I grew up watching television. What American kid of my generation didn’t?  However, I remember as a kid I read so much more than I do now.  I mean, I read a lot back then, sometimes a book a day and I could always find time to read AND watch all my shows.  Now, I’m not really sure when the last time I just sat down with the sole purpose of reading a book.  Occasionally, if I go into the city on a more frequent basis I will take a book along and read it over the course of a month as I commute to and fro.  Though that’s far from impressive and I can’t say truly in the spirit of enjoying a book to it’s fullest.

My father, on the other hand, is a reader.  Growing up, I swear he was constantly reading about fifty books at a time.  It was just something he did.  He still does.  One time he gave me an interesting theory on his reading, which I will share with you now.

Dad makes a habit of reading four books¹ at a time, each serving a different purpose.  

One just for fun.

If you’re not going to enjoy reading, what’s really the point?  Read a book that offers you a sense of pleasure.  It doesn’t have to be classic literature, ² just something thrilling.  It can be a romance novel or an anthology of WW2 guns.

Being a big fiction reader, this one isn’t too hard for me to choose.  I either go one of two routes with this, I either pick up a Sci-fi/Fantasy book or a first person character piece, usually about some sort of idiot savant.  And I’ll have  you know that both Ender’s Game and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time  were both excellant reads.

One to learn something.

This is where we obviously start to use our brains a bit.  Pick up a book that will actually teach you something.  This, of course, can be on a topic that you know very little about or that you know a bit about but could always know more.

Like the previous category, this one isn’t difficult for me.  Learning something new about something I’m interested in really isn’t a chore, so getting through a Film/Television book, or something, isn’t too much of an ask.  Though I recommend something that can really further your knowledge, not just an easy read.

Update: My father noted that this one, for him, is usually to learn something new about his particular career field, if you would like to take that on board.

One for faith and/or spirituality.

When I was about thirteen, my father jumped head first into participating actively in the Episcopal Church, and with that, came a whole new stack of books.  Obviously, not everyone out there is a Christian, or even particularly religious for that matter, but I sort of like this one, and I believe that’s it’s still applicable to everyone.  There’s more to spirituality than learning about Jesus.  Spirituality is about the incorporeal or immaterial nature we possess, or rather plainly, “the soul.”  Not a big fan of the big J.C.?  Maybe buddism is more up your ally.  Grab a book on meditation.

A bit too wanky for you?  Well, you can’t say that there’s not room for improvement.  What about picking up a self-help book of sorts.  I hear The Secret is revolutionary.  Don’t judge, that’s just what I hear.  Use this category to find a way to make you a better person, whatever way that might be.  Who doesn’t want to be a better person?

One to broaden horizons.

Pick up a book that you wouldn’t normally pick up.  I can’t speak for everyone but I have a very small comfort zone.  My interests are very limited and the idea of seeking outside of those interests is a concept that’s either terrifying or boring to me… Probably both.

This may sound like a bit like the second category, and I guess in a way it is, but this one isn’t as limiting.  This book can be anything that’s a leap for you, hence the term, “broadening horizons.”  Techincally, a action novel would be way outside my peripherals and no one is really argueing that they are the most educating books in the world, so really, this can be anything.³ Though, a book about South African Apartheid would certainly be stepping out of the box. The more we read, the more we learn learn, and that can’t hurt.

Though, I would like to note that dad always snubbed my SciFi thing, so maybe he should follow his own advice and picking up a book about space ships or dragons should be his next attempt under the “Broadening Horizons” heading.

So there.

I’m not going to pretend that I have ever been able to read four books at once, especially with such stipulations, but if you ask me, it’s not a bad discipline to have.  Reading is what keeps our brain active, so by all means, do what you can.  Start with any two of these books and work up from there.  My father’s a smart man, and perhaps this is why.  TV and movies are great and I have heard people say that it will be the end of reading, but why does it have to?  Why does one have to be to the exclusion of the other?  Paper is awesome, grab a book.

There is still another two to three weeks in summer hiatus left, so pick up a book or two…or four.  My dad will like you more for it.

