So far, "Maria Full of Grace" has been an excellent movie.  In particular, I like how the director was able to make the audience sympathize with a drug mule.  On one hand I'm not sure whether I should feel hatred towards Maria because she is smuggling dangerous illegal drugs into my country, but on the other hand, she is a 17 year old pregnant Colombian girl who is so desperate for money that she has to smuggle drugs into the US.  Which brings up another point, she puts herself and her baby in danger by swallowing all of those pellets.

There was a lot of religious symbolism is the movie, the first of it can be noticed without watching the movie at all.  The title "Maria Full of Grace" is a play on the Hail Mary, a Christian prayer for the Virgin Mary.  In just about every scene that was shot in Colombia, some sort of religious symbol could be seen, such as a Cross, or a Crucifix.  Maria is also a metaphor for the Virgin Mary.  She is traveling to a far away land carrying a baby.  The difference is that Maria is not a virgin, we know so because it is implied that her boyfriend knocked her up early on in the movie.

And yes, this guy does look familiar.  If you read the article instead of just looking at the picture, it clearly states that Mr. Tobon plays a character based off of himself in the movie.  Tobon tries his best to help drug mules while staying out of the drug business.  He understands that mules are often desperate people just looking for a break.

I also found this picture which I find disturbing.  I also find it incredible that somebody could swallow so much volume.  You would think that drug mules would take up contest eating and become like Takeru Kobayashi.

Death of a Salesman

So today I finally got around to doing the blog for November 10th.  The instructions for this particular entry we to listen to one of several interviews of people who lived through the Great Depression.  There was a great variety of topics and interviewees ranging from auto-workers who were on strike to cleanup after the Oklahoma dust storms.  I chose the interview of a man named Howard Worthington who was a door to door salesman during the pressing times.

Howard has a deep voice that reminds me of Garrison Keillor from "Prairie Home Companion" on NPR.  He talks about how he would go door to door selling "gadgets."  One such gadget that he sold consisted of a box of charcoal that was to be put in the refrigerator to eliminate odors.  He would buy the gadgets for 50 cents then resell them for $1.  On one occasion, his wife spoiled a sale for him when a potential buyer asked if she had used the gadget.  She said the gadget got rid of the odors as promised, and continued to explain that her refrigerator smelled like a public toilet.  Another item that Howard sold was a type of degreaser.  It was a clear liquid that you put on any surface, and you could wash off anything that was put on top of it.  He uses the example of applying the substance to a wall, then drawing on it with a crayon, and simply wiping away the crayon with a damp cloth.  Upon receiving some cans of the chemical he tries to sell it to an auto garage.  Before he enters the shop he dipped his hands in the liquid.  He proceeds into the shop and dips his hands into the grease trap.  He goes to wash the grease off his hands with no success.  Like anyone else, he was quickly embarrassed and left as soon as possible.  Later, he realized that he had washed his hands after using the restroom, therefore washing off the protective liquid.

I enjoyed this interview because it sort of reminded me of Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" except it wasn't as sad.  The main character in the play is Willy Loman, who is a salesman who can no longer make a living from his job.  Listening to Howard gave me the same feeling as reading "Death of Salesman."

I think that a Democratic President will basically counter everything that Bush and the Republicans did during his eight years in office.  For most of his Presidency, George Bush has a Republican congress that, for the most part, agreed with his policies.  Several bills were passed because there was little debate between Bush and his Congress.  For example, funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also, since Bush's approval rating is  down to record lows, I would imagine that Obama has some "cleaning up" to do.  He will have to reverse everything that Bush did in order to get his approval rating up.  Now that he has a Democratic congress it should be easy for him to get that taken care of.

On a different note, I feel that people have high expectations for Obama.  Expectations that are so high that people are going to feel betrayed if he does something that goes against what they believe.  Not every President can hold true to their policies, but it's usually outside of their control.  Congress has half the say about what bills become laws.  High expectations is not what this country needs at the moment.

I just hope this whole thing doesn't become a ticking time bomb.  The following video, although satirical, does have to some truth built into it.  Now that Obama is elected, his most avid supporters have nothing to do anymore.

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Mafia.

When I was a sophomore in high school, my family got a new computer.  It was a sony VAIO desktop.  It had all the bells and whistles.  512MB of ram, 80GB hard drive (which was really a 30 and 50GB drive combined) a DVD burner and a firewire port.  This thing was top of the line.

In the years prior, my brothers and I had played lots of computer games such as Roller Coaster  Tycoon, Sonic R, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, and a couple games from the Test Drive series.  Since we got the new computer, I decided I was gonna get a new game.  And an amazing one at that.  I bought Mafia.  For those that have never played the game, imagine a 1930's mobster version of Grand Theft Auto.  The game introduces the player to the wonderful world of organized crime.  Everything from importing whiskey during prohibition, drive-by's, collecting protection money, bank heists, to assassination missions.  The game is tons of fun because it is played in an open city.  There is plenty of time to explore the vast city and commit various crime.

