Thursday Night Nuggets. . .
 
Took me about twenty minutes for my computer to cooperate and allow me to get on this site tonight :( Ugh, I hate computers. Plus, I've had a splitting headache since getting off of work, and so it's going to be a short, pretty shallow entry tonight.
 
Work was decent today. Nothing good, nothing bad. I'm getting much more peaceful about my work days, though. I'm accepting it as my job for me to do, depending on God to give me patience, and realizing that when it's over, I go home and get on with my life. Although it's been a tough few weeks, it's been nothing too horrible. . .
 
I got rejected from giving blood at church today :( It was my fault, really. I realized as I was filling out the forms that I seemed to recall my doctor saying that when I was in the hospital a few years ago, I tested positive for Hepatitis C. Nothing to worry about, because they didn't do any further followups and said it wouldn't be the kind to affect me negatively. But you're not supposed to give blood if you've ever tested positive for Hepatitis. :( So, I got to wear a little red cross "I tried" sticker. You feel like a dolt wearing that. It's like the Special Olympics ribbon for charity. . .
 
The nurse at the blood drive, however, told me that only 5% of people even try to donate blood. I found that shocking! I'm not a big fan of needles, but I have no problem offering my blood or donating it. It makes me mad when someone refuses to give blood because "I don't like needles" or "It'll hurt" or "I'm too busy." Grow up. Close your eyes and don't look at the needle. The pain is no worse than when they take your blood at the doctor's. And if you can't schedule a half hour into your schedule to do something that could save a life, then I'm afraid your priorities are screwed up. I know it's getting on a bit of a high horse, but Proverbs says that if we have the opportunity to do good for someone, we should do it. I think witholding good from others for such selfish reasons is a sin of omission. . . .
 
Finally got around to watching Cold Mountain tonight, so Erin will be pleased when she returns from her weekend helping out with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She loaned it to me over a month ago and kept telling me to watch it, so tonight I finally did. I was avoiding it because i was afraid it was going to be one of those boring, sappy love stories. But it was actually a very nice epic Civil War drama. Technically, it was probably the best made film of last year that didn't have the words "Return of the King" in the title. Anthony Minghella, whose films like The Talented Mister Ripley, I usually despise, has crafted a beautiful looking film here. I know it was filmed in Europe, but it recreates Civil War era America in such beautiful detail. The snows and forests are peaceful and the battle scenes are dark and scary. The actors are great in this role. Jude Law and Nicole Kidman are, of course, always perfect. But Renee Zelwegger really surprised me. She really deserved that Oscar for her work as Ruby. She used to be one of those actresses I could't care less about. But with her work in this and her role in Chicago, she's one of the actresses continually piquing my interest.
 
So, I enjoyed the film. I can't say I loved it. The love story that supposedly frames the film just didn't connect with me. . . I couldn't tell why Law and Kidman's characters felt so strongly for each other when they had only met a few times. And I thought the ending was predictable and rather unecessary. There were plenty of powerful little scenes, such as Natalie Portman's character, Ruby's reconcilliation with her father, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman's "priest" that were well done. But the parts were better than the whole. Good, very well made film. Just not a great one, that's all. . .
 
It's funny that for unbiased political reporting, I'm actually turning to Comedy Central. "The Daily Show" has been probably the best showcaser of politics. The shows writers are equal opportunity offenders, pointing out the absurdity in our world and country. Tonight's report on John kerry was funny but so true. He's the Democratic candidate not because anyone has any great support for him or wants to see him be the next president. He's just the least offensive alternative they could come up with for George W. Bush. Ugh. I'm not too happy with the prospects come November. I'll probably vote Bush, simply because morally we see eye to eye. But why can't we get Colin Powell up there? I think he'd win in a landslide. I'd vote for him. . .
 
So, if I can make it until 4:00 tomorrow, the weekend will be upon me. I'm actually looking forward to it, because I think I can actually have some fun without spending a dime. Tomorrow night after work I plan on hitting the gym, getting some dinner and then going to the Star Theatre with some gift certificates I got to go see The Manchurian Candidate. I've been intrigued about this movie for awhile, because you just can't beat the credentials behind it. Denzel Washington is probably right behind Tom Hanks as one of the most reliable actors we have and Meryl Streep's name is pretty much synonymous with quality. And Jonathan Demme is getting back behind the camera for a thriller. His last true suspense thriller was the great Silence of the Lambs, so I hope this is just as great. Should be good, especially since I hear that the remake is substituting Cold War paranoia for our fear of terrorism. Should be interesting. If anything, I think it's a guarantee that we'll see some great actors at work.
 
Saturday I plan on sleeping in, hitting the gym, and lounging around for most the day. Our pastor's dad passed away earlier this week, so I may go to the funeral, although I don't know the pastor very well and I didn't know his father. Saturday night my parents are taking me out for my birthday. We're going to Don Pablos, which is one of my favorite restaurants, and then going to see The Village, which is another film I'm really looking forward to. M. Night Shaymalan (sp?) has made movies that are unqualified classics in my book. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs are all probably in the top 20 movies of mine, so I'm really looking forward to this. The reviews have been pretty divided, but that's to be expected. He's one of our most divisive filmmakers. With many of his movies you either love them or hate them, and I've happened to love them all. Maybe tomorrow I'll write my thoughts on each of those first three.
 
Well, I'm very tired, this headache hasn't let up, and I think it's time to get to bed. I'll write later.
 
C-Dubbs