Jack's Spring Break

Jack started his spring break on Friday. He flew from Washington, DC to St. Louis to San Diego. Jack spent Friday and Saturday night in San Diego with some high school friends.

Today, he took the train from San Diego to Los Angeles to connect with Drew. Jack is then taking the train to Santa Barbara on Monday.

Wednesday, he is going to take the train back to Los Angeles and spent Wednesday night with Drew again. Thursday morning, Jack is flying from Burbank to Sacramento.

We are looking forward to seeing him on Thursday!

Hateful Eight

With Sharon away for the weekend at the retreat, I watched the Hateful Eight. The film received a couple of Oscars nominations in 2016.

I have two general comments about the film. First, it is really long. The version I saw was 2 hours and 47 minutes. Apparently, there is a version that is more than three hours long. Second, the scenery in the opening chapter is amazing. The footage of the stagecoach in the snow in Wyoming is incredible.

Hateful Eight was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The casting is great. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Bruce Dern. The story revolves around eight strangers who seek refuge from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover some time after the American Civil War.

The film received three Oscar nominations in 2016. Ennui Morricone won his first Academy Award for Best Original Score. The other two Academy Award nominations were for Best Supporting Actress (Leigh) and Best Cinematography (Robert Richardson).

While there are some great performances, I have mixed feelings about recommending the film. It is a solid movie with an interesting story, but like most Tarantino films the violence is over the top. It is also really long.

[Note to self], I do need to see Django Unchained... Tarantino originally envisioned the Hateful Eight as a sequence to that movie.

El Retiro San Inigo 2017

Sharon, Janie and Tom are spending the weekend at El Retiro San Inigo, the Jesuit Retreat House of Los Altos. They are attending a silent retreat for members of the legal profession titled Recollecting the Holy: 34th Annual Retreat for Members of the Legal Profession.

From 1994 to 2011, Sharon went to this retreat 17 out of 18 years, missing only the year after Jack was born. After missing 2012 and 2013, she got back on track in 2014. Sharon has now gone to this retreat twenty-one of the last twenty-four years!

Visalia to Hanford to SMF to Carmichael

Traveling for work, I spent the night at the Visalia Marriott. Thursday morning, we headed to Hanford for a series of meetings. We finished the meetings about 2:30 pm and started north. It has been a long time since I drove the section of Highway 99 south of Modesto. We fought our way through the Sacramento commute and finally got to the Sacramento Airport about 6:40 pm. Dropping the rental car and picking up my car, it was about 7:20 pm by the the time I got home...

Sacramento to Burbank to Bakersfield to Visalia

Traveling for work, I flew from Sacramento to Burbank and then drove to Bakersfield for a series of meetings. After the meetings, we drove to Visalia.

Sharon pushed me to go to dinner at Jack & Charlie's in downtown Visalia. The food was good. We had a series of small plates including: meatballs; scallops; devil eggs; spaghetti squash and brussel sprouts.

Cinque Terre Puzzle

While we were at Sea Ranch, Phil, Sharon and I did most of a Cinque Terre puzzle. Sharon and I finished it up last week after we got home. Morgan, Jack, Sharon and I visited Manarola when we were in Italy in 2012.

Jackie

Saturday night before the Oscars, Sharon and I watched Jackie. This is part of our continuing effort to see all of the Oscar nominated films.

The film stars Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy. Jackie was nominated for three Oscars at the 89th Academy Awards: Best Actress (Portman), Best Original Score and Best Costume Design.

The film follows Jackie Kennedy in the days when she was First Lady in the White House and her life following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, in 1963. It is partly based on Theodore H. White's Life magazine interview with the widow at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. The film is split into primary three storylines that are interwoven: Jackie giving a tour of the White House before her husband's death; the events after Kennedy is shot leading up to the funeral; and the interview at Hyannis Port.

It is an "ok" movie. I give it a "B-." With so much content in the world, it is not something that I recommend you go out of your way to see, unless, like us, you are trying to see all of the Oscar nominated films and performances. It didn't win any Oscars...

89th Academy Awards

We got a small group together to watch the Academy Awards, including Sharon's brother Tom, Eric, Erin and Janie (with Pippen). Sharon made a great dinner of Peruvian Chicken and rice.

Jimmy Kimmel was the host. Over the last four years, Sharon and I have worked in December, January and February to see as many of the nominated films as possible. This year, we saw all nine of the films nominated for Best Picture and 12 of the 15 films in the five major categories.

Last year, I ended up picking four of five, including getting best picture, best actor, best actress and supporting actress right, but missing on supporting actor.

This year, I also ended up picking four of five, including getting best actor, best actress, supporting actor and supporting actress right, but missing on best picture. I had picked La La Land as best picture. Initially, I thought I had gotten it right before bedlam broke loose on the stage. Given Sharon's love of La La Land, she was particularly surprised at the turn of events. Personally, I was also startled. I ranked Moonlight near the bottom of the nine films for best picture.

Hacksaw Ridge

Sharon and I watched Hacksaw Ridge. With the Oscars on Sunday, this is the ninth of the nine films nominated for a Best Picture that we have seen!

Hacksaw Ridge is a biographical film about the World War II experiences of Desmond Doss, an American pacifist combat medic who was a Seventh-day Adventist. He refused to carry or use a firearm or weapons of any kind. Doss became the first conscientious objector to be awarded the Medal of Honor, for service above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle of Okinawa.

The film was directed by Mel Gibson. It is based on an earlier documentary about Doss. The movie stars Andrew Garfield as Doss with Vince Vaughn in a supporting role.

Hacksaw Ridge was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of its top ten Movies of the Year. It received six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Garfield.

Hacksaw Ridge exceeded my expectations. I had put off seeing it in the theater because I was leery of having to sit through the violent in the second half of the film. While the violence is hard to watch, I think that it probably not as bad as Gibson's The Passion of Christ. I don't believe that the film will win Best Picture or that Garfield will win Bset Actor...

Loving

Friday night, Sharon and I watched Loving. This is part of our continuing effort to see all of films nominated for Oscars in the major categories. When we first started to try and figure out which films might be nominated in November, there was a lot of talk about Loving. It faded and received only one nomination: Ruth Negga for Best Actress.

