3613

Slow day but what can I say? Laundry and errands, naps and snacks! Felt good to get outside--was a bit warm inside. There was a demolition team at the empty unit where a tenant left. He was the one with so much stuff. It looked like they took out shelves and bins that he had added to the place. He must have had a library of stuff squirreled away.

Watched two movies (getting into a habit here)--A Mind for Murder and Manhunter. The first is one of the delightful P.D. James's British murder mysteries. There is an iconic actor who plays the part of the commander of the murder investigative team. He always has a lot of gut level intuitions that lead to the solving of the cases. He managed to catch his man (and woman) in the current episode.

The second film is about a serial killer who is a fan of Hannibal Lecter and seeks to get his own moments of glory. The film is noted as the film that introduced Lecter to the world. In this film, Lecter is already incarcerated and is living out his days in prison. But he and the fan manage to pass messages that sets up a confrontation between the fan and his pursuer. The film was a bit plodding.

There was a story on NPR today about lucid dreaming. It was very interesting given that I believe I have always done lucid dreaming in my nightly journeys. The story talked about the ways in which the sleep watchers determined when a subject was taking over a dream--as they moved from REM sleep to lucid dreaming states. Time to do some of it! Away I go!!

3614

No classes today! And none until Monday as well. Laundry day tomorrow! The cycles of motion and movement obscure the progress of the stars. Paid bills today--at least the ones now due at the end of the month. July is almost upon us.

Watched a pair of movies this afternoon--Police Story and The Assassination of Richard Nixon. The first is a Jackie Chan martial arts/police film that is silly and after a while boring. There are some spectacular stunt scenes (which caused a fair amount of damage to cast and crew) but after a while even they become too staged and inauthentic. Probably wouldn't say this to any of the stunt team in person.

The second film was a slowly exploding portrayal of a man who couldn't find a way to pull his life together and ends up doing something crazy--making an attempt at a terrorist act with the US president as a target. The actual events surrounding this story took place in the early 70s. Sean Penn plays the role of the feckless man almost too well. I wanted the character to get on with things so much so that my finger kept wanting to hit the FF button. Anything to not have to endure another episode of his falling into a deeper and deeper abyss.

Did a little weight lifting with my 5lb weights--just to remind my body of what it usually did on Friday afternoons. Will be happy to get back to workouts next week. 4th of July! Boom de boom!

3615

Dental hygiene session this morning! Despite my work over the past three months to do daily efforts on my dental activities, I still didn't show much, if any, improvement. That's disappointing! I really spent the time and made sure I did daily multiple cleaning sessions. Will give a go over the next three months and will increase the prophylactic regimen. I can get this turned around! Yes, I can!

The dentist and hygienist paid me a real compliment though--There was some screw up with my records and they had an incorrect birth date for me. When I told them my DOB they indicated that they thought I looked 20 years younger. That was nice! Made up somewhat for the disappointment with results.

Watched a couple of films--The Film Unfinished and Separate Lies. The unfinished film was a compilation of scenes and out takes from a Nazi produced propaganda piece about the Warsaw Ghetto. It was a horrible, sadistic attempt to gather footage about a large group of Jews right before they were to be sent to a concentration camp. The film is disturbing and horrific. It was difficult to watch.

Separate Lies is British film about life, lies, and what happens when the two get tangled together. It's a good film with a small but excellent cast. It is a compelling story about what people do when faced with life altering circumstances that several layers of lying can cover up. Emily Watson is the hub around which the story revolves.

3616

Gait and balance session today left me feeling like I'd done a lot of work. The sessions with the new instructor are definitely a workout. She's going to start a second class next Monday called Core and More. Will see what it's like!

Watched a really good movie tonight--Sexy Beast. The title doesn't exactly fit with the film's content. The story revolves around a man who's been a criminal but is now retired to Spain. One of his ex-partners looks him up and tries to persuade him to do another heist. The ex-partner is a sociopath played brilliantly by Ben Kingsley. The film is really well photographed and edited. The plot swings back and forth with the camera, revealing enough to keep the viewer guessing and scared about what comes next. Ray Winston plays the hapless foil against Kingsley's madman. The film has a really high rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site.

Dreamed that I was working on a hightech device with a group of people. I had made some suggestions regarding improvements that had not been carefully reviewed. I felt that I was relegated to a subordinate role on the project. Then, I discovered that the lead designer on the project was planning to turn in his resignation. I saw that as my opportunity to jump ahead and grab the lead design position. I carefully created a reason for my design proposal to appear on the VP's desk at about the same time that the lead designer submitted his resignation. I felt good about what I had done.

3617

PD dance today! We did an exercise where we paired up and launched each other's moves. It felt very good and looked incredible when we split the room and watched each other perform. Had a tuina session later in the afternoon, which also felt wonderful.

Watched a French film in the evening--Tell No One. It was a twisty mystery/thriller that was really well done. It's about a man who loses his wife but eight years after her death he gets an email that seems to be from her. Thus the mystery begins. The police end up reopening the investigation and discover many loose threads and possibilities. The man gets pursued by the police since some of the new evidence points his way. The story twists and turns as the truth eventually unravels. I could easily watch the film again. It was dubbed in English which made it easier to follow, but it would also work in subtitles.

Gait and balance class tomorrow. Missed the resistance class today. Gait and balance instructor is starting a new class next week--Core and More. Will hear details on it tomorrow. Oh, boy! Another class!

Dreams have been active but I just haven't recorded any for a while. Had dream about riding motorcycles across some rough roads. Got lost in a couple of dreams--couldn't find my way through some partially known territory. Lots of movement in these dreams.

3618

FB continues to do things to my (seldom if ever used) FB account. I just saw a news article about their adding a FB email address to "my" account. I checked and yep there it was in a notification that my account address and email were now something I didn't ask for... And, of course to top it off, I couldn't navigate my way to anything that remotely looked like a "delete" this added feature! What a pain they have been! What a rare funk I'm in! It's not almost like being in love!

Watched a German film tonight--Revanche (Revenge). I had seen the film sometime late last year. It's a good film and can be easily viewed several times. There is a complexity and simplicity about it that builds a natural tension as the piece unfolds. I could almost follow the dialog without subtitles--the dialog is simple and direct.

Weekend ends! Languish time is over. PD dance tomorrow plus a tuina session in the afternoon. Lights, camera, action!

3619

Sleepy Sunday! I slept a lot last night and today. Awake now because of my afternoon green tea latte.
One of the people in the apartment complex is moving out. Amazing amount of stuff that he had in his apartment! Don't know where he had put all of the stuff. He had a moving van come by yesterday. Today he had the Got Junk hauling service. They both removed an enormous amount of things from that one tiny space. He is a fairly large person and I don't know how he was able to move around in his place with so much else in there with him. Amazing Space!

Watched a Mexican film this afternoon--La Mujer de Benjamin (Benjamin's Woman). It was a nicely done, but silly story about a man, Benjamin, who was a little slow. His cadre of beer drinking uncles convinced him that he should kidnap a young restless woman and hold her until they could marry. The plot slowly unwinds and comes to a bumpy landing. The actor who played the young woman was attractive but her character was not. The rest of the cast were not so attractive. She was like a flower in the middle of a patch of weeds.

No resistance training classes this week but still will be busy. The beat goes on!

3620

Saturday, Saturn Day! Will the willies go away? Who's to say, anyway? What the hey! Right away!

It was a movie day! Watched two battle films--Casualties of War and The Battle in Seattle. The first is about a platoon in Vietnam and the craziness the soldiers encounter as their humanity is stripped away by fear and death. It's also about the bravery of one soldier who says "no" to being a participant in some wanton butchery, but has to live with the consequences. As usual, the story is based on some real events, but that are fictionalized in the telling. The film starred Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. Fox was starting to show his PD symptoms but wasn't formally diagnosed until a few years after the film. In an interview track, he was exhibiting some dyskinesia but nothing all that noticeable unless you looked closely. He did a good job in the film--Sean Penn was a little over the top but scary.

The second film was about the WTO riots in Seattle in 1999. The film is a fictionalized take of what happened during the confrontation that uses some actual footage intermixed with created scenes. As the film points out, the viewer doesn't learn much about the WTO--the focus is on the demonstrators and the police actions in response. The whole film tilts a bit toward making the demonstrators look sympathetic. That's also somewhat so with regards to the police. The "real" boogie men, the WTO, is not examined except tangentially. The role of the media is also looked at a bit, but only in a glancing way. The film gets your attention if you happen to come across it. It never got very wide distribution and didn't break even at the box office.

