CRAP!

I distinctly remembering opening the envelope with my new vehicle registration contained therein -- and I remember seeing the 2014 stamp that must be affixed to the license plate.

I have cleaned out my office. I have gone through all of my files, both the active and the "precious data" files, as well as the stack of stuff that always occupies the corners of my massive desk. I've checked in the cabinets, the filing drawers, the desk drawers, and even the car -- and I cannot find the envelope, nor the enclosures.

My fault? Yep, you bet, and I'm willing to pay whatever it takes to fix it. And I'm also willing to bet that the moment I have made it through the bureacratic tangle it's going to take to get duplicates/replacements, I'll find the lost originals.

Oh, Dark Thirty Minutes Too Long!

I've been waiting for the wide release of Zero Dark Thirty and finally scheduled a trip with my movie buddy today. Wow, it's at least 30 minutes too long, confusing with imaginary plot twists that don't go anywhere/accomplish anything tangible. And then, worst of all, they kill UBL, stuff him into a body bag, confirm that he's dead (and not a look-alike), and that's it. Done. No tying up myriad loose ends, such as the Pak air force coming at them: will they get away clean or be chased back across the border?

Nope: just dark screen. Over and out ... of the theater ... in the dark, as the endless string of credits roll by on the dark screen.

I'm not sure that I would even rent this one when it comes out on DVD. I'd have to have a lot of time with absolutely nothing to do at all to sit through it again.

Fashion Non-Sense

It appeared that Jessica Chastain's boobs had the longest droop of a pair since women stopped wearing bras! It was an optical illusion caused by the draping of her evening gown bodice, and it was nowhere near flattering. JLo refuses to understand that her butt is no longer in its 20s and keeps wearing clingy, see-through gowns that show off her figure now, not then. And for all her fashion sense hype, Kim K's black lace peek-a-boo gown was fugly from head to toe.

So, what's up with the sylists? Do they see these dresses on a hanger and decide for whom the time has come for some public ridicule and dress their stars accordingly? Lucy Lu in the drapery fabric gown that a woman twice her size would have had difficulty wearing brought me to gales of laughter! Imagine that anyone thought the gown was gorgeous, much less wearable to a public event.

How about taking a photo before leaving your residence for the event? Seeing how you really look to others could save embarrassment after the event!

Do No Harm

I’m confused.

It is illegal to “profile” suspected criminals, such as a Hispanic youth in a hoodie running away from the house in which the alarm system signals a break-in. It is illegal to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation and ask whether the driver is a legal citizen with a valid driver’s license and insurance if s/he appears to be any form of ethnicity other than obviously all white. However, a newspaper has the legal right to publish lists of legal gun owners, next to their addresses and phone numbers, pinning a target to the legally responsible gun owners’ backs for home invasion robberies committed by those who would like to steal the weapons and use them for (further) criminal activity.

When mothers, back in the day, used to ask an errant child, “Why did you do that?” the appropriate response was NEVER “because I could.” Even as children we realized that having the capability to do something that is, at its core, wrong is not adequate justification for doing it. There has to be substance to the reason for taking actions, especially when they involve other people who may be harmed by our actions.

It may be legal to publish matters of public record, but … think for a moment the public hue and cry if the names, addresses and phone numbers of Welfare recipients were published in the local newspapers. That information is a matter of public record, but I have a feeling that the Welfare recipients would feel exposed and vulnerable if everyone in the neighborhood knew that they are subsisting on the public dole, receiving not just a hand up, but a hand-out.

There are some things that are no one else’s business until and/or unless it becomes necessary for it to become public knowledge. “Outing” all the legal gun owners in any community will not stop gun crimes from being committed, but, instead, may create an opportunity for a criminal to commit a crime to obtain a weapon that can be used in further crimes.

Promise (to the) Land

Promised Land is a long, slow-moving film that has as its roots the making of a political statement: the land is entrusted to mankind, who must promise to care for it and leave it to the following generation to continue the cultivation and care of the land. Once the land has been abused, it may no longer be able to sustain life and/or provide life for those who follow. And, we don't want that to happen, do we?

The last 15 minutes of the film are pretty good, but the first 2 hours? The old saying about beating a dead horse applies: make the point in a meaningful way, instead of trying to get a dead horse up on his feet to plow the fields. The point in this film is fracking, but the only meaningful conversation about fracking comes from Hal Holbrook, who plays the part of a retired scientist who is teaching high school chemistry. He knows whereof he speaks, but the key to winning over the towns' people is to promise them lots of money in exchange for their land, a tactic that is used with alarming success in most businesses, not just in mining.

The key to the film is the answer to the question: Will the people sign over their land or will they not sign over their land? About half-way through, I no longer cared.

Matt Damon is good in the role of the Globe spokesperson, as is Frances McDormand, who comes across as a hard-driving career businesswoman who will do whatever it takes to get the job done because that pays for her son's private school and supports her lifestyle. She doesn't believe in taking anything personally, but Matt Damon's character takes everything personally, which leads to the inevitable conclusion when he's fired and she's hired to replace him. John Krasinski stands out, especially in one scene where he presents a science lesson to a grade school class to make an important point about fracking. However, it's a great scene lost in the on-going conversation about whether or not the town will unite against the greedy Globe corporation and give up instant wealth to save the "promised land."

Maybe part of the problem with the film is the incest: everyone who is part of the film has several parts to play, such as actor, screen-writer, and producer Matt Damon. If we're too close to what's going on, we often fail to get the "big picture," and that's what this film lacks: someone to see the big picture and realize it needs to be edited to a much more viewable/manageable length.

Reacher

I've read all of Lee Child's Reacher series, so was surprised when Tom Cruise was cast in the lead role. Jack Reacher is a big man, physically intimidating, and I could not conceive of Cruise, who is my height, 5'8", being physically intimidating if he had to stand back from and yell Boo! at the bad guys.

Okay, so I'm wrong: Tom Cruise nails it and the film is actually pretty darned good. A bit more violent than the books, but the big screen needs more action than my reading pillow allows. I'm giving the film a solid B+ and would support Cruise if he or Childs chose to cast another one of the Reacher stories with the big screen star.