Don’t ask about my Wii.  We aren’t speaking to one another.  Though this evening I rent on a real run.  Yes, I left my lounge room.  It was brutal, and probably a bit comical to watch.

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According to an article on the BBC website, there is technology in the process of being developed that can realistically replicate the human form so authentically that it will be possible that the CGI human could replace the “real” actor in the movie without being noticed.  They just make an actor sit in a box, which to me looks a lot like one of those globe cages motorcyclist ride around in, and get an insanely detailed photo taken of them.  This allows computers to generate an image that looks completely authentic.  Or even better, they can now just make a person up, from scratch.

Awesome!  We can cut back on paying all those divas and just let the computer can do the work!  I mean, people are lining up to see those Pixar movies, now imagine what the lines would look like if the people looked real!  Walt Disney himself proved that someone can relate to an onscreen character (of cute animal form) that was completely fabricated, so why would it be such a leap for an audience to buy a completely fabricated human being?  Just imagine, directors won’t have a limited pool of actors to choose from, their forty-seven-year-old, seven-foot-tall, half-Japanese, half-Native American, one-eyed ballet dancer can look exactly how they envisioned instead of having to settle for someone else that’s “close enough.”    Bald caps and greenscreen leg amputations are a way of the past.  With just a tweak here and a few clicks there, a director can get the exact performance that will be the key to making him/her (more) critically acclaimed.

And you know what?  I believe that they can do what they say they can.  I’ve seen some pretty awesome CGI before and it’s not a stretch to believe with a little time and money, computer geekage would triumph. But who’s going to voice these ingenious inventions? … Anyone?  That’s what I thought.  We are still going to have to pay (and direct) an actor of some form to deliver the lines.  Well, I guess that will be their next computer project then.

I guess the question that lends itself to be asked, is what will happen to the trash mags? And where will we be without Angelina or Paris’s latest gossip? And what will happen to the Oscars?¹   No one cares about a bunch of Directors and Writers standing around in rented tuxes — other than film geeks, anyway — we want to see pretty people in Gucci.

I have very little fear that actors will be replaced by computer look-alikes anytime in the near future, and if they did, what’s the worse that can happen?  The world continues to evolve.  It’s not like they’re the Artificial Intelligence Robots that will eventually turn on their masters and wipe out the human race.  And if it were to be a step in that direction, I think we could take them.  Celebrities are known to be pansies in person anyway.

Other than the occasional social issue, I try to stay as clear as possible from politics. It’s not the politics that I find distressing, but rather the politics OF the politics that I find particularly off-putting, but really that’s an argument for another day. Upon creating this website, I never had any intentions of it being a political haven, particularly because I don’t think I can speak articulately enough on any one political subject well enough for it to be so, nor honestly, do I care. But it would seem now, with the November election rapidly approaching, I find myself a lot more interested, and not to mention, scared.

Yes, to repeat that, I am scared of which what the political winds are blowing. I’ve heard countless times that this may be the most important presidential election America has ever seen, and though I can’t argue if that is necessarily the case ¹I cannot deny that the election is crucial to the future of our country. The notion of John McCain taking office terrifies me. Actually terrifies me. The below video pretty much sums up why:

McCain will be the next Dubbya, and then some. Over the last eight years, the USA has tumbled² from grace due to the current administration and to be honest, I don’t think that we are strong enough to take another four years of decline. That’s over a decade falling, and that’s bound to do some damage. The economy is worse off than it has ever been. (From 3 trillion surplus to 5 trillion debt, is nothing to scoff at, even though the numbers are fairly hard to comprehend.) McCain will surely continue that with his notions of what “rich” is and how we should continue to stay in the futile war we’ve been drowning in for the last seven years. If McCain wins the presidency, America will go even further into debt with the war, not to mention, lose lives that ought not be lost, run screaming towards Christian Evangelical Fundamentalism and most certainly set social issues back twenty years. ³

We need Obama.  And though I really like him and think that he will do a good job as president, I am not claiming that Obama has to be the most 100% perfect man for the job.  We just can’t have McCain — at this point, even if it were 2000 McCain and not 2008 McCain — because Bush has already set us back too far. Maybe it would be different, tolerable at least, if he was coming straight off the heels of Clinton, but he’s not, our grave is being dug as I type this.  

