Friday, December 5th, 2008
A long, long time ago, a gift was given to me by my mother. Now, I know what you are thinking…sometimes “mother” gifts make too much sense. Many times, as kids, we receive needed things like clothes, tools or even food. I always did like the food. You know, the stuff I didn’t really eat the rest of the year?
Kids usually like bicycles and toys. I feel guilty every time I send my nieces and nephews a check in the mail, but the way I think about it is that one day they will appreciate the money more than the toy that is sitting up in the attic or in the garage. Yeah, someday…like the day they are looking through the Barron’s college book before their freshman year.
Back to the gift that was given to me, and really, this was one of my favorite gifts. It was the “The Chronicles of Narnia” book set, written by C. S. Lewis. The set consisted of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew and The Last Battle.
I think I was a little older when I received the set, so the books made much more sense to me than if I had read them when I was younger. Actually, I think I did read them when I was younger, but forgot about them. See what I am talking about?
Like so many other fans of C.S. Lewis out there, I like the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the best…by far. The reason for this was the magic and mystery of it all. All of the books are fairly short, but the first one left many of us wondering about places like Narnia. It captivated the imagination.
The remaining books read much more like regular stories. It wasn’t like the TV show “Lost,” where the mystery remains throughout the entire series and is continuous, it was much more like Harry Potter, where each book (or movie) was each and unto their own.
Either way, I love the set and I always enjoy reading or watching anything that has to do with Narnia. For that reason, we recently sat down to watch the movie, Prince Caspian. I liked it so much, I thought I would give it a little review of it here.
Okay, I am going to give two ratings, one for what the movie is and one for what the movie could have been.
What the movie is - 10
What the movie could have been - 4
Let me explain.
This movie was really great. When I sat down on the couch and got comfortable, I was quite excited. When things began, I was stunned at how vivid the graphics were and how clear the picture was. The actual plot was good, but I already knew what happened from reading the book. The soundtrack was awesome. It had all the makings of something like “Lord of the Rings.” Well, at least it could have had the makings of that trilogy.
The reason I gave such a low second score is because I wish the makers of this movie explored a whole lot more. There were ample opportunities to do so.
Now, I know the rules…those who make the movie need to follow the book. There are probably negotiated guidelines to follow. I just think this movie had the chance to be made into something like a trilogy like the one I mentioned above. Half the movie could have been spent on the kids sitting in the train station and the other half could have been spent exploring the White Witch. These were areas that didn’t get very much attention at all.
About half way through this movie, I felt as though things were being rushed. There were parts where the creators could have really analyzed what was happening, but instead, they kinds of glossed over them. I don’t blame them because the show had to come to an end at some point, but I feel many important details weren’t appreciated.
Overall, I am not sure I can offer any suggestions to better the movie as it stands. I just wish there was more of it, and I guess that’s not such a bad thing.
Related posts
Posted in Entertainment | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
My buddy called me up yesterday morning and wouldn’t take no for an answer when he asked if I wanted to play tennis last night. I tried to explain to him that tennis was part of my morning routine, but as hard as I tried to speak, there was this little nagging urge to smack a tennis ball as hard as I could across the court. It truly is an addiction, as well as this sort of aggressive release.
A few days ago, I began hitting with a full Western grip. I know, that seems to be the grip that high school kids use to get more spin on the ball. Perhaps that’s why it feels so good for me…I used it years ago when I used to play. The Western grip puts a large amount of topspin on the ball and makes you feel really good when you hit the perfect shot. It also speeds up the gameplay and gives the rally kind of a resulting rush. There is a small problem with using that grip though…broken strings.
The day I started using this new grip, I broke my strings. Good thing I have a backup racquet. They are both made by Prince, so they feel quite similar. The biggest difference between them is the price.
The reason many people break their tennis racquet strings by using the full Western grip is because the strings act as little “saws” against one another. When the racquet is strung with less tension, the strings are more free to do as they please. The tension of the strings lets them slide more easily.
Needless to say, I had to get the racquet restrung. As soon as I broke the strings, I ran up to the front desk and handed the racquet to the desk person. There is a fellow who comes by every morning to do racquet stringing. It’s not like me running up to the front desk made any difference…the guy comes by every morning, and I had already missed that day’s pickup. I ran because I had to get my backup racquet out of the car and I was in the middle of a lesson.
