A few thoughts for a snowy December day:
* * * * *
The company party Friday night went better than expected. I drank only two glasses of wine, talked mostly with our network manager, had a really nice dinner, and escaped just after 10:00. The articling students put on a skit which was surprisingly entertaining - I do believe entering the law was a mistake, not because the law sucks (which it does) but because they have genuine talent as writers/performers. But I could not get out of the evening without one thought-provoking moment. One of the young ladies, obviously quite buzzed, tried to drag me onto the dance floor, which I declined. She's an attractive girl, someone I rather enjoy as a person, and recently married. For her it was just fun, but I try to avoid dancing with women other than my wife. And it occurred to me why that is. For women, dancing is just about dancing, but for men it's about sex. Even if you enjoy dancing, which I do, the purpose is to serve as part of a grand scheme, sometimes years in the making, of ultimately ending up in bed (or somewhere at least partly unclothed) with your partner. And since I make it a rule not to put myself in positions of danger vis-a-vis possible infidelity, I don't dance with other women.
* * * * *
Having been taken to task for declaring Ashlee Simpson "hot", I have been considering what exactly "hot" means today. In truth, the word has been seriously devalued, and no better proof of that is the aforementioned Ms. Simpson. Let's face it, she is not even remotely pretty, and her lack of talent is frightening considering how successful she is. But put her in the right clothes, clean up her physical flaws with camera angles, soft lights or digital editing, and she can, for at least a brief moment, become someone who you find attractive that you otherwise would not. We live in a pornographic world, where desire can be manufactured just because you want it to be. Decide you want to be turned on, and one need merely fire up his or her computer. It's quite unnatural, this modern ability to be aroused on demand, instead of the way you had to work for it when I was a kid, waiting for your dad to be away so you could tear through the house looking for the newest hiding spot for his porno collection. In those days, you earned your arousal.
* * * * *
I haven't really been paying much attention to the election, other than to note that at this early stage the decision by the Conservatives and NDP to push for a campaign that stretches through the holiday season was a major tactical error. As dismayed as many of us are by the Liberals' poor record, that does not amount to a willingness to hand Stephen Harper the keys to Parliament. Already, we have seen the spectacle of the Canadian Auto Workers union advising their membership to vote Liberal if that's what it takes to stop the Conservatives in their riding. The fear in this corner is that we will see the same kind of vote-splitting that put Bob Rae in power in Ontario back in 1990. (Not that I have anything against Rae, a good man in power at the wrong time in history.) I also learned on Thursday that a significant core group of environmentalists are ticked at the NDP for supporting the defeat of the government and subsequent election campaign because it resulted in a deflection of attention from a very important two-week conference that was going on in Montreal related to the Kyoto deal. Again, any votes lost by the NDP will largely move right to the Liberals with the balance sliding over to the Green Party. The net effect could be the end of Jack Layton, which concerns me since the bugger will then be back in Toronto to take a run at council next fall. I can only imagine what would happen if Jack ever had to get a real job.
* * * * *
Continuing with the election, I am surprised that the NDP haven't sent anything my way yet for Karim Baboolal. Maybe he turned up somewhere else.
* * * * *
Another amendment to a previous position. As I expected, as the season progresses, I am exposed to a few additional Christmas songs which do not make me retch. Joining the chosen are Bob & Doug McKenzie's "The Twelve Days of Christmas", The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping", and, of course, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (original version, not the cruddy and less-star-powered money-grab remake). At this rate, I'll soon have enough tunes for a mix tape that even the most committed Scrooge will enjoy.
* * * * *
"The Passion of the Christ" is debuting on The Movie Network tonight, and that's where I'll be from 9:00 p.m. on. I didn't get a chance to see this in the theatre or on DVD/video, and am very interested in seeing the cause of all the controversy for myself. Whether it's good or not, one has to respect Mel Gibson for the risk he took in getting this film made, and applaud the success he earned. This is a true independent film, no matter how much it cost, and it is so rare to see one man's vision come to life in the ultimate collaborative art form. I'm stoked.
* * * * *
At this moment, www.boxofficemojo.com lists the weekend grosses for "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" at just over $67 million, and www.metacritic.com shows a review score of 78 out of 100, or generally favourable. Another risk that looks like a W for the filmmakers.
