Marathon Training and Choosing
I have started training for a fall marathon. At this point there is not a lot of difference in weeks when I am training for a marathon and other weeks. I will make sure to do a long run every week and soon they will get longer based on the marathon plan. I am planning to run a 20k in August as my only race before the marathon. I am usinge a modified version of Hal Higdon's intermediate II training plan. I did a 5 mile run in 42:20 on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I did not run because I brought two pairs of shorts and no shirt to the gym by accident. As a result, I will have to run on Friday, meaning I will run four days in a row. Today I did 7 miles in 62:15.
I was planning to run in the Baltimore marathon. I had not registered, but was planning to do so by July 31st. My brother told me about a new marathon that is closer to me http://www.freedomsrun.org/. The area is very historical and very nice with the leaves changing colors in the fall. The concerns that I have is that the start and finish are at different locations so I would have to take a shuttle to the start. In addition, I know that the Baltimore marathon is very well organized, but with the Freedom' Run I have no idea how well this race will be run. I asked on the Runner's World messageboard if anyone was considering Freedom's Run, but nobody responded. Baltimore and the Marine Corp are two huge marathon in the area during October. My brother is planning to run the half. He is going to run his first marathon in November in the Outer Banks.
Passengers
Truly an awful movie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengers_(film). This is very cheaply made knock off on The Sixth Sense. The twist at the end was not surprising. The only interesting aspect of this movie, is why a pretty big star like Anne Hathaway is in this flick. The budget looked very small and it was not an interesting move. I give Passengers a D-.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
5K Race Report and a Long Winded TV Show
Father's Day 5K Race
I ran in this race last year. At the time, it was my first 5K since I started running more seriously. I ended up going out too fast and was very disappointed with my time of 24:31. On my way to the race this year, it rained, but cleared up before the race started. I was surprised that the shirt they gave away was a technical running shirt. Last year it was just a regular cotton shirt. I was talking to my brother at the starting line and was caught off guard when the race started. I did not have a chance to start my stop watch and never did get it going, so I pretty much running blind.
I got out all right and it was not too crowded. I was conscience of not going too fast in the first mile like I did in my last 5k. The person reading the time at the first mile had me at 7:15. I was feel pretty good and got to mile two at 14:38. I was getting tired, but maintaining my pace. I got to the finish line and saw 22:39. I was bit disappointed as I was thinking it would be under 22 minutes. However, I felt like I did as good as I could. At this point, I do not think I am capable of going under 22 minutes. In the future, if I focus on speed, I think I have room for improvement. However, under my current training I don't think I can make a significant drop from the 22:29 I ran a couple of weeks ago.
How I Met Your Mother
The hook with show is that a voice from 2030 is Ted Moseby telling his teenage kids how he met their mother. He tells them about when he was 20s in present day and living in New York City. He hangs out with four close friends. In the very first episode he meets, Robin and it is assumed she is the mother, but at the end of the episode he refers to her as Aunt Robin. Robin becomes a fulltime member of Ted's group and his sometime girlfriend. His buddies are the smooth talking, suit wearing, womanizing Barney and his college roommate, Marshall. Barney is played by the former child star of Doogie Howswer, Neil Patrick Harris and Marshall is played by Jason Seigal, the star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Marshall has already met the love of his life, Lily.
Season one is an introduction to the characters and ends with Ted and Robin together. Season two focuses on Ted and Robin as a couple and Marshall and Lily's wedding. The finale of season two is Marshall and Lily's wedding. Ted and Robin decide to break up at the wedding. Season three deals with Ted and Robin recovering from their break up. Toward the end of season three Ted gets a serious girlfriend named Stella. The first part of season four is about Ted and Stella becoming engaged, but Stella leaves Ted at the alter and goes back to her ex husband. Barney and Robin are teased as a couple. On the finale, Ted quits his job as an architect to teach architecture. He says that the kids mother is in his class that he is teaching.
Ted is telling his kids how he met their mother and he gone thru four years and 88 episodes and still has not gotten to when he meets their mother. I guess they feel that once they reveal the mother, the show will lose the mystery and almost be at its end. I have a feeling there will be two women in the class that Ted is interested in and we don't know which one is the mother.
I have enjoyed How I Met Your Mother. The strength of the show is in the supporting characters. Barney in particular is a funny part of the show. However, it felt like this year that the show is past its prime and not as funny as the first few years. I give the show a B-.
I ran in this race last year. At the time, it was my first 5K since I started running more seriously. I ended up going out too fast and was very disappointed with my time of 24:31. On my way to the race this year, it rained, but cleared up before the race started. I was surprised that the shirt they gave away was a technical running shirt. Last year it was just a regular cotton shirt. I was talking to my brother at the starting line and was caught off guard when the race started. I did not have a chance to start my stop watch and never did get it going, so I pretty much running blind.
I got out all right and it was not too crowded. I was conscience of not going too fast in the first mile like I did in my last 5k. The person reading the time at the first mile had me at 7:15. I was feel pretty good and got to mile two at 14:38. I was getting tired, but maintaining my pace. I got to the finish line and saw 22:39. I was bit disappointed as I was thinking it would be under 22 minutes. However, I felt like I did as good as I could. At this point, I do not think I am capable of going under 22 minutes. In the future, if I focus on speed, I think I have room for improvement. However, under my current training I don't think I can make a significant drop from the 22:29 I ran a couple of weeks ago.
