I once read in some extended piece about Roger Ebert that writing never came with any sort of difficulty for him. Apparently, he’d come in to the office, sit down for a certain amount of time, and stand up with a finished column in hand. Part of this ability surely stems from the fact that he is truly someone who loves movies. From this great love has grown great knowledge of cinema — so what I really appreciate about his writing is his subtle incorporation of that knowledge. While our local yokel movie reviewer always hits you over the head with movies he has seen by name-dropping a slew of films, Ebert incorporates the experiences gained from other films, not necessarily their titles. Therefore, I am inclined to trust his review of the psychological thriller Awake. Ebert’s conclusion, I believe, speaks to his experience as a reviewer:
The movie opens under a cloud on a weekend all other mainstream movies have sidestepped, apparently because it’s our duty to commence Christmas shopping. But I felt what I felt, and there you have it.
Oh right right, the premise of the movie! I forgot to mention that: there’s a phenomenon called anesthetic awareness wherein conscious is gained but paralysis and numbness are maintained. I leave imagining this sort of experience as the domain of the movie or an exercise to the reader. Or both. I don’t know how much time you have this weekend.
The Namesake
Now here’s a film that I’ve been awaiting release on DVD since Mykala and I saw it this past March. Two things have changed: it finally was released on November 27 and Ebert got around to reviewing it. (Ebert was out with an extended and serious series of health complications, so he is going backwards through old movies to review them.) Now, I can convince my family to rent it. And, now I can read Ebert’s review.
Juno
Good lord, this one looks poised to tear up the theaters. (More on that in a minute.) So. Last I wrote about Michael Cera (well, Sagert mentioned him by name), I was guessing that Superbad was going to be pretty good. That movie turned out to be way way dirtier than I had thought, but in an unusually endearing, gentle manner. Fun to watch? Yes. Strange? Yes. Anyhow, this Cera fellow seems to have made some brilliant career moves by garnering attention on the big screen with Superbad, then skillfully leveraging himself out of a typecast frat pack-type role into a movie with more staying power. That movie is Juno, judging by Ebert’s preview review of it:
I don’t know when I’ve heard a standing ovation so long, loud and warm as the one at the Toronto International Film Festival after Jason Reitman’s “Juno,” which I predict will become quickly beloved when it opens at Christmas time, and wins a best actress nomination for its 20-year-old star, Ellen Page. It’s the kind of movie you almost insult by describing the plot…
High praise! So, as far as I can tell, you should go see this Juno movie when it comes to theaters near you. Plus, as a Minnesotan, I should mention that the screenplay is by a certain Diablo Cody, who lives in Minneapolis. However, her’s is unquestionably the weirdestbiography I have ever read on IMDB. Seriously.
In a good example of the type of real writing/reporting that I read Gizmodo for, the popular tech magazine recently wrote about Zetix, a fabric that can stop multiple car bombs without sustaining damage. Zetix uses a relatively new material science technique called “auxetics,” whereby materials get thicker instead of thinner when they are stretched. As a special bonus, the material uses a lower concentration of special polymer threads per unit of material, which reduces its cost.
Question of the day: how was this photo taken? The guy is suspended so far above the water, so high up. Someone guessed a trampoline… I’m thinking that’s the simplest explanation, but perhaps they found a way to catapult him off the back of a boat while it was moving, then as they drove away they took the picture.
The Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh is, hands down, the greatest educational building I have ever seen.
One of the foremost Gothic architects of the time, Philadelphian Charles Klauder, was hired to design the tower. The design took two years to finish, with the final plan attempting to fuse the idea of a modern skyscraper with the tradition and ideals of Gothic architecture.
In the featured Wikipedia picture, the dang thing looks quite surreal, but in a very very cool way. Apparently, parts of it are haunted. (And really, if you were a ghost, wouldn’t you hang out there?)
Nine months ago, I received some rather bad news: a rejection from the U of M School of Dentistry. Never one who enjoys having to zig when I intended to zag, I nevertheless tried to learn how to accept change. I signed off last February with a statement that seemed confident but was riddled with holes of doubt and trouble. Only work and time could resolve those issues. And today, I got some news. So… finally… years of planning, a biochemistry degree, research, summer classes, dental observations, dental conventions, a dental coop class, taking the DAT, applying, getting rejected, taking a DAT class, more observations, re-applying, and endless months of waiting for news, it is official — I start dental school next fall at the University of Minnesota!
Let me get something out of my system here: YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First off, I could not have made it without my family and Ms. Mykala. Plus, I owe everyone who stopped by last year and said “hey, keep going, you can do it” a huge HUGE “thank you.” You all rock. Pat yourself on the back. I’ll buy you a beer when I see you.
This is one of those pieces of news that is so big, so game-changing, that your brain cannot process it all in one chunk (I’m certainly still reeling). That hugeinosity, I think, is the biggest gift — this is the news that keeps on giving.