Breakups


Often I encounter a turn in a movie where I simply can no longer suspend disbelief and, consequently, part ways with the entire movie. Few top-of-mind examples:

V for Vendetta. When the Masked Man’s cave is exposed, the absurdity of the whole pretext of the film suddenly becomes clear. The scales fall from my eyes. It’s over.

The Kite Runner. 2 scenes conspire here: First, when it’s revealed that the childhood friends are really brothers (=”Luke, I’m your father!”). Second, when the one offending Taliban character they encounter in the entire city of Kabul just happens to be the same tormenting bully antagonist from childhood. Statistically astounding! Again = over.

And now, this same intolerance threshold just kicked in for Facebook, my once-beloved platform of self-expression.

The trigger? A friend invite from Phil Ting. When I saw the invite, I KNEW that name was familiar. A college friend? Work?….and then I realized: none other than ….the San Francisco City Assessor-Recorder!

I think Phil realizes that, like the meter maid, a letter from him is never fun. So he’s trying to make up for it by a Facebook Friendship? I don’t think so.

It was a beautiful thing while it lasted, Facebook. But I think it’s over.

.

Is consistency a virtue?

Take Alaska, which is making some pretty consistent choices these days.

The state is not only allowing a convicted felon to run for Senator, but also to vote. Based, of course, on one condition:

The Alaska Department of Law on Wednesday concluded that (convicted felon Ted Stevens) would retain his voting rights until he received a sentence.

Idiocracy, Part 4. This series will be a long, painful one….


To quote a state GOP official: “The situation’s the situation.” Must be that proximity to Russia.

Idiocracy, Part 3

I know I’ve referenced this brilliant film twice in the past 2 months, but as the election thunders its way ever closer, I can’t help but think of this movie on an increasingly constant basis.

Tonight’s trigger? Obama’s 30-minute infomercial. Can you count how many times words traditionally ending in “-ing” were pronounced ending in “-in'”? And identify what U.S. Senator omitted the “s” from the already-conjuncted “wasn’t”?

I love Obama but I’m sad he and his communications crew aren’t standing in the way of the demise of multisyllabic* diction:


*link provided for those ahead of me