• Home
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop
  • Articles of Interest

MillersTime

MillersTime

Tag Archives: Ellen Miller

Vote for Ellen’s Photo!

02 Sunday Oct 2022

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

African Landscapes, Ellen Miller, Just a Drop, Namibian Desert, Photo Contest, Wilderness Safari 2022 Photo Contest, Wilderness Safaris

JUST A DROP by Ellen Miller – a lone rock remains to be crushed by time (Namibian Desert)

Many of you have commented over the past few years about your enjoyment of Ellen’s photos from our various trips throughout the US and abroad.

A panel of judges at Wilderness Safaris, one of our favorite outdoor travel/adventure companies, has chosen Ellen’s photo above as a finalist in one of their four contests, African Landscapes.

If you think the photo above is worthy, you can cast a vote for her photo, as the winner(s) will be chosen exclusively by visitors to Wilderness Safaris’ website.

You have to register to vote, but there is a box to check so you will not receive any future mailings from Wilderness Safaris.

Do vote in each of the four categories as there are some truly amazing photos in each.  As you vote, the display will automatically move to the next category. Ellen’s photo is in the category of African Landscapes, and, as you can see above, it’s a picture of a lone rock on the vast red/orange of the Namibian desert.

The link to voting is here.

Full disclosure: There is a prize for the winning photos. But when I urged Ellen (she describes it as ‘extreme coercion’) to enter the contest, we knew nothing about prizes being attached to contest. I simply felt it could be fun to see how others who do not know Ellen would judge her work.

And while it would be rewarding to be chosen as a winner, the fact that her desert rock photo has made it to the finals in this amazing collection of photos is certainly an honor in and of itself.

Voting closes 10 October 2022

(PS – Feel free to pass this post on to one or two friends.)

Share

Eight More Films & One Guest Review to Consider

09 Saturday May 2020

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

"Atlantics", "Babies", "Bad Education, "Honeyland", "Luce", "Motherless Brooklyn", "Richard Jewell", "Self-Made: The Enduring Legacy of Madam CJ Walker", "Sneakers", "Spenser Confidential", Amazon Prime, Ellen Miller, Films, Movies, Netflix, Never Rarely Sometimes Always""

Or

by Ellen Miller

We’ve seen an incredible mix of films in the seven plus weeks while under quarantine, not withstanding the challenges of learning how to use our new very smart TV — clearly smarter than we are. If it wasn’t for our son-in-law’s two socially distanced visits and frequent phone consultations, there were be no movie reviews.

I do not like watching movies at home. I want someone else to curate them for me; I want a movie theater that smells of popcorn (even if I am not eating any); I want other people in a theater along side me and that feeling of community when you enter or exit a theater knowing that you might see or just saw something exciting, interesting, or provocative; I want a screen 20 times larger than me so I will literally be engulfed by the story; I want movies to provoke or educate me, not just mindlessly entertain me; I don’t want to fool with making the technology work. And from what we’ve seen thus far, the made-for-TV-movies are no match for films produced by studios (even if some high profile actors have roles).

That said, we have seen a number of films that we do recommend, which we rated four or five stars. Only a few of them would have held me in a traditional movie theater, but since that is not an option, below are some we’ve enjoyed. (We have also included a guest review of one TV series from our good friend FMH that we will take to heart.)

We are going to list at the bottom a few films that we didn’t like enough or didn’t watch all the way through to help you avoid them. (I think for all of them, they were simply “too dark” for these times.) Most of these we recommend can help you happily wile away a few hours. Note: All the films came out in the last year or two (or more recently) unless noted otherwise.

Luce (2019 – Amazon Prime):

Ellen **** Richard ****

This is an imperfect but very interesting recent film. A liberal white family (played by Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) has adopted a (then) 7-year-old former Eritrean child soldier, and raises him in Arlington, Virginia.  We meet Luce (played wonderfully by Kelvin Harrison Jr.) in his senior year in high school – a star debater, overall student, and favorite of everyone at his school. The plot begins to thicken when Luce is challenged about what appears to be dangerous political beliefs. His African-American History teacher (played by Olivia Spencer) confronts the parents with what she believes is a serious concern. Plot twists ensue. As the parents try to figure out just who their son really is, the film gets even more complex with new evidence added to further explore his character. The film raises a number of interesting questions pertaining to race, adoption, parenting, and living up to expectations.

(Note from Richard: If there are a half a dozen or so of you who would be interested in a Zoom discussion after seeing Luce, let me know. I think there are issues raised and enough to explore in the film that would make for a ‘virtual movie club’ discussion.)

