Movies I've Seen - Timeline and Don Jon

From IMDB:  A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century France long enough to be rescued.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give this movie a 2.10 because I like Time Travel.
I bet the book was better.
Honestly, I thought the dialogue was unimaginative and not well delivered in many cases.  The plot was cliche and was flimsy.  
One of the clunkiest scenes was when the group of archaeology students learn their professor is in the past and within five minutes they've all agreed to get into an unstable wormhole machine just so they can rescue the professor.  
Francois didn't want to go but the others manipulated him.  They said he's the only one who speaks fluent French so he must go.  He was very scared and was crying.
They arrived in 1357 France on the day of a battle between the English and the French.  When the group was captured by the English, Francois was the one that was killed outright for being a French spy.  
The movie didn't have any emotional beats - it was one thing after the other with each of the plot points being the exact same.  The death of Francois was dealt with exactly the same as a scene where the girl climbs out a window to help them escape.  

The group was in the past for 6 hours total.  Of the 8 who left, only 3 came back.  4 were killed and one fell in love and stayed behind.  
The book probably fleshed out the characters more...?  
The time travel aspect wasn't particularly interesting.  Even at the end, when they came back after changing the outcome of the battle, there wasn't any indication that anything had changed.  
I watched the whole movie so it can't have been too bad, I guess. 

I don't recommend it, though.

From IMDB: A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.

I really like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 3rd Rock from the Sun.  I want the grown up Joseph Gordon-Levitt to be a version of a grown up Tommy.

I think JGL has interesting things to say.  He's done some creative things over the years.

Be warned:  it was profane and sexually explicit.  
But, I think it had something to say about love.  I liked it.

At one point, it seemed like an after-school special, though.  Julianne Moore was teaching him about what it means to make love and be in a relationship.

It wasn't subtle.  
Pornography is one-sided, romantic idealism is one-sided.
To have a real relationship it's a two-way street.

Was this a new version of Saturday Night Fever?  Could have been.

Drunk Words are Sober Thoughts

I first came across this phrase while reading about a celebrity who'd been caught hurling racial epithets while drunk, and later apologized, claiming that's not what they truly believe and that's not who they are.

Is it true?  Are drunk words sober thoughts?

If someone is drunk, are they apt to vocalize thoughts their sober self would know to keep quiet?
Or, is the alcohol affecting their mind so dramatically that the drunk mind is changing reality?

I don't know.

(I also don't know why people enjoy being drunk)

Art inspires Thought

The author and illustrator Maira Kalman said this in an INKtalk (in association with TED) called What I choose to illustrate and why

You're constantly battling with the idea of loss and grief in this life time, and then continuing on with optimism and courage.

No wonder life is challenging and delightful at the same time.


She also said...

...everything that arrests you, everything that delights you has to be noted

Which goes along with my blog post from May 17 in which I wonder why I blog


If you watch the video of Maira Kalman, you'll hear about the artist Nina Katchadourian who made some Flemish style portraits in an airplane restroom!  Yes.  Funny and creative.  They really capture the style of Flemish paintings.


How is it that I came to Maira Kalman's website?  Via Lisa Hoffman's website
How is it that I came to Lisa Hoffman's site?  She commented on Michelle Ward's website
I have Michelle Ward's blog on my Feedly (it's been a while but I think it's because of stencils or mixed media)

And, that's how I surf!

Writing on this blog

I tried to blog every day for a month.
I couldn't do it.

I had plenty to say.  I always do.

Ah!  I want to be more clear.

I had plenty of emotion.

I wasn't able to translate my emotions into coherent words and sentences.

I was too overwhelmed and lacked the patience to organize my emotions into thoughts and from there into words and sentences.

Or...in the process of organizing my emotions into thoughts I realized the ideas didn't need to be shared.
          someone else said it already
          it was negative or judgmental
          it was presumptuous
          it was whiny or self-involved.
          my take on the idea wasn't helpful or didn't provide a unique perspective
          my initial emotion didn't translate into an idea that made sense in the final analysis
          I was wrong


Even when I want to write about something, I don't feel like taking time to provide context.


Every opinion is based on an understanding of the facts at that moment.  There are so many things we don't know and time changes everything.
I feel pressure to describe a MOMENT.  This is what I think RIGHT NOW.
New information comes to light very quickly and I'm not able to stay on top of all the things I'm interested in.  In an instant, the moment is gone, the circumstances have changed and my opinion will probably change.


