Private Ryan
August 29 1998		FUBAR is not a German word
The task of the day: Movie		Went to see Saving Private Ryan today. There probably isn't a whole lot to say about this movie that hasn't already been said. For me, I was prepared for "all of the horror" of it, or however you'd like to put it. At first, that made me fairly dispassionate about it. But the sheer force of the picture eventually had even me beginning to withdraw into a fetal position. Guess I wasn't as dispassionate as I thought I was being. The craft of this picture is excellent. Both visually and audio-wise. I was taken with the bullet sounds, excellent foley work, and appropriate use of surround sound technology. But the story is fairly simplistic. I felt that the brutality of war was pointed out evenhandedly on both sides. Neither the Germans nor the Americans were really "the bad guys" in this picture. Care for some other opinions? Ceej's is here. Diane's is here. * * * I really hate going out to movies now. People are so rude. When I spend $7.00 to see a movie, I don't need to hear someone else's opinion or observation about the film. At the beginning of Saving Private Ryan, the lady behind me stated "France!" upon seeing the French flag waving. Wow, did you get a PhD in order to learn that? I am so impressed with your knowledge. It's especially wrong when the movie in question is immersive in the way that this one is. I don't really care to be reminded that there's a real world sitting next to me. Just as annoying is Joe Random Conversation taking place. I usually start with the evil looks, but I know one day going to lose it and state "Shut The Fuck Up" at the first peep. I think people are so used to watching movies on their VCR that they forget that this isn't their living room. Either that, or people have just become dumber or less concerned about other people. I figure maybe it's time I brought my own brand of rudeness into the picture. Of course, should I ever do this, I'll get shot or something like that. It's fear of this and a decent upbringing that keep me quiet and suffering. * * * There are two online journals that I read regularly. Diane's nobody knows anything (aka The Paperwork) is one of them. I started reading because we worked together when she was at Apple. Also, she knows lots of the same people I do (who are no longer at Apple either) and it's nice to hear what all of those folks are up to. I never really ran in the same geek crowd as them, but still consider them people I care about. For an account of Diane and my biggest "event", check out this entry. This is also the entry that brought some huge number of people to this journal of mine. The other one I read is Ceej's Battered Black Book. Of course, as I look at that phrase right now I wonder, "Just what is it battered in? Egg wash and bread crumbs? A light beer batter? Crushed Panko?" Obviously, being at the CIA has impacted me a bit. Ceej is a good friend of Diane, which is what got me started. She's also a fairly interesting writer, because she's so damn opinionated. I don't agree with her half the time, but that's not the point. And, of course, in true Silicon Valley in-breeding style, ceej turns out to know jsam, who I work with. The online journaling community is interesting. Diane claims that once you start an online journal, you won't be able to stop. I'm not sure about that, but so far, it's been fun to write about things going on in my life. Of course, I have a known readership so far in the form of the homefront and parents. * * * Got some pictures developed from the past six weeks. I'll try to scan them in to post them here. Maybe I'll go see if I can find a decent cheap scanner, or perhaps there is one at school I can use. Shawn has a scanner, but it's only black and white. It would be interesting to false color the food pictures, but it would also Just Be Wrong.
past home future index		Copyright 1998 Tom Dowdy Comments? dowdy@poubelle.com