Cody’s blog

It’s a bit cooler today than yesterday, but still nearly 80 F already. It’s going to be scorching in Las Vegas next weekend! But I suppose we’ll mostly be in air-conditioned hotels, or soaking in the pool. I am going to try to buy a swamp cooler today, I think. I say “try” because they’re most likely sold out everywhere in town. But I’ll go into town an hour or two early and check at Kmart, Home Depot, maybe the hardware stores.

Mom and I went to my brother’s place yesterday for the elder nephew’s birthday. John and Jill were in their pool—they have one of those above-ground pools, probably a couple thousand gallons. I didn’t bring my swimsuit, but I went in anyway in my clothes, and then spent the rest of the afternoon damp, which was actually very pleasant—it kept me cool! I’m going to bring my suit with me to Vegas, so we can enjoy the pool there.

Other than the visit with the family, I watched some of my Transformers Season 3 DVDs. Saw the first four episodes, I think. It’s pretty good so far. I seem to remember watching a bit of S3 when it first aired, but stopping because I was disappointed that Megatron was gone. I don’t remember any of these episodes but I suppose I must have seen them. (That’s no surprise—I barely remembered any of the first two seasons’ episodes, either, and I know I’d watched them.)

I also got somewhat involved in a discussion of race in the Transformers movie on lj. I don’t usually participate in those, as I feel completely incompetent to say anything intelligent on the subject, but I had been uncomfortable with the portrayal of one of the black characters in the movie, and I had noted to myself afterwards that it was a very white movie. Then I’d written a squeeing post in my lj about it, and one of my black friends posted a link to a review by one of her friends detailing all the problems she had with the racial aspects of the movie, and asking those of us who’d seen it to let her know what we thought. And I felt that I should add my two cents to the discussion, which I did briefly in two comments.

I’m not sorry I commented, but I am sorry I read some of the other comments… no, it wasn’t a perfect movie, not even close, but I had been looking forward to it for so long, not expecting anything more than a shoot-em-up with lots of cool CGI robot transformations, and I got exactly what I wanted from the movie. I enjoyed watching it so much, I don’t want that enjoyment taken away from me. On the other hand, what do I owe to my commitment to racial equality and tolerance when I go to the movies? Obviously, the more money that gets poured into movies with questionable racial themes, the less pressure there is on TPTB to change. Is it my responsibility to withdraw my support of the movie, based on a couple of minutes here and there that I didn’t like, when I adored the other two-plus hours?

I don’t know. I’d still love to see it again in the theater if I have the chance. And I’m going to want the DVD. I could wait and buy a used copy, which is my usual way of getting around it when I want something but I don’t want the creators getting any of my money for it. I will continue to think on it.

Here is a picture of the famous “floating” torii at the shrine on Miyajima, which I took on my cruise to Japan last fall. Which reminds me, I still have quite a bit to go on my trip reports. I should start working on those again, before I completely forget everything that happened (if I haven’t already!).