Given the extreme number of ideas I've started and stopped on my blog here, I wasn't too sure this "52 Changes" would take. At times I haven't been prompt, but I've been making small behavioral changes a week at a time. It's hard to believe, but last week marked week 13, or one quarter of the way there. I think that warrants a look back to see which were worthwhile, and which have fallen by the wayside. A bit of a cop-out, unless you count changing a change as its own change :) but even if I do this every quarter-way, 48 positive changes in a year is pretty good. So here they all are.
Week 1 - No snooze - This has turned out excellently so far. Since beginning this project I have not once hit the snooze button on my alarm clock. It hasn't exactly made me more energetic getting out of bed in the morning, but I'd rather keep the quality sleep and lose the semi-awake, alarm every five minutes of life under snooze.
Week 2 - Decompress post-work - Haven't really done this much at all lately. To be honest, work isn't that stressful for me most of the time. I can chat or joke with my cube-neighbors, I take a walk most days to get out of the office, and my workday has natural breaks in it so I'm not working non-stop. If I want to work on relaxing, I'd rather do something, like a yoga routine, rather than just deep breathing. That might be worth a try.
Week 3 - Meal planning - Has gone really well most weeks. Since it's been such a busy summer, there have been weeks where the meal plan still hadn't come together by midweek and had to be adapted, but that's easy enough to do. I like doing this, but a new thing to add is a semi-regular fridge inventory check, to make sure we're using up what we have in our planned meals. I hate to waste food.
Week 4 - Dish washing routine - Not surprisingly didn't really go far. I always start these things and can never keep up with the rigidity of it. It's kind of been supplanted by the Board of Labor, so when dishes need to be cleaned, they go on the board. Easy. I admit I need to get more into the habit of just doing dishes, but this every-other-day thing wasn't working for me.
Week 5 - Keep a clean car - This works when I think of it, the only change is that I need to be more cognizant of doing it every time I leave the car. That's really the key if you're only taking a thing or two out each time, and I've gotten a bit slack on it, but it hasn't been too bad and with a little more effort it's really doable.
Week 6 - Exercise semi-regularly - We were going almost daily when we first joined the Y, and as might be expected it's dropped a little due to schedules/work/fun, etc. But we've gotten over the hump where exercising sucks and the last few weeks have felt really good. The original goal was 1x per week, but we've almost gotten to a point where it's an expected part of most days, so we should be able to keep up.
Week 7 - Blog once a week - I'm not going to be so neurotic as to go back and count, but I think I've been on pace with about one a week. The key is to not push myself so much that it becomes a chore, and I feel like I'm still enjoying it. If that's the case, the minimum number of posts should just flow organically.
Week 8 - Eat more mindfully - I have been doing this, and it's been a bit of a revelation. I still may get partway into a meal before I think to slow down and really taste, but when I do I feel like I appreciate things even more. We made a rare-ish seared Ahi Tuna last week that I was chowing down on at first, but then stopped and enjoyed it - and it was one of the best flavors I've ever had.
Week 9 - Budget tracking - This goes on a per-month basis, and we've really been tracking every penny in August. Not to the extent that we're depriving ourselves, but again being more conscious of our choices. We likely won't hit the "goal" for August, but we're close and most spending decisions are being made thoughtfully rather than impulsively.
Week 10 - Board of labor - As I mentioned, this has become the new way of assigning chores and keeping ourselves honest about them. I like it better than any other way we've tried, since it focuses on the most-needed tasks and perhaps most importantly allows for some flexibility. It's a keeper.
Week 11 - Live in the now - A major change, and majorly difficult for me to make. This is something that I need to constantly remind myself of, but when I do I find things to be much more enjoyable. It's hard to retrain myself after years of uber-planning, but at least I'm starting to try. I think I can make this work, but it will continue to be a challenge.
Week 12 - Lose the excess lists - Ties in to living in the now, I suppose. Also a major mindset change, but one that I think I can make. I've already changed some (in my mind) from "collect them all" lists to simply lists from which to choose. I need to watch myself to not become too much of a list collector, but as time goes on I feel it's something I can do.
One fourth of the way there, and only a few of the changes are total losses. And in some way, each one was a change in that it made me think about things in a new way, even if that way was just to say "I don't like this change." It's a neat program for the most part and I suppose I'll keep it up for as long as I can think of new ideas (or 52 weeks, whichever comes first).
I don't have a change yet for this week, but stay tuned for next week (8/31). It's going to be a whopper!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
State Fair! - the good, the bad, and the weird
Here are a couple of facts to consider. I have been an Iowan, in some form or another, since late 2001. The Iowa State Fair is supposed to be one of the best state fairs ever, listed in that 1001 things to do before you die book. I have never lived more than 35 miles from the fair location. And yet, up until this year, I had never been to a fair of any sort, much less the Iowa State Fair. To some, this may sound blasphemous, but that doesn't make it any less true. Laziness, heat, humidity and apathy tended to conspire to keep me at home the past 8 Augusts. But, as I've kind of alluded to already, that all changed last weekend.
Stacia, being the incredible knitter/crocheter/all-out awesome person she is, decided to enter some of her knitted works in the fair's competition and proceeded to rake in the ribbons! Note: Stacia is much more modest about this over on her blog, so if she's not going to brag, I will for her. ;) Anyway, we simply had to go to the fair, if for no other reason to see Stacia's work on display. I took some photos, but I don't have them with me and they're largely crap anyway, so here's a (sort of) written account of our adventure. I was going to do good bad and ugly, but there was way more weird than ugly, so I think it works.
Good - DART bus picked us up from the Capitol parking ramp, carried us through neighborhoods of varying dodginess, and deposited us right at the gate to the fair. Nice!
Weird - First stop was the food building, where among other things we admired the blue ribbon winner for canned meat chunks. I don't know about you, but it sure made me hungry.
Bad - We got there super early but couldn't find breakfast food at any vendor. Hello? Pancake-wrapped breakfast sausage on a stick would be a big seller, people! ;)
Good - Very suitable breakfast substitute made by buying fried pineapple on a stick. Pineapple wedge, dunked in funnel cake batter and fried = awesome. And it's fruit, so it's good for you, right?
Good - Blue ribbon pumpkin weighed 1200 pounds. That's a lot of pumpkin pie.
Weird - Watching judges carefully studying produce that was apparently in the judging stage when we were in the agriculture building. Very thorough examinations going on there!
Bad - The line for the butter cow. Of course I say this having not waited in it, choosing instead to elbow my way between people, take a picture and duck out. Yep, I'm rude like that.
