My Reading Took A Hit This Year

A review of my Netflix activity suggests why...



Seems having a DVD player, a TV monitor, and an iMac will ruin a fella's literary intentions and pretensions. My Reading Challenge at Goodreads has not lived up to expectations (31 of 48 for 2014) while my Netflix queue has never been more expansive, eclectic, or low brow. Movies in theatrical release were mostly watched at the Picture Show in Prescott, AZ. Among my viewing treats, classics, and mistakes:

6 Souls

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Absentia (Review)

All Is Lost

American Mary *

Anjelah Johnson: That's How We Do It

Anjelah Johnson: The Homecoming Show

Attack of the Crab Monsters

Ayahuasca: Vine of the Soul 

Bettie Page Reveals All

Beyond the Black Rainbow *

Beyond the Edge

Big Ass Spider! *

Birth of the Living Dead

Blood Beast Terror

Born in Flames *

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Carrie

Chelsea Peretti: One of the Greats 

Cinematic Titanic: Alien Factor

Cinematic Titanic: Danger on Tiki Island

Cinematic Titanic: The Wasp Woman

Crawlspace

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dead Man 

Dead Man Down

Debra DiGiovanni: Single Awkward Female

Delicatessen

Despicable Me 2

Detention

DMT: The Spirit Molecule

Doc of the Dead

Edge of Tomorrow

El Topo

Encounters at the End of the World

Escape

Europa Report

Exodus

Faust

Film Crew: Killers From Space

Frankenstein's Army *

Frozen

Fury

Galaxy Quest

Game of Thrones

Godzilla

Grabbers

Guardians of the Galaxy

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

Haunter

Helix: Season 1: "Pilot" *

Hellbound?

Her (Review)

Hobbit III

Holy Mountain

House of Voices

Ice Spiders *

Iliza Shlesinger: War Paint

Interstellar

Iron Sky: Director's Cut

Jodorworsky's Dune

John Dies at the End

John Wick 

Joseph Campbell: Suhkavati

Jug Face

Kathleen Madigan: Madigan Again 

La Belle et la Bette (Review)

Lewis Black: Old Yeller: Live at the Borgata

Limitless

Lone Survivor

Lovelace

Lucy

Machete Kills

Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell *

Mama

Melanie Comarcho: Hello!

Mockingjay I

Monique Marvez: Not Skinny Not Blonde

Monster on the Campus

Morgan Murphy: Irish Goodbye

Mr. Nobody (Review)

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Attack of the Giant Leeches

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Crash of Moons

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Devil Fish

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Barugon

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hamlet *

Mystery Science Theater 3000: I Accuse My Parents

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Jack Frost

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Lost Continent

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos: The Hands of Fate

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Mitchell

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Mr. B's Lost Shorts

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Parts: The Clonus Horror

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Pod People

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teenage Strangler

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Teenagers from Outer Space

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Beast of Yucca Flats

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Beatniks

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Giant Spider Invasion

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Girl in Lovers' Lane

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Indestructible Man

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Wild Rebels 

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Zombie Nightmare

Nightbreed: The Director's Cut

Noah

Nova: Decoding Neanderthals

Nova: Mind of a Rampage Killer

Oblivion

Oculus

Odd Thomas

Perfect Sense

Radio Bikini

Radio Free Albemuth

Ragnarok

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

Red Lights

RiffTrax: Plan 9 from Outer Space: LIVE! Nashville 2009

RiffTrax: Swing Parade

RiffTrax: The Best of RiffTrax Shorts: Vol. 2

Robot Chicken

Robot Chicken Star Wars

Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode II

Robot Chicken Star Wars: Episode III

Robot Chicken: DC Special

Rush

Safety Not Guaranteed (Review)

Santa Sangre

Scourge

Secrets of the Dead: World's Biggest Bomb

Sherri Shepherd: It's My Time to Talk

Silent Hill

Silent House 

Sin City II

Snowpiercer

Solomon Kane

Sommore: Chandelier Status

Son of Frankenstein / Ghost of Frankenstein

Splintered

Star Trek: Enterprise: Season 4: "These Are the Voyages..."

