Mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken, and corn from Mimi and Poppy’s garden. Aunt Mal came over after work to have some since it was so good!
Meet Me At The Muny
We lived in St. Louis for 5 years and never actually went to The Muny, an amphitheater at Forest Park known for its stage productions during the summer. Thus, for Father’s Day this year, “Meg” got us all tickets to go see “Aladdin,” a musical based on the 1992 Disney movie.
Let’s all allow “1992” to sink in for a moment…
Regardless, this was going to be the first time we’d ever tried keeping Meg up far past her bedtime. We tested the waters a bit on the 4th of July, getting her to bed around 9:30, and that seemed to be pretty close to the limit. Muny productions typically start at 8:15 pm (weather permitting), so we knew we wouldn’t be able to finish the whole thing, but we thought it’d be a nice family outing, and something else to test Meg’s reaction to large crowds and big events. All told, she did a pretty great job.
We ate at a Mexican restaurant before going to Forest Park to walk around a bit. The stroller ride helped keep Meg entertained (who opted to not take a nap that day, mind you…) while we waited to go into the amphitheater. By the time 7:45 rolled around, we were heading in, found our seats, and Brooke opened up some snacks for Meg. The weather started out pretty hot, right around 90 F, but a front moved in north of St. Louis that dropped the temp to 80 F in about 10 min. By the time the show started, it was surprisingly comfortable!
The show itself was “alright.” Perhaps it’s my affection for the 1992 movie, but the changes that had to be made to the story in order to make it work on a stage weren’t the ones I’d have gone with. The primary offender was the replacement of Abu (the monkey) with three “friends” of Aladdin, who served as narrators, to some degree, and also comic relief. They, and the Genie, had “updated” some jokes for the 21st century, making some of the dialog a bit more topical, but many of them were less amusing for me than they intended. By the time we left, I felt like we’d hardly even seen the character of Aladdin, and seen far more of the “friends” and of Jasmine (who did a remarkable job, sounding very much like the character from the movie). The Genie, also, was not Robin Williams, and to me, tried a bit too hard to not differentiate himself from the example set 20 years ago. He did alright, but again, I’m just used to the Genie I grew up with.
This production also added songs to the show. Some of these songs, supposedly, were originally intended for the movie, but were then dropped. A few of them, though, seemed like they didn’t fit all that well (which is maybe why they weren’t in the movie in the first place). The musical performances were good, overall, but again, there was probably a reason some of those were dropped 20 years ago. I could have gone with less music, personally.
Meg was getting pretty tired (and louder…), so we left at Intermission. Appropriately, Intermission was set at the point in the story when the Genie turns Aladdin into a prince, so we got through a good chunk of the story. Daddy got to carry Meg out, sleeping, on his shoulder, and we had her home and in bed just before 10:00. She did a good job!
All in all, I think we all had a good time. It was a good family outing for us, despite the late-ish starting time!
July Garden Update
The midwest is still going through something of a drought, and while the weather has certainly improved since having 10 consecutive days over 100 F, we still haven’t gotten much rain.
That said, the garden and chickens have mostly survived. With regards to the garden, the peas stopped producing about a month ago. I think we ended up with more peas than we got in Iowa last year, but not by too much. We’ve been getting green beans for the past few weeks as well, likely getting somewhere between 10 and 12 pints-worth (Brooke has canned 8 pints thus far). There are still more coming on, but we can already tell we won’t get anywhere near the (proportional) amount we got last year in Iowa. Same goes for the tomatoes. You can see in the picture above that the plants on the left are considerably smaller than those on the right. The right-hand ones seem to be a “cherry tomato” variety, as they’re pretty small, but still taste pretty decent. The ones on the left are the romas, the variety Brooke prefers using for canning. Sadly, while we’ve got some on there, it sure doesn’t seem like we’ll get all that many.
