This morning, I left for work on time. In fact, I even left earlier than usual because I was ready. As I got in my car, I thought that since I had a lot of time, I could treat myself to Starbucks or kolaches, but decided not to. I didn't want the extra calories and I wanted to save my money. As I would soon find out, it was a good thing I didn't stop to get anything.
Traffic in the morning isn't too bad on I-10, usually. Sometimes the entrance ramp is backed up and traffic is slow until we reach the point where an extra lane opens up. From there, it's smooth sailing all the way to the school. When there's slow traffic, it takes me 5 minutes or less to break through it. Knowing how bad traffic can be, I'm happy with 5 minutes of slow traffic.
Anyway, traffic was horrible this morning. The exit ramp was backed up as usual but the line was extremely long. I drove past it and snuck in line at the front - I wasn't in the mood to wait. Traffic picked up a bit when I reached the extra lane and zoomed down it, passing many cars. All of a sudden, at Beltway 8, all the cars screeched to a stop. A bit annoyed, I wondered what was up. It took me 40 minutes - yes, 40 minutes! - to get to the Silber/Antoine exit. I should have already been at the school by then.
At the Silber/Antoine exit, traffic miraculously opened up. I went from 20mph to 70mph in a second (ok, maybe not a second but you get the idea). Traffic flowed beautifully from that point on. I glanced to my left because there was a cop car, a tow truck and a huge pick-up truck (Dodge or F-350). Apparently, the white truck encountered a problem or he had a one-vehicle accident. His guardrail was a little messed up. The driver of the truck and the cop were working together to remove the guardrail from the truck.
What's ironic is that the truck was in the HOV lane. Cars in the HOV lanes were zooming by at the speed limit - but all 5 lanes on I-10 was backed up for miles! There could not have been any other factors for the backed-up traffic. The moment I passed the "incident" was the moment that traffic became extremely clear.
I understand that there's a natural curiosity when it comes to accidents. Just yesterday, on my way to work, I encountered a two-vehicle accident at an intersection a mile from the school. From the looks of it, the cars collided head-on (or almost). There wasn't any traffic so I drove past it quickly - but there were actually spectators sitting in lawn chairs at the intersection (the accident happened in front of a residential neighborhood). Maybe they were occupants of the vehicles involved in the accident - but I'm positive some of them just came out to watch - there were about 8 people standing around.
Anyway, it's alright to be curious about things. You'll learn a thing or two and discover hidden talents and interests. But when curiosity makes me late for work - it's not ok!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A Fuddruckers Experience
So... I'm going to tell you what happened to me about three weeks ago. I had thought about writing about my experience right after it happened, but then I got busy and forgot about it. Later, when I remembered to write, I decided I didn't want to give Fuddruckers any publicity - even though it would have been bad publicity. At that time, I was just disappointed in them, a bit disgruntled and didn't want anything to do with them. Since then, the problem has been solved so I am feeling better about the company.
Before I go on, let me tell you what happened. I decided to join a friend for dinner at Fuddruckers on Highway 6 in the Copperfield area. I brought my daughter along with me, and she decided to bring a book. I thought nothing of it. I think I actually encouraged her to bring a book - knowing that my friend and I would be chatting and that she might be bored. Plus, it doesn't hurt to read a new book. So, we ordered our food and had a pleasant meal. We chatted for about an hour and 1/2, maybe two hours, before deciding to leave. We stepped out into the parking lot and before we even reached halfway across the lot (which was about 30 seconds to a minute), I realized that my daughter had forgotten her book. I sent my daughter back inside as I waited outside near the doors. She spent a while inside and I became worried. She came outside and said she couldn't find her book. My daughter tends to be a lazy searcher. More than 50% of the time, she doesn't find what she's looking for and it's usually in plain sight. I went inside with my daughter to help her look for the book. After searching for what seemed to be a long minute or two, I became really confused. How could a book disappear!? I looked under the table, on the side of the booth and even in between the two booth seats that were pushed up against each other. Nothing.
Disappointed and puzzled, I went back outside with my daughter. I told my friend I couldn't find the book and he decided to go in and look for himself. After waiting for a while (outside in the cold with no jacket), I decided to go inside and see what he was up to. The book was nowhere to be found. My friend decided that maybe the staff had picked it up. I thought to myself, "a staff picked up the book in less than 30 seconds after we left? Strange."