Sun Day tomorrow! Still cooling off but with some rays on the haze.

3621

No classes today--first Friday in a long time that that has happened. Did a mini-workout on my own. Also had a big lunch, a latte, and other nibbles. Weather has cooled quite a bit. It was chilly last night. One of the tenants here in the apartment complex moved out today. Awoke to the rumble of a large truck that he called to haul away his detritus.

Had a couple of vivid dreams. One involved a handheld electronic device that had been created by a company. They were interviewing people for programming jobs. creating applications for the device. The interview process consisted of them handing out copies of the device. There was one demonstration application on the device. As an interviewee, we were to create other applications for the unit, using the unit as needed. At first, I was totally confused. There were no help or instruction files, just the one application which seemed to count from 0 to 34 when activated. I was really frustrated as were some of the other applicants. Finally, I managed to open and view the sample application code module. With that, I was able to see how the sample application was put together and what some of its instructions could do. I made a version of the application that counted from 0 to 33 and one that counted from 0 to 35. From there, I was able to create other, more complex, example applications. I felt confident that I would be given a spot on the development team.

A second dream had me as a member of a team of people who were being trained in survival techniques. We were put through all kinds of physical and cognitive exercises. We were being pushed to the limit--there seemed to be some need for us in an upcoming operation. As we continued with our training, we became close like the members of a family. At one point, an advanced instructor took over the team training. We were pushed even harder. There was one scene where we were looking for a place to train. I pointed out that a person we knew had a large house nearby. The new instructor looked at the place but decided it wouldn't work. In a final scene we were all lumped together watching a training film and my chair collapsed and I rolled into the open space in front of the view screen. We all laughed as I untangled myself.

Watched a movie tonight--Four Days in September. It is a story of a group of Brazilian terrorists who kidnapped an American ambassador and held him captive in exchange for the governments (U.S. and Brazil) meeting a list of their demands. The film is based on some real events that took place in Brazil in the late 60s. The film is tense and action-packed, but leans a little toward making the terrorists seem human and the governments not so.

3622

Movement class felt good today! Also felt really good to get a tuina session after the movement session. The practitioner has returned from his vacation in Italy. I'm really happy that he's back. My body was definitely missing the tuina activities. Alas, I had to miss the resistance training session this afternoon. Those classes are on hold while the instructor takes some vacation. Will resume those sessions a week from next Tuesday. Will try and do some workouts on my own during this period. Have another tuina session scheduled for next Tuesday. Keep on moving and doing!

Watched a good spy thriller/somewhat SciFi film tonight--Hanna. It's about a genetically modified girl who was raised by her father (perhaps) hidden away from the world. As the story begins, she is about to reenter the world. While in the woods, she is trained to be a deadly killer/survivor. She enters a world she has never experienced and makes her way across the world to meet up with her father. There are plenty of bad people who don't want her father or her to become known to anyone outside a tight group of espionage wackos. And so the story unfolds!

The girl is played by an Irish actor who did a great job in the movie Atonement (when she was 13) and The Lovely Bones. Her name is Saoirse Ronan. Her role in Hanna was physically demanding and she trained for quite some time with the martial arts' forms that were used. She is now only 18--I expect we'll see a lot of her on screen in the coming decade.

Cooler today! Hooray, hooray! Makes you want to play! What can I say? What can I say?

3623

Hefty gait and balance session today! Moved parts of my body that haven't been moved in a while. Lots of leg stuff that pushed the leg muscles to the limit. Glad I'll be doing a movement class and a tuina session tomorrow. Also supposed to cool down tomorrow from today's swelter.

Will miss the resistance sessions over the next 1.5 weeks. Even body trainers have to have some vacation. Glad he's not going to Lanai! Larry Ellison (Oracle dude) is buying the whole island! Too bad for the residents although the place is already owned by a corporation (probably also too bad for the residents). Somehow, it seems obscene to buy an entire location like Lanai. But most hi-tech dudes aren't known for their humanistic attributes.

