The Last Month or So…

I was going to post more often, really I was. I was even on vacation so I can’t say I didn’t have time. Just couldn’t think of anything much to talk about.

As for my vacation. I didn’t go anywhere, just stayed home and puttered around. Started getting the house, yard and garage ready for winter, that kind of thing. I did almost no cooking during my vacation. Part of it was my arthritis was really bad the first few days so I didn’t really do much of anything at all. Just moaned and complained to Rosie. She got rather short with me about the whole thing after a while. 

I did watch three movies on DVD from Netflix in the last couple of weeks: Wanted, Killers and Clash of the Titans (the new one).

Wanted – Don’t you just love movies that have no connection to reality. To me Wanted has less connection to reality than, oh say, No Such Thing (which I also watched while on vacation). Wanted is visually entertaining, but there is no story, not really, the plot is just a thin excuse for the special effects. **

Killers – Don’t you just love movies with Katherine Heigl in them? She’s both charming and witty. But, seriously – or not, this movie is just a fun romantic comedy romp with some action thrown in because what’s a love story without explosions and full auto weapons fire? It doesn’t pretend to be anything more than what it is; which is just good, reasonably clean, fun. ***1/2 (Tom Selleck’s mustache **** :-)

Clash of the Titans – I seem to remember that when the first Clash of the Titans (1981) came out people made fun of it because it was not very accurate to the Perseus myths. Regarding the new version, I can only say that while the names remain the same the rest has been changed to protect the viewers(?) or someone from something or the other. Aside from the names and a few events the movie bears even less resemblance to the myth than the original. Which it seems is now a classic. When did that happen? It also negates the intent of the myth. Some of the visual effects are interesting, but that really doesn’t make a movie. *1/2 (1981 version **1/2)

No Such Thing (2001) – I watched this one again because I enjoy it. ****

====================

I did put out my WingScapes BirdCam while I was on vacation. I didn’t capture anything unusual, just the normal suspects: House Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers and a Northern Cardinal. Oh, and a few squirrels, both grey and black, Here are a couple of videos for you to enjoy. Yes, Virginia, there really are black squirrels in the area I understand that they were imported (why?) to the Island from the Black Forest in Germany that or they are simply a melanistic variety of the grey squirrel,

 

====================

While I didn’t do much cooking while on vacation only a very simple Chicken Tikka Masala. I did do some today. I made my Green Chili Cheese & Chicken Casserole and my Black Bean Brownies. Here are links to PDF files of the recipes (I hope they work):

   

====================

Well, I need to get up for work in six hours give or take. So Good Night all.

PS I did get a Logitech Revue while on vacation. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it is a Google TV box. I’ll try to post a review piece on it in a few days.

A Few of My Favorite Things > Book & Movie > Picnic at Hanging Rock

Occasionally I'll write something about one of my favorite things. This will usually be a book or movie. They'll not be presented in any special order and they're not my all-time-favorites, but they will be movies and books that I do like and that most of the people I see daily have probably never heard of. You see they will not have been written or filmed recently (say the last 10 or so years). The first of these is both a book and a movie:

Picnic at Hanging Rock [Trailer - Wikipedia - Amazon Video on Demand] is a 1975 film from Australia. It is directed by Peter Weir (The Way Back (2010), The Truman Show (1998), Dead Poet Society (1989), The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) to name but a few of the other movies he's directed), and based on the 1967 book by Joan Lindsay (which naturally I have, and yes I've read it). The screenplay was written by Cliff Green.

It is the story of the disappearance of three students and a teacher from Appleyard College in Victoria. The girls disappear on Valentines Day, February 14th 1990. They are part of a group of students, two teachers and the wagon driver Mr Hussey who go on an educational picnic to Hanging Rock, a geological marvel about 11 km from the school.

The haunting music and vague hints dropped in the opening set the scene for the mystery to follow. Although thought by many to be based on true events it is not. Since one of the main methods the film uses to entice the viewer is to ask questions, I'm not going to provide answers and ultimately the film doesn't either. The final chapter of the book "The Secret of Hanging Rock" was published twenty years after the novel, two years after Joan Lindsay's death.

