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Movie Review: Up in the Air

"Make no mistake. Your relationships are the heaviest components in your life. All those negotiations, and arguments and secrets and compromises. The slower we move, the faster we die. Make no mistake: Moving is living."

In Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air,” Clooney’s Ryan Bingham preaches the line above at one of his motivational talks. He is a shark among men, believing that movement and lightening one’s backpack is essential to survival. Not to knock either film, but with ten-foot tall blue aliens (Avatar) and kids’ fare (The Princess and the Frog) eating up the box office, it’s wonderful to have a smart, witty and emotionally revealing film out during the holidays. My wife and I had the pleasure of seeing “Up in the Air,” and I’m glad we did. I’ll skirt away from the in-depth plot points, but here’s the gist: Ryan Bingham flies around the country more than 320 days out of the year, going in to companies and being the heavy. His job is to let employees go. He’s a terminator. Young upstart, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick who plays Angela in the Twilight films) has worked it all out. She has devised a plan to use video/headsets to virtually fire employees all around the country from the Omaha home office saving the company that both she and Ryan work for millions of dollars. The problem: Just as Ryan has crossed paths with a woman just like himself, he’s being grounded.

What plays out on screen is heartfelt and filled with depth of character and emotion. Clooney’s acting chops are a pleasure to behold. His suave attitude as he clashes with Kendrick’s young and inexperienced Natalie is Oscar worthy. Time and time again, characters wonder aloud: What is the point? What is the point of marriage, of our connections, friendships and our relationships? These questions are asked and then juxtaposed against those who are being fired. Who’s had 13 years of service at a company and is fired? Or saved the company millions? Fired. Clooney is detached from the emotional world as he fires dozens of people and sees their deepest selves on display while he glides from kiosk to kiosk with his gold cards and membership perks to remain adrift emotionally.

The heaviest components in our lives are our relationships. Yet the answers we are given in this film are not as simple and trite as you might expect from Hollywood. Sometimes there are no simple answers. Love, trust and commitment are hard work and each of us has a choice. To fly among the clouds, never truly connecting and feeling or--jumping in, getting wet and truly living. What unfolds on screen is light enough to be enjoyable during this holiday season yet filled with enough substance that you’ll be glad you took in this film. For in the end, are we social animals or are we sharks, preying up the world never stopping for lack of movement means death? Do yourself a favor and go see this film. Clooney’s role alone is worth the price of admission. And, if you’re open, you might just learn a little bit about yourself. Who are you: Emotionally detached from people or have you truly embraced the people in your life? Hopefully, you’ll find where you are on the loner/joiner spectrum and question why you’re there.

The Case of the Missing Baby Jesus: Christmas 2009

Do you see this picture of baby Jesus? How He's reaching out to you, wanting to be put in the creche where He belongs? Yeah, it grabbed my heart strings too. There's an injustice that is taking place each Christmas season in my home and I will not stand for it any longer. I am choosing to stand up, revolt and to take matters into my own hand! What am I talking about? Let me explain.

When you are young and you meet the love of your life, there are many discussions the two of you have. You ask each other about your favorite colors, music, foods, movies and even what your blood types are, but there's one question that's never brought up--until it's too late. Yes, I'm talking about what you and your family's tradition is regarding the nativity scene underneath the Christmas tree. You see, if I had been dating a Jewish woman, I would know where she stood. I wouldn't have had to ask the question, but that's the insidiousness of this issue: You can't assume. You just can't assume that the woman of your dreams, who was raised as a devout Catholic, would have the same tradition as your family. I just thought that we would be on the same page. But I was wrong. So wrong.

In my family, we would decorate the house with Christmas lights and after we had put up the tree we would set up the manger. My brother and I would set up Mary, Joseph, the three wise men, the angel, a sheep (taken from an older and cheaper manger set), a cow and, most importantly, we would put the baby Jesus in the makeshift crib. Jesus would be there--where He belongs.