How I Met Your Mother
The hook with show is that a voice from 2030 is Ted Moseby telling his teenage kids how he met their mother. He tells them about when he was 20s in present day and living in New York City. He hangs out with four close friends. In the very first episode he meets, Robin and it is assumed she is the mother, but at the end of the episode he refers to her as Aunt Robin. Robin becomes a fulltime member of Ted's group and his sometime girlfriend. His buddies are the smooth talking, suit wearing, womanizing Barney and his college roommate, Marshall. Barney is played by the former child star of Doogie Howswer, Neil Patrick Harris and Marshall is played by Jason Seigal, the star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Marshall has already met the love of his life, Lily.
Season one is an introduction to the characters and ends with Ted and Robin together. Season two focuses on Ted and Robin as a couple and Marshall and Lily's wedding. The finale of season two is Marshall and Lily's wedding. Ted and Robin decide to break up at the wedding. Season three deals with Ted and Robin recovering from their break up. Toward the end of season three Ted gets a serious girlfriend named Stella. The first part of season four is about Ted and Stella becoming engaged, but Stella leaves Ted at the alter and goes back to her ex husband. Barney and Robin are teased as a couple. On the finale, Ted quits his job as an architect to teach architecture. He says that the kids mother is in his class that he is teaching.
Ted is telling his kids how he met their mother and he gone thru four years and 88 episodes and still has not gotten to when he meets their mother. I guess they feel that once they reveal the mother, the show will lose the mystery and almost be at its end. I have a feeling there will be two women in the class that Ted is interested in and we don't know which one is the mother.
I have enjoyed How I Met Your Mother. The strength of the show is in the supporting characters. Barney in particular is a funny part of the show. However, it felt like this year that the show is past its prime and not as funny as the first few years. I give the show a B-.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Podcasts
I had some minor leg issues the last couple of weeks. It is between my ankle and my knee on my left leg. It may be shin splits. After the 5k on June 7th, I did a slow 7 miles the next day while off from work. The injury starting bothering me the next time I ran last Wednesday. I cut back my run from 5 miles to 2.5miles. The next day, it was bothering me so I stopped after 1.25 miles and worked out on the rowing machine. On Saturday, I ran thru the injury and did my usual 6 miles. I felt fine so I did my planned 15 mile run on Sunday. This week, I decided to not run as fast as I was planning. On Tuesday, I ran 5 miles in 42:40 and today I ran 5 miles on 42:10. I will not run tomorrow and then do a slow six on Saturday before the 5k on Sunday. Starting next week, I will start my marathon training.
Podcasts
Believe it or not, I did not own a MP3 player until September. In addition, to music, I like to listen to books and radio shows. Initially I would download the Scott Van Pelt and Mike Tirico shows from the previous days. One day in February I went to ESPN.com to download Tirico and Van Pelt and found that they no longer made the full program available for download for free. I downloaded a Bill Simmons podcast instead. He happened to have on Adam Carolla who was starting his own podcast. I enjoyed the podcast so I started downloading both Simmons and Carolla podcasts regularly. In March as I was getting ready for fantasy baseball season I started downloading the daily fantasy focus podcasts for ESPN. Shortly after that I was reading a blog that discussed the podcasts that I was already downloaded and also recommended the On the DL podcast. I started downloading that one as well. It normally takes about 10 minutes a day to download all the shows. I listen to the podcasts primarily when I run and during commutes.
Bill Simmons BS report
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index
I had heard of the Sports Guy Column and read a few, but was not a regular reader. Bill Simmons is from Boston and does not hide the fact that he roots for the Boston teams. He is a big NBA guy and not much of a college sports fan. Bill Simmons wrote for the Jimmy Kimmel show and is a funny guy that mixes sports with other pop culture topics. One show may be a straight sports discussion and another show will have nothing at all to do with sports. His regular guests include a couple of his college buddies, Jacko and Joe House. Both are surprisingly well spoken and funny. Jacko is a big Yankee fan and their Yankee / Red Sox interaction is great. Another regular classic is when Simmons reviews the Real World / Road Rule Challenges with Dave Jacoby.
I will typically listen to the BS Report the afternoon after the downloand is available. It is my favorite podcast. Simmons does not have a regular schedule, but consistently does three or four podcasts a week. I give the BS report a A.
Fantasy Focus with Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2544461
This became a daily weekday show in March when the baseball season was getting ready to start. The show is a mixture of fantasy baseball discussion mixed in with light ribbing. I don't listen to the show for fantasy advise, but enjoy the fantasy discussion. In addition, as I have learned all the inside jokes, I like the non-baseball discussion as well.
Matthew Berry at times seems to try to act like Bill Simmons and it is annoying how he insists on being called Matthew and not Matt. Nate Ravitz at times acts like he is smarter than everyone else. However, for the most part the hosts have grown on me. The interaction with the producer, Pod Vader is amusing. I usually listen to the show the morning after I download since the show is topical. I give the show a B+.
