The Blog with No Name

Just a moment ago, I was rummaging around in my pockets looking for either cash or something to eat when I found a Christmas fortune I had received at a small Christmas party I went to. Here it is:

Wordpress 2.0 is out. I’m in the process of upgrading to it so things might get a little whacky along with some functions breaking.

It seems most everything is back to normal. I need to add smilies and fix the poison picker. It’s all busted and stupid right now.

The year draws to a close.

Anybody doing resolutions? They seem pretty unpopular these days. I have a new poll up to gauge whether my assumption is correct. I don’t think I’ve heard one serious resolution in years. The only resolutions I make are ones that are easy keep. You know, give up hard drugs, stop the orgies, avoid women, do nothing with my life, etc.

I’ve been reflecting on the year the past week or so in hopes that I might be able to do a reflection on 2005. I’ve concluded that if I were to do one it wouldn’t be a happy one.

TCoN:TL, tW, & tW is a pretty decent movie. Twenty-something males are probably not the target audience for this film, so I think it’s understandable that I wasn’t completely agog over the film. Though I have several minor complaints, I was happy that the allegorical meaning of the story was not gutted by pagan Hollywood elites. Indeed, there were sometimes I thought, “Wow, I can’t believe they actually left that in.” For this reason alone, I think the movie is worth seeing. For a much better and indepth review, check out the Fringe review. Now onto my complaints.

*** Spoiler warning!***

Probably my biggest complaint is that it seems a lot of the emotional ties sprung up out of nothing. I’ll give two examples. When Aslan dies the two Pevensie girls are just all torn up about it, weeping long and sleeping on a lion corpse (weird!). But what a minute, why are they so attached to Aslan? They just met him. Sure, after some secret meeting he saved their bratty brother, but I find it hard to believe that that instantly forges such deep bonds of love. Gratuity, sure. Deep love, no. Even more perplexing is the children’s immediate devotion to their chosen faction. The three non-bratty kids perplexing decide to risk their lives for a bunch of creatures they never met in a strange fantasy world into which they just walked. They do mention something about doing it for Mr. Tumnus, but that’s hardly believable. Even more amazing, the bratty boy, Edmund, turns traitor on his siblings for turkish delight! What the heck is turkish delight?! Maybe the character motivations make sense to other people, but certainly not to me. I’m sure the motivations were fleshed out much more in the book, but I read that so long ago I can’t remember for sure.

Another complaint is that the film uses far too much green screening, and sometimes it’s both obvious and unnecessary. The best example is when a couple of the kids are riding on unicornback next to a river, and it’s apparent the river is CGI. Could the filmmakers not find a decent, real river? By and large the CGI is very well done and quite creative, but there were times I was definitely pulled out of the story because it just looked fakey.

My final complaint is Peter Pevensie. I didn’t like the actor, I didn’t like his character, and I really didn’t like the way he swung a sword. Least convincing battle commander EVAR. If he was my commander in battle, I’d be extremely worried. At the end he gets the title of Peter the Magnificent. I think I laughed at that point. Then I was deeply annoyed.

Pros: Mostly well done CGI, good story, the White Witch.
Cons: What’s their motivation?, Peter doesn’t die, Peter isn’t dubbed Peter the Pathetic

King Kong, starring Adrien Brody’s nose, Jack Black’s wicked grin, King Kong’s vocal chords, and Naomi Watts’s beautiful blue eyes, is an interesting movie in a lot of ways. Before I begin my itemized list, I just want to mention something about Watts’s peepers. I enjoyed them. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been partial to brown eyes, I still am, but more importantly I used to think blue eyes were vaguely creepy. I just didn’t like looking at blue eyes. However, recently, for whatever reason, I’ve grown to like blue eyes much more, even enjoy them. After watching King Kong, which seemed to be 25% close-ups of Watts’s eyes, I can now say blue eyes are officially A-okay in my book. Who says movies don’t change people’s lives? Pshaw.

Now onto the movie. I don’t have the patience to go through the movie in detail, so I’ll just throw down a list of stuff I found interesting.

