Filling the Gap

This past week has been sadly devoid of paddling, mostly due to weather. Hopefully that will change this coming week. But, in the meantime, life continues in a reasonably interesting fashion, and there are several things worth noting. First, I finished Down the Great Unknown by Edward Dolnick, which is about John Wesley Powell's 1869 exploration of the Grand Canyon via the Colorado River. It was good, not great, but I learned a good bit and it was a nice follow-up to my previous read, The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey. Second, I saw two good movies; Waltz with Bashir, an animated pseudo-documentary about an Israeli man's attempt to retrieve his forgotten (blocked) Lebanon experience, and A Bright Shining Lie about John Paul Vann and the Vietnam debacle. I recommend them both. It's funny how my entertainment tends to center on themes (the books on the West and the desert, the movies on war and personal experience). Yesterday I ran almost 7 miles (but at a slow 11 min/mile pace) in my continued training for my first triathlon (in only 1 month!). Finally, due to clever shopping, I spent $58 at the grocery store today, but saved $59! Pretty awesome, and my freezer is full of meat. We also finished The Living Planet series previously posted about, and it was fascinating and worth watching. Lots of indoors sorts of endeavours, but not a terrible way to spend a rainy/windy week. Big plans for a paddle later this week! I'm off to watch my favorite show on the telly, 24 (besides Jeopardy, of course). Cheers.