Home Run

Michael Moore has done it again. His latest movie lives up to its hype. Movies with this much press run the risk of being highly disappointing. There was no room for disappointment with regards to the film itself. (There was room for some of the people in it.) Instead there was awe, disgust, laughter, reflection, shock, tears...

Fahrenheit 9/11
Editing is definitely mightier than the pen and sword combined. There were some points that I can argue with, but that is my personal opinion. Anything that makes people think and want to take action has succeeded, even if that action is as simple as dialogue.

One of the arguments I've heard is about letting kids (pre-teens/teens) watch this film even in the company of their parents. The fact that children are growing up killing/blowing people up in video games screams hypocrisy people. Wake up already. Pay attention to some of the young soldiers interviewed. I subscribe to the school of thought that we are becoming desentisized and the younger generations much more quickly.

One item that really bothered me was the military recruitment focused on predominantly minority kids. I never really thought of why people signed up for the military, I always assumed it was a choice. (Yes, they had a choice, but a limited one given the circumstances, the outlook.) And I say this, because I wanted to join the military right out of high school. I seeked out the necessary people and got the information I needed. My then desire to join was a love of country. A sense of duty. My father and an ex talked me out of it. My father did not think I could cut it. My ex thought I'd get kicked out since I don't take kindly to orders. Fastforward to now, I am a computer geek for goodness sake safe in my cubicle wondering what my life would have been like if...

Conclusion: watch it there is something for everyone.

Doggie Yoga

It exists. Yoga for dogs. Hey, I agree dogs are people too. But this is a bit much for me to accept.

Trust

I have issues with trust. I am the first one to admit it. It is funny though, because I, by default, trust all the drivers around me on the highway...strangers. I trust them to follow the agreed upon laws set forth for everyone's protection.

Today I had to trust someone would not drop me during a trust task. The first exercise was hard for me. All I had to do was drop back a few inches. That was it! I did it but with much dread. I returned the favor and it was on to the next task.

Task #2 required my small team to climb up a tree, approximately 40 to 50 feet off the ground. The first ten feet were on a flimsy ladder, which your ladder partners would hold to minimize wobble. The remaining distance you had to rock climb using some square and cylindrical pegs. Once you got the the twelve inch ledge, you had to stand on it and turn around, jump off the ledge to hit a ball a few feet above your head and float down. (There was a harness on you.) I secured my teammates ropes, acted as their ladder partner or spotter, should they fall. When it came time to me, we had run out of time. I was so disappointed because due to my passive nature on this task, I did not get a chance to float.

Task #3 required a team of 50 to get people over a 15 or 20 foot wall. No Ropes. Just people pushing you up and people pulling you up. Should there be a fall backward, no net. You had 42 people spotting you with their hands. I f*ucked up. I was wearing a fleece jacket which was too smooth for the people pulling up to get a firm hold of me. The task overseer mentioned that you should consider getting into a harness if you had fleece on. I didn't do it. Then it got surreal. People on top were yelling, people on the bottom were yelling, my spotters were yelling, I was yelling. My words: "Let go, I want to fall to the ground. Let me go." Turns out those yells were all in my head nothing was coming out of my mouth.
Psychologically I checked out. People were talking and I could see right through them. I was not ignoring them. My mind was in overdrive analyzing: what went wrong?
Then they started to egg me on for a second try. A f*cking second try! After that drama, are you kidding me!
Next thing I know I had a harness on (which I did not put on), I was walking towards the wall and 50 people were yelling: "You can do it!" "Come on!" "We got this."
My movements were robotic, do this first, do that second. Next thing I knew I had made it.
My pride was wounded, it took me two tries! Everyone pointed out my courage. After a full day in the redwoods, some people said my going back was the highlight of the day...the courage. I'll have to take those words at face value, because my pride is still wounded and I am kicking myself for the first unsuccessful attempt.

Teambuilding exercises. I had to trust those people. The first try sucked. I needed them and they helped me pull through the second attempt. If that is not trust, I don't know what is.

Heading home, my pride was still wounded. This did not last long. I volunteer answering phones at a local crisis line. The following calls put my little mishap in perspective:
1) Family member diagnosed with Alzheimer's
2) Husband terminal with cancer
3) Mother wants to commit suicide
4) "I need a gun to kill myself"

Catching Up #2

Another round of foreign films.

God is Great, I'm Not
Audrey Tautou, star of Amelie, need I say more? She is looking for "that something" in various religions. All the while there is a relationship building with a male 12 years her senior. This movie is by no means near Amelie standards, but it was enjoyable.

Having taken up the spirituality theme this year, myself, I could identify with the searching. I've read the Buddhism books. More than a decade ago I had some interest in Judaism.
Years ago I also dated someone who was twelve years my senior. Don't ask. ahhhaha I notice that in other countries age is really nothing but a number. Today I look back and ask myself, what the hell was I thinking? I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world, but seriously what was I thinking!

Nine Queens
This Argentinian film was great. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bait and switch. Kept me guessing until the end. This movie is about con artists and some of the stuff they pull. There was a scene where the older con artist tells the younger one to look around him, that cons are everywhere. It was a little nervewracking to think I could be the victim of a con/pickpocket. I'm doing good though, I don't fall for the junk mail that claims I have won a prize and need to call a long distance number to claim my winnings. ;)

Happy Times
Chinese films are like Iranian films in that they can deliver great entertainment with no sex or violence. And, if there is sex or violence it's there for the storyline not just the bottom dollar selling point.
This film was about a man who desperately wants to marry and needs to raise the money for the wedding. The wedding falls through, but he develops a relationship with a young blind girl, a father-daughter relationship. The movie's clean and wholesome approach was refreshing.

