40 by 40 Update: #36 Go to a Concert at the Library of Congress

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

36. Go to a Concert at the Library of Congress – NOT COMPLETED
Running Tally: $160.00 to charity.

The Library of Congress has an amazing concert series, lots of classical chamber music among other things, that is virtually free. I had tickets to go to 3 or 4 different concerts and didn’t make it to any of them. I really have a hard time going to concerts on weeknights.

40 by 40 Update: Go to a BSO Concert at Strathmore

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

35. Go to a BSO Concert at Strathmore – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $150.00 to charity.

I think this is the only performance-related goal that I met. The Strathmore is a lovely modified shoebox concert hall in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC. In my opinion it is much better aesthetically and acoustically than the National Symphony Orchestra’s home at the Kennedy Center. Very smartly the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra made this their home away from home and do a fairly full season of concerts here, tapping into the affluent suburbs of DC for a customer base that might be reluctant to drive the hour to Baltimore. The orchestra played well, the experience was very nice. We will definitely go back.

40 by 40 Update: #33 Streamline my Wardrobe

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

33. Streamline my Wardrobe – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $140.00 to charity.

This consisted mainly of getting rid of things that I would never wear or things that didn’t fit. I did also do a bit of comparing things to see what might go with what to extend flexibility and usefulness of what I already had. In addition I took a casual inventory to see what I might need or had too much of, and separated warm weather clothes from cool weather clothes. Even though I met the goal, it may be time to do it again.

40 by 40 Update: #32 Go to the Museum of Television and Radio

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

32. Go to the Museum of Television and Radio – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $140.00 to charity.

Back in December I made it to the Museum of Television and Radio, now called the Paley Center for Media. My main interest was in finding old television appearances by The Womenfolk. I only managed to find one, on a show called Dial “M” for Music. It was a really great show and the women sounded great. You can read about it here. I did a similar search at the Library of Congress and did manage to find more recordings of shows that included the Womenfolk. Unfortunately, at the LOC the recordings are on various tape media and you aren’t allowed to fast forward. This meant I had to sit through lots of boring variety shows waiting for the women to appear. On top of that, the performances were a little to canned to satisfy the show formats. The Dial “M” appearance that I saw first was by far the best. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.

40 by 40 Update: #31 Don’t Curse for Two Weeks

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

31. Don’t Curse for Two Weeks – NOT COMPLETED
Running Tally: $140.00 to charity.

I didn’t even try this one. I know I can do it, I just never tried. It is not like I curse like a sailor, but I wouldn’t mind cursing less or not at all. I am particularly amazed at how ubiquitous swearing is in public. It is unbelievable what kids are exposed to these days. I remember the first time I heard an adult use the F-word. I thought my eyes would pop out of my head. Now people use it anywhere and everywhere without regard to who might hear.

40 by 40 Update: #30 Finish Organizing My Recipe Files

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

30. Finish Organizing My Recipe Files – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $130.00 to charity.

I have a file system with recipes organized by ingredient (e.g., fish, beef, vegetables, potatoes, etc.) but also some that say more about type of cooking (e.g., quick meals, holiday baking, etc.). No doubt I will want to make further improvements to this system. But for right now it is as good as it is going to get.

40 by 40 Update: #29 Go Back to Ithaca for a Long Weekend

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

29. Go Back to Ithaca for a Long Weekend – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $130.00 to charity.

I loved living in Ithaca for two years while I was a grad student at Cornell. It awakened a latent (and unknown) desire in me to live in a small town. Of course Ithaca isn’t your typical small town. Set in the Finger Lakes region at the bottom tip of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is about a four and a half hour drive from Manhattan and about the same distance to Toronto. And with Cornell University and Ithaca College in town, there is an intellectual and artistic community that most small towns could only dream of. There are some town and gown issues, and it can get a little too crunchy granola sometimes (the home of the famous Moosewood Restaurant of the cookbook fame), but over all a really nice place. The views from Cornell’s campus are breathtaking and Ithaca has one of the best farmer’s markets anywhere.
Last August on our roadtrip we got to spend a long weekend there visiting our friends Joe and Leslie.

40 by 40 Update: #28 Go to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

28. Go the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $130.00 to charity.

The Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC is the most popular of the Smithsonian museums. Unfortunately, it is in real need of an update from all the use. Both the building and the exhibits are in really sad shape. The Udva-Hazy Air and Space Museum on the other hand is an enormous hangar-like branch out in Virginia right next to Dulles Aiport. It is a great place to go see the space shuttle, Concorde, the Enola Gay (dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima), the Blackbird (spy plane and fastest jet ever) and tons of other big pieces of machinery. They also have an IMAX theater and an observation deck where you can watch air traffic in and out of Dulles. It’s fun to watch a jumbo jet come in practically at eye level.

