Redskins Playoff Magic

Early in the morning of January 4th, 1992 I was roused from my slumber by the sound of the phone ringing. It was a Saturday and school hadn't started back up yet so I yawned, rolled over, and attempted to squeeze in some more sleep. It was not to be, however, as my mom poked her head into my room and let me know that the phone call was for . . . me.

This was pretty unusual - but not unheard of - so I sleepily made my way to the phone. At the other end of the line was one of my mom's dear friends, Sam, and what he had to say brought me to full awake status in nanoseconds.

His neighbors, longtime Washington Redskins season tickets holders, couldn't make it to that day's playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons. They had given Sam their two tickets and he was inviting me to come along.

This opportunity came at a key time in my development. I was 12 years old and had just finished my second season of youth football. We had been living in the Washington DC area for a couple of years and I was already becoming bought into the local football team. It was cold and raining relentlessly that day . . . but there was no way I was going to miss such an opportunity!

Sam picked me up and we made our way into the District. As we entered historic RFK Stadium, they were kindly giving out yellow seat cushions to protect fans from the cold, wet bleachers.

The game began inauspiciously. The Falcons had talked a lot of talk. Deion Sanders was a particularly vocal player and there were rumors that M.C. Hammer was on their sideline to boot. The Falcons sang "To Hell With the Redskins" (a mockery of the Washington fight song, "Hail to the Redskins") and sent out 47 players to the opening coin toss.

The Redskins let their play do the talking. Rookie Ricky Ervins led a dominant running game that opened up Mark Rypien's passing game to "The Posse," (hat tip to the front five "Hogskins" for effective run blocking and solid pass protection) especially my favorite, Art Monk. Fullback Gerald Riggs accounted for two touchdowns, which was fire in the belly for this wide-eyed aspiring fullback.

On defense too, Darrell Green led a stifling performance. By the fourth quarter the Skins were sitting on a solid lead and it was becoming evident that we would be headed to the NFC Championship. When Riggs made it 24-7, effectively ruling out any potential Falcons comeback, the crowd went wild.

Someone threw one of those yellow seat cushions down onto the field. I remember it as if time slowed down for those few seconds as we all watched that cushion fall several stories to the ground. Then, suddenly, time resumed and everybody threw a seat cushion in. It was raining yellow confetti. The ref was blowing his whistle. It was pouring. It was cold. But we were going to the championship!

A quarter century later I remember that moment as if it were yesterday. That time-standing-still experience was truly magical for this young football player. I had thrown my cushion in along with everyone else but Sam held onto his and let me keep it. I still have it to this day. It's a reminder not just of that special moment, and of that Superbowl-winning season, but also of how much magic it is possible to create in the lives of children.

Thank you, Sam, for that lesson, and good luck to the Redskins today in their playoff game against the Packers!

The Force Awakens: the Good, the Bad, and the Amazing

Per my previous post, I thought Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was very, very good but definitely not perfect. Below are my thoughts on the good, the bad, and the truly amazing aspects of this film.

WARNING: THERE BE SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Good:

• The original cast actors bring their A game. I was worried that Harrison Ford would mail it in. On the contrary, he, Leia, etc. are in top form.
• The writing was good too. Han is straight up funny and we get a lot more depth out of Chewbacca than we've ever had before. Even C3PO isn't annoying.
• This movie was clearly made by fans for fans as there is such care taken to do right by the characters, things, and themes that we all know and love from the original trilogy. The fan service is well done and not nearly as cheesy or over the top as in the prequel trilogy. My favorite example of this is when Leia feels Han die, she clutches her heart and has to sit down - almost exactly like Yoda in Episode III when he feels the other jedi dying. It's a really subtle tie-in but I think it was intentional and it was very well done.
• As this is something of a "passing the torch" movie, there are many new characters introduced and, by and large, they are compelling, interesting, well written, well acted, and well developed (within the time constraints of a Hollywood blockbuster). I would have liked more from General Hux and Captain Phasma, but hopefully they'll be better in Episode VIII.
• The movie is visually stunning. I've seen it twice in 3D and once in IMAX 3D (recommended) but I haven't yet seen it in any of the allegedly optimal formats. Still, the focus on practical effects when possible and cinematography result in some breathtaking scenes and riveting action sequences.
• Kylo Ren is an interesting, complex villain. His conflict between light and dark, his still-to-be-revealed back story, his Solo tie-in, and his inability to contain his passionate emotions (reflected even in his lightsaber, which needs exhaust ports to vent excess heat) are all really interesting. Frankly this is what I was hoping for out of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy.
• This movie answers some 30 year old questions about what has happened after the events of Episode VI . . . but at the same time introduces many more questions. The result is something that both satisfies and leaves you hungering for more - well done.
• The music, my goodness the music. There isn't much new territory covered here, no major new them, but the existing themes we already know and love are masterfully woven into the film. Just thinking of Rey lighting the lightsaber as the theme swells, reflecting her growing confidence and determination gives me chills. Well done!

