Watched All of the Oscar Nominated Best Films for 2023 and My Reaction to the Films

If you have watched all of the Oscar nominated best picture movies, you know there is a wide range of featured films. From singing, aspiring film maker, and Ireland to fighter jets, conductor, and mind bending jump through time, this years nominated pictures have a wide range of variety. Carrie and I finished our last movie a week ago. Unfortunately, AMC Theaters did not do their Best Picture Showcase this year where we could watch all of the best picture movies in the theater, so we caught some in local theaters, others via streaming services, and others through paid rental. 

I love going to see movies in the theater, so I am glad we were able to catch a few of this years movies in the theater to capture the full experience. I was able to catch Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Everything Everywhere All at Once. The three we were able to watch in the theater were also a drastic change of style. Top Gun: Maverick we watched last summer when everyone else in the country was going out to watch the movie. The storyline, action, and acting were good coming away feeling good about seeing the movie. Although Top Gun: Maverick seems so different from the other movies it is up against, it does not seem like a movie that would win best picture. 

Avatar: The Way of Water was entertaining with incredible scenes. I really liked the original Avatar (2009) many years ago, but Avatar: The Way of Water I was bored. It was a long movie at three hours and twelve minutes. One of those movies about the second hour into Avatar: The Way of Water where I felt I knew the story, where it was going, and could have ended earlier. Another movie that seems completely different from other movies it is up against, but it does not seem like a best picture. 

Carrie and I watched Elvis and while Carrie went into it not expecting much, we both enjoyed the movie. Believable of Elvis in this movie where even the singing was done well. Not best picture but I think it will win some awards. Elvis is another film I could watch again as I enjoyed the movie and the story behind the entertainer.

Everything Everywhere All at Once was a mind bending movie to watch jumping between universes and connecting lives in those universes made for a good movie. Like many others, Everything Everywhere All at Once is at the top of my best picture selections. The acting was done well along with the storyline, it was a movie I am glad I was able to catch in the theater.

I found that I did like The Banshees of Inisherin although I do not think it will win best picture. It was a believable story of two friends and then it just got weird. While it was an odd film, I did like the film. It took some weird twist and turns for sure, but I thought both the main characters were really good. A movie I would not mind watching again as I am sure there are parts of the movie I missed.

I went into All Quiet on the Western Front thinking I had seen a former version of the movie, but realized I had only read about the film in other books. All Quiet on the Western Front is an intense movie set in World War I. The actors did a good job of the film which was set in German although we watched with an English dubbing, but I think it might have been even better to watch in German and read the text instead. I would like to go back and watch prior films of All Quiet on the Western Front to see how they compare.

When I saw previews of The Fabelmans months ago, I thought I was really going to like the movie of a young person aspiring to be a filmmaker. Instead, I found The Fabelmans once again on the boring side and yes possibly only nominated because of the director being Steven Spielberg. The story was interesting, but I thought it was going to be better and really just found the movie boring.

Tár is a movie that again I was not sure what to expect. I thought the story was interesting about Lydia Tár and unlike some of the other nominated movies, I did not find myself bored with this film. A bit different from other films, so based on what I have read, it will not win for best picture, but again, I can see it winning some Oscars in other categories.

Triangle of Sadness was an interesting film and seemed to almost be multiple stories combined into one film but all based on the same celebrity couple. There was some humor in the film as well as some just plain gross portions. Overall, I did like Triangle of Sadness but again I do not think this will be the best picture.

My least favorite movie of the nominees is Women Talking. A few of the other movies were boring, but Women Talking some a major snooze-fest for me. I might have even fallen asleep during this movie. Women Talking is about a group of women talking and that’s what they do to determine whether to stay or fight. That is all that really happens in Women Talking where the women are talking, talking, and more talking. It was not my type of movie and I do not see it winning best picture.