Atlantics (2019 – Netflix):

Ellen **** Richard ***

This is what we used to call an “art film.” It is a film that critics love and the audience not so much. We appreciated its story and its art, but it’s probably not for everyone. The story is a classic: a forbidden romance, a threatened labor strike, immigration heartbreak, and a mix with mysticism (including shape-shifting characters), set in Dakar, Senegal. The setting is an exotic diversion. With a little post viewing conversation, we figured it out.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020 Amazon Prime):

Ellen ***** Richard ****

This is not a film I would recommend to everyone (remember my recommendation for Parasite?), but it’s an important one and should be more widely seen than it will be. Be prepared for an emotional 95 minutes of an extraordinarily intimate story of a 17-year-old girl who discovers an unwanted pregnancy. You will watch uncomfortably as she and her cousin travel out of their rural Pennsylvania town to New York to seek an abortion. The films rings true of the upset, confusion, and worry this teenager feels. At times I thought I was watching a documentary, deepening that feeling is the film’s painfully slow-pace.

The film was released March 13 and has been wildly heralded by the critics. The lead character, Autumn, is played by Sidney Flanigan, and her cousin, Skylar ,is played by Talia Ryder. Both are superb. The Director is Eliza Hittman. The Wall Street Journal called it “a film that has to be seen.” The New York Times said it was  “a low-key knockout.”

This movie is not relief from the pandemic, so you might want to save it for later. And, as Richard wisely said about it, “If you’re looking for ‘entertainment,’ this film is not for you.”

Richard Jewell  (2019 – Amazon Prime):

Ellen ***** Richard ****

Let’s start with the fact that this is a Clint Eastwood film.  We like his films. We find them edgy, political, tightly directed, and engaging — and this one is not an exception. You probably remember this story: During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta a bomb exploded in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic, killing two, injuring 100. A security guard, Richard Jewell, appears to have been a hero that day, discovering the bomb, helping to evacuate the area. Then the FBI names him the prime suspect in the bombing and the movie begins.  It’s very engaging.

Richard: “On the advice CT, I saw this before I read the book – The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle by Kent Alexander, Kevin Salwen (NF). I liked the book even more than the film.

Motherless Brooklyn (2019 Amazon Prime):

Ellen **** Richard ****

Our good friend DP recommended this film, and we really enjoyed it. (As DP said in an email, “I love any movies about Brooklyn, but in spite of that prejudice, I think you’ll like this one too.”  We trust her movie judgment after some 45+ years of knowing each other.)

The vaguely “Noir-ish” movie is set in 1957 in New York and focuses on the “bad guy” culture. A struggling private investigator (Lionel, played by Edward Norton, who directed and produced the film) decides that he and his compatriots must solve the murder of their boss (Frank Mina, played by Bruce Willis) after a rival monstrously killed him for unknown reasons. (Mina was a nice guy and made his mark on those he hired; in fact, he had rescued some of them from orphanages and trained them as private investigators.) Alec Baldwin plays a developer — Moses Randolph — a character loosely based on Robert Moses. The film unfurls issues of development in the city, tension between the white real estate speculators and the African-American home owners. The plot is suspenseful with a number of surprises. This movie has just about everything I think makes a good movie: great acting, great production, engaging and a provocative subject. Audiences have liked it more than critics.

Honeyland (2019 – Amazon Prime):

Ellen **** Richard *****

This is an extraordinarily beautifully produced documentary about a woman – a beekeeper — who lives in a very remote location with her aging mother in Macadonia.  It is directed Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, and focuses on the life and labors of this one woman. In an extraordinary effort, the filmmakers spent three years with Hatidze; her mother, Nazife; and the late-arriving people next door. There is very little dialogue, and the film is large impressionistic and has the most amazing photography.

AO Scott of NYT wrote:  “The opening minutes of Honeyland are as astonishing — as sublime and strange and full of human and natural beauty — as anything I’ve ever seen in a movie.”  This was a film that we didn’t have a chance to at last Fall’s Philadelphia Film Festival, and it’s worth seeing on your TV screen.

Richard: Superb Cinematography

Sneakers (1992 – Amazon Prime Video, Vudu, You Tube):

Ellen **** Richard ****

I am not much of a fan of watching “old movies,” but I found this very entertaining. First of all, I think it was one of the early big “heist movies” (e.g., a bunch of cool guys develop an elaborate plan to steal something from a bunch of bad guys). And for this movie it’s really about those cool guys: It stars Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Ben Kingsley, Dan Aykroyd, and David Strathairn as members of a San Francisco-based counter security firm who find out about a device that can decode government secret messages. It’s got all the razzle-dazzle you’d expect, twists and turns, wondering who are the bad guys, who are the good guys. It’s just two hours of fun.

