Tuesday Tidbits

1.  Soccer?  Still don't get it, regardless of the media-hype informing everyone how all of a sudden, America gets it.  I don't.  The stunningly boring dodge-ball routine and then after an hour or so, a "ggggooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllll."  Then the run by the kicker and sliding on both knees while he sobs to heaven with eternal gratitude.  Please.  Come on NFL!

2.  And speaking of manipulating the masses, I'm sure it comes as no great news to you, but keep in mind that any news you get from CNN, or Fox, or AP or even your local stations, radio or TV, has been filtered by at least four levels.  The on-site reporter, the low-level grunt who gets the initial report, the shift managing editor and their supervisor.    Sometimes it even goes higher, depending on lots of circumstances.  And by filtered I mean softened, hardened, exaggerated, shoved to page 13, or any number of manipulations.  That's kind of why history is so much fun, we get the true, unfiltered version. 

3.  Norah Sighting of the Week:

4.  Rumors are sweeping the place regarding a possible transfer to another prison for some of us inmates.  I dread the move, if i'm one of them, and it may be my best time to escape.  

5.  Speaking of Shawshank, saw Shawshank Redemption again this week (I've stopped counting) and have decided this may be the perfect film.  Of course, my all-time favorite remains Schindler's List, and I think it's near perfect, but Shawshank may be up there, too.  I looked at it not for its storytelling but for its construction.  There are no wasted scenes, every angle of the camera and every line of dialogue moves the story, or the characters.  In most films there is a section, or plot or set of scenes that are thrown in that usually slows everything down.  Love scenes can slow things down, as can fist fights, or car chases.  Those are usually padding or filler scenes that confirm rather than enlighten.  It is the rare film that enlightens with every scene.  Shawshank Redemption is one of those films.  Another near perfect film without unnecessary scenes slowing it down is To Kill A Mockingbird.

6.  They have moved the St. Petersburg Pride parade to Saturday evening rather than the usual Saturday afternoon, thus putting in jeopardy my usual sidewalk support.  I doubt I'll watch them this year, I'd rather be home binge watching the Sopranos for the second time, than trying to find parking and navigating the crowds at night.  

7.  And finally, while I'm playing Ebert here, the latest Tranformers movie was released Friday and I saw the trailer a few times.  Films, books and TV shows are a mirror to our society. Could there be anything more irrelevant more superficial, more fake than this movie?  I'm sure it will be a smashing success and make hundreds of millions, but really, all the trailer had was crashing ships and planes, and cartoon metallic robots beating each other up.  Metalic pieces flying around and lots of moronic sounds and dialogue.  Remember that Hollywood reflects us - are we so shallow and numb?  Are we so bent to excess?  Is the intellect of the country to the point where we watch, mesmerized as special effects robots destroying everything becomes our balm?  I know I shouldn't judge an entire film on its trailer, and I haven't seen any of the Transformer films, and certainly won't watch this one, but it gives me pause to worry a bit about us as a society if our summer pleasures at the theater revolve around this kind of thing rather than more perfect movies I listed above.  And Shawshank Redemption?  It bombed at the box office.  

8. And finally, I need to touch base with a few folks.  Hi, Tommy and Rosita, and hey, Russ?