communication breakdown

ARG Fever

I guess it's true when they say things come in three's. A while back I discussed two new Alternate Reality Games that had started or were getting ready to start. Well, a third one has started, again somewhat quietly and subtlely, and to me it appears to be the best yet. I could be biased, because so far I've already been able to be an integral part of this one...

Note: If you're possibly interested in this game and don't want to know a lot of details (and some spoilers) that I'm going to reveal, you should stop reading and instead check out the Wiki page to get you starrted...

How it all began: news of an upcoming reality TV show called "Urban Hunt" began popping up on reality TV websites. The idea is that contestants will scour the countryside looking for things and completing missions - one of the twists is that there will be "online advisors", regular people at home who will aid the contestants. You can visit the site and sign up to be an online advisor - when you do, you get a confirmation email telling you more about the program.

So far everything was normal, which is why the reality TV fans were all over this. However, a very clever ARG player was reading over the confirmation email and noticed a puzzle in the email text! If you take the first word of each sentence and combine it, you get urbanmythology.net. A visit there reveals a website dedicated to exposing urban legends. One of the legends was about a show called "Dread House", which was supposedly produced by the same company which is making "Urban Hunt". The idea was that they would gather 13 contestants and make them stay for several weeks in an abandoned insane asylum, eating weird crap and doing weird stuff, while eliminating one each episode. Typical reality show scenario - except one problem. According to the legend, everyone involved with the show mysteriously died in the house. The producers of the show panicked and covered up all evidence and now denies anything ever happened. But is this an urban legend, or did it really occur?

And so the new ARG was born! So far it's been great, albeit a little slow, but it has all the elements - a great story, very professional and realistic-looking websites, and some cool character interaction. Here's how my part in this whole story came into being. As most of you know, I live in the Twin Cities area - well, it just so happens that the insane asylum where this "Dread House" reality show took place was in Cambridge, MN - about 30 minutes away from where I live. We even found a website, which is part of the game, which is dedicated to the history of the Cambridge Mental Hospital, including pictures and old records. Well, me and the other players were discussing it one day and we decided that someone should probably go visit the abandoned hospital to see if there were any clues there. Clearly, I was the obvious choice, so after work one day I took my digital camera and some old maps of the asylum and headed up to Cambridge...

Honestly, it was a pretty wild experience. It wasn't as freaky as I thought - most of the pictures of the hospital found on the game websites were pretty spooky, but they were all pictures of parts of the hospital which have since been torn down (only several of the original buildings remain). However, I spent two hours up there, roaming the ground and taking pictures. The strangest thing was that I just felt like I was being watched a lot of the time, and it's possible I was - the hospital campus has since been converted to a pseudo-community where (I believe) some former patients live or are being cared for. Once or twice I saw people around, and they disappeared very quickly when I wasn't looking. It was all very strange...

I was taking some photos of one of the buildings when I found a document laying on the ground near a dumpster. Further investigation revealed that it was an 80-year-old specification document which detailed some piping/sewer work which was to be done for the hospital. I was so thrilled that I found something that may be a clue so I just kind of stored it away and hoped nobody saw me picking around and taking things. Outside of that document, I didn't find anything that looked like it might have been a clue, though I admit, this was pretty freaky:

We have since analyzed the document and still can't tell if it's a clue or not - it certainly appears legit, but what was it doing there? Anyways, I've received several emails from "characters" in the game who were wondering just how close I lived to the hospital and if I was planning on making a return trip. My thoughts are that I caught the game creators (usually called PuppetMasters) off-guard with my sudden trip. It's extremely possible that what I found was not a clue, but that they do want to leave a clue and want to know when I can return to get it.

This is exactly the kind of thing that make ARGs so cool - how many times do you have the chance to visit an old mental hospital, looking for clues, and possibly finding one? The suspension of disbelief is one of the coolest things about these games. I'm sure I'll be going back again to explore. There is supposedly a vast tunnel system under the hospital, and there's still that graveyard to check out. I've got to screw up some courage and go to work!

Anyways, I doubt you'd be interested in more details (unless you plan to join the game yourself), but if you want to read my report on my exploration, you can find it here, and the gallery with my pictures is here.

That's all for now - if you folks have some free time and any of this sounds exciting, you should really check it out. It's so addictive!

Chicago!

I'm a little behind in updates here because I've been so busy recently - but for me, that's a good problem to have. Last weekend I made the trip east to Chicago to meet up with a couple fraternity brothers and to see a soccer match at Soldier Field. There is a link to some pictures in the "Galleries" section. All in all, the trip was short but fun and well worth the time. The hotel was in a great location, right in the heart of downtown and about a block from the stadium. Parking was a little high ($21 a day), but hey, what are you gonna do? We were all pretty exhausted when we arrived Saturday night, so we basically just chilled out and talked for awhile so we could get an early start on Sunday...

We got up Sunday morning and decided to fit something in before the soccer match at 3 - the Shedd Aquarium seemed like the best choice. It's supposedly the largest indoor aquarium, and you can tell once you're in there - we were there for several hours and really didn't come close to exploring all of it. I hadn't been to an aquarium since my first semester in college (Tennessee Aquarium), so it was refreshing for a change.

We headed over to the stadium well over an hour early and it was pretty crazy over there - Adidas had an area roped off with activities and free stuff and all. This was one of the few soccer matches I've ever watched, and certainly the first live one; all in all, it was pretty fun. I have nothing against soccer, I've just never taken the time to get into it. Supposedly the idea for this exhibition tour was to allow the American fans a chance to see some big teams in-person before the real season begins in Europe. There were a lot of top-caliber players on the field and there were some exciting moments, although you did get the feeling that they weren't trying too hard. The game ended in a nil-nil tie and, not surprisingly, the fans responded in true American form by booing loudly - I guess they felt there wasn't enough of an effort to score goals. Luckily for them (and everyone, really) they played penalty kicks and Bayern won 4-2. My friend John was happy because he's a big Bayern fan. I didn't really care who won; it was fun either way.

We had heard from the Adidas folks that they were giving away jerseys after the game. So we made our way over there afterwards and found a straight-up mob waiting for jerseys. You'd think that if Adidas was going to promote that, they would have setup some kind of system to distribute the jerseys - but no, they just had a couple of people standing on one of the sidewalks trying to open up and distribute hundreds of boxes of jerseys. As you could imagine, this turned into all-out pandimonium, with one guy even getting (roughly) escorted away by a female security guard who he had called a fatass. Anyways, after some heavy pushing and maneuvering (reminiscent of a punk-rock concert), all three of us got jerseys. We expected these "jerseys" would be some pseudo-Tshirt-jersey thing, but no - they were real team jerseys. According to John they cost about $65, and I paid $50 for the event ticket, so the way I see it, I came out on top.

After the game we decided to roam the city and find a cool local place to eat. I was all about some Chicago-style pizza so we went looking in the hopes we'd find a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint within reasonable walking distance. After walking several blocks Greg looked down a side-street and saw this sign for a place called "Gino's Pizza" far in the distance. We figured we might as well check it out. After we got there we saw the line for getting in was wrapped around the building. We figured this either meant:
1) the place is really good; or
2) mob mentality took over and everyone just assumed it was good because the line was long.

We were contemplating leaving when we turned to a guy who came up behind us and asked him if he had eaten there, and if it was any good. According to him, this was the best pizza place in town! He said they freeze their pizzas and they are distributed around the nation. That was enough to convince us. It took us about 30-40 minutes to get in the building and then another 45 minutes before we had food at our table. But was it ever worth the wait! This was true Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, and it was probably the best I've ever had. This is why hole-in-the-wall restaurants will always destroy chains - you just can't take a classic recipe and mass produce it with random people across the nation. Gino's will definitely be on my hit list next time I return to Chicago.

We pretty much just roamed the city for the rest of the night, observing the nightlife and the downtown area. We did check out the Hancock Observatory for awhile to get some good aerial shots of the city, but the Observatory was horribly back-lit and the glare ruined just about every shot.

The next day was interesting to say the least. We started out in the morning by checking out the Field Museum. To me this was disappointing - I'm not really into checking out stuffed animals or learning about the nature of soil. There was some cool stuff in the Egyptian section from an old tomb, but for the most part, this type of museum just isn't my bag. We left after awhile because Greg wanted to check out the Science Museum. Oh, boy was that a bad idea. First off, it led to our first excursion on the El, which actually wasn't bad. It wasn't my first experience with mass transit, so they're all pretty much the same. One thing I did notice is that there were a bunch of people roaming the cars trying to sell stuff, which I never saw when I rode MARTA in Atlanta. Oh well...

