July 31st 12:30PM
Ach!
Four days out, with no blog entry. A record for me thus far, I think. I don't have much in the way of excuses, but I guess I've been busy.
I recently saw "The Hours." How Roger Ebert gave this odd picture 3.5 stars out of a possible four, and only bestowed upon "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" one, I don't understand. He must be of a higher moviegoing caliber than I, because it's beyond me. Again, in my ignorance, "The Hours" was about desperate lesbians and suicide. The movie was chopped up into flashbacks and flashforwards, and though linked, it was hard to say how - very confusing to me, the humble, unenlightened viewer. It was all very tiring, but I had the sense that by the end, it would all be tied together.
I was wrong.
By the end, the movie made no more or less sense than it made throughout. This confusion led to my dissatisfaction. It's hard to assign impact to such diffused information - it's like trying to break a window at 20 yards using a wiffle ball. No good.
My wife & I also watched "Amelie," a little-girl-kind-of-silly, uplifting, candy-coated movie in French. It was really pretty good, and there were some boobies in it, too. This movie takes off with no regard for rules and just plays, taking you along for the fun. The main character, Amelie, finds that her calling is to bring anonymous cheer to people she encounters, and deflate the ego and arrogant contentedness of an asshole or two along the way. Very enjoyable, I recommend that you go watch this movie. Be prepared to read subtitles and have a good time.
July 27th 4:14PM
Disclaimer: I am not a movie reviewer. I am a movie viewer. I am not qualified to review movies. I am not necessarily smarter than Roger Ebert. --
I just got back from seeing "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," a movie that Roger Ebert skewered in his weekly review. Ol' Rog' plucked at this movie like a chicken, ridiculing such things as the inaccurate representation of the Venice canals.
With due respect to Venice and Mr. Ebert's stalwart defense of topographic veracity, I didn't expect to watch a movie with two vampires, Dr. Jekyll and the Invisible Man for its historical and geological verifiability - I went to see an adventure that streaked across the planet, with a fast pace and eye-popping special effects.
That's the movie I went to see, and that's the movie I got. Sean Connery brought his two-fisted, bare-knuckled charisma to the screen, and was believable and fun to watch all the way through. Unfortunately, I don't know the rest of the cast that well, so I will have to refer to them as "the rest," or at least by their character.
Captain Nemo is a black-bearded, turban-adorned sea captain who swings a sword and some amazingly brilliant martial arts moves for his apparent age. Mina Harker is an elegantly reserved lady who, when she decides to let it all hang out, goes for all nine yards, slurping bloodthirstily at her enemies life-juices as she spills them. Dorian Gray is a nearly immortal vampire who whips about with a saber much like Nemo, easily and stylishly separating bad guys from their lives. The invisible man is played as a brash, cockney-accented thief who got hold of the formula that makes a person invisible, and now would much like to get visible again, so he can stop running around naked or covered in whatever powder, fluid or goo that is handy enough to give him form. Oh yeah, and there's an American, Tom Sawyer, who has no special powers, except that he's dreamy, horny, long-haired, and lustful for a good adventure. I suppose he's no worse a stereotype than the other characters, but he struck me as as bland as your Granny's soda crackers. Ah, well... Finally, there's Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, at once an ethical scientist with his his very own personal demon haunting him from reflective surfaces, and then he's the aforementioned ‘demon,’ an impossibly brawny, slavering, ox of a brute, both of whom share each other's best and worst qualities, although in opposite ratios.
Anyhow, those are the main characters. Oh - there's a bad guy whose identity is in question for much of the movie, but for all it mattered, they could've rubber-stamped "BAD GUY" on his forehead, and I wouldn't have been more affected either way.
The story leaps from England to Africa to Germany to France to Italy to China, as the heroes are assembled, and attend their mission. I won't bore you with the plot - it's not the story I enjoyed so much as how it was told. The League zip from place to place fighting, speeding and vampiring their way to the bad guy's lair, for the Showdown. The special effects were nearly flawless, the story was enough of a frame to hang the action on. The mix of characters' superpowers and lack of them were enough to maintain a fertile flow of danger and consequences, arcing and crashing, turning up twists and surprises and holding my interest.