Star Trek: Season 1: "Where No Man Has Gone Before"

Tammy Pescatelli: Finding the Funny

Thale

The Amazing Transparent Man

The Artist

The Bay

The Colony

The Conqueror Worm

The Cosmic Man

The Deadly Spawn

The Dreamers

The Eternal *

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (Review)

The Gift

The Gorgon / Scream of Fear

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Homesman

The Host

The Island at the Top of the World

The Lair of the White Worm

The Land Unknown / The Deadly Mantis

The Last Days

The Last Days on Mars

The Legend of Hell House

The Lego Movie

The Machine

The Numbers Station

The Prophecy 2

The Prophecy 3: The Ascent

The Prophecy: Forsaken

The Prophecy: Uprising

The Reeds

The Wall (Review)

The Warrior's Way

The Wildest Dream

Tiny: A Story About Living Small

Trance

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil 

Twixt *

Under the Skin *

Upstream Color (Review)

Val Lewton: I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher

Val Lewton: Isle of the Dead / Bedlam

Val Lewton: The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship

Violet & Daisy

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

We're the Millers

White Zombie

Wings *

Wings of Desire

Women Who Kill

X-Men: Days of Future Past 

Zombies of Mora Tau / The Werewolf

I also watched Seasons 1-3 of Game of Thrones (no spoilers for seasons 4-5 please!), Season Five of The Walking Dead and Archer. There were a variety of episodes of MST3K, Rifftrax , The Film Crew, and Cinematic Titanic as well.

There are worse ways to escape a rough day and the prospect of a sleepless night, but the classics are certainly collecting more dust on the bookshelf.

[Update: I'm concerned that someone might consider this a list of movies that they should see. No, not true at all. Thus, those now tagged with an asterisk may be skipped without risk.]

The Reason For The Season

Is that our planet is tilted...

Happy Solstice to All and to All a Short Day!

Image by way of https://twitter.com/HoustonOasis 

Near Death Experiences: The Only Thing Missing Is "Death"

More fun from Unbelievable...

The good folks at Unbelievable from Premier Christian Radio in the UK had an interesting episode Saturday the 6th of December. The topic was Near Death Experiences (NDE). The True Believers were represented by Eben Alexander, a physician who recovered from a grievous illness with an interesting story, and Graham Nicholls, who claims to be able to have Out of Body Experiences (OBE) at will, complete with veridical accounts no less. Defending the scientific view was neuroscientist Dr. Jane Aspell, PhD, MBPsS (Dr. Steven Novella of Neurologica blog and The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, was originally slated to participate but did not). Host Justin Brierly was evenhanded, even favoring the science side of things, perhaps because his evangelical outlook is cautious of non-biblical mystical experiences. These are my comments on the show sent to Justin via email and posted under the show notes:

When it comes to the Near Death Experience (NDE) the first and most important thing to remember is that they don’t involve death. The brain is not dead. It may be poorly oxygenated and operating well below normal levels, but the reason there are reports of NDEs is because the resuscitation effort was both continuous and effective. When does the brain stop perceiving stimuli and stop laying down memories? We don’t know for sure, but the brain doesn’t quit the moment we close our eyes and remain dormant until the moment we open them again. As in dreams, we have no reason to believe “reality testing” and our sense of elapsed time are accurate while in a coma. The more we learn about the limitations of eyewitness testimony the more we realize that memory is a highly mutable thing. If the ability to lay out events accurately and in their proper sequence is challenging in a waking state, imagine how the brain might conflate images, memories, wishes, and stimuli while its body fights for its life. 

Apart from 20th century quantum mumbo jumbo, the allegedly new pseudoscience of non-local consciousness is essentially a rehash of ancient theological, philosophical, and pre-scientific intuitions regarding the body, soul, spirit, life, death, the cosmos, and the nature of reality. Except for the minority of those whose NDE takes them on a visit to hell, the beatific visions frequently share some common features, but are also wildly divergent in the fine details. As with mystical religious experiences, newly minted true believers promptly cleave to their holy books and discard their former commitments to science, logic, and critical thinking. Among the first things a new pseudoscientist does (other than to write a book) is ask that long accepted standards of evidence be relaxed. There is no such thing as “materialist science,” there is only science. There is of course rigorous science and poorly done science. Most studies of NDE and OBE necessarily take the form of phenomenology - evaluating reports of subjective experience - which is not science in the way we normally think of it. Randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded studies that can be duplicated remain the Gold Standard of scientific evidence. True Believers would insist on it if it supported their case, until then they will rely on special pleading. 

