Ender's Game - Review

Disclaimer: I have never read the books that were the basis of the movie and therefore I cannot comment on whether the movie accurately represents the story or not. 

The trailers for Ender's Game intrigued me. They suggested a complex story set in a future time when the existence of the planet was at stake and the best and brightest called upon to defend civilization were our children. I decided that I wanted to see this movie on opening day because it had been a while since I had treated myself to being some of the first to see a new release.

The movie did not disappoint. It should be a blockbuster, but the difficult story and the mania surrounding the personal views of the writer, Orson Scott Card, will likely keep many people from viewing the movie. Asa Butterfield as Ender Wiggin and Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff created the intriguing interplay between characters that movies demand to be successful. The story is complex and the character development sufficiently detailed to make the ending of the movie not only plausible, but necessary.

The story follows Ender Wiggin, the hero, a newly recruited member of a battle school designed to train young people to prepare to war with a deadly alien force that 50 years ago almost destroyed Earth. Ender finds himself often alienated and must overcome incredible pressure from seemingly every person he meets. The development of his life and family relationship is provided in sufficient detail to understand the basis of Ender's unique personality. Colonel Graff is the driving force and authoritarian leader who recognizes Ender's genius and trains and motivates him. This is no Karate Kid mentoring relationship. This is a difficult and hard, extreme military relationship in which there is no tolerance for failure.

The movie is fast paced and filled with action. There are only a few moments where I felt that I could reflect upon the story as it was unfolding and prepare for the coming action. The imagery is compelling and at times beautiful.

RECOMMENDATION: If you like SCI FI, see this movie. The movie contains violence--the premise of the movie revolves around warfare and training for a major military campaign. Probably not suitable for the under 12 group due to the complex story and the violence, although the violence is not too graphic.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Hand of the Painter

Autumn colors have finally arrived in the Baltimore area. I noticed them this afternoon. The leaves on the trees are finally beginning to change and approach peak color. It has been a long, slow, tortuous autumn.

The hand of the painter was at last evident in the trees and the hills. 

I noticed the vibrance of the colors even though the day was foggy, cloudy, and gray. 

The painter of the universe was evident in the intricate colors which are adorning the trees and bushes. 

Although I am not a fan of autumn, I enjoy the colors and the leaves--right up until they need to be removed from my lawn. What a mess!

But, they are beautiful.

And bright!

And they remind me of the glory of the season before the leaves depart from their homes and become piles on my lawn and in the woods.

Next up? Bare trees, cold temperatures and snow.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Halloween Jeep Pumpkin

Sebastian's Jeep Pumpkin

My family owns a lot of Jeeps. Some Sundays there are three Jeeps parked in my driveway.

I would like to own a Jeep for fun and play and of course to go to Jeep weekend.

In addition to the Jeeps owned by my family, the 16 year old neighbor who just got his driver's permit also just got a brand new 2013 Jeep to learn to drive. It is a beauty. But then, all new Jeeps are beauties.

To celebrate Halloween, they carved pumpkins and he made a special one for his new ride.

I thought it was cute--and he did a really good job carving the Jeep pumpkin.

Jeeps seem to be the real vehicles around here. They are everywhere and they seem to do everything. After going to Jeep week earlier this year, I believe that they really can do almost anything.  I need to sell Kitty so that I, too, can have a Jeep.

Happy Halloween--Jeep Style!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Daylight Savings Time Ends

Although I am not sure how daylight savings time actually saves daylight, I am sad to see it end.

It is one of those dots under the exclamation point denoting the end of summer. That along with the final games of the World Series means that whatever illusion I had of summer hanging on are truly gone.

Dawn is barely thinking of gracing the eastern sky now in the the morning as  I head off to work--and evening is arriving almost as soon as I return home. 

Soon, while I may not need my headlights to illuminate the highway on my drive to work, I will likely be driving home in total darkness. The dark days have arrived.

I think I understand the angst that the older civilizations had about the light becoming shorter on a daily basis and wondering, because they did not comprehend the spinning of the planet about the sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis, whether the light would return.

Nothing good happens after dark!

The sun will return--I am sure of it.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Halloween Housewarming

Family Halloween Portrait

I am not a fan of Halloween. Most everyone who knows me knows that. I stopped trick or treating when I was in fifth grade because I thought the whole holiday was contrived. 

But, last Saturday evening I went to a Halloween Housewarming Party and had a great time. I even dressed up--notionally I was Marc Anthony and I was going to the party with my Cleopatra. 

What a party--food, games, fun, and most of all family celebrating the excitement of a new house and a new home.

The Women in my Life

Friends. Wow, what friends were there to celebrate. The costumes were magnificent and demonstrated a high degree of creativity.

And there were new acquaintances. 

Maybe I will do more Halloween parties in the future and enjoy them more. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - October 28, 2013

1. The end of October and Halloween in upon us! Four days to go.

2. A vehicle with this logo on it was in my driveway the other day. I wondered if I should be worried about going into the house.

