Rob and Mark Discuss Reading and Reading

A Reliable Wife

2011-04-27T11:38:00.000-07:00

Summary: Rural Wisconsin, 1909. In the bitter cold, Ralph Truitt, a successful businessman, stands alone on a train platform waiting for the woman who answered his newspaper advertisement for "a reliable wife." But when Catherine Land steps off the train from Chicago, she's not the "simple, honest woman" that Ralph is expecting. She is both complex and devious, haunted by a terrible past and motivated by greed. Her plan is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on, though, is that Truitt — a passionate man with his own dark secrets —has plans of his own for his new wife. Isolated on a remote estate and imprisoned by relentless snow, the story of Ralph and Catherine unfolds in unimaginable ways.

Every body has issues. The people in this book have a ton of issues. Truitt may or may not have killed his first wife. He loved her and she did not love him back. He never really expected to fall in lust with his new wife, He loves his son and I have no idea why. It is what a man has to do. He is so emotionally bankrupt that he feigns indifference when his new wife tries to kill him. It is his time to die.But he is so emotionally and physically alive. This book is a lot about sex.

Catherin in many ways is a sad pathetic beautiful character. Never really figured out why she answered Ralph's ad other to steal him blind. And as expected or unexpected as she semi falls in love with him. She has a real wedding dress, he reads to her and they have a physical relationship that is beyond what conventional married couples have.

And Ralph sends her away to bring his son back and she not surprisingly falls for him also. This may have been a trap to bring him back as a favor to bring him back. She did not set out to do this but it happens to the best of us.

It is confusing exactly where her loyalties lie. Antonio is a absolutely pathetic and sad. He would be happy getting laid and drunk by a different woman and different brandy every day. But in the end he has fallen for Catherin. He has so many issues and some of them are a vast reconstruction of his past that have no ties to reality.

Somewhere along the line Catherin gets pregnant and nobody really notices, even the author of this book. its a logical conclusion as each person in this novel is so busy looking for his or her own version of serenity that they never really see what is unfolding around them.

Spring always seems to be right around the corner in this book and never ever seems to come. Everybody is anticipating it and winter persists just like the issues surrounding each character in this book.

The novel’s setting and strong sense of place seem to echo its mood and themes. What role does the wintry Wisconsin landscape play? And the very different, opulent setting of St. Louis?

The winter's constant storms are a back drop of isolation and despair. It is a very simple life with really no where to go. St. Louis is portrayed as the opposite with all the despair in life. It is just as bleak and stark as isolated Wisconsin.

Catherin's sister is a pivotal character in this book and we see her so little of her. She is deemed a lost cause and left to die no differently than Ralph's first life. Both Ralph and Catherin have similar decisions to make in regards to both people in their lives and let them go their own way. To a better life or non life depending how you look at it.

There is never ever somebody in this book that you truly root for. They all seem so hopeless and weighted down with issues from their past. They only time they seem somewhat fully happy is when they are having sex. In the end the spring truly never really comes but a slight seed of life is planted like an Iris blooming through a late spring snow bank.

A Question of Attraction -David Nicholls

2010-09-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

So in a Nut Shell
This entertaining first novel by an English television writer tells the story of Brian Jackson, an unworldly but affable college freshman whose main ambition in life is to compete on the BBC quiz show University.

So they say. it is a coming of age novel of sorts but I see it as a un- coming of age novel as Brian struggles his way out of adolescence.and almost completely wrecks himself all for love of some interesting, pretty manipulating young lady of his dreams (Alice Harbinson). But it is always like this That is cliche and in a sense it is not cliche as our protagonists sets goals for him self to not land the girl. Brian makes many resolutions that he can not possibly meet and reflects and refracts along the way.

And in a way the book is funny as hell as while reading the book you almost cringe each time Brian makes a mistake that is going to cost him dearly in the end. The end of the book is actually endearing and hilarious and rather unexpected and just about right. it has the lessons of life all in there basically that telling lies and cheating will eventually be your down fall even if you do not set out to lie and cheat in the first place.

