Tuesday, February 25, 2003

Dude, You Should Totally Ask Her Out

I just walked past the office of an attorney down the hall, and did that glance in thing - you know, you're casually strolling past, and you just casually look in there, even though you have absolutely no business looking. I think it's instinctual, this compulsion to be completely aware of what's behind door numbers 1, 2, and 3. I mean, if the caveman didn't glance into every cave he passed, he could be lunch, right?

Anyway, the attorney was on the phone, as is normal for attorneys, I'm learning. So here he is talking to a client, presumably, and he's all curled up sideways in his chair with his feet dangling over his desk. I fully expected to hear him giggle and say, "So what did she say about me? Does she think I'm cute?" I think that seeing that will give me new perspective the next time I have to make a work-related telephone call.

Wednesday, February 12, 2003

Of All the Luck

The asshole who cut me off in traffic this morning, you know the one, the one who waits until the lanes are merging and then decides that he has to be right in front of you at the last minute? Yeah. I was behind him after that point, and even though he was going about 20 miles over the speed limit, ended up behind him once we exited. Then, he turned where I turned. Then, he pulled into my parking lot and parked.

Now, as upset as I was when he cut me off, I was ecstatic in equal part when he ended up at my destination. I mean, how often do you get the chance to actually see the guy that drives like that? Not only that, but possibly to hold the door for him as he enters the building? I hurried out of my car, if only to be able to point out to him that cutting me off didn't get him in the door any faster.

I think he was on to me. He didn't even get out of the car until I was in the building, and then suddenly he had something very interesting in the trunk of his car that he had to look at. In retrospect, I guess it was all for the best.

Friday, February 07, 2003

Ow

My back hurts. I think I hurt it trying to pull wet clothes out of the washing machine, which sound incredibly wussy, but there you have it. I hurt it Sunday, and it got better and better and then yesterday got worse again. It's funny how your perspective changes when there's a persistent voice in the back of your head saying "ow ow ow ow ow." Activities that I didn't even think twice about I now dread. I think it got worse yesterday because I went to the grocery store for a few things and - *gasp* - walked around some. Sneezing really sucks. Also, coughing, drying my hair, feeding the cat... bleah.

I made a phone call to a massage therapist that works in the same building that I do. I had to hang up the first time because I was laughing at how funny his British accent sounded saying MAA-sage. But I overcame. We are still playing phone tag, but hopefully he will be able to make me stand upright again. It has been very embarrassing to walk around the building like I'm 80 - I have developed this little waddle that feels pretty good but looks so ridiculous I want to laugh as I walk around. But laughing hurts.

Saturday, February 01, 2003

Ten Movies Flock Thinks You Should See

Yes, you. Flock has seen more movies than you. No, I don't care who you are or where you work or any of that other crap, he has seen more movies. Just trust me on this one. I have paraphrased his reasons below, since we hashed this out verbally in my living room. And no, Flock is not his real name. It's a long story. Forget that, check out these movies:

1. Citizen Kane He didn't have much to add about this one, except that you can't miss it for the young Orson Welles, and even if you know about Rosebud, the journey is what makes this movie great.

2. The Godfather The first two, really. If he had room, Goodfellas would have made it, too.

3. Seven Samurai Every western you have seen is based on this movie, the granddaddy of them all. If you have already seen Star Wars, you can see where the inspiration was obtained. Yeah, I'm going to geek hell for that one. I don't care.

4. Andrei Rublyov This one everyone should try and get through. It is long. And in Russian with subtitles. But what makes it all worth it is the emotional impact it has on you once you have finished.

5. Gone with the Wind Although he had seen it before, he caught this when they re-released it in theaters, also. Watching this movie, you forget that they made it in the 30's. Well-made, and the epic of all epics, everyone should have it at least on their viewing resume.

6. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb This, if you haven't seen it, is the one everyone in the world has seen that one part of. You know, the part where the guy jockeys up on the falling bomb? It's also very funny, and one of Kubrick's best films.

7. Taxi Driver He didn't have much comment about this, except that it's a great movie. If nothing else, see Jodie Foster before she lost all her baby teeth.

8. 2001: A Space Odyssey One of the rare movies where the script doesn't get in the way of the movie. This movie was done way before any of the special effects technology caught up to how Kubrick wanted it to look. With painstaking attention to detail, they created what would be the most expensive movie of all time if it were done with today's technology. It shows.

9. Children of Paradise At first, I thought he was talking about City of the Lost Children, which is also French, but no. This movie is an epic film on par with Gone with the Wind, but takes place in 1800's France. They actually made this movie under the nose of the Germans right before France was occupied in WWII.

10. The Third Man A film noir mystery. Good eats.

11. Our amplifiers go all the way to eleven! OK, he couldn't finish the list without adding Alfred Hitchcock movies. Start maybe with Vertigo, move on to Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt... yeah, the biggest problem he had was with limiting the list to ten.

I am ashamed to admit that I have only seen three of these movies, so obviously I have my work cut out for me. Perhaps if I didn't spend so much time playing Dark Age of Camelot...