The Holidays . . .

Good Afternoon Folks and Happy Holidays,


As my youngest reminded me, Happy Holidays means Happy Holy days. This nugget of info is for those of you who think Merry Christmas as a salutation has become marginalized in political correctness. We seem to get upset over the silliest stuff and not so much on the more serious aspects of life. Just take any greeting as one of recognition of a special time of the year. I more prefer the certainty of the Winter Solstice as a time for celebration. And lest we forget remember Festivus. So, Happy Whatever to all!

It is just days from the official one that marks the beginning of winter. We had our first major snow storm last weekend here in Flagstaff. And, with that I got to don my XC skis for the first time this season at the Flagstaff Nordic Center. The snow conditions were great and I was happy to find out that I still have some semblance of balance left. As you progress through time you are not sure each year how your body will react in physical situations. I plan to head out again tomorrow morning to make sure there are a couple of times under my belt before leaving for my holiday visit with family. My hope is that this year will not be a repeat of last where I skied a couple of times before departing and came home to no snow until March. I am assured by the National Weather Service that it is supposed to snow Christmas Day. If it is a big storm, there should be enough snow upon my return.




I have been watching a show on the Science channel on DirecTV called An Idiot Abroad produced by Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant. They send the hapless Karl Pilkington around the world. To begin with he is supposed to see the "Seven Wonders of the World."The kicker is that they send him on side trips that involve things like Sumo wrestling where he has to get involved. Much like me, even with my anthropology background, he is appalled by most of the customs he encounters, especially what people eat. He is seen gagging in a Chinese restaurant and has to deal with many other scenarios that either place him in difficult or strenuous situations. Even though these are meant to widen his horizons he usually has a negative reaction. It is a funny show. The reason I am writing about it is because in most cases I seem to agree with him. Even though it may be a form of ethnocentrism (the big sin for an anthropologist), I do not want to eat the things most people in other culture's eat. I do not mind understanding other cultures but really have no desire to participate. This TV show brought that to the forefront of my consciousness. So to my darling daughter Natasha who lives in Japan and wants me to visit . . . this show points to why I will not. It does not mean I do not love you. However, maybe we can meet in Hawaii!


As for movies and my very brief reviews of same . . . Since last we met I have viewed three films. The most recent was The Hobbit, another Peter Jackson extravaganza with Martin Freeman in the central role. The first 45 minutes were fairly boring but got better after that the pace picked up. The movie is about 3 hours long and I endured it. I liked the latter part of it, but it left us with a cliff-hanger ending "setting us up" for the next installment. I think I will pass on it (**1/2). Killing Them Softly with Brad Pitt has gotten decent reviews but again, I did not find it all that compelling. The acting is good but I find none of the characters to have any redeeming qualities (**1/2). The best of the current movies I have seen was Silver Linings, A Portrait Bradley Cooper, manic individual living with his parents after being institutionalized after the break-up of his marriage. He has a complicated relationship with his father (played by Robert DeNiro). He ends up having a relationship with a woman who is a young widow. This is the kind of film you classify as a drama/comedy. I liked it (***1/2).

I look forward to seeing several films being released over the next couple of weeks. Zero Dark 30, the Kathryn Bigalow dramatic offering about the chase for Bin Laden is number one on my list. Surprisingly, I want to see the musical, Les Miserables. Usually, they are not my thing. I know it will probably not be a great film but I want to see Billy Crystal's new comedy with Bette Midler playing grandparents. In addition, the Bill Murray film where he plays FDR is another on my wish list as is Hitchcock.

Have a great holiday season. Mine has started out wonderfully with two cross-country ski sessions before my departure to Prescott tomorrow and on to Southern California on Friday.

Cheers to all!