Spiritualists, mind readers, and faith healers are notorious for the number of hucksters in their ranks. Then there are the credulous wishful thinkers who no longer recognize their confirmation bias. As for those who claim veridical experience, there is precious little evidence for it and none of it is good. While we can all agree that creating NDEs in the lab is unethical, those who claim the ability to have OBEs at will (like Graham Nicholls) ought to be able to prove their claims, using criteria established in advance. That hasn’t happened, even though there’s a million dollar prize on offer for anyone who could actually do it. The few names - Greyson, Parnia, Sartori, Van Lommel - repeated over and over by Alexander and Nicholls are just about all the big names in this pseudoscientific parapsychological field. Alexander touts four books (two of them his; buy them for the details), but the overlapping fields of neurology, psychology, psychiatry, cognitive science, neuro-imaging, etc. publish thousands of papers and hundreds of books each year. 

NDE and OBE effects can be duplicated by stimulation of the temporal lobes, hallucinogens, meditation, breath control, hypoxia, brain injury, certain forms of epilepsy, extreme emotion, virtual reality machinery, and other stressors. As with other mystical experiences, several of which have given rise to whole religions, there is no reason to believe these events occur anywhere but within our embodied brains.

UPDATE: Dr. Novella did debate Dr. Alexander earlier this year.

ANOTHER UPDATE: In the immortal words of John Candy in Splash "They published my letter!"  Justin read about half of my email during the comments sections the following week.

When it comes to the Near Death Experience (NDE) the first and most important thing to remember is that they don’t involve death. The brain is not dead. It may be poorly oxygenated and operating well below normal levels, but the reason there are reports of NDEs is because the resuscitation effort was both continuous and effective. When does the brain stop perceiving stimuli and stop laying down memories? We don’t know for sure, but the brain doesn’t quit the moment we close our eyes and remain dormant until the moment we open them again. As in dreams, we have no reason to believe “reality testing” and our sense of elapsed time are accurate while in a coma. The more we learn about the limitations of eyewitness testimony the more we realize that memory is a highly mutable thing. If the ability to lay out events accurately and in their proper sequence is challenging in a waking state, imagine how the brain might conflate images, memories, wishes, and stimuli while its body fights for its life.  

Apart from 20th century quantum mumbo jumbo, the allegedly new pseudoscience of non-local consciousness is essentially a rehash of ancient theological, philosophical, and pre-scientific intuitions regarding the body, soul, spirit, life, death, the cosmos, and the nature of reality.  

NDE and OBE effects can be duplicated by stimulation of the temporal lobes, hallucinogens, meditation, breath control, hypoxia, brain injury, certain forms of epilepsy, extreme emotion, virtual reality machinery, and other stressors. As with other mystical experiences, several of which have given rise to whole religions, there is no reason to believe these events occur anywhere but within our embodied brains. 

Image credit: Ascent of the Blessed by Hieronymus Bosch

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Or MST3K for those of you in a hurry...

Mystery Science Theater 3000, at once low-brow and witty, cynical and hilarious, is the main reason I first paid for cable.

"Welcome to the Satellite of Love, the orbiting home of legendary hosts Joel Robinson and Mike Nelson, along with their robotic companions: Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo and Gypsy. Join them in this cult favorite series as they embark on a journey of gut-busting riffs on the classic cinematic missteps of yesteryear." - Shout Factory MST3K page

Of the 197 television episodes broadcast from 1988 to 1999, I've seen 71 - some of the best 6,390 minutes of my life. Another 22 are in my my Netflix queue. Others pop up here and there from time to time. There are but a few episodes in which the source material was so execrable that even Gypsy, Tom Servo, Crow T. Robot, and Joel Robinson or Mike Nelson could not keep me glued to the tube (I'm talking to you, Episode 1009 - Hamlet!)

I've caught the few episodes of The Film Crew. These days the Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax are pretty good too, though none feature the Satellite of Love.

This last Thursday I enjoyed much of the MST3K Turkey Day Marathon for the first time. I hope to never miss it again.

Have I ever forgiven Sci-Fi Channel (SyFy, puh-leeze!) for canceling MST3K? No. Will I ever? Nope, not never.

[UPDATE: Best Joel vs. Mike essay ever!]

Hey, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Might! Not! Suck!

There's plenty of press regarding the first trailer, released a mere 13 months before Star Wars: The Force Awakens actually arrives at your favorite movie house.  

I must admit I am skeptically, reservedly, cautiously optimistic.  It' nice to feel that way about the series again.

Even if you promised yourself you'd never watch another Stars Wars movie again as long as you lived, don't miss the Lego version of the trailer.

