a machine that generates empathy
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The title for today's entry is how Roger Ebert describes film in Life Itself , the documentary about his life. (It's also the title of his memoir. The quotation that starts this entry, on the other hand, is the closing line of The Great Gatsby , a line mentioned in Life Itself .) I had considered a couple other titles for today's entry. I started my day watching People, Places, Things , a nice indie film starring Jemaine Clement that touched on some old wounds for me; it's about a couple breaking up and than having some conflicts over their kids, their lives, etc., but really it's about Jemaine Clement's character trying to get on with his life. And, the first title I wrote down today was a line of his: Happiness is not really a sustainable condition. Thoughts of a rant about depression--or Depression; I've made that distinction before--here in this blog. But--a...