I used to hate Loverboy for the song "Working for the Weekend" 'cause it seemed, well, stupid.
Now, I seem to hum it every Monday as I crawl out of bed at 4am to do traffic reports for 4 hours on two radio stations, and then work on public affairs stuff for another couple of hours after my airshift.
In addition to extra sleep, this weekend I saw two films that were both quite good! The first was Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," and the second was "The Da Vinci Code."
Since I work in the public affairs realm, I get tons of news releases each week about all sorts of things. Before Gore's film came out, "the opposition" was furiously faxing and emailing media requests for interviews with "science experts" who were ready to rip into Al's film to "debunk" all sorts of things that he talks about in what is essentially a lecture he's been giving to selected audiences for the last few years.
I don't study global warming. I'm not an expert on ice core samples from the North Pole. I have no idea how to measure Co2 in the atmosphere and do a comparison with yearly temperatures. But you don't really need a PhD in the sciences to know that pollution levels have an effect on our environment.
Reactionaries love to paint environmental causes as "wacko," because environmental policies often mean a business like the coal industry or the car industry will have to change their business plan so they can stop poisoning the environment we need to live. You know what kind of wacko stuff I'm talking about, right? Self-preservation for us and our children…that kind of wacko stuff.
Needless to say, but I didn't bother with the interview requests.
I won't go into a long rant about the anti-environmental groups, but I will say that Gore's film will make you re-think the way you use products and resources in your day to day.
The second film, "The Da Vinci Code," was better than expected. The reviews have been horrible, but I didn't let that dissuade me from going. Truth be told, I couldn't get into the book. I didn't bother to read beyond page 65, so I really didn't high expectations for the film. But I found the film entertaining (though, predictable in spots). All three principle actors were quite good, but Ian McKellan was the scene-stealer in the latter half of the film. If it wasn't for his performance, the film would have been quite boring.
The controversial message about the origins of early Christianity wasn't all that shocking to me, but I hope the movie will spark another rounds of discussions about the power of women among Jesus' disciples. One can only hope that more people will see that the film's message is one of liberation and balance.
Lastly, if you're ever in Berkeley, CA, give Zax Tavern a try! Despite the fact that they charred my fish (I sent it back), it was a very good place to dine. J has a more detailed review, so I won't bother repeating what she says.
Well, my bloggy friends, that's the weekend! Film, food and fun!
–PK