In summary, a wide range of varying movies this year for best picture. I think Everything Everywhere All at Once will win best picture, but I did enjoy a few of the films. It will be interesting to see what happens Sunday night for the Oscars. No matter the winner, it was a fun process watching all of the films nominated this year.

Enjoyable Saturday Morning at Circle Coffee Co Eating Breakfast, Drinking Coffee, and Reading

Prosciutto & Gouda Danish with Coffee

Carrie and I were able to visit a new coffee shop on Saturday and it was wonderful. In August 2022 I had posted that we had visited a new wine bar and new coffee place in Topeka (see post) and in the same update I had talked about the new place opening up on 17th Street near Washburn University and that we were hopefully going there soon. Well, it is now March 2023 and we finally made it to the “new place”.

Circle Coffee was completely packed when we arrived mid-morning on Saturday. The parking lot was full with no spots and people were parking in the street. Carrie wondered if there would be any space for us inside as we were walking up. We went to the counter to order two lattes and some breakfast. We found one table that had just opened up where we sat and spent the morning enjoying ourselves.

Circle Coffee has some good options for breakfast with pastries, rolls, etc. We both ordered chocolate croissants with our latte. Then we had prosciutto and gouda danishes after we sat and read for a while. It was good to have a lazy Saturday morning drinking coffee, eating, reading, and in a busy breakfast place in Topeka. 

It was a perfect morning hanging out with Carrie. I look forward to going to Circle Coffee again on another Saturday morning. Going to coffee shops reminds me of going to study back when I was doing my masters program when Carrie and I would go to hang out for hours at a coffee shop while I researched or wrote papers. Coffee shops rank up there with ending up at a brewery in the afternoon and having a wonderful time sipping beers, talking, or reading.

I highly recommend stopping by Circle Coffee to get breakfast and coffee. Very good!

Ahead of schedule on my reading for the year. My goal for the year is 25 books and yesterday while at the coffee shop, I finished my sixth book of the year. I am two books ahead of schedule, so I am feeling good with my progress and I think I will hit my goal for the year.

Until next time, have a wonderful week!

Changes with Twitter Sent Me to Reddit for Discussing Shows, Sports, and Most Social Media Interactions

January Post Regarding Twitter Changes

Back in January Twitter changed how third party applications can interact with Twitter (see post) which ultimately made various applications to stop working. The decisions by Elon Musk continue to cause issues for Twitter. Yes, I still have my account, but I rarely use, or interact, with Twitter. It is not where I go for news, discussing sports, shows, etc., but more of an afterthought after I have been interacting on other social media sites such as Reddit. 

For years I have used connectors to auto post to FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn when I post to my site. In March auto posting from IFTTT, which is a site used to publish to many other social media sites, will stop working for Twitter. This is a huge impact on sharing tweets for many companies and bloggers. It is an easy way to share information from web sites to Twitter which will suddenly stop working for many. It is not clear how this can help Twitter as it seems to be causing people to leave the social media service in mass. However, it is also causing traffic to not go to Twitter with these changes. No longer are tweets being generated from millions of sites to publicize on Twitter, so instead, there will be nothing at all. No connections and possibly more people leaving the Twitter service.

While I still have my Twitter account, I use Reddit to interact with others on shows, movies, and especially sports. My frequent sites for sports include  /r/CollegeBasketball, /r/CFB, /r/KansasCityChiefs, /r/KCRoyals, and /r/jayhawks. I like Reddit to interact with others as there are game threads for each and every game where then I can comment, respond, etc. to posts from others on that sport. I will say it took me a while to figure out the best approach for interacting with others on Reddit for a sporting event as there can be 1,000’s of replies to a game thread which makes it fast paced and a lot of information, so I looked for other options interacting with others via Reddit on a specific post.