PS, Mr. Abrams, If I see any sign of Jar Jar Binks, anywhere but an epitaph on a tombstone that is, I am going to be very, very disappointed.  Oh, and if there are any Ewoks, they better have shaved, started wearing pants, and taken to toting blasters...

UPDATED: Not everyone is so sanguine. Star Wars "Expanded Universe" nerd-dom is freaking out like Wookies in a Holiday Special.

We're Back, Pitches!

I have guilty pleasures...

And a sequel to one of them, Pitch Perfect 2, is on the way to a theater near you...us...me...whatever!

Four syllables, pitch pipers: Anna Kendrick

Mr. Nobody

Is about everybody...

This 2009 science fiction fantasy by Jaco Van Dormael and starring the exquisitely talented Jared Leto evokes Sliding Doors and It's a Wonderful Life.  It's langorous pace and revisiting of the protagonist's life choices with variables changed again and again might distract the average moviegoer, but the patient and attentive viewer will be rewarded with a film that is thoughtful, kind, wistful, and sad.  Mr. Nobody is about memories, first love, second chances, third choices, regret, and satisfaction.

"As long as you don't choose everything remains possible." - Nemo Nobody

If only that were true.

According to IO9

These are 30 Cult Movies That Absolutely Everybody Must See...



I've seen all but one*, two are on my list of favorite films, only three are horrible, and I've seen 17 more than once. Hmm, guess that makes me a cultist.

30) Zardoz >1

29) Tremors >1

28) The Warriors

27) Lost Boys >1

26) Born in Flames queued up*

25) Sharktopus horrible

24) Tales from the Hood

23) Death Race 2000 >1

22) The Hunger >1

21) Plan 9 from Outer Space horrible, >1

20) Dark Star

19) Slither

18) Buckaroo Banzai favorite, >1

17) Time Bandits >1

16) Evil Dead 2

15) Night of the Living Dead >1

14) Brother from Another Planet

13) Cherry 2000 >1

12) Altered States favorite, >1

11) Repo Man

10) Monty Python and the Holy Grail >1

9) They Live >1

8) Primer

7) Naked Lunch

6) The Man Who Fell To Earth >1

5) Re-Animator >1

4) Big Trouble in Little China >1

3) Eraserhead horrible

2) Donny Darko

1) Rocky Horror Picture Show >1

http://io9.com/30-cult-movies-that-absolutely-everybody-must-see-1538502596

*UPDATE: Watched Born In Flames (after a DVDNetflix Short Wait).  Not horrible.  There, I've seen the whole list...

Still Written In The Scars On My Heart

Recommended by a fellow displaced Minnesotan via Twitter...

Right from the start

You were a thief

You stole my heart

And I your willing victim

I let you see the parts of me

That weren't all that pretty

And with every touch you fixed them.

Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh

Things you never say to me, oh, oh

Tell me that you've had enough

Of our love, our love.

Just give me a reason

Just a little bit's enough

Just a second, we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again

It's in the stars

It's been written in the scars on our hearts

We're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again.

I'm sorry I don't understand

Where all of this is coming from

I thought that we were fine.

Oh, we had everything

Your head is running wild again

My dear we still have everythin'

And it's all in your mind.

Yeah, but this is happenin'

You've been havin' real bad dreams, oh, oh
You used to lie so close to me, oh, oh

There's nothing more than empty sheets

Between our love, our love

Oh, our love, our love.

Just give me a reason

Just a little bit's enough

Just a second, we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again

I never stopped

You're still written in the scars on my heart

You're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again

Oh, tear ducts can rust

I'll fix it for us

We're collecting dust

But our love's enough

You're holding it in

You're pouring a drink

No nothing is as bad as it seems

We'll come clean!

Just give me a reason

Just a little bit's enough

Just a second we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again

It's in the stars

It's been written in the scars on our hearts

That we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again.

Just give me a reason

Just a little bit's enough

Just a second we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again

It's in the stars

It's been written in the scars on our hearts

That we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again

Oh, we can learn to love again

Oh, we can learn to love again

Oh, oh, that we're not broken just bent

And we can learn to love again...

"Just Give Me A Reason" - Pink

Thank you, @66Betty

Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec

Or as we say in America...

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, is a 2010 film by Luc Besson, based upon a French comic of the same name. Starring Louise Bourgoin in the title role, Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec is set in 1911 Paris and features a lady adventurer, her unlucky twin, a fortunate dog, a pterosaur, an eccentric scientist, a posse of revitalized mummies, a smitten grad student, an evil nemesis, a clueless police detective, and a bumbling professional hunter. Yeah, it's that good. It riffs on Tin Tin, the Indiana Jones saga, and the Brendan Frazier Mummy movies, but its dialogue is more witty and its production values are stunning. Available as a NetFlix watch instantly option, the PG-rated The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is must see for anyone able to read the subtitles.

