03.31.06
Overdose
Is it possible to OD on Vitamin C? I think I did. A rough count for the day suggests that I’ve had 850% of my recommended daily value.
I’m feeling a little dizzy.
More On The Illness
So now I’m sick for real, except I don’t know what it is. It’s not your typical cold; my nose isn’t stuffy in the least, but rather just runny which is much worse if you ask me. I feel like I’m about a million degrees and my throat’s a little on the scratchy side. Most of all, I’m just tired as hell. Apparently this little nastiness has been incubating since the beginning of the week, hence all of the lethargy I was experiencing before. Lord, help me make it through the day.
Katie and I started work on music for Dimensions of the Heart last night. It was a loose jam and I think we got some really great ideas. Hopefully this sickness won’t inhibit my ability to bust my ass on this stuff this weekend, as it will certainly require a lot of ass-busting…anyway, I’m out for now.
03.30.06
Getting Sick
I’m getting sick. I don’t know what from. I woke up this morning with a slight cough and my chest feeling a little bit tight. I’d always hoped that giving up cigarettes would have gotten rid of that tight chest feeling. Maybe in a couple of years…anyway, now I can feel the cold coming on. You know when that happens? Like that point in the day where you almost start to feel like you’re stoned when you haven’t even taken a Halls? I hate that. I hate it because you know it’s coming and you know there is no way to stop it. Foolishly, I will go to the deli and I will buy the overpriced orange juice and I will pound it like life’s elixer and you know what will happen? I’ll be in the bathroom every half hour and my bus will get stuck in traffic on Second Avenue and I’ll have to pee again by the time we hit 34th Street.
Maybe you misunderstood the other day. What I was asking for what to be LIFTED up. Not knocked down! =(
03.29.06
Psalm 13
I am beyond a lull. First, I am physically exhausted. This doesn’t make any sense because I don’t do anything that would warrant physical exhaustion. Second, I’m lonely and depressed. This doesn’t make any sense because God is always with me and He promised to provide for me. Third, I don’t have any motivation to write. This kind of does make sense because I don’t have anything left to say. I’m waiting. I don’t know what for. All I can do is read my books, watch my movies, and pray to Jesus that this will all end soon.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorry in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? (Psalm 13:1-2)
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for He has been good to me. (Psalm 13:5-6)
03.28.06
Masters of War?
I mentioned last week that I’ve been feeling awfully tired lately. The problem is only getting worse. Last night I woke up at 3:25 and tossed for an hour and a half, after which time I could have only been in as deep as sleep stage 2 as I recall sort of coming in and out for a bit. I had a very strange dream as well but I cannot remember if it was the cause of my first awakening or if it was something that plagued me from 4:30 on until 7. Either way, I’m feeling quite a bit shaken today.
In other news, Justice Scalia has said on the BBC News website that he does not think that Guantanamo detainees should have the right to a trial in civil courts because they are essentially POWs. Now I’ve made it a point to never ever agree with Justice Scalia after he backed the idea that we should execute mentally retarded individuals if they committed a crime that warrants the death penalty. However, I also believe that there should be exceptions to some rules and regarding Guantanamo inmates, Justice Scalia brings up a good point.
Why should we allow them a trial in our court system? Let’s not even get into tax dollars. Let’s talk about the unwritten rules of war. In World War II, my granddaddy was taken prisoner by the Germans and was put on a train to face his execution by the Third Reich. By the grace of God, my granddaddy was also born reckless and a little stupid and so he jumped off of that train and hiked across Italy for two years until he found Allied soldiers. The point is, my grandaddy, though crazy, would not have risked his life if he thought he might get a shot to defend himself in court.
Military tribunals serve the purpose of trying war criminals. In all honesty, I think that even tribunals are a little bit unnecessary. You were captured in the act of war, therefore you are a war criminal. I fail to see what evidence could be provided in a person’s defence. But we are a democracy (fading, maybe, but still a democracy) and as such we have provisions that people will have an opportunity to speak for themselves. Bluntly speaking, they are lucky that they even get to have a tribunal. Traditionally, in a time of war a country simply detains their POWs until the end at which time there is a prisoner exchange and the leaders of the defeated country are the ones to face the war crimes charges. And, not to throw in a cheap shot, but many of the countries that the Guantanamo detainees come from would also be quite happy to simply shoot their POWs through the head.
The reason we are losing this war on terror is because we are still trying to prove to the world that we are fair and completely democratic, despite already proving otherwise in a number of ways. But war is not a democratic concept and we should stop trying to make it one. If you want to be democratic, bring the troops back home, sit back down at the table and discuss the problems in the world. If we need to go to war, then let’s war and stop dancing around the whiny American public that will be glad to criticise anything and everything, parading around Washington, D.C. with little picket signs and headbands like this is Viet-f’ing-nam all over again without having even the slightest idea what they’re talking about. This attempt to please the insatiable American public and the insatiable Middle East is costing a lot of lives, American and otherwise. Pick a side and stick with it. You’re bound to piss someone off no matter what.
