Reflections: Sifting Realities

I love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love The Family Stone!!!!!

*warning - contains some spoiler alerts - don't read if you haven't seen it and don't wanna know anything about it*

KT and I saw it on Monday evening. This is like the best movie of the year! And it wasn't just because of Tyrone Giordano but everyone else as well. The cast was fabulous and hilarious throughout this film. Sarah Jessica Parker had me laughing constantly. Diane Keaton cracked me up. ("Brad Stevenson popped her cherry.")

Movies usually start off great and then kinda die out in the middle or towards the end. Not The Family Stone. It was great from the beginning to the end. And if you're the type to cry at movies, this one will definitely make you cry as well.

This was one of the most positive films with a Deaf character in it, as well with gay characters. Almost everyone in the movie signed with Thad (Giordano), which was even better. You just cannot hate the movie. It's a perfect holiday movie.

The movie was definitely heart-touching because of Sybil, her cancer and the "last" Christmas. It was exactly what happened to my mother and how it affected the following Christmas. So, I was just shedding tears since the middle of the movie towards the end.

I'm so glad I got to see this movie on the last night for open captions. I'm definitely gonna add this to my DVD collection!

5 out of 5 stars!

*****

Was off yesterday but it was no day of rest. I got up with KT at 6:30am. Dropped him off at the metro. Then, I zoomed to Potomac Mills to finish up my Christmas shopping for KT.

Lawdy! Someone please help me understand the concept of traffic jams. Really! I cannot understand why there are traffic jams. If everyone would just drive the speed limit, then I don't see why we'd be inching forward at 3 mph for the next 7 or 8 miles.

I was so happy that Potomac Mills was opened at 8 am for their holiday hours. So, I thought "perfect!" But no! It literally took me 35 minutes just to drive 5 miles, no thanks to the stoopid traffic jams! ARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!

And you would think that there would be traffic jams towards D.C., not towards Virginia. Well, that wasn't happening.

Well, at least I got to Potomac Mills a little after 8:30 am and there was hardly any people there shopping. It was mostly senior citizens doing their walks around the mall. So, no long lines! That was just perfect for me!

After that, I headed over to Border's, back in Maryland. I thought I'd stop by the comic book rack and check out the latest X-Men issue.

Oh. My. Gawd. Piotr (Peter) Rasputin, aka Colossus, is gay?!?!? He accepted a homecoming date with Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier). Northstar was a member of Canada's Alpha Flight but took up a teaching position in the Xavier Mansion. Northstar is one of the first (if not the very first) Marvel characters to come out gay.
Nightcrawler overheard Peter's phone conversation with Jean-Paul accepting the date invitation. Nightcrawler says "so, you're..." Peter interrupts and says "if you can face the world the way you are [Nightcrawler is blue-skinned], then I can do the same."

Damn! I'm really behind in the X-Men storylines! I need to catch up!

Then, for lunch, I met KT and Manny at Belga Cafe in Eastern Market/Capitol Hill. Belga Cafe serves European food, specifically those from Belgium. My first impression was that it was a really nice restaurant with their own style/personality.

I ordered Gervulde (sp?) Pita. It was basically like eating a gyro. Next time, I'll try something else. I'm curious to try the Belgium steak.

Their fries were good. They come with buttered mayonnaise for dipping. Not bad at all!

Sodas were poured in flutes. Water were poured in small tumblers.

Like I said, I really liked the personality of this restaurant.

Prices are moderate, so go there as soon as you cash your paycheck.

Then after lunch, I headed to Gallaudet to take care of some bills and paperwork.

Then, KT and I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe in Chinatown.

(Thanks to Lee for telling me about the free parking!)

Beautiful movie! We were actually surprised how much the movie followed the book. Because of that, the movie is long. It's like watching a Lord of the Ring movie.

Like I said, beautiful movie. You gotta see it to see what I mean. I still recommend that you read the book (the 7 book series, or at least "The Magician's Nephew" and "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe") before you see the movie. There are some parts in the movie that you will not understand if you have not read it.

Now, I'm just waiting for King Kong and Brokeback Mountain to come out on captions. *thumbs twiddling*

**********

I haven't caught up with news til this morning. Damn!

New York's public transit workers went on strike. It was the first in more than 25 years. Since it's against the law for public employees to go on strike, a judge has fined agasinst Transit Workers Union a million dollar fine per day. Not only that, each union member stand to lose 2 days' worth of pay each day that they are on strike.

Hmm, will the union be able to remain on strike for long?

***

A judge ruled the "Intelligent Design" as unconstitutional in public schools. Intelligent design has been relabeled for creationism.

I think that schools should present the two "theories" of creationism and evolution in classes. Afterwards, the students should be able to make a decision for themselves which theory works for them.

It's like a debate session. You don't present one (a pro or a con) without the other. You present both sides of the issue.

Sex education is no exception. Present both sides of the issues.

Students are intelligent enough to make their decisions. And decisions should be allowed to be revisited.

People, these days, only want their side heard and not allow the other side to be heard. So, it seems the best way is to present both issues and allow the audiences or the 3rd parties or students make their decisions. Simple, no?

***

The death penalty is illegal in Europe. It's considered barbaric and primitive. Austria lost their respect for Arnold Schwarzenegger when he didn't give clemency to Tookie Williams, founder of the Crips.

Officials in Austria took up a petition to remove his name off a local stadium.

However, Monday, Schwarzenegger told Austria to remove his name from the stadium and to cease using his name in promotions. He's also returning the ring of honor given to him in 1999.

Hasta la vista?

***

ta ta for now...
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