40 by 40 Update: #27 See Every Best Picture Oscar Nominee

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(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

27. See Every Best Picture Oscar Nominee – COMPLETED
Running Tally: $130.o0 to charity.

The nice thing about this goal was that we went to see films we might otherwise have skipped. The idea was to see all five of the best picture nominees before the Oscar telecast. The good thing is that most of the nominees were worth seeing. Over two years there was one of that I hated (There Will Be Blood), one that just wasn’t my kind of movie–too Hollywood (Benjamin Button), and two that I liked but didn’t seem Oscar-worthy (Juno and Milk).

The Academy announced recently that they were going to have 10 nominees for Best Picture, not just 5. I am glad I no longer have to meet this goal, because with 10 nominees there are bound to be lots more crappy blockbusters that I reall don’t want to waste my time on.

In 2008 the nomines were:

  • Atonement
  • Juno
  • Michael Clayton
  • No Country for Old Men – Winner
  • There Will Be Blood

This is what I said about the films back in February 2008:

1. No Country For Old Men.Violent and gruesome, not usually my thing, but an excellent film. Scary, chilling, well-paced, fascinating. All of the actors in this movie are fantastic. Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin all deserve high praise, but so do bit actors like Gene Jones in the role of the gas station owner and Kelly MacDonald as Carla Jean Moss.

2. Atonement. A literary costume drama, right up my alley. A fabulous movie. I found it captivating and clever, with some twists I didn’t expect. I also appreciated that it didn’t go for cheap emotion. Loved every minute of this film.

3. (Tie) Michael Clayton and Juno.Both are very good films but don’t necessarily seem Oscar-worthy. Of course if you compare them to that piece of crap As Good as it Gets discussed above, they are absolutely marvels of cinematic greatness. George Clooney seems incapable of making bad movies. I really enjoyed this film. I thought it was gripping and I thought Tilda Swinton was amazing. If she is up for an award she deserves to win for not over playing this character. Juno was leagues better than your average comedy but that bar is set so low these days that I think this one gets an Oscar nod because it reminded everyone that not every comedy has to dripping in treacle or be some cartoonish spoof of some 1970’s stereotype.

5. If I could, I would place There Will be Blood in 87th place.Perhaps there is some artistic merit to this yawner of a movie, but I wasn’t able to identify what it would be. Man, I hated this movie. It was glacial in pace about two hours too long, and totally uncompelling in any way. The characters didn’t inspire any kind of emotional reaction whatsoever. Not love, hate, compassion, pity…nothing. And it is no fault of the actors, although I do think that Daniel Day-Lewis sounded like he was pretending to be a
newscaster or something, I never never quite got used to his voice and accent. If you haven’t seen this one skip it. Or rent it as a cure for insomnia.

In 2009 the nominees were:

  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Frost/Nixon
  • Milk
  • The Reader
  • Slumdog Millionaire – Winner

This is what I said about the films back in February 2009:

I liked The Reader much more than I thought I would and I disagree with those who think that the movie did too much to exonerate Winslet’s character. I don’t think the film let anyone off the hook. Not Hanna, not the German people, not Ralph Fiennes character, no one comes out smelling like roses. It did an effective job portraying a situation that can have no happy ending or even meaningful resolution.

I thought Slumdog Millionaire probably placed second. I sobbed like a baby at the end. Not because the hero gets his true love, but because of the intense depictions of conditions in the slums of India. To think that people live in such dire circumstance all around the world and even to a certain degree in the U.S. is truly overwhelming.

Milk and Frost/Nixon were both excellent movies and were well executed, but as bio-pics I have a hard time thinking they are Oscar-worthy as films. Sean Penn definitely deserved his Best Actor win for the role of Harvey Milk and Frank Langella certainly deserved one for his portrayal as Nixon.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Eh. I enjoyed much more than I thought I would, but then again I was dreading having to go see it. The more I think about it the less I like the film. It had some redeeming qualities but overall it was a little too Forest Gumpy for my tastes.

40 by 40 Update: #26 Go a Month Without TV

ThomasLeave a comment

(Back in May of 2007 I noticed that a bunch of people in the blogosphere had created lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I was intrigued by the notion but felt I needed to change the parameters. So I created my 40 by 40 list. 40 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. Well on August 17th I turn 40, and I need to give $10 to charity for every uncompleted item. So it is time to see how I did.)

26. Go a Month Without TV – NOT COMPLETED
Running Tally: $130.00 to charity.

I came close on this one. I stopped about 6 days short of a month. I have gone long periods in my life without TV but in those cases I actually didn’t have a TV in the house. That makes a big difference. I also decided to forgo other time wasters like news and politics websites, Facebook, and Freecell. All of this might have been okay, but then John was gone for a week and I just got way too bored.

I still love the idea of having a media free month. But I think I will have to be tucked up in a secluded house/cabin/cottage somewhere with nothing but books and board games (and John). Trying to do it with everything swirling around you is a little tough.