X-Men III The Last Stand

Went to see the new X-Men movie yesterday, and I have to say I was quite pleased. Some of the stuff was a little over the top in the way it was done, but I would say that was more due to the different director and his approach to things. I could see that the whole story was what Bryan Singer might have wanted because it captured the tone of the previous two movies. But from the beginning, even the opening credits, the restraint demonstrated by Mr. Singer was missing. But that aside, this movie was definitely very enjoyable.

The basic premise is that someone has come up with a "cure" for the mutant gene. Some would force the mutant population to take this cure; others don't see that being a mutant is anything to be "fixed", as it's a part of their identity. As with most things, there's potentially at least a third side to the debate that's somewhere in the middle. Perhaps those with mutant powers that are a danger to others and themselves might want a chance to live in normalcy.

What is the value of a human life? When does any person become acceptable? Should a child with some kind of defect be excluded from even the chance of life? Yet, this is exactly where we're going as a society. We now routinely prescribe abortion in any case where a child might have Down's Syndrome. Other diseases and syndromes are being targeted. Brave New World and Gattaca are getting closer and closer to reality every day. In our pursuit of perfection, are we losing all sense of our humanity?

I'm Amazed at Technology

What a great story.

As an aside: How do you describe a red ball to someone who has been blind from birth?

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago today, I posted my first blog entry. The wailing and gnashing of teeth became quite evident. So, Happy Anniversary to me. Thanks all 3 of you who read this.

At least McPhee didn't win American Idol. Go Taylor!

And, next Tuesday, I'm scheduled to get DSL... finally! I'm stoked. I'll finally get to see all these short films and other public media which heretofore I've not been able partake of.

I Love Movies

Despite the awfulness that was Hostel (never to be referred to again after this post), I've seen some other movies/shows that I've enjoyed a tad more.

For instance, Monarch of the Glen (Season 2 Disc 1, 2001) continues the excellence in story telling begun in Season 1. I just love this show, though upon occasion it's a little hard to understand the dialog due to quickly-spoken, heavily-accented speech. Why oh why aren't there subtitles? Usually, though, it's not a problem. The castle belonging to Archie (the main character) and his family is gorgeous. I wouldn't mind having something like this for the cat to roam around in, and perhaps he'd let me have a room or two. The indoor swimming pool would have to go, though. "Why does the indoor swimming pool have to go?" I can hear you asking. The indoor swimming pool is in reality a flooded basement. Not too cool (being in Scotland, perhaps it is very cool). In Texas, you don't have to worry about flooded basements or any bicycles perhaps contained therein.

But this is a TV show, not a movie; I still like it. Watching over three hours in a row requires more commitment than most movies.

I then watched Les Quatre Cents Coups (USA Title: The 400 Blows, 1959) is director François Truffaut's first feature film, and it reminds me why I love movies so much. Listening to some of the back story surrounding the film and its origins helped me to understand more concretely what I felt while watching. The movie follows the trials and tribulations of a 13-year-old boy in school and his family, from a mother who pretty much hates him to school teachers who have no problem knocking a kid upside his head.

And I remembered how hard life is for a child when everyone is against him.

How much do we ignore kids who don't fit the mold? What if they're not smart or not pretty or just plain annoying? Do we just medicate them into submission? Or do we somehow find a way to treat each of them as a real person, finding a way to reach them at their level where they can be inspired? Don't ask me how to do this because I really don't know, but I do know we have to do better than our current efforts.

Now that the smoke has cleared from that little pipe dream, I loved this movie. Honest would be the best term for it, which I think would warm Mr. Truffaut's heart. It's not pretty (at least not story-wise), but it rings of truth. Maybe not the Truth, but the truth of His love and how it might change someone when demonstrated.

Aspect Aléatoire

So many things have gone on since my last post that I don't know where to begin or end.

• food poisoning last week (actually, May 4); hopefully, I'll continue the reduced eating forced upon me. So far, I've done fairly well, though I had a bit too much sugar on Saturday at a friend's house (and only about 10% of what I would normally have), and it made me so sick the next day that I didn't go to church on Sunday. I just wanted to get rid of that poisonous mass any way I could. Blech!


• Fists in the Pocket (1965) excellent Italian movie, first by Marco Bellocchio. Dark, twisted, etc.


• Hostel (2006) One of the most corrupt movies I've ever seen. I cannot dis-recommend it enough.


• Heartbreaking news (sometimes these stories just grip me horribly): a 16-year old high school student (popular football player) was bitten by a rabid bat, but he didn't realize he'd been bitten. He developed rabies and died last Friday. Awful awful awful.


• Other heartbreaking news: A young man (mid 20's?) left his twins (1-yr olds) in the bathtub to be taken care of by his 6-yr old daughter; one of the twins died. Terrible that one of the babies died; also terrible that the 6-yr old is aware enough that she will forever believe it's her fault. BTW, the mother is in prison, and the dad will more than likely go to prison, too.


• (Tainted) Good news: for about a week and a half, I had totally broken the "I am totally worthless" mantra I've lived by most of my life. I didn't think I was a great person, but I was slightly beyond scum of the earth. And when I fell from that thought (of not being too horrible), I was totally shocked how much like having a 2x4 shoved through the core of my body this felt, though I really don't have a point of reference there to actually having had a 2x4 shoved through my body. It's my own fault; it always is. How easily I can slip into old thought patterns. It could possibly be months to recover from this, if at all.

Wow, I'm shocked!!!!!

Shocked, I tell you. I can't believe Chris go voted off tonight. My jaw dropped and I stopped stuffing my face (it was salad, so not that bad as far as stuffing goes). It took a second to sink in. I mean, this was Chris!!!!! He's supposed to win this season's American Idol. Chris showed more talent than the rest of them all along, imnsho. I don't know what happened.

The one who should have gone home tonight was Katherine; she consistently was not great. If she splits the two remaining and comes in second, that'll just be wrong. Clearly, she has the least talent of the four.

Elliot certainly has stepped up the past couple of weeks. And I've liked Taylor all along but figured he was a long shot. Yet, week after week he has kept doing his thing, and America has been voting for him. Since Chris is now gone, the choice should be between these two.