The Adam Carolla Podcast
http://www.adamcarolla.com/ACPBlog/podcasts/
Carolla was fired by CBS radio on a Friday when his station changed formats. By the following Monday, he started daily weekday podcasts. Carolla is paid by CBS for the remainder of the year and it not allowed to make any money from the podcast. These shows last about an hour and typically have a guest. The guests vary in fame, but are mainly comedians. The show does not have a sponsor and because it is independent, it is uncensored with mature language and discussion. Carolla is a smart, funny guy, but also has a tendency to dominate discussions. The show can be very good when Carolla has a good guest on that he clicks with like Jimmy Kimmel or Bill Simmons. However, there are other show with less talented guests that are pretty boring. He had one show with somebody from Ford Motors that seemed like a commercial for Ford that I stopped listening to after five minutes. I typically will listen in the afternoon if I don't have a BS Report to listen to or on weekends. I give The Adam Carolla Podcast a B.
On the DL with Dan Levy
http://www.onthedlpodcast.com/Blog_Podcast/Blog/Blog.html
This is more of a typical podcast where the host is not well known and working to develop a following. Levy and his co-host, Nick Tarnowski both previously worked for the Rutger athletic department. The show says it is "a podcast about sports, media, entertainment, politics, pop culture and really, whatever we want. And we’ll include some of the biggest names in sports, media, politics and entertainment in the discussion". However, virtually the whole show is about sports. He gets an impressive list of guests, but seems to be so grateful that the guest is doing his show that he kisses their ass throughout the interview. I guess that is necessary to attract these guests to a podcast that is working to establish itself.
I like the concept of the show and like that are trying to build an audience basically from scratch. However, there are a few issues that annoy me.
A. The show is from Philadelphia, but at times is too focused on Philadelphia topics if it wants to attract a national audience.
B. Levy and Tarnowski both can be too politically correct. It is like they are they are trying too hard to be professional. They can afford to loosen up.
C. I find myself disagreeing with them are virtually every opinion they express from making a big deal that Lebron James did not talk to media after the Cav lost to the blogger that raised the possibility that Raul Ibanez could be on steroids.
Despite my issues, I plan to continue to On the DL. If I have no BS Report to listen to, I will either listen to Carolla or On the DL in the afternoons or on weekends depending upon my mood. I give the show a B-.
Podcasts
Believe it or not, I did not own a MP3 player until September. In addition, to music, I like to listen to books and radio shows. Initially I would download the Scott Van Pelt and Mike Tirico shows from the previous days. One day in February I went to ESPN.com to download Tirico and Van Pelt and found that they no longer made the full program available for download for free. I downloaded a Bill Simmons podcast instead. He happened to have on Adam Carolla who was starting his own podcast. I enjoyed the podcast so I started downloading both Simmons and Carolla podcasts regularly. In March as I was getting ready for fantasy baseball season I started downloading the daily fantasy focus podcasts for ESPN. Shortly after that I was reading a blog that discussed the podcasts that I was already downloaded and also recommended the On the DL podcast. I started downloading that one as well. It normally takes about 10 minutes a day to download all the shows. I listen to the podcasts primarily when I run and during commutes.
Bill Simmons BS report
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index
I had heard of the Sports Guy Column and read a few, but was not a regular reader. Bill Simmons is from Boston and does not hide the fact that he roots for the Boston teams. He is a big NBA guy and not much of a college sports fan. Bill Simmons wrote for the Jimmy Kimmel show and is a funny guy that mixes sports with other pop culture topics. One show may be a straight sports discussion and another show will have nothing at all to do with sports. His regular guests include a couple of his college buddies, Jacko and Joe House. Both are surprisingly well spoken and funny. Jacko is a big Yankee fan and their Yankee / Red Sox interaction is great. Another regular classic is when Simmons reviews the Real World / Road Rule Challenges with Dave Jacoby.
I will typically listen to the BS Report the afternoon after the downloand is available. It is my favorite podcast. Simmons does not have a regular schedule, but consistently does three or four podcasts a week. I give the BS report a A.
Fantasy Focus with Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/archive?id=2544461
This became a daily weekday show in March when the baseball season was getting ready to start. The show is a mixture of fantasy baseball discussion mixed in with light ribbing. I don't listen to the show for fantasy advise, but enjoy the fantasy discussion. In addition, as I have learned all the inside jokes, I like the non-baseball discussion as well.
Matthew Berry at times seems to try to act like Bill Simmons and it is annoying how he insists on being called Matthew and not Matt. Nate Ravitz at times acts like he is smarter than everyone else. However, for the most part the hosts have grown on me. The interaction with the producer, Pod Vader is amusing. I usually listen to the show the morning after I download since the show is topical. I give the show a B+.
The Adam Carolla Podcast
http://www.adamcarolla.com/ACPBlog/podcasts/
Carolla was fired by CBS radio on a Friday when his station changed formats. By the following Monday, he started daily weekday podcasts. Carolla is paid by CBS for the remainder of the year and it not allowed to make any money from the podcast. These shows last about an hour and typically have a guest. The guests vary in fame, but are mainly comedians. The show does not have a sponsor and because it is independent, it is uncensored with mature language and discussion. Carolla is a smart, funny guy, but also has a tendency to dominate discussions. The show can be very good when Carolla has a good guest on that he clicks with like Jimmy Kimmel or Bill Simmons. However, there are other show with less talented guests that are pretty boring. He had one show with somebody from Ford Motors that seemed like a commercial for Ford that I stopped listening to after five minutes. I typically will listen in the afternoon if I don't have a BS Report to listen to or on weekends. I give The Adam Carolla Podcast a B.
