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1.10.2007
First Post of 2007
I'm back in Rhode Island. My schedule has changed somewhat; after a strong first showing, I'm keeping immigration law; state constitutional law has been dropped as has one of my waitlisted classes, family law (to be taken next year). Educational law also had a very strong first showing, so I'm hoping very much to get off its waitlist. Tomorrow includes the first meetings of criminal procedure and professional responsibility. My one carryover from last semester, constitutional law, was canceled due to a power outage yesterday and will meet for the first time this semester on Friday.
Summer and I have spent much of our downtime since our return catching up on "Friday Night Lights" episodes. I am consistently amazed that a network is producing such a fantastic show and allowing it to air despite relatively low ratings. Ratings aren't the whole story, though; an early New York Times review declared that "if the season is anything like the pilot, this new drama about high school football could be great — and not just television great, but great in the way of a poem or painting..." Summer says the show has her dreaming about its characters and even about football more generally. Despite diverging widely from the actual characters and events depicted in the book, the television series is much more true to the themes of the book than is the (also quite good) movie. High school kids under pressure from thousands of adults whose lives have been rent by the Texas oil industry, by strained race relations, by their own inability to move past their high school playing days, channeling the emotions suppressed by the gentility of their day to day lives into an unrelenting passion for high school football. The school around which the book and movie are centered (the school in the series is fictional) holds its games in a stadium which seats 19,302, and is used exclusively for high school sports.*
The series focuses its attention on the kids and the various ways they respond to both the pressure and the idolatry foisted on them by the people of the town, subtly introducing its many sociological quirks through the kids' experiences. Rarely is a character either entirely sympathetic or unsympathetic, though I find myself rooting on just about every one of them. The acting is leagues above any other "high school drama" I've seen, including movies, the dialog is extremely well-written, the cinematography is appropriately raw and rather delicate, capturing some beautiful shots of a rather desolate part of the country, and perhaps the only drawback is the occasional plot contrivance.
If you haven't seen any episodes and I've piqued your interest at all, NBC has all the episodes that have aired available for your streaming pleasure, and a new episode is airing tonight at 8 (7 central).
*This prompted me to look up the capacity of the largest stadium in which I competed during my high school athletic career: Baynard Stadium, capacity 5,000, where I played the occasional football game and competed in the state track meet.
Here is a list of items consumed and providers of items consumed in Oregon:
Books:
Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger, I loved, as you might have guessed.
Giraffe by J. M. Ledgard, an account of the communist Czech regime's slaughter of the largest captive giraffe herd, every aspect of which (from gray prose to flat characters) is depressing. The story itself is interesting and sad, but so flat as to be a somewhat painful read.
Movies:
Cars is fun.
Gone with the Wind is one of the first movies whose reputation for greatness I completely understand--I'd enjoy watching the whole four hours again after reading some commentary, it was so obviously steeped with imagery of the demise of the old south. The use of color was fairly exquisite, the characters were fascinatingly written and acted, and all in all there's probably nothing I could say that hasn't already been said.
Invincible was made for people like me, but Summer's family liked it, too!
The Pursuit of Happyness does a masterful job of tugging heartstrings--the relationship between Will Smith and his son carried over to the characters in the movie extremely well. There were a few points that ring hollow on any further consideration (e.g. Smith's refusal to get a real job at the beginning, setting in motion the chain of events that both renders him and his son homeless and leads to his becoming filthy rich eventually), but overall it's a well-made movie.
Talladega Nights is funny.
Fare:
Be Zinful will be catering the wedding, and I think you'll all be happy.
Ironworks Grill (Grand Lodge) makes a tasty venison chili; McMenamin's is also a microbrewery that makes some fine ales.
RingSide is, by some accounts, one of the nation's top ten steakhouses. Absolutely delicious.
Something Sweeeet will be desserting the wedding. Their fare has to be tasted to be believed, it's so good. Non-traditional for a wedding, though.
Urban Fondue is run by the same folks as Be Zinful, above. Imagine a brie-gorgonzola fondue with crumbled hazelnuts on top, and it's even better than you're imagining.
Overall, the visit west was quite nice but also quite busy. Lots of wedding planning, some time with Summer's various friends--all good people. This year the family presented me with a stocking and towel embroidered with my name, which I found very touching. I spent more time with the siblings than in years past, and was quite glad to do so.
In conclusion, all is well but busy, and I'm looking forward to perhaps taking a weekend soon to get some real downtime...ahhh...
