The Week That Was

Went to see "King Kong" last night. What a spectacle that was. I've never seen anything like it. The last half-hour left me dizzy, literally. I've seen Naomi Watts in movies before, but I don't remember the last time I saw an actress look so gorgeous on screen. However, as I thought about the film this morning, I felt a little ambivalent toward it, as if I'd eaten a tasty meal yet still felt hungry an hour later. Not sure why. We all know the Kong story, and maybe a three-hour rollercoaster is just too long and rough a ride to get to the sad ending we know is coming. I don't know. Great flick, though.

I don't know why this whole NSA spying story and all the related issues aren't raising my blood pressure. Actually, I do know why—I just don't care anymore. There will be no victory for freedom. The police/nanny state will only continue to grow. They can pass all the anti-spying and anti-torture laws they want, but only the hopelessly naive will think that torture and spying will ever go away. All the things we hate about government—corruption, arrogance and greed—cut across all parties. You can hate George Bush all you want, but for every Bush sin you come up with, I will match you point for point with a sin from a Democrat president and the whole exercise will have gotten us nowhere. Nobody is going to ride to the rescue. Our only hope is a plague or a meteor strike that will destroy the whole system and let the survivors start over. That's not to say we won't go down the same path again, but a chance is a chance.

Speaking of the erosion of freedom, the other night I was at a stop light in the left turn lane. I was about three cars back, and some woman who was too important to wait her turn pulled up alongside the lead car and even activated her turn signal, brazenly announcing her intention to cut off the lead car when the light went green. Sure enough, the light turned green and this idiot cut off the lead car in one of the most astonishingly stupid and dangerous moves I've ever seen. I'm ashamed to admit it, but my first thought was "boy, a stoplight camera would've nailed that stupid bitch." So, since I still have the freedom to speak freely, to the stupid bitch and everyone else who drives like a maniac and otherwise prove themselves utterly incapable of handling freedom responsibly and forces the government to regulate every aspect of our lives, I would like to say: Fuck you and thanks for nothing.

Heard a commercial on the radio advocating an anti-smoking ordinance. A restaurant owner was praising the ordinance, saying that "business has never been better" since smoking was banned. Maybe I don't understand the law, but I'm under the impression that if you don't want smoking in your own establishment, you're free to ban it without government help . . . unless you lack the courage to ban it without having the government to blame. It's no surprise, though, with government footing more and more of the bill for medical care, it's only logical they will try to have more and more say in how we live our lives. The downward spiral continues . . .

I know that spam email is annoying, but I've noticed some interesting subject lines in the spam I've been getting. I enjoy creative wordplay, and here are some that got my attention: "flam for invidious it," "also anaglyph the isaac," "for study he disoblige," "the antisemitic and beauteous," "countersink the nautical," "on count my feudatory," and "try prophecy in duplicate."

This morning I sat on the couch with my twin daughters. They will be 2 in a couple of weeks. They were reading some new books they got for Christmas, pointing out colors and shapes and animals—not to show off for me, but for the sheer joy of doing it. Some of the pronunciations are classic, of course. Crab is "crap" and squirrel is "queer." But as they jabbered and read for me, the sun blazed through the windows and I leaned my head back, closed my eyes and felt a wave of perfect contentment crash over me. I don't get that feeling very often, so I thought I'd mark the date.

Have a great weekend.