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Roya was initially due to be born today. We would've been holed up in the hospital and would've had to pick Isabel as her middle name. Happy Birthday Roro! |9.18.03| Hurricane Isabel is blowing in tonight. I hope the home inspector was right about the roof. |9.18.03| We've opened up about half the boxes and are slowly working on the rest. Not in a rush and willing to just slow down and live a little after the hectic last six weeks. |9.4.03| Moving day. I just want a bed to crawl into. |8.28.03|
After a delay from Last Wednesday, the hospital now says that Roya will have to stay another week. |8.17.03|
The Matrix Reloaded - Liked it as a Sci Fi fan, but it lacked the originality of the first one, probably because of so many similar fight scenes in other movies. Playground fight could've been reduced by five minutes. |7.20.03| Dorood Shizzolated - Know what I'm sayin'? |7.15.03| Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Saw it again in Screen on the Green night on the Mall. Beautiful night and the movie was fantastic. Probably Paul Newman's best performance. |7.14.03| Adaptation - Very good, especially for a Hollywood movie, but they just couldn't resist the Hollywood ending in the last minute ("I love you too"). |7.7.03| Went out on the annual Fourth of July canoe trip. The river was five feet or more higher than last year's debacle and the weather was beautiful. |7.5.03| Got'ta love a presidential candidate with his own blog. He apparently has more web discussion groups than all the other Democratic candidates combined. |7.5.03| Analyze That - Is it a comedy? Drama? Action? |7.1.03| The Emperor's Club - The only way I'd watch this is if they strapped me into a chair... which is why I dragged through it on the plane back. See The Dead Poet's Society instead. |6.29.03| Chicago - Believe me, I've tried to like musicals, but they just don't work for me. Maybe it's because I've never felt like breaking out into song/dance at a pensive moment. |6.29.03| Niņo Josele, Niņo Josele - Picked this up in Spain after hearing him on TV. The video for Ranchado de los Paraguayos is somewhere on the site. |6.28.03| A Season on the Brink, John Feinstein - Gave me a bit more insight into why people like Bobby Knight (and GW's coach Hobbs). Also put the spotlight on why Indiana was right in axing him. |6.28.03| Darya and Shiva flip on the bull fights on TV every day and watch through their fingers. Training for daytime talk-shows I suppose. |6.26.03| Day-trip to Ronda. A 45km drive up some beautiful windy roads to a spectacular Moorish town. A bit too much tourism, but then again, thatīs what we were. |6.24.03| So itīs 12:30am and Iīm just back from a swim in the Med to wash away the bad luck. Itīs Dia de San Juan and Sandee and I wrote our wishes on a piece of paper and threw it out to the sea surrounded by a ton of bonfires and drunk Spaniards. I love this country. |6.24.03| Life of Pi, Yann Martel - I had very high expectations, taken even higher through the first half of the book, so it was almost inevitable that it would leave me disappointed. It promised to make one believe in God (I at least expected a good argument), but Martel forgot to even bring it up in the last +100 pages. |6.23.03| Hear the weather in DC stinks. My heart bleeds for you... Oh no... thatīs just some wine on my shirt. |6.23.03| Day trip to Nerja and Marina del Este. Too much driving for the rewards. |6.21.03| Just arrived at my parentsī place in Fuengirola (Costa del Sol) after a nasty flight due to bad weather in the states. Beautiful day here and the wine tastes just as good as it always did. |6.13.03| On and On, Jack Johnson - From reggae to blues to folk and just plain good. |6.6.03| Deception - Really bad movie which manages to insult every possible ethnicity as well as your intelligence. |6.2.03| Just got back from the annual Memorial Day camping extravaganza to Trout Pond, WV in the George Washington National Forest. Not as spectacular as Seneca Rocks, but still very nice and the weather cooperated. |5.26.03| What are people looking for on the web? Here is a great page that lists the last ten searches performed on AllTheWeb ("colonostomy", "backwashing pool instructions", "married but looking"...) |5.22.03| Just a little link that Alin sent today. Good solution for those workdays after too much beer/Mexican food. |5.22.03| Two Weeks Notice - Par for the course for a Sandra Bullock movie, but I expected more laughs from Hugh Grant, whose understated humor I enjoy. |5.11.03| Drove to Chestertown, MD on the Eastern Shore for our anniversary weekend. The town itself was nice, but the inn keepers at the Widow's Walk Inn were fantastic and made the experience a lot more enjoyable. |5.5.03| Noticed while driving around that Whitey's has closed down. To me it is the final death knell for North Arlington as a bastion of mom and pop establishments. The mallification floodgates are now officially open. |5.2.03|