So Greg supposedly knows how to get to the Science Museum, so he takes us to this stop on the El and we get off. Immediately my common sense radar goes off - we appear to be in the middle of a rundown area of town. Why would a Science Museum be out here? He assures me that the directions are right and that we just have to walk a block or two east. So we start walking - and I start getting more worried. We're walking through a very, very bad area of town. There are shady characters everywhere. People are staring at us. And we're certainly the only white people around. There are certain places where you're just not welcome and you know better than to go - this was one of those places. I wanted to get right back on the El but I trusted Greg that we'd be there soon - unfortunately this was not entirely correct. After walking about 5-6 blocks we realized we'd have to walk another 3 miles to get there. That's when I decided I wasn't going a step further - the other guys agreed and we headed back to the El. I'm just glad we all got back there in one piece. So much for the Science Museum....

Next stop was Wrigley Field. Unfortunately the Cubbies weren't in town, but we did want to see the stadium and take some pictures. We caught lunch in a local bar and then headed back home. Apparently our timing was just right, because during the time we were at Wrigley/lunch, there was some kind of major trouble with the El. I never found out what was the cause, but when we got back to the train station there were a lot of pissed Chicagoans who had been waiting there over an hour, I believe. A train showed up about 5 minutes after we got there, and we were told it was the last train going back into town - thank God we were there at the right time! The trip back was crazy because, at each stop, there were a ton of people who had been waiting forever for a train, and all of them tried to pack onto this one. We definitely got up close and personal with some locals on that ride back. By the time we got back it was about time for me to leave - I couldn't afford to miss another work day so I left Monday early evening.

From the little I saw of it, here are my general impressions of the city:

Pros:

1. It's big. I like big cities. Everything you need is there.
2. It has a pulse, especially at night. Walking around downtown was, for the most part, a lot of fun. Plenty of street musicians and pedestrians - it just felt alive.
3. They drive like I do. After a year in Minneapolis, driving into Chicago was a great relief - finally, other people who drive 90mph everywhere! It felt like being back home in Atlanta again, except even more intense. In ATL they drive fast with their 6-lane highways. In Chicago they drive even faster with 4-lane highways. It was definitely more dangerous but aggressive driving is what I crave.
4. The weather was great, which never hurts.

Cons:

1. The homeless population! My goodness - I'm used to living near a large one from being in downtown Atlanta, but that was nothing compared to Chicago! As we strolled around Sunday night in downtown, I swear we got accosted by panhandlers at least every half-block. And on the El coming back from Wrigley, this guy showed up in our car smelling disgusting, screaming that he was homeless and begging for money. But he didn't just beg - he did it repeatedly. For about five minutes he kept yelling (to a completely crowded car) "please give me some money... please... please...". Everyone was silent and most people just tried to ignore him, but in the confined spaces, it's pretty hard. It was the most uncomfortable and annoying experience I've had in a while. I don't like aggressive homeless people who try to make you feel like you're evil for not helping out their lazy selves... and they were everywhere in Chicago.

2. The typical Chicago personality is a little abrasive for my tastes. I'm used to Southern Hospitality and such, and you're not going to find anything approximating that over there. It's like they're basically saying "I'm from Chicago, which makes me better than you, whether you live here or not." Mind you, nobody was particularly rude to us or anything - but you can just tell on their faces, they are not normally cheerful people.

Wow! I just started writing, and this is what came out. That's enough for now - looking forward to a return trip soon!

O Happy Day

Wow - today was a really good day. I had my (first) yearly performance review a month ago, and despite the excellent evaluation I received, I still hadn't heard anything about a salary increase. I had a scheduled one-on-one with my manager today, and I was going to mention something to her about it in case it had slipped through the cracks. Anyways, at our meeting I found out that no one had forgotten, it just took some time to get everything processed. The results were way more than anything I could have expected. At first, she showed me the raise that resulted from my evaluation, which I thought was acceptable. However, she also told me that I was being promoted to Software Engineer! Along with that came another raise (bigger than the first) - all in all, it was over a 15% jump in base salary! Needless to say, I was speechless...

I'm extremely excited about the promotion. It makes me all the more satisfied with the job I've done this past year, and shows me that the organizational managers have taken notice. There's nothing more frustrating than working somewhere that you get ignored or overlooked, and I know that doesn't happen at Medtronic - it might be challenging to move up, but no one can say they don't take care of their employees. I'm also glad the bar has been set higher, because frankly I felt I wasn't being challenged by being considered an "Associate". Now I am expected to be able to work independently, which I do regardless, but I like the fact that I will be challenged and asked to do more. My manager has great faith in me and is always looking for opportunities which can help me grow. I'm definitely looking forward to stepping up and making even more of a difference in the coming year...

After work several of us went out to play some tennis for several hours. The good news there is that I think, at least for the most part, I've moved past this whole back pain ordeal. I've played many hours of tennis in the last week, and I even went to TaeKwon-Do last night, all without any back pain. Admittedly, the TKD class last night was very light, and I'm still a little afraid to do some of the hardcore aerial kicks and stuff, but we'll see how it goes.

Back to tennis though - I've often wondered what it is about that sport that captivates me so completely. I could play or watch it all day long and be fully satisfied. It's not like I've got tremendous talent - ask anyone who has ever played me and they'll tell you that I'm extremely average. But I just love it, everything about it. I love football, basketball, and several other sports - but none of them compare at all. I love the individuality of the sport - one on one, no excuses, no one else to lean on, nothing but your own personl best. I love the feel of the racquet in my hand. I love the sound the ball makes when it bounces. I love to hit passing shots on people who come into the net. I love to hit forehand topspin cross-court winners. The list goes on and on. As a kid I used to go into our backyard, just me, my racquet, and the side of the house. For countless hours on end I would hit the ball against that stucco wall (which isn't easy by the way), imaginging I was playing for real. If I could do it all over again and be anyone I wanted to be, I would want to be a professional tennis player - and just once, to be on Centre Court, Wimbledon, playing for the championship. It's a far cry from what I do now, but they don't call them pipe dreams for nothing...

In my last post I spoke (at length) about ARGs and some of the new "immersive fiction" games starting up. One of them is tentatively called "The Haunted Apiary", and the only site we know (so far) that is part of the game is www.ilovebees.com. Well, some of the game-players today found out that this site is mentioned in the recently-released trailer for the new video game Halo 2! Under the Xbox symbol, in very small letters, you can see the URL - here's a screen capture:

What does this mean, you say? Well, it means big things - if this site is mentioned in some other random trailer, it means that either the company producing the video game, or the company marketing it (Microsoft) has some financial stake in this new ARG. As I mentioned before, Microsoft bankrolled the game based on the movie AI, and it was the best ARG ever - so here's hoping the funding is in place for this new one, and we're about to have a similarly amazing experience! There's plenty of time to join in still - one of the beautiful things about ARGs is you can start when you want, play as little or much as you want - it's all up to you. Again, check out unfiction for more info...

A couple of other random thoughts:

- Tour de France: Lance, I salute you, a great American hero. I needn't say more.

- Quizno's is the best sub/sandwich chain ever. And no, this is not up for discussion or debate.

- 2 great CD's I heard this week:
1. "The Darkness", famous for that song/video "I Believe in a Thing Called Love". These guys are amazing and hilaroius at the same time.
2. "Velvet Revolver, which is one-quarter STP (Scott Weiland) and three-quarters Guns N' Roses. Excellent debut.

- What's up with these people in the Phillipines? When it comes to dealing with terror, the steps are very, very simple:

1. Terrorists make threats on innocents unless demands are met by Country.
2. Country ignores Terrorists.
3. Terrorists either have their bluff called and release innocents, or kill innnocents, but quickly realize that they didn't profit by the situation and start looking for other strategies.

Now - time for a lesson in cause vs. effect. We change #2 - see what happens:

1. Terrorists make threats on innocents unless demands are met by Country
2. Country meets Terrorist demands.
3. Terrorists either kill innocents anyway, or release them. Either way, they realize that the strategy is profitable and start doing it even more.

