Made it twenty minutes in and even that was a stretch ... two people framed in the shot, talking, for nearly two hours. Guy is Ethan Hawke (b. 1970) who looks like junkie (except for the Hollywood teeth) and the girl was that French actress, Julie Delpy (b. 1969) seen her in something else, I forget what. Anyway, they talk. And talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. And it's not interesting talk. It's dull middle class white people talk. No man with balls between his legs has sat through this entire thing, I can guarantee that. Red rating.
Movies Watched -- Enough Said
I guess this is targeted at late Boomers / early Xers ... people who have kids of college age ... Gandolfini and Dreyfus both born in 1961, so they're both early Xers. They will always be Tony Soprano (even with beard) and Elaine Bennis to me, whatever roles they play. Catherine Keener was born in 1959 (late Boomer) and is once again playing an aged California hippie chick. Annoying "emotional cue" acoustic guitar or piano at all the bits where you're supposed to tear up. Was this Gandolfini's last movie? Sad, that. Audi and Prius product placement ... Le Creuset cookware and a Mexican maid (though not hot like Richard Dreyfuss's) at the shrink friend's house ... brand name schools (Parsons, Sarah Lawrence) featured ... I guess its deep message was you have to compromise to be happy, yeah, very deep ... wasn't thrilled with it. Gets points for being under 100 minutes though.
Movies Watched -- Frances Ha
This was like a 90-minute episode of "Girls" in black and white with a prettier and spacier Gen Y girl lead. Mickey Sumner (b. 1984) is Sting's daughter, the ultimate rich kid playing a middle class Boho girl who went to Vassar and then floundered for the next five years (nice to see shots of the campus). Like "Girls" it had some funny bits and cute bits but was ultimately unsatisfying. Might be of interest to white upper middle class Gen Ys and Millennials. (Wondering: would a guy like "Patches," who buys distressed ball caps and works at Goldman, marry a homely Jewish girl like Gerwig. Of course not.) Big points for being under 100 minutes.
Movies Watched -- Jagten (The Hunt)
Rex and I agree that the movie didn't work because there's no way the people would have turned on Mads that quickly ... the whole "children never lie" angle was just silly on its face ... lots of tension well done though, innocent soccer ball to the head, etc. If they had made the pedophile a recent arrival in the town, a single guy, etc. then it would have worked. 111 minutes long so about 11 minutes too long.
30 Day Challenge -- Day Eleven
(All 30 day challenge posts in reverse chronological order)
Inscrutable notes:
07:00 4K row
88.2 24.5
07:20 mush (fresh squeezed soy milk, blueberries, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, cashews, apple, pear, banana)
07:31 scooter in motion
07:46 arrive FCD
$8.50 McD small coffee (just had a few sips of the drug, not a mainliner)
08:11 BM
Teekanne tea
$220 cash in pocket
Kitty Kat talking with Bossini, bless her. Another colleague I'll miss when I go, one of the few.
11:12 E3 to gym
12:59 cardio and weights a bit jumbled as there's more traffic than usual, wimpy 120 max multiple benches
13:01 apple
13:33 done with everything
no steam, no sauna as paranoid Livia out to get me after yesterday's absence
13:49 gym scale 84.5 (is it still consistently inconsistent?)
14:00 100 g beef tenderloin (in honor of Chrissie Hynde who was on HardTalk today), 175 g steamed veggies, one boiled egg, bottle of tea
Filled out forms for ~$9000 in health insurance reimbursement to second insurer which means at least $90,000 covered by first insurer (pays to be insured)
17:08 heading home
$50 China Unicom (new phone number for Thomas ... I asked if they can trace these $1 SIM cards back to me and they said no, there's no link between passport number and record in system, which I thought was odd)
18:09 80g beef tenderloin, 175g steamed veggies, one boiled egg, bottle of tea, dried mango, some pork ribs in soup, 56g Tostitos with guacamole (one avocado) and salsa, half a daban bingpi, several large slices watermelon
Large handful of almonds and maacadamia nuts before bed
Wacthed first hour of Drug War, kind of lame.
T claims to have hurt achilles tendon getting off bus, will take to doctor on weekend.
Feeling like I'm beginning to slip here, no progress obvious, coming towards weekend of week two, this is where it gets really tough.
Movies Watched -- Drug War 毒战
An action movie from China (looks like a Hong Kong / Mainland China co-production), not very good, no idea how it made the RottenTomatoes Top 100 list. Just over 100 minutes though so the pain doesn't last too long.
30 Day Challenge -- Day Ten
(All 30 day challenge posts in reverse chronological order)
Inscrutable notes:
06:52 1500m row (ran out of time, crap attack)
06:52 BM
87.8 23.0
07:12 mush (fresh squeezed soy milk, blueberries, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, cashews, apple, pear, banana)
07:34 scooter in motion
07:49 arrive FCD
08:03 arrive US Embassy
Dealt with a kind of attractive (Italiano?) though unpleasant consular officer ... got some stuff notarized
$100 US Embassy cred
09:11 done with biz, scooter in motion
$42 South German Bakery
09:17 apple strudel
09:46 arrive home
09:53 half a buttered pretzel
10:49 car in motion to Children's Hospital
11:30 front desk Children's Hospital (New Century)
Saw yet another specialist about baby's cough. Best solution is the leave Beijing asap methinks.
12:45 beef and rice and onions at New Century canteen
13:37 car in motion to drip
14:01 dropped Mommy off
14:23 arrive home
Watched first episode season five Boardwalk Empire, more flashbacks on how Nucky became Nucky, sort of like how Don Draper became Don Draper.
