At Last, The End

Of the week, that is. I was once diagnosed as severely depressed, so now I have to qualify statements like the above title so as not to get hit with emails from friends and relatives asking about my well being. Funny how life goes. I once considered suicide as an option, and now I work with people who are either consciously or unconsciously committing suicide through substance abuse.

Speaking of substance abuse, I watched A Scanner Darkly last night. Odd film. I enjoyed it, even though Keanu Reeves was in it, playing the same character that he always plays. Seriously, you could have taken any of his characters, from Neo in The Matrix series to the FBI agent in Point Break, and put them in this role, and it would have been exactly the same.

Obviously, I'm not a fan of Reeves. But still, it turned out to be a good movie. Didn't hurt that it was based on the novel of the same name by Phillip K. Dick, which is at least semi-autobiographical. Apparently the guy had a deep knowledge of psychosis caused by excessive drug use; there's a list of "fallen" friends who either died or were turned into human vegetables by heavy drug use.

The movie had its share of twists, but most of them I figured out right before they happened. I won't spoil the plot, but I will say that the film's use of animation - it's the same style as one brokerage firm was using for a while in its commercials, a weird sort of cell shading on top of live action - works. The opening scene, where Rory Cochrane's character is experiencing DTs and feels like bugs are infesting every inch of his body, is well done and darkly humorous.

Is it a buy? No, not really. But a good rental if you're looking for a movie that presents the darker side of drug usage, corruption, and has an (un)healthy dose of paranoia. The decline of Reeves' character into madness is pretty interesting to watch, too.

Other than that, nothing much interesting going on. I made it through the first day without One Ring okay, save that I almost lost Barney. Somehow he got the backyard gate open, and escaped into the front yard. I was taking a nap at the time, so I didn't realize his absense right away. Scared the crud out of me. Fortunately, his interest in some yard debris kept him close to the house, and I was able to get him to come back. This morning, I made dang sure that the house and gate were secured.

Let's hope that's the last time that happens! I'm going to get him microchipped, next chance we get.

Okay, that's all for now. I've finished my first counseling session of the day, now it's time for floor visits. Have a good one.