Revenge of the Sith
From the articles in Outside, I had my own thoughts going into the movie. My first inclination was that Timothy Treadwell was at least a naturalist, with proper training and thorough knowledge of bears and their habitats. The movie showed that he was none of the above. His foray into the wild was based on childhood love of critters and Teddy bears, and "coming in second to Woody Harrelson" for the bartender position on Cheers. In his clips, he continuously praised the bears for their friendship, and expressed love for the bears, foxes, and the entire scene. It all came to a head when watching a female bear excrete and his reaction went off the charts. Very, very odd.
The entire movie went back and forth between showing Treadwell's "love" for the bears, and the love his friends had for him. Many of his friends referred to his addictions to alcohol and drugs and hanging prior to heading into the bush. Kris pointed out that he just found another addiction by spending time with the bears.
I spent part of the movie wondering if Jane Goodall would've received the same distain if she had been mauled by Chimpanzes. She spent forty-five years studying the social and familial rituals of the chimps, and went on to world-wide recognition. What if Treadwell had survived? Would he have learned anything? Would he have been able to share it, change the way the world views bears? I don't know if anything scientific has been made of Treadwell's video or observations, but if it has, was his life worth it?
Overall, take away the opinions expressed by the commentator, Director Werner Herzog, and watch the movie for yourself. I found a deeply disturbed man who got exactly what was coming to him.
]]>Following that summer, I finished my last semester, graduated and got a desk job and ceased to workout, maintaining my high-caloric intake and poor grocery store habits. Scratch that. I rarely went to a grocery store. Instead, I bought a small chest freezer and frequented the frozen food section at Sam's Club. Pizza Pockets were my favorite. Two or three at a time, two to three times per week. The other nights were split between breaded buffalo chicken fingers, and and a dozen or so chicken nuggets. There were no accompaniments and the drink always included a left over Mountain Dew or fresh beer. I was getting fat. I knew it, but didn't care.
Why this memory, you ask? "Super Size Me." The movie struck a cord with me because of my diet this fall and my resulting eight loss. We watched it last Thursday (courtesy of Netflix, which rocks) based on the recommendation of many friends. It was extremely well done. Much more enjoyable than the other one.
And it seems like we watched it at the right time. The day after, Frazz runs a comic that sums up one of the main reasons obesity is a second biggest health threat in the US.
Furthermore, in the movie, an interviewee in the movie vocalized a thought I've been carrying with me since I lost my weight. When will the obese be socially criticized for being overweight? And will they be told to correct it at the same time? Most places, smokers are shunned to stand outside to fulfill their addiction. And, as the interviewee shares, they are even given grief for lighting up at a table of friends. Nearly every time I pass an obese person, I develop a bit of scorn and disappointment that they've taken their own body and severely trashed it. "Why don't they want to lose weight?" If you're ever in Wisconsin, look at the people around you. How many are overweight? Too many.
As a result of the movie's success, there are no super size options at McDonald's and just recently, the vending machine industry is starting a campaign to provide healthy food alternatives in schools.
Again, an extremely well done movie. It deserves your attention and the attention is has garnered. Keep reading to know how fat I got.
]]> The three years following the summer in Waupun had took its toll. My blood work said so. In January 2002, my total cholesterol was 198. My triglyceride level was 223 (should be 150). HDL (good cholesterol) was at 37, when over 40 is best. And finally, my LDL (bad cholesterol) was 116, when under 100 is best. As noted on the response from the nurse, "these numbers are not ideal." And then Kris & I got married and moved in together. There was no room for the freezer in our new apartment, so Sam's was not on the grocery list anymore. Instead, we began to cook "real" food and eat out less. I made attempts at working out, but not really. I stopped weighing myself long before this, so I had no idea where I was at. Some records had me over 210, 35 pounds over my litmus-test like high-school graduation weight. I do recall around this time that I find chuckled as I took my shirt off before jumping in a lake. I asked why he was laughing. He replied by saying that I was just the everyone else now with my belly and related chub. Ouch.A year after being married, I had another routine check-up, complete with blood work. I was anxious to see what the pizza pocket free year had done for me. Overall, good news: 160 total, 112 triglycerides, 38 HDL, and 100 LDL. Just within acceptable limits.
The next year continued, with sloppy attempts and setting up a regular exercise program. I struggled to keep up during basketball games, and found myself struggling for air after legging out triples and home runs in softball. I was dubbed the unfortunate nickname of "sausage." (Keep your dirty minds to yourself. It was based on my running style that matched the Brewers' event, not what you're thinking.)
That's when this August, we decided to do something about it. The South Beach would be the guide, and everything else would be history. And it worked. I've maintained the 30 pounds lost on the diet, and will begin working out in earnest in the next few weeks. It's go time.
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What an amazingly shot film with stunning panoramic views of harsh and harrowing landscapes encountered by two young, arrogant, British men. I've been spoiled by the UltraSreen's® size as of late, and thusly frustrated that I was watching such excellent scenery on such a "small" screen. I enjoyed the documentary feeling of the movie, with the voice-over and interviews carrying the dialog of the three men involved. I would've liked to see a bit more emotion from anyone, mainly to validate my own horrific thoughts. However, the filming and story telling overlayed with action scenes of the movie allowed vicious thoughts of myself cutting the rope connecting me to my climbing partner in order to live. Lots of "Whatifs?" and "Ohmygods!" throughout.
Highly Recommended.
]]> I went to the web to find some more background and discovered that Joe will be on Oprah, Friday, April 30. Aside from writing the book that inspired the movie, Joe has is own website, documenting is speaking engagements and movie awards and reactions. There's rumors on the message boards that Joe & Simon's friendship has fallen apart, but I couldn't find the truth. Maybe Oprah will tell us.]]>Final eval on the sub I think is to keep it. I think we'd miss the power if we took the step down.
]]>The first view of Zion is of the monstrous doors opening into the monstrous cave. Oversized gears, weights and cables control the doors, which ache to open and close. Yet, ships float effortless around and land gracelessly within. Then Neo and Counselor Hamann philosophize about the need for the old, creeky machines. All the machines and ships appear old and rusty, like they salavged them from the surface and that's all they've got.
It's the rust that changes the entire plot. If the rusty, delapitated walkway in the third ship hadn't fell when the cripple limped across it, then that operator wouldn't have gotten gorged, and Trinity wouldn't have had to go into the Matrix. Because Trinity went into the Matrix, she dies, but not before Neo makes his choice (because it is all about the choices), and saves her with some cool computer graphics.
But why do they have ships that can hover? Why do they have extreme computers that rain green letters. They have real-time hologram displays of the sentinals. Can't they get some Rust-Oleum and grease?
]]>While Paramount executives wouldn't comment on specifics of the marketing campaign, suffice it to say that this will be the largest marketing campaign that the home video division has ever undertaken, second only to "The Godfather" box set release, one Paramount executive said.The box looks really cool, too.]]>