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People who are blaming the national debt on President Obama can be described as nothing but ridiculous. It was his predecessor, Former President Bush, who created the debt, spending trillions invading a country we had no business being in, while letting the country slide further and further into recession. After doing so and making no attempt to fix it, he simply handed the torch off to his successor with nothing more than a pat on the back and a “good luck.”
If your house falls into ruin because you had your financial priorities in other frivolous places, the solution to fixing it lies not in cutting spending completely and lamenting the cost of fixing your house. You have to spend money on it in order to fix it. When Bush was pouring money down the drain on Iraq, no one said anything. I guess that sort of spending was fine in the eyes of the people complaining now. But now that Obama is spending money trying to fix American companies and institutions, everyone is up in arms over what they call “out of control spending.”
Are they for real?
A friend posted a video from Rachel Maddow on Facebook, in which she mocked the conservative movement’s rally for a Tax Day Tea Party. I’m all for mocking conservatives because they tend to do all sorts of things that make mocking them easy. However, not being one to simply point and laugh, I became curious to know what all this Tea Party hullabaloo was about. Maddow was right about the GOP currently being in political exile, so up until now, any mention of a Tea Party was essentially the equivalent of the buzzing of a fly. I didn’t find much useful information on the actual Tea Party website. But on her show the following night, Maddow, also not being one to simply point and laugh, looked into some of the motivators behind the Tea Party and came up with this.
I like having my balls licked as much as the next guy, but it seems as if it’s nothing more than irrelevant conservatives throwing another tantrum over Obama winning the presidency. At the same time they are misguidedly trying to associate themselves with the motives of the country’s forefathers and the Boston Tea Party. And ironically, to do so they use sexual terminology that starkly contrasts with the Puritanical image they like to play up. Things really are changing for the conservative base.
That reminds me: I have to file my taxes.
Luck By Chance is in a word, boring. In another word, it feels disjointed. Overall I think the word that should describe it is disappointing. I can’t say that I was excited to watch it because it was Farhan Akhtar’s second film, following hot on the heels of the well liked Rock On!, because I have yet to see Rock On! However I was excited for it when I first saw the trailer for it. I have a soft spot in my heart for Hindi films that have an indie air about them, even if it’s just in the dressing as it is with Luck By Chance. The trailer portrays the movie as a gritty tale of an actor trying to make it in Bollywood. It didn’t display quite the grit of, say Fashion, but it looked promising.
The film follows Vikram Jai Singh, a recent graduate of an acting school in India. Vikram seems to show the only bit of promise in the entire class, and is wished well as he and the others are set loose in the shark infested body of water that is the Mumbai film industry. In his search for success he meets Sona Mishra, a young woman who is also trying to make it as an actress. She keeps taking bit parts with hopes that the producer for whom she keeps working will eventually follow through on his promise to make her a star in his next film. The two find comfort in each other, supporting each other through their struggles, and of course, as is the case between two members of the opposite sex who spend a lot of time with each other, quickly become romantically involved. All this changes when Sona is told by the producer that he can’t do anything for her, and in the process passes Vikram’s picture along to him for reference. Vikram’s luck begins to change for the better as the famous Zafar Khan, played tolerably by Hrithik Roshan, pulls out of the next film by RR productions. None of the big names will agree to replace him, so the producers begin the search for a new face. Through a series of chance encounters, Vikram is chosen to be the new face in Dil Ki Aag. It all soon goes to his head, as people continually dote on him and his co-star quickly falls for him. You can fill in the rest for yourself. Or perhaps you can’t, but even so you’d probably create an ending more interesting than what was written in the script.
The story never seems to properly grip the audience. As the movie reached the intermission, I found that I didn’t really care if the in film producers chose Vikram for a screen test for their film. The character is completely unsympathetic and never does one single thing to make one care about him or what happens to him. I never cheered for him once, from when his friend drunkenly tells him that he’ll never make it in the industry to when his picture was in consideration for the leading role. After he receives his big break, when asked by his co-star if he has a girlfriend, his answer of “no” elicits nothing more than a yawn.
