Sailing with Critics People ask, “Do you have any professional video?” Michelle Alexandria was in Williamsburg shooting video with her crew Tom Allen and Kyle Ervin for eclipsemaganize.com and blogcritics.org. She views around 200 movies a year as a member of the Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Once a year she gets the full treatment of promotional materials and swag from the Motion Picture Association of America to inform her vote for the Oscar nominations. The DC Film Critics nominations precede the Golden Globes, which in turn precedes the Oscar nominations, so the pressure is on. “After that, they forget about me and won’t take my calls,” she laughed. Among recent movies she considered “just okay” were “Million Dollar Arm,” “Neighbors” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” You can read her latest reviews here. Unfortunately, my video is no longer available on the website

Friends Sailing

IMG_20140517_115254_519Bonnie and I took friends Chris and Ed Lafferty sailing on a beautiful afternoon. The breeze in the air and the serenity of the cruise led to a discussion about how fortunate we are to have good genes, good health, and indeed good luck itself. Some of that may derive from a humble “sense of other” manifested through good works and community service. I wonder if they talk of such things on motorboats.

Bulkely Exits Yorktown (Sailing with Critics)

Sailing with CriticsUSN destroyer Bulkeley transited the Coleman Bridge out of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown after a brief deployment. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer was named for Admiral John D. Bulkeley, who won the Medal of Honor during World War II. Twice in 2011 the Bulkeley rescued ships and personnel from Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

High Heeling

Here’s a perfectly good sailboat tilting too far at 30 degrees because it’s embroiled in a race when 10-15 degrees would move it along just fine. The crew is sitting on the windward side to provide (slightly) more ballast against the (enormous) tilting force of the wind.

All of this is designed to gain a few seconds advantage, which could lead to victory. When the boat rounds the mark for the next leg of the race, the crew must scoot across to the other side within ten seconds, amid copious hollering from the skipper. It’s all very exciting for those who like this sort of thing. Others prefer a more comfortable cruise without the drama.

Let’s Go Sailing with Critics

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