Some housekeeping from last week. Crockett, my car, passed the 12,000 mile mark last Saturday. That�s a lot of miles to rack up in just under seven months. But, the little guy has handled them in stride. I reached the 12,000 mile mark around Griffith park on the 5 freeway going North, as seen on the map above. Tuesday was a strange day. In the morning I had to get a root canal. The price hurt much more than the actual procedure. However, the 31st was a strange combination of anniversaries. It was the seventh annversary of my Grandmother�s passing.  Since I had some time between the root canal and going to work I decided I should go visit her grave. I talked to her, and visited with her for a while. I�m the only person in my family that I know visits her on a regular basis. I don�t think any one else in my family does. My aunt has an excuse. If I can�t take her she has to walk at least three miles to the gravesite from the nearest bus stop. And then three miles back. Our schedules never mesh, so it�s hard for us to find a common time we can go together. So she has an excuse. Everyone else, not so much. But let�s face it... I was her closest relative in terms of affection. I took care of her, and she took care of me. We were a team. I miss her dearly. The second anniversary is the eighteen month anniversary of TheGirl and I seeing each other. That anniversary we didn�t really get to celebrate with much fanfare. But that�s OK, Valentine�s day is right around the corner. And who really celebrates eighteen months? Year anniversaries yes, but months? * * * * * *
 I�m craving me some churros. Thankfully TheGirl and I are going to Disneyland after work tomorrow. Yummy! Disneyland�s churros have to be, hands down, the best churros on Earth. I�ve had other churros, but none of them come close to the taste of a nice warm Disneyland churro. Can�t wait! * * * * * *
 Lastly, a bit of a rant. Driving back from the Lake Shrine last week I saw the sign above on Sunset blvd. It made me want to throw up. I fucking hate how Lucas has stripped his best creation of all meaning in favor of glossy images that signify nothing. The prequels represent a bastardizing of a story that brought entertainment and joy to millions. Sometimes as an artist there�s the temptation to �sell out� and betray artistic ideals for money and/or fame. Lucas had both, so I wonder where the need to sell out came from. The world would not have been diminished nor enhanced without these movies. They are just that, movies. But things have to have a deeper meaning. Even a movie isn�t just a movie to some people. They tell stories that people relate to, and find meaning in. That is what I found in the original Star Wars movies. Joseph Campbell talked about The Hero with a Thousand Faces and Lucas followed that template with Luke Skywalker. He�s the farm boy that has an adventure outside his comfort zone and into the larger world. Along the way he learns about that larger world. And in the end the hero is rewarded with important self-knowledge. The prequels have none of that introspection. They are empty shells, feature length commercials for toys. They are devoid of meaning, and that saddens me. Because Star Wars was the first movie I really loved. It was the movie that first taught me technique. Later I saw what Lucas had learned from the likes of Kurosawa. The use of the side wipe, and the inspiration for R2D2 and C3PO in �The Hidden Fortress.� Star Wars was the first time I saw something beyond the story. It was the first time I saw the craft of movie making. So when I see this poster for a movie series that now represents none of those things it makes me sick. I love movies. For that I thank Lucas and Star Wars. For showing me that even our �heroes� can fail us, I say �Thanks for nothing Lucas.� End Communication. |
