Two Down

I'm almost done getting this fence line cleared.  I got out this morning before it got too hot and cut down the second of the three privet trees.

I still need to move some of the detritus to the brush pile, but that's going to have to wait.  I was already whooped. 

By the time I got this much done, I was so soaked with sweat I had to come in and take a shower before I could even do the housework.  If I hadn't, I think the clean sheets would have been dirtier than the dirty sheets before I'd even gotten them changed.   But I think I have enough cleared to call the surveyor and get the property lines marked.  Then I can call the Fence Guys...and I'm sure you're tired of hearing about my fence.

In fact, I was kind of wavering on even getting my fences replaced due to the economy being so bad and all. What if I spend all that money on the fence, then get laid off or something and wish I had it back?  I don't think that will happen, but even so.  However, this morning when I was out clearing this stuff out, I heard a car door and instantly went on high alert and my first instinct was to hide.  That just solidified my desire for a privacy fence.  I can piddle in my yard without feeling like I've constantly got to look over my shoulder. 

After all that, since I'd already taken a shower, I couldn't really work outside any more, so I watched movies and knit. I finished this headband 

after having to start completely over on it.  I don't know what I did, but somehow I miscounted my rows, or didn't move a stitch marker, but they two sides weren't coming out even.  No biggie.  Two episodes of The Office and one of Time Team and I was right back to where I started. 

Even better, I've got the pattern worked out for an 88 stitch cast on, and I like the results.  Now I can make them in two sizes. In the meantime, I cast on another hat.  

It is Red Heart, obviously, in the colorway celery. I think I have enough for at least two hats, and maybe a headband or two.  

I watched Saving Private Ryan again, and I wasn't any more impressed than I was the first time.  I mean, the opening sequence about D-Day was the best part.  The rest was pretty meh.  Then I watched Miracle -- about the 1980 Olympic hockey team.  

Even after all this time, hearing Al Michaels call

Do you believe in miracles?

Still gives me goosebumps.  

Say, here's a fun bit of trivia for you.  When Al Michaels was recording the audio for the movie, they gave him a script of what he'd said.  However, he just couldn't replicate the emotion of that line, so they cut in the actual audio from the game broadcast.  Here's another fun bit of trivia for you.  Buzz Schneider, a member of that hockey team, was played in the movie by his real life son Billy.  

Pretty cool, huh?

Horse Racing Movies

I know it's been a long time since I posted one of my sports movie reviews, but finally I get to the third installment--horse racing movies. I know there are a lot of them out there, but here I've chosen to review the three most recent ones I've seen.

1. Dreamer--Based on a true story, this movie stars Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, and Kris Kristofferson. The target audience seems to be 8 year old girls who spend their free time and money collecting My Pretty Pony (or whatever they're called) dolls and Saddle Club novels.

The story centers around an up and coming racing filly, named Sonador--which means Dreamer in Spanish. (Isn't it funny how they all have to have foreign names in these types of movies?) One day, this filly breaks her leg on the track, and the owner orders the trainer (Kurt Russell) to euthanize the horse. The trainer, however, had just happened to pick that particular day to bring his young daughter to work with him. The trainer refuses to kill the horse in front of his little girl, so the owner fires him. The trainer then buys the horse and takes her home with him, where--wonder of wonders--she makes a complete recovery. Didn't see that coming, did we?

The trainer still doesn't have a job, though, and money gets tight, they can't afford to feed a horse, so he sells it. Enter grandpa (Kris Kristofferson) who takes his life savings out of the coffee can (literally) and gives it to his son to buy the horse back. Which he does, and gives her to--guess who--the little girl. What the movie doesn't explain is how they suddenly found enough money to feed the horse. The little girl decides to train the horse and enter her in the biggest horse race of the year, the Breeder's Cup.

Overall, I found this movie to be so syrupy sweet and so nauseatingly predictable, that I didn't even need to watch it to know what would happen. I seriously doubt that, unless you are that 8 year old girl with the My Pretty Pony collection and the shelf full of Saddle Club books, you will enjoy it either.


2. Seabiscuit --They said he would never win, this grandson of Man O' War. he was too small. His jockey was too big. He was a poorly proportioned, short legged, ugly horse. What they didn't count on was the size of his heart.

He wins. He wins consistently. He captures the heart of the Nation, then tragedy strikes. No, the horse doesn't break his leg. The jockey does. He is told that he will never race again. Nobody counted on the size of his heart, either.

Based on a true story (loosely, as all Hollywood productions seem to be), this movie stars Jeff Bridges and Tobey McGuire. It is well produced and the acting, with those names, is superlative. Because it is a true story, we know how it ends, but the movie is engaging enough to keep you on the edge of your seas. If you are a fan of horse racing--especially its history--you will enjoy Seabiscuit. If not, you may find it just a bit dull.