Frankly, I don’t trust My Fellow Americans to make the right choice.  People vote their wallets an unfortunate amount of the time, even if they don’t have the wallets that are going to benefit.  Plus there’s the ignorant contingent that we have to deal with who just like to have their freedom to bare arms and not having to deal with those different (or more intelligent) than them.  Not to mention, those looney’s who vote Independent, thinking that that is a way to keep the evil away by not voting for it.  You know what, stay home, independents, because all you do is take away from the good guys, since your “parties” are generally little off-shoot denominations of Democrats anyway.  Thirdly, what’s to stop the GOP from stealing yet another election?  Twice in a row they’ve done it, and not subtly, either, so what’s to stop them from doing it again?  What’s the swing state of choice this time?  And finally, Obama is counting on a lot of votes from demographics that aren’t the most reliable when it comes to rolling out of bed on that Tuesday in November, and though they seem to be changing their tune this year, old habits die hard.  I can’t say that the outcome is optimistic here. 

The last thing I want to be is cynical, and to be honest, I think that my new found viewing of the West Wing is only exacerbating the issue.  (Why can’t Martin Sheen run for president?  Or at least Laura Roslin?  They’ve done nothing but proven awesome at it on screen, who’s to say they won’t do better than the standard Dubbya set?)  Is it so wrong that I want tomorrow to be better and that I believe that, in our case, if it doesn’t get better, it’s going to get a lot, LOT, worse?  I know I’m not the most informed person in the political playground, in fact, I’m pretty sure I’m the kid on the leash that has to sit in the corner facing the opposite direction, but I do my best to stay informed and alert.

I’m scared about the election.  I’m scared it’s going to turn out the way that I’m scared of it turning out.

Wii Fit:

Down to 22.27% BMI, thats 59.9 kg.  Fingers crossed.

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My rapid drop in Blog Proficiency has directly coinciding with the end of my Battlestar Galactica viewing.  It would seem that my brain cannot focus on focusing without having an active television series to watch.  No, I have never actually discussed my analysis of BSG with you, but I feel as though it was the last string keeping my brain from turning to mush.  It was hard enough starting this site smack dab in the middle of summer hiatus with close to no brain-fuel, but now Aneeta and I have officially run out of shows to watch at night and we still have another three weeks until shows start airing again, much less start to develop momentum.  I don’t really know what to do about that, so I guess you guys are on the screwed side of life for now.

One could say, “Well, if you were smart, you could use this time to finish the two screenplay drafts that you’re working on” to which I would say, “Narg.”  I don’t even feel inspired to write fictional stories rooted in no actual fact, and in theory, that’s a much easier task than finding mini-essay topics, right? 

A lot of good this post has down both of us.  I promised myself that this blog would never turn into a “Today I ate a Sandwich and sorta played checkers” blog, but I guess I’m a liar.

So, to console you and me alike, below I have posted network premiere dates.  Do enjoy.  They are mildly more interesting than what I have to say.  And if that doesn’t suit, go take the “Laura Roslin” Quiz.

A list of the Major Network premieres by Date (not network).  Networks include the four major ones; NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX as well as the CW.

Also, FYI:

Dexter premieres September 28th.  And for those who care, The L Word airs January 4, 2009.

Also, there is no official word on the dates announced for Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica.  Word says both will go to air in early 2009.

UPDATE: By Popular demand… or at least a query…

BMI: 22.61 which puts me just under 61 kg.

Weight to lose: 1.5 kg

Date to lose it by: Tomorrow.

SIgh.

