Most of us become parents long before we have stopped being children.

Sometimes I am completely blown away by the ridiculousness of our society. This happened last night. We were both a bit tired last night and opted for a night in, watching a couple of shows and relaxing. The clocked rolled around to nine o’clock, and, flipping through the channels, we landed on NBC, and the most ridiculous (I really can’t think of a better word for it) idea for a reality show I have ever seen.

It was The Baby Borrowers. For the unfamiliar, the show involves several teenage couples being given a house and, you guessed it, a baby. The whole thing is dressed up as a social experiment, and that makes it okay, I guess. Think about it for a minute: couples willingly volunteered to loan their real babies to teenagers they have never met before. The teens keep the kid for three days and nights. Sure, the parents watch the whole thing via CCTV cameras, so supposedly that makes it safe. Has no one thought about the impact that being abandoned with total strangers for three days will have on the kids?

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

So it seems there is a birthday coming. August 9, will mark the 70th year since the start of George Orwell’s Diaries. If you don’t know who George Orwell is, smack yourself.

He was a famous English writer who wrote about the abuse of power. He wrote six novels, three non-fiction books, and many essays. He is best known for 1984 (the source of people repeating the phrase ‘Dystopian Future’ ad nauseam) and Animal Farm. If you haven’t read them, you really should. If, living in America in the year 2008, you ever think your life is hard, pick up a copy of Down and Out in Paris and London. It was based on Orwell’s own experiences and will shame you into ever complaining about your job ever again.

Anyway, back to the diaries.

Not only have you refused to kill the boy, you even stopped the boy from killing himself, which would’ve solved my problem, which would’ve solved your problem, which sounds like it would’ve solved the boy’s problem.

I watched In Bruges last night, and I was caught completely off guard. I really didn’t know anything about the movie and I wasn’t holding out much hope for it. From the cover, and the bit I read from the back of the jacket, I figured I’d be in for another typical hit man on the run type story.

What I wasn’t expecting was a movie with three extremely interesting characters with excellent dialogue. Think Vincent and Jules from Pulp Fiction running around in a world created by Guy Ritchie (If you don’t know my taste in film, being compared to either Tarantino or Ritchie is a good thing, particularly the latter). Aside from not having any freeze-frames or intense music montages, it could have easily been another of Ritchie’s films. Watching two killers trying to appreciate art, Catholic relics, and racist dwarves in movies, all while spouting great lines that come at you out of nowhere, sets up an incongruous story that twists around in some very surprising ways.

By the way, Melina, we haven’t been properly introduced, my name is Bond…James Bond.

A while back I picked up a copy of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker. I just finished it this morning on my way in to work. It’s the first James Bond novel I’ve ever read, much less owned, and I really liked it.

I hadn’t been really interested in the book series, but, on a trip out to a bookstore in Ojai, I found a copy of this book. Here’s why I bought it: I liked the cover art. The colors and the typeface are perfect for this throw back design. The girl looking up over her shoulder at the rocket, the eyes in the clouds, everything just comes together perfectly. The whole ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ thing clearly does not always apply. Most books that later become movies have their covers pillaged and replaced with a screen shot from the movie. (This is wrong and should not be allowed. Ever.) So, yes, I bought the book because I liked the cover. It’s not shallow; I’m appreciating the graphic design, or something like that.

Well, after this I should think nothing of falling down stairs.

I wasn’t familiar with the Savannah College of Art and Design until I came across This short called Pencil Face a while back. (A higher resolution version is available here.)

I watched the other shorts hosted by ScadShorts.com, but this one really stood out to me for several reasons. The biggest is that it didn’t at all feel like a student film. The sound, lighting and camerawork are all very good. Director Christian Simmons did an excellent job with this project.

Also, it has a distinct Burtonesque feel, which, for me at least, is a big selling point. Pencil Face keeps tension going with eerie music and by really not explaining anything.

At any rate, hope you enjoy.

You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

So here’s something that annoys me. Actually, I find it beyond frustrating.

I absolutely hate it when an author is asked a question about what happens his characters after the end of the book and he says something to the effect of “I’d like to think that they . . .”

