What makes a movie popular?

Last weekend, I (Kendra) took Watson down to City Centre to see a movie. We were too late in the day to see Sherman and Mr. Peabody (his 1st choice), so we saw his 2nd choice - The Lego Movie. We have been reading and hearing rave reviews of this movie from kids and parents alike. In fact, all of Watson's friends here have already seen it (some more than once). However, based on the trailer, I wasn't sure that Watson would be that excited about it. I should have listened to my gut!

First off, I think that both Watson and I found a lot of the movie pretty slow in places... Secondly, most of the jokes were not at the level of children, but were for the adults in the audience. Since when did kids movies become all about the parents? Of course, I like to be entertained as much as the next person. However, I don't think that the level of the plot and the humor should be so high that the kids don't get it... Even the main premise, which was good (don't follow the instructions but be creative (ironic message since following the directions is what makes that company so much money)), was pretty obscure. I am quite sure that most of the kids at the movie did not "get it".  Finally, and most important in my mind as well as the main reason why Watson didn't enjoy the movie was its violence level. It is rated U for universal and at the beginning it said that it contained mild and infrequent fantasy violence. Really? In my mind, regardless of whether it is humans, cartoons of humans, or legos of humans, violence is violence. And, we both found that movie to be quite violent! So, why is it that soooo many people are raving about this movie? I'm really not sure...

Watson, being the sensitive guy that he is, came out of the theatre all out of sorts. We walked to the bus stop and talked about the movie. I asked him what he thought and he told me he didn't much like it. I agreed and asked him why he thought most of his friends seemed to like it and he said he didn't know. I asked him if he would tell his friends that he didn't like it and he said yes. I responded telling him that it was alright to just tell his friends that it was "ok" if they asked so that he wouldn't hurt their feelings if they really liked it. But, I was pretty proud of his staunch response! Unfortunately, Watson was so keyed up from the movie's violence that when we were playing while waiting for the bus, he had a meltdown. I've noticed that he has meltdowns when he is either physically or emotionally tired (or both) and that violence or competition is one of the things that often brings on an episode like this. I was kicking myself for not listening to my instincts and avoiding the movie altogether. But, on the other hand, I think that it might be socially important for Watson to see something that is SO popular with his friends. Oh well, at least I feel more confident about my intuition! And, the next movie to be released that he really wants to see is sure to be a winner - Rio 2!

Our first Lansing-area house guests!

Our first visitors from Lansing were some limnology lab folks. Emily Norton Henry (Kendra's former PhD student who graduated last summer), Angela De Palma-Dow (her current MS student), and Emi Fergus (Pat Soranno's current PhD student). They arrived mid-day Saturday on the bus from Dublin, and Kendra's running ex-pat friend Pauline went with Kendra to pick them up from the Europa bus station. After a couple of hours freshening up and chatting, they headed with Kendra and Watson down to QUB to see campus, visit the Botanic Gardens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botanic_Gardens_(Belfast)), and do a very quick check of the Ulster Museum. Then, they met Jubin and Jamieson at the Ginger Bistro for dinner before turning in for a much needed night's sleep.

A neat piece of art inside the QUB "castle"

Inside the Palm House Conservatory at the Botanic Gardens - amazing smells!

On Sunday, they took the city bus down to City Centre and did the double-decker sight seeing Belfast City Tour (https://belfastcitysightseeing.com/). Unfortunately, it was raining, so they had to take the closed-top bus and they were all out of the kids packs! But, it was a really interesting 90-minute tour of the city. They all, including Kendra, learned all sorts of things about Belfast they didn't know, and saw some really neat sights. Next time, hopefully it won't be raining so that she can get some pix! After the tour, the rain let up a bit so the group wandered around City Centre for a bit. They went up to the top of the dome in Victoria Centre to see the city from up high, walked along the River Lagan, and checked out the Big Fish and the leaning Albert Clock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Memorial_Clock,_Belfast).

Angela with camera, Emily in middle, Emi in front.

Albert Memorial Clock - yep, it is leaning! 

Supposedly, it is good luck if you kiss the Big Fish!

The sun and clouds were doing amazingly beautiful things that afternoon.

After dinner Sunday night, the gals drove out to Bob and Kath's house to spend Monday with them. Tues and Wed, the went to the north coast (Antrim Co), and Wed night they returned back to our house. Thursday, Kendra drove the gals (yep, she finally drove here in the UK on the other side of the road!) to a couple of really amazing sights between Beflast and Dublin (map here: http://goo.gl/maps/jBofn). After a little detour when they missed an exit off of the highway (woops!), they visited Monasterboice. This site has a 35m-high round tower and a couple of high Celtic crosses, all likely built during the 10th century (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monasterboice).

Then, they went to Newgrange, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a visitor centre, called Brú na Bóinne, and three archeological sites that are accessible via a short bus ride - Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth. These 3 sites are Neolithical passage tombs or ritual chambers. Newgrange was the only one open that day, so they took a tour of that one. It is older than the pyramids, dating back to ~3200 BC, and was constructed out of massive boulders and rocks and dirt very precisely so that the sun shines through a window in the chamber as daylight breaks on Dec 21 each year. So cool! Here is more info: http://www.newgrange.com/ and Kendra's pix from the site.

