If you’ve ever had a person from another country rip into you for every wrong the United States has ever inflicted upon the world (and as an expat, believe me, I have), I recommend you read Sar’s essay “This American Life” and then forward it to the offending asshole. Because there really are only so many things you can apologize for, and as much as jerks like my housemate Nick would wish otherwise, Titanic, McDonald’s, and the Vietnam War are not among them.

If I was fifteen I’d have a major crush on this kid. Genius, computer nerd, teacher, surfer, and cute to boot. *sigh*

<raise eyebrow>Huh?</raise eyebrow>

I was missing home today. Alex and I got into a debate at work over the meaning of the phrase “Indian summer”. They use it here in Britain too, and he’s always thought it had something to do with India and the Raj and all that. I, on the other hand, thought it had to do with Native Americans. I think I’ve found proof that I’m right. Then the network died so Alex went to get us all iced coffees at the shop… which made me think of afternoon Dairy Queen runs at my old job. God, what I wouldn’t give for a frozen hot chocolate right now, and then to head home and dive into the lake for a swim. I never realized how nice it was where I lived before.

See, this is why I gotta donate blood here. Because they don’t even want my stuff in the U.S.!

I finally saw Planet of the Apes last night. I didn’t enjoy it. And no, it’s not because I had high expectations or anything. I just found the first 2/3 of the movie incredibly boring. You remember in school, when you drew the classic “plot” structure as a flat line that then hits a conflict and inclines up, reaches a climax, and finishes in a denouement? Well, I hate films that don’t have a clear ending to the beginning. I just never felt like, okay, we’re settling into the movie now. Maybe it’s the fact that Marky Mark’s character never really stops to try and understand what’s happened to him. If you suddenly found yourself in a completely foreign place where existence as you knew it was turned upside-down, wouldn’t you freak out a little bit? Wouldn’t you need some time to, you know, come to grips with it? Instead he’s all just “Go! Go! Go!” You start out on the incline. It’s unsettling.

That said, the ending was pretty good. And by that I mean the resolution of that situation on the “planet of the apes”, not the surprise little bit tacked on at the very end. I hated that bit. Remember at the end of Jurassic Park 2 when the T-Rex was on the rampage in Los Angeles? It felt like that. It was a cool idea, but there’s no real way to work it into the story so they just tack it on. Ebert manages to rationalize it, but I think he’s reaching. But anyway, the climax is pretty cool, even if you’d already guessed ten minutes earlier what was going to happen. My final verdict is that this one is probably a renter. If you’re gonna be bored for the first 90 minutes, you might as well be at home with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other.

Oooh! Dark Horizons has the first major Dawson’s Creek spoiler of the season. Highlight to read: Actor John Wesley Shipp who plays Dawson’s father in the series appears to be leaving the show, his character dying off in a boating accident in the new season. Lead actor James Van Der Beek is apparently devastated Shipp won’t be on the show anymore. Sweet!

Sen. Jesse Helms will retire in 2003. Thank God. I was starting to think he’d pull a Strom Thurmond on us.

Jeffrey Archer was convicted. He was humiliated. Everyone in the country knows all about his sordid affairs. He’s currently languishing in a prison. So why are the media still gleefully printing every trivial accusation against him they can come up with? Leave the man alone. I mean, really. Spelling errors??

Okay, so I’m going to donate blood this Thursday. I’ve done it twice before, but the last two times I tried I was denied because of an ear piercing and tattoo, respectively. But this time I should be all good. I like doing it. It feels like a positive thing to do. Something I’ve been wondering about though… Suppose a woman is, for one reason or another, taking hormonal supplements (for birth control, menopause, whatever). That would be in their blood, right? Do they, like, filter it out? What happens if a man is given this blood? Snookums and I were speculating about this at lunch. Does anybody know? I can’t find anything about it on their website.