Mad Men

Virginia and I started watching Mad Men when we are at the beach in July. It took about six months, but we made it through all three seasons. We watched most of season one and season two through Netflix. Part of season two we watched on our DVR from a Mad Men marathon that AMC ran before season three started. Season three we watched on the DVR except for one episode that got recorded over in error and we watched that one through Itunes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mad_men

At the beginning, I thought the show was a bit slow and fell asleep during several episodes. Initially Virginia liked the show more than me. It is a show that you have to be patient with and get to know the characters. It was not until the last half of season three that I really looked forward to watching the episodes.

The show is set in the 1960s and they do a great job of giving the show a 60's feel. The constant smoking and drinking in the office really contrasts from society today. They only make thirteen episodes a season and the production of the show is of a much higher quality than a network shows that has a longer season. The acting from the stars to the supporting characters is excellent as well

The show stars Jon Hamm as Don Draper, a brilliant creative force at the Sterling Cooper advertising agency. Draper has a secret in his past. He is actually Dick Whitman and stole the real Don Draper's identity when Draper was killed in the Korean war. Draper is married to the beautiful, but childlike Betty, played by January Jones . Don is not faithful to Betty and they do not have a happy marriage. Initially Don seems like the bad guy, but as time goes, I found myself liking Don more and more and not caring for Betty. Their third child is born during season three. Don is a very good father when he focused on parenting, which is not often. Betty is a poor parent and it is easy to foresee that the oldest daughter Sally will rebel when she is a teenager.

The rest of the cast either works with Don at Sterling Cooper or is related to someone at Sterling Cooper. Sterling Cooper was founded by the wonderfully quirky Bert Cooper and the late father of the very witty Roger Sterling. Cooper and Roger Sterling run the company with increasing responsibility for Don Draper. There is a number of young white male junior executives that I found pretty interchangeable until season three when I was able to differentiate them. Pete Campbell being the exception. Pete is a fascinating character because he can be overly ambitious and flakey but is the most forward thinking person at the agency. Cooper, Sterling and the other interchangeable young white males provide most of the comedy of the show.

Peggy Olson and Joan Holloway highlight the struggle of women in the workforce during the time. Peggy is initially Don's secretary but Don sees that she is talented and eventually makes her a copywriter. Peggy hid a pregnancy in season one which was the result of a onetime romantic encounter with Pete. Peggy was in denial about the pregnancy. She comes from a strong catholic background. Peggy shares a connection with Don and is his protege. Joan is as smart as anyone at Sterling Cooper and excels at any work project she is involved with. She is the Office Manager but is capable of a lot more responsibility. Joan had an affair with Roger Sterling. She married a young doctor in season two and also has a unhappy marriage.

Another part of society that is examined in Mad Men is homosexuality in the 1960s through Sal Romano. He is a closet gay man struggling with his sexuality. Sal's marriage is poor and his wife cannot figure out what is wrong with it. Don finds out about Sal's secret during a business trip, but does not tell anyone. Sal is eventually fired because he refuses the advances of Sterling Cooper's most important client.

At then end of season two, Sterling Cooper is sold to a British Company. Lane Pryce comes over from England to run Sterling Cooper. Bert Cooper and Roger Sterling are still around, but no longer in charge. Season three ends with Don finding out they are going to be sold to an even bigger company. Don, Pryce, Cooper and Sterling are all unhappy about the pending sale and scheme to free themselves up to start their own agency. Season three ends with the beginning of Sterling Cooper, Draper and Pryce. They hire Peggy, Joan, Pete and Harry Crane, the head of the tv department.

Additionally, at the end of season three Don's marriage unravels. Betty has been flirting throughout the season with Henry Francis, who works for the Governor's office. Betty find out about Don's secret past and decides she no longer loves him. At the end of the season, Betty is flying off with Henry to Reno to get a divorce from Don.

The reason that I enjoyed the third season so much more than the earlier seasons is that the characters are so complex that it takes along time to get to know and appreciate them. I cannot wait for season four to start. Overall, I give Mad Men a B+. However, for season three only I give Mad Men an A.

