Movies and Books

The list of stuff I've read and seen is getting a little long so I'd better get caught up quickly here:

Books:

The Marching Season, The Mark of the Assassin and Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva  Been a little bit of a binge with this author.  He writes very nice thrillers in the same genre as say Jack Higgins or Tom Clancy.  Silva falls somewhere between those two.  Assassin and Marching Season are part of an ongoing story line with a common hero - Michael Osborne.  They deal with a secret society of intelligence chiefs and international corporate types who have decided that business is better when the world is less peaceful.  They proceed to do everything they can to keep it that way.  I enjoyed them both even while Marching Season has one of the worst sentences I've come across in a major novel.  Osborne is in his bedroom talking with his wife when he "took off his clothes, made a sandwich and got into bed".  I've never actually considered moving the kitchen the bedroom but I suppose it might work.  Somebody should have caught that.

Prince of Fire is from Silva's longer series of books revolving around art restorer and Israeli spy Gabriel Allon.  Allon works undercover but discovers that somehow a dossier revealling everything about him has gotten into the other side's hands.  Along the way he will have to confront a few ghosts from his past.

I enjoy Silva's writing and will work my way through it all.

Lost Horizons - James Hilton  I read this book because of a movie.  Not curiously the movie version of the book but because of "Hearts in Atlantis" which I reviewed earlier.  I'm trying to get some older works in my reading list on a regular basis and this seemed like an interesting one.  Interesting it was!  This is the story of
 a small group of people who find themselves being taken high into the Himalayas against their will.  There they discover Shangri-La, a utopian lamasery where people for very long times.  Other secrets are revealed and choices have to be made.  The book sucked me right in.

The Library - and Illustrated History by Stuart Murray -   I love libraries.  They are one of my favorite places on earth.  So I was all set to love this book.  Beautiful pictures on great heavy paper, just wonderful.  And a disappointment.  The authors take the least interesting approach to the growth of the library (a linear one), spend time talking about some of the folks who created libraries (without every really getting into their stories), ignores several fascinating themes (the idea of a public library, the idea of a lending library, the entire question of organizing a library - Dewey Decimal System gets about two short paragraphs) and then relegates the actual libraries to brief summaries at the very end of the book.  Very disappointing.

Our Kind of Traitor by John Le Carre -  I enjoy Le Carre's stuff, he is the master of the Cold War era spy novel.  So I was interested to see how he was dealing with the post Cold War era.  With this one he moves into the realm of international crime and money laundering.  After a dreadfully slow start (the first 30 pages seemed rather disjointed to me) the book took off.  Enjoyed it.

Into the Darkness by Harry Turtledove - Turtledove is probably THE name in what's "alternative history", effectively taking a "what if" approach to actual history.  I've read several of his and enjoyed them, especially "Ruled Britannia" which looks at England if the Spanish Armada had succeeded in conquering.  So I thought I'd give a shot at this.  The cover doesn't indicate that it's the first of a SIX novel series which irritates me.  But not as much as the poor writing in this book.  In this case he has re-imagined the second World War by moving it to a new planet.  Many things aren't explained along the way, the character list is something like 7 pages long and nothing is resolved at the end of the novel.  I read it, I won't read the rest.  Disappointing.

The Axeman's Jazz by Julie Smith - I've never read anything of Smith's before but I enjoyed this.  It features a recurring character, female police officer Skip Langdon and takes place in New Orleans.  I like jazz, love New Orleans and am a Smith on my mother's side so when I found this while wandering the stacks at the local library I pretty much had to read it.  Smith calls on an old unsolved murder spree from the Big Easy back in 1918-19 then brings it forward to the present.  Nicely written and very enjoyable.

Movies -
Voyage of the Dawn Treader  - (2010) The latest in the Chronicles of Narnia series to come to the screen and once again they've done a nice job with it.  The young actors all do a very nice job and they stay quite close (not close enough for some I know) to the original materials.  Enjoyed it as well.

Bob Roberts (1992) Stars Tim Robbins and dozens of other names you'll recognize.  This is a mockumentary about a folk singing conservative political candidate who runs for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania.  The feel is very good and the politics will look (sadly) very familiar.  As will the cast.  I spent a lot of time going "Who is that?"  and spotting a very young Jack Black(his first movie) among many others (Pamela Reed, Helen Hunt, David Straithan, Susan Sarandon, James Spader, John Cusak, Lynn Thigpen, the list goes on) If you're into politics you'll love this. If our current political model turns your stomach you might want to take a pass.

