Recent Movie Reviews

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I set a new 8k PR Thanksgiving morning in the Gallop & Gorge road race, ate my heart out for the rest of the day and somehow caught a cold in between. As I have been somewhat under the weather these past few days, I've had ample opportunity to catch up on some movies I've been meaning to see.

Interstellar

I liked but didn't love this one. It was definitely trying to be the kind of epic, artistic, transcendent movie that I would love but it just didn't quite get there. The cinematography was spectacular, the science-informed sci-fi was well done, and parts of it were very compelling. However, some of its subplots were a bit goofy and didn't add much - or even detracted from - the bigger picture. There were times when it seemed to be plodding along a little too indulgently but there were also times when it glossed over important points with forced exposition. It was a good film and I recommend seeing it, but it unfortunately isn't the "2001 for this generation" that it attempted to be.

Predestination

This film was really interesting and had me thinking/guessing right up until the very end - and actually a bit after as well. It was very Memento-like in its non-chronological story telling and it was very well acted. It's hard to be too specific about this movie without giving anything away so it will have to suffice that I recommend it.

Boxtrolls

This movie really surprised and delighted me. It's from the same studio that produced Coraline and is made in a somewhat similar style - although the content is not as dark. It features excellent voice acting, well scripted dialog, a captivating premise, and an engaging plot that keeps you interested until the very end. This will work well for kids and adults alike - heartily recommended.

What do the rest of you think? Disagree with my reviews? Has anyone seen any other noteworthy movies recently?

Thanksgiving with Max

I'm running way behind on blogging but here is a belated entry for Thanksgiving, which was a real joy. Katie and I drove up to Hot Springs, Arkansas, as we usually do for Thanksgiving but this time there was a major difference: we had Max in the back seat!

He is very good in the car, mostly snoozing and occasionally poking his head up front for a few ear scratches. We stopped every two hours or so to give him a chance to stretch his legs, do his business, etc. However, when we did so, he was always very nervous and desperately tried to get back to the car if we weren't both with him. We hypothesize that he was abandoned once by someone just dropping him off out of a car and then driving off--heart-breaking!

When we arrived in Hot Springs, Max went crazy. He's used to being a city dog, couped up in a house most of the day and only going outside on a leash. We turned him loose at my aunt's house out in the country and at first he just ran laps around the house he was so excited to be free out in the open. My aunt and uncle have their own dog too and she got along very well with Max. The two of them were regular Tom Sawyer/Huck Finns, exploring the woods together, chasing after animals, and wrestling around.

Wednesday evening another aunt of mine threw Katie and me a little engagement party, which was a lovely affair. We wined and dined and celebrated with our family and some close friends. It must have been a great ordeal to organize and execute but it was a really wonderful way to start off the long Thanksgiving weekend!

Thursday we attended two different Thanksgivings meals, both of which were absolutely excellent. Friday we spent all day cooking, lazing around, and watching football - what a great way to spend time! Saturday there was one final Thanksgiving get-together and then we hit the road back to Houston. Max's hips were so sore from all the running around that he actually needed some help getting into the car. Needless to say, he slept allllll the way home, tuckered out from his great country adventure.

Sunday we headed over to a Houston friend's house for yet another Thanksgiving dinner and yet more football - I wish this could go on forever! It was a fantastic holiday weekend but it was also a time for reflection. Katie and I both are so very thankful for so many things in our lives, but most especially for the people. For loving, supportive families, for fun, interesting friends, for capable, driven colleagues, for good neighbors...for all of these we are incredibly thankful. We try our best to give back and be as positive a force in others' lives.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving back on US soil in a couple of years was just what the doctor ordered! It began on Wednesday when Katie and I hopped in the car to begin the seven-hour drive to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Having watched the first six Harry Potter movies over the past several weeks, we listened to the audio book of the last in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, on our way up. It was great driving weather and we found ourselves at my aunt's house in Hot Springs before we even realized it.

Truth be told, my aunt's house isn't actually in Hot Springs. Each year more and more of my relatives move further out to the peaceful countryside. The aunt with whom we stayed owns a house way out in the woods, far from the hustle and bustle of city life. When I was a child we used to come out there for bonfires and s'mores. Now the accommodations are much nicer but the stars are still bright and unobstructed by ambient light.

Even though I haven't seen my aunt and uncle for almost a year, we were welcomed with open arms as if we had just been there yesterday. We spent a relaxing night there then began Thanksgiving day with a run along dirt roads, passing by several neighboring farms. The weather was in the 30s and cold air and the smell of fires in fire places filled the nostrils as we ran. Harry Potter 7, clear starry skies, running in cold weather, the smell of fires . . . I could have been back in Lausanne!

Running was fun. Each residence along our road had one or more dogs who came out to see who the runners were and then followed us as we ran. I felt like the pied piper with dogs coming out of each farm to trot along beside us, nipping at our hands and heels.

And it's a good thing we got some exercise in because Thanksgiving Dinner (which begins at noon and lasts all afternoon) didn't help my fitness goals. Neither did sitting around watching football all afternoon! But it was great just to kick back, eat great food, and enjoy the benefits of being back so close to the family I love.

Dinner was at another aunt's house, also out in the country. She has a farm there with dogs, chickens, cattle, horses, and lots and lots of pasture land. Not everyone was able to make it but we were thankful for those who could. Plus it was fun playing around with my aunt's livestock.

On Friday Katie and I continued our Thanksgiving weekend movie tradition and saw The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Houston's own Wes Anderson. It was very enjoyable and, of course, featured a great soundtrack. We then spent the evening with my aunt on my mom's side going out to dinner at Brauhaus, a German restaurant downtown. I didn't expect to be dining on Bavarian cuisine so quickly after having left that part of the world--and I especially didn't expect to do it in Arkansas--but the schnitzel was very good! Here again, though, the primary benefit was spending time with family.

