Was out in Regina this weekend playing racquetball. I played singles, and lost in the semi-finals of A, and I played 35+ doubles with Dave - although they had Bill written down on the draw by mistake - leading to "Bill" jokes all weekend long.
We won our first two matches in a four team round robin draw. One win was in a tie-breaker, and the other was in two straight games.
In our third and final game today, we start a bit slow, and the other guys are able to win the first game: 15-12, I think. In game two, I realize that the guy on my side is just killing us with his forehand shots when I try to kill the ball up the middle. So, I try keeping it to his backhand, hitting the ball down the left side wall. This works well, and we win game two going away, 15-7?.
In the tie-breaker, it's close early on, but then we put together a streak, and take a 8-2 lead. But after losing serve at 8-2, we never served again. They came back and won 11-8! Ugh!
Making it worse for me was that all their serves were to me. They got to 10-8 with the guy on my side serving lobs to my backhand, and somehow we just couldn't get a point for love nor money. Then after winning a rally to get them half down, the second guy comes in and also lobs to me. I hit an ok shot down the line, but it comes into the middle a bit and the guy serving kills it to win the game and match. Sigh.
I was really disappointed and felt I let Dave down. To have that large a lead and not win was deflating. The final record in our division had three teams at 2-1, including us, and one at 0-3. I wasn't concerned about where we finished after that loss.
So I go and have a shower, and sit in the great whirlpool that club has. Really enjoyable. Then I go to their little bar and try to order some food. The person working says they are short of food but someone's gone to get groceries. So, I'm not sure whether to order or wait or what Bob, the guy I drove out with, wants to do.
Now twice disappointed - by our loss and by the lack of food at the club - I figure I'll go look at the final doubles standings to see where we finished with the thought that we'll be 2nd or 3rd.
BUT NO! We finished first! Ha!
I had a good laugh at that.
January 20, 2008
January 16, 2008
More photos from home
My friend Lynn and her pal Will dropped by earlier this month. Lynn was in town to visit her folks, and Will had tagged along. They live in London now. Will was fascinated by some of the bits of my house, and he took some pictures.
Will was particularly taken with the steam radiators. Such as this one:
My vintage microwave oven also caught Will's eye.
It was a Christmas present from my dad to my mom back in 1975. The sticker on the back says it was manufactured in "November 1975." Yes, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Five. "I know!" said in that Craig Ferguson sort of way. "I know some people that aren't as old my microwave!"
Will was particularly taken with the steam radiators. Such as this one:
My vintage microwave oven also caught Will's eye.
It was a Christmas present from my dad to my mom back in 1975. The sticker on the back says it was manufactured in "November 1975." Yes, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy Five. "I know!" said in that Craig Ferguson sort of way. "I know some people that aren't as old my microwave!"
January 10, 2008
Picture of Paris
I went looking for Freud books (again!) yesterday, and came home with a little picture.
It's an image of Paris, and I think it's looking from the left bank to the right; that is, the view is to the northwest. The bridge would be Pont de l'Archevêché at the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité.
I liked it, because (a) it's Paris, and (b) it's done in a comic book kind of style. I'm not sure if it's a print or a watercolour. It could be taken out of a book, although it is signed. "Guy" d'something, perhaps. I can't make out the two noms autre than Guy.
The picture measures 9" by 12" for picture itself and 16" by 20.5" for the frame. It was $60, and I figure it'd be hard get something framed for that, so it was a good deal.
The person at the bookstore couldn't tell me anything about it, except that they probably bought it at an auction or from an estate that they'd purchased books at. The back of the picture is covered in brown paper with a local framer's name tag on it. I'm thinking this is the kind of style of framing that was done several years ago, so it's probably at least 25 years old.
In general, I'm happy with it. It's the kind of image that I'd wanted to have of Paris, but never found to my liking before.
It's an image of Paris, and I think it's looking from the left bank to the right; that is, the view is to the northwest. The bridge would be Pont de l'Archevêché at the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité.