So... we all go back inside once again. I asked the cashier if anyone turned in a book. She said no, sorry - and left it at that. I requested that she check with the busboy. She asked the busboy if he picked up a book... he gave us a nod and went into the back to retrieve it. After we waited for at least 2 or 3 minutes, the cashier went into the back to see what was keeping the busboy busy. She stayed back here perhaps 5 minutes. When the cashier went into the back to check on the busboy, I immediately knew that the book was thrown into the trash. I waited patiently and finally, the cashier came out with the book. She gave me the book and said, "the book is a little dirty, sorry."
A little bit peeved, I asked her, "did he throw it in the trash?" It was obvious that the cashier was a bit embarrassed and admitted that yes, the busboy threw the book into the trash. The book was wet and smeared with food. I was disgusted. I asked for a gift certificate to be reimbursed for the cost of the book. She said "we don't do that, sorry." I asked for the manager and waited another few minutes for the manager to come up to the front.
I told the manager what happened and emphasized that we had been outside for 30 SECONDS (I had told her one minute - as to not to seem like I was exaggerating) before realizing that we left the book inside. I expressed my disappointment and disapproval at how they handled my daughter's book. The manager's attitude was nothing more than a disapproving look and a simple comment, "sorry, but it's not our problem you left the book here." Of course, I became irritated and angry. Yes, I realize it was my daughter's fault for leaving the book and my fault for not making sure she took the book with her in the first place - but did they really have to immediately throw the book into the trash along with leftover food and drinks? I argued with her for a while; all I got in return was a bad attitude and a look that said it all: "go away, you're annoying me."
I gave up, threw the book at her (more like tossed) and said something along the lines of "pathetic" and walked out the door without looking back. When I got home, I made a beeline to my computer, turned it on and pulled up Fuddrucker's website. I couldn't find a corporate email but I found a comments page. I left a comment, marked it as a complaint, typed out a detailed message and sent it on its way. The very next day, I received an email from a female representative apologizing for the incident, thanking me for the comment - good or bad - and that my message would be forwarded to the appropriate people on the management team at the Highway 6 Fuddruckers.
I thought - so far, so good. I received an immediate response and have been forwarded to people that would probably ultimately decide what to do about the situation. A week went by, then two weeks. I had forgotten to send a follow-up email because I had not heard back from anybody else at this point. My friend kept reminding me, so I finally sent an email back to the corporate representative and told her I had not heard from anybody yet.
The very next day, I remember receiving missed phone calls on my VP. Since it was from Sorenson, I ignored it. I continued to receive at least two missed phone calls each day. The way that Sorenson works is that if a hearing person calls you and you miss the call - you see Sorenson's name as the person who called you, not the hearing person's name. When I tried to call back, I reached the Sorenson Relay number and it asked me what number I wanted to call. With no number, I had no idea who was calling me.
Finally, a few days ago, I received a sign-mail from Sorenson. Whoever had been trying to reach me finally decided to leave a message. It was from Fuddruckers. When checking my e-mail for the sign-mail message, I noticed an email from Fuddruckers as well. It was from a male corporate representative that works in the Houston area. He mentioned that he had been trying to call me for a while and wants to sincerely apologize for the incident.
The management team and employees had been counseled on proper procedure and how to handle customers. He decided to give me a $20 Fuddrucker gift card to reimburse me for my trouble and for the cost of my daughter's book. I emailed him back, thanked him for his response, his action and for the $20 gift card. In his email, he mentioned that he hoped I would give the Highway 6 location another try, but that my card would be valid at any location. I made sure to point out that I'm still somewhat disappointed in the employees at the Highway 6 Fuddruckers and will be taking my business at another location for a while.
I realize that people may leave their things by accident when they go out. What can the employees do but to hold on to it for days, weeks, or months? After a length of time, it would probably make sense to mark it as trash and just throw it away - after all, if the owner hasn't come back for it in weeks, he/she probably would never come back. However, my situation was different. I came back LESS THAN ONE MINUTE after stepping out of the restaurant. I never even LEFT the parking lot. If I had forgotten my cell phone instead, would they have thrown it out? Somehow, I very highly doubt that. It shouldn't matter what the item was or what it's value is - ALL items should be treated with equal respect!
So - that's my experience with Fuddruckers over the past couple weeks. I still love the food and still like the chain restaurant - I just don't like the Highway 6 location.... for now.
Before I go on, let me tell you what happened. I decided to join a friend for dinner at Fuddruckers on Highway 6 in the Copperfield area. I brought my daughter along with me, and she decided to bring a book. I thought nothing of it. I think I actually encouraged her to bring a book - knowing that my friend and I would be chatting and that she might be bored. Plus, it doesn't hurt to read a new book. So, we ordered our food and had a pleasant meal. We chatted for about an hour and 1/2, maybe two hours, before deciding to leave. We stepped out into the parking lot and before we even reached halfway across the lot (which was about 30 seconds to a minute), I realized that my daughter had forgotten her book. I sent my daughter back inside as I waited outside near the doors. She spent a while inside and I became worried. She came outside and said she couldn't find her book. My daughter tends to be a lazy searcher. More than 50% of the time, she doesn't find what she's looking for and it's usually in plain sight. I went inside with my daughter to help her look for the book. After searching for what seemed to be a long minute or two, I became really confused. How could a book disappear!? I looked under the table, on the side of the booth and even in between the two booth seats that were pushed up against each other. Nothing.
Disappointed and puzzled, I went back outside with my daughter. I told my friend I couldn't find the book and he decided to go in and look for himself. After waiting for a while (outside in the cold with no jacket), I decided to go inside and see what he was up to. The book was nowhere to be found. My friend decided that maybe the staff had picked it up. I thought to myself, "a staff picked up the book in less than 30 seconds after we left? Strange."
So... we all go back inside once again. I asked the cashier if anyone turned in a book. She said no, sorry - and left it at that. I requested that she check with the busboy. She asked the busboy if he picked up a book... he gave us a nod and went into the back to retrieve it. After we waited for at least 2 or 3 minutes, the cashier went into the back to see what was keeping the busboy busy. She stayed back here perhaps 5 minutes. When the cashier went into the back to check on the busboy, I immediately knew that the book was thrown into the trash. I waited patiently and finally, the cashier came out with the book. She gave me the book and said, "the book is a little dirty, sorry."
A little bit peeved, I asked her, "did he throw it in the trash?" It was obvious that the cashier was a bit embarrassed and admitted that yes, the busboy threw the book into the trash. The book was wet and smeared with food. I was disgusted. I asked for a gift certificate to be reimbursed for the cost of the book. She said "we don't do that, sorry." I asked for the manager and waited another few minutes for the manager to come up to the front.
I told the manager what happened and emphasized that we had been outside for 30 SECONDS (I had told her one minute - as to not to seem like I was exaggerating) before realizing that we left the book inside. I expressed my disappointment and disapproval at how they handled my daughter's book. The manager's attitude was nothing more than a disapproving look and a simple comment, "sorry, but it's not our problem you left the book here." Of course, I became irritated and angry. Yes, I realize it was my daughter's fault for leaving the book and my fault for not making sure she took the book with her in the first place - but did they really have to immediately throw the book into the trash along with leftover food and drinks? I argued with her for a while; all I got in return was a bad attitude and a look that said it all: "go away, you're annoying me."
I gave up, threw the book at her (more like tossed) and said something along the lines of "pathetic" and walked out the door without looking back. When I got home, I made a beeline to my computer, turned it on and pulled up Fuddrucker's website. I couldn't find a corporate email but I found a comments page. I left a comment, marked it as a complaint, typed out a detailed message and sent it on its way. The very next day, I received an email from a female representative apologizing for the incident, thanking me for the comment - good or bad - and that my message would be forwarded to the appropriate people on the management team at the Highway 6 Fuddruckers.
I thought - so far, so good. I received an immediate response and have been forwarded to people that would probably ultimately decide what to do about the situation. A week went by, then two weeks. I had forgotten to send a follow-up email because I had not heard back from anybody else at this point. My friend kept reminding me, so I finally sent an email back to the corporate representative and told her I had not heard from anybody yet.
