Balance

I was in the mood for a really depressing movie today and as luck would have it a new Bergman movie (Saraband) was playing at the Kendall. I love how in Bergman's films people talk to each other about their innermost feelings in such a straightforward manner. There's never a hint of self-consciousness, nervous laughter, confusion, or even resorting to humor. People just fearlessly bare their souls and await the consequences. Are people in Sweden really like this? At any rate the movie was suitably bleak to suit my mood...certainly an antidote to the dumbed down fare Hollywood has been giving us lately. There was one cheery touch (to my eyes at least); one of the characters wore New Balance sneakers.

Skimming the Drowning Pool

I saw the free Hamlet on Boston Common on Tuesday. It was very imaginatively staged and the acting wasn't half bad. An overall enjoyable experience even though I was sitting on the ground and my entire body was on the verge of cramping up throughout. I went with some people from work including a certain Harvard educated Shakespearean scholar (everyone I work with is smarter, younger, and better looking than I am...why they put up with me is a mystery). I had seen a little blurb on channel 2 the night before about the play and, ever eager to display inside knowledge, I was pointing out where Orphelia would be drowning when she said "We know, they were skimming the drowning pool earlier." Ah yes, skimming the old drowning pool...an evening at the theatre is barely complete without it.

The "No Ads" Lady

I went to the movies over the weekend and ran into a new crazy lady. I happened to walk in just as an ad started and she was yelling "No ads!" over and over. Actually she wasn't yelling it, just saying it like it was a normal thing to do and made all sorts of sense. People got up and moved away from her. Perhaps she was just an old 60's protestor revisiting the spirit of her youth. I mean, I can't disagree with her sentiment...who wants to pay to see an advertisement after all. Maybe we should all take up this practice and start yelling in mighty unison "No Ads!" when they befoul the screen in front of us. Or maybe we should just avoid crazy people, mind our own business, and pray for the lights to go down. It's up to you.

Man in the Green Shirt

I was walking home from the Davis Square T stop one day recently when a panhandler commented that I was wearing "one ugly shirt." It was very thoughtful of him to take valuble time away from his busy schedule of begging for money to favor me with this fashion advice. The small kindnesses of man never cease to amaze.

Why didn't I think of that

Man invents machine whose sole purpose is to turn itself off after a human turns it on.

http://www.kugelbahn.ch/sesam_e.htm

Animal Rights Lady Update

Location: Davis Square T stop.
Attitude: Angrier than ever.
The Pitch: "Animal a-BUSE...SIGN!!!"

On a personal note I would like to thank the wise stewards of our underground transportation system for shutting off the air conditioning of every car I've entered the last few days. Future generations will thank you for your conservation efforts.

I make me worried

I rented a Kurasowa film over the weekend. It was a Chinese DVD with the subtitles apparently translated to Chinese and then to English. It was not exactly the Criterion Collection. I was left to ponder such lines as:

"Get drunk to be me, poor."

"I won't tease you being sick."

"I make me worried."

"This shows you chick, I am not afraid of you."

"Women look good in a drunk eye."

Well, everyone looks better in a drunk eye...can't disagree with that one.

Pal

I'm in good with the guys at the liquor store now. They call me "pal." "Is that it pal?" "Have a nice night pal." Oh yes, I make friends easily.

"Sign....Petition..."

The animal rights lady was spotted back at South Station one day this past week. For those not in the know she was a fixture there a few years back...a bedraggled lady with a huge picture of some sad looking kitten imperiously intoning "Sign...Petition..." She fit right in to the South Station scene then as it was a hell hole of a construction site masquerading as a subway stop. She was finally rousted one day by some guy who started demanding where the donations went and, oddly, strangers from the crowd started joining in the attack. The general consensus was she was pocketing the donations and didn't really care if you signed the petition or not (egad!). Perhaps people were just sick of her act...no one wants to see mangled kittens shoved in your face day after day. After that brouhaha she disappeared. I saw her months later one day at my stop Davis Square...and after that she was spotted in NYC by one of my subway riding cohorts who happened to be visiting. In each case she was immediately recognizable by her distinctive oratorical wail...."Sign...Petition..."

stupid blog

So now I'm a blogger.