It's Been a Demotivational Year

As I took down the calendar we bought last year, a custom jobbie we bought through Despair.com (makers of many fine demotivational products), it struck me that the different posters for each month (bought for the humor and/or the cool picture that went with it) were frighteningly prescient in hindsight. Especially given my current circumstances:

January - Destiny - You were meant for me. Perhaps as a punishment.

February - Madness - Madness does not always how. Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "Hey, is there room in you head for one more?"

March - Pessimism - Every dark cloud has a silver lining but lightning kills hundres of people each year who are trying to find it.

April - Power - Power Corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. But it rocks absolutely, too.

May - Trouble - Lucky can't last a lifetime unless you die young.

June - Sanity - MInds are like parachutes. Just because you've lost yours doesn't mean you can borrow mine.

July - Tranquility - As long as there are children in the world, there will never be any real peace.

August - Regret - It hurts to admit when you make mistakes - but when they're big enough, the pain only lasts a second.

September - Vision - How can the future be so hard to predict when all of my worst fears keep coming true?

October - Worth - Just because you're necessary doesn't mean you're important.

November - Wishes - When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destory all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.

December - Insight - When the going gets tough, the tough get going. The smart left a long time ago.

So I'm not doing that this year. My New Year's resolution is to restructure a life that had largely been centered on my husband and my kids. Kids are still a priority, but my own life is just a bit unstable at the moment.

Next year, my calendar are all cool pictures of the moon. Hopefully, there's nothing prescient about that. Hope your year was better than mine and your next year is a real winner!

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Happy New Year

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready for a new decade. Although the last decade is arguably the best one of my life, it's been a bitch of a time for many around the country and around the world. I offer my hopes that things improve drastically for everyone.

One recommendation I have, for those who have the time or money, is seeing Avatar. I don't often review movies, though I love movies. Truly, I have very specific things I'm after and what I'm looking for doesn't mesh, necessarily, with what others are looking for.

With Avatar, I'm at a loss to put my finger on what people could be looking for that they'd miss. Admittedly, I like James Cameron and have since the beginning. If I didn't personally like Titanic as much as some of his other work, I did like it and I could appreciate the broad appeal (and, if you're one of those that said it didn't have any, you're blind to the facts).

• If you like adventure, it's in there.
• If you like action, it's in there.
• If you like a little romance, but not too much, you're covered.
  
• If you like a story with a meaning, it's in there.
• I doubt you need me to tell you that the CGI and effects set new standards, the type of movie that, if possible should be watched on the real movie screen (I saw it on Imax 3D, twice. Not sure how much the 3D really helps. I'm going to have to stop myself from watching again to find out.).
• There are some critics who found the plot "stupid" but the reasons they quoted showed, in my opinion, a lack of understanding of science, space travel, history and reality. The same things that I found bolstered the plot and made it real for me are the things those critics are caviling at.
• There are some critics who hated the dialog; clearly, they don't spend much time around military types.

I loved the world envisioned, admired the eye to detail and the biologically sound critters. I loved all the allusions to all the things people love about video games and science fiction, and space travel. I love the old time adventure and the message about the value of people and nature.

If you love that stuff, too, I can't recommend it enough. I brought two different people to the movie, neither of which expected to enjoy it all. One admitted to enjoying it, getting swept up in the story (isn't that what movies are for?) and one described it as the "best movie EVER."

As a rocket scientist and a science fiction writer, I was inspired and entranced.

Just sayin'.

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