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	30 April 2004 MOVIE: DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004). This is a "zombie movie" in that it is purely about zombies, and not much else. As in: it neglects to explain the possible origins of a deadly, worldwide virus; it lacks the patience to even attempt an exploration of the possible social metaphors inherent in a rag-tag group of survivors beseiged in a shopping mall (a shopping mall!) by the undead horde; it can't be bothered to develop emotionally invested character in even the slightest, opting instead to use an unwieldy, unmemorable ensemble cast. But enough of this gay banter. The opening act of the movie (brilliantly set to Johnny Cash's The Man Comes Around), is breathtaking in its utterly believable depiction of a world falling to pieces. In the second act, there's this super-horrific scene involving a pregant lady and her zombie child. And finally, as part of a crazy plan to escape the mall, the survivors resort to cobbling together armored vans, A-team style. So those were spectacles worth watching. And the ending? Ah, the ending. Let's just say it's a bleak, unsatisfying one, lacking both the heart and ingenuity of superior films in the genre such as the original 1978 Dawn of the Dead and 2002's pretty-damn-good 28 Days Later. "When there's no more room in hell, the dead shall walk the earth."   Back to main 28 April 2004 MOVIE: 13 GOING ON 30 (2004). Nicki, lovely creature that she is, often uses her feminine guile to bend me to her will. That said, this recent rom-com starring Jennifer Garner (of television's Alias) and Mark Ruffalo (of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the insulting In the Cut) was surprisingly entertaining. The group dance scene, set to Michael Jackson's Thriller, for example. Or Garner blundering around (convincingly) as she adjusts to her new 30-year-old world. It's done well enough to compensate nicely for the super cheesy moments that pepper the movie in (mercifully) small numbers. What interested me most was not the predictable story arc (SPOILER ALERT!!! They get together at the end!!) but the portrayal of friends meeting years after having gone their separate ways. At age 13, Jenna (Garner's character) abandons her friend Matt (played by Ruffalo) in order to join the most elite clique at school. Her social ruthlessness extends into her adult life -- she steals credit for other people's ideas, sleeps with married men, drinks too much, &cetera. When a bewildered, newly awakened Jenna seeks Matt out, she discovers that he has built a wall of resentment around him. After all, he'd been shut out by the girl he loved for many years now. He's moved on. But now, a conflicted Matt finds himself suddenly having to explain the history of how he and Jenna stopped being best friends. Maybe it's becuase I'm 32, and increasingly find myself thinking about both the past and the future in equal amounts, but something about that scene moved me. I admit this despite the fact that the movie, with its '80's soundtrack and urban, creative-professional millieu, is marketed directly towards my age group. 30-somethings can't pretend to be children anymore: college is long gone, and 40 is not so far away. Time is carefully rationed. Old friends, once just down the street but now scattered across the globe, become even more precious. Now that all our prep work is done, we've finally become what we wanted to be when we grew up. And if things haven't worked out exactly as expected, it's easy to become super-nostaligic. The movie resolves all of Jenna's mistakes in an idiotic, unforgivable way. But whatever. See it for its many entertaining moments, and also for Mark Ruffalo's performance. He's damn good in anything he does, I swear.   Back to main 26 April 2004 PHOTO DIARY. Today's Newman's Own Alphabet Cookie word is: PFC MOB, or "Private First Class Mob."   