I would've put this in the link section but I don't know it kinda feels like frontpage material. Apparently there's this super ultra-violent movie out in what I assume to be very limited release called Chaos.

Roger Ebert gave the movie a pretty negative review and awarded it zero stars. The film's creators wrote a letter to Ebert defending their movie. Ebert wrote back to them and basically called them out.

There are to links here, the first one is to the series of letters exchanged between Ebert and the makers of Chaos and the second link is to letters from Ebert's readers. Most of the readers take Ebert's side while one takes the side of the filmmakers. The tone of the one that defends the filmmakers for the most part is of a "you can suck on it and like it" nature but he does point out Ebert's own Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. I'd like to see Ebert's response to that letter but I'm sure he's discussed his lone creative contribution to the world of cinema ad nauseum.

Anyway, part of me wants to see the movie out of curiosity (which ultimately may be the filmmakers' goal.) But their defense of their own movie sounded a little pretentious especially in lieu of what you'll see in the very last letter written to Ebert by another critic.

So here is the link to the exchange between Ebert and the filmmakers and here is the link to the letters from Ebert's readers. Interesting stuff.

I remember wanting to right a script that starts off with two guys fighting. I don't want to get too much into it because there's a part of me that still wants to shoot it but basically it was going to start off with this long drawn out and sloppy fight scene and then tell the backstory of the two combatants. I thought of it in reaction to some of the crabby customers I get in the store all of the time and how often they come in to our store and take out whatever their frustrations may be on us. Nevermind if we may be going through a bad time ourselves.

Anyway, the point would have been to take an extremely violent situation and somehow give it depth. Why? I don't really know and that's probably why I didn't write it. Well that and it couldn't possibly compare to the fight scene in John Carpenter's They Live between Roddy Piper and Keith David.

I'm basically trying to decide between:

and:


But I also want to know what you think about the service/coverage/features of these two companies.

Thanks.

The McGill Post-Graduate Student Society is holding a speeddating event for graduate students and post-doctoral students. ONLY for grads and post-docs. I guess they're aware of the extreme isolation (and dismal romantic opportunities) spawned by graduate research. Then again, should I be dating another grad student in the first place? I'm curious to try it, but I anticipate a lot of awkwardness. I wish I could talk another grad student into going with me, but all the ones I know are either married or as good as married.

I'm curious to hear your comments about speeddating... Have you tried it? Do you know someone who has tried it? Was is worthwhile? Any advice?