Dregs of the Netflix Queue, part VI

Mother, Jugs, and Speed was our latest Bad '70s movie. It stars the unlikely trio of Raquel Welch, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Keitel (who is noticeably smaller than Raquel Welch). Rounding out the cast is the aptly named Dick Butkus and Larry Hagman. Watching this movie reminded me of how much the comedy movie has changed since the '70s. Bill Cosby drinks beer while during his shift as an ambulance driver. Larry Hagman's tries to sexually assault a passed-out coed. The EMTs (ambulance drivers) seem to be there only to pick up the injured--not to provide any medical attention. I did kind of dig their ambulances--one's an A-Team style short van, and the other's a hearse-like Cadillac.



Why did Cadillac ever stop making ambulances? This one must have had an incredible ride.

The Winnebago Man

I've watched this Winnebago salesman a few times, and it gets funnier with each viewing. I would like to have seen the finished commercial.

Dregs of the Netflix Queue, part V

I've been in the mood for a bad '70s movie. This one sure fits the bill: a roller derby flick called The Kansas City Bomber. Raquel Welch plays a divorced mom trying to juggle a career in roller derby, sleazy love interests, and children. The stands are full warty, hairy fans, many missing teeth. Jodie Foster shows up in one scene (If I ever meet Ms. Foster, I'll start the conversation this way: "didn't you play Raquel Welch's daughter in Kansas City Bomber").

Needless to say, plot holes are all over the place. Skaters play the same characters on and off the track. There's no acknowledgment of the acting part of the sport, which seems roughly akin to professional wrestling.

Rating this movie is going to be tough. It's the dreaded Six Pack paradox: how to rate a top-notch "Bad '70s" movie. Three stars seems excessive... Two stars would be too few.

Burn 'em Back

Let me know if you've ever had this problem: too many people around a fire that isn't putting out very much heat. What's a host to do? The answer--according to Joe the taxonomist--is to burn 'em back.

Turkey Bowl Domination

Every year, the graduate students in the Watershed Sciences Department play a football game against the faculty. The game is highly competitive (for some), and more of a novelty for others (like me).

White Rim Trail 2008

Five lucky souls struck out on the White Rim Trail for Halloween weekend. Here's what happened.



We mountain biked for 4 days in the Utah desert. We had beautiful weather, and had a great time. The hardest part was when I drove (in a SUV) this part of the road called the "Hogsback." (I pulled the video below off the interwebs--I don't know those people, but you get the idea).

Latest SNL video

We're on the verge of Palin burnout here...

Wind Cave Trail Run Video

Here's a video from my recent trail run on the Wind Cave Trail.

Do you Cornhole?

Cornhole is a backyard game that we started playing last spring. Last weekend, our neighbor and friend Hillary came over to play against Megan, and here's how it turned out:



By the way, I hadn't realized how popular Cornhole had become. There are a plethora of cornhole videos available on you-tube, and even an american cornhole organization.

I'll Get Back To Ya!

I didn't want to get too political here, but here are some videos to watch to see what might be in store for tonight's VP debate.







It's hard to tell Tina Fey's impersonation from the real thing.

Le Breakdown

Last weekend, we took a trip up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Greg and Lauren's wedding. The ecologically-minded bride and groom had the foresight to rent a "Le Bus," which broke down on I-215.

The wedding guests were told to bring a rock for the newly-minted bride and groom. As we waited on the side of the road, some of the wedding guests found theirs.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Oddly enough, none of the dudes could find a ride up the canyon.

The reception was held at an aviary, which had this room full of swivel chairs. It didn't take long for the chair jousting to start.

Rock Out With Your Caulk Out!

Megan is (finally!) putting the finishing touches on our kitchen remodel. We iced down some beer (Pabst), cranked up the 'skinard, and got 'er done.

Don't forget the little details...

City of Rocks

On labor day, I made a trip to the City of Rocks with Megan, Richie, Sarah, and 3 furry friends (Callie, Ruby, and Lil' JR). We camped near the Twin Sisters, and this is the view from our campsite.

The weather didn't quite cooperate, so I spent some time driving around on the back roads with Callie. The landscape was desolate, but beautiful.

The Twin Sisters (below) were a landmark on the California Trail. Something like 100,000 people passed through this valley in one summer around 1850. If they would have waited a few years, they could have just taken the train.

The remnants of the California Trail can still be seen cutting through the sagebrush.


Callie had a good time sniffing from the back seat.

Crazy Eye

When Callie has a play date (in this case, with Sierra the big ol' St. Bernard), she tends to get a case of the crazy eye (below).

first photosynth

This may be the best thing Microsoft has done.

The setup is simple: first take an assload of pictures (I took 104). The goal is to each point you see in at least 3 photos. After uploading the photos to the photosynth website, it takes about 2 hours for this image to generate. Even with 104 photos, my image was only 88 percent of the way to a fully synthesized image.

Presidential Brew

My Dad and I were on vacation in the south, sometime circa 1978, and made a long detour through Plains, Georgia, to stop at Billy Carter's gas station. Of course Billy wasn't there, but we stopped long enough to fill up the gas tank, and to load the pickup with some great-tasting Billy Beer. Billy Carter billed himself as some kind of professional redneck, a niche currently filled by the likes of Hank Williams, Jr.



