New tree

I needed a break from writing a white paper last night, so I went and saw the new Terrence Malick film, "The Tree of Life." I wish I could say I liked it, but I didn't. The underlying theme of a stern/abusive father/husband and the helpless/enabling mother/wife and coming to terms with your past I get. It's the presentation that bothered me. The film felt like a 2 hour Calvin Klein commercial. Judge for yourself:





And really, do you need the voice-overs of each character's inner conscience spouting rhetoric that actors like Brad Pitt and Sean Penn should be able to convey with their craft? "2001: A Space Odyssey" didn't need it, and "Blade Runner" was a much better film without it. The director should give his audience credit for being somewhat intelligent. And I really didn't like the last scene - I'm sure the characters are suppose to be confronting and making peace with their inner demons, but it feels more like they are all trapped in Limbo, waiting for Purgatory. Yeesh...

A better presentation would be what I had for lunch yesterday. Betsy surprised me with the following bánh mì sandwich, homemade cookies and strawberries in a personalized meal delivery device:


And Monday night we made a bread salad with chicken sausage for dinner. Again, when I say "we," I mostly mean her - although I did chop up the bread:


I won't show you what we had at Mozart's on our Sunday ride, but this is a nice picture: