This Guy Rules

Over at the Freakonomics Blog, there is a great interview with a "counterintuitive" economist. Among his propositions is the idea that people without STDs should have MORE sex because they increase the pool of disease-free sex partners.

This is probably the best thing I've ever heard, but that may be because implementation would directly benefit me.

Read the specifics (and his other ideas about the legal system and organ donation that I am more skeptical of) over at the blog.

Wow and Yikes

I saw Knocked Up last week, and I thought it was pretty good. Very funny (funnier than 40-Year-Old Virgin, in my opinion) and very fun to watch.

Since then, I've run across a number of articles bemoaning or extoling the lack of discussion regarding abortion in the movie. The articles seem to complain either that "abortion isn't considered seriously when this is the exact situation it would be. Boo!" or "abortion isn't chosen and that's a testament to morally upstandingness. Yay!"

(see this Slate article in reference to the former)

Now, I wasn't watching for abortion references or discussion when I first saw the movie. I hadn't even thought about the fact that they'd have to consider one at some point; but I hadn't really thought about Knocked Up at all before I saw it.

But I don't remember either of those positions being taken by the film's director and/or producers. Contrary to some reviews, abortion was discussed; but in keeping with the comedic tone (it IS a comedy) they did so briefly and, I thought, amusingly. They probably could have been funnier, but it's a touchy subject and frankly, not the province of a comedy like this.

What I thought they DID do was imply that the mom-to-be did serious thinking and soul-searching off camera. She consulted with her fairly witchy mother (pointed to by Slate and others as the "evil woman pushing the abortion") and got advice; the stoner's friends also offered their opinions. At the end of the day, though, it went exactly the way abortion should be handled: by the mom and, to a lesser extent, the dad.

I may not be remembering it all 100%. But I do remember a scene in which she tentatively called the dad to tell him she had decided to keep the baby. There is no indication in the movie as to how long it took her to come to this decision; what factors she looked at in deciding, or anything beyond the fact that she made it.

To me, this was perfect. I said it three paragraphs earlier, but this is where the point becomes even more important: the movies is a COMEDY. Even if it does a "disservice" to abortion-rights advocates (or to pro-life advocates), it's not supposed to provide guidance. Even if it were a drama, I doubt it would be able to navigate the complex and politically charged waters of abortion any better. The best a movie can do--and in this, Knocked Up succeeds tremendously--is ignite discussion outside of the theater.

I agree that Knocked Up fails miserably at providing a rational and thorough examination of the difficult decision that expectant mothers must make. But anybody who goes to the movies--any movie--expecting to see that should, well, have their head examined.

Summer Weekend of George

This past (past-past, now) weekend was Memorial Day weekend. A three-day bonanza of barbecues, sunshine, and a general welcome to the coming summer months. And, of course, a day of remembrance to those who have died in the line of duty.

Being the good patriot that I am, I participated in none of these activities. The girlfriend was out of town, the roommate was in Wisconsin, and I was free to wallow in my own crapulence.

On Friday night, I worked until 6 or so (around here, that's late; we're pretty laid back that way) and then went home to reheated pizza and video games.

On Saturday, the skies were gray and the weather chilly, so I stayed in pajamas until at least 4 in the afternoon, playing video games and generally achieving as little forward progress as possible. I also watched "In the Bedroom", which has been sitting on my coffee table for almost a month, in an effort to break-up the logjam that is my Netflix queue. It's a fairly intense movie, though having seen it years after it came out, I think it has lost some of its punch. Maybe I'm jaded, but I wanted it to end a bit more realistically. I think it was superbly well-acted (did they win Oscars?) and overall, give it 3.5 out of 5. It would have been 4.5 if the filmmakers had forced a more nuanced and what I bet is a more common outcome (i.e. the non-murderous revenge scenario).

On Sunday, it was more video games. The skies were gray and the weather chilly again. I also did some work, but only half-heartedly, as it was the midpoint of the long-weekend and I wasn't feeling it. I also failed to change from my pajamas the entire day. Wallowing indeed!

Sunday is but a vague memory now, due in large part to the complete lack of achievement on my part. Monday too, except that I did play a rousing game of Scrabble with the downstairs neighbors. Marek won, which is surprising to approximately zero people, but my own personal highlight was convincing everyone that "que" is a word. In English. I even convinced myself (Scrabble tip: it's not.). At one point I had the letters to spell "opaque", which would have netted me something like 40 billing points, but by then there was no room on the board. I suck at Scrabble.

It was a good weekend, overall. This weekend has been more eventful, and in about 10 minutes I'm leaving to go look at a potential new apartment. I do not know Oakland well (I'm at work; the new apartment may be near here, if rents have anything to say about it) but it's in a supposedly nice--not scary--neighborhood.