The film tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving. They were the plaintiffs in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia that invalidated state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Joel Egerton stars as Richard Loving, with Ruth Negga co-starring as Mildred Loving.

It is an interesting film that is billed as being very historically true. The first half is very slow. Personally, I think that Amy Adams should have gotten a Best Actress nomination for Arrival, rather than Negga getting nominated for this film...

Black Point Settlement

Sharon and I walked out to Black Point on Friday night when we were at Sea Ranch.

Black Point Settlement
1875-1917
Marker 1-25
See this location on Google Maps
This site is located on Black Point at Sea Ranch, California. The Sea Ranch Archives Committee has identified twenty-six historic sites scattered about The Sea Ranch. They have constructed trail markers with information explaining the significance of each place. They were placed as part of The Sea Ranch 50th anniversary being celebrated from Memorial Day 2014 to Memorial Day 2015. The GPS coordinates for this location are 38° 40' 44.9" N 123° 25' 54.4" W.

Black Point was a community that developed around William Bihler's Landing, which was located on this bluff. After he became involved in the lumber business, Bilher built the landing for loading his timber products. The standing barn was the livery stable for the Black Point Hotel. The small structure may have been a sheepherder's cabin, but was not connected to the early settlement.

California FFA Foundation Blue & Gold Gala

As part of Sharon's F@rm Credit connection, we went to the California FFA Foundation Blue & Gold Gala in Galt. We sat with Jeana and Larry. Jeana is on the board of the California FFA Foundation. We were hoping to see Jim and Suzy, but they were no shows... I was surprised to find out afterwards that Pat and Kelly were there.

The keynote speaker for the event was Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs fame. He was an excellent storyteller. Rowe told an extend story about filming a show on artificial insemination.

I was in FFA in high school. I raised and showed pigs. At one point, I probably had as many as thirty pigs.

Additionally, there are several types of FFA judging contests in which kids compete based on their knowledge of a particular subject. Each school has several different types of teams that compete against other schools. I competed in the accounting contests!

Hell or High Water

Saturday night at Sea Ranch, Sharon, Marlene and I watched Hell or High Water. This is part of our continuing effort to see all of the Oscar nominated films.

The American Film Institute selected Hell or High Water as one of its ten Movies of the Year. It received four Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

The film follows two brothers who carry out a series of bank robberies to save their family ranch. Although the plot takes place in West Texas, filming took place in Eastern New Mexico. The movie stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as the two brothers and Jeff Bridges as a Texas Ranger.

I don't know if it was the system at the house we were renting, but I had a hard time understanding some of the dialogue. It seemed like the main characters were mumbling, particularly Jeff Bridges.

We have now seen eight of the nine best picture nominees. While I enjoyed the film, it is not winning best picture. Jeff Bridges is not beating Mahershala Ali [Moonlight] or Dev Patel [Lion] for Best Supporting Actor.

2017 Sea Ranch Day 4

When we got up on Monday morning, there was no power. Phil said that he thought that the power had been off since about 4 am. With it raining even harder than Sunday, we made a decision to pack up and head out early.

As an aside, I was amazed how wet the whole area was. It is the first time I have seen waterfalls flowing off the bluffs.

We rolled from the house about 9:45 am. Although we talked about heading home through the Anderson Valley, after we dropped the key in Gualala, we headed south down Highway 1. We tried to stop in Jenner for lunch, but the restaurant wasn't open until noon. We ended up having lunch at the Tides Bay View Restaurant in Bodega Bay.

From Bodega Bay, we headed towards Sonona. We had to detour around a section of Valley Ford Road that was closed due to flooding. We planned to stop at Schug, but it was closed. We ended up stopping at Anaba Wines.

Heading east, Highway 121 was closed due to flooding. We had to detour north towards Sonoma before heading home. Although it was raining cats and dogs, the traffic was pretty light on the way back to Sacramento. We rolled up to the house in Carmichael about 5:40 pm.

Texting with my sister, she said that power was restored to the Sea Ranch where we were staying until 3:30 pm!

2017 Sea Ranch Day 3

Over the years, we have been very lucky with the weather at Sea Ranch. Last fall, Sharon spent weeks fretting about the weather ahead of the fall dinner party. Unfortunately, our luck ran out on Sunday. It rained steadily all day.

Phil and I drove into town early to get a couple of things for breakfast. I ended up making pecan waffles.

We spent most of the morning working on the Cinque Terre puzzle. I had bought the puzzle because I was worried that the weather might turn nasty.

In the middle of the day, Phil went out for a bike ride in the rain, while Sharon and I ran along the bluffs north from the house. I ended up running a little more than 6 miles in the steady rain. I ran north to the houses that we stayed in last fall. On my way back, I stopped very briefly and talked to my sister who was staying at a house down the street. Although we invited them over later in the day, we never connected during the weekend.

We had a late dinner at the Black Point Grill at the Sea Ranch Lodge. Sharon and I both a great special of sea bass caught locally in Point Arena.

Phil, Sharon and I stayed up pretty late working on the puzzle.

2017 Sea Ranch Day 2

Our original plan for the weekend was to plan on golf on Sunday. With the weather looking iffy for Sunday, we decided to play on Saturday. After breakfast, Marlene, Sharon and I drove down to the Sea Ranch Links Golf Course to make sure that they were open. We couldn't raise them on the phone; it turned out that their phones were out.

We headed back to the course about 10:15 am. After hitting a few range balls, we headed out on the course about 11 am. Recovering from knee surgery, Phil rode, but didn't play. It was not a good day. Although I started out solidly, my game quickly went to hell. It is probably the worst that I feel like I have played in ten years.

Although it wasn't raining, the course was a wet sloppy mess. We were frankly surprised that they let us on the course at all. The conditions didn't help my game...

Sharon stopped playing after about 13 holes. It was just too wet and muddy. Marlene and I soldiered on and finished out the day. It took us about five hours.

After golf, we headed into town to the store. We got some steaks and potatoes to barbecue for dinner.

