Allen Spruill's Daily Thoughts

France 2008 Trip

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 06:12:28 GMT

You can view photos of our recent trip to France at http://allenspruill.smugmug.com. Enjoy!

Christian The Lion Video

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 15:04:54 GMT

If you haven't heard the story of Christian the Lion on YouTube or on TV, you have to check this out. In 1969, two men saw a lion for sale in Harod's (yes, the London store used to sell exotic animals). They bought it, raised the cub for a year, and reintroduced him to the wild. This is that story.

Enjoy!

YouTube - The View - Christian The Lion July 21, 2008 Whoopi and Joy Stories

Funny: Windows Vista Southern Edition

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 23:21:11 GMT

I just had to share this hilarious blog entry that I found: http://blog.retrosight.com/PermaLink,guid,7f523ce6-150a-43de-b0de-44c659bd0a10.aspx. I wonder if I can actually get a few copies for all my friends and family in the South. Enjoy!

SIFF Review: The First People on the Moon

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:56:54 GMT

Russia Rating 2 out of 5 An odd movie - done in the documentary style but mostly made up (10% real footage and 90% made up footage), this is a story about the secret that the Russians went to the moon years before the Americans did. Viewed 6/15 at Harvard Exit

SIFF Review: You Are So Handsome

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:52:50 GMT

France Rating 4 out of 5 Touching romantic comedy about an older man who lives on a farm and has recently lost his wife. Since she helped with a lot of the work, he needs assistance. So he ends up at a matchmaker firm and visits Eastern Europe, himself looking for a work partnee while the younger women are looking for a husband and a ticket to greater prosperity. He just never figured he'd find love along the way. Viewed 6/14 at Neptune

SIFF Review: The Refugee All Stars

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:51:47 GMT

Guinea Rating 4 out of 5 Very interesting documentary about refugees from Sierra Leonne who form a band while in the refugee camps in Guinea. We learn about what it is like to be a refugee and why people are sometimes slow to return home. The music is very good, and the band has actually recorded an album and is touring the USA this summer. Viewed 6/13 at Neptune

SIFF Review: Dreaming of Space

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:50:45 GMT

Russia Rating 2 out of 5 A bit slow and confusing for me - story about a cook in Russia set around the start of the space race. Viewed 6/12 at Neptune

SIFF Review: Not Here to be Loved

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:49:44 GMT

France Rating 3 out of 5 Story about a lonely older man who starts Tango dancing for the exercise and then meets a younger woman who wakes up his life; a nice story Viewed 6/12 at Neptune

SIFF Review: The World According to Sesame Street

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:48:45 GMT

Rating 5 out of 5 Viewed 6/10 at Pacific Place Very interesting documentary about how Sesame Street is brought to new countries. We see the effort behind a new co-production in Bangladedh and how the Sesame Workshop people (formerly Childrens Television Workshop) work with locals to make the show relevant for each country, focusing on what they want their preschool kids to learn. This will air on PBS in October.

SIFF Review: Distant Journey

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:47:38 GMT

Czech Republic Rating 2 out of 5 Film about the Holocaust experience from the Czech people. It was a bit slow for me, and I have seen better Holocaust related films. Viewed 6/10 at Harvard Exit

SIFF Review: Who Killed the Electric Car

Sun, 18 Jun 2006 03:46:36 GMT

USA Rating 5 out of 5 Very engaging documentary about the electric vehicles that appeared in California ten years ago, and that are now virtually extinct. The film examines how the cars came to be and who is responsible for their demise. It is an awakening in how far we have come technologically and how other factors hold us back from making good choices. Viewed 6/10 at Neptune

SIFF Review: Four Stars

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:53:49 GMT

France

Rating 5 out of 5

Funny crime caper about a beautiful girl who is on vacation enjoying some of her inheritence from a distant relative. She gets involved with a con man and ends up loaning him money, although he has no idea what it will cost. This is a very fun and stylish film.

Viewed 6/9 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: The Iceberg

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:52:57 GMT

Belgium

Rating 4 out of 5

Dark comedy about a woman who gets stuck in a restaurant freezer overnight, which changes her life. She leaves her family on a quest to find an iceberg.

Viewed 6/9 at Pacific Place

SIFF Review: The Great Match

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:51:59 GMT

Spain

Rating 5 out of 5

Great film about people in remote regions of the world finding a way to get to a TV and watch the World Cup final. It was great fun watching the Amazon jungle tribe sending someone climbing up a tree holding a small satellite dish trying to get a signal. Everyone in the world is truly crazy over football, especially the World Cup.

