Detour to the Grand Canyon

Yesterday I decided to take the scenic route home from Phoenix which, ironically, is actually faster than driving on the freeway through Las Vegas.  I found myself on Highway 89 on the way to Page, Arizona when I started seeing signs for the Grand Canyon.  Even though I was really tired (I was too keyed up from the concert the night before to go to sleep) and eager to get home, I spontaneously took the exit to go to the South Rim!  I spent a little more than an hour there and I only visited the viewpoints near the East entrance (I knew from experience that they wouldn't be as crowded as other areas) but it was pretty spectacular!

The pictures don't really do justice to how amazing the canyon really is!  It is quite awe-inspiring!  Even though it added about two hours to the drive home, I'm really glad I decided to visit the Grand Canyon.  Unexpected detours like this are one of the reasons I love taking road trips!

Note:  My last visit to the Grand Canyon was not as pleasant.  Apparently, I used quite a bit of profanity while dealing with the large crowds and lack of parking (or so my nephew tells me frequently!)

Queen + Adam Lambert in Phoenix

When my madness over the movie Bohemian Rhapsody was at its apex, I found out that Queen + Adam Lambert would be touring this summer!  I actually deliberated about getting a ticket for a little while because I knew it wouldn't be the same without Freddie Mercury but I ultimately decided to see them in Phoenix (the city closest to me) because I knew I would love hearing these songs played live!  I am so glad that I did because the concert last night was absolutely epic!  The show began with "Now I'm Here," "Seven Seas of Rhye," "Keep Yourself Alive," "Hammer to Fall," and "Killer Queen" one after the other.  Then Adam Lambert, who was absolutely fantastic, told us that he was clearly not Freddie Mercury and that nobody could take his place but he would do the best he could to honor him and the music he created.  The audience went crazy and they were with him the rest of the night!  He was in full diva mode, wearing a gold suit and black ruffled blouse (the first of six outfits), saying that he might not be Freddie Mercury but he was definitely a queen!  He then sang "Don't Stop Me Now" which got the arena rocking!  Then he gave an incredible vocal performance for both "Somebody to Love" and "The Show Must Go On."  The latter gave me goosebumps!  Next Roger Taylor sang "I'm in Love With My Car" (It's a metaphor Brian!).  Adam returned to the stage in leather from head to toe on a motorcycle to sing "Bicycle Race" then sang "Fat Bottomed Girls" and "Radio Ga Ga" with lots of audience participation with the claps!  One of my favorite moments of the evening happened when Brian May went to the end of the catwalk and played an acoustic version of "Love of My Life."  The audience held up the lights on their phones and sang along so it was very reminiscent of a scene in the movie.  It was simply magical!  Then he sang "'39" and was joined by Roger and Adam for "Doing All Right" with a lovely three-part harmony!  Adam sang "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and was joined by Roger for "Under Pressure" and then sang "I Want to Break Free."  Another favorite moment was during "Who Wants to Live Forever" because Adam sang it so beautifully that I had tears in my eyes!  Brian stood on a giant platform behind a screen which looked like a meteor surrounded by floating planets (he has a PhD in astrophysics) to play a guitar solo featuring Dvorak's New World Symphony.  It was amazing!  Adam came back to sing "Tie Your Mother Down" and then "Dragon Attack."  I was so excited that they played "Dragon Attack" because I had forgotten how much I used to love that song back in the day!  They finished their set with "Another One Bites the Dust," "I Want It All," and a very theatrical version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" which just about did me in!  Before the encore,  a video of Freddie leading the crowd through "Ay-Oh" during Queen's Wembley concert in 1986 appeared on the screen and we all joined in!  Of course they played "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" during the encore and they took their bows while "God Save the Queen" played!  This is a concert that I don't think I will ever forget and I am so glad I decided to get a ticket!  Even though it was a ten hour drive from SLC to Phoenix, it was definitely worth it!

Note:  I've driven to Phoenix just to see a concert once before but next time I think I'll fly!

