A spectrum of emotions washes over the American collective, as we are pushed to simultaneously celebrate love and presidents, almost all at once. As if that were not enough to handle, we are also asked to honor or at least think about Darwin's and Lincoln's 200th birthdays, almost too much that they were born on the exact same day. Why isn't Darwin's birthday a holiday? Why can't there be a holiday called "Science Day" or "Evolution Day?" We could send cards to each other and exchange presents like the ones from the Discovery Store. I long for, but can't find, the frog clock the store used to sell that croaked a different frog song at the top of each hour.
After catching "Confessions of a Shopaholic" on Friday, I watched "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" Saturday, and three movies on Sunday, all of which were a pretty good use of my time, including, in order, "Coraline" in 3-D (1:40 p.m.), "He's Just Not That Into You" (7:10 p.m.), and "Idiocracy" at around 10 p.m. That last movie gave me a nightmare about people trying to come after me for some unknown reason, trying to shoot at me and also warning me to go hide. I was one of a group of people on the run, and to hide, we went from homeless shelter to homeless shelter, taking hand-me-downs and dodging bullets. At any rate, "Idiocracy" was somehow frightening, even though it was meant to be a comedy. Oh, to be stuck in a world of idiots who want to imprison me and shoot me and slap a UPC tattoo on me. The horror, the horror.
I'm excited about being halfway through February. Today, it is snowing outside and the sun is shining. I will go for a walk.