The Force Awakens is far from perfect, though, so here's

The Bad:

• The plot is largely recycled from Episode IV and VI. From starting with a droid hiding some secret on a desert planet to ending with a ground strike team taking down shields so that x-wings can make a trench run to blow up a death star and including the defenseless older mentor character being struck down by the Vader-like character . . . it all feels more than a little familiar. I get that they were trying to pay homage to the original trilogy but I would have liked a little more original plot.
• Even at 2.5 hours, it felt rushed in several places. There were some major events that didn't linger long enough for them to sink in. For example, when the Starkiller base is used to destroy an entire planetary system (and the New Republic fleet), it just moves on immediately to, "OK, how are we going to respond," depriving the scene of the gravitas it might have otherwise had. Similarly Finn just up and decides he's not buying what the New Order is selling and starts shooting storm troopers - the guys he has grown up with his entire life - without a second thought. I would expect some more conflict in him, which would give his character more depth. Finn also develops strong bonds with both Poe and Rey really quickly, with very little relationship development. I suspect that many of these omissions are the hallmarks of cuts that were made to keep the movie under Hollywood's pre-defined blockbuster time limit so I'm hopeful for an extended edition to be released that will fill in some of the gaps.
• There are also some disbelief-suspending plot holes. R2D2 randomly comes back on and takes a long time to do so because . . . convenience. Poe's sole mission is to recover BB8 and yet he leaves Jakku without him for some reason to head back to the Resistance, hops in an x-wing, and doesn't go immediately back to Jakku because . . . convenience.

Fortunately there really isn't any ugly in The Force Awakens, so here's

The Amazing:

• I love, love, love how gender is treated in this movie. There are strong female roles; Leia is now a "general," not a "princess" and the stormtrooper Captain Phasma is a woman. The men are conflicted, emotional, and not infallible. It's a much more even playing field than I'm used to seeing in action movies - and especially Star Wars movies.
• One female protagonist really stands out to me, though: Rey. She is strong, capable, unsure of herself, vulnerable, driven, and - at the end of the day - totally badass. It's the first time I can recall ever being totally inspired by a female hero. Every time I watch the movie I get starry eyed "OMG I wanna be like that!" feelings in ways that have traditionally been reserved for very "masculine" heroes. I wonder what the implications are when an entire generation of boys grows up having had not just male idols but females as well. Workplace equality? Men more capable of doing things that have typically been considered "feminine" in the workplace (things which research shows are incredibly valuable for leadership and teamwork)? Women able to be leaders in organizations without adopting "masculine" traits and being derogatorily labeled for it? I don't know but I have a hunch that, if popular media continue to level the playing field between male and female heroes, it could be tranformative to our collective psychology.
• Rey's character wouldn't be nearly so compelling without fantastic acting and Daisy Ridley absolutely crushes it (Writing and direction must get credit too.). She's not the only one, though. In the best scene of the movie (Maybe one of the best scenes of all time?), she and Adam Driver deliver absolutely virtuosic performances. During the interrogation scene, let's be clear that he is straight-up raping her. It may be rape of the mind rather than the body but, if anything, that feels even more heinous to me. "You know I can take whatever I want." He is exerting total domination and power over her as she lies helplessly restrained. And then she resists. You can see the determination written all over her face. You can then see her confidence grow - and his shake - as she fights and ultimately overpowers him.There is almost no dialog, special effects, or even blocking - it is an entire journey of psychological epiphany and empowerment told exclusively through the faces of two actors locked in an epic performance. It's glorious and I can't remember the last time I was able to say that about a scene in a movie blockbuster.

