This Past Week

Here's some stuff that I did this past week:

1. War of the Worlds: We saw Spielberg's take on the classic L. Ron Hubbard story at the drive-in. It was only so-so. Tom Cruise's ivory toothed charisma wasn't a good fit for his character, a working class schlub, and the special effects were unmasked and disjointed. On the other hand, everyone who is going to see War of the Worlds should see it at a drive-in theater. Spielberg holds close to Cruise's character's point of view, so that the audience only knows as much as Cruise does. It was unnerving. I half expected tripods to take over Gibson City.
2. Kieran's Wedding: Kieran rocks. The wedding was generally low-key and whimsical. I was seated at a table of mathletes and felt at home. It was good fun.
3. Champaign County Freedom Celebration: The local fireworks were surprisingly good. Apparently they send out mailers to everyone soliciting $15 donations, so the budget was larger than you might expect for an area Champaign's size. We staked out an area just past the fallout zone and huddled under a blanket to wait out a rainstorm before the show. It was worth it. Because we weren't in the official viewing area we managed to avoid the patriotic soundtrack that accompanied the fireworks.