What’s Happening Now
A few days ago, our air conditioning was on the fritz, and we were uncomfortable because the house was too warm. That was then. This is now: It’s 57 degrees outside, and it has been windy, so not only has my UFP flag been waving wildly in the breeze, I’ve spent the day trying to decide if it’s time to break out the sweater and gloves once more. When I was younger, cold weather never bothered me. I remember my best friend Nick and I went to visit a friend of his on Halloween night once. The temperature was in the low 70’s when we walked the two miles to his house. After having a good evening’s conversation, we walked outside, and the temperature had dropped dramatically. Neither of us was dressed for the prospect of strong north winds and near-freezing temperatures, but we survived the journey back to our respective homes. Once, while riding my bicycle home after getting out of school (I was in the 10th grade, so the high school was three miles or so from my house), I was caught in a sleet storm. I had a raincoat, but it didn’t cover my legs. By the time I got home, my pants were semi-frozen, and my legs were very close to that same condition. But I survived. Today, the house got down to 64 degrees, and I was absolutely freezing! My, how things change.
Toby, Our Noisy Chihuahua
No politics today. Instead, I’m going to discuss another form of noise. Toby—our chihuahua. Our first introduction to the little fellow came when we were fostering dogs for a while. At the time, we were living in Bernalillo, NM (it’s just north of Albuquerque on the way to Santa Fe). They found a home for him with an elderly couple, and that lasted a few days. He was just too noisy for them. Thus, he rejoined us, and we ended up adopting him. Sandy has said more than once that he is the cutest dog she’s ever had—when he’s asleep. He may be cute then, but he's rarely completely quiet when he’s asleep. He growls and barks all the time in his sleep. We rarely know what he’s growling or barking at, but he’s determined to make his presence known to the universe. Unlike Stephen Crane’s poem in which the Universe declares it doesn’t care about the state of mankind, I’m quite sure the Universe would be happy if he’d quit barking as well. He’s Sandy’s dog, as are most of them, but he does tolerate me when it’s time for a treat—or his medicine (he gets his pill wrapped up in a bit of cheese).
Chinese Movies
When I was in college, Chinese Kung Fu movies were the rage, and those movies were exhausting. I had no idea Kung Fu included jumping over buildings and hovering in mid-air while having a swordfight with an arm and a leg cut off. The plots were always simple good guys versus bad guys (there were always more bad guys, of course), but the good guys always won.
This afternoon, I watched a Chinese movie named “Skyfire” on HULU. It was reminiscent of “Volcano” with Tommy Lee Jones and “Dante’s Peak” with Pierce Brosnan. Both of those came out in 1998 (I believe). This one was made in 2019, and it was made in both Chinese and English (which means the speaking parts required actors who could do both languages). It was more entertaining than I expected, and it had very good special effects (better than either of the previously mentioned films could do twenty years ago). The story was silly, but that’s not too unusual in disaster movies. What was surprising was a beautiful scene just before the volcano erupts in which a fellow is proposing to his girlfriend underwater! It’s almost like watching a ballet as they swim about (fully clothed, of course). From that moment on, they’re dodging lava bombs, molten lava, explosive gas vents, earthquakes, and pyroclastic flows. Jason Isaacs (Draco Malfoy’s dad in Harry Potter) is the rich guy who decides to build an amusement park on an island with an active volcano (Jurassic World #2 did that one too, but the Chinese did it without dinosaurs). They actually got me to watch the end credits by showing scenes of the filming while a band sang a song I couldn’t understand—it wasn’t done in English. If you’re into disaster movies, this one may suit you tastes.
That’s enough for now.
Let me know what you think.
Take care. Stay Safe.
cma
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