After dinner, we worked on the Cinque Terre puzzle for a while and then watched Hell or High Water. This is one of the nine movies nominated for the 2017 Best Picture Oscar. Sharon and I have now seen eight of the nine best picture nominees.

2017 Sea Ranch Day 1

For the third time in four years [2016 and 2014], we are spending a weekend in February at Sea Ranch with the Sanborns. This also marks the fifth time in seven years [2013 and 2011] that we have spent a weekend at Sea Ranch in January or February.

The Sanborns met us at our house about 8:15 am. We loaded their truck and were on the road before 8:45 am. I had made reservations for a wine tasting at Donum Estate at 10:30 am. Sharon's friend Noel had brought a bottle of Donum to dinner. I remembered him talking about the winery and thought it would be nice to explore a new place.

We had a very intimate tasting. Afterwards, with it raining hard, they let us use the room to have lunch. Sharon had made New 0rleans style Muffulettas sandwiches for lunch.

From there, we rolled towards Gualala. We picked up the key in town about 3:00 pm. We are spending three nights at Galleons Reach.

After getting settled in, Sharon and I went for a walk. The rain actually stopped for a while. We walked to the point in front of Sea Ranch Lodge and back. In total, we covered about 2.9 miles. I had never walked out on the point in front of the lodge. I discovered two Sea Ranch historical markers (Kenkoku Maru grounding on Black Point Beach and Black Point Settlement/Bihler Landing) that I had never seen before.

The four of us spent some time in the hot tub before dinner. Unfortunately, the hot tub stopped working and never worked again over the course of the weekend.

For dinner, we had lasagna that Marlene made. We finished the night playing Texas Holdup poker. We also brought a Cinque Terre puzzle that we started...

More Jimmer [Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas gets the last laugh]

Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas gets the last laugh

He warned us. He said this would happen. Isaiah Thomas tried to tell everyone – coaches, general managers, reporters, teammates – that he was better than a sixth man, more than a prolific scorer and, in fact, was an absolute steal for the Kings with the No. 60 (and last) pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

Thomas, who celebrated his 28th birthday Tuesday, commanded attention the day he dipped his toe into the NBA. During the Kings’ first preseason practice in 2011-12, he scrimmaged against high-profile first-round draft pick Jimmer Fredette. The outcome, it is fair to say, was a rout.

Thomas dominated the former BYU standout with his physicality, quickness and competitiveness. A flustered Fredette could barely get off a shot and couldn’t get past Thomas off the dribble. At the other end, the player who would prove to be Geoff Petrie’s last impressive personnel heist – Thomas – repeatedly and easily drove into the lane and scored on a variety of scoops, reverses and floaters with either hand.

Back from Portland

Up early for a breakfast meeting, I spent the day working in rainy Portland. The meeting was rescheduled from January 9. We caught a 2:50 pm flight back to Sacramento and I was home a little after 5 pm.

Valentine's Day 2017

Sharon and I exchanged gifts in the morning before work. She got me some pickleball racquets and balls, while I got some Victoria Secret pajamas. I also had some flowers sent to her work.

We had early Valentine's Day lunch at La Provence in Roseville. The lunch special included Carrot Ginger Soup [Cinnamon toast croutons, crème fraîche], Polet Provençal [Chicken breast, pappardelle pasta, sweet pea purée, pork belly, parmesan cream] and Petite Château Oscar [Grilled steak, lump crab, potato purée, asparagus, hollandaise]. Sharon had the steak, while I had the chicken. The service was not great; we sat and waited for our entrees for about 25 minutes...

I took off in the afternoon for a short work trip to Portland. This is rescheduled from the trip that was interrupted in January.

American River at Ancil Hoffman Park

This video of the American River at Ancil Hoffman Park was taken on Saturday, February 11. I plan to come back this summer and take another video from the same spot.


American River at Ancil Hoffman Park from heringermr on Vimeo
Ever since we lived in Deterding Ranch, I have always wondered how high the water has gotten in the park. Several people have said that this is the highest it has gotten in 20 years.

Hidden Figures

Sharon and I went to the Palladio Luxe theaters in Folsom to see Hidden Figures. This is part of our effort to see all of the Oscar nominated films. The film has been nominated for numerous awards, including three Oscars, for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress.

Hidden Figures is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Sheerly about female African-American mathematicians at NASA. The film stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine G. Johnson, a mathematician who calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other missions. It also features Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, with Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, and Mahershala Ali in supporting roles.

I was surprised to see Parsons and Ali in the film. Ali is also in Moonlight. He is nominated for Best Supporting Actor in that film. It seems odd that Spencer, rather than Henson, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in this film.

Hidden Figures is a solid movie. The film is not as creatively ambitious as Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea. It is not going to win Best Picture. With two weeks until the Oscars, we have now seen seven of the nine films nominated for Best Picture.

Dinner at Matteos

Sharon and I went to dinner at Matteos with three couples from the neighborhood. The group included Greg and Michele, Jim and Debbie, and Rod and Kathy.

Dinner at the Renterias

Sharon and I headed out to Elk Grove for dinner at the Renterias. The group included Rod, Julie, Ben and Lynn Borja, Alan Wackman, Sharon and I. We got to know each other when our boys played tournament baseball together... It is was nice evening.

It was a little surreal to drive through our old neighborhood on the way home. We lived in Elk Grove for almost twelve years. It was after midnight by the time Sharon and I wandered back to Carmichael.

ESPN Films - SEC Storied - Before They were Cowboys

Running on the treadmill, I watched ESPN Films SEC Storied Before They Were Cowboys. This is the twenty-ninth film in the ESPN Films SEC Storied series. A work in progress episode guide for SEC Storied is here.

The film looks at how Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson teamed up to help lead the 1964 Arkansas Razorbacks football squad to its only undefeated season in history almost thirty years before they joined forces to win two Super Bowls with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. They were vital senior members of a team that won a national championship. The two men are linked by alphabet, alliteration, uniform numbers (60 and 61) and fate.

