Finally, A Bit of Real Snow, But Not Enough!

A Good Morning from Snowy Flagstaff,

I just returned from an early morning icy drive to the Flagstaff airport where I dropped off my son-in-law Jason. He is headed to Texas on a job that will keep him occupied for the next three weeks and pay the rent. Daughter Natasha is not all that happy to see him go but in these economic times you have to do something to make a living.

We got about two inches of snow overnight, which is the first "real" snow of the season. There were a couple of days earlier in the month where we had some flurries but nothing much came out of it. My hope this first small snow is a harbinger of a good season for getting out on the boards for a bit of vigorous exercise.

It looks like the holidays have kicked into overdrive now. We had a nice Thanksgiving here at my condo. I made a ham and Tasha did gravy and stuffing to go with the baked yams and broccoli (and punkin pie for desert of course). We spent the rest of the afternoon watching one of my favorite holiday movies, Home for the Holidays, with Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr, Ann Bancroft, et al. It is the hilarious depiction of a pretty dysfunctional family coming together for Thanksgiving. It is the only movie I know of that deals specifically with this holiday.

As for other movies . . . I saw The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock the other day and liked it. As I have said in the past about movies like this, it is not a great movie but is very entertaining. Bullock does one of her better jobs acting the role of a southern mother who takes in a basically homeless large black boy who most people have written off. It is the true story of Michael Oher who plays football for the Baltimore Ravens now. I recommend this movie. It is the story of the relationships and football is only peripheral.

Hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving as I did (without being at the Hammond's, or other friends, my usual the past few years). It was good to spend it with my daughter Natasha and her husband, a first for us.

Now we can begin the rush to Christmas . . . and so it goes!

Almost Thanksgiving!

Buenos Dias from Flagstaff (thought I'd give things a bit of an international flair),


Not much going on here in Flag for me. I am gearing up for a nice little Thanksgiving meal here at my condo with daughter Natasha and son-in-law Jason. I am foregoing my traditional, at least for the last few years, holiday meal with my friends the Hammond's in Prescott. In all probability I would not have been welcome this year after deflating their "windbag" conservative friend last year. However, I will miss being with them.


I cannot remember how long it has been since I spent this holiday in San Diego with family. When Natasha was younger she and I would go over for Thanksgiving. Mostly, that had to do with the arrangements involved in the divorce where her mother had her for Christmas. But as I remember those were good times. At any rate I am looking forward to putting together our little meal for my youngest and her husband. It has been a long time since she and I have had Thanksgiving together.


Speaking of Thanksgiving, the historical event that commemorates it is pretty much a mythology of American culture. After the long hard winter the Pilgrims, a fanatical religious group thrown out of England, invited the Native-Americans to a feast, or so the story goes . . . Isn't it incredible to think that this was the beginning of nearly the end of Native culture in North America. Granted that may be a bit of an over statement, but think about it. In a bit over 200 years the Euro-Americans destroyed most of the indigenous population of what is now the USA. Not much to give thanks for from those that have survived. Guess they have their revenge in the Casinos.


My friend and mentor, John Haynes at 75 has been diagnosed with cancer. So far all we know is that he will have to undergo some chemo, and possible radiation treatments. He started with a back ailment and loss of feeling in one leg. In the exploration of this by the Docs at "Barrows" in Phoenix they found a spot on his lung. We do not know the prognosis, but the "C" word always brings with it great apprehension. My fingers are crossed for him. It has been a truly difficult last few months.



As for movies . . . Went to the much anticipated 2012 and was again disappointed. My guilty pleasure or weakness in films is the disaster genre. I have always been a "sucker" for them, the best of which in recent memory (in my opinion) was The Day After Tomorrow. Despite the great CGI effects 2012 just misses it. The small interwoven stories seem trite for the most part, and the 2 hours, 38 minutes make it way too long. The only thing I can say for it, besides the CGI, is that I did not look at my watch during the film, which is usually an indication of boredom. It is kind of like being on a roller coaster (not one of my favs), you are excited while it is happening but kind of ill when it's over.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Where is winter?

Mornin' Folks,

So (know I shouldn't start a sentence with that) . . . many people here are happy that we have not gotten "real" winter weather yet. Afterall, it is still FALL. But it is ridiculously warm here, in the 60s to low 70s daytime, but sometimes in the 30s at night. A week and a half ago we had a trace of snow. Granted that was the earliest I'd seen the white stuff here. So (yet again) I sit languishing here in Flag waiting for winter. But, if you have to "languish" somewhere Flagstaff is a nice place to be. I love living in the mountains.


I did a quick trip to Prescott on Thursday to take daughter Natasha to her mother's for a sojourn down to Tucson to see her "Grammie." It was a nice drive down but everything is so dry here in northern AZ. There was prescribed burn on the low mountains east of Prescott Valley and couldn't help but think how much of a tinder box the whole area seemed to be. I had intended on spending the night with my friends the Hammonds but felt a little out of sorts and decided to flee back north. Due to a snafu with my social secuirty for November this short foray out of Flag will probably be the only one I do until after the first of the year.


Watched some "Yahoos" here out with their placards against national health insurance. It never ceases to amaze me how stupid people are . . . don't they know a national health plan is the only way costs will go down for medical treatment. It is the insurance and drug companies that are making all the money. It is just like the Wall St. folks and banks who put us in the financial fix that we are in. Cannot some of you people that have it so good think of others for once. And you seniors ( I am one of you) can you not worry so much about your Medicare and think about the greater good. They are not going to take away your coverage. Get a brain people, and don't buy all the bullshit put out there by the right wing pimps for the insurance companies!



Movies: I had looked forward to seeing Men Who Stare at Goats and did yesterday when it opened here. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. Although it is funny in parts overall I would not give it more than two stars. Clooney and McGregor are pretty good together and Kevin Spacey, for the featured role he plays, isn't bad, but the film does not hold together well. Jeff Bridges basically channels his Lebowski role. What with the disappointing Amelia last week I am not optimistic about films being released right now. For the most part there is a lot Vampire bull-shit and cartoon/computer generated crap where actors are made to look like they have been botoxed. I did see previews of a new international "thriller" with Matt Damon that shows some promise. Since I will be here for both Thanksgiving and Christmas I hope that the usual holiday releases are at least watchable.


Ciao!