The other characters follow suit, just seeming to exist rather than being defined through their actions in the story. This isn’t to say the film is all bad. It’s two strongest points are Neena, played by the ever lovely Dimple Kapadia, who unfortunately never reaches the level of menace that I think she is meant to convey, and the cameo by Shah Rukh Khan. The King of Bollywood plays himself, providing some important words of wisdom to the now successful Vikram, as well as to anyone on a similar path.
The film ironically parodies its own production, showing what happens when successful industry heads engage in nepotism. It is the directorial debut of Zoya Akhtar, daughter of famous lyricist Javed Akhtar and brother of star Farhan Akhtar, and it shows. She never fully assumes command of the ship and therefore the story and actors meander aimlessly and carelessly. The biggest display of this comes at the end, when the film inexplicably closes up with a focus on one of the supporting characters, who up until that point was never featured as prominently as in the film’s final moments. In movies about film making, actors are frequently comically featured as not having read the script. In this case it appears that the screenwriter herself had not read the script.
Luck By Chance is 156 minutes of wasted potential. It could have been so much better by taking a few guiding hands from outside the Akhtar circle(a point interestingly touched upon by Karan Johar in his cameo), and with its refusal to do so sums up the problem that plagues the bulk of Bollywood. It would be a miracle of chance if you manage to sit through the entire film.
With 2008 gone and having been completely unsatisfying, it is time to look to 2009 and examine how we can better ourselves at the individual level. It is only after this that we can better ourselves at the collective level. So here are the ways in which I will seek to better myself.
1. Stop wearing jeans to bed.
I have a feeling this may be contributing to early wear of the knee.
2. Create a daily habit of writing.
It is not enough to have an idea and then let it percolate for months before finally sitting down to write it out. Writers write. So if I want to tell people that I’m a writer, I must write everyday.
3. Create a daily habit of exercise.
Now that my gym membership is kaput, it is up to me and me alone to stay fit. My yoga mats, push up grips, dumbbells, and pull up bar will not go to waste. My Dhoom 2 poster must go up on the wall today as motivation to attain Mr. A’s physique.
4. Eat breakfast.
The most important meal of the day. ‘Nuff said.
5. Resume habit of drinking water.
I’m not really sure why I stopped drinking water when I got laid off. Suicide by dehydration? Anyway, start the day with agua, fill the day with agua, and end the day with agua. I may have to get up three times a night to take a piss, but my body will thank me.
6. Resume habit of reading books.
Five books in an entire calendar year is totally unacceptable for a bookworm and aspiring writer like myself. I’m not sure when I started viewing a book as a chore, but I need to change that. Perhaps start with something mindless or enjoyable, or both. I need to remember what it’s like to enjoy a book.
7. Finish 3 video games before buying another one. This applies to downloaded titles as well. This does not apply to heavily discounted new* or used titles.
I should not be allowed to go into a video game store or the video game section of a store without responsible supervision. Otherwise, things like the Tomb Raider/Fallout 3/Force Unleashed or Rock Band 2/Mirror’s Edge/Saints Row 2 fiascos are liable to repeat themselves. I stopped buying comics and thought that was a great way to save money. But then I bought a Wii. The Wii release schedule of awesome games ran dry so I thought “cool, I can save some money. But then Metal Gear Solid 4 came out and I bought a Playstation 3 which had an amazing release schedule of awesome games. Now I have a ridiculous amount of games for having had the system for such a short time. So much for saving money. I guess I don’t feel bad about spending the money, because if not games, I probably would have spent it on something else. I traded in my Xbox and bought an Xbox 360. Returning that was the smartest decision I’ve made so far. Buying two major consoles in a year says nothing but “I’m ridiculous.” I also couldn’t look at myself in the mirror knowing I paid 200 bucks for a Microsoft product. I will wait until I have the required amount in trade-in credit at Gamestop.
8. Finally learn design/video/music software in a manageable and methodical approach.
The books on my shelf are collecting dust. This is unacceptable to me. I must choose one, see it through and move on to the next. Where to begin….. Photoshop, Motion, Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, After Effects, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, InDesign, Soundtrack, GarageBand, Reason, Logic Express, Logic Pro. I think I’ll start with Photoshop since I have the most experience with that. Also, according to this book, I can teach myself UNIX in 24 hours. So I will.
9. Move out of the house, whether it’s to Vancouver for film school, or to Seattle or New York for life school.
Living at home with my parents is driving me crazy. Living in Fremont is driving me crazy. Being in the Bay Area is driving me crazy. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Bay Area, but in the same way I love my parents. I love them to death, and wouldn’t let anyone talk shit about them except for me, but I just can’t be around them all the time. So here’s hoping the loan is approved. If not, then I will find a way to get myself to Manhattan or Seattle and set up shop there.
10. Be a little more frugal.
This does not mean to imply that I’m trying to become cheap. I just don’t want to keep buying things I don’t need. I have lots of books. I must read them before I buy more. I have lots of video games. I must complete them before I buy more. I have enough clothes. They must fall apart before I buy more. As someone I love once told me, “simplify.” Then I can afford to do things like travel. Or something.
There you have it. My list of New Year Resolutions for 2009. Nothing extravagant. Nothing unrealistic. All require effort and dedication.
Here’s to me. And to you. Happy New Year!
Unemployment sucks. Well, no it doesn’t. Not really. Now I have time to do the things I daydreamed about doing while I was at my job. So now it’s time to do them. And just so we’re clear, what are these things that I would rather have been doing while I was wearing a lab coat? OK, well there are things I want to do and things I need to do.
The things I want to do are: 1) work on the screenplays/stories I’ve been toying around with for the past year; 2) learn how to play the guitar that I bought almost two years ago; 3) play video games; 4) catch up with my Netflix queue; 5) watch porn; 6) get caught up with my new reading hat*.
The things I need to do are: 1) buy wall mount shelves; 2) sort through my magazines; 3) get some sort of appropriate storage for the bare hard drives that are laying around; 4) set up my new laptop as a Final Cut Pro/Adobe Creative Suite station; 5) set up my Mac Mini as a proper media server; 6) cancel my magazine subscriptions; 7) take care of a few loose ends that are still hanging on from LA; 8.) install wall mount shelves.
It took me a week to finally send my passport in to be renewed, but I’m glad I got that taken care of so I can have it in the event I decide to go to Australia in January. My plan to visit NY in December was effectively castrated. Perhaps I’ll visit in January the week before Obama’s inauguration. I think that might be a better idea than visiting during the holiday season. Plus it’ll be closer to my birthday time, and I can celebrate my birthday in NY and treat myself to a tour of Alex Grey’s gallery, which I totally missed out on the last time I was there. I hope Net of Being is still on display. What else do I want to do in NY? See a few musuems (MOMA, Natural History, Ellis Island), see the Statue of Liberty, visit Ground Zero, jog/do yoga in Central Park, visit Columbia and NYU. I think I can do all that in a week. Definitely have to play video games with Saro too. We always talk about that shit, but I don’t think I’ve ever played with the guy.
I gave myself a week from today to write the script for the Drunk Darth Vader Attack sketch. That’s going to be my project for the week. In addition I’ll add one thing from the “need to do” list. Let’s see. Hmmmm. Buy wall mount shelves. Yeah. That’s a good one. Note that “buy” and “install” regarding the shelves are two separate action items.
Yes, I realize that this was neither acidic, nor a dream. But you have to write a lot of nothing before you can get something.
* I took most of the books off my shelf that I’ve already read, leaving behind the ones I haven’t read. I then wrote down the titles of each on little strips of paper and placed the strips in a hat. You get the idea. The first name drawn was Stephen King’s “The Stand.”
