Vesper's
Tonight I went to Casino Royale. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will give it a 4.5 out of 5. I would watch it again in the theatre, Wendy. All the acting is spot on. The action is spot on too. Those who enjoyed Crash, with Matt Dillon, not James Spader, might appreciate that Paul Haggis contributed to the screenplay.
This is a wonderful beginning for Bond, and Daniel Craig as Bond. And as the end of the credits promises: JAMES BOND WILL RETURN. What a surprise! I was thinking they might settle with their second largest weekend opening in the franchise's history and call it a day, never to return.
One of my favorite finishing touches on the film is the casting of Jeffrey Wright. I first appreciated him in Syriana; however, I've also seen him in The Manchurian Candidate, Broken Flowers, and Lady in the Water. He reminds me a bit of Michael (take that as you will).
A quick update on my television watching for those who care: I like Bear Grylls. First, I like his name. Second, I like his TV show Man vs. Wild. The first episode I saw was in the Moab Desert, the second in the Costa Rican rainforest. In the first episode he urinated on his head dressing to keep his head cooler. I'm in the process of finishing the second episode and right now he has diarrhea and stomach cramps, probably from the river water he drank. He's "hoping it's not dysentery." (British pronounciation)
The second show I've picked up since my last monitor lizard update is Top Chef season 2. The first season had some really unwatchable participants, but this year is much, much better, with a better hostess and some seemingly very quality cheves. That is all for now.
Go Big Blue!
posted by Daniel @ 12:00 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
I was thinking about going to see Casino Royale. I might try to make it to a matinee today.
I have recently become addicted to Heroes even though I don't have access to a TV. Have you seen it? I watched episodes 2-4 at my dad's when I went to visit him and now I have to watch every week on the internet.
I saw the first episode, and I was not impressed, so I've passed on that one. My Monday night TV watching is pretty full anyway with Monday Night football and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
I'm really not sure how to take it.
I suppose his calm and observant manner...
Or perhaps you've heard me slip into my Caribbean accent like his in Broken Flowers.
And yes. I thought USC would win.
Aside:
It was in many ways a sad day. My emotions developed layers because I had thought so long about how I would be feeling about the outcome of the game either way. If we lost that would be bad. If we won I would of course celebrate the Big 10 championship but I would have to wait until January to cap it with the national.
Then Bo goes and reminds me to rethink what I want from Michigan. So I've been instantly transplanted back to the goals of the Bo/Woody era. And I think that the national championship means very little. I just want Michigan to win the Big ten. That's the one that has nothing to do with public opinion, popularity, T.V. coverage, ranking against teams that we have never played...you know...the Big 10 is our championship. It's our ultimate goal. The national is just another chance to play well.
That's how I feel now. And it hurts because we didn't do that today. We played well offensively. I'm pleased with Henne. And I'm pleased with the adjustments we were able to make. But I'm afraid of how much longer Carr's conservative play calling and traditional play design will last against innovative coaches like Tressel.
But Troy Smith is a good quarterback who knows how to play calmly in big games. And the games get no bigger. I would rather have won this one and lost the national championship than the reciprocal. Our best defense in 9 years couldn't beat him. So what should I hope--that we only play second-rate players? I believe Carr can chisel a team that will make fewer mistakes and adapt more quickly. That would have won it for us today.
Buffy was distraught after the game. I had to hold her and console her. And I had to tell her--and I did so also to hear myself say it--that Michigan's tradition is what created the hub of skills and efforts that beat every team in the country this season, save for the best one. And those same forces that created the history are leading to the future.
And she took a deep breath. And she said "I just wanted them to win for you on your birthday." And to see how much she had invested in my joy made it all worthwhile.
Best
I was thinking earlier this week how you never hear the Pac-10 teams talk about the Rose Bowl. However, it is always in the conversation for the Big Ten (11) teams. Even Bo, in his press conference on Monday, appreciated the quirk that the loser of yesterday's game was going to play in the Rose Bowl.
And that is the reward of the Big Ten champion. Many oddsmakers would, with two equal teams, give the visiting team three points, and that is how many points the Wolverines lost by. So now we get to see how truly impressive that game was when both OSU and UM go down South in January and dominate their opponents, probably USC and the SEC champion. After all, they do have 50 days to prepare for that game.
I had a dinner party that took place during the second half, so I only have highlights to go off of, but the injury to the safety in the first quarter seemed to have taken more out of the center of that defense than anyone expected. And while you get frustrated with the penalty by Crable on the 3rd and 15, Troy Smith had as much hand in that play for his ability to escape the pocket and draw the defenders.
Thank you for bringing me into the tradition of Michigan Football.
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