Review

Pirates of the Caribbean: Ascension Day

Leave a Comment

Continuing on with what seems to be the theme of this week: do all the things! Wednesday Nienke came by for lunch and trying on some of Mom’s left over clothes I’d kept apart. She had made soup, I made an omelette and bought tasty bread and fried fish. We were so stuffed after that 😀

Around two I (gently) kicked Nienke out, I was getting so sleepy. Besides getting home late the night before, it also took a while to fall asleep and I didn’t sleep well. So after she’d gone, I stretched out on the sofa, set my alarm for a good hour later and was gone in minutes. I woke up on my own a few minutes before the alarm. Monkey then decided that the pillow my head was on would fit him perfectly as well 😀

Taking that as a sign, I got up and got ready to go the city again. This time to go to the movies with Ingrid and her friend Romana. We met up in the centre and headed for cafe De Oude Wacht to eat something. It was cheap but good cafe food. I had satay which came with fries and a good salad. The movie didn’t start until eight, so when it was getting colder after dinner, we traded the cafe terrace for the inside cafe in the cinema for a drink and a cookie.

The movie was a pre-premier of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. We’d all gone to the supermarket before to stock up on a drink and such for during the movie. But it turns out that, as this was an event-thing, we could all pick a bottle of soda and got crisps for during the movie. Good deal 😀

The movie itself was pretty good. The gimmicks are getting old (although the bank robbery is hilarious), but structurally I found this a better movie than the previous one. I liked the throwbacks to the original trilogy with Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, and seeing more of Jack’s past.

I wanted to stay seated throughout the credits but the others we’re more eager to leave. Luckily they (and I, too) had to use the bathroom. I was done quickly, but the ladies’ always has a much longer line. So, fortunately, I was still near the screen when the inevitable after credits scene came on. It was brief, and definitely hints at another sequel. After that, we split up quickly as their buses we’re almost coming. I strolled to the station, taking the opportunity to catch me a great many Pokémon 😀

Yesterday was Ascension Day. And as is tradition, we go to the annual Ascension Day Market in my previous town Eenrum. Ingrid always comes over to go with. This year Nienke and Kim also agreed to go. We convened at my place at ten. The other three then left to go there by car. I went by bike. I decided, two weeks ago, to try exercising again. But the gym and all that doesn’t really work for me. I do like cycling, though. So I installed an app (Strava) and did two rides that first week. The week after I didn’t get around to riding because of a zit on my sit 😀 This week I’m good to go, though. So the trip to the market was to be my first workout of this week. Unfortunately I mistapped and it didn’t record the way to Eenrum.

We met up again and took a gander down the market. We decided to check out one side of the road first, and then at the end turn around and do the other side. That way we would end up back were we started. I bought some new pairs of ankle socks, some plants for the empty pot in the front yard and, as usual, traditional sausage.

Mellien and Bas were also coming, but they came later. So we didn’t get to meet up until we were already halfway on the way back. They joined us for that bit, and at the end we all got something to eat for an impromptu lunch. I’d already had my traditional spring roll and decided on churros for dinner 😀 After that, it was time to go home again as Kim had to work in the afternoon. We split up and I got back on my bike.

For the way back I chose a different route. There’s basically three main ways to get to Eenrum from Winsum (and vice versa). The first two I’d already done and tracked in my first week of using Strava. So now I went for the third route. I knew this was longer, but as it turns out, the difference is 3 km. I made good time, though. Did the 8,2 km in 23 minutes. The others were home before me, but not by much.

Kim and Nienke then went home and Ingrid stayed. We chatted and played board games. First the gold rush edition of Carcassonne. It’s a different version of Carcassonne (versus an expansion). The base rules are the same but the theme is different and it has specialty rules that fit with it. In this case, cities are mountains with gold in it. As you build them, you place gold tokens and can mine for them. At the end, the tokens are turned and scored which is added to your regular score. Because the amount of points on the tokens is hidden until the end, it keeps things exciting. Other difference is that monasteries are, sort of, replaced by named cities where railroads end. You score points when all railroads leading out of the city are finished. The field, prairie in this case, also scores differently. It’s not the amount of completed somethings, but how many Indian settlements or horse herds (drawn on the tiles) are present. I really like this version of the game.

After that we played Rummikub and then decided to do something about dinner. Quick trip to the shop later we had easy food to stick in the oven. We waited it out with a few games of Tea Time (an Alice in Wonderland inspired tile taking game). After dinner we played a quick best-of-three set of Pesten (similar to Crazy Eights). We tied two for two between all games as I won Carcassonne and Rummikub and Ingrid won Tea Time and Pesten. Ingrid then went home.

