I was (re)watching the "Inauguration, part 2" episode of "West Wing" today when I was reminded, by the show, of something that came to mind for me during my San Diego vacation back in July. A portion of the episode involved hotel Bibles, as does this particular post.
When we stayed at the Marriott, not only did it have a King James Bible, but it also had a Book of Mormon. I suppose I should google, I mean research, this...is the Marriott an LDS (Latter Day Saint, aka Mormon) run company? Perhaps just the Residence Inn offshoot? Perhaps just whomever was in charge of supplying the hotel Bibles? Maybe other hotel rooms had different religious texts (THAT would be keen in my book). My older friends may joke and say my ex knew i was going to be there and planted the book...
Anyhow, I've come to expect the inevitability of the hotel Bible, regardless of my lack of Christianity, it doesn't bother me. I've gotten used to it like I've gotten used to the Pledge of Allegiance (though I had a quiver when Lash first reported learning it). However, I was somewhat bothered by the placement of a Book of Mormon in my room. Regardless of my lapsed Mormonism, I thought it pushed the inevitable too much further.
Just once, I'd like to find a hotel room that is missing its Bible, and in its place has the Koran, the Torah or even the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Now that would be something.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Saturday, September 04, 2004
Date Night
It's been a good long time since Lash and I were able to spend any time together one-on-one, so I decided to make Friday a father-son night and let Lash pick the doings. He picked going to a movie--cool. He picked Anacondas... well, he's my son and I love him and so we watched Anacondas.
One of the trailers was for Shaun of the Dead. Enjoyed the trailer though I thought it gave away a bit too much. Also had a trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse. The trailer we've been seeing on tv has had me deciding not to see the film in theaters; the trailer at the theater has me rethinking. The Lickers look awesome.
OK, Anacondas. The pluses: when the snakes are seen swimming in the water--really nice. When the snakes are moving so fast that you can't linger focus on them--really nice (the cgi is great, but the speed and frenetic chaos of snake strikes is caught better in the parts where you don't have lingering glimpses of the snakes. Plus, less snake equals more suspense and for a bad movie, it had decent suspense and more than a few instances of good "jump out of your seat" moments (I actually twitched once, and that NEVER happens) Lash watched the whole movie peeking through his fingers. The biggest plus: he loved it.
Minuses:
1. Every now and then, as background mood music, the composer put in a quick rattle. Anacondas are not rattle snakes.
2. Anacondas hunt in the water, not the trees.
3. Anacondas rarely attack humans, so multiple Anacondas going to town on humans is a bit odd, but able to be thrown away easy enough for the sake of the film.
4. Anacondas usually mate in the water, not on mud flats. While the mud was crucial to the film plot, since the anaconda will typically mate in water, our resident anaconda expert in the film should have said that instead of saying that they'd find the anacondas mating on a mud flat...
5. Perhaps most important: the plot takes place in Borneo, Malaysia. Anacondas live in South America. Malaysia is not in South America. Malaysia has no anacondas.
6. Lake Placid syndrome: too many people survived. And the end was far too predictable.
One of the trailers was for Shaun of the Dead. Enjoyed the trailer though I thought it gave away a bit too much. Also had a trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse. The trailer we've been seeing on tv has had me deciding not to see the film in theaters; the trailer at the theater has me rethinking. The Lickers look awesome.
OK, Anacondas. The pluses: when the snakes are seen swimming in the water--really nice. When the snakes are moving so fast that you can't linger focus on them--really nice (the cgi is great, but the speed and frenetic chaos of snake strikes is caught better in the parts where you don't have lingering glimpses of the snakes. Plus, less snake equals more suspense and for a bad movie, it had decent suspense and more than a few instances of good "jump out of your seat" moments (I actually twitched once, and that NEVER happens) Lash watched the whole movie peeking through his fingers. The biggest plus: he loved it.
Minuses:
1. Every now and then, as background mood music, the composer put in a quick rattle. Anacondas are not rattle snakes.
2. Anacondas hunt in the water, not the trees.
3. Anacondas rarely attack humans, so multiple Anacondas going to town on humans is a bit odd, but able to be thrown away easy enough for the sake of the film.
4. Anacondas usually mate in the water, not on mud flats. While the mud was crucial to the film plot, since the anaconda will typically mate in water, our resident anaconda expert in the film should have said that instead of saying that they'd find the anacondas mating on a mud flat...
5. Perhaps most important: the plot takes place in Borneo, Malaysia. Anacondas live in South America. Malaysia is not in South America. Malaysia has no anacondas.
6. Lake Placid syndrome: too many people survived. And the end was far too predictable.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Shaun of the Dead
So, I've seen Shaun of the Dead (due out in theaters September 24th) and am very impressed.
Ever see one of those older, 80s zombie movie crapfests that are just too funny because they suck so much? Thankfully, not the case here. Shaun's funny in all the right ways--because it's a freaking comedy and the comedy of the movie works really well in this horror flick gone awry.
From the opening sequence in the Winchester (the pub he frequents), to the scene where he tries to convince his mom to let him rescue her and not step-dad, to the reality-sports footage at the end... the show never disappointed.
Zombies are definitely my favorite horror genre, and I'd been thinking I wouldn't see another good one until Romero's Land of the Dead comes out. Now, can't wait to see a less-grainy Shaun when it hits theaters in three weeks.
Definitely fabulous, and funny in a good way.
Ever see one of those older, 80s zombie movie crapfests that are just too funny because they suck so much? Thankfully, not the case here. Shaun's funny in all the right ways--because it's a freaking comedy and the comedy of the movie works really well in this horror flick gone awry.
From the opening sequence in the Winchester (the pub he frequents), to the scene where he tries to convince his mom to let him rescue her and not step-dad, to the reality-sports footage at the end... the show never disappointed.
Zombies are definitely my favorite horror genre, and I'd been thinking I wouldn't see another good one until Romero's Land of the Dead comes out. Now, can't wait to see a less-grainy Shaun when it hits theaters in three weeks.
Definitely fabulous, and funny in a good way.
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