Been Awhile . . .

Afternoon Folks (if there are any of you still out there),


I know, I know it has been since February when last I blogged (is that the right terminology for what this is?). There are no excuses, just did not feel like it. I suppose we could say a lot has happened, or not. Had kind of decided to "bag" this blog thing but here I am.

The biggest news is that I am returning to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem once more after saying I'd probably not work up there yet again. Don't worry I have been called on that statement many times by fellow "workoutees" at Flagstaff Athletic Club. "Hey I thought you weren't going to do that anymore" is the common refrain. So, guess what? Not only am I doing it again, but am back with the Park Service working Interp. (what we use to call Ranger Naturalist) out of the visitor center at Mammoth Hot Springs. I leave Monday. My tour of duty is about three and three quarters months. My last day is Labor Day.


It is difficult for me (it seems) not to head up to Wyoming and Montana in the spring and summer. Have been doing so as a visitor, ranger and volunteer for over 24 years, starting out taking Natasha, my youngest on summer camping trips that I never got to do as a kid. After my years as a college instructor this has been the most influential part of my life, especially the latter phases of it so far. For a guy whose family never took him, or his siblings on any vacations this has been it for me.


Had been thinking about doing a blog around the theme of an old Bob Dylan song from my younger days, "The Times They Are a Changing." It is difficult to get a grasp on this as a concept because change has been so exponential in my lifetime. I think about my grandfather who died many years ago but who had spanned a time frame in which the Wright Brothers invented actual human flight and men walked on the moon. That is a lot to comprehend in a lifetime.


I would guess that the information revolution has been at the forefront of my life. I was in my formative years when we watched our first war on TV, Viet Nam. Now, I can talk to my youngest daughter who lives in Okinawa face to face on Skype for free! When I was stationed in Alaska in the army in the 1960s it cost me $50 to talk for ten minutes to my Mom long distance on the phone. At the time I was making $75 a month. With this change has come the concept that nothing is private, or sacred any longer. It all comes out now that everyone has a camera on their phone and "Twits" (haven't succumbed to that yet).


With the danger of being called the "old fogey" that I probably am, am not sure I think all this is good for us. It was nice in the past that there was a little "mystery" to life. Not that I really care about who is "doing who" but think it was a lot nicer when we did not have to hear all the sordid details of our past President's sex lives. Still think that our secret services, i.e., CIA, etc. should be able to keep some secrets. Really do not know what I am trying to say here. Yes it is good that some things are more clear for us, but maybe everything need not be. And, if congress wants to know everything, then maybe they ought to get off their collective asses and get something done rather than constantly working only for their next reelection!


As for films . . .  Have seen many since my last blog so will only mention a few that I liked. Most notably was the most recent, Mud, with Matthew McConnaghy. It is an excellent character study. It doesn't have any major explosions or CGI but very good acting and character development. It is a modern day "Huck Finn" of sorts. It will in all likelihood be too slow for most. Another good movie is directed by and stars Robert Redford, The Company You Keep. It deals with the FBI finally catching up with the 60s "weatherman" terrorists, or trying to. Susan Sarandon turns herself in after her children are grown and it snowballs from there. It is an especially interesting film for we of that generation. Place Beyond the Pines is another film with extraordinary performances by actors Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper. This is a slow developing dramatic experience, not for those who are "action junkies." Of course there is the biographic film 42, about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in major league baseball. It was very well done. Again the performances are excellent. I liked it quite a bit. I saw numerous other films during my hiatus from blogging but choose not to mention them here.


That's about it from Flagstaff, AZ. The next edition of this blog, if there is another, will come from Yellowstone National Park.

Cheers all!

Another Birthday! What again?

Howdy Folks,

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!

Post Holiday, New Year, and my Annual Film Rankings

Good Morning Folks and Feliz Anos, or Happy New Year!


The holidays gave me a lot of good family time in my old home state of California. I spent the most amount of time with my daughter, three grandsons and son-in-law that I have gotten in recent past Christmas's. As usual I stayed with my sister Norma and her husband Scott and had again a great reception and cordial visit. Their hospitality and kindness to me is unmeasurable.

Norma & Scott Nash

The weather in southern Cal was rather cool and down right chilly at night. We had a bit of rain a couple of days but no where near as bad as a couple of years ago when the whole time I was there we experienced a deluge. Christmas Day was sunny and clear with both my sisters, Norma and Marlena, her daughter, my niece, Ashley Louise, bro-in-law Scott and my brother Russell all in attendance for Christmas Dinner. With Russell in the area there is no lack of mirth. Later, in the early evening I visited daughter Tania and her family. Only difficult thing is not seeing my other daughter Natasha and her husband Jason around the holidays. However, Skype helps a lot.