The thing was not perfect - I was bored by the token American character - I wish they´d have given him more to do, or much less. Hyde's transformations to Jekyll and back, were wonderfully grotesque, but I was slightly disappointed by the flashes of light they used to distract the eye, carrying the transition from hideous, to lessening degrees of twisted sinew, until Hyde arrived at Jekyll. It still worked for me, but not perfectly. With the remainder of the effects mesmerizingly well done, I can't help wondering if it could've been that much better.
On the other hand, Nemo was intriguing, going from motionless sedation to a choreographed frenzy of sword-flashing butt-kickitude in a flash. Gray and Harker were both deliciously decadent in their outward refinery and inward urges. Hyde stole his scenes with his ruthless, toothy performance as a malevolent force of nature.
I confess I've read a lot more textbooks, comic books and computer manuals than classic literature. I'm sure my ignorance - of Venice, of literature - helped me to enjoy the story. Had I enough knowledge to sniff aristocratically at the violence the movie does to logic, I think I still would have enjoyed the movie. Had I the snotty inclination to turn my nose up at it, then I likely wouldn't have gone to see it in the first place. Luckily, I am not a snob, and had a great time watching this movie. I saw the unfair, one-star review before I went, and went anyway. The movie didn't cheat outright with the possibilities - an army of bazooka-toting chimps didn't leap from the sky to save an otherwise doomed character at the last moment, so fuck it! Don't be such a stiff. See this movie, revel in its rugged, fanciful impossibility, and eat some popcorn. Lighten up. You do that, and I'll grudgingly admit that you can't navigate a battleship-sized submarine through the canals of Venice. We'll call it even.
July 25nd 7:49AM
Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now
Looks like the Gray Davis recall is going to push through. I had been against this in the past, because we just had an election, and unfortunately, Gray and his final opponent BOTH sucked out loud, and we reelected him. Um, sort of fair and square.
Then we found out he was joshing about the extent of the budget deficit.
Recently, it occurs to me that this recall is a good thing. With a record-setting budget deficit, with a governor whose approval rating is at a record low, it may be time for measures that are a little extreme, like pulling the ripcord on the electoral system and shaking up the rules.
Bleah.
The real reason I'm happy to see the recall become reality is that I'm tired of having no real choice on election day. Gray Davis has bought so much influence with efforts and resources that should have been directed towards the good of the people of this state, that he has become an intractable Democratic candidate. There are others who could have and would have done this state a better service (that's what it's about, remember?) than Davis, but they didn't have the opportunity to share ideas, to better the state. Gray Davis has feathered his nest so well and guarded his beloved position of power that no one else had a prayer of being heard. Even worse, the Republicans screwed the pooch so badly by allowing Richard Riordan to fall in the early running that we were stuck with Simon, the pig-in-a-poke who imploded upon impact, and couldn't pull the trigger on what should've been the weakest candidate you could ask for.
So, the voters had the option of Dumb or Dumber. Well, shit. This situation has been getting incrementally more prevalent for years, but I don't know if it's ever reached such a glaring extreme. Voter turnout is pitifully low, year after year, and the media has the nerve to wonder why, take polls, and posit theories. "Jesus, look at these two." That's my answer, just in case someone out there is gearing up another poll. Just look at 'em. Could you get excited and vote for one of these fucks? How sad!
So yeah, recall Gray Davis, slap back the wrist of apathy, even if for just this brief moment, and put a chill of fear into the next half-assed wannabe who plans to plop into the big chair and do as little as possible afterwards, except to guard his rear flanks and plan on how to squeak by in the next election. Fuck Davis. Put his head on a metaphorical pike at the I-80 Nevada border to warn all who enter: "If you want to be our governor, stop sucking, or this is the fate that awaits you. Losing the election isn't the only bad thing that can happen to you. We're not mad as hell, and we're probably going to take it some more, but we might turn on you anyway, if nothing good is on TV."