Weird - Walking into the cattle barn to realize that the cows are not in pens, just tied to posts in the center of the building. Also, a little creepy to glance over your shoulder and find a man walking a cow trying to get past you. "Stacia, move over. There's a cow wanting to get through."
Good - The "Avenue of Breeds!" It's like a zoo, only with all different breeds of farm animals. Don't know a Jersey from a Holstein, or a Duroc from a Berkshire? See them all here! Plus elk, alpaca, and ostrich.
Bad - Labeling on the free state fair maps. And also wondering what's in Pioneer Hall. And deciding to go there to find out. It turns out it's an ancient un-air-conditioned building at the top of a hill filled with antique displays. No offense to those who like antiques, but when I found out I'd climbed that hill to see the blue ribbon-winning old spoon, I was not pleased.
Good - Photography salon in the Cultural building. Many spiffy photos, and got to see friend of Zinkthink SJ win a ribbon for her goat photo. Kudos!
Weird - Walking from the Cultural building, stumbling upon some diving show along the walkway. It looked like people dove from a big inflatable pirate ship into a swimming pool, and a lot of people seemed to be enjoying it.
Bad - Propaganda at many exhibits. I knew Iowa was a big agriculture state, but didn't know it was a Big Ag state, per se. Did you know that antibiotics are good for farm animals, and that hog confinements are for their own good? -smirk-
Good (and Bad for you) - Lunch consisted of corn dogs and root beer, finished off with fried Snickers bars and fried Oreos. This is why it's good they only have one state fair per year! But when in Rome... you might as well eat delicious breaded gooey candy bars on a stick.
Bad - Attitude from the "Cast Your Kernel" booth. A certain channel 13 personality was very aloof and way too busy with her phone conversation to even acknowledge us asking for our kernels.
Good/Weird - Exhibit behind this booth. It's a ten foot tall model of one of the Lord of the Rings cities, made out of matchsticks. Inside the DM Register building. Definitely worth a stop.
Weird - Iowa Secretary of Agriculture booth guy stopping me as I walked by, directing me to stand on a scale, then presenting me with a printout of my weight. "Come back next year," he says. Well, I wasn't going to, but you have one of those new-fangled scales? I'll buy my tickets today! :)
Bad - Labeling for fabric and threads. Would it take so much to put a sign out that says "Fabric and Threads: Upstairs?" We knew to go there, but I don't know that anyone else would.
Good - Seeing some winning knitting! Got to see all of Stacia's stuff, and the items her friends entered. It all looked great, and the ribbons hanging alongside looked pretty nice too!
Overall, it was a beautiful (Good) day to spend out at the fair, and despite anything I might have griped about above, I know we both had a really fun time (Good). It was a very unique experience, and I imagine we'll be going back for as long as Stacia wants to competitively knit (the foreseeable future). I'm still a city kid, so I'm not sure if I'll ever get the idea of showing your cow, but I'm more than happy to keep going back for the spectacle. And the deep-fried Snickers bar on a stick. Mmmmm.
Stacia, being the incredible knitter/crocheter/all-out awesome person she is, decided to enter some of her knitted works in the fair's competition and proceeded to rake in the ribbons! Note: Stacia is much more modest about this over on her blog, so if she's not going to brag, I will for her. ;) Anyway, we simply had to go to the fair, if for no other reason to see Stacia's work on display. I took some photos, but I don't have them with me and they're largely crap anyway, so here's a (sort of) written account of our adventure. I was going to do good bad and ugly, but there was way more weird than ugly, so I think it works.
Good - DART bus picked us up from the Capitol parking ramp, carried us through neighborhoods of varying dodginess, and deposited us right at the gate to the fair. Nice!
Weird - First stop was the food building, where among other things we admired the blue ribbon winner for canned meat chunks. I don't know about you, but it sure made me hungry.
Bad - We got there super early but couldn't find breakfast food at any vendor. Hello? Pancake-wrapped breakfast sausage on a stick would be a big seller, people! ;)
Good - Very suitable breakfast substitute made by buying fried pineapple on a stick. Pineapple wedge, dunked in funnel cake batter and fried = awesome. And it's fruit, so it's good for you, right?
Good - Blue ribbon pumpkin weighed 1200 pounds. That's a lot of pumpkin pie.
Weird - Watching judges carefully studying produce that was apparently in the judging stage when we were in the agriculture building. Very thorough examinations going on there!
Bad - The line for the butter cow. Of course I say this having not waited in it, choosing instead to elbow my way between people, take a picture and duck out. Yep, I'm rude like that.
Weird - Walking into the cattle barn to realize that the cows are not in pens, just tied to posts in the center of the building. Also, a little creepy to glance over your shoulder and find a man walking a cow trying to get past you. "Stacia, move over. There's a cow wanting to get through."
Good - The "Avenue of Breeds!" It's like a zoo, only with all different breeds of farm animals. Don't know a Jersey from a Holstein, or a Duroc from a Berkshire? See them all here! Plus elk, alpaca, and ostrich.
Bad - Labeling on the free state fair maps. And also wondering what's in Pioneer Hall. And deciding to go there to find out. It turns out it's an ancient un-air-conditioned building at the top of a hill filled with antique displays. No offense to those who like antiques, but when I found out I'd climbed that hill to see the blue ribbon-winning old spoon, I was not pleased.
Good - Photography salon in the Cultural building. Many spiffy photos, and got to see friend of Zinkthink SJ win a ribbon for her goat photo. Kudos!
Weird - Walking from the Cultural building, stumbling upon some diving show along the walkway. It looked like people dove from a big inflatable pirate ship into a swimming pool, and a lot of people seemed to be enjoying it.
Bad - Propaganda at many exhibits. I knew Iowa was a big agriculture state, but didn't know it was a Big Ag state, per se. Did you know that antibiotics are good for farm animals, and that hog confinements are for their own good? -smirk-
Good (and Bad for you) - Lunch consisted of corn dogs and root beer, finished off with fried Snickers bars and fried Oreos. This is why it's good they only have one state fair per year! But when in Rome... you might as well eat delicious breaded gooey candy bars on a stick.
Bad - Attitude from the "Cast Your Kernel" booth. A certain channel 13 personality was very aloof and way too busy with her phone conversation to even acknowledge us asking for our kernels.
Good/Weird - Exhibit behind this booth. It's a ten foot tall model of one of the Lord of the Rings cities, made out of matchsticks. Inside the DM Register building. Definitely worth a stop.
Weird - Iowa Secretary of Agriculture booth guy stopping me as I walked by, directing me to stand on a scale, then presenting me with a printout of my weight. "Come back next year," he says. Well, I wasn't going to, but you have one of those new-fangled scales? I'll buy my tickets today! :)
Bad - Labeling for fabric and threads. Would it take so much to put a sign out that says "Fabric and Threads: Upstairs?" We knew to go there, but I don't know that anyone else would.
Good - Seeing some winning knitting! Got to see all of Stacia's stuff, and the items her friends entered. It all looked great, and the ribbons hanging alongside looked pretty nice too!
Overall, it was a beautiful (Good) day to spend out at the fair, and despite anything I might have griped about above, I know we both had a really fun time (Good). It was a very unique experience, and I imagine we'll be going back for as long as Stacia wants to competitively knit (the foreseeable future). I'm still a city kid, so I'm not sure if I'll ever get the idea of showing your cow, but I'm more than happy to keep going back for the spectacle. And the deep-fried Snickers bar on a stick. Mmmmm.
Friday, August 13, 2010
52 Changes - Too Many Lists!
You know what the most dangerous phrase to say to me is? Now, I don't mean to imply that I'm some sort of Manchurian Candidate-style programmed spy, and that just by saying some code phrase I become a mind-controlled killer. Or do I? ;) Well, no, actually I don't. But simply by uttering the phrase (or even implying it) "collect them all," I become an obsessed machine with an unstoppable goal to complete whatever list I'm "collecting."
Toy makers know about the susceptibility of people to this, as you can see on all sorts of packaging, from toy cars to cereal box prizes to trading cards. Maybe this is something that most people experience as children and eventually grow out of, but it has somehow become ingrained in my subconscious that once I start a set of something, I can't stop until I finish. Let me give you some examples. Right now I have no less than seven separate spreadsheets listing collections that I have begun and am rating that I, on some level, want to complete. There are lists of movies, that you know about, books, restaurants, places to camp, tea flavors, music, and even baseball stadiums. It can be fun to make these lists, to keep track of things I've tried or seen, but like all things, they can go too far. Once I get sucked in, I become almost more wrapped up in completing the list than I am in the enjoyment I got out of the list's contents in the first place. And some of these lists are just impossible to ever complete, so they need to get changed. Here we go.
1) AFI's 100 Movies list - I've been watching between 5 and 8 of these a month, and have 77 left to go, making it entirely reasonable to complete. Plus I'm still enjoying it. But I do need to be careful. At times it has felt a bit like a chore to see how many movies I can get through in a month just to finish the list. I realized this the other day when my sister saw Shane sitting on my coffee table, and I said "I'm not looking forward to that one, but it's on my list." Kind of a silly mindset for a goal I supposedly started for fun. I still want to complete this list, since it's a good source for old movie suggestions, which I really like, but I'm going to focus less on the goal being completion, and more on enjoying the movies.
2) AFI's other lists - AFI put out ten other lists of films, in genres like 100 Laughs, Thrills, Passions, etc., and I've naturally assumed that when I finish the 100, I'd move on to those. But with so many lists to begin with, it ends up being a lot of movies - 355 to be exact. If that stops being fun, it's a major chore. So my new thought is to pepper these in to the current viewing plan based on my personal choice rather than running up through the rankings. So this month I'll still see five or six movies from the main lists, but also one or two that I choose from the whole selection. This month TCM will be showing The Big Sleep, which I've wanted to see again for some time. It's only on the 100 Heroes list, but since I want to see it, I'm throwing it in. Maybe I'll actually understand it this time! :)
3) Books - I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to read more in general, particularly more classic literature. Not knowing what I should read, I sought out some lists - and found a ton! There's the Modern Library list, the Koen and Radcliffe lists, the Time magazine list, and the Hugo and Nebula award lists (for science fiction, not really literature). Add it all up, and you've got over 700 books! Books take longer to finish than movies; my pace is usually about one a month, so if I go at that pace, I should finish the list by my 86th birthday. Obviously not doable. I think I'll keep the list (since I have loved some of the selections from it), but just as one source of ideas when I'm choosing a book. If I find something outside the list, that's perfectly fine. And just knowing that I'll never "collect them all" gives me some freedom to not try so hard.
4) Camp in every county in Iowa - This was a fun idea Stacia and I had when we first camped a few years ago. I'm sure you've seen those decal maps on the sides of campers, where people fill in the states they've traveled to. Well, we decided to make one of Iowa (not stuck on the car though) and color it in as we've camped in different counties in the state. Neat idea, but especially with the floods the past few years, it's been hard to get out as much as we'd like. So in 4 seasons, we have camped in 12 different counties, which is quite an accomplishment, but would take another 29 years to fill out the rest of our map. Add to that that some counties don't have great parks, and that there are neat places to visit out of state, and it becomes too confining. This is another one where I guess we keep the list, but just use it as reference. If we plan to camp, we'll consult the list first, but only as a source of ideas, not a need to choose one from the list.
5) Des Moines restaurants - Last year the Des Moines Register put out a list of the top 100 area restaurants, and I immediately thought, "let's go to all of them!" But the reality is that we only go out to eat once or maybe twice a week, and it's more often an I-don't-feel-like-cooking, let's-get-some-fast-food than it is a planned excursion to a nice sit-down restaurant. That said, some of these nice places are really great venues to find inspiration for my own cooking endeavors, to see some neat ideas and taste some new flavors. I think I'd like to eventually complete this list, but I don't think it needs to be urgent. When we do go out as it is, we usually check the list for ideas before we depart anyway, just because we like to try new things. At one a week from the list, it would only take two years to hit them all, not even taking into account that we've already dined at 33 of the selections. It will happen, but eventually, not imminently.
6) Baseball stadiums - I honestly don't know how this became such an obsession. There are lots of websites out there documenting peoples' travels to different ballparks across America, and sometime last year or so I became infatuated with the idea. I like baseball, I like to see new places, and on some level it's a traditional "guy thing" - the baseball pilgrimage. I compiled a list, and came up with umpteen different plans for how many and which I intended to see in any given year. I even wanted to get a hat at each stadium I went to (which I admit is still a fun idea). But here's the kicker. There are 282 stadiums on my list. In a typical year, aside from Principal Park in Des Moines, we maybe go to one or two ballgames in other places. I don't have 280 years to go to baseball games, and none of them will be dramatically different from ones here. Should we travel great distances to see essentially the same game we can see at home? Do I want to travel to Toledo, or New Jersey or Appalachia to watch baseball? And if I'm in an awesome place (like SW Michigan), do I want to spend some of my precious time going to a baseball game (in Grand Rapids)? Obviously, this is one list that I need to drop. I will keep the actual list, so if we're traveling somewhere, I can see if there's a baseball team in the area that we can decide if we want to visit. But I need to give up that idea of making trips all across the country to watch baseball just to fill out a list.