* * * * *
The company party Friday night went better than expected. I drank only two glasses of wine, talked mostly with our network manager, had a really nice dinner, and escaped just after 10:00. The articling students put on a skit which was surprisingly entertaining - I do believe entering the law was a mistake, not because the law sucks (which it does) but because they have genuine talent as writers/performers. But I could not get out of the evening without one thought-provoking moment. One of the young ladies, obviously quite buzzed, tried to drag me onto the dance floor, which I declined. She's an attractive girl, someone I rather enjoy as a person, and recently married. For her it was just fun, but I try to avoid dancing with women other than my wife. And it occurred to me why that is. For women, dancing is just about dancing, but for men it's about sex. Even if you enjoy dancing, which I do, the purpose is to serve as part of a grand scheme, sometimes years in the making, of ultimately ending up in bed (or somewhere at least partly unclothed) with your partner. And since I make it a rule not to put myself in positions of danger vis-a-vis possible infidelity, I don't dance with other women.
* * * * *
Having been taken to task for declaring Ashlee Simpson "hot", I have been considering what exactly "hot" means today. In truth, the word has been seriously devalued, and no better proof of that is the aforementioned Ms. Simpson. Let's face it, she is not even remotely pretty, and her lack of talent is frightening considering how successful she is. But put her in the right clothes, clean up her physical flaws with camera angles, soft lights or digital editing, and she can, for at least a brief moment, become someone who you find attractive that you otherwise would not. We live in a pornographic world, where desire can be manufactured just because you want it to be. Decide you want to be turned on, and one need merely fire up his or her computer. It's quite unnatural, this modern ability to be aroused on demand, instead of the way you had to work for it when I was a kid, waiting for your dad to be away so you could tear through the house looking for the newest hiding spot for his porno collection. In those days, you earned your arousal.
* * * * *
I haven't really been paying much attention to the election, other than to note that at this early stage the decision by the Conservatives and NDP to push for a campaign that stretches through the holiday season was a major tactical error. As dismayed as many of us are by the Liberals' poor record, that does not amount to a willingness to hand Stephen Harper the keys to Parliament. Already, we have seen the spectacle of the Canadian Auto Workers union advising their membership to vote Liberal if that's what it takes to stop the Conservatives in their riding. The fear in this corner is that we will see the same kind of vote-splitting that put Bob Rae in power in Ontario back in 1990. (Not that I have anything against Rae, a good man in power at the wrong time in history.) I also learned on Thursday that a significant core group of environmentalists are ticked at the NDP for supporting the defeat of the government and subsequent election campaign because it resulted in a deflection of attention from a very important two-week conference that was going on in Montreal related to the Kyoto deal. Again, any votes lost by the NDP will largely move right to the Liberals with the balance sliding over to the Green Party. The net effect could be the end of Jack Layton, which concerns me since the bugger will then be back in Toronto to take a run at council next fall. I can only imagine what would happen if Jack ever had to get a real job.
* * * * *
Continuing with the election, I am surprised that the NDP haven't sent anything my way yet for Karim Baboolal. Maybe he turned up somewhere else.
* * * * *
Another amendment to a previous position. As I expected, as the season progresses, I am exposed to a few additional Christmas songs which do not make me retch. Joining the chosen are Bob & Doug McKenzie's "The Twelve Days of Christmas", The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping", and, of course, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (original version, not the cruddy and less-star-powered money-grab remake). At this rate, I'll soon have enough tunes for a mix tape that even the most committed Scrooge will enjoy.
* * * * *
"The Passion of the Christ" is debuting on The Movie Network tonight, and that's where I'll be from 9:00 p.m. on. I didn't get a chance to see this in the theatre or on DVD/video, and am very interested in seeing the cause of all the controversy for myself. Whether it's good or not, one has to respect Mel Gibson for the risk he took in getting this film made, and applaud the success he earned. This is a true independent film, no matter how much it cost, and it is so rare to see one man's vision come to life in the ultimate collaborative art form. I'm stoked.
* * * * *
At this moment, www.boxofficemojo.com lists the weekend grosses for "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" at just over $67 million, and www.metacritic.com shows a review score of 78 out of 100, or generally favourable. Another risk that looks like a W for the filmmakers.
posted by George @ 12:53 p.m.
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