Richard: Good Escapist Film.

Babies  (2010 – Amazon Prime, Hulu Starz):

Ellen: ***** Richard ****

I did not see this film when it first came out 10 years go and was delighted to find it online. This is a French documentary, looking at four babies born and raised (until the age of two) in different parts of the world. It is equal parts charming and adorable, allowing the viewer to examine how each of these children thrive in their own environment. For those who are at loss for lack of travel in these times, the film will take you to distant corners of the earth to meet Bayar in Mongolia; Ponjiao in Namibia; Mari in Tokyo; and Hattie in San Francisco. This film is perfect relief from the pandemic.

Richard: Five stars the first time I saw it, not quite so enthralled on this second viewing.

Self-Made: The Enduring Legacy of Madam CJ Walker (2020 – Netflix Series):

Review by FH:

Madam CJ Walker was America’s first self-made woman millionaire. She was a black washerwoman, born in 1867 just after the Civil War, who became an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and social activist. This four-part Netflix series is based on a book by her great-great granddaughter. 

It’s an amazing story of someone who had a dream and perseverance and a belief that making money should be for profit and “to help your neighbor.”  In her case, helping her neighbor meant bringing dignity and options to black women’s lives. She did this by creating a beauty product for hair that was sold door-to-door by women “sales agents” and in hundreds of salons across the country. She opened a factory and met with investors in an era when women, let alone a Black woman, did not do that. She promoted a standard of beauty, she said, that was not the beauty of the “Gibson girl”, but the beauty of “women that look like me.” Her daughter opened the salon in New York City and was a figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

With Octavia Spencer  (The Help, Hidden Figures) as Madam CJ Walker, supported by a great cast, this is a film worth seeing and reflecting on.

PS: Skip these two:

Bad Education (2019).  This was the oddest movie we’ve seen in a long time. It got a very solid review from The New York Times. It’s based on a real story of corruption in a Long Island public school system. It has two big stars – Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, but the acting was wooden, the production was beyond boring, and it had both the look and feel of a movie made by a high school class in their backyard. Two questions arise: why would Jackman and Janney agree to be in such a movie; is this reflective of the quality of all HBO movies? Skip it.

Spenser Confidential (2020). This is a Boston-based police corruption “action comedy.” We saw no humor and way too much blood.

Share

Summer Film Reviews by Ellen Miller

03 Thursday Aug 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

"A City of Ghosts", "Dunkirk", "Lady Macbeth", "Maudi", "Midwife", "Sami Blood", "The Exception", Ellen, Ellen Miller

While your ‘trusty’ blogger was away on ‘baby watch’ in Kansas City, Ellen saw a number of films and agreed to write mini-reviews. The bold stars are her ratings, and for the three we had previously seen together, my ratings follow hers:

Maudi *****+

This is a stunning 5*+ movie. Based on a true story of a Nova Scotia folk artist — Maude Lewis  — it’s a memoir about her debilitating physical handicaps, about rejection by her family, and about her art. It’s also about her husband –Everett Lewis’ life of isolation and hardship, and their love in rural Nova Scotia. When they find each other, both of them are lost and unloved (and unlovable) souls in a stark, depressing world. Yet, every element of this film makes you hopeful. It rings first class on all the film values I can think of: acting, production, photography, narrative, pacing, and film writing. Ethan Hawke plays Everett, and Sally Hawkins plays Maude. Both will certainly be nominated for best actor awards. It’s not surprising that this near perfect film is a co-production of Canada and Ireland.

It won’t be playing long or maybe not even where you are, but this is a must-see if you can.

[8/4 Update – Richard ***** – Just saw this and concur on all points above. Ellen did not overstate her praise for this film.]

A City of Ghosts *****

Put this documentary in the category of “what I didn’t know” (ashamedly). By filmmaker Matthew Heineman, it won great acclaim at Sundance, not only telling the story of the horrific violence of ISIS in the Syrian city of Raqqa (which I did know), but how the brave, mostly “citizen journalists” have gotten the word out to the world, in a time when no one was paying attention. The early footage is shot in July 2014 when the Islamic militants took control of Raqqa and contains brutal images of the aftermath. The real-life nightmare that citizens face there has been told with hidden cameras and video. Possibly, the impactful part of the film focuses on the journalists who fled to Turkey and Germany, and who – at great risk to their lives– have found clandestine ways to tell the story of Raqqa to the world.