Wild Rose

I didn't have a lot of interest in seeing the big new releases over the weekend so I opted, instead, for an independent film at my favorite art house theater.  I ended up seeing Wild Rose yesterday and I absolutely loved it!  Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) is a working class Scottish girl who has recently been released from prison.  She is trying to reconnect with her two young children, Wynonna (Daisy Littlefield) and Lyle (Adam Mitchell), who barely know her but she also wants to pursue her dream of becoming a country singer in Nashville.  Her disapproving mother, Marion (Julie Walters), wants her to forget about her music and take responsibility for her life and children.  She gets a job as a cleaner for a bored and wealthy woman named Susannah (Sophie Okenedo) who likes her voice and attempts to help her but Rose must ultimately decide what is most important to her.  One of the things that I liked the most about this film is that, while it involves a flawed character finding redemption (one of my very favorite themes), Rose finds her redemption in an unexpected way which makes a familiar story fresh and engaging.  Buckley is absolutely riveting in the role (I loved her in last summer's Beast) and I was especially impressed with her singing because she really lights up the screen when she performs.  Her performance at the end of the film is so poignant that I actually had a tear in my eye.  I also really enjoyed Walters as a mother who wants her daughter to avoid the mistakes she made but doesn't want to take away her hope.  I am not a huge fan of country music but I really enjoyed the music of Patsy Cline, Wynonna Judd, Tricia Yearwood, Bonnie Raitt, and Kacey Musgraves used throughout.  This is a feel-good movie that I highly recommend with the proviso that there is a lot of profanity (it is set in Glasgow, after all).

A Drive-In Double Feature

Sean and I have a fun summer tradition of seeing a movie at the drive-in.  We have been doing this for a few years and it is so much fun!  I have very fond memories of going to the drive-in with my parents when I was a kid and I'm glad that I can take Sean to one of the few remaining drive-ins in the country!  Last night we picked Spider-Man: Far From Home and Men in Black: International then got drinks, treats, and a ginormous bag of popcorn (we didn't even eat one fourth of it).  Sean really liked Spider-Man: Far From Home and I liked it even better the second time!  I still laughed when Peter thinks "Back in Black" is by Led Zeppelin!  Sean fell asleep during Men in Black: International and, while I liked it the first time I saw it, I was pretty meh about it the second time around.  It was a really fun night (we didn't have any weirdos around us this time) and I recommend seeing a movie at the drive-in if you have the opportunity!

Note:  Whenever I would go to the drive-in with my parents, I would try so hard to stay awake for the second feature but I would almost always fall asleep (like Sean did).  To this day, I have no idea how the movie Murder By Death ends!

Hanna Camping Trip 2019

My sister and her husband keep their trailer at a campsite near Hanna for the whole month of July.  They spend the Fourth, Pioneer Day (a holiday in Utah), and every weekend there.  They let family and friends stay there during the week and I always try to take advantage of that opportunity because I love it there!  It is beautiful and peaceful.  I was there most of the week and I spent my time reading and relaxing!

Every night I would make a big fire (my brother-in-law cut me a ton of wood from his property nearby) and sit near it until it got dark.  Sitting by a fire is probably my favorite part of camping.  I also made s'mores!

In the evening I would get in bed and read while listening to the river (it was running really high so I could hear it at night when the camp was quiet).  It was a peaceful way to go to sleep!

On my last night a big storm came through the campsite and it was actually quite relaxing to sit in the trailer and listen to the rain!

I had a wonderful time up in the mountains and I'm so glad that my sister and her husband let me spend a week in their trailer every year!

2018

2017

Summer Reading: Sometimes I Lie

I have a confession. I read every book on my summer reading list within the first three weeks of summer break! I have really enjoyed having uninterrupted time for reading and I have been staying up way too late (it's nice that I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn for school). When I started to write this review for Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney (which I finished weeks ago), I could not remember a single detail about the plot and I had to find a summary online to remind myself about it. That says all you need to know about this book! Amber is in a medically induced coma after a catastrophic car accident which she cannot remember. Even though she is paralyzed, she can hear voices all around her, including her husband Paul and her sister Claire, as she tries to piece together what happened to her. The narrative alternates between when Amber is in a coma, the events leading up to the accident which suggest that her relationship with her husband is troubled, and diary entries from her childhood which suggest that her relationship with her sister is troubled. Amber is an incredibly unreliable narrator so it is very suspenseful trying to figure out what happened to her.  Feeney also does a very good job of portraying Amber's claustrophobia at being trapped inside her own head. However, I did not enjoy the diary entries because I thought they were quite boring. They involve a huge plot twist that seemed to come out of nowhere and I had a very hard time suspending my disbelief for it. After this revelation and the events that follow, both Amber and Claire become very unsympathetic and I wondered why I bothered to care about either of them. There is an incredibly ambiguous ending which contradicts previous events so it is included merely for shock value. I hate it when authors throw in twists just for the sake of having a twist.  I found this book to be very unsatisfying and, obviously, forgettable.