When my wife and I started living together, our first Christmas came to be and we set up our decorations, put the manger up and my wife took the baby Jesus and put him in a drawer to a cabinet in the living room. I was mortified. Shocked. Filled with horror. The Lord and Savior of all creation resting in a drawer during the holiest time of year? I casually asked what she was doing with the baby Jesus and she told me that in her family they didn't put out the baby Jesus until Christmas day as that's when He entered the world. There was a moment of intense emotion that welled up within me and I just didn't know what to say. I tried to explain that Jesus is around all year, that the manger is just a symbol of how God is present in the world and how there's beauty and goodness all throughout the world--all to no avail.

Nearly fifteen years have gone by and each year it's the same thing. Baby Jesus is stolen and hidden in the house. He's hidden somewhere really good but--I always find Him. I take Him out, put Him in the crib, smile and then put Him back where my wife has hidden Him. It's a new tradition that we've started in our household.

Love is a many splendid thing poets say. When you marry, when you give of your life to someone else and you take your traditions and meld them with hers something wonderful and magical happens. Maybe you cut carrots one way and she another. Or I like onions in my salad and she doesn't. Or I am a clean freak and she is clutterly-challenged. It doesn't matter what the differences are, as in the end, you come together as a family and create new traditions, find compromises and find new ways to celebrate the differences we live with. So if Christmas is about God entering the world and joy, love and light, then, in a small way, our cat and mouse game of finding/hiding the baby Jesus is our way of starting a new Christmas tradition. One that our kids find rather amusing. So during this Christmas season, enjoy your family, friends and the true meaning of Christmas: That baby Jesus doesn't need to be in the creche but in your heart.

Why I Love Snow

Back in 1988 my English teacher in High School asked us to look up the front page of the New York Times for the day we were born. In my house, my mom always told the story of my birth: "You came early during a blizzard!" She would explain how my father drove her to the hospital and how bad the roads were and on how my Uncle, who lived in New Jersey at the time, couldn't come to see me at the hospital because roads were closed for a day or two. I rather liked coming into the world in a big way because if you're going to come in, why not come in early and in style?

For me, snow has always been associated with my life and on how I view it. No matter how dirty, how destroyed or ruined the terrain is, snow can blanket it in pure, brilliant white. There's a calmness that washes over me in staying up late, hearing the snow hit the window and seeing it cover the grass, cars and bushes. As I write this, it's snowing now. We might get up to 10" in my area but possibly 20" in others.

There are stories and then there are stories. Around 33 years ago my father took me to Penny Pack Park in Northeast Philadelphia. Winters were winters back then. The creek would freeze over and all the families from the surrounding neighborhood would take their kids to the park to go sledding. Although I love snow, I've never been skiing or snowboarding or worn a pair of snowshoes. I haven't even gone ice skating. But on this particular snowy winter day in January more than three decades ago I remember having a blast playing in the snow at the park and getting on a sled and sliding down at break neck speeds. I was having such fun. The time of my life with my father.

After sledding, my father took me to walk on the frozen creek and I remember him coming to me and saying: "When you see a small pile of snow on the ice, don't walk on it." So we walked and I watched as kids played hockey and my father talked with some other parents. Up ahead, I saw a small pile of snow. I wondered what it was. I was curious. I wanted to touch it and figure out why it was there. Being about 5 or 6 at the time, seeing a small pile of snow on a frozen creek seemed odd. I went over to it and put my foot on it to stomp the snow down and I had the surprise of my life. My foot didn't hit ice and fell through the hole that the snow had covered. A good portion of my left leg went into the freezing water and I must have cried out from shock as my father came running over and he was really angry. He helped me out and brought me to the car and took my boot off and I remember snow and pieces of ice coming out of my boot and how cold I was.

We left for home so I could warm up but I remember his disappointment, frustration and anger at having to leave early--because of me. There are not many good memories I have of my father. Most are tales of duality: Something nice happens in one part of the memory and then there are memories of loss, abandonment and his just plain being absent for much of my life. But the snow. I am 38 years old. I believe I spent 5 or 6 Christmas days in which my father was around. That's 32 without a father. I'd see my friends from grade school, high school and then college have a father to teach them how to ride a bike, play baseball, or even try to teach them about girls. I didn't have any of that.

