Day: February 22, 2016

Movie Review: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

~ Liam ~ 2 Comments

Title:  The Empire Strikes Back
Release Date: 1980
Director:   Irving Kushner
Summary/Review:

Still the best of the Star Wars films, allowing space for the characters to breath and grow and for the actors to show their chops, while still having intertwining action plots that come together at the end.  And it’s funny.  It certainly wasn’t satisfying as kid to have it just end with the good guys essentially losing and so much unresolved.  Watching this with my kids for the first time meant lots of questions, Yoda being scary, and Darth Vader being unexpectedly cool.

Rating: *****

Photopost: Harris Hill Ski Jump

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve ever watched ski jumping on tv and thought it would be awesome to see in person, well I’m here to tell you that it is!

Yesterday, my family and I attended the Harris Hill Ski Jumping competition in Brattleboro, VT. Harris Hill has been home to ski jumping competitions since 1922 and is the only Olympic-size venue in New England. Despite this, it was easy to get up close to the action as we walked up the hill and watched several jumpers from right below the launching point of the inrun. The warm weather didn’t mar the competition and made it ideal for spectators although I should’ve used better judgment about leaving my boots at home. The ground was muddy and icy, but I had a fun time sliding down the hill accidentally on purpose.

Below is some news coverage, then my best photos of the day (most of them were skiers feet as they flew by too quickly), and then a couple of videos.

Jumper the Cash Cow dances.
Ski jumpers arrive on the hill.
They have to walk up the last leg.
The first jumper comes down the ramp.
Take off!
Whoosh!
They’re so fast!
There’s a great view down the hill.
Flying high!
Don’t crash into me!
It’s a long way down.