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Let's get it started early. So long 2013. Hello, 2014. Here's to everything that happened in the past 365. Here's to everything that will happen in the next 365. I wish you and yours a safe and happy New Year!

Labels: nostalgia, Twelve Days of Christmas

The latest film version of Thurber's short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, has nothing in common with the written word. It may have day dream sequences, but they are not like the ones in the story. Then after a bit, the day dreams go away and we are left with another movie whose sole purpose is to utter the banal line, "carpe diem."

Yes, we know.

Walter Mitty is the analog curator at Life magazine as it transitions to the digital age of online internet. He receives the quintessence of Life magazine in a film negative, but loses it because he lacks reading comprehension or doesn't put money in his wallet.

He also wants to flirt with a girl at work. He does say hi and they do start connecting and then you wonder how they did connect.

I wish this was a better movie, but it wasn't. It was Ben Stiller putting on his indie director mood similar to how he became Simple Jack. Lots of weirdness. Could've been funnier. May become another hit on Comedy Central.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review

The penultimate day of the year! Yeah, I just used a vocabulary word. Yeah, I used it right. And, yeah, the year is almost over, but let's not forget the past year. What I mean by that though is the past year in film.

Lately, this blog besides the "Twelve Days of Christmas" has devolved into my film comment blog. Not reviews, but comments. Not any insight into the movie I saw, but insight into my reactions to the film.

How is this holiday specific? It's auld lang syne for movies. Pretty soon I will set up my own list of great movies this past 2013. Happy New Year! Enjoy another holiday… I'm stretching for things to write.

http://thedissolve.com/features/2013-in-review/

Labels: Twelve Days of Christmas

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
Families drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year

Christmas Time Is Here, Vince Girauldi Trio

Labels: lyrics, qotd, Twelve Days of Christmas

I'm purposely posting everyday to get me to Little Christmas as the eastern Church would call it. Here's a shot from the Ice! ice show at National Harbor south of DC.

It was a cold, cold experience even though today's temperatures reached into the 50s. I wore my Patagonia Better Sweater, a hat, and a scarf, yet the provided parka they gave to you help insulate me more. Unfortunately, I did not have gloves and it got cold. After a bit, I wanted warmth.

This is a reminder that over the Holidays there are some things to do besides eat, sleep, and watch television.

Get up.
Go out.
Enjoy the winter!

Labels: picture, Twelve Days of Christmas, wintry mix

This ish is hard when you have no theme. I would post something more interesting, but I'm too lazy and stuffed to the gills with Holiday feasts. Maybe I can figure something out in the next couple of days…

Yule Log for your viewing pleasure. Not sure if it shows it for the full hour. I only watched 30 seconds in order to figure out if it was worth posting.

Labels: Twelve Days of Christmas

Gift giving.

Labels: Twelve Days of Christmas

It's late on Christmas night, and I am stuffed. I've got my fill of festivities and of the food found at said festivities. I've got my fill of Holiday music. I've got my fill of gifts and giving. Yet, there is always more Christmas cheer.

There is still the other eleven days. Here's the last bit of blogging of the year. What should I fill it with. The last time, I wrote about media associated with Christmas. It was a splendid idea. Here we are again, the first day of Christmas, Christmas Day. I'm not going to write about Christmas media. Not sure what I want to write. I just need to write.

So the final posts of 2013 should be a hodge-podge of things that I am thinking about this last week.

Maybe also get you a partridge and a pear tree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_days_of_Christmas

Labels: lotd, Twelve Days of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Labels: embed, tis the season

Who's unhappy?

Labels: lyrics, qotd

Pasted from Jacob Hildebrandt flickr account.

And the party is already starting!

Don't forget that today was Festivus! It's for the rest of us.

Let me start with the airing of grievances…

Labels: tis the season

Here's a review of the past year in car ownership. I just want to catalog the cost of car ownership for this one year because it has to be one of the more costly years.

First things first, I paid off Itsuki-chan. She's all mine. Now I own two cars. It's this second car that makes owning expensive -- the loan and the insurance. At least one of those payments is done.

Then even before she was fully paid off, Itsuki-chan had some issues. She had a bad start and rattle when under load. I took her in to get service for it in the spring, they changed something I forget which and cost $1400. That didn't fix her, so I put her away for the fall maybe to take her to another mechanic to service it for real.

I switched to the VW, which was at 200k. At her age, she had some issues, too.