At Christmas time, I'd see the hole in my family. The unspoken word (father) in which my only proof that I had one was that I was alive and that I had my memories. Pictures of my father had been blacked out (literally. I'm not making this up) so I only had what I could remember. Every year my Uncle would show us 8mm (silent) films of Christmas and holidays gone by. He'd set up a projector and we'd watch it at my grandparents. Dead silence would hang over the adults as a few seconds of my father played out on the screen. And I would wonder, remember and be torn between being happy about being away from him and happy that my mom was now safe.

Seeing snow for me in growing up, enabled me to go out into a white Winterland of newness, filled with a sense of fantasy and wonderment. I could watch the landscape change and be magical, knowing that for that small amount of time the world was young and beautiful and right. That the thought of my father not sending me a Christmas card or birthday card or trying to see my brother and I over the holidays could be ignored and forgotten. The snow, its pureness, would entice me to go play. To forget myself and just be. I could throw snowballs, build forts, play in the woods and even walk knee deep in a near freezing stream (that's a story for another day) and build new memories.

I could not change, grasp or force my father to come to us. To fix his wrongs, to apologize, make amends and set our lives right. How many times have I tried to chase after people to make them stay? Repeating past patterns, knowing that emotionally they were not available to me, but in a desperate attempt to change the past, I'd try to make things right now. How human I am and with such faults. It's laughable, but my pains and quirks make me who I am. And the snow, so white and fresh and clean brings me peace. When life wasn't calm and it was filled with subdued hurt, the snow would be a gift to me.

Decades later I am a father now. Last year I took my son sledding and I told him about the hole in the ice story but I told it from my perspective. I told him that my father never explained WHY I shouldn't step on the snow patch as it was covering a hole into the freezing water and I could get hurt. My son is growing up with me, filled with all the faults that I have, but I am present and do my best to teach him what I know, show him what I love and through my actions and words admit when I am wrong and when I need to apologize for things that I have done. Today it is snowing. My six year old and I (and possibly my daughter if she's feeling up to it as she's been sick) will go out together to shovel, to build snowmen and to go sledding. We will redefine what a father and son relationship was for me and we'll partly do that today with snow. White, cold, fresh and magical.

Twilight and A Female Protagonist's Hero's Quest

I am a Twilight fan. No matter that it's very popular today to disparage Stephenie Meyer's vampire novels, I'm still a fan. On a plane to Atlanta several years ago, I stumbled across a podcast that had an interview with Jacqueline Carey and the hosts mentioned how great the Twilight series was. In full disclosure, I had thought that Meyer's books would be similar in theme to Carey's, but I was pleasantly surprised with Meyer's books. Although many disagree with me in liking the Twilight series, I wanted to spend a few minutes discussing why I like the series. I am tired of reading/hearing haters trash the books without reading them and discussing their impact on the youth of today. Like it or not, 70 million plus books have been sold and the movies are breaking box office records.

To take a step back, I first read these books in 2007. What I liked about the series is that Meyer plays around with typical vampire lore. Her vampires have special powers (mind reading, projecting pain, shielding one's thoughts, etc.) and are able to walk in sunlight. I also liked that Bella Swan is one of the main characters: She's quirky, accident prone, geeky and a bit tormented. She falls in love with the unattainable god-like Edward. He is kind, patient, a good listener, courageous, understanding, loving and basically a proto-typical Prince Charming who is perfect in nearly every way. Yet Edward's honor code and love for Bella captured my attention. He is one of the main characters of the series, but neither Jacob nor he are the central character. Bella is the core of the novel. We, as readers, go on a female hero's quest. Back in 1996 I wrote my thesis for my M.A. in English Literature on "Memory and the Quest for Self: A Jungian Reading of Alice Walker and Margaret Atwood." Here's a passage from my thesis that I believe is relevant to my discussion on the Twilight series:

