A friend brought up an interesting point the other day.
I wear glasses. I need them to drive, see the television — most anything requiring me to see more than 10 feet in front of me.
I spend most of my day in front of a computer, where I do not wear my glasses. Some of my coworkers don’t even realize that I wear glasses because, during most of my time in the office, I don’t have them on.
So, the point my friend brought up was do I wear glasses or do I have glasses?
The idea seemed ridiculous. I’ve worn glasses most of my life. I’ve never thought of my need for corrective lenses in any other way. As we discussed the issue further, I supposed that the situation was similar to someone who uses reading glasses; they don’t really wear glasses -- they just use them for reading. Since, for about 70 percent of my day I don’t actually have my glasses on, does that mean that I, too, only use them instead of “wearing” them?
As semantics go, this issue is pretty insignificant but it did get me thinking. How many other definitions in our lives do we cling to and never think twice about, for better or for worse? And how do these definitions, these labels, affect the people we are?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Two Movies You Wouldn’t Think to Pair
I was watching “Get Smart” today, the movie with Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway. It is a thoroughly enjoyable movie and I was just thinking how lucky I am that two of my favorite franchises of all time — this and “Star Trek” — have been treated to really great resurrections lately.
What makes both of these movies stand out together — because I’m sure they wouldn’t usually be taken into consideration as pair usually — is that they are both fantastic stories by themselves and made all the better by playing hommage to the originals and being a real treat to the fans.
I remember seeing “Get Smart” in the theater with a couple of people who’d apparently never seen the original series. Though they were enjoying the movie, I remember laughing at all of the “inside jokes” (the original Sigfried’s cameo) and classic lines and loving the movie even more for it. I worried going into the movie that there would be too much slapstick or that the movie would be a parody of the classic — which was a parody, itself, of all the spy genre at the time. But, honestly, Mr. Carrell and Ms. Hathaway did two of my favorite characters proud and made a most enjoyable movie experience all around.
And “Star Trek,” oh, “Star Trek,” was so great on just so many levels that I can’t think of a better movie experience ever. Aside from also being true to the classic series and the characters millions have known and loved for decades, it was the most amazing action/comedy/buddy movie ever. The entire thing is well-paced and the humor is always there but never overpowering — and a bit tongue-in-cheek like the best episode and movie moments. And, again, the J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman made the effort to take the fans into consideration with classic lines and inside jokes without alienating newbies to the franchise.
Some would consider these movies an odd thing to considering a blessing, I know, but I can’t help but feel it’s true. Too often a classic is taken and re-made in an effort to make a quick and lazy buck; relying on name recognition to lure audiences in without delivering the nostalgia they’re looking for. “Get Smart” and “Star Trek” delivered two separate and completely different movie experiences but they offered this viewer, at least, one thing pure delight.
What makes both of these movies stand out together — because I’m sure they wouldn’t usually be taken into consideration as pair usually — is that they are both fantastic stories by themselves and made all the better by playing hommage to the originals and being a real treat to the fans.
I remember seeing “Get Smart” in the theater with a couple of people who’d apparently never seen the original series. Though they were enjoying the movie, I remember laughing at all of the “inside jokes” (the original Sigfried’s cameo) and classic lines and loving the movie even more for it. I worried going into the movie that there would be too much slapstick or that the movie would be a parody of the classic — which was a parody, itself, of all the spy genre at the time. But, honestly, Mr. Carrell and Ms. Hathaway did two of my favorite characters proud and made a most enjoyable movie experience all around.
And “Star Trek,” oh, “Star Trek,” was so great on just so many levels that I can’t think of a better movie experience ever. Aside from also being true to the classic series and the characters millions have known and loved for decades, it was the most amazing action/comedy/buddy movie ever. The entire thing is well-paced and the humor is always there but never overpowering — and a bit tongue-in-cheek like the best episode and movie moments. And, again, the J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman made the effort to take the fans into consideration with classic lines and inside jokes without alienating newbies to the franchise.
Some would consider these movies an odd thing to considering a blessing, I know, but I can’t help but feel it’s true. Too often a classic is taken and re-made in an effort to make a quick and lazy buck; relying on name recognition to lure audiences in without delivering the nostalgia they’re looking for. “Get Smart” and “Star Trek” delivered two separate and completely different movie experiences but they offered this viewer, at least, one thing pure delight.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Happy New Year!
It’s the day of resolutions and, like many, I’ve got mine ready to go.
Fourth on the list — my resolution came with friends — is to publish weekly to The World According to Joy. Since no one complained about the lack of posts during the bulk of 2009, I’m not expecting anyone to really care about what I’ll have to say every week but I’m doing this more for me.
That’s what most of the resolutions are about, actually. Me.
Selfish, I know, but I don’t think I take nearly enough opportunities to be a little selfish. It’s not that I don’t enjoy being a giver — and I fully intend to continue to be the Joy everyone can rely on — but I also need to stop taking guilt trips when I want a day to sit around the house doing nothing or take a little time to do what I want.
The rest of my resolutions center around that theme — doing the things that I want or need to do. I want (and need) to lose the weight I gained while on the evil, evil Methotrexate during last winter’s arthritic flare-up. I need to not wear myself to the point of exhaustion so that I don’t even have the energy to take care of the little, important, things like proper oral hygiene. I want to journal daily to help to keep focused on the important things I need to be doing as well as to keep track of the important things going on around me. The journaling is part of another resolution, to complete my Year and a Day study of my first Wiccan degree.
It’s a new year, a new decade, and I’ve got new focus. Like Happy Bunnys syas, "Let’s focus on me."
Fourth on the list — my resolution came with friends — is to publish weekly to The World According to Joy. Since no one complained about the lack of posts during the bulk of 2009, I’m not expecting anyone to really care about what I’ll have to say every week but I’m doing this more for me.
That’s what most of the resolutions are about, actually. Me.
Selfish, I know, but I don’t think I take nearly enough opportunities to be a little selfish. It’s not that I don’t enjoy being a giver — and I fully intend to continue to be the Joy everyone can rely on — but I also need to stop taking guilt trips when I want a day to sit around the house doing nothing or take a little time to do what I want.
The rest of my resolutions center around that theme — doing the things that I want or need to do. I want (and need) to lose the weight I gained while on the evil, evil Methotrexate during last winter’s arthritic flare-up. I need to not wear myself to the point of exhaustion so that I don’t even have the energy to take care of the little, important, things like proper oral hygiene. I want to journal daily to help to keep focused on the important things I need to be doing as well as to keep track of the important things going on around me. The journaling is part of another resolution, to complete my Year and a Day study of my first Wiccan degree.
It’s a new year, a new decade, and I’ve got new focus. Like Happy Bunnys syas, "Let’s focus on me."
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