I was shocked that Jerry Jones was an offense guard in college. Today, he would have to be 80 to 100 pounds heavier to play to offense line. Looking at the UC Davis 2016 football roster, fourteen of the fifteen offense linemen listed weighed more than 275 pounds. Nine of the fifteen weighed more than 290 pounds. It is just one example of how football has changed over the last fifty years.

I was a quality offensive tackle in high school in Northern California in the early 1970's at 195 pounds. I probably could have played offense line at UC Davis. More on that in the next video postcard...

The second act of Jimmer Mania

Larkin sent me a link to this Yahoo! Sports article about Jimmer Fredette. My thoughts about Jimmer are here and here.

The second act of Jimmer Mania

Jimmer Fredette is a sensation again. He hadn’t expected this to happen, certainly not in Shanghai, where he signed to play for one of the Chinese Basketball Association’s worst teams. But then came the 40-point nights, Shanghai’s unexpected rise from the bottom to the top and another group of fans halfway around the world was chanting his name.

“Jimo. Jimo. Jimo.”

There is no Chinese way to say “Jimmer,” his translator told him. They are using the word that sounds closest.

It means “lonely,” the translator added.

The Whistler by John Grisham

Trying to get back on the track of finishing at least one book a month, my book for February is The Whistler by John Grisham. Somewhat unbelievably, this is the 30rd book by John Grisham that I have read in the last twenty-four years. I am not sure that this is something that I should be proud of...

The plot is a little different. It involves an Indian tribe, a casino, a judge and the Florida State Board on Judicial Conduct (the “BJC”). Although the BJC investigators are attorneys, it is not really a legal story...

As I have said about a number of the recent Grishman books, It is not a bad book. Having worked my way through the Hamilton biography over the last couple of months, it was a nice light change of pace. I will continue to read Grisham novels as filler between more ambitious books. They serve as a nice mindless break.

Celebrating 22 years since our first date!

Sharon and I went to happy hour at Ruth's Chris Steak House to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of our first date.

Twenty two years ago today [Monday, February 6, 1995], we had our first date at Mace's.

Mace's closed in 2005 and Ruth's Chris opened in the same location.

An email that I wrote Nooter a few days after our first date is here.

Super Bowl LI Party

Sharon and I went to her brother Tom's house to watch the Super Bowl. It ended up being a pretty large group, including Tom, Kevin, Leah, Lydia, Tim, Kathy, Erin, Leah's dad Steve, Jim, Sharon and I. Tom made a great dinner of cioppino.

It was a wild game. Trailing 28 to 3 in the third quarter, the New England Patriots rallied to beat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime by the score of 34 to 28. No team had ever made up more than a 10-point deficit to win a Super Bowl. It was the first Super Bowl overtime game.

The Patriots ran 93 offense plays, compared to 46 for the Falcons. The Patriots time of possession was 40:31, compared to 23:27 for the Falcons. I think that the Falcon's defense just ran out of gas at the end of the game; it was physically and emotionally spent!

2017 Kings versus Warriors

I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Golden State Warriors NBA basketball game with a large group. The herd totaled twelve, including: Tomasin, David, Mikey, Dino (a friend of Tomasin's) and his son Dino, Bachman and his wife, Snipes, Keith and two of his friends and me.

With a number of people staying at the Holiday Inn Downtown, I took an Uber and met them about 5 pm. We wandered into Old Sacramento and had dinner at the La Terrazzo Mexican restaurant. Afterwards, we headed to Golden 1 Arena.

Not surprisedly, it seemed like everyone was wearing Warriors gear. Surprisedly, the Kings kept the game close. With Cousins scoring 6 of 32 points in overtime, the Kings beat the Warriors by the score of 109 to 106.

I spent about 2/3s of the game focusing on Stephen Curry. Curry was the leading scorer for the Warriors with 35 points. He was 11 for 20 from the field, 8 for 14 from three and 5 for 6 from the free throw line.

DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings' leading scorer with 32 points. He was 13 for 30 from the field, 0 for 5 from three and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Adding 12 rebounds and 9 assists, Cousins just barely missed a triple double.

The Warriors had an off shooting night, while the Kings got 45 points from their bench. Kevin Durant was never a factor in the game; he never seemed involved in the offense.

As Tomasin noted later, the Warriors just didn't have a player to match up against Cousins. He thinks that this is going to be a problem in the playoffs.

The Kings now have 3 wins and 3 losses in games that I have seen in the 2016/2017 season.

After the game, we wandered to Sauced, a new restaurant about a block from the arena. It was packed. Tomasin and I ended up giving up trying to get served and wandered back to the Holiday Inn. Most of the group eventually joined us. I called an Uber about 12:50 am and got home about 1:15 am...

Arrival

Friday night, Sharon, her brother Tom and I went to the Palladio Luxe theaters in Folsom to see Arrival. At this point, this is my favorite theater!

This is part of our effort to see all of the Oscar nominated films. Arrival has been nominated for eight Oscars at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for Adams and Best Original Score.

The film is based on the 1998 short story Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang. It stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

Arrival is a very traditional science fiction film. When twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world, linguistics professor Louise Banks [Amy Adams] is tasked with interpreting the language of the aliens.

As soon as the film finished Tom said "that was awful." Once we got home, I then had explain parts of the plot to Sharon; she was very confused. Additionally, I am not a big fan of stories that deal with time in a nonlinear ways. Combining all of these things, I am having a really hard time deciding how I would rate the movie...

I do know that Arrival is not winning Best Picture. Sharon doesn't think that it will win any Oscars!?!

1,340 Miles

I struggled the last couple months of 2016. Between the new job, a couple of minor medical procedures, getting sick, settling Jack in Georgetown and a change in my routine from the last two and a half years, I lost a couple notches in my level of fitness. This was highlighted by embarrassing times during the Run to Feed the Hungry. In 2016, I ran 1,340 miles and cycled 474 miles. This is the fewest miles that I have run in a year in at least the last eleven years. I am still trying to figure out a physical challenge for 2017...

For 2016, I am looking forward into 2017. Like the American River 50 in 2007, I looking for a physical challenge in 2017. I am toying with the idea of a 100 to 120 mile hike along a section of the Pacific Coast Trail in Northern California [Boreal Ridge on Highway 80 to Chester on Highway 36].

