cyberhobo

Month: December 2003

  • Movie: Lost in La Mancha

    This is a documentary about Terry Gilliam’s failed attempt to make a film version of Don Quixote with no Hollywood backing. After watching it I am amazed, and thankful, that Gilliam has managed to make any films at all… IMDB

  • Great Falls Basin, Condome

    We meet Werner, Walter, and Clare at 8 am. We also meet Chris for the first time, and his dog Luka. Jezze nearly breaks a window out of the car trying to meet her as well. The approach to the Condome is different for the north and the south side where we’re headed. We nearly…

  • Movie: Iris

    Ann recently read the biography of Iris Murdoch by her husband John Bayley, and wants to watch the movie while it’s still fresh in her mind. I was taken quickly with oddity of the characters – they are odd the way people are and not the way movie characters tend to be. One of Iris’…

  • “I don’t know everything…”

    “…I know a little bit about everything, but I don’t know everything.” This bit of wisdom came from Larry, who has been installing a heater in our shack for the past three weeks. It’s been a learning process for all of us. Larry’s laissez faire style of home improvement involves working until an insurmountable impediment…

  • Movie: Lumumba

    This is a fairly saintly portrayal of Patrice Lumumba, a key player in the Congo’s independence from Belgium in 1960. Because of that I didn’t fully trust it, but I appreciated the movie anyway. Even if Lumumba would not have been a savior to the Congolese, he certainly lived during the most hopeful period for…

  • Wildrose Peak

    Better things go wrong this time on our second attempt to hike up this peak in Death Valley National Park. Instead of starting a mile away on steep dirt road, we give the trailhead a try. That improves morale from the start. On the way up, I realize a couple of interesting things. One is…

  • Movie: Baran

    This is an excellent glimpse into everyday life in Iran. Both city- and country-scapes are integrated into the story seamlessly. Water is almost a character in itself, playing its part as rain, snow, pools, and rivers. The movie does a good job of portraying the social interactions between native Iranians and Afgan refugees. But the…

  • Owens Peak

    We allow ourselves a mellow morning and a slow start, changing our destination from Wildrose Peak to the closer Owens. It’s a no-nonsense chug, claiming to climb 2,850 feet in 1.5 miles. I think it must be further than that, but definitely gets down (up?) to business. Ann is disappointed to make it up “only”…

  • Wagon Wheel

    It’s been long enough since I’ve bouldered that it feels kind foreign and strange. Ted, Randy, Greg, and Curtis are working on something right of Walter’s crack when we arrive. I do a number of familiar and long-neglected problems in the area. Some that used to seem hard are now not so bad. Others I…