• Starting off with the most noteworthy thing about the whole film: the CGI. Everything you heard about it is true. It’s absolutely fantastic, realistic, stunning, and believable. I remember when Jurassic Park came out and everybody thought those CGI dinosaurs were sweet sauce. Well Kong crushes those dinos just like how he crushed several dinos (along with just about everything else) in his movie. Kong is also better than Gollum from Lord of the Rings, which says a lot because Gollum should have won an Oscar for best actor. Andy Serkis, who did the acting for both Kong and Gollum, must be awfully proud. Probably the most remarkable thing about Kong is his ability to convey emotion with his eyes. Normally, this is the most difficult thing for CGI to do well, but the animators pulled it off extremely well. Yes, behind those pixelly eyes, there is a heart.
• When we first meet Adrien Brody’s character, Jack Driscoll, he is delivering a 15 page script he has written for Jack Black’s Carl Denham. I believe this is a subtle hint that the script for King Kong was only 15 pages as well. Approximately 90% of the dialogue is uttered in the first third of the movie, and then the last two hours the dialogue consists of exclamations, Kong bellowing, and eye-talk. Large sections of the script probably looked like this:

  ZOOM IN ON EYES AS KONG PEERS LOVINGLY AT ANN
  ZOOM IN ON EYES AS ANN PEERS LOVINGLY AT KONG
  KONG BREATHES, NOSE TWITCHING SLIGHTLY
  ANN RAISES HAND
  KONG GOES APE
  KONG SMASHES STUFF

  Fortunately, zooming in on Ann’s eyes is always pleasurable, and “KONG SMASHES STUFF” allows ample room for interpretation. Thus, a great movie was made from the scantiest of scripts.

• Even though King Kong is just over 3 hours long, I don’t remember any point when I was bored. Some how Peter Jackson managed to make just about every moment either exciting or fun to look at (e.g. Naomi’s eyes). There are plenty of action sequences, which made me extremely happy. And these action sequences were usually mind-boggling cool to watch. They were also pretty creative and unique, which prompted my older brother to remark, “I never thought I’d see a brontosaurus dogpile.” Neither did I, dear b., neither did I. Also, there’s one scene with giant insects and creepy crawlies that had me writhing with the willies. Probably the best part is when Kong gets loose in NYC, and especially when Kong is driven up to the top of the Empire State Building. If you have a fear of heights, you might want to close your eyes when he’s up there.
• I’m very forgiving when it comes to movies such as this. I only ask to be entertained. Thus, if there is any weakness in the acting, the script, character motivations, etc. I’m not really the guy to ask, especially if the movie really delivers on the action goods. If you take a gander at my movie collection you can see my standard for action flicks is set depressingly low. I do like to think I’m pretty merciless when it comes to drama and other movies that are supposed to make a point. But, King Kong isn’t drama, and it kept me thoroughly entertained. The only complaint I’d make is that some characters did some stuff for no real reason. For example, Adrien Brody’s nose Driscoll falls in “love” with Ann rather quickly, they have one smoochfest, and then he’s ready to risk life and limb to rescue her from a fiercesome 30 foot ape hell bent on tearing the crap out of everything. Maybe I’m a heartless romantic, but that’s plain stupid. Earth to Driscoll, hello, there are other women out there who aren’t jealously guarded by a giant gorilla.

Pros: Fun, fun, fun, superlative CGI, good acting, Naomi’s eyes, lots of superb action sequences, and dinosaurs.
Cons: No Godzilla to kick Kong’s butt.

I used to like flying. But that’s when I was a couple of feet shorter than my current height of six foot perfect. Now, flying is a pain, literally. It seems every time I take a flight a new part of me gets all achey. Flying back from Alaska last night, my tooshie, of all things, is what began to ache. Flying up to Alaska my lower back was in pain. And I do remember one flight that pained my upper back so bad that I had a constant ache for months. Not cool. At any rate, pain lets us know we’re alive, and I’m glad to be alive even if I’m in pain.

Just so this post isn’t a complete waste here are some pics of my favorite time in winter Alaska, the one hour bit of sun we get at the house:

I think these came out slightly better than the ones I took last year.