Come on people, there are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and not negotiating with terrorists. These guys capture a single Filipino hostage and demand that the country's troops are pulled out, and their people take to the streets, demanding immediate withdrawal! And if that wasn't bad enough, the administration agrees and pulls out their troops early! All this does is put all of us at more risk. Americans sure know how to be stupid, but we also appear to be the only ones capable of rational thought at the moment as well...

Starting Anew

Well, I decided to change gears and go with the "Screw It" philosophy regarding my back - as in, not pay any attention and just do the things I normally do. Actually, most things I've been reading say that's what you should do - unless the pain is excruciating (which it isn't), try to keep getting your normal level of exercise. So I bit the bullet and tried to go out and do the very thing that caused this problem in the first place - play some tennis (at this moment, a certain friend in Macon is shaking her head and the word "stubborn" is probably crossing her mind)...

Actually, I think it was a good decision. I went out Sunday with a friend, we played about 2 hours, and at a certain point, after doing too many bend-overs to grab some balls, I felt some distinct pain. But it subsided quickly and didn't re-appear that day. Today we went out again and I played about 3 hours pain-free, which I consider a great sign. But I just know it's not 100%, because even when it's painless, it feels strange, either tight or swollen, I can't tell. Something in there is not exactly right, and I think it is still not OK to do TaeKwon-Do training, because when I've tried to do a few things to see if I could handle a class, it didn't feel so comfortable. It's amazing how much you realize you depend on something once it's not there. Anyways, the good news is that I'm at least able to maintain a certain level of fun-ness, but the bad news is I know that it's not all back to normal. I'll probably just break down and see a chiropractor and make sure it's not super-serious.

OK, something else that's on my mind that I figured I would share: most of you who know me probably don't know about some of the experiences I've had with ARG. That stands for Alternate Reality Gaming, by the way. Now, before you run screaming thinking that I've gone all geek on you, hear me out, because it's not what you think. This is a new trend that started up over the Internet within the last couple of years. I was going to write a lengthy description here, but I found a perfectly succint one out on a site I frequent often called unfiction (which I'll link to later). Here you go:

The first (and best) of these games was quietly released upon the public as a marketing campaign for the movie AI (by the way, go see this if you haven't already). Basically, several hints were dropped in some of the trailers for the movie. One of the trailers had a phone number hidden on the screen:

Notice the "random" dots under the date? Another listed in the credits a fake person named "Jeanine Salla":

For a while nobody noticed these, but eventually someone caught on to them. Well, this phone number, and this person's name, were entry points into this game that nobody publicly said was starting, but it was there nonetheless, just waiting to be discovered. The story of the game was loosely based on part of the story from AI, and it was bankrolled by Microsoft (amazing, huh?) which meant the funding allowed for some amazing things. In all, the game lasted about 6 months until the full truth was revealed, and it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. I even got a prop from the movie as a result of playing the game:

If you want to read more about the Beast, or even see a little bit of what it was about (all of the sites used for the game have been archived), check out www.cloudmakers.org. This was the primary collective group of puzzle-solvers who joined to play the game. As a result of the success of the Beast and the popularity of Cloudmakers, an entire genre was born, called ARG. Though no game has yet to eclipse the Beast (money has been an issue for all of them, and who's got more than Microsoft?) there have been some great attempts and the genre is really evolving. Anyone who loves uncovering a good story would enjoy it - and it's all the more rewarding when you discover something that helps the entire group move forward.

Anyways - so why do I mention all of this? Well, I hadn't participated in any ARGs in a while, but just got an email from one of the collective groups saying that two new ones are just getting underway. So, I wanted to bring some publicity to them, and suggest some of you consider taking a look, if you have some free time - you never know, you might get hooked into the stories like I did. Anyways, the best source of information nowadays for ARGs is a site called unfiction, which is probably the largest collective of ARG participants.. They have a message board forum for each game, and that is where people gather to talk, speculate, solve puzzles together, etc. Most of the action goes on here, and from the main page, you can see all the ARGs going on under the "now playing" and "coming soon" headings. Here are a couple I wanted to highlight:

The first game that's starting right now has been named by the players 'The Haunted Apiary". Who knows what the real name is, we don't even know who's running it, and they haven't communicated a name yet! The way this game started is that somebody mailed a package to one of the people who runs the unfiction site. This package had a jar of honey in a ziploc bag - inside the honey were several cut-outs of alphabet letters. When placed in the right order, they spelled "I LOVE BEES". Weird, huh? Anyway, this gave someone the idea to check out www.ilovebees.com, which is the first site in the game. At first glance it looks like a normal, boring site - but things are not what they seem...

The other game is in "pre-game" and is currently known as Orbital Colony. Pre-game is a time for people to get the word out about the game, minor bits of the story are released, minor puzzles are revealed, it's all just kind of like warming up for the big show. This game was found when someone posted a message on unfiction announcing that an asteroid was put up for sale on eBay. One of the bidders for this asteroid had the username orbital_colony. If you look at that user's profile, you'll find some weird symbols. These symbols, when deciphered (someone else figured this out, not me) spell the name of the first game website: www.orbitalcolony.com.

OK, I think that's enough on ARG, either you're bored, or you can ask me for more information if you're interested. I'll probably put some more random thoughts up later in the week, but for now, that's all that's on my mind. Until the next time, keep on truckin'...

Book Review: As I Lay Dying (1930)

[ 9 / 10 ] Widely recognized as one of William Faulkner's best novels, "As I Lay Dying" is a piercing and moving look at a poor family coping with life and death. In this novel, as with many of his others, Faulkner writes about what he knows - the hard life of the deep South. He created a mythical part of Mississippi known as Yoknapotawpha County, and within this county is where the story of this novel takes place...

The book centers around the Bundren family, one of the poorest families in the county; indeed, they are some of Faulkner's poorest characters in all of his literature. It is a large family - mother, father, four sons, and one daughter - all of which become well-developed characters throughout the course of the book. The premise of the novel is simple and the story is quite limited in scope - Addie Bundren, the family matriarch, is dying. As we enter the story, she is on her deathbed and there is little doubt that she will not last long. After her inevitable passing, the Bundrens transport Addie's body to Jefferson so she can be buried with her birth family - this was Addie's dying wish. However, for a poor family in rural Mississippi, even something as seemingly simple as the burial of the dead comes attached to enormous complications and consequences.

The story is simple because the focus of the book is more on its characters than what they are doing. "As I Lay Dying" is most famous, however, for its writing style. First, it is not typical in the sense that novels are usually told from the perspective of a single objective narrator, usually in the third person. Here, Faulkner chooses to employ multiple narrators - 15 in all - who tell different parts of the story. Some narrators are relied upon more than others, and as you can expect, the style of the narration depends upon the character who is thinking or speaking. In addition, Faulkner often uses a stream-of-consciousness writing technique, where strict literary form is bypassed in order to give a more accurate view of the narrator's psyche.

In all fairness, it is not an easy book to read. Sometimes you just want to curl up and turn off the brain and escape into a story - this is not that kind of book. However, don't get the impression either that this is a book for academia - any open-minded individual (of appropriate age) can read the book, and while some of the finer points might escape some readers, I think anyone can find it to be a worthy read. His cryptic style might cause you to re-read a few passages, or perhaps give some serious thought to what's being said, or even accept that you might not be able to understand what you're reading until you're given more information later. To me, I found this highly rewarding, as the story opened up like a puzzle just waiting to be completed.

Now, on to the characters. The members of the Bundren family are completely distinct: the father Anse is lazy, stupid, and cowardly. You can't help but think that a large portion of the family's problems can be directly attributed to his leadership (or lack thereof). Oldest son Cash is quiet, longsuffering, a devoted carpenter. Darl is the most intriguing of characters, a highly sensitive and contemplative son whose narrations are characterized by descriptiveness and abstract thought. It is his interpretation of events that most readers tend to rely on the most. Next is Jewel, who is most known for his fiery outbursts and love for his horse. The only daughter Dewey Dell spends most of the story troubled by a personal horror which she hasn't revealed to anyone. Finally, youngest son Vardaman is a typical young boy, though his mother's death forces him to spend the entire novel trying to understand life and death. Throughout the novel we see other narrators for brief periods of time, but most of the story we see through the different looking glasses of the Bundren family.

