I'm still a man, right?

I watched a movie today that made me cry. Well, technically my eyes just got a little watery. No actual tears appeared, but it was darn close. This sort of thing is, I assure you, a very rare occurrence. In fact, I can think of only two other movies - Schindler's List and Charly - which evoked this level of emotion inside of me. Hopefully this doesn't mean that my man-ness isn't on the decline. After all, after two days I was winning our office mustache-growing contest. That's proof enough, isn't it?

The reason I'm blogging about this isn't necessarily to show my tender side. Rather, I feel the need to explain it because it was such a surprise. I never would have guessed that this particular movie would choke me up.

The movie is Valkyrie, Tom Cruise's recent drama flick. It chronicles the last and most famous assassination attempt on Hitler's life made by German citizens. I hadn't intended to even watch the movie since I more or less already knew the about this unsuccessful coup, but more so because I think Cruise is a loony and I hate most of his self-promoting movies. Aside from Last Samurai, I can't think of any Cruise movie I've ever really enjoyed. Regardless, I got the movie from Netflix and watched it this evening.

Long story short, I enjoyed the movie. I found it to be a very compelling drama and a fascinating "what-would-you-do ?" character study. However, it wasn't until the credits rolled that I felt a knot in my throat. Up until then it was just a story. But there at the very end - after seeing or being told the fate of each of the key conspirators - it hit me. And here is what it was:

These men gave their lives for the greater good of their fellow men. They had families and they were certain that if the coup failed, not only would they die, but their wives and children would suffer as well. But they chose to do it anyway, because it was the right thing to do.

They knew, as did virtually everyone at the time, that it was only a matter of time before the Third Reich would be gone. The writing was on the wall, so to speak. They could have taken the easy way out and simply waited until someone else fixed their problem for them. Or they could have taken an even more cowardly position by convincing themselves that they were not in control of their own destiny, or put another way, they had not other choice. Someone else was choosing their destiny for them.

I'll admit, I felt some real emotion and very real admiration for the men and women characterized in that movie. Even if 99% of the story was fabricated or embellished (this was Hollywood afterall) I still have to recognize the sacrifice that they really did make and I thank them for it.

Star Trek lessons

I watched Star Trek today and I learned a few things (don't worry, no spoilers):

1. Red matter is awesome.
2. Escaping a black hole's gravity well is not only possible - it can be accomplished by simply dropping some of your cargo. Who knew?
3. Flying into a black hole enables time travel! Woo hoo! No more slingshoting around the sun for me!
4. More fun with black holes - the presence of a black hole less than 1 AU from your current position is fun to watch. Don't worry, you are apparently at no risk of being sucked into the black hole. Niiiice.
5. Romulans love tattoos and green lighting.
6. Romulans also like to perform interrogations while standing in a bathtub.
7. Vulcans live in stalactites.
8. Chekov has mad skills with the transporter - when it suits him. He can lock onto and beam up entangled bodies as they fall at terminal velocity toward a black hole but he can't keep the signal locked onto someone if they slide 3 feet down a slope.
9. Light flares are purdy. People in the future love them so much that they position most of their lighting to point outward from the walls rather than projecting down from the ceiling.
10. Cpt. Kirk is a lousy hand-to-hand combatant.
11. With a '60s muscle car you can outrun a 23rd century police officer on his flying motorcycle.
12. A 24th century mining vessel is pretty much invincible against several armadas-worth of 23rd century warbirds.
13. Bullys are a universal constant. Even on Vulcan.
14. Kirk is a hot head, but that Spock dude is a loose cannon. Shee-oot.
15. Apparently, it is possible to make a good odd-numbered Star Trek movie!