As you may or may not know I have been spending the last couple weeks trying to write a sample for All Saints.  In one of my former posts, I talked about my day in the writer’s room and how I was asked to submit a segment from the episode if I wanted to.  Since then, I have sort have poked at it but have used the excuse that I haven’t received the medical research, so how am I to do anything of worth?  Today, I received this medical research¹ and, now that my excuse is invalid, I feel as though I’m still at square one.  In fact, where ever right before square one is, that is where I am.  It’s eleven page document filled to the brim with Medical Jargon that flies nicely right over my head (with room to spare).  I couldn’t finish reading a line before cross referencing it with some Idiot’s Guide on the internet.  Here I thought I would be getting around to an earnest first draft today when really, but it has taken me all day to get through this little document and digest what it all means.

I don’t know how Meredith Grey does it.  I’m completely surrounded by doctors and ailments that I can hardly concentrate on getting to the fun relationship stuff.   I don’t know how she does it. All I can say is that I have truly underestimated writers who do this sort of thing for a living.  I don’t know how the writer’s of Greys or All Saints can do this without ten years of med school…

Hopefully I will get around to a draft this weekend so I can get it done.  But next week is hectic too because I’m supposed to be completing my second draft of one of my features this coming week.  AGH.

WII FIT:

Lost .5 kg and .15% BMI.  GO DIET SHAKES!

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In 2003, I was devastated when my favorite show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, came to its inevitable end.  And I was on board for all the various rumors circulating about potential spin-off movies and not-so-secretly wished that the animated series would be made, even though it went back to the beginning of the series.  Eventually when the shock had worn off, I got over it and moved on to bigger and better things. ¹ Now, over five years later, you’ll still hear a “rumor” that someone is finally going to get around to making that Spike/Faith spinoff that we were all so excited about.  I don’t actually know how this keeps happening even though the fact that Buffy’s God himself, has said “Uh-uh, no more.  No Spikey, no Faithy, no Cartoony,” and really I think that that should be that, but my fellow geeks just can’t let it go.  In fact, I think this very mentioning of the Animated Series is enough to get a small flutter of internet Geek-Goss. 

Unfortunately, this undying hope doesn’t seem to be limited to Buffy, in fact, it turns out that all Geeks are apparently just satisfied, ecstatic even, by whatever the creator deems to release of a long finished franchise.  Recently, I ranted about the low-stooping of producers who would dare release yet another Terminator movie just for a quick buck, but as it turns out, it might not be entirely their fault.  Geek groupies want more and they don’t care about the quality they get it in.  The people in hollywood with the power are more than willing to oblige if it means that they can make a quick buck without the extensive ad campaign.

Geeks have no urge to branch out from their comfort zones, so why would filmmakers and TV series creators feel the need to branch out themselves?  If they keep churning out more of the same, they are still guaranteed the audience, and nothing feels better than blind worship.  Why take a risk on something new that could possibly flop?   Several weeks ago, I read an article that said just this very thing about Star Wars God, George Lucas.

These days Lucas sounds like a museum curator, fussing with dusty memorabilia… If he has any inspiration left, he shouldn’t waste it on exploiting something old when he could put it to use dreaming up something new. 

I tend to agree.  Come on, Georgie, you don’t think six movies and a few ill-fated 80′s series were enough to satisfy ALL the story lines that Star Wars legitamently had to offer?  Turns out, he didn’t have think that.  There was still enough buzz circulating the animated Star Wars movie that just came out (that tells the story that we have already seen the ending for!²) and the upcoming live action TV series that he doesn’t even have to remotely consider making something fresh.

George Lucas has created two thrilling franchises  – Star Wars and Indiana Jones – so surely if he put his mind to it, he could come up with another good trilogy before his time is up, instead of beating up one of his other dead horses.  He isn’t that old.  George, use your powers for good not evil!

And if the so-called god of cult classics³ can do it, why can’t the little guys?  Now there is talk of a Veronica Mars movie appearing on the “to-do list.”  Veronica Mars was one those few shows that somehow sprung up a devoted cult audience — whether that had anything to do with the endorsement of one Joss Whedon is debatable — which is somewhat surprising considering it only lasted three seasons and by the end of which, kind of sucked, in my opinion.   My guess would be that this movie would try to wrap up the so-called cliffhanger of the last episode.  You know what would have done that?  Not having a cliff hanger.  Creator Rob Thomas’s theory was “if we leave them with some half answered questions, surely they will have to renew us to find out.”  Some good that did, now the questions will always go unanswered.⁴  The movie is not the answer folks, the world has moved on from Veronica, and nostalgia and sugar dreams can’t change that.