Had an odd thing happen today. Got a phone message from the Anaheim Hyatt letting me know that my studio suite was ready--to pick up my keys at the registration desk. I called to disconfirm that I had not ordered a studio suite. Probably was a phone snafu of some variety, but was strange!

3624

PD dance and resistance training back-to-back today! No ill effects! Zoned out for an hour when I got back home, but after a hearty meal (stir fry with rice and chicken) all was well. Got some uplifting feedback on my relative lack of symptoms. I keep getting similar feedback from various people. Something to ponder!

Don't recall what I dreamed about last night--just that it was intense in some way.

Watched a Hitchcock movie this evening--Lifeboat. It's an interesting piece of work where the entire action takes place in a lifeboat. There are nine people on board. The mix of people, their backgrounds, and various reactions to the twists and turns of fate reflect the story that was written by Steinbeck which was adapted into the screen version. Despite the limited space and narrow camera corridor, the film is classic Hitchcock. His trademark cameo is cleverly woven into one of the opening scenes. Lots of fun!

Gait and balance tomorrow! Move on, move on! Through the tendrils of the dawn!

3625

Today was cool--for a change! Brisk wind helped a lot! Had a green tea latte in the mid afternoon. Made the rest of the day go smoothly by. Seems that I need the tiny lift that the tea gives me as each afternoon rolls on.

Dreamed last night a collection of dreams--or that's what I seem to recall. There was a dream of me being in a house. There was a prowler outside that I could hear walking about. There was a proximity light on one of the walls and the prowler kept turning it on as he/she walked underneath the fixture. A woman, someone I knew, came into the room, went to the window, and fired a pistol several times through the open window. She did it to chase away the prowler.

In a second dream, I was at a dance event. There were people doing a circle dance around the huge dance floor. One woman was willowy with very erect posture. She was floating around the floor as if she were on skates. I ended up leaving the dance event and found myself walking along a dark and creepy street. There were people in the shadows and faces kept floating out at me and then falling back into the haze. I came to a wall with a steep set of narrow steps. I climbed the steps and it put me on a ledge with train tracks pointed back over the ledge. I took a train car that came by and held my breath as we careened back over the ledge, down to the creepy street. I had a package that I was supposed to deliver to someone. I believe there were other parts to the dream sequence--not clear now what they were.

Watched a Polish film tonight--Katyn. It was a recreation of the massacre of Polish officers and others that took place in WWII. The Russians did the executions, which they tried to blame on the Germans. The Germans (and others) pointed to the Russians as the culprits. The truth of what happened was not uncovered until late in the last decade of the 20th century. It's a gruesome tale that is still affecting people's lives, memories, and how true history can get so distorted.

PD dance and resistance training tomorrow! Back-to-back classes that will disrupt things a bit. But it will be fun!

3626

Cooler today! Still was warm but there was brisk wind that cooled things down. Went to lunch/brunch at the CG--it was crowded. Had a tasty breakfast and later had a green tea latte. A latte a day keeps the drowsies away! Or that's what seems to happen!

Got a call from LL. She was just checking in. It was good to hear from her.

Complex was still somewhat noisy today but not as much as yesterday. There's too much noise all around--cars, planes, buses, trucks, skate boards, kids, radios, conversations, babble, and more. There's a good store name--Babble and More!

Watched a French film tonight--Elevator to the Gallows. It was an early Louis Malle film with an improvised Miles Davis soundtrack. It's an excellent film and one of his classic efforts.

Busy week coming up! Lots of classes, some body work, and other activities. Hope the weather gets cooler along the way.

3627

Temperatures in the 90s today! Hot, hot, hot! Laundry day as well! Hot in the Laundromat! Not many people there but was warmer than usual--credit those dryers!

Tried to watch a British film--Last Orders. It had a stellar cast but a lame story. The plot revolved around a man leaving final orders for his friends and relatives when he passes away. Apparently, he has done so and the tribe of people in his life begin a fractured remembrance of the time they had together. It didn't hold my attention. I turned it off about 1/5th of the way into the piece. It was just flat and boring despite the good actors. Maybe it was a British comedy and I didn't get the jokes. In any case, it's back in its case.

Noisy here today! Hordes of kids running about the complex, bouncing balls and crunching skate boards. Supposed to be somewhat cooler tomorrow! I hope so! Today was too much--of everything!

