Day: July 29, 2005

Ya know, I’ve been reading the blogosphere for various reviews on “Over There”. I’ve seen a good bit of negative and a lot of wishful thinking about the writers of “Blackhawk Down” and “Band of Brothers”. First off, the writers of both of those had a real story to base the screenplays on, “Over There” only has real situations to base it on, not a full-blown story. The characters in “Over There” do not exist, the characters of the other two, did, even if the names were changed. You want historical drama, watch the history channel, FX is drama only.

Now, I liked “Band of Brothers”, I hated “Blackhawk Down”. In fact, if we want to get into the politics of screenworks, “Blackhawk Down” made me hate the Clinton administration more than anything Clinton could have done otherwise. That situation proved to me that a person with no military experience, should not be directing the military, nor should he have any “yes” men to advise him. There is no way that I will ever, voluntarily, watch that movie again. In fact, I wish I had the time and the money spent to go see it back, so I could do something useful.

With “Over There”, it’s drama for me. I was on the edge of my seat as the transport truck slowly rolled over the IED, I was laughing my ass off as the .50 cal exploded into the insurgent, tore off his torso as his legs continued to walk forward. I wanted to bitchslap the token dumbass chick as she screamed at her unitmate for helping her dig a sleeping hole, and wished for a bullet to her head when she took off to take a piss. I sympathized with the guy who’s wife was banging someone else, because he was getting deployed as means to punish her – I know guys who went through that argument with their wives, heaven help those women should I ever meet them. I gave respect to the mother who explained to her infant son how she was going to be gone for a year because “Mommy has a job to do”. I also wanted to high five the MP who threw the insurgent leader into the transport veh., who told the Reporter from AJ to fuck off, and why.

Do I think situations like that happen? Who knows, not over there, and thanks to the fuck-up called the MSM, my boys who are infantry couldn’t tell me if they did. Do I think that situation was put in the pilot for a reason? Hell yeah! You get introduced to the characters, you get both sides of the coin nailed, and you see that there isn’t really any black or white to the situation, just a fuckton of gray. Honestly, I don’t think either side of the political coin is going to get what they want out of this show. In fact, the hatred for this show might be the only thing the left and right have in common right now.

I’m not sure on the blunt comment, I don’t ever recall smoking a joint that I could exhale out my mouth and then inhale through my nose. Though, the ash looked about right, as did the coughing. My guess is that the actor is a smoker and they “fixed” up a cig to look like a blunt and he forgot.

Oh, and the women were the transport personnel, not the guys. Watching it right now, and caught that part.

Addition: In regards to “Dim”, he didn’t give himself his nick for the reason of being stupid. He got it in basic, probably given as just a breakdown comment (probably in the same manner I got the nick Psycho in the gym).

Another: The M-16 is ejecting out the right side, not the left as commented on BlackFive’s blog. Someone needs to watch closely, or record and hit pause (TiVo is wonderful).

Scorpio for this week (late, I know):

Pioneer cartoonist Walt Disney had no doubts about what inspired his greatest ardor. “I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I’ve ever known,” he said. My sculptor friend Rachel has a similar relationship with her art. “I don’t have time for boyfriends,” she told me. “Men just distract me from my work, which is the only thing that gives me unconditional joy.” I suggest that in the coming weeks you make Walt and Rachel your role models, Scorpio. What form of creative self-expression inspires as much of your passion as your drive for romantic intimacy? Feed it with the same fervor you summon when you’re infatuated with a new lover.

My problem is that my passions are currently occupied. In talking with my Zoomie last night, we both agreed that we’re too passionate about things. It is the fire that pushes us ahead and keeps us moving. The problem arises when that passion is translated into emotions, as we pursue and feel what we do with passion. I know it has been my downfall, and the reasoning behind my problems with letting go of things. It has been the source of my frustration, the source of my pain and the source of my cynicism/misanthrope-ism. My dad used to call my naive because of it, failing to see reality for the veil over my eyes. Maybe, but I also think this same problem is what made my gram into the sour old woman that she became when I was born. We are captive to our passions, and when we fail in sustaining them, or utilizing them to the greatest of our ability, we see that as absolute failure. A failure of our own making that we should have been able to make into a success.

A thousand years from today, everyone you know will be long dead and forgotten. There’ll be nothing left of the life you love, no evidence that you ever walked this planet. That, at least, is what the fundamentalist materialists would have you believe. But suppose the truth is very different? What if in fact every little thing you do subtly alters the course of world history? What if your day-to-day decisions will actually help determine how the human species navigates its way through the epic turning point we’re living through? And finally, what if you will be alive in a thousand years, reincarnated into a fresh body and in possession of the memories of the person you were back in this era? These are my hypotheses. These are my prophecies. Which is why I say: Live as if your soul is eternal

This will make an interesting meditation topic.

FreeWill Astrology