Christopher Nolan Sucks

I just watched "Inception." I had high hopes, as I had heard great things from a number of people. I was quite disappointed. In fact, I had a really bad reaction to the movie. I kept thinking I didn't get it, that I must've missed something. I thought I had paid attention from start to finish, really trying to get it, but towards the end something occurred to me - there was nothing to get. You see, I made the mistake of thinking that this was a science fiction movie. The director certainly tried to play it off as one. I was surprised to find out that it had the same writer & director, because it seemed like there was a miscommunication between the two. In order to qualify as science fiction there has to be an element of science to build a story around. This movie did not have that science element and thus was simply an action movie, albeit a pseudo-science fiction action movie. Certainly not my type of movie, because I like to think about stuff, especially when I'm lead by directorial cues to believe that there will be something to think about.

I got in a couple of arguments about this movie with friends and was told that when I make a 200 million dollar movie, then I can criticize this one. That's a pretty tall order. I intend to make movies, but I doubt I'll find that many people who will buy tickets to see them. I don't want to make movies for the general public. I believe that 90% of movie goers are just sheep who are fascinated by special effects and fancy editing and couldn't follow a complicated story anyways. Sure, Christopher Nolan sells tickets, but so do New Kids on The Block and Adolf Hitler for that matter. Hitler sold a lot of tickets.

Now I suppose it may be a little unfair comparing Christopher Nolan to those two examples, but the point is simply that just because you get the crowds to gaze in wonder doesn't mean you've created something great. I'm entitled to my opinion even if no one agrees with me. My ideas about film making are just as valid as any "successful" film maker, and I'm just as valid a critic as anyone else.

Something Made Me Cry Today

As I was walking down Shattuck in Berkeley on my lunch break today, an old lady in a barely audible whisper said to me, "Spare some change?" Like the cold hearted person I normally am, I continued walking on for a block until I reached my destination. When I arrived there, it finally occurred to me that this woman was about 80 years old and appeared to have at least spent a few nights on the street. What if this was my grandma? It hit me hard. I couldn't control the tears. I haven't cried in a while, so I guess I was due. These days I don't have too much to cry about. How could I just keep walking? I went back and handed her a dollar, which in hindsight, is nothing. I probably should have taken her to lunch at least. I'm sure she could use the company too.

How can we as a wealthy nation allow elderly people to live on the street? I am a registered Libertarian and I believe in small government. I believe charity should mostly be a private activity, but when it comes to elderly people living on the street, suddenly I feel a little leftist. Socialized health care is one of the few areas I really disagree with my party on. I so strongly believe that every human, regardless of citizenship or anything else, deserves good medical and psychiatric care. Most of the seemingly healthy, young people who live on the streets do suffer some mental disturbance, and maybe if they had proper treatment could function well enough to not be homeless. And when it comes to the elderly living on the street, that too is a health care issue. This woman was surprisingly agile for being about 80, but that won't last too long on the streets.

Hope For 2008

Far be it for I to presume that I know anything about politics or U.S. history, given that I've read less books than the average eighth grader, but since there are more blogs than people reading them at this point and everyone else is weighing in, well, I figured I'd give my opinion too. I've noticed that many people (based on their bumper stickers mostly) are fed up with the "lying" and want "regime change" and "impeachment" and basically seem to believe the sky is falling. Of course, I live in the East San Francisco Bay Area and currently work in Berkeley, California, so I'm not generally hearing the opposing view from the 20% or so of Americans who still think President Bush is doing a good job.

Regardless, I strongly disagree with impeachment and believe the only responsible and acceptable attitude for a privileged American is one of optimism, hope, and thankfulness that we live in such a great and strong country. I was completely opposed to the impeachment of President Clinton, as I am completely opposed to the impeachment of Bush. Bush has, in my opinion, been a disappointment, but the idea that he is a liar is a little harsh. Of course, he IS a liar, as all successful politicians are sometimes required to be creative when articulating truth (or something like that). The idea that we should expect all politicians to be 100% honest is ridiculous. We would never vote such a person into office. Honesty is relative in politics. A person who is relatively honest and trustworthy obviously is better than someone who is not. Blatant liars like Alberto Gonzales, of course, should be dismissed and people who are more relatively honest should replace them.

