3:10 to Yuma and a CrabAppleLane Sunday

I watched 3:10 to Yuma yesterday a few minutes at a time while I was also watching Pitt and Villanova go at it. This is a remake of a Glenn Ford movie of the same name from 1957. Dan Evans, Christian Bale, is a struggling rancher who signs up to help take the outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), to catch the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. I never saw the original film and I guess I'm glad I didn't. The character who is very skilled at some things but also very reluctant to use those skills was pretty much invented by Glenn Ford in my mind. Crowe doesn't do reluctant nearly as well. I am also not high on Christian Bale as an actor. I find him a little too hard to understand, much like Joaquin Phoenix. That said, I'm not really sure why Ben Wade is reluctant in the first place. He stupidly gets caught although it's quite obvious he's not stupid. He has many, many opportunities to escape but chooses not to. You get a sense of atonement from him but he also spends a good bit of time and energy trying to corrupt Evans by offering him money to let him go. One of the things I like about westerns is that everyone who ever makes one tries to reinvent it. Unfortunately, most of them end up looking like pale imitations of Shane. 3:10 is well done and more than just a pale imitation but it's in no danger of becoming a classic.

About Villanova v Pitt: Not wild about the outcome but it was a great game. It was easily the best one I've seen in this tournament. Congrats to the Wildcats.

Finally saw a ruby-throated hummingbird this week. They are back. I had heard soem and Patsy even saw a few but I don't record it until I see it. This is the latest I've seen one since I started recording. Buffy, our buff-bellied friend who wintered here, is gone. Hope it comes back next winter.

March 14, 2001
March 17, 2002
March 10, 2003
March 20, 2004
March 12, 2005
March 12, 2006
March 11, 2007
March 9, 2008
March 26, 2009

I offer a few images from the CrabAppleLane yard on this gloriously mild spring Sunday. Pardon the redundant tomato images. I post them for my own benefit. I like to see how I'm progressing from one year to the next. They're further along this year than ever. I've never had to tie up tomato plants in March.

CrabAppleLane lizard - March 29, 2009

CrabAppleLane Iris - March 29, 2009

CrabAppleLane grape tomatoes - March 29, 2009

CrabAppleLane tomato garden - March 29, 2009

165 days until football season ...

Quote of the Day

So she gave me a bible, sat me down in the train station, told me to read it. She was gonna get our tickets. Well, I did what she said. I read that bible from cover to cover. It took me three days. She never came back.

Ben Wade, 3:10 to Yuma

Blog of the day here.

Quote from said blog: "Doug Reinhardt Fights for Paris Hilton, Says He Wants Babies".