Relief floods over me... but my anxiety doesn't subside.
I basically have to write two papers TONIGHT. Why? Because I'm a procrastinatin' SOB, that's why.
I need to revise a paper (which will be significant... or not, depending on how much I can get done) I need to finish a 2nd paper (which could be done, as is, but is rather skimpy) I need to write about my 2nd paper. I need to write a "self evaluation" (5 pages) that hits specific points the prof. spelled out. I need to read about 110 pages so I can write about them tomorrow.
That last item is probably not going to happen. We'll see.
I need to be doing something other than a blog entry. Can you feel me? hehe.
I'll admit I am mildly amused by the Tiger Woods Saga (tm). I'm rather cynical about the whole thing. He's, arguably, the greatest sports star in the world and we're surprised by his actions? Really? And one of his mistresses complains "He only used me for sex." Well, duh? What were YOU doing with him? I totally understand his wife, though. I'm sure she's hurt, but everyone involved will be fine in the end, so, we can point and laugh.
I am watching too much TV. Anything to prevent me from actually studying. Exams are next week! Ahhhh!!!! Papers, tests... I can't take it!
Favorite album of the moment: The Fame Monster by Lady GaGa. It's groovy. Favorite song of the moment: The Count of Tuscany by Dream Theater. It's epic.
Do you ever think about great things for a blog entry and then just kind of tire of the whole idea by the time you get to writing it down? Yeah...
I can't seem to stick to theme, so, I'll just write about some movies that I like. I own a lot of DVDs. A dumb amount, really. I should sell them (SELL THEM ALL!!! *CACKLES MADLY*), but, I sometimes like to just stand in front of them and wander through all the emotion and excitement that each title brings to mind. I suppose I could do the same with a picture of the DVD. That'd be a whole lot cheaper, too. This is not a "best" list, but these movies are great in their own way.
Road House - This movie is macho to the max. Patrick Swayze as Dalton, a bar "cooler" who has a reputation as one of the best. He makes big bucks making sure bars stay calm and civil. The movie is full of rednecks and brawlers, a bad guy who knows he's a bad guy (evil!) and even martial arts fights. The owner of a redneck bar brings in Dalton to help him out, but Dalton ends up battling the town's most prominent businessman who has a whole stable of bad guys and holds the town in fear. Nominated for 5 Razzie awards. So sweet.
Big Trouble in Little China - Kurt Russell plays a modern trucker unexpectedly sucked into the dangerous and mysterious world of ancient China (via San Francisco's China Town). This movie is action-oriented cheese at its best. The "hero" is really more of a fool than a savior, so there are comic elements and the supernatural aspect of the movie (ancient Chinese mysticism) keeps it from ever getting too serious. It is, however, a great adventure.
American Psycho - This movie is not for everyone but is, perhaps, Christian Bale at his best. It is dark and violent, but very sharp. It is a sort of commentary on the excess and shallowness of the American 80s from the perspective of someone who is, arguably, insane. He vents his frustrations, a result of his inability to be top-dog all the time, by murdering people, sometimes in spectacular fashion. The movie has a certain je ne sais quoi that transcends this violence to make it a work of beauty. My favorite line, "I have to return some video tapes."
I'm feeling particularly "meh" about this season. I'm excited that SOMETHING is happening... like the usual hoopla that surrounds the NCAA, but there's one thing in particular that bothers me. Michael Vick. I just think it's a shame that he was granted another contract after what he did (briefly: Michael Vick and his co-conspirators Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor killed thirteen dogs by various methods including wetting one dog down and electrocuting her, hanging, drowning and shooting others and, in at least one case, by slamming a dog’s body to the ground). This was high profile and must have been considered when Vick, now released from jail, was offered a contract with the Eagles.
Some of my friends don't care, not necessarily because they don't care about dogs, but because Vick served prison time. He's "paid his debt", so to speak. I still don't like it. One of my friends compared it to bull-fighting.