The very next day, I remember receiving missed phone calls on my VP. Since it was from Sorenson, I ignored it. I continued to receive at least two missed phone calls each day. The way that Sorenson works is that if a hearing person calls you and you miss the call - you see Sorenson's name as the person who called you, not the hearing person's name. When I tried to call back, I reached the Sorenson Relay number and it asked me what number I wanted to call. With no number, I had no idea who was calling me.
Finally, a few days ago, I received a sign-mail from Sorenson. Whoever had been trying to reach me finally decided to leave a message. It was from Fuddruckers. When checking my e-mail for the sign-mail message, I noticed an email from Fuddruckers as well. It was from a male corporate representative that works in the Houston area. He mentioned that he had been trying to call me for a while and wants to sincerely apologize for the incident.
The management team and employees had been counseled on proper procedure and how to handle customers. He decided to give me a $20 Fuddrucker gift card to reimburse me for my trouble and for the cost of my daughter's book. I emailed him back, thanked him for his response, his action and for the $20 gift card. In his email, he mentioned that he hoped I would give the Highway 6 location another try, but that my card would be valid at any location. I made sure to point out that I'm still somewhat disappointed in the employees at the Highway 6 Fuddruckers and will be taking my business at another location for a while.
I realize that people may leave their things by accident when they go out. What can the employees do but to hold on to it for days, weeks, or months? After a length of time, it would probably make sense to mark it as trash and just throw it away - after all, if the owner hasn't come back for it in weeks, he/she probably would never come back. However, my situation was different. I came back LESS THAN ONE MINUTE after stepping out of the restaurant. I never even LEFT the parking lot. If I had forgotten my cell phone instead, would they have thrown it out? Somehow, I very highly doubt that. It shouldn't matter what the item was or what it's value is - ALL items should be treated with equal respect!
So - that's my experience with Fuddruckers over the past couple weeks. I still love the food and still like the chain restaurant - I just don't like the Highway 6 location.... for now.
Monday, March 23, 2009
What to do this year!?
My birthday's coming up again... which means I'm getting older... and that another year has flown by. Already!? Before we know it, 5 years will have passed and we'll all be much older. Not fun!
This year, I told myself that I didn't want to do anything special. I've had a fun-filled birthday for the last two years; I thought that maybe I should stay quiet this year and just enjoy it with a small group of friends.
However, time has gone by and my birthday is getting closer and closer. Friends have asked me what I was planning and they have been giving me input on what they'd like to do on MY birthday. So, I thought and thought.
After careful consideration for friends that may not like adrenaline as much as I do, here's what I've come up with....
What do you guys think!? I've made a poll... so VOTE!
This year, I told myself that I didn't want to do anything special. I've had a fun-filled birthday for the last two years; I thought that maybe I should stay quiet this year and just enjoy it with a small group of friends.
However, time has gone by and my birthday is getting closer and closer. Friends have asked me what I was planning and they have been giving me input on what they'd like to do on MY birthday. So, I thought and thought.
After careful consideration for friends that may not like adrenaline as much as I do, here's what I've come up with....
*Bungee Jumping
*Skydiving (yes, again)
*Trip to San Antonio or some nearby city
*Hang Gliding
*Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
*Paintball
*Dinner on the grill and games with friends
*Dinner at a restaurant I've never eaten at before
*Slumber party (yes, boys allowed)!
*Trip to College Station (Rosa's and maybe a park or something)
What do you guys think!? I've made a poll... so VOTE!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Prestige
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
The Prestige. A good movie, I think, that anyone could enjoy. If you like to analyze movies after you watch them, this is the movie for you. I watched this movie a while back, pushed it out of my head and wrote it off as "another movie watched." My mind can only absorb so much when I'm watching approximately 3 movies each week/weekend. While eating dinner with a friend the other day, the movie came up and we discussed it. Ever since, the movie has stayed with me so I decided to look into it further.
To quickly summarize, the movie is about two magicians (played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) who were friends turned rivals. Their rivalry became deadly. If you have not seen the movie, plan to watch it and do not want to know the ending, stop reading now. Otherwise, keep reading to see why I think this movie was magically (ha-ha) entertaining.