On the DL with Dan Levy
http://www.onthedlpodcast.com/Blog_Podcast/Blog/Blog.html
This is more of a typical podcast where the host is not well known and working to develop a following. Levy and his co-host, Nick Tarnowski both previously worked for the Rutger athletic department. The show says it is "a podcast about sports, media, entertainment, politics, pop culture and really, whatever we want. And we’ll include some of the biggest names in sports, media, politics and entertainment in the discussion". However, virtually the whole show is about sports. He gets an impressive list of guests, but seems to be so grateful that the guest is doing his show that he kisses their ass throughout the interview. I guess that is necessary to attract these guests to a podcast that is working to establish itself.
I like the concept of the show and like that are trying to build an audience basically from scratch. However, there are a few issues that annoy me.
A. The show is from Philadelphia, but at times is too focused on Philadelphia topics if it wants to attract a national audience.
B. Levy and Tarnowski both can be too politically correct. It is like they are they are trying too hard to be professional. They can afford to loosen up.
C. I find myself disagreeing with them are virtually every opinion they express from making a big deal that Lebron James did not talk to media after the Cav lost to the blogger that raised the possibility that Raul Ibanez could be on steroids.
Despite my issues, I plan to continue to On the DL. If I have no BS Report to listen to, I will either listen to Carolla or On the DL in the afternoons or on weekends depending upon my mood. I give the show a B-.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
5Ks and A Bland Movie
5K History
My first race was a 5k on July 4th in 2003, my second year of running. I walked a bit of the race and finished in about 30 minutes. The next year I ran the same race, in about 100 degrees and finished in about 25 minutes. I believe the following year I ran a 5k at a conference I attended in Seattle in 24 minutes. I started running races again in 2007, but did not run any 5ks. Last year, I ran a 5k on Father's Day's and went out too fast, I was very disappointed in my time of 24:31. In October I ran in the Koman's Fight Against Cancer race in Baltimore. I arrived late, so I had to start at the back of the pack. The race was extremely crowded and I probably lost 1 to 2 minutes dodging people in front of me. Based on the conditions, I was pleased with the result. I finished at 23:12. Last week I raced in perfect conditions and set a personal record at 22:29.
Running a 5k is a lot different than running a longer race. While you don't feel it as much after the race, during the race a 5k it is more difficult than a longer race if you are pushing to improve your time. I have thought about focusing more on lowering my 5k time and working on my speed, but at least for now, it is a secondary goal. Running a 5K under 20 minutes is a big milestone. However, after my race on Sunday, I will be starting my training for the Baltimore marathon.
He Just Not That Into You
The last four weeks, Virginia and I had watched four highly praised movies that were all good to excellent. However, this week the movie that we watched was very forgetable. Here is the wikipedia summary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He). It is a movie about relationships with an ensemble cast. The movie was very similiar to Edward Burns' Sidewalks of New York and Cameron Crowe's Singles, but not as good.
The movie has an all star cast, but some of the stars have small parts and don't serve much purpose. If anything there are too many characters. It is very surprising to read that this movie made about $150 million at the box office. The movie is supposed to be set in Baltimore, but I could barely tell except for the Domino's Sugar sign outside of Jennifer Aniston' condo. I give this movie a C-.
My first race was a 5k on July 4th in 2003, my second year of running. I walked a bit of the race and finished in about 30 minutes. The next year I ran the same race, in about 100 degrees and finished in about 25 minutes. I believe the following year I ran a 5k at a conference I attended in Seattle in 24 minutes. I started running races again in 2007, but did not run any 5ks. Last year, I ran a 5k on Father's Day's and went out too fast, I was very disappointed in my time of 24:31. In October I ran in the Koman's Fight Against Cancer race in Baltimore. I arrived late, so I had to start at the back of the pack. The race was extremely crowded and I probably lost 1 to 2 minutes dodging people in front of me. Based on the conditions, I was pleased with the result. I finished at 23:12. Last week I raced in perfect conditions and set a personal record at 22:29.
Running a 5k is a lot different than running a longer race. While you don't feel it as much after the race, during the race a 5k it is more difficult than a longer race if you are pushing to improve your time. I have thought about focusing more on lowering my 5k time and working on my speed, but at least for now, it is a secondary goal. Running a 5K under 20 minutes is a big milestone. However, after my race on Sunday, I will be starting my training for the Baltimore marathon.
He Just Not That Into You
The last four weeks, Virginia and I had watched four highly praised movies that were all good to excellent. However, this week the movie that we watched was very forgetable. Here is the wikipedia summary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He). It is a movie about relationships with an ensemble cast. The movie was very similiar to Edward Burns' Sidewalks of New York and Cameron Crowe's Singles, but not as good.
The movie has an all star cast, but some of the stars have small parts and don't serve much purpose. If anything there are too many characters. It is very surprising to read that this movie made about $150 million at the box office. The movie is supposed to be set in Baltimore, but I could barely tell except for the Domino's Sugar sign outside of Jennifer Aniston' condo. I give this movie a C-.
