A New Year

Good Morning Folks

I guess a "Happy New Year" is in order for this morning. You go to sleep one night and awaken the next morning in a new time period. Of course there are those who stay up to greet the arrival of this purely culturally defined, and somewhat arbitrary marking of time. I think the last time it was celebrated by me was when I was in my late 20s, or early 30s (a good half my life ago). Guess having been trained as an anthropologist to look at customs as relative to their culture has made me skeptical of the social construction of time. And of course, if you are a follower of the Mayan calendar then you are convinced of the "world's" end next December. But, in any case,"Happy New Year" anyway!

My annual California trip to renew kinship obligations (another anthropological term) for the holiday period was successful in that regard. However, it does not lessen my distaste for my birth state and city. There are just too many people causing a glut of traffic everywhere you go, and that is not to mention the crowding involved in attempting to circumnavigate the parking lots of all the shopping centers. The drivers themselves are atrocious, seeming to drive as if they are playing a video game with no sense of courtesy to one another.

However, the family was good and I got "quality time" with my grandsons, daughter, and sister Norma. There was a fleeting couple of hours on Christmas Day where both sisters, one brother and a niece all got together for a sumptuous early dinner of Mexican food (Norma not liking turkey has benefited us in this regard). Later, in the early evening I drove up to spend a couple of hours with my daughter's family. Christmas Day was a pleasant and very full day.

As for New Year's resolutions, I have long since given them up. It seems in all my years the only one I ever accomplished was giving up biting my nails, and that took place about 30 years ago. There are activities that I am planning and excited about for this coming year. After two years absence (in seeing me) my youngest daughter will be back for a visit from Japan in April. I look forward to that event with great anticipation. There are plans in the works to go to Alaska with my friend Cindy to visit her husband, and my friend Ranger Bob in June. Upon my return from there the plan is to make a car camping trip through Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah in July or August. On that trip I am going to visit my two nieces in Littleton, CO and their families, my friends in Wyoming, and see a couple of plays at the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. And, of course, I am hoping for more snow in Flagstaff to Cross-country ski. So, this new year may bring some great things.

As is the case for me each year I rank movies and performances that I have viewed in theaters (no DVDs). They are as follows:

1. Descendants

2. The Help

3. Midnight in Paris

4. Whistle Blower

5. Sarah's Key

6. My Week with Marylyn

7. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

8. 50-50

9. Super 8

10. War Horse

Honorable Mentions: Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows II, Money Ball, We Bought a Zoo, The Way, & Bridesmaids.

Best Actors: George Clooney, Descendants & Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 50-50

Best Actors in a Female Role: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marylyn & Rooney Mara, Girl with Dragon Tattoo. Honorable mention: Rachel Weitz, Whistle Blower, Kristin Scott-Thomas, Sarah's Key, & Viola Davis, The Help.

Supporting Actor Male: Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marylyn

Supporting Actor Female: Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Directors: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris & Alexander Payne, Descendants

I watched 64 films in theaters this year. Needless to say many of the best movies come out at the end of the year and some are not even released to general distribution until January. I cannot rank films or roles for a year, such as Meryl Streep's performance in Iron Lady, if I did not view them in this calendar year.

That is about it for this first blog of the new year from Flagstaff, AZ, USA.

Cheers all for 2012!

Tis' the Season to Be Jolly, I guess . . .

Morning Folks!

It is another rather chilly morning here in Flagstaff, AZ. The temps have been in the single digits every morning since our bit of snow last week. There was not enough snow to go XC skiing; that is unless you have what some locals call "rock skis," a second set that you do not mind getting "scarred up" from less than ideal conditions. I do not have but one set that I love and would not think of using in that fashion even if I am starved for the action.

Having mentioned the early morning temps I should say that for the last few days the mid-day temps have risen to a balmy 41 degrees (F). However, it is still brisk enough with our breezy days to wear your fleece. It is my favorite time of year, late Fall and Winter but you must dress in layers.

