So I’m coaching boys soccer again

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Joel

So…….

I’m coaching Josh’s soccer team this Fall. Thirteen 1st and 2nd graders. Yup, I am. To be honest, I wasn’t planning on coaching soccer again. I was never a soccer player or someone who even watched a game. I only coached in the Spring as they didn’t have enough volunteers. It was a lot of effort, because it wasn’t about attending weekend games and yelling from the sidelines. It’s also about doing it right — rushing to weeknight practices, organizing drills, and being invested in the team. It’s a lot of physical and mental effort. I wasn’t going to do this again, but they were short of volunteer coaches once again. It was either parents step up to coach, or they cut or consolidate teams. Would this be a good situation? No, it wouldn’t be. So I volunteered.

It’s been a few weeks, and it’s going relatively fine. I haven’t had many weeknight practices, due to my own busy schedule, and many parents can’t or won’t make weeknight practices. The last game is Saturday, Nov 3rd. Only a few more weeks to go, and then I hope to take a break for a while.

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Seeing old friends one evening

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Joel

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Old friend Sai and Karthik visited NYC briefly this month, so I met up with them during a rushed Tuesday evening in Midtown for drinks and dinner. They would be wrapping up their NYC trip soon before heading back to London. It wasn’t much time, but sometimes we should be happy with the time we get.

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The kids came with me to the office

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Joel

Early September, and the kids had no school for two days. I made arrangements to take them to Newark with me, and hang out at the back-up childcare center. It was a pretty good overall, like having lunch together. I’ll admit that it’s a lot of work to get them ready in the morning, and still make the train on time. Below is a picture of us waiting for the next train to arrive.

At the train station heading to my office

At the train station heading to my office

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Our 2012 Delaware vacation

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Joel

At the end of this month, we wrapped up our big trip of the year. Third time around, we rented a condo in the Bethany Beach area for a week, Saturday to Saturday. Like last year, we rented the same condo, as the place is spacious and nicely appointed. Unlike last year, there was no Hurricane Irene to close down Delaware and cut our vacation short. This time, we had the full seen days of vacation, with minimal work to catch up on.

What we like about vacationing in Delaware is:

  • it’s a quick 3 hour drive to the Delaware beaches, no flights are necessary.
  • renting a condo is more spacious and affordable compared to a hotel on the beach.
  • all we want to do on this vacation is chill out.
  • Bethany Beach is easily accessible by either driving 10 mins or taking the free jitney shuttle bus.
  • Bethany Beach is also very close to Ocean City MD and Rehoboth Beach DE.

We packed Friday night and early Saturday morning, and hit the road around noon. Due to traffic and the rainy weather, we didn’t actually arrive at the condo until after 5pm. Normally, we would go grocery shopping at the local Giant supermarket, but there was a crazy storm going on, and we opted to order in pizza and wings from the local Gotto Pizza.

For the next few days, we had to contend with some on-and-off rainy weather, but we made due with watching tv (and movies), playing games (I also brought my PS3), and generally hanging out together at the pool. We also went to see The Amazing Spider-Man over in Rehoboth Beach before it left the theaters.

Around Wed, we had only sunny days, so we visited Ocean City for a boat ride and walking the boardwalk. We ultimately spent two days hanging out on the actual Bethany Beach, and even went mini-golfing.

We also cooked a lot of delicious meals, and watched a lot of Justice League, Duck Tales, and Fringe (without the kids though.)

Unlike last year, I didn’t get to bring my bike along. There wouldn’t be enough time to go riding, and we found out our bike rack isn’t safely compatible to use with the Toyota Highlander. We considered getting a hitch and new rack, but we ran out of time.

It was a little sad to do laundry Fri and begin packing up to return home. Since our Delaware portion of the vacation wrapped up on Labor Day weekend, we still had Sunday and Monday to relax.

This will be our last Delaware vacation for a while. 2013 has different vacations in store for the Ipes, including our 10th wedding anniversary trip.

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The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Posted on August 26, 2012 by Joel

On vacation here in Delaware, we decided to go see The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) on a rainy Tuesday. Sure we brought the PS3 and plenty of movies on physical media, but we thought it would be nice treat to take the kids out to watch a film in a movie theater. The Amazing Spider-Man had been in theaters for almost two months, so we knew we had better catch it this week before it was gone. I personally wasn’t feeling the strong urge to see the film itself. This is a reboot of a film series that didn’t necessarily need rebooting. I’m not one of those crabby old men who doesn’t like new things. I’m just saying the series starring Tobey Maguire is still pretty fresh in everyone’s minds.

To summarize my thoughts on the film — I didn’t think it was all that. The story does play up the romance angle between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker, but I thought it was too much. I’m sure the teenagers loved it, but I got sick of the kissing and teenage love. Frankly, I’m rather tired of the origin stories. Maybe it’s primarily for the international audiences, but I think we can do away with the origin stories. It’s much like the Gus van Saint Psycho remake from the late 90’s.  A remake that, in my opinion, doesn’t add anything to the story or the mythos.

