January 10, 2008
Dear Everyone:
Another week of (virtually) nothing to do.
We had a meeting this afternoon in which we were informed that
there is a strict deadline of
March 31st when we absolutely
must deliver, but still have
no idea what those deliverables will be.
The meeting about this important matter took 90 minutes, but did
not touch on the deliverables other than that every day that passes
equals 2% of the time left.
So I
continue to spend most of my time with “discretionary training” taking
self-paced computer-based-training on Microsoft’s new
suite of office
software applications. I
actually am becoming something of a minor expert on how to use “The
Ribbon” in Word,
Excel, etc.
Consequently everyone asks me for advice.
This is not necessarily a bad thing as I can put it in my PMP
(Performance Management Plan.)
In
the meantime, on to more important matters:
Movies.
The
Water Horse: Legend of the Deep
stars Emily Watson (Miss Potter,
Gosford Park) as the housekeeper of a large home in
In an
age when even eleven-year-olds have pocket knives, he quickly breaks off
the “barnacles”, revealing a shimmering surface.
Naturally he’s called away for dinner.
When he returns, the egg has split open and his new friend is
scurrying through the workroom, looking for food.
Angus is the first person “Crusoe” meets and the first person to
provide him with food, so Crusoe impresses on him and Angus becomes
“parent-partner-best-friend-forever”.
Angus develops an equally fierce loyalty to Crusoe.
Enter
Lewis Mobray (Ben Chaplin,
The
Truth About Cats & Dogs) a handyman hired by Mrs. MacMorrow to help
out around the property.
Also enter an entire regiment of Scottish solders to frighten Crusoe and
Angus. It is Lewis who
figures out that Crusoe is most likely a
Water Horse, a legendary
creature of the sea who should be in the
loch where he belongs.
Did I mention this is
Loch Ness?
Absolutely charming, lots of great special effects, of course.
Based on a children’s book by
Dick King-Smith (Babe).
Fun for the whole family.
Also the main reason the next
Chronicles of Narnia
installment has been set back a few months.
Also
fun for the whole family:
National Treasure: Book of
Secrets. The most
important thing to remember about this movie is this:
You absolutely must
lock your logic and incredulity in the trunk of the car before entering
the theater. Tearing the
film apart on the way home is half the fun.
Nicholas Cage is once again playing
Benjamin Franklin Gates, a protector
of historical treasures. Why
a sequel? Because the first
movie made whole bunches of money.
And this one has been Number One at the box office every weekend
since it opened.
Like
the first film, the protagonists chase from one incongruous clue to the
next, getting in and out of impossible places without breaking a sweat.
And what protagonists.
In addition to Jon Voight, who played Gates Senior in the first
film, Justin Bartha, the plucky computer genius, and
Harvey Keitel as
the FBI agent, we get the luminous
Helen Mirren as Benjamin’s mother,
Ed
Harris as the closest thing to a villain and
Bruce Greenwood as the best
President since Martin Sheen.
All
they have to do is find a secret book, known only to the President,
which will lead them to proof that one of Benjamin’s ancestors didn’t
cook up the plot to assassinate
Abraham Lincoln.
And oh, by the way,
City of
Both
films are worth the price of (matinee) admission.
Just be sure to relax, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Love, as always,
Pete
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