Brokeback Mountain

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you have someone special in your life or spend this day "single" I hope w can all at least experience some love of self on this day - take yourself out to dinner or a movie. I personally will be in classes and then getting coffee with some friends from school while my partner is off training for the military (not the first Valentine's Day that worked out this way for us - kind of getting tired of it though).

Last night I was fortunate enough to get invited to a free movie screening. I brought my friend Crystal with me (hipchick to you bloggers out there) and called in our reservations s the invitation had requested. I had to give our name, race and age in order to register, but when we got there and stood in line, we were rejected because they had too many people in our age bracket - the first time my 30 was used against me. Or maybe it worked out better this way. :) Instead of seeing "Failure to Launch" - a new romantic comedy with Matthew McCon-however-you-spell-it and Sarah Jessica Parker - we got to see whatever we wanted that night for free. So we chose to go see Brokeback Mountain. The theater was practically empty, which was kind of nice, and the movie was quite enjoyable. A few things about it I'm still processing. (1) I don't know a lot about sex between guys, but some of the sex scenes were pretty rough, bordering on rape in my opinion. I don't know if this is "typical" (if we can say any such thing) or if this was due to the particularities of this relationship, but I'm not sure it makes for a good impression of gay relationships. (2) This movie has received all kinds of accolades lately, including nomination for Best Picture at the Oscars. I thought the movie was good, but not THAT good. I know that the fact that it puts homosexuality in the main stream is a big deal, but is that the point of the Oscars? (3) The actors were good, and I particularly found myself feeling for the character played by Michelle Williams, the wife of one of the cowboys who suspects what her husband is up to. You could see her heart breaking and the struggle she went through trying to decide how/when/if to confront him about it. I don't know which people from this movie were nominated or have won, but in this arena, the movie just may deserve it.

A couple of other little things to say:
Olympics - Sad to see Michelle Kwan leave after the big effort to get there, but VERY glad that Emily Hughes will get her chance (which I think she earned with her performance in the Nationals, unlike Kwan). I wish Michelle the best with whatever she decides to do now.

Cheney - Shoots a friend, accidentally, but doesn't tell the press until a day later. What did he think they weren't going to find out? I've never liked this administration and their policies regarding the media (manipulation, exploitation, etc) but COME ON! If it was an accident, why not just show that you're human and move on. Unless Cheney really isn't human.... Hmm. OK, gotta go to class.