Like, he's just this guy, you know?

Listening to so many members of The Committee reminesce tonight, it seems to me that Del Close was, as much as anyone else has ever been, Zaphod Beeblebrox. (There's still the saved post from the day I read Guru, but maybe I'll post it after I'm done reading The Funniest One in the Room.)

Also, today is the day that I spent 2.5 otherwise perfectly usable hours of my day (in two sessions) circling my neighborhood looking for a place to put my car for a while.  It included a low-speed pursuit by a parking authority vehicle, and an ultimately unsatisfying 'tuesday space.' 

On tonight's all-new episode of ‘Hoisted!’

“Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges after a series of romantic text messages were acquired from backups supplied by the SkyTel pager network, a contract granted by the mayor himself for reasons including SkyTel's touted archiving features.  When reached for comment, Kilpatrick reportedly said, ‘Ouch, my petard!’”

A glimpse into filmmakers' souls...

The thing that I really appreciate about the IMDB is that in addition to all the factual information about cast and crew, it provides a place for film afficianados to really dig into a film, dissect the deeper meanings and share insights into the true intent of the filmmakers: [Internet Version of the Ironic Cut] PS, I love how much Z-Rob hates Indy 4. Maybe I'll go see it again and buy two tickets. One for me, and one in Z-Rob's honor. (What? You're not reading the Z-Blog?)

‘Does not fight crime effectively.’

That's what you'll see on my report card this term. I meandered over to Trader Joe's because I felt I didn't own enough food and I saw a car idling in front of the store. I went a bit out of my way to walk around it instead of in front. While I was behind the car someone ran out of the store and before they were seated or managed to get the door closed, the car peeled out. Further down the parking lot, a guy literally jumped out of the way as an employee ran out of the store. Apparently, the person who just barely made it into the car was carrying an unpurchased case of wine.

But if I'd just walked in front of the car instead, they couldn't have sped away. Or I'd be hospitalized right now.

I just hope they don't go on a drunken spree, drive across the continent, and then murder one of my uncles, thus compelling me to use my ability to vaguely inconvenience drivers in parking lots responsibly and at great personal cost for the rest of my days...

#1,266: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I was right! Woo! About what? Only GREATNESS!

I made a mad dash across LA (close up the office, descend 9 stories, hike 3 blocks, drive 8 miles, find parking!) and got into the Cinerama Dome for some super close screen-wraps-around me seats, and I was not the least bit disappointed!

Now I know it'll be everyone's favorite game to explain why they hate it, and I know it's not Raiders, and I know Harrison Ford aged in the past 20 years, and there are even things I didn't like about the movie, and none of it matters. I sat in darkness, surrounded by cheering Americans, with a grin and a sense of wonder and excitement, eager to see what might happen next.

Like Indy himself, the movie makes mistakes, but it always dives in with abandon and somehow makes it out on the other side. But, and this is important, it ISN'T The Phantom Menace. I was -such- a Star Wars fan in that time, and I had tickets for multiple screenings, and I couldn't wait, and I came out of the first showing trying to rationalize and justify and the simple fact was that I didn't dig it. And again, this isn't that.

For technical stuff, I liked that the lighting was non-realistic, which I imagine conforms to the style of the previous flicks (time for some re-viewing!). I heard people bitching in the lobby, but at least in my super-close seats, nothing looked egregiously CG to me. There are things that I know must have been, but I was sufficiently swept up in things, I guess.

Mike H. at the Nexpress? Didn't like Last Crusade, won't like this. People who need to show their taste and class and hipness by disliking popular stuff? Who say 'it was good for what it was' or 'well, it was entertaining, but...'? It's okay to like things. Really!