I have been waiting for this day to publish my entire year in video. The video runs about 9 minutes covering from January 2018 up until December 31 2018. It’s a great app. You can download (for free) from Apple store or Google Play.
Enjoy,
Joe
Archive for December 2018
1 Second Everyday for 2018
December 31, 20181 Second Everyday – December
December 31, 2018Here’s my 1 Second Everyday video for December 2018. It runs about 45 seconds. Enjoy.
Mary Poppins Returns
December 29, 2018
Friday night was date night again. We arranged to have Dawn over to take care of Mary. then off we went to the movies. We went to see “Mary Poppins Returns” at the Terraces Cinema. The film stars Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Terraces is about half the price of AMC theaters plus it’s a lot closer. Tickets last night were $6 a person (Senior Rate).
I am usually underwhelmed at movie remakes, but I was pleasantly surprised at the “new” Mary Poppins. Emily Blunt does a great job doing Mary Poppins. As in the past she arrives floating down from the sky under an umbrella.
Lin-Manuel Miranda plays Jack, the lamplighter. So, who knows what a lamplighter does for a living?
We ran into a couple of friends who came to see “Mary Poppins Returns”. In fact, there were only the four of us in the theater. Our friend Frank had never heard of Lin-Manuel Miranda. Who hasn’t heard of Hamilton. One of these days we will save up enough money to see “Hamilton” when it comes out this way again.
The sound track was completely revamped. Alas, there was no “supercalifrasticexpialidiocius”. Not to worry, there were plenty of tunes that get your toes tapping. I will probably download the sheet music to some of the tunes to play at our next lodge or OES meeting.
Okay, SPOILER ALERT.
If you haven’t seen the film and are planning on seeing it. Stop reading here.
One of the joys of the film was cameo appearances late in the film of Dick Van Dyke and Angela Lansbury. Folks of a certain age, might remember that Dick Van Dyke appeared in the original “Mary Poppins” back in 1964. I don’t quite get the appearance of Angela Lansbury. She didn’t appear in the original Poppins. So what’s the hook? Also, Julie Andrews did not appear in the sequel. Dick Van Dyke still has that twinkle in his eyes.
After the movie we got Chinese take out from the Lucky Star Chinese restaurant. I do love their Hot and Sour soup. All in all, it was a fun night.
Christmas Letters
December 10, 2018
Every year at this time I write a Christmas letter. I have been doing it now for about 20 years. I have most of the old letters saved in a directory on my computer going back to 1999.
I got the idea of writing the letters from Paula’s mother who did a Christmas letter every year. I felt that just doing cards was boring. I felt like writing to folks about what has happened in our lives, but doing it on each card was too much work. So I started our Christmas letter.
This year it will be going to about 125 of our nearest and dearest friends all over the world. One year I emailed the letter to most of our friends, but felt that was boring.
Last year it went out to about 180 people. This year, I decided to pare the list down a bit. Getting a bit pricey at 50 cents per stamp.
So here’s my process. First, I save pictures over the course of the year and put in a Christmas 20xx file. I select pictures that might be good for the letter.
In mid November, I start reviewing the mailing list. I check for addresses. I check for deaths in the families. I don’t want to commit the faux pas of sending a letter to John and Jane Doe when Jane died during the year.
Beginning in early December, I start writing. Add pictures, then print and submit to editor in chief (Paula) who makes suggestions and corrections to my spelling and grammar.
Then log in to Amazon and shop for paper and envelopes. This year I have way more than I need. Extra paper and envelopes go into a bin for next year.
Next, print labels. I found an app on iTunes App Store that does a great job of printing labels. Click here for a pointer to the app.
Next, start the print run. Invariably, I run out of ink. This year is no different. Ran out of color cartridge. Ordered from HP. Should be here today. Once I have the ink installed, continue printing. HP offers free overnight shipping for ink cartridges. Good deal.
At this point, I hand off a handful of letters to Paula for people that she wants to add a personal note, maybe 20-25 out of 125.
Finally fold and stuff into envelopes and put on address and return address stickers. Finally add postage and drop into the mailbox.
If you don’t want to wait for the mailman, click here for your own copy.
Bohemian Rhapsody
December 2, 2018
Saturday night was another “Date Night” for us. Paula and I were wanting to see “Bohemian Rhapsody” for a while now. We thought it might be getting to the end of its run in theaters by now. But we got tickets on the AMC app for the 6:40 pm show.
What a great movie. Paula says four stars all the way. It brings the story of Freddie Mercury and the rock band Queen to the big screen. You don’t want to watch this on your DVD player. You want to watch this on a big screen with the full theater Dolby sound system.
Freddie had an amazing voice. He could cover 4 octaves. (I can only cover 4 notes, let alone one octave.) I was impressed that a four piece band (drums, bass guitar, lead guitar and singer) could make such loud, beautiful sound. (Click here for the full Wikipedia article on Freddie Mercury.)
Freddie was born of Parsi parents on the island of Zanzibar and later in India. He later moved to England with his parents.
The finale of the movie is the performance at the Live Aid concert in 1986. Freddie Mercury died in 1991 of Pneumonia related to the disease AIDS at the age of 45.
So last night I downloaded the soundtrack album from iTunes and listened to it on the way to and from church. Nothing like the tune “Bohemian Rhapsody” rattling around your head during church. Maybe, I’ll play it at our OES meeting tomorrow.
Click here for the trailer on YouTube.
1SE for November
December 1, 2018Here’s my 1SE (1 Second Everyday) for November. In December, I will be posting a video for the entire year.
calherewecome 