Elizabethtown and a little updating.

So I'm re-watching Elizabethtown, which is something not a lot of people are ever going to do. A couple of things that I'm realizing about it:

-Cameron Crowe? Really not all that impressive of a director. I mean, Say Anything was outstanding, but how much of that was John Cusack? Singles was fun, but I thought it was a lot cooler before I actually got into my mid-20s and realized that it bore no resemblence to my life. Almost Famous had it's moments, but spent have the time trying to be deep and the other half trying to be a spoof. Now THAT'S a directing problem.

-Orlando Bloom? Shoulda stuck with the funny elf-ears.

Kirsten Dunst? This one was a low point. She can be so much better. A review I read when the film came out said she made Natalie Portman in Garden State seem multidimensional. Such a perfect summary.

-the movie itself? Punctuated equilibrium. There are these moments of depth and brilliance, but you spend most of your time sitting around, wondering when it's going to get good again.

-Nonetheless, two take-homes... 1. I want to take a long road trip someday. 2. Meeting someone new, insightful, and interesting would be kinda nice.

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In other news, the semester is officially over, as of today. Spent the past week grading constantly. Watched the Wizards lose their last playoff game, ending the season tonight as well. Seemed almost poetic. Two of my big stresses, both ending until the fall. Of course, the Wizards are only a stress b/c I get too worked up about stupid team sports. And, with TAing and classes done, there's really no difference between the summer and the fall. Er, academically speaking, that is. Economically, I get one more stipend check, then have to spend three months relying on my superior wit, guile, and implicit probablistic models. That's right folks, I'm back to playing poker full-time!

I think it should be a good summer. Unlike last summer, when playing cards was a lot more appealing than studying for my comps, this summer my academic reading is stuff I'm actually interested in. And after 5 hours playing cards online, reading something fascinating that has nothing to do with poker sounds like *heaven.* I'll be hosting about a dozen people for the Philly Lindy Exchange, including the entire Pittsburgh crew. THAT will be the best afterparty I've ever thrown. The July 4th party is canceled this year, so that's a downer (oh, side note: my parents are putting their house on the market and moving to Oregon in the fall. Yeah, I promise to freak out about that later). I'm thinking about putting together a camping trip or something instead. Anyone interested? I've also got a board meeting in Seattle, thinking about sticking around there for a week or so to go hiking and see a few people. Everything's sort of contingent on me making cash at the card tables, though, so please cross your collective fingers...

Movie's over. I don't know that I'll be seeing it a third time.
-D