"When archetypal images are applied to literature we can recognize a protagonist's behavioral patterns as being universal to the human condition. By analyzing the protagonist's behavior in relation to four specific archetypal images (persona, shadow, animus, and self), we will be able to better comprehend the feminine individuation process. Simply put, individuation is defined as 'coming to selfhood' or 'self-realization' (Storr 418). According to Jungian theory, a personality on the road toward individuation consists of four parts.  Atkinson defines Jung's theory and explains that:

        a personality striving for full individuation or
        integration has four aspects . . . (1) the ego (or
        persona), that person (or role) we consider ourselves
        to be in normal waking consciousness; (2) the shadow,
        that figure of the same sex as the ego who embodies
        negative and positive traits which might have been
        conscious but which have now been repressed; (3)
        . . . animus, the man within the woman, representing
        the male consciousness with which the woman must
        reconcile herself; and finally, (4) the Self, that
        perfect wholeness which the individual can become
        when [she] has reconciled [herself] . . . with her
        shadow and animus and become [her] own potentiality
        for being. (Atkinson 85)"

For me, the Twilight series represents Bella's journey on the process of selfhood and individuation. Awkward, quirky and unsure of herself, Bella's struggles lead her to the final climatic battle with the Volturi in which she has not only become a wife and mother, but, most importantly, she has discovered her own power and her ability to utilize it for defense and revelation. The typical male hero's journey is filled with weapons of power and destruction: A hammer, a lightsaber, a bow and arrow. Such typical masculine weapons have shaped our literature for as long as humans can write. But with Meyer's work, Bella is withdrawn and has the ability to shield herself from outside influences. Protected and blocked out from society, Bella struggles to overcome her inner demons and fears, realizing in the end that her shield can be used as a defensive tool to protect those she loves. But in a telling moment at the close of "Breaking Dawn," Bella lifts her shield up to allow Edward to be intimately close to her. Throughout the series, she has been an impenetrable shield to his mind reading ability, but upon discovering her true power and confidence, Bella opens her inner core to Edward.

Bella's journey through ego, shadow, animus and self plays itself out naturally through the course of the four books. No, Bella is not a classical hero in which she realizes her potential from the start and strives to embrace her destiny. Rather, she stumbles, falls and chases after her animus--split between the wolfman Jacob and the bloodsucking Edward. Her journey of obtaining everlasting love with her soulmate, Edward, is tattered and broken through her using Jacob to help fill a void within her psyche. Abandoned by Edward in "New Moon," Bella's struggle for self-actualization is hampered by her inability to reconcile her feelings of grief after Edward's departure. Her journey is slow, crooked and unusual for a typical male hero's quest. It is only through death, marriage and birth of her daughter that Bella is reborn as a vampire and fully cognizant of her powers. Still relatively young and inexperienced, the Twilight series ends on a high note. Hopefully, we will see Bella's growth in future books.

However, I am concerned about Twilight's impact on today's youth. Young girls are flocking to see the film, screaming their undying love to Jacob and Edward. But here is what bothers me: Edward is a hero who is near perfect. I wonder if the young girls of today, who are fans of the series, can separate themselves form their wanting of Edward to the reality of life. In the books and movies, Edward loves Bella without question. His only flaw is that his love blinds him to abandon Bella in her hour of need. No man in reality is like Edward. The darker sides of our Prince of the Night are glossed over: He likes to drink blood and is also rough at sex. Will today's tweens see beyond Edward's and Jacob's good looks to Bella's journey toward individuation? Will they see Bella's journey as a hero's quest? Or are they blinded by beauty and unable to put into perspective Bella's growth?

No matter what naysayers might voice about the Twilight series, the books' influence on women/girls today is overwhelming. My thought is this: Stop mocking the series, read it and then decide. Meyer portrays a young female hero from her earliest days to her most powerful in standing her ground during the Volturi faceoff in "Breaking Dawn." In the end, to each his own, but there's more beneath the surface of the Twilight series--if you're willing to look. Give the series a read, but don't mock it if you've not read it. There is much to like in these books. And in just scratching the surface, the complexity of a Jungian interpretation is well worth pursuing. So, sit back, relax, enjoy the books. Constructive criticism to this post is encouraged, but flaming behavior is not.

You and Me and Everyone We Know

I ask a lot of people. I know. So, first off, watch the trailer above (it's 2:42 long) and then either click back or stay. Good, that was easy. Those who weren't curious have gone. Now it's just the rest of us. I watched, for the second time, "You and Me and Everyone We Know" last night. I have wanted to show this movie to a friend, but I have not had the opportunity to do. There's something precious and vulnerable and special about this film. I remember watching it with my wife when it came out back in 2005. We lived in a different house then, our son was about two years old and life was different. I'm not the person I was then, but I am. It's the contradiction of life. We grow, we change, but some of who we are stays the same.

