My Favorite Movies of 2011

1. Midnight in Paris. I don’t know why I loved this, I just did. It was a fun story and a beautiful look at the city itself.

2. Buck. Documentary about Buck Brannaman, the “horse whisperer”. I saw it at the Nashville Film Festival. I was glad to see it got a somewhat wide release over the summer.

3. Hugo. I went into this movie knowing little about it. I also went to the 3D version, even though I rarely think 3D is worth it. 3D was worth it for this movie. Loved the story, and loved how it was sort of a love letter to the movies.

4. Beginners. Another great story (obviously I tend to like movies with good stories).

5. Tree of Life. I thought the first part (the creation of the earth) was a little bit slow, but beautiful. Once it gets to the story of the family, it picks up. I’m pretty sure I don’t understand what half of it was supposed to mean, but that’s what made it good. Lots to think about afterwards.

Happy New Year!

(photo of Jensen Beach, 1/1/12)


One of my New Year’s goals was to write something every day. It doesn’t really have to be anything special, just anything. So I decided to do it here on my blog. I don’t know if I’ll be able to post something everyday (especially if I’m out of town or away from the computer) but I’m going to try. Who knows what I’ll wind up writing about?

A few years ago I started keeping track of all the movies and books I read in the year. My goal for 2011 was 100 movies and 25 books. I wound up with 121 movies and 33 books. I think for 2012 I’m going to go for 100/40. I would like to do a little less time on movies and more on reading. Of those 40 books, I’m going to try to make 12 of them classics I’ve never read. Lately I’ve been realizing that I am way behind on Russian and English literature.

A few other of my 2012 goals are to do more hiking, spend time in a city I’ve never been, and to cook one new recipe a month.

Looking forward to seeing what 2012 brings!

Marlins Game

I went to the Mets-Marlins game yesterday because Johann Santana was pitching. It was a great game! Since I am a native Minnesotan and Twins fan, the vast majority of my baseball experiences have been the dome. (I have been to one game in Baltimore, AAA games in Salt Lake, and quite a few spring training games that were all outdoors). I have to say, that Major League Baseball should never be played in a dome again! I never realized how large and impersonal the dome felt. Dolphin Staduim, while not being designed as a baseball staduim, felt so much smaller and more intimate (even though in seating capacity it's not really). It made the game so much more fun to watch. It's a good thing the Twins will have their own outdoor stadium next year. I can't wait to see a game there.

Anyway, it was a great game, quite a pitcher's duel. The Marlins won.

Haven't been watching too many movies lately. I've still been on a West Wing kick. So far I'm up to Season 5 and I'm about halfway through that. Here's my small list since last time.

19. The Secret Life of Bees (DVD) 6.5/10. Not bad, but the book was much better.

20. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (DVD) 7.5/10. Much better than I thought it would be, but I had pretty low expectations.

21. The Lucky Ones (DVD) 6.5/10. Ok, interesting story.

22. Chasing Amy (DVD) 6/10. Not my favorite Kevin Smith movie, but OK. Hadn't seen it in a long time so I wanted to see it again.

23. Parenthood (DVD) 9/10. Hillarious. One of my favorites that I hadn't seen in a long time.

24. Nights in Rodanthe (DVD) 3/10. Dumb. Even dumber ending.

Not what you expect to see when stopping to get gas...

I stopped on my way out of Orlando to put gas on, and this is what I saw!

Long time, no post, I know. Busy month. March is busy, too. Weather has been cold for Florida. A few nice days, but mostly cool.

Went to the Daytona 500. Very excited Mark Martin is running a full schedule this year in the 5 car. Hasn't done well yet, but it's only been 2 races. I think he'll make the Chase, but probably not the championship.

I have kept my list of movies. Here's what I've seen so far this year.

1. Marley and Me (theater) 7/10. Cute story. Loved the dog, but really loved that most of it took place in South Florida and the scenery was great!

2. The Times of Harvey Milk (Online) 8/10. Figured since I saw the movie in the theater I should see the documentary.

3. Rachel Getting Married (theater) 7/10. Had to keep my eyes closed through much of it, it has one of those shakey camera styles that made me sick!

