“Nip / Tuck”, “Sherrybaby”, “Emmanuel’s Gift”…. (posted from home)
(this post covers 28 January to 2 February)
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Friday, 2 February -
Happy Groundhog Day! Today is also my Dad’s birthday. He died a few years ago at the age of 75 after a long and heart-breaking decline in health. I think of him often and wish we had done more together while he was still healthy. God bless you, Dad!
Today we did some financial planning and set up an appointment to have our taxes done. We had a few frustrating experiences in having our taxes done professionally last year but once we worked through those problems we had a net savings and decided it was very worthwhile. In the afternoon we drove into the AAA office in York to have our photos taken and pick up the forms necessary to renew our passports. Cost of the photos was $15 and we’ll have to send in $134 in processing fees for the two renewals. But the good news is the passports will be valid for ten years.
Afterwards we stopped by Lowe’s so Labashi could look for some recessed ceiling lights for her project and I looked for raw materials to make guide-on’s for the new boat trailer.
That evening we watched “Emmanuel’s Gift”, a somewhat-flawed documentary about a one-legged young man who rode his bicycle across his homeland of Ghana. RottenTomatoes gives it an 80% on the Tomatometer.
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Thursday, 1 February –
This morning I awoke with a bit of a cold or flu and thought I was in for it; maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let myself get chilled by riding the motorcycle for a couple of hours in 20-degree weather yesterday. I spent the day taking it easy (mostly researching boat stuff on the web) and was surprised to find myself feeling back to normal by day’s end.
That evening we watched the final episode of season one of ‘Nip / Tuck’ and the DVD’s extra features. Since we watched the entire 5-disc season on one $5 rental, it was certainly cheap enough. We find it interesting to watch the episodes and discuss how well they were done and how they compare to techniques we’ve seen in “Alias”, “Lost”, “24”, and “Grey’s Anatomy”. Yes, the plots are often outrageous and the sex and gory surgery scenes seem gratuitous (and in the extras a real plastic surgeon says what we suspect: real surgery isn’t that bloody but ‘they have to do it for drama’). But, hey, this isn’t art, this is television.
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Wednesday, 31 January -
This morning I went to my periodontist to check on progress of my new dental bone graft and to give him the referral for the crown extension I now need. It looks like that will be another $700 plus at least that much again for the crown--- (yikes!!!!).
Back home I sent off Labashi’s camera for repair. It’s an older Nikon entry-level camera which isn’t worth much more than the cost of repair but she loves the camera and doesn’t want the hassle of switching to digital. She has taken some remarkable pictures with it and its only problem is a broken door latch so a repair makes sense.
That afternoon I rode the Concours over to Hanover to check on progress on our boat. The trailer came in yesterday and the tech has completed setup, rigging and installation of the motor and remote controls. It’s ready to go and only awaits our signing the paperwork when my brother can make it—maybe this weekend if weather isn’t too bad.
That evening we watched another ‘Nip / Tuck’ episode. The gore and sex scenes still seem designed only to titillate (as opposed to being integral to the story) but the writers are keeping us interested with some interesting twists.
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Tuesday, 30 January -
Today I had a dental appointment to repair a filling and a broken tooth. The latter turns out to be bad news--- the problem extends below the gum line and will require a periodontal procedure called a ‘crown extension’ and then a crown. Back home I installed a hardened door-chain and ran additional 3-inch screws into the upper door hinge. This latter was done to pull the door back into place; it had been rubbing the frame on the far side and causing the door to stick. I also took a few minutes to install my new 3-9 x 32 scope on the .22 rifle.
That evening we watched two more episodes of ‘Nip / Tuck’, season one.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 29 January –
Today Labashi and I drove into town to look for a replacement bow window (part of her long-term living/dining room re-hab) and a solution for alerting our neighbors if our house loses its electrical feed (while we’re away). We considered several solutions which turn on an alert if power fails but those all depend on batteries to sustain the alert and all suffer the same problem--- the batteries only last a few hours. Our solution instead provides a ‘green’ or ‘I’m-OK’ signal and our neighbors know to contact us if it’s not there. This is in addition to the security alarm—just in case the new power-loss function doesn’t work for some reason.
I also spent an hour or so replacing the stock screws on the door-strikers and selected door-hinge screws with 3” galvanized deck screws so they are strongly anchored not only to the door frame but also to the studding.
That evening we watched “Sherrybaby” with Maggie Gyllenhaal. RottenTomatoes gives it a 69% on the Tomatometer and that seems about right. As does the comment “Gyllenhaal is riveting in a depressing and not entirely believable movie”. Maggie plays a former convict and drug-addict mother who tries to establish a relationship with her young daughter.
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Sunday, 28 January-
Today I spent most of the day taking it easy after the blood donation yesterday. I blogged for a few hours in the afternoon and did a few little chores like adjusting the sensitivity of the motion detector (again) on our pole light and repairing a sticky dead-bolt on our front door lock. I then picked up a few movies at the video store for this week. That evening we started ‘Nip / Tuck, Season One’. We watched the pilot and four other episodes this evening. The story is based in Miami and follows two plastic surgeons and their families and assorted girlfriends/boyfriends and patients. It’s provocative in its liberal use of bloody surgery scenes and sex scenes and it will be interesting to see how the writers keep from becoming repetitive.
