Thirds

At long last, I have returned to the movie theater. I know you were worried, waiting anxiously over the absence of new cinema in my life. I appreciate your (pretend) concern. ;)

Spiderman 3 is a logical and stylistic continuation of Spiderman 2. (By the way, if you saw neither 1 nor 2 or are just a bit shaky on what happened last, watch the credits and you'll get all the necessary plot events from parts 1 and 2.) In part 3 we find Spiderman has been embraced by the city and attained hero status; even the cranky newspaper editor is dragged into giving praise to Spidey's heroic efforts. What ought to be even better for Peter Parker (Spiderman) is that he can now be honest with his love, Mary Jane Watson, about his alter ego life. Alas Peter gets a bit too drunk on hero worship at the same time M.J.'s promising stage career takes a turn for the worse. She finds a ready listener in old friend Harry, who harbors a grievance with Peter/Spiderman going back to movie 1. Added to all this are several new and in some ways nuanced bad guys: a thief who becomes a sandman and a competitive photographer who is consumed by aggression due to a body-covering alien symbiote (you read that right). But really Peter/Spiderman's greatest enemy in this movie is himself.

On the good side Spiderman 3 makes sense from beginning to end, with a mix (albeit jumpy) of light and serious moments a la part 2. Peter Parker is in a funk but he's as likable as ever (though the black eyeliner and floppy bangs on Maguire during Peter's dark phrase really didn't work for me). On the downside, there were few truly dramatic moments. I never got the sense Spiderman was really in danger, even though he was in very dangerous situations. There seemed to be too many characters and subplots at a few points in the film, even though all were logically incorporated. Finally, the movie felt long to both David and I. So I recommend S3 to those who have been following along if for no other reason then because it is a logical extension of the story. But for someone just arriving at the franchise or with lukewarm feelings about S2 (which was a good fun action/romance movie in my opinion), I hate to say it, but you won't miss anything if you skip this film.

SOLD!

Our Beaumont lives are officially ended. We pulled out the last of our things from the house, turned over the keys, and signed all the forms. The day was largely uneventful, a bit sad. I got teary eyed as I waved goodbye to the sites which, unless I find myself taking the deep Southern route cross country, I am not likely to ever take in again. Farewell kindly neighbors, Grant and Mickey, good bye to the Wal Mart with crazy squawking birds (inside), tootle loo "Apoplectic" church (David misread Apostolic). The people we knew there are basically all elsewhere, so the lingering memories we have seem to be of restaurants. We drove by and I waved at the fabulous Frankies, IHOP, Rao's, Novrosky's, the pecan farm, even the Janis Joplin sign (I never actually went to the museum). Apropos of our time in Beaumont, we had a surreal moment on our final day there, as David brought the (pregnant) notary to tears. I'm still scratching my head over that one. Anyway, goodbye cute little comfy Beaumont house. I enjoyed our time together.

Utopia

No single place in the real world is perfect.

I long to return to California, and I am now preparing for my return there. The fact that it's "home" produces an eternal magnetism for me. But my longing for California living is fickle. I have already as an adult twice moved away, and I could easily imagine myself doing so again someday (though David would prefer to settle down, and I must consider that). I'd pick living in the San Francisco Bay Area over anywhere else in the world if given only one choice, but I recognize that it's not Utopia.

While living in Texas I've often made comparisons to my home state, but that's not fair. When I moved to Texas I was lost. I knew no one here, felt like a fish out of water, and was regularly faced with a point of view that to me seemed narrow and limiting. But this did not make Texas a bad place, just an unfamiliar one. As I have lived here, as I've become involved in school and work and explored my neighborhood, I've found people and places that I treasure and will miss dearly when I leave. I could simply accept that I used to not like it and have grown to like it, but I feel there's a lesson here.

First the obvious one, which is that old cliche of absence making the heart grow fonder. In my case, California living is never sweeter than when I'm in residence elsewhere.

And second, a reminder I include here for my future reference, for when I find myself in that part of the world I never dreamed of (Beaumont, anyone?). Remember Michelle, there are delights to be found even in places you least expect them; it's your job to find them.

Finally, I post here a very interesting article in today's New York Times about an experimental farm community set up for Hurricane Katrina evacuees on former sugar cane fields in rural Louisiana. The wealthy guy who bought the land did so with a somewhat Utopian vision. Naturally reality has not been so idyllic, but I was excited to hear someone making an attempt. Perfection is not possible, but when we strive for it, we can reach higher than when we impose limits.