In 2015, I ran 1,604 miles and cycled 401 miles. My goal was to work out with weighs 52 times this year; I have failed over the last three years at my strength training goal.

In 2014, I ran 1,583 miles and cycled 886 miles. I averaged 30.4 miles running and 17.0 miles cycling every week! My goal was to restart a sit-up, push-up and light routine that I have done in the past. I failed in this goal.

In 2013, I ran 1,521 miles and cycled 1,092 miles. My goal for 2013 was to best both the running and the cycling totals. I accomplished the running goal. Additionally, I was going to try and lift at least 48 times (4 times a month) at Arden Hills. I failed in this goal.

In 2012, my goal was to start cross-training. I ran and hiked 1,441 miles. This included two full weeks off during the trip to Italy in the summer. Additionally, I cycled 1,133 miles. Most of this cycling was done on a stationary bike. I covered 1,016 miles virtually biking across America.

In 2011, I ran 1,763 miles. This seems impossible in a year that I took almost nine weeks of vacation!

In 2010, I ran 1,700 miles. This included two full weeks off during the trip to Spain in the summer.

In 2009, I ran 1,832 miles.

In 2008, I ran more than 1,925 miles!

In 2007, I ran 1,721 miles. This included successfully completing the American River 50.

In 2006, I ran slightly less than 1,680 miles.

In 2005, I ran slightly less than 1,630 miles.

On our trip to Florida in Summer of 2004, I started to play with the idea of running the American River 50 in April of 2007. I committed myself and started to train.

The Guest and the Host

Neighborhood Homeowners Association Meeting

Sharon and I went to the neighborhood homeowners association meeting at Rod and Kathy's house. Although we have lived in the neighbor for five years and Sharon has gone to the meeting a couple of times, this was the first time that I have gone.

There was more extended discussion about a number of issues than I expected. I joked as the meeting was breaking up that it was the first time that I had come to the meeting in five years and I wouldn't be back for five years.

Personally, I am extremely happy with our house, the neighborhood and our neighbors...

Hamilton by Ron Chernow

My book for January was Hamilton by Ron Chernow. Until this fall, I had finished a book every month for the last twenty five years. This streak was broken in October. There were just too many things going on; more on this in a future post... Although Alexander Hamilton was not a president, this book fits nicely into my long term project to read books about all of the presidents. Hamilton played a major role in Washington and Adams' administration.

Born on a Caribbean island, Hamilton had an amazing life. During the revolutionary war, he served for four years as Washington's chief of staff. After the war, Hamilton served as assemblyman from New York County in the New York State Legislature and was chosen as a delegate for the Constitutional Convention. Hamilton recruited John Jay and James Madison to write a series of essays defending the proposed Constitution, now known as The Federalist Papers.

President George Washington appointed Hamilton as the first United States Secretary of the Treasury. As the treasury secretary Hamilton was a whirlwind. He created the National Bank, established the mint, and built the infrastructure to collect import tariffs. The establishment of the National Bank is often blamed for creating two political parties.

While John Adams was president, Hamilton served as inspector general of the United States Army, second in command to George Washington. Hamilton aided in all areas of the army's development, and after Washington's death he was by default the Senior Officer of the United States Army.

I was surprised at the largely negative picture painted of the Adams' presidency. While I read a Adams' biography years ago, I am going to have to go back and read another one.

Hamilton was also a little crazy. He got involved in a number of feuds and affairs, including a noteworthy sexual scandal. It is somewhat hard to believe that he was killed in a duel with the the sitting Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr!

Although it is a load at 760 pages, this is a very good book. I recommend it. The Broadway musical Hamilton is inspired by the biography. I would love to have a chance to see Hamilton on Broadway!

Lion

Sunday afternoon, Sharon and I went to the Palladio theaters in Folsom to see Lion. When we first went to the Palladio theater in October, I was very impressed. At this point, I prefer the Century 14 and the Palladio Luxe.

This is part of our effort to see all of the Oscar nominated films. Lion received six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Patel), Best Supporting Actress (Kidman) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

The film is based on the non-fiction book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley with Larry Buttrose. It stars Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman.

The movie tells the true story of a five-year-old Indian boy who gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives a number of challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.

So far, we have seen five of the nine films nominated for Best Picture. This is my second favorite. I rank it behind La La Land, but ahead of Manchester by the Sea, Fences and Moonlight. I enjoyed the film and recommend it!

Florence Foster Jenkins

With the Oscar nominations announced on Tuesday, Sharon and I are doubling our efforts to see the films in the major categories. It seems like we are actually behind where we were last year at this time...

Saturday night, we watched Florence Foster Jenkins as a HD rental on the AppleTV. Meryl Streep is nominated for Actress in a Leading Role for this film. The film is also nominated for Best Costume Design.

The movie stars Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress who became an opera singer known for her painful lack of singing skill. Hugh Grant plays her husband and manager, English Shakespearean actor, St. Clair Bayfield. Simon Helberg, best known for his role as Howard Wolfowitz in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, played pianist Cosmé McMoon. Helberg's performance was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture.

I was pleasantly surprised by the movie. While I don't believe that Steep will win an Oscar for her performance, the film exceeded my expectations. An awards show podcast that we follow was very complimentary of Grant's performance. They thought that he might get a Supporting Actor nomination. I was pleasantly surprised by Grant's performance.

Another Birthday Dinner

Janie took Sharon to dinner at Biba's to celebrate Sharon's birthday. Sharon raved about the meal. Sharon and I haven't been to Biba's in more than the ten years. After dinner, I picked Sharon up.

Walking out of the restaurant, Sharon ran into Ken Graff. Ken was at the Federal Intermediate Credit of Sacramento when I started working for Farm Credit in 1980. He was CEO of Farm Credit West for the first couple of years that Sharon worked there.

At Northstar

Steven Karl Nebel

My new boss passed away unexpectedly.

