Overheard in a Tow Truck

“I told them I didn’t want go to the Mid East. I don’t work with no sand niggers.” -Ferlin the tow truck driver that towed me to Monroe. He’s traveled all over the world supervising turbine machining, except the Middle East.

I was conflicted. I immediately wanted to make him understand that no group can be condemned for the behavior of a few and that it made an otherwise intelligent guy sound like an idiotic asshole. On the other hand, I thought I’m just going to see this guy for 40 minutes out of my life so what’s the point. Who am I to judge him.

Sex With Strangers

I saw Sex with Strangers last night at the Angelika. It’s a documentary about three couples who swing. It’s made by the guys who do Taxi Cab Confessions. My expectations had been set by the one DFW BDSM gathering I had attended. I had gone with earnest curiosity about the people who are involved in that lifestyle. Both groups appear to contain similar sci-fi/fantasy reading, internet saavy, anime watching, role playing gamers and thrill seekers. None of them meet the Cosmo/GQ standards for beauty, but they all seem relatively comfortable with their bodies whatever shape they may be.

Mr. Midboe's wild ride

Heading west on I-20 towards Dallas I get to Louisiana and the rain starts up. Then about 20 miles east of Monroe it really starts up. I’m talking wrath of God type rain so I put some distance between me and the other cars and start moving towards the right lane while I slow down.

As soon as my right tires hit the seam between the lanes they hit the puddles of water that have formed in the uneven blacktop and my car leaves the road. The backside of my car picks up and my car begins a slow counter-clockwise rotation. I try and regain control of the steering wheel and then the car loses it. I can’t see anything because of the spinning and the rain and I bounce off some kind of wall and the car keeps spinning. Thoughts like “Wow, my CD player isn’t skipping” and “I wonder if insurance will cover this” run through my head as I resign myself to spinning down the road.

"I couldda been a contender. I couldda been somebody."

I’m back in Huntspatch for the weekend with Emily and we were playing hockey in the backyard. She got tired of it and I started making some wrist shots against the side of the house.

After a few crappy shots I hit my stride. Pulled the ball into the blade of stick just right and let it go. My aim is still good. After the follow through you point the tip of the blade where you want the ball to go. Just like I learned almost two decades ago. I still hit my mark. It should be easier with a puck and ice.

Why I love my daughter reason #423

Me: “So, if you could have one animal, would you rather have a horse or a lizard?” Her: “Uhm…a lizard.”

Almost seven and already so wise.

Soma nation

Man Bites Dog has been making the rounds on IFC this month. It’s been years since I’d seen it. What has surprised me is how the movie seems even more relevant today than it did almost 10 years ago.

The team of documentary film makers following a serial killer around France is not to far removed from the extreme porn of Lizzie Borden or the batch of reality series on network TV. As the movie progresses the serial killer escalates his violence in an attempt to win over the film crew by giving them what he thinks they want. He’s also trying to ameliorate his somewhat lonely existence by making new friends. He even starts to offer money to keep the production afloat. Soon the crew is helping him during his crime spree.

I go to this movie

I go to this movie geek out session on tuesdays. It’s at one of the local indie theaters. While the crowd varies from week to week I’m part of the regular core six people. I’m the young one, they are all in their mid to late 30s. Sometimes I marvel at their movie trivia and wonder how all that knowledge could have been acquired. Will I, a mere movie geek acolyte, someday hold vaults of movie trivia in my head too?

Privacy please...

I’ve had the privilege of visiting a number of friend’s houses particularly in the past month or two. Inevitably I’ve had to go to the bathroom at these houses. A number of them don’t have any locks on the bathroom doors.

Yes, that’s right, I can be squeezing hershey bars out the chocolate wizway and anyone could walk in. It’s practically an extreme sport to do this when a lot of people are over at the house.

Part two of the one/two culture punch from Dallas

Oh yeah, so Dallas’ other contribution to the movie world is a good one, unlike the Blade Runner debacle.

One of the editors of the arts and leisure section of the Dallas Morning News left to go work for DirecTV awhile back. He apparently puts together the Movie Showcase thing on DirecTV. It’s the only thing on DirecTV’s menu that isn’t crap. It’s a really nicely organized and thoughtful guide to what movies are worth watching that will be airing soon.

Part two of the one/two culture punch from Dallas

Oh yeah, so Dallas’ other contribution to the movie world is a good one, unlike the Blade Runner debacle.

One of the editors of the arts and leisure section in Dallas Morning News left to go work for DirectTV awhile back. He apparently puts together the Movie Showcase thing on DirecTV. It’s the only thing on DirectTV’s menu that isn’t crap, it’s a really nicely organized and thoughtful guide to what movies are worth watching that will be airing soon.