Summer Movie Disappointment

So far I've been pretty disappointed with the movies I've seen this summer. Iron Man 3 was good, but not great, Star Trek Into Darkness was good but not great, Man of Steel was "eh", and The Purge was pretty stupid. I'm likely to see World War Z and Pacific Rim in the near future but don't think either will be particularly good. Hopefully I'll see something good this summer.

Last week when I stopped for lunch at Luncha Libre and stepped away from my quesadilla obsession and ordered a Sloppy Jose. This is basically a sloppy Joe but made from ground beef and chorizo topped with a habanero queso sauce on a toasted roll. Wow it was good! I'm starting to think about trying to recreate it at home.

A little more on the healthy side was the pasta and bean soup I made last weekend.

Not quite a traditional recipe-it has zucchini in in it-and I use a tomato topping (diced tomato and basil) instead of adding tomato to the broth. This version seems more summery to me. Also for some reason this soup tastes best to me when warm instead of steaming hot. Yes, the daily temperature is near 110 degrees where I live and I made soup for dinner. I see no problem with that.

Northern Arizona

I spent this past weekend in the area around Payson, Arizona. The last time I visited the area was when my Ph.D. supervisor invited a bunch of us to the cabin that he and his wife built. I call it a cabin but it has been referred to as the Chateau of Fun. On the recent trip I got to spend some time in the area seeing the Tonto Natural Bridge, the Strawberry Schoolhouse, Fossil Creek Creamery, and the Mogollon rim.

The natural bridge was awesome! Standing underneath it was like standing in a light rain shower as the water fell from the rocks above. The cold water felt good on such a warm day. It wasn't very strenuous to walk down to except for the little scary part where the rocks were very slick.

We walked the shorter Waterfall trail too:

 

After stopping for ice cream in Strawberry, AZ I took these pictures of the outside and inside of the Strawberry schoolhouse. This is "the oldest standing school in Arizona".

There were some amusing rules for teachers posted on the walls. Apparently men could only go courting one night a week, unless they were a regular church goer, in which case they could court twice a week.

The last stop of Saturday before returning to Payson for the night was the Fossil Creek Creamery. I've enjoyed samples of their goat cheese at a local store.

Goats!

We spent a little of Sunday afternoon at the Mogollon Rim. The rim offered splendid views of the Tonto National Forest.

I wish I could remember the name of the lake (Wood's canyon lake, I think). People were out fishing but don't know how much luck they were having. A fun weekend!

Geeking Out

Summer has finally arrived and I have the next two months off. Let's see what I can do this year.
Just as final exams were wrapping up in May I was able to attend Leprecon, a small, local science fiction convention. Due to its timing I haven't been able to spend much time there the two times I have gone, but I do like supporting the con. This year the author Guest of Honor was Jack McDevitt. There are two of his books in my library: The Engines of God (a novel) and Standard Candles (a collection). The con's meet the author session was pretty empty so he invited those present to pull up some chairs and talked with us for just over an hour. All present swapped stories about what got us reading science fiction. For me it was Star Trek, classic horror films, Japanese monster movies, and bad 1950s science fiction movies that were a Saturday afternoon staple. As mentioned elsewhere I was (and still am) fond of old radio programs. I didn't think of it at the time but as I write this I also have to credit my interest in science and the space program.

Star Wars was a big influence too but not really until The Empire Strikes Back was released and my parents spoiled the snot out of me with lots and lots of Star Wars Toys. That's where it really started and likely responsible for me reading somewhere around 1000 books so far. That said, I confess here to not reading much other than short fiction and comic books the past couple of years.

After the author panel I visited a few of the tables set up and took a walk through the art room. When I left for the day I felt inspired to try and find some novels to read. I promise to get on it as soon as I clear out the unread books on my shelves!

Someone could (and should) write a dissertation about why there are so few young people at these types of events. I am over 40 and I was on the lower end of the age range of the attendees I saw. There are many young writers so what will it take to get the young fans to attend a con?

I'll contrast the small science fiction convention with Phoenix Comicon, which I attended for the first time this year. Now I am not expecting Leprecon to attract over 40,000 people, but it was sad to me when only about a dozen people showed up to meet their guest of honor.

Phoenix Comicon was fun. I was able to attend some meet the author sessions and a few other panels. I was happy to take pictures of Stormtroopers and Darth Vader! Though I was very put out by the Mos Eisley cantina area where you could have your picture taken with Greedo shooting. GAH! Talk about revisionist history. I enjoyed just walking around and checking out all the costumes. These people need to share their talents with me. Please! It was also good see friends and even some former students during the weekend. Based on the positive experience I am likely to attend next year too.

So far, this summer vacation, I have attended a science fiction convention, attended Phoenix Comicon, and am registered for this year's Coppercon. This will be my first time at Coppercon which will be right before the fall semester begins. This means I will have attended a con just as the spring semester was ending and will attend a con just before the fall semester begins. The physicist in me finds the symmetry appealing.