I am the first to admit that finding a show that is worth devoting your heart-and-soul to is few and far between, but have some dignity.  Squeezing the life out of a franchise until it is nothing but recycled and recasted waste is not going to bring back the feeling you had seven years ago.  Shows (and movies) have a limited story potential, it’s inevitable.  The reason some shows (and movies) are so great is that they know how to exploit this potential and then make it come together in a nice, well-deserved ending that provides us closure.  A show ending is not the worst thing that can happen, in fact, it’s generally the best.  Spinoffs and comic books and movies only muddle the ending and what the show was trying to accomplish in the finale.

When a show ends, there will be another one day.  It might not be tomorrow and I know that that hurts your little internet-raised, instant-gratification soul, but it will happen.  Buffy ended in  2003.  It was great, and it has been untainted⁵ since then and therefore it will live on as something awesome forever.  A few years later I have discovered Battlestar Galactica, albeit a couple years late, and that fills the gap just fine.  Great shows don’t come around too often  – and really, would they be just as great if they did?  – but they do come around.  So be patient and don’t fool yourself into believing lame rumors or watching tired spinoffs.  It will all work out in the end.  The worlds of TV and film aren’t going anywhere, if anything, they’re just growing.

As for Wii Fit… I’m still on the incline… and you would think that burned more calories.

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I have just added an Articles page to the site.  Go check it out if you’re tired of hearing me ramble on about stuff people have already talked about and you would like to read something straight from the horse’s mouth.

Last night at dinner I was called “Conservative,” which was an “Et tu, Brute?” moment for me, considering it came from one of my closer friends and also my partner.  This is something I have never come to call myself nor have I ever heard anyone refer to me as.  Upon this little dinnertime outburst I did a quick mental checklist and decided that ultimately, I still fell in the liberal category, politically, socially and fiscally.  Yes, people should be treated equally and pax taxes (though, if you’re volunteering to pave the roads yourself, I guess we can discuss the latter.)

According to Wikipedia¹ defines conservatism as the following:

… a term used to describe political philosophies that favour tradition, where tradition refers to various religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs.

This is where they were getting me, traditions.  I believe in the institution of marriage.  Crap, I knew that one would come back to bite me in the ass.  I’ve always wanted to be married and have a big family.  Family values are something that are important and are something that I would like to pass down to my children.  Of course, I absolutely acknowledge that anyone can have a family without marriage being involved.  There are so many types of families out there in the world, who am I to say which ones are better than others, so if you don’t want to get married, don’t, but I do.  And it goes beyond “insurance” and the like with me, it’s the universal recognition that I am now legally related to my spouse.²  After weighing up the pros and cons, I have decided that marriage is for me, so woo marriage.  On the other hand, the friend that I happened to be dining with last night does not believe in the institution  – which I take to mean that she has decided it is not for her, opposed to flat out not believing that it exists in the world — an that is perfectly okay by me.  Wanting to get married alone does not make me conservative, believing that it is the right thing for everyone and that marriage must mean the same thing to everyone personally would be, however.³

They also got me on the fact that I had morals.  Er, I would like to admit now that this was one that I did not see coming, especially over my views on abortion (more on that one later).  It was laid out on the table that I knew where I stood on moral issues and inherently felt that there is a way in which people should behave.  I couldn’t disagree with that one but wasn’t too certain on how that actually made me conservative, or liberal, for that matter.  Everyone has views on what the “Moral Rules” should be, no matter who you are.  It’s just happens, you either feel this way or you don’t, just pick a topic.  I guess there are various stances you can take on each issue, but to be honest, I’ve never run into someone who believes “Kill people on your whim, and take things that don’t rightfully belong to you.”  And even that rare belief would still be considered a “moral stance.”  Does that make that person conservative?  I think that moral conservatism actually has to do with the morals that you uphold, not the fact that you actually have them.

