God Loves, Man Kills

For some inexplicable reason, I was reminded of that title the other night as I watched traffic ebb and flow across the Tennessee River. My proximity to a quaint little park affords me the luxury of peaceful late night strolls along the river bank. All manner of planes, trains, and automobiles were joined by dozens of boats hoping to catch a glimpse of the Memorial Day fireworks display at Point Mallard. Indeed, the echoing booms were impressive, but my eye was on the lurid ballet of vehicles.

On one level, I could marvel at man's concrete utopia of ambition and accomplishment. There was a beauty to the logical lines of halide headlamps streaming hither and yon. However, beyond the logical concrete was the chaos of nature and all it's wonders. Hundreds of trees, lapping waves, shifting clouds, and a chirping chorus of arthropods conspired to create a utopia far more magnificent than that of man's, but you had to be able to see beyond man's bright lights to appreciate it.

I may not be able to fully understand the love that went into this world's creation, and sometimes it is difficult to see through to the heart of nature's chaotic masterpiece. But if only for a moment, I'd like to think that my gaze pierced through to the very core of it all, where all the years behind me and all the years ahead of me stretched out in an unwavering line. I have never been more sure of who I am and what my purpose is.

And for this life, I shall be eternally grateful.


( And oh yeah, Guitar Hero rocks! )

I'm LOST

I am now an official fan of Lost. It's brilliantly written, performed, and directed. It is definitely earning a spot in my top three, along with Deadwood and Babylon 5. Unfortunately, as much as I love Firefly, this is just too good.

Lost has a great ensemble cast, and each episode sheds some new light on a character through flashbacks while still advancing the current timeline. Before watching any of the show, I knew about the flashbacks and was afraid that it would jar me too much out of the main story, or that it would focus too much on the past and not enough on what's happening now. Fortunately those fears have been put to rest. In fact, the flashbacks are well timed to teach us just enough new information about a character so that our perception of their reality shifts at key moments, adding a lot of tension and drama above what we might have received through more conventional storytelling devices.

There are a lot of subtle cues and hints scattered around the show that wind up being significant later on. Lost is also using more than just the TV show as a medium. Fake commercials, mixed in with the real commercials, reference phony companies that have real websites, which can give you clues to what's going on in the show. There have also been book and music tie-ins as well.

Naturally, everyone who watches Lost winds up with a favorite character or two. John Lock is far and away my favorite, played to perfection by Terry O'Quinn. Geeky friends may recognize Dominic Monaghan ( Merry from The Lord of the Rings ) and Mira Furlan ( Delenn from Babylon 5 ), two actors that were well cast in their Lost roles.

Anyway, enough rambling. I started with the pilot last night, and I'm about to watch episode 14. If I work hard at sitting on my ass, I can watch both seasons in time to watch the second season finale on Wednesday night. Bottom line is that anyone who's ever enjoyed a movie or TV show I've suggested in the past really needs to check this thing out. It is well worth getting lost in. ( Cheesy pun intended. )

Movie Trivia

I've seen a lot of movies in my day. A LOT. I've spent at least one night a week of my adult life watching TV and movies. So it goes without saying that I remember a lot of quotes, character names, and plots. Can someone get rich off of such knowledge? No, probably not. Well, Harry Knowles probably isn't broke, but he's the exception.

Well, I may not be able to reap many rewards from my knowledge, but I can at least score free movie tickets and a steak dinner off of it. My local radio station, WZYP, holds a Dinner and a Movie contest on week nights where they play a quote from a movie and the 10th caller who knows it gets a little prize pack. I've tried calling in before for movies like the Shinning, but it was the Running Man that won it for me today. Too bad it wasn't something a little more recondite, where I really could have flexed my imdb.com muscle.

Of course, you never sound as cool as you think you do. I apparently have adopted some moiety of the southern accent, which will now haunt me in my dreams. Also, it seems the volume on my phone is lower than I expected. *cough*

Of course, they won't actually mail you the goodies. No, you have to visit their office during regular business hours, 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. You know, when most people are supposed to be working. Oh yeah, and the office is in Athens, about 20 minutes from me, so I can't just pop out on my lunch break.