Unstoppable  - (2010) stars Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.  Based on a true story of a runaway train this is a great, edge of your seat thriller.  The two stars create believable characters that you'll enjoy as well.  The story is set in south central and south western Pennsylvania (even though most of it was filmed in Ohio!  Heresy) and it made me feel profoundly home sick.  This will certainly not be one of the big money makers of the year it is certainly worth your time.

View From the Phlipside - TV Stupid

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

I was watching TV last week when I saw something that I know I’ve seen hundreds of times before.  We all have.  But this time the absurdity of it all just grabbed me by the throat.

It was a commercial for a brand of dish washing detergent.  The pitch was pretty straight forward - easy to use (as if any kind of this product is HARD to use) and very powerful.  In fact this campaign is all about taking care of the dishes that have been sitting around for a whole 24 HOURS!  These people have never been in my house.  The dishes get washed when the machine is full and that might take days.  Anyway.  In the commercial the dishwasher door is closed and suddenly a team of construction workers spring into action with heavy machinery and hard hats.  All diligently clearing away all that leftover food.  

And that’s when I noticed it.

The little disclaimer in one corner of the screen reading “Dramatization”.  Seriously?  There are people out there who need to be told that putting a little gel cube of dish washing stuff into the detergent drawer will not in fact release a team of tiny little construction workers inside your kitchen appliance.  They might actually think that’s what’s going to happen.  Really?  Jokes have been made for decades now about safety warnings on products and the like.  It just seems like the level of “stupid” seems to be on the rise.  At least if the number of “Don’t be stupid” reminders is any indication.

I have no problem with the ones about “Professional stunt man” or “ Professional driver on a closed course”.  Sadly we do need to protect ourselves from fools who want to believe that they can do anything they see on TV.  If there was a designated place where they could go and kill themselves without endangering the rest of us I’d have no trouble with winnowing the gene pool.  Does that sound callous? I fully support every one’s right to do what they like so long at they do not endanger the rest of us or expect the rest of us to clean up their mess,physically or financially.

But have we really gotten to the point where there is a common disconnect between what is real and imaginary?  Or even worse between what is physically possible and not?

This commercial seems to believe we have and that may make it the most frightening thing I’ve seen on TV this year.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - Golden Globes

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

Any time a new set of award nominees are named there’s always discussion about who was chosen, who WASN’T chosen, why they were chosen, who should have been chosen.  The discussion can get quite heated at times.  It doesn’t matter if it’s for some award or a Hall of Fame (the names for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are a case in point.  People are still arguing about ABBA’s inclusion.  The 2011 inductees will be Dr. John, The Alice Cooper Band, Neil Diamond, Darlene Love, and Tom Waits.  I’ve got no real problem with any of them.  You may commence your discussion of their relative merits)

What got me thinking about this was the announcement of the Golden Globe Awards.  The Golden Globes have been around since 1944 and are awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.  Originally they were movie only, then added TV in the ‘50s.  They also recognize one person for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment with the Cecil B. DeMille Award.  The original purpose of the awards was to butter up Hollywood to give the foreign press better access to the industry.  Today the awards result in a lot money that goes to charity and scholarships.

What grabbed me about this years awards was in the category of Comedy or Musical.  Not surprised to see “Burlesque” and “The Kids Are All Right”.  A musical and a comedy.  The rest of the slate is a little confusing.  We have “Alice in Wonderland”, “RED” and “The Tourist”.  If Tourist is a comedy someone needs to tell Sony Entertainment this because their trailers stink.  I see no sign of any comic elements in the advertisements either.  I saw Alice and the same reaction there.  Ummm, comedy?  Musical?  No.  It was an OK movie that I enjoyed but I would never consider it a comedy.  I also saw RED and can say it was very funny.  But again I’m not sure I’d call it a comedy.  An action movie with a strong comic inclination sure but...

Was the comedy field so thin this year that they felt like they had to really reach for nominees?  Or did they just feel like they needed to throw someone a bone?   The other theory is that these are place holders to fill out a field so that you can push the award toward one particular favorite.  

So when you see all the hoopla about “Golden Globe” nominations in all the advertising over the next couple months just remember.  These are suck up awards.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - Christmas Movies

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

And the usual ranting about Christmas is well under way. The "Happy Holidays" rant, the "They've stolen Christmas" rant, all the usual suspects. I'm tempted to add a little rant of my own, mostly about how tired I am of the other rants. Instead let’s take a look a something important.  Like the most important Christmas movies and TV specials

It's Christmas. Make of it what you will. Maybe it’s a high holy day for you.  Maybe it’s really about Santa and the swag under the tree.  Maybe it’s just something to be survived.  Go for it.  I intend to revel in the midnight mass at my home parish. Smells and bells, and a full choir and all the decorations. I will rejoice in the arrival of the Messiah and the miracle of it all.
In the meantime let’s focus on what we can agree on.  Movies and TV specials have become an important part of getting ready for the season.  I'm going to enjoy my favorite Christmas specials. I own a copy of just about all of them:
WKRP in Cincinnati Christmas episode - a great show about radio and a great riff on Dickens.