Upon doing research on this movie, I had found that the three "acts" of the movie mirror the three acts of magic. Which makes sense - it's a movie about magicians after all. The first act is called "The Pledge." This is where the magician shows the audience something simply ordinary. Because part of the ending is shown at the beginning (without revealing anything), the movie's "ordinary" is that the mystery surrounding these two friends will be explained. The other "ordinary" thing is the characters themselves. Angier is considered a showman and very sophisticated. He called himself 'The Great Danton.' Borden is very methodical in his approach and aptly named himself 'The Professor.' This foreshadows the lengths that both magicians will go and how they plan/execute their tricks.
The second phase of the magic act (and movie) is "The Turn." This is the 'extra'ordinary part of the act. The magician turns away from the audience to perform his next trick. In this movie, the "turn" is the invention of the Teleportation Device and The Transported Man trick. By this time, Angier was obsessed with Borden because Borden made a mistake in tying a knot that accidentally killed Angier's wife while performing a trick. The Transported Man trick won Borden recognition and plenty of fans, which fueled Angier's obsession. Determined to outperform Borden, Angier sets out to copy the famed "The Transported Man" illusion and comes up with his own method.
The final part of the magic trick is called "The Prestige", for which the movie (and book) is aptly named after. Ideally, the trick is completed and the illusion is revealed. As the movie progresses, we see Borden becoming more and more obsessed with Angier because Angier has come up with another way to perform The Transported Man. Anxious to find out how Angier is copying his trick, Borden sneaks backstage to discover the secret - which will lead to his downfall. The conclusion of the movie brings us with the conviction and execution of Borden (for murdering Angier), but - staying true to the magic industry - it is revealed that Angier's death was an illusion.
This movie is unlike any other. Every story, in both books and movies, the storyteller gives the audience hints about what is to come. This is called foreshadowing. In some cases, it is easy to identify the foreshadowing scene, however, in my opinion, The Prestige did an excellent job of providing lots of foreshadowing without letting us know at all. It would not be possible to explain each foreshadowing and give them all justice - but here are a few memorable examples...
The first foreshadowing that we see gives us a hint about Borden's identity. During a magic trick in which Borden and Angier worked together, Borden tied a knot which resulted in Angier's wife's death. The knot was encouraged by Angier's wife because she felt that their usual was too easy. Angered by his wife's death, Angier pesters Borden and asks which knot he tied. Borden's answer was "I don't know." The audience and Angier could not possibly fathom how Borden could have forgotten which knot he tied, however the answer would be later revealed and everything would make sense.
The second foreshadowing that was done exceptionally well also had to do with Borden's identity. Borden and Angier comes across a magician performing a trick with a fishbowl full of water. Being magicians themselves, they could not figure out how the trick was performed. Later, they find out that the magician (whom they thought was a true cripple) had lived his life out as a cripple solely for the ability to carry the fishbowl between his legs (under his costume) without people assuming anything. Borden (and Angier) becomes fascinated by this magician, and comments what great commitment the man has to the craft. Later, we find out that Borden has the same kind of commitment.
The final foreshadowing worth mentioning is Borden's relationship with his wife, Sarah. Throughout the movie, we see Borden behaving suspiciously. The behavior is typical of a man who is cheating on his wife. It is apparent that he may be falling in love (or is already in love) with another woman - a woman who works with Angier. In the back of our minds, we wonder whether he has an ulterior motive for his behavior. Is he misleading Angier's woman on purpose? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, right? Or is he really falling in love with her? We see that Borden's wife acknowledges this odd behavior and on some days, she feels that he does not love her at all. She begins to feel lonely and wonders if this is even the life she wants: living with a husband that only loves her some of the time. This ultimately leads to her suicide. This is an excellent foreshadowing of Borden's identity. Only after the audience sees the conclusion of the movie that they begin to realize why Borden behaved this way with his wife. The key thing to remember here is that he never cheated.
Anytime a book is made into a movie, changes are made. Like any movie, The Prestige made changes - and lots of it. While gathering information about the book, I have found that the movie does not resemble the book, not even close. The characters are different, the plot is different and even the ending is different. Whenever I watch a movie and thoroughly enjoy it, I try to read the book it came from. However, in this scenario, I am not quite sure whether I want to read the book. The movie was sufficiently pleasing. As I was looking around for specific changes that were made to the story, I found one that was particularly interesting.