Monday, June 15, 2009
5K PR and Movies About Life Dreams
Race Report
I ran the 5k at my kids elementary school a week ago. This was an inaugural race that is a PTA fundraiser. There were about 200 runners and no timechip. There were some fast runners from the local running club and a lot of parent and students who were running their first race. I started out and within the first couple minutes did not feel that good. I thought it was from the bottle of wine that I drank the previous evening. However, I passed the first mile is about 6:30 and think I just did not realize how fast I was going. I slowed down some during the second mile, but was still around 14 minutes after the second mile and getting tired. I ended up walking for a short distance after the 2nd mile. A guy caught up to me and offered some encouragement and said we would finish together. I ended up getting a second wind and finishing strongly. My final time was 22:29, which was a personal record. I finished in 17th place out 203. I was the 2nd parent. I would like to get under 22 minutes and think I can. I have another 5k on Sunday. This race was good for a pr because it was mostly flat and not crowded.
Up and Revolutionary Road
Last Friday I went to see the latest Pixar movie, Up net in the movie theatre. This was the first time that the whole family went to movies in the evening and I'll be doing a rant about that. Going forward, rather than summarizing the movie, I will link the wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(2009_film). Pixar has never made a movie that was not well received and Up was no exception. The tomatometer at www.rottentomatoes.com is 98%. Pixar excels at making movies that appeals to adults and children.
Last Saturday, Virginia and I watched Revolutionary Road http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Road_(film) which reunited Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio from The Titanic. The movie was directed by Sam Mendes, who is Winslet's husband and also directed American Beauty. The movie is of the the most adult movies I have ever seen and had nothing to do with sex or violence, but solely the story.
I enjoyed both movies. I thought it was interesting that despite Up being a family movie and Revolutionary Road being a movie for adults, the theme were similiar in both movies. Both were about couples who had extravagent and exotic dreams about their lives when they were young and the struggles and the realities of life lead to bland and predictable lives.
Up is probably my favorite Pixar movie since the Toy Story movies, but I have not seen Wall-e. The first hour of the movies is especially great. A family movie normally has some some part where you need to suspend belief. The balloons lifting and flying the house worked, but the collar that makes the dog talk did not. A pet peeve for me about Up and a lot of movies with the climatic scene being a fight between good and evil is how long the battle lasts when everyone knows the good guy is going to win. Overall, I give Up a B with an A for the first hour and a C for the rest.
Revolutionary Road was a very powerful, great film about coping when you cannot live the life you would prefer. It is a movie that I can relate to both of the main characters. Frank is able to manage and prosper. He is a successful salesmen, despite hating his job and is about to have an opportunity to enter the computer industry at its infancy in 1955. April is a stay at home mother (as virtually all married women with children were in 1955) in the suburbs. She cannot handle not moving to Paris as she dreams. The only minor complaint is that the ending was a bit confusing trying to determine whether April committed suicide or died by accident when trying to give herself an abortion. I give the move an A-.
I ran the 5k at my kids elementary school a week ago. This was an inaugural race that is a PTA fundraiser. There were about 200 runners and no timechip. There were some fast runners from the local running club and a lot of parent and students who were running their first race. I started out and within the first couple minutes did not feel that good. I thought it was from the bottle of wine that I drank the previous evening. However, I passed the first mile is about 6:30 and think I just did not realize how fast I was going. I slowed down some during the second mile, but was still around 14 minutes after the second mile and getting tired. I ended up walking for a short distance after the 2nd mile. A guy caught up to me and offered some encouragement and said we would finish together. I ended up getting a second wind and finishing strongly. My final time was 22:29, which was a personal record. I finished in 17th place out 203. I was the 2nd parent. I would like to get under 22 minutes and think I can. I have another 5k on Sunday. This race was good for a pr because it was mostly flat and not crowded.
Up and Revolutionary Road
Last Friday I went to see the latest Pixar movie, Up net in the movie theatre. This was the first time that the whole family went to movies in the evening and I'll be doing a rant about that. Going forward, rather than summarizing the movie, I will link the wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(2009_film). Pixar has never made a movie that was not well received and Up was no exception. The tomatometer at www.rottentomatoes.com is 98%. Pixar excels at making movies that appeals to adults and children.
Last Saturday, Virginia and I watched Revolutionary Road http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Road_(film) which reunited Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio from The Titanic. The movie was directed by Sam Mendes, who is Winslet's husband and also directed American Beauty. The movie is of the the most adult movies I have ever seen and had nothing to do with sex or violence, but solely the story.
I enjoyed both movies. I thought it was interesting that despite Up being a family movie and Revolutionary Road being a movie for adults, the theme were similiar in both movies. Both were about couples who had extravagent and exotic dreams about their lives when they were young and the struggles and the realities of life lead to bland and predictable lives.
Up is probably my favorite Pixar movie since the Toy Story movies, but I have not seen Wall-e. The first hour of the movies is especially great. A family movie normally has some some part where you need to suspend belief. The balloons lifting and flying the house worked, but the collar that makes the dog talk did not. A pet peeve for me about Up and a lot of movies with the climatic scene being a fight between good and evil is how long the battle lasts when everyone knows the good guy is going to win. Overall, I give Up a B with an A for the first hour and a C for the rest.
