Great Weather
The weather has been just perfect this week: cloudy, cool mornings; breezy, sunny afternoons; cool, foggy evenings. Can't get much better, especially after the steamy summer preview we had last month. Hope this cool trend lasts.
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Henry Rollins
Quick star sighting today. Stopped by Trader Joe's(my favorite market) to pick up a few things this Saturday evening. Good time to go -- not nearly as crowded as usual. Surprised to pass rocker/poet Henry Rollins in the milk aisle. He's looking good, almost completely grey on top, and his trademark tattoos were hidden under long sleeves. He's got one of the thickest necks I've ever seen. Maybe he drinks a lot of milk?
Quick star sighting today. Stopped by Trader Joe's(my favorite market) to pick up a few things this Saturday evening. Good time to go -- not nearly as crowded as usual. Surprised to pass rocker/poet Henry Rollins in the milk aisle. He's looking good, almost completely grey on top, and his trademark tattoos were hidden under long sleeves. He's got one of the thickest necks I've ever seen. Maybe he drinks a lot of milk?
Sunday, May 23, 2004
I'm sick!!
Yes, again. I've been sick with a cold at least three or four times in the past year! That's unheard of for me. I used to catch a cold once a year or two when I was a kid, but as an adult I've been very healthy, only visiting the doctor a handful of times.
I don't know why I'm getting sick more often now. Maybe I'm more susceptible to infections now than I used to be when I was younger, or maybe the bugs are getting more powerful?! It pisses me off, because I'm a total germophobe these days. I wash my hands constantly, hoping to avoid exposure to viruses and bacteria. Crap.
Yes, again. I've been sick with a cold at least three or four times in the past year! That's unheard of for me. I used to catch a cold once a year or two when I was a kid, but as an adult I've been very healthy, only visiting the doctor a handful of times.
I don't know why I'm getting sick more often now. Maybe I'm more susceptible to infections now than I used to be when I was younger, or maybe the bugs are getting more powerful?! It pisses me off, because I'm a total germophobe these days. I wash my hands constantly, hoping to avoid exposure to viruses and bacteria. Crap.
Friday, May 21, 2004
Simon Says
Guess who was driving in the car next to me in Beverly Hills this afternoon? It was none other than Simon Cowell, the surly judge we love to hate on TV’s “American Idol.” He was driving a very expensive looking midnight blue Bentley, probably on his way to CBS Television City studios where “Idol” is taped (though it’s broadcast on Fox).
In true LA fashion, Simon had a cell phone pressed to his ear with his right hand and was lighting a cigarette with his left. I’m sure he had a whipped-double-decaf-soy-frappuccino-mocha-latte in the cup holder next to him.
We cruised along side-by-side for several blocks, and I half considered rolling down my window to sing at him – I don’t get enough abuse in my life – but I couldn't think of a song to sing and I was distracted by the unusually horrible traffic. Suddenly I realized the police had blocked off the street ahead of us at Cedars Sinai hospital and traffic was being diverted to side streets at a crawling pace. Perhaps it was another bomb scare, I thought, but later I saw on the news there was a gunman running loose at the Beverly Center shopping mall across the street from the hospital and the police were in the process of apprehending him. Joy.
My Friday afternoon commute, which usually takes 30 minutes or less, took more than an hour and fifteen minutes. Now I know the song I should've sang for Simon: “I love LA!”
Guess who was driving in the car next to me in Beverly Hills this afternoon? It was none other than Simon Cowell, the surly judge we love to hate on TV’s “American Idol.” He was driving a very expensive looking midnight blue Bentley, probably on his way to CBS Television City studios where “Idol” is taped (though it’s broadcast on Fox).
In true LA fashion, Simon had a cell phone pressed to his ear with his right hand and was lighting a cigarette with his left. I’m sure he had a whipped-double-decaf-soy-frappuccino-mocha-latte in the cup holder next to him.
We cruised along side-by-side for several blocks, and I half considered rolling down my window to sing at him – I don’t get enough abuse in my life – but I couldn't think of a song to sing and I was distracted by the unusually horrible traffic. Suddenly I realized the police had blocked off the street ahead of us at Cedars Sinai hospital and traffic was being diverted to side streets at a crawling pace. Perhaps it was another bomb scare, I thought, but later I saw on the news there was a gunman running loose at the Beverly Center shopping mall across the street from the hospital and the police were in the process of apprehending him. Joy.
My Friday afternoon commute, which usually takes 30 minutes or less, took more than an hour and fifteen minutes. Now I know the song I should've sang for Simon: “I love LA!”
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Bomb Scare
Greetings from sunny Los Angeles, where I have just returned to my classroom after being evacuated from the building for about an hour today. Apparently there was a suspicious package left near the gas station across the street from my school, so the cops blocked off the street and evacuated the whole area.
We had to hustle all the students out of the building and down the street two blocks so the bomb squad could do their work. Naturally, many students were frightened by this experience. Luckily, the neighborhood Farmer's Market is held on Thursdays so I sent my class to the market and we strolled around sampling fresh fruit. :)
By the time I returned to our building, the chaos was over and things were getting back to normal, though the traffic was snarled even worse than usual. A few students said they saw the police carrying the suspicious "package," which turned out to be a backpack with some porno videos in it.
Bomb scares and political demonstrations are not unheard of in Westwood Village because we have a major Federal Building just a block down Wilshire Blvd, but this was the first time we had to evacuate our building.
Another exciting day in America.
Greetings from sunny Los Angeles, where I have just returned to my classroom after being evacuated from the building for about an hour today. Apparently there was a suspicious package left near the gas station across the street from my school, so the cops blocked off the street and evacuated the whole area.
We had to hustle all the students out of the building and down the street two blocks so the bomb squad could do their work. Naturally, many students were frightened by this experience. Luckily, the neighborhood Farmer's Market is held on Thursdays so I sent my class to the market and we strolled around sampling fresh fruit. :)
By the time I returned to our building, the chaos was over and things were getting back to normal, though the traffic was snarled even worse than usual. A few students said they saw the police carrying the suspicious "package," which turned out to be a backpack with some porno videos in it.
Bomb scares and political demonstrations are not unheard of in Westwood Village because we have a major Federal Building just a block down Wilshire Blvd, but this was the first time we had to evacuate our building.
Another exciting day in America.
Saturday, May 15, 2004
TRON
Saw one of my favorite films, TRON, last night with my main movie maven, Heidster. God, it's a fun flick. Quite nostalgic to see it again, but also fresh to see it on the big screen in glorious 70mm at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. It was Heidster's first time to see the film and she really enjoyed it so it was fun to share that. (Or maybe it was the Skooby dogs that won her over? hmmm...)
The film is quite mythological and Homeric thematically, if a bit corny and dated by today's standards; however, a lot of the philosophy behind it still stands up. It foresees the all-powerful technology mega-corporation ("Encom") using its mighty weight to crush the little guy, and the human spirit as well, all in the name of the holy dollar. Thematically and visually, Tron is much like German expressionist films such as Fritz Lang's epic Metropolis, especially considering that all of Tron's real-life scenes inside the computer world were shot in black and white and colorized. Some of the acting is also quite melodramatic and with the heavy makeup it does remind one of silent films.
The whole concept of a parallel universe within cyberspace (there's a word you don't hear often anymore) still captures my imagination, as does the pseudo-religious views of the "program" characters who serve their unseen "users." As one program asks another 'You believe in the users?' (the invisible world beyond our senses). He answers, `Yeah, sure. If I don't have a user, then who wrote me?' The Master Control Program wants to subvert user control and assert its own dominance over all data.
Considering the period the film was made, the Reagan '80s, one could read an "evil-godless-Communism-vs-free-Christian-Democracy" subtext. But the film has plenty of humor and Disney feel-good charm giving a knowing wink to the audience just like Mickey saying "Hello, boys and girls!" so that no one takes the oppression too seriously. "It's fun for the whole family!"
I love Jeff Bridges' performance as Flynn, the video game junkie/hacker/user-"god" who who descends in the guise of a "mortal" (program) into the world of his creation (the computer). Heidster and I joked that in every one of his movies he has a shouting "Come on, man!" moment, except in Tron he screams "Because, man!" when explaining his motivations for hacking into Encom's memory systems to retrieve a document confirming his authorship of the company's most important video games, the cornerstones to the company's success.
The movie was revolutionary in its time for using computer animation in some of its sequences, though most of the film is traditional "cartoon" animation. It was controversial as well. Some Disney animators refused to work on the film because they felt computers would replace them, and the Academy bypassed a Best Visual Effects nomination for Tron because they felt the creators had "cheated" by using computers. (Seven years later, Abyss, The (1989) would win for its computer visual effects.)
One of my favorite aspects of the film is Wendy Carlos' excellent electronic score. It had the perfect combination of traditional film scoring techniques enfused with a futuristic musical vocabulary, much like Carlos' early work on the A Clockwork Orange score and her earlier triumph with Switched on Bach. I'll never forget that final theme from Tron as the real world scenes in time-lapse photography blend with the inner world of computers, then fade to black as the credits roll...
If you haven't seen Tron for a while, take a look. You won't be disappointed.
-End of Line-
Saw one of my favorite films, TRON, last night with my main movie maven, Heidster. God, it's a fun flick. Quite nostalgic to see it again, but also fresh to see it on the big screen in glorious 70mm at Disney's El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. It was Heidster's first time to see the film and she really enjoyed it so it was fun to share that. (Or maybe it was the Skooby dogs that won her over? hmmm...)
The film is quite mythological and Homeric thematically, if a bit corny and dated by today's standards; however, a lot of the philosophy behind it still stands up. It foresees the all-powerful technology mega-corporation ("Encom") using its mighty weight to crush the little guy, and the human spirit as well, all in the name of the holy dollar. Thematically and visually, Tron is much like German expressionist films such as Fritz Lang's epic Metropolis, especially considering that all of Tron's real-life scenes inside the computer world were shot in black and white and colorized. Some of the acting is also quite melodramatic and with the heavy makeup it does remind one of silent films.
