The new trailer for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy looks like fun. I’m a little disappointed that Ford Prefect doesn’t have an English accent. If the film versions of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings could keep their British feel, I’m not sure why this movie couldn’t do the same. But the trailer seems to convey the book’s sly tone.
I think I’m also going to see Constantine today. I know that Jessa at Bookslut thinks this movie is a the perfect example of Hollywood screwing up the source material and dumbing it down for the prepubescent crowd. She probably has a point. The Hellblazer comics are set in London and John Constantine is blond, British, and a bit of a bastard. The film is set in LA and John Constantine is…Keanu Reeves. But it looks noirish enough to spark my curiosity. As long as I don’t compare it to the comic, I think I’ll be happy.

I’m thinking about going to Paris in the summer of 2006. I’ve been talking about it for so long and it’s time that I do something about it. A year plus a few months should be enough to set aside some money and get all the arrangements made. This will take a little more work than trips I’ve taken in the past, but I think it’s doable. In the meantime, I want to work on my French language skills. I had four years of French in high school and one in college before I stopped because I wouldn’t be going to a French-speaking country anytime soon. I think it would come back to me relatively easily, especially the grammar. It’s the vocabulary I need to work on. It’s going to take more than a few scattered words like fromage and bibliotheque to get me by. My mom (a retired professor of German) suggested I pick up some Berlitz tapes. I’d like to find some interactive material on the Web as well. Too bad I don’t have my old French textbooks anymore. If anyone has some language tips, e-mail me.
And speaking of all things French, I’ve been totally grooving on the new M83 album. It’s become one of my preferred playlists for writing. I just know the Secret Service is going to haul me in for questioning one of these days for being such a francophile. The songs do get a bit overwrought at times, but there’s enough ear candy here to keep things interesting. It’s like a more drugged-out version of Air.

I had my first professional massage yesterday. One of my nurses thought I might enjoy it, but I wasn’t so sure. We went to the student clinic at St. Paul College and I was fairly certain none of the students had worked with someone with a disability. It had the potential to be an awkward experience. The therapist assigned to me didn’t show any signs of being fazed, however. It became a sort of combination massage-physical therapy session. She worked on some of the muscle contractures that inevitably accompany spending so much time sitting. What surprised me most was how much I enjoyed her fingers on my neck. I didn’t realize how tight those muscles get; probably from all the time I spend writing at work and at home. I used to get PT regularly when I was in school, but I kind of let that fall by the wayside when I started working. And even though I get handled regularly by nurses, it was definitely pleasant to experience a more therapeutic style of touch. Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue seeing her on a semi-regular basis.
I scored some free tickets to the Timberwolves game tonight. Let’s hope they play better than they have in recent games.

Here’s the lesson I learned from The Sea Inside, which I saw last night. If I want to get pretty women to fall in love with me, I need to publicly declare my desire to end my life. I’ve been going about things all wrong. Enough of this trying to assimilate with the rest of able-bodied society. Starting tomorrow, I’m confining myself to my bed and I’ll begin dictating morose yet moving poetry. I’ll write letters to the editor bemoaning my tragic situation and my wish to end it all. I’ll post my writings to this blog and before long, beautiful women will be knocking down my door in their determination to give me a reason to live. I should have thought of this sooner.
I actually thought the movie was an even-handed treatment of the euthanasia issue. I used to be really critical of people with disabilities who chose suicide; it was one of the main theses of my law journal article. My views have become more nuanced over time. I don’t think it’s my place to judge another person’s quality of life. What may be tolerable for one person may be unbearable for another. I’m not advocating suicide as an acceptable solution, but I’m also increasingly wary of the indignant, self-righteous tones of some disability activists who scream bloody murder when someone decides not to live with a disability. I’d like to see a little less pontificating and a little more honest discussion. A lot of these activists seem to gloss over the genuine struggles that accompany living with a disability. We all have our personal tipping points; that point where we say, “Enough. No more.” I don’t exactly know what mine is. I don’t think any of us know. But I think it’s the height of arrogance for any of us to pretend that we know when someone has a decent quality of life. The people who tell me they’d rather die if they were in my position and the people who argue that the Terry Schiavos of the world should go on living are equally presumptuous

The big news around here has been Senator Mark Dayton’s announcement that he will not seek reelection in 2006. He made the correct decision. Dayton has never achieved much visibility since becoming Senator. He’s never seemed comfortable giving speeches or, for that matter, being in the same room with other people. I probably agree with 90% of his political views, but he lacks the ability to convey those views with any passion. He also said that he abhors fundraising, which is certainly understandable. I give him a lot of credit for making the decision this early. He must have known that the Democrats will have a difficult enough holding their ground in 2006 and that he was primed to be the Republicans’ primary target. Personally, I’d like to see Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar be the Democratic nominee. She’s intelligent, articulate, and I think she could appeal to a wide swath of Minnesota voters.