July 22nd 7:05PM
Two down, one to go . . . In Iraq
So they got Saddam's sons, Qusai and Udai. Outstanding. I hope those two enjoy their new positions at the end of Lucifer's pitchfork, ´cuz they're gonna be there a while. Suffer, you bastards!!
Heh heh heh. Fuck ´em, feed ´em to the catfish . . .
Made more progress in my programming today. Almost done with the bare bones functionality of the thing. After that, it's gussying it up, and getting it online. Way cool . . . It's almost like I know what I'm doin'. Whatever that feels like.
July 21st 6:35PM
Success!
Very good day today. I've been working on some PHP/MySQL programming that has been difficult for me. Today and Friday yielded significant measures of success, rather than the cold, bitter slap of failure and frustration that I have been very familiar with. Hooray! Sorry it's nothing I can link to, it's on a private server at work. Maybe soon, when it's posted "live" as a finished product...
Also, I did some pencil drawing over the weekend, scanned it, and linked to it on my Personal page. I'll link to it here, too. It´s 38 Kb, if you´re concerned about that sort of thing - not too big. It´s about time I created something, even this little thing.
July 20th 7:50PM
Hippies.
"They say they want to save the Earth, but all they ever do is smoke pot and smell bad." - Eric Cartman, South Park
See, this is what I'm talking about. Pseudo-radicals with persecution complexes, railing against . . . well, what? George Bush. Straining and rebelling against forces that are not there, throwing punches at shadows, striving to outrun and shine light on imaginary foes. Please.
Put the pipe down Slappy, you're embarrassing yourself.
Come on. First of all, they hawk stickers for a (cough) donation. By the way, these donations are Mandatory. Doesn't that negate the idea of a donation? This is akin to fraud, in my opinion, because you know the guy ain't paying taxes on these sales, and thinks tossin' the word "donation" around is gonna make it all right.
Okay, to be fair (and I'm nothing if not fair), I don't know this guy or his tax situation. I'm just stereotyping and goofing on his utterly ridiculous website. So if I say he talks exactly like Tommy Chong and smokes the same hemp his underwear's made out of, that's just my way of demonstrating my opinion of his allegedly radical statements.
One thing I will say, he does call for activism, working within the system he doesn't agree with. This buys him some level of respect from me, since I swim through a sea of apathetics with heads full of styrofoam peanuts who can't be bothered to care enough about their country that they might understand some basic underpinnings of our government, or pay enough attention to the media to understand what issues are even out there. At least this nut seems to care.
Good for him, as far as that goes.
July 19th 5:43AM
Wow.
That was something. Birds cawed, chirped and warbled at each other and flew purposefully from treetop to treetop to antennatop, like the joggers and milkmen of the suburban animal world, making their rounds.
The sky went from black to a rich, dark blue to baby blue to the light blue I'm used to in awesome proof that gradual doesn't necessarily mean slow. The sky literally changed from moment to moment, and was different with every blink. Stars winked out one by one and all at once. You wouldn't think that something so magnificent could be so peaceful.
I almost missed the thing, sitting in here blogging about how I was going to go watch it. Oh well. The trees at the end of my street obstruct the horizon anyway, so it's not like I could actually see the crack of dawn. Still, I was looking forward to watching the sky just start to turn.
Maybe tomorrow.
July 19th 5:16AM
It's early. It's dark.
I'm gonna go get some coffee and watch the sun come up. Haven't done that in a long time.
July 17th 12:59PM
Fool me once, shame on you ...
I had occasion to remind someone today that they screwed me. I did so politely and calmly, but I did so. I considered not mentioning it - it would be easier and quieter not to have said anything. While ease and quietude are important to me, they're not everything. If somebody does me wrong, I may not shake the foundations over it (or I may), but I certainly won't forget it. I try not to hold grudges, but don't piss down the back of my neck and tell me it's rainin'. I don't think so.
