The Story of Stuff

I'm going to admit it. I've never been a tree hugger. I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be an environmentalist. When I read the book Jurassic Park for the first time as a teenager, the one thing that resonated with me was a monologue from chaos theorist Ian Malcolm which was rooted in the idea that the human race is what needs saving and not the planet, per se. To think that we could destroy this massive orb by way of our collective idiocy with regards to consumption of natural resources is the height of arrogance in Dr. Malcolm's brilliant assessment. Maybe it resonated with me because I've always been a bit of a contrarian, and finally here was something that spoke to what I believed in.

I haven't gone green, and I couldn't tell you about the scope of my carbon footprint. I leave shit turned on all the time (my laptop, for instance). I don't use the right kind of lightbulb. I do my best to recycle, but I sometimes forget to separate the aluminum cans from the pizza boxes and newspapers. Not to say I'm some SUV driving neanderthal who thinks Al Gore is a commie for having a passion and a cause. While I thought An Inconvenient Truth was a good film, it's not saying much different than what he said almost a generation ago when he wrote Earth in the Balance. Some people think they've stumbled onto something new and innovative but never realize that this has been Al Gore's rallying cry for the majority of his career. Whatever.

Having said all this, every now and then, something comes along and serves as an eye-opener; something that is well thought out and executed to the point where you have no choice but to stamp it with the label of "brilliant". The Story of Stuff is one such eye-opener. It's a great web-based interactive short that demonstrates just how absurd our mass consumption has become. For anyone who has any doubt as to whether we're clogging up this planet to our own detriment, this short film is definitely thought provoking. It may be the most important 20 minutes you'll spend online this year, or, at the very least, the most informative. Bravo to the creators of this work. I'm sold.

Embracing the Fanboy Within

Good Lord. Here I am, a grown man, and I've been totally immersed in all things The Dark Knight since this past weekend. Batman is my absolute all-time favorite superhero -- specifically because his power consists of his sheer will and fortitude, coupled with deft ninja and detective abilities. Batman Begins has to be the greatest superhero movie ever made, partly because it's dark, rooted in reality, and epic in a manner the previous iterations could not quite incorporate. I went to see I Am Legend today on an IMAX screen, and my primary purpose in doing so was to see the impossibly awesome six minute preview of The Dark Knight. Now I'm in the middle of reading a shot-by-shot analysis of the film's trailer and it struck me that I am a complete and total Batman fanboy. It's a little embarrassing that at this moment I'm more concerned about the 7 month wait 'til July 2008 than I am about the state of the world. Maybe it's good to have a distraction that isn't 80-proof or wrapped tight inside Zig-Zag rolling papers.

I Am Legend is a good film, by the way, better than expected. Will Smith is pitch perfect in it, despite the gratuitous, ego-driven 20-second master shot of him doing pullups in his townhouse, sans shirt. Some might think it's the director's way of showing how he maintains that sort of Adonis-like physique while living off of veggies and canned foods in an imagined NYC futureworld. Methinks, however, it was strictly for the ladies who were dragged to the movie by their husbands and boyfriends.

But I digress. Back to The Dark Knight. Freaking love, love, love the trailer, and I'm not at all bothered by a new take on the Joker (Jack Nicholson was too good in the 1989 film, but Heath Ledger's variation looks to be 10-times darker and more realistic), and I love that they've kept virtually the entire cast intact (a testament to the filmmakers not making a steaming pile of Joel Schumacher-grade horseshit). This movie could seriously be the best sequel since The Empire Strikes Back.

It's Become Bad. Real Bad.

The tail end of any given year brings forth a barrage of Best of and Top Ten lists. Each of these lists are, for the most part, subjective in their content. The most recent list that I stumbled upon (literally, after a night of maybe one too many beers) spaeks volumes about the sorry state of our popular culture.

Just try holding your puke back for this one, kids...

It's Only Brilliant Because It's Clooney...

George Clooney is known about Hollywood as one of its premier practical jokers. This little ditty I found on the Webernet(s) had me laughing out loud, though I think it's only funny because of who is in it.