Aug 11 1998

News for 8/11/98

Just a few random thoughts for today:

So, whaddya want for nothin’?

Aug 4 1998

When Life Throws You a Curveball…

Sometimes you have to find the good in a bad situation.

##Make Lemonade

There’s been quite a few wierd/bad things that have happened
lately that I’d like to get down in writing. That way, maybe I’ll remember
how I dealt with it this time and won’t forget how to deal with it next
time.

##RIFs ‘R’ Us

My company just went through a pretty major layoff (30% of of
the workforce totalling about 300 people). This really threw me for a
loop. I haven’t been through this big a restructuring in years, and lots of
good people were let go. Thankfully, I still have my job, otherwise I’d be
screwed.

I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. First off, it couldn’t
come at a worse time. We’re in the middle of getting together a new
product that should take the world by storm (if we ever get it out now).

Second, the conditions here at work have dropped precipitously in terms of
the mood and spirit of morale.

But on the upside, it needed to be done. The market conditions worsened
severely and suddenly leaving the company with a huge revenue gap. If
these measures weren’t taken, I’m not sure how long the company would have
survived.

##Things not to do to a friend

Don’t ever get so involved with a friendship that you loose
sight of the friendship itself. I think “Kahlil Gibran” said it best in is
wonderful book “The Prophet”, in the section “On Friendship”.

When friendship becomes a means to an end rather than an end in and of
itself, everyone suffers. For a friendship to work, there can be no
expectations of what the friendship will bring. It simply must run its
course. If it’s meant to last it will. If it’s not, it won’t.

I fell into the trap of having a friendship be a means to things that were
missing in my life. It started to drive my friend away, and also hurt my
family. I believe I realized this in time and that both my family and my
friendship will come out OK,and possibly even stronger than before. I’ve
heard “That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.” I hope it’s true.

##Houses are a pain in the rear

If you’ve never built a house, don’t. I wish I had listened to some people
who had gone through it and told me to avoid it at all costs, but I didn’t.
You would not believe how much stress is involved. Essentially, you’re at
the mercy of the builders who can do whatever they want whenever they want.

I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to see that things are not coming
together the way they’re supposed to in a timely manner. Promises are made
and broken regularly, only to be made and broken again.

Hopefully at the end of this process, I’ll have a house that’s as close to
my ideal as possible. Then it would all be worth it.

##I’m really trying

I can’t remember when more stressful things have hit me in a shorter
period of time. So what am I going to do about it?

  1. Focus on the solutions, not the problems
  2. Believe in myself and my own worth
  3. Trust in my friendships
Aug 3 1998

Army Of Darkness

Bizarre, stupid, hugely entertaining movie that puts our hero Ash back in the middle ages fighting the deadites.

##Groovy!

Ash is the hero that destroys the evil in Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” series of
movies, and he’s back in the third installment, this time back around the
year 1300. Got that?

##Yo! She-bitch

What makes this movie so much fun is the character of Ash. He’s from today,
but from some other dimension than our own. The dialogue that comes out of
his mouth is so bizarre that you just have to laugh.

Aug 3 1998

Saving Private Ryan

What Steven Spielberg did for the holocaust in *Schindler’s List*, he now does for the soldiers of WWII. A technical masterpiece with jaw dropping cinematography and visceral intensity.

##Genius

What is left to be said about the genius of Steven Spielberg? He’s made
many of the most memorable movies of the last 25 years, and this one is no
exception. In fact, I wonder if we’ll ever see the summit of his talent.
Each time in his career when everyone thought he’d made his Great
American Film, he seems to come up with even more greatness. Remember
*E.T.*. That’s been hailed as a classic for the ages. The Academy
even gave him the Thalberg award for lifetime achievement. Soon after
that, he made *Schindler’s List”. Then he made ”Amistad* and
people thought they’d seen the pinnacle. Then comes *Ryan*.

##Boy am I Glad…

Boy am I glad I wasn’t there. The movie centers around a
group of 8 soldiers that are ordered to find private Ryan whose 3 brothers
have been killed in the war. He’s the sole surving brother, and the brass
up top decides that he should come home.

The film opens with a soft of an elderly man visiting a graveyard looking
for a particular marker. The shot ends with an extreme closeup of his eyes,
and then fades into the beginning of the battle at Omaha Beach.

The scene opens as we see soldiers in landing craft heaving their guts up
preparing to land in the first assault wave. I’ve heard that only 15 of
the first 5000 men to land there survived. After seeing this horrific
retelling of those events, I don’t doubt that number at all.

Slowly but surely the 8 (then 7, then 6, etc.) work their way inside enemy
territory to try and complete their mission.

The movie ends with an extreme closeup of an old pair of eyes, and as the
camera backs up, we see that we’re back to present day and the elderly
gentleman that’s looking at the grave is none other that private Ryan. This
brings us full circle.

##Technical Mastery

I still haven’t figured out how the scenes at Omaha Beach were filmed.
There was just too much going on, and the camera movement was too
continuous (i.e. no edits) that I can’t even imagine the planning and
coordination that went into these shots!

##In conclusion

I highly recommend that everyone see this film. But don’t see because
you’ll enjoy it. It’s not an enjoyable experience, but it could change your
life.