So there you have it, my take on Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. It wasn't perfect but it was very, very good and some of it was straight up amazing. What did you think? Please preface your comments with SPOILER tags if they contain them.

The Force Awakens . . . and It Is Strong

After much waiting and anticipation, I saw Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (three times!) this weekend. TL;DR: it is very good.

Spoiler-free zone:

It's no secret that I love Star Wars. I was too young to have seen the original trilogy in the theaters but I grew up with it on home video and I loved it. The consummate contemporary mythology of the epic struggle of good vs. evil, it called to me long before I could even understand much of what was happening on screen.

When I was in high school, the original trilogy was re-released in the theater, which was an amazing opportunity to see the movies in a way that I never had before. Funny story: my girlfriend at the time had never seen Star Wars so I took her to see it in the theater. She didn't like it. We broke up. (Not because of the Star Wars directly, but it was a clear litmus test that we weren't a fit!)

The prequel trilogy came out while I was in college. I wanted to love it and for some time I convinced myself that I did, but eventually I came to realize that I did not - much as I did not love the additions in the "Special Edition" of the original trilogy. No matter, I still loved the greater Star Wars universe - so much so that I even gave a TEDx talk about it!

With all that in mind, you can imagine the mixed emotions I had leading up to Episode VII. I really, really, really wanted it to be good, but I had been burned by that before with the prequels. Accordingly, I tried to set my expectations low but, as much hype as there was leading up to the movie's release, that proved impossible.

Opening day I took the day off from work and attended a Star Wars marathon at the theater: 24 hours of episodes I-VI. I actually skipped episodes I-III and got some sleep instead! :-) It was fantastic to see episodes IV-VI in the theater, though - for only the second time in my life. They were the Special Editions but I just turned away during the objectionable parts. :-)

Finally Thursday evening the big moment arrived. My primary hope was that Episode VII simply wouldn't suck. If I dared to dream, though, I hoped it would be amazing. Long story short: it most definitely did not suck! It was very good, maybe even amazing - but I'm not sure about that yet, still processing.

The new characters were well developed, the acting and direction was excellent, the old characters provided good fan service, and the cinematography/action/special effects were all breathtaking. I have some beefs with the plot but overall I was very satisfied. I'll post a separate spoilery review but the take away is that I thought it was so good that I saw it again Friday night . . . and then again Saturday night. It became better each time.

The Force is strong with this sequel.

November Whirlwind

November was a whirlwind! We were barely back from Dubai when we hopped on a plan to Austin, Texas for a dear friend's wedding. It was a grand affair and, although we were only in town briefly, it was long enough for us to get our fix of Tex-mex, BBQ, etc.

Shortly thereafter I was in Houston on business, a trip that happened to coincide with Rice Homecoming. While the outcome of the game was, ahem, less than desirable, the experience of reconnecting with friends, classmates, students, faculty, and the institution I love so much was hard to beat. The weather was perfect and the trip was nourishment for my soul.

The second half of the month kept me in NC and my focus turned (even more so than usual) to . . . food! I attended a wine dinner at Watts Grocery and a beer release at Beer Study that included flights of fantastic stout beers paired with Rise donuts . . . so healthy!

Of course there was Thanksgiving as well. Mom came into town and, in addition to an early Thanksgiving with extended family here in the area, we did a second Thanksgiving at our house with a fried turkey from Time Out . . . I'm still recovering!

Fortunately mixed in with the gluttony were some opportunities to work off the turkey as well. The Saturday before Thanksgiving I ran my third annual Chestnut Ridge 4-mile trail race. It's not super competitive so I finished 6th overall and 1st in my age group. It was a glorious fall day so I celebrated with apple cider and ginger bread - optimal recovery food!

Thanksgiving morning I ran my third annual Gallop and Gorge 8k road race. It's much more competitive so I didn't even come close to placing - but I did improve my 8k PR by 45 seconds, so good deal.

We also did lots of hiking over Thanksgiving weekend and we continue love living in a place where so many hiking opportunities are available.

Through all of my running in November I have been wearing a new toy: a Stryd powermeter. I'm still collecting data and formulating thoughts on it so I'll save additional commentary for a future post.