The best word to describe the Bundren's is dysfunctional. Besides the poverty and their isolation from the outside world, internal problems wreck the family harmonic. Anse frustrates everyone with his stupidity and tendency to recite platitudes. Cash is too focused on his work to be emotionally involved with anyone. Jewel seems only capable of fits of rage. Dewey Dell is caged by fear of her secret, and Vardaman is too young to do anything but be a kid. Darl is the most interesting character, because he possesses an intelligence and tacit understanding of all of the other characters; indeed, Dewey Dell and Jewel both despise him because he understands them too well. He is the most connected to all of the others, yet because of this, he is the most isolated from everyone else. Though most of the family (except Anse) commands the reader's sympathy, Darl's story is the most tragic.

Throughout the story, numerous obstacles arise and delay the family in reaching their objective. But the novel is fascinating because it allows you to peer into the psyche of each character, not just to see what they are thinking, but to better understand them through their interpretation of events. Everyone is coping with Addie's death, yet they each manifest their grief in wildly different ways. Addie herself even narrates a chapter from beyond the grave, which is extremely enlightening as to the kind of woman she was.

Some have said that, because of the weaknesses of each of these characters, and the way the family is viewed by outsiders, Faulkner is mocking or deriding Southerners. I think nothing could be further from the truth. While he does have a truly despicable character in Anse, for the most part, you can't help but sympathize with the family. They are poor, coping with death, and racked by unforeseen obstacles. If anything, Faulkner himself is empathetic to their cause and writes more as a tribute than as a critique.

"As I Lay Dying" is a moving look at mortality, poverty, and isolation, among other things. The one thing I did not like about the novel was Faulkner's take on religion - one of his narrators is a devout Christian who comes to be completely discredited and derided throughout the novel. I think he clearly has some strong thoughts on how some people are "blinded" by religion and use it as a crutch or excuse. However, I think his example is extreme and unfair to most religious people in the South. However, in spite of this, it is a fantastic novel. While it might be difficult to navigate, in the end I think you'll find that the chance to journey along with the Bundren's is a special opportunity.

Movie Review: The Princess Bride (1987)

[ 5 / 10 ] With "The Princess Bride", Rob Reiner created a movie with one of the largest cult followings in recent memory. Everywhere I go, I find people who hold this movie in the highest regard - in fact, the only movie I know that has more devoted followers might be "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". For years, I've wondered why such devotion exists, without bothering to watch the film. I finally consented to a viewing, and here are my impressions...

Basically, the movie is a classic fairy tale. Young Buttercup falls in love with stableboy Westley, only to lose him to (supposed) death as he goes off to make a name for himself. Meanwhile, the Prince of the land takes her to be his wife, but she is kidnapped by a band of outcasts before the ceremony occurs. All hope appears to be lost until Westley heroically appears to save the Princess-to-be, and then the struggle shifts into a story of love and how it can overcome all obstacles.

The tagline to the movie says that it has a little bit of everything, and in truth, it does. There is a (fairly sterotypical) love story, sword fighting, battles of good vs. evil, and some humor. The effects are pretty bad, but hey: it was made in 1987 on a tight budget, and I'm willing to forgive lackluster effects. It's the rest of the film that I'm not willing to overlook.

I just can't give a blanket recommendation to the film, and here's why. Though it is a fairy tale which glorifies love above all, in truth the movie is a comedy. The problem with comedies is that they are not as universal as a drama - they have a niche audience. There are many different types of humor and everyone usually has at least a couple which they just don't find very funny. When it comes to this movie, I am in that camp - I don't think my taste in comedies puts me in the target demographic for the film (for the record, this is the same problem I have with Monty Python).

I don't really even know how to describe the comedic style employed here, because I tend to think of movies like this as "cheesy". In my opinion, they go for somewhat-intelligent humor that comes across as silly, or trying too hard. The best parallel I can draw is Monty Python itself, though this film is nowhere near as off-the-wall as that one. For the record, given my hesitation to see the film, I did my best to come in with an open mind. I will concede there are a couple of hilarious moments (for the movie lovers - I thought the rat scene and the part where limp Westley tries to join hands with his fellow crusaders were hilarious).

Anyways, there's not much more to say. Basically, I felt the movie was pretty average in every way. Typical story, some surprising moments, some funny moments. I concede willingly that I just don't think this is my type of movie, and enough others love it to mean there's clearly something here. Give it a try, but for my money, an average movie gets an average rating.

Karma Police

It's funny how things work out. A couple of days ago I'm talking with some guys at work about how I've never been to Chicago, and how cool everyone thinks it is, and that we should plan a trip soon to see a Cubs game or something. Well, the very next day, I found out that several of my fraternity brothers are on the way up to Chitown next weekend to see Man. U vs. Bayern Munich and were looking for someone to buy their spare ticket. Talk about an offer I couldn't refuse! I've never been to a major soccer match, so that should be an experience. Plus, there's the opportunity to tour around Chicago with some buddies of mine - not to mention, it's all very convenient for me, because I can get there in like 6 hours. I'm already looking forward to it...

Good thing this trip came along, too, because at the moment I'm really bummed about a trip I'm missing this weekend. There was a TaeKwon-Do tournament in Madison, Wisconsin that I've been planning on going to for awhile. It was going to be a cool opportunity for me because they were going to do a point-sparring competition (the kind where they stop action after each point is scored, i.e. Karate Kid), which I've never done before - every tournament I've ever been to does 2 minute continuous sparring. Plus, Sunday was going to be a chance to get together with all the other black belts who are planning to test in November, along with other high-ranks who could answer questions and provide valuable guidance that I need right now. But alas, I wasn't able to go. Why not, you ask? Well, that brings me to my next point...

The back situation. I don't know what's going on with my back. One day it feels fine - the next it's sharply painful. I've been somewhat diligent about no strenuous activity, sticking to ice packs at night and gentle stretching/exercises - but again, those have varying results per day. Because of the variability I can't really tell if it's getting better or not. It's been 3 weeks now - and it's beginning to test my sanity. Maybe this is God teaching me a lesson in patience - I hope so, in order that something good may come of this. At the moment it's painless, so let's hope that lasts through the night. I just want to be past all of this so I can get back to living my life.

For those who know me well, I violated one of my personal creeds today - I finally submitted to a viewing of "The Princess Bride". Most people probably don't know why, but suffice it to say I had vowed not to see the film. However, someone reserved one of the large training rooms at work today to watch the movie, as an "It's Friday Afternoon, So Let's Take A Break And Not Work Hard" activity. Basically it was either watch the movie and take a couple of hours off, or sit in front of a computer screen and keep working - when put that way, it wasn't hard to relent. I knew it was only a matter of time anyways. I guess it wasn't as horrible as I expected, but it also wasn't anywhere near The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread, which is what many people I know seem to think of it. A review of it will be posted shortly...

Recommendation of the day: if you're at all interested in politics and ever wanted to run your own country, check out NationStates. The site is basically a plug for Max Barry's novel "Jennifer Government', but it's a cool political simulator. Basically, you get to create your own nation, and decide policy decisions that affect how your nation operates. You can join the UN and vote on resolutions, etc. It's a minor time-consumer but it's kind of fun and gives you a chance to exercise the Little Gray Cells for a few minutes per day. You know what they say: use 'em or lose 'em....

Lastly, the craziest thing that happened this week. Lately, we've been going out on lunch break to play some horseshoes about once a week. Given the kind of weather we've been having this summer (low 70s), it's actually possible to do this without combusting. Anyways, a couple of weeks ago I go to Target to purchase a horseshoes set, because any self-respecting man owns one. There was the SportCraft $20 set that looked pretty decent, and then there was the Eddie Bauer Special Limited Edition Professional Quality Luxury Hardcore Set. Those suckers were like gold-plated, came in a Samsonite bulletproof suitcase, and cost about $60. Anyways, I figured I'll get the $20 set, because: hey, horseshoes are horseshoes, right? Wrong, my friend. We're out there this week, using them for about the 4th or 5th time. In the middle of the second game, one of my co-workers throws a dead ringer. One problem though: there's only half a horseshoe wrapped around the stake. The rest of it flew halfway across the pit. The freaking stake split the horseshoe in half! I've never seen anything like it. However, I can't say I'm too surprised - after examining the inside of the horseshoe, we realized that, when SportCraft says it gave you "metal horseshoes", they really meant "crappy synthetic semi-metal pseudo-horseshoes". Moral of the story: Eddie Bauer's kung-fu is the best, baby...

