Archive for July 2019

Lion King (2019)

July 24, 2019

lion kingTuesday again was date night. We went to see the new Lion King. Prices at the Terraces Cinema is $5 on Tuesday. That’s hard to pass up. Usually, the films that we see on Tuesdays are not that well attended. Yesterday (5pm show) was different from normal Tuesday’s. It was at about 50-60% capacity.

The theater was starting a new play about every hour. This week is early in its run. Film length is about 2 hours.

My first comment is “WOW!!!”. How’d they do that. All of the images of the animals looked really, really real. You can’t tell that this is CGI other than the fact that the animals are talking.

So one of the big things about this film was that Beyonce appears in it. All I can say about that is “Meh!”. I am not a huge Beyonce fan.

The story is more or less the same as the original. Young Simba is tricked by his evil Uncle Scar into believing that he (Simba) caused his father’s death. Simba grows up and understands his responsibilities as an adult. Simba returns to the pride, and takes his proper place.

So the film was rated PG for violence. Probably not too good for the little ones. Surprisingly enough, none of the animals ever bleed. Some of them die but they don’t bleed while that was happening. This is the magic of PG. If there was blood, it certainly would be PG13. We will need to be thinking about what to see next Tuesday.

I downloaded the sound track from iTunes. It’s kind of hard to figure out which of the albums is from the 2019 version. There’s a Broadway version and a 90’s version. It’s kind of hard to tell them apart.

We had a good time. Long line at the refreshment stand. Just as well, I don’t need any popcorn. We went out to “Marie Calender’s” for a light dinner. Very tasty

Call the Midwife

July 21, 2019

Call the MidwifeI just finished “Call the Midwife” by Jennifer Worth. “Call the Midwife” was the basis for a PBS series of the same name. This book is actually book one of a three book series, but stands alone pretty well on its own.

The books tells the stories of midwifes, nursing and medicine in the East End of London during the 1950’s.

Paula and I had watched the PBS TV series a few years ago and our friend Roberta recommended that we read the books that were the basis for the TV series.

Indeed, the TV show is still going strong with season 8 just released. I just checked the PBS web site and found that Call the Midwife is on season 9. Still going strong. Click here to see the PBS site for Call the Midwife.

I really enjoyed reading book one and I will probably go back and read books two and three when I get around to it.

One of the comments in the book is about family size. It says that women in the East End typically had about 10 children over their child bearing years. Indeed, I learned later in life that my father had about 10 siblings. I only knew three of his brothers who we saw often when we were growing up. Many of his siblings had never reached adulthood, having died of a variety of diseases that are preventable in this day and age.

The book probably goes deeper into the lives of her patients in the East End. It seems to me that there are stories in the book are a bit too much for television.

Where the Crawdads Sing

July 11, 2019

crawdadsWhere the Crawdads Sing” is a both a love story and a murder mystery. It is the story of Kya, the marsh girl, who lives deep in the wetlands of North Carolina. The book has been on the Amazon best seller list for 43 weeks now.

Kya’s story starts with her mother leaving her to be alone with her drunken father. She learns to adapt to the marsh lands of North Carolina. Eventually her father leaves her, never to be heard from again. The story follows her learning to adapt and survive in her surroundings.

The story jumps between Kya adapting to her situation in the wetlands of NC and a murder investigation of a young man who was romantically involved with Kya. Did Kya do it? You will have to read it to find out.

I would write more but that would give away too much. This is a great story. Definitely worth reading.

Knee Update

July 9, 2019

Tomorrow will be the 5 week anniversary of my knee surgery. Everything seems to be going well. I saw my surgeon today and got an excellent review. Pain is beginning to wane. I am still having some trouble getting comfortable while sleeping.

2019-07-09 11.08.18

Starting next week, I do PT once per week for three more weeks, then done.