As for the holidays, I am not sure what to make of them this year. I feel somewhat disconnected. I have done those things that should put me in "the spirit," but seem to be lacking in it anyway. My 4ft Christmas tree is up and is much less pitiful than the small table mounted one my dad once put up faithfully each year. The presents are under the tree ready to be loaded up and taken to California for the holiday trip there to spend time with family. Not only that but the Christmas package for Tasha and Jason has long been sent to Okinawa. But somehow, tidings of the season have escaped me.

I am not sure why I even bother with the tree. Have only been doing it the last couple of years. For most of those previous times I did not have one because I headed out to southern California where all my relatives had decorated trees. That seemed enough for me. Even Mom put up one even though those last few years of her life she did not feel much like doing it. She told Norma and Marlene (my sisters who actually did it for her) that she wanted that because I was going to be there. So, for me, Christmas is a melancholy time for me with her gone. I guess, in a way, my tree is a symbol of my parents and family in earlier, and what seemed like happier times spent with family members who are no longer with us, or have moved on to their "other" families. I know this blog entry is not full of happy holiday cheer but it is how it seems to me.

I do wish all of you out there a Happy Holiday however you recognize it. I hope it is spent with family who are glad to see and be with you, and kids that are excited over the prospect of Santa coming. I remember how excited we were as kids, Norma and I sneaking out early to get a look from around the end of the couch to see what Santa had deposited for us. Later, seeing our own children, and sometimes their children do the same was the essence of the day for me.

As for movies: After several prods and some good reviews I went to see The Muppets. I found it amusing and rather nostalgic, but not of my taste. For sure it is a nice film for kids and adults who were children growing up with them. A movie I had been anxiously awaiting, The Descendants, with George Clooney, finally arrived in Flagstaff. It is an excellent film. The story and the acting are superb. Although those seeking something with a lot of action should skip this movie. It is about relationships between the characters. The story takes place in Hawaii and is about a family coping with crisis. George Clooney, who I believe, like Robert Redford, is a much under-rated actor, does a great job with his role. His performance in this film is his best ever, very nuanced. All of the players are wonderful, especially the young actress playing his teenage daughter. I highly recommend this movie (with the proviso mentioned above).

Not to be redundant, but still being so . . . Have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Adios from Flagstaff!

Thanksgiving, Holidays, and Telephones

Past Thanksgiving with Daughter Natasha and son-in-law Jason

Good Morning Folks!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there who recognize this holiday. I am not sure how this one became such a "heavy hitter" as far as holidays go. It is not a religious one per se, although folks who are of that ilk pray their thankfulness at the grand meal of the day. Another interesting fact about this day is that there were no turkeys as the main feasting item at the first of these meals. When did that bird get the dubious recognition of being the guest of honor? In fact, Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be the nations symbolic bird instead of the eagle. Abe Lincoln legally proclaimed this holiday into existence in 1863.

These days Thanksgiving is seen as the prelude to "Black Friday." This follows the gorging of our bodies with food with gorging ourselves with consumer goods under the guise of gift-giving for the next holiday, Christmas. Interestingly enough, this "getting ready for Christmas" use to follow Thanksgiving, hence, "Black Friday" as it has become known. But there is a big "but," that is, Christmas decorations, and even the music, has creeped in before Thanksgiving now. I went to Wal*Mart the day after Halloween and there were Christmas decorations being put up everywhere as well as carols being played on the speaker system throughout the store. When I queried a young man working there about it, he said, "Well it is the day after Halloween." Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Another one of my major curmudgeonly pet peeves that I have meant to discuss in this blog can be transitioned into from the previous discussion, telephones. Remember back (some of you) to those nostalgic times when phones were kind of special thing. You would make that long distance call to family and friends on holidays. I remember calling home from Alaska while stationed there in the Army in 1964. I had to go to a special telephone center where I paid $50 to speak for 10 minutes to my family in southern California. That $50 out of the 78 I was being paid a month at that time. It was a big deal back then.

Your phone was a device for communication and it resided in your home or office.

As with all things change is inevitable. Now we have phones everywhere and people talking on them in their cars, at the gym, in stores and just about everywhere you can think of . . . I am not opposed to the the new availability and modernization of the communication device.

However, I am opposed to where and how they are being used in many cases.

I do not care to listen to your conversations, even if you had anything to say of substance. Why do people on cell phones have to ruin innocent bystanders peace and quiet with their incessant chatter? Have you noticed that most folks on these mobile devices tend to talk louder than normal? I do not want to hear your boisterous telephonic voice while eating in a restaurant, or at the grocery store, or even in the gym. Actually, I do not want to have to listen to them anywhere.

Much like my recent discussion of the lack of courtesy in other areas of life this behavior can be added to the list.

There is another issue with these more mobile forms of communication and that is their dangerous use while driving. I know we all do it. Last year I had to take a driver's safety course. This followed an photo-electronically detected violation I incurred. One of the things I learned was how dangerous driving is while holding cell phone up to your ear. No, not the possible cancer from the radiation, but the use of one hand on the wheel and the lack of full attention to the road.

Many people are being killed and maimed as the result of this behavior. This may be a positive thing from the point of view of population control but I would hate for it to be one of my family or friends. I always use a "blue tooth" device to free up my hands while driving. For most people this is just an inconvenience.

So much for this blog's curmudgeonly rant.

As for films: I would say that this period leading up to the "holiday glut" has not been all that inspiring for me. Recently I went to see J. Edgar starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Naomi Watts and found the acting superb but the film itself rather boring and long. I do not think that I have seen any others since my last blog. Usually there are some movies that come out on Thanksgiving worth seeing but only the children oriented ones have come to Flagstaff. I have looked forward to seeing Descendants, which has had good reviews, but it was only released at one theater in Scottsdale. That was a major disappointment. At any rate, I may go see Hugo, a fantasy (not usually my thing but what can I do) directed by Martin Scorcese (Sp).

For now, I wish you all a safe and happy holiday!

Adios from chilly but not snowy Flagstaff.

Where Did October Go?

Good Morning Folks,

In many respects it is a good morning. Flagstaff got its first snow of the season this morning. That makes me happy but am sure that is not the case for many here. I do not know why those folks live here if they are so disturbed when we get the white stuff.

As you can see by the picture to your right, I missed getting any shots of the fall colors here in Flag. However, I did drive up to the peaks the other day to get a stark view of the Aspens (my favorite tree) in their naked prelude to winter. You can just see Mt. Humphrey (highest peak in AZ) through the trees.

Somehow, with all my activities in that month, I did miss blogging in October. Isn't it funny how these months get away from you. I did get to southern California, i.e., San Diego County, to see most members of my family who still reside there. One reason for going was to see my grandson Zac play freshman football but alas, he was injured while I was in transit so did not get to watch him play. We did go to his team's game and it was interesting to be on a high school campus after several decades of absence from

same. Boy do the kids look younger at that age than I remember.

I did get to see my youngest grandson, Torin, play Pop Warner football, very interesting!

In the ongoing saga of the silent war with my downstairs neighbors, I finally had to call the police as suggested by the property management company. When I saw the age of the policeman who responded I was sure that they would side with the young males below me. Even though the officers looked very young, I could not have been more wrong. In fact, they were very deferential and understanding. Officer Sandoval even went so far as to say that most of their problems, outside of major crimes, are with college age males. He said that he did not want to be misunderstood. He was not indicting all of them only those in these situations. He said that they had no sense of decorum and lacked simple courtesy. Does this sound familiar? They told me to call if there were continuing problems.

