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Le Weekend
Jul. 29th, 2013 11:29 amSo this weekend I watched the old '80s miniseries Masada via Netflix. I remembered hearing about it back in the day but had never watched it. Have to say, it stands up pretty damn well. It is a little dated-feeling (feels very '80s and my GOD does Peter O'Toole camp it up--that EYELINER) but the story and the performances really hold up. I especially liked Peter Strauss as the Jewish commander, Eleazar ben Yair--it's not easy bringing to life the stolid hero but I thought he did a credible job. Since it's a siege story there aren't a lot of dramatic battles to stage, so the focus goes to the psychological game and the Zealots make a point of taunting the Romans about the heat and the desert. The scenes where they just pour water down the side of the cliffs--water which the Masada fortress collects in cisterns and water which the Roman soldiers crave desperately--is pretty awesome. And there was a really cool recreation of Roman theater at the time--they showed the ending of Oedipus Rex and then a political satire. I also liked how nuanced the characters were--the grudging respect ben Yair and the O'Toole character have for each other is great. On a shallow note, ben Yair was HOTTT.
Watched the US Classic (a gymnastics meet that's a qualifier for Nationals) this weekend--I had to stream it from my phone because my fios went out on Saturday (MOST annoying, since I just had it installed a week ago). For the record, McKayla's vaults were on point and Kyla Ross won the AA. I had been thinking about attending Nationals next month--it's in Hartford CT so not too far away. But it's kind of difficult to get there--believe it or not, Metro-North doesn't have a stop in Hartford. Peter Pan has a bus there but I'd be leaving at the end of the evening and I don't really want to catch a bus in the late evening and get back into the city at what--2 am? 3? SO I don't think it'll happen. HOWEVER! Next year's Nationals are in Pittsburgh! And I know someone in Pittsburgh! *sly smile* That *would* be fun, a weekend trip to the 'Burgh. Good food, quality gymnastics, spending time with dear friends--win/win/win!
BTW this? Is beyond obnoxious. Being a good citizen dictates you should offer your seat to pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly. Children as a group do not fall into those categories. The "tipster" who sent this in is a drama-stoking a-hole. You have no idea what that woman's situation is--she may have hidden disabilities. And trying to stack the deck by trashing her appearance? All-around dick move.
Had a soccer game Sunday. My Dolphman team isn't doing too well this season, I'm sorry to say, and we're still not sure if we'll make playoffs. We've had a hard time with numbers (nearly every game has had 1-2 subs at most) and I personally have been sick for most of the season which is affecting my stamina and energy. The last two games have been frustrating, especially yesterday's. 5 minutes before game time the other team only had four players--you're supposed to have 7 on the field. Suddenly 3 new players show up, none of whom had the team tee-shirt, and they were all really good. Every team is allowed two players who are not on your team--but not 3. At half time the ref was asking the captain about it and I could hear them saying "....no, she's on our team...she just didn't have the tee-shirt" and then something about "...we didn't have enough girls" (you have to have two girls on the field). So, in other words, she's NOT a team member. And girls ARE subs--girls do count toward your 2-sub total! WTF? Clear cheating. The league is expensive and this is something we're supposed to be paying for--enforcement of the rules and fair play. We ended up tieing them and it was so frustrating--we didn't even play THEM, half their team wasn't them. I did at least score a really cool goal--Sam was coming up the left and I floated in toward the center, hoping he'd see me. He looped it over the heads of several of their players and I kneed it in. My team was talking about it for quite awhile afterward, it was quite picturesque!
Watched the US Classic (a gymnastics meet that's a qualifier for Nationals) this weekend--I had to stream it from my phone because my fios went out on Saturday (MOST annoying, since I just had it installed a week ago). For the record, McKayla's vaults were on point and Kyla Ross won the AA. I had been thinking about attending Nationals next month--it's in Hartford CT so not too far away. But it's kind of difficult to get there--believe it or not, Metro-North doesn't have a stop in Hartford. Peter Pan has a bus there but I'd be leaving at the end of the evening and I don't really want to catch a bus in the late evening and get back into the city at what--2 am? 3? SO I don't think it'll happen. HOWEVER! Next year's Nationals are in Pittsburgh! And I know someone in Pittsburgh! *sly smile* That *would* be fun, a weekend trip to the 'Burgh. Good food, quality gymnastics, spending time with dear friends--win/win/win!
BTW this? Is beyond obnoxious. Being a good citizen dictates you should offer your seat to pregnant women, the disabled and the elderly. Children as a group do not fall into those categories. The "tipster" who sent this in is a drama-stoking a-hole. You have no idea what that woman's situation is--she may have hidden disabilities. And trying to stack the deck by trashing her appearance? All-around dick move.
Had a soccer game Sunday. My Dolphman team isn't doing too well this season, I'm sorry to say, and we're still not sure if we'll make playoffs. We've had a hard time with numbers (nearly every game has had 1-2 subs at most) and I personally have been sick for most of the season which is affecting my stamina and energy. The last two games have been frustrating, especially yesterday's. 5 minutes before game time the other team only had four players--you're supposed to have 7 on the field. Suddenly 3 new players show up, none of whom had the team tee-shirt, and they were all really good. Every team is allowed two players who are not on your team--but not 3. At half time the ref was asking the captain about it and I could hear them saying "....no, she's on our team...she just didn't have the tee-shirt" and then something about "...we didn't have enough girls" (you have to have two girls on the field). So, in other words, she's NOT a team member. And girls ARE subs--girls do count toward your 2-sub total! WTF? Clear cheating. The league is expensive and this is something we're supposed to be paying for--enforcement of the rules and fair play. We ended up tieing them and it was so frustrating--we didn't even play THEM, half their team wasn't them. I did at least score a really cool goal--Sam was coming up the left and I floated in toward the center, hoping he'd see me. He looped it over the heads of several of their players and I kneed it in. My team was talking about it for quite awhile afterward, it was quite picturesque!
