Failure, Victory, Housework, and Movies
Apr. 26th, 2008 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebToday I decided to take defensive driving, but the place it was to be held was not open. I guess I should have called first "for availability" like they said to. Doh.
Nearby was a SuperTarget (or whatever they call the ones with full grocery stores inside). So I dropped by. Inside I found the shy and elusive Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Muffin mix which I have heard so much about these last many years. I even know you are supposed to substitute apple sauce for the oil (don't worry--there's plenty of other oil in the mix). I've now been told to also add some extra chocolate chips. I have not yet made these; I'm just reporting my victory. (That's at the Target off northbound I-35 a bit north of Parmer; each muffin has 250 calories minus the oil calories plus the applesauce and extra chocolate chip calories).
Then I cleaned some, getting rid of a full paper grocery sack full of magazines and other garbage. That is good. There was also dusting, vacuuming, laundry, and the re-organization of socks.
Then a little nap.
Then we saw "District B13" (2004) where (by watching the "making of" extra) we learned the term "parkour" which has a wikipedia entry and everything. It's when you transport yourself in a direct way, using whatever you have at hand. This is very handy when you have a bunch of bad guys chasing you. You then suddenly might want to jump through windows, swing on ropes, jump off roofs, leap across chasms, climb up drainpipes, that sort of thing. I'm not explaining well, but there's some of this in "Casino Royale," too, and Jackie Chan can do this kind of stuff.
When I am practicing parkour, I do things like jump over puddles, climb on short walls to keep from having to walk through a puddle, walk in the grass instead of on the sidewalk, and slide across the floor in my socks. I have also walked across a creek on a log, climbed on one of the tall ladders at ruins of mesa-dwellers, and walked on the bed to get to the other side. I have been known to kick open a door (the kind you open with a bar across the front of it) when my hands were full or when I have just finished watching a martial arts movie. Okay, usually I just turn around and open it with my hip, I admit it.
"District B13" is set in the not-too-distant future where the authorities decide to wall in a ghetto that is just too violent to deal with. Then, one guy kicks major butt. Then another guy kicks major butt. Then they are forced to work as a team to save millions of lives. You know, your basic action movie. But the main characters are their own stunt men, and it's like the Olympics of stunt men. Totally awesome. Also, you get to practice your French and hear French rap. And think about important social issues. And see a nuclear missile aimed at the Eiffel Tower.
And did I mention jumping through an open window which had a rope hanging outside it and swinging around to the other side of the building? I'm totally hanging ropes outside all my windows now. Well, maybe not. Maybe just my window at work. Heh.
If you like action movies, I recommend this movie. If you don't get why people would like action movies, I recommend watching the first twenty minutes or so.
In other news, a movie scene was shot three houses down from my house today. We got a notice in our mailbox. Here's my favorite part: "The scenes being shot will be protest scenes, so there will be some chanting during the later part of the day."
In fact I did see a small crowd of people standing at the end of that driveway, alternately shooting the breeze with each other, all listening intently to one guy, or chanting and holding up picket signs. They were facing away from the street, so I don't know what the signs said.
There weren't a bunch of 1950's cars around or anything, so I guess they just wanted a smallish house for some reason.
Nearby was a SuperTarget (or whatever they call the ones with full grocery stores inside). So I dropped by. Inside I found the shy and elusive Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Muffin mix which I have heard so much about these last many years. I even know you are supposed to substitute apple sauce for the oil (don't worry--there's plenty of other oil in the mix). I've now been told to also add some extra chocolate chips. I have not yet made these; I'm just reporting my victory. (That's at the Target off northbound I-35 a bit north of Parmer; each muffin has 250 calories minus the oil calories plus the applesauce and extra chocolate chip calories).
Then I cleaned some, getting rid of a full paper grocery sack full of magazines and other garbage. That is good. There was also dusting, vacuuming, laundry, and the re-organization of socks.
Then a little nap.
Then we saw "District B13" (2004) where (by watching the "making of" extra) we learned the term "parkour" which has a wikipedia entry and everything. It's when you transport yourself in a direct way, using whatever you have at hand. This is very handy when you have a bunch of bad guys chasing you. You then suddenly might want to jump through windows, swing on ropes, jump off roofs, leap across chasms, climb up drainpipes, that sort of thing. I'm not explaining well, but there's some of this in "Casino Royale," too, and Jackie Chan can do this kind of stuff.
When I am practicing parkour, I do things like jump over puddles, climb on short walls to keep from having to walk through a puddle, walk in the grass instead of on the sidewalk, and slide across the floor in my socks. I have also walked across a creek on a log, climbed on one of the tall ladders at ruins of mesa-dwellers, and walked on the bed to get to the other side. I have been known to kick open a door (the kind you open with a bar across the front of it) when my hands were full or when I have just finished watching a martial arts movie. Okay, usually I just turn around and open it with my hip, I admit it.
"District B13" is set in the not-too-distant future where the authorities decide to wall in a ghetto that is just too violent to deal with. Then, one guy kicks major butt. Then another guy kicks major butt. Then they are forced to work as a team to save millions of lives. You know, your basic action movie. But the main characters are their own stunt men, and it's like the Olympics of stunt men. Totally awesome. Also, you get to practice your French and hear French rap. And think about important social issues. And see a nuclear missile aimed at the Eiffel Tower.
And did I mention jumping through an open window which had a rope hanging outside it and swinging around to the other side of the building? I'm totally hanging ropes outside all my windows now. Well, maybe not. Maybe just my window at work. Heh.
If you like action movies, I recommend this movie. If you don't get why people would like action movies, I recommend watching the first twenty minutes or so.
In other news, a movie scene was shot three houses down from my house today. We got a notice in our mailbox. Here's my favorite part: "The scenes being shot will be protest scenes, so there will be some chanting during the later part of the day."
In fact I did see a small crowd of people standing at the end of that driveway, alternately shooting the breeze with each other, all listening intently to one guy, or chanting and holding up picket signs. They were facing away from the street, so I don't know what the signs said.
There weren't a bunch of 1950's cars around or anything, so I guess they just wanted a smallish house for some reason.