Wonderland
Slice of life movies can be so depressing. I go to the movies to escape, to laugh, to cry, to enjoy. This English movie was just depressing. About people who don't have a handle on their life. I don't need to see that, I'm living it for goodness sake. It worked in the sense that I realized 'the grass is definitely greener on my side.'

Catching Up #1

Although I've been busy I still manage to watch some movies in my downtime. I've noticed I am not making it to the movies as much as before, because before I know it they are already out on DVD.

Raising Helen
Kate Hudson, the new Meg Ryan, in that girl-next-door, too cute to be real way. After her sister passes away, she gets custody of her sister's three kids. This was such a cute film.
I can't imagine having my life changed so dramatically. One day single with a career, the next day a mother of three and having to prioritize the children above that career you've worked for. (Yes, almost the same premise as Ben Affleck's Jersey Girl which I also liked.)

I have this thing with planning, probably because of the false sense of absolute control derived from it. This is one of the reasons I opted out of being a godparent recently.

The Company
I've only been to two ballet 'shows' in my life. Both times I have enjoyed them very much. Seeing ballet dancers up close finally allowed me to classify them as athletes instead of just dancers. They might be smaller, but those are the most fragile-looking well-defined bodies I've seen.
The Company is a movie that uses real ballet dancers as actors, not vice versa. This movie meant to capture the real life of these dedicated athletes and it did. It's not a glamorous one and a whole lot of work.
For a storyline approach, I recommend Center Stage. Ballet was the backdrop instead of the story in this one.

Beyond Borders
Traveling to a war-torn country to find a loved one is a hard sell for me. Watching Angelina Jolie go looking for the man she loves makes it even harder. I can't take her seriously in such a role, blame Lara Croft.
Now another movie with the same premise, different country really moved me. I really liked Harrison's Flowers. Maybe because I do see Andie McDowell as a more serious actress? Hmmm.

There was a scene in the Jolie movie that made me question what would I do? No, not about looking for someone with all odds against me. What would I do if I heard the click of a landmine? Would I stand there as long as I could wishing for a miracle? Or would I accept my fate and step off?

Obscene

There are certain stores I don't bother to go into. I just know they are expensive so what's the point? A friend of mine said, "Let's go in there, I want to see if the new style is in yet." Okay, sure.

She went to look for her potential purchase.

I saw a "sale" table, so I head on over. A purse caught my attention. I couldn't help it, it was a very bright green. Pretty ugly. I flipped the price tag. That damn purse's cost was equivalent to one month's rent for my apartment.

We walked out of the store and five steps away a homeless person was asking for food.

Mom's sh*tlist

In the recent past...

Monday: Message #1
"Hi darling daughter, how are you? We're all okay. Just calling to say hi."

Tuesday: Message #2
"Hi sweetie, how are you? We're all okay. Talk to you later."

Wednesday: Message #3
"Hi dear, I've left you a few messages. You must be busy. Don't work too hard."

Thursday: Message #4
"Hi. We're fine. Dad is fine. Brother is fine. Bye."

Friday: Message #5
"Call (xxx) xxx - xxxx. This is your mother."

Saturday: My turn #1
"Hi, this is your long lost daughter from California, sorry. Been so busy. No time. Where are you?"

Sunday: My turn #2
Me: "Hi mom, finally."
Mom: "Oh hi sweetie, this is not a good time."
Me: "But, " (interrupted)
Mom: "Sorry, gotta go now. We're going out. Okay. Bye."
Click

Observations

There is this woman who claims to have multiple sclerosis. I take different trains, on different days and times and I always see her. She begs for money to pay for her doctors appointments. The first time I was sad to see it, but did not have money to give her. The second time I thought something was fishy about the situation. The third time I watched people give her money and get conned. Now I can effortlessly ignore her.

Women have boarded the train and sat right across from me. It is a 45 minute ride to my destination. In that time, I see plain-looking women transform themselves into beautiful women or above average looking women. It is very difficult not to sneak peeks at the work in-progress. "Putting on your face" is definitely an art. I know what they really look like along with every one else who took the time to notice. It seems deceptive and makes me appreciate the natural beauties out there.

Someone once sat next to me on my way home late one night. He started talking to himself. Then he started to snort something that looked white. (I only saw it out of the corner of my eye.) That was my cue to get the hell out of there.

I saw a very well dressed couple board the train. The guy was drunk out of his mind and bleeding from the top of his head. The girl was crying and muttering, "How could you do this to me?" Blood was making its way to his tuxedo. He was six feet tall, she was five feet tall at most. I felt sorry for her. How was she going to get him down the stairs, to the parking lot and the car? He needed help to stand up let alone walk.

People that don't want to move their bag/briefcase/suitcase from the seat next to them piss me off. Seriously, did their mom not teach them any better?

I have seen a guy walk up to another guy, punch him in the face, walk away and take a seat at the other end of the train. The victim looked shocked because he did not know the aggressor.

I have heard a seventeen year old tell another seventeen year old, "Your problem is you don't know anything about women." When the two kids got off at their destination me and everyone within earshot started laughing. One guy in his thirties said, "Yeah, I used to be young and stupid. Thought I knew everything." Every male nodded his head in laughter and unanimous agreement.

Oh My

I'm not doing a very good job with my blogging. The intentions are there, the lack of time is the problem.