Real Women Have Curves - Movie was good, but beyond that, I liked the combination of foreign movie style with American language. We need more immigrant movies like this. |4.27.03| The Return of the King, J. R. R. Tolkien - Strong ending to the series. Almost sad that there was no more. The great thing about the Lords of the Rings series is that my 11-year old relative is also reading it. |4.27.03| Holes - Movie adaptation of popular kids book was a bit challenging for Shiva (9), but Sandee and I loved it! |4.26.03| What Economists do All Day - This cracks me up. |4.21.03| Maid in Manhattan - J.Lo does a good job (she was an actress first after all), but the plot falls apart after they set up the initial premise. |4.20.03| The Two Towers, J. R. R. Tolkien - Wanted to stop reading the series after this book, but I think I'm going to go on. Only complaint is the incessant references to the "fair, bright eyed" good guys and "dark skinned" bad guys "from the south". |4.18.03| Went to the Capital Classic with Sean. Michael, Spike Lee, Warren Sapp, Melo, and other celebs were there to see Lebron end his high school career. We were there to see the obscure regional warmup game. |4.17.03| A good op/ed piece by young writer Arundhati Roy on the war. She gets some of the facts wrong, but the article is a nice summary of my feelings about the events. |4.9.03| The Fellowship of the Ring, J. R. R. Tolkien - A bit surprised that I couldn't put it down, especially since I've seen the movie twice. Going right through to The Two Towers. |4.2.03| The Bourne Identity - Did the book justice. Unfortunately, there's no way to impart Ludlum's fantastic ability to set moods/scenes in a two hour movie. Matt Damon does a credible acting job, although looks too young for the part. |3.27.03| Sweet Home Alabama - Does well despite the predictable storyline. Could've done better without the whole NYC mayor angle and the whacky wedding. |3.23.03| The Banger Sisters - Fun little movie, but Susan Sarandon looks really bad in those tights. |3.15.03| The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov - Read it again after, oh, 20 years. It's lost some of its luster with recent tech improvements flanking some of the storylines. |3.6.03| Business trip to Tokyo allowed for a couple of days of wandering around this huge city. Something for everyone including, obviously, fantastic sushi at the wholesale fish market. |3.6.03| The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien - Took me a long time to read it to the girls. It was probably a bit too early for them. Easy to see the links with the Harry Potter books. |3.6.03| XXX - Vin Diesel surprised me in a pretty cool 007: The Next Generation movie. You'll like it if you like the recent Bond movies. |3.2.03| The Truth About Charlie - Crash and burn ending ruins promising movie. |3.2.03|
Y tu Mama Tambien - Starts off with little promise, but strong ending makes you go through the whole movie with a different perspective. It helped that we've been to the coast that they travel to. |2.23.03| About a Boy - Surprisingly good movie. Thought it was a regular feel-good flick, but it was deeper. Good cinematography too. |2.23.03| The Hours - I liked the concept of the book weaving through time and a lot of the acting. Downers were Nicole Kidman (fake nose and all) and the lack of a point. |2.13.03| Insomnia - Perfect example of how the name of the movie completely changes the preception of the content. A just above average murder mystery turns into a great psychological thriller. |1.27.03| Barbershop - Enjoyed it a lot. Cedric the Entertainer was a blast as Eddie the old barber/philosopher and Eve was also impressive. |1.19.03| Sandee and I participated in a peace march in DC with about half a million other people. Amazing to see so many folks come out and show where they stand. Saw a total of five hecklers. |1.18.03| Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Three hours on a Sunday night in a movie theatre and I wasn't bored one second. Great war action and effects make the story come alive. |1.12.03| The Multiplex Man, James P. Hogan - Nicely done sci fi thriller. Will make a great movie some day starring Tom Cruise. |1.8.03| Mr. Deeds - Adam Sandler finds yet another vehicle to play the same role he's been acting all his career. But hey, if