I Can't Deal

Rant number whatever:

I am too linked with my professional life. Too much of my own sense of self-worth is tied up to my job.


What have I done in my professional life:

- Made a huge email blunder that cost my boss some face

- Got upset enough at a supervisor's mistake to take him to task, then refused to back down

- Quit a job before having anything lined up

- Was told by a new boss (I am quoting his first words to me here): "You're an angry young man."

All in all, I've got work issues.

My mom has worked in the same place for over thirty years. She instilled in me an understanding of the world in which my own value is tied up to what I do for a living. I love and admire her hard work and principles. I somehow don't match up to her great example.

Chili In the Blood

You may say there's no such thing as a genetic disposition to like spicy foods, but I would disagree. It seems to me that I was born to eat chili.

I've considered "chili-fying" a lot of products to better suit my taste.

Latest idea: Chili Mouthwash.

What I love about film

Simply put, books are better than film. Literature (however you define that term) requires audience participation to make the story come alive. The reader contributes the mental landscape necessary to understand the work in a far more holistic way than movies.

So, why all the fuss about movies?

I feel that there are two things movies do really well. It's maybe not an exhaustive list, but I think you, dear reader, will be free to add on stuff that makes the medium worthwhile for you.

1) Movies give you cheap thrill value. Do I need to explain how an explosion or car chase on film grabs the audience?

2) Films externalize internal states It is amazing to see the private internal thoughts of a character or group visually displayed. Film is great at showing the audience what goes on inside.

Strong Like Stalin!

Borat the movie!

We saw X3 a couple of weekends ago. Despite the warnings, the bad reviews and the fanboy (and girl) hatred, we forged ahead. We weren't in denial - we were still curious. They were right. It sucked. We hated it. It was as though Brett Ratner glanced at a bunch of X-Men character profiles, then threw all of the X-Men comic books in a pile and took a huge dump on them and lit them on fire. "X-Men: Taking a Crap" is more like it.

For anyone familiar at all with the comic books and the characters, this was a huge travesty. The Phoenix saga is like, the pinnacle of Marvel storylines (at least to me). Jean Grey's death, her resurrection, her rise to ultimate power and her demise showed where a commercial comic book could go. In the films, I can (grudgingly) accept some of the retconning. I can accept that Jean joins the Brotherhood, that Kitty's not into Colossus, that Rogue and Iceman are dating, and that Nightcrawler's not even mentioned. I can even handle Psylocke joining the Brotherhood (she doesn't even get to show off her psychic knife!). But the way Cyclops, Professor X, Wolverine and Jean Grey's characters were handled was abominable. Talk about a 180! Yeah, I know Cyclops kind of sucks. He's definitely not my favorite character. But he's an integral character to the Phoenix saga, not a redshirt. And Professor X! C'mon, it's not the X-Men without the Professor. Yeah, he takes his leaves of absence, here and there, running off for a Shi'ar booty call with Lilandra and all that, but get real. And Wolverine. What have they done to Wolverine? My Wolverine would never have wept like a little bitch. The only woman he *might* have wept for would have been Mariko Yashida. Finally, there's Jeanie. Can we believe that she wakes up out of her hibernation to suddenly become the badass Dark Phoenix? Where's the conflict? The turmoil? The confusion? She certainly doesn't find it in Wolverine's arms.

Anyways, the first two were actually pretty good. It's a shame that this last one left such a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully, the third Spiderman movie will be better. And although I was never into Superman, Superman Returns looks promising.

A VERY small step in the right direction

This article gives me a little hope that our administration might actually do what I called upon it to do some time ago. Specifically, it's time to use our pressure to end human slavery.

An open prayer

Lord,

This is not an easy time for the family. Still, we see the good You bring in to our lives and we are thankful. Be with us during the trials and tribulations of the coming few weeks.

Your Children,


Connie and Zack