Two in a row... what do you know?

So I'm still getting over a nasty bout with a cold. The fact that the weather here in California has been so DRY is not helping matters. What also has not helped in the improvement of my health is the fact that I haven't stopped my Wing Chun training. It was hard, but I didn't hit the gym, nor the academy yesterday. I'm going to ease my way back in tonight and be back in fighting shape by Friday (Chinese Boxing rules and I can't miss it).

Tonight is debate night. The final debate of the Presidential Election Campaign. I can't say I remember a time when we were not in a Presidential Campaign. I heard Obama say the other day that he's been running for President for 2 years (and he wasn't the first one to announce a candidacy!). Being a politics buff (also, Political Science was my major in college), I should be in my element, but the crap in this campaign has been wearing me down and I think that's one of the reasons I've been so gung-ho with my training. I can't wait for this to be over so that we can look to the future and have some hope for a change.

What's going to happen to President Bush. I've found myself asking that question out-loud lately. Not to anyone in particular, just to myself. I can't help but feel a bit sorry for the man. Hear me out before you bite my head off. I've always viewed the man as more of a puppet whose intentions were used by people with far less scrupules for far more sinister ends. Sure, the argument could be made that W. should've had more of a conscience and known that he was selling the American people a bill of goods, but he strikes me as someone who would rather be lead than actually make a decision of his own. Again, don't get me wrong, this is not meant as an excuse for the last 8 years, it is merely a thought.

What's going to happen to Dick Cheney? Does anyone care? I do. I happen to think, along with many others out there, that Dick was the real puppet master. This guy has been behind the scenes in one way or another for nearly 40 years. It looks, by the way things seem to be turning out, that he'll get away scott-free and a lot richer. How will history remember Dick?

That leads me into movies. I bought tickets to the midnight screening of Oliver Stone's "W." I've never been a HUGE fan of Stone. Not because of the claims he monkeys around with the facts in his movies by the far right and so-called historians. He's just not among my favorites. This film, seems a bit more intriguing for me. Maybe it is because of the subject matter and the timing of its release. Well, not maybe... certainly. I'll report on that this Friday.

More movies. Last film I saw was Blindness. Dreadfully ham-handed allegorical film directed by the man behind City of God (which I actually LOVED). I'm still trying to figure out what the filmmaker was trying to tell us and why he chose the way he did to say it. One other thing, I don't think he actually said anything. I need to find an interview with Julianne Moore to find out what exactly she saw in the script. Maybe the script they shot and what ended up on the screen were two different things. Certainly, the ad campaigns for the film changed drastically the closer we got to release date. The later ads sold the film as a story of a gov't conspiracy of sorts, which never materialized in the film. Gael Garcia Bernal plays an evil beyond evil character, with no real explanation why he is that way. Moore, the only sighted person in the film, hides the fact that she can see from her sightless prisoners... Oh, I forgot to tell you that these blind people are prisoners. OK, I'm tired of talking about this movie. Maybe I've intrigued you enough to go see it and you can come back here and explain it to me.

Even more movies. Religulous is a "documentary" starring Bill Maher. He goes around the world asking questions of religious leaders. These questions are designed to try and poke holes in their belief structure. You see, Bill Maher is an atheist (you could've have fooled me with his constant defense of Israel on his show, but I digress) and in his inimitable style, he showcases the most ridiculous things on which people place blind faith. One of the most telling bits is his visit to a theme park in FL based around the crucifixion. Don't believe such place exist? I shit you not, it does. Here's a tralier