Saturday Katie and I made our way back, still listening to Harry Potter. It's a good thing we missed most of the day's schedule of college football, because most of the games I cared about were very forgettable. However, the Rice volleyball team has been dominating. After winning the Conference USA tournament, they beat #17 LSU in the first round of the NCAA tournament. I've spent almost as much time supporting Rice volleyball as I have football, so I'm thrilled for the Owls and hope they can keep it up.

Pics are in my facebook album.

Milestones

The last two weeks have been very, very active and full of milestones. At enistic, we've secured our first investors, our first resellers/installers/distributors, and--perhaps most importantly--our first clients! We still have a way to go to raise the money we need really to get this venture off the ground but this early momentum is very, very encouraging! Moreover, most of these initial angel investors know me personally and/or professionally so I'm encouraged by the votes of confidence they are putting in my abilities.

Closing this round of funding really can't happen quickly enough. Sitting in an office alone working on powerpoints, spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls is not how I am most effective. Building a team and working together to accomplish major commercial and operational goals is where I add the most value. Until we get to that point I feel . . . underutilized. Perhaps it's weird to feel "underutilized" when you're the founder, but my point is that the sooner we get past this initial hurdle, the sooner our pace of real growth will accelerate. We are heading in that direction, but I've never been known for my patience!

Other milestones have also been reached in my "extended" life. Last week was Rice's Homecoming. In addition to a fantastic weekend full of lectures, alumni group meetups, and reconnecting with friends, the mighty Rice Owls football team won its first game of the season! They followed that up this weekend with another win, and today the Rice volleyball team won the Conference USA tournament to boot. Go Owls!

Last week my mother opened a new exhibit, Moving Beyond Earth, at the National Air & Space Museum. It is an immersive, interactive gallery about the history and future of human spaceflight. Katie and I can't wait to see it when we're in DC for the holidays. Mom continues to amaze me with her exhibits, books, papers, conference publications, awards, and myriad other accomplishments--all while managing to be a great mother. Canonically one thinks of a doting mother proud of her children, but in our case the pride goes very much in the opposite direction!

The weather in Houston has actually been relatively cool recently. Katie and I have been taking advantage of the opportunity to sip on hot chocolate in the evenings and remember life in Switzerland. If the weather stays cool, perhaps we'll throw a little fondue party! In the meantime, big eating is ahead as we prepare for Thanksgiving. We can't wait to see the family in Hot Springs and enjoy my first Turkey Day back in the States!

Delinquent Blogger

I'm sorry to all my readers for taking so long to post an update. The last week has been very hectic for me between finishing school, career search, and preparing for the post-IMD tansition. Let me bring you up to speed in a few areas:

Classes

Last week we finished our second and final week of electives. Global Strategy changed somewhat as we moved to professor (and IMD President) John Wells, who focused on the need for strategic agility for long-term success. IAGD continued to be emotionally draining but we touched on some really significant--if painful--issues in group dynamics. Managing Change was replaced with Managing Information, taught by Don Marchand, who drove home the importance of focusing on people and information, not just on technology.

Electives really brought it all together for me. The classes presented many similar initiatives through different lenses. For example, to remain strategically agile (Global Strategy), it is critical to foster information sharing within your organization. Information sharing is facilitated by incentives and systems (Managing Information). Changing incentives and deploying information systems require major change management (Managing Change) initiatives. For change management initiatives to succeed, it is helpful to know what is really going on within your senior leadership team (IAGD).

Thanksgiving

The electives were excellent and really helped me finish on the right note. Another factor contributing to my happiness was a long, belated Thanksgiving dinner at my professor's house in Lutry. Corey was our faculty sponsor for the ICP and invited the whole team (+ guests) to his house overlooking the lake. He cooked for us, shared wine from his awesome cellar, and facilitated 6+ hours of merrymaking as the sun slowly set over the mountains. Best of all, we also got to play with his 2-year-old dog, who was most excited to to have visitors. She left so much black hai on my clothes that I was reminded of the infinite supply of white hair once provided by Ivan the Terrible, Nick's Samoyed. I will miss Corey and my ICP team a great deal but this was an excellent way to begin the process of saying goodbye.

Pictures are in my facebook album.

Harry Potter

Another reason that dinner at Corey's place was so nice was that I have a strong, positive association with Thanksgiving. I usually spend it with my relatives in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which I really missed this year. It is always wonderful to see them, catch up, and get away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. When I'm in Hot Springs, I'm so relaxed that I actually pull myself away from my computer and go to the movie theater.

In fact, it was in Hot Springs that I first saw Harry Potter and became hooked. Speaking of which, I finished the Half-Blood Prince and I am now making my way through the final book, the Deathly Hallows. IMD and Lausanne will always stand out to me not only as the place where I did my MBA, met life-long friends, etc., but also as the place where I [finally] read all the Harry Potter books.

Career Search

While I still have several opportunities in the pipeline, my only firm offer is with Poken here in Lausanne. It is a great opportunity with a company that has lots of potential. In that it is a start up, there is none of this "take your time, find yourself, and start in March" nonsense; if I accept with them I will start Dec. 8th!!! So, in addition to my other preparations right now, I am also soul searching and advancing my other opportunities to see, by the end of this week, if this is what I really want to do.

Graduation

Graduation is upon us! Our committee has put together a black-tie ball following our ceremony at Beau Rivage Palace, to which I am really looking forward. After that it's goodbye, which obviously encompasses some very mixed emotions: jubilation at finishing, excitement about next steps, and sadness at leaving a great year behind. This was the subject of an entire day of classes yesterday: how to say goodbye and move on in a healthy way. We'll see if I can put into practice tomorrow.