Four Hundred and Ninety Six

[natopaisano]

I just watched Burn After Reading. SPOILER ALERT. What I loved about it in particular was how it functioned as a kind of butterfly-effect, but instead of a butterfly's wings starting a hurricane half a globe away, it was a bunch of idiots being stupid and bringing down a shitstorm upon them! You can almost hear a gaggle of tough-minded individualistic rockers raising their fists for John Malkovich's "Ozzie Cox" character at the end, as he gives his speech to the Hardbodies (tm) manager bout about how he's been "battling morons like you" all his life... and the funny thing is, Ozzie Cox is a moron, too - because the Hardbodies (tm) manager is just about the only sympathetic character in the entire movie, and definitely not a moron in most respects. But Ozzie won't listen; Ozzie's been pushed too far, and thus, the tragic/comedic ending. Ozzie can't stop drinking, and Manager Guy can't stop himself from being in the thrall of Linda, and doing her nefarious bidding. So, as a result, they both come to an unfortunate end. The best part is that, after all the bullets and hatchets are done raining down upon our friends the cast, Linda gets her surgery! A cool movie. Perhaps not quite a Coen Bros. classic, it's at least worth another viewing down the line.

Oh, and among other things which happened upon this merry Xmas with my family, my mom got me More Information Than You Require. John Hodgman is my hero, and this book is the funniest thing I've encountered in my entire life, since... his previous book, The Areas Of My Expertise. If you don't know him - get with the program, son!

MILWAUKEE

See you tomorrow night, Milwaukee. I'll call ya when I'm driving. I hear it's gonna rain all Saturday. Who's up - or down - for RISK???