My Bloody Valentine in 3-D

Last weekend we went with some friends to see My Bloody Valentine in 3-D. It was by far the worst movie I have seen in the last decade. There was senseless blood, gore, and violence. Now, just so some of you do not claim I am a Debbie Downer let me say that there were a couple of good actors in the movie. But there was no chance in hell they could save it. This movie is a perfect example of B rate. We spent $21.50 to see crap. Taking that 20 bucks, striking a match and lighting it would have been more enjoyment than the 90+ minutes of make me barf video I subjected myself too.

The 3-D effect was pretty cool. And hey, I got a pair of 3-D glasses to bring home and throw in the trash.

Wrongly Convicted

On the front page of today's Omaha World Herald (my local paper) was the story of six individuals that were convicted of crimes they did not commit. This group known as the "Beatrice 6" were convicted by DNA evidence in 1989. The evidence was obtained from a crime lab in Oklahoma that is now known for putting out bad test results.

Joseph White, JoAnn Taylor and James Dean were finally released from prison last October. They were in prison for 19 years. Can you imagine serving 19 years in prison for a crime you KNOW you did not commit? That absolutely, positively, sucks. The other three people involved served lesser sentences of five years each. They were released in 1994.

These types of situations cause me to lean towards being anti-death penalty. How many people are sitting in prison that have been wrongfully convicted? One website claims, "The United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, admits that statistically 8% to 12% of all state prisoners are either actually or factually innocent." [http://www.truthandjusticedenied.com/Wrongful_Conviction_Statist.html]

I can't vouch for this website or it's statistics, but what if 8-12% of people in prison are wrongfully convicted?

According to one government website as of December 2007 "2,293,157 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails". That would mean that somewhere between 183,453 and 275,179 people currently in prison are there wrongfully. That is horrible. So much for justice. [http://www.ojp.gov/bjs/prisons.htm]

I have always had this idea that our justice system is wrought with inefficiencies and biases. You know, if you have the money you can get away with murder.

What do we do about it? What is there to do about it?

Step one: Outlaw executions except in some extreme situations.
Step two: Reach out to those that are released from prison after being wrongfully convicted. Any one out there know how to get involved with something like this?
Step three: Get a law degree and fight the injustices in our judicial system.

Any other ideas?

Hope and Obama

As I listened to (and later read) Obama's inaugural speech I thought about how good it feels to hope for something better. Hope. Faith.

Hope and faith can push people towards living better lives. Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, and countless other people have believed in ideas and ideals that have allowed them to become successful. Obama has already proven that he can instill this frame of mind in us average Americans. Will it last? Like Austin said in one of his comments on here yesterday, I do not know. But there is one thing that I know. All the great people today and in history believed that they could change the world around them. Every influential individual that has stained the history books believed in what they were doing, what they were working on, what their mission was/is.

The more I think about and digest Obama's speech the more I believe that Obama is one of those great people from history. Who was the last leader in American politics to inspire people the way that Obama inspires people? MLK Jr.? JFK? It has been a very long time in American history. In fact, Obama is the first leader in my lifetime that has been of that caliber. Obama believes that we are capable of doing great things if we are willing to take the steps necessary to accomplish our dreams, our passions, our goals.

We need more Obamas.

Debbie Downer

Since my boy Franklin said I'm acting a lot like Debbie Downer I thought I would post something positive today.

The one thing I am looking forward too in the Obama Administration is his apparent ability to bring people together. Minorities and whites, rich and poor, foreign relations, etc.

Chris Matthews from MSNBC (yes, I know he is biased) had Dave Winfield (the Yankees baseball player) and another black guy on his program last night. They were talking about Obama and the things he was going to bring to the table. The one thing that really struck me about the conversation was the hope that black people are feeling right now. One comment I heard was that Obama was a fulfillment of MKL Jr.'s dream. That's nice to hear. If black people feel included now that we have a bi-racial president then that is good for all of us.

One of the guys on Matthews show said something like this, "Obama has the personality. He has the on the court and off the court personality, sportsmanship, respect, to be a good leader." I think it is a fairly accurate assessment. Sometimes the best leaders are not the ones with the long resumes. Sometimes great leaders simply inspire people to become better servants or in this case better citizens.

So there Franklin, does that help elevate me from the status of Debbie Downer?

Life Is Going To Be Great

Tomorrow at this time the U.S. will have a new president. Our world will change. In the blink of an eye there will be peace and harmony surrounding America. HA!

First off let me just say that I am so thankful that Bush is out of power. His Administration did very little to promote capitalism among other things. And capitalism is all I really care about. Screw health care, screw handouts, just give me an environment where I can either get a job or start a company. Bush did very little to help with any of the issues average Americans face.