There were a few of the side characters I found endearing. Rebecca Epstein as the girl next door, activist til she dies you almost root for her as the quintessential underdog and Lucy Chang as the cute as a button clutch performer on the debate team. The book has the back drop of a quiz show and at the beginning of each chapter the author weaves a question into the story and it certainly keeps the book more entertaining then it already is.

I read this book rather quickly as it was a page turner and you know what for now I am going to miss it. That is one thing I do not like about the kindle because I want to pass it on to somebody who is going to appreciate it.

Jonothan Trapper -Plan B

2010-08-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

Well The book is about this. Sort of.

There's no time to contemplate this milestone, however; life is intervening, especially for Jack. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and though the bold plan the friends devise to save Jack from himself may not be the best way, once again going with Plan B seems to be the only choice they have.

I found this book to be a highly entertaining read. The story was worth telling and the characters were ones that you cared about and could relate to. And to nobodies surprise none of the characters were with out an obvious glaring fault.

There are many sentences that I found very telling and the stuck with me. I enjoyed reading Trappers sentences, his paragraphs and book as a whole. The one criticism is that too many loose ends were tied up and in my mind Life does not ever work like that.

The themes of are a bit crazy and complicated and the axiom of that life rarely works according to plan can be the underlying theme. One has to love the glimpses into the music of the times and I especially liked the use of musical lists to describe a characters mood and personality.

Each character in this novel. goes on this adventure with not so obvious incentive that we see crystallize through out the book. I also tended to like this book as I read it in late summer and love the vivid Autumnal descriptions.

There is a theme in here that resonates in everybodies life that I personally think about all the time and that is Ben's ability to settle into a life he was not all that thrilled about and emerges out the the other side into a life he always wanted. We rarely if ever miss a golden opportunity in life and have a second chance to make it happen. I love the thought of that. Don't we all.

things my girlfriend and i have argued about

2010-07-22T16:08:00.000-07:00

I usually do not laugh out loud when reading a book. It's usually a private experience but after reading the last two chapters of this book i had a large smirk on my face. The story in this book is not great because there is really no suspense (other than will the two main characters kill each other) and the book kind of just ends, but hey that is life some times. This book is not only a farce about the difference between men and woman but is also the difference between people from the U.K. and yes the Germans. It is about how woman from Germany are completely different from anything on this planet.

One must actually go look at Millington's Web site. A brief glimpse taken from the web site.

Click here for the hilarious background.

Nothing keeps a relationship on its toes so much as lively debate. Fortunate, then, that my girlfriend and I agree on absolutely nothing. At all.

Combine utter, polar disagreement on everything, ever, with the fact that I am a text-book Only Child, and she is a violent psychopath, and we're warming up. Then factor in my being English while she is German, which not only makes each one of us personally and absolutely responsible for the history, and the social and cultural mores of our respective countries, but also opens up a whole field of sub-arguments grounded in grammatical and semantic disputes and, well, just try saying anything and walking away.

Most of the story is entertaining as it one part Office Space on Valium, One part textbook relationship management with a splash of the John Irving obscure. but it the last two chapters (Kindle last 7 percent of the book) are as funny a story I have read in awhile.

Broom -played by "A broom" wins a sweep of literary awards for its compelling role in this book.

I recomend reading this book as you will never view a broom the same, or maybe I am weird.

Pelada

2010-07-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

This movie is a breath of fresh air. I only started playing soccer a year ago and the allure of simply playing is amazing. It was a pleasurable trip around the world with these two. Wendy (sic) you were fantastic, even when you decided to play in Iran and almost killing the project. The scene in the salt flats is so simple and outstanding. The movie implies it is a complex world we live in, but playing a simple game is a common bond we all have. Even watching the game is pure joy.

Yes, This movie is about soccer but it also about seeing the world. We in the US act as if we are the only culture the only norm but this movie shows the world at it's simplest. It also is self reflective as we as a society seem to need cable, mass media and gadgets to be happy when in effect it is simple movement and play that make us happy.

From Wendy
My name is Gwendolyn--I'm the girl in Pelada, a film about pick-up soccer around the world. We're playing at the Hollywood Theatre at 7 and 9:15 through Thursday. While we've sold out screenings in most of our other cities, we've totally failed to get people out in Portland, which we feel bummed about since we've heard so much about Portland's soccer fever. The Timbers players are coming out to the show the next couple of days. I know I'm biased but I swear our film is good--and it helps with World Cup withdrawal, getting to see everyone around the world who loves the same game.

