trinacriabob

I spent ages 4 through 8 in a small town located 40 miles from where Cinema Paradiso was filmed. I "knew" every one of the characters. There is so much depth -- and there are a lot of messages, most of them might only hold meaning to people from the area who lived those experiences...like my parents and even me, to some extent, since I understand the context. When I saw it on the plane, I was just flying back after accompanying my mom over there as I wanted to get her away from her surroundings since my dad had died 3 months prior. I had seen it way before, but the circumstances on this viewing made it a lot heavier to deal with.

Southern accents are cool...when they're calling Dr. Laura. Great stuff to listen to. Ebonics are even cooler. Ebonics is all about contractions and shortcuts. Ama = I am or I am going to such as in "Ama kick yo' ass." "Where you stay at?" means "Where do you live?" Any verb ending in "ing" "Ooh, she be actin' crazy" Anything ending in "ool" "She in schoo" "Oh, he so coo" "He be actin' a foo" Best phrase of them all - 2 black girls by the candy machine between freshman and sophomore year in college (class taken at a CSU campus, sure as hell not at my college). All I heard was: "I know he fine, but you have a man...and he black." And you gotta put the inflection to it, if you know what I mean. Evidently one of them was stuck on some non-black dude. I still laugh thinking about it. Ebonics is obnoxious in terms of how incorrect it is, but all of those black sitcoms couldn't fly without them.

There's a happy medium. I will buy nice things...but only on sale. To put around after work or on weekends, a college t-shirt, some $22 CK jeans from Costco and some tennis shoes from Big 5 or thongs are sufficient. To go to work, I will get some Bill Blass stuff or whatever Macy's has that is fairly timeless and do it through a sale or the outlets. I believe in buying stuff that will hold up for a while in terms of applicability. I have neither the time nor the interest in following fashion. I have never bought a GQ or similar magazine... I don't need to be told what to wear. I think that when we start giving these magazines the clout to give us a list of "shoulds" (you should look like this, dress like this), then there will little to blur us from women (who seem to buy into that stuff and give reason to a whole parade of useless magazines to exist). By the way, Croc, you spelled cotton incorrectly. Get with the program. :AH-HA_wink:

Who do you hang out with? That falls under Ebonics. And you don't want to get me going down that path because I love that stuff.

Not a fan at all. Wouldn't touch their overpriced $h! with a 10 foot pole. Have never paid retail for nice threads. Can you spell o-u-t-l-e-t? Just taking any opportunity to catch a grammatical/spelling faux pas executed by my good buddy PB, especially when it butchers my native tongue.

Snatched a rental GP for the weekend and went to Chico CA to visit a friend I used to work with who took a job there. We went to the cineplex for the bargain matinee and saw "Brokeback Mountain." It was the first movie I'd seen since "Sideways"...so it's been a while...duh, like a year. Amazingly, in a college town, most of the audience were 50+ married couples and a smattering of 20-somethings. The audience was extremely quiet...you could have heard a pin drop. It is a thought provoking and excellently crafted and acted film. There is no doubt about that. The creator of this film uses silence effectively to convey messages. In so many scenes, no words are spoken. Peoples' expressions speak volumes. In general, the film is bleak. That is set up early on when you see the dusty streets, the dingy trailer in the Wyoming town and the rumbling of the freight train. The first human interaction is the surly rancher in the trailer. Also, this is a movie about two guys who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Their lives are definitely an uphill climb. I wonder how much power the film would have had if it occurred in an upper middle class suburb of Denver or Baltimore. Probably not much. While the controversy centers around the purported sexual tension in the film, one can take away a lot of messages that are larger than that. The film frames people in a very lonely context...it's about the hunger emanating from loneliness and drastic measures some people will take. It really drives home that we enter this world alone and we leave this world alone. The other theme is how different people choose to process adversity in their lives. Ennis operates in "shut down" mode, probably the result of his difficult childhood. (Known anybody who lost both parents at a young age? I do. It's a scar most do not overcome easily). Not surprisingly, he turns inward with adversity. The more outgoing/good-ole-boyish Jack processes his trials in an outward manner. There's enough proof of that. The supporting cast was awesome. Alma operates in "shut down" mode to survive her ordeal and keep things together. Plus, it's obvious she really loves Ennis. Jack's wife is in "shut down" mode for other reasons. I think her satisfaction in life comes from less substantial things to begin with. How a well bred Tri Delta of means and a rodeo dilettante hook up is beyond me and the film doesn't address that very well. But the film does not need to spoon feed all of the connections - it can be done inferentially. It also leaves some questions unanswered (Jack's parents and their dynamics, the phone call Ennis made and the basis for that "vision" -- extremely disturbing), as if that is your homework. Ok, now, given some of the previous posts, don't beat me up for the following: Many exceptional films chronicle same-sex friendships with incredible skill and poignancy. Here, I saw an incredible friendship more so than the sexual antics. Yet most of those other firms do not "sexualize" the friendship while still conveying deep affection and fondness. However, that is part of the plot and the tempest it sets off, so you respect the author's/creator's design for the story. This film left me kind of numb...the same way I left the theater after "American Beauty" and "Sideways." These films all deal with how the characters process their needs, insecurities and problems within themselves and how it impacts others in their lives. Some of you were very jarred by "Brokeback." The most powerful film I have ever seen was "Cinema Paradiso" (foreign, 1989, subtitles) and it is the only one I recall that brought on the tears... and I did my best to downplay this in the dark cabin on a transatlantic flight between Rome and Toronto---it hit way, way too close to home. I spent a lot of time doing character analysis with that one too. In short, the above are all "heavy" films. They were all excellent, yet there is no repeat performance. Second sittings require that the film have more levity.

