No End in Sight

We saw the latest installment of the Terminator movies yesterday, and despite lukewarm reviews, I was not disappointed.

When the previews for Genisys started showing up a few months ago, Heidi and I knew there was only one thing to do, especially since Josh had never seen a single film from the series: movie marathon!

Okay, it was more like a double feature, since, in my opinion the first two are the only ones worth considering, but it was still a fun weekend activity. And those two movies really have held up, even with the 1984 and 1995 special effects.

So, could you enjoy the latest installment without being familiar with the earlier chapters? I think so, but you would be missing a lot of fun references and part of the mind-bending conundrums that this particular time-travel story raises. Will there be a sequel? Well, it's not a spoiler at all to quote the final lines of the film: "The future is not set."

Rested and Ready

Neither week end nor holiday, today, 16 days after school ended, marked our first *real* day of summer vacation at home. Despite tidying up, making several phone calls, running a couple of errands, going to the movies, working out, and spending time at the pool, I was at loose ends.

"I can never retire," I told Heidi as the two of us were treading water this evening. "I'll be too bored!"

Postcard from the Bike Trail

When we were in Buffalo, I rode my bike almost every day. Some might judge the terrain there uninspiring-- flat streets, square green yards, and cookie-cutter architecture, but that easy-riding was just what I needed to get back to an activity I love and have neglected for the last year or so. The weather was a plus, too: never did the temperature top 81.

So this afternoon I took advantage of our unseasonably cool weather and set off for a thirty minute ride. I didn't want to overdo my first home workout, but hills and humidity immediately conspired to make me question my judgment. I kept pedaling, though, past townhomes, apartments, condos, hotels, community gardens, a power station, parks and rec centers.

20 minutes later the guy passed out on the discarded leather love seat by the dumpster marked my turnaround point, and so I rode on home, glad that I had gotten out there.

E Pluribus Unum

What better way to celebrate the strength of our nation than to go to a movie by a Mexican-American director, play a Japanese board game, eat Vietnamese summer rolls, and watch a display of fireworks that were hand-made in China?

Happy Birthday America!

All for One

In the summer of '75 I saw my first PG-rated movie. The film was Jaws: "You're going to jump the first time you see the shark," my cousin warned us, and I was hooked. I couldn't wait to be terrified of the ocean.

I almost didn't see it at all, though. That year, I turned thirteen, my brother was eleven, and my sister, just nine. In our family, seniority didn't count for anything (probably because my parents were both younger children). For example, the three of us had the same bed time, no matter what, until I left for boarding school. Any adjustment for me, as I got older, applied to the two of them as well. And when we were left home alone? Their mantra was clear: "You are not the boss of us!"

But that summer, I had to put my foot down. How was it possibly fair that we should all be able to go to see a movie that wasn't rated G when I was so much older than they were? When my argument fell on my mother's deaf ears I tried a tearful tantrum, but in response she gave me a choice. Either we all went, or none of us did.

So...

the three of us all jumped the first time we saw that shark.

The Thought that Counts

All Ye Faithful

I glanced out the kitchen window the other night and noticed two very bright objects gleaming in the western sky. While there are many drawbacks to the constant accessability to screens of all kinds, being able to find out what something is right away does not rank among them to me. Hence I pulled out my trusty smart phone and launched the astronomy app that, living in such an urban area as I do, I rarely have use for. Venus and Jupiter were clearly visible on both the virtual horizon and the real one in front of me. Later I would find out that around 2000 years ago such a conjunction of those planets, along with the star Regulus, was called the Star of Bethlehem.

"Look! There's Venus and Jupiter!" I said to Heidi's mom.

"How do you know that?" she replied skeptically.

"Because I looked it up," I answered, hoping that my annoyance was not audible.

"Hmm," she said and continued her business. It wasn't long before Heidi came into the kitchen.

"Look! There's Venus and Jupiter!" I told her.

"How do you know?" she said.

I sighed with frustration.

"No really," she continued, "I want to know how you know, so I can know, too."

I happily explained.