Note:  Have you read Sometimes I Lie?  What did you think?

My Fair Lady at CPT

Last night I went with my Mom and both of my sisters to see My Fair Lady at CenterPoint Theatre and all four of us had so much fun (especially my Mom). This production is loverly! When Professor Henry Higgins (Andrew Heyward) and Colonel Pickering (Kevin Burtenshaw) encounter a flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Sarah Jane Watts) outside Covent Garden,  Higgins boasts that he could pass her off as a Duchess at the Embassy Ball within six months by teaching her to speak properly! Even though Eliza is a success at the Embassy Ball, she becomes a true lady when Higgins treats her like one. I was really impressed with the cast of this show. I am always amazed at the caliber of the talent that CPT is able to recruit because it is a community theatre and the actors are all volunteers. Watts is a delightful Eliza and her renditions of "Just You Wait," "Show Me," and "Without You" are feisty while "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" are incredibly joyful. I loved Heyward's characterization of the curmudgeonly Higgins. His inflections are hilarious, especially in "Why Can't The English?," "I'm an Ordinary Man," and "A Hymn to Him." His version of "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face" is so poignant that it brought a tear to my eye. My favorite actor in this show was Christian Lackman as Freddy Eynsford-Hill because he has a beautiful voice but he is also so funny. I always think that "On the Street Where You Live" is incredibly romantic but Lackman is absolutely twitterpated. His facial expressions made me laugh out loud. The choreography is a lot of fun, especially in "With a Little Bit of Luck" and "Get Me to the Church," and I loved it when Eliza dips Freddy in "Show Me." The set for Higgins' study is pretty spectacular, particularly the spiral staircase to the second level. Finally, the costumes are amazing! The black and white gowns in the "Ascot Gavotte" are quite elaborate and Eliza's gown at the Embassy Ball is simply stunning. Every aspect of this production is superb and I highly recommend it (go here to purchase tickets) but it closes on Saturday so you need to hurry!

Note: I have had lots of opportunities to see My Fair Lady this year!  I saw the Academy Award-winning film adaptation as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series and I saw the concert version performed by the Utah Symphony.

Echo in the Canyon

I have always vaguely felt that I was born twenty years too late because I really love the music of the 1960s.  When I heard the fabulous music in the trailer for Echo in the Canyon, I immediately put this documentary on my list.  I saw it last night and, even though I was the youngest person in the theater, I knew the words to every single song.  This documentary explores the development of folk-rock, the so-called California sound, by artists who lived in Laurel Canyon from 1964-1967 and how these musicians influenced each other and influenced generations to come. Jakob Dylan interviews Roger McGuinn and David Crosby of the Byrds, Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield, Eric Clapton of Cream, Ringo Starr of the Beatles, Graham Nash, Tom Petty, Jackson Brown, and producer Lou Adler.  They talk about getting together for epic jam sessions in living rooms and how certain songs inspired new songs.  My favorite anecdote came from Brian Wilson when he talked about how much Rubber Soul by the Beatles inspired the creation of Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys which, in turn, inspired Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  Interspersed throughout these interviews is footage of Jakob Dylan recording and performing songs from these bands with contemporary artists who were influenced by them: Fiona Apple, Beck, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, Cat Power, and Jade Castrinos.  The best part of this documentary is the music.  I loved the songs, both in their original form and performed by Jakob Dylan and others (I downloaded the soundtrack while I was still in the parking lot of the Broadway Theater) and my favorites were "Turn! Turn! Turn!" by the Byrds, "Monday Monday" and "Dedicated to the One I Love" by the Mamas and the Papas, "In My Room" by the Beach Boys, and "Expecting to Fly" by Buffalo Springfield.  I also really enjoyed Dylan's obvious reverence for these musicians in his interviews because he is my age and that is how I feel about them as well.  Can you feel nostalgia for music that was created before you were born?  If you lived through this era in music (or just appreciate it like me), I definitely recommend this documentary!