One of my favorite shows, Battlestar Galactica, has been named the best show of ‘05 by Time magazine. I happen to agree. You may wonder how I watch a TV show even though I don’t have a TV. All I can say is, “Thank you, mighty Intertron!” I am biased because I like sci-fi, but I think this show has a lot to offer those who don’t care too much for geek stuff. The show deals with real problems, and the solutions to those problems are not contrived and all feel-goodie. Probably the most timely issue that the show deals with is what happens when the civilian government and the military command disagree during a time of war. Great acting, great story, and overall a superbly done show. Watch it. I plan on buying it on DVD as soon as I get some more money under my belt.

Merry Christmas! I hope everybody has a splendid time with family, has a day of great cheer, and receives much loot. If you need a break from family or are just plain bored I have a little Christmas survey after the jump.

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Last work day of ‘05. Fantastic!

I’m flying up to Alaska tonight, but I suspect posting will continue as normal tomorrow. Big Hawks game tomorrow. Hopefully I can watch it at my parent’s place. Maybe I could liveblog it. Wouldn’t that be fun? No, not really.

Today, I got word that yet another one of my friends has volunteered to subject himself to the rigors of marriage. Congratulations Fluger and Olivia!

“This is what I call invisible scars in the mind. The only injuries is what I call silent screams, the invisible tears.” That’s Douglas Hornsby’s dramatic description of the injuries suffered by patients who experience “anesthesia awareness,” which occurs when the patient awakes while still under the knife. Clearly, they aren’t awake in the fullest sense otherwise they’d sit up on the operating table and say, “Cut that out!” (haha!) However, they are awake enough to realize something is poking around inside them, and that can be traumatic, as you can imagine. Anesthesia awareness may soon become the new hotness in medical-malpractice suits:

Plaintiffs attorneys claim that in the past, people who awoke during operations rarely sued because they couldn’t prove it, and doctors ignored them.

But now, they say, these patients have new ammunition: an alert recently released by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. It says that anesthesia awareness happens 20,000 to 40,000 times a year, and that this phenomenon is an “under-recognized and under-treated” problem in the health care industry.

“Somebody has actually opened the door and said, ‘Hey, this does happen,’” said attorney William DeGarmo of San Jose, Calif.’s McCann & Logue, who is handling two anesthesia awareness suits.

“If someone had said to me 10 years ago, even five years ago, that someone had woken up during surgery, I’d say, ‘I can’t imagine that.’ … But it’s only recently that publicity has come out about this that people are saying, ‘I’m not nuts. This did happen.’”

The joint commission noted that while the 20,000 to 40,000 figure cited in the report represents only one to two cases in every 1,000, the experience is “traumatic for those people who do become aware,” and called on hospitals to do more to prevent it.

“I think there’s a concern that this kind of an alert could prompt more lawsuits,” said Karen Posner, an anesthesiology professor at the University of Washington who tracks medical malpractice claims for the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

You don’t say, Ms. Posner.

Apparently, anesthesiologists have done a pretty good job of keeping their malpractice rates down — good job, Dad! — , but the increased awareness of this unfortunate event may bump them up. And of course, anesthesiologists aren’t given a particularly easy job:

In defense of the anesthesia profession, Roger Litwiller, past president of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, issued a recent statement saying, “In some types of surgeries, awareness is the result not of error, but of the need to give the patient only as much anesthesia as his or her body can tolerate. In other cases, the sounds or sensations that patients become aware of are fleeting and not traumatic.” He added: “Awareness under general anesthesia is not common. The vast majority of surgeries performed under general anesthesia are accomplished with the patient unaware and pain-free.”

In the past, I’ve schemed of ways for the Barnett Family to make megabucks, but now I have my most brilliant plan yet. Dad keeps working how he is now. I actually finish law school. Dad puts Little Brother under for some routine surgery. Little Brother suffers some silent screams, invisible tears. I represent him. Dad throws the case (”I effed it all up, yer Honor!”). We take the med-mal insurance for all it’s worth. Dad retires. I take my 20% cut. Little Brother makes bank. And the cool thing about this is we can do this twice if Older Brother becomes an anesthesiologist too. The only flaw is the whole law school part.

(via Point of Law)

That’s Pope Benedict XVI. I know, I know, you all thought it was Freddy Krueger in a santa hat. Well, you thought wrong. Seriously, though, is it possible for the media to take an even more unflattering picture? I think not! Here’s a bit of triva: that hat he’s wearing is a traditional hat going back to the twelfth century! Wow!

