Cloverfield

Went to see it tonight. I was very impressed with it. I find that, although it had scary moments or things that bothered me, I didn't come away from it scared -- I wasn't supposed to, I think. I also find that it's taking me time to process it. Some of the scenes -- well, okay, a lot of the scenes -- have an abruptness and shock that is very akin to what real life experiences seem like. I found myself a couple of times not exactly flashing back, but definitely having the same emotional reaction as I had when I managed to miss the bridge with my car, or when I heard and felt the boom and thud at work from the explosion at the Murrah building. The use of the rebar for Beth's injury was totally realistic for me -- not the wound per se or how they resolved it, but that they knew to use it. Stuff like that made it both an excellent movie and deeply troubling at the same time. It was, perhaps, not the best film for a social sort of occasion, but it was totally worth seeing anyway.

I think the most lasting emotional note of the film for me is a sense of loss and waste; so much destruction for no purpose, and lives lost due to what was just terrible, awful luck. Of course, it was sheer luck they didn't all bite it much earlier on. That tells me that what I'm processing isn't on the screen, of course... while those things were there, they weren't enough that I should still be feeling their wake even now. They're just shadows; hopefully they'll fade soon enough.

Oh, and I didn't experience motion sickness, though there were a couple of near misses there -- thank heaven for the stomach-settling properties of cold soda.

Still and all, I recommend this movie without hesitation. It's just a fantastic piece of cinema, brilliantly executed. Go see it.

How does this stove thingy work again?

I've realized today that I'm going through one of my "cook? You want me to cook? I don't know how to do that!" phases again. I get like this every so often, usually when I'm stressed or having to concentrate elsewhere or whatever. I can cook and I'm not bad at it, but I don't think I'll ever really love doing it... and during times like this, the part of my brain that has a grudging appreciation/skill for it just shuts off entirely.

I'm sitting here making a grocery list, and damn if I can't think of anything more than bread, milk, and drinks to put on it. I've realized that I could make soup, but then when I try to pin down ingredients and a process, the brain refuses to cooperate and I can't figure out for the life of me how to make actual soup. (yes, I could go get a recipe, but it doesn't do any good if none of them sound appealing.)

I think I'm just busy and annoyed at my weight and unable to concentrate on this stuff, which sucks. I don't want to buy frozen or preprocessed thing X for no better reason than I can't put together how to cook... well, anything right now, really. And yet I need to be cooking, cause eating out or eating crap is expensive in the long run.

Edit: Cooking quandry solved. Recipes found. Texas-style chili made using beef, onion, red wine, spices, and beer. Definitely the most adult chili I've ever made. My point still stands.