Over the last three years I have kept this site updated rather well, if I say so myself. The structure I have tried to follow was Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and the weekend. While I have generally been able to keep up, I have questioned what the value of posting as frequently as I do really is. I am not completely certain that four posts a week is worth the extra effort.
For at least the next few weeks I am going to trim my activity down to three posts a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and the weekend. If I feel like this is better than the old schedule, I'll stick with it. Otherwise, I'll tweak some more.
I'd say this is all to serve my readers better, but we all know what that really means.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
thicker than water
We have a family reunion this September. I don't get to see family all that often, and they haven't seen NJ enough. There is one drawback, though. Since it is in eastern Pennsylvania and Golden will be in her seventh month of pregnancy we aren't going. I need to notify my aunt, who is heading this up, by tomorrow that I will not be able to attend.
My mom's side of the family is very close. Most holidays when I was growing up were spent with them, even when I didn't live near them. We moved around a bit, so I didn't have many lifelong friends, but I did have a cousin or two with whom I was close. Those are reasons why going to the reunion would be a good thing.
On the bad side, making such a trip is expensive, time-consuming, exhausting, and not really a vacation, as we would be travelling with a two-year-old. It would be a pretty serious hardship for us to attend. This is even ignoring that Golden will be in her third trimester. Even with the expense, I think that we would probably go if Golden wasn't pregnant. Everything combined makes us going unrealistic, though.
There are a lot of family things that we miss because we live the farthest away from where everyone else is. This is just one more example. I understand that I knew the drawbacks of living far from family when I chose Kansas, but I wish that someone else could play spoilsport for these events rather than myself at some point. Since the family is close, there is some expectation to make sacrifices for family to be together. I wish I wasn't always the one giving the appearance of not being willing to make the sacrifice.
My mom's side of the family is very close. Most holidays when I was growing up were spent with them, even when I didn't live near them. We moved around a bit, so I didn't have many lifelong friends, but I did have a cousin or two with whom I was close. Those are reasons why going to the reunion would be a good thing.
On the bad side, making such a trip is expensive, time-consuming, exhausting, and not really a vacation, as we would be travelling with a two-year-old. It would be a pretty serious hardship for us to attend. This is even ignoring that Golden will be in her third trimester. Even with the expense, I think that we would probably go if Golden wasn't pregnant. Everything combined makes us going unrealistic, though.
There are a lot of family things that we miss because we live the farthest away from where everyone else is. This is just one more example. I understand that I knew the drawbacks of living far from family when I chose Kansas, but I wish that someone else could play spoilsport for these events rather than myself at some point. Since the family is close, there is some expectation to make sacrifices for family to be together. I wish I wasn't always the one giving the appearance of not being willing to make the sacrifice.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
omaha
This is just a quick rundown of our trip to Omaha this past weekend.
Saturday
We got into town in the early afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Omaha. The Hotel was fine, but probably a bit pricey for what it provided. The greatest advantage, and this is important for anyone who ever intends to spend a weekend in Omaha to note, is that the Hotel offered easy access to the Old Market and the Gene Leahy Mall. It was nice to be able to visit these locations for a little while then be able to walk back to our hotel. Another thing to note is that there is a lot of traffic noise at night in downtown Omaha, which is something I was not anticipating.
The Old Market is a segment of the downtown that has been and is being rebuilt to house a series of eclectic shops and restaurants. It is a nice place to visit, walk around, and eat. I was not impressed enough that it made much sense to me that lofts in one building in the area were advertised to start at about $230K.
The Gene Leahy Mall is essentially a park that has been built around a creek that runs through downtown Omaha. I don't know the finances behind building and maintaining it, but it seems to me to be one of the wisest investments that the city could have made. It is attractive, a short walking distance from the Old Market and the Qwest Center, and provides motivation for further development downtown.
After we got into Omaha we spent all of the time on Saturday when we were out of the hotel room either in the Old Market or the Gene Leahy Mall.
Sunday
The main reason that we visited Omaha was for the zoo. When we arrived Sunday morning we realized that we weren't the only people who had the bright idea to visit the zoo.
Throughout the day we probably saw about half of the zoo, but we saw most of the indoor exhibits since it was a hot day. While the visit went well overall, we did underestimate how taxing it is dragging a toddler around a zoo in the heat and crowds. We left with plenty of time before closing, but with not much left in the tank.
Since NJ fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel, we took the opportunity to drive around downtown. This led us to the Lewis and Clark landing. We didn't do anything here but look at the river and give NJ more time to nap.
Monday
We visited the Lauritzen Gardens Monday morning with some doubts as to whether this would be a worthwhile stop. There weren't a whole lot of good options of places to visit on Memorial Day, so we ended up there more by default than anything else.
The visit would probably have been boring for us except for a temporary exhibit on site called KidStructure. It is a series of structures that kids can play on, in, and around that are more pieces of art than anything else. NJ easily liked this the most of any part of the trip, making the botantical gardens a very worthwhile stop.
After we left the botanical gardens it was back to Kansas for us. We had an enjoyable visit, but will probably not be doing another trip as involved as this one any time in the near future. Our current thinking is that we should probably wait four or five years before the next major family vacation because going to attractions with four-year-olds is more appealing than with one-year-olds.
Saturday
We got into town in the early afternoon and checked into our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Omaha. The Hotel was fine, but probably a bit pricey for what it provided. The greatest advantage, and this is important for anyone who ever intends to spend a weekend in Omaha to note, is that the Hotel offered easy access to the Old Market and the Gene Leahy Mall. It was nice to be able to visit these locations for a little while then be able to walk back to our hotel. Another thing to note is that there is a lot of traffic noise at night in downtown Omaha, which is something I was not anticipating.
The Old Market is a segment of the downtown that has been and is being rebuilt to house a series of eclectic shops and restaurants. It is a nice place to visit, walk around, and eat. I was not impressed enough that it made much sense to me that lofts in one building in the area were advertised to start at about $230K.
The Gene Leahy Mall is essentially a park that has been built around a creek that runs through downtown Omaha. I don't know the finances behind building and maintaining it, but it seems to me to be one of the wisest investments that the city could have made. It is attractive, a short walking distance from the Old Market and the Qwest Center, and provides motivation for further development downtown.
After we got into Omaha we spent all of the time on Saturday when we were out of the hotel room either in the Old Market or the Gene Leahy Mall.
Sunday
The main reason that we visited Omaha was for the zoo. When we arrived Sunday morning we realized that we weren't the only people who had the bright idea to visit the zoo.
Throughout the day we probably saw about half of the zoo, but we saw most of the indoor exhibits since it was a hot day. While the visit went well overall, we did underestimate how taxing it is dragging a toddler around a zoo in the heat and crowds. We left with plenty of time before closing, but with not much left in the tank.
Since NJ fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel, we took the opportunity to drive around downtown. This led us to the Lewis and Clark landing. We didn't do anything here but look at the river and give NJ more time to nap.
Monday
We visited the Lauritzen Gardens Monday morning with some doubts as to whether this would be a worthwhile stop. There weren't a whole lot of good options of places to visit on Memorial Day, so we ended up there more by default than anything else.
The visit would probably have been boring for us except for a temporary exhibit on site called KidStructure. It is a series of structures that kids can play on, in, and around that are more pieces of art than anything else. NJ easily liked this the most of any part of the trip, making the botantical gardens a very worthwhile stop.
After we left the botanical gardens it was back to Kansas for us. We had an enjoyable visit, but will probably not be doing another trip as involved as this one any time in the near future. Our current thinking is that we should probably wait four or five years before the next major family vacation because going to attractions with four-year-olds is more appealing than with one-year-olds.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
old young people
I am in the middle of watching The Karate Kid right now. I think I remember watching this when I was much younger, but I don't remember much of it. I decided to look up Ralph Macchio and Elizabeth Shue on Wikipedia to see how old they were when the movie was made. I was expecting seventeen or eighteen. They were actually in their early twenties when the movie was filmed.
I have always wondered what the real value is in using an actor or actress in his or her twenties to play a teenager. It happens frequently, and is often easy to spot. I can't imagine that there is a shortage of teenagers who want the roles, so it can't be that they can't find suitable teenaged actors.
Of course, the good news is that if I want to try out for a teen role in a movie in the next couple of years, my age will not disqualify me. I'm still younger than Ashton Kutcher.
I have always wondered what the real value is in using an actor or actress in his or her twenties to play a teenager. It happens frequently, and is often easy to spot. I can't imagine that there is a shortage of teenagers who want the roles, so it can't be that they can't find suitable teenaged actors.
Of course, the good news is that if I want to try out for a teen role in a movie in the next couple of years, my age will not disqualify me. I'm still younger than Ashton Kutcher.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
must see tv
Today is the first Thursday in many months that none of my regular shows are on. I am always happy as the season winds down, because it opens my schedule up a bit.
Thursday has always been the day that gets the shows that the most people want to watch. I am not sure what makes people more available to watch TV on Thursday than Monday or Tuesday so that it has become the prime network slot, but it is. This year, though, it seems to me that there is even more stuff that people want to watch on Thursday than in previous years.
Nearly everyone with whom I talk about TV is watching The Office, Survivor, Lost, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, My Name is Earl, or some other show on Thursday night. I know that I can introduce the topic of television on any Thursday for small talk with just about anyone and that person will have something to say. More often than not, that person will have too much to say.
What is the impact of all of this television watching on Thursdays? Is there a noticeable spike in power usage on Thursday nights compared to other nights? Does it damage businesses such as restaurants that rely on people leaving their houses? Is Thursday evening the best night to visit the gym to avoid the crowds? I'll probably never know because I am stuck watching Lost.
Thursday has always been the day that gets the shows that the most people want to watch. I am not sure what makes people more available to watch TV on Thursday than Monday or Tuesday so that it has become the prime network slot, but it is. This year, though, it seems to me that there is even more stuff that people want to watch on Thursday than in previous years.
Nearly everyone with whom I talk about TV is watching The Office, Survivor, Lost, CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs, My Name is Earl, or some other show on Thursday night. I know that I can introduce the topic of television on any Thursday for small talk with just about anyone and that person will have something to say. More often than not, that person will have too much to say.
What is the impact of all of this television watching on Thursdays? Is there a noticeable spike in power usage on Thursday nights compared to other nights? Does it damage businesses such as restaurants that rely on people leaving their houses? Is Thursday evening the best night to visit the gym to avoid the crowds? I'll probably never know because I am stuck watching Lost.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
stegosauri
From about the first to the fifth grade I was very into dinosaurs. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up during this time my response was always that I wanted to be a paleontologist. About half of the time I would have to explain what a paleontologist does. I was probably about the only kid at the time who wanted to be an archaeologist for a reason that had nothing to do with Indiana Jones.The dinosaur that I liked the most was the stegosaurus. There was no major reason for this other than I thought it was the coolest looking dinosaur. I still like the stegosaurus, if only for nostalgia's sake.