Aside from beans and tomatoes, we’ve still got a good number of green peppers coming on, as well as some squash and cucumbers. Brooke’s having to water the garden somewhat often just to keep things alive, and we’ve got a good deal of weeding to take care of sometime. I guess, considering the weather this summer, we’re pleased with the amount of stuff we’ve gotten, but it’s still a difficult shift from last year’s bounty.
The chickens aren’t laying eggs yet, which is quite disappointing, though not terribly surprising. Last year, the surviving chicken didn’t start laying eggs until right around now, but it’s also worth noting that chickens generally don’t like laying eggs in crazy hot weather. I’m checking every morning to see if they’ve started laying, as the weather has cooled a little bit, but no dice yet. Believe you me, I’m ready for some fresh eggs!
They’re nice and fat now, though, and they enjoy running around our yard. We probably still need to clip their wings again, but aside from one (brief) escape attempt from the large, white chicken, they’ve been pretty content to stay in our yard. The extreme heat has kept them in shady spots, though, so they tend to stay put.
Regardless, it’s a far cry from last year’s haul, but we’re making do!
Review: The Amazing Spider-man
Many have called it a bit odd that Hollywood is “rebooting” the Spider-man movie franchise already. The first one came out only 10 years ago, the second one (and still best) in 2004, and the third one in 2007. Personally, I didn’t detest the third one as much as some people did, though it was definitely the weakest in the trilogy, and its production difficulties and reception left a sour taste in movie-goers mouths.
Fast forward 5 short years and comic book heroes in the movies are bigger than they’ve ever been. Marvel Studios is now owned by Disney, except for one key franchise, and that’s Spider-man, whose rights are still with Sony Pictures. While Disney is reaping huge box office bucks for “The Avengers,” “Iron Man,” and more, Sony had a property they haven’t made money on in 5 years. Thus, time for a re-boot.
Which brings us to this past weekend, when “The Amazing Spider-man” launched here in North America. This movie portrays Peter Parker’s transformation into Spider-man yet again, telling essentially the same first-half of the original movie this time around with a different Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and a different Mary Jane…er…now Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone)… While the first half of the original movie took place largely while Peter was in high school, and then moved on to college life, the most recent iteration sticks with high school for the entire movie and deals more with Peter’s life at that stage, rather than the “coming of age” that was already done. Garfield and Stone do pretty great jobs in their portrayal of each character, especially Stone (who’s good in just about everything, it seems…). They don’t quite pull off “high school love” (as Garfield is 28 and Stone is 23), but they’ve got enough chemistry to make it work.
The effects were also pretty great. The CGI work on an animated Spider-man character has come a long way in 10 years and, while it was pretty easy to see the stunted motion in the original movies, this Spider-man moves much more fluidly, and much more like you’d expect from the comics. There are more acrobatics to this Spider-man character, which makes the action scenes that much more interesting to watch. Garfield also brings quite a bit more “believable wit” to the character. I was always drawn to the comic book character because of his sarcasm and dry humor, and this aspect of the character comes through far better in this movie (from Garfield) than it ever did in the previous flicks (from Tobey Maguire).
I guess my main gripe with this movie is that much of it seems largely unnecessary. We go through the origin story again, and it takes about 45 min of a 2 hr movie. One reason why “Spider-man 2” is so much better than “Spider-man 1” is that the origin story was all taken care of by the first movie. The entire story could be fully developed over the length of the film. This is why “X-men 2” is better than “X-men,” and why “The Dark Knight” is better than “Batman Begins.” The origin story needs to be told, sure, but for a franchise that’s only 10 years old, it’s a good bet that they could have summarized everything at the very beginning and moved on. Tim Burton’s “Batman” didn’t need an origin story, except in flashbacks, because it was so well-known…and that was friggin’ 1989!