people will pay to see it... |1.4.03| Happy New Year Everyone!!! Great party at Nadir & Nancy's new place. |1.1.03| Catch Me if you Can - Well acted and fun movie. Perfect for getting rid of the New Year party headache |1.1.03| Next: The Future Just Happened, Michael Lewis - A cynical, but ultimately hopeful collection of stories about how the internet is changing the way society functions, and the problems that this change creates. |12.28.02| The Wild Thornberrys Movie - They did the TV series proud by coming up with a nice plot. Parents might enjoy it too if they're not careful. |12.27.02| Monsoon Wedding - Two interesting subplots kept the movie together as the main story was predictably weak. High "PBS value" as well. |12.22.02| Minority Report - Nicely done and mentally challenging sci-fi flick despite the couple of Star Trek-like contortions to make the plot work. |12.20.02| Austin Powers in Goldmember - Series going downhill. Didn't look like Mike Myers heart was into this one. |12.13.02| The Sweetest Thing - A couple of really funny scenes in this light comedy. Christina Applegate does a great job. |12.10.02| Ice Age - Starting to forget that these things are computer generated and not regular cartoons. Amusing enough to be "fun for the whole family!" |12.7.02| Nice snowstorm in DC, but I'm stuck home with a virus and can't break out the sleds. |12.5.02| Thanksgiving in Richmond with Sandee's mom. Roll me home please. |11.28.02| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Long, dark and true to the book. Kids got scared a bit, but it was satisfying. The 4th movie is going to be seven hours long |11.16.02| Permanent, Joy Division - Jerry got this compilation CD for my for my b-day, building on the 24 Hour Party People theme going on. Recommended for all '80s types who missed out on JD the first time around. |10.31.02| Scooby-Doo - Yawn. They couldn't decide if this is was going to be a kids movie or an adults movie, so they split the difference and made it a teen movie. |10.30.02| Monsters, Inc. - Not as good as Toy Story, but real close. It's my first DVD so I played around with all the extra features for an hour. |10.26.02| I, Q, John de Lancie - By Q, on Q. Middle of the pack as Star Trek books go. |10.20.02| Blade - Matrix/Mummy/Zombie remix. |10.15.02| Rudy - Finally saw this one after nine years. I think I would've enjoyed it more back then. As it is, I couldn't get away from thinking this guy was a bit cooky, especially after seeing his real picture. |10.13.02| Chekideh-e Tarikh-e Iran - Condensed History of Iran, Farsi. Nice summary of everything I'd forgotten since high school. The writer falls into the normal trap of bringing his own judgments into play when he gets to contemporary history. |10.10.02| If you're wondering about all the war/spy movies, Sandee is away on travel. |10.9.02| Hart's War - Was going somewhere special with a couple of nice good/evil juxtipositions, but ran back to the mainstream in the last 10 minutes. |10.8.02| Spy Game - Never explained why Robert Redford looked 65 in the 1970's flashback scenes. |10.6.02| Blackhawk Down - Slightly disappointed in the movie. Was surprised to learned that all the 1,000 Somalis killed were carrying guns. Watch the PBS documentary if you can. |10.4.02| 24 Hour Party People, Various - Soundtrack to the aforementioned movie. This is probably my favorite soundtrack of all time... OK, I can think of a couple of better ones, but it's really good. |10.3.02| Room for Squares, John Mayer - Poor man's David Gray (actually, the CDs cost the same). The lyrics are sometimes too young, but I really like Your Body is a Wonderland. |10.1.02| 40 Days and 40 Nights - Predictable story line, but a lot of chuckles nonetheless. The lead actress looks like Lisa Bonet. |9.29.02| Signs - Maybe I'm not smart enough for this one. On the other hand, I got to see a sci fi movie, a boo-flick and religious moralizing in one go! |9.28.02| Monsters, Inc. - Not quite as good as Toy Story, but close. This one is crying out for a sequel. |9.25.02| The Count of Monte Cristo - Very well done adaptation of the Dumas book that didn't skimp on any major part of the story. Best revenge story of all time (better than Death Wish!). |9.24.02| Dads and Daughters, Joe Kelly - Essential reading for dads with daughters. I don't agree with everything he says, but he makes a lot of strong points and comes through with practical examples. |9.19.02| Fight Club - There was so much good stuff here that they could've explored a few of the angles in separate movies. Brad Pitt held his own very nicely against my favorite actor de jour, Ed Norton. |9.15.02| Maryland Renaissance