Revolutionary Road was a very powerful, great film about coping when you cannot live the life you would prefer. It is a movie that I can relate to both of the main characters. Frank is able to manage and prosper. He is a successful salesmen, despite hating his job and is about to have an opportunity to enter the computer industry at its infancy in 1955. April is a stay at home mother (as virtually all married women with children were in 1955) in the suburbs. She cannot handle not moving to Paris as she dreams. The only minor complaint is that the ending was a bit confusing trying to determine whether April committed suicide or died by accident when trying to give herself an abortion. I give the move an A-.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Shatter
I got my weekday running done for the week on the treadmill. I did 5 miles on Tuesday in 41:20. Yesterday I did 6.2 miles in 55:10 and today I did 5 miles in 40:33. I plan to take tomorrow off and then run a slow 6 miles on Saturday. Sunday is my 5k. I am off Monday and going on a field trip with Aaron. I hope to be able to squeeze in 6 or 7 mile early in the morning.
Shatter
Shatter is a book that listened to on my mp3 player while running. http://www.amazon.com/Shatter-Michael-Robotham/dp/0385517912/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244123474&sr=8-1
It is by a British writer named Michael Robotham. This is the first book that I have read from this author. Apparently the main character, Joe O'Loughlin is a reoccurring character in Michael Robotham's books. This book is somewhat predictable for frequent readers of psychological thrillers.
Joe is a middle aged psychologist with a wife and two kids living in Somerset, England. He has Parkinson's disease. Joe helps the police with a lady that is threatening to jump off the bridge. The lady jumps and dies. Joe investigates and find that the lady, Christine Wheeler was on the phone with someone who was encouraging her to jump. Joe works with the police to figure out who was on the phone with Christine Wheeler and care for her teenage daughter
Parts of the book start to be told from the killers perspective. The killer tells Christine Wheeler's long time friend and business partner, Sylvia Furness that he has her daughter and will rape and kill her if she does not do what he says. He ends up having her freeze to death. Joe and the police are able to link Wheeler and Furness to a high school friend, Helen Chambers who died along with her daughter in a recent ferry boat accident after separating from her husband, Gideon Tyler. The husband becomes the prime suspect in the Wheeler and Furness' murder. Gideon Tyler is part of the British military as an interrogator and is well trained in physcological warfare.
It turns out that the police had Gideon in custody earlier after he was near the Christine Wheeler murder and found her phone. He gave police a different name and seemed to suffer from post traumatic stress from being in the military. Joe did not feel that this person had the mental capacity to be involved in these murders and with Joe's encouragement the man who turned out to be Gideon Tyler is released.
After Tyler is identified as the murderer, it become a mental battle between Gideon and Joe. They talk on the phone where Gideon insists that his wife and daughter is alive. After much prodding, Joe is able to convince Brian Chambers, Helen's father to discuss Helen's experiences with Gideon. Gideon was very possessive and continues to constantly threaten the Chambers. Their house is under strict guard.
Joe is working closely with an retired policemen, Vincent Ruiz who also appears to be a reoccurring character. They begin to question whether Gideon is right and Helen Chamber sand her daughter are still alive. However, before they can investigate, Gideon contact Joe's wife, Juliette and informs her that he has their daughter Charley. Joe and Juliette have been having marital problems after Joe suspects she was having an affair with her boss.
The psychological battle between Joe and Gideon continues. Gideon takes Juliette from police custody. Joe finds out that Helen and her daughter are alive and living in the Chambers basement. The police have Gideon's daughter on the phone with Gideon to distract him and are able to capture him. He refuses to tell where he is holding Juliette and Charley. Based on clues Joe and Vincent are able to located the abandoned house where Gideon was holding Juliette and Charley. Both are still alive. The book ends six months later. Joe and Juliette are separated.
I thought the book was decent, but as a said I thought it was predictable. Perhaps I have read too many books where it is a battle between the evil killer and the policy or Psychologist. The killer makes in personal and threatens a loved one and then it captured. I did like the narrator on the recording. I give the book a B-.
Shatter
Shatter is a book that listened to on my mp3 player while running. http://www.amazon.com/Shatter-Michael-Robotham/dp/0385517912/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1244123474&sr=8-1
It is by a British writer named Michael Robotham. This is the first book that I have read from this author. Apparently the main character, Joe O'Loughlin is a reoccurring character in Michael Robotham's books. This book is somewhat predictable for frequent readers of psychological thrillers.
Joe is a middle aged psychologist with a wife and two kids living in Somerset, England. He has Parkinson's disease. Joe helps the police with a lady that is threatening to jump off the bridge. The lady jumps and dies. Joe investigates and find that the lady, Christine Wheeler was on the phone with someone who was encouraging her to jump. Joe works with the police to figure out who was on the phone with Christine Wheeler and care for her teenage daughter
Parts of the book start to be told from the killers perspective. The killer tells Christine Wheeler's long time friend and business partner, Sylvia Furness that he has her daughter and will rape and kill her if she does not do what he says. He ends up having her freeze to death. Joe and the police are able to link Wheeler and Furness to a high school friend, Helen Chambers who died along with her daughter in a recent ferry boat accident after separating from her husband, Gideon Tyler. The husband becomes the prime suspect in the Wheeler and Furness' murder. Gideon Tyler is part of the British military as an interrogator and is well trained in physcological warfare.
