lundi, décembre 12, 2005
we've mistaken one for thousands of words
Unlike last year when I was a starving student, this year I have a teeny tiny bit of disposable income with which to buy Christmas presents. As much as I think the idea of a "buy-nothing Christmas" is a fantastic idea, there are still too many of us who get excited at the prospect of doing something that will make the people we know smile. I'm going to have a hard time not giving away my surprises...
Yeah, today was an extremely productive shopping day. I dragged Devin all over Calgary, visiting stores way up in the northeast and way down in the south, including one very crowded mall. I'm not generally a very patient shopper, but today things went quite smoothly and even the chaos of December weekend shopping in this busy city didn't make me crazy.
We also managed to squeeze in a matinee this afternoon - we went to see "Good Night, and Good Luck". It's that one based on the story of the CBS journalist Edward Murrow, who dared to challenge the questionable practices of the "junior senator" Joseph McCarthy during the 50s, in his pursuit of Communist sympathizers. It was a quality movie that I found to be very educational, not having been extremely familiar with the events of that time period before. It wasn't a very "light" movie, though, and although I was mentally stimulated, I wouldn't quite call the film "entertaining", exactly. I think I laughed once or twice, but mostly you had to concentrate to follow the story, since it didn't guide you through the history, probably assuming that most people already had an idea what went on (not so much, in my case). Good afternoon movie.
Of course it's interesting to see a movie like that given the current state of things in the U.S. It addressed things like protecting civil liberties and the right to due process, even when the nation is at a heightened state of alert trying to protect itself from being infiltrated by unwanted elements. I wonder if there are enough people who are still willing to speak up to challenge the injustices committed in defense against this same threat. Okay, not Communists, but terrorists - the first was more ideology, now we're dealing with those who have become emboldened enough to take drastic and violent action. Are the methods used to deal with either both then and now justifiable...? Or effective...?
Okay, stop waiting for me to tell you what I bought you for Christmas today - you have to wait two more weeks...! | ¶ 1:10 a.m.
Yeah, today was an extremely productive shopping day. I dragged Devin all over Calgary, visiting stores way up in the northeast and way down in the south, including one very crowded mall. I'm not generally a very patient shopper, but today things went quite smoothly and even the chaos of December weekend shopping in this busy city didn't make me crazy.
We also managed to squeeze in a matinee this afternoon - we went to see "Good Night, and Good Luck". It's that one based on the story of the CBS journalist Edward Murrow, who dared to challenge the questionable practices of the "junior senator" Joseph McCarthy during the 50s, in his pursuit of Communist sympathizers. It was a quality movie that I found to be very educational, not having been extremely familiar with the events of that time period before. It wasn't a very "light" movie, though, and although I was mentally stimulated, I wouldn't quite call the film "entertaining", exactly. I think I laughed once or twice, but mostly you had to concentrate to follow the story, since it didn't guide you through the history, probably assuming that most people already had an idea what went on (not so much, in my case). Good afternoon movie.
Of course it's interesting to see a movie like that given the current state of things in the U.S. It addressed things like protecting civil liberties and the right to due process, even when the nation is at a heightened state of alert trying to protect itself from being infiltrated by unwanted elements. I wonder if there are enough people who are still willing to speak up to challenge the injustices committed in defense against this same threat. Okay, not Communists, but terrorists - the first was more ideology, now we're dealing with those who have become emboldened enough to take drastic and violent action. Are the methods used to deal with either both then and now justifiable...? Or effective...?
Okay, stop waiting for me to tell you what I bought you for Christmas today - you have to wait two more weeks...! | ¶ 1:10 a.m.