Steven Karl Nebel, husband, father and friend, passed away suddenly on Monday, January 9th, 2017 at the age of 57. He was born on May 12, 1959 in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina to Martha and Rudolf Nebel. Growing up in a busy military family, he developed great confidence and the ability to befriend anyone. Karl received his Bachelor's from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Central Florida. Karl held a number of leadership positions in the greater Orlando area before entering the business consulting field, where he worked for nearly 20 years. As a well-respected consultant, his vast experiences across multiple industries allowed him to drive change and transform every project he touched. Karl had recently accepted a position at Adventist Health in California as their new Chief Strategy and Information Officer. Karl made networking into an art form and couldn't go anywhere without recognizing a friend or colleague. Karl was a pillar of the Orlando business community, serving on boards for the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, Florida Hospital's Children's Hospital and recently as board chair at A Gift For Teaching. He led in-kind and pro-bono efforts at many other non-profits in Orlando as well. Karl was the perfect family man, a fantastic cook and was at his happiest in the kitchen or out at his Big Green Egg. He would always go all-out for Florida Gator football games and loved to see his friends and family enjoy his masterful cooking. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Sonia Nebel and two children, Alex Nebel and Mallory Nebel. He is also survived by his mother, Martha Nebel, Chipley, FL, brothers Michael Nebel, Tacoma, WA, Tamas Nebel, Windermere, FL and sister Erika Arnold, Lewes, DE. A celebration of Karl's life will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Winter Park at 1:30pm on Monday, January 23rd. The Nebel Family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to A Gift For Teaching in Karl's name. Karl was a wonderful husband, a loving father, a tireless mentor and a true friend to many. He will be greatly missed.

2017 Oscar Nominations

My predictions are shown in red.

In 2014, I got five out of five in these categories. In 2015, I got three out of five. In 2016, I got four out of five.

BEST PICTURE
   Arrival
   Fences
   Hacksaw Ridge
   Hell or High Water
   Hidden Figures
   La La Land
   Lion
   Manchester by the Sea
   Moonlight - [ACTUAL WINNER!]


ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
   Isabelle Huppert, Elle
   Ruth Negga, Loving
   Natalie Portman, Jackie
   Emma Stone, La La Land
   Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins


ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
   Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
   Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
   Ryan Gosling, La La Land
   Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
   Denzel Washington, Fences

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
   Viola Davis, Fences
   Naomie Harris, Moonlight
   Nicole Kidman, Lion
   Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
   Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
   Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
   Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
   Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
   Dev Patel, Lion
   Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

More Oscar Nominations

Celebrating Sharon's Birthday!

Sharon took the day off for her birthday. She and her brother Tom went to lunch at Wildwood; Sharon said the food was better than when we had dinner there... They then went to the Century 14 to watch La La Land. Sharon and Tom finished the afternoon hitting the jacuzzi at Tom's house.

I took Sharon to dinner at Kru, contemporary Japanese cuisine. I liked the food more than she did.

We finished the night with cake and presents at Tom's house. Tom made a cake from one of their mom's recipes. In addition to Tom, the group included Eric and Erin. Presents included some new trekking poles.

Neuschwanstein Castle Puzzle

I got Sharon a Neuschwanstein Castle Puzzle for Christmas. We toured the castle last summer. It was a pretty big hit. [Note to self], I should get her another puzzle next Christmas.

Moonlight

Continuing our quest to see films that might be 2016 Oscar nominated films, Sharon and I went to Moonlight at the Palladio Luxe in Folsom. Over the last couple of years, we have tried to guess in December and early January which films will be nominated.

I was very impressed with the theater. It opened in November and has full bar, plush cocktail lounge, a full menu and service available to the theater seats. We are definitely going back. Kevin Johnson and his wife Michelle Rhee were in the theater...

I was less impressed with the film. The film is based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The play draws from McCraney's memories of his own search for identity as a queer youth in Miami's poor and tough Liberty City neighborhood. The first third of the movie is actually filmed in Liberty City. The director, Barry Jenkins, also grew up in Liberty City.

Mahershala Ali has a major role in the first third of the film. He appears as Remy Danton in House of Cards which we have been watching.

Evaluating the movie for the best picture Oscar, I rank Moonlight behind the other three films that we have seen [La La Land, Manchester by the Sea and Fences]. The last twenty minutes are very slow.

Frame Sibling Dinner

Sharon and her two brothers, Tom and Tim, went to dinner at the Empress Tavern to celebrate their birthdays. While Sharon raved about the restaurant in October, she was not happy with the meal. She and Tom had prime rib. After dinner, they wandered across the street to the Dive Bar.

Mayfly 2016

2016 was a year of amazing transitions and milestones...

Sea Ranch • Spring Training • Xanadu • Jesuit Class of 2016 • Europe: Amsterdam, Bruges, Ghent, Lile, Honenschwangau, Salzburg • Georgetown University • Fall Dinner Party • 20 Years • CTO

You can find my previous Mayfly summaries here!

What is this?

2017 Kings versus Pacers

I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Indiana Pacers NBA Basketball game with Phil. Trailing for almost the whole game, the Pacers took the lead with 1:55 to go and beat the Kings by the score of 106 to 100.

In the loss, DeMarcus Cousins had a triple double with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Cousins was 7 for 19 from the floor, 1 for 2 from three and 10 for 14 from the free throw line. He missed two key free throws down the stretch.

Paul George led the Pacers with 24 points on 8 for 15 from the field, 2 for 5 from three and 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Jeff Teague added 22 points.

Rudy Gay (21 points) when down in the third quarter with a suspected torn left Achilles tendon. Once Gay was out of the game, the Kings really didn't have a shooter to help spread the floor.

The Sanborn's seats have access to the lounge underneath the arena. I enjoyed having a chance to visit this part of the arena. We ran into the Laskins there before the game. I was surprised how packed it was; Phil said it was busier than usual.

The Kings are not a fun team to watch. They now have 2 wins and 3 losses in games that I have seen in the 2016-2017 NBA season.

Heringers and Larkins at Northstar

2017 Northstar Day 4

The original plan for the day was to snowshoe. After getting Sharon to ski two days in a row, she was done. We decided to head home early to beat the holiday traffic.

We had a leisurely breakfast in the Manzanita restaurant in the Ritz. Afterwards, we lounged in the room before starting to get everything packed up. It is hard to believe how much stuff we had with us.