Contrasting Two Films

I forgot my headphones this morning, but still got my seven mile run in. I feel good about that. My hurdle for tomorrow is that I will have to run at lunch.

Adventureland

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventureland_(film)

Virginia does not provide any input into the movies that are in our Netflix queue. She can be critical of the movies that I select. I have admittedly been a cold streak with the movies that we have received the last few months. Bill Simmons recommended Adventureland on his podcast and Virginia read the summary and decide she did not even want to watch it so I watched it by myself on a lazy Sunday afternoon . Adventureland is one of the best movies that I have seen this year.

This is a coming of age story set in 1987. The main character is James (played by Jesse Eisenberg, who I never heard of) whose summer plans fall through due to his parents financial problems and he is forced to work in a small amusement park to make money. James seems to have previously lived a sheltered life so working at the amusement park gives him an opportunity to get to know people from different backgrounds.He falls for a co-worker named Em, played by Kristin Stewart who is involved with another older married coworker.

I thought this movie was similar to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, but I like Adventureland much better because the characters were much more identifiable and interesting. This goes for both the main character and the supporting characters. Part of this may have been because I was around the same age as James in 1987. In addition, the soundtrack is great for anyone that grew up in the 80s.

It is shocking that this film only made $16 million at the box office. Both Wikipeida and Bill Simmons mentioned issues with how the film was marketed as part of the problem. However, if anyone is looking for a good sleeper film, this gets my vote.

I give Adventureland a A-.

The Hangover

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hangover_(film)

The Hangover contrasts with Adventureland in two ways.

• Prior to the released of The Hangover the advertising was extensive. There were commercials for this movie non-stop.
• The Hangover has made about 18 times as much money as Adventureland and is the highest grossing R rated comedy ever.

I was really looking forward to seeing this film. However, after watching The Hangover I was disappointed.

I did not care for the three main characters in the film. Bradley Cooper's Phil was far too arrogant and was a jerk. Zach Galifianakis as Alan was too over the top with his weirdness and Ed Helms as Stu was basically playing the same awkward character that he plays in The Office. Especially in a comedy if you don't care about the characters, you are unlikely to enjoy the movie.

The main three characters go to Las Vegas for a bachelor party for their friend, Doug. They wake up the next day and can not find Doug and none of them can recall what happened the previous evening. They have to piece together the events of prior night.

Netflix has a a new category for movies like The Hangover, they call them Late Night Comedies. This is the order that I would rate the top films in this category over the last few years that I have seen.

Great

Knocked Up

Wedding Crashers

Good

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

40 Year Old Virgin

Average

Superbad

The Hangover

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Horrible

Tropic Thunder

I give The Hangover a C-.

I read recently that more people watched the reality show about the lady with the big ass whose father was friends with OJ Simpson (the name is escaping me and that is not a bad thing) who became famous from a porno than the season finale of Mad Men, which was on at the same time. The fact that The Hangover was so much bigger than Adventureland can be chalked up to the same lack of taste in the masses.

Two Books From Chicago

I had a decent five mile run this morning on the treadmill. I am trying to get back to the same speed I was doing these five miles runs in September. This morning I did it in 44:41 which is more than a minute slower than I was going, but fast than I have gone in a few months. I plan to do 7 miles tomorrow and 5 miles on Thursday. I noticed today that my gym is not open until 8 AM on Thursday, which means that I will have to run at lunch. I have not run well the last few times that I have run at lunch. However, I realize that I am behind on my marathon training and have little margin for unsuccessful runs.

Audacity of Hope

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Audacity_of_Hope

I enjoyed Barack Obama's first book, Dreams of My Father quite a bit when I read it about a year ago. He is a good writer and was interesting reading about him as a regular person struggling to find his identity. Obama wrote Dreams of My Father before his political career started so there is not the political calculation in what he writes as you would expect from a politician.

I read Audacity of Hope over the summer. The book is essentially a documentation of Obama's political believes in preparation for his campaign as President. I read this book because I am a fan of Obama and I enjoyed Dreams of My Father. In the past, I have read books about political campaigns because the strategy of campaigns interest me but I have never read a book for pleasure about a politician's beliefs.

