Fall

Two thrill seekers, one recovering from the recent death of her husband, climb an abandoned TV tower o record the feat for social media; fate (and rust) intervene, stranding the pair 2000 feet above the desert floor. 

I'd heard criticism of the film that ranged from dismissive to downright negative, but I thought it was a strong and engaging movie.  Are the events likely? I don't know, but was it likely a great white shark would stalk a small town and tear apart the boat sent to hunt it? What does *likely* matter in a movie theater? Suspend your disbelief, and this flick will carry you along with it on a fear soaked  misadventure with a few twists along the way. 

I give it a personal B+

Rent/stream it. 

Atticus

Dianne Feinstein

 

Diane Feinstein, the longest serving Senator from California and the oldest member of the Senate, has died. She was 90. 

A centrist by her state's standards, in 1992 she became the first California woman to be elected to the Senate, after previously serving as Mayor of San Francisco. 

That centrist reputation served her well through the first three decades of her Senate career, but put her at odds with her constituents as California moved further Left in recent years. 

You might remember recent questions about her mental acuity - even from party members - as her age began to affect her work. Partly if not fully in response to that criticism, she had announced she would not seek re-election after her current term, which was to end next year. 

RIP 

Titanic: The Musical

Last Thursday Lisa picked me up from work and we headed out to Fort Atkinson, about an hour from work/90 minutes from home,  to see Titanic: The Musical at the Fireside Theater.

Lisa tried both "The Grand Staircase" and "The Wheelhouse." She didn't get past the first sip or two of the former, and I drank most of the latter. 

On Thursday's the dinner is a buffet, but starts with a salad served at your table. 

I clearly overdid it with the protein, but both the selection and the flavors were wonderful. 

Dessert was a disappointment. Chocolate creme brulee that tasted like cake batter and no crunch to the surface. Fail. 

For the show itself a first: balcony seats.

The view was spectacular. 

We knew nothing of the musical before the performance, but both the inventive set design and the stellar voices of the ensemble cast deserve praise here. The music is great, but I'm not a fan of some of the historical myths that it propagated: it demonizes Ismay, paints Smith as a frail man eager to please, and completely emasculates Murdoch. 

Anyway, you don't go to a musical for the history, right? 

As a musical, it was worth every penny. And as a date, it was the bomb. 

An Unlikely Coincidence

So get this: there's pouring rain and a heavy fall thunderstorm Tuesday morning. About a quarter mile from work I see a car, facing the wrong direction, in a ditch. I pull over, pause to regret my decision, then run back to the other car to ask them if anyone is hurt.

There's woman and her two teens in the car. They're fine and there was no accident; she said she pulled over because it's her kids school bus stop but went too far and slid into the ditch.

The rear passenger wheel was a good foot off the ground. I told her she'd need a tow but we could try one time to push it out, thinking maybe she was hung up on something.

Like all teens, her boy wouldn't get out of the car to help until she yelled at him. He was content with sitting and watching. Not that it mattered. Pushing it didn't work. It made things worse, and with the tire now a foot higher I could see the drivers side tires were buried in mud.

But get this . . .the woman says "Are you Dan?"

It was Jackie S--, a friend of Lisa's that I've met a few times, and a former almost-stepmom of my nephew and nieces. 

Small world. Too unbelievable to write down if this was fiction, for sure.

Anyway, a guy pulled over, told us he worked down the road and would return with a chain to pull her out.

Good deed (unsuccessfully) accomplished, I headed to work, completely soaked.

Update - ok so it was simultaneously NOT so unbelievable, but also more so. It turns out she called me by name because she thought I was answering her call for help. Not in a general way, she was literally texting me asking to come help. Apparently she lives out there and Lisa gave her my # and told her to reach out in a pinch. Which was fine, if one of them hadn't transposed two of the digits.

So she thought she was texting me but wasn't. And I happened to pass by and stop randomly. Yes, I know it was the road to work but I was coming from that direction only because of a Pokestop along the way lol

 

So This Happened

 7:06 AM

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So get this: pouring rain, heavy thunderstorm. About a quarter mile from work I see a car, facing the wrong direction, in a ditch. I pull over, pause to regret my decision, then run back to the other car. It's rear left tire is deep in the mud, the right half rear of the car up in the air two or three feet. ... I ask if everyone is ok. A woman and her teens is in the car. She says she pulled over bc it's her kids bus stop but went into the ditch. I told her she'd no oubt need a tow but we could try one time to push it out. LIke all teens, she had to yell at her kid to get out of the car and help. he was going to sit there and watch it didn't work. it made it worse. You sent but get this . . .the woman says "Are you Dan?" It was Jackie Sunn, Caitlin's ex-stepmom and Mom's friend

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Small world. Too unbelievable to be fiction for sure