3. Ruffian--I remember The Great Match race, and all the hype surrounding it. I remember watching the race. Traitor to my gender, I wanted Foolish Pleasure to win, but only because I was more familiar with him. I'd never heard of Ruffian. Fillies didn't get much news coverage back then. They still don't.

I got very anxious during the race because it seemed that the filly was winning. Suddenly the colt seemed to leap forward and pull away. I was so excited that he'd won! Until I realized how he'd won. Why he'd won. It was a hollow victory. In my mind, even to this day, he didn't really win that race.

The movie tells the story of that race, and the events leading up to it. Because it is an ESPN production and not a Hollywood film, that's all it tells. There are no sub plots--no secondary stories. Nobody's alcoholism, nobody's extra-marital affair, nobody's poverty stricken family down in Central America is dragged into the movie. It's about the horse and her people. And that's all.

Don't think this means it's lacking in quality, though. Not a bit. The movie is very well made, and the acting superb. On the day of The Great Match Race, they were able to convey both the excitement of the occasion and a sense of somberness. Anticipation mingled with foreboding. You just knew something bad was going to happen.

As the movie continued, and the race progressed, I found myself hoping beyond hope that history would somehow revise itself and the race would have a different outcome. But it didn't. Everything in the movie happened exactly the way it happened in real life.

I didn't cry when I was a child. I can't make that claim this time.


Previous posts in this series:

Hockey Movies

Basketball Movies

Basketball Movies

I know I said previously that I would review baseball movies next, but I changed my mind. I decided to do basketball movies, because I've seen fewer of them. Really, I've only seen three. All of them are based on true stories.

Hoosiers: It's been many years since I've seen this one. It is a pretty predictable movie about a new coach coming in to lead an underdog high school basketball to the state championship. I don't really remember much about it, but I remember that it was a fairly good movie.

Believe in Me: The story of a man hired to coach a boys basketball team in a small Oklahoma town in the 1960s. However, when he reports to his job, he discovers that the man who hired him has had a heart attack, and the man who replaced the guy has given that job to his nephew. The coach is told that he can either be an assistant coach (with the appropriate cut in pay), or he can coach the girls team. He reluctantly takes the job of coaching the girls, only to discover that it's a whole different ball game. Not only does he have to learn how to coach girls, but he has to battle a school board which believes that girls athletic programs are a waste of time and money. "Girls don't get scholarships. Girls don't draw crowds, " he is told, but he doesn't let that stop him. This is a good, clean family movie, with very little profanity and a good message.

Coach Carter: This is by far the best of the basketball movies I've seen. Coach Ken Carter is hired to turn around the boys basketball team in Richmond, California. When he gets there, he makes the boys sign a contract stating that they will maintain a certain GPA, attend all classes, sit in the front row, and wear a suit and tie to school on game days. Well, he gets the team to winning, only to discover that the boys are still failing, still cutting classes, and still getting into trouble. In a highly controversial move, Coach Carter padlocks the gym doors and forfeits the next game. He is finally ordered to remove the padlock, which he does, but what happens next may surprise you.

Now I'm not normally a huge basketball fan, but I did enjoy these three movies.

Sports Movies

With football in the throes of the off season, and hockey winding down (I don't watch hockey--I just put that in there for Buck), I've been getting my sports fix from watching movies. I thought I'd share some of my favorites. Now, keep in mind that there are a lot of movies I haven't seen yet, and some I just didn't like. This list is by no means exhaustive. It's just a few of my favorites.

Now, I don't watch hockey, but there are a couple of hockey movies I liked. In honor of the Hockey championship series (what's that called again?), I thought I'd start with them.


Mystery, Alaska-- In the town of Mystery, Alaska, in the winter there is only one thing to do. Play hockey. Every Saturday, the residents gather to play hockey and socialize at their small pond across from the school. The Saturday Game has been a tradition in the town for several generations. It has evolved to the point that the city council actually decides who gets to play, and on which team. All this changes when one resident of the town gets a job with a major sports magazine. He writes an article on the town and its tradition of the hockey game. Before they know it, the residents of the town have been set up to play an exhibition game against the New York Rangers. The outcome of that game changes the town forever. WARNING! This is NOT a family friendly movie! It could have been, had the writers not been so prolific with the f-bomb, and if they'd left out the affair which was totally irrelevant to the plot anyway. If you can overlook that, it is a good movie. I enjoyed watching it.

Miracle--My favorite of the hockey movies I've seen, Miracle is the true story of the 1980 Gold Medalist Olympic Hockey team. No spoilers in this review, since we know how it ends anyway. What makes it a good movie is watching how the players come together. How they move from being just a bunch of hockey players to being a hockey team. The "Who do you play for?" scene is absolutely stunning. It ranks right up there with the Do You Believe In Miracles? scene. Almost... Yes, its' a Disney movie and is rated PG, but don't let that stop you. It's worth the watch.

Next time: Baseball movies.