We got the car about 10 am. In spite of the bellhops comments about the traffic already being backed up, we had a very easy drive home. Without a stop, we were back in Carmichael just after 12:00 pm.

It was a great weekend!

Celebrating My Birthday [2017 Northstar Day 3]

Pretty much a perfect day...

Sharon and I got up and had the buffet breakfast in the Manzanita restaurant in the Ritz. Sharon had a lot of trepidation about the day; she was concerned about trying to ski with Larkins. She kept talking about only skiing a little bit and stopping early...

Hustling to get our stuff, we met the Larkins at the mid-mountain lodge before 9 am. With stops at the Summit Lodge and tōst, the four of us skied off and on until after 2 pm. We sat in the sun at tōst for long time...

Skiing with the Larkins was perfect for Sharon. Larkin coached Sharon and worked with her on her form; he worked as a ski instructor at Sugar Bowl for a number of years. I really owe both the Larkins for how well they took care of Sharon over the course of the day.

While it was sunny on the ridge and the upper lifts, the mid-mountain was foggy like Saturday. The four of us stopped for very late lazy lunch at the Backyard Bar & BBQ back at the Ritz.

Afterwards, the Larkins headed home and Sharon and I headed to the room. Sharon went to the spa to hit the jacuzzi and steam room. I watched the end of the Green Bay versus Dallas NFL playoff game. It was wild; the Packers won the game by the score of 34 to 31. Aaron Rodgers is a witch...

Sharon and I finished the day with a birthday dinner at the Manzanita restaurant in the hotel. We had a nice dinner of caesar and beet salads with a couple of filet mignons. Last Sunday, Sharon gave me a pair of snowshoes for my birthday.

Here is how I have celebrated my last fifteen birthdays!

Two footnotes. First, Larkin, Cindy and I skied together the first time 35 years ago today.

Second, the infamous Man Down incident occurred on my birthday eight years ago.

2017 Northstar Day 2

The plan for the day was to ski. Sharon and I had coffee and oatmeal for breakfast at Café Blue in the hotel.

Bringing Sharon to the Ritz Carlton to ski is probably going to be a long term mistake. They have a great set up. When they checked in on Friday, they took our ski boots, skis and poles. When we were ready to ski, we stopped at the Mountain Conceirge and swapped our shoes for our boots. They keep the boots and shoes on warmers. Once you have your boots on, you walk out the door and they hand you the skis and poles. From there, you ski below the Big Easy Chair down to the Lodge at Big Springs. It is a very convenient!

When I went to buy the lift tickets, I was shocked at the price. We were quoted $150 for an adult lift ticket for Saturday.

Sharon and I had a great day. We skied for a couple of hours in the morning. We had a couple of burgers for an early lunch at the Backyard Bar & BBQ.

I got her back out on the slopes for a couple more hours after lunch. Over the course of the day, I got Sharon to ski progressively slightly harder and harder runs. The only drawback was that it was foggy most of the day in the mid-mountain. For the last couple of runs, we took the Vista chair up to the east ridge. It was sunny up there!

I got Sharon to ski a lot more than I though I would. Tomasin and Snipes had talked about coming up on Saturday, but never made it...

After skiing, we headed to the spa with the hopes of hitting a jacuzzi and steam room. Unfortunately, everything was set up for single sex, e.g. a woman's only jacuzzi and steam room.

Getting cleaned up, we headed back down to the village on the Timberline gondola. Unlike Friday night, the village was hopping. There were a lot of people ice skating and hanging out around fire pits.

We finished the night with dinner at Mikuni. We had about a 30 minute wait for a table.

2017 Northstar Day 1

view from the hotel room

Using most of the bucket of the remaining Marriott points that we have accumulated over the last two years, Sharon and I made reservations for three nights at the Ritz Carlton at Northstar. The hotel is located right in the middle of the ski resort. I have been toying with the idea of trying to stay here for the last couple of years.

It is the absolute perfect weekend to go. There has been a series of storms hitting Northern California over the last week. The weather broke on Thursday night and the weekend should be beautiful. Northstar got 11 feet of snow over the last week. It supposed to start raining again in the middle of next week.

We rolled from Carmichael about 9:30 am. With a stop for gas and groceries in Auburn, we pulled up to the hotel a little after noon.

While waiting for the room, we had a light lunch. The room was eventually ready about 1:30 pm. We got unpacked and lounged in the room. With the fantastic snow conditions, Larkin spent the day skiing by himself. He texted us about 3:30 pm saying that he was quitting for the day. Larkin stopped at Ritz and we bought him a beer.

After he rolled, we spent some time talking to the concierge about snowshoeing. There is a night snowshoe hike on Saturday. Additionally, part of the plan is to snowshoe on Monday.

Getting cleaned up, we took the Timberline Gondola from the Ritz down to village. Sharon checked out a couple of the stores. I was surprised how deserted it seemed. We stopped at Petra at glass of wine. Afterwards, we wandered over to Tavern 6630' for dinner. Sharon had a udon noodle bowl with salmon, while I had pappardelle pasta. Eventually, we caught the gondola back to the hotel.

Jack and Jason

Christmas Day Movies

In 2009, we started going to movies on Christmas day. The list of films that we have seen and who we saw them with includes:

2025 - Marty Supreme - Eric, Tom, Jack and Sharon
2024 - A Complete Unknown - Jack, Drew, Carmen and Sharon
2023 - Poor Things - Jack, Sharon and Tom
2022 - {at Drew and Carmen's house in Orinda for Christmas}
2021 - Don't Look Up - Tom, Jack, Sharon
2020 - Last Christmas - Sharon, Jack, Drew, Shannon
2019 - Rise of Skywalker - Sharon, Jack, Tom
2018 - Vice - Sharon, Jack, Tom
2017 - The Last Jedi - Jack, Drew, Sharon
2016 - Rogue One - Sharon, Jack, Tom, Eric
2015 - The Force Awakens - Sharon, Jack, Tom, Eric
2014 - Unbroken - Sharon, Jack
2013 - Anchorman 2 - Sharon, Jack
2012 - The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey - Sharon, Jack, Tom, Kevin
2011 - Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows - Sharon, Jack, Kevin
2010 - Black Swan - Sharon, Tom, Becky
   2010 - True Grit - Jack, Kevin, Eric
2009 - Sherlock Holmes - Sharon, Jack, Tom, Becky, Kevin, Eric

Jack back to school

Finishing Jack's twenty day Christmas break, we got up at 4:00 am and headed to the airport at 4:30 am. Jack caught a 6:09 am United Flight from Sacramento to Houston and then a 1:00 pm flight from Houston to Reagan in Washington DC. Catching an Uber, he was back on the Georgetown University campus to start the second half of his freshman year a little before 6:00 pm eastern time. Jack starts classes tomorrow.