I Read Some Blogs Too

When time permits...

Here are some interesting recent posts from my reading list.

BPS Research Digest - Blogging on the Brain and Behaviour

The 10 most controversial psychology studies ever published

NIOSH Science Blog

Accurate and Efficient Assessments of Working Posture

Mind Hacks

Problems with Bargh's Definition of Unconscious

The Aviationist

F-15 Eagle vs CF-18 Hornet vs F-16 Fighting Falcon: a Pilot’s Perspective

NeuroLogica Blog

How to Be a Science Denier

Safegrowth - Inspire Neighborhood Futures

What's Happening to our Police?

Universe Today

SpaceX Commercial Resupply Dragon Set for Sept. 21 Blastoff to Station – Watch Live

Oh Say, Can You See

That Canadians observe the bicentennial of the War of 1812 differently that we do...

CBC Radio's, Ideas, with Paul Kennedy, is one of my favorite podcasts. From time to time over the past couple years they've presented episodes examining the War of 1812. Their September 15, 2014 show, Oh Say, Can You See? is a fine piece of radio journalism. The detailed story of Francis Scott Key and the experiences that lead to his writing the poem, "Defence of Fort McHenry" which in time became our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, alone is worth your time.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, 

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? 

And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. 

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, 

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, 

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, 

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? 

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, 

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 

'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore 

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, 

A home and a country should leave us no more! 

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. 

No refuge could save the hireling and slave 

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: 

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand 

Between their loved home and the war's desolation! 

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land 

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. 

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 

And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." 

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

Play ball!

Ignore The Netflix Movie Poster

Absentia is a thoughtfully creepy horror film...

Due to mixed reviews and a three stars Netflix rating I wasn't expecting much from the 2011 horror film Absentia. I was pleasantly (or is that unpleasantly?) surprised. The acting by Courtney Bell and Katie Parker was genuine, production values were real world. The pacing was measured, slow but never plodding. The story builds patiently toward a shocking and sad resolution. What I found most compelling is that Absentia can play as a psychological thriller dealing with the unexplained loss of loved ones, or as the worst sort of horror film, in which families, relationships, and lives are shredded through no fault of their own by merciless and implacable forces against which there is no defense. Absentia is not for everyone, but serious horror fans will enjoy it.

Heart of the Matter

One of the three best songs on End of the Innocence, Don Henley's best album...

"I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come.

An old true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone.

And I thought of all the bad luck and all the struggles we went through
How I lost me and you lost you.
What are all these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment and beg for something more?

I've been learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes.
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning them again.

I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore.

These times are so uncertain, there's a yearning undefined

And people filled with rage.

We all need a little tenderness, how can love survive

In such a graceless age?

And the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness

Are the very things we kill, I guess.

Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms

And the work they put between us, you know it doesn't keep me warm.

I'm learning to live without you now

But I miss you, baby.

The more I know, the less I understand

All the things I thought I'd figured out, I have to learn again.

I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter

But everything changes and my friends seem to scatter.

But I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness

Even if, even if you don't love me anymore.

There are people in your life who've come and gone

They let you down, you know they hurt your pride.

You better put it all behind you babe, 'cause life goes on

You keep carryin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside, baby.

I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter

But my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter

But I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness

Even if, even if you don't love me.

I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter

Because the flesh will get weak and the ashes will scatter

So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness, forgiveness

Even if, even if you don't love me.

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Forgiveness

Even if you don't love me anymore..."

Yeah, it's been a very long weekend.

PS, The other two great songs on the album were New York Minute and The Last Worthless Evening.  Back in the day I had no idea these three songs would become part of my life's soundtrack.

Her

Is totally authentic...

And terribly sad.

Not at all the right movie for me this weekend.  No, not at all...

Update: Feeling better now.  Her is brilliant and surprisingly subtle science fiction, the sort that carries the viewer from his or her current time and place into a nearly imaginable and fully realized future.  I'm impressed by Spike Jonze' writing and directing, and even Joaquin Phoenix' nuanced and understated performance. Scarlett Johansson was adorable  heartfelt, incredible as Samantha, but who wouldn't fall in love with her, even over the phone?

See it...when you're not sad about your relationships.