End of the Year

We had some free passes for The Hobbit and decided to use them while the movie was still available.  I was very impressed with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the first installment of the Hobbit trilogy was a bit disappointing.  The Desolation of Smaug was not that way at all, except that the movie ended leaving us hanging for the third installment.

The performances were particularly striking (especially elves Evangeline Lilly and Orlando Bloom) and the setting unbelievable.  It is understandable why they spend so much time doing these movies, since the sets are so over-the-top.  The photography is phenomenal, since the dwarves are as tall as 6'2", but look the correct heights for dwarves.  Frequently they are photographed with taller people and objects and the proportions are kept pretty correct.  Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug was absolutely amazing!

 

For New Year's Eve, we decided to play it low-key.  First we went on a history-drenched Urban Hike about Santa Barbara to retrace the Padre's Route to/from town from the Mission.  It was well attended to the tune of about 140 people, when 70 or less were expected.  The organizers punted and it was very informative and interesting.  It was covered by the local TV station, KEYT.  Then we came home for a quick dinner followed by a late evening movie, The Wolf of Wall Street. 

This movie, albeit way too long, was more than likely more accurate than we'd all like to admit.  The debauchery, drugs, and excess everything was difficult to take (especially for three hours).  While the performances of the lead actors was commendable, I believe the movie was excessive on all counts.  IMHO, it will not be a contender for Best Picture, but will make lots of money at the box office.

A new monk reads the ORIGINAL texts

A new monk shows up at a monastery where the monks spend their time making copies of ancient books. The new monk goes to the basement of the monastery saying he wants to make copies of the originals rather than of others' copies so as to avoid duplicating errors they might have made. Several hours later the monks, wondering where their new friend is, find him crying in the basement. They ask him what is wrong and he says "the word is CELEBRATE, not CELIBATE!"