Inglourious Basterds

I am very sorry, but I didn't like Inglourious Basterds. Nobody is more shocked and upset with my opinion than myself because I have always loved Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction is probably one of the ten best movies ever in my opinion. Reservoir Dogs is a brilliant film, and I own and love Jackie Brown, Kill Bill and Death Proof. So naturally when I saw that Inglourious Basterds was finally ready to be released (I'd been waiting years to see it), I began to get excited.

Maybe it was because I expected too much that I was so let down. But I found it shallow and lacking all of the wonderful storytelling tools that QT has always used in the past. I was expecting interesting/fun dialogue, amazing suspense and slick cinematography.

I do have to give Brad Pitt credit - he was the single most redeeming factor in the film. His role was amazingly funny; but unfortunately, he was only in it for a few scenes. The music flowed pretty well too, as QT is always good at using great tunes.

But perhaps the most important factor in swaying my decision to dislike this film is what I consider to be a prank on behalf of QT. The big finale scene in the theatre. Did you notice that while Hitler is watching the ridiculous Nazi film how he laughs hysterically at everybody being shot? It's almost disturbing to see his reaction, and you know that that guy has to have some serious issues. It's just not something to laugh at right? I mean the Nazi movie was pretty ridiculous. But then the big prank is when the Basterds enter the scene and start blowing the hell out of people. They're literally shooting at masses of people running for their lives and burning to death. When this happens, everybody in the theatre starts laughing like crazy (just like the scene with Hitler). Don't get me wrong, it can be funny when people die in movies, like in Pulp Fiction when Marvin accidentally gets shot in the face. Hilarious! But I have no doubt in my mind that QT intended to get the audience laughing as a reverse mirror of the Hitler laughing scene. In fact, the entire film is metaphoric with the Nazi film; mirrored but opposite.

Perhaps I could be wrong. But I can tell you honestly that I've always been a huge QT fan, but I walked away from this feeling like garbage. It wasn't the blood & guts at all - I actually found myself chuckling at the scalping - it's just something about the idea of the whole thing that impacted me. And don't give me the "oh, but it's an homage to gritty war films!" line. Yes, I'm well aware of that. But there are ways do to that, and this wasn't the best. His better homages remain Kill Bill and Death Proof. It's just a let down. Congratulations QT - it was at least entertaining, and I get your joke.

5 Most Annoying Drivers

I'm a very conscious driver; consequently, I am a very annoyed driver. I'm not saying that I'm better than everyone else and some amazing driver, but I do notice the annoying habits of people. The underlining problems are selfishness and laziness. People in America are so used to having things immediately. The mentality is that you get what you want, you do what is convenient for you. This selfish attitude has made the road a very annoying place. Here are the 5 things that annoy me most on the road:

#5 The slow drivers. I have no problem with you if you're going the speed limit to be safe. But every day I encounter drivers that go 10-15 mph under the speed limit. COME ON! I'm pretty sure that going absolutely slow like a slug can be just as dangerous as speeding. If you're that afraid of driving then take the bus. Sure, it's not like driving a little faster will get me there any faster, but that's not the point. The point is that you're an inconvenience and rude. And if a bad driver comes along and doesn't break in time, then SMACK! Unnecessarily slow drivers are a headache and a hazard.

#4 High beams/blinders. It's common courtesy to turn your high beams down when passing a car going in the opposite direction. However, selfish people think that their sight is more important than mine; thus, it's ok to put me in blinding danger right? And what genius invented those ultra-bright, brain-piercing flood lights? Annoying for EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD. Selfishness at its finest.

#3 Bad parkers. This isn't necessarily driving, but it's more annoying than most driving issues. Parking isn't that difficult. There are 2 white lines, and you simply have to put your car in between them. In fact, it's significantly easier than the maneuverability part of the license exam. If it's so much easier than getting a driver's license, then why on earth is parking such a problem for so many people? Parking on the line, too far from the curb, facing the wrong way, etc. You name it, people do it. Again, the problem is selfishness. People in a hurry feel that it's ok to park like a moron than to take the time to do it correctly. Therefore, everyone else is inconvenienced. And how about the grocery store fire lane parkers? People are so rude to believe it's ok for them to bypass the parking lot altogether and just park at the door in the fire lane. Why? Because they're special and everyone else isn't. Do you realize that you're about to walk around inside a store for 20 minutes, but you're too lazy to park an extra 20 feet in a space? Just park with the rest of us. If you think it's too much to ask, then think of it as exercise. Exceptions only made to handicap space holders and pregnant mothers.

#2 Traveling in the passing lane. You may or may not realize it, but traveling in the passing lane is often illegal. People just are too lazy to switch lanes when appropriate, so they think it's ok to stay in the passing lane. The problem is that a line of traffic can build up behind the often slow traveler. Not to mention that it's not nearly as safe to pass on the right. Travel in the right, pass on the left, and the world will be a better place. However, I understand that in city traffic sometimes this is unavoidable. But for 99% of the roads, you're not meant to be in the passing lane unless passing. The other problem with this is that the left traveler often isn't paying attention. They forgot that they passed someone 5 miles ago and are still in the passing lane. Then when I pass them on the right, they give me this look like "where the heck are you coming from weirdo?" Wake up, and get back in the right lane.

#1 - Drumroll please - the most annoying bad driving habit is the no turn signaler. I don't understand why people think it's such a huge inconvenience to move their left arm 4 inches to pull a little lever. That's tough, huh? I mean, it might interfere with texting or eating while driving! Come on people, it's a 4 inch hand movement. Usually people use the excuse of "you knew what I was going to do." NO, ACTUALLY I DIDN'T! Sometimes people are like, well... every other car is further away from me, so it doesn't matter. That's ridiculous; it's 4 inches! Not to mention that it's illegal, incredibly rude, and potentially dangerous. Just use the signal. What really is dumb is when you see really slow drivers not using their signals. Sure, they're safe enough to drive really slow, but it's still just inconvenient to use the turn signal.

Unbelievable.

Facebook Purge

So today I removed about two dozen "friends" from Facebook. It's nothing against them; it's that I want to start limiting access to my information. I don't get how everyone I've ever met in life wants to add me, especially if we met for less than a minute. Sometimes I even have friends-of-friends that I've never actually met. These are the types of people that get the axe whenever I do my Facebook purge.

It amazes me how much trouble people put themselves into because of making information public. Don't you realize that anything you put on a social network is at least quasi-public? For the health of your online image, I recommend going through your entire profile, friends and photos every month or so. Not only are your friends checking out what you're doing, but also potential employers and schools! I'm not saying to take the fun out of social networking, but use some discretion. You wouldn't want a potential employer to find pictures of you sleeping at your desk, and you definitely wouldn't want your school to find a video of you playing a drinking game (especially if you're under 21). If you participate in shady activities (most of us probably do at least a little), at least limit access to it on Facebook.

I would be going crazy if I had kids these days. Have you read the horror stories about what kids have done to each others' image online? Just take 15 minutes per month, delete pictures that could get you a bad name, and remove friends that you don't know or no longer talk to. And don't feel bad about it! If someone notices that you removed them from FB and they're mad at you for doing so, then it was absolutely the right decision! (Stalk much?)