I responded:
One difference between bull fighting and dog fighting, just to nitpick: The bullfighting is MAN vs. bull. It’s still cruel and pathetic, but at least there is mortal danger to the person doing the fighting. Even so, it is still controversial, even in the countries where it is considered entertainment.
There is a philosophy that judges the moral worth of a society on how it treats its most vulnerable. One expression of this is that you can judge a society on how it treats its animals.
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.. I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man"-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)
It isn’t clear where I can draw the line. If I was Buddhist, and believed that all life is sacred, I might bend over backward to ensure ALL life is not harmed by my actions. I only see life and non-life, one life being of equal significance to another for the sheer fact that it’s alive and that, in itself, is a miracle as far as we know. It might not be easy for me to let that fly continue to buzz around my head (SMACK!), and mosquitoes are a bona-fide threat to our health (SMACK!), but it is easy for me to consider the willful causation of suffering as a manifestation of evil. I’m not sure that a fly suffers or even feels pain, but I know that if I knock it out of the air, breaking its wings, I want to step on it as quickly as possible. I did this to a bee recently. I knocked it right down to the ground where I saw that it probably wasn’t going to fly again. I thought it was better to crush it out of existence than let it suffer. Was it really suffering? I have no idea. Do I actually believe I’ll be judged for killing the bee? No. But Gandhi’s words do mean something to me. I believe my actions are the most humane, given the circumstances. Here is where Michael Vick and I diverge wildly. Vick’s actions were the opposite of humane. He, willingly and knowingly, inflicted terrible pain and suffering on another living creature, one we all know is also capable of experiencing pain and suffering. He didn’t step on a fly, he tortured dogs. Tortured them. To death. At times with his own hands. He lacked, completely, that quality which we think sets us apart from the other beasts of the animal kingdom (humaneness). I actually wish I had not read the accounts of what he did. He is an abomination.
Now, the NFL is a business about making money, and I think there are certainly enough people out there who could care less about how dogs are treated and just want to see good football. I understand why Vick got a job. I just think it’s pathetic and, because I am aware of the circumstances and how I feel about them, I will make sure that none of my money goes towards Michael Vick or the Eagles. I’m conflicted because I want to also apply that to the NFL. I’m sure there are plenty of thugs to go around in a lot of leagues, but I know this one, and I definitely do not forgive Michael Vick for what he did. The NFL is tarnished in my mind. Lucky for me, there’s no hope for the Lions.
I suppose I could write about something noble here, and I really do think this applies across a wide array of fields (I'm just not going to talk about them), but I find that I'm one of those people that just has to finish a movie.
Have you ever caught yourself watching a movie on TV (with commercials, even) that you OWN? I just did that, today, with The Matrix. I've seen the movie enough times to know that the lobby fight scene was edited for television. It was when I came to that realization that I turned the TV off! hehe. I'm supposed to be studying, anyway. I took a break and got sucked in.
It just drives me some sort of crazy, though, to not finish it. I've never walked out of a movie... I can't do it. Well, I've never walked out because of the movie, itself. I've left because I was falling asleep so I had no idea what was going on in the movie, anyway. Now, I worked at a movie theater for 10 years, so, I've seen a lot of freakin' movies. The most excruciating was Cats and Dogs. We'd run films the night before their release for employees and, if I hadn't been in charge, I probably would have left this one. It was definitely for a younger audience and lacked that quality of Pixar (and sometimes Disney) films that also appeals to older audiences. Nope... terrible... but I stayed until the bitter end.
I guess I wouldn't think this is remarkable, but I do it with movies I've already seen... movies I see on TV that I own...
When I was much younger, I remember my parents making me turn off the TV to go to dinner. If I remember correctly, I was watching an episode of Silver Spoons that, for some reason, involved one of the characters heads being in the refrigerator. It sounds morbid, but I can't remember if it was a dream, practical joke, or what the plot device in the show was... I just remember being unbelievably pissed that I wasn't allowed to know how the story ended. What happened!?!?!?
This is not a "best" list, but these movies are great in their own way.
