We caught the new James Bond flick last night. It was good, though a bit slow at times. I'm not a die-hard Connery or Rogers fan; I thought Daniel Craig did an excellent job. He put a new face on Bond - a bit more callous, more brute, less debonair, less reliant on gadgets. I would definitely go and see him as another Bond.
The movie itself was good although there were a few car-size plot holes (why didn't Vesper allow him to re-buy in, especially in light of what was going to happen to the money?). There was also lots of missed opportunities for a more complete plot (blood tears, the Asian lady at the table). And who was that dame in green?
The low number of gadgets creates in me a dichotomy; I love the gadgets and their incredibleness, but plots have often relied on gadgets too much in the past. I do know that I want a laptop by the side of my bed though - especially one that just has the colour green.
After walking out of the theatre last night the comment was made that we have to go to our regular, boring lives now. I think that might be the real reason that James Bond has attracted such a following and for the success of many of the movies. The Bond world is a world of tuxedos and gowns, clever quips and clever gadgets; where women get saved, men battle and the winners are always the good guys. There is too a sort of gnosticism - where everybody in play is part of a secret knowledge, a secret plot. We are attracted to secrets, to life-styles that we could not afford and to characters that act and behave like we could never.
Walk-In Fridge. Come in and see what's good to eat
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Why are the good books too short?
In case any of you are interested in what I am reading...
I started two awful books - The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell and Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen. Both were stinkers that I gave up on after several pages in. And yes, 'stinker' is the correct literary term for books that you just can't get into. If any of you guys out there want the books just let me know. They are just collecting dust here.
Feeling a little discouraged I picked up a copy of The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien). It was good, really good. I hadn't read it since grade seven or eight, but it was better that I remembered it. It's too bad it was so short; I blew through it in a few days.
I'm going to try and sink my teeth into The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde). It might be over my head, but I'll give it the old college try.
After that - who knows...
(Oh - happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers)
I started two awful books - The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell and Seven Gothic Tales by Isak Dinesen. Both were stinkers that I gave up on after several pages in. And yes, 'stinker' is the correct literary term for books that you just can't get into. If any of you guys out there want the books just let me know. They are just collecting dust here.
Feeling a little discouraged I picked up a copy of The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien). It was good, really good. I hadn't read it since grade seven or eight, but it was better that I remembered it. It's too bad it was so short; I blew through it in a few days.
I'm going to try and sink my teeth into The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde). It might be over my head, but I'll give it the old college try.
After that - who knows...
(Oh - happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers)
Monday, November 20, 2006
Just me?
Is it just me or did the Christmas season come earlier this year?
- Christmas music playing in stores
- People turning on their Christmas lights
- Store fliers selling fake Christmas trees
- Signs up for cut-your-own Christmas tree
- Christmas parades happening
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Slow rise bread
I don't know if there is anything better then fresh, out of the oven, home made bread.
I made a loaf today. I haven't made bread from scratch in a long time, partly due to me always screwing it up. My bread tends to turn out dense, tasteless and overall disappointing.
Not this time though. I tried a new recipe and decided to actually follow the directions as much as possible. Except that I couldn't bake it when I was supposed to, so I put it in the fridge for a few hours and let it come up to room temperature before throwing it into the oven.
The loaf is round because I put it in my round cast iron dutch oven.
Look at all those nice bubbles!
Golden crust and a chewy inside. What more can you ask for?
I made a loaf today. I haven't made bread from scratch in a long time, partly due to me always screwing it up. My bread tends to turn out dense, tasteless and overall disappointing.
Not this time though. I tried a new recipe and decided to actually follow the directions as much as possible. Except that I couldn't bake it when I was supposed to, so I put it in the fridge for a few hours and let it come up to room temperature before throwing it into the oven.
The loaf is round because I put it in my round cast iron dutch oven.
Look at all those nice bubbles!
