Adaptation
 

Apparently the masturbation scenes in Adaptation are the key to the whole movie. I can't really figure out why, but this is my best guess:

Nobody and nothing in the movie really "exists" except in Charlie's mind. His twin is just another aspect of his personality. The movie is just about two ways of doing the same adaptation of the novel - the first half is Charlie attempting to write and be true to himself and the second half is him saying fuck it and writing the screenplay the way he thinks it will work because he has no real understanding of the world. So Charlie is split in two - (the Donald half takes over in the second half) and the movie is split. And it's about him trying to adapt the book and trying to adapt to the world at the same time. And the book is about an orchid, which is a flower that constantly has to learn to adapt. And the Seminoles have to adapt, and Meryl Streep can't adapt to New York because she's in love with the toothless guy blah blah blah.

And the movie has all kinds of echoes of this split. "The only thing more clichéd than a serial murderer is split personality" etc. Donald's kidnapper and kidnappee are the same person, Susan has two separate lives etc. And when Donald dies at the end, it means that Charlie is learning to adapt to the world so he no longer needs this other personality.

So does the masturbation explain the whole movie because when you masturbate instead of having another actual real person there to have sex with, you just conjure one up and it's actually two people having sex but both of them are you? And the movie is a whole exercise in masturbation because it's just a huge exercise in Charlie's self-indulgence - why do we care about what is going on in his head?

There are unusual parallels between Adaptation and the movie "the Ladies Man" - that you all may not have noticed - i.e. the masturbation scenes, the disturbing duality between Will Ferrell and the Ladies Man, the orchid drug and the Courvoisier, the car accident/the boat accident etc.
It's uncanny.

Dilemma
 

I don't mean this to be harsh to those who don't "like" being a lawyer, but let's face facts:
1 average income of those posting is way above national average
2 most of you have enough control to go see family/personal things you want to do. ie don't punch a clock and have freedom to be at kid's school play at 2PM Tuesday. Admitted, might require working on Satruday.
3 most all jobs blow in one respect or another- especially once they are routine and something new is not happening every day.
4 many (most?) of us make well into 6 figures and yet have freedom to post hundreds of times here- you are not all swamped every second of every day.

Adaptation
 

I first saw the Orchid as a Christ figure the way it was cut down and picked up. I also saw the brother as a Christ figure the way he died. The accident to the toothless guy made me think of a Christ reference also. I first thought the theme was "there are alot of things claiming to be Christ around here.

then i caught the Being John M. overtones: see Adaptation was "outside" that movie about being "inside". That's when I got it, the "inside" reference of course makes this movie above vaginas. the orchid was simply a parallel to the movie about what's "outside." Hope this helps!

* got a solid B- in theatrical themes in Sophmore year at Enormous State U.

Speaking of Poker
 

Phil Helmuth made a bet that if a certain amateur, Robert Varkoni (or something like that) won the 2002 World Series of Poker, he'd shave his head. Varkoni was at the final table and seemed to play some very questionable hands, but the cards came up for him and he knocked out a ton of pro players. He eventually went on to win (again, by hitting great cards in an underdog situation), and Phil got his head shaved at the table. The ESPN2 showings everyone is talking about is from this year's tournament, 2003, in which defending champ Robert Varkoni was knocked out on the first day, but at least this time he was actually holding good pocket cards, KK. Unfortunately, Scotty Nguyen held pocket aces, and there was no help for Varkoni on the board. Was that sufficiently nerdy enough?

Flinty (I think I won money last night)


Edited to add: Once again, str8 is johnny on the spot--I missed your earlier post. I would invite you to play with us, but I respect your no-wagering choice.

Dilemma
 

No risk of that. It's an almost word for word plagiarization of an opening monolog from an early Seinfeld episode.

Drinking Age
 

I was surprised at some of the drinking ages listed...

chart of drinking age/age to purchase

Drinking by minors under adult supervision is permitted in licensed premises in provinces of Manitoba and New Brunswick and at home in Prince Edward Island, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

Denmark - Alcohol may be purchased at age 15 for off-premises consumption, but not until age 18 at on-premises establishments.

Germany - Beer and wine may be served to people under 16 only if they are accompanied by parents.

14 year old - "Hey mom, could we go to a bar and have a beer?"

Edited to add...it seems more dangerous to let a 15 yo buy alcohol for "offsite" consumption - at least it would have been for me and my friends.

just wondering
 

When children are killed because an idiot left them in a hot car too long, why is the car always an SUV? Is it because they're so big that you don't see the children back there?

Drinking Age
 

That was more of a business decision on the part of the liquor lobbyists, designed to cut down on the on-premises vomiting.

Drinking Age
 

Um, the idea is that if children don't view alcohol as some taboo-like scary substance, they'll be less inclined to want to overindulge when they can get their paws on it legally. If you grow up with alcohol as no big deal, it stays that way for your whole life. At least that's the idea. I think it's a good one.

Drinking Age
 

That reminds me of the time I tried to walk through a drive through liquor store in New Mexico. They wouldn't sell me anything, citing state law. I argued that it was much safer to sell to my pedestrian self than it was to sell to my vehicled self, but the vendor was adamant.

Dilemma
 

Ouch, babe. I wouldn't go that far, but I do remember the episode you're talking about. Don't think it was Monopoly in particular, but the punch line was "Lawyers are the ones who write/read the rules on the inside of the box."

Drinking Age
 

That's a really good theory, but what I can remember from being 15, is that a 15 yo does not know their limits. Much the same as when you're in college and you binge. You don't really know your limits until you've puked at least that one time.

But, I guess if you're drinking with your family then there might be less of a tendency to get hammered (unless your family is intolerable, then...drink till you puke).

Greetings
 

Hello to those who remember me. I switched jobs and thus, I have been away. I am just flying through.

I see that the fashionistas have migrated. hmm.

keep up the good work!
See ya
Wigs

just wondering
 

It's the warm, protective blanket of greenhouse gases in the immediate vicinity. Snuggly in winter; deadly in summer. Was the woman who was caught on tape beating the shit out of her toddler in the mall parking lot driving an SUV? I'm less clear on the science underpinning that correlation, if any.

As for me, I'm very excited about the prospect of the Ford Escape Hybrid to be sold to the public in Summer 2004. A 201 hp V-6 equivalent SUV with 40 mpg! Woo-hoo!

just wondering
 

I'm probably trading in my Explorer for one as soon as the reviews come out favorably. $2000 tax credit, here I come.