Dutch Oven Cook Out

I really love cooking outdoors in Dutch ovens but I haven't done it for a long time.  I thought fall would be the perfect time to make a fruit cobbler.  I went to one of my favorite picnic sites in Millcreek Canyon Friday afternoon and made some.  The recipe is so easy!  In a 10-inch Dutch oven, pour a can of pie filling in the bottom (you can use any fruit that you like but I used cherry in this cobbler), then sprinkle a yellow cake mix over the fruit, and pour a 12 oz can of lemon lime soda over that.  Place the Dutch oven on some charcoal briquettes and then place 10-12 briquettes on top of the lid.  Let it cook for about 45 minutes or until it is bubbly.  I packed a lunch and read my book while it cooked and it was so nice to be in the canyon.  The temperature was brisk but not too cold (there were a lot of people hiking in the canyon) and I loved walking through all of the leaves on the ground.

It was such a nice afternoon.  The cobbler was absolutely delicious and I got to check off another item on my fall bucket list!

Fall Drive

Thursday morning I happened to be in American Fork getting my car serviced so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to drive the Alpine Loop between American Fork Canyon and Provo Canyon.  It is one of my very favorite fall drives and it was just beautiful.  The temperature was brisk but not too cold and the smell of decomposing leaves was intoxicating.  I had a lovely time driving the switchbacks with the window rolled down and I got to check another item off my fall bucket list!

The Hate U Give

A lot of my students are reading the best-selling Y/A novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas so I decided to see the movie adaptation last night.  Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) lives in the poverty-ridden and gang-controlled neighborhood of Garden Heights but she attends a prep-school in the wealthy Williamson area.  She suppresses who she really is in order to fit in at her white school but tries not to alienate her black friends.  One night she and her childhood friend Khalil (Algee Smith) are pulled over for a routine traffic stop and a white police officer fatally shoots Khalil.  Starr witnesses the entire incident and, when the police officer is not immediately charged with the shooting, she faces pressure to testify before a grand jury from an activist group.  She fears that testifying will draw unwanted attention which will affect how people view her at school and she is threatened by a gang leader because testifying could reveal that Khalil was selling drugs for the gang.  Ultimately, Starr realizes that she must use her voice to stop the cycle of hate.  This movie is intense and incredibly powerful with an amazing central performance by Stenberg and some strong supporting performances by Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Anthony Mackie, and Common.  It was sometimes difficult for me to watch but what I liked most about this movie is that it emphasizes so many different perspectives (the scene between Starr and her uncle, who is a cop, just about brought me to tears) and doesn't seek to vilify any one particular group.  The message that hate is what divides people really resonated with me and I think this is a movie that everyone needs to see, especially young people.  I highly recommend it.

Halloween

Last night I checked off another item on my fall bucket list by seeing the new Halloween movie.  It is a direct sequel to the original 1978 Halloween movie and disregards all of the other sequels that have been made over the years (which is a good thing because I haven't seen any of them).  It has been 40 years since Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) survived an attack from Michael Myers (Nick Castle) on Halloween.  She suffers from PTSD and lives in a fortified compound where she has relentlessly prepared herself in case of another attack.  She has a troubled relationship with her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) who both think she should leave the past behind.  Myers, who has been incarcerated at Smith's Grove Sanitarium, escapes when he is being transferred to another institution and begins committing more grisly murders on Halloween, including Allyson's friend Vicky (Virginia Gardner) who is babysitting (in a nod to the original movie).  He is pursued by his psychiatrist Dr. Ranbir Sartain (Haluk Bilginer), who has become obsessed with him, and Frank Hawkins (Will Patton), an officer on the original case forty years ago.  However, Myers ends up at Laurie's compound in an epic final showdown as she tries to protect her daughter and granddaughter.  What I liked most about this movie is the character of Laurie Strode.  I think it is entirely believable that she would be suffering from PTSD and that she can't leave the past behind until she faces Myers again. I also liked the added element of having Laurie fight for her family.  While the killing spree is scary, I think the final confrontation between Laurie and Myers is incredibly suspenseful and terrifying, especially as she stalks him throughout her house.  Jamie Lee Curtis is fantastic in a role where the victim is as psychologically damaged as the killer.  Finally, for fans of the original movie, the same theme music (updated and remixed) is used throughout and the same instantly recognizable orange typography is used in the opening and final credits.  This is not necessarily the best horror movie I have ever seen (I think the original is a lot better) but it is pretty good and I definitely had a lot of fun seeing it at a late night screening with a rowdy crowd.

Thriller 2018

I have not been doing very well with my fall bucket list because I have only checked off two items!  Now that I am on fall break I'm sure that I can get a few more items checked off during the long weekend.  I started with ODT's production of Thriller last night.  This Halloween-themed dance extravaganza is one of my very favorite holiday traditions and I have been looking forward to it all month!  Even though I have seen most of the dances more times than I can count I really love the the old favorites including the undead cavorting in a graveyard to Michael Jackson’s iconic song “Thriller,” a breakdancing mummy and his maidens in “Curse of the Mummy,” a Pas de Deux gone horribly wrong in “Frankenstein & Frankenstein,” tap dancing skeletons in "Dem Bones," a trio of chainsaw wielding Jasons in "Jason Jam," scarecrows that are not what they seem in "Children of the Corn," a coven of witches seeking vengeance from beyond the grave in "Salem's Mass," demonic dolls in "Chucky-Rama," acrobatic vampires in "Lost Boys," and doomed Irish dancers in "River of Blood Dance."  I eagerly anticipate every dance, especially the opening number, "Salem's Mass," and "Lost Boys."  This year there were several new numbers performed by the dancers in Odyssey 2.  My favorite was a high-flying Harry Potter in "Dementor's Kiss."  Like last year, there were several numbers in between the dances performed by the artists from Aeris Aerial Arts.  They were all very cool but my favorite was "Full Moon" featuring seven aerialists performing on a giant spinning globe.  I didn't really like the comedy act of Giggle Girl because she was super annoying (where is Bubbles the Clown?) but I loved everything else and I had so much fun at this show!  It just wouldn't be Halloween without it!  This show runs at Kingsbury Hall and many other venues throughout Utah and Idaho until Oct. 30 (go here for tickets and information).

Note:  If you go to the show and see any of the undead roaming about, do not make eye contact!  Trust me on this!