In the story, it is revealed how Angier is able to perform The Transported Man act. In the movie, he invented a machine that was able to clone him. When the clone dropped down below the stage, it was trapped into a large cage of water and drowned. The clone was a full-fleshed human being (but whether he could think or feel - I am not sure). In the book, the machine that Angier invented was a teleportation device, not a cloning device. Angier was actually teleported to the other side of the stage. However, each time he was teleported, a piece of himself was taken away. The pieces were some type of ghostly shadows. Angier did come close to cloning himself (by accident) in the book. While trying to teleport himself, he shut the machine off halfway through the process. Angier stays behind but a holographic Angier appeared. I particularly find this aspect of the book very interesting.
The modifications made to the story for the benefit of the movie makes sense, especially with the cloning. If the story followed the book closely, Angier would have pieces of his "shadowy" self floating around. This won't do well with the current plot of Borden mistakenly assuming the trapped man to be Angier himself; therefore getting "caught", accused, convicted, and finally executed. I believe that with the changes made to the story, the movie carried out its purpose extremely well, kept us on our toes and led us through an interesting story of magic.
The Prestige. A good movie, I think, that anyone could enjoy. If you like to analyze movies after you watch them, this is the movie for you. I watched this movie a while back, pushed it out of my head and wrote it off as "another movie watched." My mind can only absorb so much when I'm watching approximately 3 movies each week/weekend. While eating dinner with a friend the other day, the movie came up and we discussed it. Ever since, the movie has stayed with me so I decided to look into it further.
To quickly summarize, the movie is about two magicians (played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) who were friends turned rivals. Their rivalry became deadly. If you have not seen the movie, plan to watch it and do not want to know the ending, stop reading now. Otherwise, keep reading to see why I think this movie was magically (ha-ha) entertaining.
Upon doing research on this movie, I had found that the three "acts" of the movie mirror the three acts of magic. Which makes sense - it's a movie about magicians after all. The first act is called "The Pledge." This is where the magician shows the audience something simply ordinary. Because part of the ending is shown at the beginning (without revealing anything), the movie's "ordinary" is that the mystery surrounding these two friends will be explained. The other "ordinary" thing is the characters themselves. Angier is considered a showman and very sophisticated. He called himself 'The Great Danton.' Borden is very methodical in his approach and aptly named himself 'The Professor.' This foreshadows the lengths that both magicians will go and how they plan/execute their tricks.
The second phase of the magic act (and movie) is "The Turn." This is the 'extra'ordinary part of the act. The magician turns away from the audience to perform his next trick. In this movie, the "turn" is the invention of the Teleportation Device and The Transported Man trick. By this time, Angier was obsessed with Borden because Borden made a mistake in tying a knot that accidentally killed Angier's wife while performing a trick. The Transported Man trick won Borden recognition and plenty of fans, which fueled Angier's obsession. Determined to outperform Borden, Angier sets out to copy the famed "The Transported Man" illusion and comes up with his own method.
The final part of the magic trick is called "The Prestige", for which the movie (and book) is aptly named after. Ideally, the trick is completed and the illusion is revealed. As the movie progresses, we see Borden becoming more and more obsessed with Angier because Angier has come up with another way to perform The Transported Man. Anxious to find out how Angier is copying his trick, Borden sneaks backstage to discover the secret - which will lead to his downfall. The conclusion of the movie brings us with the conviction and execution of Borden (for murdering Angier), but - staying true to the magic industry - it is revealed that Angier's death was an illusion.
Cutter: Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why very magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige".
This movie is unlike any other. Every story, in both books and movies, the storyteller gives the audience hints about what is to come. This is called foreshadowing. In some cases, it is easy to identify the foreshadowing scene, however, in my opinion, The Prestige did an excellent job of providing lots of foreshadowing without letting us know at all. It would not be possible to explain each foreshadowing and give them all justice - but here are a few memorable examples...
The first foreshadowing that we see gives us a hint about Borden's identity. During a magic trick in which Borden and Angier worked together, Borden tied a knot which resulted in Angier's wife's death. The knot was encouraged by Angier's wife because she felt that their usual was too easy. Angered by his wife's death, Angier pesters Borden and asks which knot he tied. Borden's answer was "I don't know." The audience and Angier could not possibly fathom how Borden could have forgotten which knot he tied, however the answer would be later revealed and everything would make sense.
Borden: He came in to demand an answer and I told him the truth. That I have fought with myself over that night, one half of me swearing blind that I tied a simple slipknot, the other half convinced that I tied the Langford double. I can never know for sure.