It turns out that the police had Gideon in custody earlier after he was near the Christine Wheeler murder and found her phone. He gave police a different name and seemed to suffer from post traumatic stress from being in the military. Joe did not feel that this person had the mental capacity to be involved in these murders and with Joe's encouragement the man who turned out to be Gideon Tyler is released.
After Tyler is identified as the murderer, it become a mental battle between Gideon and Joe. They talk on the phone where Gideon insists that his wife and daughter is alive. After much prodding, Joe is able to convince Brian Chambers, Helen's father to discuss Helen's experiences with Gideon. Gideon was very possessive and continues to constantly threaten the Chambers. Their house is under strict guard.
Joe is working closely with an retired policemen, Vincent Ruiz who also appears to be a reoccurring character. They begin to question whether Gideon is right and Helen Chamber sand her daughter are still alive. However, before they can investigate, Gideon contact Joe's wife, Juliette and informs her that he has their daughter Charley. Joe and Juliette have been having marital problems after Joe suspects she was having an affair with her boss.
The psychological battle between Joe and Gideon continues. Gideon takes Juliette from police custody. Joe finds out that Helen and her daughter are alive and living in the Chambers basement. The police have Gideon's daughter on the phone with Gideon to distract him and are able to capture him. He refuses to tell where he is holding Juliette and Charley. Based on clues Joe and Vincent are able to located the abandoned house where Gideon was holding Juliette and Charley. Both are still alive. The book ends six months later. Joe and Juliette are separated.
I thought the book was decent, but as a said I thought it was predictable. Perhaps I have read too many books where it is a battle between the evil killer and the policy or Psychologist. The killer makes in personal and threatens a loved one and then it captured. I did like the narrator on the recording. I give the book a B-.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
Virginia and I watched Slum Dog Millionaire over the weekend. This is the film shot in India that won the Best Picture Oscar in 2008.
It is about Jamal, who grows up in the slums of Mambai with his mother and brother, Salim. His mother is killed during a riot when he is a kid. He and his brother meet up with Latika, who is they call the third musketeer.
The kids struggle to survive. They fall into a hands of a bad guy, named Maman who had them beg for money. Maman wants Salim to become part of his gang and as his initiation, he wants Maman to blind Jamal so that he will get more money when begging. Jamal and Salim escape, but Latika is left behind.
The kids find a way to survive for several years, but Jamal insists that they go back and find Latika. They eventually find that Latika is working for Maman as some kind of hooker. Salim ends up shooting Maman, but then takes Latika for his own. Jamal wants to fight his brother, but Latika tells him to leave in order that he be safe.
Jamal has to fend for himself now. Several years later, Jamal is working in a call center and find out that Salim is now a bigtime gangster. Jamal asks about Latika but is told that she is long gone. However, it turns out that Latika is actually with Salim's crime boss, Javed. Jamal declares his love for her, but Latika tells him to forget her. Jamal tells her he will wait for her every day at 5 PM at the train station. Latika eventually comes to the train station, but Javed and Salim catch her and take her away.
Jamal then goes on the game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire which he knows is Latika's favorite show. Based on Jamal's life experiences he is able to answer all the questions leading up to the final question which will be on the next show. The host alerts the police that Jamal is cheating so the police question Jamal. This is how the movie begins and is told thru flashbacks of Jamal's life and explains how he knows each answer.
After hearing his explanation, the police release Jamal and he goes back on the game show to go for the grand prize. Salim helps Latika escape from Javed knowing that it would cause him a lot of trouble. Javed comes for Salim and they have a shoot out where both are shot.
The final question is about the name of the third musketeer which they could never figure out when they are younger. Jamal uses a lifeline to remove two of the four choices and then another lifeline to call Salim. However, Latika has Salim's cell phone. Latika does not know the answer but tells Jamal that see is safe. Jamal takes a guess at the answer and wins the top prize. Jamal and Latika are reunited at the end.
I thought Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie about Jamal's difficult life in the slums without parents to overcoming his obstacles and winning the game show and the love of his girlfriend. However, the game show aspect did not seem very realistic. How did he get selected to appear on the show? Jamal had to learn about life the hard way, but it is still quite a coincidence that all the questions had to do with facts he learned about on the street. I believe that was the wesk point of the movie. I give Slumdog Millionaire a B.
It is about Jamal, who grows up in the slums of Mambai with his mother and brother, Salim. His mother is killed during a riot when he is a kid. He and his brother meet up with Latika, who is they call the third musketeer.
The kids struggle to survive. They fall into a hands of a bad guy, named Maman who had them beg for money. Maman wants Salim to become part of his gang and as his initiation, he wants Maman to blind Jamal so that he will get more money when begging. Jamal and Salim escape, but Latika is left behind.
The kids find a way to survive for several years, but Jamal insists that they go back and find Latika. They eventually find that Latika is working for Maman as some kind of hooker. Salim ends up shooting Maman, but then takes Latika for his own. Jamal wants to fight his brother, but Latika tells him to leave in order that he be safe.
Jamal has to fend for himself now. Several years later, Jamal is working in a call center and find out that Salim is now a bigtime gangster. Jamal asks about Latika but is told that she is long gone. However, it turns out that Latika is actually with Salim's crime boss, Javed. Jamal declares his love for her, but Latika tells him to forget her. Jamal tells her he will wait for her every day at 5 PM at the train station. Latika eventually comes to the train station, but Javed and Salim catch her and take her away.