Today is one of two days during my time off that I had no plans. So this morning I got on my bike again and went for a longer route, 21 km as it turns out. It took me a good 57 minutes. Which is faster already than the first week.

Captain Hook

Leave a Comment

Summer has really shown herself today. It was very warm. Too warm to really do anything so I took it easy. Work in the morning, and then read. I finished A Clockwork Orange. It’s a fascinating read. The nadsat Burgess’ uses makes the book difficult to read. You need to often infer the meaning of a word by its context and as such may need to re-read sections. Or refer to the word list in the back as my edition has. The book is sometimes misjudged because it features vivid descriptions of violent encounters. This makes sense as the ultra-violence is something the protagonist not only performs, but also enjoys. And being the narrator, he would revel in it. In the end, though, the violence isn’t the point. The underlying issue is free will and morality. Choosing to be good, versus not being able to be anything but good and struggling with that in your mind.

I then started reading Libriomancer, by Jim Hines. It’s an urban fantasy where the protagonist is able to pull things from books through magic. He and others form a secret society to protect this book magic. However, bad things start happening. As they are wont to do in books. Books also create monsters. Vampires, for example. With the many ways vampires have been described, you also get different kinds of vampires. For instance, there’s the Sanguinarius meyerii, these vampires come from the books of Stephenie Meyer and they sparkle… I’m only a few chapters in but I can tell I’m going to like this. It’s a fantasy book lover’s book, there’s references to books, items from books, and authors all over.

In between I did a little bit of weed pulling in the back yard. Slowly, because of the temperature. And I decided I was finally going to get my hooks sorted.

I’ve wanted a way to keep the back door still when it’s open. So it doesn’t go back and forth when there’s wind. Or closes accidentally leaving a sad Milo outside pawing the glass to get back in. At first I was thinking of some kind of retractable leg. You’d lower it to the ground and then the door gets stuck. But those things are more specialty and harder to find. So I decided on simple hooks.

After weed pulling I grabbed my wallet and bike and headed for the hardware store. I got myself a short hook and a long hook. On the way back I stopped, as usual, at the thrift store. No luck on furniture or items, but luck in books (also as usual). I left with Pillars of the Earth, a Brother Cadfael mystery and a book of Siberian myths and legends.

Once home I waited for evening to come on and the sun to go away some. The short hook was to attach the door to the fence that separates my yard from the neighbours. I eye balled the height and started screwing the small eye in the door. That is kinda tricky to do without a pre-made hole. You don’t really have an easy way to give the needed weight so the screw actually goes in. But, I managed it. Then I screwed the hook into the fence and part one of two was done.

The long hook was meant to attach the door that opens to the door that stays shut. This way I have a middle ground between open and closed. It’s open far enough for the cats to go through and to let air in, but closed enough so it’s not very windy. Because this hook was much longer, it was also much bigger. Which meant it was a bit harder, too, to screw it in. In the end it worked, and I have a door that I can secure.

I texted the pictures to mom, so of course she came to look a little while later 🙂 It was a short but fun visit.  It wasn’t until much later, when I went to collect the cats and close the door fully, that I realised something. I’d screwed in the large hook too close to the other door… The other door has an overlapping edge that I forgot to take into account. And that edge couldn’t pass the screw. Nothing to be done but to remove it and screw it in again, 1 cm more to the right. Once that was done, I truly had a door that still worked with hooks that worked 😀

Durotan & Lothar & Rodolfo & Mimi

Leave a Comment

The Warcraft movie is finally out, so of course I immediately went to see it. I had ordered a special movie package online that has a steel case blu-ray (gets sent on release) plus a code for a free warcraft game and a code for a free movie ticket. I have my Pathé Unlimited so I gave the free ticket to Nienke and she came along.

The movie itself is good. It has some points for improvement. For example, they’re trying to show a lot and give a lot of information. For those unfamiliar with the game and its world that can cause overload. But overall it is a good fantasy movie, and a great video game movie.

Thursday was theater-day. Mom and I had tickets to go see Opera Zuid perform La Bohème. They did a straight forward adaptation, no changes to time or place. The staging was basic in structure and filled in with details to make it look real. Which worked very well. The performances were very good. I definitely want to go see this company again.

Today, Gert and I popped over to Amsterdam to see the Warcraft movie in IMAX 3D. It was great fun, but I really don’t see the added value of IMAX 3D. I had to keep my head still and in the exact same position all the time or I would see double. And everything is so blown up that every panning shot was just a blurry mess.

After the movie we had a quick fast food dinner and hopped on the train back home.

