(no subject)
finally watched grizzly man sunday night. big disappointment. at the risk of sounding really insensitive, i have to say it would have been more interesting to watch a documentary character study about that closet case. clearly i don't know the guy, but the film did not portray him positively at all. it made him out to be a complete joke. he had absolutely no expertise as a biologist. instead, he grew up a lonely kid (his best friend was a squirrel) with strange parents. he moved out to california to become an actor. he told his parents he was second in line for woody harrelson's character in cheers, and losing that part propelled him into drug and alcohol problems. then there's a gap in the story. vaguely, in trying to get clean, he formed an interest in wildlife preservation, particularly grizzly bears. so this alcoholic failed actor embarks on a crusade to save the grizzlies by making friends and living with them. the doc's narrator even chides his efforts by saying he ignored the harsh indifference of nature toward his attempts at compassion and companionship. eventually he got eaten by an effing bear, the end. i expected to feel bad for the guy, but instead i just saw a movie about how big an idiot this guy was. oh well.
but it did remind me of something i meant to mention a while ago. at the end some of grizzly man's friends disperse the ashes of his remains around the area where he was camped to live with the bears. that reminded me of something i noticed during our recent memphis trip. there was this tiny little cemetary we passed on this tiny little road. and i just thought what it must be like to feel so attached to a particular place that you want your physical remains to be there forever. i don't feel like i have such a strong tie to any place, and i wonder if most people do. probably had to do with just having finished reading some wendell berry. his characters so embody their simple, country homes. they exude home, in fact. but i wasn't bothered as much as simply struck by the idea of so intimately associating a where with my who.
got up early this morning to run. it was too cold, i need something to cover my ears before doing that again. but i did get in a good hour and a half of reading and caffeinating before class, so i'm not really complaining. i always start off so well with routines like this only to fall off. hopefully taking this khp class mwf will keep me going to the johnson center and i'll be able to keep up the rest.
chris
but it did remind me of something i meant to mention a while ago. at the end some of grizzly man's friends disperse the ashes of his remains around the area where he was camped to live with the bears. that reminded me of something i noticed during our recent memphis trip. there was this tiny little cemetary we passed on this tiny little road. and i just thought what it must be like to feel so attached to a particular place that you want your physical remains to be there forever. i don't feel like i have such a strong tie to any place, and i wonder if most people do. probably had to do with just having finished reading some wendell berry. his characters so embody their simple, country homes. they exude home, in fact. but i wasn't bothered as much as simply struck by the idea of so intimately associating a where with my who.
got up early this morning to run. it was too cold, i need something to cover my ears before doing that again. but i did get in a good hour and a half of reading and caffeinating before class, so i'm not really complaining. i always start off so well with routines like this only to fall off. hopefully taking this khp class mwf will keep me going to the johnson center and i'll be able to keep up the rest.
chris