Blogged on the 4th of July ...

Hey everyone -- Happy 4th of July!

I don't know why but I've been feeling oddly patriotic lately for some reason. Maybe it's just that I am kind of getting over the whole "America sucks" phase that seems to have been so prevalent in our public conciousness since a certain President took office, but again, the great thing about America is that in a few short years some new priveleged white guy will be there to take his place. Wait, see, now I went and got myself all cynical again. What I mean to say is: "America f'n rocks!" See, all it really takes is a quick listen to Rick Derringer's "Real American" and I'm waving an American flag, chanting "USA!", and ready to roll up my sleeves and go kick some Commie ass! Wait, it's NOT 1985 you say? Seriously, look at how messed up all of these countries around the world are, and look at America where I can have this blog and write whatever the hell I want. I mean, in China this blog is banned, along with half the internet. I'd take this opportunity to diss China, but this past season's 24 finale has made me too fearful of swift, Chinese-induced retribution.

Overall it's been a very good weekend. But today, the actual 4th of July, is one of those weird days where I am basically sitting around wondering what I should be doing. I'd be somewhat content with just hanging out and taking it easy, except my apartment is currently a sweltering sauna that is just way too hot to be in for too long. Many of my friends though are either out of town or otherwise occupied with family or whatnot, so there's not too much going on today.

But in spite of today's uneventfulness, this long weekend has been good times. Friday I was exhausted from work and from the week, so some friends and I just kicked back and watched movies. Saturday was a great time and a nice change of pace - my old BU video production partners Amanda and Jason hosted a huge Independence Day party at their Hollywood apartment, and it was really great to see so many fellow BU grads in one place, many of whom I hadn't seen in months, or at all in some cases, since moving to LA. The party was brimming with BOSTON pride, and a good time was had by all. Then, it was even more BU reunions, as I saw the man, the myth, the legend - Aksel, for the first time since December. Aksel, always quite the character, met up with Brian and myself (Brian finally met the Axe-Man after hearing so many of my crazy Aksel-related stories) at Downtown Disney, where we had a fun dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. Aksel also brought along his new (well, new to me) girlfriend Lisa who was very cool as well, and within minutes we were laughing and reminiscing about old times. The reunions should continue throught the summer, as Eryka is scheduled to visit LA later this week, and Chris should be stopping by sometime soon as well. While I've been lucky to meet some great people since coming out to LA, it is great to see my college peeps with whom I've really been through it all.

And then, it's back to work tommorow. I guess the nice thing is that it's only a three day work week, but man, I feel like I'm living two lives lately. There's me - the normal, 23 year old me, and the other me who is going to work in a corporate office every day and trying to act is if I know what I'm talking about while surrounded by people at least ten years my senior, for the most part. On Friday, I found myself in one of those awkward situations where I was invited to have lunch at Morton's next to my office with a few senior-ranking NBC-Uni men and women. It turned out fine, but on a Friday where I was basically just counting down the minutes to the long weekend, it was a surprise social situation with my superiors that I wasn't quite prepared for. I guess in a way I am pretty luck to have this job though -- talking to all these BU people this weekend who are between jobs and unsure about their future definitely made me value what I have going with I-Tunes right now ... and hey, at least I'm not having to put up with the full-blown Office-Space-like world of Aksel's mortgage lending job.

Meanwhile, my brother is off touring around the country on a bus full of teenagers, doing his second annual go-round as a counsellor on the USY on Wheels bus trip across America. Every time I call him he's in a new state seeing some new attraction. Not a bad way to spend your summer vacation, and Matt will be stopping in LA in a few weeks, not so coincidentally at the same time that my parents will be flying down from CT for a visit as well.

- On another note, it's pretty ironic that what is in theory, the perfect July 4th movie - Superman Returns - has practically zero hints of patriotism or American iconography. In the first two Superman movies there was a lot of overt Americanism, and even Spiderman, released shortly after 9/11, had prominent images of Spiderman posing with the American flag. And yet, America's greatest hero, Superman, gets a movie released on July 4th weekend with no real political overtones and no real sense of patriotism, going so far as to have Perry White ask if Superman stands for "Truth, Justice, all that stuff," conspicuously leaving out any mention of "The American Way." For my part, I think this just showsa kind of obliviousness on the part of Singer and his writers to the current zeitgeist. Sure, many of us have long been cynical of some of our country's leaders over the last few years, but I think that there is still a lingering desire from 9/11 to see a depiction of a real American Hero. Normally, I am oppossed to heavy-handed politics in light superhero fare, but if there was ever a hero who justified having a little overt patriotism in his movie, especially post 9/11, it's Superman. I know that many of us wondered, post-9/11, what that day would have been like if there was really a Superman, and just as Superman fought Nazis in the comics during WW2, I think there would be a real fantasy fulfillment factor in having Superman acknowledge the political climate in his latest movie, or at the least do something inspirational from a patriotic point of view. Look, I can be as cynical as anyone about our country sometimes, but it's larger than life characters like Superman, who is in a way the ultimate example of the American Dream, who remind us of the great ideals and ideas behind America.

Don't worry, I still have more to say about Superman Returns and how I'd approach the inevitable sequels. But I think I'll hold off on that for now.

Until then, have a Happy 4th of July, pray that North Korea's missle-testing is the last we see of North Korean missles, pop in some Rick Derringer and be a Real American, brother!

USA! USA! USA! Hoooooooooooooooo!