Blargh.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Posted on August 18, 2012 by Joel

And that’s the conclusion of the Nolan trilogy. After waiting what felt like an inordinate of months (for the film’s release), and what seemed like weeks after  opening night, I finally saw The Dark Knight Rises. The buzz for this movie has been crazy for over a year, with everyone talking thinking and wondering about the movie would be about. My wife and I made arrangements for the kids to be watched, and we went through a few hoops in order to meet up at the Menlo Park mall to have dinner and watch the movie. For a while, I didn’t think we would make it. We were both running late, I was coming via train, she was coming by car. I ended up walking towards the mall until she could pick me up, and get us the rest of the way. Somehow, we made it to our seats by 7pm. We ordered drinks and food, and settled into watching.

Do I need to go into the plot? 90’s era Batman villain Bane comes to Gotham, eight years after the events that transpired during The Dark Knight. Bruce has retired from crimefighting, and he’s a recluse. But he has to come back to foil Bane’s grand plot to destroy Gotham. The film was written by the Nolan brothers, and stars plent of new and old actors and actresses.

Can I be honest that I didn’t particularly like the film all that much? Is that sad to say? Yes, I think so. We waited a long time for this film to come out, to find out how the trilogy ended. I was expecting this blockbuster film with an amazing story. Instead, I was underwhelmed by the film’s plot, the reveals and plot twists, and the gaping plot holes in the film’s story. I realize that most of my coworkers loved the film, but I am bordering on annoyance. First off, there may be some spoilers, so stop reading now.

***** SPOILERS *****

A few things that bothered me:

  1. Between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, it’s 12 months of Batman and Gordon cleaning up the city. In the comics, there is a long association between the two, and Batman is Gothan’s long time protector. After The Dark Knight, we learn that Bruce retired immediately after 2nd film, so he was only Batman for about year and change. What the heck? It’s like Jeremy Lin playing on the Knicks for only 20 games, and calling him legendary. A guy acting as a vigilante for a year is a blip in history.
  2. I didn’t mind the twist at the end with Bane’s story, but Bane’s plot was basically a rehash of Ra’s al Ghul’s original plot. Big whoop. We’ve done this already.
  3. Speaking of Bane (pun intended), even with the unnatural ADR post-production voice dubbing, I could barely understand what he was saying.
  4. BTW, Bane and Batman are two students of the League of Shadows. You would expect some graceful, acrobatic, skillful  fighting between them. Instead, they resorted to throwing wild haymakers at each other. I thought I was watching an old episode of Star Trek. Batman didn’t use any strategy, no gadgets to even the odds against Bane. Ridiculous.
  5. The Gotham City Police City dept was trapped underground for 5 months underground. I understand that they were given food and water, maybe blankets?, but nobody had a beard. Bane was also giving them razors for shaving?
  6. Also, that pitched battle between Bane’s army and the GCPD. Years of tactical policie training, and their strategy is to run head-on at the opposing group? What?
  7. Why would Bruce keep trusting Catwoman? She kept screwing with him. Also, hows does he find her so easily in such a big city.
  8. I understand they filmed the movie in various cities to stand in for Gotham. That’s fine, but I didn’t understand Christopher Nolan sweeping shots of Manhattan. Seeing the Empire State Building and signs for Wall Street doesn’t evoke Gotham. It takes me out of the movie, and I say, “No, that’s not Gotham. That’s New York.”
  9. When Gotham, one of the major (fictional) cities in the United States is taken over, the Federal Gov’t does nothing, and leaves it in the hands of a madman? Really?
  10. No autopilot?
  11. That was some magical medical treatment to treat Bruce’s back while in prison.
  12. Robin. Enough said.

***** END SPOILERS *****

So I didn’t like the movie. After waiting all this time for the 3rd film in the trilogy to come out and wrap up the grand story, I was severely disappointed.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

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Josh and I went to the Museum of Natural History in NYC

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Joel

Joshua and I had a free Saturday, so we took the train in to Manhattan to visit the American Museum of Natural History and the Rose Center. Since we get guest passes as museum members, I invited our friend Pradeesh and his sons Ryan and Ethan. They eventually met up with us, and we waltzed around the museum, had lunch, waltzed some more, and tried to see as much as possible when you have three boys running around.

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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009)

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Joel

A long time coming — I finally remembered to put Superman/Batman: Public Enemiesat the top of the movie queue. The kids and I sat and watched it tonight, and it was certainly about time. We had watched the sequel Superman/Batman: Apocalypse back in February 2011. The movie came out in 2009, and features some returning actors and actresses who have acted in previous DC Animated Universe films and shows:

  • Clancy Brown — Lex Luthor
  • Kevin Conroy — Batman
  • Tim Daly — Superman
  • CCH Pounder — Amanda Waller
  • John C. McGinley — Metallo

So what’s the film about?

