After shock, then what?

Usually when we on the east coast think about earthquakes, we think of the stereotypical.  California.  San Francisco.  San Andreas fault.  A "Desperate Housewives" ratings grab during sweeps. 

We think this because for many of us who grew up on the east coast, we have not experienced an earthquake before. 

Today was the first time in my life that I have experienced an earthquake. Whenever I would hear about a very minor one on the news and what time it occurred in the Delaware valley, I would justify to myself that I might have felt it, even though I really didn't.

But today, while visiting my grandmother at Rockland Place, it happened. I was with my grandmother outside her room on one of the common area computers. She was sitting by the window and I was looking up something online.

As I was typing I felt a rumble underneath my feet, like one of the maintenance crew in her building were moving a large piece of machinery such as a dishwasher, across the floor and out the door.

I turned to her as she was sitting by the window and quizzically asked, "Do you feel that?"  At first I ignored it.  Perhaps there was a large plane overhead, or a train was going by loudly outside (even though there are no train tracks near where she lives). 

But the shaking continued.  The keyboard began to slide, then two of the flat-screen monitors started to slide across the circular table.  They eventually tipped over.  The heavy printer on the counter opposite the desk started to move as if possessed like Ellen Burstyn's refrigerator in Requiem for a Dream.  Well, maybe not as much.  But that's what it felt like.  

She got up from her chair and walked over to where I was.  "What do you think that is?," I asked her.  She looked at me blankly.  The shaking continued.  And got more intense.  I gave her a sort of hug I guess and pulled her next to me. 

I'm not trying to over-dramatize the situation.  I knew that we would be ok.  But I quickly realized that "This is what an earthquake must feel like.  I bet this is an earthquake."  For a few seconds while I was hugging her I was worried because the floorboards beneath the carpet began to shake up and down and perhaps side to side.  The floor felt weak beneath us. 

The ceiling above was shaking.  Other residents were running (as far as older people go, I guess, or wheeling themselves) out of their room.  The resident meanie, who lives across the hall from my grandmother, came out of her room with her cane.  "Bah, oy gevault! Vat are you people doing out here?" We just looked at her.

And all of a sudden everything stopped and went back to normal.  It was eerie the way the whole phenomenon had come and gone so quickly.  Although while it was happening it felt like two minutes even though it was probably 30 seconds at the most from start to denouement. 

We quickly went downstairs and someone said one of their friends tweeted about an earthquake.  We didn't realize until I made it home that it was a 5.9 (or 5.8?)  quake on the Richter Scale and was felt from Georgia to Maine and as far west as Ohio and Michigan.  Pretty creepy.

It was definitely a unique experience but one which I will not soon forget.  And before you Left Coasters start mocking us East Coasters for being scared and wusses, just remember how you all reacted to your Carmageddon kerfuffle with your freeway a few weeks ago. 

Hey Blake Lively: What are you doing in "The Town?"

I sat down the other night and was flipping through the channels and came across "The Town" just beginning on HBO.  I had always wanted to see it, but just never made the time.  If you are looking for an excellent, suspenseful movie, this is it.

Ben Affleck directed it as his follow-up to his directorial debut (which I have not seen but want to) "Gone Baby Gone."

I particularly liked "The Town" because I could tell right away that it took place in Charlestown, MA, which is where I used to work for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.  The scenery was great and every time they panned over the city I saw Bunker Hill Community College, where I would often walk on lunch hours. 

  This movie claims that there are a greater percentage of people who rob banks that are from Charlestown.  That number is disproportionate to other parts of Massachusetts and the rest of the country.

The movie itself (aside from those Boston accents) was excellent and focuses on a budding relationship between Ben Affleck's character and a hostage he took (she doesn't know it was he) from the bank that was robbed at the opening of the movie.  He eventually let her go, but then worries she might recognize him, so he mini-stalks her and runs into her at a laundromat.  She does not recognize him.

The movie centers on a series of more and more daring heists that culminates in an attempted robbery of Fenway Park.  I enjoyed the movie a lot because of the great action and the love story wasn't that mushy or annoying since Ben Affleck's character was trying to strike a balance between leaving his old life, dissembling it from his love, and trying to commit more robberies due to pressure from what I assume is the Irish mob.