Journeying

Tricycle's Daily Dharma today is called "The Journey and the Destination." I think it is a very nice reminder about what we pay attention to in life.

When we are driving, we tend to think of arriving, and we sacrifice the journey for the sake of the arrival. But life is to be found in the present moment, not in the future. In fact, we may suffer more after we arrive at our destination. If we have to talk of a destination, what about our final destination, the graveyard? We do not want to go in the direction of death; we want to go in the direction of life. But where is life? Life can be found only in the present moment. Therefore, each mile we drive, each step we take, has to bring us into the present moment. This is the practice of mindfulness. When we see a red light or a stop sign, we can smile at it and thank it, because it is a bodhisattva helping us return to the present moment. The red light is a bell of mindfulness. We may have thought of it as an enemy, preventing us from achieving our goal. But now we know the red light is our friend, helping us resist rushing and calling us to return to the present moment where we can meet with life, joy, and peace. --Thich Nhat Hanh, Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

Tolerance

I found a very cool website and wanted a place to keep track of it. So here I put a link to religioustolerance.org.

Trash

One man's trash is another man's treasure, right? A brief NextBlog fling brought me to another kindred spirit. This blogger has set up a page where he posts the best (worst?) examples of junk email. He even invites people to forward particularly egregious examples for possible inclusion. This appeals to me, you see, because I am amused by the contents of my spam folder. Take a look at the above blog and you'll see why it can be fun to (occasionally) peruse your junk mail.

Waxing

Sometimes I just want a place to post lovely readings I am reminded of or find. You, my kind readers, may be the beneficiaries of my literary proclivities. Either that or you are my captive victims. :) The following is from William Wordsworth's beautiful autobiographical poem The Prelude. It is the source of one of my favorite quotes. Can you figure out what it is?

Dust as we are, the immortal spirit grows
Like harmony in music; there is a dark
Inscrutable workmanship that reconciles
Discordant elements, makes them cling together
In one society. How strange, that all
The terrors, pains, and early miseries,
Regrets, vexations, lassitudes interfused
Within my mind, should e'er have borne a part,
And that a needful part, in making up
The calm existence that is mine when I
Am worthy of myself! Praise to the end!
Thanks to the means which Nature deigned to employ;
Whether her fearless visitings, or those
That came with soft alarm, like hurtless light
Opening the peaceful clouds; or she would use
Severer interventions, ministry
More palpable, as best might suit her aim.

Details

I've mentioned before that Zippy seems to get me, as in we are kindred spirits. Today's is a good example (click on picture to enlarge). It's titled "Where God Is" and Zippy's final comment is "Details, details." Given the time of year (Passover, Lent, Palm Sunday) I thought this cartoon appropriate. But then, given my predilection for all things lovingly sacrilegious, my judgment might be considered questionable.

Speaking of sacrilege, it is time once again to recommend to you Christopher Moore's Lamb. If you have any sense of humor about Christianity then it's a must read, a genuinely laugh-out-loud experience. Here's a good overview of the book with a few funny quotes included.

Lines

This Tom Toles cartoon made me laugh. Seems like at any given time the boat's owner could be a number of people or places, but for now this one works.

Reminds me of the Spinal Tap quote, "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever."

Fortunes

What use are the numbers on back of fortune cookie fortune when there are 14 of them, 2 of which are repeats?
1 12 30 38 40 . 2
2 13 17 31 34 6 4 9

Frightful

As I emptied the fridge in Beaumont yesterday of its last useful items, I found a corked bottle of Belgian beer (correction, it's an ale) David had bought--and not consumed--many many months ago. The size of a wine bottle, appearing nearly full and still bubbly, I decided to take it back with me to Houston. The cork was firmly in place but it was of such a design that for all I knew it had been opened and carefully replaced. So I decided not to chance it and put it in the trunk of the car because I am paranoid about being pulled over. (Which given my average speed these last few round trips showed tremendous foresight in my tired state. Rest assured, I am always an attentive driver). Ironically, whilst driving I was sipping at a can of Diet Rite cola. I got a few strange looks from neighboring cars (and a motorcyclist), which I eventually attributed to the blue and silver Diet Rite looking like a Budweiser product. (See, I am paranoid. They might have just been appreciating my enthusiastic sing-along movements.)