Needless to say, the fad didn't last long. The beer, made by Falls City Brewing, was crap, and now is sold for about a dollar a can on e-bay. I think Dad still has one of the cans (empty of course) displayed prominently in his basement.

Dregs of the Netflix Queue, part IV

With the Olympics (yawn) wheezing along in their 5th day, I'm spending my days writing my dissertation, and nights filling in some gaps in my knowledge of early 70s cinema. That gritty era is correctly viewed as very experimental and influential (e.g., the Godfather, Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, etc.), but it also produced its share of dense, unfunny, indecipherable movies. Case in point: Little Murders.

This dark comedy does a good job of portraying 70s gloom, disenchantment with societal institutions, and a bleak, crime-riddled New York City. But the "comedic" elements don't hold up: the square dad who continually asks, "What's your pleasure?" The closeted gay son who laughs uncontrollably and looks as if he spends 18 hours a day locked in his room. Eliott Gould, covered in his dead wife's blood, riding the subway without eliciting a reaction from the other passengers. Maybe this was subversively funny at one time, but this kind of humor hasn't aged well.

However this scene, featuring Donald Sutherland, was a rare high point.

Relaxating

Make sure to find some time for relaxating this summer.

Dregs of the Netflix Queue, part III

I've been having a running conversation with the Ribald Storyteller (see photos below) about his rating of the bad 1980s movie "Six Pack." The Ribald Storyteller rated it one star out of 5, despite the fact that he recently paid to re-watch the movie. I argued that the fact that he was re-watching it meant that he should give it something around 2-3 stars.

This brings up the question: How does one rate a bad movie that you watch specifically because it is bad?



Coincidentally, I later read in the New York Times that a re-make of Six Pack is in production, and will be directed by David Gordon Green.

The article states, "Mr. Green speaks with admiration of the Billy Crystal-Gregory Hines action comedy “Running Scared” and reels off references to the Kurt Russell-Sylvester Stallone cop movie “Tango & Cash,” to “Surf Nazis Must Die” and Rowdy Roddy Piper in “They Live,” and to the entire output of Cannon Films (gems like “Missing in Action” and “Death Wish 3”), it becomes apparent that for him the late ’80s, a boom period for the kind of processed American cheese that has yet to be rehabilitated by critical re-evaluation, was formative."

I like that statement: that Six-Pack "has yet to be rehabilitated by critical evaluation." So what do you say, Ribald Storyteller--any chance of bumping the movie up a notch in your Netflix rating? If you need some coaxing, just watch this clip.

State of the garden: early August

After a cold spring, the garden is finally starting to look like a garden. For the record, we have tomatoes (14 varieties), broccoli, carrots, beets, potatoes, basil, eggplant, beans, lettuce, squash, watermelon, and arugula planted.
Last night, I harvested our remaining red onions. The yellow onions and garlic had just finished curing in the basement. We've harvested about 20 pounds of garlic and 40 pounds of onions so far.


As usual, Callie played an important part in the vegetable harvest.

Kevvy Kevv sightings

After seeing my friend Kevin Wagoner pop up in a bunch of movies (see my entry for North Dallas 40 below), I decided to add a new feature to my blog: Kevvy Kevv sightings. (The previous post will give you an idea of what the guy actually looks like: kind of a brown haired Kenny Rogers.) Anyway, here are the most recent Kevvy Kevv sightings: this first one was from the great film noir, Blast of Silence.

Can't remember where this one was taken.

This was from the unintentionally hilarious documentary, American Movie.

Don't remember taking this one, either.


Lastly, there's this guy from the Cannonball Run.

Red River, New Mexico

At the end of July, I was able to make a trip to Red River, New Mexico, to visit Kevin Wagoner and his family (see photo below, taken at the local Mexican restaurant). Red River is a former mining town, newly remade into a ski resort/summer destination for Texans looking to escape the summer heat. Kevin's better 3/4 includes (from left): Emma Lou, Lisa, and Tess.

While we were there, Tess caught her first fish--a rainbow trout--from one of the stocked ponds in the town.

I was able to do a hike on my last day in town. I tried to get to Wheeler Peak, but turned around in a lightning storm above treeline. On the way up, there were a bunch of bighorn sheep ewes hanging around by the trail. They weren't skittish, and let me get close enough to take this photo.

From the Wheeler Peak ridgeline, Red River lies in the valley below.

The trip was great, except for the long drive that left me (in the words of the locals) "hatchet-brained."

Kitchen Remodel Update, Part II

I almost forgot: here is a view of the other side of the kitchen. In the upper left-hand corner, you will see the soffit that I extended in order to accommodate the longer cabinet (with some help--over the telephone--from my brother-in-law Kris).

Kitchen Remodel Update

I just spent a fun Saturday working on a kitchen remodel. We had the cabinets and countertops professionally installed, which meant that I had to install our new sink, garbage disposal, and plumbing. The plumbing (see photo below) was the hardest, most backbreaking part.