Brother Russell & Me

All-in-all it was a great holiday. One striking thing was the amount of growth in my middle grandson (13) Cole since last I saw him in September. He has grown at least 5 inches and is as tall as his 16 year old brother Zac, the firstborn. They are all growing fast and are great young men.

Cole & his pet pineapple with Torin & Zac

I know this blog does not have much in the way of curmudgeonlyness ( a word I think I just made up) but it is a new year and you can expect quite a bit of grumpiness yet to come in future blogs.

Now to the important part, my top films as seen by me in theaters for 2012. I must make a note here that one of these films was seen yesterday but was in limited release in December. In the past these have not made it in but I am making an exception here since I endeavored to go see what turned out to be my top film in the first week of January, so am giving it a waiver to be included.

1.  Zero Dark Thirty, it also wins my best director, Kathryn Bigalow, best actress, Jessica Chastain, and best screenplay.

2.  Lincoln, winning my best actor, Daniel Day Lewis

3.  Argo, runner-up best director, Ben Afflek, best supporting actor, Alan Arkin

4.  Django Unchained

5.  Silver Linings Playbook, runner-up best actress, Jennifer Lawerence, runner-up best sup. actor       Robert Deniro

6.  End of Watch

7.  Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, runner - up best supporting actress' Judi Dench and Maggie Smith

8.  Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

9.  Skyfall

10. Perks of Being a Wallflower

Honorable mention:  Looper, Moonrise Kingdom, Bourne Legacy, 7 Psychopaths, Amazing Spiderman, & Arbitrage. I viewed 65 films this year in theaters.

In addition I did not pick a supporting actress in my top films because she was in a movie I hated, Le Miserables. As a general rule I do not like musicals, but have enjoyed some in the past, i.e., Hair (not the movie the stage play), and Chicago was OK as were a few others. But, I have to recognize the acting in this film Le Miz as they call it. It was excellent for the whole cast, especially that of Anne Hathaway, my best supporting actress of the year 2012.

Thats it for now from very chilly downtown Flagstaff. Again I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Cheers!

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!

Thanksgiving?

Good Morning Folks,


It has been awhile! Even though retired, with a bit of time on my hands, I haven't felt the urge to write any thoughts down. It has been a beautiful Fall here in Flagstaff and we got our first dusting of snow last weekend. The picture to the right gives you just a little indication of the colors here during this season. Although, I do have to say that most of these leaves are gone now what with high winds and some snow (very little).


We have not had a lot precipitation yet so the drought continues in the southwest. However, with the leaves disappearing from the trees and the nights being below freezing we have the beginning of the "winter look" in these parts, my favorites season. I just hope we have a good snow year for cross-country skiing.


The Thanksgiving holiday is on us this coming week. But, it is somewhat diminished these days with the early appearance of Christmas decorations and music in the stores. In many cases this started before Halloween. We old codgers remember the days when it began the day after Thanksgiving. The mighty dollar and merchandizing prevails. We lose some value in putting priority to giving thanks.


Personally, I will be headed down to what we here in Arizona call "the valley;" that is generally the environs of the Phoenix area. Most specifically I will be spending a couple of days with my friends Bob  and Cindy Henry in Goodyear, AZ at the foot of the Estrella Mountains. Now, for me, that is something to be thankful for. If you cannot spend holidays with close family certainly good friends are the ticket. Not only that but I get the bonus of heading from the valley to Prescott on Saturday to spend a couple of days with my other very close friends, Marc and Carol Hammond.


It is a time to be thankful, as is anytime you wake up above ground at this age. I am most thankful for my daughters, their husbands (which are the best, especially considering my families penchant for poor choices in regards to spouses in general), my grandsons, sisters and brothers, my Aunt Roby, last of my parents generation, and the few good friends that have kept me around in their universes. My nieces and their children are also persons important in my life. Outside of these folks, I am thankful for the reelection of the President, who I do not always agree with, but in general has done the best we could expect after the debacle of Bush. I am thankful for my general good health and Medicare which assists in keeping me that way a long with daily exercise. So, Happy Thanksgiving to all!


Movies: I have seen several since the last entry in this cyber-space blog. Most were rather ho-hum, some entertaining but not extraordinary with a few that were excellent! First the latter category will give me a positive start here. By "leaps and bounds" the two best films I have seen have been historical with excellent acting and compelling drama. They are Ben Aflick's Argo and Speilberg's Lincoln. Argo deals with the almost forgotten rescue by a CIA agent (played by Aflick) of five individuals from the American embassy who got away during the Iran hostage crisis and hid out at the Canadian ambassadors house. It is excellent drama. Lincoln is led by the tremendous (as usual) performance of Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. The film covers the period before Lincoln's assassination when he was pushing for the 13th amendment that really frees the slaves. It is the depiction of the political infighting that took place over that issue. It does not seem to different from the contemporary congressional situation. There are many performances within the movie that are notable as well to include Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln and the many other character actors most film buffs will recognize. Plus, the staging of both films both cinematically and staying true to their periods is absolutely right on!