Festival - Lots of people walking around in tights, roast turkey legs and plenty of things to do. The directions on the web site send you to a massive traffic jam. |9.14.02| 24 Hour Party People - Fantastic movie about the punk/new wave/rave scene in Manchester from the late '70s to '90s. It's done as a semi-documentary. A must-see if you are into that kind of music. |9.12.02| The Time Machine - Probably a good sci fi short story by H.G. Wells, but seemed dragged-out as a movie. |9.8.02| The Royal Tenenbaums - I'd been warned not to expect too much from this one. I really liked how they told the story, but the story itself was weak. |9.3.02| Disneyland - Spent nine hours there "for the kids". Beautiful day and short lines led to enjoyment for all. |8.21.02| Flew over to LA to surprise Shahin on his 40th. Was surprised myself when Maziar showed up five minutes before the guest of honor. Great blast with around 100 guests. |8.17.02| Gosford Park - The Oscar nominations must've been a "lifetime achievement" award for Robert Altman because the movie was meandering and bland. |8.15.02| Murder at 1600 - I'm as willing as the next guy to give the director some "artistic freedom" with a story, but this plot had more holes in it than one of my '80s fish-net t-shirts. |8.13.02| Drove to Charlottesville for Dana & Sarah's wedding. Had a great time at the event and walking around town. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon. |8.10.02| Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky - Took me almost six months to read this as I didn't want to force it. As with other Dostoevsky books, it took me down to the lowest lows of my mind. Great read. |8.9.02| Maryam - I thought it was a fantastic movie. It captured the whole host of emotions that I had gone through when I moved to the US in 1982. Definitely go see it if you are a middle-eastern immigrant. |8.6.02| Monsters Ball - Thought it was an especially good performance by Billy Bob Thornton. Great movie overall, although I left it thinking I was a bit short-changed considering the strength of the opening 30 minutes. |8.4.02| My Big Fat Greek Wedding - I was thinking yesterday that I'm sick of "Mary"-alike comedies and then this one comes along. A massive hoot PLUS a lot of inter-ethnic marriage jokes that we loved. |8.1.02| Be sure to check out the article on M&M's wedding from the Charles City Press. |8.1.02| Kate & Leopold - Just can't like Meg Ryan anymore. It wasn't bad for a date movie. |7.31.02| Ghost World - Great low-budget flick which pulls you into enid's weird little world. The ending was a bit weak. Seemed like the director was trying hard to be French about it. |7.27.02| Snow Dogs - Typical Disney movie: Non-offensive to everyone and not in any way cutting edge, but I guess the kids liked it. |7.27.02| Vanilla Sky - "What Dreams May Come" meets "Total Recall". Great cinematography and soundtrack and a good job by Tom Cruise (or is it Tom Cruz?) |7.21.02| Bleacher seats to see the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium for Dana's bachelor day. Left the game when the Sox were down 6-2 in the 7th to go to a bar and watched them almost come back in an 11 inning game on TV. |7.20.02| Fact: It's rained every day for one and a half months in West Palm Beach. Could've used some of the rain during the canoeing event, instead of my business trip down there. |7.8.02| The annual 4th of July canoe trip ran into the drought of 2002. Rowing over gravel for eight hours wasn't fun, but the good company made up for it. |7.6.02| Just back from a long weekend at Nags Head. It had been too long since I'd been to a beach. |7.2.02| Went to sleep at 1:30am. Woke up at 2:30am to watch the US/Mexico game. Went to sleep at 4:30am. Woke up at 7:30am to watch the Brazil/Mexico game. Ugh... I'm sleepy. |6.17.02| Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - I'll lay off the critical review here. I just sat back and enjoyed it. |6.15.02| Cruel Intentions - Yet another remake of Dangerous Liaisons. The story is so good that it's hard to muck it up. |6.14.02| Serendipity - Corny storyline, but I enjoyed it so it couldn't be that bad. Good performance by John Cusak. I kept looking for his sister, but she's not working with him for a change. |6.12.02| Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - Dreamworks' answer to the Lion King. Well done. |6.9.02| Waking up at 5am for the World Cup games is killing me... but I can't sleep knowing the games are on. |6.8.02| Just got back from Amsterdam for a quick business trip. What a nice place to relax. People are very laid back and the city feels much more cozy than you'd think. |6.6.02| Bend