It would also be easier not to mention this event here, as I'm pretty sure the person noted above checks this space now & then. This space isn't about ease or quiet, either. Besides that, I'm not the one who has something to be ashamed of. So, a-blogging I will go.
Oh, and one more thing. Once you screw somebody, you can't unscrew them. You can regret it, you can be sorry, you can apologize. You may even be forgiven. But you can't take it back. It happened, and your regret won't buy you a squirt of piss after the fact. If there's a lesson to be learned, it's: don't screw people!
July 17th 12:50PM
Lunchtime blog entry - pick it up!
FranceFranceFrance, blah blah blah
Sorry about the all-French, all-the-time-blogging. The fact is, the subject has dominated my personal life lately, so it's only natural that that comes through in my blog.
Whattayagonnado?
This is a cool idea. It's a blog that people in a community add to, creating a place to communicate about regional and local topics. Cool. I would like to create or just contribute to something like that, but I know I wouldn't have the time to devote to an ongoing project like that. Maybe in the future. "MantecaBlog.com." That would be cool.
Heck, maybe there already is one of these... http://www.ilovemanteca.com - It's got a lot of information, but not much participation from locals, it looks like. I would be more comfortable if I knew who was running this site. The WHOIS shows contact info for a guy in Florida. I don't know the story behind that, but I wonder about it. It seems odd to run a site called "ILoveManteca.com" from Florida... Other than that, it looks to be a moderately ambitious endeavor, with potential. Check it out for yourself.
I wish I had more interesting things to blog about, but I'm in sort of a neutral place right now. Busy enough to spend my time doing things other than blogging, but lax enough that these things don't make for interesting blog fodder. Not to worry - I'm sure someone or something will turn over some rocks in my life, and send blog entries scurrying like insects across this space.
Still keeping an eye on John Bizarre. He's stated that this will be his last year in stand-up comedy. That's too bad, because I've caught his show and it's great, but he's got other butterflies to chase. So be it. Plus, he only comes to this area once or twice a year, so fuck it anyway. Stop, keep going, what's the difference? I'll never see another show, I imagine. But if he swings by here, we're goin'!
July 15th 1:00PM
I think I'm French.
I'm reading up, getting ready for our trip to France. I expect that I will enjoy the trip a lot more if I do some studying ahead of time. Without some context, each building is just another building, but if I have an idea of who lived there, died there, fought/loved/killed there, imagine how much more impact that holds!
In my reading, browsing and Internet scouting, I find that the French are known for some traits. These include:
- A zeal for arguing the fine points of anything (although some subjects are more appropriate than others), and can debate sometimes ferociously without taking offense or getting their feelings hurt.
- A love for food, wine and the simple pleasures of life, including good company and conversation.
- The idea that sense of self has importance.
- Higher regard for being right than for being liked.
- A priority for manners and methods of conducting oneself.
True or not, stereotypical or not, French or not, I find that I identify with these traits. Hopefully during our trip I can find someone who likes me enough to argue with me!
July 15th 6:20AM
Excellent day yesterday. I'm all clear to go on my vacation in October.
I've found that there are some books out there that try to explain why the French are different from us. The books look interesting, but I've also found that there is lots of information on the web that builds this understanding as well. Among them:
- Corporate Relocations - SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN FRANCE
- Rudeness Prevention - Use These Tips To Avoid Snobby Treatment
Good advice there for travelers.
July 13th 7:35AM
Open your eyes
Picked up an old Metallica album yesterday, ...And Justice For All. Powerful stuff, especially for someone who for the most part stopped listening to new music around 1979. I don't know who the new bands are, and I don't care. I'm pretty sure this is the initial sign of old age stalking me, circling the periphery like a shark. Good, screw it. Pretty soon I'll be shaking my fist at kids who ride their bikes (skateboards, electric scooters, hovercraft) too close to my car. Dagnabbit.
Growing up, I had a buddy who was into Metallica real deep. I never took an interest in them, but as I listen to the album and read the lyrics, I can see that these aren't just four guys screaming and spitting into a microphone. There's some real art here, authentic feeling and a message. Nice.