Back at the apartment I remembered to unload the carefully perched ale and set it on the counter in my little apartment. Dang, doesn't fit in fridge. I could have shifted some items in door to make it lean comfortably but I was too tired. Too much effort. I'll take care of it in the morning. Besides, sitting at room temperature will not hurt the stuff. (Do you see where this is going?)

Blissfully checking emails a few hours later an almighty explosive pop was heard and a very loud bang followed by several little bangs. Let's just say it is possibly a good thing I might be dehydrated at the moment. The noise came from area of the gas stove. I was prepared to run for my life. But in my stupor I realized nothing was smoking or gaseous. In fact, it smelt a bit like...beer? That's when I realized the cork had blown off. It apparently ricocheted off the overhanging divider to the floor and up again before eventually settling on the floor. The cork would not be pressed back into service. It had expanded with the breath of freedom and was not returning to its hole. That and I did not put much effort into trying to force the thing. So I had a perfectly good bottle of imported Belgian ale open at my mercy. It told me it was good until 11 2007.

Now I should mention, I do not like beer and I am basically a teetotaler. (I know, sort of like being a fish-eating vegetarian, but the teetotaler label suits me in company. Wait, does that imply I only drink alone?) Anyway I was tired, in need of rest, my heart was racing a bit and I felt really guilty that I was going to have to waste this bottle which looked like it might have cost a bit more than the average beer. And, yes, I was alone. Of course, David would probably have never noticed this tall Duvel missing and hadn't yet cared to drink it anyway. Still, I decided to have a glass of it.

Another aside: David and I found ourselves in Brussels, Belgium once, without any intriguing tourist options, and we decided to visit a little brewery and museum. Part of the paid tour included a sampling of products, a series of small glasses of beers (and ales, maybe, I have no idea). After the first one I decided to pass on the rest. Either too cheap to let it go or because I wanted to see David tipsy, I know not, but I made David drink my share of the proffered beverages. Afterwards David appeared none the worse for wear, he developed no particular lasting taste or aversion for Belgian beers, and we went on our merry way.

After my first sip last night, nee gulp (I was tired, guilty, thirsty, it seemed a bit of an adventure to drink beer, and the ale looked like my beloved sparkling cider--bad combo), I was reminded of that day in Brussels. I have learned several important lessons in all this.

• Previously opened cork products need to stay cool and stable.
• I really do not like Belgian ale.
• Nasty tastes can outlast the flavor of toothpaste.

Oh, in other news: The house is officially on the market (as of yesterday) and had an offer on it before the day was through.

Mememe

Is my blog a waste of time? Even though I started this thing to just have a place to share news and random thoughts, without concern for an audience, I feel pressure to have something up here worth reading. Do I live well with failure or am I deluding myself?

Anyway, it would seem there are a lot of people like me, and relief is offered us useless bloggers in the form of memes. Memes in blog-world are writing prompts, usually a list of questions or statements on a topic that writers can fill in and post. Often these are posted according to a schedule (such as Thursday Thirteen), and users link back to a common blog that allows others utilizing the same meme to read each others' postings. It's all a nice online community endeavor. (Oddly, the meme movement has brought about countless blog postings to explain memes, such as this one. How very "meta".)

Okay, as I said, I want to post interesting stuff, and memes seemed a good idea, but I've come very late to the game and there are only so many interesting topics out there. Apparently most have been used up already. Take the following example (I won't post link, because someone expended effort to post these ideas and I don't wish to denigrate their enthusiasm). But really, do you even care that I reply to these questions?

1. How many times do you wake up during the night?
2. On an average, how many hours of sleep do you try to get?
3. What day of the week do you do your "major" housecleaning?
4. How often do you move your furniture to clean behind it?
5. Do you do your dishes by hand or do you own a dishwasher?

Okay, I found another one that I'm willing to answer. It's called "Last Week".

Looking back on this past week what was...