it Like Beckham - Watched it because nothing else was playing on the plane. Turned out to be a nice little movie about ethnic barriers and bridges for foreigners living in the West. |6.5.02| Seneca Rocks, WV - Went camping for four days with the kids and a group of friends. Hiking, canoeing and wall-climbing were some of the main highlights. |5.24.02| Estopa, Estopa - Mix of classical Spanish guitar and rock with contemporary lyrics. Burned my own compilation from their first two albums. |5.20.02| Training Day - Out of character role for Denzel makes it a deserved Oscar. |5.18.02| Come Away With Me, Norah Jones - Amazing voice and broad range of mellow music way beyond her 22 years. Oddly enough, she's the daughter of Ravi Shankar. |5.16.02| Spiderman - Superman is a woos. Besides a couple of poor monologues on the definition of love at the end (presumably to make it a date movie), the story was well developed and the action was spiderific (can you tell I was a Spiderman fan as a kid?). |5.12.02| Life as a House - Rare movie focusing on fatherhood (and regrets). Not bad at all for a tear-jerker. |5.11.02| It's our first wedding anniversary! Check the wedding pages for a retrospective. |5.5.02| A.I. - Compelling robot story if you are a sci fi fan like me, but bested by Millennium Man. I wish some one would bring the whole Asimov robot series to the big screen. |4.19.02| Sexy Beast - Low budget British movie and not for those averse to VERY crude language, but Ben Kingsley is absolutely a genius in his portrayal of the beast. |4.16.02| Rock Star - Fun movie. Markie Mark does a great job as the aspiring rock star. I thought he was lip-synching until I remembered... duh. |4.10.02| Hardball - Bad News Bears on crack. |4.8.02| Random Hearts - Harrison Ford should really stick to leading ladies his own age. |4.7.02| By popular request, a brief description of the traditions of the Iranian New Year, Noruz. |4.6.02| Ocean's 11 - Well done and constantly moving plot makes for a fun movie... or maybe it was the pitcher of beer at the Cinema & Drafthouse. |4.4.02| Romy and Michelle's Highschool Reunion - OK, but I thought it would be funnier. |4.2.02| Zoolander - OK, but I thought it would be funnier. |4.1.02| Clockstoppers - The main premise wears off half-way into the movie. The kids liked it though. |3.31.02| My Old Man and the Sea, David Hays & Daniel Hays - Wonderful book about a father and son sailing around Cape Horn in a 25 foot boat. The real story is in their thoughts and interactions during the voyage. |3.29.02| Went hiking with Sandee at Manassas National Battlefield. Now need to rent that PBS Civil War documentary. |3.24.02| The Natural, Joe Klein - Insider's retrospective on the Clinton Presidency from the author of Primary Colors. Made me realize how much I missed the man (faults and all). |3.23.02| River's Edge - Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper's performances save this '86 movie that would otherwise have just been strange. |3.21.02| The Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton Christensen - Fabulous book and a must-read for all managers |3.21.02| It's Iranian New Year (Noruz) today! Here are a couple of stills from the video camera (1, 2). |3.20.02|
Atlantis Found, Clive Cussler - Cussler finally succumbs to the good old 4th Reich story line. Throw in Atlantis and tectonic engineering and you've got his most improbable plot ever. |3.11.02| The Warren Buffett way, Robert G. Hagstrom - Wish I'd read this years ago. Must reading (together with One Up on Wall Street) for all stock market investors. |3.4.02| Tortilla Soup - I think I just like all "food movies". As you can guess, this one is centered around Mexican food. Don't watch it before a meal! |3.3.02| Acoustic Soul, India.Aire - Sandee's current fave. Great voice, beat and lyrics. |3.2.02| MTV Unplugged, Alejandro Sanz - Everything from some classical guitar to hardcore crooning to Latin dance. Nice utility CD. |3.2.02| American Pie II - More of the same of the original, which means it was very funny. |3.2.02|