When I showed up for last night’s match, I had a little surprise waiting for me. It was my racquet all repaired and ready to go. This time, I had it strung at 63lbs, instead of 58lbs. Lower string tension offer slightly more power and less stress on the arm. Higher string tensions offer significantly more control and slightly better spin. I like control, so I went with the latter.
Back to the match…I have to say, my buddy and I are improving tremendously. He has such motivation and I just love the game. It’s like golf…it’s one of those sports that you will never be great at, and that’s what keeps you going.
We had a great match and are getting much closer with scoring. I would say that out of the 18 games we played, about half of them ended up at deuce, which made winning them even more exciting for the both of us.
It was a great night and we both had a lot of fun playing.
I think I am going to stick to my morning playing from now on. It’s really fun getting out there at night, but that’s when I work a lot and it’s hard to tear myself away from what I get myself into at times.
Related posts
Posted in Recreation | No Comments »
Saturday, September 13th, 2008
I know, I know, you have been getting “Jay’s Blog withdrawal.” I haven’t written in a few days. It’s not because I don’t love all of you, it’s just because I have been a little tired.
Ever since we got this Bowflex and I started playing tennis again, it seems as though I am constantly sore. I mean, my muscles are always in recovery. My shoulder hurts, my back hurts and I think I pulled a butt muscle.
The muscle injury in my shoulder is from twelve years ago when I “over served” a few days in a row. I was so thrilled that I could actually serve, that I went to the club day after day to practice. Well, lets just say that I must have served about a thousand balls. I am not sure I even got any better. If today’s playing is any indication, I didn’t. Oh well, it’s working itself out, with the help of some Motrin and ice.
I remember when I could do a good workout and then go back and hit the gym the next day. I am trying that now, but unfortunately, it’s not the same. Apparently, it now takes two and a half weeks to recover. Maybe that is exaggerating a little bit, but for any of you over 30 years old, go out and get drunk. Then, come back here and tell me how long it took you to recover from that. My point is that we are falling apart. That is why I am trying to stay in shape as best I can.
I have now been to two tennis clinics and have had two private lessons. I learned a lot in yesterday’s lesson, only to apply none of it in today’s clinic. I don’t know what happened. I guess I am going to have these kinds of days. Tomorrow, I am going to hit with a youngster from the club. He is a really cool kid (17 years old) and is going to kick my butt. He has been playing since he was four years old. His father is the pro that gave me yesterday’s lesson. I think he is pretty lucky to get free lessons for life. I told him that today. Tomorrow, we are just going to hit back and forth, with no games. He is great at giving advice too, which I appreciate.
At least I am now learning the proper way to hit a tennis ball. After all these years of playing tennis, I never actually had a real lesson. I mean, I guess I had a few lessons over at the town beach when I was like five, but those don’t count. These are real, hour long tennis lessons. I walk away actually thinking I might get better.
Now to the point of this blog post. I have been using the same tennis racquet since I was 21. It’s one of those cheap ones from some store like Jamesway or Caldor. I am not even sure where I got it. I have been using it with some success, but thought that since I am going to need to get it restrung soon, I may as well get a high quality racquet to play with. I tried a few different racquets at the club and there is a huge difference in quality and playability.
A few days ago, I ordered a new Prince O3 Speedport Black Team tennis racquet and received it today. It’s the latest from Prince. I did a lot of research on different racquets and am hoping this is the one.
Here are the specs:
- Length: 27.0”
- Headsize: 100 sq in
- Cross Section: 23-24-22mm
- Weight: 9.9 oz/280g unstrung
- Balance: 13.6 in/34.5 cm, 1 pt. Head Heavy
- Grip: DuraPro+
- Rec. Strings: Syn Gut w/ Duraflex 16
- Power Level: 975
- Swing Weight: 295
- String Pattern: 16 x 19
If you notice in the photos above, the great feature of this racquet is the “Os” on the sides, where the strings go through. These “Os” are supposed to make the racquet more aerodynamic. When I read that, I said, “Yeah right.” Well, as is turns out, you can actually hear the wind whistle through the racquet when you swing. It cuts through the air much easier than my other one.
I had this racquet strung at 57lbs, which is too loose. The recommended stringing tension is 58lbs, plus or minus 5. 57lbs is too loose for me and I may play with it for a while and then cut the strings out to get it strung tighter. We’ll see. I can always wait for them to break too.
I am going to give this racquet a try tomorrow and let you know how it plays.
Related posts
Posted in Recreation | 1 Comment »