One other, albeit minor, reason to like the stegosaurus is that, while it probably minded its own business, it still had a very cool means of defending itself. I would love to have seen the stegosaurus use the spikes at the end of its tail to fend off a predator. Even the name for the spikes, the "thagomizer," is entertaining, as it originated in a Far Side comic.
My interest in dinosaurs was fading at roughly the same time that the movie Jurassic Park was released. I always viewed the dinosaurs that were portrayed very much in the Jurassic Park movies as johnny-come-latelies. As such, I have never had any love lost for raptors. They may have been incredibly efficient killers, but they still lacked cool, spiky tails.
Monday, May 19, 2008
the perfect parent
Everyone is human. Everyone makes mistakes. For the life of me, though, I cannot think of anything seriously morally wrong that my parents did in my entire life. I think they must be as close to perfect as possible.
When you grow up in a family you get to see everyone's flaws because it is difficult to be fake to people you are living with, so it would stand to reason that I should have seen something that my parents did wrong. I can't think of anything, though. They didn't even do the things that a lot of people in church seem to think aren't really sins.
My mom was not a gossip. My dad was not greedy. They never told a lie. They never took advantage of a situation for financial gain. Neither of them did anything that even appeared remotely unseemly. I think there is a probably warranted feeling in American culture that people who have the appearance of piety are not so holy when no one is looking. I did not have that opinion when I was growing up, though, because what people saw of my parents in church was exactly the same as what I saw at home.
While this is a spectacular legacy, it was a little annoying to grow up with, because no one can live up to perfection. It took me a while to truly accept the concepts of grace and mercy because seeing near perfection gave me a brutal view of anything that could be even a close approximation to sin for a while. That shouldn't be blamed on my parents, though, because to do so would be to blame them for not slipping up at some point. That is lunacy.
As NJ is growing up I am becoming more and more alert to the impression that he will get from his parents. His soon-to-be sibling will be watching as well. I don't want either of them to think that they have to be perfect through their own power, because that can ultimately lead to a frustrated rejection of God or a lifetime of faking it. I also don't want them to think that anything is acceptable because grace covers it, because that can eventually lead to serving something that isn't quite God or even passively rejecting Him. Most importantly, though, I don't want them to think their parents hypocrites. I don't want them to have an excuse to reject God. How is that possible, though? Nobody is perfect.
When you grow up in a family you get to see everyone's flaws because it is difficult to be fake to people you are living with, so it would stand to reason that I should have seen something that my parents did wrong. I can't think of anything, though. They didn't even do the things that a lot of people in church seem to think aren't really sins.
My mom was not a gossip. My dad was not greedy. They never told a lie. They never took advantage of a situation for financial gain. Neither of them did anything that even appeared remotely unseemly. I think there is a probably warranted feeling in American culture that people who have the appearance of piety are not so holy when no one is looking. I did not have that opinion when I was growing up, though, because what people saw of my parents in church was exactly the same as what I saw at home.
While this is a spectacular legacy, it was a little annoying to grow up with, because no one can live up to perfection. It took me a while to truly accept the concepts of grace and mercy because seeing near perfection gave me a brutal view of anything that could be even a close approximation to sin for a while. That shouldn't be blamed on my parents, though, because to do so would be to blame them for not slipping up at some point. That is lunacy.
As NJ is growing up I am becoming more and more alert to the impression that he will get from his parents. His soon-to-be sibling will be watching as well. I don't want either of them to think that they have to be perfect through their own power, because that can ultimately lead to a frustrated rejection of God or a lifetime of faking it. I also don't want them to think that anything is acceptable because grace covers it, because that can eventually lead to serving something that isn't quite God or even passively rejecting Him. Most importantly, though, I don't want them to think their parents hypocrites. I don't want them to have an excuse to reject God. How is that possible, though? Nobody is perfect.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
nothing this weekend
I really don't have a good "weekend" post ready tonight (or this morning if you want to be literal). I'll have something on Monday. See you then.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
surprisingly good movies
This past weekend we watched The Five People You Meet in Heaven with Golden's parents. Golden's mom pointed out that I would probably like the movie because it is a little strange and I seem to like those types of movies. I was actually amazed at how right she was. Since I have been thinking about some of the movies I was surprised by how much I liked them, I decided I would take this chance to highlight a few of them.
Just because the movies are in this list, this is no guarantee that they are for everyone. They all emphasized specific things that I look for in a movie, and that list of desirable elements is different for everyone.
Also, all of these are movies that I have seen in the last three years. There are certainly other movies that could have made the list, but these are the movies that have stood out to me as the most unexpectedly enjoyable films that I have seen in this time period.
The Five People you Meet in Heaven
I don't typically go for Hallmark movies. I generally view them as emotional fluff, being fine for others but not designed for me. I like this movie, though not for many emotional reasons, but rather because I like the psychological aspects of the movie. I also appreciate the perspective that the person who doesn't appear to have done much with his life is just being judged by the wrong standard of measurement.
The main character meets with five different people after he dies who have information about his life to help him understand his purpose, what the true cause of the hardship in his life was, and how he can attain a measure of atonement.
One thing to note is that this is not a particularly doctrinally sound movie, but it isn't as off the wall as one might think. For what the purpose of the movie is, the worldview that it espouses did not bother me too much.
Update (4/25/2015): The doctrinal stuff does bother me more now because I do fear that people will take this specific of redemption too literally. It was still a more interesting movie than I anticipated going in, though.