Made - Vince Vaughn plays the most annoying character ever written into a movie. It's not Swingers, but it's good. |2.24.02| The Razor's Edge, W. Somerset Maugham - Great storytelling, but I found myself wishing he would write more about Larry's thoughts than his "beautiful deep-set eyes". |2.20.02| The Contender - I consider myself pretty liberal, but this movie was totally off the scale there even for me. |2.18.02| Big Fat Liar - Not bad at all for a kid movie. Amanda Bynes will make it big. |2.10.02| Wonder Boys - Michael Douglas finally breaks out of the Gordon Gheko mold (nicely) in this dark comedy. |2.10.02| Selena - That girl would be rich if she were alive for the latin cross-over era. Mental note to never hire anyone named Yolanda. |2.9.02| The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger - Similar mood to The Sun Also Rises, but from a teenage perspective. I guess that's why it's a high school staple. |2.3.02| The Score - Good action flick. Ed Norton morphs masterfully again. |1.30.02| Caste War of the Yucatan, Nelson Reed - 150,000 dead in four years in a 19th century war no one has heard of. Very well written. |1.27.02| Amelie - The French should try their hands at uplifting movies more often. Best movie I've seen in a long time. Go see it. |1.24.02| Buena Vista Social Club - Most fun I've ever had watching a documentary. |1.21.02| A Beautiful Mind - Another great acting job by Russell Crowe (see The Insider), who I would otherwise dislike. Movie skips Nash's homosexual experimentation. |1.20.02| America's Sweethearts - Billy Crystal has the best role in the movie, which is not surprising considering he wrote and produced it. |1.14.02| The History of the Siege of Lisbon, Jose Saramago - Difficult read (Ch. 1 was one 5-page sentence) interweaves current love story with historical semi-fiction. Artistic, but not engrossing. |1.10.02| Mumford - Mixed feelings here. Seemed like an indie film vehicle for a bunch of holywood semi-stars. A few chuckles and some strong moments. |1.4.02| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Totally engrosing, even though it's +3 hours long. They'll make a mint by the time the trilogy is over. |1.2.02| Blast of a New Year's party at Ken's. My head hurts. |1.1.02| A rare, but great, article on GW hoops in the Washington Post. |12.27.01| Missundaztood, Pink - Expected some fun tracks. Got those and some really strong and frank folk songs. |12.26.01| What Dreams May Come - Possibly the most visually stunning movie ever. Robin Williams is in way too many of my five stars. |12.23.01| Now here's a great idea for a blog. |12.20.01| If you've become addicted to spell checkers and miss your fix when you are posting from your browser, try Hot Lingo. Only mildly annoying notice on free version. |12.6.01| Heartbreakers - See Dirty Rotten Scoundrels instead. |12.2.01| The Mummy Returns - Typical action sequel: More f/x, less story. |12.1.01| Legally Blond - Was funny before it started going for the moral lesson. |11.27.01| Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Went with the kids to opening day show. Really well done and true to the book. The kids enjoyed it too. |11.16.01| Election - I think all the major characters in this entertaining movie were moral messes. Or is that ethical messes? |11.11.01| JavaScript: A Beginner's Guide, John Pollock - Despite the name, it covers a lot of intermediate issues and is a good reference. |11.6.01| The Tailor of Panama - The anti-bond, or what 007 really lives like and an unfortunately realistic plot. Definitely worth a watch. |11.4.01| Divine Secrets of the Ya-YA Sisterhood - Had a good set up, but I don't know where it was going with its message. People make mistakes? Forgive and forget? |10.31.01| All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 - Weege got it for my birthday. Best U2 album since Joshua Tree. |10.30.01| Blast from the Past - Brendan Fraser turns in another funny performance. Good for a Sunday night movie (if no late football game). |10.28.01| Father of the Bride Part II - Not nearly as funny as the original. Not enough Fraank. |10.28.01| 15 Minutes - The story changes from an action movie to a social statement in the last half hour. |10.20.01| Clarendon Day - Beautiful day for a street fair. The B-52 flying overhead scared everyone though. |10.13.01| Memento - Almost a five star movie. Intelligent plot and great acting. Check out the URL for the movie web site. |10.10.01| Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - I've seen it a few times before. It's still funny. |10.8.01| Chocolat - Loved it! Or maybe it's because I'm a chocaholic. |10.6.01| The Princess Diaries - Real funny stretches, but looong sappy ending. It's even got a Farsi line. |9.30.01| Enemy at the Gates - Why doesn't someone bring Platoon type realism to WWII movies. Cartoon people rule this and Private Ryan. |9.30.01|
Enterprise - Two hour premier was an excellent Trek show (aliens, phasers, time travel), but Gene wouldn't have approved of the R-rated "decontamination" scene. |9.26.01| Drove to the outer banks on a whim & had a great weekend. We'll definitely go back, especially to Duck. |9.23.01| Message in a Bottle - Saccharin overdose. Paul Newman was good though. |9.23.01| Proof of Life - Very good action movie. Meg Ryan is suddenly not likeable anymore. I wonder why. |9.15.01| Valmont - I liked it better than Dangerous Liaisons in many ways. |9.12.01|