In the end, this is a deeply sad movie.

Lady Macbeth *****

This is not a film for everyone. It’s tough (and beautiful) to watch. The “Lady Macbeth” in this movie is a young woman in Victorian England, who, in a trade along with some land parcels, is handed off to a much older man. He seems to reject her, and she rejects the conventions of the times. She takes a stable hand as a lover, and then goes to extreme ends to keep her independence. The cinematography is stunning – each scene is exquisitely posed to create the most tension possible. The acting is first rate, and the story line is gripping and stark.

The audience ultimately has the responsibility of how to view “Lady Macbeth’s” ethical choices.

Variety Magazine sums it up well “At one level an extreme, unflinching feminist cautionary tale about the ultimate perils of chauvinistically containing or instructing a woman’s desires and impulses, “Lady Macbeth” also works as a fascinatingly inverted character study — wherein continued abuse and silencing gradually makes an oppressor of a victim.”

The film is based on Nikolai Leskov’s 1865 novella “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk.”

Midwife ***

I will admit right from the start that I saw this film because I wanted to see Catherine Deneuve again, and because I haven’t seen a French film in a very long time.

I was disappointed.

It’s very French in its story: two women attached to one man — the father of Claire (played by Catherine Frot) was the former lover of Beatrice (played by Catherine Deneuve). The two women meet after 30 years, make peace with their pasts and bond together (with some reluctance) over new, compelling circumstances. Both of the characters are sympathetic (Claire is a caring midwife), though not always or at the same time.

I expected a sparkling and crisp performance from Deneuve and was disappointed.

Dunkirk ***** (Richard ****1/2)

This is one of the most extraordinarily extravagant and grand films I’ve seen in years and perhaps one of the greatest stories of “war is hell” ever filmed (or at least the greatest one I have ever seen).

The story centers on the British evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940, and the land, sea, and air efforts mounted in the execution of that task. The production of this film is over the top — you are there in every moment — flying the Allied bombers; in the hulls of the ships transporting the solders; on the beaches at the Germans run their bombing raids; in the flaming water as soldiers are being recused. The tension builds in this film (cued a bit too loudly by the music), and you find yourself gripping the edge of your seat for most of the film.

But as much as this film is about war, it is also about the extraordinary patriotism of British citizens who supported them with a touching story that you will long remember.

See it.

[Richard: I saw this also and was not quite as enthusiastic as Ellen. The extraordinarily loud music bothered me and seemed somewhat out of place, and I couldn’t hear/understand some of the dialogue. Plus the lack of a linear story line had me confused at a number of points. Guess I sound like an old man. But it did send me to learn more about Dunkirk, and the two articles below added to my understanding of the film: one gives you background about the war itself, and one is a thoughtful review of the film.]

What is Dunkirk? Everything You Need to Know about the World War II Battle by Meghan O’Keefe. (Well, not everything but some good info as an introduction if your knowledge of Dunkirk is as limited as mine was.)

Review of the film by the New Yorker‘s film critic Richard Brody.]

The Exception **** (Richard ****)

If you think of this movie as part spy thriller and part Holocaust fairy tale (yes, that’s an oxymoron), you’ll appreciate, and perhaps even enjoy it, which I did.

A German soldier has been assigned to spy on the Kaiser who living in exile in the Netherlands when he improbably falls in love with the Kaiser’s Jewish housemaid. When the SS shows up, the clashes ensue, and everyone is forced to make some difficult moral choices.

By far the star of this show is Christopher Plummer who is a pleasure to watch as the erasable and unpredictable calculating Kaiser. Honestly, it’s worth seeing the film just to watch him.

Sami Blood **** (Richard ****1/2)

This is an odd little film with beautiful photography, a meaningful story, and very little dialogue.

The time is the 1930s, and the chief protagonist is a 14-year old girl from a remote Swedish ethnic minority known as the Sami people. She leaves her family and their world and attempts to integrate into modern day Sweden. At every turn she is faced with discrimination and racism. It’s a story about Swedish society that I didn’t know. It’s shocking to observe Sami as she struggles to makes her way in the modern world (and through her adolescence), and it’s easy to sympathize with her plight. It’s a quietly profound film. The acting by new comer Lene Cecilia Sparrok is superb.

