Fast Food Nation

I saw Fast Food Nation over the weekend. I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed, because I didn't think that the film went quite far enough with some of characters and finishing up parts of the story. The last scene is definitely brutal, but if you eat meat, you should be able to watch it and appreciate where your food comes from.

So, I'm sort of unsure what to think. It's definitely important to get the word out about how the fast food industry affects our lives at more than just the waist-line. Like most books made into movies, I think that the book is a better option if you want to know the whole story. But the movie could be a good introduction to people who are curious what the whole thing is about.

Another NaNoWriMo Update

I'm at 17517 words (30 pages). I have a long way to go still, but it's going pretty well so far.

Movies, movies, movies

This last weekend, L. and I took some time to go to the movies. There are a bunch of films that we've wanted to see, but we usually get too busy to see them until they come out on video.

First, on Saturday we saw Stranger Than Fiction, which was really good. Will Ferrell did an excellent job, as did the rest of the cast. It was a really interesting concept for a movie.

On Sunday, we saw Running with Scissors, which is the movie version of Augusten Burrough's memoir. I read Running with Scissors about a year ago, and was completely blown away by the story. Although I liked the book Dry a bit better, Running with Scissors certainly laid the groundwork for what came in Dry. Anyway, the movie version was fabulous. Annette Bening was wonderful as Augusten's mother, and Joseph Cross was perfect as Augusten. It's definitely a heavy movie due to the subject matter, but it spares you some of the details that are covered in the book that would probably make for more of an NC-17 kind of rating.

I'm thrilled to see that Fast Food Nation has been turned into a movie. I can't wait to see it. The book was great, and totally changed my perspective on food. With the exception of Halloween, I have not eaten fast food since around May or June of this year. I actually read Fast Food Nation a couple of years ago, and it changed my eating habits somewhat. But then around May or June, I read Chew on This (which frankly was a lot like Fast Food Nation), and watched the documentary McLibel. I then decided that I would avoid fast food as much as possible. There are just too many reasons to not eat fast food and support that industry. Of course, it goes deeper than fast food, but I've been trying to buy more organic products and food, such as meat, that comes from farms that support sustainable agriculture and humane treatment of animals.

NaNoWriMo Mid-month update

8,647 words. I got behind due to the flu last week and then needed to catch up on work stuff, but I should be back on track now. I can tell that it's helping my creative writing process, but there is really no organization or anything to what I've written. And it's not really a novel, but a memoir. But, I'm still aiming for the 50,000 words by the end of the month.

K-Fed wants sole custody of children and spousal support

Yes, you read that right. The sponge just gets spongier. In further proof that this guy just needs to get a vasectomy and stop passing his trashy genes onto unsuspecting offspring, he actually thinks that he should have sole custody of the children. Somehow, I don't think that his track record really qualifies him to be a sole parent, let alone a sperm donor.

Public service announcement: Women, K-Fed is not father-material; stop having sex with him.

On a related note, I wonder what kind of spousal support he'll get. I mean, Britney Spears was clearly the bread winner in that couplehood, so unless she had a really good prenup, she'll probably have to do something to keep him in the lifestyle to which he's become accustomed. Poor girl. As much as I love to hate her, and hate to love her, she was just a girl when she got married and started having kids herself. I think we all have someone in our past that we regret; it's just that most of us didn't have it broadcast from here to Timbuktu. But good for her for kicking him to the curb - where he deserves to be picked up with the rest of the trash.

And somewhere, Shar Jackson is smiling...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Aside from this really crappy cold/flu thing I have at the moment, today is quite a good news day:

• Rumsfeld is out!
• Democrats won control of the House
• Democrats are close to winning control of the Senate
• People around the world are cheering the changes

Now, let's just hope that the democrats can get us out of the mess we've been led into by the republicans. I'm sure that they won't be effective on every front. After all, Bush still has his line item veto power. And things, such as prisoners in Guantanamo, prove that this administration has no respect for rule of law and civility. But, it's a start!

The Pineapple Express and Election Day

Western Washington is a ginormous mess today due to rains and the resulting floods. After reading this article, I asked myself why anyone would be crazy enough to actually go to the Seahawks and Raiders game at Qwest field. They should just dress those people into some straight jackets and bus them off to the looney bin to deal with their obsession. Or someone should kick Paul Allen and the designer of the stadium for building it without a roof - for a sport that takes place in SEATTLE in the FALL.

On the bright side, tomorrow is election day, so the crap-ola political ads will finally be over. I was listening to an audiobook, Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff recently. I thought it was quite eye-opening that during the naturalization process, everyone is instructed to say that voting is the greatest right in our country, and then when Rakoff walks out the door and asks for a voter registration form, there were none. As he points out, you'd expect that they would be clipped to the other paperwork they receive or at least have some in the lobby. But according to his account, he was informed that the church group that used to hand them out no longer does so. I guess that could be a good thing if it was the crazy religious right handing them out. Who knows?

I definitely have no room to talk about the outcome of this election. I am not voting this year, although only partially due to my own doing. Due to some mix up about my name change, address change, etc. after the divorce, I didn't receive my absentee ballot this year. In the past, whenever I moved and updated my driver's license, they automatically updated my voter registration at the same time. Considering I have moved every year since starting college ten years ago, I have some experience with the process. I assumed that this time was no different. However, I didn't receive my ballot at the same time as everyone else (in mid October). Now, here's where my responsibility comes in. I downloaded a form to send to my county to have everything updated, but I forgot to print it out in time to be sent in and updated for voting in this election. So, I will be ready for the next election, but not for this one. At least it's not a presidential election, although there are some important offices at stake this year.

The odd part is, they had no problem finding me for jury duty. Blech. I get to take part in that fascinating process later this month.

NaNoWrimo Progress

Count em' - 6005 words! Only 43995 left to go...