100 Greatest Movies - High Noon

This time we are looking at High Noon which is #33 on the 100 Greatest Movies List, it is also #27 on the 10th Anniversary List, #20 on the 100 Greatest Thrillers, and #27 on the 100 Most Inspirational movies list.

High Noon is the type of movie that builds suspense over the entire length of the movie. The premise of the movie is that the marshal (Gary Cooper) of this western town is expecting a killer that he put away several years ago to come in on the noon train, which is roughly 1.5 hours away. He spends the majority of the movie trying to find recruits to fight against him with the climax of the movie being the expected battle. Overall, I felt the movie dragged on a bit but it was interesting watching him go through the town and dealing with the townspeople. Most of those he asks directly refuse to fight but all of those who insist on joining are all turned away. The one surprising aspect of the movie was the role of the marshal's wife (Grace Kelly). The ending of the story turned around for her and I wasn't expecting her to act the way she did. Overall I thought it was a good movie but I would not say great movie. I felt the frustration from the marshal and I believe that was what was driving the movie but overall I thought that the story was rather thin and probably could have been condensed down.

2012 Personal Goals - Initial Post

In 2010 I completed 14% of what I set out to do (1 out of 7). In 2011 I completed 30% (3 out of 10). The goal this year is to beat a 30% completion rate. Hopefully it will be possible even with my school work. Also I am redoing the format of the Personal Goal updates so that there is less "Nothing New" written and it's more compact.

1. Finish first draft of my novel -
January 1st - 3rd year on the list. Lets see if I can do it this year. Starting point - 1st section first draft is done.


2. Drop weight to 167
January 1st - Again 3rd year on the list. I think I will have a little more time this year to get it done. Starting point - 182.1.



3 Read 2 of the Top Ten books on Zanes book list
January 1st - 3 books are left on the list. I am currently in the middle of War and Peace and hope to finish it by March.


4. Read 7 books on the Sybervision Book List for a total of 75
January 1st - To get to a nice round number of 75 I want to finish 7 more books.


5. Read 7 books on the BBC Book List for a total of 45
January 1st - These are generally easier books to read, especially with Annabelle.


6. Update 2 Geologic Movie Reviews
January 1st - I have 1 update I need to do one one movie and a complete overhaul of the other.


7. Finish 1 more movie on my Geological Movie Review
January 1st - Look to do 1 more movie, most likely Earthquake!.


8. Watch 15 of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (according to AFI)
January 1st - Current count 70 so 15 more will get me 1/2 way to the goal.


9. Do 1 Geological Fact for each month.
January 1st - This went over well last year so let's do it again.


10. Skin the top of the Hovercraft
January 1st - I finished working on the bottom last year so lets see if I can get the top done this year. And with my new garage heater I will be able to work during the colder months.


11. Catalogue, photograph, and organize Star Wars collection by CVI
January 1st - With Star Wars Celebration VI coming up in August I want to catalogue and photograph my collection to get ready to know anything I need to buy when I go.


12. Do 1 major job each month on the "Things to Do for the House" list
January 1st - With an updated list we have 17 things that we want to do to get the house in tip-top shape.

Other items of note:
Like last year I hope to get some of these done early so that I'm not rushing to finish them by the end of the year.

2011 Personal Goals - December and Year End Update

All done, 12 months done.

1. Finish first draft of my novel -
January 1st - 1st third is done. The plan this year is to write it and read it to Annabelle and edit it as I go.
February 1st - Nothing new done
March 1st - Nothing new
April 1st - Nothing new
May 1st - Nothing new
June 1st - Nothing
July 1st - Nothing
August 1st - Nothing
September 1st - Nothing
October 1st - Nothing
November 1st - Nothing
December 1st - Nothing
January 1st - Nothing

2. Drop weight to 167
January 1st - 176.4. Starting off worse this year than last but I should have some more time to work out.
February 1st - 174.6
March 1st - 177.6 Damn stress
April 1st - 176.0
May 1st - 179.2
June 1st - 179.0
July 1st - 180.6
August 1st - 180.6
September 1st - 180.0
October 1st - 181.9 - New scale weighs about 2 lbs heavier
November 1st - 179.2
December 1st - 179.2
January 1st - 182.1