Cypher
I can see how people who are not interested in twists in movies or psychological science fiction would not enjoy this movie. This flick is an absolute must see for anyone who likes either of these types of movie, though.
The movie starts with the main character applying for a position in industrial espionage. Other than to escape boredom, it is not clear why the man would risk so much for this kind of job. As the movie progresses he gets himself entangled further and further into the world of powerful corporations and their focus to destroy each other and anyone else who stands in their way. Why would he bother? I was surprised to find the answer, though I was able to predict the final twist a good five minutes before it happened.
The Lost Room
This was actually a miniseries that originally aired on the SciFi channel. Some of the movies that show on that channel are certainly duds, but this one is different. Rather than playing out like a typical science fiction movie, it is actually structured a bit more like a detective story.
Through events beyond his control, a police officer comes across a key that allows him to go through any door into an old hotel room that seems to exist outside of reality. He is then able to leave the room and exit through any other door that he has ever seen in the world. So, he can use the key to move immediately to any other location on earth where he has already been. This seems great until he finds that this is only one of many strange objects with preternatural properties floating around the world and many other people want his key very badly.
If I have any complaints they are that my questions about the hotel room and how the key came to be were not fully explained. In this case I am nitpicking, though.
Equilibrium
This is a relatively dark movie about a dystopian society where emotion is considered evil. The basis of the story is amazingly similar to Fahrenheit 451 with the main distinction that the action and effects in the movie feel more like The Matrix.
The main character is part of an enforcement team who is tasked with bringing in people who refuse to take their government-issued drugs and indulge in art, music, and the like.
Christian Bale plays the lead role in this one. This is a good and bad thing. He has a very stylistic demeanor that makes him very well suited for action movies. This demeanor also makes his characters feel a bit distant, so it is hard to care about them too much. That matters very little, though, when his character is so reminiscent of Neo.
Deterrence
That this movie was made before 9/11, let alone the second gulf war, is simply amazing. The entire movie takes place in a diner where the President is holed up during a blizzard. While he is there, Uday Hussein (Saddam's son) launches an invasion into Kuwait. When the United States threatens Hussein it is revealed that he has not one but twenty-three nuclear warheads trained on major cities throughout the world.
This is an intriguing take on an area of the world that was not nearly as politically charged when the movie was made as it is now. Not only this, at the end of the movie I was left with the feeling that if a scenario played out this same way in real life, there would not really be any good choices to make. It would be an issue of making the least bad choice available. Part of what I took from the movie is how undesirable positions of real authority frequently are.
11:14
This is the crudest of the movies in this list. I almost didn't mention it. That would have been unfair, though, because it is a very well constructed story. The crudities are different than you might expect and I cannot go into too much more detail without spoiling the movie for anyone who intends to watch it.
The movie starts with someone talking on his cell phone in his car with his girlfriend. Immediately after he gets off the phone a body drops from an overpass onto his car. Throughout the movie you find out how intertwined everyone in the story's lives are, and how little sympathy most of the characters deserve.
The movie is compared to Crash a lot, but I think it is a more enjoyable watch than Crash.
Charade
This is probably the most universally appealing movie in the list. It is a little old, but it is written so that you never really know what is going on. If you aren't interested in that, though, and just want a relationship, Charade has that as well. It is just a strained relationship where neither party is completely certain how much it can trust the other party.
I don't know if it is the luck of the draw, but the Cary Grant movies that I have seen have been superior films, almost without fail. I think this is partly because I have seen him in several Hitchcock films, and those are always a cut above the rest.
Diabolique
This is the only movie with subtitles on my list. Golden noted that the movie was one of the scariest she has ever seen, even though it is a French black and white movie from the fifties.
When a long-suffering wife attempts to off her husband, she is shocked when his apparently dead body goes missing. Is he still alive and out for revenge? Will the police find out what happened? Does she have anywhere to turn?
At the conclusion of the movie the audience is informed that they should not spoil the ending for anyone else. In this spirit, I will stop my description of the movie here.
Notorious
This Hitchcock film introduces the two main characters as responsible (a government agent) and irresponsible (the daughter of a recently deceased Nazi spy who is known to have had a wild past). The government agent talks the woman into accepting an undercover role seducing a German Nazi who has fled to South America. The main characters fall for each other, but a relationship is impossible as she becomes wed to the Nazi.
Given that this movie was released immediately following World War II, its portrayal of Nazi characters feels less clichéd than most other portrayals that I have seen. The film also did a good job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. Who said black and white movies aren't as good as the color counterparts?
Just because the movies are in this list, this is no guarantee that they are for everyone. They all emphasized specific things that I look for in a movie, and that list of desirable elements is different for everyone.
Also, all of these are movies that I have seen in the last three years. There are certainly other movies that could have made the list, but these are the movies that have stood out to me as the most unexpectedly enjoyable films that I have seen in this time period.
The Five People you Meet in Heaven
I don't typically go for Hallmark movies. I generally view them as emotional fluff, being fine for others but not designed for me. I like this movie, though not for many emotional reasons, but rather because I like the psychological aspects of the movie. I also appreciate the perspective that the person who doesn't appear to have done much with his life is just being judged by the wrong standard of measurement.
The main character meets with five different people after he dies who have information about his life to help him understand his purpose, what the true cause of the hardship in his life was, and how he can attain a measure of atonement.
One thing to note is that this is not a particularly doctrinally sound movie, but it isn't as off the wall as one might think. For what the purpose of the movie is, the worldview that it espouses did not bother me too much.