I don't know if too many of those are outright changed. I'm still allowing myself to keep the lists, since I like them so, but at least two are no longer any form of "collect them all." Baseball and books are going to be things I enjoy at my leisure, when and where they come up, rather than from some frenetic list. Movies I'll continue to enjoy, but need to remember that the movies are the goal, not seeing them all. And with the restaurants, well, that's just bound to happen anyway. I guess in general it's a change in mindset. Making lists is fine, and can be fun (for strange people like me). Just don't make finishing the list outshine the enjoyment of the things you listed in the first place. And I'll try to apply this thought process to any new lists I make up in the coming years. I like organization, but obsession is one step too far, so this should make things a lot more fun and relaxed.
Toy makers know about the susceptibility of people to this, as you can see on all sorts of packaging, from toy cars to cereal box prizes to trading cards. Maybe this is something that most people experience as children and eventually grow out of, but it has somehow become ingrained in my subconscious that once I start a set of something, I can't stop until I finish. Let me give you some examples. Right now I have no less than seven separate spreadsheets listing collections that I have begun and am rating that I, on some level, want to complete. There are lists of movies, that you know about, books, restaurants, places to camp, tea flavors, music, and even baseball stadiums. It can be fun to make these lists, to keep track of things I've tried or seen, but like all things, they can go too far. Once I get sucked in, I become almost more wrapped up in completing the list than I am in the enjoyment I got out of the list's contents in the first place. And some of these lists are just impossible to ever complete, so they need to get changed. Here we go.
1) AFI's 100 Movies list - I've been watching between 5 and 8 of these a month, and have 77 left to go, making it entirely reasonable to complete. Plus I'm still enjoying it. But I do need to be careful. At times it has felt a bit like a chore to see how many movies I can get through in a month just to finish the list. I realized this the other day when my sister saw Shane sitting on my coffee table, and I said "I'm not looking forward to that one, but it's on my list." Kind of a silly mindset for a goal I supposedly started for fun. I still want to complete this list, since it's a good source for old movie suggestions, which I really like, but I'm going to focus less on the goal being completion, and more on enjoying the movies.
2) AFI's other lists - AFI put out ten other lists of films, in genres like 100 Laughs, Thrills, Passions, etc., and I've naturally assumed that when I finish the 100, I'd move on to those. But with so many lists to begin with, it ends up being a lot of movies - 355 to be exact. If that stops being fun, it's a major chore. So my new thought is to pepper these in to the current viewing plan based on my personal choice rather than running up through the rankings. So this month I'll still see five or six movies from the main lists, but also one or two that I choose from the whole selection. This month TCM will be showing The Big Sleep, which I've wanted to see again for some time. It's only on the 100 Heroes list, but since I want to see it, I'm throwing it in. Maybe I'll actually understand it this time! :)
3) Books - I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to read more in general, particularly more classic literature. Not knowing what I should read, I sought out some lists - and found a ton! There's the Modern Library list, the Koen and Radcliffe lists, the Time magazine list, and the Hugo and Nebula award lists (for science fiction, not really literature). Add it all up, and you've got over 700 books! Books take longer to finish than movies; my pace is usually about one a month, so if I go at that pace, I should finish the list by my 86th birthday. Obviously not doable. I think I'll keep the list (since I have loved some of the selections from it), but just as one source of ideas when I'm choosing a book. If I find something outside the list, that's perfectly fine. And just knowing that I'll never "collect them all" gives me some freedom to not try so hard.
4) Camp in every county in Iowa - This was a fun idea Stacia and I had when we first camped a few years ago. I'm sure you've seen those decal maps on the sides of campers, where people fill in the states they've traveled to. Well, we decided to make one of Iowa (not stuck on the car though) and color it in as we've camped in different counties in the state. Neat idea, but especially with the floods the past few years, it's been hard to get out as much as we'd like. So in 4 seasons, we have camped in 12 different counties, which is quite an accomplishment, but would take another 29 years to fill out the rest of our map. Add to that that some counties don't have great parks, and that there are neat places to visit out of state, and it becomes too confining. This is another one where I guess we keep the list, but just use it as reference. If we plan to camp, we'll consult the list first, but only as a source of ideas, not a need to choose one from the list.
5) Des Moines restaurants - Last year the Des Moines Register put out a list of the top 100 area restaurants, and I immediately thought, "let's go to all of them!" But the reality is that we only go out to eat once or maybe twice a week, and it's more often an I-don't-feel-like-cooking, let's-get-some-fast-food than it is a planned excursion to a nice sit-down restaurant. That said, some of these nice places are really great venues to find inspiration for my own cooking endeavors, to see some neat ideas and taste some new flavors. I think I'd like to eventually complete this list, but I don't think it needs to be urgent. When we do go out as it is, we usually check the list for ideas before we depart anyway, just because we like to try new things. At one a week from the list, it would only take two years to hit them all, not even taking into account that we've already dined at 33 of the selections. It will happen, but eventually, not imminently.
6) Baseball stadiums - I honestly don't know how this became such an obsession. There are lots of websites out there documenting peoples' travels to different ballparks across America, and sometime last year or so I became infatuated with the idea. I like baseball, I like to see new places, and on some level it's a traditional "guy thing" - the baseball pilgrimage. I compiled a list, and came up with umpteen different plans for how many and which I intended to see in any given year. I even wanted to get a hat at each stadium I went to (which I admit is still a fun idea). But here's the kicker. There are 282 stadiums on my list. In a typical year, aside from Principal Park in Des Moines, we maybe go to one or two ballgames in other places. I don't have 280 years to go to baseball games, and none of them will be dramatically different from ones here. Should we travel great distances to see essentially the same game we can see at home? Do I want to travel to Toledo, or New Jersey or Appalachia to watch baseball? And if I'm in an awesome place (like SW Michigan), do I want to spend some of my precious time going to a baseball game (in Grand Rapids)? Obviously, this is one list that I need to drop. I will keep the actual list, so if we're traveling somewhere, I can see if there's a baseball team in the area that we can decide if we want to visit. But I need to give up that idea of making trips all across the country to watch baseball just to fill out a list.
