AND THE PARKING WAS FREE.

I had a busy weekend.  Saw Les Miserables yesterday on "I Have a Dream Day" and loved it.  I was crying like a little school girl through most of it.  I loved Tom Hooper's direction and choice to have most of the song sung live.  It was the touch the filmed version of the Musical needed.  Eddie Redmayne as Marius was a revelation.  What a beautiful voice.  He broke my heart on "Empty Chairs."  Russell Crowe as Javert sounded like Elvis Costello on a bad day and he looked like he knew it.  Anne Hathaway as Fantine was astoundingly powerful when she sang "I Dreamed a Dream."  And Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean could do no wrong.  Aaron Tveit as Enjolras has the voice of an angel.  Samantha Barks as Eponine had the right edge and won the part over Taylor Swift.  There is a god. Amanda Seyfried was properly ingenue as Cosette and has a lovely coloratura soprano voice, having studied opera for two years and had a Broadway musical vocal coach for five. Les Mis is her favorite musical and is fast becoming one of mine.

Maverick's Invitational Surfing Contest was Sunday and our little coastal village hamlet was buzzing.  Congratulations to 42 year old Santa Cruz surfer, Peter Mel.  Although the waves weren't some of the largest that have been seen at Mavericks, some reached 20 to 30 feet and waited until the final heat to show up.  The website crashed with over a million people trying to log on.  It was broadcast live from an offsite location because they are not allowing fans to watch from the beach or the bluffs after a rogue wave did some damage two years ago.  

Sunday afternoon between sets at Mavericks, I watched Colin Kaepernick lead the San Francisco 49ers to a victory against the Atlanta Falcons that will take them to the Super Bowl.  It was a great game and we had a fun time at a local pub watching with locals.

This is pretty cool.  Too bad he didn't predict a win at the Super Bowl too.