When I read a book it usually falls into two categories. A book that really enjoy I look forward to reading and make time outside of my commute to read it. Other books become like school projects ,where I read for the sake of finishing the book rather than for the enjoyment. I found Audacity of Hope to be more finishing for the sake of finishing than for enjoyment. While I know the subject matter is important and I have my beliefs, I simply am not intellectual enough to find reading a book about politicial beliefs, changes or proposals to be enjoyable. I would have found the book more enjoyable if there were more antedates rather than facts. There were some stories but rather than going on and on about why public health care is necessary, I would rather hear stories about real life people who would benefit.

Without getting political, I will say that I don't understand people who say that Obama is more liberal that they were led to believe. I think his decisions in his first year of office were consistent with the political beliefs that he wrote about in Audacity of Hope.

Overall, this type of book is not a book I would normally read and after reading it, I do not foresee myself reading a political book like this for pleasure again. However, it does give a important incite into how the President thinks. I give Audacity of Hope a C.

The Time Traveler's Wife

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Traveler's_Wife

This is another book that I read that is more geared to females. It has been made into a movie, but I have not seen it. The story is kind of an adult fairy tale by Audrey Niffenberger. This is her first book. Henry time travels throughout his life. He cannot control when or where he time travels. Henry also time travels throughout the life of his wife, Claire, who does not time travel. Henry will suddenly find himself in a different time and location. He arrives without any clothes and has to scramble to stay out of trouble and not bring attention to himself.

Understanding the chronology of this book is like a puzzle. At the beginning of each chapter we are told the date and age of both Henry and Claire. I found myself referring back to this constantly. I considered listening to a recording of this book, but I am glad I did not because it would have been very hard to follow without the ability to go back and review the dates and age of Henry and Claire.

The time travel element is this story is similiar to the time travel in season five of Lost. What happens, happens and cannot be changed. For example, Henry repeatly goes back in time to when he was a kid and his mother dies in a car accident, but he is powerless to stop her. I first heard about The Time Travelers Wife when reading about Lost and that how time travel is explained in this book, helps to explain how time travel work on Lost as well. I am not a big science ficton person so I was glad that the book is more about the relationship between Claire and Henry then about the time travel.

The love story between Claire and Henry was interesting because in some aspects it was normal and in other ways it was unique. They really did not fall in love. An older Henry starting time traveling to Claire's house when we was a little girl. They have a place where he goes and she uses some of her father's clothes for Henry. The adult Henry's relationship with the young girl that he will eventually marry is creepy but the author does the best she can to make it above the board. As Claire gets older, she realizes that Henry is her future husband. The adult Henry does not visit Claire after she is 18 and the couple do not see each other until three year later when they have a chance meeting with the real time Henry. Claire then explains who she is is and that they will get married. Thus, they don't fall in love like regular as much as they are told that they will fall in love.

The book is a fantasy, but Niffenberger does a good job with the timetables and explanations. Obviously there is quite a bit of storytelling freedom for a book like this. For example, they tell certain people about Henry's time traveling but not Claire's family and Henry does not want to tell anyone about the future, but is willing to use his knoweldge to make bets when he know the outcome to make a comfortable amount of money, but not millions. However, the characters are likable and the story works.

I give The Time Travelers Wife a B.

Running Since the Freedom Run Marathon

Three Month Running Recap

Since I completed the Freedon Run Marathon, my running has not been as consistent as I would like.

I took a couple days off, but ran fine for a couple weeks. On Sunday, October 18th I came down with a virus (possibly swine flu) that I caught from the the rest of my family. I was only sick for two days. I did not run from from October 18th thru the October 23rd. When I started running again, it was shocking how much endurance I had lost. On October 23rd I did not make it 3 miles and the the next day I was only able to do 4 miles. My runs during the week had to be built back up to 5 miles. It took several weeks until I was able to get my long runs back to double figures.

In November, I progressed pretty steadily, running up to 15 miles on my long runs. Around Thanksgiving I went through I rough stretch where I was not running well. This was a combination of minor leg issues and lack of motivation. Then after a horrible run on Saturday, November 28th, I felt much better on my run the next day.

