Saturday, November 22, 2008

round-up for Saturday

Quantum of Solace

We met up with Jason, Andy, Rami, Mandy, Kelly and Ellie Gamble to see Bond this evening at the Alamo South. Jamie and I had stayed in last night to watch "Casino Royale" again on DVD, and I think the continuity really helped. The movies are so tightly wound together that it really helps to have seen both so close together.

We ran into old League pal Laura Ryan-Day, who is (oddly enough) now a very successful hypnotherapist. She married a great guy, Simon, who happens to not just be from the UK, but he's apparently a Meet-Up leader for Brit ex-pats living in Austin. They were gathering, of course, to see the greatest fictional government employee of them all. And, they had invited Jeff and Keora.

I actually really enjoyed Quantum of Solace. It wasn't as good as Casino Royale, and it could have used more of Carla Bruni (who, sadly, died in Casino Royale, but in real life went on to marry French President Sarkozy... so, you know, congrats Mr. Sarkozy!). However, the story was fairly tight, it expanded upon the story from the first film and opened things up a great deal for another sequel. Plus, Judi Dench is just perfect as M.

I feel like after decades of actors playing the roles in Bond movies with a wink and a nod, the movies feel populated with real characters. That may have been at the expense of devil-may-care fun that many associated with Bond movies, but the movies had become parodies of themselves to an extent.

Anyhoo, the movie has drawn inevitable comparisons to the Bourne movies, which I also enjoy. I feel the two franchises differ enough that it's not a distraction for me, plus the plots are divergent enough that I just don't get hung up on it. That said, its a certain genre told in a certain way, so I appreciate the comparisons. More good stuff for me, I say.

Christmas Photos

We headed down to San Marcos earlier today to go and meet up with Judy and Dick and get the family photo taken for Christmas. Luckily, it was a little chilly out this morning, so it was easy to get into the spirit of the thing. Plus, you know, Thursday being Thanksgiving, we're kind of moving into the Holiday Season, anyway.

When we get a copy of one of the digital pics, I shall post.

I also have to pen our Christmas letter this year. So if you want to get on the League Christmas Card mailing list, send me your street address or whatever. 'Tis always a treat.

Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma

In going to see Bond, we missed the first half of the OU/ Texas Tech game. We ran home with Jeff and Keora to watch the game at their place and saw the score at half-time.

Which... THAT is the Oklahoma UT fans fear and respect. And why we like to play the Sooners in a neutral location rather than in Norman, OK.

geez, man.

But now... how messed up will the BCS ratings be with this screwy set-up?

For those of you who don't follow Big 12 Football, UT, Texas Tech and OU all have one loss. OU lost to Texas. Texas lost to Tech. Tech lost to OU.

Wisely, OU ran up the score a bit to demonstrate to BCS voters how well their team is playing, so I expect OU to have a lock on the Big 12 South.

That said, I will be watching the OU/ Oklahoma State game with terrific interest next week.

My folks' new pad

Here's some pics of my parents' new place in N. Austin. Pretty nice, huh?

We look forward to sitting on their porch and drinking whiskey sours in the summer.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I may be mistaken, but I don't think Carla Bruni was in Casino Royale

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381061/fullcredits#cast

The League said...

Whoop. Thanks for the fact check, Mr. President. It was Caterina Murino and not Carla Bruni.

I need to quit blogging when tired.

Caternia Murino did NOT marry Mssr. Sarkozy, but Ms. Bruni did.

Well, I still applaud Mssr. President's taste, either way.