I hated to call in the law. I held out for a couple of weeks but felt somewhat vindicated with the result. The neighbors seem to have taken this particular warning to heart to a degree. By degree I mean their music has not been at offending levels but I can now hear their TV a bit louder. For now, I am letting these things pass. But, I do have Officer Sandoval's card and can call if need be. As I told him, I do not want to be "that guy," the one who is always bothering them. His response was that I was not "that guy," and that I had a right to peace in my own home.

Andy Rooney died last night and it bothers me greatly. Daughter Natasha says that all I talk about is death and the "60s." In this case I do have to mention the passing of another of "my time's" icons. He was the "great curmudgeon," not to mention a wonderful writer, journalist, and astute observer of the 20th and 21st (at least the first decade, or so) century. He was WWII veteran and they are going by the wayside rapidly. I loved his essays on important issues and everyday life on 60 Minutes. He retired from that program only 3 weeks ago at the age of 92. He will be missed.

Many times in these "pages" I have written about memory and its foibles. I recently read a very good novella by Julian Barnes that deals with this matter through the eyes of his protagonist, a what he calls middle-aged man (I say he is older than that). The story centers around his memories of incidents of his younger life with friends and a lover. He comes to find out his reinterpretation of it in his mind throughout the years is very skewed. Again, this was another reminder to me that the way we look at our past is severely edited. The book is The Sense of an Ending.

As for films . . . Yesterday I viewed the revisionist historical conspiracy film Anonymous. It is a well acted (Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave) period piece presenting one of the theories that William Shakespeare did not write the plays attributed to him. Although the story is absurd the presentation of the period, the political conspiracies of the time, and the recreation of London in Elizabethan era is excellent. It is a film for those who love that period. The movie In Time was not that good even though it had an interesting premise.

Probably the best movies that I have seen recently were while I was in San Diego. The Way is a journey of discovery while trekking the mountains of Spain by Martin Sheen's character. Blackthorn is the story of Butch Cassidy in his later years had he and the Sundance Kid escaped their reported deaths. He is an elderly horse rancher in Bolivia who decides to go back to America in 1927 but becomes embroiled in the pursuit of a Spaniard who has stolen from mines in that country. I liked it a lot and that was probably because the title role was played by Sam Sheppard. The Big Year was a moderately funny movie about "birders" starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson. Since I have had numerous contacts with these kind of folks in my role as a ranger I found it interesting.

Another very good film is 50-50. Although I am not a big Seth Rogen fan, he does a good job in this film where his character is not the focus. Gordon-Levit (whose first name escapes me) is the

main character who discovers he has back cancer. It is his exploration of this illness and his responses to it that make this film a good one. Of all the movies I mentioned so far, this is the one I recommend you see.

That's it for now. Hope everyone is doing well and is, at least moderately happy.

Adios

Autumn is Here!

Good Morning Folks,

My second favorite season arrived yesterday. However, it does lead to my favorite, Winter. The problem with the warmer times (and it has gotten relatively warmer again in Flag) is that there is only so much you can do to get cooler. The same is true for taking off your clothes. Even if cultural convention allowed it, taking all your clothes off does not necessarily make you cool in hot weather. Now, in winter, you can just keep adding layers. All of this is very elemental but this blog has probably never succeeded in getting beyond the mundane anyway.

I almost titled this blog "Neighbors" as I have been contemplating the vagaries of getting new one's because some of the condos around me are rentals. I had the delusion when buying this place that others would be doing the same to live in, and make them their homes. Boy was I mistaken! It seems a number of folks bought in to have rental properties, hence my current dilemma.

For the past couple of years the condo below was rented by young females and they were good neighbors. We had a conversation about noise levels and I told them if I was too loud (TV, etc) that they should let me know. My thing is to subtly, or maybe not so much so, communicate my sensitivity to the sound issue by putting it on me hoping they get the hint. Well, my new neighbors are "Testosterone" laden young college age males who have commenced to play the bass on their stereo loud enough to rattle my teeth. I have warned them several time that they need to turn it down, at least the bass. My final edict was to threaten to go to the HOA and eventually get them evicted if necessary. So far they have grudgingly complied. But they slam there door every time they come and go, it happens all night long. I do not think they do that on purpose but just do not think about the effect on others. What happened to common courtesy?

