--James Thurber

Today my tooth's been doing okay. Go figure.

It started with PC Expo, to which I went in hopes of getting free stuff, as usual. For a change, I actually admitted that on a form I filled out at an presentation I attended for Veritas. Said presentation was very entertaining, and all but devoid of actual information about the product. Pity, that.

Anyway, I ended up with a bunch of magazines and a copy of Red Hat 6.2. Oh, and some jellybeans (from Veritas), which aren't kosher, so I'm gonna have to find somebody not of the Jewish persuasion to pass them off to.

(Update: I offered 'em to my notify list, and they were claimed within minutes. Based on the two highly enthusiastic replies I got on the matter, I take it that I'm missing out when it comes to Jelly Belly jellybeans.)

I probably could've done better, but I was tired of being on my feet after a few hours, so instead I took a shuttle bus to 53rd St. and rushed a few blocks in the rain to the second-run theatre on 50th St., where I found that Erin Brockovich was about to start. So I went in.

The main problem with Erin Brockovich -- putting aside such minor matters as the threatening phone call that is never developed or alluded to again, the shambles of the romantic subplot, and the buildup for a trial that gets settled offscreen... umm, this sentence has gone out of control. Let's try again.

The main problem with Erin Brockovich is that for most of the film, the title character (and protagonist) is pretty darn unlikeable. In fact, the only time I did find myself liking her was when she was taking apart the Evil Lawyers on both sides of the case, who provided characters even more unlikeable than she was. But otherwise... yeesh. This is a woman with problems. And not very interesting ones, either.

And, on second thought, the bit about the buildup for a trial that never takes place is pretty important also. I mean, hello? One moment Erin's telling us all that the really important thing is that people stand up in the court and tell the world the truth, and is appalled by the thought of a settlement... and the next thing we know, with no good explanation, she's flip-flopped, and pushing for a settlement. Go figure.

Two stars, and I think I'm being too generous.

Chicken Run rocks. Ginger is a great protagonist, and while there are lots of small details I could quibble over (the pie machine's mechanics, in particular), I don't care. It's got almost anything you'd want in a movie: drama, suspense, action, romance, comedy... and really good animation, to boot. Four stars out of four. Obviously, I'm gonna have to check out Wallace and Gromit.

As an aside, the cleaning person at the local dive actually let me stay in the room all the way through the credits for a change. I'm wondering if that's because she's not the same person who's hassled me in the past, or if it's because she knew that there was a final bit of comedy included at the end of the credits. I don't know.

At any rate, if you go see the film, do stay for the credits. You'll see why.