03.27.06
Stupid Advert
I saw an advertisement on a payphone this morning. It showed a nurse standing in an empty hospital room (which was rather nicely made up, by the way) and she is looking at a baseball diamond on the patient television. On the bottom of the advert, it said, “Now that’s a fan.” I don’t actually know what was being advertised, but I would like to dispell any myths this advert brings about. Having worked in a hospital for two and a half years, I can tell you that a nurse standing in an empty room watching a patient television is anything but unusual. I worked in an operating room and there was this one doctor who used to actually take naps on stretchers between cases. I, myself, have played many games of Setback and Old Maid in a storage closet where I could often be found hiding out when I didn’t want to work. The story’s moral: Hospital employees are like all other employees. I know it makes us feel comfortable to think that nurses and doctors are always taking care of patients, but let’s be realistic here. A job inevitably will always have its moments where it is just that. A job.
03.24.06
Psalm 51
Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
A pastor friend of mine read this Psalm to me this morning. We were talking about maintaining our joy so that The Lord can work through us. Joy is internal; it is in our hearts and it is the direct result of God’s good grace and willingness to save us. When we lose our joy, we invite the dragon, we leave him an open door.
This weekend, for the first time in years, I am going to choose happiness because in my heart, I know the joy of The Lord and the things He has done for me. I will play music. I will take pictures. I will be productive. I will enjoy all that He has provided because that is what brings Him joy. I invite all who are interested to join me.
03.23.06
Movie Review: “The Fog: Special Edition”
This review will be much more focused on The Fog than on the specialness of this particular edition. However, mad props to whoever restored it. It looked hot.
For those who are unfamiliar, The Fog was John Carpenter’s first movie go after the Halloween series. You can tell because all of the exact same people were involved which I actually thought was kind of cool. Jamie Lee Curtis appears with the late Janet Leigh as well as Nancy Loomis and Charles Cyphers who played a father-daughter pair in the first two Halloween movies. Finally, Tom Atkins, who did not make a Halloween appearance until the third installment, debuts with Carpenter as (big surprise) a renegade 30-something who likes to sleep with young women he barely knows. Thank you, Tom.
I found this movie to be a little bit more frightening than some might for a couple of reasons. One is the concept of the fog. It is something that I used in my first novel, Dark Island, and though the characterization of the fog is vastly different in both stories, it’s the concept that is creepy. The fog suggests the impending arrival of the supernatural. The second thing for me is the idea that this takes place on a shore in a quiet part of the world. It reminds me of my friend’s vacation home which is inordinately peaceful, but can seem rather disconcerting in the dark if your mind likes to run away with itself.
From a technical perspective, Carpenter displays why he continued to grow in directorial status. Two years after Halloween, Carpenter still has an immaculate grasp on suspense rather than gore. His POV shots transcend that of most any other horror director and for no reason other than their simplicity. There’s no neat tricks, no special effects, and no cliches. We see exactly what the character is seeing and we can almost feel exactly what the character is feeling.
The movement of the fog bank from sea to shore is also rather enticing though I don’t evaluate it to be a particularly difficult effect to execute. But again, Carpenter’s simplicity and reliance on content and concept rather than execution is more than enough to captivate- and frighten- an audience.
Obviously, I must also briefly mention the score. If John Carpenter’s stories and direction don’t scare me, his music does. The man really knows how to manipulate that piano into something frightfully unnerving. And the sound effects were also top notch. All the right stingers at all the right times. Mad props. Mad props, indeed.
Drawbacks? Well, Blake’s red eyes are pretty lame. I know it’s a sign of the times, but I would have hoped that remastering could have either made it less fake looking or maybe just done away with it altogether. Part of me feels like you have to have the novelty to have John Carpenter but part of me also feels like there’s no use making a special edition if you’re going to keep all of the outdated additives like light-up eyes. I’d also like to criticize the end of the movie. Why did they need a sixth sacrifice? Couldn’t they just have survived with their gold? Besides, if they were going to kill him anyway, why didn’t they just do it after they got the gold? Why wait until everyone is gone? It’s not like they’d arrest the ghosts…
Overall, I thorougly enjoyed this movie and everyone else should, too. If you like being scared or if you just like old horror movies for whatever sadistic reason, this one should be at the top of your list, special edition or not. I’m surprised I hadn’t seen it before but I’m very happy that, thanks to Netflix, I have now been exposed. Nice work, Mr. Carpenter (and, of course, the late Debra Hill, we miss you dearly).
03.22.06
Three Revelations
I just read the book of Revelation (no, I’ve never gone through it in full before). Lots of weird stuff. It kind of makes me wonder why we don’t have a good movie depiction of John’s visions. Especially with the somewhat stunted fantasy revivial that LOTR attempted to spawn, I’d think for sure we’ve reached the FX capacity to depict God’s wrath on screen. Still, it’s definitly the freakiest book in the New Testament.
I’ve been feeling really sleepy lately which I don’t understand because I’ve been sleeping rather well. I don’t sense an inordinate amount of stress in my life…maybe it’s the ordinate amounts of stress I’ve been feeling for so long catching up with me?
It occurred to me that I don’t actually work on the 16th floor but on the 15th because apaprently no buildings in New York City have a 13th floor for superstitious reasons. This makes no sense to me. If you stand at the bottom and count up, the 14th floor will still come in at number 13. Labels don’t change roots. If it is the 13th floor from the road, it’s the 13th floor, I don’t care what the plastic button on the elevator says.
03.21.06
Morning Quicky…
I finally got the replacement piece to my futon last night. My initial reaction was elation because after six weeks, my room could finally be put together properly. Then I discovered that my mattress is a little too big for the futon. That sucked. That sucked big.
I wonder if anyone is reading this weblog…