Some links of possible interest:

• Hanging Rock's website Hanging Rock is a real place although innocent of the events described in the book and movie.
• Joan Lindsay's house at Langwarrin on the Mornington Peninsula
• Picnic at Hanging Rock: a full length play by Laura Annawyn Shamas
• Picnic at Hanging Rock on Google Video
• The Australian Ghost Hunter's Society article What Really Happened at Hanging Rock?
• The Secret of Hanging Rock, article at Wikipedia about the originally unpublished final chapter of Joan Lindsay's novel.
• The Secret of Hanging Rock, summary of the originally unpublished final chapter on Brett McKenzie's site.
• The BookOrphan site also has an interesting article on Joan Lindsay: The Mystique of Hanging Rock
• Darkchilde's Sanctuary: a fan site with a lot of information about both the film and novel

Picnic at Hanging Rock the Novel and Film on DVD:

• Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay, at Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, at Borders, search on ABEBooks.
• Picnic at Hanging Rock, DVD at Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, at DVDEmpire.
• The Secret of Hanging Rock, search on ABEBooks.
• You can download The Theme from Picnic at Hanging Rock MP3 from Amazon.
• The movie is also available from NetFlix as both DVD and Instantly.
• The book The Murders at Hanging Rock is a 200 page analysis of the events in the novel offering various possible solutions. Search on ABEBooks.

Oh, by the way, February 14th 1900 fell on a Wednesday not a Saturday.

On Recent Reads, TV Shows and Movies

Reads:

I finally finished Billy Boyle (Billy Boyle World War II Mystery Series #1) by James R Benn. It took me longer than usual to finish this book. I did not find it riveting, in fact I had to make myself go back to reading it just to finish it. My main problem with it is that I just couldn’t develop any concern for the characters.  During the same time I started and finished: 1632 by Eric Flint, The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series #1) by Rick Riordan, and I’m ashamed to say Mysteria by MaryJanice Davidson, Susan Grant, Gena Showalter and P.C. Cast a paranormal romance story collection. 
Billy Boyle **
1632 *****
The Lightening Thief ***
Mysteria **

TV Shows:

Of the new fall TV season I haven’t really got caught up in any of the new shows. About the only one I’ve been trying to follow is The Glades on A&E TV. I’m not sure why since about the only character I like is the medical examiner Carlos Sanchez. Jim Longworth is arrogant and full of himself, but he is observant. A trait I see too little of in real life. His love interest in the series is Callie Cargill who I think is rather whiney.  Other shows I’ve been watching a little include Haven (new), Warehouse 13 (continuing), Covert Affairs (New).  I’ve also watched a couple of episodes of Beast Legends ON DEMAND. It is a silly concept. The only reason I might watch it again is Kathryn Denning. What can I say? I like anthropologists and archaeologists and she’s both. 
One of these days I’ll use ON DEMAND or NBC Online to watch/catch-up on The Event. I started watching it one night, but was just too tired to enjoy it and haven’t gotten back to it yet.
Normally when I watch TV I watch Historical, Anthropological, Archaeological or Nature documentaries.

Movies:

On DVDs from NetFlix I’ve recently watched Avatar, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief, The Happening, The Lovely Bones, 9, and Alice in Wonderland. On Watch Instantly from NetFlix I’ve recently watched: Legend of the Lost, DeepStar Six, Beauty and the Beast, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I Haven’t been to the theater for a while so no new theatrical releases. I did purchase Iron Man 2 a couple of days ago though.
9 (2009) **** – Cute little dolls verses big bad machines.
Avatar (2009) ***** -- I saw Avatar in IMAX and it really hit my fear of heights, I think I liked it better on my wide screen TV.
Alice in Wonderland (2010) ** – Big disappointment.
Beauty and the Beast (1946) ***** -- Beauty and the Beast was just as beautiful as the first time I saw it.
DeepStar Six (1989) *** – Watching this movie reminded me of another movie “Plymouth” a pilot for a series that was never picked up. I checked IMDb to see if it was available on DVD, it’s not. I did find it on YouTube (Plymouth Part 1)!!!
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) **** -- I was lucky because The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo appeared on NetFlix’s Watch Instantly list just after I finished the book. I can’t say either were really great, but they were both enjoyable.
The Happening (2008) *** – One of these days I’m going to make a chronological list of M. Night Shyamalan’s movies that are on NetFlix and watch them in order. It’s not that I’m especially fond of his work, It’s that I can’t decide.
Iron Man 2 (2010) **** – Okay sequel.
Legend of the Lost (1957) **** -- John Wayne and Sophia Loren (Angelina eat your heart out you’re not even close.) Not a big picture but oh so classic actors.
The Lovely Bones (2009)  **** – Sad, funny (in parts), tragic, tender and affecting.
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief (2010) *** – Better than the book, something I rarely say.
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976) *** – Re-watched to see if I remembered it correctly, I did.