Summer and I have spent much of our downtime since our return catching up on "Friday Night Lights" episodes. I am consistently amazed that a network is producing such a fantastic show and allowing it to air despite relatively low ratings. Ratings aren't the whole story, though; an early New York Times review declared that "if the season is anything like the pilot, this new drama about high school football could be great — and not just television great, but great in the way of a poem or painting..." Summer says the show has her dreaming about its characters and even about football more generally. Despite diverging widely from the actual characters and events depicted in the book, the television series is much more true to the themes of the book than is the (also quite good) movie. High school kids under pressure from thousands of adults whose lives have been rent by the Texas oil industry, by strained race relations, by their own inability to move past their high school playing days, channeling the emotions suppressed by the gentility of their day to day lives into an unrelenting passion for high school football. The school around which the book and movie are centered (the school in the series is fictional) holds its games in a stadium which seats 19,302, and is used exclusively for high school sports.*
The series focuses its attention on the kids and the various ways they respond to both the pressure and the idolatry foisted on them by the people of the town, subtly introducing its many sociological quirks through the kids' experiences. Rarely is a character either entirely sympathetic or unsympathetic, though I find myself rooting on just about every one of them. The acting is leagues above any other "high school drama" I've seen, including movies, the dialog is extremely well-written, the cinematography is appropriately raw and rather delicate, capturing some beautiful shots of a rather desolate part of the country, and perhaps the only drawback is the occasional plot contrivance.
If you haven't seen any episodes and I've piqued your interest at all, NBC has all the episodes that have aired available for your streaming pleasure, and a new episode is airing tonight at 8 (7 central).
*This prompted me to look up the capacity of the largest stadium in which I competed during my high school athletic career: Baynard Stadium, capacity 5,000, where I played the occasional football game and competed in the state track meet.
Here is a list of items consumed and providers of items consumed in Oregon:
Books:
Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger, I loved, as you might have guessed.
Giraffe by J. M. Ledgard, an account of the communist Czech regime's slaughter of the largest captive giraffe herd, every aspect of which (from gray prose to flat characters) is depressing. The story itself is interesting and sad, but so flat as to be a somewhat painful read.
Movies:
Cars is fun.
Gone with the Wind is one of the first movies whose reputation for greatness I completely understand--I'd enjoy watching the whole four hours again after reading some commentary, it was so obviously steeped with imagery of the demise of the old south. The use of color was fairly exquisite, the characters were fascinatingly written and acted, and all in all there's probably nothing I could say that hasn't already been said.
Invincible was made for people like me, but Summer's family liked it, too!
The Pursuit of Happyness does a masterful job of tugging heartstrings--the relationship between Will Smith and his son carried over to the characters in the movie extremely well. There were a few points that ring hollow on any further consideration (e.g. Smith's refusal to get a real job at the beginning, setting in motion the chain of events that both renders him and his son homeless and leads to his becoming filthy rich eventually), but overall it's a well-made movie.
Talladega Nights is funny.
Fare:
Be Zinful will be catering the wedding, and I think you'll all be happy.
Ironworks Grill (Grand Lodge) makes a tasty venison chili; McMenamin's is also a microbrewery that makes some fine ales.
RingSide is, by some accounts, one of the nation's top ten steakhouses. Absolutely delicious.
Something Sweeeet will be desserting the wedding. Their fare has to be tasted to be believed, it's so good. Non-traditional for a wedding, though.
Urban Fondue is run by the same folks as Be Zinful, above. Imagine a brie-gorgonzola fondue with crumbled hazelnuts on top, and it's even better than you're imagining.
Overall, the visit west was quite nice but also quite busy. Lots of wedding planning, some time with Summer's various friends--all good people. This year the family presented me with a stocking and towel embroidered with my name, which I found very touching. I spent more time with the siblings than in years past, and was quite glad to do so.
In conclusion, all is well but busy, and I'm looking forward to perhaps taking a weekend soon to get some real downtime...ahhh...
posted by Max Greene at 10:53 AM
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1 Comments:
I watched your football saga last night. I could "get into it" but do I really need another saga in my life? It is a new, and interesting, approach for a night time soap.
We have made our reservations for the big event in July. We will be in a B&B, about 15 miles away, in the wine country. Had hoped to find one closer but the one we knew about is no longer a B&B. Made reservations for M&C and my sister and us. Mary will need a ride back to the airport in Portland on Monday because the 4 of us are planning to check out the area vinyards for awhile and then PP and I are driving on down to CA to visit our friends in Pleasanton before flying home from there. K&J will spend several nights with his good friends in Portland and probably stay with the rest of you the night of the wedding. They were planning to go up to Vancouver later and I hope they follow through with that. Vancouver is a really exciting place to visit. I don't know what Peg and Dave are going to do. Ann will be taking Sarah's girls to England at that time.
xo
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