Greetings,
This weekend (May 5 & 6 2012) will be my last full weekend in Houston, Texas. And it seems appropriate that this final Houston weekend would be the one in which I have my last Houston Movie Party.
I have been holding "Movie Parties" since 1975 with the first movie being "Jaws". Since that impromptu gathering of college friends, I have had a movie party every year since. Somewhere, in some long-lost word-processing file, I have a list of all the films that were the centerpieces of those annual parties...not having that list before me, all I can say is that it is long and covers almost every type of movie you can imagine. Some of the titles that come to mind are, "The Empire Strikes Back", "Goldeneye", "Superman II", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "Poltergeist", "The Rocketeer", "Lady Hawke", "Spiderman", "Captain America: The First Avenger" and many, many more.
This weekend I am getting together a few very close friends to see "The Avengers". And while I know the movie will be a blast (reviews from last week's London open are fantastic!) the best part of these few hours of movie party madness will be sharing time with my friends...and making memories that I will cherish for all the days of my life.
George B.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Old Dog, New Tricks?
I think it was John Lennon who said, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans." Well recently, "Life" happened to me and I am now in the midst of a major "life change". It turns out that within the next 3 to 5 weeks I will be picking up from Houston, Texas and laying down roots in Raleigh, North Carolina. At the age of 56 it seems that I am ill-prepared for unexpected seismic shifts in the tectonic plates of my existence but there is something strangely liberating about having to strike out and start anew...even at this age.
Friends and family are full of advice. Some say to "take time off", others say to "write that novel" and still others offer no advice as such but do sympathize with me and are praying for me. This outpouring of support and advice is much appreciated and somewhat motivating but the stark reality of the situation I find myself in is actually quite frightening. Now it becomes a matter of taking this fear and turning it into a positive energy which can power me to the next phase of my life.
So for the next several weeks, as I wrap up the Houston phase of my life, I will be packing boxes...lots and lots of boxes.
GB
Friends and family are full of advice. Some say to "take time off", others say to "write that novel" and still others offer no advice as such but do sympathize with me and are praying for me. This outpouring of support and advice is much appreciated and somewhat motivating but the stark reality of the situation I find myself in is actually quite frightening. Now it becomes a matter of taking this fear and turning it into a positive energy which can power me to the next phase of my life.
So for the next several weeks, as I wrap up the Houston phase of my life, I will be packing boxes...lots and lots of boxes.
GB
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
A Traveler's Heart
Greetings,
2012 is proceeding nicely...I suppose. Seventeen days in and no major incidents to report, so I guess that's a good thing.
My own person guilty pleasure, American Idol, begins again in 1 day. So for the next few months I will be glued to that biggest offspring of Reality TV. I guess I could be putting my time towards something more enlightening...but whatcha gonna do?
As the year begins anew I start to think about exotic places to spend my vacation days. I have been traveling to Brasil on a regular basis for the last 12 years. I love Brasil! The people, the food, the scenery...it is so sublime.
But now my Traveler's Heart is thinking of other places to quench the wanderlust which fills my soul. The Dominican Republic has always held an allure as do Thailand, China, and Russia. But I must be practical especially in these days of economic insecurity. Perhaps I will confine myself to South America but this time take in the wonders of Argentina or Peru.
The problem with the World is that it is so damn big. There is so much to see, so much to experience...one lifetime is not enough to satisfy my need to walk strange lands and commune with folk from cultures other than my own.
I wish that I had started my sorties out into the world at a much younger age...at least then I would have been able to cover a little more ground that I have thus far.
March is coming and all things being equal, I will have a week off to visit some special place. Perhaps I will keep it closer to home...maybe go visit Mickey at the Magic Kingdom...or President Obama in Washington D.C.
Or maybe I will continue walking the familiar path and take another trip down to Rio de Janeiro.
A Traveler's Heart is a fickle thing...
George B.
2012 is proceeding nicely...I suppose. Seventeen days in and no major incidents to report, so I guess that's a good thing.
My own person guilty pleasure, American Idol, begins again in 1 day. So for the next few months I will be glued to that biggest offspring of Reality TV. I guess I could be putting my time towards something more enlightening...but whatcha gonna do?
