Ten Pictures: Everglades Run with the Dogs

The penultimate image, the black and white one of my dog Ashley is special to me. That's because, after seeing it, I was reminded of the book to Kill a Mockingbird - specifically the scene when Scout notices a rabid dog and runs inside to alert Calpurnia who quickly calls up Atticus to come shoot it. The image, with my dogs aimlessly wandering along this dirt road really evoked that scene proving that photography can be what fuels random memories to surface once more.

Mother's Birthday

Today is my mothers 55th Birthday. Happy Birthday Mama, keep livin' long and kickin' strong!

Summer Heat

Its Summer: that means bring on the above 100 degree temps and bust out the morning sun and afternoon showers. Here in South Florida, where we do that humid heat - I'm talking about an all out sweat streaked inferno. So as any South Floridian will tell you, there are a few telltale signs its summer down here:

1.) You watch out not to touch your seat belt buckle as you know it'll be hot as an iron.
2.) You learn to drive with only two fingers on the steering wheel as it is too hot to handle.
3.) Any liquids left in the car will be boiled by the time you return.4.) You realize Asphalt has a liquid state out a little far in the distance.
5.) 9 AM feels about as hot as 2 PM.
6.) You make sure to wait in your car for a couple of seconds when you get in to let the AC run.
7.) Everyday seems hotter than the last.
8.) Following^ - except the one day its below 90, then its "cool" out.
9.) Your A/C broke on your car, at the worst possible time of course.
10.) "Where has the day gone?" takes on a whole new meaning when its 3 PM and you haven't done anything yet.


But even with all that heat I don't mind it - in fact I kinda like it. I like to sweat in the summer, to pull back the mesh of my hair plastered against my forehead and taste the drops of sweat collected above my lip. Its me, its how I grew up - I know no other way and I miss it too much when I'm away from it. The heat is a part of me, it fuels me and the cold only weakens me so I'll take the heat any day. People who aren't used to the cold don't understand how awful it is - how very fortunate we are to have heat. And yes, we are very fortunate.

Ten Pictures: The Everglades Along Tamiami (US 41)

I had been wanting to go west of Krome Ave into the Everglades for a while now to photograph it but the weather has been uncooperative. Its not that its been raining much because for the past week, especially for Summer in Miami, its been rather dry. But the problem is: the clouds. With my camera, when the skies are overcast and all you see is that mass of white, the pictures come out awful. They're too bright, the colors come out faded and you can't see anything. When you try and edit them, they don't improve very much either. What I need is a solid blue sky - maybe the occasional cloud, but not much more than that. When I left, the skies were still pretty blue, but after being there for about 1/2 an hour- the clouds began to roll in, then the rain - and then the overcast skies. While I'm happy about most of the photographs, the truth is they could have come out better - but there were still a few gems I managed to capture - specially the first one with the stop sign that looks like a gator took a bite out of it and the last one which is like a very detailed shot of the little things one tends to miss when visiting such a massive national park.

Ten Pictures: Amtgard

In lieu of my more traditional Ten Pictures, I've decided to take a different approach in my blog post on Amtgard. Before I show any pictures however, I guess I'd better clarify what "Amtgard" actually is since most people have no clue what I'm even talking about. Apparently, it is a live action role played combat game where people dress up in self made garb and battle each other using an array of weaponry and magic skills. Damage is dealt by striking an opponent and armor is constructed to be worn as a defense against hits. The game is made more complicated by the addition of elements and spells and whatnot but the basic theme you need to know is people gather together and engage in combat using a highly structured and rule based method to play. For example, once a played has been "killed" he or she cannot simply get up and leave - often they must wait for a "reviver" to come and resuscitate them. If they do leave, they face a time penalty for which they must sit out the action while they wait for the time to expire. At times different persona are assumed and classes are assigned to each player and indicated by a different colored band worn (classes can range from warrior to healers, assassins to druids (in tune with nature I believe - so you would play as a tree I think) and many more roles. Because It was my first time witnessing the game I'm not entirely aware of the whole structure and believe me, it gets more complicated what with other towns traveling to invade and massive conflicts and so much more.

