Off to see the Wizard!

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Wizard of Oz. To explain what it means to me and how it has affected me would bore you and take up too much space for a blog entry. At one time my book cases had an entire shelf dedicated to books about the Wizard of Oz movie (I never actually read the original L. Frank Baum book). Those books are gone now - given away when I moved.

Not long ago, I received an email from a nearby museum that was running a series of events connected with Oz. This triggered me to investigate a couple of books and authors; I downloaded several radio interviews to listen to on my commute. Because of this publicity, I learned about the showing of the movie for one week only in September to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the film.  Not only was this an opportunity to see a great film on the big screen, the film had been transformed into 3D!  And on large IMAX screen.  Since the initial reviews I read were very positive, I made up my mind to go.

Going to a movie sounds easier than it actually was. I don't go to the movies much anymore nor could I find someone to accompany me (to share the experience). However, I decided not to let that stop me. So I stepped outside of my comfort zone and went alone, by myself.

Of course, I had to have some popcorn. The cost of a small popcorn and soda was almost as much as the movie. And it is butter flavor liquid (which you had to apply yourself) rather than real butter. The small soda was more than I needed and by the end of the movie half was still left.

And so, it was off to see The Wizard. It was fantastic! I am so glad that I decided to go. I was in a theater that had a seating capacity of over 500. About 100 people were there. You wore the special glasses to see the movie in 3D (I wonder how this works with the Blue-Ray/DVD). The 3D was not gimmicky or bizarre but added depth. It also made even the backdrops look real. It felt like you were more in the movie.

If you are interested in finding out more about the 3D conversion, here are the links to a couple of good articles:

http://www.studiodaily.com/2013/09/converting-the-wizard-of-oz-to-3d/

http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/the-wizard-of-oz-imax-3d-conversion-1200610859/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324549004579067471635963230.html

After the movie, I borrowed the "annotated Wizard of Oz" book from the library. While I have browsed through it, I have not really dedicated myself to read the actual story. What I have found fascinating is the story of the author, L. Frank Baum, especially his views on religion. He was a proponent of Theosophy. And his mother-in-law was a prominent leader in the early feminist movement along with Susan B. Anthony

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum
http://thewizardofoz.warnerbros.com/#/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy

Crossed Up

Last evening, Richard and I attended the Home Opener football game at his new college (CCSU). Had a great time but it was probably not a good day for the Devils to be playing the College of the Holy Cross since September 14th is the Feast of the Holy Cross (aka "Exaltation of the Holy Cross").

Needless to say, the Holy Cross Crusaders slaughtered the CCSU Blue Devils:  52-21 (!).

While we had fun, it got pretty cold as the sun went down. When the score got to be so lopsided at the beginning of the 4th quarter, we left (for warmer territory). I was very impressed with the marching band, especially considering the relatively small number of musicians. This may have been the first time Richard has actually seen a marching band perform live.

Arute Field at CCSU.

This game was certainly not on the scale of those 100K stadiums.  The box score (see link) indicated attendance was 5122.  In the picture above, we sat in the second section from the left side (a few rows above the cheerleaders-we didn't know that when we selected the seats).  The student section and marching band sat in stands on the other side of the field. Richard said he'd like to try that next time.

Interesting food:  the usual hot dogs (though not as good as Hebrew National or Sugardale), candy, soda, water plus BBQ pulled pork sandwich (we didn't try this time) and frito pie (fritos with chili and black beans) which was real yummy.

As you came into the stadium, they passed out plastic devil's blue horns (that light up) to wear on your head. I should've taken a picture of that. Quite a site to see the student stands filled with points of blue lights.

Overall a fine time.

Afterwords, we stopped at a favorite pizza joint, Angelina's Pizzaria for a quick bite in a warm place. Then returned to Lynn's apartment to watch the last few innings of the Indians game.  The Tribe beat the Chicago White Sox: 8-1.

Links:

http://www.ccsu.edu/
http://www.holycross.edu/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Cross
http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1138
http://www.ccsubluedevils.com/sports/fball/2013-14/boxscores/20130914_pmy4.xml
http://biggestpizzainct.com/

Championship & MVP

Blue Devils are the Champs!
(Saturday September 14, 2013)

What a dilemma! My nephew's wedding in DC and Richard's roller hockey championship game on the same day. (Sorry Phil & Gina.)

Today was the second of the best of three games. Last weekend Richard's Blue Devils won a playoff game on Saturday (5-3) to advance to the Championship. The first game was the next day (Sunday September 8th). We won in Overtime 5-4. What a nail biter!

Sr. Pat, Lynn, and I were on hand to witness and cheer Richard on for today's contest.  The Blue Devils were in command the entire game and won 9-3.  Richard played very good and scored two (2) goals. In addition to receiving a championship trophy, Richard's coaches (Mark and Dean) award Richard the MVP trophy for his growth as a player, his dedication (attended nearly every game), and his contribution to the team.  Nice going!

Richard holding his trophies for
Championship and MVP.

Today's was Richard's last game in the "Junior" division since he aged out by turning 18. The new season starts next week.  The next division is adults and it is an entirely different scene. We are not sure if he can get on a team since there are reportedly not enough teams and games for the number of players. But we have some leads. Keep your fingers crossed!

My Visit to Lake Compounce

Click on map to see larger version.

Lynn and Richard invited me along today (Sunday 8 September) on a trip to "their" amusement park, Lake Compounce. They have season passes and go often during the summer. They've been visiting this park for years.  Today was "Bring a buddy Day."

The last time I was here was July 2009. I was more adventurous then and rode the roller coasters and more. This year I was feeling a bit off and not really ready to challenge the coasters. I am not a fan of getting dizzy and nauseous.

This year I rode the Sky Ride, American Flyers, Pirate Ship, and the Merry-Go-Round. I know, it sounds pretty tame. But look at the pictures of the Sky Ride. It was a half hour of terror! At the end, my knuckles were white from gripping the bar. But what a view.

Sky Ride - near the bottom.

Sky Ride - closer to the top.

The American Flyers was nice but I had a hard time climbing in and out of the car. The knees get stiff now, ya know?

American Flyers

The Pirate Ship turned out to be a mistake. I had ridden this before and had fun. But this time it gave me a nauseous headache. Perhaps it was the kids screaming behind us. It seemed to go on forever.

Pirate Ship

Lynn and I wanted to ride the train, but it broke down so we walked instead. They also have a real trolley but it is quicker to walk (and we've ridden a trolley before).

The last "ride" Richard and I went on (Lynn doesn't ride the rides) was the Merry-Go-Round. We sat on the horses that go up and down. Some people didn't know that there are horses that move and also static horses. It was humorous to see them wondering why the horse wasn't going.

Merry-Go-Round

Go FAST!

Richard also did a few rides on his own. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day that turned out to be delightfully warm. Nice to be together.

Links:

http://www.lakecompounce.com