As the year begins anew I start to think about exotic places to spend my vacation days. I have been traveling to Brasil on a regular basis for the last 12 years. I love Brasil! The people, the food, the scenery...it is so sublime.
But now my Traveler's Heart is thinking of other places to quench the wanderlust which fills my soul. The Dominican Republic has always held an allure as do Thailand, China, and Russia. But I must be practical especially in these days of economic insecurity. Perhaps I will confine myself to South America but this time take in the wonders of Argentina or Peru.
The problem with the World is that it is so damn big. There is so much to see, so much to experience...one lifetime is not enough to satisfy my need to walk strange lands and commune with folk from cultures other than my own.
I wish that I had started my sorties out into the world at a much younger age...at least then I would have been able to cover a little more ground that I have thus far.
March is coming and all things being equal, I will have a week off to visit some special place. Perhaps I will keep it closer to home...maybe go visit Mickey at the Magic Kingdom...or President Obama in Washington D.C.
Or maybe I will continue walking the familiar path and take another trip down to Rio de Janeiro.
A Traveler's Heart is a fickle thing...
George B.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Tales from the What?
Greetings,
Well, here it is January 1, 2012. I have spent the early part of the day mentally preparing myself to return to work, that and writing "2012" in the year spot on my checks so I don't fudge them up when paying bills.
I had a few people ask me "why is your blog called 'Tales From The Clock'"?
The reason is simple (if only obvious to my own warped mind). "Tales From The Clock" is a short story collection I have been working on for some time. "The Clock" is a time machine based in a future version of Waxahachie, Texas where once we had a super-conducting super-collider...my stories (or Tales) are about "Clock Watchers" who are scientists that travel back in Time to view historic events and all too often get wrapped up in those events for better or worse.
At present, I have about seven stories completed in the collection with a novella entitled "The Christ Candidate" leading the set. Someday, if I am fortunate, I will publish those stories either on the Web or through a more traditional pathway.
So, now you know..."The Clock", which this blog is titled after, is a Time Machine and in the context of this venue it is the forward, backward and sideways ramblings of yours truly.
George B.
Well, here it is January 1, 2012. I have spent the early part of the day mentally preparing myself to return to work, that and writing "2012" in the year spot on my checks so I don't fudge them up when paying bills.
I had a few people ask me "why is your blog called 'Tales From The Clock'"?
The reason is simple (if only obvious to my own warped mind). "Tales From The Clock" is a short story collection I have been working on for some time. "The Clock" is a time machine based in a future version of Waxahachie, Texas where once we had a super-conducting super-collider...my stories (or Tales) are about "Clock Watchers" who are scientists that travel back in Time to view historic events and all too often get wrapped up in those events for better or worse.
At present, I have about seven stories completed in the collection with a novella entitled "The Christ Candidate" leading the set. Someday, if I am fortunate, I will publish those stories either on the Web or through a more traditional pathway.
So, now you know..."The Clock", which this blog is titled after, is a Time Machine and in the context of this venue it is the forward, backward and sideways ramblings of yours truly.
George B.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
In No Special Order: My Top Movie Picks for 2011
Greetings:
Well, here sit I with only two days left in this year. 2011 was not the best of years and it was not the worst of years (my apologies to Mr. Dickens). I lost my job mid-way through the year and was fortunate enough to obtain another rather quickly; but the after-effect of losing a job where I had spent the last 12 years of my work-a-day life shook me to the core and left me feeling....insecure.
During those days of heightened stress and uncertainty, I often found my way to the local cinema and forgot my tribulations, at least for a few hours, in the cloistered darkness of the movie house surrounded by strangers.
This year brought a banquet of digitally rendered goodies for our eyes to feast upon; some were great, some near-great and all too many were just ok. Here are a few of my film favs for 2011:
1) Thor - Marvel studios continues to impress as they release one after another fine super-hero movie. Thor was the one film I worried about as it was so different, with its Norse Gods fantasy milieu, from Iron Man, the X-Men, the Hulk and Spiderman. But it worked and it easily found its place with the above-mentioned catalog of derring-doers.
