At the suggestion of my friend Pedro del Owen, I have to put this up (with his dialogue, of course).
"Looking for a good, cheap fock?"

I was e-chatting with a friend this morning, and I asked him if he had seen any good movies lately. He answered, "Well, Star Wars, but I lower my standards for movies in the Star Wars franchise."
Don't we all?
But should we? Does the nostalgia of all us Gen Xers (and those slightly younger than us) give George Lucas a free pass to make movies replete with cheesy one-liners, undeveloped characters, and virtually no heart? I mean, the original three were something completely different from the latest two -- they were live action more than CGI, they had great characters (granted, with some wince-inducing dialogue), and they were a bit overwrought, but who honestly could say that The Phantom Menace is better than The Empire Strikes Back?
Well, I suppose they could say it, but they'd better not say it front of me. I might actually lose it. But see, it's that kind of slavish dedication to the original three that gives Lucas his green light. And Lucas has no problem cashing in on subpar work. It's almost like he's a college student who got one really good grade on a paper in a class, and turns in crap the rest of the semester, hoping to coast through. The prof shouldn't let a student get away with that, and we, the true Star Wars fans, shouldn't let Lucas get away with making movies like Episodes 1 & 2.
Moreover, the magic is missing from the latest Lucas fare. Magic, heart, soul, whatever you want to call it -- I don't think I'm the only person suggesting that Lucas is phoning it in.
Then again, maybe just Han Solo and Chewie are missing...

Want to talk some more about movies? OK, you've convinced me!

Anyway, back to The Bourne Identity...
There are several parts of the Times article that I don't like, but for the most it accurately points out what I liked in the movie. I liked the lack of corny one-liners (Minority Report had lots), I liked the expressions on the actors' faces (confusion, horror, disgust), and I liked the movie's unflashy style. There didn't seem to be much CGI; instead, much of the work seemed to be on location. What? A movie not shot in front of a blue screen? Amazing in this day and age...

A pretty decent article in Sunday's New York Times (link requires registration) makes some good points about a pretty cool movie, The Bourne Identity. I saw it and certainly liked it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what made it better than Minority Report, which I also recently saw.
Well, that's not entirely true. I knew that Minority Report was a Spielberg movie, and that with it would come some sort of heroic resolution -- that is, a resolution towards the good, happy way. You know, the kind of ending where Things Just Work Out. However, if 20 minutes or so had been lopped off that movie, it would have been GREAT film noir.
I don't know how much I should give away, in case any HeadsHeads haven't seen it yet. After all, it did only just come out.
Tell you what: go see it, and email me to tell me what you thought. I'll give my (and Mike J.'s) theory later.

I was extremely pleased this morning to read that my hombre, Victor Davis Hanson (VDH, to his homies) has been announced as the winner of the 2002 Eric Breindel Award for Excellence in Journalism! Thanks to Kathryn Lopez at National Review for pointing me in the right direction.
Man, is there anything VDH can't do? Let me answer that question: no. He's a professor of classics, so he's obviously proficient in Greek and Latin; he's a military historian (seems to focus on Ancient Greece); and yet, he's unbelieveably adept at applying lessons from ancient Greek battles to current situations. Kind of reminds me of my late mentor, Dr. Alex Shtromas, who somehow managed to explain the Peloponnesian War to all us boneheads by comparing it with Indepependence Day. Now that's a teacher!
Think about it: here's a guy (Shtromas, not VDH) who's in his sixties, lived under Hitler and Stalin, studied and practiced law in Moscow, expelled from the U.S.S.R. for dissent, relocates first to Britain then to the U.S., teching at Hillsdale...and still has time, while watching the bright-lights/oooh-ahhh of Independence Day, to draw parallels with one of the first recorded major conflicts.
No wonder I want to be a professor.

I'm the kind of guy who has difficulty finding a happy medium. For example, I'm sitting at my computer, knowing I have to write an article for the paper. But, as I sit here, I think to myself "Must...get...back..into...habit..of writing...on site...daily!" So I can either a) post to my site, or b) write my article....maybe I'll try to do both simultaneously.
Don't laugh, because I've done more difficult things in my day.

The accidentally inimitable Toledo Blade -- self-described as "One of America's finest newspapers" -- printed this gem of a headline Tuesday: "Gun Victim Described As Fun-Loving, Outgoing."
What's wrong with that, you may ask? Well, the kicker comes in the seventh paragraph:


A Columbus police spokesman said Mr. Slater was shot while a passenger in a vehicle near 22 East 16th Ave., less than a block from the OSU campus.
Witnesses told police some type of disagreement occurred between Mr. Slater and at least one other person before the shooting.


Whoa. Turns out that said guy was more like a "murder victim" than a "gun victim." That's like saying a guy who was pushed out of a window is a "gravity victim."

Let's talk for a moment about what I've been up to...
After leaving Chicago for Toledo (long story, folks, but maybe we'll get into it someday), I foundered for a bit. Couldn't find a job as rapidly as I wanted to, but all's well now. I'm working again -- bartending, reporting -- and I feel the need to write for myself again. Plus, my father has somehow managed to sound disappointed -- via email, no less -- that I haven't been posting, so I figured I wouldn't let the Old Man down.
I got a pretty cool job a few weeks back, and it's just now kicking into high gear. I'm writing for a small-town weekly called The Mirror, and I gotta admit that I like it. Sure, I occassionally have to cover zoning meetings and local festivals, but I get to take photos and the pay is decent. So I'm not complaining, you know?
I think, however, my photos would turn out a lot better if I had one of those cool photographer's vests. Just a thought...

My work ethic has obviously taken a turn for the worse. Here I am, living in a place with a super-speedy internet connection and cable TV, and I can't put together a single coherent thought to send out to the masses. Hmmm....I've let you down. I'll go now.
Whoa! Kidding! Gonna try to start posting to this mother again. So, thanks to all those who are bearing with me, and many thanks to those who have commented on the site.