I'd like to think I speak "standard broadcast English" (no accent, clean pronunciation) so certain expressions bug me: Low end: Irregardless - actually, it's now an accepted word, though it shouldn't be Mid-range: He or she (singular) is "good people" - that is asinine Drum roll: Across pronounced "acrost." Where the f*** is there a "t" at the end? I never heard this in So Cal but I have heard it in Nor Cal and the Pac NW. I am wondering if it is an importation from the Donner Party days when people from the interior were migrating out West and it was handed down through the generations. Any expressions or word construction that bug you?

Really happy to hear of great experiences with GM cars. Their strong point seem to be the powertrains with most of you citing how smoothly your engines are running in the high mileage ranges. In fact, I still think about the M/T article where they pitted the (then new) Intrigue against a Camry and a Maxima and the Intrigue got the nod. Everyone I have ever talked to at a gas station or a dealership loves their Intrigue and some had transferred over from foreign brands. At over 220,000 miles, my engine oil comes out gold and last week the tranny fluid (during a servicing) was pink with no abnormalities/shavings reported in the pan. Some of you have only talked about some trim issues and an electric glitch or two. That's primarily what I have had as my car nears 14 years of service. Why buy foreign? I don't get it.

That's a thought. How far of a ride from home to work? Me. I'm 2.8 miles away. I'm thinking of walking except I'm doing 50 to 55 a week now and don't like to walk when it's dusk. I'll just make my contribution by driving 6s and 4s.

Dolce and Gabbana...close.

I'm talking models that are slightly up there in age and have a few miles on them.

The big Olds with its engine is supposed to be bullet proof. What happened that caused the block to crack?

Happy Birthday, Variance! Enjoy!

I have to laugh at all this talk about how many gears in the auto trans. I just had my GM car's 4 spd auto trans serviced at a blended dealership that has some high line European imports. True, the 6 speed is the order of the day with those cars. Now, I am thinking. In 70s and 80s cars, when you had to overhaul a 3-spd rear drive auto trans, it cost less than $ 700. A 4-spd trans costs about twice that ...which I don't want to experience and that's why I service my trans fluid and filter every 20,000 miles. So, how much would it cost to overhaul to 5 or 6 speed automatic transmission or transaxle? Now, do you still want one?

I work with a guy who holds the high mileage claim in our office. He has a 90 Camry 4 cyl with 242,000 miles....original. Not far behind, I have my 92 Regal 3800 coupe with 221,000 miles. We are the only 2 in the 200,000 mile club. At any rate, I rode in his car to a job site last week. What a piece of crap. I thought Camries were supposed to ride smoothly, quietly and be well put together. Not this Camry...noisy engine, unremarkable ride and the usual assortment of squeaks and rattles. In short, my Regal runs circles around this car in how quiet and smooth it is. I got out of his car thinking how glad I am to drive an American vehicle.

Man, Reg, I can tell what FIELD you're in based on your analysis.

I think those are good choices. I lived in Atlanta for 2 years. I liked it A LOT .... very clean and green, brick homes instead of the stucco I grew up with, a lot of nice and with-it people. Every once in a while when I'd fly back to see Mom and Dad (then living in L.A.), I would get a numb/sick feeling when the plane took off from LAX and then turned eastward, watching the Pacific Ocean disappear. I would be landlocked in 4 hours. The consolation: Florida wasn't too far away and the Gulf beaches in the Panhandle are absolutely stunning...something unknown to the average American.

OK, fess up, what did Mamma make for your birthday? Or, what will she be making?

Buon compleanno, anche se non mi hai mai dato l'occasione di chiacchiarare con te nella lingua madre. Divertiti oggi.

I know very few UPTIGHT Catholics, thank God! Most of them are pretty laid back. Also, your brand of Catholicism is also determined by where it hails from. There are definitely no uptight Italian and Spanish Catholics that I know of. I would say that some of the more right wing views toward morality come from certain Protestant sects while some are very liberal. Look at the Anglicans/Episcopalians --- liberal.

Sophomoric can be good. Hey, cmattson, How do you make pickled bread? Answer: With dill dough.

What??? You did??? :AH-HA_wink: No more road trips for you, Sixty8.

I don't like recent Boz Scaggs stuff. The voice isn't as slick and velvety as it was when he was in his prime and the instrumental parts are weaker. He now shows up at Konocti Harbor on Clear Lake CA, at Caesars Tahoe and at the Nugget in Reno. I doubt if he fills up the place, but I would go. Is that what he is, R&B? I would have thought just basic pop.

Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do Suzanne Vega "Tom's Diner" Primal scream: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Talk about getting on your nerves

Someone who has identified one of my biggest pet peeves. You can pay with the CC, write ONE check later and collect frequent flyer points in the process. I don't get it either and I've pointed it out tho the check writers. They give me a perplexed look. Yes. It's ALWAYS women. Guys don't carry checkbooks. Mine stays in a desk in the den.