About the film: Pelada is a documentary following Luke (Notre Dame) and Gwendolyn (Duke), two former college soccer standouts who didn’t quite make it to the pros. Not ready for it to be over, they take off, chasing the game. From prisoners in Bolivia to moonshine brewers in Kenya, from freestylers in China to women who play in hijab in Iran, Pelada is the story of the people who play.

By the way Jen and I also saw Hurt Locker this week. I did not want to watch it and I was doing the crossword puzzle as it was on.

It is simply
Intense, Intense, Intense

And by all means it punctuates what i abhor about any war and that is the mass destruction tied to those who survive on the war front as well as back home but by all means it increased my absolute respect to those who have gone to where I am far to chicken shit and not patriotic enough to go.

A Case for Instant Replay

2010-06-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

In
Team USA forward Jozy Altidore has urged soccer’s governing body to use NFL- and NBA-style instant replays as a solution to the ongoing controversy surrounding World Cup referees.

Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers lost his bid for a perfect game Wednesday night with two outs in the ninth inning on a call that first base umpire Jim Joyce later admitted he blew.

Hell Mark Schofer is proposing instant replay in human relations.

What does an argument look like?

An argument isn't a yelling match: it's a rational justification for an idea. It's more than that, though: when you make an argument, or you try to understand another person's argument, you're looking for three very specific things:

Identify what the argument is trying to claim, and what facts it provides to support it (Premises and Conclusions), Figure out if the claim necessarily comes from the supporting facts (Valid Arguments), and

Determine if the supporting facts are actually true. (Soundness)

If soccer and/or baseball can institute instant relpay why can we not do it in relationships. Many arguments go like this.

Her -You said you bla bla bla bla bla
Him - No I didn't it was clear that i said bla bla bla bla bla
Dog -Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof
Her - Exactly
Him - So where do we differ here.
Her - But you said you were going to wa wa wa wa and follow up on it.
Dog - Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof Woof
Him _No I did not I said I hate sushi.
Him - Are you Mad at me.
Her - long silence
Him- So You are

Seriously this is where instant replay comes in. For the astute and those not paying attention the solution here lies with the dog. it really does. Why not install a camera on the canines head. The dog always looks at you especially at the time of heated discourse and you have the discussion and initial discussion on record to analyze and decipher later.

Did you ever have this discussion.

Male.Female Scenario

Her -Repeat what you just said.
Him - errrr.....I can't remember what i just said.

In a side note it is recommended that couples fully understand the offsides rule in soccer. That goes along way in a relationship but also is a harbinger of why 64 percent of marriages end in failure and 42 percent do not. I know it does not add up to a hundred percent but I am researching that.

Seriously this where instant replay comes in.

Here is a link to the five things couples argue about. Curiously one of them is housework. The above does not apply to arguments about housework. If you argue about housework you have bigger problems.
For those with out a dog as usual I have no solution. A cow might be cool.

The Gulf Needs a Local Hero

2010-06-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

The Gulf Needs a Local Hero

Just got done watching for the nth time the movie Local Hero. It is a story about Nature and tradition actually winning out over Big Oil. I am sure that is not the nature of the Beast here but it is a movie that makes me very happy.

I learned about this movie back when I was in grad school and a big fan of Mark Knophler. This is the same way I learned to love the Princess Bride.

Here is something I did not know. There had to be a soccer tie in

This tune "Going Home" borrows some riffs from traditional songs. 'Local Hero' from the soundtrack is played as Newcastle United take to the field in their home games played at St James' Park

Mac" MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) is a typical 1980s hot-shot executive working for Knox Oil and Gas in Houston, Texas. This is what we learned to be in grad school but hopefully not become.

Mac ultimately spends several weeks in Ferness, gradually adapting to the slower-paced life and getting to know the eccentric residents, most notably the hotel owner and accountant, Gordon Urquhart (Denis Lawson) and his wife, Stella (Jennifer Black) in his quest to buy the entire town and coast so that Knox Oil can pillage and plunder.