3. Balance our budget
January 1st - Things are looking up for this year with Veronica getting a new job (hopefully) after residency is complete.
February 1st - Working on it but large expenses due to medical stuff not helping.
March 1st - Getting worse but tax refund should put us back to where we were at the beginning of the year.
April 1st - Tax refund helped up get slowly back on track
May 1st - Eh
June 1st - Still eh
July 1st - And still eh
August 1st - Getting worse
September 1st - No paychecks for 2 months but we should finally be getting back on track this month.
October 1st - New jobs finally paying, not sure if we are going to hit this goal though
November 1st - Damn cars
December 1st - Not looking good
January 1st - Not even close

4b. Read 2 of the Top Ten books on Zanes book list
January 1st - I currently have 6 read. I figured I should be able to finish 2 of the 4 since 2 of them are very very long.
February 1st - The book I'm currently reading, Lolita, is on the list.
March 1st - Finished Lolita. One to go.
April 1st - Still one to go.
May 1st - Still 1 to go
June 1st - Still 1 to go
July 1st - Still 1 to go
August 1st - Started War and Peace on August 1st
September 1st - Finished Book 1 of 4 of War and Peace
October 1st - In the middle of Book 2 of War and Peace
November 1st - Finished book 2 of 4
December 1st - In the middle of book 3 but not going to finish in time.
Janausry 1st - Still in middle of book 3.

5a. Finish 2 more movies on my Geological Movie Review
January 1st - Look to start 2 new movies again
February 1st - Nothing new.
March 1st - Nothing new.
April 1st - Nothing new
May 1st - Nothing new
June 1st - Nothing new
July 1st - Nothing new
August 1st - Nothing new
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Nothing new
November 1st - Nothing new
December 1st - Nothing new
January 1st - Nothing

5b. Update the 1 Geologic Movie Review that was previously done and not updated
January 1st - 2 out of 3 up to par
February 1st - Nothing new
March 1st - Nothing new
April 1st - Nothing new
May 1st - Nothing new
June 1st - Nothing new
July 1st - Nothing new
August 1st - Nothing new
September 1st - Started working on The Day After Tomorrow
October 1st - Nothing new
November 1st - Nothing new
December 1st - Nothing new
January 1st - Nothing

6. Watch all of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time (according to AFI)
January 1st - Current count 69. 31 left to go.
February 1st - Nothing new
March 1st - Nothing new
April 1st - Nothing new
May 1st - Nothing new
June 1st - Nothing new
July 1st - Watched The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. 30 to go.
August 1st - Nothing new
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Nothing new
November 1st - Nothing new
December 1st - Nothing new
January 1st - Nothing


8. (DONE!) Do 1 Geological Fact for each month.
January 1st - That is a total of 12 for the year. Hopefully I can get them set up ahead of time.
February 1st - 1 done for January, 11 to go.
March 1st - 1 done for February, 10 to go.
April 1st - 1 done for March, 9 to go.
May 1st - 1 done for April, 8 to go
June 1st - 1 done for May, 7 to go
July 1st - 1 done for June, 6 to go
August 1st - 1 done for July, 5 to go
September 1st - 1 done for August, 4 to go
October 1st - 1 done for September, 3 to go
November 1st - 2 done, 1 for October and 1 for November, 1 to go.
December 1st - 1 more still to go
January 1st - Finished last one. Task complete.

Other items of interest:
This month I had to finish a poster as well and mostly complete two separate grant proposals. Well I finished the poster with plenty of time left over and the two proposals are well on their way and are currently out of my hands. So the end of the year finishes up my current push to get work done. Christmas was also fantastic. Annabelle really got into it and was wripping presents open all over the place and she got a ton of presents. More evidence that she has a family all over the country that love her soo much. Overall a good year.

----------------------------------Finished Items---------------------------------------

4a. (DONE!) Read a total of 100 of the greatest books on my lists by my 30th birthday
January 1st - Current count 97. Only 3 to read by March 19th. This was the initial goal last year but I hoped to have them done earlier.

February 1st - Currently reading Lolita.
March 1st - Finished Lolita and The Colour of Magic. Only 1 to go before March 19th
April 1st - Finished The Colour of Magic. This task is completed!!!

7. (DONE!) Finish bottom of hovercraft.
January 1st - I just need to finish epoxying and smoothing out the bottom then paint it. Not too much work but time is an issue.
February 1st - Haven't had time to work on it
March 1st - Nothing new
April 1st - Nothing new
May 1st - Did some work patching the holes that need to be filled and order some more epoxy.
June 1st - Finished fixing the holes and I put the first coat of sealant on
July 1st - Finished putting the 3 coats of sealant on. Now to paint it.
August 1st - Nothing new
September 1st - Nothing new
October 1st - Finished painting the botoom and flipped it over. This job is DONE. Pictures to follow shortly hopefully.