Ophelia

Two years ago I had some seniors who loved the play Hamlet more than any other other group I've ever taught.  We had some amazing discussions, most of which centered on whether or not Gertrude was complicit in the king's death and whether or not Ophelia deserved her cruel fate.  Because they were so interested, I brought my copy of Ophelia by Lisa Klein to class to see if anyone was interested in reading the story of Hamlet told from Ophelia's perspective and it was so popular that I eventually bought several more copies to keep up with the demand (one student asked for her own copy of it for Christmas).  When I got the information for the Sundance Film Festival that year, I was thrilled to see that an adaptation of Klein's novel had been made and that it was one of the films available for a student screening. So many students wanted to see this film that I eventually had to request more tickets and I even had to turn some of them away.  The students absolutely loved this film and cheered out loud at its conclusion!  It was so much fun for me to see their enthusiasm.  I enjoyed it as well so I was very excited to see it again last night now that it is in wide release.  In this version of Shakespeare's classic tale, Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) is an independent young woman who is ultimately able to triumph over what is rotten in Denmark.  I think this version of the story is entirely plausible with, as my students pointed out to me after our first viewing, lots of textual evidence to support it.  I especially enjoyed the characterizations of Hamlet (George MacKay), Gertrude (Naomi Watts), Claudius (Clive Owen), and especially Ophelia.  Hamlet is usually portrayed by an older actor with the gravitas to pull off such a demanding role but, according to the text, he is a young university student who is highly emotional over his father's death and his mother's remarriage.  McKay is the first age-appropriate actor I've seen in the role and I liked his melodramatic take.  Gertrude is one of the most enigmatic characters in literature (I've told my students that when I retire I want to write the story of Hamlet from Gertrude's perspective) and her motivation in this adaptation, namely that her fear of losing her youth and beauty is what makes her susceptible to Claudius' charms, really rings true.  Watts does a good job of showing her desperation and vanity.  There are hints in the text that Claudius is a duplicitous character even before the death of the king and Owen's portrayal is so menacing.  Ophelia is a pawn used by Polonius, Claudius, and Hamlet for their own ends in the play but there is a brief spark of rebellion when Laertes gives her advice about her relationship with Hamlet and she calls him a hypocrite for his own unscrupulous behavior towards women.  This rebellious spirit is emphasized in Ridley’s nuanced portrayal.  Many of Ophelia's most pivotal scenes in the play take on a new meaning and make more sense, most notably in the "get thee to a nunnery" scene and Ophelia's mad scene.  Finally, this movie is beautiful with visuals that evoke the classic painting of the drowned Ophelia by John Millais.  If you are a fan of Hamlet, I am sure you will find this movie quite intriguing and I recommend it.

Fourth of July in Hanna

I spent the Fourth of July with Kristine, Trent, and Sean up at our favorite campground in Hanna.  It was absolutely lovely up in the mountains and it was so relaxing.

We barbecued burgers for dinner and they were delicious.  I think everything tastes so much better outside!

After dinner Sean and I made our traditional flag cake.  I have made this cake every year since I was a teenager!

Sitting around the fire is my very favorite part of camping.

Of course we had to make s'mores!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday filled with fun, friends, and family!

Summer Reading: Something in the Water

I enjoyed Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman, the next selection on my summer reading list, very much. Perhaps I am beginning to sound like a broken record but I couldn't put this one down either! The novel begins very dramatically with one of the characters digging a grave to bury another one and I just had to know what happened to bring this about! Erin is a documentary filmmaker working on a project about criminals reintegrating into society after being released from prison, including Eddie Bishop a notorious crime boss. Her fiance Mark is a successful investment banker but he has recently lost his high-profile job. This necessitates a much more modest wedding than Erin had planned on but their extravagant honeymoon to Bora Bora is already booked so they decide to go any way. While they are scuba diving, they find something in the water which turns out to be a duffel bag containing enough money and diamonds to solve all of their financial woes. They decide to keep it and they set up a Swiss bank account to launder the money and attempt to sell the diamonds through Eddie Bishop. Of course, this decision brings about unexpected consequences and a few twists and turns along the way. After such a dynamic beginning, I found the first third of this novel to be a bit slow with a lot of details that didn't seem to be relevant to the story. Then the action becomes incredibly compelling and the seemingly random details, such as the minutiae surrounding Mark's job in investment banking, what it is like to fly first class, and Eddie Bishop's involvement in organized crime, become important and the tension escalates. I was very intrigued by the premise of the story, especially how easy it is to rationalize dishonest behavior and how easy it is to succumb to greed. It made me think about what I would do if I found myself in similar circumstances! Finally, I really enjoyed Erin's voice in the novel. At first I thought the writing was very haphazard but I eventually came to see Erin as an ordinary person in over her head and that made the dialogue seem more believable. I enjoyed her as a character as a result. This is an intriguing read that will keep you turning the pages until the end and I recommend it.