Update (4/25/2015): The doctrinal stuff does bother me more now because I do fear that people will take this specific of redemption too literally. It was still a more interesting movie than I anticipated going in, though.
CypherI can see how people who are not interested in twists in movies or psychological science fiction would not enjoy this movie. This flick is an absolute must see for anyone who likes either of these types of movie, though.
The movie starts with the main character applying for a position in industrial espionage. Other than to escape boredom, it is not clear why the man would risk so much for this kind of job. As the movie progresses he gets himself entangled further and further into the world of powerful corporations and their focus to destroy each other and anyone else who stands in their way. Why would he bother? I was surprised to find the answer, though I was able to predict the final twist a good five minutes before it happened.
The Lost Room
This was actually a miniseries that originally aired on the SciFi channel. Some of the movies that show on that channel are certainly duds, but this one is different. Rather than playing out like a typical science fiction movie, it is actually structured a bit more like a detective story.
Through events beyond his control, a police officer comes across a key that allows him to go through any door into an old hotel room that seems to exist outside of reality. He is then able to leave the room and exit through any other door that he has ever seen in the world. So, he can use the key to move immediately to any other location on earth where he has already been. This seems great until he finds that this is only one of many strange objects with preternatural properties floating around the world and many other people want his key very badly.
If I have any complaints they are that my questions about the hotel room and how the key came to be were not fully explained. In this case I am nitpicking, though.
EquilibriumThis is a relatively dark movie about a dystopian society where emotion is considered evil. The basis of the story is amazingly similar to Fahrenheit 451 with the main distinction that the action and effects in the movie feel more like The Matrix.
The main character is part of an enforcement team who is tasked with bringing in people who refuse to take their government-issued drugs and indulge in art, music, and the like.
Christian Bale plays the lead role in this one. This is a good and bad thing. He has a very stylistic demeanor that makes him very well suited for action movies. This demeanor also makes his characters feel a bit distant, so it is hard to care about them too much. That matters very little, though, when his character is so reminiscent of Neo.
Deterrence
That this movie was made before 9/11, let alone the second gulf war, is simply amazing. The entire movie takes place in a diner where the President is holed up during a blizzard. While he is there, Uday Hussein (Saddam's son) launches an invasion into Kuwait. When the United States threatens Hussein it is revealed that he has not one but twenty-three nuclear warheads trained on major cities throughout the world.
This is an intriguing take on an area of the world that was not nearly as politically charged when the movie was made as it is now. Not only this, at the end of the movie I was left with the feeling that if a scenario played out this same way in real life, there would not really be any good choices to make. It would be an issue of making the least bad choice available. Part of what I took from the movie is how undesirable positions of real authority frequently are.
11:14This is the crudest of the movies in this list. I almost didn't mention it. That would have been unfair, though, because it is a very well constructed story. The crudities are different than you might expect and I cannot go into too much more detail without spoiling the movie for anyone who intends to watch it.
The movie starts with someone talking on his cell phone in his car with his girlfriend. Immediately after he gets off the phone a body drops from an overpass onto his car. Throughout the movie you find out how intertwined everyone in the story's lives are, and how little sympathy most of the characters deserve.
The movie is compared to Crash a lot, but I think it is a more enjoyable watch than Crash.
Charade
This is probably the most universally appealing movie in the list. It is a little old, but it is written so that you never really know what is going on. If you aren't interested in that, though, and just want a relationship, Charade has that as well. It is just a strained relationship where neither party is completely certain how much it can trust the other party.
I don't know if it is the luck of the draw, but the Cary Grant movies that I have seen have been superior films, almost without fail. I think this is partly because I have seen him in several Hitchcock films, and those are always a cut above the rest.
DiaboliqueThis is the only movie with subtitles on my list. Golden noted that the movie was one of the scariest she has ever seen, even though it is a French black and white movie from the fifties.
When a long-suffering wife attempts to off her husband, she is shocked when his apparently dead body goes missing. Is he still alive and out for revenge? Will the police find out what happened? Does she have anywhere to turn?
At the conclusion of the movie the audience is informed that they should not spoil the ending for anyone else. In this spirit, I will stop my description of the movie here.
Notorious
This Hitchcock film introduces the two main characters as responsible (a government agent) and irresponsible (the daughter of a recently deceased Nazi spy who is known to have had a wild past). The government agent talks the woman into accepting an undercover role seducing a German Nazi who has fled to South America. The main characters fall for each other, but a relationship is impossible as she becomes wed to the Nazi.
Given that this movie was released immediately following World War II, its portrayal of Nazi characters feels less clichéd than most other portrayals that I have seen. The film also did a good job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. Who said black and white movies aren't as good as the color counterparts?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
group projects
The last half of this semester I have had three group projects, two in one class and one in another. The last of my projects is getting emailed to the professor for that class today.
I have never liked group projects. They bring out two personality types that would otherwise have much less of an impact on others. One type is the slacker and the other is the control freak. I am the most bothered when I become the slacker or the control freak for the project.
In the class where I had one project due I was more of a control freak. I picked up more than my share of the responsibilities largely because I felt the most comfortable taking on the responsibilities myself. In my other class, I have been the slacker of the group. This is because everyone else seems to have a clearer understanding of what the professor is looking for in the projects. A good chunk of the content I have contributed has already been edited away, so that diminishes my motivation to provide much more content than is required for me to count as a contributor. As of late I have taken the role of editing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, since I know that no one can disagree with me about my contributions there.