I don't know if too many of those are outright changed. I'm still allowing myself to keep the lists, since I like them so, but at least two are no longer any form of "collect them all." Baseball and books are going to be things I enjoy at my leisure, when and where they come up, rather than from some frenetic list. Movies I'll continue to enjoy, but need to remember that the movies are the goal, not seeing them all. And with the restaurants, well, that's just bound to happen anyway. I guess in general it's a change in mindset. Making lists is fine, and can be fun (for strange people like me). Just don't make finishing the list outshine the enjoyment of the things you listed in the first place. And I'll try to apply this thought process to any new lists I make up in the coming years. I like organization, but obsession is one step too far, so this should make things a lot more fun and relaxed.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Kitchen Zink - Stone Soup
Remember these Kitchen Zink updates I used to write about my cooking before I got sidetracked by trying to improve myself and all? Well, they're back, at least at the moment. For whatever reason, the meals we've cooked lately have felt a little uninspired. Ironically, that was the original motivation behind making the 52 changes, but thus far few of them have been culinary in nature. That may have to change. In any case, I didn't feel much like writing about the duck I horrendously overcooked (shoe leather, anyone?) or the decision to try Mixed Bean Cassoulet (yes, it really is just a pile of beans). But this past weekend, we had all of my siblings over, so we had to make something decent.
I wanted to make something moderately healthy, since they were all off on road trips of some sort (younger ones heading out to California, and older driving home from Tulsa, OK) and were likely to be living off fast food for the foreseeable future. Looking around the house, there was so much produce from the farmer's market and our own garden that it was pretty easy to make a soup. In fact, we were able to make the most local soup I've ever had, created in the famous stone soup style.
I have to guess that everyone has heard the old folk tale about stone soup, but just in case, here's the condensed version (condensed version! In a blog about soup! I love it!). Some hungry travelers show up in a village somewhere, seeking some food. The villagers are tea-partiers and don't want to spread the wealth, ;) so the travelers come up with a clever plan. They tell the townsfolk that they can make soup out of a stone, and proceed to boil some water with a big rock in the pot. As it "cooks," they say things like, this looks great, but it would be even better with carrots. So one of the villagers brings carrots and throws them in. So on and so forth with all sorts of soup ingredients, until they all share the results, and are amazed at how great stone soup tastes.
Well, we did pretty much the same thing, except I guess you would call ours dirt soup. Sounds even better, doesn't it? What I mean by that, though, is that all of the ingredients we just threw in our soup came from our own local dirt, either in the downtown community garden, or in an area farm. I didn't think much of it at first, since we try to eat local as much as possible, but when you tabulate it all, it's pretty neat. Here's the rundown of the soup, complete with source:
The broth is by far my favorite story of the ingredients, especially since it didn't start its life as a broth. It all begins with a humongous crop of Swiss Chard (a tasty green, quite a bit like spinach) at our garden. The leaves were so immense that brontosauruses were eyeing them as tasty treats, so we had to pick a lot all at once. Fortunately there is a great website (http://www.pickyourown.org/) with tons of information on how to preserve a harvest. One of the great ideas they have is a step-by-step description of how to freeze greens, including chard. It's a simple blanch-shock-freeze procedure, but we had so much chard, it took several iterations. By the time we had put all the wilted chard into the freezer, we were left with a stockpot full of gorgeous, ruby-red blanching liquid. It turns out that as the chard was blanching, it was also giving off nutrients and flavor into the water, until it was a veritable chard stock.
Stacia deserves all the credit for noticing the change in the water and bringing to light what a waste it would be to just dump it down the drain. So why not make it a stock for real? Boil it down some more, add some salt and pepper, and presto! Free vegetable stock, and from our own garden, too! But a stock is just a starting point; we needed more to make it a really good soup. Stacia (again!) found a good recipe to start from, but essentially, we stone-souped it, throwing in whatever we had on hand. And that was:
Diced tomatoes, from our garden, sliced carrots from the garden, sliced celery from Hy-Vee, diced turnips from the DM Farmer's Market, wilted kale from the garden, chopped onion from the garden, farfalle from Hy-Vee, and homemade meatballs made from Eden Farms pork, a DM Farmer's Market vendor. Even the storebought items are from a local grocery store, and aside from making my own pasta, which I will yet do one day but haven't so far, we really had no choice on the farfalle. The only area for improvement is the celery, which was an old Dole stalk we had in the fridge. It certainly was grown in California or maybe Mexico, but literally all of the other ingredients were raised right here in Iowa, most within the city limits of Des Moines. I'm not sure I want to label myself a "locavore" yet, but it sure is exciting when you can make the concept work.
The soup seemed to go over pretty well, and with the large batch we made, we're still eating it for lunches this week. It's really nice, especially when you've had some less thrilling cooking moments lately, to actually come through with a fresh, healthy, locally produced dish. On top of that, being able to share it with my family was very gratifying. And to think that we were able to make it all starting with nothing but a stone, or in this case some leftover blanching water, well, that just rocks! :)
I wanted to make something moderately healthy, since they were all off on road trips of some sort (younger ones heading out to California, and older driving home from Tulsa, OK) and were likely to be living off fast food for the foreseeable future. Looking around the house, there was so much produce from the farmer's market and our own garden that it was pretty easy to make a soup. In fact, we were able to make the most local soup I've ever had, created in the famous stone soup style.
I have to guess that everyone has heard the old folk tale about stone soup, but just in case, here's the condensed version (condensed version! In a blog about soup! I love it!). Some hungry travelers show up in a village somewhere, seeking some food. The villagers are tea-partiers and don't want to spread the wealth, ;) so the travelers come up with a clever plan. They tell the townsfolk that they can make soup out of a stone, and proceed to boil some water with a big rock in the pot. As it "cooks," they say things like, this looks great, but it would be even better with carrots. So one of the villagers brings carrots and throws them in. So on and so forth with all sorts of soup ingredients, until they all share the results, and are amazed at how great stone soup tastes.
Well, we did pretty much the same thing, except I guess you would call ours dirt soup. Sounds even better, doesn't it? What I mean by that, though, is that all of the ingredients we just threw in our soup came from our own local dirt, either in the downtown community garden, or in an area farm. I didn't think much of it at first, since we try to eat local as much as possible, but when you tabulate it all, it's pretty neat. Here's the rundown of the soup, complete with source:
The broth is by far my favorite story of the ingredients, especially since it didn't start its life as a broth. It all begins with a humongous crop of Swiss Chard (a tasty green, quite a bit like spinach) at our garden. The leaves were so immense that brontosauruses were eyeing them as tasty treats, so we had to pick a lot all at once. Fortunately there is a great website (http://www.pickyourown.org/) with tons of information on how to preserve a harvest. One of the great ideas they have is a step-by-step description of how to freeze greens, including chard. It's a simple blanch-shock-freeze procedure, but we had so much chard, it took several iterations. By the time we had put all the wilted chard into the freezer, we were left with a stockpot full of gorgeous, ruby-red blanching liquid. It turns out that as the chard was blanching, it was also giving off nutrients and flavor into the water, until it was a veritable chard stock.
