the groundhog day project

Nope, no slinky . Just nerds using science to be superheroes. Or maybe I should explain the slinky thing. Except, it's not a. Slinky thing. That name is misleading. The slinky was more important as a metaphor for big, shiny movies that more people go see. The first reason. But the second reason was really just why I chose to write about, or inspired by, Obit. instead of 2004's King Arthur . Watching Obit. I was reminded of how I used to write about obituaries early in the Groundhog Day Project . In retrospect, that came from two things: depression and one of the central conceits of Groundhog Day , the measure of a person. Which is also a necessary part of movies like the new King Arthur: Legend of the Sword , or Big Hero 6 , or The Fifth Element . Korben Dallas is measured and mankind is measured accordingly. King Arthur, especially in Hollywood films insisting on origin stories, must be measured as worthy of being king. (However, the sword-in-the-stone bit sets up a bit t...

I don't think that I will get to the second reason that I brought up the slinky mention from Obit. today. Instead, I have to take advantage of the film I had time to see today. See, today was a busy day, a Mother's Day thing at my sister's house, a few hours of D&D and then dinner and a movie with some of my D&D friends. Then home and it's after 10 o'clock already, and I've got a job interview in the morning and some driving to do, then the usual Monday stuff. But anyway... The film in question tonight: The Fifth Element . Twentieth anniversary screening. And, I remember well seeing it the first time in the theater two decades ago. Only movie I saw that weekend. Not the only movie I saw this weekend. (Saw the new King Arthur and Obit. of course.) And, honestly, there isn't much to say about The Fifth Element that hasn't likely been said many times before in the intervening twenty years. What is worth saying, in terms of recent points I...

I forget to begin as The Fifth Element involves the ancient from 1914 Egypt. We'll jump the the future soon. First, some adorable aliens? cyborgs? robots? (They're not German.) Tiny little heads, giant bodies, and they waddle like penguins. And the madness of The Fifth Element begins. It should be no surprise that so much of this film was in the director's head when he was young. This is like every kid's crazy version of science fiction and fantasy writ large. You've got absolute evil. You've got monsters. You've got a brave hero, a beautiful heroine, comic relief. You've got fantastic visuals and profound concepts shoved into tiny, easy-to-understand boxes. You've got black goo that come out of folk's foreheads when the big evil... thing approaches. Hell, you've even got (briefly) Luke Perry. Okay, maybe Luke Perry is not a part of the quintessential science fiction fantasy world of every (pre-)adolescent.... (Pardon the sexism, but I...

(I imagine that this entry will be short. In a bit of pain at the moment. Waiting for some ibuprofen to kick in. Had some thoughts in the hospital waiting room about this movie, though. Thought I would share.) It occurs to me that Lacuna cannot charge for its service. Part of the thing seems to be that you don't even remember that you went to Lacuna, so they can't have some charge or withdrawal showing up on your bank statement. Or, the procedure must be reserved only for the super rich who can spend money willy nilly. But, the movie does not suggest that this is how it works. In fact, Lacuna and its customers seem like straight working/middle class. I mean, Clem works at Barnes & Noble, not exactly a sign that she's got a lot of cash to throw around. So, I've got three options for Lacuna (not that I am assuming or suggesting that the company actually exists... not for you peons anyway). Option one: obviously, go pro bono. This is a service, get some sponsors...