Sadly, Summer's Ending

Today was the end.

For the next 10 months, I'll be working. Boo Hoo! I love summer vacation! I completely wasted the day by going to see two movies: The Village and Garden State. I had seen The Village before (totally worth multiple viewings). I was still jumping at all appropriate parts; it still left me decimated in tears at the end. As far as I can tell, the film is technically perfect (tight framing, fantastic use of color, spine-tingling sound effects), but the storyline and the themes are what resonate to me. The story is just so human--wanting so much for the ones you love--and the built in disappointments that furrow the path of hope. And yet you want to hope; you want so much to hope; in the face of all that's ugly or hard you hope. Aren't we all sometimes just blind readheads (terribly cute) with enough tenacity to get through anything ... or don't we at least want to be.

Garden State had some of the same. It was also very good--not perfect and not by any means a masterpiece, but solid. (Do I sound like a nut in wondering if drug use is as commonplace as that show made it? No wonder one of my students was so incredulous and certain that I had never lived when I told her that I had never smoked pot.) Natalie Portman really came into her own here, breathing life into my flatlining interest (which is exactly what her role is designed to do; she did it stunningly). Well, this one is pretty new out, and I would hate to spoil plot. But let me note how much I liked the cinematography--effective framing, long shots, and of course whatever you call it when you lock on one person and let the world speed around him. Isn't that the exact equivalent of being absorbed in your own tragedy or of spacing off.

Fantastic.

Soon I hope to post something about some of the reading I've done this summer. But I think I'll spend the rest of the evening working on Il nome della rosa, which I fear I will not finish before school starts Monday.

Water from home

I just picked up my water bottle for a drink: the water bottle that I filled up at home and carried back: the water bottle that was still full. What a difference ... kind of the same difference as between 2% and skim milk *seriously*. In the same sector of the tongue.

I miss home.

AAAACK to Party Politics

Last night, instead of the Olympics (I should be shamed after the last post) I watched CSPAN. They were showing all of these insane ads going back and forth between the Bush and Kerry camps regarding Kerry's testimony before the senate in 1971. Then they showed what remains of the testimony in audio or video format.

Before I go further, let me say that this race is driving me nuts. I hate Bush! He is an arrogant right-wing bumbling fool! If I see him smile and throw his head back like a cocky jerk one more time I'll scream! I also hate Kerry! Could the Democrats have found anywhere a better chamelion to run for office? What does he stand for? He has voted for all of the same things that I hate Bush for (most notably, the No Child Left Behind Act)! It appears to me that in order to keep his job Senator Kerry has gone with the flow at every turn. Bush must be removed from office, but I dread seeing this opportunist take his place.

At any rate, I must say that anyone who takes offense at what Kerry said in his testimony would also have to be taking offense at the whistleblowers who said 'something is wrong here' at Abu Ghraib. These are the same atrocities. For anyone who is interested, here is the link to the complete testimony on CSPAN:

http://www.c-span.org/2004vote/jkerrytestimony.asp

(I must add as an aside that it was interesting to note how some of Kerry's speech patterns have changed since 1971. He has definitely tamed some of his vowel sounds to sound a bit more everyman! A lesson Bush could use before he prompts us to rush into another stage of the war on terra.)

Hooray for the Olympics

Yes, I have spent too much time watching the Olympics, but I feel a twinge of guilt whenever I make a move to turn them off. There they are, all of these fantastic, dedicated people, with a shot at supreme greatness, and I have better things to do than watch? I think not! What kind of person would I be if I had not watched Rulon Gardner leave his shoes in the center ring of the wrestling mat? Because his tears spoke of leaving a dream after it has exploded into something great and of a walking away from years of work because the accomplishment is complete. Who are any of us to miss that moment?

The other aspect that makes the games a must-see, though, is the surreal realization of "People get medals for that?" Example: Amilynne was just telling me that her favorite event to watch so far has been Women's Trampoline. Because the action is basically "Boing..flipflipflipflipflipflipflip..Boing..flipflip flipflipflipflip..STOP" That was the key factor--the stopping. Apparently part of the skill is in being able to stop without making lots of little bounces. That goes contrary to physics as I understand it.

Which explains a lot about why I am not an Olympian.

Throwing down Amilynne and her claims

On our first night back in Idaho Falls, Amilynne and I decided it was time to see who could win at arm wrestling. So we plopped down on the floor and locked fists. I got off to a quick start, and then we held . . . and held . . . until she started to cough, at which point I threw her down. Now. She claims that this was cheating. I do not. She is also now claiming that this cancels out the time she cheated at Cranium in Dallas. Absolutely not. That was blatant cheating. One does not pick a card, decide that that card is too easy for the opposing team, then shuffle it into the middle of the deck and pick a new card. All of which has nothing whatsoever to do with throwing down a coughing opponent while arm wrestling. Nice try, Amilynne.