However, my expectations for Obama are low. Single digits low. I think he has the ability to mend fences and get people to work together, but I wonder what he is going to do to promote free market capitalism in an era where capitalism is a bad word. We live in a society where the media is constantly telling us that businesses are to blame for all of the ills that we face except foreign policy. When it comes to foreign policy the media quickly blames Bush and his errors. Rightly so perhaps, but there is always more to the story than the media leads on.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next year. How bad will it be next year?

I think life is going to be great. Paradise on Earth. (sarcasm in case you were wondering.)

All hail the chief!

Winter Downer

-15F yesterday morning. The only positive thing I can think to say about that is at least it gives me a reason to stay inside and be lazy. The problem with my positive spin is I had to go in to work. I guess God has a funny way of letting us know that he's created one helluva ecosystem. I really don't think people were meant to live in these conditions.

It was about 4F on my drive to work this morning. Snow falling. Lovely. Not. It's as positive as I can be.

If I didn't have things to do and I could just curl up in a blanket in front of the fire place then maybe winter would be worth it, but it is one gigantic hassle. Then again, the more I think about it, life is just kind of like that. A hassle.

I woke up in a rotten mood today. Thanks for letting me vent.

How's your day going?

Gran Torino

It has been awhile since I have watched a movie that hit me from so many different angles.

There is the father-son angle. The bias (racist) angle. The husband-wife angle. The neighbor angle. The old dog-new tricks angle. And more.

This movie is the best movie I have seen in a very long time. I googled movies of 2007 and 2008 and of all the ones I have seen, Gran Torino is my favorite. The movies that I tend to like are the ones that I can apply elements of it to my life. If you want a review from the "pros" just google "Gran Torino Reviews" and you'll find what you're looking for.

But here's my quick amateur one: This movie inspires me to keep on learning. To embrace change regardless of my personal biases, opinions and preferences. To look for the good in people regardless of race, ethnicity, or whatever. To stand firm on the things I believe in and the ideals that I know to be true. To reach out to people that may be less experienced or "disadvantaged". To sacrifice for other people. Gran Torino is an inspirational work of art.

Patrick Swayze

Patrick Swayze has cancer.

You probably heard this story a year ago, but Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer. Normally I wouldn't comment on a celebrity illness, but this story reminds me of a family friend who died from the disease a couple years ago.

Besides Patrick Swayze seems like one of the good guys. Wolverines!!!

He was admitted to the hospital over the last day or two with symptoms of pneumonia. I like Patrick Swayze and yes I know it is borderline idiot to actually give a crap about a celebrity, but I hope he pulls out of this.


Since I'm posting on celebrities, today, I found this topic to be funny and stupid; funnystupid.

Angelina Jolie Steams as Anne Hathaway Wins 'Best Actress' Angelina Jolie is apparently miffed that Anne Hathaway beat her for the Best Actress award at the VH1 Critics Choice Awards.

A couple of quick comments on this:
1. I have little if any respect for Angelina Jolie's acting abilities. In most of her movies I think she flat out sucks.

2. Is it wrong of me to feel good when someone loses? I mean, Jolie's loss makes me feel a little bit better about life. This is a funnystupid awards ceremony that has no bearing on the cosmos, especially my cosmos, and here I am feeling good about a Jolie defeat. Maybe it's just like sports. The team I despise lost. Ok, we'll go with that.

3. Is it just me or does there seem to be an awards ceremony for just about everything celebrity? I mean how many funnystupid award ceremonies do these people need in order to feel good about themselves?

4. I think the thing that sort of irritates me the most about this is that I am getting extremely tired and bored with television and online "news" outlets. But hey, I'm keeping the cycle going! It gave me something to blog about today!

5. Maybe I should've blogged about something more relevant to our world. Like the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Or Russia turning off the gas in Europe. Or Putin's power struggle in Russia. Or Chavez and Raul Castro. Or Obama's transition to power. I guess the election burned me out on current events.

That's all for today! Have a good one!

Network Television Shows

Have you ever started watching a television show that was canceled without giving it a proper ending?

I hate that. The Networks have this habit of canceling a show based on poor ratings. This just seems asinine to me. How do the Networks expect to keep loyal viewers if they cancel shows mid-season or just kill a show at the end of a season with no finale? It is like watching a movie that just ends mid conversation or mid scene. Stupid.

NBC canceled Scrubs last season without giving it a finale. ABC picked it up this year for one season so at least the viewers can get some closure. One of the creators of the show gave an interview where he hits on this point. Exclusive: 'Scrubs' boss (sorta) spoils series finale!