My running obstacles in December have been the weather, time constraints and motivation. I have not been able to run on the C & O Canal in quite some time. I cut my run short on December 13th due to ice. I was not able to run at all the weekend of December 19th due to the major snowstorm. I got my exercise from shoveling. Due to time constraints I did not do a long run this past weekend. As a result I have not run more than 7 miles since December 6th. However, I feel pretty good now and without the holidays out of way, hope to increase my workload significantly in January.

2010 Race Plans

Before race plans, I made a few decisions on the type of race I wanted to select.. I wanted to focus on a few big races rather then race in a bunch of smaller races. I realized around Thanksgiving, that I did not have to sign up for a Turkey Trot, I could get as much out a simple run around neighberhood which does not involve any travel time and I can start when I am ready. In addition, I decided that in 2010 I would focus on the marathon distance. The aspects of the Freedom Run Marathon that I did not like, really shaped my plans for 2010. I want to focus on marathons with a relatively flat course with a lot of crowd support.

There were two races that I considered for March, the National Marathon in DC and the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach. After researching both, it was clear that the Shamrock Marathon would be a lot of fun. The race has great reviews, is flat and should make a nice mini vacation. Since this is a resort area in the off season, the hotels are reasonable. The National Marathon is a relatively new race, that has gotten mixed reviews. After thinking about it for several months, I decided to pay the extra money and sign up for the Shamrock race. I also booked a beachfront hotel less than a mile from the start and finish line for about $65 a night.

I am excited about the Shamrock Marathon, but also have catching up to do in my training since it is less than 90 days away. I am planning to run between 15 and 18 miles during the week, between 7 and 10 on Saturday and get up to 20 miles on my long run by the end of January. I plan to run 12 miles this Sunday and increase by 2 miles each week.

I am tentatively planning to run the Frederick Marathon. Frederick is my hometown marathon so I would like to continue to run it. It is not the flatest course and the crowd support is only good for the first half, but it is convenient. It is six weeks after the Shamrock. Since I have only run two marathons, I obviously have not run them so close together but think this is doable. I have not signed up and since the price does not increase until March 31st, I will hold off registering for now.

For the fall, I am planning to run the Marine Corp Marathon. I want to run a big city marathon. For 2010 I chose Marine Corp over Baltimore because Marine Corp is bigger and I have run Baltimore before, the half in 2008. The registration for the Marine Corp opens in April. I know that one fills up pretty quickly.

I may run a few other minors races that I have run in the past, but the marathons will be my target races. I am very excited about the marathons, especially the Shamrock and Marine Corp.

No Justice In Survivor 19

Season 19 was the season of Russell Hantz. Russell is a rough, blunt, red neck from Texas who will pull out all stops to win. Never before has one person dominated the game or the airtime of the season like Russell did this year. Russell was a character that I disliked initially but by the end wanted him to win badly, because he dominated the game so much. Most of the cast were so poor at playing Survivor and bland that it almost seemed like the producers decided to put one smart, very aggressive player with a cast of players who did not know what they were doing.

Russell was on the Foa Foa tribe. Russell did not seem to care if his tribe won and appeared to be perfectly happy getting rid of anyone he perceived as a threat. At the merge the other tribe, Galua was ahead 8 to 4 and it appeared that Russell's strategy would backfire and that Galua would eliminate the remaining Foa Foa players one by one. However, through Russell's ability to find the hidden idol (three times) and Galua's stupidity, Galua was eventually at a numbers disadvantage and all were eliminated in order except for the Brett, who was barely shown most of the season, but went on a immunity challenge run at the end.

Brett avoided elimination by winning three challenges in a row. At the last elimination challenge, it came down to Russell and Brett. Russell won and Brett was voted out. Russell's core alliance were the three other remaining members of Foa Foa (Jaison, Mick and Natalie) and Shambo the outcast from Galua. Jaison is a law student, who seemed miserable on the show. Mick is a doctor, which is hard to believe based on the lack of intelligence he displayed on Survivor. Natalie is a salesperson who is a nice, attractive Christian who was well liked. All three of the Foa Foas chief skill was doing whatever Russell told them to do. Shambo is a lesbian ex marine, who did not get along with the pretty girls on Galua and greatly admired Russell. As Brett won immunity challenges, Shambo and then Jaison were voted off, leaving Russell, Natalie and Mick in the finals.

