It’s been a long time since I read King Rat, but this seemed like a very subtle and well-crafted screenplay of it. Like the book Shantung Compound, this story of the prisoners of a Japanese POW camp in China uses the intense competition for scarce resources in such a place to illustrate the often harsh realities of human social and economic behavior. I can’t think of many films that make a more powerful comment on these things.
This was the episode that disappointed me most in the theatre because I thought story changes did injustice to some of the characters, especially Faramir and Treebeard. Even the title has a completely different meaning, with the two towers as allies instead of competitors for the ring. In the extended version the extra character development does a lot to repair the minor damage, though these big discrepancies still exist. Gollum is marvelous, I think the best use of computer graphics yet to bring a fictional literary character to the screen. The battle for Helm’s Deep still gets tiring, but is also better with more buildup.
We’d been informed that we all had tickets to a “surprise show” for my Dad’s birthday. As we approached the decrepit old Heritage Square amusement park with it’s vaudeville-style music hall we braced for the worst, but ended up having a pretty good time. Drinks were served, which is key for this venue. The show is a shameless nostalgic sing-along, but pulled off with unexpectedly good musicianship, acting, and improvisation. The off-the-cuff involuntary audience participation gags were pretty funny. We didn’t try the buffet dinner, but as a package it’s probably the cheapest way to have a meal and see a live show in Denver.
I rouse myself painfully early from my spot on the floor of Kim & Toby’s new house, the site of Pete’s going away party. Some breakfast and coffee at the Watercourse revive me, and I head northwest into the mountains to meet Ann at the Shoshoni Yoga Retreat where our friends Jason & Lauri are getting married. Their ceremony is heartfelt & joyful, with much good music and singing. Ann and I feel our 2 year anniversary approaching, and I think in our minds we say their vows with them, renewing our own bond.
Pete’s going away party is one of those gatherings that attracts people I haven’t seen in years. I stay up too late and reconnect with some friends, but I’ve never been good at saying goodbye. I just can’t make the realization hit me - it always comes after they’re gone.
I saw echoes of Heathers in this dark commentary on high school angst. The characters here have more depth, and they tackle hairier philosophical issues, but ultimately I found the premise of their motivations and behavoir an unbelievable and unsatisfying argument against free will. Still, there are parallel universes, a sexy censored schoolteacher, a hypocritical motivational speaker, and a six-foot-tall demonic bunny rabbit. I enjoyed these elements and the skill with which they’re woven together greatly.
Ann went back to Jackwhacker Gulch today with our friend Alan while I was at work, and, miraculously, recovered her lost engagement ring! The lighter wedding band was nowhere to be found, though.
Unbenknownst to us, both my dad and Alan were concerned about Ann going after her rings alone. I hadn’t even thought about it. I knew exactly where she was headed and when to expect her back, and it seemed much less risky than our daily mode of life on the continental divide last summer. In a sweet gesture, Alan endured hours of driving to accompany Ann on the short hike. I wonder what the risks of women going hiking on their own really are? It doesn’t seem like people would be concerned at all if I did the same thing.
Some Googling turns up many articles about women hiking solo, but no facts, studies, or statistics on the issues (although I did find a pretty interesting study of women on the Appalachian Trail). Of course a couple of horror stories show up, but there are plenty of those for men too.
Ann pegged it as soon as the opening credits came up, “Oh, it’s got a noir soundtrack.” This is film noir meets the gay 1970’s. Pedro Almodovar stays true to the genre with a few key reversals. Instead of murky black and white, he assails you with bright, garish oranges and yellows. That, and all of the key relationships are homosexual. Other than that the themes are familiar to a noir audience: love, betrayal, and revenge garnished with pedophilia and drug addiction.
Robert McNamara was involved in much of the warfare of the 20th century. This documentary is an undeniable success at conveying McNamara’s perspective on war based on his experiences. I don’t think I’ll ever be an expert on warfare, but if the subject is thrust upon me for whatever reason, I will watch this film again very carefully.
(Recommended by Pete)
This is a typical error from the software I’m working with these days, Sungard SCT’s Banner, a “collegiate administrative solution”. We’ve been living with this particular error, which pops up regularly on one of the most used forms in the system, at Colorado State University for months, with no end in sight.
This error includes a little bit of information - a number and a variable name. Googling the number turned up this:
Cause: Application design error. A trigger references a global variable that does not exist. (from lazydba.com)
If you have a client login on SCT’s web site, you can see their answer. They acknowledge the defect and promise a fix in version 7.0.0.2 (we’re on the bleeding-edge 7.0). Of course we just went live with this version and an upgrade would send everyone into upheaval. This an example of how many people grow so tolerant of software misbehavior - so often the malady causes less pain than the cure.
All recorded:
