2024 Life Logs, Day 52: Dissecting Oppenheimer
Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 37, Low 26 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
So, I went to see Oppenheimer last summer and was a bit overwhelmed. I really knew nothing of his story other than the fact that he developed the atomic bomb. I knew that there was something called the Manhattan Project, but I knew none of the names of the scientists in the project or others who contributed. Still, I was in awe of Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of Oppenheimer. And when an actor is that spectacular in a role, you know the director gets equal credit. Christopher Nolan gathered an extensive and talented group of actors. In fact, when I looked it up today, there were at least 19 main characters and 16 supporting cast members. No wonder I was overwhelmed when I first saw it. As I left the theater, I promised I would acquaint myself with Oppenheimer and the whole cast of characters and then watch the movie again. I intended to read ‘American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer’, but that didn’t happen. So today I Googled my way through J. Robert Oppenheimer and the characters that Christopher Nolan decided to include in the movie. Why am I doing this now? Because Oppenheimer, the movie, is streaming on Peacock and I want to watch it. Maybe I’ll be ready tomorrow night.
Another project also took a very long time. After two days of preparation, I was finally ready to assemble the 12 main characters and the 8 supporting cast member ingredients to make a Wild Rice and Mushroom casserole. This was a recipe with a long list of ingredients, reminding me of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer long list of characters. To get ready to assemble the ingredients for this recipe, ahead of time, I soaked and cooked the white beans, trimmed and sliced 3 leeks and 2 fennel bulbs, and cooked a pot of wild rice. These ingredients were in the refrigerator waiting to be called on. But that still left a long list of other ingredients that needed to be chopped or diced and then cooked on the stove top before putting them all together in a casserole dish. Often, vegetarian recipes require a huge amount of chopping of fresh veggies and this was certainly one of those. It tastes good, but there are things I would change if I made it again. I am trying hard to eat a plant-based diet, but recipes like this one are enough to steer me in another direction.
