With Annie in Arkansas until the 5th, this weekend was all about getting caught up and I have mostly accomplished that. This is a long post, as I post my thoughts on the new Indiana Jones movie here as well.
I've done OK with catching up on sleep, although I'm a night owl and going to bed early on non-work nights is a tough task. Still, I feel rested for going back to the office tomorrow.
I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull yesterday afternoon and was not as disappointed as I was expecting. I had read a review earlier in the week that basically said the movie was only watchable because Harrison Ford stayed true to the Indy character. I was not expecting to really enjoy the movie. But in point of fact, it was not bad at all! Certainly, I would not rank it above Raiders of the Lost Ark or the Last Crusade (perhaps the single greatest adventure movie ever made, in my opinion), but definitely better than the Temple of Doom. I'll try not to reveal too much of the plot, in case you haven't seen it yet.
The pros:
1.) A seamless replacement of the Nazis in 1930's with the Soviets in the 1950's.
2.) TONS of symbolism and imagery hearkening back to the past three movies.
3.) An intriguing storyline that, while outlandish, is not totally made up as the crystal skulls and the other-worldly theory of their creation actually exist.
4.) Shia LaBeouf was not as annoying as a sidekick as I was expecting. I couldn't handle another example of Shorty from Temple of Doom. Mutt is a decent sidekick and can take care of himself.
5.) The return of Mariam Ravenwood is worked in just fine, in my opinion. I'm not looking for Oscar-worthy stories, here, after all.
6.) Cate Blanchett is very good as the nemesis here, ably following in the footsteps of Beloche from Raiders and Walter Donovan from Crusade.
My cons:
1.) Too much CGI! I remember seeing a comment from George Lucas about how computers and bigger budgets allowed him to do lots of things with the later Star Wars movies that he wasn't able to do the first time around. While that's great, it can be overpowering. The first three Indiana Jones movies were fantastic because CGI effects were kept to a level that was just enough to really make the movie pop. I like actual explosions and stunts, but maybe I'm old fashioned. Some of the sequences were bordering on silly, which is similar to some of the sequences in Star Wars, oddly enough. The part with the army ants is a case in point.
2.) The ending was just OK for me. Neither Blanchett's character nor Ray Winestone's character get a satisfying come-uppance. And really, the Soviet colonel doesn't either. Certainly not on par with the Nazi colonel's death by falling tank in Last Crusade or the Nazis' death by angelic fury melting in Raiders. Also, there wasn't as much history and mythology in this one as I would have liked, but maybe that's my history degree talking.
3.) Ray Winestone and John Hurt's characters are largely superfluous to the story and Winestone's character is never leveraged to the same degree as Dr. Schneider in Last Crusade. His flaw never really makes a big difference in the overall flow of events.
Overall, not a bad movie and I would suggest any serious Indiana Jones fan go see it to at least form your own opinion. I only wish they had made this movie in 1995 instead of 2008 to keep it fresher. But I was a history major in college because of Indiana Jones, so I'm probably biased.
Yesterday I hit the pool at the gym and swam for a solid 30 minutes. It was a lot more taxing than I remember! But I was pleased with the result, although I have no idea how far I swam, as I don't know exactly how long the pool is...maybe 25 meters? 30 meters? Nonetheless, I'm planning on going back tomorrow morning to stretch my aching muscles.
Today I went for my long run but again made the mistake of not going to bed early enough and thus not waking up early enough. I got out about 9:30 AM, which in March and April is plenty early temperature-wise as the temp never gets above 60 or 70 at most. However, summer is upon us here in Baltimore (early Summer, that is. High summer with the choking humidity and stagnant smoggy air are just a month off I think) and the temperature was already in the high 70's when I stepped outside. It got well into the 80's with some intense sunshine as I ran, which just killed me. As you can see from my splits below, I took my time and stopped several times to either enjoy some shade or drink some water. My goal was to hit 10 miles today but I only made it 8 which, all things considered, isn't half bad.
I'm going to post my run from Map My Run below, which I used to do but then got out of due to laziness. However, some highlights from the run:
1.) I found an operating water fountain out on the eastern edge of Patterson Park! The water was pretty cool, but not cold and was a godsend. I will definitely incorporate that into my long run routes.
2.) I ran out to the Masonic lodge I am hoping to visit in early June. A little tidbit that not many people know about is that I am indeed a Master Mason and Brother Freemason. My grandfather was a Mason and when I returned from London in 2005, he encouraged me to look into it, which I did and found it fascinating. I spent the better part of a year studying the various degrees, etc, and was raised to the degree of Master Mason in July of 2006. Unfortunately, I haven't been attending lodge since moving to Baltimore because there's only one lodge in the city. I attended communication at a lodge up in Towson last summer, but it just wasn't a match for me. The brothers were all very nice and hospitable. The "welcoming committee," which is a triumvirate of brothers who greet visiting brothers and make sure they are actual Masons by asking them several questions that only a Mason would know, was OK, although there was an older brother who got snippy with me and the other visiting brother because we had both been raised out of state and our knowledge was slightly different from what a MD Mason would possess. Perhaps that soured me from the outset?
At any rate, the meeting took forever and the brothers did not have as solid a grasp of ritual that I am accustomed to, so I never went back. Plus it's a 30 minute drive out there! Too far. I'm really looking forward to visiting this new lodge in a few weeks and hopefully finding a new home lodge. I ran out there to see where it was and the parking situation, etc.
3.) On my way back from Patterson Park/Canton, I discovered the Baltimore Waterfront Promenade, which I'm sure everyone else in the area already knew about. Basically it's a trail that winds along the Baltimore waterfront, theoretically from South Baltimore to Canton, although I don't think this is entirely true. I know it begins in Canton and goes all the way around the Inner Harbor but it stops at the Rusty Scupper. When they complete construction of the Ritz Carlton, I assume the trail will run in front of it and then continue along the southern waterfront. For all intents and purposes, however, it stops at the Rusty Scupper now. Nonetheless, it's a nice alternative to running through "central" Fells Point and might be longer than the straight shot up Aliceanna St.
So, overall, not a bad weekend. I'm going to spend the evening catching up on my reading for work (company briefings, articles and other things). I have a small hankering to watch the Last Crusade now too, so I might do that. I've seen that movie about 200 times!
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