12.24.2005
Things I learned today
"Fled" is a bad movie, punctuated by Lawrence Fishburne saying "We have to fled!" every half an hour.
The behavior of suburban adults who have children and are between the ages of 35 and 55 needs to be studied by an anthropologist with a sense of humor. And no -- David Brooks doesn't count. I said anthropologist, meaning the scientific method, meaning rigor. David Brooks probably does his "research" by driving fifty miles outside New York City and pontificating at a gas station. That's not what I'm talking about.
People shopping in affluent suburban strip mall regions are atomistic individuals, and only fleetingly aware that they are surrounded by people such as themselves. They act accordingly, pursuing their narrow goals and blissfully unaware of their social surrounds. Actually, not blissfully.
King Kong was a good remake of a classic, and Peter Jackson is talented in more genres than remakes of fantasy novels. I was more entertained by King Kong than by the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- but that's setting a low bar. I was actually bored by Lord of the Rings, both the books and the well-executed movies.
Sometimes reading about futuristic science and technology depresses me. I realize that all of these cool devices will not be around until fifty years after I am dead and gone. Psychologically, I realize this is pointless and more than a little humorous. I cannot just enjoy the abundance of new technology and science around me right now -- instead, I am angry because we don't have tricorders yet!
The behavior of suburban adults who have children and are between the ages of 35 and 55 needs to be studied by an anthropologist with a sense of humor. And no -- David Brooks doesn't count. I said anthropologist, meaning the scientific method, meaning rigor. David Brooks probably does his "research" by driving fifty miles outside New York City and pontificating at a gas station. That's not what I'm talking about.
People shopping in affluent suburban strip mall regions are atomistic individuals, and only fleetingly aware that they are surrounded by people such as themselves. They act accordingly, pursuing their narrow goals and blissfully unaware of their social surrounds. Actually, not blissfully.
King Kong was a good remake of a classic, and Peter Jackson is talented in more genres than remakes of fantasy novels. I was more entertained by King Kong than by the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- but that's setting a low bar. I was actually bored by Lord of the Rings, both the books and the well-executed movies.
Sometimes reading about futuristic science and technology depresses me. I realize that all of these cool devices will not be around until fifty years after I am dead and gone. Psychologically, I realize this is pointless and more than a little humorous. I cannot just enjoy the abundance of new technology and science around me right now -- instead, I am angry because we don't have tricorders yet!
# posted by Vanity @ 01:41 
