Quick Weekend Synopsis
Started: 2005-05-02 07:34:46
Submitted: 2005-05-02 08:03:10
Visibility: World-readable
I think I have a few minutes to type a quick synopsis of my weekend before heading off to work.
Friday: Discussed getting furniture from my grandfather, who is moving into an assisted living facility and is downsizing his stuff. Kiesa and I could use some more furniture, especially bookcases, but the task of getting it from Loma Linda to Longmont seems difficult. Tried to watch From Dusk Till Dawn but was thwarted when Netflix sent me the wrong DVD. Reported it missing, but I'll have to wait until Tuesday at least to get the replacement.
Saturday: Went to Boulder Public Library and checked out Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren. It's a massive book on the recent history of Israel and the Middle East, something I've been curious about. Given its length I'm not sure I'll actually get through it.
Made it to church just as it was getting out (which was our plan) but realized we forgot to bring what we intended to bring for the after-church potluck. Headed back home, picked up 100% juice frozen concentrate (it's disturbing how little juice the "juice cocktails" have), and Kiesa made salsa. Headed to the Kings' residence for lunch and the subsequent "outreach" discussion. This group needs a webpage, or at least a mailing list, but I didn't mention it for fear of being volunteered to make it happen.
Watched Hotel Rwanda, which was excellent. (For a movie about genocide, it was surprisingly non-violent.) It shows the journey of a man who becomes a hero by saving more than a thousand people during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and blames the UN and the west for not giving a damn until it was too late.
A telling moment early in the film: A western journalist asks Paul Rusesabagina what the differences are between Hutus and Tutsis are. Paul responds that the distinction was essentially invented by the Belgium colonists, who measured people's noses and used their formulas to figure out if they were Hutu or Tutsi.
Sunday: Cleaned the house. Watched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at my local cinema. Due to a scheduling mishap, we ended up with dreadful seats; the second row on the extreme right side. If I scrunched down in my chair I could mostly see the screen. Despite that, I thought the movie was most entertaining; it was a fairly honest translation of the rambling books into a movie, with occasional digressions to read from the Guide about Vogon poetry and, during the closing credits, the unfortunate effects random wormholes can have. I suspect non-fans might be a little lost at times, but fans will appreciate the whimsy of the books in ample quantities in the movie.
After the movie, Kiesa and I headed down to a tiny oriental food store in Westminster to acquire supplies for a culinary adventure. Should be exciting.