Then, why?  Why do I want to write a blog?  I don't want to know people may or may not be reading my blog (too much pressure).  I might as well be writing in a private diary.  So, why do I maintain a blog?


Maybe...
I want someone in the future to know I was here.
I want to have my half of a lively conversation.  
I want a reason to do better, think better, write better.


I'll maintain this blog, and for the time being, I'll not worry about when or if I write in it.

We can work it out...together

I missed yesterday's post.  I'm going to keep blogging for 30 days, but then I'll have some thoughts on that.

In the meantime...

What the world needs now is everyone working together and participating.  

When I say "everyone", I mean E V E R Y O N E.  

We each have gifts to offer.  We balance each other out.  I'm naively optimistic, others are overly pessimistic, and there are lots of people in between.  When we all work together there's balance and the right thing gets done.

In our current world, people have been either purposefully pushed out of the system (terrorism, war, subjugation), or they've opted out (apathy, overwhelming feeling of powerless).  

As a result, things are out of whack.

We should be focusing our efforts on making sure everyone can and does participate in governing our world.

i should start smaller, though...maybe the city.

Ukraine on May 5, 2014

(Photo: Alexey Furman, epa)

A released pro-Russian supporter is welcomed by participants of a rally as he and others are released from a policy building in Odessa, Ukraine, on Sunday.

Ukraine is getting worse and I continue to assign responsibility to what the media are calling "the pro-Russian separatists" (pRs).

After the former leader of Ukraine left (fled with a fortune) for Russia, the people who took over pretty quickly said there would be new elections on May 15.

There was no reason for the violence.  None whatsoever.

No matter what else has happened or been said...there was no need for the violence.

That's why I'm against the pRs.  And because Putin wants to help them, that's why I think Putin is wrong.

NPR - Ukraine Dispatches Special Police To Odessa After Unrest

USA Today - Ukrainian troops intensify fight against separatists

A future without human labor

The world of 'work', as we know it, is changing before our very eyes and I think we've got our heads in the sand because it challenges how we think about our selves, our purpose, and the meaning of life.  We should start adjusting our mind set now.

There's excitement in the world of technology when tasks are automated - one less thing a human has to do.  

On the other hand, it's one less thing a human has to do.

Doesn't it seem like there are less jobs people need to do?

The April 2014 unemployment figures tell us unemployment rate is dropping and that less people who want a job are dropping out because they're discouraged.  Which is good news.

But, it feels like there will come a time, more quickly than we think, when there just won't be enough work for everyone to do.

That's going to be a tough transition.

Here's a quick article from New Scientist, via Slate Magazine, that talks about the future of work: "Robots Will Take Our Jobs"

White House Correspondent's Dinner 2014

C-SPAN

My review of this year's White House Correspondent's Dinner 2014:

Obama made me laugh a lot.  It was pretty funny through the first 2/3 or so and then slowed down.

Joel McHale had some good jokes, but I thought he was uncomfortable. 

And that's my blog post for today.

Ukraine on May 2, 2014

Things are not looking good in Ukraine.

I hope we stay out of it.
I'm not sure I feel it's okay to be so isolationist, but I just don't think we're in a good position to deal with this.
We can't even get our own country on the same track, why would we do any better on the other side of the planet?

Happy Pharrell Williams

Anthony Mason interviews Pharrell Williams on CBS Sunday Morning.

Two quotes I particularly like:

 "You've said that you were one of those kids who just didn't fit into the box," said Mason."No. I've just never even seen the box," Pharrell said. "It's like, what do you mean? What wall? What ceiling? What are you talking about. Hence the phrase 'Room without a roof,' you know? Limitless."

Pharrell consistently says he's grateful for his success and he owes it to the people in his life.  Anthony Mason wants him to accept that there's something special about him that creates this success...

"Are you afraid if you give yourself too much credit, it would all go away?"
"For sure," he said. "You see people spin out of control like that all the time. I mean, those are the most tragic stories, the most gifted people who start to believe it's really all them. It's not all you. It can't be all you. Just like you need air to fly a kite, it's not the kite. It's the air."

I don't think the analogy of the kite and air entirely holds up because the kite has to exist and allow the air to take the kite on a journey for there to be a magical flying kite.

I get his point, though - we're all the product of ourselves and the world around us.  But for the luck and happenstance of a multitude of variables outside our control, success may or may not come.  

I don't know much about Pharrell Williams, but I liked what I saw in this interview.

And I really like "HAPPY"