A Charlie Brown Christmas - If I only could have only one this is it.  It’s amazing how well it holds up after all these decades.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - love it.  Yukon Cornelius and stop action animation.

The Homecoming - Christmas with the Waltons. A truly classic Christmas story

How The Grinch Stole Christmas - animated original only, don't bring that other one 'round here.

Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) - The Alistair Sims version or the Mr. Magoo version both classics

White Christmas - yeah, only nominally a true Christmas story but I love it.
A Wish for Wings that Work - OK my natural weirdness bubbles up on this one. This is the Bloom County animated special. It's very hard to find but my most excellent brother got it for me.

Miracle on 34th Street - the original only thank you very much.

There are lots of others out there (I will no doubt get an earful about omitting “A Christmas Story” or “Elf”.  Sorry neither make my cut).  So watch what puts you in the mood, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday and God Bless us everyone!

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - Retransmissions

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

If you watch the local Fox Network TV channels you may have seen some rather ominous warnings appearing during your favorite shows that seemed to indicate that you were about to lose that channel because of some kind of battle between the station and your cable provider.  Ever wonder what was really going on?  I can shed a little light on the subject plus point out that the problem isn’t going to go away any time soon.

At the bottom of the whole issue is what’s called retransmission fees and it’s a big deal in the cable/satellite/network business these days.  Basically the argument is that the cable type folks are getting entire networks worth of content for very little money.  The local stations and/or the networks feel like they put up all the cash, do all the work and the cable types are making big profits for very little investment.  The cable types already pay a fee to use that content (the “retransmission fee”) and feel that the TV folks are trying to grab an unfair portion of their operating profits.  Guess who is in the middle of that tug of war?  That would be you the viewer.

A lot of the fee structures were set when many fewer folks were getting their TV entertainment via cable or satellite.  The business model has changed and the fee structure probably has to change with it.  We the viewers will get shouted at by both sides but in the end they’ll find a way to just charge us more and then they’ll move on.

The long range problem is actually for the small specialty cable networks.  The ones with limited though dedicated viewers but which generate very little ad monies for the local cable/satellite companies.  As their budgets get pinched they’ll have to make cuts somewhere.   It seems inevitable that some of those smaller networks will get dropped or have their fees negotiated down.  And bunches of them will simply go belly up.   Instead you’ll just one more cookie cutter network owned by the big media companies.

Or maybe the little guys will just move over on to the world wide web and we’ll start the process all over again.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - Zonker Harris and Wesleyan

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

So I was reading the comics the other week when I saw that the story line on my favorite strip had suddenly detoured.  If you read Doonesbury (and you should) you’ll remember that suddenly a story line with Zonker popped up out of nowhere.  It seemed that some college used to have a day named in Zonker’s honor till the president put the kibosh on it.  Zonker was a little puzzled by it all and so was I so I did a little research.

It didn’t take much to find that the story was true.  Wesleyan University in Connecticut started celebrating Zonker Harris Day back in the ‘70’s.  It has always been a decidely, shall we say, counter-cultural affair with a certain use of legally frowned upon substances.  In 2008 the president of the University decided that Zonker was not the sort of person the University wished to be associated with and threatened to pull the funding.  Garry Trudeau the creator responded this year after the students decided to take the case to a higher court.

Where to even begin with this?  As Zonker himself noted, the president is aware that he’s a fictional character, right?  The complaint was because Zonker was an inveterate user of marijuana in his past.   I haven’t seen him use it recently.  Of course the University said NOTHING about the activities that actually go on during the event, they just wanted the name changed.  They also overlooked the fall event at Wesleyan called “Duke Day” named for another and decidedly less socially acceptable character from the strip.  Trudeau had been aware of the flap in 08 but had chosen discretion as the better part of valor.  The letter from the students this year impressed him so much he decided to weigh in finally.

Surely the president of a University that has been around for almost 180 years has better things to do that demand name changes of student blowouts.  Even Zonker has better things to do.  This coming April he will NOT be able to attend the next festival as it interferes with the Royal Wedding in England which is already on his calendar.

