Just when I discovered the meaning of life, they changed it. George Carlin
***
I saw Master and Commander yesterday. What a great film. Perhaps because my Dad was in the Navy, I've always wondered what life at sea would be like. Particulary in the olden days when there were only sailing ships. Being able to travel to new lands like the explorers of a few centuries ago, must have been both a hard and an exciting life. The film is based upon the HMS Surprise and its battles with Naponleon's Acheron in 1805. It showed how stealth and cunning can often overcome speed and might. Russell Crowe is perfect as the Commander and probably wasn't too far from quite a few real British Commanders. They after all did rule the seas for a long time. I particulary liked his pre-fight speech before the final battle where he says that "this ship is England". That would certainly rouse any loyal Englishman, if fighting the French weren't enough. The scenes in the Galapagos Islands were also extraordinary.

It looks like winter is here. It actually snowed in Chicago on Saturday, just enough to dust the grass and trees. It's funny how it snows every winter, but I still get a little excited the first time it happens. I remember one time I was at Lake Tahoe and some tourists from Hawaii had the first snowball fight of their life. They looked like little kids even though they were older than I was at the time. Snow just seems to make you feel like a kid again.