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APR

06

2009

as if the sky wasn't enough of a warning of what was in store for today: swirling bands of angry clouds (like the surface of jupiter) overcasting the landscape. it rained lightly when i went to the dollar store to get some kleenex, fat droplets that left quarter-sized dots on the sidewalks. the sound of a car horn honking woke me up early this morning. from personal experience it usually means a semi-truck has gotten itself stuck on the bend at the end of my street. i went out and moved my motorcycle, which gave them just enough clearance to roll onto the sidewalk and finally make the turn. for lunch i made an omelette with scallions, goat cheese, chopped pepperoni, and sauteed mushrooms.

in the early afternoon i went down to harvard square to watch adventureland (i'm a sucker for non-ironic 80's period films). i wonder why they decided to set the movie in the summer of 1987, besides giving them an excuse to load the soundtrack with 80's music. maybe to take away some of the distractions of our modern day conveniences, like computers, internet, video games, cellphones, and modern-designed cars. adventureland is a comedy but it's also a drama, firmly rooted in reality and follows the repercussions of human actions, particularly those of young people working the amusement park for the summer. it's not a sex comedy, nor a drug comedy, although it's got a bit of both. drunk driving seems to be the norm and when people smoke it's either weed or a tobacco pipe. basically, the story is this: recent college grad james (jesse eisennberg) has to get a summer job to pay for grad school instead of going with his friends to europe (where he'd hoped to finally lose his virginity). he ends up working at the local amusement park because it's the only place that will take him (an english major with no real world work experience). he ends up falling in love with fellow co-worker emily (kristen stewart). the cast also includes saturday night live members bill hader and krsiten wiig as the couple who own adventureland, and they basically steal every scene that they're in. ryan reynolds has a surprisingly subdued part as the amusement park mechanic who's also the mysterious older man who moonlights as a musician and may have once played with lou reed. those who plan on seeing this movie, be sure to stick around for the credits when they play a bonus adventureland tv commercial in classic cheesy 80's style.

including myself, a total of 8 people showed up to watch adventureland: a college age couple and then 6 single men, in various degrees of sketchiness. it's funny to watch guys in the movie theatre, as they try to take up as much space as possible. i saw one middle-aged man taking up a total of 6 seats, 2 on either side of him and then 3 seats directly in front where he draped his legs. i was the only person to stick around for the credits because i was curious to see the song list. when i was about to leave the theatre, i could see the wall of rain happening outside. instead of directly going home, i pulled out my umbrella and took out my camera to get some rainy day action photo. that's something i've always wanted to do, but it's always easier to stay indoors and be dry than go out and get soaked. not only was it raining hard, but it was also windy, which made it hard to get any clear photos as i tried to steady the umbrella. better luck during the summer, when at least it's warm during a rainstorm.

before i could fall asleep on the couch, i woke up to make some dinner, some leftover lamb rice pilaf from last night. i ate half, and then had a plate of salad.

INXS - "don't change"