The Mexican - Turned out to be a surprisingly good movie. Goodfella: "My job is to minimize the funkyness". |9.9.01| Valhalla Rising, Clive Cussler - Male trashy book. Best Dirk Pitt novel in a while. |9.6.01|
The Family Man - Cute movie. Nicolas Cage continues to do good work. |8.25.01| Here is an article about the place I used to work at. We call it Franhole. |8.23.01| Now, Maxwell - Better than Embrya, not as good as Hang Suite. Great anyway. |8.23.01| Snatch - British version of Pulp Fiction. Good if you are into that genre. |8.19.01| Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling - A bit long, especially for the kids, but it came back with a strong ending. |8.19.01| Rat Race - Really funny movie based on an old formula. Corny ending, but go see it anyway. |8.17.01| O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Worth watching if you're tired of special effects like I am. It's loosely based on Homer's Odyssey. |8.12.01| Cold Feet - This is the best show on TV right now. British TV hasn't been this good since Monty Python. |8.9.01| The Great Gatsby - It's pretty hard to screw up the great story, buy Coppola gave it some effort with unneeded dramatizations. |8.8.01| Designing Web Graphics.3, Lynda Weinman - I read it in 24 hours. Really well structured overview with a lot of definitions and good examples. Link to author's site. |8.8.01| Rebel Without a Cause - Wasn't bad for an oldie, but I think it needed cultural sub-titles... Dad to daughter: "Come here glamour-puss'". |8.6.01| Dude, Where's my Car? - Not as funny as I'd thought, although I think I would've enjoyed it more if I'd been drunk. |8.4.01| 200 Cigarettes - Pretty funny and a great 80's soundtrack. Reminded me of After Hours, which is one of my faves. |7.31.01| The Wedding Planner - Lying cheating groom gets together with lying wedding planner. They're perfect together. |7.30.01| The Legend of Bagger Vance - Long & predictable. Yawn. |7.29.01| Active Server Pages 3: Weekend Crash Course, Eric A Smith - It took me longer than a weekend to read it, but it was a pretty good way to learn the basics. |7.25.01| How I Do, Res - Not your regular mellow music. Great voice and broad range of musical styles. |7.17.01| Save the Last Dance - Great moves and soundtrack (1, 2), but the plot has been done many times before. |7.16.01| The Naked Chef, Jamie Oliver - We got hooked on this from the FoodTV show by the same name. Highly recommended. |7.14.01| Airheads - Mindless entertainment by an all-star ensemble cast. |7.14.01| Pay it Forward - Had a lot of potential, but sort'a petered out at the end. I would still recommend it though. |7.9.01| Cats & Dogs - Lots of chuckles, but no howling laughter. |7.5.01| Dear Uncle Napoleon, Iraj Pezeshkzad - A timeless Iranian story (and popular miniseries) that proves you don't need a happy ending to leave the reader with a smile. |7.2.01| Best in Show - Would've only been a mildly amusing movie were it not for the hilarious commentary from the dog show announcer. |7.1.01| We went canoeing on the Shenandoah river with a group of 20 friends. A couple of rapids, the mother of all water guns, tequila in a hoof, lots of beer and not much rowing. |6.30.01| The Circle - Very well done movie about the plight of women in Iran. The wandering style of the movie was engaging and should be used by more film-makers. |6.29.01|
Not that I'm bitter about my past dotcom job, but this is pretty funny. |6.22.01| Breakfast in bed, hand-made Fathers Day cards, a haircut, and flying kites by the Washington Monument on a beautiful, sunny day. |6.17.01| Finding Forrester - Decent movie, but would've been better as a book with more of the teacher-student dialog and less irrelevant action scenes. |6.16.01| Atlantis - Took the kids. Michael J. Fox & Father Guido Sarducci had great lines, but it wasn't thrilling otherwise. |6.15.01| All the President's Men - No special effects, no action, no famous composers, but great acting and storytelling turns a boring political story into an exciting thriller. |6.6.01| South Park - It was a really funny movie, m-kay. But don't take your kids, m-kay. |6.5.01| Traffic - A very good movie about the effects of drugs on US & Mexican society until... they gave it a happy ending!! I was amazed they had the gall to do that. |6.1.01|
