Havacar and "Avatar".

As previously mentioned, The Wife was in a car accident last month and her poor Ruby was totaled.  Well, not that either of us wanted to be car shopping the week before Christmas, but she ended up with a very nice replacement.  Her blog post is here.

People seem shocked that she's not very enthusiastic about this new vehicle.  I told her the other night that it made me sad, but that I understood.  I told her that people used to ask if I just LOVED my rebuilt home, and I would tell them I didn't really want the old one to burn down, but if something was going to come at such a high personal cost, then a rebuilt home with upgrades was better than the charred, blackened version.

Same with the car.  She didn't want to total Ruby, but if she had to lose Ruby, this is a darn fine vehicle to drive in her stead.

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In other news, I took Kayleigh to see James Cameron's Avatar in 3D IMAX today, and it rocked my world.  It pretty much rocked Kayleigh's too.  I can see that I'm cultivating an appreciation in her for things like cinematography, sound design and production design.

There's a lot of hype surrounding this film.  It's James Cameron, after all, and if he's good at one thing, it's generating hype.  I avoided watching Titanic for years just because of the overmarketing and endless hype.  But as a guy who builds sand castles and sandboxes for a living (meaning worldbuilding for narrative and interactive media), the moment I saw teen-foot-tall blue aliens riding quasi-pteranodons through a bioluminescent primeval world, I was hooked.  I simply HAD to see it.  They had me at "flying lizard".

First, let me say that nobody is going to win any acting awards from their work on this film, which I actually find sad.  It's got to be brutal to have to work your craft wearing a green bodysuit in a green room with ping pong balls as reference points.  But this movie isn't about breakthrough performances.  Sometimes, "acting" just gets in the way of the story and takes me out of the setting.  That said, Sam Worthington (Macbeth, Terminator Salvation and the upcoming Clash of the Titans) is completely credible in the lead role, and the supporting cast is made up of talented newbies and journeymen actors alike.  Giovanni Ribisi is a really great corporate whore, Stephen Lang is menacing (if a bit two-dimensional) as the jarhead Colonel, and the main Na'vi characters are brought to life by some fine talent, including Wes Studi as the chieftain, CCH Pounder as the shaman, and Zoe Saldana as the love interest.  Sigourney Weaver's performance was surprisingly wooden.

Keep in mind, some of the criticism Avatar has faced (lackluster acting, simplistic story) was also thrown at a certain sci-fi blockbuster in 1977 - which spawned an entire media empire and popular subculture.

Minor performance quibbles aside, Avatar is important, and I'll tell you why.  On the technical side, it has changed the way blockbuster movies are made.  And whenever technological advances are made in Hollywood-scale cinema, that technology trickles down to the indie guys, who make better, more creative use of it more cheaply.  On the story side, as much as it is an archetype (see Dances With Wolves or Heart of Darkness), it is a really serious look at our own world through the lens of sci-fi escapist entertainment, sort of what the original Star Trek series did.

The basic premise (no spoilers) is that an invading population wants a resource that the native population considers sacred, and that the invaders de-humanize the natives to justify their removal and, if necessary, their genocide.  It is our own American history, our broken treaties with the native populations, our strip mining, gold rushes, our smallpox-laced blankets.  It is our shame as a nation, and unfortunately we are not alone.  It is Belgium in Rwanda, Spain in South America, France in Southeast Asia, Britain everywhere they put down stakes, Australia's treatment of the aborigines.  And yet at the same time, you forget you are seeing our own history and maybe learning something because you are watching compelling science fiction.

It always makes me happy when a movie transports me into its world and makes me feel any sort of emotion; it means the film is doing its job.  Avatar is very good at placing the viewer in the world.  3D IMAX may have helped in that regard, but more than anything I think it was just a really well-designed world.  The ecosystem made sense.  There wasn't anything that felt out of place or just there for the hell of it.  Even my 12-year-old daughter remarked afterward, "I really felt like I was there."  And the sociopolitical message wasn't lost on her either.

I felt it was a good film, both in technical polish and in message.  Recommended viewing, on the big screen.

RubyRubyRuby Ruby!

Mrs. Downing's faithful readers know by now that she was in a five-car pileup on her way to work a couple weeks ago, and that as of yesterday, her dear Elantra hatchback, Ruby, was totaled.