More French study. Learning to use "il y a" to indicate how long ago I did something. I heartily recommend that you (yes, you) look into learning a foreign language, any language that interests you. Give it a look, take a peek. You don't have to commit yourself, just open up to the possibility. Borrow a library book for a week, buy a cheap one at the used bookstore downtown. If you don't like it, fuck it. Ah, but if you do, you've just done yourself a huge favor.
There are things available to you in your life that can open up doors and avenues that you didn't know existed, and just their discovery can lighten your load, help you live more richly, and add dimension to every day of your life. Finding these things are like realizing you've been driving with the Parking Brake on this whole time, and releasing it. If you've ever found yourself thinking: "I could have been doing this (or not doing this) the whole time," then you know what I'm talking about. For some people, it's religion, for some, sex, others, it's art or love or literacy or a new skill or attaching wheels to something you've been carrying or dragging up 'til now or something else. Try new things.
July 12th 3:30PM
Stroll Paris, from your web browser.
THIS is too cool. It's a website from which you can wander the streets of Paris (and other cities in France). I've already staked out our hotel and strolled up and down la Rue (that's "the street" to you, 'merican). This site is very dialup-friendly.
July 11th 1:10PM
Idle Thoughts:
I have a Super Low Emission Vehicle - If I was going to kill myself via carbon monoxide poisoning, I'd have to allow for a lot more time.
If I ever open a bar, I'm going to name it the Wet Spot.
July 11th 6:37AM
J'aime mon professeur.
As I study my French, I am often reminded of my French teacher, Jeff Dixon. I definitely regard him as a very good teacher, but it's funny - for one thing, most in my class didn't depend on him very much at all. We rarely had questions, because we had a good book, and his introductions to each class's materials were pretty complete. When we did have questions, he was always helpful, but could be more terse than seemed to be called for. Often he would seem to be irritated at some questions, but to be fair we would often ask repetitive questions or get carried away asking about the culture or "how things are over there." We had a lot of ground to cover, and I suppose he may have been feeling the time crunch.
Just as often, though, as a student spoke to him,he would just cock his head to one side, and regard you curiously, as if you had just fallen out of a nearby tree. It was an odd mannerism, but he always seemed to pay attention and come up with a unique answer.
This blog entry sort of wanders around the subject without making a solid point. I realize that. The point was just to jot down the memory, and also state for the record that I thought he was a good guy. You can't really state your appreciation for a teacher during a semester without feeling like a kiss-ass, so I'm doing it now.
I think he got sick of things around here and moved back to France, but I don't know. I've kept an eye out for him in the class listings at Delta, and he hasn't taught any French there for a year now, so that kinda points in the direction of likelihood that he skipped the country. Too bad, he was a good teacher.
July 10th 7:49AM
HUGE day yesterday.
I took off work early and had my first dentist visit in a long time. If you can afford a dentist visit, but have been putting it off, don't. Get in there, wussy. If you're a local (Mantecan), I highly recommend Dr. Trueb. My visit was painless in many senses of the word. His people were friendly and helpful, and the doctor explained the things that I, as as the everyday guardian of my dental well-being, needed to know, and he did it clear, understandable terms.
This level of service is rare among medical staff in my experience. I found that the doc had alternatives, and knew a lot of those deep, Latin terms when he dictated to his assistant his findings inside my oral cavity. It sounded like a Dr. Suess book: "He's got an argle-bargle in his floozle-snazz." But when he spoke to me, it all made sense. I thanked the people on the way out so enthusiastically, they must have thought I was some nut. They can think what they want, but I've had such horrible service in other places, I've learned to appreciate this level of quality in treatment. They rock.
They even helped me to get out on time to run my next errand...
My wife and I headed down to the local courthouse and applied for our passports, which will clear the way for us to make our trip to Paris. I am just about to implode with excitement. I've been boning up on my French and digitally scouting the City of Lights, finding out about their subway system and how Things work over there. I fully intend to have a great time.