When Lex Luthor gets elected US President, he uses the threat of an oncoming kryptonite meteor striking Earth as a rationale to frame Superman.

Yup, Luthor becomes the U.S. President, frames Superman for a murder, and puts a $1 billion dollar bounty on Superman’s capture. Superman (and Batman) work together to solve the mystery, and also to evade the multitude of supervillains, metahumans, and other superheroes who are now working for the Federal gov’t (and Luthor.)

It was nice to see the Batman and Superman characters in a traditional “Batman and Superman against the world” film, where they’re on the run and fighting against a slew of heroes and villains. There are so many character cameos — Solomon Grundy, Mongol, Hawkman, Captain Marvel, Black Manta, Grodd, etc. There was a nice rapport between Batman and Superman — allies who know each other and respect for each other. I wasn’t crazy how Superman was drawn, but to each his own. I found the climax to be a little “meh”, but it’s a decent animated film for DC Comic fans.

The voice acting was good. The video quality is fine, but the audio on the blu-ray was only Dolby Digital 5.1 quality. I’m not sure why, since you have disc capacity for better sound like DTS HD-MA. DD 5.1 could have been enough to make it still interesting, but there was very little (if any) surround sound — it was very much front-focused stereo audio.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009

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The Terror of Mechagodzilla

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Joel

In the past year, I’ve been watching the old Toho Godzilla kaiju “monster” movies with the kiddies. This weekend, we watched the 1975 Toho film Terror of Mechagodzilla. It’s a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. Am I crazy to watch Godzilla films with the kids? No, I don’t think so. I believe that being a good father involves sharing the silly stuff along with important life lessons. I have a lot of nostalgia for the monster and kung-fu movies that I grew up watching on Saturday afternoons. While my wife beats a hasty retreat 100% of the time, the kids are thankfully enjoying them.

I won’t go into the plot, since it’s rather overly complicated, and a bit silly. To summarize, malevolent aliens come to Earth to retrieve & repair the giant Mechagodzilla robot, tag-team it with the fictional aquatic Titanosaurus, destroy Japan, and subsequently take over the world. Cue the evil maniacal villainous laughter. Don’t worry — even though Godzilla gets roundly beaten in his first bout against both monsters, the humans find a weapon to even the battle, allowing Godzilla to overcome the insurmountable odds, and ultimately save the day.

The Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

The Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

As a 36-year old man, I must admit the film’s plot and acting were horrendous. The pacing was slow, the plot was overly complicated, the aliens were silly, and I thought the actual monster battles were a tad dull. Still, the kids had a good time overall, but I had to fast-forward the slow parts of the film. I did enjoy the dated 70’s fashion — that was mildly amusing.

Next up? Godzilla vs. Megalon. And I think that’ll be it for a while.

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I purchased the “new” Starcraft 2 game

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Joel

Years ago, a certain circle of my friends would get together each month to play multiplayer games in a LAN party hosted at someone’s apartment. We each would pack up and transport our PCs, monitors, and peripherals to someone’s house, set up in a kitchen or wherever, and we played games all day. Starcraft, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Vietnam, Age of Empires. We’d order pizza, laughed, and generally cursed out the fellow who just shot you.

You may think that the whole event sounds ridiculous or that my wife would be embarrassed. Surprisingly, my wife was all for it, because she knew it was cheap entertainment and that we weren’t out carousing at a bar. Yeah, I used the word “carousing.” Times changed though around 2005. One friend Adrian moved to Hong Kong for work. We had Josh, I had a new job at Citi, and we were preparing to purchase our first home. Not much free time.

Recently, my friend Doug and I were talking about playing multiplayer again, at least the two of us. We settled on Starcraft 2 for Saturday night, and I went out to my local Best Buy with kids in tow to find it. Normally I’d make the purchase online, but I needed the disc ASAP and the price was the same. Also, I normally avoid Best Buy these days, but it was nearby and easily accessible. Best Buy’s PC gaming section, much like every other electronic (or game store) these days consisted of a pathetic few shelves, so sadness all around. Thankfully, I did find the game there.

The kids and I ate at a Cheeburger Cheeburger nearby, went home, and installed the game. I tried out maybe the first four campaign games, and quickly remembered how to play. The graphics are many times better and some of the units are changed, but the mechanics are very similar. It was nice, especially on a large screen and on a responsive PC.

Saturday night’s game night went well. The kids and I got back from a BBQ a little late, but I got them to bed, fired up the game, and called my friend Doug. For the next 3+ hours, we played various games and we kept the phones on speaker so we could talk and communicate strategy. I had a lot of fun. It’s not the same as when we all hung out at someone’s house yelling and laughing at each other, but it’s something at least.

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