Monthly Archives: June 2013

True Grit by Charles Portis

The Yogi’s are on vacation down in the Redneck Riviera of Alabama and typically we read a lot on vacation. Some people drink a lot, well we drink some but we read a lot. Don’t worry I’m not going to be calling you for bail money slurring about some big mistake some day. At least I won’t be calling me you if I don’t have you cell number. Oh, sorry, back to the reading. I ripped through True Grit by Charles Portis in a day.

(Chasing after a geocache at Perdido Inlet, Alabama)

You remember True Grit starring John Wayne from way back when and Jeff Bridges from a year or two ago. Yep, the movie. Well the movies are great but the book is even better.

(Yep, we played bingo for free drinks at a beach bar, what of it?)

True Grit is the story of Mattie Ross a fourteen year old girl and her quest for justice for her father. “I was just fourteen years of age when a coward going by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down in Fort Smith, Arkansa, and robbed him of his life and his horse and $150 in cash money plus two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band.”

(Sometimes we embarrass our son so much. Sorry kid, we love live music.)

Tom Chaney took off for Indian Territory, Oklahoma after shooting Mattie’s father. Mattie travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas to hire a Federal Marshal “with grit” to go after Tom Chaney. She hires Rooster Cogburn and negotiates the terms of his employment.

(I mean everybody is having fun!)

Although John Wayne is the star of the movie (No offense Jeff Bridges, you are a great actor, but you are no John Wayne) but Mattie is the star of the book. She travels by herself into Fort Smith and takes over the town and takes no guff from anybody. When one of the characters threatens her with a spanking because she is so cheeky she tells him, “Put a hand on me and you will answer for it. You are from Texas and ignorant of our ways but the good people of Arkansas do not go easy on men who abuse women and children.”

(The weather is warm and the skies are nice down here in Alabama this week.)

Portis’ writing is superb and he knows how to spin a good story and keep it moving. I had read that he may be one of the most under rated writers ever in America and I can now believe it. This book is wonderful and I give it five stars out of five. Oh yes, a spoiler, Rooster Cogburn does charge into the bad guys with the reins in

Skywatch Friday – Rain Rolling In

I’m on vacation this week in Orange Beach, Alabama, otherwise known as the Redneck Riviera. I’m being pretty much worthless and I’m taking lots of pics. It clouds up and then rains and then the sun still doesn’t come out but it quits raining and somehow that is okay. I’m sorry I’m doing Skywatch Friday on Monday but this just might be the only post I do all week!

Skywatch Friday

John LeCarre – A Delicate Truth

A Delicate Truth is truly a thriller. It is about a joint American-British military-private industry anti-terror operation in Gibralter and the aftermath years later. I’m not going to spoil a thing about it except to say that this book is LeCarre at his best. The villains are truly banal, the heroes are trying to do the right thing but don’t exactly know what to do.

This book has a trailer. It gives a pretty good idea about the book.

This book is seriously good. I give it five stars out of five. Get it at the library. I’m a slow reader but I tore through this one in a matter of hours. Get it, read it, try and put it down.

Star Trek Into Darkness with Chris Pine and Alice Eve

The Yogi’s loaded up and went off to the movies last week to see Star Trek Into Darkness. The latest Star Trek movie. This one was a “prequel” in other words it takes place before the action in the television series and other movies. So we got a young Spock and a Young Kirk and so on. I get so confused.

The plot is pretty familiar, things are rocking along pretty good and then an impossibly complex and powerful foe comes into play so then Cap’n Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest figure out how to defeat the impossible enemy.

This time it is a little different. Eve Jones character is on a mission with one of the guys and then all the sudden she has to take her clothes off for some reason.

So here she is in her underwear ready to do some major space combat. After we get a good look at her then she puts her clothes back on. Of course all sorts of people got scandalized and their nose out of joint and all that because some pretty young girl takes her clothes off. Better her than Spock is what I say. I mean pointed ears could be just the beginning of his differences from humans, right? Or regular humans I should say since he is half human. Doesn’t matter, I’m just thankful that he kept his clothes on.

I know the reason for the scene. The movie was running out of money is why. They went over budget on the special effects and so they didn’t have a costume for her. I bet she wore cut offs and an old tshirt to work that day and they told her. “Well darling, you can’t wear that during the scene and we don’t have anything else that fits you, so your choice, shoot the scene in your underwear or no underwear.” Of course being the trooper that she is she did what she had to do. Am I wrong?

By the way, except for the puzzling underwear scene, the movie really is quite good. Chis Pine makes a great Kirk. I give this five stars out of five. Go see it. Check the links for the movie web site. Lots of good stuff there.

Weekend Reflections – A Muddle of a Puddle

Weekend Reflections

Skywatch Friday – A Sunny Art Deco Day

A sunny day in Tulsa captured on my four lensed film camera. I like how it makes the building look all curvey. (Curvey is a word in Oklahoma in case you didn’t know.) Sunny days have been kind of rare lately. If all the rain that we have is not getting us out out of our drought I don’t know what will.

Skywatch Friday

Republican Congressmen and Half Naked Women

We’ve been gone for a few days. We were chased out of Oklahoma by the weather and the helicopters.

Sweetie and I dropped the kid off at Nana’s, the world’s greatest MIL and boogied down to Texas for an industry convention.

This guy was there, Eric Cantor an up and coming whippersnapper congressman for Virginia.. For $5000 you could have a private meet and greet. If you are an oilie you could wax on about deducting Intangible Drilling Costs and that the Depletion Allowance is in the Bible somewhere and he would give you empathetic nods. For $1500 you just get a photograph with him, a shake of the hands, and shove in the back. I’m giving you a photograph for free. Go get your own depletion allowance!

(Hawaiimagazine.com)

This guy,Mick Fleetwood, was also staying where we were staying. He was at the pool, right behind where Sweetie and I were sitting. I thought and thought about a way to take a picture of him without him knowing it. Couldn’t do it. I have a feeling that he would have given me a handshake for a lot less than $1500.

We played blackjack with play money. Loads and loads of fun.

Dallas needs us Okies descending on them for our conventions. It gives Dallasites a chance to check out the latest fashions.

See what I mean?

We had room service breakfast one morning. What a treat.

This is the spa, Sweetie tells me that there are all sorts of naked women on the other side of this window.

No need to sneak in the women’s room to see naked women. There were plenty of practically naked women out by the pool. This is the only picture I took the whole two days we sat by the pool. I didn’t hardly even take my camera out. I felt like a creep even thinking about it. Seriously ladies, cover up a little bit!! I can’t believe that I’m saying it.

We had fun playing shuffleboard. Turns out Sweetie is a cuthroat player. I’m not going to say she cheats or anything, you understand.

Oh yes, and had to stop and get stocked up on Fat Tire beer. The people who run Oklahoma are not going to let us be exposed to the evils of Fat Tire beer. Am I breaking a law transporting it across state lines? No wonder the helicopters were after us.

Our big old fat cat Chrissy was glad to see us. She spit up a hairball just for the occasion.

Speedy, my trail running buddy came by and wanted me to go run with him. I was too tired. One of these days I’m going to beat him. He breaks away too fast at the start for me to catch him.

So, what have you been up to?

How did you like the title of my post? I’m taking a cue from Michelle Bachman on making outrageous word combinations for fun and profit.

YogisDen.us

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