Afternoon at the movies

The family went to see "Bolt" on Saturday afternoon.

The film was amusing. I think we all agreed that Rhino the Hamster was the best part of the film. The rodent is Bolt's biggest fan and follows him on his journey from New York to Hollywood.

Hey, a hamster ball is funny no matter what!

I'll have to see the film a few times to see if it grows on me, like "The Incredibles" did. For that film, I had to catch lots of the nuances on repeated viewings and it's now one of my favorites.

"Bolt" was fun, a bit predictable (the movie even pokes fun at itself for this!) and a little intense at the end. The girl is in actual danger in a huge studio fire, and she is abandoned by all the people on the set before she is rescued by Bolt's Super Bark.

When we got home from the theater, and after a good dinner, we -- meaning me and Jayne -- watched "Kung Fu Panda" again. The effects and messages of this film are still above "Bolt."

Tech changes

Our old computer died a week or so ago, so I apologize to people with whom I have not communicated recently. I lost all my e-mails -- couldn't transfer the address book -- and many, many bookmarked pages.

Again I was reminded about how dependent we are on computers. We couldn't communicate with our family and friends around the country and world, we couldn't pay bills or look up facts.

I felt this keenly because I was reading "Pippa Passes" by Robert Browning and wanted some guidance on some of his more obscure refrences. Hey! Do you know your 15th-century fresco artists?

Anyway. ...

So, if you'd like to help me out, please send me an e-mail so I can get you back in the system.

Seasons greetings

We got our first big snow the other day -- about 10-12 inches of lake effect. Above is a photo today of what's left. Note the leaves on top of the snow and that we still have our porch chairs and table out. It was about 70 degrees just a week before.

The snow was annoying, but not unexpected. One of the reporters I was sending out to cover the snow story didn't like it, said she wouldn't go out in it because the snow was "life threatening."

I had to use all my strength not to scream. I was driving in it, saw cars spin out and I slid myself through a nasty curve on Seventh Street in Holland, but "life threatening"? Who said journalists have tough skins!

Auto bailout

What is threatening is the auto bailout talk.

I don't know where I stand on this because I don't think the owners of GM, Ford or Chrysler should be rewarded for their excesses (like bank and credit company owners have been), but if GM goes under, that means all the auto suppliers will either die or cut thousands of jobs here in West Michigan, which means store owners, restaurants and newspapers will either die along with them or make massive cuts.

I lived through this in Buffalo and don't want to see it happen again.

Living in the land of Lotos-eaters

I mentioned in my last entry I was reading some Tennyson. I'm always drawn back to his poems "The Lotos-Eaters" and "Ulysses."

"The Lotos-Eaters" (1832) is based on a brief passage in "The Odyssey" in which some of the Greeks land on an island and are entranced by "honey-sweet fruit." They decide they've had enough of the ocean, of war, of suffering, of memories. Ulysses drags them back to the ship, ties them to the benches and leaves the island.

So, those who eat the flowers live in a land of stupor. Above is a picture of the land.

I've always liked the poem because it shows that being happy is more than being content. The poem also highlights the illusions we create around ourselves ... and that maybe Ulysses was the man living the illusion. After all, all his men perish -- turned into pigs, drowned, eaten by monsters.

It makes a good companion to "Ulysses" (1833) in which Tennyson imagines life for the hero once he has settled back on Ithaca. Ulysses is bored, frustrated by the brutes around him:

It little profits that an idle king

By this still hearth, among these barren crags,

Matched with an aged wife, I mete and dole

Unequal laws unto a savage race,

That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

The old hero sails off on his last adventure.

Ulysses is seen as irresponsible compared to his son Telemachus. It raises the question of his entire quest to return from Troy, of what he really wanted and the nature of his soul.

Song of something else

I finished the biography of John Reed and, as usual, am jumping to different poets while looking for another book to read.

I settled on Walt Whitman, not having read him for a long while. I enjoy Whitman, his photo above, for his daring word choices, his outlook on the spirit and universe, but I had forgotten that he can be tiresome. After "Song of Myself" and "Passage to India," I felt I had had enough.

Pages turned and I finally dug out the Tennyson. You can always count on the British.

Election

Election night went OK at the paper, mainly because Obama was declared the winner early, by 11 p.m. That means I got out of work by 2 a.m., not like 2000 or 2004. Thank you, Florida!

I was surprised Obama won, though Allegan and Ottawa counties were some of the few areas in the state that followed McCain. I really thought mainstream America couldn't vote for a black man. I'm glad I was wrong about that.

Now, the hard part begins.

Again, I think there are few differences between Democrats and Republicans, but the Bush years have showed me how important intelligence is in the White House and what happens when short-sighted people get in control.

Sugar rush

Above is a picture of three of four kids we took trick-or-treating Halloween night. Alyssa is the witch; Paige the princess; and Kirsten the devil. We also took Oscar with us to Hope College for candy, but we picked him up a little later. Oscar was a vampire, though we joked with him that he was really a magician (You need to see the "Zoey 101" Halloween special to truly appreciate that).

We've been going to Hope College for several years. The college opens the dorms for kids and their parents and the students give out the candy. They do a great job! This year was the best organized yet and, with the extended daylight hours, we had a good time.

Jayne liked the dorm that was set up in a Lord of the Rings theme.

Elspeth was at her friend's house in Manistee. They did trick-or-treating there and, according to her friend's mother, had a good time. We head up to get Elspeth this afternoon.