A must-see!!!

On the other hand,

Circus Circus - hotel not recommended

I just watched this movie with my mom. The movie is about Frank Goode (played by Robert De Niro), who connected telephone wires as a living and have just lost his wife 5 months ago. He attempts to reconnect with his children, Amy (Kate Beckinsale), Robert (Sam Rockwell), Rosy (Drew Barrymore) and David,  as how his wife did when she was still alive. However, he fails to reach his children because all of them are busy with their own lives. He thinks, “If they can’t come to me, I’ll come to them.” so he journeys to surprise his children one by one despite his lung problem.

The movie has a lot of symbolism that the dialogues reveal. Some scenes may seem arbitrary, but as the movie proceeds, the meaning appears. One of the first scenes is when Frank talks to a lady, who stares at the scenery while they’re in a train. Frank asks, “What do you think of my work? You’ve been staring at it for quite some time now.” After a lengthy guessing game, Frank tells the lady that he used to connect telephone wires.  After seeing this scene, one might ask why this was necessary. Actually, the fact that Frank set up the telephone wires as a means of connection/communication is an irony. In their family, Frank proves isolated from the rest of his family because his children are more expressive and open with their mother, and Frank tries to fill that hole due to his wife’s absence. Furthermore, a storm called Alice approaches the east coast. A woman, seating next to Frank in a bus, tells him, “You know the storm Alice? It’s coming. My name is also Alice. It means truth.” This symbol seems more subtle. As the storm becomes nearer, Frank experiences a mild heart attack. During the attack, he dreams of his children when they were younger, gathered with him around the table. He tells them that they have not been telling the truth and tells them that he has guessed what has been going on with his children. Therefore, the truth is somewhat revealed except for what has happened to David. When the storm hits, Frank imagines David and talks to him, and both reach resolution and bid each other farewell.

Frank comes back to a gallery where David’s artworks are displayed and wants to buy one of his son’s paintings. The receptionist tells Frank that the one he wants is already sold, but David painted one especially and more passionately than the others. The woman said that she does not understand the meaning that particular painting, but she knows that it must have been very special. Frank understands. David painted telephone lines. It is then when Frank becomes reconnected with his children.

The movie is also a reminiscent of The Death of a Salesman, where the father’s high expectations of his children distances himself from them. In entirety, the movie is very heartwarming and appealing. It may seem straightforward for some, but there are many subtle elements embedded in the movie that one should watch out for.

(Some quotes may not be accurate.)

Yahoo features Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green’s video that satirizes the CA education budget cuts. The Transformers actress enters a classroom full of students. The students explain that they don’t have teachers, janitors, nurses and ESL assistants due to the cuts. However, the state press secretary denies the governor’s plan on cutting the education budgets:

Aaron McLear, Gov. Schwarzenegger’s press secretary, denied the video’s allegations of school budget cuts, citing widespread misinformation. He said that even in the face of a $20 billion deficit, the governor “has pledged to maintain the same level of funding for education as last year.” (omg.yahoo.com)

Despite the press secretary’s defense, CA schools and universities suffer from cuts. If not, we, the students, won’t have a difficult time adding the classes we need. But instead, we endure the first few weeks of classes crowded in our classrooms because of students, who are attempting to get added in. We are also forced to take classes that we don’t need just to maintain financial aid and to be considered as full-time students. Therefore, instead of denying this fact, the state must accept it and take the criticisms in consideration. Instead of pretending that there is a blind spot over the education cuts, they should ACT NOW.

…we usually use umbrellas or put our hoods over our heads.

But these student nurses in Pierce I saw yesterday chose alternatives since their hands were full.

They had neither umbrellas nor hoods. Nothing to put over/on their heads but…

PLASTIC BAGS.

They put plastic bags on their heads like how characters are suffocated in some horror films. It was the most bizarre way of staying dry…and as if you’ll remain dry by covering your head alone?! But it was hilarious. I couldn’t repress myself when I saw them! Haha.

I wish I took some photos of those two clowns.