Saw "X2" tonight and it was excellent. Special effects and action sequences are getting so fast-paced these days that
it's almost getting hard to see what's happening. It's like you get the idea that the guy spun this way or stabbed someone that way, but you're
not sure if you really saw it. This is certainly a more realistic approach though, and I prefer it to a lot of slow motion, which now that I
think about it, this movie seemed completely devoid of.

Brooke Burke is like a cultural ambassador for a certain element in the world. It's not the real world of course, but
the rich world, where life has become so meaningless that all there is to do is drink. Maybe rich isn't fair, rather middle class-and-up with
soul-sucking jobs. There's an overwhelming sameness in the places she visits--the decor or the favored local beverage might change, and hey the
natural beauty is great sometimes, but it seems that all that matters to these people is drinking and "dancing." Is there even a point to being
in an exotic locale if you're just going to clubs? I guess there must be. The cultural output of these places has become devices to make
drinking easier: on the Spanish Riviera, it was a glass in a sling worn around the neck, with "traditional" beads and such, for a constant supply
of alcohol all day with the minimum effort. All so they don't have to face life for a while.

I'm worried I'll discover a related sameness when I tour around the country with my new band later in the summer. The
idea of driving all around the country has a certain cool to it, but I'm afraid what I'll realize is that apart from a few spots of natural beauty
and cities, the country really isn't that interesting, especially from a fast-moving car. It's almost painful to think about how much nondescript
suburbia there is. And the expanses of highway in the middle of nowhere, although there's nothing intrinsically bad about it and I'm glad the
road is there...it isn't going to be too interesting. But perhaps I'll be proven wrong and we'll run into lots of interesting places and people.
Just in case I'm bringing plenty of reading material.

I just realized it's slightly ironic that I write that second paragraph a day before I go on my little trip to Grenada.
Well...I'm going for the natural beauty. And of course to visit my good friend Al.