Stacia deserves all the credit for noticing the change in the water and bringing to light what a waste it would be to just dump it down the drain. So why not make it a stock for real? Boil it down some more, add some salt and pepper, and presto! Free vegetable stock, and from our own garden, too! But a stock is just a starting point; we needed more to make it a really good soup. Stacia (again!) found a good recipe to start from, but essentially, we stone-souped it, throwing in whatever we had on hand. And that was:
Diced tomatoes, from our garden, sliced carrots from the garden, sliced celery from Hy-Vee, diced turnips from the DM Farmer's Market, wilted kale from the garden, chopped onion from the garden, farfalle from Hy-Vee, and homemade meatballs made from Eden Farms pork, a DM Farmer's Market vendor. Even the storebought items are from a local grocery store, and aside from making my own pasta, which I will yet do one day but haven't so far, we really had no choice on the farfalle. The only area for improvement is the celery, which was an old Dole stalk we had in the fridge. It certainly was grown in California or maybe Mexico, but literally all of the other ingredients were raised right here in Iowa, most within the city limits of Des Moines. I'm not sure I want to label myself a "locavore" yet, but it sure is exciting when you can make the concept work.
The soup seemed to go over pretty well, and with the large batch we made, we're still eating it for lunches this week. It's really nice, especially when you've had some less thrilling cooking moments lately, to actually come through with a fresh, healthy, locally produced dish. On top of that, being able to share it with my family was very gratifying. And to think that we were able to make it all starting with nothing but a stone, or in this case some leftover blanching water, well, that just rocks! :)
Monday, August 9, 2010
52 Changes - What week is it?
I'm behind on this again, and I realize it probably looks like I haven't been keeping up. Au contraire! I have a sheet of paper on my desk at work that lists out the changes I've made for the past few weeks, even though they haven't made it up here yet. And, since it appears I've been so lazy, let me tell you that for the last few weeks I have, in order, been on vacation, been somewhat sick, and had all my siblings over to visit. So it's been hectic, but (aside from feeling lousy that one weekend) it's been a good busy.
Last week's change is to go back to budget tracking. This is something we have done in the past, and even had a super flashy spreadsheet to track it in. The spreadsheet had different categories for groceries, dining out, entertainment, and budget goals for each. It actually worked really well. So well, in fact, that we had convinced each other that we were really conscientious spenders, and that we'd keep up with budgeting even without tracking. Har. Fast-forward to my checking last month's expenditures and finding that we were over 150% of what our budget had been back in the day. Plus we've had car repairs recently and don't have a huge emergency fund, so it will be good to get back on track. Our budget goal isn't extremely restrictive; just keeps us responsible. And this time around there are no categories. Just one big number we have to stay under for the month. I know we can do this, because, well, we have already.
The week before that we added the board of labor. This is a bit of an inside joke that goes back to my brother's board of education. My brother and sister were home-schooled for several years, and as part of that, my Mom bought a whiteboard to write lessons on, which my brother cleverly dubbed the board of education. Well, we bought our own whiteboard a few weeks ago, and while I am a fan of lifelong learning, ours is in place to write some daily chores on. We have tried every system I can think of to keep up on cleaning our house, from pairing each day of the week with a certain activity to leaving it all and "blitz-cleaning" every weekend, with similar (lack of) results. So we've added a board of labor, and each morning we think of the thing or two that needs the most attention that day, write it down, and make a point to get to it in the evening. It helps that this board is also the first thing you see when you walk in the door, so it's hard to avoid the work.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all 52 (even unknown) changes is from the week of the vacation: live in the now. You probably know by now that I'm a super organizational, list and plan-oriented person. A good example is the Washington DC trip, where days were planned out to the hour. That was great for DC, where there was so much to do, and a ton of it depended on having timed tickets from our Senator in advance. But this planning can get overpowering if you let it, and you end up worrying about planning every moment in the future rather than simply enjoying the present. The key, of course, is to strike a good balance between the two. Some moments need to be planned. Our wedding comes to mind, which we planned the crap out of, but we really needed to, and it turned out well. DC, like I mentioned before. But some things should just be taken as they come. Like our little vacation this year.
I really wanted to hang out on a beach and relax, so I planted the idea in Stacia's head that we should go to Southwest Michigan, and hang out on the shores of Lake Michigan. I'd been there once, a long time ago, and it was beautiful, so I wanted to go back. I'll admit, I did do some planning, primarily to find the best recommended restaurants and sights to see, but stopped well short of planning out itineraries. We took each day as it came, decided what to do, and had a ton of fun. Including one event that would certainly not have been on the plan...
South Haven, Michigan, a lovely and picturesque harbor town on the Eastern shores of Lake Michigan. We were staying in an area B&B, and had just set off to have dinner (local lake perch!) and go to the beach for the sunset. Suddenly we were stopped in the street by another guest of the B&B that we'd literally spoken to for maybe a minute when we were checking in. He had a wife sick with food poisoning :( and tickets for a sunset cruise on this boat.
Since he and his wife couldn't go, and the tickets were nonrefundable, he asked if we wanted to go in their place. To be honest, I started to freak out a bit. We hadn't planned on this, I do get a bit of motion sickness, and I had no idea what it would be like. The first thoughts that ran through my head were, how can we get out of this so we can just go to the beach like we'd planned? But then I thought to myself, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I should just take it. So we thanked the man, ran off to our dinner, and hurried back to get on board the boat.
Now, I'm a landlubber, myself, so I had no idea what to expect, nor any frame of reference. So I don't know if the lake was choppy that night, or if I just didn't have "sea legs," but it was a bit unsettling. Perhaps deep-fried perch and beer weren't the best pre-sailing meal, either. :) But I kept it together, especially after the friendly crewman suggested I stand up, look at the horizon, and get my nose in the wind, as he put it. It was still a rough ride, in my book, but on the other hand, I got to see things like this.
And this
Which I never would have done if I had planned this in advance. By the time we turned around, I was proud (and thankful) that I wasn't one of the two passengers laying on the deck feeling seasick, :( excited that we'd taken the trip, and in some ways glad to see the shore approaching. It was an experience that, had I planned a strict itinerary, would never have been possible, and it was truly incredible. This was us as we turned the ship around and headed back to land.