Jeremy Renner was pretty good in it, too, despite me not liking "The Hurt Locker" in any way.  The performances in the movie are great, and Jon Hamm of "Mad Men" did an awesome turn as a frustrated FBI agent trying to take down Ben Affleck and his crew. 

     

The only piece that didn't seem to fit, however, was Blake Lively.  She usually is type cast in teen/twentysomething comedies but perhaps is best known for her role as Serena Vanderwoodsen on "Gossip Girl."  Well, I kind of wondered why she was in "The Town" since her accent was terrible and she seemed incongruous with the rest of the casting.  Stick to the Upper East Side, Blake. 

I included Leighton Meester in the picture, well, just because.

"The Town" is a great movie and if you have two hours to spare I highly recommend it.  The scenery of Charlestown and Boston is very excellent and adds to the mood of the movie, and throughout the whole film you wonder if Ben Affleck, who claims to want to start a new life, will be able to do so.  Excellent flick, and I know you Mass. people will love the scenery, the accents, and who knows, maybe even Blake Lively.  Happy watching. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not read the Harry Potter novels or haven't seen the last movie, read no further.

I went to Regal Brandywine on Friday and finally saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.  Had this not been a sequel, I would easily give it the Academy Award for Best Picture.

There was no "Previously, on Harry Potter..." and the film opened where the last one left off, with Voldemort in possession of the Elder Wand.  The movie then cut to the beach house where Harry, Hermione, and Ron were staying.  Before allowing us into the house, though, Dobby got his due with a picture of his grave in the beach.

He had been slain by Bellatrix at the end of the last movie.  He was one of the many who died in

Harry Potter's quest to defeat Lord Voldemort, or He-who-must-not-be-named.  But as Hermione aptly pointed out in the second film, "Fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself."  In true to the book fashion, however, it is not long before Harry strikes a deal with Griphook the troll to enter Gringott's bank to obtain one of the final Horcruxes, which are items used to contain a wizard's soul should the split it.  They are a part of the Dark Arts, and theoretically increase a wizard's chances of becoming immortal. 

Hermione disguises herself as Bellatrix and enters Gringott's in the hopes of obtaining this horcrux, but is almost immediately discovered as a fraud by the head troll guarding the vaults. 

However, Harry, from under his invisibility cloak, uses the forbidden Imperius curse to control the troll so that they let him into the vault.  After they enter the bowels of Gringott's and obtain what they want despite the multiplying enchantment placed upon the vault causing everything bumped into to multiply exponentially, they get what they want. However, Griphook goes back on his word and closes the vault behind them.

After a quick "reducto" spell by Hermione,  they break out of the vault and battle security forces for a short time.  Once Hermione again tells them to hop upon the dragon guarding the vault, they escape.  Determined to get to Hogwarts, they surreptitiously enter Hogsmeade under the cover of night, only to be almost discovered by the howling cat sounds that alert the dark wizards to their presence. 

However, Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother soon helps them into his pub.  After a brief discussion he reveals that the portrait of his sister on the wall is actually a tunnel to Hogwarts.   After my favorite character, Neville Longbottom returns to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they all begin their quest into the heavily defended Hogwarts in order to find one of the last horcruxes, the diadem of Ravenclaw. 

Chaos ensues, and the Battle for Hogwarts has begun.  The  Diadem is found through the help of the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw, and it lies in the Room of Requirement.  Hermione, Ron, and Harry go into the room at various times and Harry finds it; however, this is not before Draco and his henchmen Crabbe and Goyle come into the room to fight Harry.  After setting the room on fire to smoke them out, all find themselves in danger.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione grab broomsticks and begin to fly out, but not before saving Draco.  Once out, Harry destroys the horcrux and yet another part of Voldemort has been destroyed. 