Golden crust and a chewy inside. What more can you ask for?The recipe I used is this one. It actually turned out much like the picture shown. Nobody was surprised more then me!
I will definitely make this recipe again, except next time I will probably make it with 50% whole wheat (if I am feeling lucky).
The recipe says to put the dough in a dutch oven that is already hot. I had never done that before, but it make the crust nice and crunchy. And it actually crackles when it cools (don't ask me why...)
The dough must slowly rise over 12-18 hours. This poses a problem if i want to make the dough on a weekday. If I make the dough right before I go to bed (11pm), and then get off work a little early (5pm, by the time I get home), I'm looking at 18 hours on the nose. I'll give it a try this week if I can.
I will definitely make this recipe again, except next time I will probably make it with 50% whole wheat (if I am feeling lucky).
The recipe says to put the dough in a dutch oven that is already hot. I had never done that before, but it make the crust nice and crunchy. And it actually crackles when it cools (don't ask me why...)
The dough must slowly rise over 12-18 hours. This poses a problem if i want to make the dough on a weekday. If I make the dough right before I go to bed (11pm), and then get off work a little early (5pm, by the time I get home), I'm looking at 18 hours on the nose. I'll give it a try this week if I can.
Bullies
I hate bullies. Well, I don't hate the person per se; most of the time I don't even know the bully well enough to stir up the passion of hate. But I do hate bullying behaviour. And I hate that behaviour with a passion.
I was bullied a fair amount as a kid - more so in elementary school than in high school. I have no respect for people who resort to bully tactics. People often have negative things to say about bullies ('Bullies are really cowards', 'Bullies don't have self-confidence', 'Bullies always back down when someone stands up to them'...) These things are often said by people trying to console the kids/people being bullied. I don't buy into those 'words of wisdom'.
I'll tell you what I think. I think people bully others because it works for them; because it provides some sort of positive feedback. Whether it is lunch money, a prime spot in line, or a sales contract it doesn't matter. Bullies bully because in the end they receive something that benefits them. They may be cowards, they may not. They may be self-assured, they may not.
We were on the short end of two bullies today. One wanted money for providing an unrequested service, the other wanted choice time-slots in a limited schedule. Both of them were demanding and unpleasant. Both of them didn't respect us (it just so happened that Tara dealt with them both and didn't back down).
The question in my mind is how do you properly respond to the bullying behaviour while properly valuing the inherent worth of the bully. I don't know the answer. I know it is really easy to dismiss the person as a whole - I was guilty of that twice today. But that isn't the proper response. I just don't know what the proper response is.
(This photo is of my awesome brother-in-law Tim. As far as I know, Tim has never been a bully - he was just pretending to be the Hulk)
I was bullied a fair amount as a kid - more so in elementary school than in high school. I have no respect for people who resort to bully tactics. People often have negative things to say about bullies ('Bullies are really cowards', 'Bullies don't have self-confidence', 'Bullies always back down when someone stands up to them'...) These things are often said by people trying to console the kids/people being bullied. I don't buy into those 'words of wisdom'.I'll tell you what I think. I think people bully others because it works for them; because it provides some sort of positive feedback. Whether it is lunch money, a prime spot in line, or a sales contract it doesn't matter. Bullies bully because in the end they receive something that benefits them. They may be cowards, they may not. They may be self-assured, they may not.
We were on the short end of two bullies today. One wanted money for providing an unrequested service, the other wanted choice time-slots in a limited schedule. Both of them were demanding and unpleasant. Both of them didn't respect us (it just so happened that Tara dealt with them both and didn't back down).
The question in my mind is how do you properly respond to the bullying behaviour while properly valuing the inherent worth of the bully. I don't know the answer. I know it is really easy to dismiss the person as a whole - I was guilty of that twice today. But that isn't the proper response. I just don't know what the proper response is.
(This photo is of my awesome brother-in-law Tim. As far as I know, Tim has never been a bully - he was just pretending to be the Hulk)
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