I was pleased with the end result, though. I will be installing tile between the backsplash and cabinets.

Bear Lake Marathon

These are some photos from the inaugural Bear Lake Marathon. The race started in Idaho, and went around the southern part of the lake. This first picture was taken near the start of the race. Mary (wearing the green shirt) and her friend Don (running between Mary and I) also took part.

The race was a decidedly low-rent affair. No bathrooms at the start, no traffic control, and no first aid stations. What the race lacked in accommodations, it made up for with scenery.


Mary and I were able to run in the shade for the first half of the race.

The last 10 miles were in the sun, on the west side of Bear Lake. I ended up roasting like a chicken.


I didn't end up with any pictures of the finish line--it was a chute made of caution tape, with no clock. I'm still not sure what time I ran, but I'm not worried about it.

Running the Canal Trail

This isn't my favorite run in Logan, but it gets the job done when I don't have very much time to exercise.

North Carolina in Springtime

I just returned from a 4-day trip to North Carolina. My father moved there when he retired after teaching 30+ years in Illinois. His wife, Lynda, was originally from the Wake Forest area.

They built a home together on some land that includes this neat old barn. The barn is very distinctive now that the area is less rural and more developed.


The weather was springlike--lots of flowers, including this prickly pear cactus in bloom.



As usual, Dad and I took a short kayaking trip, this time on the Lumber River. The river was full of snags and debris for the first mile or so, and the last part of the trip flowed through the town of Lumberton. This kind of river lends itself to a mellow, leisurely pace.

Art on a Desert Lake

The north shore of the Great Salt Lake is a surreal place. Salt precipitates out of the water, encrusting everything.



The water itself has a pinkish hue, with boulder-sized hunks of foam floating around on it.



The artist Robert Smithson used this barren landscape for his pioneering artwork, the Spiral Jetty. We were lucky enough to see it firsthand last summer.

Pizzas and the Wind Cave Trail

The wind cave trailhead is about 5 miles up Logan Canyon from our house. We went for a hike there last Saturday afternoon. It was a beautiful day--abundant sunshine--a real treat after our most recent batch of spring storms. We were approaching the snow line when Mike started to talk about pizzas, so we made a hasty retreat back to town.

Callie took in the view of the Cache Valley.

Dregs of the Netflix Queue, part II

I recently viewed this program, formerly #139 from my Netflix Queue. The review I read generously called it "middlebrow" 1970s television. Each episode starts the same way--a large and obvious thing (e.g., a train car, or a professional football player) is stolen from a place with tight security. Banacek--a smug Polish Sherlock Holmes--is called in to find the missing goods. The opening theme sums it up.



Along the way, Banacek usually engages in some casual sex, smokes a couple cigars, and drinks some expensive booze. He haggles with insurance inspectors, is insulted for his Polish ancestry, and has his name mangled.

Part of the fun of watching this show is the deep insight contained in a Polish proverb.

The last day at the Beav'

Beaver Mountain, the local ski area, closed about a month ago. It wasn't for lack of snow. Today, Callie and I headed up for what might turn out to be the last ski of the year. We had to dodge a few snowmobiles on the way up, but still had a great time.
Callie also sought some part-time work as a liftie.

Blind Hollow Yurt Trip

Here are some photos from up our most recent yurt trip to Blind Hollow. It was a nice, warm day as we skinned in.





At night, we engaged in some interpretive dance moves.





Of course, we spent most of our time skinning and hanging out at the yurt. However, we did manage to ski a couple of times. Before we hit this slope, Megan and I dug a snow pit to assess stability of the snowpack.




This video shows a new and easy method for assessing snowpack stability:

Primary Burnout

This video does a good job of summing up the state of the democratic primary. We've had about a month or so of the same story--Hillary does well enough to fight another day of what will turn out to be a losing battle. Cough...Wheeze...



The Hillary Deathwatch (the percentage chance of Hillary winning the nomination) has jumped from 9.9 to 10.7 percent.

The dregs of the Netflix Queue

If you are a Netflix subscriber, you probably have a few lame movies languishing at the bottom of your queue. You will probably never watch these movies, nor will you take them out of your queue. Here's a flick that languished at the bottom of my queue for about 20 months--for good reason. The movie is poorly lit, the acting uneven, and the sound sounds like it was recorded using a cassette recorder.

"North Dallas 40" was part of the narrow sub-genere of 1970s professional sports movies (also see Semi-Tough and the recently-remade Longest Yard). I have to say that I've never seen a more unconvincing athlete than Nick Nolte in this movie. Mercifly, most of the movie takes place off-field, where Nolte's character guzzles booze, pops pills, smokes cigars, blasts his shotgun indiscriminately, chars steaks on the grill, and hits on a woman who doesn't like football. The Sunday Night Movie promo (above) pretty much sums it up.

Also, one of the movie extras looked eerily like Kevvy Kevv (see hazy photo above).

State of the garden: late April

We have had a few nice, springlike days here in Logan. As a result, we decided to plant some crops: onions, garlic, carrots, peas, lettuce, broccoli, etc. Anything that could withstand some cold weather--it's already snowed on the garden twice. It doesn't look like much now, but wait until June...