Upon regrouping, Professor McGonagall begins to help protect Hogwarts in order to delay Voldemort's impending rush to seize the school and kill Harry Potter.  The protection fails but delays the army long enough and bloodshed begins.  Everyone does their best to defend the school but body after body piles up in a bloody wizarding war pitting evil versus good in the ultimate battle.  Voldemort is weakened and the movie cuts to him talking to Professor Snape .  Voldemort interrogates the potion master because he senses the elder wand does not belong to him.  Voldemort then kills him in cold blood and walks away.  Harry rushes up to Snape who is crying, but in Potter world tears of the dying represent the last thoughts.  Harry grabs these tears, puts them in a bottle, and brings them to the pensieve to interpret them.

As it turns out, despite Snape's purported hatred for Harry that has been "evident" throughout the film and books, is revealed to be a front.  Snape has never turned completely to the dark side of the wizarding world, and his love for Harry's mother, Lily, is made clear.  Lily's love saved Harry the night that Voldemort, and it turns out Snape's love for her was just as fierce, even though they never married or dated.

Through Snape's memories, Harry learns that he must die in order to save the others.  However, he is unable to die, but Voldemort does not know this.  Harry meets Voldemort and allows him to kill him with the forbidden Avada Kedavra curse.  Harry is then thrust into a white world, a train station as he calls it, where he meets Dumbledore once more. 

Dumbledore explains to Harry that Harry has done the necessary to save the wizarding world from Voldemort, but at the end tells Harry that everything he sees is in his head.  Flash back to Harry's "lifeless" body.  Narcissa Malfoy runs over to confirm that Harry is dead but sees that he is breathing.  She realizes that Harry is invincible and simply asks him if her son Draco is alive.  He nods, and she lies to Voldemort and says that Harry is dead. 

Hagrid carries Harry's body back to Hogwarts and Voldemort returns, "triumphant."  It is sadness all around as everyone mourns Harry's "death,"  and in the ensuing second scuffle Harry leaps up and no one can believe what they have just seen.  Harry Potter truly is the boy who lived. 

The snake is the last Horcrux, and Ron and Hermione try to use basilisk fangs to kill it but they are unsuccessful. 

However, Neville gains the sword of Gryffindor and decapitates Voldemort's snake and horcrux, Nagini, and saves the day.  Voldemort is destroyed and the saga concludes.  Not without an epilogue, the movie cuts to 19 years later when Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny are bringing their children to Platform 9 and 3/4, where it all began, to send them off to Hogwarts.  Even Draco, despite his trespasses against the wizarding world, is there to see the Hogwarts Express go on another journey. 

I know that this was a cursory summary and I skipped over a lot, but I just wanted to convey what a great movie it was and that no matter what, good always defeats evil, no matter how dire circumstances may seem.  Happy reading and felix felicitas.

B/C movies and TV shows: Funny Quotes (To me)

I have very eclectic taste in movies and tv.  I have seen tons of movies and shows over the years and can rattle off quotes, scenes, actors, roles, and more useless trivia. 

Thanks to TBS and other cable channels, lots of ok movies are on all the time.  But it's these that I love the most because even though they are what most people would consider to be mediocre or bad, the writers have some gems in their dialogue.  Below are some of my favorite quotes from B/C movies, among other miscellaneous tv quotes that are my favorites.

I didn't write the quotes and they do not reflect any of my opinions.  Or do they?



Nick Brady: Bottomless breadsticks only keep you at the Olive Garden for so long, until at some point you look up and say 'Why the hell am I at the Olive Garden with all these fat people?'

Nick Brady: Diora? I believe that's Italian for 'beautiful princess'.
Diora: No.
Nick Brady: Well it should be, I'm calling the dictionary people.

Nick Brady: How'd you two crazy kids meet, Rick?
Dr. Rick: It's a funny story actually. Our parents knew each other from way back... and they introduced us.
Shawn Colfax: Whoo. Not that funny a story. Not even a story really, just like a fact.
Fired Up!

Samantha James: You and I are gonna be the greatest musical manager team since Jessica Simpson and her father only you and I get to "mreow" and they can't, 'cause it's illegal. I looked it up.
Just Friends

Vivian: Nice outfit.
Elle: Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.