• Reddit-Stream.com is a great site that works in a web browser. It is cheap as I paid for a lifetime account, but you can do a 30 day trial to test it out. Basically, it takes a thread and makes it easy to follow, comment, and follow up to comments from others. The web site lists some interesting posts, but you can use this site for anything simply by replacing the URL of a Reddit discussion with “-stream” following the reddit.com link (i.e. reddit-stream). I use Reddit-Stream.com frequently for discussions and with most game threads also including score, recent plays, etc., it is also a good way to keep up with a game. I have also used Reddit-Stream.com for discussing shows, award shows, etc. I highly recommend if you are looking to try out Reddit for discussions.

• Sideline is an app for iOS and Android that allows for easy discussion of game threads. It is only for games and specially Sideline application supports NCAA MBB, NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL, and NCAA CFB. This is a fairly new application as I just started using Sideline about a year ago. I can set favorites which will display at the top of the app and makes it easy to get to my sports topics or to switch back and forth between two events happening at the same time. I highly recommend Sideline for interacting via Reddit on sporting events. There is not an iPad option, but I am told that this is being worked on.

Granted, you can access Reddit directly to interact on a thread, but I found the above items to help with presentation of the comments and tracking what is said or my responding to others. If you have not used Reddit, the site has a wealth of information with topics for just about anything you can imagine. When I am researching a technical question, I often find that Google searches will link to a Reddit post about the same thing where I can then jump into the discussion and post follow ups or read what others wrote and solutions were provided in the thread. Very handy!

To connect with me on Reddit, or see what I have been posting, please visit my Reddit Profile.

Until next time, have a great week and I look forward to connecting with you on Reddit.

Massages for Us at Stillpoint Massage & Bodywork Studio… Highly Recommended!

Every year around Valentine’s Day I think it would be nice to get massages for Carrie and I. Usually though I think of it the day or two prior to Valentine’s Day. Not this year! This year I thought of it a whole week ahead of time which meant that I was able to get an appointment scheduled for both of us… albeit the day after Valentine’s Day, but it was so nice!

Carrie and I have had massages infrequently typically when we are on vacations at remote islands. Carrie had mentioned a few weeks ago she could use a massage, so that got the idea in my head to do so for Valentine’s Day. I started checking around for options in Topeka and checked Google recommendations. I checked with a few others to see if they had a place they used, but no one had one, so I looked further at reviews. 

I narrowed down the list to two or three that I wanted to check. I happened to be out in the area of one place after I got my haircut the week before, so I thought I would stop by to see the place and talk to them. However, I could not find it for the life of me. It was over off of 29th Street in the same shopping center as Dillon’s. So, I drove back home after not finding the place and looked them up on-line again where I was able to see where they were located through street view. I sent them an email to check on getting an appointment.

A day later and I had a response to call them as they do not have regular reception, so only available certain times for calls. Of course calling the week before Valentine’s Day and they were booked as I was hoping to get an appointment the Saturday before Valentine’s Day. They told me they could put us on a waiting list and call us if spots open up for us. A few days later and I got a call that a spot opened on February 15 where we could both have an appointment at the same time. 

What a great experience! I had selected Stillpoint Massage & Bodywork Studio located at 2709 W. 29th, Ste 204, Topeka, KS 66614. I booked an hour long massage for us both. When I had called and told the receptionist we rarely have massages, she recommended 60 minute massage as 30 minutes and just getting started, so I did 60 minute for us both.

Following the massage, we left and talked about when we might do our next massage saying it would be nice to do so twice a year. Well, we already have our next massage scheduled for the first part of April. We liked it so much, we booked at Stillpoint Massage & Bodywork Studio again. The experience was so relaxing. The massage on neck, shoulders, and arms were wonderful. 

We had selected the Swedish Massage was the one we selected which is the most common style of massage. When I had my last massage ten or so years ago, maybe longer, I am not sure what type of massage I had at that time, but this was certainly well worth the $70 for the massage. So much so we booked our next appointment shortly after we left.

