August 18, 1999

"Eyes Wide Shut" is a Great Work-Out Incentive

I went to see "Eyes Wide Shut" yesterday. I thought it was both mesmerizing and uneven. I kept noticing continuity errors, which I found distracting. I also thought the last line detracted from the import of the whole film. I'm still analyzing my reactions to it. I may have to see it again to crystallize my thoughts.

But the sight of dozens of beautiful naked women with perfect bodies made me think--I'm never going to be six feet tall (and I don't want to be) but if I worked out, I could look really good, instead of just OK. It really strengthened my resolve to start working out consistently again, so that another year doesn't pass without me being in shape. I talked to a personal trainer yesterday; I really want someone to get me started in the right direction again, and give me a good reason to leave work and exercise.

August 9, 1999

Rollercoaster Virgin No More

This past weekend, Shannon H., Jenna and I drove to Houston. After dropping Jenna off, Shannon and I spent Saturday at Astroworld trying to ride as many rollercoasters as possible.
It was very exciting to me, since I had never been on a rollercoaster before! We started out on a non-rollercoaster to warm up, but I think it was possibly the scariest ride of all, (the spaceship one where you swing in ever-higher arcs, and then go completely around) because we were hanging upside down for such a long time. I was terrified of the straps breaking and releasing me for the long fall to the concrete.

We then went on the Texas Cyclone, which is the old wooden rollercoaster modeled after the one on Coney Island, and it's pretty scary because it's so jerky you think it's going to fall apart, and also because it seems as if you could hit your head going under the wooden arches. The most vertiginous ride was the Texas Tornado, with four (count 'em!) FOUR loops, and the steepest drop, but I thought it was the most fun, and we only had to wait about 10 minutes! So...now I'm no longer a rollercoaster virgin! I wanna go again!

August 2, 1999

"Barf" Witch Project

Well, after a couple of attempts, I finally saw "The Blair Witch Project" this Saturday with my roommate and another friend. We got there right before it started, so we ended up sitting in the second row, which was waaay too close, especially for that film. All the shaky hand-held whirly pans had me seriously nauseated by the middle third of the film. It got so I couldn't look at the screen unless the camera was still, because my head was spinning so badly. I really thought I was going to have to get up and go to the back of the theatre, but I needed to be in a seat, so I decided against it. So, it was hard to focus on the content of the film, since I was concentrating on keeping the contents of my stomach where they were.

Still, I thought that it was very cleverly done, especially having the characters be so pretentious, juvenile and generally irritating that you kinda wanted something bad to happen to them. There's nothing like having a whiny, bossy bitch be reduced to a terrified, blubbering mess. I think it helped implicate the audience, and added to our unease. I thought it was common sense to know that when you're lost in the woods, if you happen upon a creek or a stream, and you know you're in Maryland, you follow the creek bed, since it will be heading east towards Chesapeake Bay. Sooner or later, you're bound to hit a bigger river or a highway. At least that way you won't be going in circles. It may sound cold, but the movie was a good example of a "Darwin Award": three people who were too stupid to live and reproduce.