(Richard: The story is one you’ve seen or read before. What was new for me was the ethnic minority and the setting, Scandinavia and not the Americas.)

Share

Favorite Reads So Far This Year (2017)

20 Saturday May 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

", "A Gentleman in Moscow", "A Horse Walks into a Bar", "A Piece of the World", "Alexa and Eliza", "All the River", "American Lion", "Between Them: Remembering My Parents", "Born a Crime", "Can Heaven Be Void", "Consequences: A Memoir", "Days Without End", "Do Not Say We Have Nothing", "Eveningland", "Evicted", "Homegoing", "Homesick forAnother World", "In the Darkroom", "Insomniac", "Killers of the Flower Moon", "Not My Father's Son", "Spoils", "Stranger in the Woods", "The Blood of Emmett Till", "The Lost City of the Monkey God", "The Man Who Never Stopped Sleeping", "The New Odyssey", "The North Water", "The Return: Fathers, "The Spy", "The Twelves Lives of Samuel Hawley", "Things We Lost in the Fire", "Ties", "Waking Lions", Ellen Miller, Favorite Reads, MillersTime Readers Favorites in 2017 (so far), Sons and the Land in Between"

“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read”- A. Lincoln

Several years ago I decided waiting until December each year was too long a time between posts that share favorite reads among MillersTime readers. So I started asking in May/June for books you’ve read so far in the year that have particularly resonated with you. And since some of our memories are not quite as sharp as they once were, the idea of having a midyear call for your favorites and a midyear post, I hope, will be useful to all and will continue to be a regular feature here.

I ask that you send me a few that have stood out for you so far, along with a sentence or two of what was particularly appealing. Send them to my email (Samesty84@gmail.com), and when I get at least a dozen or so responses, I’ll post them for other readers to see. I’ll also do a second summer post for those of you who may be too busy to respond in the next couple of weeks (but know you can expect a couple of reminders if you don’t respond to this first appeal).

To start everyone off, both Ellen and I have listed books that we’ve particularly enjoyed since Jan.1, 2017, along with a few sentences about each. (We may have overdone our list here a bit, but remember we are retired, don’t watch TV, and our grand kinder go to bed early.)

Continue reading »

Share

“Intelligence” – Ellen Miller: “A Must See Play”

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"Intelligence" Arena State, Bush Administration, CIA, Ellen Miller, Guest Review, Jacqueline Lawton, Joe Wilson, Power Plays, Valerie Plame

 (Guest post: Ellen Miller)

I admit it. I’m a New York theater snob.

When I got an invitation to join a good friend at a matinee performance yesterday at Arena Stage of the play, Intelligence, I winced. I couldn’t remember a play I had seen there in the last few years that I would recommend to anyone.

Nevertheless, I accepted, as the subject was of interest: a “fictionalized” account of the run up to the Iraq War and the role of Valerie Plame and her husband, Joe Wilson, challenging the Bush Administration and the CIA’s version of the truth.

The play was commissioned through Arena’s Power Plays series, each designed to explore an “idea, person or place in America” throughout our history. It was written by Jacqueline Lawton who began writing it in June of 2015.

You probably won’t go for the story. You know that if you live inside the Beltway Bubble of Washington, DC. But you should go for the lesson it teaches about the grave consequences of lying government officials, the lack of accountability of government policies, and the bravery of people in and out of government who confront both.

The play — 90 minutes with no intermission — is masterfully acted, dramatically written, and ably staged (and will keep you on the edge of your seat). The timing of its release is perfect.  What you learn as you watch and reflect may give you some new resolve in the context of our politics..

See it.  You only have a few more days as it closes Wed., April 2.

Ed. Note: Originally sold out, Intelligence has now been extended until April 9, and tickets are available. (h/t Susan B for this info.)

Share

Ireland: Thru Ellen’s Lens

05 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Ballynavinch Castle, Ballyvaughn, Baltimore, Beara Peninsula, Cape Clear Island, Cliffs of Moher, Coiunty Limerick, Connemara, Connemara National Forest, Cork, Count, County, County Clare, County Cork, County Galway, County Kerry, David P. Stang, Dingle Peninsula, Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller Photos, Ireland, Kenmare, Kerry Peninusula, Kinsale, neolithich molnuments, Southwest Ireland, stone circles, The Burren, Tralee, Western Ireland

We recently had the good fortune to spend two weeks driving in Southwest and Western Ireland. The trip included a few days in County Cork with overnights in Cork, Baltimore and on Cape Clear Island. Then we had five wonderful days with our goodireland_map-2 friend David Stang who has spent four or five months a year for the last 30 years at his home in Kenmare, County Kerry. Dave introduced us to both the historical richness of (Southwest) Ireland and to its geographic beauty. We spent most of four days driving with him on the Beara and Dingle Peninsulas and also had the good fortune to visit a diverse number of his Irish friends who gave us insights into their lives and their country.