The visitor center - see the little rock pools on either side of the sidewalk?
Below is looking closely into them!

Ten's-hundreds of good-sized frogs and MILLIONS of eggs. 

Newgrange - passage tomb, ritual chamber ~5000 years old.

The front of the chamber - the bottom opening is the door,
the top one is the window that the sub comes into on Dec 21.
Only 50 people each yr get to experience that,
so they have a lottery - I put my sister's name into the drawing! 

Another passage tomb (there are ~35 of them in the area) that has not been excavated
so that when new archeological techniques are discovered there will be intact tombs to learn from. 

Really cool artwork on some of the massive boulders.

The country-side view from the site.

Knowth, in the distance - only open during summer months. I'll be back to see it!

Pussy willows in bloom - it really is spring!

After leaving Newgrange, Kendra brought the limno gals into Drogheda to the bus station so that they could grab a bus into Dublin, starting the 2nd leg of their trip. They would spend 3 nights in Dublin and then fly to Edinburgh where they would spend another 3 nights before returning to the USA. We're so glad that they came to visit us and explore the island of Ireland!

A weekend at the Sea

Watson's school was closed for a 3 day mid-term break in Feb. So, we took advantage of a QUB GAP co-worker's hospitality and went to the Sea for a long weekend. The story is a bit complex, but our co-worker (Finbar) house and dog sits for his neighbor every winter when she goes to Australia. He offered for us to stay at her place whenever we might like to get away from the city for a bit. They live in Killough (Kill-ock), which is a village SE of Belfast right on the Sea, just before you get to the Mourne Mtns. Map here: http://goo.gl/maps/yWKHU

The back of the house (pink one) and garden leading down to the paved path along the Sea.

The paved path along the Sea. Harvey, the whippet.

House we stayed in is at the very left edge of the pic.

Some random cute horses along the path.

Path runs between the Sea and the houses and church in the background.
Low tide, so lots of exposed rocks to explore.

We used a car hire and drove down Sat afternoon in the drizzle, arriving to an old, big, beautiful row house with an amazing conservatory that backs up to an amazing garden, that backs up to a paved trail, across from which is the Sea! Gorgeous! We pretty much just brought our bags in, grabbed the groceries we needed from down the street, and headed to the Sea. We wandered around, digging in the sand, exploring the old kiln, and throwing stones until we were too cold and needed to go back inside.

This is the old kiln.

Lots of great rock throwing!

He's getting so heavy and loves walking! But, still pretty good in the backpack. 

Practicing skipping rocks.

Still likes to eat sand...

Building a castle with rock moat.

Finbar brought the dog, a whippet named Harvey, over in the evening and we had a good old dog fix that night no Sun morning. When we awoke Sun it was a gorgeous day, so we spent time out along the Sea again, just exploring. Was sooo nice to see and feel the sun and hear the waves lapping. We had planned to meet Bob and Kath at a Park with nice hikes in the early afternoon, but Jamie was transitioning away from 2 to 1 nap and our schedule got messed up. So, after Jamie's nap, Bob and Kath so nicely came down to visit (about 30 min SW of their place) and we took another walk along the Sea. We had cheese and bread and wine at the house, then followed them in there car to a pub called Curran's where we ate dinner. Unfortunately, the weather didn't hold all day - it started raining during our walk with them in the afternoon and didn't quit. In fact, overnight, it turned into a gale and on Mon, rather then going to the Mourne Mtns and Newcastle like we had planned, we just hung out at the house watching movies and cleaning (the house was pretty dusty and dirty so we definitely left it better than we found it!) before we headed back to Belfast in the mid-afternoon.

It really is spring!

Funny thing, we saw some of the home-owners mail on her counter. Last name? Spence. We had a great time being by the Sea and getting a dog fix in Killough. Thanks to Finbar and the home-owner! If we return, perhaps we will clean 1st? :)

Dog poop everywhere!

One of the things we are NOT fond of about Belfast is the amount of dog poop on sidewalks, on lawns in parks, and, well, everywhere! Dog owners seem to think it is no big deal to leave the remains where they are deposited. Yuck! There are signs everywhere, and a country-wide campaign to change this problem (slogan - Your dog? Your job!), but still...it is everywhere!

Jamie is loving walking. And, he LOVES being outside. Last weekend, he and I went for a walk, and it is a bit frustrating because he wants to go into each yard we pass... Well, about a block and a half from our house, he goes into the yard, bends down and picks up a big old soft, messy piece of dog poop! Realizing that it is gross and smelly, he tries to wipe it off his one hand with the other hand...you can see how this is going...I had to carry him home screaming (mostly because I cut the walk short) to peel off his clothes and bathe him. YUCK! :)

Random pix!

Two things Jamie really enjoys:
being bounced on your leg (above) and on top of a yoga ball (below).