2023 Mileage: 5036.3
Closing the books on 2023 today, I rode this afternoon while watching Solaris again as I did yesterday. It is a most unusual and haunting film.
This gave me a ride of 19.2 virtual miles in 1:32.
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Saturday, December 30, 2023
Saturday, 12/30/2023
2023 Mileage: 5017.1
During today's ride, I watched one more haunting science fiction movie—Solaris (2002), a remake of a 1972 film. It was good, and I think I followed it fairly well, but I'm considering rewatching it tomorrow in order to get it more fully.
This gave me a ride of 19.5 virtual miles in 1:34.
It pleased me, too, to reach today the milestone of 5000 miles for the year. It's a step forward from last year (when, embarrassingly, I didn't even finish the year with 4700 miles), but a significant shortfall from 2021, when I inched just over 6000. Oh well! I comfort myself with the feeling that it is still a significant achievement.
Friday, December 29, 2023
Friday, 12/29/2023
2023 Mileage: 4997.6
I am finishing out 2023 with a spate of superb science fiction movies. During this morning's ride, I watched another highly intriguing one, from 2009 (Moon).
This gave me a ride of 18.7 virtual miles in 1:34.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Thursday, 12/28/2023
2023 Mileage: 4978.9
This morning I finished up the outstanding 2015 science fiction movie The Martian (which I had seen in the theater), starring Matt Damon.
This gave me a ride of 14.5 virtual miles in 1:05.
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Wednesday, 12/27/2023
2023 Mileage: 4964.4
Again today, I had to wait until evening to ride, and then we were gone for a good chunk of it, celebrating Christmas with my daughter and granddaughter at their house. Consequently, I settled for a shorter ride than i had first intended, watching the first half of the excellent 2015 science fiction movie The Martian (which I had seen in the theater), starring Matt Damon (and I'll finish it during tomorrow's ride).
This gave me a ride of 16.8 virtual miles in 1:11.
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
tuesday, 12/26/2023
2023 Mileage: 4947.6
I didn't ride on Sunday since it was Christmas Eve and, additionally, I was playing a pair of piano solos at church which kept me busy, and we were hosting a visit from my sister, too. Then yesterday, on Christmas Day, we traveled 75 miles to celebrate with Michelle's family, so I took that day off, too. Staying overnight there and returning to Ann Arbor today, I thought I'd be looking at a third straight day off ... but I managed to work up the gumption to ride tonight.
Returning to my list of recommended science fiction films, I watched the 1998 movie Armageddon, which was intense and gripping, and an entirely satisfying film. Even though it is now a quarter century old, it holds up very well.
This gave me a ride of 31.0 virtual miles in 2:24.
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Saturday, 12/23/2023
2023 Mileage: 4916.6
During my ride this morning, I watched the 1942 classic Holiday Inn, which is particularly notable for its introduction of the song White Christmas, which Irving Berlin wrote expressly for the movie.
This gave me a ride of 19.7 virtual miles in 1:41.
Friday, December 22, 2023
Friday, 12/22/2023
2023 Mileage: 4896.9
This afternoon as I rode, I watched a semi-classic that I don't believe I had ever seen before: The Muppet Christmas Carol.
This gave me a ride of 18.2 virtual miles in 1:25.
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Thursday, 12;21;2023
2023 Mileage: 4878.7
During my ride this afternoon, as the big science fiction fan (lifelong) that I am, I returned to one of the films I saw recently on a list of top science fiction movies and watched Sunshine (2007). I have to confess, though, that I was unable to follow all of the science in it, and had to consult the plot summary on Wikipedia afterwards to know precisely what I had just seen. It was quite good, however, and absolutely riveting.
This gave me a ride of 22.7 virtual miles in 1:38.
Trailer for Sunshine
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Wednesday, 12/20/2023
2023 Mileage: 4856.0
Recently, I saw that a list of "Top Christmas Movies" included National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Never having seen it before, I watched it during my ride today. I have to say, though, that whoever added it to the list was horribly misguided, as it was the greatest waste of time of any movie I have ever seen.