2) The Hangover Part 2 - The original Hangover was an almost inspired near-perfect comedy of errors building upon errors with a sideways dash of "Memento" thrown in as we followed the hapless trio and along with them uncovered the mysteries of their lost time. The second installment in this franchise is almost a carbon-copy of the first with a location change, a severed finger and a monkey tossed into the mix. More of the same is sometimes a good thing (e.g. The James Bond series) but one wishes that the producers of this entry had opted for more originality, a slightly smarter screenplay and a little less sound and fury. I read that a third Hangover film is on the drawing board....one can only hope that it goes beyond mimicking first and finds a way to once more capture that lightning in a bottle which made the first a comedy gem.
3) Fast Five - Prior to this film's release I had only viewed the first entry in this series. I found the first film to be standard action fare with fast cars, fast women and men whose testosterone levels were off the scale. So, I went to this film not expecting much and only really wanting to see how well they made use of the Rio de Janeiro location. I was surprised and pleased at how good the film was...and I thought it was a stroke of genius to re-tool the series away from car versus car and "Quien es mas Macho" posturing to a caper film a la "The Italian Job". If this series continues in this new-found vein, then I am on-board for the ride....hehe.
4) Captain America - This is the second of three Marvel films to make my 2011 hit list; but it is hands down the best of them. I have always been a big Captain America fan but I was worried that his 1940s patriotic zeal would be something that the current American movie-going public would find quaint at best and lame at worst. Thankfully, I was wrong to be so worried. Americans flocked to see this adventure of the "First Avenger" and with the film's success, Marvel has completed its cinematic build-up to next year's "The Avengers" movie. You can bet I will be there on opening day!
5) X-Men: First Class: The X-Men series had somehow lost its way after a great start several years back; but with this newest entry which reboots the franchise, the X-Men are back on top. I love the retro take on the group with origin stories for most of the better known characters. This film was very well acted and had special effects to rival its predecessors and anything on screen at the time of its release. I am hoping that the same cast can be brought back together for any sequels that may follow.
6) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - This second entry in the Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law series is a most worthy follow-up to the very fine and unexpectedly successful first entry. The chemistry between Downey and Law is far more natural and the action is ratcheted up five or ten notches from the first film. I am a long-time and dedicated fan of Sherlock Holmes and I wanted not to like this re-imagining of the World's First Consulting Detective....but darn if they didn't win me over...and this film continues that winning trend in spades!
7) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - I have long since dismissed Tom Cruise for all of his antics and inappropriate utterances but I have to, at times, forget how much he irritates me and try to enjoy a film that he happens to be in. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol makes it easy to forget (if not forgive) Mr. Cruise's personality quirks and verbal missteps because it is a great action movie bolstered by an exceptionally fine cast and a fairly decent (though not very original) plot. This film will likely reaffirm Mr. Cruise's box-office bankability and will no doubt breathe life back into a series that was losing steam.
8) The Help - Great book, super movie, incredible performances and will likely clean up in all of the upcoming award shows. Sorry about the pun...I couldn't Help myself.
9) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I have read all of the books in this superb series and they are brilliantly crafted with a heroine who has captured the imagination of millions of readers. The Swedes produced their own version of this film back in 2009 and it was splendid, now we Americans have come in with our own big-budget version of the book and it, too, is very good. The character of Lizbeth Salander as portrayed first by Noomi Rapace (you can see her in the above-mentioned Sherlock Holmes film) and now by Rooney Mara is one that will long live in your memory. I highly recommend this film and expect it to pick a major award here and there over the next few months.
Well there you have my film list for 2011, I couldn't come up with ten movies....maybe I didn't get out enough...but what the hell...next year I will list 11.
Happy New Years to You and Yours!
George B.
Well, here sit I with only two days left in this year. 2011 was not the best of years and it was not the worst of years (my apologies to Mr. Dickens). I lost my job mid-way through the year and was fortunate enough to obtain another rather quickly; but the after-effect of losing a job where I had spent the last 12 years of my work-a-day life shook me to the core and left me feeling....insecure.
During those days of heightened stress and uncertainty, I often found my way to the local cinema and forgot my tribulations, at least for a few hours, in the cloistered darkness of the movie house surrounded by strangers.
