Day 41: Hiccup Or End Of Days?

The end of day forty-one and the start of day forty-two…  Not quite.
Morning weight:  315lbs.
I am now down “58/65”.  As in, 58lbs down from my fasting start weight:  373lbs, and 65lbs down from my highest weight ever (two days before I started the fast):  380lbs.  Today’s weight is a 3lbs decrease from yesterday’s 318lbs.  Only four more pounds until I reach the weight I “adjusted” back up from (re-taken ground).
And then I crashed and burned.  (Again, with the “drama queen”?)  My wife had coconut curry last night and had some left-overs in the fridge when I got back from some morning chores.  It was staring me right in the face and I weakened and had two tea spoons.  My God, it tasted soooo good!  The onions, mushroom and small piece of chicken seemed to explode on my taste buds.
And worse was yet to come…  My daughter is running for an elected position (on a community college board) and we were hosting her first “meet and greet” house party for the campaign in our home.  I was good at the kick-off party a few weeks ago, but I lost it today.  Psychologically, there are lots of reasons – in my own home, with family, nibbles (cheese, crackers, salami, and cookies), but the bottom line is exactly what my drill instructor used to repeat to me in Basic Training:  “I will listen to your reasons, but I will not accept your excuses!”  I didn’t go crazy and stuff myself, but over the course of the three hours I had a few samples of each.
And the lesson is:  expect weakness and carry a bottle of juice at all times or lay out a portion of veggie finger food (celery, carrots, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes) in case of a weakness of will power.
So now I will need to make a decision if this is going to be the end of the fast and I will transition into a diet tomorrow or if I will get back on the wagon and just consider this a hiccup.  I have enough veggie juice, ginger / mint tea, and watermelon juice to get me through the weekend.  I’m assuming with all the salt and sugar in the various nibbles that I’ll retain at least a couple of pounds of water (plus the weight of the actual solid food), which means I will probably regain the 3lbs I lost from yesterday.  Still it would be nice to reach my short-term goal of 310lbs if not a medium term goal of 299lbs.  The first was the goal I hoped for at the end of this fast and the 299lbs was the next goal I was hoping for from the first few weeks of dieting.
Alfred the Butler (speaking to Bruce Wayne):  “And why to we fall, Master Wayne?  …  So we can learn to get back up, again.“
At the end of the day, the thing to remember is the fast (and a specific weight) is not the goal.  The goal is to continue trying to get to a healthier relationship with food so my weight comes down as my health improves.
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On This Day In:
2022	A Little Of What’s Been Lost
2021	I Think They Mean It
	An Endless Stream (Homeward Bound)
2020	ITF (365) – Update
	Word Up! (Sussudio)
	My Fear: A Second More Tyrannous Term
2019	Reality And Imperfection
	Day 8: One Stone
2018	Pity The Nation (Part 1)
	Day 41: Hiccup Or End Of Days?
2017	Sharp-Edged Beauty
2016	Start, Keep, Finish
2015	Lifetime Friends
2014	Acknowledgement
2013	Longevity, Tenacity and Diversity
2012	What Reagan Really Cared About
2011	Seeming Sane (Or Not)

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Dueling Heroes

Batman v Superman (2016) –  movie review
Last Saturday I took my daughter Sarah to see the latest comic book movie:  “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice“.  The movie stars Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Superman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.  Wonder Woman is really only in a small role (screen time wise), but it is significant to the movie as the start of the Justice League.  Affleck is new to the role of Wayne / Batman, but was surprisingly much better than I anticipated given all of the negative reviews.  Cavill is reprising his role as Kent / Superman, and is still great in the role.
Is this a “good” movie?  Yes.  It is.  It’s not going to win anyone a best actor trophy and there are large parts of the movie which don’t make any sense, but it’s a movie about comic-book superheroes, so give me a break!  I enjoyed it.  It’s not a great “film”, but most (almost all) comic-book adaptations are not great films.  Who cares?  We don’t go to them for great acting or great dialog or great plot.  We buy our tickets for action, adventure, fantasy and special effects to match our imagination.  By this standard, BvS is entertaining and that is enough.
So, what is the movie about?  Basically, the movie is a marketing attempt to throw three super-heroes together to create a “team” so the industry can have a competing franchise to the Marvel Comic Universe.  The “team”, in this case, the Justice League, will then be able to spin out both League and individual heroes sequels.  If the medium proves as artistically deep as the comic book medium, movie studios will have created a money making machine which can span decades without ever having to come up with a “new” idea.  They just follow the bread crumb trail of the comics.
There is only one problem:  actors age and comic book characters don’t.  Well, they do, but on a factor of about one year for every 8 to 10 years (“real” years) of the reader’s life.  In the movies, this is handled by substituting a new (younger) actor in the next sequel or re-booting the movie series (again with a new – younger – actor) usually about ten years after the latest origin story.
The other way to deal with the age issue is to age the hero along with the actor.  This can work (see the “Die Hard“, “Rambo” and “Rocky” films), but more often, not really (see Christian Bale in “The Dark Knight Rises“).  The point I’m getting at is that Affleck’s older Batman, and more specifically Bruce Wayne, is better portrayed than Bale’s.  And, one step farther, I think this will bode well for future League sequels.
Now, some of you might ask:  what does any of this “really” have to do with this movie.  Probably nothing.  Just the meandering thoughts of an old comic-book reader…
So, final recommendation:  strong.  Standing on its own, it is entertaining.  And, if you don’t go see it, you won’t know what’s going on in the sequel.
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On This Day In:
2023	No Difference
2022	When Your World Seems Dark (Look On The Bright Side)
2021	Keep Looking
	It’s Feeling Good (Walking On Sunshine)
2020	Why Are So Many Of My Posts Simply Quotes?
2019	Two Books
2018	Prime Example = #45
2017	Building On
2016	Dueling Heroes
2015	Remarkable Creations
2014	Measured Faith
2013	April Fool, n.
2012	Faith, Ego And Patriotism
	As It Happens
2011	What Counts