And that brings me to my second point: they could have done more with Dr. Connors/The Lizard. Rhys Ifans was alright in the role, but I really don’t think he was given much to do. In the comics, the character of Kurt Connors was a brilliant scientist and mentor to Peter Parker. The man had a family and a great career. He is missing an arm and, through his research, he looks to regrow that arm by studying how lizards regrow their limbs. He’s a deep character that unwittingly transforms himself into a creature that can’t be controlled (kinda like the Hulk). However, that entire relationship is blown over in favor of the origin story for Spider-man that we’ve already seen 10 short years ago. Another reason why “Spider-man 2” worked so well is that there was a seemingly genuine relationship between Peter Parker and Dr. Octavius, who later becomes Dr. Octopus. There is mutual respect between the two characters. It’s a developed relationship. Personally, I just didn’t see the same thing between this iteration of Peter Parker and Dr. Connors, and it’s to the movie’s detriment.
So, for these reasons, I still think “Spider-man 2” is the better movie in the franchise. “The Amazing Spider-man” is definitely better than “Spider-man 3,” but it’s admittedly a low bar to hurdle.
I haven’t decided whether this movie is better than “Spider-man,” though. They both have a different focus, so they’re telling different stories. I also appreciate that this movie (and likely trilogy) delves further into the disappearance of Peter’s parents, something the original trilogy never dealt with. So, in the end, we probably can’t compare them until we have complete trilogies to put side-by-side.
For now, though, “The Amazing Spider-man” is a good movie. If you like the franchise, you probably won’t be too disappointed. But it probably won’t blow your mind.
07.01.12 Dinner
French toast, turkey bacon (my secret to good turkey bacon is to fry it in a little bit of real bacon grease), and blueberries!
06.30.12 “Dinner”
This could very well be one of the more satisfying dinners we’ve had in awhile. After a big lunch out, nobody was very hungry, but I made this cake that needed to be eaten, so…..berry cake with lemon glaze and poached eggs. Both were wonderful!
06.29.12 Dinner
We generally have take out or something else quick on Friday nights, but Meg was sick and home from day care this week, so our plans were impeded a little. So, maidrites, fries, huge pickles, and peaches it was!
06.12.12 Dinner
It’s been awhile since I posted a dinner, so here’s a good one for you! Pasta carbonara made with peas from our garden and homemade pasta!
Under that is chocolate pudding. Here’s the recipe for that: 2 cups chocolate chips melted with 1/2 cup milk in the microwave. Blend together with 10 ounces of silken tofu and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. That’s right, I said tofu…and, it was delicious!
Review: Prometheus
I came to the “Alien” franchise somewhat late. It was certainly popular when I was in my pre-teen years, and other kids I knew had seen them, but I don’t think I even saw the first movie until college. I certainly remember the toy blitz when they released “Alien 3,” thinking they were pretty cool, though in retrospect, “Alien 3” was likely the worst movie in the franchise. Fox even tried rebooting the series, to some degree, by mixing the Alien and Predator franchises together, something that began as a comic and eventually turned into a few not-so-good movies.
Thus, I think it’s safe to say that the best movies in the franchise are 1979’s “Alien,” directed by Ridley Scott, and 1986’s “Aliens,” directed by James Cameron. It could be argued that the reason these two movies worked so well is that they’re very different takes on the same idea: a far-future where humans in dirty old space ships come across an alien species with human and insect qualities that wants to kill them…and that, for the most part, androids aren’t to be trusted. Scott portrayed a single alien on a ship inhabited by various folks, including one young Sigourney Weaver, but set it up in the same vein as a “slasher” movie. “Alien” was more of a horror movie. “Aliens,” on the other hand, under the direction of Cameron, saw Weaver and a group of future marines do battle with a whole group of aliens in a human colony. “Aliens” was more of an action movie.
Which brings us to “Prometheus,” a film connected to the “Alien” franchise, but very, very distinct. Ridley Scott hasn’t directed a science fiction movie since “Blade Runner” in 1982, so everyone was intrigued to see what he would do with 30 years worth of new tools. He didn’t disappoint. The tech portrayed, from the virtual displays to the ship, to the alien creatures, etc. all seem to fit seamlessly into the environment. We saw it in IMAX 3D and, while the effects were very apparent, they were very complimentary to the overall experience, rather than distracting. You can tell Scott utilized these new tools to great effect.