Our smiles may belie our fears of going overboard and mild queasiness, but in many more ways they're genuine. We got to see an incredible sunset over Lake Michigan from a unique vantage point that few ever get to see. I know this is something I'll struggle with, but whenever possible and fitting the situation, that will be me. Living in the now.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
July Filmfest
Movie time! This month was a bit of a mixed bag, with more than the typical number that I flat-out didn't really like. There were a few good ones, topped by a nice film noir that I imagine most haven't heard of. Next month could be even more mixed-up, since our DVR decided to blow up (not literally) while we were on vacation. I pulled the hard drive out and it still works, but everything's encrypted all goofy. So when we get a new box, I may have to do some quick DVR surgery to get to all the movies I recorded earlier. But in the meantime, here are the films from July, from least favorite to most.
8) The General (1927) - When was the last time you thought to yourself, "how come there aren't any silent, pro-South, Civil War, train chase comedies?" Oh, never? Really? Ok, well then I suppose The General isn't for you. Yes, that's truly what this movie is. This time through the list marks the second, and final, time that I've seen this movie, and it wasn't any better the second time around. Protagonist Buster Keaton is supposed to be one of the top stars of the silent era, but I just didn't find him to be that funny; I enjoyed Charlie Chaplin much more. And once you get over the novelty of the "good guys" (the South) and the "bad guys" (the North) chasing each other on trains, it gets pretty repetitive. It did have good train-chase-y music, but that's not enough for me to try again.
7) Stagecoach (1939) - And we're back to not liking Westerns. This seems to be your prototypical John Wayne Western, with Wayne as the tough-guy loner who will save the day, arbitrarily evil Indians, and the "saloon girl" with a heart of gold, if you catch my drift. The premise is a mixed group of people: wealthy/poor, upper crust/outcast, etc, all cram into one stagecoach to drive through Apache territory for some reason. Aside from the weak plot and the unlikeable, cardboard characters, the action scenes were awful. The Apaches basically just rode up waiting to get shot, allowing John Wayne to sit on the coach and play Duck Hunt. Plus the way they caused the horses to fall in this scene usually broke their legs, which is pretty cruel. I'll let you guess how the final shootout went, but I wouldn't recommend sitting through this to find out.
6) Wuthering Heights (1939) - It may not be the movie's fault on this one, because it sounds like it was an irritating book that just got made into an irritating movie. That statement might not make me any friends, since I guess it's pretty popular, but I just found myself mad at the characters the whole time. In a nutshell, the story is that Catherine loves Heathcliff, the poor stableboy, but spurns him for a rich guy. The whole time during the movie, she's awful to him, and him to her, until the very end when they decide that they loved each other all along. In many ways this is like Gone With the Wind, which I love, but without the charisma that movie has. Catherine is a one-dimensional gold-digger that we're supposed to like, whereas Scarlett in GWtW is complex and duplicitous, but at times the viewer is encouraged to dislike her. I don't know if it's the writing or the acting or what, but for a similar story, Gone With the Wind is a thousand times better.
5) An American in Paris (1951) - Starting to round the corner to ones I liked. And it's hard not to like Gene Kelly, singing and dancing through postwar Paris. Yet this movie is still only an okay from me, for a few reasons not tied to Mr. Kelly's fancy footwork. Much like Swing Time several months ago, this movie ties everything up way too neatly, with characters that should have been intensely mad just letting things go for the sake of our protagonist's love story. I know, it's a musical, and that's the way they go sometimes, but it happens to two people in this film, and they both seem to shrug it off. Add to that a literally 20 minute finale that is simply dancing - no singing, no talking, and it drags this down from what it could have been. But for most of the movie, you'll smile along with Kelly's charisma, laugh at the sidekick's wisecracks and tap your feet along to the catchy tunes as you watch in awe of Gene Kelly's dancing. Singin' in the Rain is still way better, but it's hard to hate this movie.
4) Forrest Gump (1994) - For some reason I've never really loved this movie, and this time I tried pretty hard (Stacia really likes it) but it came through just okay to me. There are funny parts, and there are very heartwarming parts, and it's an altogether cohesive story that I should like but it's never been a movie that I'm excited to watch. Jenny has always been an annoying character to me, but I realize that's the point, that we can't help who we fall for, etc. I also think the later parts of the movie drag compared to the best parts in the middle, but even that's not such a big deal. I've read the claim that it's a pro-Conservative movie, which might explain my dislike, but I'm not sure that's really the case. Regardless, you know this movie, you know if you like it or not, and for me it's okay but not something I love.
3) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - With this, I'm two-thirds of the way through James Dean's filmography, which was sadly and famously cut short. For the most part, I liked it, and I can see how Dean was well-liked in his time. His character is funny and charismatic, yet tortured by the facade of his neat suburban life in a way that feels genuine. The best parts of this movie are those two things - the real characters and the raw emotion of their lives. The high point is the relationship between Jim (Dean) and Sal, two outcasts at Jim's new school, which is masterfully played. The only negative I have is with timing, as I'm pretty sure the whole movie takes place in a day, and it just feels like too much action in that timeframe. Overall, though, it's a good film, and easy to identify with for any teenage angst-y feeling folks out there.
2) Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Once again, I'm forced to admit that though I don't really enjoy watching war movies, they are frequently pretty good. Again the case for Saving Private Ryan, as many of the best and most powerful parts of the film are the least enjoyable or pleasant to watch. This was really well-made and well-acted, to the point that it feels real, not like you're watching actors in a movie. I'm not a particularly patriotic person, but I got that sense from this movie, and found it pretty inspiring as well. The flip side, of course, is that war is awful, and in watching this movie, you see some of that horror firsthand. So it's maybe not something that is fun to watch, but it is certainly worthwhile. Oh, and it's pretty long, so be sure you've got several hours free before giving it a go.
1) The Third Man (1949) - If you love the category of film noir like I do, this is a must-see movie. Even if not, you'll probably still find it pretty good. Set, and presumably filmed, in the ruins of postwar Vienna, the movie centers around the mysterious death of Henry Lime, as investigated by his American friend who has just come to Vienna to visit and work with him. This movie has it all: twists and turns, surprising revelations, and the requisite mysterious woman. I love the dark seedy atmosphere, conveyed awesomely through neat cinematography and direction, with one of my favorite moments at the police stakeout near the end. I enjoyed the presence and character of the British police captain, and his interaction with Martins (the protagonist) is great. The music is interesting, performed entirely on the zither. It's a unique sound, but it can get a teensy bit old after two hours. All that said, the ending of this movie has to be one of the best in all of film. Perfectly conceived, perfectly acted and perfectly shot. It's the only way this movie could end, and it's interesting to read about how it almost didn't happen. For the noir plot, for the great Ferris Wheel speech, for the dank Vienna scenery and particularly for the finale, watch this movie!