This gave me a ride of 20.0 virtual miles in 1:36.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Tuesday, 12/19/2023
2023 Mileage: 4836.0
As a lifelong strong fan of science fiction (particularly as regards space travel), I was delighted to find yesterday an online list of recent good science fiction movies. From this, I enjoyed watching Ad Astra (which is Latin for "to the stars").
This gave me a ride of 25.0 virtual miles in 1:33.
Monday, December 18, 2023
Monday, 12/18/2023
2023 Mileage: 4811.0
This fall, a movie was in theaters that looked as if would be of interest. Unfortunately, though, Michelle and I were unable to fit it into our schedule—so we watched it this past Saturday night, streaming on Amazon Prime. The movie is Journey to Bethlehem, and it is a contemporary musical retelling of the story of the Nativity. We found it to be tremendously appealing and well done.
I watched it again this morning during my ride, and found its appeal to hold up very well for a repeated viewing.
This gave me a ride of 20.1 virtual miles in 1:35.
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Sunday, 12/17/2023
2023 Mileage: 4790.9
During my ride on our stationary cycle this afternoon, I watched the movie Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughan and Reese Witherspoon. It was weakly reviewed ... and now, having watched it, I can see why.
This gave me a ride of 18.8 virtual miles in 1:28.
Saturday, December 16, 2023
Saturday, 12/16/2023
2023 Mileage: 4772.1
As a proud alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy (way back in 1975), I enjoy listening, each Saturday morning, to the program "Music By Request," on Interlochen Public Radio. This morning, for my (indoor) ride, I did precisely that -- rather than watching a movie during the ride, I simply listened to the music for a most enjoyable hour.
This gave me a ride of 13.7 virtual miles in 1:00.
Friday, December 15, 2023
Friday, 12/15/2023
2023 Mileage: 4758.4
For two consectutivr days now, during my ride I've watched an unlikely "Christmas" movie -- one quite recent, and of which I was wholly unaware before finding it in an online list of "Christmas movies." Today's, Spencer, was ostensibly described as a Christmas movie because it dealt with events around Christmas 1991, but it was not really related to the holiday. As Wikipedia describes it, it "is a 2021 historical psychological drama film ... about Princess Diana's existential crisis during the Christmas of 1991, as she considers divorcing Prince Charles and leaving the British royal family.
This gave me a ride of 24.4 virtual miles in 1:51
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Thursday, 12/14/2023
2023 Mileage: 4734.0
During my ride this morning, I watched a film that was wholly new to me—The Holdovers (2023), which is an unusual Christmas movie that I found on an online list of Christmas movies.
This gave me a ride of 25.8 virtual miles in 2:07
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Tuesday 12/12/2023
2023 Mileage: 4708.2
This morning during my ride, I watched again Bye Bye Barry, the superb Amazon Prime documentary on Barry Sanders the all-time great Lions running back, which I first watched last Friday.
This gave me a ride of 20.2 virtual miles in 1:32.
Monday, December 11, 2023
Monday, 12/11/2023
2023 Mileage: 46880
During my indoor ride this afternoon I watched a fascinating movie: the 2017 film The Man Who Invented Christmas, about Charles Dickens in London in the early 1840s, and his creation of the beloved classic book, A Christmas Carol.
This gave me a ride of 20.8 virtual miles in 1:38.
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Sunday, 12/10/2023
2023 Mileage: 4667.2
Today is a big day -- our 30th anniversary! We are going out for an early dinner to celebrate, so I came home after our handbell choir played at church this morning, and climbed on the stationary bike, to ride two hours while watching the Lions/Bears 1:00 game. This allowed me to see the entire first half, and just a short amount of the second, with the Lions leading 13-10 at the half.
This gave me a ride of 25.4 virtual miles in 2:00.
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Saturday, 12/9/2023
2023 Mileage: 4641.8
Our church handbell choir is playing at a function there this afternoon, so I knew I'd need to get my ride done early today. I climbed on our stationary bike a bit past 7:30, and rode while watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (having watched the original on Thursday).
