Random Ramblings

4) The title of today's post isn't precisely original, nor is the format, but both are apt for the collection of jumbled thoughts I have for today.

8) I may be a jinx. It's rare that my luck often harms others, although my friends in elementary and middle school were quite convinced I was the one offsetting the cool in our group and bringing the rest of them down to my rung of the social ladder. When I posted about my aversion to animal death and suffering, I hope I didn't skew probability. Last week walking back to work at lunch, my friends and I witnessed a very fast bird zip by, with unusual colors. Near as we could tell, it was bright yellow with black wings, and we wondered if someone had lost a pet. It seemed too exotic to be a native of Long Island. After perusing birds online, my best guess is that it was an American Goldfinch. Yesterday walking in to town I happened to glance down on the sidewalk, and see a tiny, flat yellow bird with black wings. I have no idea how it ended up in such a state in the middle of a wide sidewalk, although the town does have little maintenance carts that sometimes drive along there. It was really depressing to see the little guy end up like that. If my writing did somehow lead to that, this very paragraph may be sending out ripples of improbability to the rest of the animal kingdom. It's best I move on.

15) I finally saw 12 Angry Men last night, and I don't mean I ran into the adult incarnations of the guys who used to shake me down for lunch money in the school cafeteria or punch me in the stomach for laughs. I wasn't sure a black-and-white film set almost entirely in one room would hold my attention, but it wasn't long before I was absolutely enthralled. The characters are amazing in their diversity and motivations, and I love how through dialogue alone I had a clear picture of the unseen trial as well as the alleged murder itself. The gaps in my film viewing extend into decades beyond the years I've existed, and I'm certain it was an all-star cast even if Henry Fonda was one of two I'd heard of and Jack Klugman was the only one I recognized. I didn't even recognize him at first, but experienced a familiarity of, “Hey, that guy looks like somebody...” before he started speaking and I connected the dots. I'm debating whether I should bother with the remake, which has an amazing cast of actors I have heard of, or if I shouldn't sully the experience of the original masterpiece. I know there are more than a few movie aficionados and reviewers among my audience; is the remake worth seeing?

16) Is this week dragging for anyone else? Yesterday really felt like a Thursday to me. Time is a funny thing. Maybe it's the fact that it's been raining for nearly a solid week, or anticipation of a long weekend, that's slowing everything down. I usually complain about the opposite, that my life is whizzing by faster and faster. I probably just like to complain.

23) Was it the first Naked Gun in which Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin walks into a restroom at a press conference, and forgets to turn off his microphone? It'd be embarrassing if anyone did something like that in real life, eh Kyra Phillips?
(Hat tip: NYC Nomad)

42)I can't believe Lost wasn't at the Emmys this year. I can't wait for October 4, 2006, for the start of the third season. Soon my brain will be working overtime to decipher the puzzles and mysteries, and make all the connections even as I debate and discuss theories with friends and coworkers. Rey reminded me about Lost and their lack of nominations when he showed me Conan O'Brien's hilarious Emmy opening skit and monologue: