Moonstruck

1988. Rain Man, The Accidental Tourist, Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning, Working Girl

1989. Driving Miss Daisy, Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Poets Society, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot

1990. Dances with Wolves, Awakenings, Ghost, The Godfather Part III, Goodfellas

1991. The Silence of the Lambs, Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, The Prince of Tides

1992. Unforgiven, The Crying Game, A Few Good Men, Howards End, Scent of a Woman

1993. Schindler’s List, The Fugitive, In the Name of the Father, The Piano, The Remains of the Day

1994. Forrest Gump, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption

1995. Braveheart, Apollo 13, Babe, Il Postino (The Postman), Sense and Sensibility

1996. The English Patient, Fargo, Jerry Maguire, Secrets & Lies, Shine

1997. Titanic, As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential

1998. Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella), Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line

1999. American Beauty, The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense

2000. Gladiator, Chocolat, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, Traffic

2001. A Beautiful Mind, Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge!

2002. Chicago, Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Pianist

2003. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Mystic River, Seabiscuit

2004. Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, Finding Neverland, Ray, Sideways

2005. Crash, Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, Munich

2006. The Departed, Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, The Queen

2007. No Country for Old Men, Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood

2008. Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader

Haven't been feeling good today - so no audio accompaniment. I'll try to record a director's commentary for this post once I'm feeling better.

Take care.


*currently on loan from Netflix for imminent viewing