When I ask liberals what Bush has lied about, their first example is usually weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I don't believe Bush even lied about that. The intelligence indicated that they were there. When inspectors finally went in, they found evidence that WMD's had been there - empty containers and such. General Georges Sada who defected to the U.S.A. from Saddam's Iraq stated that he personally witnessed WMD's being secretly evacuated from Iraq to Syria shortly before we finally went in to overthrow Saddam. Anyways, i won't waste any more time defending Bush except to say that he has done well with the economy (low unemployment, steady growth, low taxes et cetera). After all, I, too, am looking forward to the end of the Bush Dynasty and a new hope for our standing in the world.

One thing that Bush most certainly did lie about was when he said he would be "A Uniter, not a divider." That irks me and I have to say I totally understand why liberals hate the man and resent the fact that he not only won and/or stole the first election, but amazingly was re-elected. I can imagine the sense of defeat many people have felt for the past severals years (although I don't condone defeatism). Putting that all aside however, for once in my 32 years I am finally and truly excited about an upcoming presidential election. For once it seems that most of the front runners are actually pretty good, as we lead up to 2008.

Among the Republican first tier contenders, Giuliani is acceptable to me. A socially liberal Republican from New York is an interesting combination. He's not my first choice, but he'll do, I think. I actually like McCain a lot. I think if McCain gets the party's nomination, he will be our next president. I dislike Mitt Romney, but I think he is the only contender I don't like. I dislike him because he seems to me to be a little bit of a flip-flopper, although not nearly as bad as John Kerry. I also dislike several of Romney's positions. Among the second tier Republican candidates I really like Ron Paul, who is actually a Libertarian registered as a Republican. Huckabee is so-so. He is a nice guy at least, but i don't think he really has a chance anyways.

Among the Democrats, I think only three are contenders - Clinton, Obama, and Edwards. I don't dislike any of them. That's refreshing isn't it? Of them, Edwards is my least favorite, however. Hillary Clinton has the support of her husband when she needs it (we hope), and it would be nice to have our first woman president, so that's something interesting. I really like Bill Clinton, so another Clinton could be a good thing. I really look forward to hearing more from Barak Obama, and it would also be interesting to have our first African American president. From what I've heard so far, I think Obama could breathe new life into the political process in America.

Anyways, that's what I have to say about that right now. I'd love to hear that others are feeling similarly optimistic as well. If you are one of those who have been feeling kind of down-trodden for the past seven years, consider that there are many other wonderful reasons to live and be happy, besides who is in The White House and after all, it won't be long before we can pick someone new and that new someone just might be pretty good.

sick and twisted

i recently watched Gregg Araki's film "Mysterious Skin" and thought it was an excellent movie about rape and child molestation, among other things. i'm actually a big fan of Araki. i had already seen at least 3 of his other movies. i'm also a fan of other dark and controversial films and film makers such as Peter Greenaway, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polansky, David Cronenberg, et cetera. my friend Ian who also watched the movie described some of the more horrific scenes to a mutual friend Chris, who was rightly disgusted. i told Chris it was a great movie that he should see. he didn't really seem to want to (neither do mainstream audiences normally, but Araki does have an audience). in fact, he very pointedly asked me "Why? What did you like about it?" as if to suggest what many people already think, that sick movies require a sick audience.

well, i explained, i like the raw, brutal honesty. i like the way films like this bring to light issues that people are afraid to talk about so openly. modern psychology recommends that people talk about their problems and work through them. people that bottle up their frustrations and don't release them are like festering wounds. we can see these people all around us - people who are afraid to laugh at themselves, people who prefer to feel insulted rather than entertained when faced with the truths that humor reveals, people who walk around bitter and angry and unable to form lasting bonds with other people because they can't open up, people who are so obsessed with being polite and politically correct that they deny their own humanity. if these people could just let go of all that Freudian drek, a great weight would be lifted off their shoulders. it takes an incredible amount of energy to suppress all our subconsious anxiety. letting go serves to help a person move on with their personal growth. these kind of movies help not only the film maker to this end, but also the movie goer, who can more confidantly talk about their own problems. these movies exorcise our demons. they bring the light of day to what the average person is scared to even think about.

also, i like these movies because i am sick and twisted.

Britney Shears

Until recently, I was pretty indifferent to Britney Spears. Just another beautiful, young pop star, packaged for mass consumption and choreographed by marketing professionals. What sort of person would I be if I could form an opinion about that? Part of the masses? Or a miserable cynic? Well, I don't feel that I'm either and likewise I have had no opinion. But that was until recently when she shaved her head. Now I find myself strangely attracted to her. Not in the sense that she looks better bald. Natalie Portman certainly pulls it off better. But this really adds a new dimension to Britney - "a dimension not of sight and sound," but of crazy - the kind of crazy that makes you wonder anxiously what a person might do next. I have had a little past personal experience with this in my own love life and I hate to say it, but crazy is hot! I'm not sure what that says about me, but somehow I suspect I am not the only one out there wondering if the carpet matches the drapes. Actually, I hear there may be some photos out there on the internet and... I think I have some googling to do.

spaying & neutering yourself

there are just too many people in the world. we are using up our natural resources too fast and the parts of the world that could be considered untouched wilderness are getting smaller and smaller. plastic, floating around our oceans, is getting gobbled up by sea critters and blocking their intestines and killing them off. the future of Mother Earth is bleak. i think most of us can agree that we should start doing some things differently to change these effects we're having. however, this being said, i am not one of these idealistic hippis who thinks i alone can save the planet by giving up deoderant and boycotting Starbucks. the majority of people aren't going to change their habits for the better unless there is some advantage or greater convenience that comes with the change. therefore, unless we come up with some good ideas quick, we are (actually the earth is) screwed.

i've heard of this concept of the carbon footprint. i don't know much about it, but it is an interesting concept. i'm sure Al Gore must talk about it in his movie, but i have yet to see that. i do think we each have a responsiblity to do what we can to leave the earth in good condition. but it seems to me that an individual can struggle to change his habits to better serve the earth, while those around him continue their lives of convenience, and he may still have little impact on his own footprint (other than to keep the mom n' pop coffee shops in business). bottom line, we are all, in our great numbers, destroying the earth. probably the biggest impact we could have to slow the earth's destruction is to stem the increase in population that is happening around the world.

this is just one of the many reasons i have decided to not have children - and i am not just saying that. as of Dec 7, 2006 i am sterile. i chose to get a vasectomy. and i hope that others will do the same. what better way to leave less impact on the earth than to not produce more little convenience-addicts running around? everyone asks me "what if you change your mind?" i don't think i will, but there's always adoption. there are homeless, parentless children around the world that will never get adopted, never have the love of family, never have health care, and likely die before reaching adulthood or end up in prison. it is an outrage that even in the United States this is happening. i know, because i have worked for several years in the foster care system.

societal norms and tradition tells us that we should have children and those that do not are somehow breaking the rules. what Bob Barker did for the spaying and neutering of pets was great. we need a Bob Barker for humanity as well. people are sad, as they should be, when unwanted pets get destroyed, but unwanted humans suffer an even worse fate every day around the world and people still ask me "are you sure you don't want to have kids?"

what Madonna and Angelina Jolie are doing by adopting kids from around the world is great. i applaud them and i hope they will be trendsetters in a big way. as for the vasectomy, it wasn't terribly painful. it wasn't nearly as bad as i thought it would be. spaying & neutering yourself is the greatest gift you can give to the world.

strippers deserve a national holiday

i think strippers are a great asset to any city. when you are feeling sad and lonely, they are always there, any night of the week including Christmas, to make you feel better. they won't nag you. they won't tell you you're lazy and selfish and ask you a lot of questions. they don't expect you to buy them a house or look after their kids. for a relatively small amount of money they will give you their undivided attention for the length of a song or two, which is really all that is needed most nights. for a few dollars more, anything is negotiable, but don't expect them to admit it - strippers are subject to much ridicule and scorn, often called by many nasty names like "whore" which dehumanize them. the religious right, as well as a number of their own clientele have always and will always look down at them, which is a terrible shame. strippers are truly altruistic, helping men to stay sane and not kill people every day. i can't tell you the number of lives that have been saved by the joy that strippers have brought to me. it is time that strippers no longer have to live in shame and fear. it is time that young girls who want to grow up to be strippers can proudly state their calling, and mothers and fathers should be proud of their daughters for wanting to bring joy to the world. i have a dream today...