I liked it, because (a) it's Paris, and (b) it's done in a comic book kind of style. I'm not sure if it's a print or a watercolour. It could be taken out of a book, although it is signed. "Guy" d'something, perhaps. I can't make out the two noms autre than Guy.
The picture measures 9" by 12" for picture itself and 16" by 20.5" for the frame. It was $60, and I figure it'd be hard get something framed for that, so it was a good deal.
The person at the bookstore couldn't tell me anything about it, except that they probably bought it at an auction or from an estate that they'd purchased books at. The back of the picture is covered in brown paper with a local framer's name tag on it. I'm thinking this is the kind of style of framing that was done several years ago, so it's probably at least 25 years old.
In general, I'm happy with it. It's the kind of image that I'd wanted to have of Paris, but never found to my liking before.
January 1, 2008
What I did NYD
Slept in. Watched some football, sadly seeing the Illini lose and those nasty Wolverines win. Cleaned out the fireplace, seeing the bottom of it for the first time in ages. Had a fire: "fire, fire, heh, heh."
Reading Stephen Brunt's Searching for Bobby Orr, which is quite good. Very interesting about how Orr got involved in hockey, and ended up with the Bruins; that's how far I've got in the story. Orr's 14. Definitely worth picking up if you've any interest in hockey, or sport in general.
Reading Stephen Brunt's Searching for Bobby Orr, which is quite good. Very interesting about how Orr got involved in hockey, and ended up with the Bruins; that's how far I've got in the story. Orr's 14. Definitely worth picking up if you've any interest in hockey, or sport in general.
December 29, 2007
No country for old men
OK, so I've seen the film that made all those best of '07 lists: No country for old men.
It was good, although I'm not completely happy with the ending. That is, it seems there's a loose end or two that could have been tied up. I'm just asking for a little more resolution, Mr. Coen & Coen.
Interesting to see Tommy Lee Jones not playing the bad/kickass character. But, boy, there sure is a badass character in this film. Whoo-eee. The guy who was putting that other guy through the wood chipper at the end of Fargo don't got nuthin' on the badass in this flick. Nuthin', I say, nuthin'.
Not a flick for the feint of heart.
It was good, although I'm not completely happy with the ending. That is, it seems there's a loose end or two that could have been tied up. I'm just asking for a little more resolution, Mr. Coen & Coen.
Interesting to see Tommy Lee Jones not playing the bad/kickass character. But, boy, there sure is a badass character in this film. Whoo-eee. The guy who was putting that other guy through the wood chipper at the end of Fargo don't got nuthin' on the badass in this flick. Nuthin', I say, nuthin'.
Not a flick for the feint of heart.
December 28, 2007
The best films of the year
Well, it's almost the end of the calendar year, so people are putting out lists trying to tell you what the best of 2007 was for films, books, political protests, toy recalls, or whatever. I've looked at four lists of films, and it's interesting how little overlap there is between them.
The lists are: Alison Gilmour's in the Winnipeg Free Press, The Globe and Mail's, The National Post's (which tries to make it a best 11, rather than 10, but 11 is just a bunch of runners up of what isn't in the top 10), and the JAM list from Canoe's website (i.e., the Sun chain of newspapers).
Only one film is on all of them: No country for old men. There are two films that appear on three of the lists: Juno and Away from Her (Gilmour didn't include either of those; perhaps Juno was excluded from her list as it's only now opening in Winnipeg).
Only five others are on two of these lists: Ratatouille, Knocked Up, Once, Zodiac, and Eastern Promises.
Thus, of the 40 films on these lists (41 really as Gilmour puts Knocked Up and Superbad as one item on her list), only 8 are duplicates. That's quite a divergence of opinion. But then how many films come out in a year?