Movie Review: The School of Rock (2003)

[ 6 / 10 ] Jack Black is Dewey Finn, the star of "The School of Rock", a crazy comedy about a down-and-out guitarist and rock loyalist who will do anything to make it big with his band. We first see Dewey doing what he does best - rocking out with his band in a small club. The group is not doing so well and it's obvious that they want to pin their problems on the eccentric Finn. He is kicked out of the band he started, and with debts piling up, he is forced to take drastic actions in order to make ends meet. He impersonates his roommate, who is a substitute teacher, and accepts a temporary offer to teach at a prestigious elementary school. His first few days go horribly, until he realizes that some of the children have some serious musical talent. Dewey decides the best thing he can teach them is rock-and-roll, and together they form a band with the hopes of winning the local Battle of the Bands competition...

That's the basic synopsis, and as you might expect, it doesn't get much deeper than that. With Jack Black, you know what you're getting, and that's what this movie delivers - almost 2 hours of him being himself. Between teaching "rock appreciation", giving musical lessons, and mentoring the children, Black is a one-man show. He does all this while trying to keep it secret from the uptight principal (Joan Black) and the children's stuck-up parents.

One thing I noticed about this movie is that I don't think Jack Black had to do much acting - I think he is really this passionate about rock-and-roll, and I think he believes everything he said about music in this film. He is so intense, and he has a way about him where he can just flip a switch and go into hilariously funny mode (a la Jim Carrey). As you might already know, Jack Black is the lead for the enigmatic band Tenacious D, most well-known for some absolutely hysterical lyrics. You'll get some of that here, along with some crazy musical performances. While he's giving some of his music lessons, you can't help but laugh at the contrast between the timid, unexperienced children and the semi-insane Black. It's kind of like seeing an 80-year-old grandmother wearing an AC/DC shirt - it doesn't work, which is exactly why it works.

I wish there were more of the moments where Black was just "in his element" - a fair amount of the movie is spent on his relationship with his roommate, and his dealings with the principal/teachers. Frankly, all of this is boring fodder. It's not a great movie in itself, even for a pure comedy - the memorable moments are all right in the classroom, and there's not enough of them to carry the movie by itself. If you like Jack Black or just over-the-top comedy you'll likely enjoy the movie, but if you're like me you'll leave wondering why there wasn't less filler and more bread and butter.

Book Review: Animal Farm (1946)

[ 10 / 10 ] As far as books are concerned, "Animal Farm" is about as perfect as they come. Whether you're looking for an insightful look into political history, an exemplary work of satire, or just a good old-fashioned entertaining story, it's going to deliver on every level. George Orwell had a knack for manifesting his anger and fears in the form of great novels - with this one, he chooses the most unlikely of places to create one of the best and most appropriate allegories ever written - a small farm in England...

Let's begin on the surface, by examining the story itself. The Manor Farm is a small establishment owned and run by a man named Mr. Jones. Besides his penchant for alcohol, we don't learn much about Jones because he is very quickly out of the picture - he is the unwitting victim of a rebellion, a coup by his own animals. After years of accepting their plight as working slaves, the animals are roused to action after a passionate speech by one of the oldest among them. Whipped into wild-eyed excitement, the animals chase Jones off the farm with the noble hopes of establishing an animal society where all animals will be free and equal.

Indeed, this is exactly what they develop, after fending off a poor attempt by Jones and his neighbors to reclaim the farm. The slaves of Manor Farm have been freed - Animal Farm has been born! Under the guidance of the highly-intelligent pigs, the animals are able to form commandments, hold meetings, sing songs, and generally enjoy their lives as they no longer work for man. However, the peaceful stability of Animal Farm is not to last - the irresistible forces of power and greed corrupt some of the animals, and through a gradual process of deceit and corruption, the farm degrades into a new entity perhaps worse than ever before.

This alone has the makings of a good novel, and indeed, the story is thrilling from start to finish. It doesn't hurt that the novel can keep the interest of even the most distracted of readers, given its meagre size of about 140 pages. If you're able to suspend reality for awhile and accept the fable for what it is, you will likely find that it is a very good read. From the thrill of freedom, to the bliss of utopian society, to the corrupting influence of power - the fable itself explores some fascinating concepts. Bug dig deeper, and you'll find what elevates this novel to the pantheon of literary masterpieces.

At its core, "Animal Farm" is a scathing critique of Stalinist Russia and its communist policies. The allegory is about as thorough and accurate as you could imagine - all the significant pieces are represented on the farm. The two feuding pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, are Stalin and Trotsky, while the rest of the pigs exhibit characteristics of the Communist Party. The dogs are the KGB. The boar who stirs the rebellion is Marx. The hard-working but dim-witted horse represents the lower working class (proletariat), while another horse (Mollie) represents those resistive to the Revolution. The old goat embodies the wise but disillusioned cynics who were unaffected by the Revolution because they knew that, in the end, not much would really change. Jones himself represents the pre-revolutionary government (the last of the Czars), while the neighbors are foreign powers. I could go on and on - but I think you get the idea.

If you know the history of the Russian Revolution and Stalinism, then there won't be much surprise in the book - not that it takes away from the story, just that it is so honest in its depiction of history that even in its allegorical form it is predictible. But the power of the book is undeniable. While we see the inevitable end coming, we can't help but feel sorry for the loyal yet stupid masses who are duped every step of the way, convinced everything is OK, convinced that things keep getting better. It is a book of tragedy, brought to a pinnacle when one of the more admired members of the farm is horribly deceived. Orwell is merciless to Stalin and his party - he couldn't have been more successful in his criticism if he directly wrote a condemnation of Stalin himself. Somehow, by breaking the story down into essentially simple parts, it makes it more real, more believable, and more shocking to behold.

Orwell is a terrific writer and has a gift for illustrating the oppression of peoples in his books. There were definite resemblances in style between "1984" and "Animal Farm", and they certainly share common themes, such as rewriting history for the benefit of the ruling party. Like "1984", this is a magnificent work and shouldn't be missed. If you're in the mood for an intriguing and well-developed story, you will be pleased. If you pursue the deeper meanings and allegorical references of the novel, you will be amazed.

Book Review: Brave New World (1932)

[ 8 / 10 ] Brave New World is a marvelously imaginative look into Aldous Huxley's pessimistic view of the future. It belongs to a rare set of classic dystopias (along with "1984" and "We"), and with good reason - it is one of the most complete and disturbing illustrations of an oppressed society that can be found in all of literature. The book is saturated with a contempt for the ever-increasing grip of technology on society, and with the use of wit and sarcasm Huxley casts a piercing eye on the present by examining the future toward which we are heading. Like "1984", this novel has not aged a bit - it is as edgy and poignant as when it was written over 70 years ago...

The story of "Brave New World" is not so much centered on a person as it is a place - London, as it will be over 500 years from now. You will probably notice that the novel is light on character development - but what it lacks in interesting characters, it makes up for in the completeness of the technical imagery. Down to the last detail, Huxley paints us a picture of a world defined by industrialism run amok.

One of the funniest things about the novel - a joke that persists frequently throughout the book - is society's obsession with Henry Ford. Time is defined as AF - "After Ford". Every common mention of God in current culture is replaced by Ford. Men of respectable position are addressed as "Your Fordship". Clearly we see Huxley's opinion on Ford's contributions to society! It is this kind of sarcasm which is prevalent throughout the story.

As I alluded to earlier, Huxley's imagination is astonishing. In his future, the process of living life has become a science. Babies are not born, they are "decanted" from test tubes. The whole process of prenatal development is a strong mockery of the assembly-line theory of industrialism: thousands of test tubes, proceeding on conveyer belts, receiving injections and supplements at various, specified intervals. Every test tube is socially predestined to one of five classes based on society's need - these classes form a strict hierarchical caste. The idea of the family has been abolished; indeed, words such as mother and father are "pornographic". Children are raised carefully and precisely by society itself, and are provided every need according to their class. This includes "hypnopedia" (the process of teaching social truisms by repetitiously playing tape recordings during sleep), and the development of sexual education and practice as early as toddler-age. This is a world driven by stability and hedonistic pleasure.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about this world is soma, a drug coveted by all members of society. Essentially it is a depressant with none of the harmful side-effects. It is distributed in daily rations and is depended on by society to relieve them of their problems. Life is carefully planned to be without any negativity - but in the rare case where something unpleasant happens, just take some soma and go on a "holiday from your problems". Between the social engineering and soma, society lives in blissful ignorance of anything except for simple pleasures, with no need for serious thought. It is a world just as frightening as that of Orwell's "1984", yet in a completely different way.

