Movie rec...

The Machinist, starring Christian Bale. Unless they've made some advances in special effects I'm not aware of, Mr. Bale lost so much weight for this role that he looks like an escapee from Dachau. I can't say much about the storyline without giving away the goods, but I will say that Mr. Bale's character hasn't slept in a year, and that sometimes he has trouble telling what's real from what ain't, but that's a problem a lot of us have. Why, just the other day I thought I saw George Bush on the tube nominating a highly unqualified woman to the Supreme Court just so he could kill two affirmative action birds with one stone. But as the days have passed, I'm still not sure that she's unqualified or that she's a woman. I also thought I heard a lot of people saying (including stalwart conservatives) that one's religious views (unless you're an atheist or a hypocrite) ought to be irrelevant as to how one might rule on a particular issue. But I'm not sure I heard them say it because no sane man would believe it's true. Sorry, that's a bit of a digression.

Except that sanity does play into it, because Mr. Bale is determined to find out if he's living a nightmare or merely psychotic, although I'm not sure what the difference might be. But he does find out, for this is a man in need of...well, I can't say. Or rather I shouldn't.

I don't recall any onscreen sex, simulated or otherwise, of the sort you might see on cable television. Why, just the other day I was watching a show and someone opened a door and there it was, a blonde bombshell and some guy doing the bonkety-bonk. The sheets covered her rear end but her breasts dangled and her hips were hyperactive. Maybe I didn't see it after all. Maybe I saw what I wanted to see. It wasn't pay-per-view, just some show anyone might tune into. No, I'm pretty sure I saw it because, frankly, I wasn't in the mood. When they take me by surprise like that, I tend not to get involved, but to thank God that, even though my kids are all grown up, they weren't in the room. Anyway (sorry for the digression), there are a couple of scenes (in the movie) during which Jennifer Jason Leigh - playing a good-hearted prostitute (what other kind is there in Hollywood?) - casually puts her breasts on display, but she does it well because she's had a lot of practice and, as some of you know, I have a weak spot in that area.

All right, I will say this. For the bad things you've done in your life, you've probably heard and believe (if you're a half-decent human) that from your conscience you "can run but can't hide." Just make sure that, as you're traveling down that road and you come to a fork in it, you don't follow the sign to Route 666.