Survivor is not like most games or sports. The winner is decided by individuals who can be as subjective, illogical and biased as they want. Besides the motto "outwit, outplay, outlast", there is no rules for what factors the jury uses to decide who wins. The dynamic of each jury is different. This was never illustrated more than the latest season.

One question or concern that I have is that the jury is not supposed to discuss the vote with the other jury members beforehand, but I think it happens and this year it seemed more apparent than in the past. Both Dave and Jaison praised Russell's game in their exit speech and ended up voting for Natalie.

I think Russell dominated the game and clearly should have won. However, there were 8 members of the jury that were stupid enough to somehow lose 8-4 advantage since the merge, so they clearly were not very smart. Here is a breakdown of how I see the jury,

Hypocritical Jury Members
Eric - Was completely arrogant when he was in the game and talked about how lying and cheating were big parts of the game. In short, he was similar to Russell, but not nearly as good. Every week that he was on the jury, he was cheering Russell's moves. His speech and vote made no sense based on how he acted previously.

Jaison - Praised and followed every move Russell made, until Russell voted him out. Then he found Russell immoral. I especially did not like his comparison to an office because 1. A game is different than real life 2. Russell did not sit around and play, Russell did more than his share of the work.

Christian Jury Members
Laura and Brett-Both bonded with Natalie over religion

Laura's Followers Jury Members
Kelly and Monica - Both were heavily influenced by Laura, who as mentioned above, bonded with Natalie based on both being strong Christians.

Crazy Jury Members
Dave - This guy was supposed to have the highest IQ in the history of Survivor. However, he never made any sense and always seems way out there. Completely unpredictable. I wonder how much pot he is smoked in his life.

Shambo - Was the Gilligan of the game. She was wacky, incompetent, emotional and steadfastly loyal to Russell. Her declaration for Russell in front the jury did not help Russell with Laura and her followers.

Rational Jury Member
John - Seemed to be the logical member of the jury.

I think Russell's down fall was not recognizing the bonding that Natalie was forming with Laura and Brett over their religious beliefs and that Natalie made her living as a Salesperson and had excellent people skills. Russell should have voted Natalie out instead of Shambo or Jaison.

Russell gave the jury too much credit thinking they would vote rationally for who was clearly the best player rather than letting their bitterness and friendship factor into their decision.

This was a fun season of Survivor with a disappointing ending. I give Survivor a B+.

I Am Not Fascinated

Here is a rundown of my opinion or what I know about the the individuals listed on Barbara Walters 10 Most Fascinating People of 2009.

Lady Gaga - I know she is a singer. That is the extent of my knowledge on the Lady Gaga. As far as I know, I have never heard any of her songs.

Tyler Perry - I know he directs and stars in movies and tv shows directed at African Americans. I believe he plays parts of a woman in some of his movies or tv shows. I have never seen any of his stuff.

Jenny Sanford - I know she is married to the Governer of South Carolina and that he was disappearing to South America to visit his mistress. While it is unfortunate that her husband cheated on her, I am not sure what makes her fascinating. It sounds like if Mark Sanford found the mistress more fascinating.

Kate Gosselin - Several years ago I was flipping channels and came across her show. I watched it for a few minutes. She was having her husband paint the kids room. It was boring and seemed very scripted. It is fascinating and a sad commentary on our culture (though harmless)that Kate Gosselin is a celebrity when no one know seems to know why she is famous.

Glenn Beck - In the 1980s he used to be a shock jock at B104 a Baltimore radio station that I sometimes listened to. He was apparantly a cocaine addict during this time. After the shock jock business declined, Beck reinvented himself as a Limbaugh imitator. He had found a niche for himself in the right wing Obama hating crowd. It is a sad commentary on our culture that Beck is rich, famous and apparantly fascinating by preaching hate.

Adam Lambert - I know he was on American Idol this past season and got a lot of attention recently for a risque performance on a MTV awards show. I don't watch American Idol and have never seen or heard Adam Lambert perform.