1. The best meal you had? Cinn-a-stack french toast at IHOP with a cup of hot tea. It didn't ask what was the best meal for me.
2. The highlight for you? I found a posted job opening in Bay Area that looks interesting and for which I am qualified right now.
3. The lowlight? Not much low, really, because though I've been tired and sore from hauling stuff and loading moving truck and trying to reconcile school and work stuff in spare time, it's been a productive time. So maybe the lowlight was when I opened door to apartment a few hours ago and felt a desperate desire to go to bed and not get up for days. The desire for lingering rest seemed utterly unfulfillable in that moment.
4. Your latest night? About 1am, maybe much later. David and I couldn't get to sleep after I picked up his dad from airport and we finished loading truck. I had the giggles and was excited by camping out in living room.
5. Did you see any movies last week? If so, how would you rate them on a scale of 1-10? While camping out the previous night we watched The Da Vinci Code on dvd. It was much much better than I expected it would be. I'd give it an 8. I especially liked the overlays of historic scenes and the succinct background explanations created for movie from book.

Wow, I feel so much cheerier now. Was it good for you, too?

Roundabout

I've not posted in a while. That's because there is little noteworthy to report. A sampling of my recent life will prove the point...

• Where oh where have I been? I'm tired, that's where.
• I seem to have achieved a bit of a sunburn. I don't recall being out in the sun.
• There's a soundtrack to my past weekend. One song has to do with David and his dad's excursion, one was prompted by my back and forth travels these past weeks, and another I've heard for the first time in years but twice in the last two days and I love the little bass line.*
• I am sick, sick, sick of dining out and eating convenience foods. Not even the spinach sauce at Frankie's or the nutty salad at Jason's Deli sounds good right now.
  
• Of all the things that trouble me currently about our stuff being gone from Beaumont house (it's "Going to California", you see) is the loss of a non coin-operated washing machine.

* For those of you who prefer not to follow links or read lyrics, some of which are rather not appropriate to my meandering thoughts anyway, the song titles are Going to California by Led Zeppelin, Roundabout by Yes, and Magic by The Cars.

Today

Not that you asked, but...
27 years ago on this date I moved to Warner Robins, Georgia. At a later date in the year I moved back to Sunnyvale, first temporarily then permanently. Thus it was 27 years ago that I...

• first heard the Lord's Prayer at my public elementary school
• learned to ride a bike
• had a sister (the step variety)
  
• discovered sweet tea
  
• heard a tornado warning
  
• learned the joys of loansharking with one's siblings
• lived with my dad
• learned to swim
• made my first cross country move

Not all of the above would be the last of such experiences. Good and bad, as always. What reminds me of these facts is that on this date some years prior, David was born, which is a rather important date to remember. Happy b-day, Dabug.

Visuals

Not that you asked, but...
I have a new category of blog postings. It's called "not that you asked". You can now easily find out all the things I want to share with you that you never knew to ask me.

My picture pages have been reorganized and updated to include our recent stay in California.

Next Blogging has given me some things to think about today and I think you should think about them too.

• Right out of the gate I found a good one. Funny, a bit dark, with a posting about the sad reality of Major League Baseball then funny observations about Jeopardy. It has to go downhill from here.
  
• This one is just a loooong list of television shows, organized by series and season with each available episode listed and access codes ("The password will be one of the following") for watching said episodes on the Internet. It seems scandalous and mundane at the same time.
  
• This one is called Pedo News and is all kinds of news reports and comments on "pedo-sexuals". Go ahead, see what it means.
• There was a site that I'd really rather not have come across. Let's just say it had a lot of spread legs. Sorry, no link folks.
• This site's name has got to be one of the longest in Blogger history: "Orissa at the receiving end of MHRD again: Announced for new IIT for Orissa shifted?" Um, is that code for something?
• At first glance this site looked like another porn blog. But no, nothing so titillating.
• I've been jipped. I hit several sites twice, and none of them were fun ones. Are we facing a blog shortage?

Have I told you how sad I am not to have BBC America? I want to watch Robin Hood so badly. My desire is becoming quite irrational. I don't want to wait until June and I don't want to just read about episodes. This reminds me how much I'd like a la carte cable. Not that you asked, but the channels I would subscribe to are PBS, ABC, NBC, HBO, FX, BBC America, Bravo, SciFi, Discovery, ESPN, VH1, USA, Comedy Central, and maybe Food Network.

Should I start doing these so-called meme postings?

You might want me to have a point, but I don't.

Excuses

Finally, something truly useful for the world travelers in the crowd.

Polemics

There's something to get every head scratching today....

