madameblogalot

Rango: STRANGE! NOT for young children (cursing throughout, unsuitable images, etc.) I fell asleep before it was over. A BIG MISS.

Unknown: This movie was another with that Inception feel. I really enjoyed Liam Neeson. I liked the story too. It was filled with enough plot twists to keep me guessing as to what was really happening. And after the movie, it made us talk it out to make sure we “got it”. My daughter watched it again the next day with my son. I give this one a HIT.

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus: This was the assigned summer reading for my daughter’s upcoming World History class. I was not sure how to approach this book after my daughter would nearly not let me read it. She said I would hate it and it was weird. So I braced myself. It was not near as bad as I had expected. It is weird as it is a revisionist history told from an alternate reality. I don’t want to give too much away, but the ending was not what I expected, though from the title I guess I should have expected it. I am a bit ambivalent as to the storyline and not sure really how I feel/stand about the whole thing. I am interested as to how they will utilize the story in the classroom. I was surprised that by the end what role Christianity actually played in the story. I will rate this one neither a HIT or MISS and will likely continue thinking about it for a while before I decide.

Limitless: When I heard the premise of the movie, accessing the ability to utilize your entire brain, I thought this would be a good movie. The movie was weird. I did not like the way it was filmed, and I did not like the way the brain’s power was accessed. Not to mention a lot of the story itself. So all in all, I ended up rating this movie as a MISS.

Sphere: Another Michael Crichton novel. This one takes place under the ocean and involves the ideas of alien life forms and time travel. At one point I almost thought I was going to have to give a Crichton book a MISS, but I kept with it and was not disappointed. I will rate this as usual a HIT.

Tangled: A fun disney movie. A little weird. Again I don’t think for very young children but ok for older kids. For us, I’ll give it a HIT.

Rising Sun: Yes, another Crichton novel. It is so easy for me to get caught up in his stories. I really like the way he tells them and keeps them moving along. I find them intriguing and insightful and I usually learn something along the way. As I started this book I was afraid this was going to be my first MISS as a Crichton novel. I could not stand the constant bad language and the dark world which was being portrayed. But as I got further into the story I did become caught up in it. And there are plenty of twists and turns to keep things moving and to keep the reader guessing. Again, I will rate it as a HIT.

I am reading a book which was required reading for my daughter’s upcoming history class. It is a strange enough revisionist-history story. Interesting. But I decided today that I don’t think time travel is possible. I used to think that it just might be if we could figure it all out. Or maybe I wanted it to be possible. I don’t know. But after reaching a certain point in the story today, I think that I have decided that it just is not possible. I may change my mind again. And we’ll see what I think after I reach the end of this story. But….as for now I think that with time being a continuum which may not be a flow per se but happening at the same time. Not necessarily alternate realities but something I read about C.S. Lewis thinking that God is “outside time” and sees all the things happening. So, if that is true (which I am certainly not sure of) then I am thinking that time travel is not possible. But I do find it interesting to think about.

It took me most of June and half of July to finish this book. *Spoiler Warning* It’s a Christmas gift for a certain someone who I am pretty sure will read this post!!

The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, The Witch and The Worldview: I bought this book on sale as a Christmas gift for my sister. The title really intrigued me and I knew she would love it. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it as I was afraid it would spoil the magic of Narnia too much. But, after reading the table of contents I went ahead and decided to read it. While I do not agree with everything presented in the book, it was very interesting and thought provoking. It made me both sad, seeing how much I have failed my own kids in so many ways, and it also made me long for Narnia like I did when I was younger. It made me want to re-read the Chronicles, especially wishing I had time to read all seven books to my kids again before my son leaves. I will rate the book as a HIT.

A Case of Need: This is one of Michael Crichton’s early books. In fact, he originally wrote it under a pseudonym. I enjoyed the story, though maybe not as much as some others. I will still rate it a HIT.

Mother: While away at a small bed and breakfast, this was one of the few movies available. It was not that good of a movie and only served to reinforce the feeling of dysfunction in my own relationship with my son. I rate this one as a MISS.

Cold Mountain: Another of the few movie choices. I went into it thinking I would like it. It was a romance set in the Civil War. While I know that people were brutally slaughtered, I don’t like to see it graphically displayed or sensationalized. Nor do I like to see folk’s brutally lewd side either. Even though I know the things probably represent very human things that happened, I do not want to SEE it! Nor do I even want to SEE the sexual encounter that is to represent “true, pure love” in the story. There were some big names in the movie-Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellwegger, Donald Sutherland, a young Natalie Portman. Even so, I rate this one as a MISS.

The Source Code: This movie is tough to describe. My husband said it’s an Inception wannabe. It has elements of Groundhog Day and Knowing. It is an interesting concept-a man relives eight minutes of the immediate past in order to help change the future. The lead actors do a pretty good job. There is some rough language. Overall, I rate this one as a HIT.

The Great Train Robbery (novel): When I realized this was written by Michael Crichton I had to give it a try. This is based on a real event. I always love how Crichton does his homework on a book. This story was hard to follow at times because of the slang of the time which Crichton uses to make the story even more real. As always, I will give it a HIT.

