Ebert's Blogging? Oh hell no.

It's on people. Roger Ebert has a blog. Sweet! Hat-tip to the J. One of his first entries is to talk about how great Joe versus the Volcano was (I also loved it), despite tanking in every possible way (that always struck me as weird, too). He then describes a scary organization called the "Movie Police" who go around enforcing movie rules and arresting those people who violate them. Both Joe, and two new movies at this year's Ebertfest, violate such rules. Here's a list of the violations, and boy are they dandy. I am now googling the definition of the word "mote".

In no particular area, and combining the two movies, these violations involve dust motes, iambic pentameter, deliberately audacious set design, domestic class warfare, smoking, Cuba under Castro, and sex in restaurants. What I appreciate about them is that they don't do what we expect them do do. They break the rules. By this I don't mean they "surprise" us, but they they show us what by all rights should not be showable. They are, in other words, alive.

Maybe now that I have access to Ebert's real-time thoughts, I can get over my hero worship of him. I seriously doubt that will happen. I did after all ask my wife if we could name one of our children Ebert. (She turned me down on it, and my previous request, which was to name the poor child Becker). But you never know. Maybe I'll see that he has feet of clay. I hope he updates his on health in realtime. The photograph obscures his jaw a little, so I can't tell if he's had his mandible replaced or not, or whether this is an older photograph. Much love to Roger Ebert, a national treasure, and here's to hoping he makes a full recovery soon.