The New York Times has done it again, reporting on that which we didn't know we needed to know. Today's news: the latest Newberry Award winning children's novel The Higher Power of Lucky is embroiled in controversy. The word scrotum appears twice on the very first page. Yup, you read that right. Twice. It's used three times more within a page. Would it have been less problematic if the scrotum had waited until page two to appear?

Let's see, what else is going on in the literary world? Here's an interesting book: Letter to a Christian Nation. This book is a response to the response author Sam Harris got after his previous book. He's got a bit of an axe to grind. See if you can figure out what the previous book was about, and what the complaints centered on. Letter begins...

Thousands of people have written to tell me that I am wrong not to believe in God. The most hostile of these communications have come from Christians. This is ironic, as Christians generally imagine that no faith imparts the virtues of love and forgiveness more effectively than their own. The truth is that many who claim to be transformed by Christ's love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism. While we may want to ascribe this to human nature, it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the Bible. How do I know this? The most disturbed of my correspondents always cite chapter and verse.

As outrageous as this opening paragraph is, the end there kind of makes me chuckle. And since we're talking outrageous today, check out this list of "outrageous" media comments from 2006 (the ever-polemical Ann Coulter is well represented in the list). Or here is a list of webpages that have been tagged (labeled) as "outrageous" by del.icio.us users. Thoroughly useless but kinda amusing. Enjoy.

Language

Food for thought from the preface to Jane Eyre:

Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee, is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.

These things and deeds are diametrically opposed: they are as distinct as is vice from virtue. Men too often confound them: they should not be confounded: appearance should not be mistaken for truth; narrow human doctrines, that only tend to elate and magnify a few, should not be substituted for the world-redeeming creed of Christ. There is -- I repeat it -- a difference; and it is a good, and not a bad action to mark broadly and clearly the line of separation between them.

The world may not like to see these ideas dissevered, for it has been accustomed to blend them; finding it convenient to make external show pass for sterling worth -- to let white-washed walls vouch for clean shrines. It may hate him who dares to scrutinise and expose -- to rase the gilding, and show base metal under it -- to penetrate the sepulchre, and reveal charnel relics: but hate as it will, it is indebted to him.

Ahab did not like Micaiah, because he never prophesied good concerning him, but evil; probably he liked the sycophant son of Chenaannah better; yet might Ahab have escaped a bloody death, had he but stopped his ears to flattery, and opened them to faithful counsel.

So, modern reader, what does it mean?

Visions

Finally, the New York Times takes on a truly important matter, namely why people see (or imagine they see) the face of (a stylistically rendered and not historically likely image of) Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich. [This one's for you, Virginia.]

Taste

Not that you asked, but...
It's official. Earl Grey has deposed Darjeeling (at least temporarily) as my favorite tea.

I think I need a change, and a change in tea is as good a start as any. I was in a funk all last week. Even my sure-thing entertainment (The Office) was disappointing. Current popular music seems unlistenable. I can't stand whiny music and I appreciate melodies or harmonies, ones that sound like they actually took some genuine work or talent to create. The list of top ten downloads on iTunes left me in pain. I read Something Borrowed on a whim recently and loved it. I am nervous now to pick up another lighthearted bedtime read as it will not be as fun and well written. I'd rather go without than plod through a disappointing, pretentious or ridiculous novel after finishing something satisfying.

As with fools, I do not suffer mediocrity gladly.

Lineage

This story on Whoopi Goldberg and Guinea-Bissau is fascinating. Whoopi participated in a genetic genealogy test to uncover some of her roots, which turn out to be in the West African nation. (Such efforts have become increasingly popular among descendants of diaspora-affected populations, such as those of African descent outside of Africa.) Apart from describing the small nation's response to its sudden Hollywood association, I liked how the article hints at the opportunities (sometimes a lineage is clear and visible) and the barriers that exist in tracing--genetically, at least--your lineage (there are often difficulties traveling to some of our ancestral places, more less comfortably belonging to them or finding meaningful familial ties).