4. The Gymnast (DVD) 6/10. Kind of boring.

5. The Wrestler (theater) 8/10. Good story, great acting.

6. American Teen (DVD) 6.5/10. So-so. Interesting, but not too exciting.

7. Mamma Mia (DVD) 7/10. I did the sing along version on the DVD. It's just a fun movie.

8. Slumdog Millionaire (theater) 9/10. Really good story. Deserved the Oscar for sure.

9. Revolutionary Road (theater) 6/10. I really didn't like Kate Winslet's character. Too whiny to me.

10. Henry Poole is Here (DVD) 7.5/10. Pretty good story.

11. Milk (theater) 9.5/10. Saw it when it was at my local theater for my second viewing. Still good.

12. The Visitor (DVD) 8/10. Loved the story, wish it ended differently!

13. Gran Torino (theater) 7.5/10. Good story, but the acting was kind of off I thought.

14. Save Me (DVD) 7/10. Didn't like the ending that much, but a good story overall.

15. Kissing Jessica Stein (DVD) 8/10. Contains one of my favorite scenes ever-when Jessica and her mom are outside at her brother's rehersal dinner. I think one of the best acting performances I've ever seen.

16. Step Brothers (DVD) 5/10. A few funny scenes, but mostly just dumb.

17. The Great Debators (OnDemand) 7/10. Good story.

18. Religulous (DVD) 6.5/10. Some parts were pretty good, others just dumb.

So 18 movies in the first two months. Not too bad. Currently I'm working my way through Season 2 of The West Wing that I got from the library. That will take some time!

Another dumb quiz...

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a Healthy Lifelong Learning Believer

Aparently 0% of the test takers so far are the same as me. I'm unique!

Happy New Year!

Greetings from cold, snowy Minnesota!

It's been very cold here all but one day of my trip. A bit of snow, too. Overall it's been a good trip. Stopped in Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman, which was awesome. Ate lots of great food (and way too many cookies), saw Louie Anderson, lost $20 at Treasure Island (but that $20 lasted a long time!). Suprisingly, the thing I didn't do much of was watch movies. Since I won't be seeing any movies today, this is the end of the list for 2008.

75. Four Christmases (theater) 6/10. So-so. Some funny parts, some dumb parts.

76. A Christmas Story (theater) 10/10. Normally I wouldn't count this because I see it every year, but this year I saw it on the big screen at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis. It was cool to see on the big screen.

77. Zodiac (DVD) 6.5/10. Interesting story, but it seemed to drag on a bit.

78. Doubt (theater) 7.5/10. Great acting performances, story was so-so to me.


I can't believe I didn't even get 100 for the year. Oh well, there's always 2009!

It's been forever, I know!

I was in South Beach Sunday and thought these were really cool! There was a Christmas tree, too but it was kind of boring.

I'm getting ready for a road trip home for Christmas. I'll leave after work on Thursday with a stopover in Nashville to see Kathy Mattea at the Grand Ole Opry! Very excited about that. Looking forward to the trip in the new car. It's been getting pretty good mileage.

Lots of movies to catch up on:

63. Then She Found Me (DVD) 6/10. Ok, but not as good as I expected.

64. Smart People (DVD) 6/10. A little boring.

65. The Laramie Project (DVD) 9/10. Very good.

66. Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (Theater) 7.5/10. Cute story.

67. The Game Plan (TV) 7/10. Cute story, cute kid.

68. Role Models (Theater) 8.10. Very funny. Jane Lynch is hilarious.

69. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (DVD) 6.5/10. Ok, but kind of boring.

70. Polar Express (TV) 8/10. One of my holiday favorites!

71. The Lake House (TV) 6/10. Hadn't seen this since it was in the theater. Kind of dumb.

72. Reality Bites (TV) 7/10. Hadn't seen this in forever. Still funny but somewhat annoying in parts.

73. Milk (Theater) 10/10. Very good.

74. Out at the Wedding (Theater) 7/10. Funny, but at the end it got to be kind of a stretch.

I just realized it's December 9 and I've only seen 74 movies so far this year. I don't think I'll get to 100! Oh well, it's fun just to keep track.