Am I the only one who sees United 93 as a way for a studio to make a bunch of money under the guise of patriotism? Is it treason to even suggest it? Every time I see the preview for this movie I get so upset. Obviously 9-11 was traumatic for everyone in the country, maybe the world. Perhaps I would feel differently if I knew anyone personally affected by the terrorist attacks or any soldiers who went to Afghanistan. Maybe I'm just being cold and heartless.
So why this rant? Let me tell you....
#1 I feel that this movie is too soon. Sometimes I feel like the Twin Towers fell last week. Let's dump 5 pounds of salt into all of those healing wounds- those of families, friends, co-workers. It seems that replaying those images of fear and terror are going to upset a lot of people, not fix any problems.
#2 One of my co-workers told me everyone should see this movie so we "never forget". Then he said, "People need to know why we're fighting this war." I all but bit my lip off trying to keep my mouth shut. Which war, I wonder? The one in Afghanistan? Iraq? I hope he's smart enough to know that the current major "war" and the WTC aren't connected. His son is in the Marines, maybe he can straighten this guy out.
#3 Playing up the trailer as a fight of good vs. evil, and a tale of patriotism, the studio is guaranteeing a great box office draw. If you don't go see this movie you might as well buy a one way ticket to Canada. Unless they are donating a portion of the profits to some sort of 9-11 fund or charity, the bottom line is that movies are produced to make money.
Let's not forget this story is essentially fiction folks. Yes, they tried to be as accurate as possible in regards to phone calls and records, but really no one knows that happened on that flight. History is being re-written here, and there aren't enough smart people to stop it. I hope I don't sound in any way like I am defending some of the worst criminals in the world, that is not what this blog is about.
This blog is about how inappropriate it is for a Hollywood studio to make money off of a movie about one of our nation's worst days. Feeding our fears and morbid sense of curiosity, all with the intention of feeding the bottom line. It is so tacky it makes me sick.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
The one about work and teeth
At times I really like my job. Especially when there is a problem and I have to research the product history to fix it. It might be my favorite part of my work. However, this rarely happens. Instead, I am given a lot of busy work, most of it totally useless and I suspect invented to keep me busy. My boss knows I don't have enough to do, and comes up with vague future projects and/or trips, her carrot to my mule. Is this to keep me there? I'm not sure. She can be the biggest flake sometimes. She's very young to be a manager (way older than me, but still relatively young), and at times I am think she might be just trying to keep her head above the water without anyone noticing the splashing.
Today's biggest drama was whether or not to create a new database, making three total, or compacting the existing database and adding to it to create one HUGE database. This is the sort of drama that is blown up into huge "problems" and talked about for weeks. I'm not kidding- there's a big meeting scheduled next week just to discuss how it would impact 3 or 4 aspects of the company. Now, don't get me wrong. I understand the concern but really: it's a database. It can be changed back with little effort or confusion. I don't want to be the one to say that to her, it might throw her for a loop.
In other news, I got an estimate for dental work that I don't strictly need yet, but will eventually. When I was 7 years old I went to ride my bike (my mother loves to remind me, without permission) and ended up losing control and flipping slap over the handle bars. I broke my arm (inconsequential) and three of my top front teeth, and since then it has been just one dental fiasco after another. When I was very little it was gold posts and bonding until my mouth stopped growing and they could put a real fix on it. This meant 11 years of carefully biting around apples and carrot sticks and forget anything sticky like Skittles or caramel. The bonding would break every couple of years and I would wander around looking homeless (according to some very kind friends) until the dentist could work me in and mold some new brittle plastic teeth for me. I had my first double root canal at 10 years old to clear the massive abcess that formed over those teeth
Nine years ago my mouth finally got to a point where it could handle crowns. One more root canal, and a lot of aggrevation, and I was ready. They looked good to me, and they've been great ever since. But lately... well, 9 years ago cosmetic whitening was for Hollywood and that was about it. Now it's no big deal to have done. If I get these crowns replaced I want my teeth whitened first (crowns do not respond to whitening procedures, they are what they are and that's the end of it). Of course insurance does not cover whitening.