One day driving home from work, the temperature gauge went off. It was because a hose had deteriorated leaking coolant. I took her in for service, got her back, then had to take her in again for the temp gauge going off. This time it was the circulating fan failing. Because it had to work overtime while the temperature had gone up, it failed and needed to be replaced.

In the middle of the summer, I had the VW throw a check engine light. I ignored this one for a long time. I was still able to drive the Mini Cooper, so I set the VW in the garage. When the Mini started to worry me and I put her in the garage, I took out the VW. She wouldn't start. I needed a new battery. Replacing it, cleared the check engine fault. I haven't seen it show up again.

Besides routine maintenance, I bought an air compressor, so that I don't have to pay to fill the tires up with air. The VW seems to need it all the time.

Finally, the VW's paint is going bad. It's peeling terrible. I should get her repainted. Next year.

Cars ownership sucks. At least, I don't have to worry about the money to pay for them.

Labels: automotive, retrospective

Say, Who's got trouble?

Labels: lyrics, qotd

You need science and the scientific method to help make a better chocolate chip cookie. Take it from the baker in today's link, a guy who made lots and lots of cookies. He broke down how changing an ingredient changes the texture, flavor, or crispness of the cookie. He has unlocked the secret to the cookie.

Someone send this to Ness or at least post it to Facebook for her to see. I want my crispy chocolate chip cookies.

http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Labels: cooking, lotd

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has broken my relationship with Peter Jackson's take on J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. I accepted his changes to The Lord of the Rings. Tom Bombadil? Meh. Evil Faramir? What? The Rohirrim run away? Gah, but time heals all wounds. Yet, the middle installment of The Hobbit is a bridge too far.

I sat in the theatre ignoring the changes, the expansion, and the additions, because I had too or else I would've been running out the door. When the film ended, I left in disgust. All I know is that Peter Jackson has taken a trifle of an adventure and stretched it to inconceivable proportions. All the fun has been rung out of the story. Jackson has even made me question why I like Tolkien. I kid, I kid, but he makes me wonder about The Lord of the Rings movies. All that I glossed over and accepted has come back seven fold with a vengeance. Please when will he be done and please don't touch any of The Silmarillion.

I'm going to see the last installment just to see if the forbidden love between dwarf and elf will end in tragedy. I want to see Tauriel die in Kili's arms. Or is that Fili? I want to see them die fighting off the horde of orcs before the gates of Erebor. I want them to die a heroic death and when their bodies are found, King Thranduil will join with Gandalf and forces of good to fight evil Sauron -- 80 years too early.

At the start of The Lord of the Rings, didn't Gandalf not know who was behind the dread in the East? Yes, but Jackson will retcon a new story. Whatever.

I hope Peter Jackson doesn't touch any of The Silmarillion.

2 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review, Tolkien

Tried my hand again on Arroz Caldo, chicken rice porridge. I used the chicken stock recipe as the basis for the soup. Although I extended it by using one more clove of garlic, a couple of dashes of patis, some pepper corn, and small pinch of dried red pepper flakes. It came out slightly more garlicky than I wanted, but other than that its pretty rich.

I simmered it overnight in my slow cooker. I couldn't get 3 quarts into my small slow cooker, but I ended up with close to 2 full quarts of stock. I used 1 quart in the Arroz Caldo before adding in another 2-3 cups of water into the mix. Let the Arroz Caldo cook for about an hour before serving with a garnish of fried garlic and patis.

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/11/perfect-uncluttered-chicken-stock/

Labels: cooking, lotd, mmm

Frozen, the latest Disney animated film and not how I feel in the morning as I get into my car. Perhaps I'm not the right audience for the film, because it didn't impress me like it did the many, many movie-goers who made it tops at the box office this past weekend. I guess I'm not a 10 year old girl or have the soul of a kid because I actually didn't know what was so special -- I mean, come on, it's Tangled in the snow.

Frozen features 2 princesses of an unnamed northern European city-state. When they were young, the eldest exhibited Iceman-like powers and hurt her younger sister. She's was told to suppress them so as she gets older she doesn't know how to control them. When it came time for her to ascend to the throne, the sisters get into a fight which plunges the city-state into a deep winter. The princesses must make up, the queen rein in her power and be regal, and the younger princess must reconcile and help heal the rift between the two.

And there was a magical snowman, a puppy-like reindeer, and an oaf. There was also villains.

This could've been something neat if more of the relationship between the sisters was explored. If it tried to deal with the princesses like Pixar's Brave did. The conflict seemed too superficial.

There was also way too much singing.

3 of 5 stars.

Labels: movies, review