One of my memorable massages was back in 2003 when we went to Costa Rica with our friend Javier. He took us all over his home country and at Arenal Volcano, we had an amazing experience where we were had massages, then covered in volcanic mud, wrapped, and then had got in the hot springs to have the hot water take away the volcanic mud. Certainly a memorable experience and one I would like to do again. But having a massage here is an experience I plan to keep on my todo list at least a few times a year.

I will post again following our next massage to say how it went. We are happy with Stillpoint Massage & Bodywork Studio and look forward to using them for years to come. If you try out Stillpoint Massage & Bodywork Studio, I would be interested to hear your experience. Or, if you have another place that you used, please share your recommendations.

Until next time, enjoy the week!

Diamond Sports Group Expected to File Bankruptcy Impacting Bally Sports Which has Rights to MLB, Soccer, etc.

Parent company Diamond Sports Group, which owns Bally Sports, is expected to file for bankruptcy next week (see article from Sportico). As you can imagine, there are all kinds of rumors about what this means for sports streaming with rants about losing viewing of all sports to some services (such as MLB) going to providing all of their games on MLB.TV but charging $300 - $400 per year. All rumors at this point as no one knows what will happen.

I hope this opens up the ability for providers, such as YouTube TV, to be able to provide local sports once again. Again, rumors are flowing that the company going bankrupt means YouTube TV, and others, would not be in the market to provide the sports streams at all. It might be a bit early to figure out what will happen with sports streaming after the dust settles, but I have to think it will be a better arrangement for the fan.

Time will tell if this will help or hinder fans from watching their teams. I am hopeful this will help and there is the possibility that leagues could take over their broadcasts meaning no more blackouts. I cannot help but wonder if part of the reason Bally Sports is failing is because of how limited they were in their reach for customers. Bally Sports was available as a pay service which I am not sure many people purchased. Others had the Bally Sports network through their provider such as Cox, Direct Stream, or recently fuboTV. I know many others who simply did not watch as it was too much of a hassle to get their channels as they were not available on their selected platform or they did not want to pay extra for Bally Sports. Many others that acquired the broadcasts through other means. Make it difficult to watch sports and people will find other ways or stop watching entirely.

To early to tell how the upcoming bankruptcy will impact streaming, but have to believe it will have impact on this season that is fast approaching for MLB. What exactly will be impacted is rumor and guessing, but I expect we will hear something impacting Bally Sports in the near future. I will continue to hope for improvement to the current structure to make it easier and better for fans to watch sports.

Until next time, have a great week! I am prepping for the Super Bowl later this evening. I cannot wait! Go Chiefs!

Nothing to Say First Part of February… So Rambling Away I Go…

One of those weeks where I cannot think of anything to write about, so I see this as being a rambling post for this Sunday update. Let’s see where this takes me as I write.

We are already five days into February 2023. Hard to believe that January has come and gone. With Carrie being in the hospital in January (see Not a Fun Start to 2023), that made the month fly by and not in a good way. She finished up her last IV appointment this past weekend, but will be taking antibiotics orally for the next two weeks. She is doing well and I appreciate everything who has asked about her status since I did the update a few weeks ago on her hospital stay. Carrie and I will be happy once she is off of the antibiotics and the infection is completely gone.

Now that we are into the month of February, I find myself starting to wonder about our camping sites for this year. We have not made any plans, but we have begun to think about spots. We have thrown out the idea of visiting a camping site near an away football location for Washburn next Fall, but still discussing to see what would make sense and whether it would work out. I think we want to try some new places for our camping sites, but no decisions made yet. Hoping by March we will have some sites booked and planned out for the summer.

In about a month, we will have March Madness, but still a lot of basketball to play before the madness begins. We continue to enjoy attending home Washburn basketball games. We are 8-2 at home, but 1-8 on the road. We missed a few home games when Carrie was in the hospital, but we have been back to the most recent games. Our next home game is February 11 and only three more home games for the season for Washburn.

Kansas Jayhawks have been frustrating to watch here recently too. We lost three games in a row a week or so ago and we were swept by Iowa State this season. KU is 18-5 on the season but 6-4 in conference play. Frustrating to watch at times, but still a lot of season to play.