And apparently since my teeth are perfectly functional and showing no signs of decay or breakage, insurance will not cover having them replaced either, despite a darkening of the gumline and some weird little specs imbedded in the porcelain. The total cost for new crowns alone? $2300!!!!!!! Whitening would be another $500 on top of that! Too bad my money tree hasn't taken root yet and the diamond mine has yet to be discovered.... I just shake my head at the finances sometimes and wonder where the heck I went wrong. Was it not majoring in engineering? Was it not working that one semester of college? Was it the love I have for good (and as a result not very cheap) cooking? Do I have too much stuff? Can I cut back any more? I don't think so! Oh well, maybe by next year the insurance will take pity on me and then my limit will be low enough to actually cover the measly 50% they are kind enough to bestow on me. Yeah, I'm lucky to have insurance, but I'm also bitter at how meager it is.
Today's biggest drama was whether or not to create a new database, making three total, or compacting the existing database and adding to it to create one HUGE database. This is the sort of drama that is blown up into huge "problems" and talked about for weeks. I'm not kidding- there's a big meeting scheduled next week just to discuss how it would impact 3 or 4 aspects of the company. Now, don't get me wrong. I understand the concern but really: it's a database. It can be changed back with little effort or confusion. I don't want to be the one to say that to her, it might throw her for a loop.
In other news, I got an estimate for dental work that I don't strictly need yet, but will eventually. When I was 7 years old I went to ride my bike (my mother loves to remind me, without permission) and ended up losing control and flipping slap over the handle bars. I broke my arm (inconsequential) and three of my top front teeth, and since then it has been just one dental fiasco after another. When I was very little it was gold posts and bonding until my mouth stopped growing and they could put a real fix on it. This meant 11 years of carefully biting around apples and carrot sticks and forget anything sticky like Skittles or caramel. The bonding would break every couple of years and I would wander around looking homeless (according to some very kind friends) until the dentist could work me in and mold some new brittle plastic teeth for me. I had my first double root canal at 10 years old to clear the massive abcess that formed over those teeth
Nine years ago my mouth finally got to a point where it could handle crowns. One more root canal, and a lot of aggrevation, and I was ready. They looked good to me, and they've been great ever since. But lately... well, 9 years ago cosmetic whitening was for Hollywood and that was about it. Now it's no big deal to have done. If I get these crowns replaced I want my teeth whitened first (crowns do not respond to whitening procedures, they are what they are and that's the end of it). Of course insurance does not cover whitening.
And apparently since my teeth are perfectly functional and showing no signs of decay or breakage, insurance will not cover having them replaced either, despite a darkening of the gumline and some weird little specs imbedded in the porcelain. The total cost for new crowns alone? $2300!!!!!!! Whitening would be another $500 on top of that! Too bad my money tree hasn't taken root yet and the diamond mine has yet to be discovered.... I just shake my head at the finances sometimes and wonder where the heck I went wrong. Was it not majoring in engineering? Was it not working that one semester of college? Was it the love I have for good (and as a result not very cheap) cooking? Do I have too much stuff? Can I cut back any more? I don't think so! Oh well, maybe by next year the insurance will take pity on me and then my limit will be low enough to actually cover the measly 50% they are kind enough to bestow on me. Yeah, I'm lucky to have insurance, but I'm also bitter at how meager it is.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
The one where she does the blog thing... again
Well, I had a blog. And I liked it for about 2 weeks. And then I started to feel all pressured that I needed to write in it all the time- like I'd be a failure if I didn't. And then I couldn't think of anything to say... and it seemed like a waste of time because really it is one of the most self-centered things. But I really do enjoy writing. So I'm going to try it again, but NOT be so hard on myself about writing. It's my space, I can do whatever the hell I want to. So there!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)