Good evening.
A new month begins, and off to a pretty good start, I’d say: pleasant weather for Whitewater, with rain only in the evening.
We’re only part way through a statewide recount, and one cannot count how many time’s one’s heard questions about ‘whether it’s worth the cost’ or what a burden it is that we ‘have to go through this.’ Many of those times, one’s hearing a double standard. The right is sure that Wisconsin needs ballot integrity through photo identification, but doubtful that a margin of less than one-half of one-percent needs a recount. The law allows a recount, as the law would — if modified — require a photo ID. Yet there’s more worry about a possible change in law than about the exercise of existing rights, both of which are meant to assure sound elections.
Whitewater has a grand opening ahead this week, of a taxpayer-funded Innovation Center, after two previous celebrations. No better time than this week to catch up on a few points, and review a few more.
I caught a French film, Don’t Look Back (Ne te retourne pas, for those who are particular), and it’s a dark, suspenseful film — thoughtful, too. There are no special effects by American standards. Why is that? It would be wrong to say that the French are more cerebral than we are — their tastes are no less varied than our own, or other people’s. In part, it’s that these are the expressions of French culture that make it to America — there’s much more that doesn’t. In part, too, I think, is the difference in scale between American and foreign productions; there’s no studio abroad with a budget for special effects anything close to a Hollywood studio’s budget. How we built those larger studios is another topic.
From Hollywood, though, one could do far worse than The Other Guys, with Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Eva Mendes. It’s not a heavy and serious film, but not every film need or should be. Wahlberg asks, upon seeing Eva Mendes introduced as Ferrell’s wife, “Seriously, who is that?” It’s funny both because Ferrell’s character, absurdly, doesn’t see much in Mendes, but also because there are real situations where one asks the question in disbelief of a seemingly mismatched couple.
Trailer for Don’t Look Back: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1576011289/
Trailer for The Other Guys: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1253639705/