Technical Difficulties

This blog was blocked for a while (is that one word or two?) because, apparently, it came up as being a potential "spam blog" whatever the hell that means. Perhaps this was due in part to all the posts I made about how beautiful women in your area want to talk to you right now and how I have plenty of V!@gra for sale.

Playoffs Update

The National League Championship is going to be very good and very close. Both the Phillies and the Dodgers dispatched their competitors in the first round without much of a struggle. It could go either way but I'm going to have to go with the Dodgers in 7. Manny Ramirez has proven to be a huge addition for them. I think this might be 1988 all over again. Maybe Gibson will come out of retirement for another limp-off game winner.

Reading

I started reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. A couple of years ago I read Little House in the Big Woods which I liked a lot, and Little House on the Prairie which I thought was just OK. This is the third book in the series (or second, depending on the source) and tells the story of her husband Almanzo's childhood on a farm in New York State circa 1867. The town where he grew up is called Malone and it's way up by the Quebec border. There's a small museum there. If I like the book I'll probably want to check it out.

Movie Update

Leatherheads: 1/4 stars

Not a good movie. Not funny. Not interesting on any level. Weak plot. Bland love story. Awful dialogue.

The film takes place in 1925. You know this because every single shot of the film features either a Model T or someone wearing outlandish period dress. Plus, although it's in color, the film is bathed in sepia undertones. The result is a very Hollywoody, inauthentic period look. The costumes looked like they were heavily researched and expensive to make, but everyone in the film is wearing brand new clothes throughout the entire movie. Nothing looks worn-in. It's like watching a Civil War movie where all the soldiers are 30 pounds heavier and ten years older than the real ones would have been (read: Gods and Generals). It just doesn't look right.

There are several attempts to add 'snappy' exchanges between the two leads. The result is almost embarrassing. I know this is mean to say, but Renee Zellweger looks awful in this one and a lot older than the 31 her character is supposed to be. Attempts to Hepburn-ize her character make her come off shrill, not like a strong, sassy woman as intended.

New Job

Not everyone may know this, but I decided not to return to the school I was working at for the past two years and am now doing Early Intervention, which consists of making home visits and working with children between the ages of 0-3 who have speech, language, and/or feeding problems.

A good deal of the work is educating the parents. I like the age group because they're always happy to see you. They haven't had time yet to develop any guile, unlike jr. high and high school-aged kids.

The work is per-diem too, which is nice, because I get paid per session rather than a flat salary. The more I work, the more I get paid. What a great system. I also like all the autonomy.

There's an awful lot to learn, and I'm still trying to get a handle on many aspects of it. So far it's been the most enjoyable job I've ever had but it's also taken the most amount of work.

Playoffs

So, the baseball post-season is here again. My hope this year is for a Dodgers-Angels World Series but that seems unlikely to happen. Here are my predictions for the first round:

Phillies-Brewers: *snore* Wow, who cares? Are there any two more boring teams in the league than these? Oh that's right I forgot about the Royals. Anyway, Philadelphia won Game 1 at home tonight so I'm going to go with Philadelphia in 5.

Cubs-Dodgers: Dodgers took Game 1 at Wrigley. Not a good sign. I think Cubs fans may have to wait until 2108 for another shot at the Series. L.A. in 4

Angels-Red Sox: Playing Game 1 as I write this. Sox are up 2-1 in the 7th at Anaheim. I still have to go with the Angels, simply because they're the best team in baseball right now. Angels in 5.

Devil Rays-White Sox: I can't take the Devil Rays seriously for some reason. They seem like the Mighty Ducks of baseball. But you have to give them credit for winning the most competitive division this year. Tampa Bay in 5.

Movie Update

In Bruges: 2/4 stars

I had mixed feelings about this one. I wanted to like it, I wanted to forgive it for its shortcomings, but I just couldn't. Colin Farrell is either a tosser or a wanker, I forget which one is which. Perhaps he's both. Brendan Gleason is likable and watchable as always, but I just wasn't buying the hitman with a heart of gold thing. I could have sworn that the dwarf actor in this one was Peter Dinklage, the same one who was in Elf and The Station Agent (they both have the same exact personality) but upon closer reflection this guy had a much more unusually shaped head.

Bruges looks like a beautiful place. I guess you can say that much.

Despite what I've written above, I was actually liking this movie quite a bit up until the last half hour or so. I didn't like the ending at all. It was unnecessarily bloody and I didn't buy for a second that it would ever actually happen. Before the climax one character makes a big sacrifice for the sake of another. Talk about a waste.

Most, if not all gangster movies and T.V. shows rely on the premise that even though their protagonists are criminals and murders, they all abide by this strict code of honor and conduct that somehow elevates their status above that of the low-lives they really are, and tries to therefore convince us that these are actually noble individuals. I don't buy it. I don't think most career criminals live by any such code.

I can forgive a movie for covering material that's already out there, as long as it uses that old material in new and creative ways. In Bruges falls short of the mark. Not terribly far, but far enough to create a diversion.