Get off my lawn....

Clint Eastwood, how I admire thee. He has been the driving force behind some of my favorite movies, i.e. Unforgiven, Mystic River. Yet, I have never liked him as an actor. He has never grabbed me and become a role. He is just himself playing whoever. I felt the same way during Gran Torino, however I still appreciated the movie.

He plays an old racist man who hates everyone including his own family (bastards bought a foreign car). He befriends a young Hmong boy and they begin to bond. I'm sure you can see where the movie goes from this point. It is rather predictable, but I still enjoyed it and took away a few things from it.

1.) Eastwood is an awesome director. His direction seems to be flawless regardless of the scope. The scale of Gran Torino was very small and he made it seem huge and intimate at the same time. He also gets credit for making Detroit actually look beautiful at times.

2.) The racism was a little hypocritical at times. Maybe I am naive, but I thought it was over the top. No one uses a racial slur in nearly every sentence they speak. I also thought the lack of the n-bomb was rather hypocritical. It is an awful, dreadful, and despicable word. But in a movie about racism it was never uttered by the racist person. I don't find this logical or realistic. None of the slurs in this movie should ever be uttered, but I found this omission very odd.

3.) The last thought I have is that people do not owe you anything when it comes to material goods. Just because someone in your family passes on or good friends die doesn't mean you are entitled to their stuff. Value the relationship and that is the only gift you will ever need or want from that person

All in all, a good movie by a great director. I am planning on seeing some other Oscar contending movies in the next few weeks. I will have reviews or thoughts later on.

Overall
8 out of 10

Ben Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms...

I have no idea why I gave this entry that name. I couldn't come up with anything clever and am rather delirious. Not having any sleep is catching up to me as this Friday rolls along. I still have to finish work, do a basketball game, go home, and then get up at 4:30 AM so I can come back to work for awhile. It's going to be a long 24 hours. And then I can regroup and do the same thing next week.

I really don't have much to say other than I have been busy and it has made me feel a little under the weather. I hope to get that all straightened out over the weekend so I can be ready for Monday.

On the bright side, I will get some sort of return this year.

I will appease myself and have a review of Gran Torino in a couple of days. I saw it last week, but am in no shape to write a review of it. It will be here on Monday.

Inagurated Out...

That is my current state of mind. I am tired of political talk. Talk is cheap, actions are what get things done. I feel this way and I VOTED for the guy. I am not naive enough to think that things such as the economy and international relations get fixed in two weeks. However, we have had three solid months of hype for President Obama and I think it is time to let it go.

I realize I am a white person and I truly can never understand how all African-Americans feel. And had Hillary Clinton won, I would not have been able to understand how all women would have felt. But, I view President Obama as our new president. Not our new black president. He is a man that stands for change. And with that change should be the loss of all political racial talk. He is the president, plain and simple.

In an unrelated and happier note, pitchers and catchers report in 30 days and Opening Day is in 75 days. The shadow of baseball season is upon us and for that I can be thankful. With a new season comes hope, optimism, and fresh sunflower seeds. And of course, the thought of a Cubs World Series appearance dancing in my head

Resolutions...

Everyone has them and nearly no one completes them. I personally believe part of that is pressure and part of it is expectations. Everyone expects to make a resolution and be better in 4 days. Sadly, that is not how it works. It's about process and tiny strides. I am trying to progress and make good on a few of my resolutions. Most of them are the usual: working out, eating better, reading more, no caffeine, etc.

But my main concern is my relationship with Kristi and how I can better the bond we have. I believe it is rock solid already, but I will be cliched and say there is always room for growth. I have three goals to work on in the next few months. I need to be more open in letting her know how I feel. I keep things bottled up and they almost always blow up in our faces. That needs to change. I need to not be as attached and let both of us live our lives. And lastly, I need to stop creating stupid fights about things that don't matter.

If I can do those three things I will be happier with myself and in a better place. And those changes start right now, no lead in, no prep time, right now...

Everything. Everyone. Everywhere. Ends.

My uplifting title is the tag line for the fifth and penultimate season of HBO's show Six Feet Under. The show ran from 2001-2005 and I never saw it during its original run. I have however, through the magic of DVD, watched all five seasons in a relatively short amount of time (4 months). It may be the short time span, but this show has had a huge effect on me.

Death is not something I think about often, but this show has made me think about it and try to imagine what those situations are like. I know, I know, it's a TV show and it can't prepare you for real life. That is true, but it can make you THINK about real life. It made me go through the process of what I would want done with me when I die. Quite frankly, it was a sad prospect. Even worse is what you are leaving behind.

They say funerals are for the living and not the dead. I completely agree. I don't think I fear death, but I do fear those I care about dying. I couldn't imagine any of my immediate family dying or any of my close friends. And don't even get me started on Kristi. It would be truly awful to lose her. It makes me tear up just thinking about it. But then I remember that it is natural and really one of the few things in life we are guaranteed.

All in all, the show has not prepared me to deal with death. It has prepared me to deal with life. During the run of the show there was really no religious undertone or message. The only messages were to be happy and live. They summed it up in one conversation:

Grieving wife: "Why do people have to die?"
Funeral Director: "To make life worth living."

I will take that line with me for the rest of my life, which I hope is long, rich, and filled with hope and love.