Back on our own, we spent another week driving and wandering through Counties Limerick, Clare, Galway, and Mayo, including two nights at Gregan’s Castle in The Burren at Ballyvaughn and part of a day at the Cliffs of Moher. We spent another two nights at Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara, County Galway, where we also marveled at the small towns, the National Forest, and our personal interests in stone circles and neolithic remains.

The pictures below and the slide show that accompanies this post are Ellen’s choice of some of her favorite photos from the trip. Not meant as a travelogue — though the slide show is in chronological order of where we went — the photos are Ellen’s selection of what she saw through her lens of Southwest and Western Ireland.

And for those of you who might want more ‘written’ details, you can click here to see the multiple-choice quiz we made up near the end of our wonderful two weeks on the Emerald Isle.

I.16

I.24

I.18

I.26.

 

I.5

I.4

I.7

I.23

 

I.9

I.12

I.10

I.21

I.13

I.14

I.2

To see Ellen’s entire slide show (88 photos), use this link: Ireland: Thru Ellen’s Lens.

For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show. If the slide show appears to start in the middle, scroll to the top of the page where you’ll see the little arrow in a box.

See all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either). They are much sharper and better presented than in this (above) post.

Share

Are You Sure You’ve Seen Them All?

26 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

Antarctica, Balkans, Berlin & Prague, Brasilia, Eastern Island, Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller's Photos, England, Iceland, Japan, Maine, Mayanmar/Burma, Peruvian Amazon, Photography, Photos, Santa Fe, Scotland, Slice of Sicily, Thru Ellen's Lens, Vietnam & Cambodia, Warsaw & Krakow

I initially chose MillersTime as the title of this website because I thought it described my newly retired status and defined what I wanted to write about — my varied interests and activities. (If you are want to know more about my interest in writing, see an earlier post, Why I Write.)

In my mind, “MillersTime” was a singular endeavor (Although I couldn’t figure out the mechanics of putting an apostrophe in the title, I like that it sounded a bit like my own newspaper). As it developed, I began to include, along with my travel writing, photos that Ellen (my wife) had taken of the trips.

For some of you, Ellen’s photos are one of the best aspects of MillersTime.

For those of you who have enjoyed Ellen’s photos from one or more of our various trips, I’m posting below a list of and links to all of her photo slide shows (in case you might have missed one or two).

Remember to use your largest possible screen (laptops and desktops are much better for these photos than smartphones, for example). Also, once you click on the link to a particular slide show, be sure to click on the tiny arrow inside the little rectangle at the top right of your screen to start the slide show.

Enjoy.

                                                  Thru Ellen’s Lens

Myanmar/Burma

Winter in Iceland

The Balkans

Weekend in Maine

Japan

Easter Island

Antarctica

Vietnam & Cambodia

India

England *

Scotland *

Slice of Sicily *

Peruvian Amazon *

Brasilia **

Santa Fe **

Berlin & Prague **

Warsaw & Krakow **

*Slide show work only on laptop or desktop computers.

**No slide show, just photos in the post.

Share

Winter in Iceland: Thru Ellen’s Lens

20 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Amazing Tours.Is, Blue Lagoon, Ellen Miller, Ellen Miller's Photos, Geothermal Hot Springs, Geysers, Glaciers, Haraldur Guojonsson, Hot Springs, Iceland, Northern Lights, Reykjavik, Super Jeeps, Winter in Iceland

Iceland. Opening Ohot_Lights

(Photo by Haraldur Guojonsson, Amazing Tours.Is, our Northern Lights guide and photojournalist in Iceland. We are the two ‘orange clad’ people closest to the jeep.)

We’d been thinking about a summer trip to Iceland for a few years now, but after learning about an “adventure hotel” about an hour outside of Reykjavik where it was possible to see the Northern Lights from one’s room, we decided that winter was the perfect time to go.  (After all, we had all the necessary clothes after going to Antarctica, and we reasoned a winter trip need not take the place of a summer one.)

For all but a day and a half of our week in Iceland we were the countryside.