This gave me a ride of 23.6 virtual miles in 2:00.
Friday, December 8, 2023
Friday, 12/8/2023
2023 Mileage: 4618.2
A couple of weeks ago, Amazon Prime released a documentary titled Bye Bye Barry, about former Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders, arguably the greatest running back in the history of the NFL (although Barry himself claims that Jim Brown deserves that title).
I had not seen it, so I watched it this morning during my ride. The Lions have been dismal during my lifetime (they last won the NFL championship in 1957, the far distant year of my birth [just over a decade before the Super Bowl began]). Accordingly, my football fandom is not strong.
I heard the film praised strongly on my sports talk radio station (97.1, The Ticket) yesterday. Since we subscribe to Amazon Prime, I decided to watch it today -- and am glad that I did. In fact, multiple viewings were strongly recommended, and that is a recommendation I expect to accept sometime in coming days.
This gave me a ride of 18.8 virtual miles in 1:32.
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Thursday, 12/7/2023
2023 Mileage: 4599.6
During today's ride, I watched the comedy classic (1990) Home Alone, and even though I've seen it multiple times before, still found it quite enjoyable.
This gave me a ride of 20.3 virtual miles inn 1:45.
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Wednesday, 12/6/2023
2023 Mileage: 4579.3
After having watched the original (1947) version of Miracle on 34th Street during yesterday's ride, today I watched the 1994 remake -- and frankly, I'd be hard pressed to choose between them. Both versions are most enjoyable.
This gave me a ride of 23.3 virtual miles inn 1:50.
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Tuesday, 12/5/2023
2023 Mileage: 4556.0
During today's ride, I watched the Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street. I am familiar with the 1994 update, but had never seen the 1947 original, so today I watched that, and then tomorrow will probably watch the 1994 version.
This gave me a ride of 20.0 virtual miles in 1:36.
Monday, December 4, 2023
Monday, 12/4/2023
2023 Mileage: 4536.0
Yesterday, my son, John, had a choir concert up in Lansing. I had planned to drive up for it, but have been fighting a heavy cold in recent days, and my energy was down, so Michelle was concerned about me making the 75-minute drive on my own. Instead, I rode up with my daughter Christy, which provided us with the bonus of some rare and very welcome father/daughter time.
During the drive, we listened to The Carpenters Christmas album, Christmas Portrait, which we have both loved for decades. During the song White Christmas, she asked me, "Do you like the movie White Christmas?" I told her that I was not sure I had ever seen it.
Because of this, after taking yesterday off from riding, during my ride today I watched the movie, and although I remembered no specifics about it, I am quite sure that I have seen it at some point.
This gave me a ride of 25.0 virtual miles in 2:06.
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Saturday, 12/2/2023
2023 Mileage: 4511.0
Today, I had hoped I might be able to squeeze in an outdoor ride. But, though I think I could have put up with the temperature, the light rain we were experiencing convinced me to stay inside, on our stationary cycle, where I finished the 1967 musical Camelot, after having watched the first hour of it yesterday.
This gave me a ride of 25.5 virtual miles in 1:53.
Friday, December 1, 2023
Friday, 12/1/2023
2023 Mileage: 4485.5
Fighting a heavy cold, I took yesterday off and climbed into bed for a heavy nap instead. Today I got back into it with a nondemending ride, while watching the first hour of the 1967 musical Camelot. This is a magnificent presentation, packed with splendid songs like The Lusty Month of May and If Ever I Would Leave You.
This gave me a ride of 13.1 virtual miles in 1:00.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
-
2023 Mileage: 2747.5 I chose not to ride yesterday as we did a big family hike during the afternoon (at Saginaw Forest) with Michelle and me... -
2023 Mileage: 1396.9 Yesterday, a busy day meant that I couldn't ride. So I was eager to get back on it today. All my life, I've bee...
-
2023 Mileage: 3941.3 What a MAGNIFICENT day today was for a ride—a real throwback to summer weather. It felt much more like June than like...