I’m going to take a break  from my New York Trip Diary to write up a few movies.  All I have left is the World Trade Center site post anyway, so that’s just one thing on a trip of hundreds!  Besides, writing up these 2 movies should be easy, since I don’t have much to say about either one…

Last week for date night, we saw Knowing, a movie we had been looking forward to.  Not that we’re Nicolas Cage fans (quite the opposite actually); the movie just looked intriguing.  It’s about a guy whose son gets a piece of paper with hundreds of numbers on it which was buried in a time capsule for fifty years.  After some investigation (and A LOT of liquor!), Nicholas Cage discovers that the numbers correspond to the dates, places, and the number of fatalities that would occur during certain calamities – they have all occurred already; except for the 3 left on the list.  And that’s about it.  Cage’s acting was no better than usual (why did I think this would be one of his better movies?  Can you tell he is Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew?), and I don’t want to spoil the ending for you, but I found it cheesy and actually kind of dumb.  I was entertained, but barely, and I did doze a tad during this one, although the action sequences awoke me with a start.  Feeling unsatisfied after this movie, we decided to make it a double feature and sneaked into I Love You Man – no, I’m kidding, we went back to the cashier and paid for the movie legitimately – besides, we needed a refill on our pop and popcorn, though the latter was quite regretful.

I Love You Man looked like kind of a dumb comedy, but we’ve been appreciating the actor Paul Rudd lately (he is SO funny in Role Models and Friends reruns), so we decided to check it out.  What we got was kind of a dumb comedy, but actually not as bad as I thought.  It wasn’t entirely predictable, and there were some funny moments that they actually hadn’t spoiled in the movie’s trailers.  If you like silly comedies and Paul Rudd, check it out.  It’s not nearly as funny as Role Models, but it is much less crude.

I’ve been reflecting this evening about the things I think about. While watching Jeopardy, I noticed (again) there are some subjects I’m very good at, others (opera, actors/actresses, TV shows) I’m not as good at. If you do specific actors, If I like them I will know most of there works, if I don’t well none of it sinks in even if they are in one or more of my favorite shows.

Anyway, I was trying to determine what type of information that takes root in this brain of mine. Computer stuff, most of the time. Math– well it used to, some is still there. Science– A lot, mainly the physical sciences (Earth Sciences, Astronomy, Physics, some Chemistry). Things dealing with logic (math/word puzzles). Politics, current and some historical. Some history, geography. Comic book heroes, well some of them anyway. Science Fiction and Fantasy books I’ve read (short list, I don’t read everything). Some movie trivia (mainly Disney, Lord Of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, Comic Book Movies, Harrison Ford movies, Mysteries, some comedies). Word play (taking and twisting words/meanings for fun). Some things of religious nature, especially the odd and frequently outside of common knowledge stuff.

Things that don’t take root. Anything about TV sitcoms (exceptions Mash, Barney Miller). TV shows in general (I don’t pay attention to much on TV anymore). Theater/Movies/Plays/Opera (except as noted above, or I’ve been in a specific show). Musical Groups/artists and Song titles. Artists and their work with a very few exceptions (I know the common stuff, who painted the Mona Lisa or the Sistine Chapel). Spelling/grammar (who knows, who cares sort of thing).

Other than that things come and go in my knowledge base quite frequently. If I’ve been playing Trivia games, I tend to keep trivia in my head. If I’m working on an intense project at work, that information needed there is front and center. Discussing Politics frequently, well that information becomes available.

Somethings stay in my head all the time. I can tell you when each daughter was born (it may take a second or two). I can tell you the day and time I proposed to my wife. I never forgot an anniversary. I remember the birthday of my first crush. I know what my last words to my wife were, I know hers to me, and her last words (that weren’t to me).

It seems like sometimes there shouldn’t be much room for anything else in my head. I do tend to keep some information that is no longer needed (Do I really need to remember the favorite color of a girl I dated in 1981?). Some I wish I would have remembered better (sending things in the mail at the right time). If I could only figure out how to store and keep the information I want/need and get rid or archive the information I don’t need/want. If I could figure that out I could write a book and retire…