We never tired of the landscapes, the waterfalls, the lakes, the hot springs, and the glaciers. We explored ice caves, farms, small villages, and snowmobiling. (Ellen loved that. I liked it more after we finished than while I was ‘driving’ the machine.) For two days we had a guide who drove us in a four-wheeled Super Jeep and delighted in off road driving. In fact, he seemed to make a practice of avoiding anything that resembled a road or well-worn tracks.  But he was knowledgeable about his country and was as good a driver as I’ve ever had. (He also rescued several other drivers while we were with him, which gave us a lot of confidence, When on one of the two days our own vehicle broke down, he quickly used his cell phone to call a buddy back in Reykjavik who within an hour arrived with two vehicles, one to replace ours and the other to tow the broken one back to be repaired.)

Most of the time we felt we were on another planet: one that was rocky and snow covered, with whipping winds that blew the snow across the road and across the glaciers. We saw ponies and sheep hovering in the freezing temperatures (although the daily temperature generally reached 30 degrees, it did get precipitously colder at night), isolated farms, small villages, churches, and lighthouses. We found the natural geothermal hot springs fascinating with their billowing clouds of steam rising out of the ground. On the coast, the water was deep blue, many of the beaches were black (think lava), and the waves looked steamy as they crashed into the shore. We explored a hot water extraction and distribution plant, took hundreds of pictures at the geysirs (geysers), heard a story about why many farmers painted their roofs red, and learned a lot of Icelandic history. The sun didn’t rise each day until 9:45 AM, and it set around 5:45 PM. All the sunrises and sunsets differed, and all were all spectacular.

So was the food. From the dark breads, fresh butter, gravlax, and skyr (yogurt) to the endless varieties of seafood soups (one better than the next) to the langoustines (Icelandic lobsters), Artic Char, Icelandic cod, shrimp, scallops, mussels, and lamb in many forms (including the lamb soup we ate for lunch at a tourist rest stop), every meal was a feast.

And we were fortunate enough to get three evenings of Northern Lights. Having seen this wonder in Alaska, we wanted to see them again. Our first night out with a photo journalist/guide was only partially successful. He took us to a mountain, and we were able to see a bit of Northern Light activity. On our way back to our lodge, the lights had gotten stronger (see photo above), and he taught Ellen how to photograph them (see photo below and others in the slide show). The next two nights, however, these dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis were stronger, and we indeed could see them from our room. The dancing lights are a result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, and if you’ve ever had the good fortune to see them, you will not forget them. The night sky gave us an amazingly clear view of millions of stars and the Milky Way.

Towards the end of our week, we left our lodge in our rented SUV in the midst of what they called ‘snow squalls’ but seemed to us to be a snowstorm with whiteout conditions. It took us two hours to cover a distance that usually takes only an hour, but we made it back into Reykjavik safely. There we spent just a short time exploring the city  — quaint with modern touches, a nice harbor area, one fabulous church, beautiful arts center, and great food —  before deciding to go back into the countryside and along the western coast. On our final day, we spent four hours at the Blue Lagoon, an outdoor hot springs pool where you can relax in a 99-102-degree hot springs while still being in the middle of a 32-degree wondrous landscape.

The 12 photos below will give you a first glance at what we saw and the slide show following will take you deeper into Iceland.

We will return. Not only during a summer but also for another winter week.

It was certainly a feast for the eyes.

Thru Ellen’s Lens:

Iceland. Thru the car mirror

Iceland. Trees

Iceland. Watyer with sky reflected

Iceland.Ice

Iceland. Close upwaterfall

Iceland. Wooly Sheep

Iceland. Glacier

Iceland. Hot Springs

Iceland.surise_set_

Iceland. Blu Glacier

Iceland. Northern Lights.

To see Ellen’s entire slide show (66 photos), use this link: Winter in Iceland.

For the best viewing, click on the little arrow at the top right of the first page of the link to start the slide show and see all the photos in the largest size possible (use a laptop or desktop computer if you have access to either).

Share

Antarctica: Thru Ellen’s Lens

15 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Antarctic Circle, Antarctica, Ellen Miller, Photos

A dozen or so to start you off.

These, and those in Ellen Miller’s Antarctica slide show (see instructions below), come from Ushuaia & the Beagle Channel, the Drake Passage, the South Shetland Islands, the Lemaire Channel, Booth & Petermann Islands, the Antarctic Circle, Port Lockroy and Paradise Bay.

 

unnamed.19.

 

unnamed.70

 

unnamed.333.