It doesn't escape me that being overly passive or overly aggressive in a group project is a bad thing. Groups should be structured to encourage the greatest quantity and quality input from each person involved. I care about this less now than I did a few weeks ago, though. Right now I just want the semester to be over.
I have never liked group projects. They bring out two personality types that would otherwise have much less of an impact on others. One type is the slacker and the other is the control freak. I am the most bothered when I become the slacker or the control freak for the project.
In the class where I had one project due I was more of a control freak. I picked up more than my share of the responsibilities largely because I felt the most comfortable taking on the responsibilities myself. In my other class, I have been the slacker of the group. This is because everyone else seems to have a clearer understanding of what the professor is looking for in the projects. A good chunk of the content I have contributed has already been edited away, so that diminishes my motivation to provide much more content than is required for me to count as a contributor. As of late I have taken the role of editing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, since I know that no one can disagree with me about my contributions there.
It doesn't escape me that being overly passive or overly aggressive in a group project is a bad thing. Groups should be structured to encourage the greatest quantity and quality input from each person involved. I care about this less now than I did a few weeks ago, though. Right now I just want the semester to be over.
Monday, May 12, 2008
chuck e. cheese
I didn't go to Chuck E. Cheese too much when I was a kid, but when I did it was a treat. I think the fact that I didn't go too much made each visit something I even looked forward to more. There weren't any near where I lived, but there was one a few miles from my grandparents' house, so that is the one I visited.This weekend, Golden's mom said she wanted everyone to go to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Mother's Day because that is something that they did when Golden was a kid. It was something that NJ would enjoy as well. So, that is what we did on Saturday.
I had some concerns that there would not be anything there that someone as young as NJ would be able to enjoy Chuck E. Cheese's, but I was mistaken. There was plenty there that he liked to do. The only part of the night he did not seem to enjoy was leaving.
While we were there, I had plenty of time to observe the intricacies of how a Chuck E. Cheese store operates, and I had an epiphany. Chuck E. Cheese is essentially a casino for kids. I am sure that I am not the first to come to this conclusion, but this was the first time I drew the parallel. Given the big focus that some churches put on gambling and the casino environment, it is amazing to me that I have never heard anyone decry Chuck E. Cheese or Showbiz Pizza at any point in my life. Below is a sampling of the similarities that I saw.
- Casinos have chips and Chuck E. Cheese has tokens. Both of these imply to the person inside that they are not spending actual money.
- In a casino you hear "clink, clink, clink, clink" from the slot machines. One of the noises that you hear a lot at the cheesy mouse is the "click, clink, clink, clink" of the token machines.
- There are a lot of lights.
- The carpet is very busy.
- There are a collection of games that are fun enough that you don't really care if you get a payout, and there are a collection of games that you only play on the small chance of a big payout.
- The animatronic machines provide entertainment similar to the singers that sometimes work for casinos.
- In both situations the house always wins.
- Most importantly, almost every part of human nature that a casino is supposed to appeal to exists in the local Chuck E. Cheese.
After I have said all of that, this doesn't mean that we are going to keep our kids out of Chuck E. Cheese. It just means that I am going to try to be fully aware of what appeal the place has to them.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
naive
Spoiler alert for those who have not yet watched the latest episode of Survivor (Thursday, May 8, 2008) and intend to. That specific episode is discussed in this post.
The sixteenth installment of Survivor concludes this weekend. For this season the hook for the show has been that previous members of the show were pitted against major fans. While this sounds like a good angle, I am not sure the survivors who were picked all portray the image that the producers of Survivor want people to have of fans of the show.
Two of the fans in particular, Jason and Erik, made multiple missteps out of naivete that eventually led to their departure from the island. This was unfortunate, because I liked both of them. Their weaknesses were due to them not understanding how dishonest other people can be. They did not pick up on even obvious deviousness because they didn't think deviously. These personalities more or less guaranteed that they would get played somewhere along the line. The women who played them were all natural liars too, so that definitely helped.
For as much as I liked both Jason and Erik, I don't think that either should have been on the show for several reasons. First, having them on the show puts the idea in people's heads that the typical audience is socially awkward. Second, it was not pleasant for me to watch their almost predestined skewering. Third, I don't think there are many things that are more demoralizing to most men than to be exposed as stupid, ineffective, or naive, so I think they should have been spared what seemed to me an inevitable outcome.
I mentioned a couple of years ago that I don't like to be seen as particularly naive. I know I am naive on some levels, but I really don't want to be. Where I can, I try to rid myself of that image. Because of this I think I would have been too paranoid to make the mistakes that Erik or Jason did if I were in their shoes. Even so, seeing those mistakes played out on screen hit home. You won't find me on an island with nineteen other people who are all anxious to stab me in the back as they smile to my face.
The sixteenth installment of Survivor concludes this weekend. For this season the hook for the show has been that previous members of the show were pitted against major fans. While this sounds like a good angle, I am not sure the survivors who were picked all portray the image that the producers of Survivor want people to have of fans of the show.
Two of the fans in particular, Jason and Erik, made multiple missteps out of naivete that eventually led to their departure from the island. This was unfortunate, because I liked both of them. Their weaknesses were due to them not understanding how dishonest other people can be. They did not pick up on even obvious deviousness because they didn't think deviously. These personalities more or less guaranteed that they would get played somewhere along the line. The women who played them were all natural liars too, so that definitely helped.
For as much as I liked both Jason and Erik, I don't think that either should have been on the show for several reasons. First, having them on the show puts the idea in people's heads that the typical audience is socially awkward. Second, it was not pleasant for me to watch their almost predestined skewering. Third, I don't think there are many things that are more demoralizing to most men than to be exposed as stupid, ineffective, or naive, so I think they should have been spared what seemed to me an inevitable outcome.