3628

Resistance training class mushroomed today. Several new people plus a contingent of the regulars. Room was cool compared to outside where the weather continues to be warm. Felt good to lift the weights, and move and stretch.

Dreamed last night an elaborate dream about being on a technical team. I was working on a document and came across some design issues that I felt the team should be aware of. I reported the issues to my boss, ES (from NetSchools' days). ES didn't seem that impressed with my findings, but he didn't just put them aside. He indicated that they should be examined. There was a second part of the dream that related to the first dream. I don't recall the details; just that the two dream segments were linked to each other.

Watched a gangster movie tonight--Public Enemies. Johnny Depp played Dillinger; Christian Bale player Purvis, the FBI agent. There were cameos for Hoover and the Texas Rangers that Purvis pulled onto his team. Dillinger was notorious and was a difficult man to bring down. He fell finally though because of his link to his girlfriend that he never allowed to be severed. The FBI is not painted in a good light. They were portrayed (probably correctly) as a bunch of hard cases who took great liberties with suspects and their rights.

3629

Warm weather today! Perhaps not as warm as it has been, but warm just the same. Movement class was very relaxing today. I came home afterwards and slept for a couple of hours. Until the heat and the noisy neighbors woke me up.

Dreamed last night but all that I remember is a scene where there was someone (or something) standing outside a doorway to a house. There was a woman standing by the door and was reacting fearfully to what ever it was outside. Her fear was paralyzing and made me tense up and feel frightened. I awoke at that point in the dream.

Watched a French film that I had seen about two years ago--The Dreamlife of Angels. I didn't recall a lot of the details of the film as I saw it again. It ended not unlike the other films I saw this week--not so happy or redemptive. But, it was a good film and was worth watching again. As I noted in my notes from two years ago, the film had an undercurrent of violence that never fully materialized, but that ran throughout the whole piece.

Resistance training tomorrow! Tote them weights; lift those dumbbells!

3630

No classes today! Didn't quite know what to do with the extra time. Napped some in the morning. Went to the H's to read aloud some more of Human Smoke. We didn't read a lot since GH had a doctor's appointment that he had to attend.

I got a haircut! Really short! I should just start shaving my head. I don't have all that much hair to deal with anymore. Always feels good after getting shorn. Don't know why, but it just does!

Watched a film made in Columbia--Our Lady of the Assassins. It was a gritty film about an older man who returns to his home area in Columbia and finds everything so hectic and chaotic that he has trouble reconciling his memories with the facts of today's life. He is gay and quickly gets connected to a young street boy who moves in with him. The boy has some dealings with several gangs, some of whom are out to kill him. He manages to shoot several of his attackers, but finally gets killed. The man finds himself having to go to a mortuary that contains many bodies of young men that have been killed. Here the message of the film comes home as the camera glides over the autopsy tables filled with dead young men.

In my random way, I seemed to have picked up a whole set of films this week that have similar themes and stories (Ballast, Boy A, Before Night Falls, and tonight's selection). All have been stark and gritty, focused on men or boys and their early times, and not all that redemptive or endowed with happy endings. So be it! Movement class tomorrow! Let there be movement!

3631

Warm and moving day! PD dance class and resistance training sessions made the day go by! I almost slept in this morning. I would have missed the PD dance class if I had done so. Felt good to sleep! I could sleep the days away! Far away!

Had several dreams over the past few nights that were quite detailed. One was about a memorial service for the guy who taught me line dancing. It was a big event with many of his students in attendance. People were doing all kinds of dances. Small groups were dancing together, doing various dances to the music. It was very chaotic and confusing. Some people were making announcements or such, but they were being drowned out by the music and the overall noise. I ended up leaving early. In leaving, I got turned around as I exited the building. I had parked my car in a parking garage, but I couldn't figure out which one or where it was located. I started doing a search around the area. I finally found the correct garage and my car. I drove away from the area but eventually discovered that I was on the wrong street. It took me a while to find the correct road and direction to where I wanted to go.

Had another dream about being in a house. I had been in the house before, in other dreams. I was disoriented as I made my way through the house. I kept finding new rooms and corridors, many of which I hadn't seen before during earlier visits.