Jamal then goes on the game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire which he knows is Latika's favorite show. Based on Jamal's life experiences he is able to answer all the questions leading up to the final question which will be on the next show. The host alerts the police that Jamal is cheating so the police question Jamal. This is how the movie begins and is told thru flashbacks of Jamal's life and explains how he knows each answer.
After hearing his explanation, the police release Jamal and he goes back on the game show to go for the grand prize. Salim helps Latika escape from Javed knowing that it would cause him a lot of trouble. Javed comes for Salim and they have a shoot out where both are shot.
The final question is about the name of the third musketeer which they could never figure out when they are younger. Jamal uses a lifeline to remove two of the four choices and then another lifeline to call Salim. However, Latika has Salim's cell phone. Latika does not know the answer but tells Jamal that see is safe. Jamal takes a guess at the answer and wins the top prize. Jamal and Latika are reunited at the end.
I thought Slumdog Millionaire was a good movie about Jamal's difficult life in the slums without parents to overcoming his obstacles and winning the game show and the love of his girlfriend. However, the game show aspect did not seem very realistic. How did he get selected to appear on the show? Jamal had to learn about life the hard way, but it is still quite a coincidence that all the questions had to do with facts he learned about on the street. I believe that was the wesk point of the movie. I give Slumdog Millionaire a B.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Free Radio Monday
I had a good running weekend. I did about 6 slow miles on Saturday. My legs were bothering me from running hard on Friday. On Sunday I went 13.6 on a hilly course to my kids school and back and then my usual three mile path. The weather was very nice this weekend. I have a 5k this weekend so I am not planning to do a long run next week weekend. I am planning to do 5 miles runs on the treadmill on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday and Thursday will be hard runs.
Free Radio
I randomly found this show on VH1 last year. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but was convinced that I was just about the only person watching it. The show does not fit it at all with with VH1's other shows which consists of B level celebrity shows and the greatest countdown categories (one hit wonders, child actors etc). Free Radio did not seem to get any publicity and I just assumed it was cancelled. I was pleasantly surprised when Free Radio reappeared in my tivo recently with new episodes for a second season.
Ths premise of the shows is that the fictional radio station, KBOM loses it big star morning man to satelite radio. The station in a pinch puts an intern on the air as a replacement. The intern is Lance who is a hapless idiot. However, the rating go up and the station is forced to hire him fulltime. The show is called Moron in the Morning. Lance's co-host is Anna who is extremely profressional and tries to reign Lance in as much as possible. There is a show within the show element as Moron in the Morning conducts interviews with real celebrities. There are typically three or four an episode and they last a few minutes each. It is unclear whether these interviews are improvised or scripted.
Other cast members include the hapless manager of KBOM, James. He is recently divorced and lives in his office. He has a crush on Anna. The receptionist, Emo Sarah does not seem to work very hard and has a bad attitude especially when dealing with her boss, James. Shelton is Lance's Manager, who is always scheming with Lance on some idea that never works out.
The show is unique and very funny. It obviously has a small budget and seemed to have a major sponsership deal with Burger King in season two, which is fine if that is what it takes to stay on the air. I particularly like Anna Vocino as Anna. She does a very job as the normal person who is forced to work with the clueless, but popular Lance. Once in a while, the show will get a little too far fetched like the boxing match between Lance and Anna, but overall I love the characters and energy of Free Radio. I give it a B+ and hope it returns for a third season.
Free Radio
I randomly found this show on VH1 last year. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but was convinced that I was just about the only person watching it. The show does not fit it at all with with VH1's other shows which consists of B level celebrity shows and the greatest countdown categories (one hit wonders, child actors etc). Free Radio did not seem to get any publicity and I just assumed it was cancelled. I was pleasantly surprised when Free Radio reappeared in my tivo recently with new episodes for a second season.
Ths premise of the shows is that the fictional radio station, KBOM loses it big star morning man to satelite radio. The station in a pinch puts an intern on the air as a replacement. The intern is Lance who is a hapless idiot. However, the rating go up and the station is forced to hire him fulltime. The show is called Moron in the Morning. Lance's co-host is Anna who is extremely profressional and tries to reign Lance in as much as possible. There is a show within the show element as Moron in the Morning conducts interviews with real celebrities. There are typically three or four an episode and they last a few minutes each. It is unclear whether these interviews are improvised or scripted.
Other cast members include the hapless manager of KBOM, James. He is recently divorced and lives in his office. He has a crush on Anna. The receptionist, Emo Sarah does not seem to work very hard and has a bad attitude especially when dealing with her boss, James. Shelton is Lance's Manager, who is always scheming with Lance on some idea that never works out.
The show is unique and very funny. It obviously has a small budget and seemed to have a major sponsership deal with Burger King in season two, which is fine if that is what it takes to stay on the air. I particularly like Anna Vocino as Anna. She does a very job as the normal person who is forced to work with the clueless, but popular Lance. Once in a while, the show will get a little too far fetched like the boxing match between Lance and Anna, but overall I love the characters and energy of Free Radio. I give it a B+ and hope it returns for a third season.
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