{The players of Amtgard the day I went, there is Cesar, my friend, far right wearing black and red - he's the one were rooting for}

Now if you've read my last post then you know I've decided to turn over a new leaf and not be judgmental - and what a monumental place to test my resolve than to go watch an Amtgard game. As you can see by the picture above, and by the description I just gave, this game isn't exactly conventional when it comes to what young adults do. But, like I mentioned before, I have my "sick, twisted, deviant and psychotic" fun with horror stuff so I'm not here to judge: if Amtgard makes Cesar and his friends happy then it makes me happy. But regardless, I want to point out that this is a very colorful bunch of characters. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with what they're doing its just a little funny at times. As "non-judgmental" as I would like to be, Its rather difficult not to find something like this a little amusing:

{The giant viking looking redhead wearing a last samurai inspired getup and wielding a massive sword ala something out of Thor is named (aptly) Eric the Red. I would also like to point your attention to the questionable embrace on the right hand side of this picture - something we will discuss later}

And Eric the red isn't the only one - there was a whole slew of funny characters from the shirtless swashbuckling stefan (who...well we will talk about this later) to chef boyarde and his WOW/hot pants wearing (and totally looking to be the center of attention in a field full of male nerds) girlfriend, a Filipino dude whose long hair, skirt and black tank top sometimes made me mistake him for a woman (although he was very friendly), a cool templar with a kind of awesome outfit (the red cross), another giant who wielded an even bigger sword and a wild mane of hair and another guy who color coordinated his outfit and his shield named max - who coincidentally was having his girlfriend whisked away by the apparent celebrity of the evening, Enrique (*shaking my fist in the sky*). There was even an annoying british guy...oh excuse me, a white guy putting on a fake British accent. While I've always secretly longed to be as liberated as them and shed my "half-assed tough image" for my more natural "enormous fantasy nerd" outfit, I couldn't help but laugh at some of the extremes they went to. The best part though: clearly they all enjoyed themselves and accepted each other no matter how extreme or bizarre their appearance - it seemed like the ultimate level of some inverse 7th heaven shit were everyone was living in perfect fucking harmony lol.

{The Amtgarders lounging about mixing people who look rather normal like Cesar and the guy in the black tank-top with the very skinny and eccentrically clothed (or not entirely clothed) Stefan and the rather ironic giant guy with misfits printed on his back and gladiator inspired shoes)}

I guess that's the nice thing to take away from this game: that everyone can just have fun doing what they all secretly have always wanted to do: turn their love of video games into a real life fucking game - because who says you can't do this kind of shit. In fact, let me inform you that these guys have BALLS because all this is in full view of everyone - and by everyone I mean every ref driving down bird road in the middle of rush hour. And speaking of refs, you now this confuses the hell out of them - do you think this shit goes down in Cuba, no son. When they see this many people gathered with such elaborate costumes they automatically assume its some big budget epic film (keep in mind though the standards of the Cuban motion film industry - rather low would be an understatement). Besides all that, these guys, and the occasional girl (two were playing!) really have the balls, or umm, "fun parts" for the girls - to really go out there and do what they like no matter what people think. That confidence was quite refreshing I might add.

{This is all out in public, to be honest - I don't know if I would have the balls to be dressed as link or be half naked wearing the gayest ensemble I could imagine all while wielding giant swords. That being said, the guy to the left really went all out and bought himself some shit made of out metal: we know two things about him - one he's got enough money to buck the foam/tape/tons of imagination trend everyone else did and go buy a fucking metal outfit and two - he really lives for this shit, so much that his fucking wife/girlfriend better get used to this as their sexual role playing because nothing else is going to do it for him like this does}

But before you think that I think of all the Amtgarders as the second coming of Walt Disney (my true messiah) I want to point out that behind all the costumes and fancy fighting there is a darkside to Amtgard: the women. You may think I'm about to post some nasty paragraph about how ugly any girl who plays this has to be but you're wrong: I spend less time judging their looks (although...) and more time judging their intentions. And let me be clear, ladies you're not the only ones I was analyzing in my head - fellas I don't trust half of your lot either. I also am going to take the time to demonstrate how unfortunately for some, self confidence and defensiveness have a fine line that some of these people didn't just cross - evidently they fucking trampled it. You must be so confused - like wtf is he going about? Allow me to explain:

{Behold: The Women of Amtgard!!!}

You would expect the girls who enjoy these traditionally more masculine activities such as hand to hand combat are not your traditional kind of girls - you know, the girls who shun makeup in favor of swords and who care more about their assassin's level than their outfit. Well, contrary to what Cesar led me to believe, sadly its true - of the two girls that I saw playing I don't think I'd find either attractive. I'm glad these girls found a place in which their comfortable but lets be honest - most guys don't swoon for the women of Amtgard. That being said, don't feel sorry for them - this concept of being a girl and playing a "boys" game is like the oldest one in the fucking book and let me tell you these "untraditional" girls have this shit memorized. Sure, this girl, who is dressed like a medieval peasant turned cowgirl from Texas, may not be able to compete with the skinny minnies and pretty patties but lets keep shit real: she found her own way to win over the hearts (and dicks) of guys - being in their element. Ask any guy, well mostly any guy but especially any nerdy guy whats hot and the answers will be clear as day: a girl who basically does everything a guy does but has the fun parts that guys really want to play with. Lets see: girl likes rock music (cool!), girl plays video games (whoa!!!!), girl dresses up in cosplay for comic con (WOOOW!!!), girl plays Amtgard (DING DING DING!!!!) and kicks ass - (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Guys totally dig girls that hang with them and can be just fucking like them - its like having your best friend (guy of course) grow a fucking vagina and become Pamela fucking Anderson overnight. You can now do everything you ever wanted with these girls: eat, have sex and play games - and she actually likes it too!!! And this level of showing off isn't limited to the players- I saw little miss hot pants+WOW shirt girlfriend of chef boyardee strutting her stuff like a goddamn supermodel because maybe up against cheerleaders she's like a 4 but here, bitch just rose to level fucking 10. Not all girls who attend Amtgard may conform to this but make no mistake: they're out there and they're loving the attention.

{You know whats the cool part about being around guys who won't really judge you - you can get away with just about the gayest shit and everybody just laughs...nervously}

Another interesting observation of the evening (and I will use this section to make things funny again after my awkward outburst in the last paragraph lol) is the shockingly obvious yet totally "subtle" homoerotic undertones of Amtgard. Direct your attention to the photo above or quite frankly any of the previous fucking seven photos I posted because all of them are gayer than richard simmons doing the paso doble in a red sequined dress (mental image time!). It seems like Amtgard is a time to be about as gay as you can without anyone really calling you out for it: naturally I will use Stefan as an example. But don't interpret my choice of using him as an example as reason to believe that I disliked him - I actually liked him a lot, as I will detail in a bit. Stefan, seen here shirtless, wearing leather pants, a red bandanna (really just a shirt but like that changes anything), and a scarf wrapped through his belt loops - excuse me a checkered -is looking as gay as can be. Never mind the fact that he's dressed like an extra for will and grace, he also has a way of sashaying about the field which puts most of those women of Amtgard to shame. Does anyone call out Stefan for being so deep in the fucking closet he's in Narnia? No, why because look around - all these guys are practically sashaying or prancing, many are in various states of undress and "fighting" which is always a thin line to begin with and all are perfectly comfortable embracing, lounging around and admiring each other in questionable ways ("I can't wait until you stick your sword in me!"...lol wut?). In fact, I bet you Stefan has a girlfriend because the other thing I noticed is that the gayer you are in Amtgard the more likely you have a girlfriend [Cesar, if you're even reading this (if anybody even is) this totally excludes you ;-)]. Amtgard is like a bizarre parallel universe - the uglier you look, the weirder you dress or the gayer you act = makes you that much more likely to have a girlfriend. Maybe these guys are like that comfortable with their sexuality - then shit, these are some progressive and confident ass people! Don't get me wrong, let them prance around the park for all I care - If Amtgard is anything it seems to be a place where the weirder you think something is, the more acceptable it becomes. I swear people glared at me when I told Jeanna I was drinking Coke - had I said I was drinking fucking jellyfish piss then nobody would have looked twice. This is in fact why Im begging to like this shit more and more, if they could find a way to tell society to fuck off more - then I swear they'd all be doing it the next time they met up - Drinks up to rebellion! Sadly though, not everyone is like Stefan and Cesar - with this upbeat confidence and I don't give a shit attitude come some serious egos.