Note:  Have you read Something in the Water?  What did you think?

Midsommar

Despite the fact that I screamed out loud both times I saw Ari Astor's previous film, Hereditary, (I even knew what was coming the second time I saw it and I still screamed), I decided to see Midsommar last night.  I don't know why I do these things to myself because this movie is just as unsettling as its predecessor.  Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) have a precarious relationship because she is needy and he is emotionally distant.  Christian contemplates leaving her but, when Dani suffers a family tragedy, she is so traumatized that he stays with her out of guilt.  Dani learns that Christian is planning a trip with his friends Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren), Josh (William Jackson Harper), and Mark (Will Poulter) to Sweden.  Pelle has invited them to his remote village to observe a Midsummer festival that occurs every 90 years so they can conduct anthropological research.  Dani is distraught at the thought of him abandoning her so Christian reluctantly invites her along.  At first they find the festival to be enchanting but the pagan rituals become increasingly bizarre and then, ultimately, terrifying.  However, when Dani participates in one of the rituals, she eventually finds a release from her fear and suffering (and her toxic relationship).  What I found to be most interesting is that Dani is truly an outsider in this community, as Christian and his friends are anthropologists who have studied religious rituals, but she is the most accepting and respectful of it.  Although many of the practices are violent (a ritualistic suicide) or strange (a mating ritual), they all are driven by the cycle of life, death, and rebirth and have a certain logic which Dani ultimately embraces.  The fact that the most terrifying scenes take place in a beautiful setting in bight sunlight creates an atmosphere that is full of tension and the score adds to the sense of dread.  Pugh gives a mesmerizing performance as a woman consumed by grief and her look of exultation at the end of the movie is worth the price of admission.  This movie is incredibly difficult to watch (there was much nervous laughter in my screening) but it is brilliant and I am sure that I will be thinking about it for days.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Last night I spontaneously canceled my plans and ended up at a movie theater for a screening of Spider-Man: Far From Home.  It was a good decision!  In the aftermath of the events of Avengers: Endgame, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is mourning the loss of his mentor Tony Stark but he feels the heavy responsibility of being one of the few remaining Avengers.  All he wants to do is be a normal teenager and have a good time on his school trip to Europe and tell M.J. (Zendaya) how he feels about her.  Meanwhile, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) investigate a destructive storm in Mexico and discover that the Elementals, a group of four monsters who can channel the power of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, have come to Earth from a different reality and that Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) has come from that reality to fight them.  When the Water Elemental attacks Venice, where Peter and the other students have begun their trip, Spider-Man helps Beck, who is dubbed Mysterio, destroy it.  Nick recruits a reluctant Peter to help Beck fight the Fire Elemental in Prague and gives him Tony Stark's glasses which have an artificial intelligence known as E.D.I.T.H. that can access all of Stark Industries' databases and weapons.  After Mysterio and Spider-Man defeat the Fire Elemental, Peter turns down Nick's invitation to form a new Avengers team and gives up E.D.I.T.H. with dire consequences.  What I really liked about this movie is Peter's journey (literally and figuratively) of discovery.  In Spider-Man: Homecoming, he yearns for adventure and wants the excitement of being an Avenger but, in this movie, he now understands the consequences and is not sure that he is ready for the responsibility.  He is forced to find his own inner strength, without his mentor, to save the people he cares about.  I have always loved Holland in this role and he is even more endearingly awkward this time around.  Gyllenhaal is having so much fun as Mysterio and I thought he was a great character.  I also really enjoyed the action sequences, especially the virtual reality aspect of some of the battles, because they feel quite fresh for the MCU.  Finally, I thought this movie was absolutely hilarious because of the interactions between Peter and his friends, especially the relationship between Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Betty (Angourie Rice).  Having taken students on three school trips to Europe, I laughed out loud at just about everything Mr. Harrington (Martin Starr) and Mr. Dell (J.B. Smoove) said and did. I also laughed when Happy (Jon Favreau) played "Back in Black" and Peter said that he loves Led Zeppelin.  This movie is a lot of fun and it does a good job of bridging the gap between Avengers: Endgame and the future of the MCU (stay for the mid and end credits scenes).  I definitely recommend it!