More Fragments

or, "I Can't Be Expected to Formulate Entire Blog Posts!"

Plenty to discuss, but not time in which to do it! So let's hit up the highlights, shall we?

• I'm still unconvinced that Hillary is the best candidate. Much is being said about deep-seated sexism, or the fragility of feminism when it is forced up against the real prospect of a powerful woman in power. However, I don't really care about that--longtime readers may recall that I've never really been an HRC fan (see, e.g., this post). But my disagreement with her politics is hard to focus when so much of the discussion centers on gender.
  
  Bill is going a bit nuts these days too. If they're not careful, the Clintons are going to self-destruct themselves right out of this race. I'm still leaning towards Obama.
  
  
• I saw Cloverfield. I am aware that there are wildly varying opinions on this movie, so here is mine: I liked it. If you can get past the indestructible-camcorder gimmick, it's a pretty good take on the monster-movie genre. People are complaining about the aforementioned "shaky-cam" as just a gimmick, but it really is central to the plot. And I was happy to see that they didn't just use the camcorder aspect as an excuse to not show anything interesting (ala Blair Witch). People who compare the two movies are really missing the point--aside from the medium, they aren't alike at all.
  
  Another criticism is that good-looking hipsters who populate the cast are idiots. This is true, but it is also true that most good-looking hipsters (cinematic or real) are idiots. I found most of their actions quite reasonable. And I enjoyed the extended backstory (the first half-hour), because it made the rest of the movie far more believable. Even if they are borderline retarded in their decision-making.
  
  I thought it was entertaining and (if you aren't prone to nausea) worth seeing.
  
  
• It's still raining here in Oakland/Bay Area/Northern California. What the hell, man? It's also bitingly cold. Good reason to stay in and work on my Call of Duty 4 skills, I suppose. The Playstation controller is still kicking my ass pretty handily.