Ponyo

It's strange that my most anticipated films of the year have both been rated G. Oh well. Miyazaki is my hero.

Jewish Hamster Vs. Mobster Hamsters

Another strange request, and a personal fave... Hence this post. Jewish Hamster (obviously) inspired by Woody Allen.

Morning Musings

Dia: "Good Morning"
Mo: "How'd you sleep?"
Dia: "Good. I dreamed about nothing but food all night!"
Mo: "Oh, no. Are you really hungry?"
Dia: "No! I just have no imagination!"

This exchange made me smile all day. I don't know why.

I have a house (apartment) guest all weekend. Going to enjoy New York City for a change and live vicariously through the eyes of a stranger to my home.

Page 1 of 2

"---. I will soon be gone. I hate this fucking
---e and go through makes me want drown
-ore to come. I just want to leave this place.
----from. All of you and this sick deranged
--ing into without my consent. People dont
--I can't stand this place anymore. I thought"

I found half of a letter to someone today, on the sidewalk outside of work.

I'm pretty sure it was intended to be a suicide note. Whether or not it made it to it's intended recipient is a mystery. There was an e-mail address on the bottom of the half I found that I immediately contacted with my sympathies. What else can you do, right?

Here's hoping the other half wound up in the garbage, along with the intent.

The Incident

I had to write a recap for my job, so I'm not doing it again... also, it's not very good, so don't read it.

What did I think?

Amazing, duh? That should be a given right? Surprisingly I have heard more negative feedback about this finale than any other. I get it, but I don't. This season has been a bit jarring, and the finale was no different. But if you don't trust the creators of the show at this point, then when can you?

Technically only seven months until LOST season 6 in 2010. That's still a lot of time. Especially if you're a single, loser like me.

I promise this is the last I speak of this on here for a while. But if you want to theorize... I am always down.

Fun stuff to pass the time:

Dharma Labels: For you're season 6 premiere party.

Vintage Dharma ads: Because inside jokes are funny.

Master of faces

I saw this on someone's facebook, then spent the better part of an hour looking for a higher resolution.



Yes, I am a nerd. But, you know what? I have never been more happy to be one. See ya'll wednesday.

Star Trek

J.J. Abrams directed one of my favorite feature-length action/adventure dramas of all time: the Pilot episode of Lost. Aside from that, there's an awful lot of credit being given to the man, in my opinion, who has been attached, only in name, to a lot of great things. He is not responsible for any of the creative aspect of Lost, nor is he liable for Cloverfield, really. I address these things not because I dislike him, but only because I want it to be clear I did not go to see Star Trek as a J.J. fan, despite what many have assumed. I like Star Trek. I am not a Trekker (proper) but I have seen several of the films, in theaters, watched a good portion of the latter series, and have even been to the Star Trek: Experience in Las Vegas. I consider myself a middle ground. Though in anticipation of the new film, and after seeing it I hardly consider myself a target audience member.

Appealing to the masses is always a gamble. But still an interesting exercise in convincing people of what they want. I haven't heard more people excited to see a movie that is representative of (forgive me for saying it this way) Nerd Culture since Watchmen, and before that Lord Of The Rings. People have been talking about it non-stop for the last few months, as if they have, ever in their lives, considered Star Trek a series worthy investing time in. The iconography speaks for itself, so, I suppose, it has that going for it: Sure, everyone knows Kirk, Spock, and the phrase "live long and prosper," but it suggested to me, a sort of a leap of faith to expect anyone to care. But, somehow they did. "Finally, a Star Trek for everyone!" applaud several critics. I guess they are right. I guess that's where Star Trek succeeds beyond Watchmen in making it's own identity in the face of expectations.

But I didn't realize it until I was browsing past trailers for Star Trek movies, how smart Star Trek actually is. It's a really really clever series, that tackles an impressive amount of scientific theory, and philosophy and makes it entertaining. The movies, albeit hit or miss, were always attempting to procure a feeling of worthiness of the stories being told on the big screen. There were some duds, and lots of camp, but to me never was there was a problem with it's exclusivity.

This movie? It was good. It was probably the best Star Trek, but only in execution of a promise, not in story or grandeur. It was kinetic, and loud, and vivid, and evenly paced, and the cast was attractive, and it was funny, and it made all the right subtle acknowledgments to the classic series (red shirts) and most importantly it made me excited for a sequel... but... something was missing.

I can't say what, but I feel it has to do with it's pandering. As a middle of the road Star Trek fan I felt somewhat above the shallow revenge plot, and although they did approach some iconography with subtlety I felt somewhat belittled by some of the constant nudging: "all I have left are my BONES" and being sure we knew that Chekov had a funny accent, even as a youth. As an origin story it was fleeting, and as a new adventure it was episodic at best. There's a lot that can be achieved in a origin story. Take time, establish your characters, even the ones that already exist, as real complex beings beyond their catch phrases... This should not have been a problem considering the plot of this movie.

I feel bad complaining at all. This movie wasn't really for me, but maybe that's the problem. And it really was almost perfect, but I can't help but feel like something substantial was lost in the compromise. Here's hoping the sequel will knock it out of the park now that it's established that these characters can be loved and adored by a new generation.