Oh well, I can't complain too much. At least I now know how I'm going to go see X-Men III.

Idol Shame

Yes, I admit it. I voted for someone on American Idol. I am a tool. I am one of the soulless sheep who keep mainstream America lame. Or not.

I really haven't even watched the show this season. I saw a few episodes last season, and I thought it was kinda interesting, but like most reality TV, it's not worth watching if you don't have someone to root for.

I don't even really care that Taylor Hicks is from Alabama. Yeah, I happen to live here now, but I am not an Alabamian nor will I ever be. I'm 100% pure West Virginia. What I do care about is the fact that this guy can really sing. He can also put on a show. Of the three contestants tonight, he was the only one with real stage presence.

So why go so far as to vote? I honestly want to see the guy win, and after hearing about the controversy last week ( where the #1 contestant was voted out because everyone thought he was a shoe in and voted for someone else ), I wanted to make sure Taylor got all the votes he could.

Now, will I watch the show tomorrow to see who won? Nope. I want the guy to win, but I'm not pinning all my hopes and dreams on him. Besides, I'm getting together for "Jonathan Night" with my brother tomorrow. It's my turn to pick the movie we watch, and I think I'm gonna pull out Whale Rider. If you've never seen it, don't poo-poo it yet. Yeah, it has a crappy, Free Willie sounding name, but this movie is no Free Willie. It's got real heart and an interesting story. Plus, everyone plays their role beautifully.

Anyway, good stuff. Good stuff.

Rave

Just got back from the new theater in Huntsville, and it is sweet. Decatur has crap for theaters. I mean, you have to consider yourself lucky if the picture is in focus. So I always travel to the 'ville to watch movies. My previous favorite was the Carmike 10, but they've not been getting any of the movies I want to see anymore.

Anyway, I bought a DVD last night that came with a free movie pass for Mission Impossible III. Unfortunately, it expires on Mother's Day. Since I wasn't going to skip out on my mom just to see a free movie, I had to use it today. A quick call to the folk's house, and I discovered that my sisters were going to go see it tonight anyway, so we just went together.

This place is on Four Mile Post Road, which I've never been to before. Of course, with Google Maps ( Double True!! ), that's not a problem.

Everything about the theater was spot on. Great screen, digital projector ( my first ), awesome sound, and big comfortable seats that recline. The only theater I've been to that's on the same level is the Carmike Thoroughbred 20 in Franklin, TN.

Oh, and the movie was cool too. Much better than MI:2.

Sing and Dance

I feel ashamed of myself for abandoning my faithful readers for more than a week after being so proud of myself for my frequent updates, so I thought I'd give the ol' keyboard a whirl tonight.

• I found a very interesting read concerning the effects of cell phone use on our senses. Specifically, the article talks about the phenomenon of "phantom rings", which I myself have fallen victim to.
  
• I've been having a lot of fun working on the website I mentioned in my last entry, even though it's been consuming a lot of my free time. I'm starting to remember why I love to write code.
  
• I've also had a lot of fun playing in Cisco routers the last few weeks. No, not playing in any big iron, just PIXes and WiFis, but it's very thrilling to jump into a telnet client and hammer away at old school command line stuff instead of clicking on fluffy web interfaces.
• Been in a huge Dave Matthews mood lately. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
• Occupational Hazard: Being kind to mentally challenged people can have unintended consequences, such as their newfound desire to become your roommate. ( It was Eddie for those who've heard me talk of him before. ) Yeash.
• When the OTHER mentally challenged customer, who you've suspected of frying equipment due to his high volume of warranty returns, finally brings his computer in, and only *TWO* screws are holding the motherboard down... Well, I no longer have to suspect anything.
• The new Doctor, David Tennant, kicks ass.
• Every time I make an effort to watch my Washington Wizards, they lose. Every playoff game I've missed, they won. Fate couldn't be more obvious if it came up and slapped the lunch tray out of my hand personally.