{The people of Amtgard....have noticed me - *awkwardly stare in fear* O_o}

If there is another thing i noticed its that for all of the incredible level of acceptance these Amtgarders have I didn't feel as welcomed as I would have liked. Well, actually let me rephrase that - I didn't want to be welcomed and as it turns out I got neither: I got that uncomfortable look of "what are you doing here". Now hold on for a second here? What am "I" doing here? Are you all, who I will bet 20 bucks weren't the most popular kids in you schools, really trying to treat me like an outsider??? Look, I understand that people don't often understand your choice of fun but I didn't come to point and ridicule - first off I came to see Cesar so unless he forgot to pass along the invitation to the public park then I don't see why anyone should be looking at me like I'm the fat kid in the dunkin' donuts. Ok I'll try to sympathize here: most people probably assumed I was there to cast judgment and be like these fools ahahaha but the truth was, I wasn't. I was genuinely interested in what it was like (although the first hour was slower than molasses and the battle which I guess happened wasn't the all out war I expected - although according to Cesar I coincidentally missed his epic rampage in my half an hour leave of absence ;-p) and I just wanted to see Cesar and hang with Jeanna. I feel like everyone was like looking at me with weary eyes - wondering if I was taking pictures of them to put on an exhibit entitled: "Behold: The Weirdest People on the Planet bwahahaha!" - um no. I like taking pictures, and I think this is a cool place to take pictures of something I've never seen before and quite frankly I hardly believe I'm the only one taking pictures. Some people even came up to "inquire" about me - like as If I wasn't onto that old tactic - "oh who are you? Oh how nice of you to come, so what are doing here?" - umm, why do you care? Let me pull out a bit of Spanish here since I think that Spanish is a far superior language than English at conveying emotion in speech: "Haré lo que me da la gana - Si me quiero cagar en la hierba - lo voy hacer y mas nada!!!!". Okay then, that being said - not everyone was unwelcoming or cold: The Filipino was very nice and made every attempt to be friendly, I was a little to quiet to respond so I was a little out of it but he was nice and Sashaying Stefan was super friendly too- he made no attempt to be awkward around me and sadly being my anti-social self I didn't say much but next time I plan on mindfucking him by not shutting up = its my method and it always succeeds in making people feel weird around me! Others were friendly too but I realized this is a very, um, "close" group of people: they don't really want outsiders unless the outsiders really want in (or are girlfriends or boyfriends of the players I guess). All this aside - it made me realize something about this guy:

{Cesar - the only person I knew there besides Jeanna. Because Cesar didn't approve of the last photo}

If there is anyone there who people should be more like its Cesar: out of everyone there he seemed to be the nicest and the one who made you feel the least awkward. Maybe its because I knew him, but i felt like if more people were like Cesar - then the it would have felt more relaxed - I wouldn't have felt so "un-belonging". That being said, I didn't necessarily dislike my time there - in fact I really enjoyed it. I don't know why but I left feeling very relaxed and calm - I didn't have to go crazy, nobody expected anything of me and I didn't have to perform. I found the time to just relax and enjoy myself and see something I don't get to often see. Some people made me laugh, or got me angry and others made me feel weird but in the end I enjoyed myself. Jeanna helped a lot too because she was fun to talk to and was enthusiastic. Perhaps my time would have been less enjoyable (and creepier) if I spent it sitting in the car by myself quietly watching Cesar. But like I said, having Jeanna there made the time enjoyable (and lucky! was great!) and I wish I could have seen Cesar more but he was "busy" ahem "killing tons of people" ahem (just messing!). But, I did want to breach one more subject. You know, I kept asking people what they thought of Cesar, like does he kick ass or do people like him and almost everybody universally agreed that yes - Cesar is well respected and even more well liked. But, perhaps I'm missing something here but it seems like there is a weird dichotomy to this Amtgard thing. If this is a world in which everyone should be equal - and considering the fifty billion rules they have I believe a certain standard and equality are appreciated by the group - then why is it that certain individuals seem to get celebrity status. Lets get this barrel of hay rolling:

Every once in a while I enjoy using this blog as a funny outlet to airs my thoughts and opinions. Well as I explained to Jeanna, I have an opinion, or better yet a thought, or actually who gives a fuck - I have something I want to get off my chest. You see I wasn't mister fucking popular in high school - don't worry I'm not going down that self deprecating road so I'll spare you my misery but the point I was trying to make was that I understood that I wasn't Johnny Fucking Bravo and I knew where to go to fit in. I didn't go too low with the downright uglies because I'm not that bad but shit I wasn't aiming for the big leagues either. And quite frankly, I was ok where I was because I felt like I fit in - I was where I belong - somewhere in that "average" gray area. So what really gets me going is when I see people who should be up one notch drop down to try and be the one eyed king in the land of the blind. Point in case: the Amtgard celebrity status. Earlier in the day, some guy pulled in and all of a sudden like 6 people rushed to his car like he was Britney fucking Spears. I figured shit, who is this guy? Why does he have a fucking fan following like the lunch lady at fat camp? It turns out that whoever the guy was he was nothing special - but that didn't stop everyone from being up in his business like he was holy. But if I thought that was bad - nothing prepared me for this guy:

{You must be wondering why I have a shirtless photo of him on the beach - well patience my friend, this photo is perfect for what I'm about to write - oh and I don't have a regular photo of him because my camera died (.....stupid cam...whatever) - wondering how I got this? Lets just say a little facebook stalking skills take you a long way}

Behold Jesus. Or at least he must be because the caravan of Amtgarders who flocked to his car like he was princess Leia and Darth Vader all rolled up in one fucking fanboytasic sushi roll. I mean it was straight up weird. I'm not joking when I say that when this guy - and yes, note the bitchy way I wrote that - walked over in his black ass-suit looking like "I'm that fucking man!" everyone and their mother crowded around him and hugged him. I'm sorry did I miss the memo? Is he like Buddha or something? Does hugging him increase your health or bring good fortune because if not then why Is he being treated like a fucking celebrity??? And then it hit me....that tricky bastard = he IS a celebrity! And I know why!!! I'm onto you know buster because you may be able to fool these Amtgarders with your shiny suit and cocky attitude but I'm not blinded by this shit like they are - I see right through you! Now, if you're wondering why I seem so crazy over all this (and as I write this my eyes are like this O_0 and my hair is pulling an Einstein) its because there is something you should know about me: I am the center of the fucking universe (PLUS ONE FOR MODESTY!!! hurray!). I like being the guy people know and oh what the fuck lets just admit it, i have a superiority complex and I like to be "The Guy" who gets the attention by telling the jokes, never shutting up and having the quick wit. In the event someone comes and upstages me......excuse me, I need a few more dots..........I don't take it very well. So when this "Enrique" fellow walks in and totally steals my thunder (of which btw nobody seems to be partaking in so in reality im just plain crazy but whatever) I develop some like weird man-crush because if everyone fucking likes him so fucking much then guess what I'll fucking like him too! So what the shit, im not going to hug him like everyone fucking else though because my throats not big enough to fucking swallow my enormous pride but I'll glare from afar - and I've mastered my glare so It works well. I mean lets face it, the only reason I really have a man-crush is because i'm jealous of the attention and that's my childish way of dealing with Jealousy since I may be 21 but I have the maturity level of a 12 year old. But random man-crush aside, what really got me thinking is that the only reason he's the center of attention is because he put himself there. Let me explain: Enrique is good looking. All gayness aside, one just needs to be objective and say that you wouldn't call him ugly - and he's skinny so you can't even pull the fat card like a few of the other Amtgarders (sorry but its the truth). So, if you are - one of the good looking people- then can someone tell me why you've decided to play the "IM THE OUTSIDER" card because im not fucking buying it. Really? you're an outsider? What preppy girls don't think you're pretty enough? uh-oh Croc-O-Shit buddy.

I know that game cuz anyone can play it if the they know the fucking rules. You want to be the big fish in the little pond - of course in the sea of good looking people you are just - a fish. A plain old smelly fish. So, jump to the little pond full of not so "sexy" outsiders and oh look! you've just become ali baba - now you can feel as superior as you want because everyone thinks you're the last twinkie left in the world and everyone wants some. Well guess what? I don't buy it - you know why because this may be your trick to get pussy (and guess what, I saw you ride off with that taken girl (sorry max or whatever your name was) and I heard the stories (I won't name my sources) and I know that game oh too well because all of fucking Penn plays THAT game. In their schools they were the outkast geeks but in Penn, where looks count for shit but genius is better than gold they're suddenly the big shots. That being said, I still totally have a bro-crush and I don't mind meeting you since you will not be aware of my secret ranting over your bullshit (which lets face it, again all this boils down to jealousy but im never going to admit that out loud) and who knows you may even be a nice person and I may even end up liking you too like the rest of the crowd. Then that'll mean that I'm an asshole - well I already know I am so lets say a bigger asshole - and I can swallow my words along with my hat. But then that'll also mean that your freakish charm, which is really voodoo in disguise (you don't fool me santero!) will have worked on me too - thus in the end I was right after all and VINDICATED! Omg where this whole post go? Why am I nuts and why is this post so long - i've got to wrap this shit up.

In conclusion, which lets face it means nothing to you because 9/10 of you skipped all but the first paragraph, looked at the photos, maybe read the captions or not and are now skimming through this trying to decide if its worth reading the end just for the sake of it. I had a great time today, I saw, I talked, I thought (a whole lot apparently) and I had an eventful day - I couldn't ask for more! I want to go again, but Cesar probably hates me now because I'm always paranoid somebody hates me, so I will probably be lied to and coincidentally the Amtgarders "aren't meeting up anymore". In which case like a paranoid, stalker ex-wife I WILL drive by, back with my trademark glare, and rest assured If I do you see guys playing I have a fucking SUV and calculating the numbers here I could probably mow down a good 8-10 of you before the others scatter so the choice is yours (this is not a threat!). Anywho, here's hoping for an Amtgard post part II and I promise - It won't be this long again lol

I Must Be Getting Old: The Remakes

So I saw the Karate Kid yesterday. Not the 1984 classic that should come to mind for anyone born before 1990 rather the 2010 remake which has replaced Ralph Macchio with Jaden Smith and California with China. I'll be upfront here: I'm very protective of movies I like, especially childhood movies that moved me so much they've become indelible, etched into the annals of my mind. Thus, when I hear that one of those movies is being remade (GASP!) then I naturally get a bit...nervous. You see its not that I detest the idea of a remake in and of itself; in fact I encourage it! Some of my favorite movies from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (and like 50 other horror movies) to the new Batman series were essentially remakes that I thoroughly enjoy, at times more than the original. But, there is still the age old argument that there are just some thing that can't be remade. Star Wars, Jurassic Park & Titanic are a few that come to mind. These movies have become so culturally defining and monumental in their scope and legacy that remaking them would seem largely an impossible feat. Now this may seem like a very broad statement, however lets get real: many people (including to an extent me) feel this way. I honestly cannot see somebody ever remaking those because it wouldn't be the same. But lets face it, beyond simply the "they would be different" argument lies a much more blunt and passionate one: they would ruin the movie.

That may seem a bit harsh but its a reality among many movie-lovers and critics alike. Most, I would argue, viciously attack remakes and trivialize them as cheap reincarnations that lack the depth and substance that made the originals so well loved. Furthermore, they're also criticized as "unoriginal" having based their source material on an already concrete foundation and are little more than money mills attempting to squeeze out a few extra bucks at the expense of real cinema. Its very difficult to find a remake that people find better than an original and more often then not remakes are critically thrashed and culturally forgotten. Or the opposite becomes true: culturally, then end up replacing their original and become even more reviled because they have effectively erased a film so loved by others (see Planet of the Apes or Texas Chainsaw for example). Perhaps that is why so many "older" (and I use that phrase vaguely to mean anyone over the legal drinking age practically) people get frustrated by remakes since they always revert back to the same of question: "Why remake a classic movie in the first place?"

Insert the Karate Kid, 2010. I enjoyed the movie, thank you very much. Sure, I was skeptical at first - in fact when I first found out I was downright pissed. First of all, WHY are they remaking it since the first one is still totally awesome ("you're the best around"!!)? Second, umm the kid is not supposed to be black and whats the deal with China?!? Its supposed to be California! Oh, and Jackie Chan will be an awful Mr. Miagi - and don't even get me started on Will Smith's son who ONLY got the part because his father is producing the movie. In fact, the movie isn't even about Karate, ITS ABOUT KUNG FU!!! Needless to say, I wasn't to thrilled. But then the trailer came out. I still remained skeptical - but I'm not going to lie, I was intrigued. It wasn't until the movie actually came out though that I really gave it a chance - well more like a month after it came out lol. I still felt very protective over the original, and I didn't want to "taint" my memory of it by watching this remake but I figured well what the hell, it looks somewhat interesting which means it could end up being good after all. Well after having watched It I will say I was very pleased - in fact I left not only satisfied, but excited! The movie to me was what a remake should be: based on the same premise as the original but not to similar as to differentiate itself. It maintained the essence of the first film and managed to provide a new take while avoiding the cheesy pitfalls remakes usually engage in (crass and unnecessary humor, unnecessary increased violence/action, and poor character development choices- or lack thereof). The movie was fresh, exciting and delivered the same message as the original with a different take: exactly what I wanted. I liked how the moved it to china because it added a different sort of isolation than California and making the main character black added a racial component that previously remained non-existent, plus it also modernized it in a way by removing the overwhelmingly white-washed make-up of the original (lets keep in mind though - that was the 80s!) In no ways is it the first film and in no ways does it try to be - It merely borrows the name and the general idea: the rest is its own. Remakes such as this are exactly what I would like to see from something being remade: don't steal my childhood glory and bastardize it (then put a big fat price sticker on it) - make something for the kids of today and me. That's really anybody should ask from a remake. If studios and directors can achieve that, then both the original and the remake can be enjoyable, for generations to come.

How "Opinions" Lead to Judgement

Ahh yes, it is time for this post: the problem with opinions. We've all heard that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and as far as I can reason that assessment seems, well reasonable. But there does come a point though when opinions can easily go astray and become judgments and that's something that plagues my generation especially. How do you objectively judge something? Is it even possible? Keep in mind, what you think is great others my argue is utter trash and what you find entirely unappealing, others find entertaining. Is it offensive to say "that movie sucks" when someone else really enjoyed it and furthermore if everything is subjective and quality truly lies in the eye of the beholder, then does that mean that there is no scale to which we could rank what's "good" and what's "bad"? This is something I've debated much in my head because I too am guilty for passing judgment on other people's pleasures. I'm quick to say that something is stupid or immature really only because to me it seems that way but if confronted about my own hobbies or interests I'm just as quick to reply that mine actually have legitimacy and are normal (which is a whole nother can of worms). But I also refuse to accept that certain things aren't silly or abnormal - I mean if my hobbies is to run around in a red cape and eat worms I really don't believe I have any basis upon which to argue that I'm not weird. Assuming we can all agree that that's weird, then we have passed judgment - hence the crux of my problem, where do we draw the line?

If we choose to live in a world where we can simply dismiss each others feelings and cast judgment left and right then there really isn't much of a problem at all but what happens when that very same judgment is cast among friends or someone you love. Yeah, Houston we've got a problem. You see, its easy to challenge someone you don't know and don't really have any solid connection to - unless you're like mother Teresa and you can't offend anyone. I was in the car the other day with two friends and I asked where we should go eat. One friend suggested Chili's and then the other friend said no way Jose because she didn't like it. Ahh here we go - classic example. To me, both are correct in what they did - James suggested a place he enjoys and figured maybe others would and Eryka rejected it because she figured there were better places we could go to. From both angles one could argue about who is "right"; James in Eryka's opinion suggested an unappealing place and Eryka in James' opinion was not right is abruptly dismissing what he believed to be a good place. To be honest, I can't see a way out of this dilemma because Eryka shouldn't be forced to do something she really doesn't want to but James on the other hand shouldn't feel as though his choices are undesirable. What exacerbate this problem even more: they both care about one another and neither wants to hurt the feelings of the other (well they're actually engaged so more reason). I simply don't know what one should do, save one option: don't express your opinion then.

But is that really the right way? Censoring someone's opinions because it may or may not cause conflict? That seems like the wrong answer and all it might do is stymie people's conversations or input. In the end perhaps the best method is to do the old "agree to disagree" - and if you're in the presence of people who you know are going to disagree with your assessment then try to be more gentle or understanding about how you go about expressing your opinion. For example, some like the slapstick kind of comedy that's popular now - I detest it, with a passion. If that person tells me he saw a trailer for a movie, or saw the movie itself, and thought it was hilarious I'm going to apply my new mentality towards judgment. It would be impossible for me not to judge because I'm human, and Spanish. So instead of reverting to the older more critical version of myself and saying "that's not funny, its stupid and you must be stupid too for liking it" I'm going to simply say, that's not my style but I'm glad you like it and enjoy it. Likewise, I expect (or at least hope) people would do the same for me. I like horror movies and instead of someone saying that they're stupid and dumb and why would people pay money to see that shit - I hope they would tell me that its not really their thing but they're glad I find it appealing, or in the least ask me why I like it instead of dismissing it so bluntly. Now, once you're among like-minded people are you share the same opinion, perhaps then you can be a little more critical without sounding offensive and more importantly without making the ones you care about feel well, like crap. Its a small step, but sometimes enough small steps can make one giant leap...for mankind ;-)