I thought Flight with Denzel Washington was a bit boring and overly long. He does give a good acting performance and will be nominated for awards. Even though many critics liked it, I did not. I have no interest in watching an alcoholic pilot go through his denial for two hours. I had no empathy for his character. Chasing Mavericks was interesting surfing movie because of my beach upbringing, but was not an especially great film. Alex Cross was just disappointing. They went with action over the more ceribreal character that is in the books and was interpreted so much better by Morgan Freeman. Tyler Perry is just so-so in the role.


Lastly, there is James Bond. Daniel Craig is the second best Bond ever. No one can replace Sean Connery but Craig does an excellent job for these times. Skyfall is a very good film of its genre. My favorite Bond films have been From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Dr. No, Casino Royale (the Craig version) and now Skyfall. I liked none of the Roger Moore movies but did like Pierce Brosnan as Bond.
If your are a fan of James Bond you must see the 50th Anniversary film.


I am looking forward to the further holiday faire which usually gives us our best films.


Have a great holiday season. Cheers to all!

Autumnal Reflections

Another Good Afternoon Folks,


Guess it is about time to write something down again. Having returned from San Diego a little over a week ago I have been reflecting quite a bit on the past, or I should say my past. One of the events that put me on this course is meeting up with an old flame from High School, well maybe not quite a "flame" exactly because we only went on one date.


My sister Norma and I rode the trolley from Santee (in east county) to downtown San Diego to visit with Jodie Hulden, a high school classmate of hers, and the aforementioned lady in question. Jodie had a photographic showing at the Art Walk on the Bay. We had a "jolly fellows well met" time of it with her and I bought one of her exquisite black and white photos reminiscent of Ansel Adams work. While conversing it dawned on me that it was maybe 50 years ago that Jodie and I had gone out on that date. Wow, that is half a century! Incidentally, she looks as beautiful as she did at 15, or so. I am not sure why we did not go out again but am sure it probably had something to do with me. But, for as little good as it does me, I have a huge "crush" on her yet again.


In peering back through the reverse telescope of time it is often interesting to see how we interpret our past. For instance, Jodie mentioned that she had been somewhat frightened of me at the time. I queried her on that because I always thought of my self as pretty unintimidating where girls were concerned, in fact not very confident. Her reply was that, "You were EVAN RAGSDALE!," as if that meant something in the High School hierarchy of the time. We discussed it and my whole perception of myself for that period was thrown off. Which points to the fact that you never know how you may be perceived by others, especially in those teen years.


The trip to San Diego county was a good one and I got to visit most of my close relatives with the exception of my sister Marlene and her daughter Ashley Louise. As is usually the case I ran up and down the county to catch up with my daughter Tania, my grandsons, and her husband Steve. The boys  were busy with all the athletic teams they are involved with. I did get to see each of the three in a game each while there. I had more quality time with the two eldest of my grandsons, Zac and Cole. That was nice! Torin, the youngest, was usually on the computer. And, as I say every time, Norma (sister) and Scott (bro-in-law) were more than cordial and hospitable in allowing me to stay with them. In fact this was the first trip over there for me since Norma retired. Hence our trolley trip, movie and seeing a bit more of each other.


The only really "down thing" about the trip was the intense heat in southern California. Many of the days were in the high 90s, and occasional 100s. With the humidity there it is definitely not my kind of weather. Again, making reference to that reverse telescope of time, Norma and I discussed the fact of "climate change" and it's affects on our hometown and local environs. We both did not ever remember hot weather this warm, and of this duration while growing up there.


Daughter Natasha and her husband Jason have had to endure two very large typhoons in Okinawa in the passed couple of weeks. Although they made it through them fine their apartment was flooded under their hardwood floors from water that blew in under vents on one side of their upstairs abode. Now, with the exception of a couple of rooms they are dealing with torn-up floor boards and a construction zone in their living quarters. The weather has put a crimp in her new found passion, sailing. She recently was certified to solo in that regard. In addition, she is, as is her custom, planning for her favorite holiday, Halloween. Perhaps she should be a pirate for Halloween as they were sailors!


As for me I am "plugging along" here in Flagstaff waiting for winter, and hopefully snow, to do some XC skiing. The leaves are beginning to turn here. It is this beautiful sight that is one of the reasons I live in Flagstaff. This weekend I am going to try to get up to Lockett Meadow to take some fall pictures. The colors should be coming into their glory on the other side of the Kachina Peaks.


