2014 Tommy Keane Invitational At Dartmouth College's Hanover Country Club

Later today, my July entry for the Cephalopod Coffeehouse will go live.  Right now, I am teeing off at the Tommy Keane Invitational in Hanover, NH.  Past posts about the TKI can be found HERE.

I am a late comer to the sport but thoroughly enjoy playing.  Once again, this year, my brother and I are joined by our cousins Marc and Lars.  We will be matched up on day one!  I am looking forward to this incredible weekend!

Last year we finished 4th in our flight, a single hole behind Marc and Lars.

You can check in on our progress HERE or HERE!

You can also click HERE for a previous post about golf and why I play in the TKI...

R is for Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark is currently # 8 on my flickchart list.

I remember being at "Lums" in Rutland with my brother, Justin, and probably my dad having lunch with Nana and Grandpa in 1981 after "Raiders of The Lost Ark" (the correct, true title) had come out.

Gramps had recently seen this with my cousins Marc and Lars. I clearly remember him telling us about the Swordsman scene, reenacting it and laughing, deeply and honestly, at the scene and his own retelling.

To this day, I try to buy all the toys based on the scene...

And, Dean at Springfield Punx made both of these. He had the Indy done and I asked if he would ever consider creating the Cairo Swordsman...and he did!  I need to ask Lee sometime if Gramps had any real "Simpsons" knowledge.

 

And the fan made posters....

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I am using my flickchart list and blogging about the highest ranked movie for each letter of the alphabet.  

Click HERE and become my flickchart friend!

Why not jump around the Blogging from A to Z Challenge and find some new blogs to read!

Film Festival Friday, December 28, 2012

I had a longer post prepared for this in my head.  However, the need to clear the driveway every few hours as well as pack for a trip this weekend has cut down on my time!

I also have not watched as many movies as I thought I would this break.  The biggie, however, was seeing Jack Reacher last Saturday with my three cousins (we think the last movie we all saw together was Return of the Jedi in 1983!)

Subbing in for my absent brother was The Armchair Squid.  He missed lunch (which was packed with shared recollections and a whole lot of Reacher talk) but met us at the theater.  He has not read any of the books while the rest of us had.  He claims there was a lot of giggling and chatter among the four of us.

All in all we agreed it was a good movie and Tom Cruise did a fine job.  We are eager for more!!

Currently #90 on my flickchart list

Film Festival Friday: November 30, 2012

I realize that I had two double-feature days this past week!  And I spent more time in the theater this past Saturday watching movies than the rest of the entire year ("The Avengers" notwithstanding!).

We did a double-date lunch and a movie with one of my cousins on Saturday.  After an underwhelming lunch at The Essex Bakery and Cafe, we braved the crowds and went to see "Skyfall".

Currently #108 on my flickchart list

I did enjoy the movie but I struggle with it as a "Bond" flick in general and this new "realistic" Bond in particular.  I am an unabashed fan of Pierce Brosnan.  I am fine with the quips and gadgets of the past.  There was not enough "secret agent double O-7" in this.  And the villain seemed to harken back to the Roger Moore era.  But all in all, it was a satisfying "man movie".

When we went to pick up our kids, both Lars and I thought there was a chance our only cousin-in-common would be free and interested in seeing "Red Dawn".  When Lee proved to be unavailable  perhaps saving himself for a guy's night of "Jack Reacher", Lars and I went ahead on our own.

Currently #214 on my flickchart

A fun, if predictable, updating of the movie from my youth.  It hit all the right notes and most of the cast was pretty good.  I continue to enjoy Chris Hemworth's non-Thor roles and Josh Hutcherson hasn't disappointed me yet.  The secondary lead, Josh Peck, is a former child actor trying to get his bearings.  He left me slightly under-impressed.

Yesterday, while I was recovering from my night out, I hit Redbox for two different sort of movies.

Currently #91 on my flickchart list

I had intended to watch "Quantum of Solace", which Lars had loaned me, but saw this when I went to rent my second feature.  I always enjoy Denzel Washington and he did not let me down here.  It had a certain gritty-realism and believe-ability.  My next movie...not so much.

Currently #199 on my flickchart list

Nan and Wikes went to see "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" during a Girls' Night Out when it opened.  It had piqued my interest and I zeroed in on it for my day off once I scheduled it.  So I toasted up my Stouffers French Bread Pizza (my work day off staple) and popped this one in.

I got what I expected...a fun romp that takes it self just seriously enough (in terms of characters and acting....not so much the action, especially the horse stamped scene!)

Wild Card Wednesday: July 25, 2012

This is my last "live" blog of the week.  The next three days are already "in the can" and ready to go.  The reason for this is that tomorrow morning, we head out to the 2012 Tommy Keane Invitational Golf Tournament.

I am a late comer to the sport but thoroughly enjoy playing.  This year, my brother and I are joined by our cousins Marc and Lars.  We will be matched up on day one!  I am looking forward to this incredible weekend!

You can check in on our progress HERE or HERE!

You can also click HERE for a previous post about golf and why I play in the TKI...

Blogging From A To Z: G is for...

...golf....a sport I just picked up last year after my father died.  My great-grandfather was the first golf pro at Dartmouth College.  When he retired, they started a yearly tournament in his name.  My grandfather and father played in it for as long as I could remember.  When Gramps died in 2000, my father invited my brother to play with him.  When Dad died last year, my brother asked me to play with him, despite the fact I had NEVER picked up a club, much less played before.  I got clubs and played through out last summer to get ready and played in the tournament in August.  I LOVE IT.  I have played more with these three guys pictured than anyone else.  And the best part is....my daughter already loves it.  I think she will become my number one partner before this summer is up....

Buster Olney and The Lake Monsters

Cousin Lars and his son invited Logan and I out to see the Vermont Lake Monsters play on Friday. I hadn't been to a game yet this year and had just finished two weeks of a summer program with some "heavy hitters", so I thought it would be a good little reward.

We arrived and found out it was Buster Olney night! I enjoy watching the ESPN and Olney is rather insightful. Plus I am EASILY starstruck. We didn't arrive early enough to get an Olney Bobblehead, but I did muster up enough courage to wander over and ask for a picture (after a group of 10 year old boys, leading Lars to begin making fun of me.....)

It was announced that Olney grew up in a town here in Vermont that is home to several distant relatives of ours, so I dropped some names and had a good laugh with Buster.

Here is a video montage of the event from the Lake Monsters official YouTube account. I caught a little story at the end of Baseball Tonight Friday, but I can't find it on-line....

This will always make me think of my grandfather...

I remember being at "Lums" in Rutland with Justin and probably my dad having lunch with Nana and Grandpa in 1981 after "Raiders of The Lost Ark" (the correct, true title) had come out.

Gramps had recently seen this with my cousins Marc and Lars. I clearly remember him telling us about this scene, reenacting it and laughing, deeply and honestly, at the scene and his own retelling.

I've been recently buying the toys based on this scene and found these two on clearance at WalMart in Plattsburgh yesterday:

They join these guys I got for Christmas:

And these I got at Disney two years ago: