November 2005 Archives

   I rented the movie The Man I Love from NetFlix and it came with decent ratings. Amazon, NetFlix and TLA Video all have it at 3.5/5 stars. The viewer reviews were mostly positive so I thought it might be worth a watch. Having watched it this evening, I regret to report that it was not all that good.
   The good: Martin and Lucas have a few touching scenes. There are a few good scenes with Martin's mother, a funny one where Lucas' father finds out that he's got a boyfriend, and scene where the two are dancing. The acting was good Characters seemed genuine. I liked the concept of the story... Lovely scenic views.
   The bad: Seemingly random scenes that don't appear to have any contribution to the storyline. Someone dancing on the Arc was one. Huh? There were a few others that were so fleeting and didn't make enough sense to be memorable. Also watching Martin drag his mother and Lucas to the cemetary and though his struggle with his disease was difficult to watch. He was really miserable. From a Netflix review: "The heart of the story, represented by the main character, is self-centered and sadistic. He repeatedly manipulates, tortures and abuses everyone around him."
   The ugly: Unbelievable storyline and poor plot development. First, Martin decides he likes Lucas after having just met him. Considering Lucas' aloof and unfriendly nature at that point in the movie, there's no credible reason why. Lucas is actually pretty mean to him as he tries to get rid of him. Then, poof! Suddenly they have become friends. How did this happen? I thought perhaps I'd fallen asleep and missed something. Martin is all about getting with Lucas, but when Lucas comes around he spends the rest of the movie trying to get rid of him. Then after kicking Lucas out for the night, Martin moves away and leaves Lucas heartbroken not knowing where he is. Then Poof! next you know they're getting married. The plot had such gaping holes at times that I wondered if we'd ventured into a dream sequence.
   The verdict: Interesting premise, some touching scenes, good concepts. Bad plot and character development make this movie difficult to watch and follow. 2 out of 5 stars for me.

The Vatican statement said homosexuals should be barred from entering the priesthood along with men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies and those who support gay culture.
   So we're just going to ignore the men with deep-seated pedophile tendencies? Way to react to a scandal - with a completely different one. Maybe we should also exclude men who have deep-seated heterosexual tendencies. Heck, barring any sexual tendencies might be a better solution.
(source: Vatican edict on gays divides U.S. Catholics)

   I am perfectly disgusted. I saw a commercial tonight for a candidate for Governor for the State of Ohio. I seriously thought it was a commercial for a church at first which I thought was odd to begin with. Then I started hearing political stuff... OH DEAR GOD! We have to listen to these commercials until the election which isn't until November 200-freakin'-6! The whole commercial was about this man's religion and relationship with God. You know, it's wonderful to have faith. It's wonderful to hold your life and behavior to high standards. But that's not a qualification for governor. If that's the front page of your resume then perhaps there's a church you could apply to work for. Let's talk about plans for the economy, for high energy costs, for those who can't get medical care, for preparing kids for the future, etc. If your plan is to pray for these things then you better pray hard for votes too.
   And I'm reminded that 1,837,553 Ohioans voted for Taft who has an approval rating lower than the evening low temperatures right now.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement that the Cunningham case was "just the latest example of the culture of corruption that pervades the Republican-controlled Congress."
   I don't necessarily disagree, but it's not as if the Democrats have always lived in a stink free skunk hole. Now when the Dems get some more power will it go to their heads as well? Leadership by example...
(source: Calif. Rep. resigns over bribes)

"Does the prime minister really believe that rushing money out the door on the eve of an election will distract Canadians away from his Liberal government's sordid record of waste, mismanagement and corruption?" - Peter MacKay

   Why not? It worked on most Americans...
(source: Canadian government defeated)

It is so crazy right now. On Black Friday it doesn't matter what the weather is, it doesn't prevent the shoppers - Reuters
   Nothing prevents the shoppers! Not even a good strong anti-shopper spray. Sometimes a fogger will confuse them, but not prevent them.
   So I got to see the running of the bulls - I mean the shoppers run into the store this morning. I only wish I had that much energy at 6am when it's 13° outside. I stood at the corner of two aisles to get a view of the madness, and answered people's questions as they walked/ran by. They were breathless as they asked where electronics was and where the door-busters were located. It would have been fun to tell them the totally wrong place and watch them freak out when they realized where they were. But then Black Friday shoppers get mean, so you don't mess with them.
   Also, I find it interesting when shoppers want me to go home with them.
(source: Shoppers rush to grab holiday deals)

She is still recovering and says the accident caused permanent brain damage. She has filed a $395 million lawsuit against the city, Macy's and the lamppost manufacturer. - Reuters
   This was regarding an incident a few years ago when a woman was struck by a lamppost that fell when a parade balloon hit it. Does it ever sound odd to you when you hear that someone is suing a bunch of different people for the same thing? Does it seem like they aren't sure whose fault it is so they're just suing everyone? But why is the lamppost manufacturer at fault? Because the post wasn't designed to hold up parade balloons? Maybe I just don't get it...
(source: Spectators hurt by Thanksgiving parade balloon)

"He's a good man, a Marine, a patriot — and he's taking a clear stand in an entirely legitimate discussion," Cheney told the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

I can appreciate Mr. Cheney saying these words about Rep. John Murtha who called for a withdrawal plan for Iraq.. For not leaping into the disgusting mess of representatives who trashed Murtha like that woman from my home state, Jean Schmidt, who said:

...she had received a call from a Marine colonel, who "asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

She then said that she had not meant the comments to apply to anyone in particular. What, is she stupid or short-term memory loss effects her deeply?

(Sources: Cheney Slams War Critics, Praises Murtha, 'Mean Jean' Goes to Washington, and Invites a Firestorm)

True or False: Bush said the following: "To serve your people, you must learn to trust them."

Film at 11...

Answer: True. He said this about China after his 2nd inauguration in January. But I find that ironic considering all the campaign stops he made with "selected" audiences, and the fact that he supports the Patriot Act which diminishes the privacy and due process rights of Americans.
(source: Bush and China avoid fracas over freedoms)

"We've given China a list of dissidents that we believe are unfairly imprisoned." - President Bush

And China handed Bush a mirror and a list of several hundred detainees...

(source: Bush asks China to expand freedoms)

"May God bless the Christians of China," Bush wrote in the church guest book. His wife, Laura, added: "With love and respect." The pastor gave them Chinese Bibles.

Bush is concluding his Asian tour, and this morning went to church in China. This was to bring home his point that social, political, and religious freedoms should grow in China. And I understand he was in a Protestant church, but just bless the Christians? That just strikes me as odd. What about the rest of them? Buddhists - no blessing for you!

An aside: A CNN story had under the headline the tag "President attends government-sanctioned church." It just sent a shiver up my spine.
(source: Bush presses Hu on trade)

I just got home from work a bit ago, and it's 23 degrees outside. Just a few days ago it was 65! I'm just not ready yet...

   I've got Madonna's new song Hung Up stuck in my head. I was playing it really loud on the way to work today to get myself all psyched up. It worked for awhile, but then got annoying as the song played over and over in my head. Busy crazy night - I should SO be in bed right now since I have to be back at work at 8am. But I just got home, and I never go right to sleep after work.
   I finished my first class at South U. Now I'm on to my second class of the Fall Quarter. General Psychology. Watch out! I'm going to psychoanalyze all the comments on my blog for the next five weeks. I just got my book today though, so I'm going to have to do some serious reading when I get home from work tomorrow. I already have 2 assignments due tomorrow.
   I noticed that gay marriage is in the news again. Figures - with so many politicians in trouble and under investigation I wondered how long it would take before they needed a distraction. This White House cracks me up. Yes to torture, no to gay marriage. Priorities, I know...

   Tonight we watched the new George Carlin show on HBO. I think two words sum it up - don't bother. It was really disappointingbecause I've been a Carlin fan for quite some time. But this show was different. He started out with war, death, torture and other such entertaining topics. I would say no other comic could touch topics like those, but George shouldn't have either.
   It wasn't funny. He went on and on about the thoughts of a guy about to kill himself. No funny. War and torture - no funny. Americans are so fat, blah, blah, blah... No funny. It was like a rant. Not to say that much of what he said wasn't true, but it was just not presented like the usual Carlin comedy.

   Tonight was a cool night. Jim made his delicious Swedish meatballs, and we watched a movie called Touch of Pink. It was kind of a variation on Torch Song, but different enough to hold its own. I think one of the best lines was, "She's still got plasticon the furniture. It's to keep the evil fresh!"
   By the time the movie was over it was about 11:30pm so I stepped outside to look at the stars. It's so dark out there you can even see stars on the horizon. So as I was admiring the view I saw a shooting star. Then another. Turns out the Taurids were at their peak that night, so J and I laid out under the stars for about an hour just watching. I saw more shooting stars tonight than I've seen in my whole life.

At this point I feel like a crystal user. I’ve been up for 31 hours with only a few naps on a plane and in a car. The scary thing is that while I was tired earlier I don’t really feel tired right now. I think it’s going to hit me all of a sudden. I’ve been doing class work for the past two hours so my brain is all busy. Maybe I just need to shut my brain up. That would be just about as likely as me shutting up myself.

Flying today was exciting. I mean on a plane, not as in on drugs as I alluded before. It was very windy landing in Kansas City, and the plane was all over the place as we came down. Of course my boyfriend thought it was fun like a roller coaster, but I prefer having the track there underneath.

I just read an article about The Daily Show and how appearing on the show can have consequences. Really? It seems like the article itself if tongue in cheek reporting. Do we really need to be reminded that being on TV might have consequences? Well perhaps to some it’s a true expose.

Off to bed now…
(source: Fake journalism, real consequences)