The second foreshadowing that was done exceptionally well also had to do with Borden's identity. Borden and Angier comes across a magician performing a trick with a fishbowl full of water. Being magicians themselves, they could not figure out how the trick was performed. Later, they find out that the magician (whom they thought was a true cripple) had lived his life out as a cripple solely for the ability to carry the fishbowl between his legs (under his costume) without people assuming anything. Borden (and Angier) becomes fascinated by this magician, and comments what great commitment the man has to the craft. Later, we find out that Borden has the same kind of commitment.
Angier: He lives his act.
The final foreshadowing worth mentioning is Borden's relationship with his wife, Sarah. Throughout the movie, we see Borden behaving suspiciously. The behavior is typical of a man who is cheating on his wife. It is apparent that he may be falling in love (or is already in love) with another woman - a woman who works with Angier. In the back of our minds, we wonder whether he has an ulterior motive for his behavior. Is he misleading Angier's woman on purpose? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, right? Or is he really falling in love with her? We see that Borden's wife acknowledges this odd behavior and on some days, she feels that he does not love her at all. She begins to feel lonely and wonders if this is even the life she wants: living with a husband that only loves her some of the time. This ultimately leads to her suicide. This is an excellent foreshadowing of Borden's identity. Only after the audience sees the conclusion of the movie that they begin to realize why Borden behaved this way with his wife. The key thing to remember here is that he never cheated.
Sarah: Do you love me?
Borden: Not today. No.
Anytime a book is made into a movie, changes are made. Like any movie, The Prestige made changes - and lots of it. While gathering information about the book, I have found that the movie does not resemble the book, not even close. The characters are different, the plot is different and even the ending is different. Whenever I watch a movie and thoroughly enjoy it, I try to read the book it came from. However, in this scenario, I am not quite sure whether I want to read the book. The movie was sufficiently pleasing. As I was looking around for specific changes that were made to the story, I found one that was particularly interesting.
In the story, it is revealed how Angier is able to perform The Transported Man act. In the movie, he invented a machine that was able to clone him. When the clone dropped down below the stage, it was trapped into a large cage of water and drowned. The clone was a full-fleshed human being (but whether he could think or feel - I am not sure). In the book, the machine that Angier invented was a teleportation device, not a cloning device. Angier was actually teleported to the other side of the stage. However, each time he was teleported, a piece of himself was taken away. The pieces were some type of ghostly shadows. Angier did come close to cloning himself (by accident) in the book. While trying to teleport himself, he shut the machine off halfway through the process. Angier stays behind but a holographic Angier appeared. I particularly find this aspect of the book very interesting.
The modifications made to the story for the benefit of the movie makes sense, especially with the cloning. If the story followed the book closely, Angier would have pieces of his "shadowy" self floating around. This won't do well with the current plot of Borden mistakenly assuming the trapped man to be Angier himself; therefore getting "caught", accused, convicted, and finally executed. I believe that with the changes made to the story, the movie carried out its purpose extremely well, kept us on our toes and led us through an interesting story of magic.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Changing Time
It's wrong to wake up before the sun's up. Totally wrong. I'd even stoop as low to say that it's inhumane.
When I started my internship in January, I was getting up with the sun. As I drove to work, the sun would continue to rise and light up the sky. If I had to decide which was more beautiful - sunrises or sunsets - I've have to say sunrises. Too bad I'm never awake for it (when I'm not working).
As the weeks passed, the sun began to wake up earlier. During the recent weeks, by the time I stepped out of my apartment, the sun would already be up and greet me with its warm rays. In the January and February cold, it was a nice welcome. The sky would be totally lit by the time I got to work 30 minutes later.
This past weekend, we changed our clocks forward an hour. Setting the clocks forward meant that we'd be getting up an hour earlier than usual - which meant I would be on my way to work before the sun came out. This is a huge bummer. However, that means we have more light during the day. I love it when it doesn't get dark until 8 or 9pm. More play time!
I am definitely not a morning person. And I'll tell you why. To many people, morning may mean a fresh start; a brand new day. To me, it just means having to go through another day of stress, another day of a routine and another day of dealing with people that I would rather not deal with. Drinking before noon is associated with alcoholics - so I drink coffee and I drink lots of it.
Nighttime means that the day you've just had is winding down. If you've had an excellent day, nighttime may mean bad news. However, I put a positive spin on it. If I've had an excellent day, at night is when I sit back to relive the day, going over what I've just done. Nighttime, to me, also means I get to drink to calm my nerves. Nothing like drinking a glass to finish off a day, good or bad.
The best part of nighttime is changing into my comfy PJs, sitting back on the couch and watching a great movie. What's even better is if I take a bath afterwards. Changing into comfy PJs, watching a movie then taking a bath just doesn't work at 7 in the morning or even at 3 in the afternoon.
Waking up and driving to work in the dark is quite a feat for me. Especially now that we have lost an hour of our day, I have to try extra hard not to creep back into bed and snuggle under the covers. When I arrived to work this morning, the sky outside my classroom window was dark. Instead of morning, it felt like a huge storm was brooding. I honestly expected the wind to start blowing furiously and the rain to start pouring down.
I am comfortable with the dark, but there is a huge difference between a dark morning and a dark night. Some people are morning persons and others are night persons. I am a night person (although I've been falling asleep way earlier than usual due to being busy all the time) and I'll always be a night person. I like to stay up really late and sleep in all morning.
People who like to get up before the sun has got to be crazy. Why? Nothing's open (except for Wal-Mart) and well, it's just crazy. There's also something wrong about having to sleep and wake up on a schedule. People should be able to sleep when they want and wake up when they want... too bad work gets in the way.
It's only Day Two after setting the clocks ahead. I hate the dark mornings but I'm looking forward to the long days.
When I started my internship in January, I was getting up with the sun. As I drove to work, the sun would continue to rise and light up the sky. If I had to decide which was more beautiful - sunrises or sunsets - I've have to say sunrises. Too bad I'm never awake for it (when I'm not working).
As the weeks passed, the sun began to wake up earlier. During the recent weeks, by the time I stepped out of my apartment, the sun would already be up and greet me with its warm rays. In the January and February cold, it was a nice welcome. The sky would be totally lit by the time I got to work 30 minutes later.
This past weekend, we changed our clocks forward an hour. Setting the clocks forward meant that we'd be getting up an hour earlier than usual - which meant I would be on my way to work before the sun came out. This is a huge bummer. However, that means we have more light during the day. I love it when it doesn't get dark until 8 or 9pm. More play time!
I am definitely not a morning person. And I'll tell you why. To many people, morning may mean a fresh start; a brand new day. To me, it just means having to go through another day of stress, another day of a routine and another day of dealing with people that I would rather not deal with. Drinking before noon is associated with alcoholics - so I drink coffee and I drink lots of it.
Nighttime means that the day you've just had is winding down. If you've had an excellent day, nighttime may mean bad news. However, I put a positive spin on it. If I've had an excellent day, at night is when I sit back to relive the day, going over what I've just done. Nighttime, to me, also means I get to drink to calm my nerves. Nothing like drinking a glass to finish off a day, good or bad.
The best part of nighttime is changing into my comfy PJs, sitting back on the couch and watching a great movie. What's even better is if I take a bath afterwards. Changing into comfy PJs, watching a movie then taking a bath just doesn't work at 7 in the morning or even at 3 in the afternoon.
Waking up and driving to work in the dark is quite a feat for me. Especially now that we have lost an hour of our day, I have to try extra hard not to creep back into bed and snuggle under the covers. When I arrived to work this morning, the sky outside my classroom window was dark. Instead of morning, it felt like a huge storm was brooding. I honestly expected the wind to start blowing furiously and the rain to start pouring down.
I am comfortable with the dark, but there is a huge difference between a dark morning and a dark night. Some people are morning persons and others are night persons. I am a night person (although I've been falling asleep way earlier than usual due to being busy all the time) and I'll always be a night person. I like to stay up really late and sleep in all morning.
People who like to get up before the sun has got to be crazy. Why? Nothing's open (except for Wal-Mart) and well, it's just crazy. There's also something wrong about having to sleep and wake up on a schedule. People should be able to sleep when they want and wake up when they want... too bad work gets in the way.
It's only Day Two after setting the clocks ahead. I hate the dark mornings but I'm looking forward to the long days.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
