Is This Going To Be On The Test?

Last night I was sitting at the computer with the TV on, as it usually is in the evening, providing background noise.
Though I wasn’t actively watching it, I heard a woman in some movie describe her ex as being a “terrible womanizer.”
It occurred to me that “terrible womanizer” is a very good description for me. I am a terrible womanizer. I totally suck at it. When it comes to womanizing, I’m absolutely terrible.
I realize, of course, that such a definition was not what the woman had in mind in describing her unfaithful ex, but the thought did give me a laugh.
Of course, it was a bitter, angry, mirthless sort of laugh, but it was a laugh nonetheless...
On the topic of things I have been watching, I’ve been tuning in on Sunday nights for the new HBO series “Rome,” and so far it’s been pretty good. I do have to admit, though, that it can be kind of hard to follow, and sometimes I feel as though I should be getting a homework assignment at the end of it, as if I should be studying up for the next episode.
I just hope that the final is multiple choice.
Still, the fact that it can sometimes come off as a history lesson aside, it has been pretty entertaining so far.
I particularly liked a scene in which some surgeons put a metal plate in someone’s skull (Who knew the Romans messed around with trying to fix skull fractures? Kind of scary to think that they did.), and afterwards they give a really detailed prognosis: he may wake up in a few hours, or maybe tomorrow, or maybe never. As a follow up treatment they suggest praying to some particular gods.
Come to think of it, I guess medicine really hasn’t changed much in two thousand year: make two sacrifices to Mithras and call me in the morning.
Certainly, it’s likely to revert back to something similar if Conservative attacks on science continue. I wonder how long it will be before my niece Jourdan, who’s currently enrolled in Pre-Med, will be taught about the “humors” that control the body, and how the flat Earth is orbited by the sun and other planets as they’re pushed around by angels.
All this week “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” is running a special reported entitled “Evolution Schmevolution” which discusses the controversy of Evolution vs. Intelligent Design. Go here to check out some very entertaining (and informative) clips.
Yesterday morning I was awoken a little before nine by my VoIP phone ringing.
This morning I was awoken a little before eight by my cell phone ringing. As mentioned, yesterday’s call was from my mother. This morning’s was from someone who called the wrong number and obviously realized it just as I was answering the phone, since no one was there when I picked up. My cell phone’s Caller ID only provides a name if the caller is someone saved in my phone book, so all I saw was an unfamiliar number, which I considered calling to find out why the hell they were waking me up at eight in the frickin’ morning, but I decided that going back to sleep would be preferable.
Thanks to yesterday’s rather lengthy nap I had a hard time getting to sleep last night, so I’d probably had a bit under four hours’ worth of sleep when the call came in.
Despite that, though, I was still up a bit before ten, and postponing my walk I went out into the world and did my shopping.
At the grocery store, the matronly Asian woman working the register opted to strike up a conversation with me, inquiring whether or not I live nearby. She stated that she was curious because she sees me in their so often. I said that I do live relatively nearby, but that I simply prefer shopping there even though there are other stores that are much closer, in particular Safeway.
She went on to tell me that she never shops at Safeway, though she’s not certain why.
And, if it weren’t for the meeting I have to go to on Thursday, that would probably be the most significant interaction I’d have with a human being (apart from my mother) for the week.
Once I got home and put the groceries away I made myself a quick lunch (protein shake) and then went for my walk.
After that was over I sat down to watch “Shark Tale,” which I’d set the DVR to grab.
It was okay, for what it was.
The interesting thing was how much the animators made the characters look like the actor’s providing their voices, which was more than a little disturbing in the case of Angelina Jolie’s character, because a fish should never be sexy.
I was sort of surprised that I never encountered any sort of uproar about the movie’s homosexual subtext. After all, the animated denizens of the deep are under close scrutiny to ensure that they aren’t part of the homosexual agenda, thanks to SpongeBob GayPants, and the “life choice” made by Lenny the shark is obviously a thinly-veiled reference to homosexuality. So clearly the movie is endorsing gayness, or at the very least, tolerance, and we can’t have that.
Of course, an interesting point could be raised by the fact that in one scene Lenny refuses to eat a shrimp. As I’m sure most of the biblical scholars that protest these kinds of homo-friendly movies are aware, despite the fact that you never see them protesting at Red Lobster or Joe’s Crab Shack, the eating of shellfish is defined in Leviticus as an abomination, so that particular scene could be seen as a thinly-veiled reference to Lenny refusing to give in to gayness.
Hmm, now I’m all confused. Is that shark a pole-smoker or not?
You know, it could just be that there is no “agenda” to be found in the movie, but rather a simple message stating that just because you’re different in any way from the pre-conceived notions of how you ought to be, that doesn’t necessarily make you bad.
Oh, wait, being different does make you bad? Well, never mind then.
In any case, glancing down at the message boards at IMDb (though not going in to actually read them), I see that at least one viewer did spot the subtext with his Straight Eye for the Queer Guy.
After all, it’s only through constant vigilance that the world can be made safe from…umm, cartoons, I guess. Tolerance? Understanding? Anyway, there are lots of media watchdog groups that are definitely keeping us safe from something.
And on that note, I think I’ll bring this entry to a close before some watchdog group spots my carefully hidden endorsement of the “smart-ass agenda.” After all, we need someone to keep us safe from having a sense of humor.