The quirky locals also want to get drunk first and rich in the end.

But in the end the people and Nature do win out. It was a refreshing watch of an old favourite of mine (the movie and the music) and I am not a nostalgic person but also a hopeful reminder of F*ck Big Oil, Buy Local and we have only one earth and at times it can be pretty amazing.

The Aurora borealis is always present much the same as the quirky motor cycle that appears out of nowhere. The Aurora borealis is a personal quest of sorts in my own life. I have seen it from an airplane and I want to see it for myself some day. It's a reminder that little things in life are a lot more important than making tons of money. People matter, Nature matters and music matters.

Max Fathers Day present

2010-06-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

This is very very cool. Best Fathers day presnt I have received. Max has started a business of sorts. He is selling tie dyed T shirts. He took the time to go to the skateboard shop and he inked the deal/

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

2010-06-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

lyrics and music by William Finn

book by Rachel Sheinkin

On the Main Stage

May 25 to June 27, 2010

The show started at crepuscule .Six kids face off in the battle of their lives. The competition is intense. The words are outrageous. Let the spelling (and the singing) begin! Three adults adjudicate the proceedings: a nostalgic former spelling bee winner, a mildly insane with a comb over Vice Principal and The Official Crapulous Comfort Counselor completing his community service to the State of New York. Both tender and sardonic, this hilarious Tony Award-winning musical of overachievers’ angst brings you inside the spelling championship to end them all. From the author of Falsettos and A New Brain. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Fun stuff

Rona Lisa Peretti: The #1 Realtor in Putnam County -Wacky Goofy kind of reminded me of Kristian Wiig's character on SNL. Showed great versatility when switching to other roles.
Vice Principal Douglas Panch: -Wonderful comb over quirky nerd ball.
Mitch Mahoney: The Official Comfort Counselor. -Showed amazing versatility playing other parts.
Olive Ostrovsky: -My favourite character. Under the frumpy farmer painter pants a super star ready to emerge or at least spell some difficult words.
William Barfée - Ignatious from Confederacy of Dunces. Once again lovable and punchable. Great interaction with Vice Principal Panch. pronounced Bar fay not Barfy.
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre - daughter of two gay parents. politically aware poking fun at Arizona and Sara Palin
Marcy Park:-she knows six languages and is the star of her soccer team. She is sick of that success and is over whelmed when she mercifully misspells a word.
Leaf Coneybear: -stoner of note who spells words in a trance and at the end realizes he is smarter than he though he was.

Chip Tolentino -gets an erection mid bee while falling in love with somebody in the audience. later he plays the perfect dropped from heaven Jesus who could give a rip about spelling bees.

In general a very enjoyable show from beginning to end. The plays on word roll all night long. The music is fine addition to a somewhat predictable story with unpredictable punch lines and quirky twist of words and stage schematics. Jesus popping out of the ceiling was a quirky high light and the fast motion slow motion effect was fun as hell. Tonight's random guests were vivacious and blended well. One has got to love Portland center Stage. we are lucky to have it here in Portland. A mid week crowd of near capacity seemed to relish the show. Complex jokes were heard and understood by the crowd, the musical pieces came off great and the only real complaint of the night was the Hefeweisen before the show. Not even sure if I spelled that right.

From the web site I come to see plays to...

to be challenged with new ways of thinking (43.0%, 266 Votes)
to get wrapped up in an engrossing story (42.0%, 258 Votes)
Laugh and escape for a few hours (29.0%, 175 Votes)
to have a date night (13.0%, 82 Votes)
to spend time with friends (10.0%, 61 Votes)
to see my favorite actors perform (8.0%, 50 Votes)

For me its date night, laugh, escape, be challenged and enjoy the stage. To be quite honest we contemplated skipping the show tonight but we were glad that we did not. At one time in our lives we are meant for the stage and at other it is for us to enjoy and that we did.

And I kind of remember spelling along correctly with most of the words but that's the suspension of reality that goes along with the theatre.

crepuscule -- twilight

lugubrious -- mournful, dismal

omphaloskepsis -- contemplating one's navel

phylactery -- leather box inscribed with Scripture worn by Jewish men during prayer

pyrrhuloxia -- a bird related to the cardinal

acouchi -- a rodent in the Amazon rain forest

But obscure words are still a big part of the fun.