It's easy to get caught up in all the different things going on this time of year but we have still taken some time to pause, reflect, and be grateful. Each year it seems that we have more and more to be thankful for and this year is no exception. As we head into the holiday season, we are truly grateful for our blessings, family and friends - and we wish you all the same!

IMD Reunion in Dubai

Last weekend Katie and I joined my IMD classmates for a reunion in Dubai. It was our first time to the UAE and it left quite an impression!

We departed Wednesday night and, after the longest flight I've been on in some time - possibly ever - we arrived Thursday evening. We checked in with our hosts and then met a few of the other early arrivals for a drink at a hotel bar.

In Dubai, hotels are the only establishments that can sell alcohol. These aren't your typical hotel bars, though; they are full-on bars/clubs/lounges/discotheques that just happen to be affiliated with hotels. They seem to be pretty loose with this requirement too. In the airport, for example, there are numerous "hotel" bars but I didn't see anywhere to rent a room . . . At any rate, Thursday night we had drinks served up by an award-winning bartender right on the beach with a fantastic night view of the Burj Al Arab.

Friday morning we had a chance to see the city in the daylight and it is hard to describe it in any way other than "impressive." It's a veritable forest of skyskrapers but with a very different feel than, say, New York City. Whereas NYC is populated by buildings with an older, "brick and mortar" aesthetic, these all look like buildings of the future - all chrome and glass. Considering that just a couple of decades ago this was all desert, you can see why the architecture might be more modern.

Still, first impressions were a bit dissonant with expectations. There didn't seem to be any local architectural styles; rather these buildings could have been anywhere in the world. Another difference from a place like NYC is that there is no grid pattern among the blocks. As such, there are no lines of sight along long avenues in any direction; no matter where you go (downtown at least), you are just surrounded by tall buildings.

Another first impression was, "Where are the locals?" Everywhere we went there were expats and all of the service staff seemed to be "imports" as well. Perhaps we weren't going to the right places but I'm not sure we met a single person who was born in Dubai on our trip.

Our first meetup Friday was at The Dubai Mall, the world's largest mall. Walking into the mall was, again, impressive. However, as we looked around, we found that most of the stores were brands that we already knew from the US or Europe. There was a bit of a feeling of, "Did we really fly 13 hours just to find ourselves right back in the US?"

Once we explored a bit, however, we did discover some pretty unique things about the mall, including the Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building) and the aquarium. Several of us took a tour of the aquarium, which was really impressive and immersive.

In the afternoon we went on a desert safari, taking Land Cruisers offroading and racing up and down the sand dunes. That was a lot of fun and we ended up at a campsite where we rode camels, ate middle eastern food, and were entertained by a belly dancer. Finally we felt like we were getting some local flavor - even if it was clearly just for tourists!

We capped the evening with drinks at 40 Kong, a rooftop bar with views in every direction of downtown Dubai. They tried to sell us an expensive bottle of wine that, when it arrived at our table, was clearly a fake. After that we stuck with more accessible drinks and had a great time.

Saturday we did our own things during the day. For Katie and me that included a stop by the Mall of the Emirates to gape at the indoor ski resort. We all met for dinner along the waterfront of the marina and drinks at another rooftop bar called Pure Sky.

The view from this bar was interesting because we could see the entire Palm Jumeirah. We could also see all the construction cranes working at full speed even into the wee hours of the morning. Clearly one of the keys to building a megacity in just a few decades is 24/7 construction!

Sunday Katie and I met some classmates out on the Palm for some sun, sand, and beach volleyball! It was nice not only to add another country to my beach volleyball list but also to play with some people with whom I haven't played since we were in Switzerland together.

After a lazy afternoon lunch and a nice evening dinner with our hosts, Katie and I departed around midnight for the return flight home. It was a very short trip but it was interesting exposure into a very different place.

As I wrote earlier, Dubai is very impressive. However it is so overtly trying to impress that some of the luster is lost. From villas designed to showcase the owner's Bugatti to a self-proclaimed seven-star resort, everything in Dubai is just so over the top.

From having to have the biggest/tallest/most luxurious everything to trying to sell fake high-end wines to being populated [seemingly] entirely by ex-pats, one starts to wonder where is the real, authentic Dubai, rather than the Dubai that is trying to convince you that it is something spectacular. Does a real, authentic Dubai even exist?