Sarah Palin - Palin ran a poor campaign as vice president highlighted by the Katie Couric interview. She seems woefully unable to discuss issues unless she is following a script. In 2009 Palin quit her job as Governor of Alaska. Regardless of political view, Palin is all style and no substance. It is a sad commentary on our culture that Palin would be considered a strong candidiate for President in 2012.

Brett Favre - Actually a deserving person although I think intriguing may be a better word than fascinating. His will he or won't he retire the last few years have been a media circus. However, he is having a great yeat at the age of 40 for the Vikings.

Michael Jackson's children - I am not sure why anyone would care about a celebrity's child or why they would be fascinating. Who the biological father of Michael Jackson's children or the names he chose for his children (Blanket?) may be fascinating, the children themselves are not.

Michelle Obama - Being the First Lady is an important job. However, virtually all First Ladies are relavant only because of who they married. Barack Obama should be on the list. He was inagurated as the first African American President in 2009.


Final tally is
Know Nothing About 3 - Lady Gaga, Tyler Perry and Adam Lambert

Don't Care About 3 - Jenny Sanford, Kate Gosselin and Jackson children

Don't Like 2 - Glen Beck and Sarah Palin

Like but Doesn't Belong 1 - Michelle Obama

Probably Deserving 1 - Brett Favre

I am not sure what this proves. Perhaps I am outside of the mainstream or perhaps this was a bad list.

Off the top of my head, here is a ten celebritries that I find fascinating.

Bill Simmons
Mike (The Situation) for Jersey Shore
Russell from Survivor
Barack Obama
Mitt Romney
Kobe Bryant
Oprah Winfrey
Stieg Larson
Jimmy Kimmel
Kate Winslet

The Girl : Lisbeth Salander

Stieg Larsson

I have completed the first two books by the late Swedish author, Stieg Larsson. The history of Larsson, his background, his death and his success after his death is fascinating to me. The books were not even published when Larsson died in 2004 and several years later are international sensations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stieg_Larsson

Two Core Characters

This strength of this series is unquestionably the two main characters.

Lisbeth Salander is a female superhero. Salander has been wronged all her life, trusts very few and is intensely private. She is under state guardianship because she is believed to be incapable of caring for herself. However, Salander is a genius, a skilled mathematician with a photographic memory and incredible computer skills. Salander may has Asberger's Syndrome.

Mikael Blomkvist is a crusading journalists for all that he believes is right. I assume that Larsson based Blomkvist on himself. Blomkvist is a partner in Millennium magazine with Erika Berger. Berger is married, but has had an affair with Blomkvist for years with her husband's knowledge. Blomquist is quite the lady's man.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Dragon_Tattoo

The book describes how Salander meets Blomkvist. Salander is initially working as a researcher and investigates Blomkvist for Henrik Vanger. Vanger hires Blomkvist to research a the murder of his great niece back in the 1960s. Blomkvist hires Salander to assist in the investigation. Salander slowly begins to trust Blomkvist. They become lovers. Salander saves Blomkvist's life. Salander leaves Blomkvist because she has fallen in love with Blomkvist.

The murder story that Blomkvist and Salander investigated was the weakest part of the book. It was not real clear why Henrik Vanger has assumed that Harriet was murdered and not considered that she could have ran away. In addition, I don't think it was realistic that Martin Vanger and his father were these over the top monsters for all these year living right near Henrik Vanger, who did not know anything about it.

Overall, I enjoyed this book because I liked Blomkvist and Salander. However, this book alone does not make the Lisbeth Salander the memorable character she becomes. I give The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo a B.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Who_Played_with_Fire

I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and listened to The Girl Who Played with Fire.

In the first book Blomkvist and Salander were equally memorable. In this book, Salander really stands out as we learn quite a bit more about her background. She becomes a female superhero, if not totally realistic, in a likable root for the underdog way.

At the end of The Girl With Dragon Tattoo, Salander uses her computer savvy to steal a fortune from Hans-Erik Wennerstrom the corrupt businessman that Blomkvist with Salander's help, that write a book about.