3. I learned what graupel was the other day. A nice piece of trivia I could have lived without knowing I think. It might be a good word to know for scrabble.

4. Here is a scary item I read yesterday: 30 percent of Americans get their news from Facebook. And we wonder why we have so grossly uninformed people in America today. 

5. Well at least the World Series is exciting. It is tied 2-2 with only three games remaining. Game seven, if necessary, would be played  on Halloween!  Might keep some of the goblins off the streets.

6. Here is some interesting birthday trivia: On this date in 1955, Bill Gates was born. One year later, the former President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, (a/k/a Ahm-a-dinner-jacket) was born.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

The Pumpkin Farm and Nicole

It is the season of the Great Pumpkin and Halloween is just around the corner. That meant that the time for our annual trek to the pumpkin farm in Davidsonville, MD was upon us. 

Yesterday was the day. Clear blue skies and moderate temperatures combined to make an idyllic day on the farm with the pumpkins. 

Jax: I Like it but I Want a Moon Pumpkin

There were, of course, pumpkins everywhere, but there was an incredible amount of fun as we charged through the corn stalk maze launching corn kernels at each other while running sneak attacks across the rows of corn. I admit, I had never done that before and ensuring that the other non-family members in the maze were not inadvertently attached added a sense of realism and fun to the game. 

Ethan: Is it the Great Pumpkin?"

We were a bit disappointed in the quality of the pumpkins in the field. Many were broken and rotting already. In fact, we did not purchase any large pumping, settling for a few small ones and some gourds. 

The Corn Maze

There was the obligatory posing on the straw bales for the annual photos--but with it being such a beautiful day, the posing was not a problem.

A great afternoon and fun memory it just makes me want to say: Happy Halloween!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

No Pets makes No Sense

I stopped and looked at the sign posted prominently on the entrance to the rest stop building. Why must my beloved dog remain outside complicating my life when she is traveling with me? It makes no sense--none at all. After all, they let children into the building and we all know that they are far dirtier and more destructive than pets.

On my most recent sojourn, I discovered that most of the wineries in the Seneca Lake region of New York allow dogs to accompany their owners into the tasting rooms while sampling the fruit of the vine. Why must my dog remain outside at a rest stop where food is not being served? Or for that matter, why discriminate against pets anywhere--food or not? 

Pets are companions. I am sure that soon there will be a movement to ensure that dogs and cats are seat belted when traveling in a car--not only for their own protection but the protection of the driver and other occupants. I mean, who needs the family pet flying around the interior of the vehicle during an accident?

For now, I am contemplating some radical action to try to get these ridiculous laws and rules reversed. What would be the harm in allowing my dog into an establishment especially on an extremely hot or cold day?

We seem to spend a lot of time writing laws and making rules that have precious little hope of being enforced, why don't we begin to take some rules and laws off the books thereby restoring freedom of choice and begin enforcing personal responsibility?

Makayla rules!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

My Second Favorite Rest Stop

I think it a bit odd that I have favorite rest stops along the highways I traverse. These are places where I pause to gather my wits during the hours of highway driving. My favorite rest stop is along I-95 shortly after entering Florida. "Welcome to the Sunshine State" the signs proclaim! Yeah. I really could use some sunshine right now.

My second favorite rest stop is no where near the first. It is along Route 15 a few miles after entering Pennsylvania from New York. It sits high atop a ridge overlooking a valley and a dam with a lake behind it. 

During the autumn, the area is especially pretty. The colorful trees surround the scene making it seem as if a painter had stopped and decorated the region for their own use. 

The small town in the valley below the dam is quaint and bucolic. I would like to visit there some day, when I am not feeling the stress of trying to drive more miles per hour than the speed limit allows. 

I am, it seems, always hurrying from one place to another with just enough time allotted for the trip and none available for the pleasantries of visiting places along the way which are more than a just few yards off the ribbon of macadam I am traveling. 

But this rest stop is a stop I must make. It slows and grounds me and makes me pause to enjoy the beauty of the region. 

I am thankful that it is there to slow me down and to break up my trip.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Chilly Gray Autumn Days

October 23, 2013
Gray and Chilly

Yesterday was one of those chilly, gray, autumn days that just makes me want to do nothing. I felt as if I could not  just do nothing except hang around and be a couch potato.

I noted that the leaves continue to remain valiantly attached to the trees, as if they can keep the inevitable from occurring. Yet they remain and for that I am glad. During my sojourn to upstate NY this past weekend I could see areas where the leaves have already made their way to the ground and the bare trees are evidence that autumn is transitioning into winter. Ugh!

Geranium on the Back Deck

Here in Maryland, my lawn remains green and in need of mowing. It was cold and rainy; hence, the mowing never happened. 

The gray skies just want to make me nestle under a big pile of  bed covers and let the world pass by. Unfortunately, it will not. The world keeps chasing after me despite my best efforts.

At least some color remains, until tonight when the first frost of the season is due to slide into my yard and transform the vibrant plants of summer into brown memories of the season past.

Life goes on--but the memories remain and sustain. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD