Backstreet Boys @ Ravinia

some observations:
1) bad.
2) actual preteens at the show! like it was 1998 all over again. they even squealed at the boys as they came out of the tour bus. people running all over the fairground like Total Ravinia Live.
3) impossible to see the show over the railing, we could only get a glimpse of them on the big screen over the stage (not common at Ravinia, or am i wrong?).
4) BSB think they're relevant and played a bunch of stuff from their new album and bad solo projects no one wanted to hear. that's always an awful thing to do.
5) but hey, IWITW! and i'll never break your heart! and cheesy live-band interpretations of songs that worked much better in late-'90s fluff dance-pop arrangements! at least, i think there was a band. i couldn't see the stage.

Dark Knight - short redux (possible spoilers)

I agree with Jon, summer is too nice for opinions, but just right for studying South Asian languages and going to Japan. Act accordingly.

However, I will say this about Dark Knight, that it really made it easy to enjoy police torture.

What makes it OK for Batman to beat up the Joker in a police interrogation room? The ticking bomb, right? We've heard that one before.

This seems kinda reminiscent of the TV show 24... we all know the government is effed up, so we want to imagine that there's someone beyond the government to protect us, from the "bad guys." This good guy has to have a firm moral compass, but must also not have compunctions about using any means necessary to protect our embattled society.

Looks good when it's Christian Bale, but what you get in real life is Jon Burge.

Sorry, that was a bummer. Other than the police torture and sometimes crummy editing, I actually really enjoyed Dark Knight. I'm going to try to see Pineapple Express tonight, hopefully i will feel less conflicted about that one.