The New World

The New World was the most boring movie ever. I'm not sure why it got such good reviews. To make things worse, Lolo and I split a bottle of wine before the movie and I had done intervals at the gym. Too bad Lolo was sitting so far away from me, otherwise I would have fallen asleep on her shoulder. I'd like to add that Christian Bale is so much cuter than Colin Farrell. I don't like Colin Farrell's sleazy, slicked-back-hair look. No wonder Pocahontas choose Christian Bale.

Match Point

I saw Match Point with Lolo last night -- it was a really interesting movie, the kind that makes you go hmmm, but leaves you a bit unsettled at the same time. Obviously there are spoilers, so don't continue reading if you want to see the movie. My favorite part of the movie was the choice of music actually. The opera music was a nice touch in scenes where they weren't at the opera and I liked how intense the music got when Chris killed Noella. I also really liked the tennis motif about how the ball can bounce forward or backward when it hits the net and how that can be the deciding factor in a match. When this motif is mentioned again, and the ring bounces backward, away from the river, I thought that it was supposed to be bad luck and was genuinely surprised when it turned out to be good luck. The movie is unsettling because Chris got away with two murders and his wife never found out about his affair. I also got the impression that Chris did everything for purely selfish reasons, making the movie more unsettling (I guess I just really like my happy endings). One really negative thing about the movie is the scene where Noella and her neighbor come back to life. This scene is very undeveloped and sticks out like a sore thumb -- though in the movie's defense, those scenes are hard to do right... Overall, I liked the movie -- it was fun to watch and listen to the opera music.

Is something wrong with me?

A number of news sources have been stating that the confirmation of Alito is inevitable and that Alito, since he tiptoed around the abortion question, likely does not believe that abortion is settled law. So recently, a number of columnists have been speculating what the Alito confirmation means for women's rights. I am pro-choice and whole-heartedly back a woman's right to choose in every situation. I do not believe that this right should be restricted in any way. Therefore, I do not think that a woman should have to get her parents' or her husband's consent before she has an abortion and I do not think that partial-birth abortions should be banned (yes I do have a heart for you conservatives reading my blog). Despite this, I do not find my heart-breaking over an Alito confirmation because of what it means for abortion rights. As a social liberal and a feminist (and yes I do shave my legs -- that has nothing to do with feminism), I would have thought that I would be more bothered by what the change in the Supreme Court means for women's reproductive rights. Perhaps I think that Roe v. Wade couldn't be easily overturned since a majority of the public backs it or perhaps I think that overturning Roe v. Wade wouldn't mean the end of abortion. Perhaps I have a hard time identifying with abortion, because it seems so far removed from my life right now. Maybe fighting over abortion rights seems so silly when I read articles in the New York Times detailing the widespread practices of female genital mutilation and virginity testing.

Beauty and the Geek

Apparently the WB has this show called "Beauty and the Geek", where socially-challenged men (the geeks) are paired up with academically-impaired women (the beauties) and compete in a series of contests... It got me thinking, why isn't it the other way around, where the women are the geeks and the men are the beauties?

Has Laura Bush lost all her marbles?

Laura Bush backs Condoleezza Rice for president.

Alito confirmation hearings

I find the Alito confirmation hearings a complete waste of time. Alito's job during the hearings is to reveal as little information (about his real opinions) as possible so that he will get confirmed. I find it really hard to believe that Alito does not know how he would have ruled on Bush v. Gore. Anyone with any sort of legal inclination knows how they would rule on such a case! I also find it hard to believe that Alito didn't much about the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, didn't participate in any of the activities, yet wrote it on his resume. A lot of what he says doesn't add up. I also didn't like when the 1985 memo for the Reagan administration (in which he seemed very anti-Roe) came up, he said something like he was telling a potential employer what they wanted to hear. Very slimy indeed!

Two Articles on Procrastination I Found Particularly Interesting...

The first is a general article by Paul Graham that is short and applies to many things in life (not just research). The second is by the great Richard Hamming and is longer and is more limited to research. I found both really interesting, though I admit I did not finish the Hamming article, but will soon.

My favorite part of the Graham article, "But the trouble with big problems can't be just that they promise no immediate reward and might cause you to waste a lot of time. If that were all, they'd be no worse than going to visit your in-laws. There's more to it than that. Big problems are terrifying. There's an almost physical pain in facing them. It's like having a vacuum cleaner hooked up to your imagination. All your initial ideas get sucked out immediately, and you don't have any more, and yet the vacuum cleaner is still sucking."

Thanks to Sean for pointing me to these articles.