Movies: I saw quite a few while in southern Cal. Norma and I went to see Trouble with the Curve featuring  Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams. Although it was OK, I had thought it would be better. I like her a lot as an actor. End of Watch was the best film I viewed there. It was very well acted and gripping police film. The other two were Arbitrage with Richard Gere ad Susan Sarrandon, an interesting movie about high finance and embezzlement , and The Master with Amy Adams, Jacquin Phoenix, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It was a well acted movie but I did not think a very good one. It was big disappointment to me. Upon my return home I saw Looper, last Friday. I found it a very compelling film. I am very much looking forward to the fall films as they will be, generally of higher quality, especially Speilberg's Lincoln with Daniel Day Lewis.


That's it from fairly temperate Flagstaff, AZ.

Cheers ALL!

Happy, Not Unhappy . . . Just Content!

Good Afternoon Folks,


Guess it is about time for another entry in the chronicles of Evan, although I do not think that there is much to say at this point. I have been back in Flagstaff for a little under a month and have stepped back into my old routine.

I did take a trip down to the insufferably hot balmy valley to visit my friends the Henry's and to see how he is getting on in his new teaching job. As is usually the case, we had our evening of "Margaritas." This time Cindy's concoction was made with watermelon juice. Have to say it was not bad. I had way too many and it was a good thing we were at their house nestled up against the Estrella Mountains. The only down side of the whole trip, besides the unbreathable heat and humidity, was the flat tire I got. We spent part of the next morning getting it fixed while we ate Breakfast at the Paradise Cafe Bakery. It was good to see my friends again and catch up.


My other close friends, the Hammond's were up this way last weekend as part of the culmination of their Sedona 39th Anniversary trip. We went to the used bookstore here and lunch. From there they were off to a seminar about RV generators at Camper World, how romantic.


Since coming home I have spent most of my time getting stuff done. The condo needed cleaning after being gone three months, the car serviced, medical appointments and such. I have gotten back into a more constant gym routine than my job in Gardiner afforded me. I have no new neighbors yet. The bothersome four college "boys" moved out while I was gone and I have had a quiet month, so far so good (hope I haven't jinxed myself).


 On another tact that was presented to be by one of my blog readers (one of the few), I wish to comment on this whole concept of "happiness." This person said that from my blogs I sounded depressed and that maybe I needed to get help. They even went so far as to say that "maybe" I should move out of Flagstaff. This irked me no end. My response is that I am not the eternal optimist, nor am I the "half full" kind of person. I do not think that one has to be "bubbly" and cheerful all the time. I am not unhappy, nor am I happy . . . however, I am pretty content with my life. I am glad for the people who are incessantly happy, I just do not want them around me. Besides folks who are constantly in that state of euphoria are annoying, and in many cases seem to be a bit on the edge of hysteria. Trying to convince yourself that you are always "happy" seems a bit neurotic to me. They seem to have a need to be loved by all those around them. That is not me. I am a curmudgeon; that is who I am. But, that doesn't mean that I am not a nice guy.

This will be my only words on the Presidential political race. You folks who support Romney are just ridiculous. First of all, his policies are those of the previous republican administrations. You know the ones that got us in this financial mess in the first place, not to mention the wars. Secondly, even though Obama was not my first choice he has brought us back from financial disasters and you rich folks are doing better than ever on the stock market. The housing market is getting better and he did get us out of Iraq. And finally, I believe it was under his administration that we finally got Osama Bin Laden. When he was running for president everyone wanted universal health care. He got a system passed (and very similar to Romney's in Mass.), now you don't want it. Romney and Ryan will be a disaster for this country, especially for older folks on fixed incomes and Medicare. Stay the course!


Well, after all of that it is time for the movie report, such as they were . . .
The first film I viewed after my return was the remake of Total Recall. It was mildly entertaining but I do not see the the need to remake movies that were not all that interesting the first time around. Hollywood seems to be without much creativity these days (but maybe that is how it has been for several years now).

Hope Springs was a nice little relationship film with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones who are married couple who go off to get marital counseling. Of course the husband is resistant while the wife wants it. It is done pretty well even if a bit predictable.


The Bourne Legacy was a film that I had awaited anxiously having enjoyed the previous triology from which it carries on. Many  critics did not like it but I did. I think Jeremy Renner is a credible character of Aran Cross to follow the Jason Bourne of Matt Damon. It ties together many loose ends from the previous films and promises more for the future. Rachel Weitz was very good  in her role as well. 


The first Expendables was good but sequel is not. I went to see Celeste and Jessie Forever with Bob and Cindy and found it to be a self indulgent film for Rachida Jones who starred in it, co-wrote the script, and co- produced it. i did not like it at all.

The last two films I saw last week were Hit and Run, a very forgettable offering, and Premium Rush.
The latter film harkens back to Quicksilver, an 80s Kevin Bacon vehicle. Both are about bike cycle messengers in New York City. It was an entertaining film and Joseph Gordon-Levit does a great job in it.

That's about it from warm Flagstaff. I will be making a trip to southern Cal next month to see my family members so will report on that next time.


Adios!