Rear Window

Rear Window rocks!

I watched it last night--a Christmas gift from my friends D. & R.. The movie takes its time setting up the suspense.

The premise is that a man (Jimmy Stewart) has a broken leg and is cooped up in his apartment awaiting recovery. As a way to pass the time, he becomes a bit voyeuristic watching his neighbors. One night he observes some strange goings-on that leads him to believe that a woman has been murdered. He tries to get his friends on his side, but they just think he's imagining things. The way the story is presented, you can't tell if he's imagining things or not.

Definitely worth a watch.

Lennie Briscoe Dies

FOXNews.com - Foxlife - 'Law & Order' Star Jerry Orbach Dies

15 years and Law & Order remains one of my favorite shows ever. Jerry Orbach played Lennie Briscoe for 12 of those years, giving the show part of its gritty flavor. He had left Law & Order for a different show this year; I had been looking forward to seeing it but obviously he won't be a part of it.

I for one will miss him.

BBC - Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Spot The Fake Smile

BBC - Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Spot The Fake Smile

I got 15/20 correct. How did you do?

Great Quotes Volume 6

Sir William Drummond:
"He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave."

The Gods Must Be Crazy

I just watched "The Gods Must Be Crazy," on loan to me from M. in Atlanta. Hilarious. It's a very cleverly written film. I wish more people wrote comedy like this nowadays. sigh

I've been thinking a bit about my filmucation. I need to get ahold of the Alfred Hitchkock films. I saw North By Northwest and thought it was brilliant. I'd like to see what else that man came up with. In addition, I'd like to get some Sydney Poitier films. He's one of the few actors that, when he's on the screen, it's impossible to look at anyone else. His screen-presence is so powerful that it's not even a question of demanding your attention--there is nothing else for you to focus on.

Great link

Thanks Ice Scribe for the following link:
Liberty

There's nothing new for an Oist in this. What makes it great is the way in which it simplifies very complicated issues. My favorite parts are the Lockean description of Property, and the definitions of murder, slavery, and theft.

The Problem with Internet Dating

I'm in danger of having my geek-license revoked: I just watched the first half of the Extended Edition of The Return of the King and I have no idea what happened. I have no idea because I was distracted by searching a couple of internet dating sites.

I don't spend a lot of time on these sites for two reasons: 1) I'm not really very intent on starting another romance right now, and 2) internet dating sites have not really shown themselves to be of much value in finding another romance anyway.

The thing that intrigues me about these sites is how little of an idea people have about what they're looking for in a partner. I just leafed through 18 pages of search results of women in a 250 mile radius that supposedly match my criterion. The first problem I had was that the women didn't match my criterion: I specified religion should be Atheist, Agnostic, or Other, and I kept getting back results for Christian women. Jeez! Next, fully 3/4 of the women in the list had no idea what they were looking for. They had lot's of stuff listed about themselves, which I suppose is good--at least they know themselves well enough to state what they are. What I find interesting is that in the section where they are asked to identify what they're looking for in a mate they have "any" specified for most categories. What's more interesting is that they have "any" specified on categories that you might expect to be fairly important such as religion, career, smoking, and drinking habits. I close those profiles about as fast as I can open them--if she doesn't know what she wants, then it's not me.

So I guess my foray into internet dating is finished for another month or so. I go back every month or so because I don't want the reason I didn't meet my version of Michelle Dessler to be because I didn't look. But given my experiences so far, I don't suppose it's very likely I'll find someone that way.

Happy Holidays

I spent Christmas with my friends M. and C.. It's fun going to their house not only because they're great company, but because I can take the dogs. My boys are my family, so I don't like being separated from them for days at a time; especially not on holidays.

Toby unfortunately seemed to be anxious most of the time he was there. Toby is already the low-dog on the totem pole in our home--Samwise took over pack leadership the day he stumbled in the door--but being the low-dog on a totem pole with 3 other dogs was a bit much for him. He didn't seem to realize that when Idris nipped at him, she was just playing. He took it personally and went after her barking, teeth bared, and terror in his eyes that she might take up his challenge. Samwise on the other hand felt out the limits with the two doberman's, and quickly established that he wasn't going to take any other dog's BS. Not bad considering that Holly and Idris are each twice his size.

M. and C. are fabulous hosts. C. made a fabulous Christmas dinner which we all pigged out on. She also had lots of fab sweets and goodies to snack on in the meantime. M. got me started on a new drink--think Jack & Coke w/o with Maker's Mark instead. mmmmmmmm.

M. and I had a bad-movie contest. I brought The Forbidden Zone, and he had me watch Peter Jackson's Dead Alive.

What struck me most about my holiday was how much fun I had. M., C., and I discussed how it's very rare that families get together for the holidays and actually enjoy it. There's usually a lot of fighting and bickering--TV and Movies lie. There are families that are actually close and enjoy one another's company. I have friends that have that sort of relationship. It's quite a beautiful thing when it happens, but it's rare. What we did was much more fun than the typical reality--just 3 friends and their 4 dogs hangin' out and enjoying one another's company.

Here's hoping that the rest of you had as much fun as I did for Christmas. :)

Just Finished Season 3 of "24"

Reiko Aylesworth is one of my favorite things about seasons 2 and 3 of "24." She plays Michelle Dressler, a CTU agent. In this role, she embodies many of the things I'm looking for in a romantic partner--intelligence, style, cuteness, independence, integrity, emotional availability, and toughness. I like her.



Season 1 of "24" remains my favorite. It was such an original idea to film an entire season of a TV show in real time, and it was mostly executed extremely well. I didn't like Season 2 as well as Season 1, but I still enjoyed the show as it is much better than much of what is available on television. I feel much the same about Season 3.

One of my favorite things about the show is that it consistently defies "TV Rules." It seems like there must be a book of "TV Rules" somewhere, because you can almost always predict what's going to happen next on just about every TV show ever. The thing that "24" does brilliantly to lull you into believing you know what's going to happen next, and then doing a 180... followed by a 270 in the opposite direction. By the time the writers are done with you, you don't remember which way you were facing before.

Sometimes the writing can be a bit cheesy, but I don't believe that this seriously detracts from the show. It must be an extremely demanding job to write a story that takes place in 24 1 hour segments in real time where each 1 hour segment ends on a cliff-hanger. That said, the writers of the show chose to undertake that responsibility, so even though I can understand their occasional lapses into cliche writing, it doesn't excuse it. "24" has yet to be all it could be. Season 1 was closest.

The trailer for Season 4 was on the Season 3 DVD set. I'll not be watching Season 4 when it airs as I enjoy watching "24" in as few days as possible. Not knowing what I was putting into my DVD player when I was given Season 1 as a Christmas gift 2 years ago, I planned to simply watch a couple of episodes. As it turned out, I watched 16 episodes in one day. I haven't repeated that achievment, but not for lack of trying :)

To all the actors and writers of "24," thank you for the great storytelling. And a special "Thank you" to Reiko Aylesworth for dramatizing in Michelle Dressler my ideal woman.

Great Quotes Volume 5

This one is an original from a co-worker who wishes to remain anonymous--

"Mental illness doesn't so much strike as infiltrate."