I'm excited to see Roberto Benigni's latest film, The Tiger and the Snow, which is finally being released in the United States.

Trailer link: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/thetigerandthesnow/trailer/

I don't know if anyone actually saw his Pinocchio -- I didn't -- but knowing what I know about it I'd feel more comfortable comparing this new one to Life is Beautiful. If it carries even a quarter of the brilliance of Life is Beautiful, though, The Tiger and the Snow will be one of the best films to appear on American cinema screens this year. It appears, though, that the critics collated on RottenTomatoes.com don't seem to be high on it. Still, they won't sway me, not this time, not based on what I've seen in the trailer.

I'll have to go to Salt Lake to see it, but I don't doubt that the time spending driving to and from there will be worth the effort.

I finished "American Psycho" on Monday. While many of my thoughts since then have been expressions of dismay that such morbid and horrifying characters could exist (even within the anonymous confines of fiction), at other times I've found myself sad that the book is over. Perhaps I involved myself in the reality of the book more than I usually do, or perhaps the characters and scenarios were written in a way that aimed to resonate more as biographical non-fiction than caricatured fiction, but I can't help but think that Patrick Bateman is real. And being real, I am sad that there is no more for me to read about him. As in all literature, the story ends and the characters cease to exist, but the relationships we have with the characters -- even one-sided relationships -- cannot help but continue to live on with us, even as permanent parts of our lives. And it makes me sad to know that these parts of my life will never acknowledge my existence, regardless of my desire for their perpetuity.

I rode down here this evening with Danny and his brother-in-law Randy. We're staying here tonight, then getting up tomorrow morning and continuing to the Las Vegas Bowl (BYU vs. University of Oregon). I'm excited for the game! Go Cougars!

someone asks you -- in front of everyone, and very loudly -- why you're in a bad mood, it puts you into a bad mood. And then the person who has made the comment feels justified in continuing to tell people -- again, very loudly -- that you're in a bad mood, which in turn continues to put you in a worse mood. I can't think of any response that I could've used that wouldn't have included expletives, so I continued to just "take it", until I finally just left the church (*EDIT* I left the church HOUSE... not the actual church). I cried myself to sleep because of it, though. It's sad that, at age 27, I'm still vulnerable to the antics of bullies. It shouldn't affect me, but it does.

Since I was a kid, I've always made a visual association between Rocket Propelled Grenades and those big erasers we used to put over the erasers on our pencils in elementary school. In my eye they look similar. You be the judge:





Glenn and I were just talking about the Libyans chasing after Marty McFly, in case you're wondering why I thought of this.

Senator Gordon Smith stood in front of the Senate this week and changed his tune on the Iraq War. Until now he has been a strong supporter of the war, even saying as recently as June, "As I have studied history, I have never found an instance whereby victory is won by announcing retreat." This week his words were different:

I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal. I cannot support that any more. I believe we need to figure out not just how to leave Iraq but how to fight the War on Terror and to do it right.

See this link for video: http://thinkprogress.org/2006/12/09/gordon-smith-iraq-criminal/

If he continues with this kind of talk, though, I can't help but imagine that many of my internet forum-mates will soon begin to treat him with the same type of derision with which they discuss Senator Reid. In strongly conservative Mormon circles, non-conservative action by Mormon politicians is often greeted (by individual members of the church, not by the church itself; the church maintains a strict policy of neutrality) with questions of the politician's worthiness, calls for temple recommends to be revoked, and general "how can this guy sit in front of his bishop and tell him that he's a good Mormon?" talk. It's not a facet of my religion that I'm proud of. I can only assume that we'll begin to see this kind of talk about Senator Smith if he continues on this new course.

I went to Malibu last night to see good ol' Kirk Pearson. It was great to see him, not to mention that the Pepperdine campus is breathtaking.

Then I went to El Segundo to see John and Leelle (I can't remember the exact capitalization here... is it LeElle? LeeElle? Leelle? LeeEhl? (Ha!)). What a great couple. Talk about "good people". There are few finer than them. Thanks to them for hanging out with me.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to Ridgecrest for Heather's wedding. I'm going to bed now.

I got here yesterday and I'll be here until Saturday morning. Then I'm going to Heather's wedding that day and coming back here on Sunday evening. I fly out on Monday afternoon.

I love my job. Best job in the history of modern employment.

There are some items that have been on my mind lately:

Zune
Microsoft's new MP3 player has a huge screen, and that's what I like most about it. The only drawback is the inability to use iTunes to manage it. The fact remains that iTunes is the best music management program out there, and it only lets you manage iPod, so I'll probably just get a new iPod (I have a 512mb iPod Shuffle that I bought a couple years ago, but I rarely take it anywhere with me because the sound quality isn't great and it doesn't hold a ton of music, nor video). Nevertheless, I like the video screen on the Zune.


Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Headphones
Last night at the Apple Store in Salt Lake (a bunch of us went up for the Jazz game, but it was sold out, so we went to the IMAX at the Gateway instead, and we stopped at the Apple Store while we were waiting for our movie to start) I tried on a set of these headphones... WOW. My dad has a set and he loves it. I was thinking about getting a decent set of Sonys ($50 at Best Buy or Wal*Mart) but I want to see how they work before I buy them, so my friend Brian Hill is going to loan me his set for my trip to Orange County. The Bose set is $300 bucks, though, and they really do an amazing job. Nevertheless, the thought of spending $300 on a set of headphones blows my mind, so I'll get something cheaper -- like the Sony.



TomTom
Francisco Gomiz has a TomTom GPS Navigator for his car (A beautiful and comfortable Renault Megane Scenic), and it was amazing seeing how it worked while we were driving from Vilafranca to Barcelona the few times that I rode with him. Not only does it have great maps, but it also knew where all the radars were, all the traffic cameras, etc. Very cool.



Wood flooring
A couple months ago I started thinking about replacing my bottom floor's carpet and tile with wood flooring. I'm planning on doing it next summer some time. I've done the budgeting and it's really not an unreasonable price, either. I'll just do the bottom floor, and I'll leave the carpet on the stairs and upstairs in the bedrooms.

At WalMart they've constructed a castle of cracker boxes in the middle of the frozen food section. There is pork and chicken and packaged hams, there are burritos and buffalo wings, there is frozen turkey left over from the passing holiday. And there, in the middle, between a display case featuring Alaskan salmon and another with beef ribs, this tower of crackers stands, tall and dignified, reaching for heaven.

The west side of the fortress is made of Triscuit, the north side is Ritz. Cheese Nips are on the east side, and Chikin In A Biskit builds the south wall. On the corners, like watchtowers protecting the city, are cans of artificial processed cheese, flavored of sharp cheddar or nacho or bacon.

The Kingdom of Walmart will welcome visitors to its new palace beginning tomorrow morning, Saturday, at 9:00 AM.