At this book begins, she spends a year traveling the work. The first part of the book is about an abusive husband, Salander encounters in the Caribbean and how she gets involved.

Salander returns to Sweden, but avoids contact with Blomkvist. Using a bug she placed on Blomkvist's computer, she keeps tabs on what he is working on and gets interested in his latest project, due to her troubled past, regarding the sex trade in Sweden. This eventually leads to Salander becoming a suspect in three murders and a manhunt takes place to find Salander. The real killer is working for someone from Salander's past named Zala that is the key to the story.

Blomkvist believes in Salander and works to prove her innocence. They only communication they have is untraceable on the computer. Lisabeth's relationship with Zala is revealed towards the end and Zala and Lisabeth has a battle for survival. It turns out that Zala is actually Salander's father. The book ends with Blomkvist discovering a unconscious Salander who has been shot. Zala is in worse shape.

This book was a top notch thriller. The Salander character especially becomes unforgettable in this book. I give The Girl Who Played with Fire an A-.

What is next for Salander and Blomkvist?

The third part of this trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, appears to have been published all of the world, but will not released in the US until May 2010. I am anxious to read the finale of the series.

There is quite a bit of discussion about making the books into movies. This has already been done in Sweden and is being discussed in the US.

Stieg Larsson has made a lot of money for someone since his death.

Born to Run

Born to Run is a non-fiction book that I listened to this fall by Christopher McDougall.

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259950192&sr=8-1

The full title of the book is actually Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen. The book is about the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico. They are very traditional, solitary, shy people that run as a way of life and excel in long distance running.

The important messages that I got from the book is that running is great, running should be for the purity of the sport, and big shoe companies are evil.

The central story is about McDougall going to meet the publicity shy Tarahumaras. On the way he meets a mysterious American, who goes by the name of Caballo Blanco. Blanco follows the
Tarahumara ways and is trusted by the tribe. Blanco has a dream of having a ultra race between the Tarahumaras and a few top American ultra runners. McDougall works with Caballo Blanco for several years to make the race a reality. The main story was the best part of the book.

McDougall has a great deal of enthusiasm for his topics. The book goes on several different tangents not directly related to the Tarahumara tribe from discussing injuries to the modern runner, barefoot running, ultra marathons and the importance of running in the evolution of man. At times McDougall's passion is infectious and at other times I could not wait for the book to get back on track.

One particular part of the book that that has gotten a lot of attention is the chapter of barefoot running. http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/fitness/sns-health-barefoot-running-shoes,0,5406706.story The book has clearly helped to start of fad in the running community with the foot protection mentioned in the book. http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/ . When I was listening to the book, I was considering getting a pair of the five fingers and occasionally running barefoot. However, since finishing the book, I lost interest in running barefoot.

I love to run and I love to read, so this book seemed like a natural for me. I did like the reader of the recording. However, it was not the home run I would have thought. McDougall obviously feeling very strongly about what he writes, but at times he came off as snobbish and superior to the average person. In addition, he tried too hard to make the characters interesting. Everyone was so quirky.

I enjoyed the book, but felt that the book would have been better if McDougall stuck more to the main story. I give Born to Run a B-.

Freedom Run Marathon Race Report

Better late than never. The race was about two months ago. On October 14th, I wrote about problems with a cold leading up to the race.

The day of the race I felt pretty good. I drove in the dark to the race early in the morning. It was cloudy and drizzling on and off, but the temperature was comfortable. I parked in a white water rafting company' s parking lot and took a shuttle to the Harper's Ferry Visitor's Center. We waited about a half an hour after the walkers started. We walked a short distance to the starting line. There were only a few hundred runners in the marathon. The start was delayed a bit because a ambulance was needed for a walker even though they had only started a few minutes before.

Finally we started, as it began to become light, although it was quite foggy. I have been to Harpers Ferry many time so was familiar with the area. I got into a comfortable pace. The third mile was thru the historic main street of Harpers Ferry, we then went on a walking bridge and had to go down some winding steps to the C & O Canal. This is about 13 miles on the C & O west of where I live. I have always wanted to run from my house to Harpers Ferry, but have never worked out the logistics.

