The Hunger Games

Last night Laura and I saw The Hunger Games. I haven't read the books but I really liked the movie.

But throughout some of the film I initially found the premise difficult to believe. I just couldn't fathom that any society would send kids to kill each other.

And then I realized that there is a society that did that, and it is ours. My reasoning is that there are kids currently engaged in that type of violence in the world. For example, child soldiers in Africa.

Of course, we don't revel in that kind of violence the way the spectators do in the Hunger Games, but we also aren't doing much to stop it. Personally, I'm doing nothing to solve it, actually. I know there are various sorts of government programs and efforts to make the world a more peaceful place, but the reality is that in my case I'm apparently okay with a world that is much more violent than that of The Hunger Games.

All this is to say that after thinking about this idea for a little while, the premise of The Hunger Games seemed a lot more believable.

New post

I've been feeling like I want to post something on this blog lately and despite having many thoughts and opinions I just haven't had time to write anything. Writing about Provo literally takes up all my free time.

However, I would like to mention the wonderful spring that we're having here in Utah. Sadly, I have somehow developed allergies for the first time in my life, that's making the spring a bit less pleasant than in previous years, but still.

Also, congrats to my wife Laura for getting a new, more awesome job.

30 Rock Jumped the Shark

There was a period of time when 30 Rock was one of my favorite shows on TV. But no longer. It's gotten to the point that I derive absolutely no pleasure from watching it. The show is boring, nonsensical, and tired. I can't think of any other show that went from so great to so bad.

When Community was temporarily taken off the air, I heard many people say that 30 Rock should have received the ax instead. I wanted to stand up for 30 Rock because, as much as I appreciate the intellectual and post modern acrobatics of Community, I've never really felt like it consistently includes good stories.

Now that 30 Rock is back on the air, I stand corrected. Community is superior to 30 Rock, as are a great many other shows.

Walk-In Closets

Walk-in closets are like the cul du sac of home architecture: temporarily popular, but ultimately a huge waste of space.

People should probably just stop hoarding so much stuff that they (think they) need a walk-in closet, but even if that doesn't happen there are so many better, more versatile ways to store things. Like an armoire, for example.

I would bet money that in not very long, walk-in closets will be way out of vogue, much as city planners now look down on the surreal tract housing neighborhoods that produced the American cul du sacs. For now at least, walk-in closets seem to be a still-popular vestige of the ignominious McMansion.

If I ever remodel my home, I'm not only going to avoid installing walk-in closets, I'm going to rip out the existing small closets. I will only use armoires, and my house will be all the better for it.

Weather

I cannot believe this weather. It's still February and it's like it's spring. So wonderful.

So, the travel blog

Today, somewhere in the world, someone googled the phrase "otter, river tiber, rome" and ended up finding this post, which I wrote a year and a half ago. Nine other people also searched for other assorted phrases and words, mostly city names, and found my Tripping Over the World Blog. It continues to amaze me that it randomly shows up in search results while I do nothing on it.

Brendan Gleeson

In that last post of things I like I mentioned Brendan Gleeson. After I wrote the post, however, I thought I'd expand on that a bit.

Last night, Laura and I watched The Guard, which is a gritty and delightful dark comedy about a cop in rural Ireland who is fighting the drug trade. I'd highly recommend it and, for people like me who cancelled their netflix accounts last year, it's currently in the redbox.

Watching it also reminded me that I can't think of any movie starring Brendan Gleeson that I don't like. He's best known as Mad Eye Moody in the Harry Potter films, but he's also in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York and in the delightful dark comedy In Bruges. Laura and I liked In Bruges so much, in fact, that we actually went to Bruges while we were backpacking through Europe.