I'd love to do genealogical genetic testing, but I believe it would only tell me so much (and likely not much more than I knew before). DNA only goes so far. I've long wanted to learn more about the town in Italy whence my great grandfather came. But if/when I go there, what will I really find out? I can read history and see sites, even spot our rather unusual family name on a nameplate near the main square (which I've done); but what more does such knowledge offer? When it comes down to it, I will not be happier or more secure as a result of knowing more about my ancestors. It will keep me occupied and provide conversation topics for family gatherings, but substantively it will not change who I am now. I'm not sure that studying my genealogy will do near as much for me as, say, intensive therapy.

On the other hand, I love the idea of creating a more connected, community minded society. All of us doing genetic genealogy might be a nice way to catalog just how connected we are.

Intrigued? Check out these projects:
DNA Ancestry Project
DNA Tribes
FamilyTree DNA
DNA Heritage
There's even a Journal of Genetic Genealogy
Finally, help on what to do with the info you would get

Movies!

I've got some light and dark cinema to recommend, four films actually. There's The Holiday--that would be the extreme end of light on our light-to-dark spectrum today--, We Are Marshall, Children of Men, and The Good Shepherd--this last one being the darkest of the set. With so many movies (and all fading or gone from theaters) I'll keep my comments short...

The Holiday - classic romance formula: gorgeous people (oh Jude, oh Kate) in gorgeous or adorably quaint places experiencing unpainful problems, but we the audience are compelled to root for them to get together. Need I tell you how it ends? Perfect for those seeking an uncomplicated, stereotypical romance. Likely painful for all others.

We Are Marshall - admittedly a movie with highly local (Huntington, WV) appeal, this story of a college football team and town decimated by a plane crash in 1970 and the community's efforts to go on with life has the classic rise from the ashes feel, with both hopeless and hopeful strugglers among those portrayed. Heartfelt story telling about unprecedented real life events; recommended to sports fans and those in need of some catharsis.

Children of Men - based on a PD James novel of same name, this is a bleak view of a sterile world. A civil servant in London renews old activist contacts as he gets embroiled in an escape plan for an illegal immigrant (a "fugee") pregnant with the first child to be born on Earth in 18 years. Imagine the desolation that might go with no pregnancy, children, or hope of a sustained future and you will be in right frame of mind for this movie. Intriguing premise, events not so implausible, sympathetic characters (Michael Caine is a highlight); recommended to thoughtful adults with tolerance for darkness and violence.

The Good Shepherd - my view of the movie is colored by knowledge that story is a fictionalized account of a man (Angleton) whose life may have made for an even more interesting movie. Still Matt Damon is good as a quiet Yale grad who dedicates his entire adult life to intrigue and the nascent CIA. Told in flashbacks and during aftermath of Bay of Pigs (1961), the movie succeeds when it focuses on spy stories and suspense. Personal plot is sad but underdeveloped (I didn't care enough that wife and son were home alone). Felt slow in many parts, but an interesting story; recommended for spy story fans.

Farewell

Yesterday saw the passing of fabulously truth stirring Texas liberal columnist Molly Ivins. If you're not familiar with Ms. Ivins, then you owe it to yourself to read some of her work; even if you disagree with her, it'll get you thinking in a way that will hurt no one. The Nation has posted some lovely farewell pieces, and of course there are old columns of hers for you to read on the web (including a 2006 piece where she criticized the Democratic Party). Or you could read her last column about the troop surge decision. Possibly the best way to get to know Molly Ivins quickly is to read some of her quotes (and more quotes). Here's a sampling--Enjoy.

What stuns me most about contemporary politics is not even that the system has been so badly corrupted by money. It is that so few people get the connection between their lives and what the bozos do in Washington and our state capitols. Politics is not a picture on a wall or a television sitcom that you can decide you don't much care for.

Good thing we've still got politics in Texas - finest form of free entertainment ever invented.

I am not anti-gun. I'm pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We'd turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don't ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives.

Amen to that.

Vacating

First I would like to thank all those who gifted me with new music during my CA stint. I am thoroughly (and appropriately, I hope) enraptured at the moment (aka, today) by the sounds of Brandi Carlile (purchased way cheap at the Tower closing sale--Tower Records RIP) and the fabulous stellastarr*. The latter has been located on MySpace and added to my favorites there (I'm so happy to finally find a band of interest in the MySpace sphere. It makes me forget temporarily that I am beyond being of interest to most media marketeers. Actually it's the second band I like with MySpace presence, the other being Gnarls Barkley). ANYWAY...I am musically replenished and fulfilled. Many thanks.