This post is really just so I could use that really clever title. Four more days for more daze.

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so detached from the onset of Christmas, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re a bachelor living alone. Dudes don’t care too much for holidays (unless we get to blow stuff up or have an excuse to throw back some beers), so it’s up to the women to get us into the holiday swing of things. Seeing as I don’t have that thorn in my side –thankfully!(?)–, the only other needle that can inject some Holiday High into my system is the contaminated hypodermic of Pop Culture with the plunger of the Boob Tube. I have no Boob Tube, and my only exposure to Pop Culture is really an exposure to Nerd Culture via the mighty Intarwebtron. And believe me, trust me, take my word for it, Nerd Culture may possibly be a step below Pop Culture for in it nothing is sacred, language is pwn3d by l33t w0rdz, and sentient beings are connected only by the thin tendrils of electrons. But I digress. I’m not so sure I’ve ever felt so detached from the onset of Christmas, but I guess that’s not an altogether bad thing. I think it reduces my stress, my sense of aloneness, and the hankering to spend money I may or may not have. You know what I do miss though? I miss going on road trips with my buddies like I did last year.

I fear that I’m becoming a little bit dramatic and over-wrought in my posts of late. I blame boredom, excessive creativity, pent up passion, and Penny Arcade.

Christmas season is supposed to be a time of happiness and cheer, correct? Yes, yes it is. Sometimes I have to keep reminding myself of that. I suspect I’ll truly enter into the holiday spirit sometime late Friday night when I get to my parent’s house and start eating some of Mom’s Christmas cookies. Mmmmm . . .

Let’s talk about money. It is fashionable, predictably fashionable, to disparage money, especially during this time of the year. Indeed, what person is so shallow as to love money? In truth, we all do, at least all of us that live in the real world. Furthermore, during this time of the year, most of us are especially guarded against the Specter of Materialism because it is in direct contradiction to the True Meaning of the Season and the Spirit of the Holiday. The same thing is blasted at us from every pious and not-so-pious corner: Materialism and Things are The Bad, Love and Family are The Good. Last time I checked, my truck doesn’t run on Love, and Family doesn’t keep me warm at night (unless you’re lucky) and the rain off my beloved machines. Clearly, Love and Family are precious, perhaps crucial, perhaps necessary, to life and stuff, but to a great degree so is money. So what does money do? Money pays our bills. Money heats our homes. Money quantifies our work. Money helps us express our love to others. Money is an avenue of charity. Money, for better or for worse, is the propellent of the developed world.

Of course, this is not to say that the love of money has not been abused to cause great evil. I’m reminded of Father Barry’s inspiring monologue in On the Waterfront (it’s worth seeing the movie solely for his sermon in the ship’s hold). Before he comes to his conclusion he reminds us:

You want to know what’s wrong with our waterfront? It’s love of a lousy buck. It’s making love of a buck— the cushy job— more important than the love of man. It’s forgetting that every fellow down here is your brother in Christ.

This is what seems to stick in our minds when we think of money: the evil, the materialism, the fallen quality of money. If our love of money usurps our love of man, then surely we have gone too far. But money is a neutral object, and so it can be a tool for everybody to use for great good, as Father Barry comments earlier in his monologue:

He [Christ] sees why some of you get picked and some of you get passed over. He sees the family men worrying about getting their rent and getting food in the house for the wife and kids. He sees them selling their souls to the mob for a day’s pay.

As long as money can be used to buy families food, it will never be an altogether Bad Thing.

I’m afraid I’ve gotten a little preachy — and I don’t intend to preach as I assume I’d be preaching to the choir regardless — but sometimes it does seem people get a little carried away with the Spirit of the Season and lose touch with reality. Warm fuzzies are nice but not that nice.

Today, we get a new poll: best Christmas movie EVAR (pronounced EV-ARRRR)!

It’s a binary choice, but you’ll like it and be filled with holiday cheer.

The Christian Science Monitor has an interesting profile of an Iraqi family concentrating on who they are voting for and why. A good, short read. Things aren’t always as grim as it is so easy to believe. There’s more than meets the eye, and definitely more going on than your typical media reports of death, defeat, and disaster.