The whole concept of a parallel universe within cyberspace (there's a word you don't hear often anymore) still captures my imagination, as does the pseudo-religious views of the "program" characters who serve their unseen "users." As one program asks another 'You believe in the users?' (the invisible world beyond our senses). He answers, `Yeah, sure. If I don't have a user, then who wrote me?' The Master Control Program wants to subvert user control and assert its own dominance over all data.
Considering the period the film was made, the Reagan '80s, one could read an "evil-godless-Communism-vs-free-Christian-Democracy" subtext. But the film has plenty of humor and Disney feel-good charm giving a knowing wink to the audience just like Mickey saying "Hello, boys and girls!" so that no one takes the oppression too seriously. "It's fun for the whole family!"
I love Jeff Bridges' performance as Flynn, the video game junkie/hacker/user-"god" who who descends in the guise of a "mortal" (program) into the world of his creation (the computer). Heidster and I joked that in every one of his movies he has a shouting "Come on, man!" moment, except in Tron he screams "Because, man!" when explaining his motivations for hacking into Encom's memory systems to retrieve a document confirming his authorship of the company's most important video games, the cornerstones to the company's success.
The movie was revolutionary in its time for using computer animation in some of its sequences, though most of the film is traditional "cartoon" animation. It was controversial as well. Some Disney animators refused to work on the film because they felt computers would replace them, and the Academy bypassed a Best Visual Effects nomination for Tron because they felt the creators had "cheated" by using computers. (Seven years later, Abyss, The (1989) would win for its computer visual effects.)
One of my favorite aspects of the film is Wendy Carlos' excellent electronic score. It had the perfect combination of traditional film scoring techniques enfused with a futuristic musical vocabulary, much like Carlos' early work on the A Clockwork Orange score and her earlier triumph with Switched on Bach. I'll never forget that final theme from Tron as the real world scenes in time-lapse photography blend with the inner world of computers, then fade to black as the credits roll...
If you haven't seen Tron for a while, take a look. You won't be disappointed.
-End of Line-
Updated Blog Features
Most of you can't see this unless you are also a Blogger user, but Blogger has changed their user interface. It's quite different than the earlier version, but it seems easy enough to use.
Anyway, the extra feature you WILL notice is the addition of the Comments feature to all my postings. Now you can leave feedback on any of my posts! So I expect all one of you who read this blog to comment often. :)
Most of you can't see this unless you are also a Blogger user, but Blogger has changed their user interface. It's quite different than the earlier version, but it seems easy enough to use.
Anyway, the extra feature you WILL notice is the addition of the Comments feature to all my postings. Now you can leave feedback on any of my posts! So I expect all one of you who read this blog to comment often. :)
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Still Hot
It's too fucking hot! I can't stand it anymore and it's only the beginning of May!! My little air conditioner is pretty much useless unless you're sitting right in front of it with the cold air blowing directly on your skin. My next home must have eastern exposure. I leave the A/C on all day and yet when I get home at 5:30 the place is just boiling. Not sure if anything can be done to help it -- the aircon unit is just too small. Maybe if I put a fan in the center of the room to help circulate the air? It would be so nice to get a new, bigger air conditioner...but that's expensive, and I'd have to install it. The first one was a bitch to install. Ugh. I'm moving to Canada....
It's too fucking hot! I can't stand it anymore and it's only the beginning of May!! My little air conditioner is pretty much useless unless you're sitting right in front of it with the cold air blowing directly on your skin. My next home must have eastern exposure. I leave the A/C on all day and yet when I get home at 5:30 the place is just boiling. Not sure if anything can be done to help it -- the aircon unit is just too small. Maybe if I put a fan in the center of the room to help circulate the air? It would be so nice to get a new, bigger air conditioner...but that's expensive, and I'd have to install it. The first one was a bitch to install. Ugh. I'm moving to Canada....
Saturday, May 01, 2004
Happy Anniversary
Today is my fourth anniversary of teaching online with Englishtown. I'm so bored. Topic today is weather, which is innocuous enough but my heart's not in it. It's always the same, same lessons, same topics, same students asking the same questions.
I actually fell asleep today between lessons. It was late in the afternoon and I was a little drowsy. I decided to take a five-minute power nap, which I often do, and ended up sleeping through my next lesson! Oh well, no big wup.
Today is my fourth anniversary of teaching online with Englishtown. I'm so bored. Topic today is weather, which is innocuous enough but my heart's not in it. It's always the same, same lessons, same topics, same students asking the same questions.
I actually fell asleep today between lessons. It was late in the afternoon and I was a little drowsy. I decided to take a five-minute power nap, which I often do, and ended up sleeping through my next lesson! Oh well, no big wup.
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