Random Thoughts on The Week at Large 4.11.2010

I just saw "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" this week. It was reminiscent of seeing "Tropic Thunder" for the first time. I was laughing my ass off, and I didn't care what the people around me were thinking.

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That movie is the absolute best movie for little boys (big boys too) to come around since "The Incredibles". It's like "The Wonder Years" without an ironic narration by a grown up version of the kid, which further solidifies it as a movie for boys. They've even managed to resist the need for a coming-of-age "first love" story, which tend to spoil the feel of movies about childhood. The only non-repulsive female (played by a "I'm sure she'll be hot when she turns 18" Chloe Moretz) acts more like the missing ironic narration rather than a love interest, and her appearances are, thankfully, kept to a minimum. This allows the boy leads to remain boys, and it is a fun romp through an imagined childhood.

If you can remember how much fun "Malcolm in the Middle" was, this movie's for you.

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I've only realized belatedly that it is Palanca season. Time to dust off some of my old stinkers and see how much editing they need.

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I just got my laptop back from the service center yesterday. All it needed was a new adaptor. If the damn service center had electricity when I got there last Tuesday, the problem would have easily been seen, and I wouldn't have needed to leave my laptop there.

It's the equivalent of a celestial kick to the nads.

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I wonder if I can wrangle a "date night" to see "Date Night".

The possibility boggles.

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I tried to look for a list of literary agents operating in the Philippines. I found one at writers.ph. It looked about as legitimate as a listing of mafia doctors. Barely any affiliation, and no listed credentials. Not even a hint of who their clientele consists of or what genres they specialize in selling. The only thing that would make it worse is is they started charging reading fees. Now there's the mark of a true literary charlatan.

And you wonder why publishing here is stagnant.

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I've always believed that Hipsters are a waste of oxygen. Glad to have that belief vindicated.

This further confirms that subcultures that thrive on misreadings of the word "irony" are condemned to permanent ridicule.

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The summer semester is about to start. Don't blink or you'll miss it. All of it.