The next ten miles were on the C & O Canal going west. It was still cloudy and foggy weather wise. The trail was mostly shaded and it was very comfortable running weather. I continued to feel good, but was starting to become concerned that I was going to fast. I wanted 9:30 minute miles, but was doing 9:00 minute miles. It was pretty uneventful. The water stops were well stocked with energy gels. I went to the restroom around mile 7 and broke my water bottle. The worse $25 I ever spent. Around mile 7 I started to use a girl who was running at a good even pace, as a pacer. I stayed with her for the next 8 miles or so. I reached the half way point in under 2 hours. This was about 7 minutes faster that my first marathon, but little did I realize how difficult the second half would be.

Right before I finshed on the C & O Canal the sun came out. The remainder of the race had no shade at all. After mile 14, we were on a small country road that was going up a very large hill. Myself and all the runners around me walked up most of this hill. At around mile 16 we got to Antietam battle fields. This was the most difficult part of the race. It was continuous rolling hills in the sun with no shade. I had slowed down quite a bit by the time we got to Antietam and by mile 18 I was mixing walking and running. Around this time we were seeing the half marathoners who were running in the opposite direction. My brother was doing the half and I saw him around mile 19. Part of the reason I chose this race was due to the scenery and the history of the course, but when I was running thru Antietem, I was so worn out that I was not mood to reflect upon the history.

Around mile 21 we finally got finished running thru Antietam and most of the remainder of the course was on the side of the road on Route 65 going from Sharpsburg, MD to the finish at Shepardstown, WV. It was not quite as hilly, but just as sunny. There was absolutely no crowd support until the end. I continued to mix running with walking from miles 21 to 24. There was just an occasional runner who would either past me or I would pass. At mile 24 I was able to slowly run until the finish.

As we got near Shepardstown there were more people. There were five races and the area around the finish was the central hub. The finish was in the Shepardstown University football stadium. I ended up at 4:34:55, which was about 18 minute slower than I was in the Frederick Marathon. I met up with my brother shortly after the finish. This marathon took more out of me than the first. I was not moving too well after it was over. I had to take two shuttles to get back to my car.

I ened up 152nd out of 307 finishers. The winner had run a marathon in the spring that was 17 minutes faster and here is a link to a blog of the female that came in 3rd talking about how difficult the course was. http://mile-posts.blogspot.com/2009/10/freedoms-run-marathon.html . Hearing that others struggled made me feel a little better about my finish. When selecting the next marathons I run, I will be looking for a flatter course with better fan support. In addition, I learned to never run a marathon in a white shirt and that more body glide is needed on sensitive areas.

Three Forgettable Movies

The Nanny Diaries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nanny_Diaries_(film

I saw this fim on cable on Labor Day. It goes with my wierd interest in female oriented fiction lately, at least this film had Scarlett Johannsson as the star. The movie is based on a very popular book that I have not read. Considering the acclaim for the book, I would think there must be a lot more to it than the movie. The characters in the movie was all cliches including the main character's pushy mother, perfect romantic interest, and the rich family that she works as a nanny for. The family that she works for consists of a workaholic father, a narcissistic mother and an attention starved kid. The movie tries very hard to be cute and original, but would have been better off focusing on creating characters that were not so one dimensional. I give The Nanny Diaries a D+.

State of Play http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Play_(film)

State of Play is a political thriller set in DC , with an all star cast, that is based on a British television show. The movie is about a Congressmen played by Ben Affleck fighting a Halliburton type company, whose mistress dies on the train tracks of the DC Metro. Russell Crowe plays a crusading newspaper writer who also happens to have been friends with Ben Affleck's character from school. The movie sounded much better on paper than it was in reality. I actually fell asleep for a good portion of the second half of this movie. I give State of Play a C-.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_and_Norah%27s_Infinite_Playlist

I watched the film on the computer from Netflix's instant queue last weekend. It is a romantic comedy about an evening in the lifes of a group of teenagers. Michael Cera is the same laidback quirky teenager he always plays. The movie starts out good, but fizzles midway thru. It was only an hour and half film, but seemed longer. I recently watched a similar movie that I have not yet reviewed that was much better. I give Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist a C-.