July 8th 7:00AM
Knock it off with the Freedom Fries already, you jackass.
I was studying more French Sunday, and enjoyed the hell out of it. If that surprises you, it's my fault. I've mentioned my interest in all things French here before, but in very limited measure, ducking to avoid the residual heat from the frictions of our two countries and some of the knee-jerk backlash that's been ricocheting off the airwaves and office walls lately.
Well, screw that. Several people I know have sneered and jeered at the actions and the stereotypes of the French, and no unkind representation has been spared. The fact is, this is all ignorance. Disagree if you will with the French government and its actions, which have been fully opposed to our government's interests. I'm with you there. I'm not thrilled with the French government, and that goes for a lot of the American government as well. But keep your conjecture about the people of France. How many do you know, personally? Any? I'd be amazed that any of my regular acquaintances knows a single Frenchman (or -woman). Absolutely stunned.
I don't know them either. I hope to meet a couple of them this fall by going and visiting. Hell, even that's not necessary, really. See, there's this thing called the Internet, maybe you've heard of it. You can not only post your own personal take on life and the things around you, you can visit the personal web pages of others who live or have lived in France. Like these:
- Like Albert Tarantola - He's a college professor.
- Like Sheldon Brown - He used to live there, and obviously loves the place.
- Like Anthony Atkielski - He lives in Paris, and although I suspect his origin is not Parisian, he's got a crackerjack little website, (better than mine) including a Paris blog complete with photos.
Ask these people what they think. Debate them, if they'll take the time. Even easier is to write an e-mail to someone who lives in France. You know, actually have a conversation...? It could happen. This is even less far-fetched when you realize that English is a very prominent second language throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Much easier than if you spoke Korean, or Swedish, or some less prolific language.
So there you go. Not only are French-bashers (at least the ones I know) willfully ignorant, they're intellectually lazy to boot. Harsh criticism, but wrong? You be the judge. And send me an e-mail if you're one of these people. Maybe you can change my mind.
July 5th 3:14PM
Bar-be-cue, me and you
We ended up having the big time yesterday. Many a pound of animal flesh met its merciless, zealous consumer, and many a Heineken was sacrificed in the name of camaraderie. Nieces & nephews visited with aunts & uncles, cousins with cousins, in-laws, sisters, mothers and their children. It was like somebody shook out the family tree. I won't say all the fruits and nuts feel out, but everybody was there, that's all I'm getting at. Had a great time.
Even better was the next morning. I throttled back on the guzzling at an appropriate time, so that I wasn't a sickened zombie this morning, and that's a good thing. I got to experience the cozy warmth of a housefull of beloved family members - early risers, lurking quietly about, snooping for coffee and enjoying a virginal morning ambience with frightening hairdos - gradually waking denizens, slothing about in jammies and rubbing their eyes - the good-natured fun at the expense of the late bloomers who eventually rise but don't always shine.
There's a feeling of warmth and acceptance that is absolutely amazing to experience. I've not always embraced the veneration of family and its closeness. Despite my Mom's best efforts and nature, it just wasn't always that way at my house. This morning was a good, long glimpse at that kind of subtle euphoria, like the sun peeking out and shining on you on an otherwise clammy, overcast day.
It was nice. Plus, the wimmen-folk (eventually) made breakfast, and man was it good!
Oh, and Happy Birthday, America. You rock, and there's nowhere I'd rather live.
July 2nd 6:20AM
I got an e-mail from a family member of the guy I blogged about last month. He took issue with my blog entries about Kenneth Beeby, who was shot and killed by the officers in the Manteca Police Department, but all in all he seems to be a reasonable guy.
Summa Time
We're seriously considering having a beef-based, beerblast barbecue blowout this Friday. It's expensive and a lot of work (mostly for my wife) to have people over & cook for them, but it's also usually fun. We'll see...
July 1st 6:20AM
It's a new month.
Old months are archived in the right column. -->
Made some headway with my languishing video project. Yes, I'm still working on that thing. Now & then.