There's, say, at least 3 major releases each week, and more than that if all films are included. Thus, if we take it to be 5 films a week, then we're talking over 250 films a year, of which 10 are being selected for the "best of" list. So maybe it's not so surprising to see little convergence in the lists, especially when one considers that there's likely a desire to be at least a little different from others/standard opinion when creating the list. Thus, in a situation where there's a choice between two films, the more idiosyncratic choice may be chosen more often than not.
Of all the films on the lists, I've only seen one of them: Michael Clayton, which I quite liked (it was on the JAM/Canoe list). It was suspenseful; you always had the feeling that something was just about to happen, and sometimes it did, and sometimes it didn't. And it ended well.
I did see some films this year - like The Bourne Ultimatum, but apparently few - well, one - of the Best of 2007. C'est la vie.
The lists are: Alison Gilmour's in the Winnipeg Free Press, The Globe and Mail's, The National Post's (which tries to make it a best 11, rather than 10, but 11 is just a bunch of runners up of what isn't in the top 10), and the JAM list from Canoe's website (i.e., the Sun chain of newspapers).
Only one film is on all of them: No country for old men. There are two films that appear on three of the lists: Juno and Away from Her (Gilmour didn't include either of those; perhaps Juno was excluded from her list as it's only now opening in Winnipeg).
Only five others are on two of these lists: Ratatouille, Knocked Up, Once, Zodiac, and Eastern Promises.
Thus, of the 40 films on these lists (41 really as Gilmour puts Knocked Up and Superbad as one item on her list), only 8 are duplicates. That's quite a divergence of opinion. But then how many films come out in a year?
There's, say, at least 3 major releases each week, and more than that if all films are included. Thus, if we take it to be 5 films a week, then we're talking over 250 films a year, of which 10 are being selected for the "best of" list. So maybe it's not so surprising to see little convergence in the lists, especially when one considers that there's likely a desire to be at least a little different from others/standard opinion when creating the list. Thus, in a situation where there's a choice between two films, the more idiosyncratic choice may be chosen more often than not.
Of all the films on the lists, I've only seen one of them: Michael Clayton, which I quite liked (it was on the JAM/Canoe list). It was suspenseful; you always had the feeling that something was just about to happen, and sometimes it did, and sometimes it didn't. And it ended well.
I did see some films this year - like The Bourne Ultimatum, but apparently few - well, one - of the Best of 2007. C'est la vie.
December 26, 2007
Holidays
Stuck close to home the last couple of days. Was over next door for drinks on Xmas eve, and then went across the street for Xmas dinner last night.
It was all good, but maybe the highlight was playing pool last night across the street. I played really well. Had a run of seven balls in the middle of one snooker game, and sunk 4 or 5 in a row to end off another snooker game.
During that latter run, there was a shot that I had to reach way down the table for. One of the other players asked if I needed the reach, and I said "no," making the shot right afterwards.
Being able to reach way down the table and make a shot is one of the interesting by-product skills of pool that I've noticed get better over time. You see people who haven't played a lot of pool try those kinda shots, and they're so shaky on them that they can barely hit the ball, let alone sink it.
Yet, as you continue to try those shots, you find that you progressively get better. Becoming a bit calmer despite being all stretched out. Able to hold it all together, if only for the couple of seconds needed to make the shot.
It's those little improvements that make games/sports so fun.
It was all good, but maybe the highlight was playing pool last night across the street. I played really well. Had a run of seven balls in the middle of one snooker game, and sunk 4 or 5 in a row to end off another snooker game.
During that latter run, there was a shot that I had to reach way down the table for. One of the other players asked if I needed the reach, and I said "no," making the shot right afterwards.
Being able to reach way down the table and make a shot is one of the interesting by-product skills of pool that I've noticed get better over time. You see people who haven't played a lot of pool try those kinda shots, and they're so shaky on them that they can barely hit the ball, let alone sink it.
Yet, as you continue to try those shots, you find that you progressively get better. Becoming a bit calmer despite being all stretched out. Able to hold it all together, if only for the couple of seconds needed to make the shot.
It's those little improvements that make games/sports so fun.
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