Viewed 6/8 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: Road to Guantanamo

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:51:08 GMT

Rating 5 out of 5

This is an inflinching account of four Pakistani men in their twenties who lived in Britain and got caught up in Guantanamo. They went to Pakistan for a wedding a month after 9/11 and for some reason decided to visit Afghanistan. Caught up in the fighting and mistaken as Taliban, they are shipped to Guantanamo for questioning. I don't consider myself overly political but if even part of the things in this film are happening, then I am very ashamed of our government.

SIFF Review: OSS 117: Nest of Spies

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:49:26 GMT

France

Rating 5 out of 5

Funny spy film from France, set in the 50's. OSS 117 is an agent who thinks he's a little bit James Bond and a little bit Austin Powers. Somehow he seems to be able to get the girl and solve the case, but not without many amusing incidents along the way.

Viewed 6/6 at Lincoln Square

SIFF Review: Little Red Flowers

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:48:14 GMT

China

Rating 3 out of 5

Interesting story of a boarding kindergarten in China. The teachers give little red flowers for doing your daily chores and behaving well. We follow a little boy who starts at the kindergarten against his will and always seems to be misbehaving.

Viewed 6/4 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: La Maison de Nina

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:57:12 GMT

Country: France

Rating: 4 of 5

Nina runs an orphanage during World War II for children abandoned by the war, with parents either fighting, in the resistance, or taken off to German concentration camps. When a group of young boys returns from the concentration camps to stay in her care, you get a sense of what the experience must have been like through the young boys' reactions to certain things, noises, and sights. It is an interesting way to view the war through the eyes of these children.

Viewed 6/3/2006 at Lincoln Square Cinemas

SIFF Review: Zozo

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:52:35 GMT

Country: Lebabon/Sweden

Rating: 4 of 5

Set in Beirut in the late 80's, we see a family that is planning to leave together and settle in Sweden, where grandparents have already settled. Before they can leave Beirut, everyone in the family except young Zozo is killed by the violence. It really awakened me to this war that happened in my lifetime. Zozo settles in Sweden with his grandparents, but he finds that adjusting to live there is not easy.

Viewed 6/3/2006 at Lincoln Square Cinemas

SIFF Review: Cave of the Yellow Dog

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:52:06 GMT

Country: Mongolia

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a beautiful story set in Mongolia. A young girl befriends a stray dog, and her father does not want her to keep it. But luckily it stays around. What more could you want than amazing scenery, cute kids, and an even cuter dog.

Viewed 6/3/2006 at Lincoln Square Cinemas

Photo Album: Italy Trip (2005)

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 23:05:42 GMT

Italy Trip (2005)

Untitled Photo

More photos...

Photo Album: Acura RDX

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 23:45:56 GMT

Acura RDX

IMG_2967.JPG

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Photo Album: Blue Angels

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 21:00:18 GMT

Blue Angels

Untitled Photo

Photo Album: My Blog Photos

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 20:59:42 GMT

My Blog Photos

workout

Photo Album: California June 2005

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 12:09:24 GMT

California June 2005

Allen with godson Andrew

My sister Julia with godson Andrew

Allen with godsons David and Andrew

Custom List: Weight Tracker

Thu, 03 Nov 2005 18:24:44 GMT

Weight Tracker

June 22
290.8
June 29
284.2 [-6.6]
July 6
280.2 [-4.0]
July 13
278.0 [-2.2]
July 20
273.8 [-4.2]
July 27
272.6 [-1.2]
Aug 3
270.8 [-1.8]
Aug 10
266.2 [-4.6]
Aug 17
265.8 [-0.4]
Aug 24
261.0 [-4.8]
Aug 31
257.4 [-3.6]
Sep 7
255.8 [-1.6]
Sep 14
255.8 [0]
Oct 5
251.2 [-4.6]
Oct 12
246.4 [-4.8]
Oct 19
245.2 [-1.2]
Oct 26
247.6 [+2.4]
Nov 2
243.8 [-3.8]

Blog list: Cool Links

Thu, 18 Aug 2005 04:46:45 GMT

Cool Links

The Story of Andrew Steves and Alex Matteson
Blog by two high school grads trekking through Europe for the summer
Allen's Web Photos (old)
Allen's web site (even older)