The Nice Guys: Civil War

Leave a Comment

More movies yesterday. After eating at Pappa Joe’s, Gert and I went to see The Nice Guys. I had seen trailers and it seemed like a fun movie. But in a way that I also didn’t quite know what to expect. Featuring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as private investigators who reluctantly team up to find a missing young woman, there’s a lot of comedy, but in a bit of a dark and forlorn way. The kid playing Gosling’s daughter steals the screen, though 🙂

Then we saw Captain America: Civil War. I have mixed feelings about this film, and I think that shows how good it is. I really like the Avengers. As individuals I like some more than others, but as a team, I love them. And I don’t like it when my team is fighting among themselves. Especially since both sides make good points. As such it is an excellent exploration of responsibility, accountability, guilt, trust and friendship.

I spent a large part of the movie being conflicted. In the end I side with Tony because I like Tony better than Steve. But I just want my babies to get along 🙁 They don’t have to be the best of friends. I don’t think they can be that. But at least a close partnership and mutual trust,

Amoras

Leave a Comment

Busy day, today! I’ve been reading a new comic book series the last year called Amoras. It’s a six book series that tells a Suske & Wiske story in a dystopian future. There’s time travel, crime, death, blood and a fair amount of cursing and swearing. Suffice to say, it’s definitely not meant for kids. I really like the storyline and how it looks. A while ago I saw on Facebook that the Stripmuseum (comic museum) in Groningen would show an exhibition of Amoras pieces.

Since I am now the proud owner of a museum card, I decided it was time to go see. I asked Gert if he wanted to come as well, but he declined. So, this morning I made my way to Groningen. I arrived around lunch time and felt a wee bit peckish. The Stripmuseum is located above the McDonalds. So rather than go look for a place, I just hit the Mac for a quick and easy lunch.

After, I got my ticket for the museum and started looking around. I began with the regular collection that was divided into themes. First there was a section on comic art used in music and theater posters, other promotional imagery and album covers. Then it led me chronologically through the development of comics in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Once through all that, you end up on the top floor where there’s space for the changing exhibition. Which in this case was the Amoras one. It was interesting to see the process. There were many storyboards, sketches, and line-art pieces from all six of the books. The only thing I thought was a shame was the order of display. They went mostly by sort of art, and then chronologically. So, storyboards book one, storyboards book two and so on, then sketches book one, sketches book two, rinse and repeat. I would have liked to see the order from idea to end product. So the storyboard for a page, then its sketch, the line-art, and then the coloured page. So you can really see how it changes before getting to its final point.

When I got out, I made my way to the centre of the city to meet up with Gert and see X-Men: Apocalypse. I’d heard some bad stuff about it, but I liked it. The build-up wasn’t always strong enough. I didn’t notice, for instance, that the end battle was the end battle until it was a good bit underway. And I would have liked to see a bit more detail on the origin of Apocalypse.

Then it was time for some dinner. We decided to go to the Frietwinkel. This is a fairly new place that does fries. It’s all about the organic and the fresh. They literally cut fries from fresh potatoes right there instead of using frozen pre-cut fries. And they serve fries with pulled chicken. Which is fucking delicious. The place also looks rustic nice with old stools, crates on the walls and such.

Right after that we went back to the Pathé. This time to see the Angry Birds movie. It’s not very good. The only thing I found quite funny was this one scene, a homage to the slow-down-time-in-the kitchen scene in the previous X-Men movie. And they also did a sort of homage to that scene in X-Men: Apocalypse. So that was a fun coincidence. Other than that, it’s a generic animated kids movie.

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle, Kung Fu Panda Sleeps Tonight

Leave a Comment

It was Mom birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Mom!

(My parents are very good at having their picture taken… )

Last week I saw The Jungle Book with Gert. It is an amazing movie, absolutely stunning in visual quality. The story is familiar but re-told in a good way, with some added darkness here and there to make it more realistic. I love that they kept the magicality of the whole by still letting the animals talk, and sing. Neel Sethi performs a good Mowgli, it it occasionally uneven, but I didn’t mind as that only underscores the fact that Mowgli’s a kid an really in over his head.

Today we saw Kung Fu Panda 3. I’d never seen the first two, so over the weekend I watched both of them on Netflix. I was pleasantly surprised by all three of them. They are really good. They tell good stories, I like the characters and the animation is very nice.

It’s April!

Leave a Comment

I lost track of time a bit, and am also short on time right now. So short this will be, as well.

April first I went to see Zootopia with Gert. It’s a very good movie. Very well made, good story and a good message as well.

April 2nd, Ikea brought my shelves and Nienke’s dining set. I built mine, and Nienke’s parents picked up her set to deliver to Nienke’s house.