Let’s step back from that for a minute and think about it. They are his characters; it is his story. The characters are figments of his imagination, and if he wants them to do something, then guess what? They have to do it. That’s the cool part about being an author: you are the absolute god over the world you create. Pretty spiffy.

The characters are not real, they don’t decide things, the author does. Your book might have been good, but it wasn’t so good that people actually began believing that your characters literally came to life.

Now maybe the author just doesn’t want to ruin it for the readers, wants to give them the option of finishing the story in their own minds. It’s a cop out, but I’ll accept it. Maybe he doesn’t want to risk making people dislike the story by adding more to it. That has happened to some (read: George Lucas).

The Adress is 22 Twain

A friend over at Things I Love and Hate wrote a great post on overlooked works and in it mentioned how people read Tom Sawyer and think they know Mark Twain. Most people are at least familiar with his “major” works (e.g. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court), but there is so much that he wrote that goes unnoticed. Twain is one of my favorite authors, and I can’t believe people don’t read more of his works

And so, here is a list for the philistines among us: Mark Twain You Need to Read.

- The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson
This is the story of a young lawyer named Wilson that comes into a small town. On his arrival, he is waiting at the train station and he is annoyed by a dog that will not stop barking. He comments jokingly to a man nearby “I wish I owned half of that dog.” When asked why he responded, “Because I would kill my half.” The man took him as being serious, and decided that Wilson was a pudd’nhead. The name stuck.

Twain uses the novel to explore the issue of slavery, a well as stereotypes and small town politics.

Philip Morris: Winning the war on Alzheimer’s since 1847.

My wife, Anna, is amazing. She is everything I could have hoped for, and we’re very happy. The thing is, though, we are completely different. I know the whole “opposites attract” thing, and I’m not complaining. Really it’s not annoying; it’s usually kind of funny.

One of our biggest differences is how we look at food. She is very healthy, thinking some light steamed vegetables over a bed of brown rice with a small side of chicken breast is the perfect meal. I happen to think most foods can be considerably improved with the addition of gravy. This isn’t the only difference, but its fairly indicative of our two schools of thought.

Every once in a while I read an article or come across a new medical study that, finally, supports something I do as being healthy. Not long ago, a study surfaced showing that by drinking four or more cups of coffee a day will help prevent colon cancer. Victory! Never mind the fact that the study also shoed increased stomach problems due to the volume of the caffeinated brew, you have to focus when reading these things.

Free Stuff, and really, who doesn’t like that?

I just came across a really cool website called Noise Trade. This is one I think you’re going to enjoy and hopefully spread the word about. It’s a music site where artists can post their albums. All the music is available for download. You have to payment choices: 1) Pay whatever you feel appropriate (in Radiohead sort of way) or 2) Tell three friends about the album. Also, all the music is DRM free. Pretty cool set up, if you ask me.

Most of the music is folk rock or acoustic, but there is definitely something for everyone. The whole thing is sponsored by Paste Magazine, which instantly gives it a bit of credibility as the quality of music hosted. (If you haven’t read Paste, you need to. Think of it as Rolling stone, but actually worth reading. More music, more intelligent. It’ currently my favorite magazine. But that’s a whole other post for another time.)

You’re the best around, no one’s ever gonna keep you down.

Here’s my list of the five best filmmakers. Enjoy.

1. Francis Ford Coppola – With movies like The Godfather I and II, The Conversation and most importantly Apocalypse Now, Coppola is unparalleled. He is the best that has been and it will take someone incredible to top him. Best work to date: Apocalypse Now

2. Sir Alfred Hitchcock – It is still amazing and disgraceful that no Oscar was ever awarded to Hitchcock (except for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award). He was a master of the art and was responsible for some of the most recognizable and iconic films ever produced. There will never be another Hitchcock. Best work: Vertigo

3. The Coen Brothers, Joel and Ethan – This pair of brothers has gained a lot of recognition in this past year for their incredible film No Country For Old Men, but their previous films stand on their own as great achievements. Movies like Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There, The Lady Killers, and, of course, The Big Lebowski are all great examples of their wit, unique characters, and distinct style. Best work to date: No Country For Old Men