I know firsthand what it's like to lose a beloved vehicle, and I know I'd be a pouty boy if Sportacus was ever totaled.  But it's hard to give comfort during the transition.  I have to remember that there's no quick fix, and you have to let the grieving own their grief. 

The reminder actually came to me as I was surfing for cars on the laptop last night.  Hyundai doesn't make an Elantra hatchback anymore, and Mrs. D. doesn't want a used car to replace Ruby.  So in poking around through equivalent cars, I brought up some Hondas and Kias, but the look on her face said, "nice try, but just let me be sad right now."  I didn't want to seem like I was trying to influence her decision in any way (only window shopping for my own edification), so I put the laptop away and let her be sad.

Sometimes it's okay to let your loved one be sad.  Sometimes it's okay just to be quiet and hold them.

Alas, Poor Sportacus!

Took my rig up to the dealership at the appointed time, shuddering all the way up Aurora Ave. The shop was backed up, and as of this post, I have yet to hear how serious it is. My most basic mechanical instincts tell me it's bad, but these new Korean engines are impossible to open up (and even if I could, I wouldn't want to invalidate the fine print of my warranty).

So since I'm a busy dad-about-town, I got the dealership rate on a rental (Kia will end up paying for it if the engine trouble is covered). A sporty little Chevy Cobalt (appropriately enough, cobalt blue), with zero power anything (manual locks, manual mirrors, manual windows, manual seats - the bare basics). It's like stepping back in time. Way back in time, considering that my first car was an '81 Olds Cutlas Supreme V8 diesel with power everything (including sunroof).

Usually when I deal with Enterprise, I get a twentysomething former fratboy in a shirt & tie, trying to find his way in a depressed job market while trying to pay off a ton of debt and still show off his gadgets and nice clothes, hoping to score as many chicks as possible before growing a paunch and losing his hair. So imagine my surprise when the dealership service door opened and in walked "Cindi" (not her real name, but it did end in "i"), a twentysomething redhead in a pushup bra, ass-hugger slacks and heels.

And not knowing I had my daughter with me, she'd come to pick me up in a 2008 Mini Cooper. She instantly knew she'd made a mistake, and tried to justify her choice, which went something like this:

"So I saw we got one in and I said 'oh my GAWD I need to drive this' - isn't it cute? - it's totally cute - I drive a bug - mint green - yeah 'cause I'm a girl and my friends ask me how it runs and I tell them 'I dunno but I look adorable in it' kinda like shoes like if I wanted to wear shoes that were comfortable I'd wear tennis shoes all the time (right?) but I like to look good so I wear heels all the time and when I go out dancing with my girlfriends and they complain their feet hurt I tell them 'just have another drink - that's what the first few drinks are for - to help your feet go numb' so I live in [Seattle neighborhood] in my single girl apartment where do you live I'm from Yelm and so any commute less than an hour is cool with me so what do you do oh that's so cool I have a friend who publishes textbooks and how-to books it would be so cool to be your own boss..."

30 minutes later.

"...and the cop yelled at me for chasing them down but y'know I caught 'em they totally rear-ended me and so I chased them down and they turned too fast and lost control and hit a wall nobody was injured thankfully but yeah the cop totally yelled at me and I'm like 'it's cops like you who let crime get out of control here in [Seattle neighborhood]' and he asked me 'is there any damage to your vehicle?' and I said 'no' so he said 'get out of here' so that was cool anyway we should have you all ready to go here pretty soon..."

I couldn't wait to get into my teeny stone-age rental car and get out of there. I'm so glad not to be dating in my twenties. The caliber of dateworthy specimens seems to drop sharply around 30 and younger (no offense to my high-caliber twentysomething readers - I know you exist). And I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she was a redhead and not a blond - there's equity for my blond friends after all! Chin up, you guys - redheads can be just as vacuous, and I've seen it!

UPDATE:
The dealership just called. Apparently we have rodents in West Seattle (shocking, I know). They've chewed through my spark plug cables. And since Act of Squirrel is not covered by warranty, I get to shell out $300+. At least it's not more serious engine work (although I'd almost prefer more serious engine work if it meant I didn't have to shell out the geld for it), and they should have it done tomorrow.

Are you exhausted? I know I am.

Now to prep the kids for swimming in Ballard.