Here is my second month’s time trails. I have only improved in the swim and that is if I did not miscount. I think my run last month was a bit faster because the little karate boys were all out doing their training run-they were motivation, like running after little rabbits. I know the bike was slower because it was a very windy day this month, but I finished it none-the-less. I do feel like I am getting stronger, even if my times don’t always reflect it. Now if I can just train my heart to work more efficiently during more exertion….

swim
16 laps
time-18:36

bike
15 miles
time-55:16
ahr-148

run
3.1 miles
time-29:08
ahr-156

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: When I saw this book for $2 at Barnes and Noble I thought I’d pick it up for a Christmas present. And since my sister has read (and I think liked the book) I decided why not read it in the meantime. I have to say that while not quite a complete MISS (there is enough humor there) it is the weirdest book I’ve ever read!

Field of Vision: This made for TV family movie was one that was a little more on the “cheesy” side where everything turned out all right in the end. I understand the message and could enjoy a movie with no “bad” stuff in it, but it was not very realistic. And was also a platform to advertise products within the movie. At any rate, I will call this one neither a HIT nor a MISS.

June looks like a short reading month, but I’ve been working on one book most of the month. Almost done with it, so will post it for July….

It has been HOT here! We are setting records nearly every week for high temperatures. When we dumped out some coolers of ice, our poor old dog just went and stood in the ice to cool off. So when I saw a blog post about a blogger who had 25 tons of wood to heat his home for three years, I must admit I was not thinking ahead of the heating bills to come next winter! I know when it cools off around here (which may not even be til after the first of the year if this summer heat wave and drought does not pass on by) then I will be wanting a nice warm house.

Since I do not like either extreme-being too hot or too cold-I like to keep things at an even temperature. That can mean too high or too low on our thermostat. But things like ceiling fans and storage heaters can help keep things more evenly cooled and warmed.

I guess my blog friend is like the ant who prepared for winter (or three!) while I am like the grasshopper who is wondering when the summer heat will pass on by!

I am frugal. Ok, I do admit, cheap. So when I found a sale at Barnes and Noble I went ahead and started picking up Christmas gifts. But in the meantime, I wanted to go ahead and read the books I am giving. I think that’s smart! At least I did not open and listen to the CD I bought as a gift!

State of Fear: Wow! This Michael Crichton book has lots to think about! If asked I would say it’s “about” global warming. But it’s about so much more than that. I really appreciate how much research Crichton puts into his stories; the author’s notes state that he read environmental publications for three years. And the bibliography list is impressive and interesting. I like though what the story is really about, the “state of fear”, the politicization of science and state, the control of the environment and the state, the place of the media in all this, the quest for power….I rate this one a HIT (except of course for my usual disclaimer on the harsh language.)

Leviathan ‘99: When I heard that the premise of this story was to do a Moby Dick type set in space, I was intrigued. I have to say though, that the story-while short and easy to read-was a MISS with me.

Somewhere a Band is Playing: I enjoyed the poetic use of language in this story. It was very reminiscent of Tuck Everlasting. Even so, I’ll rate it as neither a HIT or MISS.

The Andromeda Strain: I really like Michael Crichton novels. Our library does not have a big enough selection of them. I did find this old one. I think I even remember there being a movie when I was a kid. This story was a little more dry but I definitely like the lack of harsh, vulgar language! I don’t know if I quite “got” the whole story. While it was not quite the HIT most of his stories have been with me, it definitely is not a MISS.

Fahrenheit 451: I read this book several years ago and liked it. I found another copy on the library paperback exchange shelf so I grabbed it up (having given away two other copies.) I thought my son would like to read it. He still may, but in the meantime I read it again. I still like the book and I feel like it has some good things to think about. I am not crazy about the ending, but I do feel like the open ending was a good idea. I still rate this book a HIT.

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: These “modern tales for our life and times” are pretty hilarious! Even after 15 years, they reflect the politically correct ideals that have become pervasive in our society. Most of the stories are a pretty funny poke at ourselves! I rate this little collection a HIT.

Disclosure: I guess I am on a Michael Crighton kick these days! Although I was not sure what this story was about and I was not prepared to read a two page sex scene, it was vital to the story. I really do like how Crighton takes contemporary issues and puts them in an easy to read story yet makes you really think about the issue itself. This novel was based on a true story, and even if it was not, it is likely that there are plenty of similar stories. While I still have to put my personal disclaimer on the language used throughout the book, and the explicit sex scene (which again is vital to this story) I will rate this one a HIT as well.

The Scarlet Pimpernel: (on stage) While visiting the campus of Faulkner University, I saw that The Scarlet Pimpernel was playing. I enjoy the book and tried to get a ticket. The show was sold out but an admissions officer got me a free ticket for the night we were visiting! The performance was fine and I did have to laugh at how outrageous they made the “dandy” pimpernel and his cohorts. I think I still like the book better but I’ll give the show a HIT anyway.

In my husband’s training for Iron man it calls for lots of drill training. So I’ve incorporated some of that drill training in both my swimming and my cycling. I wasn’t sure if it was helpful or not and I do get tired of doing the drills on the bike indoors….but I do think that it has helped.

My swim has improved about :15 since a year ago. That’s pretty good. I’m not sure if it is due to the drills or just doing more swimming in general. I do think my cycling drills have helped increase both my strength and speed. As there are a couple triathlons coming up for me, I will see just how far this little practice has taken me…