Watched a movie this afternoon--Before Dark Falls. It's a powerful, gut-wrenching film about a Cuban writer who managed to get several of his books published even though he was stuck in Cuba, jailed by the government, and prevented from making contact with the outside world. In addition, he was gay and had to endure the ostracism that that brought his way. Javier Bardem played the role of the writer, with Johnny Depp and Sean Penn doing cameo roles. Depp does two small parts; Penn is almost unrecognizable.

Weather cooled some. May it continue to do so! The heat is not my friend!

3632

In the heat of the day! 90s today and reaching higher! Supposed to cool down some over the next few days, but we shall see if that happens.

Watched two movies today--The Headless Woman (saw again with GH) and Boy A (an English film about a boy who commits a heinous crime when he is very young, and who gets released when he is an adult). The Headless Woman was a bit clearer the second time around--the first left me a bit confused as to how it all fit together. There are some  long takes in the film, but overall it's quite well done.

Boy A has some hard-to-watch scenes, but overall it is a film that poses many questions regarding crimes done by adolescents and how those people can be merged back into society rather than locking them away for all of their long lives. The ending is not a happy one but does provide some relief from the tensions built up throughout the piece. It's a film that won't be easily forgotten.

PD dance and resistance training tomorrow! Looking forward to the classes! Weekends are too long and not filled with movement like the rest of the days. This weekend was filled with sleep!

3633

Hot in the city today! Temperatures had to be up in the 90s. It was muggy and sluggish all day long. I slept a lot today. I didn't get anything with caffeine so I nodded off for most of the warm day.

Watched an indie movie this afternoon--Ballast. The film was set in Mississippi and focused on a trio of African Americans who were related. Each was dealing with his/her own issues regarding what to do with their lives. The sound quality on the film was not all that good. Fortunately, the characters didn't talk a lot. It was a gripping film and was done in a minimalist way that was intriguing. It was the writer/director's first film but the result looked more polished and creative than that. He used several non-professional actors and enticed excellent performances from them.

The week ends! The sun bends! Leaves a burning trail!

3634

Lazy, hazy day! Slept in this morning. I didn't get up and out until about 2pm. It just felt good to sleep, and sleep, and sleep!

Dreamed last night that I had rewritten a script for some kind of technology presentation. The task had been given to a team of people but they couldn't come up with anything coherent and attention getting. I stayed up all night (in the dream) writing and rewriting the various scenarios that the team had identified but had not fleshed out. I came to the morning team meeting tired but hyped up from the work I had done and with what I had produced. In the meeting, we began to do a walkthrough but the team members kept going off on tangents. They took what I had put together and used it as launch points for other ideas. I tried to keep the discussion focused and on track, but it soon became clear that it was hopeless. The team leader didn't do anything to keep things together. The meeting ended with no progress or agreement. I went back to my workspace to try and grab some sleep (perhaps why I slept in so late today).

Watched a SciFi movie--Knowing. It's a science thriller about the end of times. The apocalypse is foretold by a cryptic message left in a time capsule. A scientist gets hold of the paper and cracks the code, but is left with the dilemma of how to tell people about the coming catastrophe in any way that would change the outcome. The movie resolves with aliens coming down and hand-picking children to be taken off planet so that they can be used to seed new worlds. It was a fairly spectacular film with lots of CGI behind many of the scenes. Nicholas Cage is the lead actor and he makes the film move along as he did in the National Treasure franchise.

3635

Resistance training felt good today. I was already feeling good in the morning even though I got up early. That feeling carried over into the afternoon and the class. Helped GH run some errands in the late afternoon. Was a bit tired then but it was about dinnertime so I grabbed a hearty meal at the CG. It was a bit heavy on the protein but went down well. I'm still feeling good! Let the fun times roll!

I think I dreamed about running last night. I could feel the smoothness and the motion. Awoke early as I noted above.

Watched a French crime thriller this evening--Mesrine: Killer Instinct. It's the first of two DVDs based on the life of a notorious French criminal Jacques Mesrine. It was a somewhat gory but engaging movie about the first half of his criminal life where he robbed numerous banks, was put in and broke out of at least four prisons, and did many other criminal deeds. I would like to see the second DVD even though I know it has to end badly for him. People were/are ambivalent about him and his escapades. Some think of him as a daredevil and counter culture hero. The police thought he was more like someone to be locked away if the jail could be found to hold him.

