Movie Review - The Dark Knight

There was some Batman movie that came out a few weeks back.  It's made a bunch of money and has made many comic book nerds happy.  I saw the movie and here's my review.

 

If you liked the first installment of the Christopher Nolan series (methinks it was called Batman Begins?), I believe you'll like this movie as well.  Christian Bale plays the Batman/Bruce Wayne character pretty well.  Being a fan of the first Batman theatrical release, I'm kind of partial to Michael Keaton.  But Bale makes a very good leading man.  The other notable character is obviously The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, who has since passed away.  Lots has been made about the performance of Ledger with many people calling his performance "Oscar-winning."  I politely choose to disagree.  While I believe his performace was good, I believe it was just as good as Jack Nicholson's turn as The Joker in the first Batman (while you're mulling that over, remember that there were two different directors who went two different ways).  I think that he's getting a lot of extra plaudits because it's believed that this role was one of the factors in his eventual death.  But let's get to the movie itself.

 

The movie was good.  Very fast-paced and action-oriented.  Maggie Gylenhal (sp) took over for Katie Holmes in the Rachel Dawes department.  The switch was okay, but they played the role two totally different ways.  And that was kind of puzzling to me.  Aaron Eckhardt plays Harvey Dent, who eventually turns into Two-Face.  I liked the way they played the character, but I was disappointed that they killed him off less than an hour after his transformation.  He probably could have merited another appearance in a future installment.  Gary Oldham again shines as Captain (and subsequently Commisioner) Jim Gordon.  There was lots of cool gadgetry including cell-phone sonar (which is a very interesting topic..).  Tiny Lister even makes an appearance!!

 

I'm giving the movie an 8 out of 10.  I'll see it again in the theater.  Not after 6:00pm mind you, but I'll see it again.

Africa

Curious about how folks are helping those affected with/by HIV/AIDS in Africa? Check out this video, featuring Ryan Keith and representatives from other groups doing good work.

Quotation

On the topic of love..

To love is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket - safe, dark, motionless, airless - it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.
-C.S. Lewis

It's been a while..

So I have this blog.  And sometimes I think of things to write and I don't actually write them down.  And other times I just don't have anything to say.  I'm sorry that I'm not more regular with this thing.  Maybe I need to increase my literary fiber intake....

 

This past weekend, I headed down to Rehoboth Beach with four other folks from my small group.  One thing I've found in the small group environment, is that it's very difficult to find a weekend that works for everyone.  So there were a couple of folks who were missed, but we soldiered on without them.

 

I had a good time.  And I don't think it would be a stretch to say that everybody else had a fun time too.  What I want to focus on is what exactly made it a good time.  First it was the beach.  I love going to the beach.  I could care less about the sand and the ocean, but the prevailing laid-back attitude at the beach is right up my alley.  So I had that going for me.  But then I also had the people I was with.  One of the most amazing things about a small group is the differences in the individuals that make up the group.  And the fact that we can coexist with all our differences.  Especially in a trailer/house/cabin for an entire weekend.   And the people this weekend made it good.  Whether it was walking the boardwalk, talking fashion, eating, sitting around an umbrella, talking scooters, talking immunizations, talking time-travel, visiting the Candy Kitchen, talking Luke Wilson, playing games, trying to find a parking spot, bemoaning the fact that our car was parked in by two vehicles with over two hours left in their respective meters, taking pictures, talking education, celebrating a birthday, stepping in ice cream, imitating Mrs. Butterworth's voice, listening to NPR and each other, I had fun.

 

As I get older, I am becoming more thankful for the opportunities that I have to be involved in the lives of my friends.  Its not all peaches (or the fruit of your choice) and cream.  Because friendship isn't only limited to the good times.  But I've come to be able to appreciate those hard times as much as the good times.   

 

And I am very much looking forward to our next trip to the beach.

That guy

I was up in the city (NYC) on Wednesday and we had left Katz's Deli and we were racing back to catch the subway. And there was a guy that was on our left and he had a cup in his hand and he called out to us. "You guys have any spare change?" I shook my head and said "sorry." And we raced on.

But that guy is still in my head. I had a pocketful of change in my pocket. And I couldn't stop for 15 seconds.

I haven't always been keen on giving money to people I see on the street. But that's changed. I've become much more aware of poverty and it's prevalence in the world. I'm not going to get into what has caused said poverty, because at the moment, it's not relevant. What is relevant, is our recognition that there are people less well off than us. You may consider them "the least of these."

I'm tempted to look for that guy the next time I'm up in the city. In the meantime, I'll be keeping my eyes open and I would encourage you to do the same.

From the Phone

Mobile post sent by stevorama using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

Need some furniture?

Or know someone who's looking for some furniture?

I have a friend who's moving and she's trying to get rid of a sofa-bed and a love seat. More details and pictures here.

Travel Planning Tips

I love to travel.  It may be argued that I love the planning portion even more than the travel.  That said, here are some tips that may be helpful when you're planning a trip.

 

1. Check out the local visitors and convention bureau's website.  You can usually find it by googling the name of the city and the word "visitors."  This will give you lots of sanctioned information and will be a good jumping-off point for the rest of your research.  You'll be able to find information on lodging, attractions and dining, but it may not be very in-depth.

 

2.  When I look for accomodations, I normally read a bunch of reviews on places that I'm considering.  While you could go to a site like TripAdvisor for that, you could also try doing a blog search.  A review on a blog page will give you a much better frame of reference, then a review on a mega-site.  Plus, the reviews will often be a part of a larger trip report, which will give you extra insight into what the city has to offer.  I never knew about the New York Milkshake Company, until I read about it earlier this week (in preparation for my own trip to the big city next week).  If you're looking more for attraction and dining information, consider using the blog search with the name of the city and "trip report."

 

3.  Speaking of trip reports, there are websites solely devoted to these journals.  I just can't think of any at the moment..

 

4.  Check out the library or your local bookstore.  You'll be able to peruse various publications and you may be suprised that they all don't mention the same places.

 

5.  Finally, check out local newspapers.  It's a great way to see what's going on activity-wise and it can provide you with more up-to-date information than some websites offer.  Also, many cities like Washington and Pittsburgh have their own monthly magazines dedicated to their city.

 

So there ya go.