The only really “conservative” moral that I believe myself to hold is my stance on abortion, which ironically didn’t come up in this particular conversation until I, myself,  brought it up.  I am pro-life. ⁴ I am under the impression that when life begins, it begins.  Since when was it a thought that you could be pregnant with something that wasn’t alive? If we started saying “I’m not pregnant yet, but there is a sack of cells developing caused my prior copulation and instigated by a successful sperm,” it would not only be difficult to get out in one breath but it would be difficult to start to define when this so called “real pregnancy” aka life, begins.  People say it’s not that simple and there are so many things to consider, but it should be in my book.  Don’t get me started on it any further than that because the last thing you want is an all out abortion debate; everyone hates those.  Life is life and I do not believe that any humans have the right to say when another human dies, fetal, prisoner or otherwise. 

But don’t you worry, those of you who believe in a woman’s right to choose, I will never vote to outlaw abortion because it is one of those things that you will never be able to make everyone believe.  Whether abortion is legal or not, there are going to still be people out there who are going to have them and I am willing to acknowledge that it is wiser to have them do it some where legitimate and safe opposed to having a repeat of the 40′s and 50′s that involves coat hangers and/or dirty instruments.

I guess no one can be perfect.

Though I guess that should be my point. I think people get hung up with these “conservative” and “liberal” labels, myself included, but ultimately there are far too many grey areas and to box yourself in gives you a lot of implications that you might not want to take on.  What I think is more important is that you do know where you stand on issues of morality, politics, religion and otherwise.  There are so many people out there who don’t know where they stand and can be lead around by their noses. Uncertainty is okay to an extent because we are only human and we can’t be expected to know everything, but you can’t just leave it at that.  Saying “I don’t know” is one thing, but it’s a whole other kettle of fish not to then search for the answer — whether it be internally or externally.  Not knowing breeds ignorance and you owe it to your descendants, and to me personally, not to be stupid.  Get the facts, know where you stand and don’t discredit it if it feels like it’s coming from your heart and not your head.  That’s legitimate too.  

Know where you stand, it’s your best weapon.  

People should be allowed to believe what they believe without the judgement of others as long as they’re not hurting anyone. (Please note that last bit)  No more of this “I know what’s best” mentality, because you don’t.  There’s no way anyone could possibly have that capability when it comes to such grey matters.

Another thing I learned is there is a reason not to discuss such things at the dinner table.  In all the kerfuffle I forgot to go back to the buffet and get a fried ice cream (which is probably to my benefit since my Wii Fit weight is on the rise once again.)

I apologize for the quality of this post.  I promise I will at least attempt to be more coherent, or at least more entertaining when I get less ill.

“Obama Campaign Reaches out to Gay Georgians”

When I first saw this headline, I thought, “what, all four of them?”  Even as a lesbian from Georgia’s neighbor, South Carolina, I still find it hard to grasp onto the idea that there are more than a handful of gays and lesbians in the deep south and I think that it is insanely important (not to mention comforting) that people as politically powerful as Obama are able to recognize that gays and lesbians don’t just live in California and New York.  According to the 2006 U.S. Census analysis by UCLA’s Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law & Public Policy, there are over 280,000 GLB’s roaming the dirt roads of Georgia, and a number that meaty isn’t only surprising, but makes you go “Hm, maybe Obama’s onto something.”   And hey, maybe if this little experiment works out for him in Georgia, he can head on next door to my neck of the woods and see what kind of support he can rustle up over there.

According to the article in Southern Voice, Obama has turned some of his campaigning efforts in Georgia towards the GLB community in hopes of getting the southern st­ate to turn a pretty shade of blue in November for the first time since Bill’s first election in ‘92.

It would appear that Obama’s tactic is so appealing that, according to this article at least, even some of the gay Republicans can’t help being interested in his views on gay rights.