I'm not a huge Scrubs fan, but this guy hits the nail on the head. He says, "One of the problems with network TV is that they don't reward loyalty. I've gotten to the point now that if I find a new show I like, I'll check its ratings before committing. If it's not a gangbuster hit, I'm very careful about getting invested. I enjoy 'Life'. I think Damien Lewis is an interesting actor. But I knew it wasn't doing well, so [I stopped watching], because I know that even if a show is perceived as having merit, it's going to disappear. And it's so dumb."

The Networks are killing themselves by arbitrarily killing shows. Finales give the viewers closure. If the Networks continue down this path then people will just start watching more cable programming.

Is Technology Killing Art?

I read a post on Patrick Mead's blog called “I Bet It’s Pretty in Color” and he asks the question, "Could it be that the Information Age is strangling art?"

He says, "I often wonder how many beautiful symphonies, how many classics of literature, and how many stupendous works of art will never be created because people contented themselves with watching TV or surfing the net rather than allowing their own imaginations free reign."

My first reaction is to agree with him. We most certainly live in a distracted society. Our kids are in countless activities, television, internet, cell phones that give us instant access to just about everything, etc.

After further reflection I think people have always been distracted (and maybe lazy). Most people (if not all) have failed to live up to their potential. Before television, radio, the internet, and other technology, people played games, they sat in bars (or pubs), worked 12 hours a day (or longer), etc. How much time is wasted on fruitless pursuits that we believe will make us happy or give us meaning to our lives?

I am of the opinion that humans have been the same since we morphed out of an ape like creature. We may feel a little more sophisticated than the family that walked out of the cave or forest ten thousand years ago, but I think we are all similar with regards to how we live our lives. Sure, our personalities are somewhat different, but based upon recorded history human behavior has not changed much.

My wife and I like to collect small original pieces of art. We are unable to afford the larger paintings, but there are plenty of "starving artists" out there that produce smaller, affordable pieces. It is one hobby that we have. This hobby has taught me that there are countless people in this world that are able to detach themselves from technology long enough to make a unique work of art; a work that speaks volumes to the artist and volumes to me. The most interesting aspect of this is that two people can look at an artists painting and walk away with completely different stories. The imaginations of men and women are alive and well.

Taking Down a Post

Yesterday I pulled down a post titled "Dear Dad" and a couple of you asked me why.

The letter was basically about my feelings of being rejected by my dad. I have done a little bit of reading and observation on the roles that fathers play in the lives of their children and that role has a tendency to set a tone in the child that lasts an entire life time. It is evident to me that this idea of rejection, whether real or imagined, still bothers me. I wish it was something I could overcome, but at this point in time it seems like I will just have to wait it out. I can only hope that one day I will not have to deal with these thoughts and feelings. They are horrible distractions that I do not wish to deal with anymore.

I took the post offline mainly because I did not want my dad to see it up there and then further cause damage to our relationship. Sometimes it is best to just keep things quiet until we can gather all of the facts and make rational decisions.

Have any of you had feelings of rejection by your parents? If so, have you been able to move forward in a way that you never think about that rejection? How have you dealt with your feelings of rejection?

Seven Pounds

Some of the early reviews for this movie made it out to be a poorly written screenplay and horrible acting by some well know actors. One reviewer actually said that they hoped that this movie did not destroy Will Smith’s career.

Well, after seeing this flick, I can safely report that all of the acting was well done. In my opinion all of the actors made their characters believable participants in the plot line. Will Smith plays a man that has been crushed by guilt. Devastated by guilt. Destroyed by it. The movie is about how he deals with that guilt.

The Christmas/New Years/Holiday season normally sees movies that inspire us or give us hope (as Austin pointed out in a comment on my last post). At first it seems questionable that the producers of this movie would push to release it during the holiday season. This movie did not give me hope. It did not inspire me. It forced me to look face to face at my own feelings of guilt (anger and disappointments). At first it bothered me because anytime I look inside myself and analyze how I am thinking and feeling and acting it makes me wonder if I am doing the "right" things in my life. From this standpoint I think the movie is relevant for this time of year. New Year is a new beginning. A time for us to think about our past, deal with our past, and try to move forward in spite of the bad (or good) things that have happened to us.

My friend Christine mentioned that she heard the movie was boring. The first twenty minutes or so were a little boring. It seemed to take a while to set the stage and tone. But after that it was far from boring. It was flat out depressing. It was sad. It was sad to watch a man, burdened with guilt, deal with that guilt in a way that I can not truly comprehend. Maybe it is my inability to process the final act that causes me so much trouble.

I woke up this morning thinking about this movie. As I lay in bed I thought, "What is the meaning of this movie? What do the main character's decisions mean? What does his final decision mean? How does it all fit together with something that I can apply to my own life or to the lives of those around me?" I do not have the answer. For the life of me I do not know what to take from this movie. That disturbs me a little bit.

Franklin – Feel free to post your thoughts about this movie.

If anyone else has seen this please share your thoughts.