2000-01-10 :: 02:14:05

he chortled in his glee

Soundtrack: Old 97's, "Fight Songs"

Haha, I love my binary filename. Oh one one oh oh oh dot aych tee emm ell.

I am the happiest I have been in a long while, so it's kinda funny I am listening to Old 97's (they're such great lyrical downers), but I love them. Rock. Good night. There are many things to say, but there isn't much time right now, so whatever cannot be attended to will be taken up later. I hope (as usual). The last entry made a similar statement and ended up being my longest (and perhaps most thought-about, in both senses) entry yet. How 'bout that?

Ah, to immerse further in my pop sensory experiences. More movies: Galaxy Quest was taken in tonight. It is definitely a movie that has a terrible ad, preview, and tagline -- and yet, it is really well-written, quality fun -- it's a movie that could advertise with the "This movie is pretty good. Maybe you should see it as a matinee. You won't be blown away, but you won't hate it either. We'll entertain you for two hours, and you'll have a fun time of it, but don't expect your life changed." ad I suggested a bit ago. I did pay full price, as a matter of fact, but that's because of timing, and I don't regret that. There is nothing much to think about from this film besides the meta-ness of sci-fi (Star-Trek-type actors, in particular) actors living up to their roles, becoming them, etc. 'Meta' gets thrown around a lot here, lately. *shrug* Oh yes, and two cellphones went off, one for about a minute, playing some awful, awful song on its lousy pizo-chip speaker. Die, Nokia! Die scummy people who don't turn off ringers! I am seriously averaging one cellphone ring per movie viewing, and it fucking kills the suspension of disbelief. Scum.

Magnolia, on the other hand, has a lot about which to think, and more great lines than any film I've seen in recent memory. There are flaws, to be sure (the murder thing with the ghetto prophet is flushed out poorly, for one), but there is so much right that it merits seeing. I didn't check my watch for all three hours of it. (Anecdote: Someone screamed "Fire!" in the theater, and yes, a cellphone rang, to keep par for the course.) P.T. Anderson is really assembling himself a great group of actors for his films; it's nice to see old school director-actor relationships. Tom Cruise, wow. I am no big Cruise fan (Eyes, ugh), but he really riveted me to the screen and conveyed a lot of emotion and enjoyment of the role, which I love seeing. Philip Seymour Hoffman got another great role (yay for him in a complete 180 of a role in Ripley, too), but I can't shake his nagging resemblance to the Everyjock just yet. I think his "this is real not a movie" soliloquy was pretty believable, and it takes a lot to make that happen given the lines. Anyway, I'm leaping into review-mode, I'll stop. Every fucking review is the same, isn't it? Hard to hold back.

The point is, Magnolia makes you consider a great deal regarding the intricate (and serendipitous) interconnections between people (nice cuts between characters in different places at the same time), and how the past determines the future (that sure gets drilled into you). Which means you should see it and think about it. That message makes me think of these diaries I/you write. You record your past to learn from it, one would hope. So are you? I hope I am/will. I reread entries I wrote the day before several times the day after -- and I go back to prior entries as well. I've probably read each entry I've written so far about 10 times (or so) all the way through, and I'd say it's time well spent. Magnolia is also unabashedly hopeful, and that's nice to see (one reviewer attributed it to Anderson's relatively young age, which is probably right), even with all the tragedy and pain that it contains. Solid ending note, nothing too Disneyfied.

I spoke with Dan about reviews afterwards at IHOP, how every single one I'd read of the movie (we saw Magnolia together) compared it to Short Cuts (which also starred Julianne Moore, *rowr!*, I need to rent that). Most of them (reviews in general) sound the same to me. Somehow/why, I read tons of criticism of stuff, especially music -- and yet, I lovehate it, because it influences me. One reviewer complained about a long shot of Prozac (well, Maynard actually says "Zoloft," but I'm pretty sure I'm right) in The Sixth Sense, and I loathed seeing that part and felt insulted by it. Would I have otherwise felt so holier-than-thou had I not read that review? Probably would still dislike the film, since I found all of the "oh-look-when-I-turn-around-it-turns-out-that-I-have-a-huge-gaping-wound-in-my-head" shit ridiculous and repetitive. Doesn't mean I would have been so pissy over a minor detail like that. I felt [overall] that it really was a pretty mediocre film with a solid twist ending, but it was still mediocre and not very scary -- but would I have felt that way having not read that negative review pointing out so many flaws? I heard great things from friends, though, too... who knows.

Furthermore, reviews also inform me, give me a sense of place and where a work relates to others. But... they force opinions down my throat, it prevents me from truly having a "pure" reaction to the work under the microscope. Does not agreeing with the critic make you wrong? Uncultured? What are you missing that s/he saw? What did you read into/relate to that they considered crap? Shouldn't I be making my own connections/relations? I mean, these people have been at this for years, right? They can cite all those albums and movies you've never heard or seen (and they do, because it sure does sound authoritative). I was talking to Mike about all this old musical shit... we were namedropping stuff like Steve Reich and Terry Riley, Afrika Bambaataa, all the stuff you hear about (that we heard) in music class at our respective schools. I told him I woulda paid money to have that conversation on tape. The people around us outside must have thought we were such pretentious shits.

I about soiled my pants recently when I realized that a favorite Bloodhound Gang song of mine is based around a Saturday Night Fever sample (if I could remember names, I'd give them). And that a line in a Propellerheads song featuring the Jungle Brothers is a nod to Doug E. Fresh ("Great scott, are you a thief? Seems like you got a mouth fulla gold teeth/records"). What's the point here... the effects of the past, the boring sameness of critics. I want to mix that up somehow, get that together, but that's as far as my brain can take it right now. No, wait. Maybe this all ties into the happiness thing, how everyone can judge but perceives only what they know, based on their norms. That would tie into the whole critical thing, but then, isn't it funny that the critics all say so many similar things? Maybe not... (see end of entry). Hey, all right, an early morning connection-fest. I want to see Magnolia again, I want to digest more of it. Will I? Probably not until video, if ever.

About speeding, tonight I was the lucky exception:

jordan (12:29:29 AM): oh yeah dude
jordan (12:29:31 AM): the whole way home
jordan (12:29:34 AM): i completely tailed one car
jordan (12:29:39 AM): YVM-4123
jordan (12:29:42 AM): for no good reason
jordan (12:29:48 AM): i just tailed em real close, mirroring em
jordan (12:29:52 AM): i think i made them flip their shit
jordan (12:29:58 AM): i passed them and cut them off
jordan (12:30:01 AM): then they did the same to me
jordan (12:30:07 AM): i high beam flashed twice and tailed them for MILES
jordan (12:30:12 AM): like i let them go for like 4 mins
jordan (12:30:18 AM): then went like 110 and caught up
jordan (12:30:19 AM): :P
jordan (12:30:37 AM): hi?

brent (12:30:38 AM): 110 mph?

jordan (12:30:40 AM): yeah
jordan (12:30:42 AM): i had mom's car

brent (12:30:43 AM): heh

jordan (12:30:44 AM): which CRANKS
jordan (12:30:49 AM): haha

I love that V8 engine. Fun fun fun ['til Mommy takes the Sable away]. Hey, if you were the person getting off at Exit 163 and I flashed you with the highbeams twice as you were leaving, uh, sorry. I was just making the drive home amusing (it was rather late at night), so no hard feelings, okay?

This was funny. This was inspiring and good for the soul. This no longer looks like Radiohead -- instead, Imperial Teen (and not fitting in my browser window properly, blahblahblah TABLE code). This was interesting (never heard it, only read it, as of tonight [unexpectedly]).

Part of that features the line: "When the last word has been spoken / and we've beared witness to the final setting sun / all that shall remain is a token / of what we've said and done" -- which is interesting, because I've been meaning to talk about that sort of thing for a while (or at least, thinking about it, which generally leads to talking about it). While I would normally expound at great length (hahaha, oh boy), I think I will make good on my "haven't got much time right now" and cop out of that. But I do notice a good deal of happenings in diaries (yours?), situations in which I believe doing nothing whatsoever would be the best solution. Being nothing with a person. What a downer subject for a happy night. Another time, I s'pose.

I am not sure about what to do regarding email I receive. I am glad that you are thinking about what I am thinking about. Here is an answer to one individual: Dlove isn't so anonymous to me, but I just don't really feel like posting the justifying links. Maintaining pure anonymity on the net is pretty much preposterous. Perhaps discretion is the better angle.

I internally debate the use of calling someone your own age "kid." I realize I probably shouldn't, but it's sorta ironic, no?

Advertising memories:

brent (1:00:05 AM): can you handle a 10am pickup

jordan (1:00:08 AM): of course.

brent (1:00:16 AM): CAN YOU HANDLE IT?! ITS PURE MILK CHOCOLATE
brent (1:00:20 AM): H-E-R-S-H-E-Y

jordan (1:00:21 AM): HAHAHAHA

This means it is time for me to go to sleep.