Foot Surgery - the sequel

Last Tuesday I had foot surgery. I had more extensive work done on my right foot three years ago, this was restricted to the toe. The procedure basically straightened my right toe, removed an anchor from the first surgery and removed or restructured the bump on the side of my foot. It had been causing some mild to moderate pain, hopefully this gives me long term relief and a little more power from my toe\foot. I've been on some serious pain killers. It's left me extremely tired, but otherwise I am none the worse for wear. Here is the 'damage'. At least I can get around fairly well in the boot.

Tom Clancy - Dead or Alive

My father in law loaned me 'Dead or Alive' one of Tom Clancy's latest books. I've always been a fan of the Jack Ryan series of Clancy novels, but I stopped reading them after 'Bear and the Dragon', when Clancy switched from Jack Ryan to Jack Ryan Jr. I have to say how pleasantly surprised by 'Dead or Alive' It's well written (which is no surprise for a Clancy novel), exciting and relevant for the current time period, as opposed to his early books like, "The Hunt for Red October". All of the old characters I remember are there, just as vivid as ever. It feels very much as if I am revisiting an old friend. I have about 200 pages to go, and I've borrowed 'Teeth of the Tiger', the first Jack Ryan Jr book which I skipped. In December the Next Jack Ryan book is coming out. I am eagerly looking forward to it.

Lots of cooking and lots of kids

Lots of cooking and lots of kids this weekend. Yesterday I made Italian Beef and Risotto. Today I am making turkey and beef chili. I'm using up a lot of leftovers and things in the cupboard. It's funny with three young boys we seem to go through food at an alarming rate, yet it's also spilling off the counters on the floors with regularity. When I moved into my current house I thought the kitchen and house were huge and would never be filled. Now it feels like we are bursting at the seems. Despite all the food I picked up four pizzas this afternoon. My eldest son has two classmates over. They are trying to build a bridge out of toothpicks for science class. My two younger sons each have a friend over. Grabbing a couple of pizzas seemed like a good move, but no one is hungry. I guess we'll have even more leftovers.

The Captains

This week I watched, ‘The Captains’ a new documentary by William Shatner about the five actors who played captains in the various incarnations of Star Trek. I really enjoyed the documentary and although I am an avid Star Trek fan I learned a few new things and enjoyed hearing each of the actors reflect on their experiences. William Shatner has a strong and unusual personality and he is admittedly an acquired taste. I tend to like Shatner’s eccentricities, but others may find it a bit distracting. William Shatner interviewed each of the actors one at a time, interspersed with interludes of his own travels and visits to Star Trek conventions. He appears to have a realy friendship with Patrick Stuart, and their interaction felt the most natural. The interview with Kate Mulgrew was good, and he seemed they seemed to get along well enough, although Shatner went off on a bizarre tangent about women not being able to hold high political office. It appeared to be the first time he met Scott Bakula and Chris Pine. I’ve always liked Scott Bakula as an actor, but he seemed to be a genuinely interesting guy and a real fan of classic Start Trek. William Shatner’s interaction with Avery Brooks was very odd, mildly uncomfortable and in some ways it stole the show. Avery Brooks is an accomplished jazz musician and instead of answering interview style he played light jazz on the piano interspersed with answer in song and ‘spoken word’. Shatner couldn’t resist and started interjecting his own improvised song and lyrics. They worked out an uneasy style by the end of the interview, but I swear Avery Brooks was ready irritated and ready to deck Shatner early on. If you are a die hard or causal Star Trek fan, put his on your list. It’s worth a look.