Margot: Here, you're gonna need this.
Elle: Your scrunchie?
Margot: My LUCKY scrunchie. It helped me pass Spanish.
Serena: You passed Spanish because you gave Professor Montoya a lap dance after the final.
Margot: Yeah... Luckily!
Legally Blonde 

Shelley: Carrie Mae, you need to be more mysterious.  Now get back over there and talk to those guys.
Carrie Mae: Do you guys know where the crapper is? I have to do a *very mysterious* thing in there...

Shelley: Instead of the Mahi-Mahi, can I get just the one Mahi, because I'm not that hungry?
The House Bunny 

Amber Atkins: [Running onto the scene of her and her mom's blown up trailer home] Mom? MOM?
Fireman: Whoa, whoa, whoa... you family?
Loretta: No, she's just yelling, "Mom, mom," because she has Tourettes! She's Annette's kid dipshit.
Drop Dead Gorgeous 

"I don't know why Francine's always mad at me for always being right.  I don't get mad at her for always being wrong."

"We can't choose our fathers, but we can choose our father figures. I chose my mother. That set me back a bit."

Francine: How's everyone's French toast?
Stan: Smelly and ungrateful. But this American toast is delicious!
American Dad



Chris: What do you do at a Young Republicans meeting?
Alyssa: We help those who already have the means to help themselves. Also, we perpetuate the idea that Jesus chose America to destroy non-believers and brown people.
Chris: I don't know why, but I feel safer already.

Peter: Fox has one of those new reality shows at eight, 'Fast animals, slow children.'
Peter: Hey, Lois, look! The two symbols of the Republican party: an elephant and a big fat white guy who's threatened by change.

Brian: Hola, me llamo es Brian ... Nosotros queremos ir con ustedes.. uhhhh ...
Bellboy (Spanish): Hey, that was pretty good, except when you said "me llamo es Brian," you don't need the "es," just me llamo Brian.
Brian: Oh, oh you speak English!
Bellboy (sigh): No, just that first speech and this one explaining it.
Brian: You .... you're kidding me, right?
Bellboy (Spanish): Que?
Brian: Oh my god! They're eating Asian reporter Tricia Takanawa! 
Peter: That's crazy...they'll just be hungry again in an hour.
Family Guy




I'm tired, maybe more to come another day.  Last question: can anyone identify this show from the quote?

You can lead a herring to water, but you have to walk really fast or he'll die.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Great Show, Great Lessons

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return.  To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.  That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange.  In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth. 

These words, spoken by Alphonse Elric, open the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist.  This is the only anime series I have ever watched religiously (and I can't wait to buy Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on DVD).  I tried to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender and may start up again, but it is nowhere near as good as Fullmetal.

The series chronicles the lives of the Elric brothers, Alphonse and Edward, who lived with their mother after their father had left them to become, as the show calls it, a "dog of the military."  The boys' mother, however, eventually dies and the children are orphaned.  Having studied their father's texts on alchemy, they try the most daring experiment in the discipline: to bring their mother back to life through human transmutation.

The plan backfires, however, as this is a violation of alchemy's law.  Alchemy follows one major rule: equivalent exchange. Unlike magic, which creates something out of nothing, alchemy creates a different rearrangement of something preexisting.  After gathering together all of the chemical components of the human body, the boys offered a bit of their blood to complete the process. 
 
This exchange appeared equivalent in their eyes, but they failed to take into account the human soul. Before they realized what was happening, Al's body suddenly began vanishing and Ed rushed to try to save his brother.  He was vanishing as well.  By the end of the ordeal, Ed had lost not only his left leg, but also his right arm.  Al's soul, through this action of attempted human transmutation, was sealed inside a suit of armor that was in the room where they attempted their fateful violation of alchemy's primary law.
 
The show chronicles the journey of the two brothers as they seek the legendary Philosopher's Stone, which would allow them to reclaim their bodies, and perhaps bring their mother back after all.
 
Along the way they encounter other alchemists and races of people who are after the same gewgaw because of the power that it holds.  They learn of genocide and other attempts at human and human-animal transmutation that result in the often blinded quest for this stone. 
 