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1010

Hello subscribers, casual readers and anyone else stumbling onto my blog today!
This is my 1,010th posting!  It’s a quirky number.  Very binary.  In the spirit of quirkiness, I thought I’d use it as the title…
Anyway…
Yesterday, I finally got around to seeing the latest Batman movie:  “The Dark Knight Rises“.  Of course I AM a big comic / movie adaptation fan so I have a natural bias to enjoying these types of films.  And I did.
The current Batman series (for want of a better term – the Nolan series) is all about redemption generally, and despair, hope and struggle specifically.  As such, this latest version is a great tying up of loose ends between the three movies.  Why do we fall?  So that we can get back up – and be better for it…
The third movie has a lot of political undercurrents in it.  There has been a lot of criticism about this in (mostly conservative) movie reviews.  While I recognize the complaints, it’s difficult for me to agree there is a causal relationship between current events (Occupy Wall Street) and this movie as I understand the movie was written and filmed well before the events of the last year.  That’s not to say the events might not have had some impact on the final editing, but who’s to say as a casual movie goer.
What did I like about the movie?  Well, excepting for a few fight scenes, this is really a Bruce Wayne movie (harkening back to the first movie).  As Batman is really “just” a normal man with no super-powers, I like this more even treatment of both sides of the main character.  I also liked the more in-depth exposition of the origin of the Bane character.  This is in contrast to the second movie where there was almost nothing about the Joker.  It’s obvious to me that Heath Ledger was FAR better as a villain, but then my criticism of the second movie was that it was a Joker movie, not a Batman movie.  This third edition is, I believe more balanced.
I also really liked (and was surprised by) Anne Hathaway as the “un-named” Catwoman and ultimate romantic interest.  I didn’t really “see” her in the role as I understood it (a bad-guy), but the change of the character to a misunderstood quasi-Robin Hood wanna-be seemed to make it – the role – believable for her.  In any case, I thought she brought the right amount of glamour, humor and sexiness to the role.
Most everyone else just filled out their normal roles, with Alfred (Michael Caine) being a little bit too soppy for my tastes.
A lot of the movies action sequences are unrealistic and there is one medical miracle, but hey, this is a comic book as well as a Hollywood movie, so the criteria is fun and entertaining, not realism.
Major criticism?  The sound editing is VERY bad.  In some parts of the movie, the characters speaking are unintelligible – particularly Bane.  Fortunately, I don’t think dialogue was the movie’s strong suit anyway (remember – comic book, action movie).
As such, I highly recommend this movie and look forward to adding it to my DVD collection when it comes out on sale.
And on to my next quirky post number…
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On This Day In:
2022	From Mountain Tops, Seashores And Under The Stars
2021	Learning Stages
	Sometimes It Only Takes A Smile… (Silly Love Songs)
2020	Come Laugh With Me
	Make Life Be Life To Me (Back In The High Life Again)
2019	For Your Consideration…
2018	Brown’s Rules
	Day 23: Fasting Visualized
2017	Still Trying To Make It
2016	One Lucky Man
2015	Food Change ==> Health Change
2014	10 Commandments Of Logical Arguments (Fallacies)
2013	Sociology Of The Future
2012	1010
	There In The Sunshine
2011	Not Enough Time

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