Back to main 25 April 2004 PHOTO DIARY. We went to the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound's Feline Conservation Center in Rosamond, California yesterday for their twilight tour. Cats are most active at dusk, you see. Rosamond is in the middle of the desert north of Los Angeles. The zoo itself is a bit sad and underfunded, stuck in a dusty, backwater location with only thirty or so wire cages housing beautiful (and lethargic) cats of all kinds. This one lazily squashed a watermelon in its jaws out of boredom. Unfortunately it was impossible to get a good shot of the cats without the metal grid obscuring the view. Our fellow spectators included some real cat fanatics, many of them wearing cat-print t-shirts and such. Near the zoo's entrance is this donor's walk, which is lined with bricks laser-engraved with custom messages from cat lovers around the country. Bizarre cat names abound. "Edge Kitty" here. And "Satan" here. Rest in peace, Satan.   Back to main MAGAZINE: ADBUSTERS NO. 53 (2004) Adbuster's newest issue, entitled Hope and Memory, is an intimidating catalog of key events in U.S. imperialism from 1801 to the present. Adbusters departed from their familiar scotch-tape-and-sharpie 'zine style to tell this relentless and horrifying tale in a straightforward, almost textbook-like manner. I'm still a little stunned after finally having finished it -- the amount of people killed in, for, and around our nation's short history makes my eyes glaze over in despair. All the stuff you thought you should learn more about (but never did because you were too lazy to read past the headlines) is here: The Louisiana Purchase, The Spot Resolutions, Manifest Destiny, Monroe Doctrine, the Spanish-American War, Operation Paperclip, the School of the Americas, Iran's secret service SAVAK, Air America, Operation Mongoose, The Weather Underground, the Iran-Contra affair, Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada, The Freedom Fighter's Manual, Operation Restore Hope, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Deny Flight, Operation Infinite Reach, Operation Desert Shield, and on and on and on and on. I'm too overwhelmed to even consider how biased and/or inaccurate Adbusters might actually be. All I can say is: High school didn't teach me shit; I lack the vocabulary for a proper historical debate; and these days, what with Saudi princes pledging to lower gas prices to grease a U.S. presidential election, I'm running pretty low on both hope and memory. It's long. It's dense. But take the time to read it.   Back to main Archives. 17 August 2003 — 24 August 2003 — 31 August 2003 — 07 September 2003 — 14 September 2003 — 02 November 2003 — 09 November 2003 — 16 November 2003 — 23 November 2003 — 30 November 2003 — 07 December 2003 — 01 February 2004 — 08 February 2004 — 15 February 2004 — 22 February 2004 — 29 February 2004 — 07 March 2004 — 14 March 2004 — 21 March 2004 — 28 March 2004 — 04 April 2004 — 11 April 2004 — 18 April 2004 — 25 April 2004 — 02 May 2004 — 09 May 2004 — 16 May 2004 — 23 May 2004 — 30 May 2004 — 06 June 2004 — 13 June 2004 — 20 June 2004 — 27 June 2004 — 04 July 2004 — 11 July 2004 — 18 July 2004 — 25 July 2004 — 01 August 2004 — 08 August 2004 — 15 August 2004 — 22 August 2004 — 29 August 2004 — 05 September 2004 — 12 September 2004 — 19 September 2004 — 26 September 2004 — 03 October 2004 — 10 October 2004 — 17 October 2004 — 24 October 2004 — 31 October 2004 — 07 November 2004 — 14 November 2004 — 21 November 2004 — 28 November 2004 — 05 December 2004 — 12 December 2004 — 19 December 2004 — 26 December 2004 — 02 January 2005 — 09 January 2005 — 23 January 2005 — 30 January 2005 — 06 February 2005 — 13 February 2005 — 20 February 2005 — 27 February 2005 — 13 March 2005 — 20 March 2005 — 27 March 2005 — 03 April 2005 — 10 April 2005 — 17 April 2005 — 24 April 2005 — 01 May 2005 — 08 May 2005 — 22 May 2005 — 29 May 2005 — 05 June 2005 — 12 June 2005 — 19 June 2005 — 26 June 2005 — 03 July 2005 — 10 July 2005 — 17 July 2005 — 24 July 2005 — 31 July 2005 — 07 August 2005 — 14 August 2005 — 28 August 2005 — 04 September 2005 — 25 September 2005 — 02 October 2005 — 09 October 2005 — 30 October 2005 — 06 November 2005 — 13 November 2005 — 20 November 2005 — 27 November 2005 — 04 December 2005 — 18 December 2005 — 01 January 2006 — 08 January 2006 — 15 January 2006 — 22 January 2006 — 05 February 2006 — 26 February 2006 — 12 March 2006 — 19 March 2006 — 26 March 2006 — 02 April 2006 — 16 April 2006 — 23 April 2006 — 30 April 2006 — 07 May 2006 — 14 May 2006 — 21 May 2006 — 04 June 2006 — 18 June 2006 — 25 June 2006 — 16 July 2006 — 23 July 2006 — 06 August 2006 — 13 August 2006 — 03 September 2006 — 17 September 2006 — 01 October 2006 —