Weekend is upon us! Time ravels and spills! The Venus transit of the sun has happened! There is no hole in the corona! Let there be light!

3636

Having some minor wireless modem issues! I'm losing the Internet connection and have to reboot the modem to restore the link. Not sure why this happens. Just one of those wireless things, perhaps!

Had a small movement class today--only three students. Came away feeling good, relaxed, and needing a nap (which I took for a couple of hours). Overall, felt a bit better today though. My energy levels seem to be rising! Let's hope so!

Dreamed that I was in a house with an ex-wife and our daughter. I was concerned about the many doors and windows in the house--whether they were shut and locked. I felt like there was someone outside who would try and get in when we went to sleep. I made the rounds shutting and locking up any ways into the place. I was trying to not act too paranoid, but I felt that the place needed to be secure.

Watched a movie--Devil's Backbone. It's a Spanish film that I've seen earlier this year. I didn't recall having seen the film until it got started. Even then, I didn't seem to recall much of it until it played through. Here's what I wrote about it earlier this year--

Watched a Spanish film--The Devil's Backbone. It was a ghost story about a bunch of orphaned boys who were living in a remote old estate. The time was about the turn of the century. The movie was good--it was scary and came up with unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing as to what would happen next. The style was eerie and iconic with cuts shifting back and forth from real situations and phantom elements. I could watch this film again even though I now know the ending--there is much to see.

I was right back then. It's an excellent film. Perhaps not as scary the second time around, but still gripping and strange.

Resistance training tomorrow! Lift those weights! Yeah, yeah, yeah!

3637

Had a rigorous round of gait and balance exercises today. New instructor is much more methodical and keeps us moving for the 1.5 hours. Guess I wasn't one of the people who had their Linked In password stolen. I changed my password anyway even though I hadn't seen a notice regarding the theft.

Picked up a reusable grocery bag from Trader Joe's. It only costs 99 cents. I realized that I was using about 200 paper bags a year just from that store! Thought I should invest the 99 cents instead of using so many paper bags. I feel green!

Watched a movie that I'd seen just a few months ago. For some reason, it didn't make a big impact on me then. In watching it again, I think I was able to follow the convoluted plot better. Here's what I wrote back in February--

Watched a SciFi film tonight--Inception. It was about dreams and using dreams to steal a person's knowledge or to plant an idea. The trick in doing so was to open up dreams within dreams. The story, to say the least, got convoluted and dense. The plot allowed the director to go wild with special effects in order to maintain continuity across the different dream levels. The film's budget was something like $160MM! It grossed around $800MM! The film's action took place on the various dream levels--in about 4 to 5 levels. The plan was to do an idea plant using three dream levels. But the dream team ran into difficulties and had to ad lib a few more dream levels. Oh, yeah! Overall it was a clever idea and reminded me of my "Escher-like" dreams.

Movement class tomorrow! It will help me unkink some of the tensions created by today's class.

3638

Dancing and weight lifting today! Felt good to be moving and stretching! Came home and had a green tea latte, which hit the spot. New modem is working well. Got a couple of disturbing notifications from FaceBook--someone had asked for a reset of my password! I discovered that one notification had a Login Now button that revealed my email address as my user name. Hmmm! Makes me somewhat leery and concerned. Technology!

Watched a shoot-em-up film--Harsh Reality. It had Christian Bale doing a terrible job of talking like a street person with a nasal condition. Even the title is pretentious--"harsh" instead of a more streetlike term such as "bleak" or "stark" or whatever.

Gait and balance class tomorrow. Ready to go! On my way!

3639

Rainy Monday but that will be it for moisture! Just a rainy day after the month of May.

Awoke to discover that my wireless modem had finally died. I had managed to get it to restart itself several months ago. I had just left it turned on and it did last for several months. I knew that if it ever stopped or was turned off, it probably wouldn't reboot. And it proved to be true this morning. It died!

I picked up a replacement unit from the local computer store. It took a few hours but I managed to get the new one installed, configured, and back on the Internet. Hooray! OK! Made me realize that I've got to get on with replacing my laptop. I'm getting more and more warnings that I'm working with an outdated (and no longer supported) browser, an old operating system, and missing or obsolete plug-ins that I can no longer download or install. To say the least, my laptop is limping! Badly!

Watched a Spanish film this afternoon--The Headless Woman. It was a simple story about a woman who hits something or someone with her car. She thinks has killed someone and goes into ambulatory shock mode for the first half of the film. She slowly manages to put the incident aside only to discover that her worst thoughts may be true. There is a lot of the film dedicated to people asking her questions that she never responds to. I'm on the cusp about this film. It may prove to be a better film the second time around. The director, Lucretia Martel, has a couple of previous films that were well received--as was this one.

PD dance and resistance training tomorrow! Looking forward to it...and to more computer adventures!

3640

Took a trip today! Didn't go that far--just to San Carlos. I went to the reception event for JB who was a member of the PD dance group. He passed away after dealing with a particularly virulent form of a parkinsonism disease. He was a joyful person despite his illness. The reception was upbeat and fun. I guess his memorial ceremony was also full of spirit and joy.

I took the freeway for the ride to the event. I guess the furthest I've driven in quite some time. It was nerve-wracking! I need to do it more and further so I can breakthrough the distress of making such a trip. Another thing on my always lengthy to-do list.

Dreamed a hodge-podge of dreams last night. One dream was about a device that a team of us was working on. There was some problem with one of the components in the device that kept making it malfunction. In the dream, I was taking the unit apart and examining the mechanism that was experiencing the fault.

A second dream had me acting as a chauffeur for my daughter and her boy friend. I kept making wrong turns and ending up in places that really didn't want to go to. It was a frustrating dream. There were others but I don't recall the details.

Watched a Coen brothers film--Blood Simple. I had viewed this film about three years ago. I really didn't recall much of the original screening. I think I may have seen it on a copied version on video tape. The DVD version seemed much sharper and clearer than what I had seen before. The plot is a bit whimsical and wacky. There are confusing dream sequences merged with regular footage that kept me reeling back and forth. In the end, nearly everyone gets offed--a Shakespearean conclusion.

June is here! Moon was gigantic tonight. It was centered on the freeway as I drove home--a lantern to guide me home.  Full moon is tomorrow night!

3641

The moon in June falls lightly on the prune! Laundry day! Came back after eating a big lunch and fell asleep in the heat of the afternoon. Awoke groggy and disoriented. I fell into a deep sleep.

Dreamed last night that I was helping choreograph a dance. It was a waltz. I had dropped in on a dance class and was asked to help create a set of waltz movements. Several of the people in the class were people that had been in my classes before or that had taught classes with me. It was a fun dream.

Watched a movie this afternoon--The Book of Eli. It was a film set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event that had destroyed most of the population of the Earth. One man had a mission to go to the west and carry a book there. Of course along the way he encounters a number of survivors who are less than sympathetic to his mission. And, of course, he has to annihilate them. For some reason, I had thought that I had seen the film before, but I had not. The story line was a bit thin and the ending was less than expected. But, it was an interesting film. It starred Dentzel Washington and Gary Oldman as the lead mayhem makers.

Memorial service and reception for PD dance person, JB, tomorrow. Not sure I can get to memorial; may try and go to the reception. Tomorrow is another day!

3642

We're having a heat wave! A tropical heat wave! Muggy, warm and humid! June comes in on a wave of swelter. Let there be heat! Almost didn't make it to resistance training session today. I went back to sleep after taking my morning medication and almost slept through. I awoke in time to shower, dress and head for the class. Class went well though. 10lb weights are starting to feel light.

Dreamed a lot, I think. I just don't recall any details. The dream scenes disappeared when I awoke and saw how long I'd been sleeping.

Watched a movie tonight--Rosenstrasse. It was about a group of German wives who gathered in protest during WW2 because their Jewish husbands had been taken into custody. They held long vigils and challenged the guards who were guarding the detainees. The story was told from today's perspective with a granddaughter uncovering the story that involved her mother, grandmother and a German citizen who sheltered and helped raise her mother. Film was a bit slow in places but was worth viewing. It's another in the many stories of what happened with the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazi troops.

Laundry day again tomorrow! Wonder if my clothes get tired of being washed?