I wanted to know about Miranda July and so I went to her website and a wave of emotion swept over me. She has a way of disarming me through her works, touching at the base of that intimate part of me through her art. I was literally taken aback in visiting her home page, just welling up with emotion because she's gets it.

And what does she get? Life is so precious and so wonderful, filled with amazing and special and unique moments--each day--that we typically don't see or pay attention to or are aware of. We're little islands of loneliness, walking through a vast sea, sometimes bumping into other islands, yet we often don't share who we are or what we feel. I think I identify with July's work so much because I can connect to it and I remember a time in my life when I was so filled with creativity and power but I didn't know what to do with it.

When I was around 19 or 20, I used to take the bus to college and I would be feeling so much. I was going through my teenager, angst period, I guess. It was as though I was a big radio dish and I wasn't broadcasting, but I was receiving all the signals from those around me. I could just feel life, people and I didn't know what to do about it. It was around this time that I started writing short poems. I didn't do it often, but I would write a short piece and then leave it on a seat for the next person to find. It wasn't so much that I wanted someone to notice me (though I used to joke with myself and think I was the "mad poet of SEPTA"), but I wanted someone else to know that I felt the same loneliness and confusion and possibilities that they did.

A year or so later, at my clothing store department job, I began writing poetry and leaving the poems at the cash register for my colleagues. Unfortunately, the people who I left the poetry for never said anything. They were worried about sales, numbers, figures and their own looks. Nothing negative was said, but nothing positive either.

And then in graduate school, I started going to poetry readings and I took the chance to be like Miranda July. I would read some of my most intimate works or I'd make something up--a bit of a skit or a performance art piece. I wanted to open myself to people, to show the energy I had and to connect with people. It was scary, fun and now that time is long gone.

I (and anyone reading this) now have the power to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world. I can post blogs, Facebook notes, tweets, videos through YouTube--we have tremendous tools.

But what I want to do today is to simply have you watch the trailer for that movie, to maybe go rent it, see its quirkiness and to then stop. I mean really stop and look around. Look at things with a different eye, from a different angle. Maybe stand on a chair, or look up or get on your belly and look at people or places in ways you never did before. There's magic happening around us all the time, but we don't notice it. It's right there for us to touch and to see. (This is why I asked you to watch the trailer and then stay or click the back arrow. I'm too aware to know that people think this sort of thing dumb. That's why I told them to leave if they wanted.) When I see Miranda July's work, I'm reminded of that. I'm reminded that not everyone is lost or closed or afraid. 

If there's anything I could say to end this, I'd simply say that I'm so thankful that I have the ability to see and sense. It doesn't make me special or different. It's just what I am aware. I just want to be. A person, a worker, a husband, a son, father, colleague, friend, lover, lost and found and complicated and alive. To be. To be--me.

Podcamp Philly 2009

I went to Podcamp Philly 2009 yesterday held on the Temple University campus, hoping to meet some people involved in social media and to learn as much as I could. The good news is that I wasn't disappointed. I met a lot of talented people who are energetic and filled with passion to make things happen. I liked that. During the opening session, we were asked how many of us were first-timers attending a podcamp and I would say that more than 3/4 of us were newbies. I wasn't expecting that (and neither were the organizers), but it was interesting to be in my home city and to see who showed up.

I think the most important thing that I learned is that I have a lot of learning yet to do in understanding who are the movers and the shakers in the social media field in the Philadelphia area. The sessions that I chose to attend dealt with search engine optimization (SEO) as I thought this topic I was weakest. By the end of the day, my head hurt with all the information I had learned. And although I was glad that I brought my laptop so that I could write up my notes, I was surprised that there wasn't any wi-fi or direct network connection so I could have internet access. I believe there was some issues with Temple University and I (and other attendees) were frustrated with the lack of internet access. I had envisioned being on Hoot Suite sending out tweet, but that wasn't meant to be. Not only did I not have internet access for my laptop but, for some reason, Temple is a dead zone for T-Mobile's service. I had to walk out of the building to near the street to be able to pick up a sliver of service so I could send out messages on Twitter. In speaking to other attendees, I know that a few had similar problems with AT&T's service too. I definitely wasn't anticipating that. Having no internet wasn't the end of the world, but I'll admit that I was rather jealous when I sat behind Matthew Ebel in a session and he was all fired up. (Matthew, awesome shade of purple for your nail polish. I really liked the color! Very cool!). 