Where have I been, my gentle readers enquire. Some of you have seen me, heard my boring tales. For those who have not, here goes: I spent half my vacation sick with the flu and the other half entertaining myself in the burbs of California or visiting with family and friends in the area. I enjoyed an eventful Sharks hockey game with my brother. I watched on TV as the Cal Bears and SF 49ers (in the last case, implausibly) won and the UH Cougars and Ohio State Buckeyes (in the last case, unbelievably/tragically/oh-my-goodness-did-that-just-happen?!?!) lost. I babysat the world's cutest nephew (mine), with whom I read and ate oatmeal and watched fish. I spent a glorious afternoon in San Francisco, visited Crissy Field and drove to the top of the Presidio and Twin Peaks. I made some very tasty oatmeal cookies late in the night. I watched first Josh then David kill locusts and berserkers in Gears of War. I even tried my hand at Sonic the Hedgehog, XBox 360 style (I did not get far). I fared a touch better with Guitar Hero on New Year's Eve at Tara's. That "game" could be seriously addictive. I got some work done when I was not bleary eyed from lack of night-time rest (argh, the coughing) and I revived my mom's computer (and to some extent my own). And last but not least while on "vacation" I contemplated my future: residence, employment, graduation date, move date, house selling.... Not that there is any pressure from our loving friends and family. It's nice to be wanted. :)

So, how was your end of year break? Was it more or less exciting than mine?

Spotted

Spotted: 1 bicyclist on the UH campus. I repeat, it was a bicyclist, rider and bicycle and all. While this is pretty unusual (I don't recall any bike riders in middle of campus though doubtless they have existed before now), what makes it all the more unusual is that she was spotted riding on what has been the coldest day in Houston since my arrival (temps hover in 30's all day). Maybe she was lessening her time outside by moving more quickly.

Similarity

It would appear to be a hair match.
Um, who is Lalaine?

Carols

Thanks to Jay for sharing the following seasonal funny (and providing further proof that ADD and ME share some commonalities). Enjoy!

Mental Health Christmas Carols

• Schizophrenia - Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Multiple Personality Disorder - We Three Kings Disoriented Are
• Dementia - I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
• Narcissistic - Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
• Manic - Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and.....
• Paranoid - Santa Claus is Coming to Get Me
• Borderline Personality Disorder - Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
• Personality Disorder - You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
• Attention Deficit Disorder - Silent night, Holy oooh look at the Froggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Seeing

There's a movie review coming. First, an aside: Channel flipping this weekend I came across the movie Timeline, based on the formulaic but entertaining Michael Crichton novel. I had wanted to see how they turned book into movie but heard outcome was rather poor, so it seemed a good Sunday afternoon freetime flick. Yup, book got lost in the transfer (which if you know the story has double meaning). But that wasn't the point I planned to make. One of the characters was played by Tony Blair, or rather the actor who had quite ably portrayed Tony Blair in The Queen. He's rather distinctive looking and I commented to David how strange it was that I had no recollection of having seen him in anything and then he appears in two movies in a row I'd watched. Well, he is also in Blood Diamond. How weird is that? Three movies in a row. Michael Sheen--keep an eye out for him.

MOVIE REVIEW
Blood Diamond stars Leonardo DiCaprio in yet another action adventure message movie about good and bad coexisting and there being no easy answers. Well, apart from the apparently easy choices of protecting innocent lives and not coveting falsely rare diamonds. David commented that the backstory introduction about unrest in Sierra Leone was simplistic. At the end I asked him for his view on the accuracy and he conceded the movie was pretty good. So I can with an informed spirit tell you I recommend this movie. It's got violence and guns and lots of dead people (some bad/corrupted men and boys, and lots of innocent people). There is not one sex scene (David guessed it wouldn't be fitting the style of the movie and he was right). DiCaprio and Djimon Honsou are good; the secondary characters are thoroughly predictable types.