In the end three cheers to the students at Wesleyan.  Like their idea of a good time or not they have the right attitude to the mis-application of power.  When the university demanded a name change they did.  The festival is currently called “Ze who must not be named” day.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - WikiLeaks

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

In the midst of one of the biggest news stories of the moment is another story sitting quietly waiting to be noticed.  I thought I’d shine a little light on it for a moment or two right now.  The web site WikiLeaks has been very much in the news over the last month after they published some 251,287 diplomatic cables sent by U.S. diplomats all over the world.  WikiLeaks is dedicated to creating more transparency in governments all over the world.  They pursue this goal by obtaining and then releasing documents that the various governments would prefer to keep private.

I’m not an unalloyed fan of WikiLeaks.  Basically all they do is dump material into the information stream without any analysis or context.  While they claim to be part of the journalistic tradition I think they fall short.  On the other hand they’ve done a much better job of being responsible about some of the information than their critics would have you believe.  They have redacted names (that means they blocked them out before releasing them), they even asked the U.S. government for assistance in doing just that which the government declined.  Reactions have been weighed heavily on the side of the hysterical.  A Canadian diplomat apparently suggested the head of WikiLeaks should be assassinated, U.S. politicians claim that the organization has “blood” on their hands (a claim that the U.S. Department of Defense seems to contradict curiously) and there’s been much made of the Espionage Act of 1917.

The problem is that what WikiLeaks has done is NOT espionage under the intention of the Act.  The original clearly exempted journalists from the definition.  And well they might.  A strong, even adversarial press is a vital part of the American way of life.  We MUST have groups out there digging where the power brokers don’t want us and playing the role of muckraker.  It is the single most effective balk on the misuse of power in a democracy.  Consequently I am much more disturbed by our government putting the strong arm on American corporations to cut ties with WikiLeaks.  There is a much greater threat to our liberties in those actions than in what has been released so far.  And we better figure out how to deal with this new adjunct to the world of journalism since a new competing service called OpenLeaks is prepared to debut soon.

What the muckraker pulls up and pushes into our noses is often unpleasant but the role is one that has an honored and vital role in our national life.  We shut then down at our own peril.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - R.I.P. Don Meredith

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

Time to note the passing of a man who held an interesting place in American culture.  Former quarterback and broadcaster Don Meredith passed away earlier this week at the age of 72.

“Dandy Don” holds an interesting place in our culture because he did it without being the very best.  He will never be listed among the greatest college players of all time, nor in the NFL nor among broadcasters.  He was good, don’t get me wrong, at times very good but that’s not usually the pass/fail for the kinds of work he did.

Meredith was a two time All American and three time Pro Bowl choice.  He led the Cowboys to their first winning seasons and playoff victories.  Meredith was the Cowboys first star quarterback and really their first star player of any kind. After his retirement in 1968 Meredith dabbled in the stock market before taking the job as the third voice in the booth for the fledgling Monday Night Football broadcasts.

It’s easy to forget that Monday Night Football was considered a gamble at first.  In the second year the broadcast really found its magic formula and Meredith was an integral part of that.  The original MNF team was Meredith, Howard Cosell and college broadcasting legend Keith Jackson.  Jackson was replaced the following season by Frank Gifford and the classic team came together.  Gifford provided rock solid play by play but it was the interplay between Cosell and Meredith that made the show a winner.  Arrogant, verbose and decidedly big city Cosell versus the north Texas good ole boy Dandy Don.  Meredith could hold his own with Cosell and that was the real key to success to the broadcast.  Monday Night Football became an event largely because of the Cosell-Meredith match ups.

Curiously Meredith didn’t seem to realize what a great thing he was helping to create at first.  After four seasons he left to work at rival NBC for three years.  In his absence neither Fred Williamson nor Alex Karras managed the kind of interaction with Cosell.  In 1977 Meredith returned and stayed till 1984 with his final broadcast being Super Bowl XIX.

It might be easy to brush Don Meredith aside as just a good time guy, a pretty fair quarterback with a quick wit.  The reality is that he stands as a key element in the births of two great American cultural icons - the Dallas Cowboys and Monday Night Football.  And that’s a much better than average legacy for any man.

Don Meredith passed away at age 72

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - Jamestown Writes Update

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

Almost two months ago a I mentioned a new media project that I was helping to launch and I promised that I wouldn’t make you listen to me talk about it every week through the project.  Well phase one of Jamestown Writes has come an end and I thought I’d catch you up on it.

Jamestown Writes was/is a project to bring together writers in the Jamestown area.  I partnered with my daughter Rachel as the facilitators and we used the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) as our center piece.  To be honest we had no idea how many people might be interested or really even how to go about running a writer’s group.  In true Phillippi fashion we simply decided to make it up as we went along.