Then on Sunday I went to the farm where we had a work day to get material for our re-enactment camp back in good shape. We fixed existing benches and tables, and also built new ones. In the picture we’re working on the new kitchen workbench. It was a good day to spend outside, and we got a lot done.

The week after saw the voting for the Ukraine-referendum. I voted for the agreement, and am pretty bummed it didn’t pass.

Last Saturday I went to the Farm again, this time for Feije’s birthday. I got him books, as I like to do for small children. An informative book with huge pictures and fold out sheets about animals and a story book about a little kid on a farm with a goat. The kid as drawn looks quite like Feije.

Later this week we’re going to Ikea again. This time to pick up an extra dresser for my bed room. Plus there’s a movie plan for Friday and a Mom birthday this Sunday 🙂

I Made Your Bed, Now Lie In It

Leave a Comment

After finishing the cupboard I left it standing for two days to fully dry everywhere. I then enjoyed myself in packing it in. I’m also slowly starting to work on other bits in the house to get that as I want now that I have the space to myself. I pulled my old bed from the attic and put it together in the spare bedroom. I can now have guests sleep over! And, while I was painting anyway, I put a chalk board rectangle on the wall in the kitchen.

Tuesday after work I met up with Gert for a quick bite at Subway. Afterward we went to see The Revenant. I understand it has been getting rave reviews, but I really didn’t like it that much. The story in itself is okay. The movie, however, could easily have been done in half the time. It was too slow, with way too many scenes stuck in DiCaprio’s head. Really, after two times I know your dead wife makes you talk to trees. Get on with it.

It also has too many pretentious I’m-secretly-a-nature-documentary-moments with endless pans across the landscape looking at mountains and forests and sunsets. DiCaprio was good, but I wouldn’t have given him an Oscar for it.

Then, yesterday, it was farm time again as we all converged there for dinner and general merriment. Today is the first day of my week off work. I plan to relax, get stuff done around here, do some shopping for the house and in general have fun.

Cupboard

Leave a Comment

Now that Nienke has moved, the need for a new kitchen cupboard has become rather more urgent. I’ve been scouring Marktplaats for a while now looking for a good match. But I’m pretty picky and hadn’t found anything yet. I wanted a white cupboard, with an open space in the middle, at least two drawers, a shelf with glass in the doors in the top part and tall enough that it sort of matches with the bookcases. Oh, and also affordable and requiring little work 😀

I saw some that matched most of what I wanted but weren’t quite it. I found a gorgeous cupboard that structurally was exactly what I wanted. Except it was of this brand that has the stupid, stupid habit of putting their brand name in flowy letters all over the piece. Why the fuck would I want furniture that says Riviera Maison in giant ass letters! I could sand it off, but then I’d have to repaint probably the whole thing. So, not worth it.

Other cupboards were too short, or had no drawers, or no glass doors at the top, and so on. Eventually, however, I stumbled across one that was perfect. Except it wasn’t white. But, based on the image, it seemed the wood was mostly unvarnished so it should be easy to paint. I mailed back and forth with the seller and he confirmed it wasn’t varnished. If the only thing I had to do was paint, I’m good. So we agreed I would come pick it up Friday Morning.

The night before I went out with Kim to eat at Subway and then see Allegiant. Which is not a very good movie. Taken separately as an independent scifi, it’s okay. As a part of the Divergent series, no. It has veered so far off track it looks nothing like the book. And what they replaced it with…

The next morning my Uncle, whom I ‘d chartered to drive and help, and I headed for the rent-a-trailer place in town. I’d reserved one the day before with a hood on it in case of rain. Once trailered-up, we headed to Friesland to pick up my cupboard. And it is glorious.

It splits up in two pieces and it isn’t very heavy so it was easy to transport and get it inside. I spent the rest of Friday and this weekend painting. So. Much. Painting.

I bought standard white paint for the exterior. I also snagged a jar of deep red base paint from the sale bin. I didn’t know what I would use it on, but I loved the colour. In the end, I decided to use that for the interior of the cupboard. Which turned out to be best decision ever 😀

 

Move the Gods of Egypt

Leave a Comment

The time has come, Nienke has moved. She got the key to her new house last Monday. Those first days she and her parents did cleaning and painting. And then the moving started. Last Friday and Saturday were designated for the big move. I got off work early on Friday so I could help. Then we spent the day, and Saturday, driving back and forth between my house and her house.

It feels funny that I can now really say this is my house. I like it 🙂

This afternoon, Gert and I went to the early showing of Gods of Egypt and had the room for ourselves 😀 The movie is ridiculous, but the visuals are fantastic, and everything is gloriously over the top. Shame that, once again, all the people of colour among the main characters (Egyptian Gods…) are played by white people. After we went to Toet for coffee and cake in the sunshine.