(this post covers 28 January to 2 February)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 2 February -
Happy Groundhog Day! Today is also my Dad’s birthday. He died a few years ago at the age of 75 after a long and heart-breaking decline in health. I think of him often and wish we had done more together while he was still healthy. God bless you, Dad!
Today we did some financial planning and set up an appointment to have our taxes done. We had a few frustrating experiences in having our taxes done professionally last year but once we worked through those problems we had a net savings and decided it was very worthwhile. In the afternoon we drove into the AAA office in York to have our photos taken and pick up the forms necessary to renew our passports. Cost of the photos was $15 and we’ll have to send in $134 in processing fees for the two renewals. But the good news is the passports will be valid for ten years.
Afterwards we stopped by Lowe’s so Labashi could look for some recessed ceiling lights for her project and I looked for raw materials to make guide-on’s for the new boat trailer.
That evening we watched “Emmanuel’s Gift”, a somewhat-flawed documentary about a one-legged young man who rode his bicycle across his homeland of Ghana. RottenTomatoes gives it an 80% on the Tomatometer.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 1 February –
This morning I awoke with a bit of a cold or flu and thought I was in for it; maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to let myself get chilled by riding the motorcycle for a couple of hours in 20-degree weather yesterday. I spent the day taking it easy (mostly researching boat stuff on the web) and was surprised to find myself feeling back to normal by day’s end.
That evening we watched the final episode of season one of ‘Nip / Tuck’ and the DVD’s extra features. Since we watched the entire 5-disc season on one $5 rental, it was certainly cheap enough. We find it interesting to watch the episodes and discuss how well they were done and how they compare to techniques we’ve seen in “Alias”, “Lost”, “24”, and “Grey’s Anatomy”. Yes, the plots are often outrageous and the sex and gory surgery scenes seem gratuitous (and in the extras a real plastic surgeon says what we suspect: real surgery isn’t that bloody but ‘they have to do it for drama’). But, hey, this isn’t art, this is television.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 31 January -
This morning I went to my periodontist to check on progress of my new dental bone graft and to give him the referral for the crown extension I now need. It looks like that will be another $700 plus at least that much again for the crown--- (yikes!!!!).
Back home I sent off Labashi’s camera for repair. It’s an older Nikon entry-level camera which isn’t worth much more than the cost of repair but she loves the camera and doesn’t want the hassle of switching to digital. She has taken some remarkable pictures with it and its only problem is a broken door latch so a repair makes sense.
That afternoon I rode the Concours over to Hanover to check on progress on our boat. The trailer came in yesterday and the tech has completed setup, rigging and installation of the motor and remote controls. It’s ready to go and only awaits our signing the paperwork when my brother can make it—maybe this weekend if weather isn’t too bad.
That evening we watched another ‘Nip / Tuck’ episode. The gore and sex scenes still seem designed only to titillate (as opposed to being integral to the story) but the writers are keeping us interested with some interesting twists.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 30 January -
Today I had a dental appointment to repair a filling and a broken tooth. The latter turns out to be bad news--- the problem extends below the gum line and will require a periodontal procedure called a ‘crown extension’ and then a crown. Back home I installed a hardened door-chain and ran additional 3-inch screws into the upper door hinge. This latter was done to pull the door back into place; it had been rubbing the frame on the far side and causing the door to stick. I also took a few minutes to install my new 3-9 x 32 scope on the .22 rifle.
That evening we watched two more episodes of ‘Nip / Tuck’, season one.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 29 January –
Today Labashi and I drove into town to look for a replacement bow window (part of her long-term living/dining room re-hab) and a solution for alerting our neighbors if our house loses its electrical feed (while we’re away). We considered several solutions which turn on an alert if power fails but those all depend on batteries to sustain the alert and all suffer the same problem--- the batteries only last a few hours. Our solution instead provides a ‘green’ or ‘I’m-OK’ signal and our neighbors know to contact us if it’s not there. This is in addition to the security alarm—just in case the new power-loss function doesn’t work for some reason.
I also spent an hour or so replacing the stock screws on the door-strikers and selected door-hinge screws with 3” galvanized deck screws so they are strongly anchored not only to the door frame but also to the studding.
That evening we watched “Sherrybaby” with Maggie Gyllenhaal. RottenTomatoes gives it a 69% on the Tomatometer and that seems about right. As does the comment “Gyllenhaal is riveting in a depressing and not entirely believable movie”. Maggie plays a former convict and drug-addict mother who tries to establish a relationship with her young daughter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 28 January-
Today I spent most of the day taking it easy after the blood donation yesterday. I blogged for a few hours in the afternoon and did a few little chores like adjusting the sensitivity of the motion detector (again) on our pole light and repairing a sticky dead-bolt on our front door lock. I then picked up a few movies at the video store for this week. That evening we started ‘Nip / Tuck, Season One’. We watched the pilot and four other episodes this evening. The story is based in Miami and follows two plastic surgeons and their families and assorted girlfriends/boyfriends and patients. It’s provocative in its liberal use of bloody surgery scenes and sex scenes and it will be interesting to see how the writers keep from becoming repetitive.
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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