American History X - Best movie tackling racism that I've ever seen. Edward Norton just moved up on my respect list. |5.22.01| Hamoon - I wanted to change the channel, but I couldn't stop watching this low-budget Iranian movie. |5.20.01| Miss Congeniality - Good if you are looking for a decent comedy without much mental exertion. |5.18.01| Charlie's Angels - Went in with very low expectations and they were met. |5.18.01|
Bridget Jones's Diary - Pretty funny and a good (albeit exaggerated) illustration of the neuroses of women. Recommended for guys. |5.10.01| The Mummy - Wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Decent Indiana Jones style movie. |5.7.01|
Almost Famous - Romanticized version of the director's childhood. I've been listening to the classis rock station all day. |4.27.01| The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald - Wow. I'm in this Hemingway/Fitzgerald phase right now and I think F. Scott just pulled ahead. |4.27.01| GW Hoops - Tom Penders is finally out as coach at GW. Lots of chatter on the message board. |4.20.01| Bedazzled - Brendan Fraser was hilarious. The "sensitive" skit had me rolling. |4.14.01| Dr. T and the Women - Romantic comedy that was neither funny nor romantic. |4.7.01| Land of Smiles, T. C. Huo - Wonderful. Brought back memories of my first days as a "resident alien" in Minnesota. |4.1.01| I Need You, LeAnne Rimes - Bought this CD "for Sandee" after seeing a acoustic TV special. The production totally kills her amazing voice. |3.21.01| Nowruz - Iranian New Year. Christmas and New Year rolled into one. Woohoo! |3.20.01| Frequency - OK feel-good movie. |3.16.01| The Prometheus Deception, Robert Ludlum - Best spy thriller in a while. He died while I was reading it. |3.5.01| Me, Myself & Irene - Funny, but I just don't like Jim Carey. |3.4.01| The Insider - Incredibly engaging story, music and cinematography. Despite a weak 2nd half, a four star flick. |2.26.01| Ali and Nino - |12.2.00| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J. K. Rowling - Not much happens, but a lot of history is explained. |8.18.00| Mai Pen Rai Means Never Mind - |7.30.97| The Celestine Prophecy - |5.1.97| Notes from Underground - |4.1.97| Passionate Hearts - |1.21.97| Kim - |12.10.96| The Famished Road - |10.18.96| Zen Physics - |9.1.96| The Frequency of Souls - |8.1.96| Harafish - |7.31.96| Sophie's World - |7.1.96| An Unknown Woman - |5.1.96| A Peace to End All Peace, David Fromkin - |4.1.96| The Sixteen Pleasures - |4.1.96| Astonishing the Gods - |4.1.96| Longitude - |2.1.96| Einstein's Dreams - |1.1.96| Good Benito - |12.1.95| Fathers and Sons - The Shawshank Redemption - Drama. The Dead Poets Society - Drama. Platoon - War Drama. The Man Who Knew too Little - Comedy. Good Will Hunting - Drama. Shall we Dance - Japanese romantic comedy. Swingers - Guys flick. Jackie Brown - Shootemup. The Tao of Pooh - Men on Divorce - The Male Ego - Memoirs - The Secrets of Pistolet - Rubaiyat (Farsi) - Reviving Ophelia - A Nation in Waiting - The Captain's Verses - Galipoli - War Drama. Strange Days - Action. Mission: Impossible - Action. My Best Friend's Wedding - Romantic Comedy. The Negotiator - Shootemup. The Object of My Affection - Chick Flick. The Peacemaker - Action. Il Postino - Drama. She's the One - Comedy. She's so Lovely - Artsy Fartsy. Sling Blade - Drama. The Waterboy - Comedy. Starship Troopers - Shootemup. Midnight in the Garden of - Mystery. Seven - Mystery. Trainspotting - Drama. Twister - Action. The Usual Suspects - Mystery. Wag the Dog - Comedy. Waiting to Exhale - Chick Flick. Saving Private Ryan - Drama. Life is Beautiful - Dramatic Comedy. Pleasantville - Drama. Of Love and Other Demons, Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Not as engrossing as some of his other works, but a nice quick venture into his mind. The Spanish Prisoner - Mystery. Four Weddings and a Funeral - Comedy. There's Something About Mary - Comedy. Titanic - Drama. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - Comedy. Beavis and Butt-head do America - Comedy Cartoon. Boogie Nights - Retro Drama. Bound - Mystery. Chasing Amy - Comedy. Copland - Shootemup. Conspiracy Theory - Action. The devil's Advocate - Drama. Bean - Comedy. The Full Monty - Comedy. Good and Evil - Godzilla - Action. Great Expectations - Chick Flick. Grosse Pointe Blank - Romantic Comedy. The Wedding Singer - Comedy. How Stella Got Her Groove Back - Comedy. Jerry Maguire - Romantic Sports Comedy. LA Confidential - Mystery. Jurassic Park - Action. Love Jones - Drama. Shakespeare in Love - Chick flick. The English Patient - Chick Flick. |
It's been an amazing week. After bringing Roya home and buying a car, we close on our home today. Now we have to move a combined 90 years worth of possessions to the new place in one week. |8.22.03|
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