Hello to all and welcome!
I can't really say what you should expect to see here as I've never before tried blogging or anything similar. It'll have to be a work in progress. I'll probably talk about photography in general (and mine in specific) as well as point out different things that are going on that I find interesting or worth commenting on. If anyone (assuming anyone actually ends up reading this) has questions or suggestions on topics, feel free to let me know.
I'm here you're with me, here at the beginning of all things.
Roger
p.s. Comments and feedback are very welcome.
A couple of movies
Tonight's book/movie pick was "Red" starring Bruce Willis, Hellen Mirren and a lot of other really good actors, all having a wonderful time. It is a violent movie (offscreen, except for lots of guns shooting) but in a very tongue-in-cheek fashion. Willis plays a retired CIA assassin who wakes up one night to find a hit squad in his house. After he foils that in a suitable nasty style, he goes on to gather some frineds to help him find out why.
The movie is very different from the book, which is a graphic novel that contains maybe 1/4 of the characters, 1/8 of the plot and none of the humor.
In a lot of ways, the movie reminded me of an older film, "Hopscotch", which starred Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, in which he is a CIA agent who decides to retire and write his memoir. His former employer doesn't like either idea and therefore chases him around the world, always a step or two behind and not nearly as skilled. The female leads (Mirren and Jackson), the Russians (Brian Cox and Herbert Lom) are very similar in both movies, and equally fun.
You can catch Hopscotch on TCM occasionally and really should. Both it and Red are well worth the time.
History
I finally finished watching "The Men Who Built America" and thought it was quite worthwhile. This was a miniseries (8 hours) that was broadcast on The History Channel and talks (mostly) about Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and JP Morgan; the 4 men who each created (and monopolized) an industry in the last third of the 19th century that transformed life as they (and now we) know it. The show was full of interesting things that I might have known but forgot, or thngs that didn't occur to me or didn't realize. For instance (a small one), I always associate Andrew Carnegie with Pittsburg, so never connected him with Carnegie Hall in NY. I always associated Standard Oil with gasoline, not kerosene (and was surprised to find out that gasoline was considered a dangerous byproduct of the refining process that they would dump as useless). I knew about Morgan as a banker, but not as the cofounder of General Electric (and owner once he forced out Edison). I didn't know Vanderbilt created the concept of hostile takover of businesses, and forgot that he also built Grand Central Station.
There are some small problems with the series. They could have made the overlapping timelines clearer. Each commerical break seemed to have a quick recap of the central theme. These are forgivable issues because of the overall scope and detail of the history being provided. I believe the series is available on DVD, and will probably be rebroadcast on the History Channel, so keep an eye out.
Now I just need to read a bunch of biographies to get a more complete picture. I got one of Vanderbilt out of the library that should be a good travel read, if a bit heavy.
Ivan book
I had what I hope was a good interview earlier today. The job seems like one that would be fun, interesting and challenging. So I'm hopeful.
Last night was spent finishing "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" by Lois McMaster Bujold. If anyone reading this hasn't read her Vorkosigan series, ignore everything that follows and go read "Cordelia's Honor" instead (which essentially starts the series). For everyone else, this is the long awaited book focusing on Miles' severely overshadowed and underappreciated cousin Ivan. It is the first one that shows events from his viewpoint, and therefore adds depth and understanding to his character. Turns out he's not the "idiot" everyone calls him. Instead, Ivan is the unambitious person in a group of overachievers (or, to paraphrase a comment of his, the only one who isn't an adrenaline junky), the smart person in a group of geniuses and, maybe, the tortoise in a family of hares.
Bujold has said that many of her books start with imagining the worst thing she can do to a character and then seeing how they cope. This is certainly true of "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance", starting with the fact that Ivan is a character who wouldn't want to have a book about himself in the first place. Then think of everything else that you imagine Ivan wanting to avoid and it probably comes up at some point (which I am hoping isn't a spoiler for people who haven't read the book yet). I think my favorite in the series remains "A Civil Campaign" but this one is certainly enjoyable and will be reread (probably multiple times) with pleasure.
Of course...
Of course, I got up this morning and it was snowing. And the ground was white. And there were all sorts of traffic incidents on the radio. At least it was 99.863% gone by the afternoon and the forecast for the rest of the week is back in the 40s.
Due to a series of strange coincidences, this is going to be an unusually social week. Because of the election, Geeks Read was moved to tomorrow. Thursday is the regular Arboretum Photographers meeting and Read the Book/See the Movie was moved to this Friday due to convention conflicts (one I don't go to but many others do).
So, to end for right now, here's another Eiffel Tower shot, this time at night.
There oughta be a law!
It should be illegal for the temperature to drop 30 degrees overnight, especially in the fall. It went from 66 degrees around midnight last night (or this morning or whatever) to 30 degrees as I type this (both according to the National Weather Service - www.weather.gov). That's a big drop. Makes me yearn for the days of Camelot (the musical, not the Kennedy administration).
I went to see "Brave" yesterday at the theater in Hopkins. The opening short, "La Luna", was a nice little film about a family who cleans up the moon. Not overly amusing or ground breaking, but fun and enjoyable. The same could be said of the main feature. In fact, the biggest problem with Brave is probably the expectations built by previous Pixar movies. I thought it was a good looking film, occasionally spectacularly so, but not to the extent of "Up" or "Ratatouille". The characters were interesting and engaging, but not as much as in "Wall-E" or "The Incredibles". The plot was solid, but didn't have the soul of "Up" or "Toy Story 3". None of this is to say that it is not a really good movie, one that people can go see and enjoy. It it had been released by a different company it would probably be hailed as one of their best. Merida is a strongly built character. Scotland looks gorgeous and reinforces the desire to go take photos there someday (and yes, I realize it is animated, but they generally base the animation on real scenery or locations). As I said, the only problem is that it is not as good as the best Pixar movies.