Links to the Show- Buy Tickets

Snow Falling on Cedars

2010-01-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

Snow Falling on Cedars -Portland Center Stage

We took our 12 year son to this last night and it was surprisingly good. Loved the book and hated the movie. I have certain visions from the book that were etched in my mind over the years and they actually brought it to the stage. The one part of the book that was not represented on stage was Guterson's deep connection to the rare snow storm. That was a big part of the book to me but probably not to everybody.

One thing I never noticed or maybe never resgisters is the "Tale of Two Cities" martyr ending that takes place in the book. This stage version took me to the court room much better than the book. The imagery on stage was simple but effective. A single boat as a back drop with variations of the sky to set the tone, time and place. It was effective, creative and beautiful without distracting the viewer.

The story was easy to follow with an effective approach of swithing form the present (the trial) to the past (taht being reviewed in the trial). The dialogue was easy to follow with only an occasion scene where the acors could not be heard.

A really strong week night crowd at what is becoming one of my favourite venues in town. Hint : PreOrder your drinks before the show. Our 12 year old really enjoyed the show and he had alot of great questions after the show. and that says alot.

Here is a link to the PCS sight.

Last Night in Twisted River

2009-12-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

Last Night in Twisted River
Dear Readers This is my twelfth novel. Only once before in The World According to Garp which was my fourth novel have I been able to insert the title of the novel into the last sentence. I don't always try to do that; I don't force it. But its usually an idea in the back of my mind, and if it works, I don't hesitate to do it.I always begin with a last sentence; then I work my way backwards, through the plot, to where the story should begin. The last sentence I began with this time is as follows: He felt that the great adventure of his life was just beginning as his father must have felt, in the throes and dire circumstances of his last night in Twisted River. And theres the title, waiting for you at the end of the story Last Night in Twisted River.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. I read this book on my Kindle. The book had such vivid description and one constant descriptor was the lonely pine on the the "Getaway" island in Canada. I was floored when I walked into the book store and had an actual visual of the tree. Quite stunning. The book has to be one of my favourite John Irving Novel's as each earlier description could be recalled vividly. The "inside Out"method of story telling was quite effective and held the story together well.

The story is a part of a parallel story and a story of the author himself, with his usual forays into Exeter, Wrestling, bizarre deaths and outrageous scenes. Its a story that shuns monogamy but still speaks of the depth of a relationship. The amazing naked lady that falls from the sky is a chapter worth reading and re reading again and somewhat predictably the amazing naked lady makes it back into the first scene or the last, how ever you wish to interpret it.

Irving descriptions of scenery in this book is beyond all his other books. Glimpses from the writers perch are simply stunning. This includes a tree on a blustery island as and a clock in a down town square. Irving touches some things in this book that were not even around for his previous book including, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, 9/11 as well as a failed America.

Away We Go

2009-08-06T06:26:00.000-07:00

This is a no brainer. Just go see it. I was lucky enough to actually go on a date with my wife at the historic HollyWood Theatre, which made the night even better.

Its a snappy breezy encouraging movie that somehow makes a insurance salesman appear hip. Maya Rudolph is just the bomb. She is about as real as they come.

The concept of built in grand parents is soon demolished as the only living parents decide to move to Brussels right before the baby birth.

I like the idea of a whirlwind tour to visit various defective families of North America to decide where to live to end the cycle of being a Fvck Up. Nobody in their right mind would move to Arizona and especially given the odd ball denizens encountered there. Madison albeit a lovely place, is inhabited by old zen yoga friends who give unasked for parental advice. The stroller scene is just funny as hell. Montreal, the logical place for anybody to move, is angelic and our parents to be claim too early that they are going to move here.

They not only decide where to live but how to live.

A sudden trip to Florida to aid a divorcing brother is a Malaprop (I think) and a reflection into family lost, which some how leads the couple to where they always should have been. I think. Exactly where that is purely speculation.

its a simple movie, its smart and its quirky. Just go see it Rob.