I have no idea what next month will hold, as the DVR is still in a state of flux. Is it all lost, or will I be able to slot back in where I left off? I'm sure I'll find a way to watch some movies, and the higher on the list I get, I'm sure some of them are going to be great!
8) The General (1927) - When was the last time you thought to yourself, "how come there aren't any silent, pro-South, Civil War, train chase comedies?" Oh, never? Really? Ok, well then I suppose The General isn't for you. Yes, that's truly what this movie is. This time through the list marks the second, and final, time that I've seen this movie, and it wasn't any better the second time around. Protagonist Buster Keaton is supposed to be one of the top stars of the silent era, but I just didn't find him to be that funny; I enjoyed Charlie Chaplin much more. And once you get over the novelty of the "good guys" (the South) and the "bad guys" (the North) chasing each other on trains, it gets pretty repetitive. It did have good train-chase-y music, but that's not enough for me to try again.
7) Stagecoach (1939) - And we're back to not liking Westerns. This seems to be your prototypical John Wayne Western, with Wayne as the tough-guy loner who will save the day, arbitrarily evil Indians, and the "saloon girl" with a heart of gold, if you catch my drift. The premise is a mixed group of people: wealthy/poor, upper crust/outcast, etc, all cram into one stagecoach to drive through Apache territory for some reason. Aside from the weak plot and the unlikeable, cardboard characters, the action scenes were awful. The Apaches basically just rode up waiting to get shot, allowing John Wayne to sit on the coach and play Duck Hunt. Plus the way they caused the horses to fall in this scene usually broke their legs, which is pretty cruel. I'll let you guess how the final shootout went, but I wouldn't recommend sitting through this to find out.
6) Wuthering Heights (1939) - It may not be the movie's fault on this one, because it sounds like it was an irritating book that just got made into an irritating movie. That statement might not make me any friends, since I guess it's pretty popular, but I just found myself mad at the characters the whole time. In a nutshell, the story is that Catherine loves Heathcliff, the poor stableboy, but spurns him for a rich guy. The whole time during the movie, she's awful to him, and him to her, until the very end when they decide that they loved each other all along. In many ways this is like Gone With the Wind, which I love, but without the charisma that movie has. Catherine is a one-dimensional gold-digger that we're supposed to like, whereas Scarlett in GWtW is complex and duplicitous, but at times the viewer is encouraged to dislike her. I don't know if it's the writing or the acting or what, but for a similar story, Gone With the Wind is a thousand times better.
5) An American in Paris (1951) - Starting to round the corner to ones I liked. And it's hard not to like Gene Kelly, singing and dancing through postwar Paris. Yet this movie is still only an okay from me, for a few reasons not tied to Mr. Kelly's fancy footwork. Much like Swing Time several months ago, this movie ties everything up way too neatly, with characters that should have been intensely mad just letting things go for the sake of our protagonist's love story. I know, it's a musical, and that's the way they go sometimes, but it happens to two people in this film, and they both seem to shrug it off. Add to that a literally 20 minute finale that is simply dancing - no singing, no talking, and it drags this down from what it could have been. But for most of the movie, you'll smile along with Kelly's charisma, laugh at the sidekick's wisecracks and tap your feet along to the catchy tunes as you watch in awe of Gene Kelly's dancing. Singin' in the Rain is still way better, but it's hard to hate this movie.
4) Forrest Gump (1994) - For some reason I've never really loved this movie, and this time I tried pretty hard (Stacia really likes it) but it came through just okay to me. There are funny parts, and there are very heartwarming parts, and it's an altogether cohesive story that I should like but it's never been a movie that I'm excited to watch. Jenny has always been an annoying character to me, but I realize that's the point, that we can't help who we fall for, etc. I also think the later parts of the movie drag compared to the best parts in the middle, but even that's not such a big deal. I've read the claim that it's a pro-Conservative movie, which might explain my dislike, but I'm not sure that's really the case. Regardless, you know this movie, you know if you like it or not, and for me it's okay but not something I love.
3) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - With this, I'm two-thirds of the way through James Dean's filmography, which was sadly and famously cut short. For the most part, I liked it, and I can see how Dean was well-liked in his time. His character is funny and charismatic, yet tortured by the facade of his neat suburban life in a way that feels genuine. The best parts of this movie are those two things - the real characters and the raw emotion of their lives. The high point is the relationship between Jim (Dean) and Sal, two outcasts at Jim's new school, which is masterfully played. The only negative I have is with timing, as I'm pretty sure the whole movie takes place in a day, and it just feels like too much action in that timeframe. Overall, though, it's a good film, and easy to identify with for any teenage angst-y feeling folks out there.
2) Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Once again, I'm forced to admit that though I don't really enjoy watching war movies, they are frequently pretty good. Again the case for Saving Private Ryan, as many of the best and most powerful parts of the film are the least enjoyable or pleasant to watch. This was really well-made and well-acted, to the point that it feels real, not like you're watching actors in a movie. I'm not a particularly patriotic person, but I got that sense from this movie, and found it pretty inspiring as well. The flip side, of course, is that war is awful, and in watching this movie, you see some of that horror firsthand. So it's maybe not something that is fun to watch, but it is certainly worthwhile. Oh, and it's pretty long, so be sure you've got several hours free before giving it a go.
1) The Third Man (1949) - If you love the category of film noir like I do, this is a must-see movie. Even if not, you'll probably still find it pretty good. Set, and presumably filmed, in the ruins of postwar Vienna, the movie centers around the mysterious death of Henry Lime, as investigated by his American friend who has just come to Vienna to visit and work with him. This movie has it all: twists and turns, surprising revelations, and the requisite mysterious woman. I love the dark seedy atmosphere, conveyed awesomely through neat cinematography and direction, with one of my favorite moments at the police stakeout near the end. I enjoyed the presence and character of the British police captain, and his interaction with Martins (the protagonist) is great. The music is interesting, performed entirely on the zither. It's a unique sound, but it can get a teensy bit old after two hours. All that said, the ending of this movie has to be one of the best in all of film. Perfectly conceived, perfectly acted and perfectly shot. It's the only way this movie could end, and it's interesting to read about how it almost didn't happen. For the noir plot, for the great Ferris Wheel speech, for the dank Vienna scenery and particularly for the finale, watch this movie!
I have no idea what next month will hold, as the DVR is still in a state of flux. Is it all lost, or will I be able to slot back in where I left off? I'm sure I'll find a way to watch some movies, and the higher on the list I get, I'm sure some of them are going to be great!
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