This year brought a banquet of digitally rendered goodies for our eyes to feast upon; some were great, some near-great and all too many were just ok. Here are a few of my film favs for 2011:
1) Thor - Marvel studios continues to impress as they release one after another fine super-hero movie. Thor was the one film I worried about as it was so different, with its Norse Gods fantasy milieu, from Iron Man, the X-Men, the Hulk and Spiderman. But it worked and it easily found its place with the above-mentioned catalog of derring-doers.
2) The Hangover Part 2 - The original Hangover was an almost inspired near-perfect comedy of errors building upon errors with a sideways dash of "Memento" thrown in as we followed the hapless trio and along with them uncovered the mysteries of their lost time. The second installment in this franchise is almost a carbon-copy of the first with a location change, a severed finger and a monkey tossed into the mix. More of the same is sometimes a good thing (e.g. The James Bond series) but one wishes that the producers of this entry had opted for more originality, a slightly smarter screenplay and a little less sound and fury. I read that a third Hangover film is on the drawing board....one can only hope that it goes beyond mimicking first and finds a way to once more capture that lightning in a bottle which made the first a comedy gem.
3) Fast Five - Prior to this film's release I had only viewed the first entry in this series. I found the first film to be standard action fare with fast cars, fast women and men whose testosterone levels were off the scale. So, I went to this film not expecting much and only really wanting to see how well they made use of the Rio de Janeiro location. I was surprised and pleased at how good the film was...and I thought it was a stroke of genius to re-tool the series away from car versus car and "Quien es mas Macho" posturing to a caper film a la "The Italian Job". If this series continues in this new-found vein, then I am on-board for the ride....hehe.
4) Captain America - This is the second of three Marvel films to make my 2011 hit list; but it is hands down the best of them. I have always been a big Captain America fan but I was worried that his 1940s patriotic zeal would be something that the current American movie-going public would find quaint at best and lame at worst. Thankfully, I was wrong to be so worried. Americans flocked to see this adventure of the "First Avenger" and with the film's success, Marvel has completed its cinematic build-up to next year's "The Avengers" movie. You can bet I will be there on opening day!
5) X-Men: First Class: The X-Men series had somehow lost its way after a great start several years back; but with this newest entry which reboots the franchise, the X-Men are back on top. I love the retro take on the group with origin stories for most of the better known characters. This film was very well acted and had special effects to rival its predecessors and anything on screen at the time of its release. I am hoping that the same cast can be brought back together for any sequels that may follow.
6) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - This second entry in the Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law series is a most worthy follow-up to the very fine and unexpectedly successful first entry. The chemistry between Downey and Law is far more natural and the action is ratcheted up five or ten notches from the first film. I am a long-time and dedicated fan of Sherlock Holmes and I wanted not to like this re-imagining of the World's First Consulting Detective....but darn if they didn't win me over...and this film continues that winning trend in spades!
7) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - I have long since dismissed Tom Cruise for all of his antics and inappropriate utterances but I have to, at times, forget how much he irritates me and try to enjoy a film that he happens to be in. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol makes it easy to forget (if not forgive) Mr. Cruise's personality quirks and verbal missteps because it is a great action movie bolstered by an exceptionally fine cast and a fairly decent (though not very original) plot. This film will likely reaffirm Mr. Cruise's box-office bankability and will no doubt breathe life back into a series that was losing steam.
8) The Help - Great book, super movie, incredible performances and will likely clean up in all of the upcoming award shows. Sorry about the pun...I couldn't Help myself.
9) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - I have read all of the books in this superb series and they are brilliantly crafted with a heroine who has captured the imagination of millions of readers. The Swedes produced their own version of this film back in 2009 and it was splendid, now we Americans have come in with our own big-budget version of the book and it, too, is very good. The character of Lizbeth Salander as portrayed first by Noomi Rapace (you can see her in the above-mentioned Sherlock Holmes film) and now by Rooney Mara is one that will long live in your memory. I highly recommend this film and expect it to pick a major award here and there over the next few months.
Well there you have my film list for 2011, I couldn't come up with ten movies....maybe I didn't get out enough...but what the hell...next year I will list 11.
Happy New Years to You and Yours!
George B.
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