Wendy and Lucy

2009-08-05T00:54:00.000-07:00

I picked up this movie with Max and I was a bit worried about the the Rating. The Rating said Rated R because the movie portrays how sad life really is. Well for once in my cinematic life I am happy Max and I watched this movie together.

I read the warning on the label and watched this movie always thinking that something was going to pop out of no where and say; "Turn This Movie Off". I hate horror and shock and I was expecting it with every twist in the movie. But that never really came.

It was a dark movie for the most part. It was also stark. We suddenly realized the film was shot 4 miles from our house. The movie was shot in the Industrial district of Portland with some scenes in what we believe to be down by the river in St. Johns. It could have also been in Forest Park. That was part of the fun.

I never know actresses and actors but the leading lady (: Michelle Williams,)in this film was fantastic. She is a goth dropout nomad heading to Alaska searching for her dream. Who can blame her for that. She finds no luck along the way. She also loses the other star of the movie that being Lucy The Dog.

But somewhere along the line she finds a seven dollar friendship that is the borderline beautiful. This from a rent (Wally Dalton) a cop guarding seemingly nothing in the middle of nowhere.

As a parent the movie industry kinds of guides us toward the movies we see with our kids. This one was a stretch to see with my son. Ironically there is a bit of a lesson here that life isn't always perfect. There is beauty in failure and despair.

From the real movie critics.

Synopsis: On the heels of her critically lauded OLD JOY, Kelly Reichardt delivers another deeply resonant portrait of a dying America with WENDY AND LUCY. In OLD JOY, two men provided the heart and soul of the story. This time, the film is centered on a young woman, played with utter conviction and selflessness by Michelle Williams (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN). Williams is Wendy, a down-on-her-luck woman who has driven across-country with her dog, Lucy, in search of a better life in Alaska. Wendy can barely support this journey, and when her car breaks down in Oregon and she becomes separated from Lucy, her predicament becomes even more dire. In a world that doesn't seem to know she even exists, Wendy befriends a local security guard (Wally Dalton), who gives her a tiny fraction of hope. Considering this film together with OLD JOY, it's obvious that Reichardt has shot up in the ranks of American auteurs. She is becoming a master of minor features that feel like the best short stories, a sort of cinematic Raymond Carver. Credit is obviously bestowed upon the marvelous Williams, who is in almost every shot of the film, and who delivers an astonishingly honest performance. But everything about this film reeks of truth, most noticeably Sam Levy's restrained but beautiful cinematography, and Reichardt's patient editing. WENDY AND LUCY is a tribute to marginalized characters that the movies, and the real world, would usually rather ignore

You Shall Know Our Velocity

2009-08-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

You Shall Know Our Velocity
By Dave Eggers

David Eggers wrote the screenplay to Away we Go which I have not seen yet. I had started this book years ago and Icouldn't get through it.

Readers Block - I invented this word as I guess I was blocked when I read this. I was probably going through a hard time or something. Well these are easier times to get through books.

You Shall Know Our Velocity is thought provoking and funny as hell. Two friends are given a bunch of money they really do not want and set out on a trip around the world to give it away.

I was discussing this book with my wife and we are thinking of making a similar trip in the near (not so distant) future.

Just the sponteneity and cast of characters encountered are intoxicating and Eggers does an excellent job of describing the pace and mood of each destination. it reads kind of like a sane Hunter S Thompson novel (thats oxi-impossible)

"...And there is a chance that everything we did was incorrect, but stasis is itself criminal for those with the means to move, and the means to weave communion between people."

This novel does just that, it encourages us to move and see the world, it tugs us to push the envelope and have fun along the way.

Notes

On the other hand, Eggers is a hero to writers. At least, he's a hero to me, bucking his publishers, firing his agents, demanding this and that as he travels around -- I love the guy. It's a reliable measure of his ego, I guess, that when he formed his own publishing company he called it "McSweeney's Books" and not "Eggers' Books," and that his foundation to teach writing to underprivileged children in San Francisco -- where he lives, damn it -- isn't called "The Eggers Project" but "826 Valencia," after its address. I doubt I'd have the energy to do what Eggers does even if I weren't twice his age, or feeling like it when I look at his résumé.