i m N s h o

On Writers…   Writers aren't supposed to be life models or religious prophets, clean of mind, clean of body. Nor are they supposed to be loved. Their only job is to make language work for the reader. That is the basis of free speech. Whatever the vested interests of the day may be, they invariably favour an obscure language of insider's dialects and received wisdom. So the writer turns nasty. It's a public service. —John Ralston Saul, Canadian essayist, novelist, and critic, "The Doubter's Companion", 1994   "It's a public service." I like that… I'm not just mouthing off here, I'm performing a public service! (And before you ask, no, I don't have any modesty issues.)

Thoughts on The Hulk (part 2)…   Turns out there's a limit on how long these posts can be! So here's the last of my Hulk rant… the things I liked about The Hulk:   So after all that ranting, what did I like? The Hulk scenes were great. He’s really well animated and expressive, and they impart the feeling of movement and strength well… I could go back and see the movie again just for those scenes. And the overall arc of the film was enjoyable. I needed WAY less “daddy done me wrong” and way more “what am I and what am I becoming”. But there’s an interesting story buried under the rubble of that failed potential. (Like you can see the germs of a good story underlying all the overwritten posturing in Star Wars Episodes I & II.)   Okay, so a multi-page rant about all the things that bugged me and one vague paragraph about what I liked? And I didn't think it's a bad movie? Hmmm, might have to rethink that assessment.

Thoughts on The Hulk…   First things first… The Hulk is NOT Spiderman. It’s not even Daredevil (we’re not talking quality here; we’re talking content. Hulk is MILES above Daredevil in terms of quality.) Hulk is an old-fashioned movie monster story—it owes more to Frankenstein and Godzilla than it does to Spiderman, Superman, Batman or any other superhero you want to name. The fact that he got his start in the comics like the rest of this gang does not mean his stories are going to be the same type of stories.   What this all means, is that all the people whining about how bad the movie is because it isn’t a popcorn-action-superhero movie should just stop whining because it wasn’t meant to be. If you don’t like Hulk because it’s not like Spiderman or X-Men, that’s your own baggage and you really needed to check it at the door before seeing the movie.   This is not to imply that I thought Hulk was a great film. Just that you’re all whining about the wrong things.   Part of the problem Hu

This applies to SO much more than just language…   It is in vain to set up a language police to stem living developments. (I have always suspected that correctness is the last refuge of those who have nothing to say.) —Friedrich Waismann, Austrian philosopher, "Analysis", 1952   (Wow, nothing to say for nearly a week, and the best I can come up with is a damn quote! And before that, all I post is a link? Sad.)

So Dennis Miller has been sounding more and more reactionary to me every day…   Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks that: THE MILLER'S CROSSING.   Love this one! Thanks Tally!

May spoiled me…   I mean, really… let’s look at it: May 2: X-2: X-Men United. Overall, loved the movie. I thought they did a great job of handling all the different mutants and their different powers and abilities, they were able to get some good character stuff in there and tell a pretty good story, all while providing all the big effects and loud explosions that the summer ADD crowd need in order to watch a film. Yeah, the third act might have gotten a little messy, but it was still a great time and a lot of fun.   Nothing big opened the next weekend—too scared of X-Men, I guess. (Yeah, sure Daddy Day Care and the Lizzie McGuire movie… like I said, nothing big.)   May 16th: the Matrix Reloaded , of course. Despite some niggling complaints from the fanboy crowd, I have to say that overall, I liked the movie. Sure, almost every action scene could have benefited from some judicial editing, but when you’ve got 5 hours or so to tell your story (counting fall’s Matrix Revolutions)

Ok, this is sad, I know…   Dani’s sister Tisza & her fiancé Mel are getting married next week. Shortly after deciding to get married, they called and asked if I’d be willing to get ordained so I could perform the ceremony for them. (For those of you wondering, this isn’t the sad part—just the backstory.)   Being a confirmed agnostic (with strong pagan inclinations) I was a bit hesitant to go that route. Not that I actually believe the ground would open up and swallow me whole for impersonating a cleric, but could you think of a worst time to be proven wrong? So I said I’d be glad to officiate, if we could find some way that didn’t involve me logging onto the Church of Universal Life website and getting ordained in 3 minutes flat.   Turns out that the State of California has been dealing with these requests for a long time, and all I have to do is get deputized to perform the ceremony. I’ll be a legal Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage for one day (and one day only) an

Paraskevidekatriaphobia …   How's THAT for a useless word, huh?   It's the word for fear of Friday the 13th and it's pronounced: (pair.uh.skee.vee.dek.uh.tree.uh.FOH.bee.uh). Just in case you were wondering.   Today's useless word brought to you by The Word Spy .

Ok, so I'm sure my choice of quotes says a lot about my current mindset… But I just can't help it.   Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, the surer he is that he knows precisely what is right and what is wrong. All human progress, even in morals, has been the work of men who have doubted the current moral values, not of men who have whooped them up and tried to enforce them. The truly civilized man is always skeptical and tolerant, in this field as in all others. His culture is based on "I am not too sure." —H.L.Mencken   The list of people that we could apply this to today boggles the mind.

Is Gary Hart Running for President Again? I can't keep track of who's running among Democrats, but I do like what he says here: Where Is Bush Leading Us?

Another good quote… When governments fear the people there is liberty. When the people fear the government there is tyranny. Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)