Taking the lack of internet connectivity aside, I learned a lot about social media, was able to give some advice about podcasting and my brain still hurts about all I've learned about SEO. A quick story before I go. While attending the "Jumpstarting Your Podcast - From Nothing to Raging Success" session run by Steve Cherubino I was surprised to see so many people packing the room wanting to learn about how to start podcasting. At one point during the session, I was able to share some of my knowledge of podcasting with the group and then I realized that next month I will be podcasting for four years. My collectible card game podcast, The Magic Sock (Magic: The Gathering related), started out as a fun way for me to learn about podcasting. Four years later, I have a solid listener base, a working relationship with the PR company that promotes Wizard of the Coast's products and access to the R&D staff who work at Wizards (who I can interview for my show). I've learned a lot over those four years, but what I am most excited about is how much podcasting has changed and how using social media has opened doors for me. It's a wide, wide world filled with possibilities. Now I just need some time to process all I've learned and see how I can take that knowledge, applying it to my work.

To sum up, Podcamp Philly 2009 rocked and I'm glad I had a chance to go. If anyone is interested, follow me @ronvitale and send me a note. I'll gladly share my notes from yesterday's sessions.

Beatles Rock Band

It's good to be childlike. Last weekend my wife and I threw a Beatles Rock Band party and we had a blast. What a great time to get a bunch of friends together to chill, have a great meal and then sing the night away to 45 songs from the Beatles. How often do you get to kick back and really relax and have a great time?

Life has been busy with work and the juggling of the multiple projects that I'm working on, but I'm happy to say that I did take time out to relax last weekend. If you haven't had a chance to see the Beatles Rock Band trailer, click on the YouTube video above and enjoy! Have a good one.

Julie & Julia

My wife and I were able to go to the movies the other night and we saw "Julie & Julia." Overall I enjoyed the film, but I would agree with Adam and Matty of Filmspotting.net in that the Julia parts were so much more compelling than the modern day Julie scenes. I love Amy Adams, but the scenes written for her were contrived, pretty predictable and downright boring. Boo-hoo, husband and wife argue at how hard Julie's cooking all those recipes in one year is. The buildup just didn't add up to a good payoff. However, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were a joy to watch on screen. Their rapport, the challenges they go through--I just wanted to see more. Each time the movie switched back to New York 2002 I groaned inwardly, hoping that the scene wouldn't last too long so that I could get back to seeing the real story.

But here's the interesting thing. The truth is starting to come out. It seems that all isn't rosey in the true life of Julie Powell. Here's an interesting tidbit I learned: "Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession, [Powell's next book] reveals the extramarital affair she had with an old friend was met with both eyerolls and raised eyebrows, and her publisher's decision to push back the book's release date and screenwriter Nora Ephron's omission of the affair from the film...." I heard about this from my wife and if you want to read more, check out the Newsweek article. What bothers me about Nora Ephron's decision to cut out the affair from the movie is that the film plays out like a watered down high school play. Girl is upset with her life, decides to do something challenging, suffers along the way and, presto, all is solved (magically).

The problem is that life isn't that simple and it would have been wonderful to see a film that had a bit more teeth to it. But, God forbid, the story be told about how Julie's affair was sadomasochistic and that she wanted this type of a sexual relationship. What is so disturbing is that a person's life has been watered down, made to look appealing and "wholesome," but the spirit and soul of the project has been left out. We don't really get to know Powell and the struggles and quest for meaning she went through. Wouldn't it be wonderful if more directors and writers took a chance to make films that matter rather than create films to help brainwash Americans to feel all safe and sound in our little white picket fenced houses? 

