Hi. The weekend was pretty good, but went by way too fast. Friday night I went and saw the new Wes Anderson movie, The Darjeeling Limited, at Alamo with the gang (Team Bloom, the Whiskeetos, Mandy, and Kellie Jo). I enjoyed the movie, and I'm sure (as with all Wes Anderson movies) I'll probably enjoy it even more upon subsequent viewings, but I will say that it felt very familiar, in terms of being a Wes Anderson movie. I'm still liking what the guy does, but at this point some of his stuff (both in terms of themes and technique) is starting to walk the thin line between being classic Wes Anderson material and just feeling repetitive (for instance, the themes of family and trust amongst family members, the use of characters who are devoid of cynicism, the use of 60's and 70's classic rock songs over slow mation shots, and even the cross section/mural-like rolling dolly shots). It feels like Anderson is carving out a very cult-like niche for himself, and I like the work that he's done, but his movies definitely have some overriding characteristics that bind them all together, and I'm kind of curious about whether Anderson is capable of making a different kind of movie (Woody Allen comes to mind as a filmmaker by way of comparison- I like his films, but you pretty much know what you're in for when you go to see a Woody Allen movie, and you don't expect him to stray very far beyond what the classic Woody Allen sensibility). Anyway, Darjeeling was good and definitely worth a look-see, but I think I'm getting to the point where it might be good to see him make something a little more outside of his comfort zone.
Saturday I got up and took Cassidy down to Gus Fruh for some exercise. I really didn't plan on getting in the water, this being October and all, but the sun and the wind were warm and Cassidy was looking for a swimming partner, so I got in for a bit. The water level has gone down a bit, but it was still more than adequate for cooling off.
I downloaded Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows. I really like it. It strikes a great balance between holding onto Radiohead's unique sound, while probably actually being a little more accessible than their last coupel of albums (it sounds funny to say their new album is more accessible than their last couple of hugely popular records, but repetitive listening has kind of made Radiohead's large audience forget how strange Kid A and Hail to the Thief sounded upon a first listen- even though they were great records). Anyway, I really like In Rainbows. Some of it sounds more straight ahead rock/pop, but it maintains great use of sound layering, computers combined flawlessly with acoustic and electric instruments, and, of course, Thom Yorke's haunting voice. Good stuff.
Saturday night I went to Cherry Creek and had catfish with Ryan and Jamie. Ryan and I watched some pretty awful version of Beowulf on the Sci Fi channel after dinner.
Sunday I got up and had breakfast with the kids, and then went on an unsuccessful clothes/shoes shopping expedition with Ryan. These big and tall stores are really geared more toward fat dudes than tall dudes, and I'm having a hard time finding a suit. We cruised around and ran errands, and I even stopped by a car dealership to look at cars (no, I'm not getting a new one immediately, but it's fun to look).
Last night we had a Mono Ensemble practice that everyone made it to, and it felt really good to be belting out some tunes with the band. It had been several weeks since we last played, and sometimes when we take a break I forget how therapeutic it is to make loud rock and roll with friends. We sounded pretty good considering we're getting back into playing songs we haven't done much since the beginning of last summer (the skate party put us in 80's music mode for awhile).

Not much else to report. Three UT students were found within Airmen's Cave and led to safety after an 11 hour retrieval operation. I guess that the three students were amateur spelunkers and just got lost in the cave. I saw a television interview with them after their rescue, and I was a little annoyed at how unapologetic and completely unhumbled these three students were after getting themselves lost. It took like a dozen people or more over 11 hours to get these numbskulls out, and the only thing they could talk about was how eager they were to go back into another cave. I guess I just wanted to hear them admit that they got in over their heads, and they should have probably brought an expert with them, but the kids seemed way more interested in assuring everybody that they knew what they were doing- an attitude which seemed patently false seeing as how they got lost and required rescue. I don't know, it just seems irresponsible to me to go crawling into a cave without a guide if you don't know where you're going or what you're doing, and then have to rely on the kindness (and tax dollars) of strangers to bail you out. Man, reading that, I realize that I sound like a grumpy old man. Oh well- those kids still kind of annoyed me.

Hope you guys are having a good day.