"Tomorrow" was a little ambitious, but it's still this week!
Last night, I went with a couple of classmates to see This Is It, which was awesome. I had two fears:
1. That the film would be filled with treakly confessionals and interviews, as some kind of redundant memorial service and/or overblown recuperative project.
2. That MJ's face would be scary on the big screen.

But no!
1. It was a straight-up concert film, the rehearsals stitched together to allow the audience to experience the concert as it was conceived. Full songs, full choreography, and some really valuable peeks into the rehearsal process. Director Kenny Ortega and the rest of the creative team knew what they were doing. It's all about the music, man. (By the way, Ortega's filmography is fascinating -- from Xanadu to Dirty Dancing to High School Musical. He's one of my new favorite people.)
2. Not scary, because the movie shows MJ as a whole person and not a subject for extended dissection, both in terms of framing (medium and long shots) and content (by capturing genuine human interactions).

Above all, what you get to see is Michael Jackson perform. Watching his body move in space is a recuperative project, and the most appropriate and meaningful memorial for the audience, who never knew the man himself.

And completely from a personal perspective and from this moment in my life: Often in my program I have to watch a lot of boring movies. I find interesting things in them, because that's what I'm trained to do; but sometimes I lose sight of whatever it is I like about this medium, because I spend the course of a movie I don't care about, trying to explain to myself why it has value. Although I always know why I study movies, I don't always know why I watch them. But then I see a film that has value because I really like it. This Is It is not visually distinctive or, you know, part of the French New Wave, but I was totally engrossed for almost two hours, and it made me happy. And that makes me happy, too.

I recognize that my blog has been a negative three on the one-to-ten scale as of late. I resolve to do better.

My major activity of the last few weeks wasn't about me at all, but was KJ's wedding, which is to say, KJB's wedding, which took place on October 10 in Deerfield, IL. It's funny how other people's weddings become all-encompassing even for the people not getting married. I mean, it was just one day of my life, except that it was actually NINE MONTHS of my life.

That's not actual bitterness; it was a great day. Well, first it was a nerve-racking day, and then it was a great day. On Saturday morning, Karuna had us doing hair and make-up in the bridal suite at 8am. During which time I would have had a better attitude if I wasn't completely freaking out over getting the wrinkles out of the silk bridesmaids' dresses that we had all had to smush into our luggage. Maya (another bridesmaid) had steamed our dresses in the hotel shower, but that didn't completely work. Have you ever stood over a silk dress with a hot iron, praying that God would help keep you fron singeing the fabric? Man, that was terrifying.

It took hours, no exaggeraion, but after the major wrinkes were removed from all of the dresses, we briedsmaids got dressed, and then Karuna began to completely lose it. It was great. She was SO calm and happy througout the preceding days, and throughout the morning. And then she was getting her hair curled, and it all became super-real, which for Karuna translated into the fact that her thick hair was going to ruin her wedding day. "It's so heavy," she complained, at which I laughed heartily. Of course, Karuna's hair is gorgeous, and it looked gorgeous. I was, characteristically, really supportive. Karuna'd look in the mirror and ask for opinions on how she looked, and I'd say something like, "I dunno, Karuna -- your hair is looking pretty heavy."

This is the kind of thing that the universe punishes me for, I know.

But the day went swimmingly -- nobody tripped over anything, the ceremony was lovely, and the reception involved serious amounts of dancing. SO fun. And despite the fact that it was overrun with Republicans (Ever had a deep conversation with the White House correspondent for the Weekly Standard? I have!), I was impressed by how lovely everyone was. I love when good people are supported by good people. Second wedding this year, second impressive community of friends.

The official wedding pictures are in process, though I saw the proofs on the photographer's website. Looking through the photos, many of which are candid, I realized that I spend A LOT of time with my head cocked to the side, gazing quasi-patronizingly at people. I find this slightly alarming, pretty funny, and an absolutely accurate encapsulation of my personality.

Unofficial photography from an attending '05-er. Here's the couple emerging from the church into a flurry of bubbles:



And here's me with the cohort of MHC attendees, including the bride:


Note the dress that I had to stop eating in order to get into, because it was too small when it arrived. I place the blame a little bit on the bridal shop for letting me order the wrong size and a little bit on a regular diet of grilled cheese and french fries. I can't really talk about the terror I felt when I took it out of the box and discovered that the zipper wouldn't close. But it's okay, because it's all over now, which is what I repeat to myself when my I'm awoken by nightmares in which my unconscious mind has replayed the trauma.

And, yes, that's make-up all over my face. They made me do it.

Stay tuned for the next installment (perhaps even tomorrow!), in which will recount the post-wedding days I spent touring Chicago.