Sheldon Brown's Journal
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July-August 2005
Film: (DVD) Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events Brad Silberling 2004
This was great fun, as I gather the books are too. Highly recommended.
Film: (DVD) The Gingerbread Man Robert Altman, 1998
Kenneth Branagh as a souther lawyer?! Actually, he pulls it off. His Georgia accent works for me but might not fool a southerner. Pretty good film, but not a great one.
eBook: A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859
Don't know how I missed out on reading this earlier. I've seen it on film, but never read the book before. I have to say I enjoyed this more than any other Dickens book I've read, even though I knew how it came out.I'm glad I wasn't made to read this in high school, because I wasn't ready for it then.
Harriet's off to New York for a weekend with her mother, and George is heading off to Madison for graduate school, so I'm alone for the weekend after driving them to the airport.Film: (DVD) The Bridge Gérard Depardieu, Frédéric Auburtin, 1999
I can't resist anything with Gérard Depardieu. The eternal triangle in Normandy. I liked it.
Oops, the next few entries are being filled in after the fact from notes, in September, 2006, so I don't recall as much detail as I would like:
Film: (DVD) The Girl tn the Café David Yates, 2005
Stodgy bureaucrat falls for free-spirited young woman, takes her along to a major summit conference...
Film: (DVD) Mansfield Park Patricia Rozema, 1999
I can never get enough of Jane Austen, but can't recall the details of this film 13 months later.
Music: Revels Cruise
Harriet and I went on a Revels harbor-cruise-sing, good fun but my voice wasn't at its best.
eBook: The War of the Worlds H.G. Wells, 1898
THE classic alien invasion novel, this one came first! A must for all science fiction fans.Film: (DVD) Saved Brian Dannelly, 2003
A light comedy making fun of the Christian right. Not terribly memorable, I'm afraid.
Film: (DVD) Withnail and I Bruce Robinson 1977
This is a fairly highly regarded film, but I didn't much enjoy it.
eBook: Maggie, a Girl of the Streets Stephen Crane, 1893
As grim and depressing as the title suggests.The Sorcerer, Gilbert & Sullivan
An informal sing-through at M.I.T. I took the role of The Notary.
Family Reunion, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Ithaca New York
Drove out to Ithaca to pick up Tova, finishing the summer research program she was doing at Cornell. A quick hit and run trip, but on Sunday we did take the opportunity to go swimming in a gorge on the Cornell campus. I got my signals crossed and didn't have my bathing suit handy so I went skinny dipping, which is always a pleasure anyway.
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Eastern Tandem Rally, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
8 1/2 hours in the car got us there in time for the ice cream social, but not for any rides today. We took the route recommended by Google Maps, which took us over the Tappan Zee bridge, too close to New York City. We hit bad traffic from there out toward the Poconos. At least the car wasn't overheating and the air conditioner is working.Brought the Picchio set up as a fixed gear. I've heard mixed reports about the suitability to the terrain for fixed gear riding, so I also rigged up the Shimano Nexus 8 speed wheel from my Raleigh International with a shifter and long cable that let it work on the Picchio. I did a couple of test rides last week around home to see if it worked OK, and it seems to be up to the task. However, I still plan to try out the fixed gear first. Running on the 52/18 combination. We've got a 17 tooth sprocket on the other side of the rear wheel, but that's probably not going to get us up the hills.
Eastern Tandem Rally , Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Did a 39 mile ride, using the 52/18 fixed gear. It was delightful! We were the only fixed gear among 120 tandems, but held our own just fine. We couldn't keep up on the descents, but did quite well on the flats, and left everybody in the dust on the climbs...with the exception of one short steep bit right after the lunch stop where we had to get off and push for 20-30 meters. I'm glad I didn't listen to the dire warnings of those who told me I'd need gears.Spent a fair amount of time riding alongside Mel and Barbara Kornbluh of Tandems East. I knew Mel from the Internet, but our paths had not previously crossed.
This was an absolutely gorgeous ride under a clear blue sky, through beautiful farmland with fine views on every side. The roads were very well paved and with hardly any motor traffic. Only saw one Amish buggy on the road, and was startled by how fast it was clipping along. I was later informed that the Amish frequently buy race horses that are past their racing prime but still good for a good clip.
The lunch stop was in Mifflinburg, and we toured the Mifflinburg Buggy Museum, a preserved factory where buggies were made in the 19th century. Turns out Mifflinburg was a key center of coach-building, with at one time a total of 70 active carriage manufacturers. I was particularly fascinated to see some of the special tools and fixtures they used for manufacturing and repairing the wood-spoked, iron-tired wheels.
Added Google Search to this Journal directory
Bentrider Recumbent Festival
Drove the Pontiac out to Bath, NY on Keuka Lake. 6 1/2 hours, beautiful weather, nice drive listening to:Audio Book The Archer's Tale Bernard Cornwell, 2000
A very exciting tale of an English archer-hero and events leading up to the Battle of Crécy in the Hundred Years War. Originally published under the title Harlequin.