One of the most integral parts of the game (and my favorite) is the cars.  The game has over 50 made-up cars that are based on actual ones.  These things are works of art.  Every detail is realistic, including performance.  Some cars handle better than others, some are fast, some are slow, some are coupes or convertibles.  I am a fan of cars, so I was excited about that.

The developer of Mafia announced a sequel to the game in 2007.  Still under development, the game is set to take place in the 1940's and 1950's.  This means that there will be a whole new city to explore, newer and better selection of cars, and more weapons and characters.  And because the release date is going to be about 6 years after the original, the graphics are going to be waaaaay better than they already were.  I am excited about it.

Congo thing.

From what I can tell, this article contains information about the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  More specifically is about an aid convoy that reached a refugee camp, only to find that the camp was mostly empty.  The article goes on to explain what world leaders are doing to try to help the people of Goma and to put a stop to the war in the Congo.

According to wikipedia the war in the Congo is the world's deadliest conflict since WWII.  The dispute is over government power, as wars often are.  Two opposing groups are trying to win their way into government by means of violence.

No matter the outcome of this dispute, nobody is a winner.  5.4 million people are dead, and for what, so some fool can overthrow some other fool to control a small African country.  Some things I will never understand.

Construction downtown (or at least where I live) seems to be booming.  I live on the 11th floor of the university lofts and from my window I can see 2 construction sites.  One on the southeast corner of Piedmont and Edgewood, and the other on the opposite corner.  I find it very interesting to watch the construction and keep track of it's progress.  Because I am so high up, I can easily see over the barriers and have quite a pleasant view of both sites.

I have also taken up the hobby of recording time-lapse photography.  I have an Apple iSight camera that has a magnetic stand, so I can attach it to just about anything metal without having to use a tripod.  I am able to position the camera in such a way that I can view either construction site in its entirety.  I have experimented with different frame rates and playback settings, and here is what I have so far.

This video was recorded October 29th at 15 frames per second for around 9 hours.

Once the building actually begins I plan to record quite a bit more of the site.  It boring to watch bulldozers push dirt around all day, which is what they seem to be doing at the moment.

This all started with me using my laptop to record time lapse videos of me driving.  This video was recorded while I was driving to work when I lived in Florida.

RL Burnside

Is the man.  Check it out.

I really enjoy his music because he doesnt play the guitar in a conventional way.  He finds his inspiration from what he feels instead of melting together the sounds of other artists.  His rhythm is very catchy and makes you wanna tap your foot.  The tuning of his guitar has this sort of surreal sound that I find very satisfying.  After listening to his music, it is obvious that blue have inspired many great rock bands such as Led Zeppelin.

Here is "Traveling Riverside Blues" by Led Zeppelin.

You see me laughin.

So far I am really enjoying "You see me laughin'."  The film is filled with awesome and entertaining characters.  The documentary is about a record company in southern Mississippi that records local blues musicians.  In my opinion, the film has a sort of double meaning.  On one hand you have a couple of young entrepreneurs who are recording the dying art of blues music and spreading that message to a new generation of youth.  At the same time, the record label is making money off people who barely have 2 nickels to rub together.  Both scenarios are sad.

I thought the music in the film was very good.  I particularly enjoy the music of R.L. Burnside.  His music has so much emotion to it that it draws in his audience.  RL's music is genuinely from his creative side.  He has not heard of every blues musician who ever lived, he taught himself to play and plays from the heart.  He is not trying to imitate other artists, but rather play what he feels.

I also liked some of the stories the musicians tell in the film.  In particular the one about RL shooting a man in the back of the head in self defense.  I have been putting together a shopping cart of music that was featured in the film.  A lot of the artists are featured on iTunes.

Brandon's "Good Morning Vietnam"

I would have to agree with Brandon's review of "Good Morning Vietnam."  The film, starring Robin Williams, is very entertaining while making a statement about the Vietnam era.  I mostly enjoy the film because I think that Robin Williams is one of the most genuinely funny people I have ever seen.  He has ways of making people laugh that are unique.  

His role in "Good Morning Vietnam" is a military radio DJ who breaks the norms of the jobs and changes how people think of Vietnam.  Williams adds a bit of humor to a war which many people did not find very funny at all.  His character is a very high energy one and is exciting to watch. 

Overall, I enjoyed this movie very much.  One of my favorite lines is from when he goes on the air for the first time.  He begins to play a record, but the speed is too slow, then he speeds it up, then he 'plays it backwards' while saying "Freddy is the devil" in a creepy satanic reverse english kind of way.  This has become a popular phrase with a friend of mine.  Anytime we can't understand something we use this phrase to imply there is a hidden message.