I would recommend the film, but I'm much more intrigued in reading Julie Powell's book as, at the end of the day, aren't we all flawed, but it's our insecurities and faults, and how we overcome them, that's the true story. In the film Julie and Julia, you're seeing only a piece of the pie, but, honestly, I would have preferred to have the entire meal--from soup to nuts.

(500) Days of Summer

Did you see the movie trailer embedded above for (500) Days of Summer? Good. My wife and I went to see this film as I heard much about it. I'm a bit torn about the film as I think I'm colored by hearing the review that Adam and Matty gave on the Filmspotting podcast. Parts of me loved the film. And other parts thought it would have been edited in areas, but I think what bothered me the most is that the movie, as written, portrays Summer as a really, really distant and selfish character. Well, maybe that's not quite right. Maybe, on behalf of all men out there, I wanted to also call her a Bitch for how she treated poor Tom. Or maybe I was angry at Tom for allowing himself to be treated so badly by her. Or, maybe I'm angry at Tom for not hearing what Summer was saying. It's complicated. And with any film that can cause me to be so conflicted in the course of a hour and a half, why, I guess it's not half bad.

I did enjoy the film, but you can see the writing on the wall as to where the film is headed, but you're not quite sure exactly how/when/where it'll all end up with. And, in a romantic comedy, of the new age, that's a really good thing. It's nice to see our tried and true genres be broken over the head by a Manic Pixie Dream Girl named Summer. What you want to happen and what actually does leaves you musing about your own life and your own memories of love gone horribly wrong.

What worked so well are some of the ending moments in the film. I don't want to ruin it, but watch and pay attention you're brought through their relationship and you get to see their relationship on full display.

But a core question in the film is still up for grabs: Do you believe in fate, destiny? Or, more importantly, do you believe in one soulmate? Are we destined to meet only one person and fall in love with them and that's that--Happy ever after and cue up the music? This film challenges our assumptions about love and all that we know about relationships and asks us to see life a little bit differently. No matter what side of the fence you're on, it's a film about life and there are some important lessons to learn. God, how I was seeing myself on the screen as I've acted so poorly over how deeply I have fallen for a woman. And yet, if you take a step back and ask this question, it'll be interesting to see what the answer is: When I remember falling so hard and so fast for a woman, was I in love with being in love or did I love her? Or, to really mix it up, did I fall in love with the me I discovered in loving her?

There's a song and dance number dealing with a Daryl Hall and John Oats' song that will have you laughing outloud and pinpointed a few moments in my life. The day after you've finally made that big leap in the secret world of intimacy with a woman is the day that you could take on an army. You are invincible as you are seeing the world through rose tinted glasses that probably would make a pile of poo look like a sweet summer flower. Much is captured in this film, but, in the end, I saw the message as being pretty clear. Don't try to figure women out, you'll never get it, but, if you want to believe in love (which I do for obvious reasons!), then follow your heart and do what's best for yourself first. Take care of yourself, do what you love and you'll be okay. Life will put people in your path when you least expect it. There's no secret. It's that simple. The film's whole message can be summed up in Dan Savage's line that he uses on his Savage Love podcast: "All relationships are doomed to fail--until one doesn't." (I'm paraphrasing, but you get the idea.)

If you're looking for a good film to see, check this one out, but watch out for Summer. She's gorgeous and has beautiful eyes but, in the end, she's not to be yours.

Dorothea's Song as a Full-Length Audiobook

I have been extremely busy in the last several months and have started pulling together the audio files to take my fantasy novel "Dorothea's Song" and turning it into a full-length audiobook. The book is currently up on Podiobooks and you can also download a copy on Lulu.com or purchase a copy there, but the full-length audiobook will take some time. I need to edit 15 audio files and then record a new intro and outro. Trying to work in these tasks has not been easy but I have started the work and hope to ease through the work slowly but surely.

I have spent a lot of time and effort in putting together the new podcast that my wife and I have been working on and I have to say that The Podd Couple has been a lot of fun. I've enjoyed putting together the podcast as I'm never sure exactly where the episode will go as my wife and I record live and don't plan in advance what we're going to say. We'll talk, make comments and just go with what's on our mind.

I'd like to write more but a thunderstorm is coming through and my daughter just woke up crying. Have to go.