As it turned out my stroke severely limited my ability to be involved at pretty much any level for more than half of the project.  Kudos to Rachel for stepping into a role with which she was not particularly comfortable and pulling it off.  Because my recovery covered the entire time of the project I did zero writing.  I’m happy to say that I am very much the exception in the group at large.

Jamestown Writes saw a total of 20 writers show up for at least one meeting.  The group  seemed to settle in between 6 and 10 regulars.  And we had at least 4 writers complete the NaNoWriMo challenge of writing fifty thousand words of a novel in 30 days.  We had several other writers make very serious runs at it  as well.  To be honest those numbers were much higher than we expected and it was a great start.

Because this little launch program was just a start.  The group has decided to continue on.  So if you’re a writer in the Jamestown area and you’re looking for a writer’s support group we’d like to invite you to join us.  The group is still feeling it’s way along as to an identity but we’ll certainly be looking at the both the creative side and the professional side of writing.  For the moment we’ll be meeting starting at 10 AM the first and third Saturdays of each month on the second floor of the Arts Council building on Third Street in Jamestown.  We welcome writers of all types, formats and genres.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

View From the Phlipside - Harry Potter

My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, Radio, the Movies and more.  I love them and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View From the Phlipside.

I don’t do a lot of “reviews” on this program.  There’s just too many movies and TV shows and too many other things to talk about.  But the furor that has cropped up around the newest Harry Potter movie has caught my attention.

Let’s get something straight right up front.  I know not everyone is a fan of Harry Potter.  Some folks have their religious sensibilities offended.  Some folks have their literary sensibilities offended.  All well and good.  If you don’t like the story then don’t read the books or see the movie.  The folks that are annoying me seem to be from a new category.  They don’t have anything against the basic story line at all but they are all up in arms about the newest movie.  It’s interesting to note that some of the most respected names in the movie critic world appear to be among them.

The complaint is that the latest movie “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1” isn’t a classic, complete movie.  In other words the basic story line doesn’t come to a nice clean ending.  Every time I hear that complaint I just shake my head.  Folks the movie says, right in the title, that this is only part, Part 1, of a longer story.  So apparently the screenwriter was supposed to create some kind of artificial ending to make the movie purists happy.  The movie ends at a perfectly logical point in the story with a nice cliff hanger.  I find the complaints about the movie to be elitist snobbery.

There is another group of critics that amaze me.  These are folks who either haven’t read the books or seen the previous movies and then complain that they don’t understand what’s going on.  Well duh.  I’m not sure if this scores higher on the arrogance scale or the stupidity scale.  There have been just over 900 minutes of on screen story telling before you reach this movie, the 7th in a series of 8.  You haven’t done your homework as it were but want all of us to stop and catch you up.  I don’t think so.  If you don’t have the background the story there is a way to figure out what’s going on.  Go with someone who has seen all the movies and then ask them questions every time you can’t figure out what’s going on.

That’ll work fine right up to the point when the usher throws you out.

Call that the View From the Phlipside.

"The View From the Phlipside" airs on WRFA-LP Jamestown NY.  You can listen to WRFA online HERE
Copyright - Jay Phillippi 2010

Stroke stories - Moving Forward

This will probably be the last story in this series.  I'm about 90-95% back to normal.  I've started back at the gym, the headaches have faded to tiny little things that come and go.  Honestly I go hours without any trace of them.

When I passed my post-stroke physical my doctor told me that 25% of everyone who has the kind of stroke I did never get a definitive diagnosis of the cause.  That's my situation.  Nobody knows why it happened.  They assure me there's no reason to expect that it would ever happen again.  She wanted to know if I was OK with that kind of uncertainty.

I am.

Here's what I've decided.  Early on I rejected the concept that I was a stroke "victim".  I'm a stroke survivor.  I don't know how or why it happened or that I survived.  I did.  Every day is a bonus day from now on.  I want to do everything I can to remember that and live my life that way.  The day and time of the stroke is now loaded into my calendar as an annual event.  So that I never forget.  I have wonderful friends that I neglect.  When I needed them they were there with concern and support.  I want to be a better friend.  I want to be better family, and co-worker.  I want to be a better me, rather than just sliding along watching my days wander aimlessly by.  Oh, and yes I still intend to make aimless wandering part of my life too.

While I was in the hospital I kept hearing this song.  And it moved me to tears every time.  So it is the theme song for post stroke life. "Season of Love: the opening tune from the musical "Rent"    I keep a note on the monitor of my home computer (that's where this adventure began) that reads "525,600 Minutes.  Is this a before day or after?"

How do you measure a year?  How do you measure a year in a life?  How about love?




Thanks be to God for these extra days, and the love of friend and family.

Peace