I’ve been writing about the past for the last few entries, and I guess I’ll get back to it later so I can finish telling the story of my San Francisco trip. But there are a few things I wanted to blog about, so I figured I’d write about them now so I’m not forever trying to catch up.
The coolest thing I’ve found on the web recently is Panoramio. It lets you upload photos, and then pinpoint their location on Google Maps. You can also see other photos people have taken near any given location on Earth. It’s a pretty great way to see some ordinary and not so ordinary views of places you’ve visited, or would like to visit. I’ve put some of my photos up there, and will do some more when I have time.
I watched Fargo the other night. I loved it. It starred a number of my favorite actors, early in their careers, like William H. Macy, and Steve Buscemi. Peter Stormare (John Abruzzi from Prison Break) was in it too. The movie had that casual Coen brothers pace and sensitivity that I love so much, and the “Minnesota Nice” culture of the region was as much of a star in the film as any person. “Oooh yah. Oooh jeez.” Darkly funny and worth watching if you haven’t seen it yet.
Last night, despite being so late that I almost stood up Laura, I saw Pursuit of Happyness. It was very well acted, and I was amused by the 1980s makeover they gave to San Francisco. I’m sure it will get plenty of Academy Award nominations. It will deserve them. In many ways, the film equated financial and material success with happiness. On a deeper level, happiness was linked to a sense of accomplishment or living up to one’s potential. The only thing that seemed to be missing to me was any sense of risk. Of course, Will Smith’s character had to go through hell in the movie, but everyone knows it’s all going to turn out fine for him in the end. I mean, they wouldn’t bother making a movie about a guy whose life is hell, and ends in misery. There are plenty of guys like that. So, no matter how bad things were getting for him, I couldn’t shake the thought, “Yeah, whatever. He’ll get what he wants in about 20 minutes.”
I feel like I’ve been really busy lately, although I still find time to sit in front of the computer and vegetate. Last night I surfed until 3am to find stuff to make my PocketPC into a GPS (compact flash GPS receiver, car mount, power adapter, etc.) that I don’t intend to buy. Windows shopping I guess.
My knee is healing slowly. Every day I wake up and it feels a bit better, so I walk around for a while until it feels worse again. I was thinking yesterday how I am subconsciously always prepared to fight or flee. The thought came to me as I was walking by a bunch of sketchy-looking characters who were giving me some pretty dirty looks. Normally I wouldn’t worry, because I know I could either give them a fight, or run away. Right now I’m not capable of either. If I tried to fight, I’d probably get my ass kicked because I’m not stable enough on my feet. I feel like I’m on stilts. If I had to run, I’d probably collapse in a heap after a few steps. It’s an unsettling feeling. Jen says that she’s used to walking around in heels, so she always feels this vulnerability. I guess this is why women in general have developed much more sophisticated strategies for dealing with conflict than men. Food for thought.