15:31 40 Lulu dates (whole bag), bottle chrysth tea ... going to stop recording the teas I think.
Picked Thomas up from bus (the reason I couldn't accompany Mommy)
16:03 Thomas's bus arrived
16:19 car in motion to get Mommy
17:06 durian popsicle (three of them)
17:41 car in motion heading home
18:09 arrived home
18:14 100g beef tenderloin, 175g steamed veggies, one boiled egg ... sacrificed self and ate one slice of leftover spinach filled pizza
20:12 6500m row ... making up for morning shortfall and yesterday?
20:15 one half daban bingpi mooncake
Thomas's notebook arrives and Anna's Duplo boat.
Unusual day with running around to hospitals instead of going to work ... serious break with routine leads to serious slips, but I did ok (durian popsicles aside) ... need to hit the weights hard tomorrow to counterbalance, Bossini willing.
30 Day Challenge -- Day Nine
(All 30 day challenge posts in reverse chronological order)
Inscrutable notes:
Overslept, no time to row.
07:02 BM
88.2 23.5
07:20 mush (fresh squeezed soy milk, blueberries, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, cashews, apple, pear, banana)
07:35 scooter in motion
07:51 arrive FCD (long wait at Chang'an light)
08:03 arrive at P3
Teekanne tea
Finished watching Blues the Warmest Color ... enjoyed it.
Holiday in Hong Kong today so feeling free.
$270 in pocket.
11:01 E3 to gym
12:27 finished weights: usual routine, multiple bench press 150 max
Looks like season five of Boardwalk Empire is underway .. will have to start watching again.
Moved to 10 on resistance for the bike, they monkeyed with it? 10 = old 7
13:58 cardio finished ... extended stepper to 48 mins (1) to watch end of "Survive That," kind of interesting, Discovery channel thing ... how many variations on the survival theme can they do? Guy with pipe "at base camp" in this one though, made me laugh.
13:59 apple
steam, shave, sauna (ran sand clock out)
15:02 83.9 gym scale
15:04 apple
15:15 E3 to office
15:20 80g beef tenderloin, 175g steamed veggies, one boiled egg, bottle chrysth tea
16:02 two mini-slices Pizza Hut pizza (found in fridge and stolen, two slices remain)
17:04 E3 to home
Tried to get new phone number for T but didn't have passport with me (need the yuan jian)
17:43 arrived home
18:13 20 Lulu dates
Read "The Arrival," a book I bought for Thomas. Enjoyed it and would like to have some of the drugs that Shaun Tan is doing.
18:27 100g beef tenderloin, 175g steamed veggies, pickle, one boiled egg, bottle chrytsth tea, 20 tots, half a daban bingpi mooncake
Walked around block with wife and baby -- nice night temp wise.
Got new 1TB hard drive, Western Digital this time ... I have bought three count 'em three Toshiba drives that all died within one WEEK ... avoid Toshiba Canvio like the plague, they're shit.
Thomas's 21 Tintin books collection arrived ... wonder how many books there are in total?
Handful dried cranberries
Large slice watermelon
Boardwalk Empire -- S05 E01
1931 ... Nucky in Cuba, Omar Little on a chain gang, flashbacks to a younger Commodore and bad Dad.
BE HONEST AND TRUE. By George Birdseye. Be honest and true, boys! Whatever you do, boys, Let this be your motto through life. Both now and forever, Be this your endeavor, When wrong with the right is at strife. The best and the truest, Alas! are the fewest; But be one of these if you can. In duty ne'er fail; you Will find 'twill avail you, And bring its reward when a man. Don't think life plain sailing; There's danger of failing, Though bright seem the future to be; But honor and labor, And truth to your neighbor, Will bear you safe over life's sea. Then up and be doing, Right only pursuing, And take your fair part in the strife. Be honest and true, boys, Whatever you do, boys, Let this be your motto through life!
From "Golden Days for Boys and Girls Volume VIII, No 25: May 21, 1887"
30 Day Challenge -- Day Eight
(All 30 day challenge posts in reverse chronological order)
Inscrutable notes:
08:53 4K row
87.6 23.5
08:59 scrambled eggs and a banana, cup raspberry yoghurt
09:34 28 g Tostitos with salsa
Played with baby in courtyard
$10.50 April Gourmet
11:00 Magnum tiramisu ice cream (baby had a chocolate cone, her usual)
11:20 half a daban bing pi mooncake
$59 Siku police chopper with transport truck (mid-Autumn gift for boy)
12:56 DTF lunch: bowl of dandan mian, can of Sprite (unnecessary indulgence, a slip), kao fu, mushrooms, that cai I like, various shui jiao ... over-ate of course.
$369.60 DTF cred
Surprise real estate dealings in afternoon, had to look after baby at same time, tough to do, left the easy stuff up to Mommy :) ... got a slice at Pizza+ and some gelato to share with baby
$51 Pizza+
17:15 large handful craisins, 28 g Tostitos with salsa
Pumped up scooter tires, front decent but back at 11.5 PSI (should be 36)
$81 Pizza+ (half ham filled, half spinach filled ... not for me of course)
18:45 100g beef tenderloin, big gulp of OJ (that's a no-no ... a slip since it's pure sugar), 28 g Tostitos with guacamole (avocados ripe today), large slice watermelon
T felt wrath of Tiger Mom as he cheated on his iPad time and neglected his studies. She even used the line "You're lazy like your father and will end up being a loser like him!" which always stings.
Holiday lunch out and various bowls of Tostitos (always strictly one serving size though!), ice cream and gelato, means there was some back-sliding ... not super bad, but still... can't say it wasn't unexpected. Onward to an abbreviated week two of discipline.