Huxley devotes a large portion of the book just to describing this world, and rightfully so - there is a lot here to explore, and he clearly has a lot to condemn. In one sense the focus of the book is just to make us aware of this future world, and clue us in to the fact that we are heading for it. He introduces controversial issues - caste systems, hedonism, society vs. the individual - but he forces you to ponder the issues yourself, rather than have his characters guide you along. This is not to say that there are not characters in the world, they just tend to take a backseat to the author's descriptive nature. For the first part of the book we alternatively follow two individuals - Lenina Crowne, a beautiful girl who (like everyone else) blissfully glides through her life, and Bernard Marx, an upper-crust young man who has never been content with society and is only just starting to manifest that concern. Their relationship is frustrating, and is what you might expect from a collision between the present and future worlds.

There are two particularly interesting characters we meet later. Mustapha Mond, who is one of the Controllers of society (one of the foremost leaders in the world), who is devoted to the society he controls yet at one time despised its uniformity. The most important character is John, who lives in a "Savage Reservation", where people still live according to the old ways. His exodus from the reservation and introduction into the new world result in the manifestation of inner conflicts which are fascinating and distressing to watch. John is most representative of us, and thus he is the closest thing we have to a protagonist and a voice of reason.

It is fascinating to see the similarities and differences between "1984" and this novel. While the former focuses on how political power and oppressive terror will subdue the masses, the latter suggests that social engineering and drugs will subdue us into an ignorant, semi-lobotomized form of stability. Orwell's weapon of choice is the powerful veracity of his writing; Huxley employs a subtle (yet just as powerful) wit and biting sarcasm. Yet in both, the end is the same - the people are hopelessly oppressed by society, and most are unaware of their plight. The few that stand out against the crowd are systematically eliminated. Both seem convinced that it's not a question of whether such horrors will occur, but when, assuming things don't change.

Personally, I preferred "1984" between the two, simply because it affected me more profoundly. Yet this does not take anything away from the beauty of what Aldous Huxley has created here - he has managed to deliver one of the darkest pictures of the future veiled by a thin mask of a satisfied and pacified society. It is a carefully-constructed dystopia that is well worth a read.

One Step Forward, Two (Painful) Steps Back

On a scale from 1 to 10, my frustration level is at about 37. I'm not a patient person, and this situation with my back is really testing my limits. In my last post I think I said something about my back being up to about 90%. What I should have said was that I think my back is 90% - because apparently I was dead wrong. I showed up for TKD on Wednesday feeling no pain at all - maybe this was bad luck, but the first thing we did in class were some jumping drills. Well, after about 3 or 4 jumps, I knew I was screwed. I felt that all-too-familiar twinge again and knew I had just thrown two weeks of recuperation down the drain. Needless to say I haven't been very happy the last few days...

There are a couple of things that drive me crazy about the whole situation. First, I felt like I did most everything right - though I did mess up by not immediately stopping the tennis match when I felt the initial pain, since then I've been very careful about resting. Two weeks of pretty much not doing anything except getting it back in shape, and I figured I'd be rewarded for this out-of-character show of patience - only to find I had really made no progress at all. So now I'm back to doing what I have been for two weeks - icing, resting, not enjoying myself. In the absence of really close friends up here to hang out with, there's really only a couple of joys in my life when it comes to leisure time:

1. Martial Arts
2. Tennis
3. Everything else.

Clearly the first two have been eliminated, so I'm pretty pissed, mostly with myself I guess, and partly with the situation. To top it off, it's even been feeling worse in the last few days, for reasons I can't even fathom, since I haven't been doing much. OK, OK - enough of my whining. I know it's cathartic for me, but the few readers which haven't left already are surely getting restless...

Unfortunately, there's not much more to tell. One interesting thing that happened was that I got an email from Lockheed Martin saying they had open positions in the northern Virginia area, and that I seemed to be a good fit for them. At first I dismissed this because I'm pretty happy with my job, but then I thought - why close the door on an opportunity? Especially one in a location that very much appeals to me. However, making matters more interesting is that I called the number the recruiter left me on Tuesday, and I never heard back from her. I thought that was pretty odd for a recruiter - I can only think of two possibilities. One, she's really busy and didn't have time to return the call yet. Or two, when she heard me say that (despite what it says on my outdated resume) I'm working full-time for a company in Minnesota, that might have scared them off. I don't know - nor do I know how seriously I'm going to consider this whole thing. We'll see if anything comes of it in the coming days...

To add to the "bad news" pile, I had to miss one of my good buddy's weddings this weekend down in Georgia. With all my student debt I've really got to pick-and-choose my Atlanta trips, and since I had already made two wedding trips this year, it wouldn't really be fiscally responsible for me to go. Congratulations anyways Will and Gini - I was with you in spirit. God Bless your new life together...

Oh, and by the way, to top it all off: nothing makes you feel like you're back in college as much as a 5 AM apartment fire drill. Ah, the memories...

Movie Review: City of God (2002)

[ 9 / 10 ] Fernando Meirelles is a relative newcomer to directing, but that didn't stop him from turning out one of the best films of the year in "City of God". It is ruthless, revealing, and heartbreaking. Perhaps the only thing more amazing than the story itself is that it is based on a true story...

"City of God" is a piercing look at three decades of crime, drugs and poverty in Rio de Janeiro. The story is seen through the eyes of Busca Pe (also known as Rocket), a young boy living in a rough neighborhood of Rio known as Cidade de Deus. It begins as a small and improverished residential area that, as a result of negative influences and selfish ambitions, begins a downward spiral that transforms it into the most dangerous slums in the city. Rocket is our innocent guide through the sad stories of the City.

He tells us the story of The Tender Trio, a three-man gang (one of whom is Rocket's brother) who troubled the neighborhood in the 60's and eventually met a tragic end. One of the boys who grew up with Rocket, nicknamed Li'l Dice, gets a small taste of power when he runs with the Trio, and he decides he wants it all for his own. Li'l Dice's story is the focal point of the film - the death of his innocence, his conversion into the drug-dealing powermonger Li'l Ze, and his eventual elimination of nearly all competition in his pursuit of becoming the boss of the city's underworld. It's a fascinating character study, and it is as frightening as it is moving.

Then there is the story of Knockout Ned, an honest man living in the slums whose life is completely destroyed by Li'l Ze. Driven by his noble desire for vengeance, he begins his own descent into the gangster world and eventually becomes nearly as bad as Ze himself. That's the thing about the City of God - everyone's story ends in sadness. Everyone except Rocket, that is: throughout the film he somehow finds a way to transcend the evil. It is refreshing to see someone stand against the seemingly unavoidable draw of gang life, but for the most part, there is no happiness in this forsaken place.

The interesting thing is that, in my opinion, Rocket is not even the protagonist. He doesn't really have much of a story of his own - he plays a bit part in most of the other stories, and perhaps has an epilogue to call his own, but he is more narrator than active participant. In fact, I'm not sure there's a protagonist at all in this story - that usually requires a main character to pull for. That's the interesting thing about this "crime drama" - it's atypical in its ruthlessness. If anything, it parallels "Goodfellas" in content, but certainly not in style.

And oh what style it has! Don't think because I haven't mentioned it until now that it's not one of the film's defining characteristics - consider it a case of saving the best for last. Meirelles has an eye for catchy camerawork - it pervades every second of this film. In terms of cinematography, this is one of the coolest and most stylish films I've ever seen. From the opening chicken-chase scene, to the ultimate conclusion of Rocket and Ze's story, the camerawork is brilliant. It's a disturbing ride, but an exhilirating one as well.

But above all, the story carries this film - or more accurately, stories. Along with the stories are some truly hard-hitting images: kids killing kids, the demoralizing power of drugs, the inability to escape the slums - this is in no way a children's movie. In fact, I wouldn't call it an adult movie either - many people might be put off by the violence and cruelty of the film. But it is essential that the director convey these, because they are necessities in telling the story of the City of God. This is a poweful, disturbing film - with a storyteller's eye for detail and a captivating mastery of the camera, the director brings us along for the thrillng ride.

