Roller Coaster
It all got off to a bad start.
First, my privacy and space were violated in a very unacceptable fashion, and the perpetrator was not punished. Then the brass where I work decided to dump a shitstorm on me and my co-workers, right in the middle of our busiest month of the year. That, at least, has the potential for us to turn it into a positive somewhere down the line, but not at the moment. So by Tuesday, I was pretty close to losing my cool and start slapping the living fuck out of the next person who pissed on my Pop Tarts.
Thankfully, I was able to have a couple of positives by the end of the week.
Thursday afternoon, I went to an on-campus rally where Presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke. I haven’t been as impressed as many others have seemed to be by Dean, but I wanted to see the man up close and get a picture of who he was in person. I came away with a much better feel, and a much rosier outlook on the good Doctor. Dean was personable, forceful, and presented himself clearly. He articulated his feelings and his viewpoints well, and to my eyes it seemed like he had been watching video of Bill Clinton on the campaign trail and taking some pointers from it. If Dean can continue to be as well-spoken, coherent, and even-keeled as he was yesterday, he has a chance to make people really take notice, and the race in 2004 to dethrone the evil emperor and his oil cronies could get interesting and close. So the good guys might just have a fighting chance.
Today, I saw Quentin Tarantino’s return to the big screen, KILL BILL, and it is every bit as good as advertised. It is a kick ass action film, and insanely violent, but the artistic quotient of the film is so high that you leave exhilarated, not sickened. Choices such as shifting to black and white, or blue and black, or even an anime cartoon create an atmosphere of hyper-reality that has to be experienced to be believed. It was worth the six year wait.
So I guess my week was rescued by hope and violence. That may not be the most intelligent hook to hang your hat on, but I suppose in 2003 you take what you can get.
Marc@MarcMason.com