I mentioned a couple of years ago that I don't like to be seen as particularly naive. I know I am naive on some levels, but I really don't want to be. Where I can, I try to rid myself of that image. Because of this I think I would have been too paranoid to make the mistakes that Erik or Jason did if I were in their shoes. Even so, seeing those mistakes played out on screen hit home. You won't find me on an island with nineteen other people who are all anxious to stab me in the back as they smile to my face.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
unqualified
Think for a moment about what the following have in common:
When the career paths that colorblind people should avoid are considered, the number of different jobs that I can't have adds up fast. Even so, I almost never hear anything about what these career paths are. Can you imagine someone going through four years of school to get a criminal justice degree only to find out that he or she does not qualify to join most police forces? Can you imagine repairing black and white copiers all of your life, then losing your job because you are not considered qualified to work on color copiers?
The issue that I have is not that I want to be in any of the careers mentioned above. Not since I was five have I wanted to be a policeman or firefighter, and I always saw my colorblindness as an easy way to keep from getting drafted into the military. I do wish that there was more education provided to families with colorblind kids, though, about what careers they simply should not pursue. I did strongly consider pursuing a career as a pilot when I was in junior high, even going so far to write a paper on it. I did not know that, at that time, the FAA did not allow colorblind people to be commercial pilots.
Never did anyone warn me to avoid pursuing police work or firefighting. Never did anyone inform me that chemists or diamond appraisers (both jobs that I considered while I was in high school) need to be able to differentiate colors. Never did anyone say that I should not spend thousands of dollars and several years on a degree program that may end up being worthless to me. I consider myself very fortunate that I inadvertantly took a career path where I don't have to distinguish green from brown from red from black. What about those who were not so fortunate?
Note: I used the following websites as the source material for my discussion on this topic (Here, here, and here).
- Police Officer
- Electrician
- Diamond Appraiser
- Photo-Copier Technician
- Army Private
- Train Engineer
- Bus Driver
- Firefighter
- Interior Decorator
- Chemist
When the career paths that colorblind people should avoid are considered, the number of different jobs that I can't have adds up fast. Even so, I almost never hear anything about what these career paths are. Can you imagine someone going through four years of school to get a criminal justice degree only to find out that he or she does not qualify to join most police forces? Can you imagine repairing black and white copiers all of your life, then losing your job because you are not considered qualified to work on color copiers?
The issue that I have is not that I want to be in any of the careers mentioned above. Not since I was five have I wanted to be a policeman or firefighter, and I always saw my colorblindness as an easy way to keep from getting drafted into the military. I do wish that there was more education provided to families with colorblind kids, though, about what careers they simply should not pursue. I did strongly consider pursuing a career as a pilot when I was in junior high, even going so far to write a paper on it. I did not know that, at that time, the FAA did not allow colorblind people to be commercial pilots.
Never did anyone warn me to avoid pursuing police work or firefighting. Never did anyone inform me that chemists or diamond appraisers (both jobs that I considered while I was in high school) need to be able to differentiate colors. Never did anyone say that I should not spend thousands of dollars and several years on a degree program that may end up being worthless to me. I consider myself very fortunate that I inadvertantly took a career path where I don't have to distinguish green from brown from red from black. What about those who were not so fortunate?
Note: I used the following websites as the source material for my discussion on this topic (Here, here, and here).
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
recycle
When I started work at my current place of employment there was a good-sized box for recycling cans in the kitchen. I always made a point to drop my used cans in the box, and everything was right with the world. Eventually, the box was removed because cans would pile up and no one who had the room in their vehicle for several trash bags full of cans wanted to drive them to the recycling center. This all transpired three to five years ago.
Recently, I noticed a very small trash can in the kitchen affixed with a piece of paper containing the hand-scrawled word "Recycle." When I first saw the can I was amused because there seemed to be no consensus as to what recyclables should be in the can. Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and plastic wrappers all filled the can. At least now, no one is putting plastics in the can.
This raises some questions, though. Why bother with such a small trash can since we have already had troubles with a big can? Is someone going to actually take these cans to a recycling center? How many cans are required to make the trip worth it? Why not specify the type of recycling that goes in the can? Is this just someone trying to make a buck or two on the run up in aluminum prices?
Recently, I noticed a very small trash can in the kitchen affixed with a piece of paper containing the hand-scrawled word "Recycle." When I first saw the can I was amused because there seemed to be no consensus as to what recyclables should be in the can. Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and plastic wrappers all filled the can. At least now, no one is putting plastics in the can.
This raises some questions, though. Why bother with such a small trash can since we have already had troubles with a big can? Is someone going to actually take these cans to a recycling center? How many cans are required to make the trip worth it? Why not specify the type of recycling that goes in the can? Is this just someone trying to make a buck or two on the run up in aluminum prices?
Monday, May 05, 2008
going backwards
The other day when I was visiting the local Blockbuster the guy at the counter asked how I felt about my online service plan with the company. I noted that it worked fine for me. He then commented on how it had gotten more expensive, so maybe I would be interested in a different plan. Below are the details of my plan and the plan the guy wanted to sell me.
It is no secret that Blockbuster's business model is broken. The company's strength is in its brick and mortar stores, but the future of video is viewing movies through an online connection. The brick and mortar stores are probably going to get to be too expensive to maintain for the value they provide at some point. Furthermore, I haven't seen any evidence that Blockbuster is prepared to compete with NetFlix on downloadable movies and if it isn't, I think that will ultimately be the death of the company.
