Limited Perspective

Something that spoiled the experience somewhat is the casual attitude of some of the characters, especially the main character, Gi-hun. In between the games, he interacts with other players almost like they are actually playing real children’s games for no stakes, instead of playing for their lives. Before many of the games, his demeanor seems to veer far toward, hey, let’s all go out and have fun. More than once he pleads to the guards that one of the other players is in some kind of medical distress, as if they would care. I am not talking about his extreme kindness to many of the other players. To me, these are his best moments. They reveal who he really is, especially his interactions with the old man. But many of the in-between-games scenes seem so dissonant. Like, do these people not understand the stakes? Have they not been here the whole time? The husband and wife team were especially puzzling. I want to make this a flaw and ask how the creators of the show could miss this. But...

Honestly, it’s not rational at all, and maybe a little bit pathetic, but sports moments can mean so much. I moved to western Washington for good in 1989 but was never really a Mariners fan. I maintained my loyalty to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and I was busy with other things. Also, the Mariners were terrible, and it seemed like a fool’s errand to invest anything into an awful team, especially after having endured a decade of futility and heartbreak from the Pirates. In 1995 when the Mariners went on a crazy run and made it into the playoffs, I was sickened by all the fair-weather fans and their complete misunderstanding of the game of baseball. At the time, one of the Seahawks (I think it was their punter) denounced them all as “frontrunners.” I remember he said something like “every city has them.” I did not join the fan frenzy either. I’m not proud of that teenager-like, oppositional-defiant stance, but it was what it was. Then in 2000, for whatever reason, I decided to try to get into...

Yesterday, a welcome invitation from a friend had me drag myself out of my apartment to meet her at Shelter, a new (-ish, I guess) restaurant at Green Lake. It was wonderful catching up, talking about life, and all the other things that come with being in-person and out on the town. Just this week, I read complaints online lamenting the use of QR codes, as Shelter does, in place of menus. I sympathized because it’s nice to browse and even to hold a menu in your hands, like when it’s got metal covers or is made of bamboo or something. But forget that. The QR code is great. You just scan it into your phone. There is no craning your neck looking for your server, joking with your mates. “Did they quit in the middle of their shift?!” or any of that. You just order, pay, and the server brings it. Like magic. Same thing if you want another drink, you just punch it into your phone and voila. When you’re done, there’s no bring-the-bill, sign-the-bill, bring-back-the-credit-card tango. You jus...

I have been eating a lot of brie lately. I don’t really like it. I do things like this this a lot. I still don’t know whether I like mushrooms. But I will intentionally order pizza with mushrooms and sometimes put mushrooms in my spaghetti sauce when I make it. I draw that line at, like, beef stroganoff or risotto with mushrooms because that’s just too many mushrooms. Coffee doesn’t, most of the time, taste actually good. Beer? Not good. Tequila? Not good. Roasted jalapenos? Actively painful. And yet. What is this about? In a philosophy class, if I recall correctly, we were having one of those abstract discussions of pleasure and pain. I raised my hand and sparked a discussion of how humans are the only animal (maybe?) that intentionally seeks out things that are painful to it. We eat, as I said, hot peppers, defeating eons of pepper evolution that were supposed to make them anathema to any animal foolish enough to chomp it. We sit in hot tubs and saunas in temperatures that ought to m...

I can’t stop thinking about a conversation I had backstage this past Monday night while we were in places for Dears in Headlights , one of Dacha Theatre’s current summer shows, featuring clowning and other physical theatre. I was talking with another actor about how people never feel like they are in a place to experience pure joy, and other people never know if they have permission to bust through that and give it to them. I remember a few years ago, I was at a community event, a parade in the Chinatown/International District. A clown, or a person in a clown onesie and a colorful wig maybe, gave a balloon to a little child, maybe three or four years old. The kid’s face lit up. You know the look. When you see a kid looking like that, it’s like you want to die in that moment – in a good way, because it’s so perfect, and life can never get any better than that. The poet Rumi would say the world is too full.  During the pre-show, while the audience is waiting for the show to start, I ...

Sometimes it’s hard to get into old movies. Blood and Sand, a film about bullfighting in early 20th century Spain, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, and Anthony Quinn should not be overlooked, though, for being 80 years old. So many times last night, I said – out loud as I watched it alone – “that was bad-ass!” Maybe because it is a remake of a silent movie , there are three scenes in particular that struck me for being so powerful with almost no dialogue. First, Power has returned to Seville from Madrid. He has begun to realize his dream of being a great matador and has come home to propose marriage to his childhood sweetheart, played by Darnell. With his acquired winnings, he has brought presents for numerous family and friends. After he distributes those in the public square, he goes to Darnell’s family home. First he gives her a beautiful veil, which she is impressed with. He also has a large package, three by two by one foot in size, which he never mentions in...

About this New Yorker article , What Are The Odds We Are Living In A Computer Simulation , lot of people are saying “LOL. Just go to church!” But as discussed, the simulation proponents are doing it not to pursue meaning. They substitute mere understanding. The similarities are obvious. Both say that the world around you is not the real, or important world. What’s real is what’s behind or underneath. Beyond that, though, these interpretations don’t go the same direction. The simulation proponents are not saying that a powerful force outside ourselves created the simulation, they are saying our technologically advanced descendants made the simulation. So, it’s us creating the simulation for us, locking out the supernatural. It’s materialist at the core. Nothing follows from it. There is nothing about meaning or our responsibility for meaning-making. That’s the opposite of what “church” purports to be about. I recommend the article and thinking about all the connected and implied...