Movie Review: Timecode (2000)

[ 2 / 10 ] I respect creativity, innovation, and thinking outside the box as much as anyone. I recognize that great leaps forward in human history are often the result of one person standing out against the crowd. But there's one catch: there has to be a context, a driving purpose. Innovation for the sake of being innovative is relatively meaningless. But this is what director Mike Figgis has given us in "Timecode" - an experiment in being experimental. There's no greater purpose, no higher good in this film: it is pure pretentiousness...

This review will be short for two reasons: first and foremost, I didn't like the film, so I'm not going to belabor it much. But second and equally as important, there isn't much to tell. Here's what you need to know about this film: it consists of multiple stories, all shown at the same time, which each occupty a quarter of the screen. It is also the first film to be created from a single take. Impressive? Yes. Redeeming in and of itself? Unfortunately not.

Essentially, the story is about a day in the life of several Hollywood types - a film producer, his wife, his lover, several other movie execs, and some aspiring actors. But what happens to them? Outside of some earthquakes, tame discussions (which you mostly can't hear), a little romance, and a minor surprise ending, not much. Not much at all.

Here's the problem with "Timecode": the story is weak. So weak in fact that it will be a challenge for viewers to stay focused, made all the more difficult by the fact that your eyes are drawn to 4 different places at once. Figgis attempts to control this by adjusting the audio from one screen to the other at certain points, but this does little to lessen your uncomfortability. But there just isn't much here to capture your interest, outside of the physical presence of the filming style itself. The characters, though portrayed well (all of the scenes were improvised by a very talented cast), don't portray very captivating characters. And this is understandably so, since you're unlikely to be able to build much character development with 4 screens running simultaneously.

If the story was particularly gripping, or for some reason suited to this format, I could make exceptions. Maybe if it was worth watching multiple times, to make sure you caught every nuance of a complicated story, I could understand. But the story isn't worth watching even once, let alone in such a frustrating environment. There has to be payoff, some kind of reward for a patient audience - but there really is none.

I can't recommend this film. I can't even cut it slack for being a "directorial project" intended for aspiring directors - if this were the case, it should have been left as a private project that is viewed in film school, not released as an independent film. When a movie is distributed to the public, it must deliver (on one level or another) as entertainment - in this sense, "Timecode" fails utterly. All I can do is give the director points for his creative spirit. 2 points, to be exact - out of 10.

Movie Review: Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)

[ 4 / 10 ] "Bubba Ho-Tep" is about as weird as they come. It's as if the director purposefully set out to find and film the strangest story he could - and he quite possibly might have succeeded. This shouldn't be too surprising, if you note that the director, Don Coscarelli, is responsible for the "Phantasm" horror series, also with a reputation for being about as weird as they come. With these thoughts in mind, let's dig in...

First off, let's just get the storyline out there, so that the less open-minded readers will decide they'll never watch this film and needn't read any further. Elvis and JFK are rest home neighbors in a sleepy Texas town. Elvis has spent the years mourning his plight as the victim of swapping places forever with one of his own impersonators. JFK's story is even crazier - apparently he is the victim of conspiracy, and after Dallas was "dyed" and now looks to be a frail old black man. The rest home is a place where time moves quickly, until an ancient mummy in transport is involved in a vehicle crash close to the home. As a result of the crash, the mummy's coffin is opened and a millennia-old Egyptian soul-sucking undead creature shows up at the home to plague on the weary souls of the elderly - with Elvis and JFK left to put a stop to his devious plans. Anyone still with me?

I'm open to any kind of story, if the presentation is good. And there are a couple of good things about the film. For one, the two main characters, who occupy about 90% of the screen time, pull off their parts excellently. Bruce Campbell is probably the best Elvis impersonator I've seen - he nails the aging Elvis part in a respectful yet humorous way. Ossie Davis is just as good in the role of "JFK" - I add the quotes because for the first half of the movie we're all convinced he's senile, but whether he really is JFK or not, he wins you over with his sincerity. There are a couple of witty lines here from both characters, and the music is even interestingly sentimental in a cheesy way. So it sounds like a good film, right?

Wrong - at least in my opinion. Let me start by saying that it's entirely possible that I just didn't get it - I get the feeling that there's an intended audience for this film, and I'm not a member. Maybe I missed a lot of subtle humor, or maybe the dramatic overtones didn't sit right with me. But here's my problem with the movie. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Just like anything in the world, a movie has to be confident of its own identity for it to be understood and respected - and it seems that "Bubba Ho-Tep" chose the shotgun approach to self-identification. Is it a comedy? drama? horror? Some would say all three, and that would be OK by me - many of the best movies cross genres. But I think it's none of the above.

There are a couple mildly funny phrases, mostly thanks to Elvis' deadpan one-liners. But for the most part, the tone of the movie wasn't light and it was never laugh-out-loud funny. At times it feels dramatic, especially when it examines the lives of the main characters and explores the issue of how society deals with its fallen icons. But it is just too silly and ridiculous to be taken seriously as a real drama. And it has to be considered for horror-movie status, simply by virtue of the fact that it contains a soul-hungry mummy. But the special effects are laughable and there's never a real sense of danger - if anything, it's camp rather than horror material.

Basically, I don't know what to make of this movie, but it didn't leave me with much. Personally, I think it should have chosen the comedy road and made this a really hilariously campy movie. But Coscarelli pulls all his punches as he refuses to commit to anything. As a result, he hasn't really turned out much more than a showcase of weirdness. I would probably only recommend it as a training video for Elvis impersonators. As a film, either I missed the point, or there never was a good one to begin with.

Streams of Consciousness

I had some free time and some random things on my mind, so I figured i'd spill my brain for the world to see. Beware...

It's July. It's 57 degrees outside. And it's raining. There should be a law against this.

There's only one thing better than buying a Papa John's Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza: getting a Papa John's Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza for free. Did you know that if the people in the pizza store don't pay attention to the stoves, the large circulating surface cooking the pizzas will just dump them onto the floor and continue on their merry way? God Bless industrialism (and God Bless the angry customer on the phone, who kept the cashier busy so that my first pizza fell on the floor)

I could have sworn an e-mail I sent to Bill O'Reilly was gonna make it on the Factor tonight. He read several letters about his recent interview with Al Sharpton (which was pathetic, by the way), and I thought mine was just pithy enough for inclusion. Apparently he thought otherwise. Strike one...

I'm not sure how I feel about Coach K not going to the Lakers. On the one hand I wanted him to go so Duke would suck and he could finally fail at something (just like my nemesis Steve Spurrier), but on the other hand I like the disgrace the Lakers feel by being turned down, and I like the guarantee of Shaq leaving and the unholy duo being split up. Maybe what I really wanted is for California to just break off and float away while he was out there for his interviews...

ESPN's Biggest Sports blunder of all-time: The Cal-Stanford game where the band runs out on the field while Cal runs back the kickoff at the buzzer for the win. I totally agree, since this was my own choice for #1 when they did the user poll on this subject a couple days ago (I also nailed the #2 blunder as well - Leon Lett being stripped at the end zone by Don Beebe). It doesn't get much funnier than seeing that Stanford band member get plowed over as he gets in the way of the eventual touchdown. I would have paid good money to see that live...

It seems like every once in awhile there is a random sport that I seem to take an interest in for about 2 weeks, and then forget it ever existed. In 2002 it was soccer and the World Cup. This year it's the Tour de France. I've never really paid attention before, but I was reading up on it on ESPN and it's pretty fascinating. Fascinating for about 2 weeks, that is...

The DVR/TiVo is still the greatest invention ever. I've said this before, you say? I'm repeating myself? Deal with it - it's stone-cold truth. I'll probably repeat the same thing every time I ramble like this...

What is the freaking deal with Canada and France? One is harboring 2 military deserters and considering their request for refugee status. The other is staunchly anti-American and is doing everything in their power to prevent a stable and free Iraq. Why do we put up with this crap? It's like the captain of the football team allowing his 8-year-old, mentally-deficient little sister to pick on him. Are you kidding? We need to get our head in the game and show them what's up...

Radiohead + Led Zeppelin = Secret Machines. Check them out - a great new band with promise (unlike 99.99% of what you'll hear on the radio...)

Two words: Extreme Dodgeball. Game Show Network. Go watch it now. Simply amazing.

Along the same vein, here's one more word for you: MXC. Spike TV. Follow instructions above...

OK, that about does it for tonight. Back to the normality of reality...

