We're fully into holiday season now. Thanksgiving's come and gone. This week will show us all how well everyone did avoiding COVID during the traditional family gathering.

I'm not optimistic.

My wife and I stuck around home and plan to do the same over Xmas, as well. Venturing out only to places where we're relatively sure we'll be away from crowds. Like state parks we haven't yet visited.

Dinosaur Valley State Park

Dinosaur Valley State Park was definitely worth a trip. Dinosaur tracks still in the river that runs through it are unique, but the hiking takes you through some beautiful scenery. A vista overlook lets you see for miles and miles around. Fun place and would definitely go back.

Dino track
Hiking under an overhang!

Movies

  • The Queen's Gambit is a mini-series that feels like an eight hour movie with hourly intermissions. The best thing I've seen in the last two years, movie or TV. Makes chess look exciting even though you know you're awful at it. It's not about chess so much as the main character who's control of the board is the exact opposite of the control of herself.
  • Darby O'Gill and the Little People was one of Sean Connery's first films. A celebratory viewing considering he passed away within the past month or so. What's unique about this one is that he sings!
Syndicate Sadists' main character, Rambo.
  • Syndicate Sadists is just 70's crazy, no-nonsense fun. The main character, Rambo (yes, Rambo) is the coolest around, rides a motorcycle, is the best fighter, marksman and everything a man could possibly be. Which is why, of course, the police come to him to help them with the mob feud creating chaos in town.
  • Mortal is a new film. Entertaining, but the abrupt ending left me feeling like I should be expecting a sequel. Main character has electric-based powers of some kind so isolates himself deep in the woods were he can only hurt himself and the trees. When he accidentally kills someone, the hunt for him is on, and he can barely keep his powers in-check.
  • Cyborg 2 was Angelina Jolie's first film, and I'm sure she'd rather have everyone forget it. An alleged sequel to the Jean-Claude Van Damme Cyborg film, this one's just hilariously awful. Watch with beer and friends.
  • The Hunt was a lot of fun. Rich people hunting the poor for sport. Sarcastic commentary on today's society.
  • .. these are The Damned starts out as a bit of a wacky Clockwork Orange rehash, but that's only the setup. There's a group of children being inhumanely isolated that our main characters encounter. And when they learn the secret, it's already too late. As strange as the movie starts, the ending kind of blew me away.
This film from the 60's prophesied remote learning while socially distancing.