3:18 pm EST – Logan Airport
I’m laying on the ground near the unused check-in desk, taking advantage of the only working power outlet I’ve been able to find in order to watch some highlights from Moulin Rouge on my laptop, which was returned from the factory (unrepaired, at my request) just in the nic of time, namely 30 minutes before my bus left.

The new deal is that one goes through the metal detector and, if it doesn’t go off, you’re cool, but if it does, they “wand” you. I’ve determined that 90% of alarms are due to metal in shoes, and about half of those are because the person is wearing a toe ring, the other half is because of metal in the shoe itself. Occasionally the under-wire of a bra upsets it. Sometimes its a hand ring. I can only wonder what happens when people choose to wear rings in other — perhaps less accessible — locations.

9:48 pm EST – Midway Airport
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chicago in the daytime. I mean, all I’ve ever seen of it is out of the plane windows and the terminal windows, and from a plane cities look pretty much the same, and from the terminal all I see is whizzing cars. Anyway, I’m in the middle of a movie called Magnolia, and its very, very interesting. The use of music is for some reason very effective. I think because the mood of the music is often different then the mood I feel from watching what is onscreen, and that causes me to reevaluate what I am seeing and change my perspective. Its kinda cool, getting music that doesn’t seem to fit, and that reinterpreting the scene so that it matches the music. I’m about half way through the (very long) movie, and I still have no idea what’s going on, but its very interesting. I get the feeling that everything will link up in an interesting way.

12:32 pm EST – Somewhere In the Air
Okay, I’ve just finished Magnolia, and it was fucking awesome. I can’t remember if I ever posted a diatribe on language, and I don’t want to get into it now, because I have more important things, but basically it boils down to: I like to know as many words as possible, and use them when it is warranted. “Foul language” is appropriate, to me, when you want to put emphasis or impact on a statement. I could go into a lot about English syntax and expression, but I won’t, cause I’m not a linguist. Moving on.

Fucking awesome movie. I’m still processing it, and I have to definitely sit through it again before I can offer good coherant thoughts, but wow. The computer battery is going to die any minute, and I’m going to try to sleep, but let me try to describe what I’m feeling right now.

Pain, doubt, fear. Hope. Fate. It was like a Vonnegut book without Kilgorne Trout. It was like a Dennis Miller rant with poignancy. It was like…I don’t know, it was like a diary entry of mine, but with a point. And really long. Really, really long. But I was totally engrossed for the whole three hours. And the music. Wow.

Okay, I’m being incoherent, so I’ll stop while I’m already behind. But its a movie about life, about the past, and about dealing with mistakes. And about finding ones own place in the world. And about being open to all people, because everyone is flawed, and everyone is a special case.

And its about keeping pressure away from kids. There is a time for pressure, and it is not childhood. Pressure and pain and hurt on kids really screws you up as an adult. So don’t do it. Just don’t do it. A parent’s job is to shield their kid. Keep them safe. Please.