Book Review: 1984 (1949)

[ 10 / 10 ] George Orwell's masterpiece is a book of stunning force which presents a chilling vision of a not-too-distant future. Though the story literally takes place in the year 1984, even now, 20 years after its passing, his warnings are all too pertinent to our society. The book is well known for its political critiques, but what is often overlooked are the philosophical questions which Orwell attempts to address. But the most obvious feature of the novel is the sheer ferocity of his writing, which is likely to leave you speechless at times. There is no doubt that he is a man of strong convictions, and he has translated his fears, doubts, and concerns in a most captivating way...

The protagonist and main character of the story is Winston Smith, a man living in a world without concept of individuality. He lives in a city named London, in a country called Oceania, which we later learn is one of three major "super-states". Those who paid attention in history should notice that Oceania resembles Stalinist Russia taken to the extreme. There is a single, unified government, with one party (called The Party) and one leader, the enigmatic Big Brother.

Society is comprised of a caste system with 3 classes. The Inner Party are the select few who maintain the iron-fisted government and are the most loyal to Big Brother and the ideals of the Party. The Outer Party (to which Winston belongs) represents about 15% of the population, and are charged with carrying out the day-to-day operations of the Party. Most of them do their work without any real thought as to who or what they are accomplishing. Nevertheless, they are constantly watched and monitored to ensure that they remain loyal. The rest of the society are the dumb masses, referred to as "the proles" (sound familiar?). They are virtually ignored throughout the book, considered by the Party to be useless and incapable of any threat to the government. They are allowed to go about their own business and live life as they see fit, which should sound very similar to early 20th-century life.

In the first of three parts of the book, we are introduced to Oceania through Winston's eyes. Shocking enough is the governmental control of the people - propagandist posters on every wall, "telescreens" in every room which monitor civilian action, the conditions of poverty in which everyone lives. But what is really chilling is when Winston goes to work and begins telling us about how the Party functions. Winston's job, in essence, is to rewrite history whenever the Party decides that something should be changed. The Party deals in absolutism - when something is said, not only is it true, it has always been true - and Winston's job is to help make that possible by destroying any evidence to the contrary. If the Party says it is at war with one of the other super-states, every reference that has ever been written that contradicts this must be rewritten. Literature, poetry, periodicals - no written word is safe from their grasp. It is by these means that the Party controls knowledge, and thus truth.

Humanity in Oceania is at best an empty shell. People are vessels, filled not with their own hopes and dreams, but with Party ideology and direction. Since people are monitored continuously, any sign of a wayward thought or dissenting opinion can be seen and eliminated, with the help of the Thought Police, who are charged with destroying any who pose a threat to the Party. Such people are not just killed - they are eliminated from all record; they never existed. For the most part, however, this precaution isn't even needed. Most of the people have been born since the Party assumed power, and thus the thought of fighting the Party would never occur to them. The rest have been brainwashed and convinced that the Party is perfect and worthy of love in every way. However, for some people, humanity and freedom just cannot be erased from their minds - they can't help but feel that something is wrong, missing. Winston has always felt this way, never fully buying into the Party. He has been able to hide it successfully until now, when we meet him. That's just when his problems start...

As I mentioned earlier, there's no doubt that 1984 serves as a scathing critique of totalitarian regimes such as Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. The similarities are obvious (and intentionally so), and he makes some excellent points against Communism. The future he paints is so harrowing that we cannot afford to ignore its warning. I have to wonder how much of the course of history has altered because of this book, at least in the minds and thoughts it has changed. Nowadays the threat of Communism is roughly non-existent, but at the time of its writing, I'm sure the book sent shockwaves throughout the world.

But I still think what makes the book timeless are the other questions it raises. While the first part of the book is political and descriptive in nature, he really changes gears into the realm of the philosophical and psychological. There are excellent discourses on what is reality and what is sanity. He also poses a question about human nature, and whether or not it can be eliminated, or merely suppressed. There are even some frightening insights into the ideas of pain and relationships.

However, please don't think that this book is all ideas and nothing concrete. Orwell's story is a thrilling ride - he has a vast technical imagination, and even invents his own language, Newspeak, to shed more light on the culture. It's not surprising that several Newspeak words have become popular references in English as well. Clearly 1984 is one of the most important works of our time.

Whether you read it for its literary significance, or because you want a good story, you will be satisfied either way. But more than just satisfaction, you will likely be psychologically affected as well. It is probably the strongest book I've ever read, and you shouldn't be surprised if you walk away with a little worry for the future, and a little more appreciation for human nature...

Stars and Stripes

Happy 4th everyone... how lucky we are to live in such a wonderful and blessed nation. Despite the negativity brought upon us by our own media and enemies abroad, I'm grateful to live in America. This truly is the land of promise and opportunity. Let me also take a moment to express my gratitude to the soldiers who are currently stationed both at home and abroad, charged with protecting our freedom. I respect and admire you for your commitment to our nation...

Well, since I have tomorrow off, I figured I had nothing better to do than to post an update here. First of all, as of this writing, my back is at about 80%, which is a great sign. After last Saturday I was really worrying that I'd have to visit a doctor, but my stubbornness won again. Hopefully I will be able to return to TaeKwon-Do class tomorrow, and then back to playing tennis sometime soon. I'll tell you what, back injuries (even minor ones) are no fun, because they are so debilitating. I really felt helpless when I've been unable to do the things I enjoy this past week. I'm really looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. I think I need to step up my training regiment and strength training to hopefully avoid these little nagging injuries in the future.

Tonight was fun - I went over to a co-worker's house for a cookout and then out to the park to watch fireworks. I also got to spend some time with his son Zack, who just turned 3 and was really a blast. I love kids and for some reason they've always loved me too - I look forward to having one (several?) of my own one day, but first things first - tracking down a wife...

This upcoming work week should be interesting, because almost all of my team is on vacation. It's going to be a weird feeling as I'm really going to have to carry the team on my back - our progress for the week will largely be determined by my own success. Not that there's really any pressure or anything to complete certain things this week, but to a degree I sort of feel that my team is depending on me to get some things done in their absence, so we'll see. Maybe it will be another opportunity to demonstrate my ability and show my manager that I need to be promoted out of my Associate position.

In short, an Associate Software Engineer is not expected to work independently - he is expected to complete tasks with the help of a more advanced Software Engineer. To be perfectly honest, I probably only acted as an Associate for about a month - after that, I was working independently and successfully, which is exactly what is expected from a Software Engineer. One of the problems I've seen with a big company, however, is that it's very hard to move up, even when well-deserved - most of the senior people have been here 15+ years. It's so different from my former company, where the sheer smallness of it meant that anyone with skills and ambition could fly up the ladder quickly. For someone with little to no patience, the slow pace of Medtronic is very frustrating. Just another thing I need to keep in mind as I evaluate my life situation for the future....

On a completely different note, if you didn't catch any/all of Wimbledon this past fortnight - you really missed out. A terrific Championships with some really picturesque moments. First, the chair umpire who messed up the score in Venus' Williams match and gave the other player an extra point, which eventually helped her pull off the upset. Honestly, I think it's the biggest blunder by an official in a sporting event that I've ever seen. Then there was the retirement of Goran Ivanisevic, one of the sport's great characters and champions - his final moment at the net with Lleyton Hewitt was quite touching. Finally, there was the emergence of the beautifully talented Maria Sharapova as the women's champ, and the continued dominance of Roger Federer as the gentleman's winner. Honestly, was there a safer bet in all of sports than for Federer to win Wimbledon again? Anyways, it's always a kind of downer when Wimbledon is over; it's so great that you hate to see it go for another year - kind of like Christmas. But my eyes are already set on September and the US Open...

Now for some personal comments. First, I just found out today that my longtime friend Aaron got saved two weeks ago - what tremendous news! It proves that God works in amazing ways, and that he doesn't give up on us. I had been in his position before - convincing myself that I was OK, when really I was lost - so I understood where he was coming from. I was thrilled to hear this news, and I know he's going to do great things for God, wherever he may end up. Please pray for him as he makes some big decisions about where he's going to live and work after he takes the bar exam. I'm sure God has something great in store for him.

Finally, on another personal note - congratulations to my friend Natalie who just finished her first year of medical school. She amazes me with her commitment and optimism toward whatever life throws her way. All I know is that it only took me one episode of ER to realize I couldn't cut it in the medical field - but I have no doubt she will be excellent at whatever she chooses to do. Enjoy the summer Natalie, and best of luck next year!