Finally one has to wonder how sustainable Dubai is. From the incredible pace of construction - and not just paint-by-numbers construction but engineering marvels such as world's tallest buildings and man-made islands - to the obscene energy and water (a ski resort . . . in the desert!) it must take to run the place, I found myself considering whether Dubai was here to stay or whether it was a house of cards. After all it seems that Dubai doesn't produce anything per se; it imports everything from natural resources to human capital and it is hard for me to see how that works in the long run.

It was a very nice place to stay for a few days, though, and we were treated like kings - er, Shuyukh. Katie has never been called "Madam" so often in her life! Perhaps the best part was staying with an IMD classmate and his family rather than at a hotel. During our down times we were able to relax and catch up with friends whom we hadn't seen in years.

This may be the true value of the IMD network: it's not having contacts all over the world; rather it is having an open door, a warm meal, and a gracious host all over the world. That's a very important difference and one that truly makes the entire world our home.

Many thanks not only to our hosts but to the reunion organizers and to everyone who came as well. It was a very special experience and we are so glad that the global IMD journey continues on and on so many years after we thought we finished the program.

My Family, the American Dream

Former US President Bill Clinton recently held my family up as an example of immigrants that have done well in - and for - America. In his interview with Fareed Zakaria, President Clinton was making an argument that the US should open its arms to Syrian refugees. As evidence that Syrian immigrants can be good additions to the US population, he cited a Syrian[-Italian]-American family he grew up with in Hot Springs, Arkansas: my grandfather, grandmother, father, and aunts.

My great grandfather immigrated to the US from Syria. His son, my grandfather, who fought for the US in World War II, was stationed in Italy, where he met and married my grandmother. My father was born in Italy but the family returned to the US when he was still a baby. There he and his four sisters grew up down the street from Bill Clinton.

While I have to admit a small flash of pride in having my family mentioned by a US president, the real pride is in America. For all its faults, sometimes it truly does live up to its reputation as the land of opportunity. It is a place where poor immigrants can come, start a new life, and have children who grow up to be physicists, accountants, teachers, nurses . . . or even President of our country.

Both sides of my family came from modest means and both sides have worked hard to create secure futures for their children and grandchildren. I'm not only proud to live in a country where this is possible, but also grateful beyond measure. My family is truly living the American Dream.

International Travel

Over the past month I have been an international traveling machine. First I went to Switzerland for a couple of days. It was early Autumn when I first visited the country so it always feels nice to visit this time of year - like returning to my second home.

The weather was gorgeous so I spent the time running along the lake, revisiting my IMD stomping ground, and catching up with old friends. One of my dearest friends from IMD came in from out of town just to spend Friday with me - what an honor and a pleasure! I wrapped up the short visit Friday night with - what else - a fondue dinner with several friends. It was perfect.

I then took advantage of already being in Europe to hop the train to Paris for my annual Jimmy Buffett concert. He played Saturday and Sunday nights this year so I caught both shows. Each show was fantastic as always and a little different in its own right.

Saturday night Stephen Stills and Graham Nash of Crosby Stills & Nash joined Buffett on stage to sing "Southern Cross." Sunday night, after a full day of champagne tailgating (When in Rome . . .), I wound up right up at the front of the stage. Both shows were incomparable to any of his huge stadium shows in the US.

Last week I went to Costa Rica for the first time. It was for a bachelor party so obviously the details won't be reported here. Suffice to say, however, that we had a wonderful time. Not only did I get to celebrate a dear friend’s impending marriage and spend time in a “green” country (both in terms of its environmental responsibility and in terms of the lush tropical rainforests that extend all the way out to the ocean), but I was able to practice my español as well.

With the Costa Rica trip still large in the rear view mirror, soon I will be traveling to Dubai for my IMD class reunion. I have never been to the UAE before so it will be quite an adventure - I only wish I had more time to learn to speak Arabic first.

As my readers should know by now, I believe in collecting experiences rather than things. Things can be quite burdensome but experiences stay with you forever and no one can ever take them away from you (Plus they pack up quite easily when you move!). Here's looking forward to many more grand experiences through travel . . . and to all the frequent flier miles!