See, a pop goes "Pop!" but a snap's a "Snap!"

I'm sitting at my house watching (via ESPN gamecast) Manny Parra pitch ball after ball to the Cubs, and I figure it's a good time to write something.

I am exhausted because I have spent the past two days shoveling heavy, wet dirt and gravel at the Golf Course. As if the simple act of shoveling isn't tiring enough, I have to shovel the stuff out of a deep, narrow trench filled with mud and roots, using a very narrow shovel that doesn't hold anything. Then throw in the fact that I am doing this in the middle of the fairway, so I am constantly getting bombarded by golf balls (although with our crowd of golfers, the fairway is often the safest place), and you've got one high-stress, high-impact, high-intensity working environment. At least we get to see an occasional hilarious shot. Today a guy hit one onto Calumet Street and almost hit a truck before it bounced on to someone's porch. Another guy lined one right into a bench off the tee and the ball shot straight up incredibly high. We all covered our heads and ran for the nearest cover, since the sunlight made it impossible to see where the thing went. As it turned out, it barely made it up to the fairway, so we were pretty safe.

Just over 2 weeks until my lease starts in Madison. I can't wait to go back down there. It's nice getting a paycheck, but I miss college so much. I am going down to move most of my stuff in on the 15th, but then coming back the next week to finish working. It would be nice if I could stay in Madison and enjoy the summer, but at least I'll make a little more money.

This City Deserves a Better Class of Criminal

The Dark Knight deserves its own post, hands down. This movie was fantastic, save just a few little problems that kind of bugged me. But first, the positives, and there are many.

WARNING, MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Above all else, the movie was phenomenally acted (apart from one person). I am extremely upset that Heath Ledger is dead, because if this movie was any indication, he had become an extremely talented and versatile actor. His character was flawless. His mannerisms (most notably licking his lips), his calm demeanor, his motivations, everything was done well. He took the humor of the Joker far beyond the superficial insane ranting featured in previous films (Sorry, Tommy Lee Jones.) and made it much more subtle and disturbing. Every single thing his character did fit in with his overarching plot, which, as he himself laid out, was really no plot at all. I absolutely loved his explanation to Eckhart (who I will get to in a moment) about being "a dog chasing a car." Telling Batman the locations of Harvey and Rachel in reverse was fantastically devious, and the failure of his "social experiment," was a wonderfully fitting way for him to eventually be "foiled." This character should go down in history as one of the most excellently portrayed villains ever.

Christian Bale has, I think, cemented himself as the most popular portrayer of Batman ever, and I fell he deserves it. Although his growling while in the Batman suit does become a little annoying, his motivation and interaction with other characters is very good. While this certainly has much to do with the writing and character itself, it wouldn't play well in just anyone's hands. Bale takes what he is given and makes everything he can of it.

Maggie Gyllenhall has always annoyed me, and this movie was unfortunately no exception. I'm not sure if I would have felt differently about the character if she was still acted by Katie Holmes, and I must give Gyllenhall credit for stepping into a role she did not originate. Still, I felt she was one of the weakest parts of the movie.

Now for the most important actor, in my opinion. I fear that Aaron Eckhart will go down as the most under appreciated and underrated actor in the movie. His portrayal of Harvey Dent was phenomenal. He took a character that could have easily fallen into mediocrity by being played as a mere plot device, a character who is used by everyone else for their own means without any intrinsic reaction, and he made him stand on his own feet. Eckhart's character was passionate, smart, and had plenty of depth to survive being sucked down by how much happened to him. Eckhart played confusion with as much skill as excitement, captured the urgency of his situation, and avoided being defined merely by his relation with a handful of other characters. Eckhart's character was a make-or-break one, and he definitely made it.

Beyond the acting, the film was spectacularly shot, with the scale and effects reflecting the mood of the movie from start to finish. One of the biggest failings of Batman Begins (which was also a very well made movie) was how dark it was all the time! The contrast played much better in Dark Knight.

Finally, I just want to mention a few more little allusions, metaphors, and other nuances that I really liked:

1. Morgan Freeman's description of the Joker as a guy who just wants to "watch the world burn," followed by the Joker's burning all the money he received from the mob.
2. The metaphor of Harvey Dent's coin and the role it played with his character. Before his transformation into Two-Face, it showed his incorruptibility and control. After the accident, it was a constant reminder of what had been and what actually caused Dent's change. The burned side of the coin also made me think of what was underneath the disgusting exterior.
3. The Joker giving characters different stories about his scars. Very creepy, very cool.

I could probably go on for a while more, but I'd be surprised if people even got this far in the post, so I'll end with a single recommendation: See this movie.

Spaulding, get your foot off the boat!

I finally saw Caddyshack, and was largely unimpressed. I felt the same about it as I did about Animal House. It didn't seem like anything significant happened, the stuff that did happen seemed completely unmotivated, and pretty much everyone seemed disinterested in what was going on. Bill Murray completely saves the movie, if it is saved at all. Although I guess Chevy Chase was pretty funny too. Rodney Dangerfield was mostly just confusing and annoying.

On the other hand, I downloaded a couple albums by Coheed & Cambria, which I was very pleased with. The only song I knew before was "Welcome Home," which is a damn rocking song. I remember trying to sing it in Rock Band at college, which was quite the adventure. It's still probably my favorite song of theirs, but the albums are definitely worth having, especially for free.

Tomorrow I'm going to Green Bay to see Courtney again!