Month: April 2006

  • Movie: Monsiuer Ibrahim (2003)

    Probably just because it’s a coming of age flick I thought of Scent of A Woman after watching this. Only the kid is the dour, promiscuous one, the women are smiling, motherly prostitutes, and the outlook is Parisian, with life flowing in an endless cycle of shoplifted sardines, books of true wisdom, diluted Beaujolais, and…

  • Movie: They Live (1988)

    The saving grace of this film is its portrayal of the media. When “Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s character puts on the sunglasses of truth, billboards, TV, magazines, signs, and papers show their true messages in black and white: “OBEY”, “BUY”, “CONSUME”, “WATCH TV”, “MARRY AND REPRODUCE”, etc. And the movers and shakers of society are revealed…

  • El Slabbo and Chair Rocks Hike

    We set out with my dad to scout the climbing in the Cathedral Spires area. To our dismay, a Jefferson County Open Space sign at the trailhead declared the entire area closed from March 1 to July 31 (for Peregrine Falcon nesting, I later found out). We went looking for the Top of the World…

  • My Mom the Professional Blogger!

    I’m proud that after introducing my mom to blogging, she took to it with the same passion that fuels her many creative endeavors. She turned to her blog as a form of therapy when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her blog attracted some attention, and when the Health Central Breast Cancer Site discovered it,…

  • Boudering Pics

    For those who found fault with Sean’s earlier pictures of me bouldering, try these.

  • It’s getting really pretty at Rotary

    I drop Ann off at a trailhead at the base of the foothills, then drive up to Rotary Park to meet Sean. We boulder for awhile, stopping often to admire the setting. There are these bushes in bloom – not lilacs but similar – just going nuts right now. Combine it with the sunset and…

  • Movie: In America (2002)

    A modern story of Irish immigrants in New York, this movie is really about coping with the loss of a child in a family. It’s clearly a deeply personal, autobiographical film, that presents its insights slowly, intimately, and honestly. For someone without children it serves to illustrate some of the forces that create families and…

  • Movie: Shallow Hal (2001)

    No surprise, this isn’t a great movie, but it managed to beat my expectations of it. Here there, admidst drowning in its own clichés, it manages to hit on some of the damage done by our cultural definition of beauty. A couple of the more symbolic absurdities are funny. Some good acting by Gwyneth Paltrow…

  • Edward’s Crack

    This climb is so popular that we shunned it all last year rather than wait in line to climb it. Today we are there early, but still not the first. We decide to wait for it this time, and get ready at our leisure. It’s worth it. Edward’s, 5.7, is a beautiful hand crack. We…

  • First campsite of the year

    In years past the first night of the year outside has always been a bit of a shakedown, even if it’s just car camping. This time it all falls into place, and we casually make it to Vedauwoo just about sundown after work, and set up the tent at one of the new tent sites…