The story, however, is kinda confusing. To be honest, I don’t know what to make of it. There’s something to be said for leaving a movie with additional questions (something the writers have said were purposeful, in the event they’d get a sequel), but some of the plot holes are so large, it seems like there isn’t much of a way to dig out of them.
As I said earlier, “Prometheus” is very different from the “Alien” franchise. It takes place in the same universe, involves some of the same players (namely the Weyland Corporation), and generally feels like they’re related. At the same time, though, “Prometheus” is more concerned with an existential search for our creator, the alien species (referred to as “The Engineers”) that seeded Earth with DNA that would eventually evolve into modern humans (and don’t get me started on the scientific missteps this brings up…). “Prometheus” takes a look at that search, the powers that seek to control that knowledge, and our overall sense of humanity – arguably, things the “Alien” franchise hasn’t done before.
Generally speaking, I liked it. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to see it in 3D, but if you want to, you won’t be disappointed. There are definite, and obvious, callbacks to the “Alien” franchise, so fans of the series should be pleased. It is definitely more along the horror line of things, rather than action, so be sure you can handle a few cringe-worthy scenes.
But that plot. I just don’t know what to make of it. I think I want a sequel, just so I can see where they’re going with it. Then again, maybe I don’t want a sequel, so these questions are left up in the air for fans to ponder for another 30 years.
A Brief Reflection on Turning 30
I remember when my Mom turned 30. Kristen and I were out playing in the back yard and we saw all our aunts, uncles and cousins from the Plochberger side of the family driving up and quietly moving toward the house to surprise her. Infamously, Kristen, not understanding what was going on, rushed to head inside to tell Mom that everyone had showed up. I had to stop her before getting inside and, as she was 4 at the time, it wasn’t too hard for me to catch her. The Plochberger side of the family has traditionally been very good at donning black clothes, putting up signs saying “Over The Hill,” and making a remarkably big deal of family members turning 30, largely under my late Aunt Sara’s guidance.
Now, it’s 23 years later and it’s my turn. Now that I think about it, we haven’t had a 30th birthday in the family for quite awhile (Mom was the youngest in the family with brothers and sisters far into high school at the time she was born, so we had cousins turning 30 before I was even 10) and, as I live in St. Louis and they all live a few hours away, we won’t be celebrating like that. Heck, practically no one I know celebrates 30 anymore like that, as people live to be much older now and 30 is almost like any other birthday. Even 40, to some degree, is a non-issue.
It seems like, in the past 20 years, 30 became the new 50.
Makes me wonder, in another 20 years, if 50 will be the new 70…before I even get there…
In any case, it will be weird to say that I’m in my 30s, but in the end, I don’t see it as a huge shift. There was obviously a time that I did, but now that I’m here, it doesn’t really mean much. The only thing that sticks out in my mind is the fact that I’m now 30 and am still, technically, “in training” for my career, though this is commonplace in the field and to be expected. It’s also a bit different in that I remember my Mom’s 30th birthday (and so does Kristen), but Meg won’t remember mine. Again, a sign of the times when the average age of getting married and having kids is getting later and later.
Other than that, it’s just another year with two new digits to write, rather than just one. And that’s fine by me!
It is rather disappointing to have this day fall in the middle of the week, though, as it makes celebrating a bit more difficult. Brooke, Meg and I will go to the Bottleworks tonight, methinks, which is always a good time, so far as I’m concerned. This past weekend, my family came to town to help celebrate (that, and Father’s Day, of course), and that was a great time. In the end, it’s still more fun than last year, as we’re closer to friends and family here in St. Louis, and it’s a birthday that feels at least a little more meaningful than 29.
Regardless, I’m ready to hit this particular milestone. At the very least, I don’t have to say I’m in my 20s anymore and can try to act like an adult. 😉