One More Down, One Still Pending!

Well, my last post has confirmed what I’ve always thought: you get the most interest when you talk about sex or death (though, preferably not at the same time). In any case, I’m working on a couple more serious posts but hey, it’s Friday so let’s turn to some more fun stuff!

The big news from today is that at long last I finally found out one of my CPA scores (the Financial Reporting section) and I did indeed pass! Contrary to my other two exams, where I far exceeded the minimum passing score of 75 (87 on BEC and 91 on REG), this time I got through by the skin of my teeth with a 77. I like the way my co-worker put it when I told him this morning: “That just means you studied exactly the right amount.” Still waiting on the final section (Audit) but I am ecstatic that I will never need to study this Financial Reporting junk again. That was by far my weakest area and the one I was dreading the most going into this process. Even though it will suck if I have to retake Audit, I will appreciate the inherent irony that I have been an Auditor for 7 years and that might be the one section I don’t pass. More than anything, though, I just hope I find out sooner rather than later. With the holiday weekend upon us, I have the distinct feeling that if it isn’t posted today by 5 I won’t find out till Tuesday at the earliest.

Last night Christy and I got out to see the new Indiana Jones movie on opening night. Since I’m assuming most of you haven’t seen it yet but are planning to, I won’t give away any specifics and will just let you know my reaction to it. Overall, I was actually really impressed. My first thought as the credits rolled was “that was a far better job of preserving the legacy of a historic series than the new Star Wars films.” Everything about the film still *feels* like an Indiana Jones movie. The way it’s shot, written, acted, the action scenes, the sound effects, and even down to the Indy one-liners are all done pitch-perfect. They don’t shy away from the fact that he is a lot older than he was in the last one, and I’m glad for it. It does add a tinge of sadness to the whole proceedings, because where the other stories felt like we were seeing just one adventure in a long series that began long before and would continue long after, this one really feels like it is his last adventure and thus almost plays out like a long epilogue. But, hey, by all accounts it really IS the last adventure for him, so that feel is appropriate too. There are subtle and not-so-subtle nods to the previous films, but rather than seem contrived or superfluous they feel logical within the context of the story. It manages to exceed in walking a very tight line of invoking nostalgia while at the same time being an exciting new adventure in its own right. This is definitely a film I can see myself watching over and over again. The only complaint that, to me, really keeps it from being masterful is the ending. Again, I won’t give specifics, but I’ll just say that while I won’t go so far as to call it bad, I think underwhelming is a good descriptor. I think that’s partially a function of the fact that all 3 previous films managed to have unbelievably awesome endings. Seriously, the opening of the ark in Raiders, the mine cart race and rope bridge fight in Temple, and the trials and choosing the right grail in Crusade would all probably be in the top-50 most memorable scenes of all time. The end of this film will most definitely not be included there, but that’s ok. For me, it knocks it down from a 10 to a 9/10, but that’s still pretty impressive and a lot better than I was expecting. I was also trying to think of where this film ranks out of the four films and you know what? I can’t do it; because I actually can’t rank the other three either. Depending on the day, I can make an argument that any of the other three are my favorite. The only things I can say definitively is that on no day is Raiders my least favorite, and on no day will the Crystal Skull be my favorite. Everything else is up for grabs though.


This is Captain Tollway, the new mascot for the Illinois er . . . tollway I guess. For the moment I am going to bypass the inherent ridiculousness of having a mascot for tolls (what’s next? Taxy the IRS mascot who looks like a cab?) and just concentrate on the absolute absurdity of the appearance of this particular one. First of all, why are only his lower teeth showing and why exactly is his lower jaw three times the size of the top of his head? Second, I question the decision to give him the Cameron Diaz There’s Something About Mary hair. I also don’t understand why his knees curve inward instead of out, and I am moderately disturbed by the sharp, triangular (possibly cancerous) growths protruding from both biceps. All that being said, I can’t wait to pick up my free Captain Tollway coloring book and crayons! Yes, that’s our tax dollars at work.

Finally today, I’ve come up with an idea for some group participation (no, not that; get your minds out of the gutter people). Since there seems to be a fair amount of opinionated people that read this, I thought it might be neat to do a sort of “round table” discussion. I’ve seen this done on some other sites (mainly sports blogs) and I thought it was pretty cool. Basically, I’ll come up with a list of topical questions (maybe 5 or 6) and me and 3 other people will provide short (~100-200 word) answers to them. It’s basically meant to simulate if we were all on one of those Sunday morning talk shows (or discussing over a few beers at a bar). Anyway, let me know if you are interested in participating. Not sure how many people will be, but to keep it fair if I get a lot of volunteers I’ll just take the first 3 I get. I haven’t even started to put together questions yet, but I’m thinking I’ll do that in the next week, send them out, and then give another week to get everyone’s response. I vow to reprint your responses exactly as I receive them (typos and all); no censorship of any kind. Anyway, let me know if you want to participate.

OK, I think that’s all for today. Monday or Tuesday I will post my comprehensive review of Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World, complete with a ton of quotes from the book that I think are awesome (hopefully I don’t get sued).

Have a good holiday weekend everyone!