Bentrider Recumbent Festival
Main event today was an expo/test ride fair. I rode a bunch of different recumbent trikes, but didn't actually like any of them quite as much as my own Greenspeed.Riding up from the campground to the demo event, I took a "shortcut" across a hayfield and acquired an amazing harvest in the Greenspeed's rear derailer.
Bentrider Recumbent Festival
Today was the big ride around Keuka Lake, about 49 miles, the longest ride I've yet done on the Greenspeed. It was a very nice ride, kinda hot but not really uncomfortable. The roads were very nice, quite scenic and not too busy. No cross traffic, thanks to a clockwise course around the lake.After lunch I really felt the need for a swim, so I took the low road along the shore, stopped when I saw a guy out on a float a few yards offshore. I asked him if it would be OK if I took a dip, he said "Sure but watch out for the zebra mussels on the bottom." Fortunately, his dock ended in water deep enough to jump into without any need to touch bottom. The water was a delightful temperature (at least by Marblehead standards) and very clean (I guess I can thank the zebra mussels for that.)
After the ride I took a quick tour of the Glenn Curtiss Museum , wishing I had more time for it...they've got a lot of very interesting stuff there, but it was just about closing time, and I had "miles to go before I sleep."
I headed back for home after the ride, but it was late and I was too tired to do the trip all in one go, so I stopped in a cheap motel in Susquehanna, a bit east of Binghamton. Not bad for $43/night, and they had HBO so I was able to watch the debut of the new series "Rome." I enjoyed the show, but it's better on my own TV.
| Books reviewed on this page: | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Archer's Tale | Bernard Cornwell | 8/26/05 |
| Maggie, A Girl of the Streets | Stephen Crane | 7/16/05 |
| A Tale of Two Cities | Charles Dickens | 7/4/05 |
| The War of the Worlds | H. G. Wells | 7/14/05 |
| Films reviewed on this page: | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Gingerbread Man | July 2, 2005 | |
| Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events | July 1, 2005 | |
| Mansfield Park | July 12, 2005 | |
| Saved | July 16, 2005 | |
| Withnail and I | July 15, 2005 | |
| Plays: | ||
|---|---|---|
| November 29, 2002 | Lorraine Bracco | The Graduate |
| November 23, 2001 | Helen Mirren, Ian McKelln | The Dance of Death-August Strindberg |
| September 30, 2000 | Tova/Black Box Theatre, Cornell University | The Maids-Jean Genet |
| May 30, 2000 | Kelsey Grammer/Colonial Theatre | Macbeth |
| May 26, 2000 | The Huntington Theatre Co. | King Hedley II |
| September 3, 1999 | The Publick Theatre | Nine |
| August 21, 1999 | Orange Tree Theatre, Ithaca, N.Y. | Sonata |
| August 13, 1999 | Firehouse Theatre, Ithaca, N.Y. | Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All For You |
| May 22-29 | Newton South/North High Schools | Richard III |
| December 18, 1998 | Newton North High School | The Bone Violin, May F lies |
| November 12, 1998 | Newton North High School | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Travels: | |
|---|---|
| November 21-24, 2007 | Plantation, Florida |
| September 25-28, 2007 | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| August 18-25, 2007 | Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts |
| November 22-26, 2006 | Plantation, Florida |
| September 25-28, 2006 | Las Vegas (Interbike) |
| June 10-20, 2006 | Santa Cruz, California |
| May 5-7, 2006 | Aurora, Indiana |
| November 23, 2005 | Plantation, Florida |
| September 26-29, 2005 | Interbike, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| August 26-28, 2005 | 'Bentride 2005, Bath, N.Y. |
| July 21-24, 2005 | Family Reunion, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. |
| April 29, 2005 | Cirque de Cyclisme, Greensboro, N.C. |
| February 16, 2005 | Indianapolis |
| November 24, 2004 | Plantation, Florida |
| October 8, 2004 | Santa Cruz, California |
| October 4, 2004 | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| June 8, 2004 | France, England |
| December 22, 2003 | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| November 27, 2003 | Florida |
| October 31, 2003 | Potomac, Maryland |
| October 10, 2003 | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| September 21, 2003 | New York, N.Y. |
| November 27-30, 2002 | New York, N.Y. |
| October 8-13, 2002 | Evanston, Illinois |
| October 4-8, 2002 | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| July 3-9, 2002 | Canso, Nova Scotia |
| May 24-27, 2002 | Long Island, New York |
| November 21-24, 2001 | New York City |
| October 16-19, 2001 | Cape Cod, Massachusetts |
| September 29-October 3, 2001 | Las Vegas, Nevada (Interbike Show) |
| June 16-23, 2001 | Nags Head, North Carolina |
| October 5-14, 2000 | Evanston, Illinois |
| September 30-October 2, 2000 | Ithaca, New York |
| June 22-25, 2000 | Urbanna, Virginia |
| October 7-13, 1999 | Chicago/Evanston, Illinois |
| August 19-28, 1999 | Ithaca, New York |
| August 12-13, 1999 | Ithaca, New York |
| July 23-25, 1999 | Bridgeton, Maine |
| November 25-28, 1998 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| 1988-89 | France, England |
| 1980 | Yucatan, Mexico |
| 1975 | England, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Turkey |
Last Updated: by Harriet Fell