Too continue in this curmudgeonly vein, what did happen to courtesy? It is my biggest pet peeve these days. It seems to have exited the culture at some point. Look at the disrespect for the President. You can disagree with him but why all the discourtesy? There are numerous other small examples in daily life. People do not do the simplest things to be courteous. I guess the blame has to go to the 60s generation for which I am a member (also known as the "me" generation). We worked on trying to "free up " society but I think it went too far. Respect, common decency, and to a very large extent courtesy went out the window. It is all "I want mine," and screw everybody else. Yep, we changed the world and then lost it!

Enough of that . . . Monday I depart for a car camping and hiking trip to the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Cedar Breaks National Monument. In addition, I will stop off to see a couple of plays at the Utah Shakespeare Festivals fall presentations. This trip traces the route my youngest daughter, Natasha, and I often took on our summer forays into the west and its parks. We hit the road every summer from when she was about 9 through 16 or 17 years old. These were some of our best times together. Now I will trace these steps solo this time.

Movies: I have seen several films since those last ones that were marginally reviewed here. Yesterday it was Killer Elite with DeNiro, Stathum, and Clive Owen; an entertaining but overly long and violent international "thriller." The remake of the old and controversial Dustin Hoffman film Straw Dogs is probably not worth seeing. The original was much better. However, Drive, with Ryan Gosling, an equally violent film is very good with a strong cast and script. But, as I have often said, not for everyone. Contagion is interesting and again, the cast is strong, but the subject matter concerning the spread of a virus may be a bit too much for some. None of these films are what I would call "uppers," in that they may not give one a great feeling upon leaving the theater.

That's about it from beautiful downtown Flagstaff the mountain jewel of the Arid Zone.

Adios until next time!

Addendum to movies . . . just discovered I neglected to mention two excellent films I saw the first part of this waning month. Rachel Weitz did a wonderful portrayal of a policewoman sent to Bosnia during their problems. She discovers a cover-up of a UN peacekeepers running a white slaving operation. It was good but again a "downer." The film was The Whistle Blower." The other was an Irish film with Brenden Gleesen as policeman with the Garda, Irish police force. Don Cheadle was good as well as the American FBI agent. It was both a humorous and somewhat serious "heist" film. Both were great.

Hot and Humid!

Afternoon Folks,

As per the title above, it has been pretty warm and humid here in Flagstaff, AZ. When I was young growing up in San Diego, I loved this kind of weather and have to say I never noticed the humidity. But, after about 35 years in the Arid Zone whenever we get to the "Monsoon" season here the relative moisture in the air gets to me. I am not fond of heat either. My ideal "warm" temp would be about 60 degrees. However, my favorite season is winter. I love it when we start to get those freezing nights in the fall.

Technically speaking, it is still summer (and feels like it), but kids in Flagstaff have started back to school. Northern AZ University begins their Fall semester next week. It is difficult to believe that for most of my life the calendar was marked by semesters, first in grade school, Jr. High, and High School, then after the Army (3 years), 8 years at university and 27 years teaching college. Even far more difficult to fathom is the fact that it has been 10 years since my retirement from academia. It took several of those years to adjust to not going back to school (work) in Fall. The lack of what Spring Break use to mean was another time adjustment.

Now it is difficult to see those divisions of the year as a reality in my life. Each chapter of life feels like a different lifetime. When I look back at when I was a young soldier in the early 1960s it hardly seems real to me. It is amusing to contemplate in your own life how time itself, and how it is broken down, is just a social construct.

On top of all that we are constantly redefining our past life in terms of what is important to us now. A sociologist by the name of Peter Berger called this "Alternation, or redefining our biography." In addition, we selectively remember the past as well. An author whose name escapes me said he kept journals throughout his life. He came-up with what he thought was a "novel" idea but in reviewing these journals from his younger days he found that it was not a new idea. If we all kept journals we would probably discover more of our "real" past, not our reinterpretation of it.

Well, these are some of my musings for a warm Arizona mountain afternoon . . . as for films . . .

Last week I went to Sedona to see Ann Hathaway's new film, One Day. I thought it had some promise but was not very good. Since returning to AZ the best one that I have seen lately is The Help. The acting and the story are very good. While in San Diego I viewed Cowboys and Aliens with my grandsons. They liked it but I found it somewhat boring and overly long. In that venue (s. cal) Sarah's Key was extraordinary with Kristin Scott-Thomas giving an excellent performance in a French film about the round-up of Jews by the french during WWII. The story went back and forth through time telling the story of Sarah and her escape and the journalist's attempt to uncover it. Crazy, Stupid Love was an entertaining film that I enjoyed. I walked out of Tree of Life because it was so "overdone" in trying to be "Artsy Fartsy" and into Captain America, which I had not planned on seeing but was pleasantly surprised. It too was entertaining, at least for its genre.

That's it for the moment here in Northern Arizona. Until next time, Adios Amigos y Amigas!

Almost . . .

Hey Folks,

I "almost" did a posting last month after I returned from Yellowstone late in the month. Upon beginning the blog I realized I did not have much to say. I resigned my job there and returned to Flagstaff. There were many factors involved and have decided not to go into them. However, I wish to say my boss, Candice, was great, so that was not a factor in the decision.

Yesterday I returned from a trip to San Diego County to visit family and that went well, at least the family part. I have to say that as much as "Zoners" like San Diego I dislike it intensely, too many people and the traffic is horrible. They say, "but it so beautiful over there." My usual reply is that it was "beautiful " when I was growing up there. I know that no place stays the same but the main problem everywhere seems to be people and development. There are so many places where I grew up that were filled with canyons and open spaces we played in that are now paved over and filled with "strip malls" and more housing.

I had a discussion at my gym about all this with some "older guys" this morning. I guess we sound like a bunch of old geezers bitching about the "modern" times and wishing that things had not changed. It may be part of getting older and harkening back to the past more and more. I told them I wondered if my grandsons would be saying the same thing in about 50 years.

Change today is moving at an ever increasing pace. New media makes us instantly aware of things it took days and weeks sometimes to discover. We know too much . . . our grandkids know too much but are not literate. No one wants to read books and use their imagination. On this recent trip I had this discussion with my 12 year old grandson Cole. He seems bored if things are not happening around him all the time, especially this summer. I said why don't you read a book. Further, I said reading was one of my main escapes when young (actually, it still is). His reply, which echoes my other, and older grandson Zac, " I don't like to read." The "Kindle" and other such devices have been invented to attempt to capture readers again but if my grandsons are any sample of the population, this will not be successful.

As Aldous Huxley wrote in the 1930s, it's "A Brave New World." It does not seem to be a world I like very much. I know everyone will survive and adapt to it and that there will be "pockets of resistance," but it is not my world. It becomes more and more difficult to relate to the world as it has become. Probably that is the evolution of becoming older and realizing that you are not much of a factor in "the world," if you ever were. In all probability it is the reason why elderly Inuits (Eskimos) went out on the ice to die, and Plains Indian elder males did the same, or staked themselves out to die in battle. This is not to say that I plan to do anything like this . . . None of us knows where we will end up or, how.

I realize this has not been an up-lifting blog, but just felt like "blasting out there" a bit. At this point, since I get no comments on these things, I do not know if this is being read by anyone "out there." It is kind of like Bob Dylan's old song title, "Blowing in the Wind."

Cheers all!