Baseball season is right around the corner. Recent news from YouTube TV is that MLB Network is gone from the service. While we have not had Royals broadcasts in a few years, I was able to watch MLB Network or even subscribe to MLB.TV through YouTube TV to watch games, but all of that is gone. Contract disputes between MLB and YouTube TV have the service removed. 

I have read a few thoughts from others that they think it will be renewed as Spring Training begins, but guessing that is not the case and lose it completely. While it makes sense it would be removed around this time as it was added a year ago at this time just before Spring Training was starting. I am surprised that only a one year contract was done between the two entities. Granted, I will be able to watch games that are on ESPN, TBS, etc., but it was nice to have all the games (except my local Royals) to watch.

I would be remiss if I did not share that the Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl a week from today. I am a bit superstitious, so it will be interesting as we lead up to kickoff next week for the big game. Yes, I realize what I do has no impact on the outcome, but it makes me feel better and connects me to the team. So, get ready for the big game and hoping that two weeks of being off will give time for us to heal and be ready to play.

That is all the rambling I can do for today, so have a great week. 

Have You Had Your Colonoscopy? Get It Scheduled. Not As Bad as Others Have Told You… Get It Done!

It’s s official. I am old! 

I had my first colonoscopy this past Thursday. I was not nervous to do the procedure, but nervous for the preparation for the procedure. It is nothing to be concerned about for the process or the procedure. 

The preparation started two days before on Tuesday evening when I took four laxatives at 4 pm. That night I did spend some time in the bathroom, but again, it was not bad. I did decide to work from home on Wednesday as I was not sure what to expect. Not a bad Wednesday either although good to be close to the bathroom. 

I started the process of trying to get the colonoscopy scheduled back in October or so. I am not sure if the doctor was backed up (no pun intended) or miscommunication with my doctor and referral, but it took a while. Finally, in December I was able to confirm an appointment for January 26. I was all set and ready to go through the process.

As the days led up to the date, I heard from family and friends about how awful the process was and what they went through. Good news is that my friend, Brenda, had shared with me who to go to here in Topeka that she had used and it was not bad at all. I got a doctors referral to use Dr. Challa here in Topeka. While it is a two day prep, I would be drinking Gatorade with the mixture. So, Brenda was right that it was not bad at all.

All that was needed for preparation was purchased over the counter. Again, I had heard others tell me that was the worst part drinking prescribed power with some people telling me they had to force it down. I had no issues with the following:

• Dulcolax laxative tablets 4mg
• MiraLAX 8.3oz 
• Gatorade or PowerAde 64oz

The Dulcolax I took four two night prior to my scheduled appointment. The day prior, I took Dulcolax again at 4 pm and then followed it by drinking MiraLAX and Gatorade combined for 64oz that I had to finish before midnight. As I mentioned, the process was not bad at all other than having to drink 64oz of Gatorade, the process was not bad at all. Usually, I would have no issue drinking a lot of Gatorade, but doing so when have to do it during a certain amount of time did make the last glass or two take a while to go down. 

I went with the Cherry Flavored Gatorade. I had to stay away from red or purple. I also had to stay away liquids in general. One day out and it was an all liquid diet through the day. I stuck to Sprite, Jello, and Chicken Broth. I was surprised that I stayed content through the day and had no issues with being hungry.

The morning of my appointment, I could not eat or dink anything. I was able to brush my teeth. My appointment was at 9 am. I checked in and it was over before I knew it. I was told they found some polyps and I would need to have another one in three years. Awaiting the results from the tests that will take two to three weeks to process.

The basis of this story is to share how easy the process is and that I should have started this five years ago. It was the recommendation to do this at 50, but the recommended age has dropped to 45. If your family has a history of colon cancer, get your appointment scheduled and get it done. It is not bad and can help to keep you healthy.