Movies

Just read an article about how Hollywood movies are declining...revenues are down 16 per cent from last year. Has it occurred to these bigtime Hollywood producers (hello, George and Steven, I'm talking to you!)that if they bothered to ask the movie-goers, they'd find out why? How about too-high ticket prices, bad movies, and crowded multiplexes? Most people I know would rather wait a few months and see a movie at Rainbow, where it's much cheaper, or wait just a bit longer and rent the DVD. So what you gotta wait six months before seeing that big blockbuster. It doesn't change the movie...I can wait a few months and enjoy a movie at home, and if it's a dud, I don't feel too bad about it. No movie that I've seen in the last five years has been worth lining up for, waiting hours, or paying 12 bucks. For example, I saw Batman Begins last night. I am a comic fan, but this was crap.... Too long in the exposition, (an hour to tell us about Bruce Wayne's early years and Ras Al-Ghoul was a waste), Christian Bale is uninteresting, and I noticed many of his mannerisms and voice inflections were almost exactly like Michael Keaton's from Tim Burton's Batman. The villains weren't interesting, either. Scarecrow was always one of my favourites, but this version was dull and the actor just seemed too naive and young to convincingly play Doctor Crane. And Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes...useless character. Plot too involved to sustain my interest, and the action was filmed in such a way that I got a headache from trying to follow it (I call it "buzzy" - the camera jerks and shakes, and the stuntmen are moving so rapidly it's like a bee buzzing around you, so you can't see it clearly).
I will go see Fantastic Four, but not at full price. I'm bound to be disappointed.

God and Cancer

There are some days when God really shakes my faith to the core, and I have to dig into the Bible and reassure myself that His word is still faithful. Today, I heard the news that our pastor, Dwayne, a very good friend, may have renal cancer, which is untreatable (at least by chemotherapy, as I understand it). I don't know that much about renal cancer, but I do know Dwayne...and I found myself questioning why God would strike this evangelist, a man who shares his love for God with great compassion for people, with something as devastating as this. He's a young man, a runner, and now he's facing a very difficult journey. This is a Job trial, I guess. God has a purpose in this, but it will take some time for us to see it. Dwayne will be writing a blog about his journey, and when I can, I will post it as a link for others to share. I am glad that Dwayne was the person who led Brian to the Lord; Dwayne is an awesome witness to God's greatness and power.
Dwayne, if you're reading this, I've decided that I want to train for the Cancer Run next July...I've seen so many people afflicted with this horrible disease, and I want to do what I can to find a cure. So, if you have any suggestions on the best way to train, let me know...I respect your knowledge and ability about running.

Old people and art galleries

Why is it that the most senior of our citizens tend to act stubbornly and rudely, and refuse to understand the rest of the world? I'm afraid of becoming old, because of some of the plus65 people I've met. I encounter these people in the gallery all the time, and they get furious with me and refuse to listen, because they don't understand the exhibits. Today, I was walking through the gallery and setting up for a tour group, when this white-haired old lady, with a shiny gold tooth and really bad breath, stomped toward me, scowling. She demanded to know where the "art" was. She was standing too close to me, and she didn't ask nicely. Conscious of our image as a public gallery, I patiently explained that the exhibit was called Marking Time, about Saskatchewan artists. What I wanted to say was, "Listen, you old bat, you're surrounded by art! Look at it!" She leaned in even closer, and I tried to back up (invading my personal space is not allowed, I don't care how long you've lived on this earth), and she loudly said, "no, I want to see the art. The real art! Where are the pictures?" I was a little confused about this, since she didn't seem to understand that she was in an art gallery, and there's different kinds of art. I told her that we had this photographer in Gallery 3, that artist in Gallery 1, and so on. She looked around and said, "I want to see lots of art, lots of pictures, not this stuff. Where is it?" I finally directed her to the only 4 paintings we have on display now, realizing that she was not going to listen to anything I said anyway, and I wanted her away from me. She shook her head, muttering as she walked away. It annoyed me that she couldn't see the other forms of art around her, and that she berated me for something I have no control over. I don't like everything I see in the gallery either, but I know that it's a matter of taste, it doesn't mean the art is invalid. I wish I had said that I couldn't help her, that I had a job to do and she could figure this out for herself. But my boss would be proud, anyway.

Congratulations are in order!

angrymonkey has done something that has never been done before, not by angrymonkey! (okay, enuff talking about myself in the third person...very irritating!)
I received my certificate from Medicine Hat College, officially welcoming me onto the College Honour Roll. I never dreamed, when I was in grade school and high school, that I could ever accomplish that. I always felt dumb, and my constant failures and low self-esteem prevented me from seeing that I could do it, and no one else was able to see what was really going on. But now, as a mature student, I know what I'm dealing with, I know what I need to do, and I worked very, very hard to get there! It gives me a goal for next year, as well...I'd really like to continue that success, and stay on the honour roll for the three+ years I'll be there.

Just some thots on the Michael Jackson trial (and I'd love to hear anyone's thots on this, as well): whether he is guilty of sexual abuse I'm not sure. I think the jury actually did the right thing, in acquitting him, despite my personal feelings about MJ. There just wasn't enough evidence to convict, and the justic system seems to be following "innocent until Proven guilty". You can't convict a person based on what you think he might have done. (That being said, I do think he's guilty of manipulating children for his own selfish need to identify with children, and avoid taking responsibily for himself). Anytime an adult, whether he is childlike in behavior or not, uses a child for selfish reasons, he or she is guilty of inappropriate behavior. It is wrong for an adult to welcome a child into their bed, to hang out almost exclusively with children, and to act like they themselves are children.