I do not seem to be very diligent at this blog stuff any more. It is not like I do not have the time what with being retired and all. Mostly, it is just about motivation. As the blog title "Curmudgeon" would indicate I should be railing about something, but lately there have been so many things that tend to irritate that I have been hesitant to go on and on about them. In fact, this last month leading up to the aforementioned anniversary of my birth has been pretty good on a personal level. No, I do not mean I have a "love life" after a couple of years. I am fairly certain that part of my life is over. But, little things have been going relatively well.
To start off with, I got a pretty good size tax return and have been putting it to good use with some changes to my condo that I had wanted to do for awhile. Secondly, I played the "age card" with my HOA and got my carport parking spot moved closer. It is more sheltered from the weather. The space I switched with was one from an unoccupied condo (1 1/2 years) that had been a repo by the bank. Lastly, there has been decent snow fall, off and on, and I have gotten to go XC skiing more than last winter. All-in-all these may seem to be small things but they have contributed to a bit better outlook on my part. In addition, both of my lovely daughters and their families seem to be doing well and this contributes to my better view of the world as well.
As for films, I have seen a few since my last review, many were not really noteworthy. The most recent, in fact, today on my birthday was Stand-up Guys featuring Christopher Walken, Al Pacino, and Alan Arkin. It did not get good reviews but I enjoyed it. Guess I liked the "old" criminals getting back together. Last week I saw Quartet, Dustin Hoffman's first directorial effort about aged musicians living in a retirement home for same. This film featured several "older" British actors to include Maggie Smith and Tom Courtney. Although, again one with mixed reviews, I thought it a wonderful small offering, especially for this time of the year when there is a dearth of good movies. The absolute worst film I've seen lately was A Good Day to Die Hard. Bruce Willis needs to give up this series. I liked the others but this one was garbage. Side Effects turned out to be a half way decent thriller, not what I expected. Second worst film was Stallone's Bullet to the Head. Broken City was disappointing as was Parker. Lastly, Gangster Squad was entertaining, kind of a throw back to the Untouchables.
So you see . . . this blog is a fairly mundane and boring one but I felt I should get one out there even if I did not have much to say.
Cheers and Adios from wintry downtown Flagstaff!