Oh, what's it all about? It's just your everyday quest for life, peace, wealth, justice--in shifting order. The journey focuses on two men. Denny Archer is a diamond smuggler in the diamonds-for-weapons trade of Africa (movie serves as passionate introduction to conflict diamonds). Archer lives by a fatalist philosophy of TIA--"This is Africa". He encounters an idealistic, adventure-seeking, comely female American reporter (played by Jennifer Connelly) who wants Denny's story; she's frustrated that nothing meaningful about this horrid business can be fact checked for publication (Her part is I suppose necessary to story but frustratingly simplistic). She sees the good in Denny, though he's not so ready to be good. Then there's Solomon, a nice African villager whose world falls apart one day when the Revolutionary United Front come and take him away, destroy his village, then take his promising young son into their arms (a nice play on words I did there). Solomon is forced to pan for diamonds in Kono, where he finds and hides a massive pink diamond. Denny learns of this diamond and convinces Solomon to take him to it so they both can get what they want.

As the Rolling Stones pointed out, "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometime, well you just might find, you get what you need." Blood Diamond is a bit preachy in spots, and the violence is brutal, but it rings true, and the pace and story keep you interested. I liked the complexity of the two main characters and the focus on important world events that don't get even the "one minute on CNN" that Connelly's reporter character predicts for them.

Queenie

MOVIE REVIEW
The following movie came out two months ago, but it's still in theaters here and thus still eligible in my world for a posted review. Catch it before the Oscars because I have a feeling star Helen Mirren (always fabulous) will be nominated.

The Queen feels every bit the docudrama that it is. Director Stephen Frears weaves news footage of Princess Diana (her royal and post-royal life and the public grief over her death) with dramatized showings of the response by HRH Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Tony Blair (along with their capable assistants). What is most surprising about the story is not that the familiar events lend themselves so well to a movie but that the characters turn out to be so compelling. Tony Blair appears the most sympathetic with Prince Charles a distant second (surprised?). But as the story unfolds clarity falters, sympathies become less clear cut, and her Majesty's part--positively villainous from the start--deepens in emotion and human complexity. Don't despair, though; there remain one or two clear villains (I'll let you guess and see).

I asked David for his comment on the movie, and it was: "She was very stiff." Uh, okay, I'm guessing we can all figure out who "she" is.

The lowdown: The Queen is a solid docudrama both in style and substance. These are clearly actors playing real people (they look unapologetically more like themselves than their "characters", so they are open to doubtful interpretation), but well done and nuanced performances allow you to overlook what seem to be truly inconsequential bits of reality. Good pace, clear point to be made in the end without being at all preachy, and thought provoking for range of topics from mundane to philosophical. Highly recommended.

In an odd, related but unrelated note, I found that the British monarchy has an official website. Is that not a trifle strange?

Gangs

As I finish up my papers this semester I am reviewing some earlier writing. My professor praised a paper I wrote about gangs (I won't break my arm patting self on back). I thought I'd share a bit (which may sound familiar to you long-term readers)....

I smoke, I snort…I been begging on the street since I was just a baby. I’ve cleaned windshields at stoplights. I’ve polished shoes, I’ve robbed, I’ve killed. I ain’t no kid….I’m a real man. –City of God, 2002

To be there for young people, we adults need to get our own acts together. The negative world that gangs inhabit is no anomaly. When I contemplate who is responsible for seeing to it that young people are nurtured and entrusted and made to feel secure, I might say adults. However, how might adults provide this when so many—maybe even most or all—are themselves living lonely, insecure, medicated, or downright destructive existences? What does it mean to be an adult anymore? The above quote by a child running wild on the streets of the City of God hints at the confused notion of adulthood that some young people, and probably some adults, hold true. There is no clear and healthy delineation in our society between childhood and adulthood. Traditional rites of passage have been supplanted by sex, violence, and extreme limit testing. Assuming it ever was, childhood is no longer a safe haven, and adulthood seems to be more about emotional hardening than maturity. Adults can be powerful influences in the lives of children; in order to be positive influences, we need to attend to our own needs. It’s like the rules when you travel on a plane: in the event of an emergency, put on your own oxygen mask before assisting someone traveling with you. It is impossible to take care of others when you are incapable of taking care of yourself.

Seasons

Congrats to the UH Cougar football team. Last night they came from behind (and a paltry first half by many measures) to soundly defeat Southern Miss, 34-20, for the Conference USA championship. I'm thinking I bring football success to graduate schools. Maybe I should go out on the road with my skills, shop it when I seek a post doc. While I was attending BU they had their best football season ever, finishing (I think) #2 in Division I-A. Of course, shortly thereafter the program was disbanded for lack of interest/funds. I won't mention that part when I market my skills.