Ah, the controversy of the Gay Republican.  Being born and bred on the buckle of the Bible belt myself, the concept of the “Gay Republican” is not foreign to me, though that does not makes it any less baffling.  So many of my peers and elders alike have lectured me about how “politics has nothing to do with sexuality and therefore doesn’t influence who I vote for.”  I’m sorry to burst any bubbles, but it does and it should, especially once anyone, GOP or otherwise, starts using a particular stance on sexuality for political sway. “Yes, you might be one of the few who gets a tax cut, but you must also resign yourself to wearing a pink triangle on your arm so that we can keep an eye on you.” It becomes unavoidably apparent that sexual and political preferences unquestionably go hand in hand. The question that does remain to be asked, however, is where is the line here? And what trade-offs are we willing to make for these “clear cut politics” so many people speak of?

It is no secret that a film can live or die with it’s publicity campaign leading up to the film.  If sold right, you can get butts in the seats to see any movie, whether it is any good or not.  Trailers play a large part in these campaigns, from the first twenty second teaser to the full blown epic three-parters, and often they are successful in piquing the average viewers interest.  Trailers are hard workers too and are often taken for granted by the average viewer who pays no attention to how what they are watching is effecting their psyche.  These babies have to offer a huge amount of appeal in anywhere from thirty seconds to two minutes on the outside. This might sound easy for a Disney adventure, but can you imagine having to be the poor sucker who had to cram the three hours Lord of the Rings into that little box?  Talk about a time crunch.  Trailers, like their movie mommies, tend to have a certain structure to them.  They start off setting up the premise where the second part dives you just slightly deeper in the story to hook you and then the third part drives it home making you want to DIE if you don’t see the movie now.

I love movie trailers and if this whole screenwriting thing doesn’t work out, I wouldn’t mind settling into a career as a Trailer editor.  I think if done properly they can really draw you into the story — a story that almost can exist on it’s own, without the accompaniment of the bigger piece.  Set aside the fact that they are constructed to make you want to see more, there is a certain amount of closure you get with a good  one that just gives you the warm-fuzzies.  A good trailer transcends a movie and becomes it’s own work of art.

You might think that this is a rather mundane topic to post about, and perhaps it is, but I have done it with some context.  I was recently shown the trailer for Brad Pitt’s new movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  Watch it here:¹

After the first viewing I was absolutely blown away, so much so that I had to immediately watch it again.  Now, I can’t say for certain that I know what the film is entirely about, nor do I really care. The premise is set up well enough that I’m not floundering and as the trailer progresses you can tell that the eponymous Benjamin has a certain tension with fair lady Cate Blanchett, and to be honest, that’s just fine with me.  Not being a Brad Pitt fan myself — I have nothing against him, I just think he’s overrated, that’s all — I probably wouldn’t have just run out and saw this movie before, though I might now.  I think the trailer is absolutely beautiful.  It’s moving and poignant with the music taking us on highs and lows perfectly in time with the images we see on screen.  Thanks to this joy that was the trailer, I am excited about seeing this movie when it comes out at Christmas.

That said, we can all look forward to the following movie.  Watch me insert my tongue firmly in cheek.

W.

I have absolutely no interest in seeing this movie and that’s not just because it seems to be painting Dubbya in a unsung struggling hero light. I think if I had to watch a biopic about the President Coat Tails I would have to stab myself and the person closest to me — despite whether the message was Pro-Bush or Anti-Shrub.  However, I did feel the need to add this trailer in because at the end it introduces all the characters to you and instead of listing the name of the actor who plays the character, it went ahead and listed who the character really was.  This is possibly because the glossy character portraits painted are so blindingly shiney that you can’t see who they’re actually supposed to be.  That, or it was made especially for Mr. President’s eyes himself, who needed to be told that this was just make believe and those people on screen are just “actors.”

Third day in a row my Wii Fit Graph went down in numbers instead of up (way to jinx it Carrie).

BMI: 22.23 (from 22.61)

Weight: 59.8 kg (from 60.8 kg)

A full Kilo! Though I expect that number to go up tomorrow after the huge burger I ate tonight.  Such is life.