I actually hope that Blockbuster picks up on this shortly because I don't want it to fail as a company. I want both Blockbuster and NetFlix to be around for a while to keep prices down. Otherwise, I'll have to pay even more to get my movie fix.
My Plan:I know there is probably a scenario or two where the second plan makes sense, like if someone lives across the street from the Blockbuster and only wants to watch movies available at the local Blockbuster. I have some serious questions about the sanity of even offering such a plan, though. Consumers may have bought into it ten years ago but they will not today. If I am stuck with getting only the movies available at the local Blockbuster, Redbox is almost certainly a better deal.
$19.99 per month plus tax. I get three movies at a time through the online service and I can turn in five movies a month into the store for a free rental. It is certainly not as good as my plan a year or two ago, but it is still acceptable given how much I use it.
The Other Plan:
$21.99 per month plus tax. I would get one movie at a time through the store and could exchange it for another movie whenever I wanted.
It is no secret that Blockbuster's business model is broken. The company's strength is in its brick and mortar stores, but the future of video is viewing movies through an online connection. The brick and mortar stores are probably going to get to be too expensive to maintain for the value they provide at some point. Furthermore, I haven't seen any evidence that Blockbuster is prepared to compete with NetFlix on downloadable movies and if it isn't, I think that will ultimately be the death of the company.
I actually hope that Blockbuster picks up on this shortly because I don't want it to fail as a company. I want both Blockbuster and NetFlix to be around for a while to keep prices down. Otherwise, I'll have to pay even more to get my movie fix.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
tornado alley
Q: What's a tornado watch called in Kansas?
A: Spring.
Everyone who I am aware who reads this blog has lived in a tornado-prone area of the country at some point, so going through a tornado warning is hardly post-worthy stuff unless it includes video of a funnel cloud or an account from one hundred feet in the air. So, in case you are wondering, this is a post that falls into that "unworthy" category.
This is not meant to come off as a complaint, but I have lived in the Midwest for many years, gone through several tornado warnings, and I have seen nary a funnel cloud. I am thankful because this means that my home, family, and life have never really been in danger. At the same time, it feels like I have missed part of the Midwest experience to not have seen a tornado.
On Thursday night I was in class when the tornado sirens went off. It is a small class, so everyone crowded around the window to see if they could see anything. Eventually, we were instructed to go into the basement of the building. While this felt very safe, it guaranteed that I would go another tornado warning without seeing a funnel cloud.
Afterwards I heard about all of the destruction that the tornadoes from that night caused. My heart goes out to the families impacted. This reminds me why I may not want to see an actual tornado.
A: Spring.
Everyone who I am aware who reads this blog has lived in a tornado-prone area of the country at some point, so going through a tornado warning is hardly post-worthy stuff unless it includes video of a funnel cloud or an account from one hundred feet in the air. So, in case you are wondering, this is a post that falls into that "unworthy" category.
This is not meant to come off as a complaint, but I have lived in the Midwest for many years, gone through several tornado warnings, and I have seen nary a funnel cloud. I am thankful because this means that my home, family, and life have never really been in danger. At the same time, it feels like I have missed part of the Midwest experience to not have seen a tornado.
On Thursday night I was in class when the tornado sirens went off. It is a small class, so everyone crowded around the window to see if they could see anything. Eventually, we were instructed to go into the basement of the building. While this felt very safe, it guaranteed that I would go another tornado warning without seeing a funnel cloud.
Afterwards I heard about all of the destruction that the tornadoes from that night caused. My heart goes out to the families impacted. This reminds me why I may not want to see an actual tornado.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
sandals
When I walked into class last night I noticed something that reminded me that summer is around the corner. The room smelled like feet. The smell was not too strong and it didn't bother me, but it was unmistakable. This was due to the fact that a large percentage of the people in the room were wearing sandals or flip-flops.
For several minor reasons, I have never gotten into wearing sandals or flip-flops myself. They aren't any more comfortable to me than tennis shoes are. They are impossible to run in. There are more rules about what you should and shouldn't wear with them. They just aren't worth the effort to me. Regardless, there is no denying sandals' perennial popularity.
A lot of people appear to have different opinions about the value that sandals provide than I do. As a result I more often than not feel like the odd man out for wearing shoes rather than sandals when doing things in the summer. I don't care, because I love wearing sneakers and wearing sandals would go against my personal identity I maintain for myself. I wouldn't feel like myself to bow to the sandal-wearing consensus.
So, this summer, like every season, I intend to continue enjoying my standard footwear and let the sandal-wearers of the world enjoy theirs as well. To do otherwise would make me feel like a heel.
For several minor reasons, I have never gotten into wearing sandals or flip-flops myself. They aren't any more comfortable to me than tennis shoes are. They are impossible to run in. There are more rules about what you should and shouldn't wear with them. They just aren't worth the effort to me. Regardless, there is no denying sandals' perennial popularity.
A lot of people appear to have different opinions about the value that sandals provide than I do. As a result I more often than not feel like the odd man out for wearing shoes rather than sandals when doing things in the summer. I don't care, because I love wearing sneakers and wearing sandals would go against my personal identity I maintain for myself. I wouldn't feel like myself to bow to the sandal-wearing consensus.
So, this summer, like every season, I intend to continue enjoying my standard footwear and let the sandal-wearers of the world enjoy theirs as well. To do otherwise would make me feel like a heel.
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