 

unnamed.16

Continue reading »

Share

Through Ellen’s Eye: Vietnam & Cambodia

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Cambodia, Ellen Miller, Slide Show, Vietnam

Here a two dozen of Ellen’s pictures from our recent trip.

But they are nothing compared to the full screen slide show she’s created. When you’ve scrolled through these two dozen, there is a link to her slide show. You must see them on a lap top or a desktop.

I promise you, it’s worth the effort.

They’re the best she’s ever done.

Ho Chi Minh House

Ho Chi Minh House

Water Lillies

Water Lillies

Hanoi 'Hilton' (Prison)

Hanoi ‘Hilton’ (Prison)

Hanoi Street Scene

Hanoi Street Scene

Halong Bay 1

Halong Bay 1

Continue reading »

Share

“An Incredible Run…An Awful Lot of Fun”

31 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends, The Outer Loop

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

"The American Prospect", "Tom Paine", Campaign for America's Future, Center for Responsive Politics, Ellen Miller, Pike Permanent Select Comittee on Intelligence, Public Campaign, Ralph Nader, retirement, Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, Sen. Committee on Governmental Affairs, The Sunlight Foundation

admin-ajax.php

Today mark’s the final day of public service (1968-2014) for Ellen Miller.

Ellen’s first work in Washington was with Ralph Nader at his Center for Responsive Law and at his Center for Auto Safety. She then worked with Sen. Abraham Ribicoff at his Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and also with the Pike House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Following her government service, Ellen worked for two journalistic enterprises, Tom Paine and The American Prospect and also directed the “Project for an Accountable Congress” at the Campaign for America’s Future.

Most of Ellen’s work, however, was invested in the three organizations she created and lead, The Center for Responsive Politics, Public Campaign, and The Sunlight Foundation. All three groups have been focused in different ways on the issues of money and politics, on how our elections are funded, and on accountability and transparency in government. All three organizations continue to exist.

Ellen told a gathering of friends and co-workers last week, “It’s been an incredible run…I’ve been extraordinarily lucky…and I’ve had a lot of fun.” She also said she is “not one bit wistful” as she happily looks towards her retirement and has no plans other than some extended travel, lots of photography, and spending time with her three grandchildren.

PS – For a bit more on Ellen’s retirement, see her Time to Pass the Baton.

Share

Shameless Promotion

03 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, Family and Friends, The Outer Loop

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Amazon's Smile Program, Charitable Giving, Ellen Miller, Money and Politics, Open Govenrment, Open Secrets, Public Campaign, The Center for Responsive Politics, The Sunlight Foundation, Transparency

Have I got a deal for you!

If you use Amazon for on-line shopping, you can have them automatically support your favorite charity (their participating charities now number almost one million). They will contribute 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charity/charities you so designate.

Continue reading »

Share

How Come She Doesn’t Give Up?

14 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by Richard in Family and Friends, The Outer Loop

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Data Driven Democracy, Ellen Miller, Personal Democracy Forum, The Sunlight Foundation

Now and then folks ask me what my wife Ellen is doing.

Or, if they know something about what she has done, they ask, “How can she continue to do that after all these years? Doesn’t she get discouraged.”

Well, if you have 12 minutes and 18 seconds and want to understand what Ellen does, what her Sunlight Foundation is doing, and why she believes so passionately in her work, check out this YouTube video from a speech she gave the other day at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City.

 

Share

♣ Search



♣ Featured Posts

  • Cappadocia: Thru Ellen’s Lens
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: Petra & Wadi Rum
  • I Changed My Mind
  • By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…
  • So Many Books…So Little Time? Here Are 34 Recent Favorite Reads
  • One Favorite Read
  • Yes, It’s True…I Biked from Bruges to Amsterdam!
  • Carrie Trauth Made the World a Better Place
  • “I Used to Be a Human Being” – Andrew Sullivan
  • MillersTime Contributors Favorite Reads from 2021
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: Alaskan Landscapes & Skyscapes
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: The Brown Bears of Katmai, Alaska
  • When I Was 22…
  • The Country ‘Spoke’ Again
  • Thru Ellen’s Lens: The Slot Canyons of Arizona

♣ Recent Comments

  • Ellen Miller on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Richard on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Tiffany Lopez Lee on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Brandt Tilis on THE LIST – 2022 Favorite Reads
  • Ping on Cappadocia: Thru Ellen’s Lens

♣ Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011

♣ Sections

  • Articles & Books of Interest
  • Escapes and Pleasures
  • Family and Friends
  • Go Sox
  • The Outer Loop

Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Chateau by Ignacio Ricci.