He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.
And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
- Friedrich Nietzsche
I have no idea if the creators behind the latest movie “Batman – The Dark Knight” even looked at the above quote before making the movie however, the quote seems to fit the character of Batman and the circumstances we currently face.
A friend of mine called me after we went to the midnight showing and asked “What did you think?” I couldn’t find the words but he spat out “I think it replaces the Godfather as my favorite movie.” And believe it or not, for me, it might replace the Lord of the Rings series as, in my little world, the best movie.
Purposefully, I waited a few days to write my review. I didn’t want the afterglow of such a wonderful movie going experience to taint what should be written. However, the further I get away from Thursday night, the more I love the movie.
On line and in print, you will read glowing reviews of Christian Bale and Heath Ledger’s performances. Indeed, it is sad that Ledger will never hear the praise of his performance. I am sure that on set, he knew he was redefining the character of the Joker. Recall that the Joker we saw as children was a silly clown (Cesar Romero in the television series) or an annoying aged villain (Jack Nicholson).
But Ledgers Joker is different. He’s insanity and anarchy. He’s sublime and intelligent. He’s scary but so damn interesting. He forces leaders, heroes, and real people to make the difficult choices they avoid making on a daily basis. He is what we want to avoid being but yet we can not help but wonder what it would be like to be so reckless.
Batman quickly realizes that he is dealing with a different kind of evil…an insane evil that understands no boundaries nor cares for boundaries; everyone is fair game. Slowly you see Batman staring at the abyss; he understands to defeat the Joker he must visit a place in his soul he tries desperately to avoid.
The more you dwell upon the decisions Batman makes, you quickly see the decisions we, as a people, have been avoiding. Should we allow our country to wire tap our cell phone conversations? Should we use evil to defeat evil? It seems our government has made those decisions. How sad is it that our country has defended the use of water boarding against terrorist suspects? We are becoming what we have stated so loudly that we want to defeat! This is America! We should be held to a higher standard. We are the shining light that the rest of the world looks to in the darkest of times and yet, here we are, staring at the abyss…becoming the monster that is trying so hard to destroy us.
I know, the last paragraph sounds preachy in a movie review however it is not that hard to see the similarities after you walk out of the movie. I have no clue if the creators of this latest movie had those intentions (I have avoided all the other reviews and hype) however, you really have to be a total dunce to not get the significance of Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon’s comment about the hero we deserve.
We got ourselves into this mess; only we can get out of it. But do we need to walk down the dark paths of hell to show how better we are than the bad guys?
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
It's Restaurant Review Time!
Machiavelli's
The ends did not justify the meal!
While on a nice walk down State Street (Bristol Va/Tn) a couple of months ago, we came upon a sign that advertised an Italian restaurant coming soon.
A sign on their window advertised a Brick Oven.
We waited with anticipation, and finally, the restaurant opened 2 weeks ago. Excited, we decided to eat there last Friday.
The first impression was that it’s not a regular corner 'pizza place' that sells by the slice. We were seated in a dark dining room. At first it seemed classy and romantic but soon we found it too dark.
There were a lot of things we found wrong with the establishment (but maybe we can excuse some because it's a new restaurant).
For one thing, we were unable to order mixed drinks because they have yet to obtain their liquor license. Like I said, it just opened and so maybe that’s why they haven't received their license yet? So, we ordered Heineken bottles. We drank them with dinner and when we ordered a second bottle, we were informed they were out. This exposes an oversight in supply. Early on a Friday evening, they should not be running out of popular brands of beer!
The menu is small but that is often the case with new restaurants. We expect the menu to expand as the restaurant clientele grows.
We started with a Bruschetta as our appetizer. A Bruschetta (pronounced Bru-Skeh-Tah) is basically, toasted slices of Italian bread topped with diced tomato, and often cheese.
The Bruschetta were good. They were warm and toasty as should be. We were served about 9 slices on a plate which is an ample amount to have as an appetizer or even a small meal itself.
Next, our Caesar Salad arrived. Crisp lettuce, seasoned croutons and creamy Caesar dressing made up our salad. It was nothing fancy but I was very fond of the dressing. However, most real Italian restaurants will offer anchovies on their Caesar salads; this restaurant did not give us that option. Additionally, it was topped with breadsticks that tasted as if they came out of a package (think Stella D’Oro)
Brick Oven pizza is delicious and I have indulged in it before. Needless to say, we ordered a pizza, a Margherite Pizza to be exact. In case you have never tried one, a Margherite pizza is a simple pizza topped with fresh mozzarella cheese and instead of sauce, is topped with slices of fresh tomato. While it sounds plain, a Margherite pizza should have flavor.
The pizza arrived and the first thing I noticed though was the absence of blisters. A good brick oven pizza should have nice blackened blisters where the cheese bubbled and the dough baked. It looked all right but taste is the real test. Once we bit into the pizza, we noticed that the dough overwhelmed the taste of the pizza. We expected a thin crispy crust; however we found it "bready." The tomatoes that topped the pizza were bland.
One of the positive things about this restaurant was the pricing. The prices were fair, however, I would be willing to pay more for better tasting pizza.
Finally, the atmosphere was to put it bluntly, dull. For a Friday evening, it was quiet. The music that was playing was the elevator imitation of Maroon 5. The restaurant seemed to be pretentious. If it wants to survive in Bristol, it will need to tone down the uppity attitude and lighten up the atmosphere.
For me, the best place in Bristol to get a fresh pizza is Bella’s. The service there may be slow however, it still produces the best pizza in town.
The ends did not justify the meal!
While on a nice walk down State Street (Bristol Va/Tn) a couple of months ago, we came upon a sign that advertised an Italian restaurant coming soon.
A sign on their window advertised a Brick Oven.
We waited with anticipation, and finally, the restaurant opened 2 weeks ago. Excited, we decided to eat there last Friday.
The first impression was that it’s not a regular corner 'pizza place' that sells by the slice. We were seated in a dark dining room. At first it seemed classy and romantic but soon we found it too dark.
There were a lot of things we found wrong with the establishment (but maybe we can excuse some because it's a new restaurant).
For one thing, we were unable to order mixed drinks because they have yet to obtain their liquor license. Like I said, it just opened and so maybe that’s why they haven't received their license yet? So, we ordered Heineken bottles. We drank them with dinner and when we ordered a second bottle, we were informed they were out. This exposes an oversight in supply. Early on a Friday evening, they should not be running out of popular brands of beer!
The menu is small but that is often the case with new restaurants. We expect the menu to expand as the restaurant clientele grows.
We started with a Bruschetta as our appetizer. A Bruschetta (pronounced Bru-Skeh-Tah) is basically, toasted slices of Italian bread topped with diced tomato, and often cheese.
The Bruschetta were good. They were warm and toasty as should be. We were served about 9 slices on a plate which is an ample amount to have as an appetizer or even a small meal itself.
Next, our Caesar Salad arrived. Crisp lettuce, seasoned croutons and creamy Caesar dressing made up our salad. It was nothing fancy but I was very fond of the dressing. However, most real Italian restaurants will offer anchovies on their Caesar salads; this restaurant did not give us that option. Additionally, it was topped with breadsticks that tasted as if they came out of a package (think Stella D’Oro)
Brick Oven pizza is delicious and I have indulged in it before. Needless to say, we ordered a pizza, a Margherite Pizza to be exact. In case you have never tried one, a Margherite pizza is a simple pizza topped with fresh mozzarella cheese and instead of sauce, is topped with slices of fresh tomato. While it sounds plain, a Margherite pizza should have flavor.
The pizza arrived and the first thing I noticed though was the absence of blisters. A good brick oven pizza should have nice blackened blisters where the cheese bubbled and the dough baked. It looked all right but taste is the real test. Once we bit into the pizza, we noticed that the dough overwhelmed the taste of the pizza. We expected a thin crispy crust; however we found it "bready." The tomatoes that topped the pizza were bland.
One of the positive things about this restaurant was the pricing. The prices were fair, however, I would be willing to pay more for better tasting pizza.
Finally, the atmosphere was to put it bluntly, dull. For a Friday evening, it was quiet. The music that was playing was the elevator imitation of Maroon 5. The restaurant seemed to be pretentious. If it wants to survive in Bristol, it will need to tone down the uppity attitude and lighten up the atmosphere.
For me, the best place in Bristol to get a fresh pizza is Bella’s. The service there may be slow however, it still produces the best pizza in town.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Green Screen Challenge
Wow! I failed to realize how long it has been since I've blogged. So much has happened within the past few weeks and I have had little time to write down my thoughts.
My move to NY has been delayed due to my brother's recent dismissal from the newspaper. The whole mess is just a huge farce but it goes to show people how the joke of office politics can play into your career. I am confident that he will find something in the next few months but until then, thanks to his former company, my relocation plans are on hold.
Fortunately, Ivan is down here for a few weeks. If everything works out ok, I should be heading back up to New York my birthday week for some job fairs and interviews.
In the mean time, I am grateful for what I do have...a good career and wonderful friends. Oh, and a supportive partner!
Here's something to make everyone laugh...well maybe except John McCain. Unfortunately for McCain, he does not look fetching in green, or in front of it. Our hero, Stephen Colbert has issued the Green Screen Challenge to help McCain look more, uhm, interesting. What people have created has been down right hilarious. Here is my favorite:
Strike A Pose!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9jA-FGGd8&feature=related
My move to NY has been delayed due to my brother's recent dismissal from the newspaper. The whole mess is just a huge farce but it goes to show people how the joke of office politics can play into your career. I am confident that he will find something in the next few months but until then, thanks to his former company, my relocation plans are on hold.
Fortunately, Ivan is down here for a few weeks. If everything works out ok, I should be heading back up to New York my birthday week for some job fairs and interviews.
In the mean time, I am grateful for what I do have...a good career and wonderful friends. Oh, and a supportive partner!
Here's something to make everyone laugh...well maybe except John McCain. Unfortunately for McCain, he does not look fetching in green, or in front of it. Our hero, Stephen Colbert has issued the Green Screen Challenge to help McCain look more, uhm, interesting. What people have created has been down right hilarious. Here is my favorite:
Strike A Pose!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G9jA-FGGd8&feature=related
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