Saturday, December 27, 2003
It was my first time to watch that Drew Barrymore movie, Riding in Cars with Boys on HBO. What I thought to be another angsty teeny bopper movie that discusses the pains of growing up turns out to be a poignant story about acceptance and letting go. Because of one night's careless fling Beverly's life took a very different route forcing her to tough it out and, in a way, manipulate those around her in a desperate move to take things under control. Her parents accepted her when she got pregnant during the time when getting a kid out of wedlock caused a big scandal. She grudgingly accepted her fate and sacrificed her dreams in light of this sad reality. Her husband accepted the fact that he was a no good example to his kid and had to let them both go for their sakes. Her kid matured beyond his years in order to cope up with his dysfunctional parents. And years later, her impoverished husband gave her the rights to publish their story without asking for anything, she lets go of her only child to pursue his dreams in college in another state with the girl he grew up with (and the one good thing that's happened in his life as he calls it), and her father finally let go of the past and welcomed her back into his arms after they were distanced from each other some twenty years before. Good movie with a lot of lessons, laughs, and tears. Something you'd watch with your significant other and discussed over some coffee.
Last night's Den meeting was also something good. First of all I got a personalized gift from my good friend Syeri. A small booklet that doubles as a Christmas card with illustrations explaining her search for the perfect gift. Only the usual cast were there last night: me, Lyndon, Jon, and Syeri and we discussed a new project to liven things up a bit. We discussed some initial ideas and plans on how to make it work and hopefully we could drum up some interest among the other members when we announce it in the mailing list. Afterwards Jon and Syeri had to go home and so me and Lyndon were left to discuss a lot of topics running from technology, the future of comics, movies, books, the book he brought titled "God's Debris" by cartoonist Scott Adams. It's a fictional book that disturbs one's comfort zone and traditional thinking. It calls into question one's beliefs about everything, from physics and gravity to evolution and God. Topics tend to lean to atheism, agnosticism, and even buddhism although the book also questioned these too. The author avoids any responsibility for the disturbance by asking the reader to examine his or her beliefs in light of what has been called into question. It was a good discussion all in all, so good in fact we finished near two o'clock in the morning.
Last night's Den meeting was also something good. First of all I got a personalized gift from my good friend Syeri. A small booklet that doubles as a Christmas card with illustrations explaining her search for the perfect gift. Only the usual cast were there last night: me, Lyndon, Jon, and Syeri and we discussed a new project to liven things up a bit. We discussed some initial ideas and plans on how to make it work and hopefully we could drum up some interest among the other members when we announce it in the mailing list. Afterwards Jon and Syeri had to go home and so me and Lyndon were left to discuss a lot of topics running from technology, the future of comics, movies, books, the book he brought titled "God's Debris" by cartoonist Scott Adams. It's a fictional book that disturbs one's comfort zone and traditional thinking. It calls into question one's beliefs about everything, from physics and gravity to evolution and God. Topics tend to lean to atheism, agnosticism, and even buddhism although the book also questioned these too. The author avoids any responsibility for the disturbance by asking the reader to examine his or her beliefs in light of what has been called into question. It was a good discussion all in all, so good in fact we finished near two o'clock in the morning.
@ 12:56 PM ---> 
