It got dark and then it rained buckets. It was a violent storm, high winds, knocked out power in places, all that. But according to weather.com, it was going to be short and then the chance of rain would go down to 10% until 10:00 p.m.
So I went ahead and changed, brought my bike in from the rack (just in time, the skies opened as soon as I got it in the shop).
To kill an hour, after which I'd surely get to enjoy a slightly cooler if wet road, I made a few more decals for my bike.
It wasn't the original aim, but I'm kind of digging the NASCAR effect I'm getting by plastering the bike with stickers. The Chicken of Happiness and other Tomatotown classics, that's just art, but when you have beer labels and Diet Dew on there, it starts to look like a sponsored bike.
I should find a way to get paid by the people whose trademarks I'm infringing on here.
Anyway, the heavy weather passed but it continued to rain, and when I went back to weather.com, they'd upped the chances of rain across the board. So I went to a movie.
I haven't been to a show since Iron Man 2. I'd been in the habit of going once or twice a month when AMC had their five dollar weeknight ticket and I could freely and opening bring Mug* in with me. They still have the five dollar tickets, but they've gone full on Gestapo on outside refreshments while seemingly raising the already obscene prices of their own concessions.
Then, to compound it, between the IMAX, the Fork & Screen and the Cinema Suites, they've found ways to make a movie even more expensive, and more than once the only screen a movie I wanted to see was on was one of these inexcusable $15 or $20 deals. I don't know what makes the assheads who run AMC think we have more money to spend on entertainment in the middle of an epic recession, but five bucks is borderline on more than I can justify spending on two hours of amusement. If you have idiots lined up to spend $20 for a ticket (with the justification that they get a partial credit out of that back toward overpriced bar food and drinks), fine. But don't put a movie only on that screen, I'm not paying that much to see a movie unless I'm starring in it.
Anyway, I went to Inception. Which lived up to its hype. Best documentary I've seen since The Matrix. I don't want to include any spoilers here, but it's very clever. And it avoids the pitfall of a movie like 2012 or the Matrix sequels: when all things are possible, nothing is amazing. If the fantasy structure doesn't have any 'real' risks and repercussions, then the audience can't care about a close call.
Inception not only lets you share in the risks the characters are taking, it allows more than one interpretation of what the underlying reality is.
Five bucks worth, for sure.
*Mug is my 52 ounce QT insulated soda delivery system. I can fill it with Rooster Booster Lite or Diet Dew at QT for a dollar-eight, about 20% of what AMC charges for one of their sodas.
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