This show has it all.  Remnants of the philosopher's stone are carried in homunculi, and come in the form of Envy, Greed, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, and Wrath.  These homunculi are seemingly indestructible due to the presence of the philosopher's stone inside themselves, and they deceive and kill in order to exact their revenge.  Edward and Al, in order to defeat them and get back their bodies, must destroy them.
 
Enter the military and Colonel Roy Mustang , that seeks to use the impressive alchemical knowledge Ed and Al demonstrate, and you have a show that touches on human themes of corruption, destruction of others to gain a "good" (a relative term, as in Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy), love, loneliness,evil, and right and wrong. 
 
I have not even begun to discuss the many adventures Ed and Al embark upon, but the episodes offer lessons through subtle subtext and innuendo that we need to hear, like it or not.  But the nicest part about the show is that it is not preachy, but rather sees and portrays life for what it is, whether in the Elric's world or in our own.  The parallels are obvious but also subtle. One of the main villains who seeks the Philosopher's Stone is Fuhrer Bradley.
 
 It's a great show and I highly recommend it. If you didn't understand my introduction, perhaps you need to watch a few episodes to get a better sense of it. 
 
If I messed up any details let  me know, and happy watching.
 
“The philosopher’s stone. Those who possess it are no longer bound by the laws of equivalent exchange in alchemy. They gain without sacrifice and create without equal exchange. "  Hmm...maybe that's why everyone wants it so badly. 

Casey Anthony: Not Guilty?

In the movie "Legally Blonde," Elle Woods' professor asks her if she would rather defend a client who committed a crime malum in se (a regulatory or civil crime) or malum prohibitum (a crime that is inherently evil or violent).

After listening to her rival Vivian answer malum prohibitum, Elle changes her mind and says she chooses to defend a client accused of the "dangerous one" because she is not afraid of a challenge.

Apparently, Casey Anthony's defense team was not afraid of a challenge either. The prosecution in this case had a lot of DNA evidence, but were unable to connect it to Ms. Anthony. They might have been able to establish motive and opportunity but they did not connect Ms. Anthony to the crime itself, in they eyes of the jury.

Whether you think Ms. Anthony committed the crime (I believe she did), the defense in this case drummed their mantra of reasonable doubt, and it resonated with the jury.

I liken this trial to the OJ Simpson trial, as have many talking heads of late. The prosecution had all of the tools it needed (I'm looking at you, Marcia Clark) , but was unable to establish its case without reasonable doubt. It is a tremendous lesson in our justice system and the US Constitution.

Again, regardless of whether you think Ms. Anthony committed murder or manslaughter, there was room for reasonable doubt, which is the basis of our legal system. The prosecution had a burden of proof, and it did not air tightly demonstrate its case.

The differences in strategies of the defense and the prosecution is striking. The prosecution sought to portray her as a party animal and a whore, but the defense kept to it's mantra of reasonable doubt. The prosecution's major witness, the coroner, apparently did not do an adequate job. Really? An inability to establish cause of death? Didn't even open the skull of the baby? The prosecution did not once say, "This is, with certainty, how Casey killed her baby."

And the hiker who "found" the body? His story changed more often than the horse in Emerald City changed colors in "the Wizard of Oz." although Casey Anthony is clearly a liar and a sociopath, she still worked with her defense team. Whatever happened to Caylee, whether it was drowning or asphyxiation, the defense was able to show to the jurors that there still existed reasonable doubt.

It's unfortunate about the outcome for those who believes she is guilty, no cause or manner of death was established. There exists reasonable doubt. This case will likely be studied in law school for years to come, and perhaps The prosecution will appeal. Oh wait! Can we say double jeopardy? Maybe Casey's parents will be tied to the crime or cover-up. Who cam say? But until then at least one can say: Casey is innocent until proven guilty. And the prosecution couldn't do that.

Don't read too much into it. Take the outcome for what it is: the American justice system at work. like it or not, we want to adhere to the Constitution. It was written for a reason. And to all the lawyers and talking heads offering their two cents, you weren't at the trial; nor were we. The media crucified her, but the sequestration of the jurors clearly, along with the defense's case, led to a conclusion to this circus. You may not like it, but them's the breaks.