A Rain of Frogs

Are you the metaphorical rabbit or the proverbial bunny?

Eventually one just has to let go of anger. It’s a very corrosive emotion, and if it ravages unchecked for too long it leaves holes in one’s heart, holes through which all the good, happy emotions in life will leak.

I still get angry sometimes. I’ve had a lot to be angry about lately. A lot to be upset about. But I make an effort not to stay angry. It’s just not worth it. Anger renders the perpetually angry incapable of happiness.

And I am actively pursuing happiness.

The spotlight followed the man across the stage, highlighting his natty, tailed tuxedo jacket and glinting off his highly polished wing-tipped shoes. He stopped in the middle of the cracked, peeling old stage, a man and a pool of light in an otherwise dark and hushed room.

With a flourish of his hand, he produced a startlingly white dove. He began to speak:

“Pay close attention. There is nothing up my sleeve. No trick mirror or secret compartments. There is only what I am about to show you. There is only the truth.

“For the memorable past, the powers that be in this world have been hiding this truth from you. They’ve been hoarding it to themselves and not letting you see it. They have stolen it from you, and I am here to give it back.”

His hands moved again, and there were two white doves, one in each hand. He continued:

“The fact is, creativity has been taken from you. Not the act. Just the word. For years you’ve been told that you are not creative unless you are artistic. Unless you are a painter, or a musician, or a writer. Only if you are one of the artistic elite, contributing to the greater cultural good are you creative.

“And I am here to tell you this is not the case! It is time we rise and take creativity back! The man working in the steel factory is creative. He is creating wealth for his employer. He is creating money with which to feed and clothe and educate and entertain his family. The police officer, creating stability and safety. The girl in the coffee shop, creating ripples of smiles that percolate through the days of her patrons!

“These people are creating! They are not creating some vapid, pretentious culture that is obscure and obnoxious and makes people feel stupid if they don’t agree with the “artist’s” point of view, if they don’t understand what they are hearing. They are creating!”

His hands flipped again, and a flock of brilliant white doves sat on his arms. He concluded with one final statement:

“They are creating life. You are creating life. You are creative. Never let them take it away.”

And then the spotlight was empty, except for the doves as they fluttered down toward the cracked, peeling hardwood stage.

So, on the recommendation of many people who used to have artistic opinions I admired, I watched The Departed last night. I had a Windows Vista moment. As in “Wow”.

What a disturbing film. It was like the very worst violence of Scorsese combined with the very worst graphic violence of Tarantino. The Godfather with MORE blood and violence, if you can believe it.

I can honestly say that The Departed was the first movie I ever watched that left me feeling violated. I was shaky after watching it. I still feel weird about it, hours and hours later.

The night before we watched Babel, which was also a uniquely odd movie. It too had some minor scenes of violence, but compared to The Departed, it was a Disney flick.

And I’m not the kind of person to deride a film for being violent, even gratuitously so. I was just taken so off guard by The Departed.

I am not recommending this film to anyone. I didn’t really enjoy it, I didn’t see the point. Maybe I missed it. Maybe it was hiding behind the sprays of blood on the elevator wall. Or the sidewalk. Or the floor. Or the car door. Or the bucket of a front end loader.

Wow indeed.

A birthday present from my girlfriend, complete with very thoughtful engraving.

It’s capacity is enough to hold the entire BBC dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings she gave me for christmas AND Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials Trilogy.

And then some. I’ve always like the shuffles, but this latest iteration is notable for its wonderful form factor AND for being the first iPod ever available in what is obviously the natural colour for an iPod.