It was great to have him home! We are still trying to figure out his plans for spring break and our plans for Easter...

To Portland and back

I spent the day winding my way to icy, slushy Portland and back for a series of meetings. I flew out of Sacramento on a 9 am flight and back on a 8 pm flight. My new boss was supposed to travel with us. My employer has a hospital and clinics in Portland.

It turned out to a very unsettling and disjointing day...

Taking down the Christmas decorations

Sharon and I spent almost all of Saturday and Sunday taking down and packing up the Christmas decorations. It took us parts of three days to put everything up in November. I need to count how many boxes of decorations we have (30?).

The whole process was complicated by the fact that it rained hard most of Saturday and Sunday (atmospheric river...). Getting the Christmas tree out the back door and cutting it up in the pouring rain was a particularly fun exercise. I was completely soaked by the time I was done.

While I love the house at Christmas, it felt right to take everything down, turn the page on the holiday season and start into the new year.

Dinner at Roxy

After spending the day taking down the Christmas decorations, Sharon and I left the house to Jack and had dinner at Roxy. We used a gift certificate that the Renteria's had given us for our wedding anniversary at the fall dinner party. I had a lamb burger, while Sharon had salmon.

Hard Pill to Swallow by morgxn

2016-2017 Kings Season

During the 2016-2017 Sacramento Kings season, the Kings
were 5 and 3 in games which I saw in person, including:

REGULAR SEASON

10/27/2016: Spurs-102, Kings-94 [0-1] - Larkin

11/25/2016: Rockets-117, Kings-104 [0-2] - Sharon

12/12/2016: Kings-116, Lakers-92 - Sharon/Marlene

12/20/2016: Kings-126, Trail Blazers-121 [1-2] - Snipes

12/26/2016: Kings-102, 76ers-100 [2-2] - Sharon, Jack

01/18/2017: Pacers-106, Kings-100 [2-3] - Sanborn

02/04/2017: Kings-109, Warriors-106 [3-3] - Tomasin, Snipes, Bachman et al

03/22/2017: Bucks-116, Kings-98 - Sharon/Marlene

03/27/2017: Kings-91, Grizzlies-90 [4-3] - Sanborn

03/27/2017: Kings-129, Suns-104 [5-3] - Larkin

2025-2026 Season [1-1]
2024-2025 Season [5-4]
2023-2024 Season [6-2]
2022-2023 Season [5-3]
2021-2022 Season [1-5]
2020-2021 Season [1-0]
2019-2020 Season [1-4]
2018-2019 Season [7-4]
2017-2018 Season [5-2]
2016-2107 Season [5-3]
2015-2016 Season [2-2]
2014-2015 Season [1-4]
2013-2014 season [3-2]
2012-2013 Season [1-0]
2011-2012 Season [3-2]
2010-2011 Season [3-6]
2009-2010 Season [4-7]
2008-2009 Season [2-7]
2007-2008 Season [7-7]
2006-2007 Season [5-9]
2005-2006 Season [8-8]
2004-2005 Season [10-4]
2003-2004 season [12-3]

ESPN 30 for 30 Vol 3: Hit it Hard

In early December, Sharon and I watched Hit it Hard. This is the thirteenth installment of ESPN's 30 for 30 Volume 3. An episode guide for Vol 3 is here.

The documentary spends some time looking at Daly's golfing career. His two greatest on course accomplishments are his "out of nowhere" victory in the 1991 PGA Championship at age 25 and his playoff victory over Costantino Rocca in the 1995 Open Championship.

The film also spends a lot of time looking at his struggles with alcohol, drugs, women and gambling. It is somewhat amazing to me that with everything going on in his life, he was able to play golf at all.

Most of the Volume 2 and 3 30 for 30s have been 1 1/2 to 2 hours long. Hit It Hard was only 60 minutes. While I have lamented the move to the longer films, this documentary left me wanting more. It seemed like it just scratched the surface on a number of topics.

Drew

Fences

Continuing our quest to see films that might be 2016 Oscar nominated films, Sharon and I went to Fences at the Century 16 and XD at Garfield. Over the last couple of years, we have tried to guess in December and early January which films will be nominated.

Fences is on a number of lists as a possible Best Film nominee. Additionally, there is a lot of talk about Denzel Washington for Best Actor and Viola Davis for Best Actress. The film was tagged by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best films for 2016.

Fences is a 2016 American drama film directed by Denzel Washington and written by August Wilson, based on his Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name. The film stars Washington and Viola Davis. They are reprising their roles from the Broadway revival of the play.

Washington as Troy Maxson is the focus of the film. He was a Negro Baseball league player who is now a garbageman. His bitterness and how it affects his loved ones is the heart of the story. Set in the 1950's, the film explores the evolving African-American experience.

I actually rated Manchester by the Sea slightly ahead of this film, while Sharon liked it better than Manchester by the Sea. I found the film a little slow in spots. You spend a lot of time with Denzel Washington; he has a lot of dialogue...

New Year's Day 2017

For the first time ever, we hosted a New Year's Day dinner. The group included Sharon's brother Tim, Kathy, Erin, Sharon's nephew Eric, Jack, Sharon and I. Sharon's brother Tom proposed the idea, but ended up being sick. Sharon made a nice dinner of prime rib, potatoes and green beans.

We finished the day watching Green Bay beat Detroit for the NFC North Championship.