That's a Spicy Meatball!

Made Spaghetti and Meatballs last night. Hy-Vee had 90% lean ground beef for $2.99 a pound so I purchased 2 pounds. I was just going to brown it all and mix half of it with 8 ounces or so of spaghetti and mix in a jar of spaghetti sauce. I ended up making meatballs, actual ball shaped meatballs. You ask what other shape meatballs would be? Usually when I make 'meatballs' I actually just make a couple of big patties and then cut them into bite-size pieces. It's quick, easy and entails less handling of raw meat. Last night though I went all out and used all 2 pounds of ground beef and made a couple dozen meatballs.

============
Meatballs ala ec

2 pounds 90% lean ground beef
1 pouch (16g) Good Seasons Zesty Italian Salad Dressing & Recipe Mix
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 eggs

Dump all the ingredients into a good-sized mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Shape into balls (about 2 tablespoons of meat each). I cooked mine on the stove-top in a frying pan, but you could bake them.
============

Nothing special about the spaghetti or the store bought sauce. I did add about a teaspoon of Tabasco Sauce and a half cup of shredded cheese to the final product.

They are very tasty, but I think I'll go back to the make into patties and cut into chunks method. It's a lot easier.

As for today? It's my 'day off,' so I'm doing yard work, mowing, raking and all that. Also taking stuff that shouldn't be allowed to freeze from the garage to the basement, and stuff from the basement to the garage that'll be unaffected by freezing. I'll also probably clear off the deck.

Hoppin' John Salad

Made something completely different from my normal cooking: a variation on a Hoppin' John Salad. The original recipe can be found on the USA Rice Federation recipe pages: Hot Hoppin' John Salad. This variation is slanted toward my preferences; however, since I'm not a big fan of beans, peas or other legumes, and cabbage is not one of my favorite vegetables (I can eat it raw, but find the taste to strong when cooked) I'm giving myself points for even trying this recipe. I'm trying to expand my horizons so I decided to give it a whirl.

ec's Hot Hoppin' John Salad 
May be used as a main dish (6 servings) or a side dish (8 servings)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups   rice, cooked
3 oz   thick sliced bacon, minced
6 oz   ham minced
1/2 cup   onion, red, finely chopped
1 tablespoon   minced garlic
1/2 cup   carrots, shredded
1/2 cup   celery, sliced
1 teaspoon   hot pepper sauce
1 can   black-eyed peas, 15 oz
1/2 teaspoon   black pepper
1/4 teaspoon   salt
4 cups   cabbages, finely shredded

Instructions:
Cook rice per package directions and set aside.

Cut bacon into 2-inch pieces and put in bowl of food processor, pulse 4 or 5 times. add a couple ounces of the ham to the bowl and pulse 3 or 4 times, repeat with remaining ham. Bacon/ham mixture should be well blended. Put in 10-inch sauce pan on low heat, cover, stirring occasionally until mixture starts to brown.

Add onion, garlic and carrots to ham mixture. Continue to stir until onion and carrots start to soften.

Stir in celery, hot sauce, black-eyed peas (drain can first), rice, salt and pepper. Heat through, stirring frequently.

Serve on bed of cabbage.

Servings: 8 side salads or 6 main dish servings

Nutrition Facts 
Nutrition (per serving): 267.6 calories; 30% calories from fat; 9.0g total fat; 86.5mg cholesterol; 1432.9mg sodium; 602.9mg potassium; 22.5g carbohydrates; 3.0g fiber; 4.4g sugar; 23.4g protein.

Recipe Type: Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish

Recipe Source: USA Rice Federation

I liked it. It was very flavorful and not overpowered by any of the ingredients. The sodium and fat content is high, that'd be from the bacon and ham. Fiber is good and the sugar isn't too bad. On the whole I'd give this a 4-star rating (out of 5).