Cute, But Dangerous

We checked out George A. Romero's Land of the Dead last night. Great zombie flick. But I hate when a theatre is so cold that you can't even focus on what you're watching because all you can do is daydream about how warm it must be outside. Anyway, it was just as gruesome and icky as a zombie movie should be, very enjoyable. I will warn those of you who share my affliction - because I wish someone had warned me - there is a clown zombie. And it is vile. I actually screamed and curled up into a little ball. Travis' attempts at comfort were fruitless...and I missed about three minutes of the movie after that for fear that they were still focused in on Bozombie.

I could get all nerdy about the fact that Land of the Dead is really an allegory. I could discuss the societal and political implications of the film. I could point out to you, for example, that Romero seems to resurface and generate these films very rarely, and always at a point where civil unrest is at a peak and popular opinion and faith in our political leaders and general direction are slumping to record lows. I could go into all that - but y'all are pretty smart, you'll figure it out.

So, let's get back to me! Good LORD I wish I wasn't so damned sensitive! It irritates me to no end - what kills me is that it's not generally the comment that bothers me, it's the fact that the comment bothers me that bothers me. I should be able to just appreciate a statement for what it is - a quick-witted bit of cleverness that, frankly, if I had said myself I would have been terribly proud of. (And it was indeed one of your best.) I would like to take the compliment portion of it and shrug off the rest. But instead I let myself go reeling for hours with frustration at my own stupid reaction. Believe it or not, though, I do find myself reacting less strongly than I did in the past...perhaps there's hope for me after all!

It all boils down to the fact that I desperately need to stop taking things so personally. There are so many things that are bothering me, because I let myself believe that those things are a reflection on me, rather than what they really are - individual manifestations, which my presence/abilities/personality have no bearing on whatsoever.

Moving on to my very happy news. Exciting events in the life of my best friend, Jessi, who is a beautiful talented genius - in case you've forgotten.

First of all, the upcoming exhibit of King Tutankhamun, which is only going to Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Fort Lauderdale, is one of her upcoming projects. She also has a professor who's going to be giving a talk and she's assisting with that.

And, AND!! She gets to dig for pirate treasure in the Bahamas. Yeah, I am SO in the wrong career path. She applied and was selected for a dig (being filmed by A&E or Discovery for broadcast) of a pirate site, believed to be the treasure of Captain Kidd! All expenses paid and everything! And I went to visit her on a dig in Arkansas. Arkansas. Jumped the gun on that one, huh? I'm hoping she'll maybe swipe a bit of pirate gold as a souvenir for her dear best friend...

Here's your sign.



It's not the wording of the sign - it's Otis the Drunk over there who has the nerve to tell YOU to drive carefully. Look at him - he's positively BLISTERED! Seems like a great town for a vacation...if you're Nick Nolte.