World War II with Tom Hanks

Because I'm nearly 50 and an old man now, I'm obligated to watch more of the History Channel.  And with that in mind, I just started watching the documentary series World War II with Tom Hanks.  It consists of something like 20 episodes, so I think it desperately wants to be the US equivalent of The World at War.  But it isn't.  I'm only a few episodes in, and it feels more like a history text book put onto screen.  Yes, some of the footage is terrific - but the narrative is very basic and, honestly, kind of boring.  And, so far at least, it contains nothing I really didn't already know.  And I have quickly grown tired of the various talking heads throughout the documentary - including a very somber and weird looking Tom Hanks - who don't seem to impart anything particularly interesting or new.  I expect it to get very US-centric in the second half of the series once the US officially enters the fray.  Especially because in these first couple of episodes, we are rushing through all the European action.  I'll keep on watching, but so far all this series is making me want to do is revisit The World at War again.     

Funny Little Plans

Note to self - if you're thinking about driving out to East/Central Washington, and you want to leave really early to (a) avoid the hottest temperatures and (b) avoid some serious backups due to freeway closures then don't fall asleep on the sofa and end up going to bed about 3 am the night before.  Nope it wasn't to be today.  I think maybe if I want to go out that way, I should stay the night there - otherwise it involves an awful lot of driving.    

Lies

"President Trump remains in excellent health ... He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State".

Come on now.  Everyone should know by now that you cannot trust anything that comes out of the White House nowadays, but this takes the biscuit.

First Light

Look what I got today:

Yes, the new official James Bond video game.  And the reviews have been pretty good, so I'm looking forward to playing it.  But I don't know when that will be.  I fear this type of game will quickly consume my time and challenge my poor video game skills.  So I will need to show some self-control, some self-moderation, and some patience - none of which I'm traditionally good at (case in point, how quickly I consume all the snacks I bring back with me from the UK!).

Palace 1-0 Rayo

European champions!  Holy sh*t!  Three major trophies in one year, after 119 years without one.  Amazing.  Well, I guess technically European "Conference League" champions - whatever.  I blew off some meetings to watch this game - and it was totally worth it.  Not exactly a great game, but we were definitely the better team.  When we turned it up a couple of notches at the start of the second half, that showed how good we could be.  We only got one goal, but should have got more.  And then we were able to comfortably see out the rest of the game and raise the trophy.  A fitting way to end the reign of what has arguably been our best manager - certainly our most successful.  I don't know what that means for the future - I fear once again not capitalizing on our success and instead struggling to hold onto our best players.  But at least we're in the Europa League next year - which we were unfairly disqualified from this year.  I think this result more than makes up for our embarrassing FA Cup defense.

Sinners

I finished watching Sinners this evening.  A film that had 16 Oscar nominations (it won 4) and a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 97% - so I had high expectations.  And I came away... underwhelmed.  A good, watchable film - but nowhere near the masterpiece that the critical acclaim would suggest.  Did I miss something?  It's essentially a horror film, though mixing a variety of themes, with a fairly simplistic plot.  I hate to use this word, but is this a woke film?  Yes, it is predominantly a black cast with a story told from a black perspective.  Nothing wrong with that.  But it feels like that has been celebrated over the merits or not of the actual film.  I don't know, maybe I'm just not the right demographic for this film.  3 stars.   

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day!  As I was channel surfing this evening, I could have watched Flags of Our Fathers (followed by Letters from Iwo Jima) or Saving Private Ryan.  But nope, there was only one correct choice - Band of Brothers.  I had forgotten how good it is.  That really deserves a proper rewatch.  Another one to add to the list.  When I watch an intense show like Band of Brothers, I really feel thankful and blessed that I have never had to fight a war in my lifetime.  And I can't help but wonder what kind of soldier I might have been.  Not a good one I suspect.  I would have been more of the pencil pusher type a long way away from the action.