End of an Era

Sigh.... Our company has been going through some serious restructuring of late, and cuts have been made across the board -- people, capital and services included. Watching 40+ of your colleagues get the pink-slip was obviously the hardest part to deal with. But its also the little things. For example, I went down to the gym for my lunch-hour workout and when I came back to the change room, realized that there weren't any more towels! Our company had cancelled our towel service. In a couple weeks, the water cooler and satellite TV service in the Gym will be cancelled. And today was also the last day for cafeteria service. The days of buying lunch in case I forgot my lunch, are over...

I suspect no one will sympathize with me -- these were luxuries after all. ;-) ...but its OK...we still have the foosball table!!

Passion of the Christ. Revisited

Whoa. Talk about intense. Passion of the Christ was an emotionally visceral experience. If the point of the film was to make its viewers *feel* the magnitude of Jesus' sacrifice, then it went above and beyond that. Whether it helped viewers *understand* Jesus' sacrifice, is questionable. So much focus was placed on the violent and brutal *death* Jesus experienced, that despite the regular flashback scenes, and other visual allegory, I think that it came up short on educating people about the *life* of Jesus. Then again, there's only so much you can show in a movie, and Mel Gibson had to narrow his focus..and that he did. The movie itself was very well crafted under Gibson's direction. I wasn't bothered by the fact that the film was entirely done in Aramaic with english subtitles -- mainly because there seemed to be more shouting, grunting, whipping, punching, and kicking sound effects than dialog. [Interestingly enough, "idiot" is the same in Aramaic as it is in english]. I can see how the portrayal of the Pharasies as a cold, mad, and merciless mob could have of been construed as anti-semtitic -- but I don't think its anything to have Jewish groups up in arms.

Passion is not a movie you can enjoy. It's more of an experience. Whatever your religous orientation, I think it will shock, inspire and force you to question your faith, your spirtuality, and your purpose in life. If it doesn't...then at the very least, you'll see your friends AND enemies in a much more positive light.

...I think i need a break from these "thinking" movies. Next week, I'm gonna see Starsky and Hutch ;-)

Move over Karoake. Here come's Movieoke!

Can't sing? Well, picture getting up on a stage, with a big screen behind you playing a clip of your favorite movie scene. As the subtitles scroll across on the bottom, you recite the lines as you "act" out the scene. Of course, the audience is cheering you along ;-) Its like Karoake, but you don' t have to sing... do you buy it? Think its a stupid idea? Well, at least someone thinks it's worth turning into a business. Check it out.